P.J.

But I did bring up the subject. Honestly, you need an interactive dance card to keep track of the writers at certain points. And Broderick's situation is only slightly less weird that whoever was fired, and then asked back when they couldn't give the HW position away. (Was that Taggert?) I was scoping out the ATWT thread and there seemed to be a question of what might've happened if Marland had lived past '93. Someone said he might've been part of the shuffling that went on between P&G shows later. It started me wondering what might've been if he'd agreed to go back to GL in the mid-90's. I mean, as much as he wrote for the over the top Lucinda, I can't see him writing for Reva.

Welcome! Did you know you can get the translation on youtube? I think it's always Roger's arrogance that brings him down. in '90, he doesn't burn the deed to the Towers as soon as he got it from Ruth Price because he wanted to burn it in Billy's face. And after that blunder, he no longer wanted to be "Mr Spaulding", so he decided to embezzle from Alex before getting out. And because he was still plotting to build his "empire", he alienates both Hart and Blake. In '93, he manipulates Jenna's situation to stick it to Vanessa/Henry/A-M/Nick, and he's not satisfied with Jenna having Spaulding, he manipulates her too. But Roger is one of soap's most complex and fascinating characters. Why? I was wrong about her being HW in '94, and her time on GL is one unique position--subbing in for Curlee while on maternity leave. I think the first half of '93 is the end of a golden time for GL. And a lot of the troubles (Maureen's death, two bad Mindy recasts) she didn't have control over. I guess I would still complain that '93 is plot-point heavy, but the week of Frank & Eleni's wedding is nearly perfect, ending with Nadine getting a double whammy, confronted by Vanessa with the truth about Peter seemlessly playing into Harley confronting her about Buzz.

LOL...I checked, and in '94, everyone under the sun except Broderick is a HW. LOL. Yeah, I don't think the show was interested in AM/Gilly. Which is a shame, because Amelia and Rick had oodles of chem. Well, the character was only 17-18 when she appeared in town. Aside from being a contrast to the goody-two shoes Beth, Mindy was a younger version of Vanessa. Roger was always a "love the one you're with" kind of guy. Until there was something else he wanted. I'm not sure he loved Mindy as much as he needed the adoration she provided.

I haven't watched, but this is under Boderick, correct? On ATWT, I found her to be a very plodding type of HW, writing plot and semi-ignoring chemistry. I believe she wrote the more ridiculous side of Carly's $50 million dollar baby story, which kept changing the terms of the trust. ( I think she wrote the reveal on her way out.) JFP at this point was trying to save her job bringing Marcy Walker on, etc. so I'm sure a new actress wasn't high on her to-do list. I think a lot of Lucy's initial point was to rehabilitate Buzz as a father.

lol...I don't watch him long enough to notice. I stumbled across his first scenes, complete with cowboy hat, and OY. I do think a lot of pot-stirring characters get a new dimension when they get a true love, and stop scheming and manipulating for a bit.

Had Hearst stayed in the role, I hope that would've changed. On second thought, with two firecracker parents, maybe it was better that Dylan was calmer.

Alan-Michael may not have been the "next generation anchor", so to say, but he's eminently a better developed character than Dylan was. No, no one was asking for a son for Billy/Reva, but it was a "boom" moment, and a better way to give Billy a long lost child than the typical "oh hey, remember that ONS with some nameless chick?" that a lot of fathers ended up with. (John Dixon had two..) Even if the backstory doesn't quite add up. Reva's kids were little at the time, and there was such a gap between Mindy and Bill that it's a little more believable that at some point, Billy was gonna have a long lost kid show up. LOL...well, naturally he was better than Jon. Well, Alan-Michael was on nearly 10 years. Phillip had hit four marriages in the same time. (well, if you only count him as an adult. He'd married Mindy, India, Blake and Beth by 1992.) Alex and Lillian are the rare friends that lasted a long time, and never really stepped on each other's toes. I would still call Krista the definitive Mindy. I have come to appreciate Simms more lately. But the affair with Roger still skeeves me out.

I can appreciate what Morgan brought to the role. No, he's not the greatest actor, but I've seen plenty worse. That said, I do think he was an odd casting choice to play the son of Billy and Reva. Their son should've been the building block of the next generation, just like Alan-Michael. And he wasn't. Oh...gosh, Terrell Anthony is bad. And he and Krista Tesearu have no chemistry. NONE. And it's not because of her.

I've been known to have multiple tabs open for jumping between years or from English to German episodes. I blame my split personality. Lacey was definitely from a previous regime. She was already in town when Alan-Michael parachuted during the 50th anniversary week.

There were a couple that wouldn't play for me when I tried opening a new tab. Most have. Thanks! He and James Goodwin look so much alike. But neither are really interesting actors, so I don't think that new branch of Bauers would've amounted to much. Definitely! Or 5th Street's version of Nola. It's ironic that she first pals around with Dinah, Van's daughter. If Van had stayed in town in '88, that would've been an interesting dynamic.

Well, bonus--if I'm ever in the mood to watch all four seasons of Get Smart---I found that. Thanks!

Nevermind. I found some episodes where you don't. And y'all been holding out on me. I found 7-10-89 there in English! I could cry. (Billy and Van's first scenes on their returns...)

And goodness knows fact-checking has rarely been important in soap interviews. I also doubt the Cooper family was expanded around him....but I guess technically, I don't know who appeared first, him or Harley. I'm just going to ask---on the Internet Archive, isn't there such a thing as established playlists? It seems to be a disorganized hit or miss jumble. And if I want to watch episodes in the vault, I have to download them to my computer first?

Sigh...I know it's been more than 30 years, but you'd think he'd remember that Harley gave her baby up.

Because it is the 4th of July...favorite Bauer BBQ? For me, it's 1990. Ironically, people are avoiding the BBQ. Rick, Mindy, Beth and Phillip reminisce at Laurel Falls, Josh/Reva are down in the Keys, and the Lewis-Chamberlains are at HB's suffering from unrequited love. Ed and Mo spend the day arguing because Ed criticized Mo's potato salad. It's my favorite because Vanessa snarkily wishes Billy a happy independence day when he wants to keep his options open with Nadine, Ross is strolling around in a tank top, and by the end of episode, Holly accepts Ross' proposal, Billy has dumped Nadine and Vanessa tells him she wants to be married, and everyone's gathered in the backyard to sing. (I think it's "This Land is Your Land".)

Exactly! The writers seem to be trying to redefine relationships, and it makes them sound stupid. Vanessa and Alan worked together, she blackmailed him and he fired her more than once. She always knew he was a snake, and not to be trusted. Ross even says to her that she hasn't changed. WTH? You mean she hasn't changed from the days when she was accidently overdosing and borderline stalking him? Aye Carumba. It seems out of place to see Vanessa and Alex so light-hearted, but I can argue that they deserved a break from the angst. But at times it seems like Ross and Henry are treating her like a child. And not that Alex couldn't enjoy the simpler side of life, but being so giddy with HB seems a bit much. I appreciate the gravitas Don Stewart brought, but I can't see him and Bev having a spark.

It has something to do with the people Alan's mixed up with attacking both Lewis and Spaulding, and them kinda bonding over business. HB just gave Alex some hand carved figures, that reminded him of the whittling he did for Billy (cowboys and Indians) and Trish (animals) when they were young. He laments about how he didn't have time to do the same for Josh. It's just extremely odd. It seems (from the German episodes) that Vanessa is even saying that he should be careful because she doesn't trust Alex. (Vanessa blames Alan for Henry's latest heart attack, but how that translates to Alex I haven't figured out. Alan apparently either advised Henry badly or didn't step in when Vanessa thought he should have. He may have even helped swindle Henry somehow.) She had sort of a romance with Fletcher. But, y'all know how unimpressed I am with him. lol I can't imagine who I'd cast as a love interest for Alex. She's so dynamic, she'd run all over the wrong person without even trying.

In 1987, it's Warren's club, the Blue Orchid. (It preceeded the Blue Moon, which Hamp and Fletch owned in '90. Chelsea also sang there. LOUDLY.) Yes, Chelsea Reardon, played by Kassie (Wesley) de Paiva. No, they're trying to sell HB/Alex as a romance._

KZ? probably. Good grief, who thought HB and Alex would work? And now I remember why I hated Chelsea with a passion. She's singing practically from the moment she steps into town.

I know! I watched the one that was put up and picked it apart out of shear frustration. There are more today, but only one I was interested in.

I'm heartbroken. I was just watching last night before I went to bed.

Plus, Billy's Melinda Sue, even though she's not in town. I didn't think they used younger actors in the flashbacks. But I haven't seen it since it aired.

No problem. For some reason, I kind of stumbled on the particulars of the story just before you asked. So--serendipity. Some day, we'll have to discuss how it trashed the established history of Billy/Josh/Buzz/Alan and Ed...but it is truly a coincidence that most of the men have daughters/granddaughters whose names start with M.

Until I rewatched, I had never realized how violent Billy could be. There are three times when he's truly scary---throwing Reva out of HB's house when he catches her and Josh, this one, and when he goes after Jack Kiley after the hung jury in Vanessa's case. Jordan gets this eerie blank look on his face and he plays it like Billy is lost in rage. And physically, he's just so much more imposing than most men on the show.

I thought she laughed a little longer too. It doesn't seem to be any longer in the German episodes.