Khan

Oh, I don't buy the show's b.s. about that kidnapping. Erica's evolution as a woman was the furthest thing from their minds when they developed that story. To this day, I believe that story was like GL's "Clone Reva" saga: the result of some network bottom-feeder trying to one-up NBC's shows in flashy, trashy, headline-grabbing plots. Unfortunately, Erica got creamed where Reva and DAYS' Marlena didn't.

Why did they have to regress? Regression, IMO, is never a good thing, especially on soaps. Many will disagree, of course, but I think AMC would have been better off "listening" to their characters, allowing Erica to evolve (and yes, mature), and slowly positioning Bianca to become the new (and perhaps lesbian) Erica. (Imagine Mona's reactions to Erica's constant struggles with a daughter who gave her as much hell as she (Erica) had given Mona.)

Boy, did Ann Williams luck out. Bob Welch was one very handsome dude.

Ironically, I think Erica was evolving. This was especially true after she had given birth to Bianca and reunited with Eric. That's why I don't necessarily buy Agnes Nixon's explanation that Erica never could be happy (I'm paraphrasing, of course), because she was on the road toward that and in fact, Nixon herself was heavily involved in the stories that put her there! Moreover, I'm with Victoria Wyndham when it comes to characters not evolving. Not only is it a sign of psychosis, but (more importantly) it's very limiting to play and very tiresome to watch.

Of course! But part of the "fun" would have been watching Erica gradually, over the course of years, work that all out. Besides, one could say the same about ANOTHER WORLD's Mac and Rachel.

Once upon a time, I felt the love of Erica's life was Mike Roy. The more I think about it, though, the more I think that "honor" should go to Nick Davis. If not for certain circumstances getting in their way - namely, Nick's decision to leave Pine Valley for good - those two would've ended up together and married in the end. I'm sure of it.

She looks so uncomfortable pouring that tea.

That is precisely why I love Bryggman so much as an actor, Carl. Frankly, if I were to draw up a list of my all-time favorite actors from the soaps, I guarantee most, if not all, would have reputations similar to his. Let's be honest, though. Not all writers can be like Doug Marland or Agnes Nixon; and even Doug Marland and Agnes Nixon weren't "on" everyday. Yes, an actor's responsibility is to "respect the text," so to speak, but if they can't find the integrity or logic in what they're doing, how can they ask the audience (who literally make and break their careers) to?

Ugh. Macauley West.

RM would have been perfect on OLTL as Cord's half-sister and Maria's daughter w/ Al Roberts. (No, Cord never had a sister...that we know of. Still..., lol.) Watching her go head-to-head with Tina while simultaneously outdoing her (and Gabrielle) in skulduggery would have been awesome.

Thanks, Carl, for that Bryggman interview. IMO, there are four actors who elevated soap operas to a real, serious art: Michael Zaslow, Beverlee McKinsey, Elizabeth Hubbard, and this guy. Next to them, no one even comes close.

Is anyone else listening to Christmas music? I've had my radio tuned into WLTW 96.7 FM in New York since last night.

Yeah, it could've been worse. Frank and Ron could have killed off Dorian in some grisly serial-killer storyline as a last-ditch effort to save the show from cancellation.

First of all, I doubt every scene took place inside Ryan's Bar. Second, if Joseph Hardy, who I consider an otherwise excellent producer and director, had a problem with the majority of scenes taking place inside the bar, then he never really understood RYAN'S HOPE. That bar was as integral to that show as "Cheers"'s was to theirs. However, I must agree with Hardy and Pat Falken Smith that the show needed to be "opened up" in order to allow the Ryans and Coleridges to interact with other characters. By the early '80's, all the running stories between those two families had been exhausted. I just feel there was a way to do that without de-emphasizing them or the bar (which -- let's face it -- is what PFS and JH did).

Same here. Cusi Cram has done well for herself as a playwright...but yeah, I wish she had remained as Cassie.

How hot was that sun? It was so hot, it turned her Caucasian.

Of course, John S. Newman went on to become a script writer (with Fran) at DAYS.

And there the Peacock People would be, telling anyone who would (be dumb enough to) listen how this "new," interactive 90-minute version would take "classic soap storytelling, as pioneered by ANOTHER WORLD's own creators, Irna Phillips and Procter & Gamble, to a whole different level!"

Ironically, a 90-minute version of ANOTHER WORLD would have a much better chance of succeeding today, if only because NBC would exploit the crap out of modern technology. Episodes themselves would remain 60 minutes, but they'd pad it with chatty hosts commenting on stories and actors between "segments," taking viewers' phone calls, reading (and answering) e-mails and tweets about the ongoing stories, hosting brief interviews with past and present AW stars, maybe doing running trivia contests, etc. It'd be like "GSN Live" meets daytime drama.

The more I think about it, the more I think the only way ANOTHER WORLD might have succeeded at 90 minutes is if the network had built little "breaks" into each episode, sort of like how they leave 5 minutes at the end of every half-hour of "Today" for local news, weather and traffic reports. Know what I mean? Let there be 25 solid minutes of story (with commercials, of course), and then come in with an "NBC News Break" to allow viewers at home to "breathe" a bit before jumping back into the story. Either that, or use that time -- again, 5 or so minutes before the start of the next half-hour -- to show one or two scenes from NBC's other soaps, such as DAYS or THE DOCTORS. They could have been scenes from previous episodes, scenes from upcoming episodes (teasers, if you will), or maybe scenes that might not be in the actual shows but feature characters from them, as a way of whetting viewers' appetite for more.

I still remember Alan Feinstein as Diane Keaton's married professor lover in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar."

Nah, too Pam Long.

Yeah, Carrie really didn't need to shove her against the fireplace. As much stuff as there was inside Diane's apartment, all she had to do was trip over something and down she'd go.

When Ryan's Hope began, it was the first time [...] an ethnic background was used for the main family. So who were the Bauers of GUIDING LIGHT? WASP's?

Well, you can't blame SANTA BARBARA for not trying, lol. As Paula Abdul would say, they worked their asses off to grab the audience's attention.