Khan

You know, if Judith Light had not left OLTL when she did, I think Karen would have eventually moved into Ina Hopkins' role as a boarding house owner who provided a sort of safe haven for all the troubled souls who passed through Llanview. (Whether she and Larry would have reunited for good is another matter).

As a fan of '80's miniseries, including "The Thorn Birds," I am devastated by this news. Richard Chamberlain was an actor whose mere presence lent a certain dignity (for lack of a better word) to what might otherwise be described as popcorn entertainment. No offense to Matt Damon or to his fans, but to me, Mr. Chamberlain was, is and always will be THE Jason Bourne. Truly a gifted soul. May he RIP.

I agree.

On the one hand, we have a brand new soap (BTG) with a cast that is primarily African-American...and on the other hand, we have the oldest soap still on the air (GH) practically wishing its' token African-American characters into the cornfield. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the state of ethnic and racial minorities in daytime today.

I agree, @DRW50, that was a very tender scene. And I also agree that one of OLTL's cores was its' outsiders and outcasts. Characters who would've been on the peripheral on other soaps were often the ones driving story on OLTL. To me, that's what separated OLTL from the rest of daytime. That, and the theatrical quality of its' dialogue.

I'll bet if Frank Valentini were to view this, he'd have a stroke. I confess that this is not one of my favorite things to see from this period (although, I do thank you, @DRW50, for the tag). Perhaps, if it were all happening in Arizona, or in Texas, it'd make sense. But it's not. It's happening on Long Island. I mean, it's something Asa Buchanan would do, but it's just too DALLAS-y; and between that and Pat's Paris remote, ABC and Joe Stuart were just blowing through money like there was no damn tomorrow. Peabo Bryson: "But there's always tomorrow!" Khan: "Shut up, Peabo!"

I'd have to agree with whoever suggested Marcy Walker for Emily Mason Norris. I think she would've been terrific as Holly's niece and Blake's cousin (given the right writing, of course). But you're not gonna like who I would've paired her with.

Interesting. I guess he decided he preferred directing over writing? Thanks, @VelekaCarruthers and @janea4old!

I agree. It was one of the few McTavish-penned storylines that didn't piss me off.

Neither do I!

Maybe not, but I think they had written him into a corner, especially after he had raped Gloria and pretty much terrorized Hayley to the point of becoming a full-blown alcoholic.

Honestly, I feel more for Piggott's dog than I do for Piggott.

I mean, how could you NOT fall in love with such wonderful acting as this?

And that's...pretty much how I felt about Lucy as well, lol. IIRC, even Nick's HIV-positive wife, Susan, was liked more by viewers than Lucy; and she was only a supporting player in the Brent/Marian storyline who was in Springfield for, like, a year.

Spike Lee should do a commercial: "IT'S GOTTA BE DA TURTLENECKS!!"

Honestly, sports fans, if you're struggling this much with Maurice Johnson getting sacked, I can only imagine how you'll respond when you find out that Clifton Davis has been replaced with Ben Vereen.

I agree, lol. Another shocking, but logical, choice would've been Palmer. But, like I said, I knew from the jump that it would be Janet. I guess watching all those detective shows with my mom paid off, lol.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: social media will be the death of us all.

And playing the role of his mother? None other than Clifton Davis' former "Two Gentlemen of Verona" co-star, Miss Jonelle Allen.

Even at 12-13 years old, I thought the premise was absurd - Janet and Natalie were not twins! - and too gimmicky for a show like AMC, which, to me, had always been one of the most grounded soaps on the air. I also hated the "Who Killed Will Cortlandt?" story, because, as soon as I looked at that picture of all the suspects posing for the cameras in trenchcoats, I knew Janet would be unmasked as the killer. Dixie would've been the shocker, but Janet was the only one who was truly expendable. (There was also An-Li, but that would've made no flipping sense, lol.)

I agree. I also thought it was dumb not to have Morgan Fairchild appear on LOVING first as a way to help viewers become better acquainted with Sydney Chase.

It really depends on the soap. In general, though, I'd say 1991 and 1992 were the last two years when I felt good about these shows and about the genre itself. (I realize the Linda Gottlieb/Michael Malone regime at OLTL has its' fans, but speaking as one who still remembers watching the show as a two-year-old everyday with his mom, I hated it, and still do to this day). By the next year, it was down to one show, GL*, and the cracks were starting to show even for them. (*Two, if you count Y&R, which I still wasn't a fan of 100%, although that would change once I saw how gimmicky AMC and DAYS were becoming). Good question! By that point, I think, I was starting to dip in and out, because I just didn't like what AMC was becoming already with Megan McTavish as HW. (Have I mentioned before how much I hated the Natalie/Janet storyline, lol?). And I'm not talking just about stories either. Even individual scenes were becoming more about characters screaming at each other than anything else.

Thank you so much, @Franko, for sorting all that out for me. I was pretty sure that JWS crossed over to LOVING after AMC, but I couldn't remember whether Jeremy and Ceara's crossover happened before, after or during that period. In retrospect, I wonder whether Jeremy and Ceara's initial crossover was Agnes Nixon's way of testing the waters to see whether one or both could be a part of the LOVING canvas full-time. Because, IIRC, once Jeremy helped to rescue Dinah Lee, he pretty much sticks around Corinth until Gwyneth bumps his off during the LOVING Murders storyline. And what is it with Genie Francis and stand-ins? Not only was there the Ceara stand-in who gets killed (I think) at the airport, but there also was that mop that stood in for her for years at GH.

I feel like P&G would have allowed Douglas Marland at least SOME creative latitude, if only because ATWT was still often ranking as high as #2 before his death. But, as you've said, @DRW50, the entire daytime landscape was changing at that time, too.

According to Velekka Gray, Don Hastings wanted his wife, Leslie Denniston, to portray Lyla, even though Denniston had appeared already on the show as Karen Parker.