Khan

I know I'm supposed to love that period of GH history, because there's so much rich material there - and God knows, too, it's like watching Shakespeare when compared to the show today - but...I dunno...I feel like the "heart" is missing. It's all cops and robbers, and spies and super-spies, but there's no "heart," or not enough of it. That's what I love about (what I've seen of) PFS' work. When she was on her game, she knew how to balance the '80's need for action with the '60's and '70's reliance on emotion AND keep it all within the realm of possibility, as either @vetsoapfan or @saynotoursoap once said on this board. And it's why, for the most part, I tended to prefer watching DAYS, because I feel like, in daytime, there's need to be more at stake than just whether or not the good guys will detonate the bomb in time, or rescue the heroine from being pushed out of the ski-lift by the crazed psychopath who wants to rule the world. (Man, if only PFS and Marland had teamed up, lol!) To me, GH in the mid-'80's is less a testament to good storytelling than it is to Gloria Monty's skills as a producer, director and editor.

I do know this much: between the time PFS left, in '81, until the time when she returned, in '85, GH was a mess creatively, despite the show being number-one. I've tried watching some of that stuff when I can find it on YT, and it's just a slog. Similarly, Laiman and Racina might have worked longer on GH, but I think DAYS was where they (and Sheri Anderson) did their best work.

If only we could photoshop Claudia Lonow and her idiotic expression out of that photo. And boy did KL's female cast need a splash of color, if you know what I'm saying.

And, of course, @Vee, you had veteran comedy writer A.J. Russell on staff as creative consultant or some such as well.

It might have been one of those situations where he was involved but, for whatever reasons, he didn't receive on-air credit - like, he was a "consultant" or something? I dunno, it's weird, lol.

I guess what he meant was he was there 'til '84 but not as HW? At least, not officially?

Good question, @Vee. That's always baffled me as well. My understanding was that Racina and Leah Laiman were GH's unofficial HW's for a spell, but that Robert J. Shaw received the actual, official HW'ing credit. Also, IIRC, Laiman and Racina did work for awhile under Pat Falken Smith until she returned to DAYS, as well as for the Corringtons, and for Anne Howard Bailey, who replaced them, before Laiman and Racina, too, went off to DAYS to work with Sheri Anderson.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: James Wolk can't carry a series.

DYNASTY could have left DALLAS in the dust, if they had had better writing.

Exactly. Exactly! EXACTLY!!

Agree.

Well, I could see "Dukes" and DALLAS working together, since I think both appealed to male and rural audiences.

Somewhere, in the Great Beyond, Mary-Ellis Bunim is looking at it all with a big smile on her face.

DAYS is desperate to find a new Stefano DiMera. And I mean DESPERATE.

Agree. Douglas Marland was big on using history to inform his storytelling, but he still took the time to craft stories that would engage viewers both old and new.

I could have, too. I didn't mind Jonathan not being Reva's stalker, though, because I don't think we had seen Jonathan as an adult up to that point. It seemed like the first time we were even gonna "meet" him was when he would be unmasked as the stalker; and to me, that's bad storytelling.

Better yet, Belle could think she's Samantha! She could have Marlena committed and assume her own mother's identity and everyone in town would be like, "Um, okay?". I'm a GL fan, too, and I would NEVER want anything like this Sarenee crap anywhere near my show! I mean, my God, Clone Reva was bad enough! And if this (Sarenee) is what happens when you get someone who knows DAYS and loves its' history on your writing staff, then fire Jamey A-SAP and replace him with somebody who ain't never heard of daytime television, let alone DAYS OF OUR LIVES!

As iconic as Joan and Alexis were, not even they could keep viewers tuned into the hot, bubbling mess that DYNASTY had become. I mean, how do you gun down the majority of your cast and only a few, minor, inconsequential characters end up going to the boneyard?

If that's how it's done, then I'm DEFINITELY pitching my Brady-wakes-up-thinking-he's-Amanda-Howard idea first chance I get!

Bite. Your. Tongue. Honestly, as soon as Marlena was freed from the devil's clutches (FOR THE SECOND TIME), the story should have been over and done with. Instead, Possession 2.0 has been like the bad soap opera plot equivalent of a car stereo that has a CD of "Whoomp! There It Is!" on repeat, and you can't turn it off, because you stupidly locked your keys in the car and kept it running, and now all the neighbors are pissed, because it's been playing non-stop and at loud volume for over an hour, and they're just ready to grab some baseball bats and beat the [!@#$%^&*] out of you AND the car. ...Or something like that.

Chloe and Nancy should feel torn about this, wanting Craig to be CoS on the one hand, but questioning Leo's true motives on the other. And Brady and Chloe should experience conflict over this, too, since I guess Brady would regard Kayla almost like family.

Ah, my mistake. Thanks, @Soapsuds!

Proving that, yes, Sofia, t'ere is a God.

Seriously, we can't get Sheri Anderson and Lorraine Broderick to team up and co-head-write this show?

As bad as this story has been, though, I'm not sure that's good for them, lol.