Khan

Well, that's interesting (that Lar Park Lincoln was supposed to play Amanda), lol. I'd have to agree. Of course, I think that was bad storytelling. I mean, why shroud Gary's new "mystery woman" in virtual darkness for eight episodes if it doesn't lead to a bombshell reveal (and no, the fact that Amanda was Danny's ex-wife and the twins' preschool teacher is not it, lol)? To me, it's kinda like Chekhov's Gun: if you're gonna introduce a gun in the first act of your script, it better go off in the third; and if you're gonna plunge Gary Ewing into yet another, ill-fated love affair with someone whose face isn't revealed right away - and right on the heels of Jill's "murder" - it better tie back to Jill or bear some other significance on Gary's life. Otherwise, you're just [!@#$%^&*] with people. Another reason why I wanted Julie Harris to return for S14: so Lilimae could make snide, passive-aggressive comments about Gary's "pretty young thing," as she bulldozes over Kate and helps Gary look after the twins after Val's "death."

For me, the problem with Valentin (besides the fact that JPS won't sign a [!@#$%^&*] long-term contract - which is nuts, because, c'mon, Jimmy, you're so much better than short-lived sitcoms on Disney+) is that the writers WANT him to be a pivotal character with layers, but there are only two of those layers, and both are so damn extreme. If he's the villain, then he's the moustache-twirling kind who's motivated solely by the needs of the plot; and if he's the tortured romantic hero, he's the kind who's so wimpy (with that [!@#$%^&*] piano-playing) that he makes Spinelli look like Jason! And I love characters who have a lot of sides to show, but GMAFB!

To me, those - characters who do awful things with the best intentions - are the best kind to write for and to watch, because they're just so much more "real" than characters who do awful things strictly because that's what the plot dictates (yes, ghosts of Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock, I'm looking dead at you, lol). The thing is, Tony Jones NEEDED a redemption arc. We needed to see him - slowly, and not without struggles - rebuild his life, with a new marriage and maybe even a new family, too. (Frankly, I felt too much damage had been done to his and Bobbie's marriage for them to go back to being anything more than close friends). We needed to see that as tragic as B.J.'s death was for him, it also sent him on a journey that led him ultimately to happiness. And I think that's where Guza/Riche had intended to go with Tony - at least, I think that's what they had promised Brad Maule at the start - but backstage issues between EP and HW, not to mention network interference, just got in the way.

I'd agree, except poor Suzi had been through enough loss already. She'd lost her bio dad, Doug; then, she lost her mom, Eunice; and now, she's without the man who'd been like a father to her for her entire life. Add her estrangement from stepsister/close friend Wendy over Warren Carter, Stephanie's murder and her own killing, which left Jo as Jonah's sole living relative on his mother's side, and it just makes for a really sad and pitiful trajectory.

I'm not entirely convinced that the Lechowicks didn't intend for Teri Austin to return as "Sally's Friend"/Amanda, either as Jill in disguise, or as a lookalike, similar to how Lisa Hartman had returned as Cathy after playing Ciji. Even if you ignore the fact that her voice sounded at first like Austin's, the fact that they were pulling a "Richard Diamond, Private Eye," showing Amanda only in silhouette at first, or in extreme close-ups that didn't give away her entire appearance, suggests that they wanted to shroud her in a little bit of mystery, so that we would be shocked when we (and Gary) actually "met" her for the first time ("OMG, it's Jill!").

No slight against Philip McKeon, but I really hate that they replaced Alfred Lutter after the pilot (unless, of course, he chose to leave, which I could understand). For one, he was the original Tommy, in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," so he provided a sort of bridge of continuity between the two properties. For another, he just looked and sounded more like a real-life teen to me, bratty and awkward-looking and not entirely comfortable in his own skin.

I believe it. Before "Alice" and "One Day at a Time," single mothers on primetime TV had few, if any, financial worries. Even "Julia," which y'all have mentioned already, depicted a single mom who never appeared to be hurting for cash (judging by Diahann Carroll's fabulous wardrobe, lol). I also like how you mention that Alice and Tommy kept it real with each other, @All My Shadows. Alice and Tommy could joke around with each other, but it was clear that Alice was the parent, and that her first priority was seeing to it that Tommy had an education and was prepared for the real world.

Does he NEED to be an Aussie? Jax could return with no accent and I, for one, would not care. I wanted to recast him after Ingo's first scene, but that's neither here nor there, lol.

And if TPTB at GH/ABCD are interested, I have a couple of suggestions, lol!

The melody, as written by Dave Grusin, is phenomenal. The run-on lyrics? Not so much.

Poor "Magnum, P.I." Just a few years before, it practically was the hottest show on TV. By 1986/87, however, even a Bob Hope Christmas special is doing better numbers than they are, lol.

Frankly, @Soaplovers, David Canary was in no condition by that point to participate more in the revival than he did. Also, I think it would've been much more compelling to see Brooke and Erica attempt to co-host a "Hoda & Kathie Lee"-like chatfest, with "the network" believing that their history and chemistry would make for "appointment television," lol.

Especially when that random person is sporting a hairstyle that Peabo Bryson retired thirty years ago.

LOL on the bolded part. You're right, it is, lol.

Why Frank Valentini wasn't fired for that [!@#$%^&*], I'll never know!

Thanks, @te.! I wasn't sure about all the details, just what I vaguely still remembered from years ago (which wasn't much, I'll grant you, lol). And you're right: it WILL be glossed over, lol.

This isn't insider information, but I know I read somewhere years ago that someone had filed a lawsuit against Chip Hayes while he still was producing MP or afterward. That's why I've always kind of side-eyed his working years later in daytime as a writer.

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Chances are they won't talk about the sexual harassment allegations against Chip Hayes, lol.

ICAM!! I guess that was a better pitch, though, than "From the people who brought you 'Dallas' comes 'David Jacobs' Scenes from Four Marriages'."

And it's mostly thanks to one woman - need I say whom, lol? - who might not be the world's greatest actress, but who captured viewers' attention and imagination nevertheless. I mean, people loved Tad the Cad, and Greg and Jenny, and especially Jesse and Angie. But you really can't think of AMC without thinking first of Erica Kane.

"She's his second wife -- but his daughter is out to change that!" So, Annie wants to be his wife, lol? And it doesn't matter anyway, since we never see or hear from her again after the pilot.

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"Bizarre" doesn't even cover it. There hadn't been a "Claudette" on any soap since AMC, and that was way the hell back in 1980. But it seems like GH has struggled with naming characters appropriately since the end of Guza. I halfway expect a "Maybelline" to pop up any day now.

I totally forgot Jessica Tuck has been on this show, lol! And I question the sanity of anyone who says they like Bree Williamson.