P.J.

No kidding. A-M should've been a bigger presence in Springfield. They really should've recast him at some point. I'm not sure they ever said what Lainie Marler had---they could've given Ross a nephew Bridget's age.

I was trying to think of any male from the past they could've brought in for Bridget, and couldn't think of anyone.

oh...if only...

I think Bridget could've been a sassier version of Mo...but Rick? eeeee...not seein' it. This is where, if Vanessa had had a bigger family, she could've had a nephew (not related to Bridget) for Bridget to fall for.

I know what Vanessa said (honestly, I wouldn't trust Holly or Blakes's assessment of the man). But this is the same man who still in '96-ish was coercing a dying woman for a secret to topple the Spauldings. Vanessa was not perfect. But she surely knew the mayhem Roger caused in the name of loving someone.

I just keep thinking of Fred Mertz. Sorry.

LOL...I just had to say it---OGReva was annoying and selfish!

Yep. Strange coinkydink--or yet another case of some writer not knowing history. Poor Hillary---no one ever had the urge to name a kid after her. *wahh wahmp*

Upon reflection, RJ must've been born before Hart died. I think Cassie gave birth with Dinah's assistance? It started before Marland. Although I think Alan-Michael is clever. Some poor schmuck almost doomed Rick as Freddy/Frederick. The only kids who escaped fate were those given up for adoption. Dinah, Dylan, Daisy/Susan.

I didn't need to see Roger dote on his grandchildren. It would've ended up just like his kids--either his excuse to run rampant trying to build a "legacy" for them or a way for him to manipulate people. He could declare his love for his kids/grandkids all day long and twice on Sunday---he wasn't capable of love. And speaking of, the fact Cassie named her kid with Hart Roger Joshua is just stupid. Hart hated his father. (To be honest, I'm assuming it was born after Hart died, but I'm not sure.) If they wanted to have a kid with going by "RJ", she could've named it for Rusty (Russell), her brother.) I don't think Nola's presence hurt Bridget. I think Bridget literally outlasted everyone she interacted with from the time she arrived in town. They were either fired, left, or in the process of leaving. And the IIC failed to move her into other stories with other characters. Literally, from the time Bridget arrived, Maureen and Nadine died, Hart was recast at least three times, Julie, Kat and David left (and that recast was unsuccessful), Ed and Vanessa are floating in and out of town, Dylan (the only guy who really dug her) left, Michelle was recast, and Roger was recast and then left town. The failure to relaunch Nola certainly didn't help (and **** and J certainly wasn't strong enough characters to help anchor the Reardons in town again). But there should've been story for Bridget for eons. The Vanessa/Bridget/Roger angle alone should've been a gold mine. And imagine Bridget and Dinah going hammer and tongs not over Hart, but for Vanessa's approval. That Bridget never got a serious love interest (uhm, Dylan isn't exactly a chem machine) is a travesty.

God...Jonathan Randall 3.0? *shivers at the thought*

That kid wasn't actually Cassie's biological child, was he? Wasn't he Alonzo's son, and that's why Cassie let him take the kid back to San Cristobel? Or something? Wasn't there a claim on here that Cassie was intended to be a major rival for Reva but Kim wanted them to not be at odds? @DRW50 I don't recall that, but I can see Kim saying that. Especially after the Annie stuff. Of course, it would've been more interesting if Reva had a sister who couldn't stand her...but what Kim wanted, Kim got a lot of the time. At least, according to the rumor mill. Oh, and in that case, Rauch wasn't wrong. ****ressa fans got the endless damsel in distress plots, which ultimately (I believe) backfired and made Matt expendable when Maeve left. **** fans could've had their empty-headed lout ****toy for years.

Carly had also interacted with Lisa and the Snyders, (I believe it was her first tour where Emma famously compared her to an onion), but as Guiding Light has shown us, new regimes seem to shy away from bringing back characters. Anyway, and not to derail the thread, it's amazing how the right return can energize a show. Thanks again @alwaysAMC

"cheerleader energy"...*snorts milk through nose* YEP. Shakin' pom-poms and all. Now that you say that, Reva and Roxie always had a grittiness to them. Laura and Nicole Forrester sure didn't embody that Shayne vibe. (yes, she's not tecnically a Shayne...but still...)

I'm surprised they didn't at least try to get Michael Tylo back, for either Van's return or the birth of Maureen. But honestly, other than Trish and Mindy, I can't think of anyone who wasn't on canvas that Van had been really close to over the years, who wasn't there.

Wow...'93? I had not realized it was so long ago. Oh---and now that I think about it, even Fletch deserved a moment, even as much as I hated his brief affair with Van. lol...which is probably the nicest thing I've said about Fletch in ages. OMG... even thinking about Maura and Wendy Moniz facing off. LOL...I guess Cassie must not have been originally conceived as a good girl. 'Cause there ain't no way P&G would've slotted Maura in that role after her initial run as Carly.

WHAT NOW? Maura was in the running for Cassie? OH BOY HOWDY...if Kimmy had issues with Cynthia stealing her thunder, she'd have had a meltdown with Maura acting rings around her...but I digress. Frank Grillo caught like a deer in headlights as Maura acted would've been HELLA FUNNY. Thanking the soap gods this didn't happen and Maura went back to ATWT. I don't recall Matt really having a point of view outside of Vanessa really either. That's why he's a one-dimensional "hero" just set up as Van's steadfast stud service. If the entire point of that romance was the Harlequin romance/wish department for women of a certain age, why not flip the entire older/younger scenario and have Matt be jealous over Ross or Billy and realize that he needs to improve himself to be worthy of her? Instead it lapsed into Van worrying over the likes of Beth Raines. (say what you will, but Beth is already bordering on mentally unstable by this time) I didn't mind Laura Wright as much then, but now it's clear she went to the KZ school of chewing scenery.

There's a point where GL (and soaps in general) stopped caring about those little character moments that just meant so much to viewers. Nola being there would've called back to the only truly "nice" moment Van and Nola ever had on screen (well, two if you count how Nola is the one hugging Van when she's devastated by her diagnosis, but I digress.) Van has Bill via c-section, and then later nearly dies in Van's arms when he stops breathing because the doctors didn't catch that he had a heart murmur. (this is what made Van overanxious and led to her pill addiction, but again, I digress..) Nola visits Van in the hospital, and relates the story of Stacy's birth and how the doctors/books don't prepare you for things that happen that aren't anyone's fault. I'd have much rather seen Nola gushing over little Maureen and acknowledging how much Van went through than see Jenna snotting tears.

Bryan is flippin' adorable as Little Bill. If you ever get to back to '89, he's just a great little kid. He's not cutey pie almost-annoying as Ashley Peldon's Marah, and he's really the bridge that keeps Van and Billy in each other's lives. The wrters could've justified it as Ross stepping back because he knew Van was annoyed with him--but this may also be around the time Jerry was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I can't seem to find when that was with a quick persual of the 'net.

I don't know when that crap with Jenna developed. When I stop watching in '93, Jenna (with Roger's help) has hornswaggled Spaulding out from underneath the Chamberlains and the Spauldings, and Van snipes at Jenna at the Frank/Eleni wedding about how she wouldn't be welcome there. I don't know if it was in the wake of Henry's death, or maybe Jenna miscarrying Roger's baby, or even some unlikely bond over Nola's antics. But it just makes zero sense to me that Van would have accepted that woman as a friend in such a short period of time. It took Van years to trust Blake, if she ever truly did. And then there's Buzz, who was an oily con man in '93, helping Nadine keep the Peter secret...getting special access (even if it's as Jenna's husband--were they ever married? I'm not sure.) UGH...and NOLA's not even there? When the child is named for her sister and there's been at least a thaw between Nola and Van? [!@#$%^&*] THESE PEOPLE. I'm outraged decades later...lol.

It has to be (if not the last appearance) near the very end of Bryan Buffinton's run as Bill. Which is very sad to me. I get that you have to let child performers go sometime, but there's a lot of history with that little guy. And he was a much better actor than Ryan Brown. I just recall the entire set up being very segmented. People from Vanessa's "old" life waiting out in the hall (I'm not even sure if Ross is there, or was just mentioned as getting a call), and her "new" life (plus Bill) sobbing at her bedside. Sobbing Jenna and Buzz are in that room, while Billy is in the hall. Utter bullshit. They could've at least sprinkled some flashbacks in there showing her other relationships. I wish they'd handled Maureen's visit entirely differently, with Mo reminding Vanessa that she had always been a fighter and loved her children too much to simply give up without another one. Her entire focus being Matt and Dinah (with Bill and even little Maureen barely an afterthought) is really symbolic of what Van had been reduced to. Which is really why Matt and Dinah should've screwed much earlier, or Matt and Beth, with Vanessa realizing she'd sensed/feared all along that Matt was not a long term thing.

Lisa Brown's wasn't. She was pregnant IRL while Iva dated Kirk. Iva later got pregnant by John, resulting in Matthew John.

Carter Bowden. When Vanessa comes to town, Ross starts dropping hints about how Amanda's keeping something from Ben, and Van is all over it like white on rice. She snoops (which she did all the time) and finds the agreement. LOL...AMANDA? This is shocking info to me. I should've figured there was some reason Ross is all hot and bothered over her---well, besides her money. The more I hear about the Dobson years, the more I wish it was available.

hee hee...I miss meanie domain so much. I don't recall being in the GL forum much, but I spent a lot of time "expressing myself" on the ATWT board.

Wait, what did Amanda do to snare Ben? @Reverend Ruthledge thanks! It's always interesting to get the background. I just find it odd they did it. Do you know of any other soaps that switched settings? I mean, I assume ATWT always took place in Oakdale, but now I wonder.