Khan

Thanks, Carl!

"The speeding hulk of metal slams into his young body." Who wrote these synopses? Lester Dent?

That (Albert Stratton's casting, and "Barney the Clown" ish notwithstanding) might have been one reason why they wrote off Eric so soon after bringing him back into Erica's life. Plus, given Agnes Nixon's recent comments about Erica (that she must never outgrow her insecurities, which I think is hogwash, but whatevs, Aggie), it's possible she decided that bringing closure to Erica and Erica's relationship would have brought about an end to Erica's ongoing journey toward happiness. In retrospect, I don't think there was anything too wrong in bringing back Eric as a circus clown. Yeah, the idea (that Eric would join the circus) seems...odd. You have to admit, though, it's much better than saying...oh, I don't know...that he faked his death in order to become a spy (hi, Mike Roy)?

Obviously, I can't speak for every fan out there, but why on earth would I want '00's or even late-'90's ATWT on DVD just because it beats not having any ATWT on DVD? I'd want to remember why I fell in love with ATWT (or any soap, for that matter), not why it isn't around anymore.

What gets me is that ABCD (okay, Frons) chose to blame Robin Mattson for her disastrous GH return rather than Bob Guza.

Yeah, I see their (and your) point, too, ellabelle. I just don't believe it would have been all that distracting. After all, AMC's social-issue storylines in the past have always been woven into ongoing relationship dramas between different characters. That's a huge reason why Agnes Nixon gets credit for them; they're never "very special episode," if you know what I mean. Meanwhile, the less I say about Erica's "romance" with Chris Stamp, the better.

True. But I do recall reading the scanned article in question somewhere on this board and then reacting to it. (Unfortunately, I'm not good at retrieving old posts, so someone will have to help me there.)

IIRC, someone (Carl?) posted one of those story recap thingies from an old magazine, and among the highlights for AMC was a sentence like "Erica is concerned the facial scars from such-and-such accident will be permanent," or words to that effort.

The really dumb part, though, was that they had done that story with Erica already during the mid- or late-'80's. Thanks for that tidbit, ellabelle. I had NO idea that Erica and David were split up so she could be single for Bianca's coming-out. To me, that decision makes no sense. If anything, such an event would be a terrific catalyst either for bringing them back together or solidifying their relationship.

That's true, too. Granted, I tend to favor Marland, but what I have seen of the Dobsons' work on GUIDING LIGHT was/is nothing short of outstanding. The pre-Long/post-Marland period aside, GL enjoyed a decade or so (1975-85) of true excellence. Didn't Marland quit GH because, among other things, he didn't wish to relocate to L.A.? It seems to me that Gloria Monty would have canned him for that alone. Also, I tend to think the Dobsons would have left GUIDING LIGHT anyway since P&G transferred them to AS THE WORLD TURNS. Chris Rich's behavior toward Laura Malone doesn't surprise me. To me, he's always come across as a smarmy jackass.

How "helpful" can someone be if she gives a magazine the wrong photo to use?

It's a shame they sign her on permanently. I would've liked to see Ruth and Greg's relationship fleshed out in subsequent seasons.

I'll say this much: if finding God and working in children's ministries has brought a newfound sense of peace and purpose to Ms. Smith, then I wish her (and her family) all the best. "The church," as it were, needs more individuals who feel a genuine call to spread His gospel. Now, about that chick who saw her face while she prayed....

I guess you don't remember his stellar performance as "Clell Lightner" on FROM THESE ROOTS? (I'm kidding.)

According to an interview with Doug Marland, in fact, Potter rarely enjoyed the stories he was writing for GUIDING LIGHT -- which is ironic, since, next to THE DOCTORS, it's practically his greatest success as a producer.

Thanks for the link, junior! Granted, I wish Salisbury had had the opportunity to talk more about other shows he's worked on (GUIDING LIGHT, in particular), but it's neat to "hear" him nevertheless.

Men can age gracefully if they take care of themselves. (David Canary is proof of that.) Unfortunately, MEK chooses to let himself "go" a bit.

Perhaps she was out making another baby she'd forget about later.

Yep. She did. Thankfully, too, they dropped that story as soon as Ken Olin left the show.

There's a difference between when fans complained that FALCON CREST was being overrun with Nazis (during the Gustav Riebmann plot) and when KL fans complained about Verna. In one case, TPTB were right to end the "Nazi booty" story earlier than scheduled because the story just was too ridiculous even for their standards. (Plus, its quick demise led to what I consider to be FC's overall best arc, w/ Cassandra Wilder and Anna Rossini.) However, when it came to Verna, I think David Jacobs used viewers' complaints merely as an excuse to truncate what already was a difficult story for him. The truth is, if viewers had a hard time with the Verna arc, then I think that particular story was doing its job! These days, the more I think about KNOTS, the more I realize that not only did the show stray from Jacobs' original intentions but, in the end, it became the kind of show he wasn't altogether capable of running. Just like with Earl Hamner, Jr. and FC, in fact, I feel like Jacobs was much more suited to a show like "Family," which was arguably less sensational than KNOTS or even DALLAS. (Notice, too, that aside from the more grounded first mini-season, Jacobs' involvement with KNOTS' sister show was minimal, at best.) That's why KNOTS seemed to change tone several times throughout its run. The difference between them and FC, though, was that KNOTS generally had better actors and writers. Otherwise, KNOTS easily could've ended up suffering the same fate as FC.

No doubt, Carl, TPTB felt those (and other) stories were the best way of combating the gradual viewer erosion that had been occurring. For all her weaknesses, however, even Maggie DePriest seemed capable of striking that balance between the more outrageous and the tried-and-true. Viewers might've thought the old formula was getting stale, but that didn't mean throwing out everything and turning AMC into a completely different show.

Not really. Did Natalie change over the years? Yes. But you could argue she matured, too; and if she had stayed the calculating bitch, I think people would've protested anyway. Thanks to Kate Collins' performances, I think, Natalie never lost her sense of sophistication. If anything, Janet's ability to dupe Trevor made him look like the fool.

Because as OTT as some stories had been in the past, none required suspending disbelief as much as Natalie-in-the-well did, or made characters look more foolish. Plus, it seemed as if ALL MY CHILDREN had begun to lose that warm, homey quality that once made it so special (and quite frankly, carried its fans through the more ridiculous periods), devolving into the cynical and gimmicky mess that, over a period of time, rendered it unrecognizable and vulnerable. Precisely.

The beginning of the end, as far as I'm concerned.

Perhaps, if it had been Lance and Melissa's child, or one of her daughter's children by a man she would have thought beneath the Channing/Gioberti family. Otherwise, though, I think viewers would have protested BIG time. I mean, Angela might blow up your vineyard -- and even then, I don't think she'd want to see anyone get hurt or killed -- but kidnap some woman's baby (and make her think it was dead)? I don't think so. Say what you will about Sable and Alexis, but both women cared too much for their own children to do that to other women. Of course, Alexis did cause Krystle's miscarriage, didn't she?