Khan

I don't care if Miss "Open Bed, Insert Slut" jumped off the show or was pushed. Just so long as she is gone.

I'll echo everyone else and agree that Niki Smith became a cartoon after the '95 DID story. And as I've said before, you know you're a hack when you've committed character assassination on a split personality. The same could be said for Jack Scalia. I still can't believe how AMC screwed THAT up.

I should have followed your lead and bailed right away. But, like I said, I'm a fan of Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye's. Most of the time, their unconventional casting worked. (I still remember when peeps like Jessica Hahn and King Kong Bundy would pop up on MWC). But that was one time when they needed a beautiful woman who also could act. I think the Tartikoff era at NBC was pretty special. There seemed to be more variety in the network's programming, so that you didn't end up with 12 sitcoms that all attempted to be the next "Friends" or "Seinfeld."

When the man who plays TGVN says, "[!@#$%^&*] this place, I'm outta here!"

Also among the guest cast: Charles Flohe (ex-Preacher, EON; ex-Connor, SaBa; ex-Grant, B&B). He played the OTHER guy who sat with Jerry Hall at that restaurant. I'm not a "Married...with Children" fan, but I love just about everything else that Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye wrote, so I really wanted to like this one. But...oh my God...Jerry Hall, lol.

Agnes Nixon gave us the inside scoop on why she left SEARCH FOR TOMORROW after the first thirteen weeks, but zip on LOVING. Between that, Douglas Marland's decision to leave in '85 and have his name removed as co-creator, and Patrick Mulcahey's somewhat cryptic statements about the show on social media, something tells me LOVING was not a very pleasant experience for anyone involved. I'd agree. I've long suspected that the network, knowing about Erica and Maria's rivalry, forced the storyline on Lorraine Broderick, who attempted to root Erica's choice to steal Maria's baby in her own issues with daddy Eric. Unfortunately, I don't think there was any way to justify her doing that; and in fact, I'd argue that it might've damaged Erica and diminished her somewhat in AMC's final years. I agree. And I will go to my grave detesting Viki's DID storyline, bravura performances and writing be damned.

It was a rare time when Douglas Marland cut to the chase rather than do his usual, gradual build; and maybe the second time he had a character change on a proverbial dime with no real explanation (the first time being with Kathryn Harrold's Nola on THE DOCTORS).

Oh, no. I got enough of Black women lying about the identity of their babies' fathers on "Maury." I don't want to see them do it on BTG, too.

Hell, even David Chisum seemed to be having some fun there for a moment, portraying a man who was new to sex but apparently not to ab crunches.

Debbi's black never cracks!! And every time I see Richard Lawson, all I can think is, "That's the man who knocked up Molly Dodd!" (IYKYK).

Oh, I beg to differ. I think Trevor St. John had a high old time, lol.

True, but were they really her finest moments, lol? Even the damage that Paul Rauch tried to do to Dorian before RS left the first time didn't compare to how TPTB treated her every run thereafter.

The less I say about Viki's disastrous relationship with Charlie.... I think a BIG problem for Viki during that same period was the show's basic inability to write for her children or recast them properly. Dan Gauthier turned out to be okay as a Kevin recast (although - and I say this about all the adult Kevins - I would've liked to have seen at least some of Joe Riley in their oldest child), but they never found the right Joey after Chris McKenna left; and Bree Williamson's Jessica was just wrong. To me, it says a lot that the insta-daughter, Natalie, turned out to be the child of Viki's that had the most staying power of any of 'em!

I don't know if she was diminished so much as she was trapped (again, by TPTB, who wouldn't allow her to mature, for whatever reason). However, I do think there came a point when storylines involving Erica felt less character-driven than they had been in years past (although, you could make the same argument for pretty much every veteran character on AMC).

Thank you! And not as some Cortlandt relative we ain't ever heard of either! I wouldn't have cut her either. I loved Erica Kane (and Susan Lucci), and I always will. But there did come a point when I wanted desperately for her to expand her world and prove to the folks at home that change, however difficult, was still possible.

Now THAT was a bad move on AMC's part, lol! Not just because the subject matter was too dark and heavy for a character like Erica (and actor like Susan Lucci), but in order for that storyline to have been truly effective, Erica would've needed to deal not only with her addiction but also with the long-standing issues that led to the addiction; which, in turn, would have forced Erica to mature in ways TPTB clearly didn't want. But, at least I finally heard her admit that her father didn't give a [!@#$%^&*] about her - even if she was high as a [!@#$%^&*] kite and even if I knew that they'd never have her really reassess her life and question whether remaining as the world's shortest supermodel and cosmetics magnate truly makes her happy. For me, the biggest problem was watching Erica keep getting saddled with (IMO) really boring partners just to prove she still had it at her age (not to mention, the endless obsession with Jack, a relationship I will never understand). Like, it's one thing for a grandmother to keep up her bed-hopping, but how can you ask longtime fans to go from someone like Tom Cudahy to someone like Ryan Lavery, lol?

It wasn't just a general fear of allowing Erica to mature, though. As a writer, Agnes Nixon believed that when a character achieves what they want - in Erica's case, not just celebrity, but the (misguided) belief that celebrity would bring her the security she had lacked as a child - there's no more story left for them. In Nixon's mind, Erica's desperate need to prove to her father (and to herself) that she was worthy of his affections never goes away, or else what is she? So, as ridiculous as it was for Erica to try once more to conquer Hollywood at her age, it also kinda made sense. AMC was ending (or so we thought), so Erica's quest to be a star in the one arena Eric seemed to care about most (the movies) needed to come to an end as well. Of course, I'd argue that Eric's death was absolutely the moment when Erica needed to put all those demons to rest once and for all and not years later, but that's just me, lol.

I feel like TPTB recognized as much by the late '80's, especially when Erica finally gave birth to Bianca. No longer could Erica just up and do whatever she wanted; now she had a daughter to think about. And even though introducing Eric Kane as a circus clown was not one of Margaret DePriest's best decisions, that storyline did, for a time, lay to rest issues Erica had had with him abandoning her and Mona when Erica was nine years old. Unfortunately, when Agnes Nixon returned as HW in '89, it seems like a lot of that was undone. Eric skipped town again (and IIRC, sold his Enchantment shares to Natalie on his way out); Travis, who had already taken some hits as a character due to very foolish decisions on his part, became insufferable over Jack and Erica's affair (to the point where I was glad to see him gone); and Erica eventually lost custody of Bianca to her ex (who was back happily ever after with Barbara - a real slap in Erica and Tom's faces, if you ask me), who moved his entire family to Seattle, forcing Erica to deal with the pain of having another loved one taken from her. YES. You have to remember, @Jdee43, that no one except maybe Gloria Monty intended for Tony Geary to stay with the show. IIRC, the original plan, as designed by (I think) Douglas Marland, or maybe Pat Falken Smith, was for Frank Smith's goons to kill Luke. So, if you look at it from that perspective, Laura's rape would've driven a wedge between her and Scotty - which it did, but if things had gone according to plan, then it wouldn't have ended with Luke and Laura going on the run and falling in love.

I'd have to agree with "the suits": Twiggy, whom Faye Dunaway replaced, can't carry a series. Moreover, Terence Knox, who was cast as the male lead before Robert Urich, is too just intense to be on a sitcom. Anyone who watched "All is Forgiven," as I did (for Bess Armstrong), could tell you that, lol. John Steven Owen (RIP) was onto something when he created IHTBY as a Tracy/Hepburn-style romance for the '90's. (Remember, IHTBY premiered the same season as "Frasier," when intelligent, witty, character-driven comedy still had a place on network TV.) In order for Tracy/Hepburn-like romances to work, however, I think the couple has to have something in common, or something that keeps them in each other's orbit, or else it makes no sense for them to still be together after a certain point. For example, Sam and Diane had Cheers. David and Maddie ("Moonlighting") had the Blue Moon Detective Agency. Tony was Angela's live-in housekeeper on "Who's the Boss?". Even George and Katherine had little Webster! But what did Mitch Quinn have in common with Laura Scofield beyond renovating her office or whatever? And is THAT going to be the engine that keeps the series going long enough to go into syndication? Then, you add in the fact that Mitch was a widower with not one, not two, but THREE kids (and all boys). Sure, you could argue that a lot of humor could be gotten from someone like Laura, who's never been around kids, now having to adjust to being with a man with kids literally crawling over him, but THREE KIDS?? That's veering into Miller/Boyett territory; and that's also blending two styles of television comedy - specifically, romantic comedy and domestic/family comedy - that target different audiences with different sensibilities. When you do THAT, you're creating an identity crisis for your show, because just who exactly are we writing and producing this show FOR? ("Who's the Boss?" suffered from the same problem, IMO. Angela had the baggage of being a single mom when Tony as the single parent would have sufficed). At best, Mitch could've had just ONE kid, and maybe an older father figure in his household - his own father, or maybe his father-in-law - to serve as his sounding board as he navigates his relationship with Laura. Again, that doesn't really solve the series' central problem - what business do a book editor and a carpenter have being with each other? - but it does help to focus more on the rom-com aspects and, God willing, keep the second-act hug-and-learns with the overly precocious kids at bay.

It reminds me of when I came across this tea room/tattoo parlor in NYC. Even now, I can just imagine the kind of clientele they had at that place, lol.

Between "Mamie" and "Jazz" and "Kong" - not to mention the whole "he's passing himself off as a WHAT??" storyline with Tyrone - let's just say '80's Y&R could be rough going at times for its' more progressively minded viewers, lol. Re: Agnes Nixon and OLTL - I've always been fascinated as to why she didn't remain as involved with the show as she had with AMC and LOVING, even though she also sold AMC to the network. I'm sure she was kept abreast of everything happening on OLTL, but it seems like once she turned all her attentions to AMC, she remained hands-off with her first show. As soon as Gloria Monty knew that Tony Geary was staying and that he and Genie Francis had chemistry, she (and Pat Falken Smith) should have rewritten the rape as a mutual, if ill-advised, one night stand IMMEDIATELY.

I'm so proud of Zach Tinker for getting the hell away from soaps, lol.

To think: there was a time when rape, and especially acquaintance rape, was a "hot-button" issue most shows shied away from. Now, it's the button on a teaser scene from "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage."

Faye Dunaway in a sitcom. It's a memory I'll never be able to repress. They also co-created and show-ran "Scarecrow & Mrs. King" before Kate Jackson - another "difficult" actor - forced them out after the first 10 episodes. Fun fact: Eugenie Ross-Leming, a Second City veteran, was in the "Park Moms" scene in the movie "Baby Boom" with Diane Keaton, Dori Brenner and Jane Elliot (yes, THAT Jane Elliot). Ross-Leming is the brunette who's kvetching with the other Upper East Side NYC moms about making sure their toddlers get into the right pre-schools that will set them up for life. "Death & Taxes" sounds like a show about a tax auditor who also runs a funeral parlor. You're probably not wrong. The last season of DW was pretty [!@#$%^&*] awful.

When it came to RH, I think ABC made big mistakes in not allowing Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer to have Frank Ryan die after the first 13 weeks (as Labine and Mayer had planned) or to kill off Mary after Kate Mulgrew had departed the show.