Khan

I hear the rodent population adores her.

Well, I know that part of the problem BTS with Abby Dalton was that she'd read only her scenes in each script. She'd complain about the writing to the producers, but she'd admit that she didn't know anything about the scripts except her scenes in them. Now, you could say hers was a deliberate choice; some actors only want to know what their character would know. But it sounds more like AD was too self-involved to care about the parts of the show that weren't about her. That's putting it mildly, lol. I realize that ABC was skittish about featuring a gay character with the implication that he had an active sex life. But it isn't as if the Shapiros snuck it in on them. I mean, Steven's homosexuality is pretty much there from the beginning. It's the whole reason why his relationship with Blake was fractured. Why buy the series with that element already in place, only to backpedal later? Either stand by the choice to have Steven be gay, or tell the Shapiros to remove that element from their original story. Otherwise, you just end up looking like chickenshits. Then, to make matters worse, when Al Corley leaves the show, because what he was being asked to play as Steven was not what he'd signed up for, who do they get to replace him? Jack Coleman. A very wooden performer, who never looked comfortable "playing gay." Frankly, when Corley's Steven left, the character should've stayed gone.

PT is certainly cute enough -- and thank God he's finally figured what to do about his hair! -- but he's really someone I could take-or-leave.

You don't need to clarify your point, @John. I'm just telling you: this show makes no sense.

Good point. Even when non-serialized shows like "Family" and "The Waltons" did episodes about alcoholism, it was usually with the suggestion that the alcoholic has been battling the bottle for some time. ("Oh, as long as I've known Aunt Gertie, she's always been the life of the party!") I'd have to say that that was Linda Gray's finest hours on the show. She certainly did a much better job portraying how alcoholism slowly eats away at the body, mind and soul than Ted Shackelford (ex-Gary, KL), who couldn't decide whether "playing drunk" meant pretending he was like the Incredible Hulk, or like Willie the Wino on "Good Times."

This show makes no sense.

Well, whatever you do, don't let Frank Valentini know, or we'll never be rid of him!

Well, obviously, there's a difference between "Big Brother" and your average sitcom or drama series. BB contestants aren't playing fictitious characters; they're being themselves (which is to say, a camera-ready version of themselves). I could watch an episode of "NewsRadio" even w/ Joe Rogan or Andy Dick, because, no matter how much I loathe both actors, they're not actually the characters they portray, and vice-versa. (That is, if I really WANTED to watch an episode of "NewsRadio," which I'm always hard-pressed to do, since I thought the show sucked, lol.) I mean, I think Kirstie Alley is the worst kind of Scientologist and Trump supporter/apologist on social media, but I still enjoy watching her as Rebecca Howe on "Cheers." And even though I still can't explain or understand whatever the [!@#$%^&*] happened to Roseanne Barr, I'll still tune in occasionally to "Roseanne" (final season notwithstanding) because Roseanne Conner means more to me than Roseanne Barr ever will.

Like inconsistent hairstyles from episode to episode, so are the Continuity Issues of Our Lives.

Unfortunately, that was all before DYNASTY decided to go full camp. Steven became a straight man (who occasionally liked to sleep with other men)*; Claudia's mental instability became little more than a plot device; and Blake's abusiveness and Fallon's nymphomania were swept under the proverbial rug. I thought KL did a good job exploring drug addiction with Karen and Olivia. They couldn't get too in-depth with either storyline, however, because there were so many other stories going on and only so much time to explore it all. (Just one of the many reasons why I've preferred the daytime soaps over the primetime ones.) Conversely, I felt Maggie's battle with alcoholism on FALCON CREST consisted of nothing else but a half-dozen scenes of Susan Sullivan looking and acting sleepy. *Allow me to clarify: there would have been nothing wrong with the suggestion that Steven Carrington was bisexual, but that's clearly not what the show was suggesting. To them, Steven was just a mixed up kid who hadn't found the right woman.

Another thing I loved about MSW is how characters would occasionally accuse Eve Simpson (a.k.a. the randy real estate agent, played by Julie Adams (ex-Paula, CAPITOL)) of being the culprit. As if being the most promiscuous senior citizen this side of Blanche Devereaux automatically means you're prone to kill, lol. Excellent point(s)!

I realize I'm being harsh about Grady/Michael Horton, but I just can't help it. He was such a tool.

Jessica was also someone who was open-minded and non-judgmental. If you were into what they called at the time an "alternative lifestyle," or if your personal life contained elements that bordered on being salacious and scandalous, Jessica believed that was your business and nobody else's. Her only objective was to see that justice was done.

Agree. On the one hand, it's hard to say Maria Roberts (OLTL) was "aborted" or "wasted," because, God knows, she was written and played to the hilt. But, on the other hand, I can't help but wonder how much MORE havoc she could have wreaked in Llanview, had she not gone full-tilt-boogie crazy. (For instance, what if she had managed to get her hooks into Asa as another means of making Clint and Viki's lives hell?) Yeah, it's sad how KLG basically sabotaged herself with that awful performance. Like @John said, she wanted so badly to come back to the show; but when she finally did, her desperation seemed to work against her. In retrospect, it might have been better to bring back Nancy Frangione instead, or even recast once more (again, I would have chosen Sharon Gabet).

Who da hell thought drawing Miss Angela like a Monchichi doll was a good idea!? No, I think there would have been a Cabot Cove, regardless of who played J.B. Fletcher. But I also think Jean Stapleton's J.B. would have become very annoying to watch after awhile. Like, people would have been BEGGING someone to kill her instead.

Oh, Gawd, it's just like that parody on "The Simpsons": IT NEVER ENDS.

Um, enjoy...?

Oh, Lord, the fights that must go on between those two (and you KNOW they do). Jessica: "Hey, don't give me any lip!" Rib: "I can't! You took it already!"

Good point(s).

I must admit, there once was a time when Maurice Benard would have balked at playing Sonny as an amnesiac named "Mike" living in some Mayberry-ish small town.

It's kind of like what Douglas Marland said about the Jeff/Heather/Peter/Diana baby drama when he took over head-writing GH. To him, Peter and Diana unwittingly adopted PJ/Steven Lars solely because the writers wrote it that way. It didn't feel organic. (I think the words he used to describe the plot were "too mechanical.")

Random thought: in the beginning, I suspect Aaron Spelling was somewhat hands-off with "90210," because this kind of series -- one centered around the day-to-day lives of teenagers (albeit, teenagers living in Beverly Hills) -- was foreign territory to a producer whose only other younger-skewing show up to that point had been "The Mod Squad" back in the '60's. However, once "90210" took off, and Spelling's personal fortunes had reversed (after the industry had already written him off as a relic and a has-been), he began asserting more and more creative control, interfering with Darren Star's original vision for the show, and causing the show's quality to decline in the process. Again, just a random thought. Make of it what you will.

I don't mind a surrogacy story for Chance and Abby, but drawing Amanda, Devon, Mariah and Tessa into the drama seems so unnecessary. Those two couples deserve stories of their own.

2022 better not take my girl. That's all I'm saying.

Nah, as long as Aaron Spelling's name was attached, I knew the potential was nonexistent, lol. God bless that man, but the shows he produced after parting ways with Leonard Goldberg were just the worst.