P.J.

Mark Harmon is someone you don't realize had hits/misses before NCIS. That's interspersed with TV movies playing Ted Bundy and Thomas Capano, Uncle Charlie in a remake of Shadow of a Doubt, and films like Summer School, The Presidio and remake of Freaky Friday (1977) Sam ('79) 240-Robert (with John Bennett Perry and Joanna Cassidy) ('81-'82) Flamingo Road ('83-'86) St Elsewhere ('87) Moonlighting* recurring, infamously Maddy's baby daddy ('91-'93) Reasonable Doubts ('95-96) Charlie Grace ('96-'00) Chicago Hope ('03-'20) NCIS

oh, Crampton was just so terribly cast. I think better of Keifer and Dusay, but the writing declined precipitously after Curlee's departure.

Well, full disclosure, Nola/Kelly/Morgan was the story that hooked me as a preteen. And at the time, I was reading adult romances (rapemances) that wouldn't sell today, not to mention eagerly awaiting the latest from VC Andrews. As much as these things should've always been questioned, I know it's today's optics that make them squeamish. (I'm sure anything "entertainment" had been doing similar since the dawn of man.) I don't think Marland was doing anything more than reacting to the times.

i don't quite get the timing of Marland's remarks. Vigard was only in the role for about a year and a half. She and Jennifer arrived shortly before Vanessa in 1980. Kelly and Morgan are married in August of 81. So, obviously, Kelly and Morgan marrying was the goal. Not that it really matters. The double standard re: Kelly is egregious, especially, as he's the one then turning around and screwing Nola. If there's a moral to the tale, it's Nola winding up pregnant, and having to grow up, and not making the mistake of marrying the patsy who she doesn't love and ruin both their lives.

I miss the shows so much around the holidays. I think ATWT more, because they had a stronger sense of holiday traditions.

Happy Thanksgiving! Damn I still miss the cutting of the Hubbard Squash.

If I had to choose, yes, Sherry definitely blew me away as Blake. Keifer's Blake was less jagged and self-destructive. But I think the audience accepted her readily, in part because of the physical similarity to SS and because SS quickly moved on in her career with NYPD Blue and then ER. I know you mean Judi Evans. Personally, I like BC's first run better than her second, where Beth turns into a neurotic mess. That the audience accepted her and Kimberly Simms as part of the Musketeers so easily is either because they made it work, or maybe that the audiences were less critical at the time. (Although the massive failure of someone like Glynnis O'Connor as Margo around that time suggests otherwise.)

You mean a fan fic? I wouldn't be offended. Your work, your rules. If you believe in it, go for it.

Oh, yeah....that's really not what I got out of Kelly/Morgan. Granted I was that teen, and I probably didn't see either them having sex or most of Morgan's "suffering", which probably refers to her rape. Uhm, and how come no one at Standards and Practices seemed concerned about a grown ass man having sex with a 17 year old? A very immature 17 year old at that?

Why would you recast Amelia Marshall? All they probably had to do was ask her back. Morons. Getting her back might've gone a long way to viewers accepting Tillford (who I'd forgotten about.).

Guiding Light had a string of successful recasts in the late 80's-early 90's. Kimberly Simms as Mindy, Beth Chamberlain as Beth, Sherry Stringfield as Blake and Rick Hearst as Alan-Michael. I'd even add Liz Keifer as Blake.

I'm not sure what they call those storms in the Mediterranean, but that's where the storm was. Mark and Amanda go there, and Mark is washed overboard and feared dead. They had a very deadly storm in Spain last year that caused severe flooding inland, which you don't really think would happen.

While I agree it's a bit of a head scratcher, and I'm sure the conclusion would've been different had Marland stayed, it gives Amanda and Vanessa something to sink their teeth into. I wonder if it also wasn't a way to cut back Chris Bernau's workload. We don't know how his health was at the time.

Nadine shifts under Long. Before Vanessa's arrival, Nadine is an social climbing opportunist who's ambitious enough to go at Alan. She's not going to win, obviously, but she's also gaining Ross' sympathy, and his bed. After Vanessa returns, Nadine is completely self-absorbed, and 3/4 nitwit.

There's a point where Alan and Henry step away from Spaulding and give their voting rights to their daughters. B.ut no. There was some kind of joint venture (as best as I can understand it) where they were drilling for oil off the Spanish coast when a massive storm hit. The rigs were lost. Because Lewis didn't have enough insurance, (which is hinted at as being Billy's fault), both companies are going to go down. The only way to save them is through some kind of deal where Spaulding takes on Lewis' portion of the insurance. Amanda won't do it, which leads to a shareholder fight. both Henry and Alan takes their voting rights back. Vanessa tries blackmailing Quint for his proxy so she can get a VP position, from either Alan or Amanda. Quint gives it to her, and she promises it to Amanda. Quint then blackmails Vanessa over the Jocelyn electronics deal, (where she and Henry took a kickback) and takes it back. Quint votes for Henry's side, and Vanessa gets the VP from Alan, because it looks like she swayed him to vote for Henry/Alan. Whatever it was, exactly, it wasn't a Lewis-Spaulding merger. Later, in 1988, Phillip uses the Lewis's and the promise of a merger to kick Alan out of the company. Around 2000, Phillip does acquire Lewis Oil, but I'm not exactly sure how. The Lewis's then concentrate on construction, I guess.

LTA didn't fail, and wasn't absorbed by Spaulding. LTA was profitable under Josh, Billy schemed his way into it, and HB made it merging into Lewis Oil some weird test of family bonding (before and after he married Reva).

Hate might be a reach, but Marland may have found Morgan a bit frustrating to write for. She's like sixteen, and wasn't written like a font of wisdom (that I remember anyway) unlike the tendency with teens in later years. She also had to be gullible to Nola's machinations. And maybe, if the rumors are true and Kristen V was coming to work underprepared, it carried over to his writing. It's hard for me to judge now, I'm not really interested in the Morgan part of the story. It's Nola that I gravitate to.

Poor Van---I love her, but in her early days, she was Wile E Coyote, and everyone else was the Roadrunner. When morally bankrupt Mark Evans dumps you, OY VEY. I don't mind GL doesn't have a lot of villainesses, and tried to keep their characters from going over some imaginary line they couldn't come back from.

No, GL didn't have that bitch, that woman who schemed and didn't care who got hurt. Of Marland's creations, it was Nola but only up to her meeting Quint. Vanessa stirs up trouble, she's snooty and mean-spirited, but her manipulations are more impulsive than thought out schemes. (aside from blackmailing Alan over the affair with Rita.) I'd say Nola did a lot more damage around town than Van, but that's just me. Reva could've been that, but of course, Long dug into her sob story past and made her just "accidently" destructive. Alex was that bitch, but she wasn't cruel (at least arguably until the Mindy stuff, really), India was a schemer, but never had enough power; Calla was cold and grasping, but never really did damage. Early Blake was on that road, until she wasn't. Nadine---she played with lives, a little like early Nola. But she was too much of a ditz to truly be considered that bitch. I hate her, but she's not really cunning enough to make the list. Annie, Carmen, Dinah (Moniz and Tognoni, obviously), Olivia (until they gutted her to be Natalia's love interest)....and maybe Beth in some of her more off-her beam times(?) are who I'd name. Other than Lucille and Diane, GL's members of the Bitch Hall of Fame. Claire, when she turned psycho.

Vanessa and Ross are definitely sleeping together before Jennifer's retrial in Jan '81. According to recaps, Ross tried getting into Evie's bed around the time of Rita's party. Vanessa interrupted them and told him that Evie was too boring for him. Vanessa and Ed don't start dating until after her suicide attempt in March '81. It just seems odd to me Vanessa wouldn't have crossed with either Holly or Rita. Although unless all those episodes become available, we won't know for certain. Speaking of, I'd love to find Van and Nola's first meeting.

I can't get over Nola talking to Kevin Bacon. :) And about Rita's infamous party, no less! Then there's Ross, mustache-twirling as he maneuvers Amanda into his web....

I think in '07ish, when Scott was back in the role, the story was that Craig had embezzled money from her and hadn't been paying her medical bills. I don't remember if Paul had briefly also been in a coma, but there was something about him having "heard" her trying to contact him, which is why he went to Switzerland and brought her home. But yes, somewhere along the way, she lost her wealth and Cabot Motors.

There's something about Maureen's eyes that are right. I think it's her jawline that's off. Jaime Lyn is just all wrong.

I'm pretty sure it was Johnny. Jen then named her son John Dustin.

I don't think the show did much exciting for sweeps.