P.J.

I'm not sure Kobe/Long didn't appreciate Nola. Long, for all her strengths, wasn't good at writing for the "happily ever after" phase of any relationship.

Of course there should've always been a place for Nola in Springfield. Nola might've retained more edge under Marland's writing, but I'm not sure she would have. He's the one who started Quint/Nola. And the fantasies. I'm not sure how edgy you can keep a daydreamer.

Kim seems like someone who makes up her own mind.

In Wheeler's (limited) defense, I'd have rather seen the Coopers than random newbie kids like Rafe, Ashley and Ava. Had Aubrey Dollar stuck around, I would've gladly watched her Marina.

Oh, how I wish we'd gotten to see Ross deal with his teenage sons. I loved his relationships with Phillip and Sam, but he really deserved to be seen with his own kids (other than the horror that became Dinah). The boys simply disappeared off canvas after either the Nursery Stalker or the affair with Tori.

Neither Maeve or Beverlee was going to eat into Kim's airtime. Beverlee was (arguably) already a living soap legend when she came on the show, and even Kim wouldn't have had the balls to diss her. Alex operated in a different sphere than Reva, for most of the time she and Bev's times overlapped on the show. While I never got the impression that Maeve and Kim were bosom buds, I can't recall any rumors they didn't get along. In spite of the fact Van and Reva were involved heavily with the Lewises, they aren't really directly rivals. Billy was the big thorn in Reva's side initially. The only time Van and Reva were (truly) romantic rivals was briefly over Alan, and by that time, it must've been known that Maeve was leaving. When Kim comes back, Maeve's big story is with ****. It might be interesting to know if Kim resented how well Van/**** went over with fans (not this one, but whatev...lol) , while Reva's initial return was viewed as a mess. But, that of course is all speculative on my part.

Reading the recaps is like watching an accident in slow motion, and not being able to stop it. No, the Clone and FauxAnnie aren't the worst stories ever, but they just signal the progression that's coming. This is really the point that Blake/Ross should've ended. Ben ruined them. Blake thinking Ross would return home and immediately sleep with her was just stupid. And then she expects Ben to help her with the custody thing. Both men should've told her to ***off.

Thanks. I didn't know about it. It's.....bad. But knowing Mikey could do those moves is...fun.

Watching those 79 episodes is chilling. It just reinforces what a dangerous creep Roger was. Rita having a nightmare about Roger ironically previews the Hall of Mirrors at the end of the year. ETA.. "Creep" is a euphanism. He is a predator, plain and simple.

I totally get the "your Michelle" thing. It really took me until the rewatch to appreciate Kimberly Simms' Mindy. "My Mindy" is always Krista Tesearu.

The writing has to take it's share of the blame re: Budig's Michelle. I'm not sure even Lenz would've been the Michelle I'd envisioned, but she comes closest to it. But Michelle never really escaping the mob influence before being shipped out of town was disappointing to me. Of course, I was beyond caring by the time St Alban leaves, but still.

I've only seen her on GL and GH...but I never found Budig very likeable in those roles. I can't imagine her having chemistry with PAS either. I didn't think PAS was exciting in the role, but lord knows plenty of Mannys must have.

I guess I just blanked on them being father/son, and I probably skipped all the Marcus related parts in your summaries. Beth ever being involved at Spaulding just proved whoever was writing at the time never had a clue about who she was. At the end in '09, she's gearing up to be a corporate lawyer (or something) and it's just borderline ridiculous.

Wait---Griffin was Marcus' father? So Gilly had a brother she never met? This was when I actively started disliking Beth. Chamberlain's second run is pretty much a string of patheticness. And I'm sure those two business wannabes thinking they could drive Vanessa out of Spaulding made sense to them---but child, please.

Can Greg Vaughn act? Because I think Nicole deserves a Hot Guy Winter. That was a nice shout out to Kristoff St John, mentioning Neil. I gave up Y&R a long time ago, but Neil was always a favorite.