P.J.

I don't like a lot about this era. The writing, the tone, the casting---not a lot of it feels like Guiding Light to me. (ATWT is also going through a rough patch. There's a malaise at P&G, apparently) As hard as they tried to give me reason to like ****, I never do. He's the equivalent of Chelsea, a Reardon-in-name-only. **** doesn't have any defining characteristics---he's simply written to be the working class schmo, of the Harlequin romance variety, who's going to heal Van's heart. It may not be KMcK's fault that's the way I see him (or that his character was written), but I also don't find anything about his acting that stands out. **** doesn't do anything. It's not his fault the relaunch of the Reardons fell flat, and both Nola and Bridget are gone leaving him with only Van's circle of family and friends to interact with. (and even that is sparse.) But it really makes him totally extraneous. A fact not lost years later on Wheeler, who pretty much consigns Matt to the dustbin and hell of being Dinah's occasional talk-to. I wouldn't go as far as @DRW50 and say **** ends up defining Vanessa, but all he's really there to do is lecture Vanessa and make her feel insecure. Vanessa F-in Chamberlain knows herself, and doesn't need **** okaying when she goes back to work, or judging how much time she's spending with Maureen (newsflash, dickhead, babies crawl for months) or how she deals with Dinah. (The Vanessa I know would not have put up with Dinah's crap either, not when she'd raised Bill entirely differently, but whatever. I'd argue Dinah does a lot more to weaken and redefine Vanessa, while **** is just the parasite occupying Van's bed, but that's me.) Vanessa had fought death off twice, **** can take his lifecoaching duties and shove them. You're right---Jordan is not on a lot during this time. I don't think he's even formally recurring until after Maeve departs, as (I assume) TPTB have reestablished a trust in him, and Billy is there to anchor Bill (GL especially seems to believe any child needs at least one parent in town, if at all possible). At first they used him for the nostalgia factor, and sort of like a trump card when it made story sense. A lot of what went on with the clone didn't make sense, and wouldn't have worked if Billy had constantly been in town and questioning WTF was wrong with Reva. The only realistic alternative at this time would've been Ross, but for multitudes of reasons, that wasn't possible. I would've cast someone new, a successful business man who would've challenged Van on multiple levels. I'm not sure Justin would've worked, as the OG Justin really wasn't a fan of Vanessa's either. Maybe this would've been the time to cast a suave Dietrich Lindsey to stir Springfield up and challenge Spaulding's media division. I can't really think of an established character from the past that would've worked. Phillip and Vanessa's relationship is mostly a function of their work, in spite of the fact he was briefly married to her stepdaughter, the mother of his cousin and she was briefly engaged to his father. The only time they interact on a more direct level is when Roger is first worming his way into Spaulding. Vanessa is wary of Roger's influence on Blake, and tries warning Phillip, which he ignores. And when Roger manipulates Vanessa's firing, Phillip really stands up for her with Alexandra, to no avail. Manny Rassie (or way down on the list) ***ressa fans who I don't recall being toxic, just simply vocal (and IMO, misguided) or at least able to convince TIIC they were. How the network's smallest viewership manipulated SID polls to consistently get them and later Manny in the top five was always a bit fishy.

I think Robert was brought back due to Jordan's abrupt departure. It can't be coincidence that Josh's return coincides with Geoffrey Scott's debut as Billy. Especially when Josh hadn't been back for Billy and Van's wedding just a few weeks before.

I know the budget must be incredibly tight, but I can't help but wonder how much better this show would be with some more established actors in these roles. Particularly the men. The only standout is Andre, and honestly, if there were 10+ shows on the air, he'd have been only middling in a pack of industry newcomers.

I do wonder if, when all was said and done, Kim would've traded San Crud for some really good writing. Ah, if only Van and Ross had turned to each other. Even if Maeve had still left, at least Vanessa could've shed herself of that parasite. It's hard for me to separate my feels about Reva into eras. Earlier Reva might not be sanctimonious, exactly, but I find her incredibly self-centered.

LOL...while I find him a dullard, and a complete waste of Vanessa's time, you'd have to FF to like '06/'07. It must be '07...JvD's last year is '06. Van and **** leave in '00, and it's not until after JvD leaves that Maeve makes more regular appearances.

I think it was as much due to not wanting to sully **** up. His rather shady past (coughcabanaboycough) along with some unwitting dupe in a black market ring, or whatever it was, meant he now had to be squeaky clean for the fangurl fantasy set. Blake and Ross could be dirtier, simply because they had established histories to fall back on. Better writers might've given **** some kind of purpose outside of Vanessa, but these hacks simply wanted to keep the fanbase happy. Keeping Beth rootable was probably part of it too. They'd already made her into a bad mother. Couldn't also be a homewrecker, I guess.

I didn't see it as Van being "cold", but being principled. Had it been some kind of personal favor that Holly had asked for (ie, talking to Fletcher, or whatever) that would've been different. In Van's mind, as long as the reporting was accurate and not sensationalistic, she couldn't step in (as I remember). I can't recall Holly ever shying away from reporting the news when it involved her friends. As befits Vanessa's relationship with ****, it's all shallow nonsense, with no real character development or consequence. ****'s just being the "perfect" understanding husband, while Van's all reactionary and "unreasonable" over ****'s compassion for the poor downtrodden Beth. RME. **** is sharing private feelings with another woman. He's getting his ego stroked by that simpering snot-nosed cow. He would be livid if the tables had turned and Van was sharing intimate details of their marriage with Billy or Ross. And since I know what happens, I am unsurprised that ****'s principles fly out the window (if he ever had any, he is a sucking vortex of plot over character) when he thinks he's justified. I'm only surprised GL didn't justify a ****/Beth affair and make Van beg for her marriage back. Then again, they were already doing this with Blake/Ross, and whatever chem ****/Beth had didn't light the world on fire. Neither KMcK or BC was a real chemistry magnet, and there's rarely a point in two boring saps having an affair.

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.

OH....I would've been falling down laughing to witness that!

It is the thing I think I miss most since the shows were canceled, discussing it with other fans.

I would've thought for the first big holiday, they would've had most of the Duprees in the same room. And not stuffed the dining room with random extras. I get that money-wise, the extras cost less, but geez.