Khan

The rest of America: "Who cares?"

Thank you, @carolineg , for filling me in about Sam's "Cat Poop Fever" (...I guess, lol?).

And if not AW, then certainly SFT.

IMO, the problem with incorporating disco - and this is true not just for ATWT, but for other shows as well - but the problem was that, because of network standards and practices being what they were at that time, no one could be completely honest about the culture. They couldn't talk about the casual drug use, the sexual hedonism or the unsavory fellas who ran many of the clubs - even GH's Campus Disco was couched in euphemisms about "The Organization," lol - so what you got instead was the same old kitchen table conversations about infidelities and paternity secrets, but with a bunch of rhythmless white folks "dancing" in the background to some Donna Summer soundalike that would be dubbed in later. Those who were on either coast and were ass-deep in disco culture probably thought it all looked false, while those who lived in flyover country took one gander and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Similarly, any attempts to incorporate what came afterward - namely, punk and new wave - always came off as punchlines or rehashing of plots and dialogue from '50's "teens in trouble" movies.

Douglas Marland was at ATWT before moving over to GL. His was a temporary stint, however, and for reasons that have never been fully explained. I think P&G asked the Dobsons to take over ATWT for one reason: to contemporize what had become a very staid show. And I think P&G put an enormous amount of pressure on the Dobsons not just to shake up ATWT, but to emulate what was happening on the ABCD soaps as well. That's why I don't believe they were as successful at ATWT as they had been at GL, because it was too much a case of trying to imitate the competition.

I agree.

"And just like that, the eyelid mites became my new favorite characters on GH." ...Come again?

First, it was Tracy and her brain-eating worms; now, it's Liz and her eyelid mites. Someone needs to take Frank aside and illustrate to him what makes for story that won't make viewers sick to their stomachs.

So, GH literally went to the dogs, lol.

LOL!! So many of those fake USA movies sounded so real. I'd watch "Cheek Beat," if only because I'm a sucker for anything starring Lisa Hartman Black.

The one thing I remember most about that movie? She took a guy who dressed very conservatively...and turned him into Leo Stark.

Of course, no discussion of USA Original Movies would be complete with THIS gem, featuring Jane Seymour, Barry Bostwick, Chad Allen, John Martin (ex-Jon Russell, OLTL) and Frances Fisher. (Anyone who wears wigs that cheap-looking must be a psycho.):

Every time I hear or see his name, I think, "Wasn't he on 'Dancing with the Stars'?," lol.

BTW, does anyone know who's involved with this project BTS? Were any present or former soap creatives involved?

I still remember when Siskel & Ebert reviewed the movie on their show. IIRC, they spent most of the time questioning who was the movie even made for, lol. It's funny how USA went from being one of the trashiest networks on cable to one of the most earnest (WWE programming notwithstanding), while Lifetime and LMN went from being progressive "women's networks" to the new destination for the most regressive "women-in-peril" movies out there.

I just hope everyone involved knows how to tell a good story, because if this new venture is anything like the other micro-dramas that I've watched with my mom....!

IA. And as I've said before, as long as Y&R's core audience gets their EB/Victor fix, they don't care one whit about the rest of the show being total garbage. The only way that'll change, of course, is the day EB either passes away or retires.

Me neither. Unless CBS/Sony were to pay him serious money and promise in writing that they will not interfere whatsoever with his work, PM's likely done with HW'ing, if not with writing for soaps altogether. At this point, I'd be willing to give even Bob Guza a try. (Again, with the promise of creative autonomy and enough money to make even Scrooge McDuck look broke AF).

If he goes, though, who is there to take over? Is anyone even willing at this point to take over?

If I were HW, WinterFest would've been the culmination of every major storyline over the past year and the kickoff to a major whodunit that would take the show to the next level.

"Look on the bright side," I once said. "At least they're not running a dry cleaner's."

GH must die.

Frankly, I'm not down for a Chase/Willow affair. I am, however, down for a Chase/Drew hookup. ;)

Yep. To paraphrase from Erica Kane: "the hypocrisy could choke a snake." You're not kidding, lol!

Apparently, last year's WinterFest set an extremely low bar, lol.