P.J.

Revisit as in how? No, they never dated again. When Josh came back in '93, he did try and see if Harley was still interested, and she wasn't. She was involved with Mallet by then and she dragged him for having left her the way he did. (He wrote her a letter and then they broke up over the phone.)

Well, arguably, so did I. But Michelle and Drew came later. Bridget, Kat and Julie were the next group of teen girls, and I liked Bridget and Kat very much.

While I liked Samantha, I understood why she disappeared. She was just a little too naive and sedate for a teen. Jackie's daughter should've been a sparkplug, and instead she was this bookish idealist who talked weird. I do think Grant leaving affected her situation, not to mention a bad Justin recast. Phillip and Sam interacted a little bit from what I've seen, but she spent much more time in Alan-Michael and Harley's sphere. I think Pam Long was right, it was out of character for Mindy to have had an affair with Roger. Although I don't know what the point of a ONS would've been, unless she had immediately gotten pregnant. I'm sure Billy would've blown his stack realizing his first grandchild would've been Roger's child. Granted, the big reveal of the affair is terrific and spins characters into different directions, but we also know it ends up grating on Bev McKinsey somewhat. It was weird that Billy got the Towers, which was supposed to have commercial space and apartments (Mindy makes a stink and refuses to live there after Billy got it) yet the only characters who ever had an apartment there (that I can recall) are Justin and Sam. It just mainly became where the Towers restaurant was located.

Ditto. The Wisconsin Bauers were epically bad. The actors who played Jack and Lainie weren't bad actors, but written badly. The girl who played Lacey was green as grass and beyond wooden. (Good Lord, who named these people, not realizing Ross' sister was also Lainie? Granted, she wasn't a huge character...but it's not like there weren't a multitude of other names to pick from.)

@DeeVee oh, gotcha. i can see the argument either way, but I never have.

What attempt am I forgetting? The one after Kyle and Maeve's wedding is the only one I recall before the cancer one. I mainly think the cancer was another Emmy bait story for Kim. I certainly can't disagree with those who found it insulting that Reva would've rather wreck her marriage than just tell Josh she was sick. And unsurprisingly, she dumps all her crap on Billy, who not only takes care of her, but I think offers to marry her. RME. I don't rewatch it per se, but came across some of her stuff with Jordan, and he's the only reason I would give two [!@#$%^&*] about that Shayne tramp.

It was me, and I recognize that those kids had fans too (and they were part of the cast family). I wasn't suggesting their guarantees not be used, just that they didn't need to stay until the last day. Not to pick on Ashlee, but why that kid was around after Coop started banging Beth, I don't know. She sure didn't need to be stuck kinda randomly in a scene with Vanessa and Dinah on Dinah's wedding day. At least IMO.

Yep. But because Reva didn't want to tell anyone about her cancer (because of course...RME) , I think Billy and Jon were the only ones who got tested. *and don't forget her granddaughter was in town too.

@DeeVee I didn't like the "Alan needed redemption" story anyway. (did they really need to invent some "original shame" for him? He'd betrayed everyone in his life.) But yeah, you might've thought someone could've mentioned Sam or even the Marler twins (who would've been older than James) as possible donors. Wilder medical coincidence? That Billy would've been a match for Reva, except his marrow was damaged from his years of drinking.

Personally, by that time, I was burned out with Harley and her multitude of issues. Which is sad, considering how much I had loved the character before Gus ruined her. (*or how TIIC ruined the character at the end.)

Okay, theoretically, of those who didn't return, who would've meant the most to viewers at the end? I vote for Jerry, undoing the horrible "Rick and Phillip accidently killed Ross" story.

they just didn't have the budget. How they got Grant back before they knew they were canceled was nigh on miraculous. I wish they had ended the extraneous stories and concentrated the stories down. A lot of the younger characters could've gotten their happy wrap up and blown town early instead of hanging around to the last day.

Oh, I'm sure it's Lisa's impulse to blow a kiss to the set of the Reardon kitchen. I don't think any of those writers knew who the [!@#$%^&*] the Reardons were, aside from dumbass **** . I'm not sure I give Wheeler any credit for people coming back---I think a lot of actors felt connected to the show and their castmates. I think it's Maeve who said Lisa came back because she was still there. And Jerry said he wanted to, but couldn't.

They didn't have a plan on how to make her crazy so Reva could reclaim Joshua? Quelle suprise.

I remember the Roger and Holly story being very controversial. I don't think there was a "push" for them to reunite, but there were always fans who thought they should. There's no arguing that Maureen and Michael were fascinating to watch, but I don't think the story of them reuniting went over well, or ever would have no matter who wrote it.

1. I don't think anyone liked Nola's story. Viewers who hadn't watched her first run wouldn't have understood why she had been so adored. Viewers who knew her were let down on multiple levels--no Quint, no kids, and a depressing story. I don't even think she spars with Vanessa that much, and newer viewers wouldn't have understood that dynamic either, or how much Vanessa had changed since those days. 2. I think I recall Dinah/Hart/Cassie dividing the viewers. Dinah and Hart had been through a lot and just kind of thrown away for the flavor of the month Cassie. I'm not sure anyone really saw Hart as a prize, but Bridget had been a fan favorite, and pushed along into the role of also-ran for Dinah/Hart. Then presto, in walks a leggy blonde and Hart can't drop Dinah fast enough. Being pre-internet, I'm not sure it qualified as a fan war, but it was probably was for GL. And Cassie and LW were kind of a flashpoint for fans. Dinah/Hart fans resented her, Danny/Michelle fans hated her so much that GL scrapped some kind of story for Danny/Cassie (LW and PAS had worked together on Loving/The City) and then Richard/Cassie fans became loud and vocal. (or obnoxious, depending on your POV) 3. I just remember how bad-boy wannabe Jesse was. God, what a horrible actor.

Any role would've been more interesting than Eve Guthrie. I'm surprised they would've offered FH the role, when she seems a lot more of a glamour puss. Both Josh and Trish arrived in '81, Trish around June and Josh in October. Trish was also involved with Mike Bauer, although that never seemed more than going out to dinner and a few kisses.

I think I was more focused on the word "repressed". As in, everything is so super serious, and the minute anyone strays from the straight and narrow, there's bad things happening and consequences. With Vanessa, after Billy jilts her, she can't have some hot little affair. Nope, she sleeps with one of Billy's clients and not only does he immediately start threatening to go after custody, Henry is scowling at her and Bill's angry because he knows she's going out. And then she's nearly raped and drifts into a dull and listless relationship with Fletcher, who is practically proposing marriage a week after the trial ends. Yes, it's beautifully written and Vanessa's POV is front and center about how she's got tons of responsibility and she has to work twice as hard to get the same respect her male colleagues do. Not that there aren't consequences for Billy because of his drinking, but no one really disapproves of his relationship with Nadine. They acknowledge he's free to screw whoever he wants. Obviously, story is built on actions and consequences, but there wasn't a lot of fun times sometimes. Honestly, I revere Marland, and Curlee's stock has risen in my eyes since rewatching '89-'93. (I honestly believe that Vanessa gets a soft reboot largely in part to Curlee, who had been there in the early '80's and knew Vanessa and Billy inside and out.) But there were times his ATWT was dark, and while I can't recall Curlee's GL being as dark, there were times it drifted in that direction. I can appreciate short-term characters and the spark they give to storyline. But Jenna wasn't intended to have her arc and leave---they kept giving her silly story after silly story.

I can't exactly argue with that idea. Sometimes it seemed like they only reason characters got noble was to further the plot. What drives me crazy about the Nadine/Billy/Van triangle is how Nadine makes a chump out of the both of them. Even when Van dumps Fletch (YAY!) and wants her man back, Nadine pulls out the weakest damn argument (because Nadine's pregnant, wouldn't it be the loving thing for Van to do to not tell Billy that she wants him back....RME) But I still love the Curlee era.

I think it's because she saw right through him. (at least when they return to town in '89.) Roger was able to pull the wool over other women's eyes. They fall for the hurt little boy, who convinces them that only she could possibly really understand him. Plus, Holly is the only one who can offer him redemption, which he craves but doesn't really want to work for.

If you're speaking in the strictest sense, and asking if Van would make the first move to form a friendship...probably not. Van was a little too reserved to ask for help or offer her assistance out of the blue. If you're just asking if Van would've been Holly's friend, the answer's yes. In fact, they had started to be friendly when Holly encouraged Van to pursue the charges against Jack Kiley when Van was ready to give up. Holly then put a crimp in it when she outted Ross and Blake's affair. Van didn't approve of hurting either Ross or Blake that way. They were both very upfront and direct women. And business women in fields dominated by men. You could even argue they fell for self-destructive men.

I admit, I'm not sure what drives Holly. I don't think she wanted to be with Roger really. I think she understood that it was an obsession, and not love. But when she has chances at love, she thinks she doesn't deserves it, so she self-sabotages and gets more obsessed with Roger, if that makes any sense.

Well, Michael sold Roger having compassion for Vanessa in spite of their history in those scenes in Switzerland. Maybe not enough to show up and hammer some nails later, but in some private moment between them. Even though it makes zero sense for Vanessa to even speak to him after the crap he pulled on Henry. Yes, GL had filmed overseas. But not since 1982. Although honestly, has any soap filmed outside the US since the 90's, other than B&B? Did Hart really deserve a funeral? The magic ball says....NO. I'm not sure the show was obsessed with Switzerland, but it was somewhere Vanessa had gone before. I believe she went to private schools there, and when she walked out on Billy in '84, she spent the last months of her pregnancy there.

LOL...**** always was an idiot. *sigh* if only they'd freed her from him, I'd have been so happy.

Well, didn't we know Nola would raise a brat? There are so many times I wanted Van to tear people new pieholes, but she'd become too much of a lady for that. I had just remembered that HB's funeral was just after Vanessa returned home and thought he had died thinking she had died. HB's funeral was better. Good grief, I watched some of Phillip's funeral, and they had a 5 minute sad montage of Phillip clips with a melancholy version of Hold on to Love in the background.