P.J.

Rumor has it, it went back to her days on Another World. Allegedly, Rauch acted inappropriately, and P&G separated them, sending Maeve to GL. It is interesting to note, in one of those Locher room interviews, Maeve said she was the only actress who read for the role of Vanessa, and it was more for Marland to see how she read the lines than an audition.

BC in her second run might as well have been Reva Jr. I know you have to put Beth in relationships, but most of them are really twisted. I would've paid to see Matt and Dinah hook up. Of course, leaving Vanessa free to walk out on his ass and never look back. I'm actually surprised Rauch didn't do it, and if Moniz had stayed, I'd lay odds he would have.

I thought Kim was on SB longer, and I didn't think it was at the same time as Marcy was on GL, but some SB expert will have to chime in. Technically, she's got the timeline right, as Reva had to have been in San Cristobel before Goshen. But either she doesn't remember how she got to Goshen, or they never really explained it. I certainly don't know those particulars. Or if Reva was ever technically in Italy (Billy spotting her/or someone who resembled her in some travelogue footage from Italy was how they explained Josh leaving town in '91.) I didn't buy the suicide attempt either, not because she's too selfish, but because Reva wouldn't have been broken by Kyle marrying Maeve. She gave up Josh because she was pregnant with HB's child, FCOL. She knew the deal-io. God, I loved Vince.

Well, Reva never let her sheets cool off. Her barring Kyle from her "golden ticket", makes perfect sense to me---Josh was available.

Well, Billy is a fighter, so it is in her DNA. It was usually played for comic effect (like at the Masquerade Ball when she jumps on Phillip for taking a swing at Billy after Billy had punched Alan).

Good Lord---she couldn't have really submitted some part of the dramatization of Phillip's book, could she? I would've assumed she submitted some part of Reva's suicide attempt.

So much about Kyle's exit makes no sense. I didn't get the entire scoop, but when he leaves, HB is worried that Kyle's going to sell his part of Sampson-Lewis to the highest bidder. Why would he want to screw over Billy like that? Then Billy and Josh are fighting, and when Josh calls them brothers, Billy corrects him with "half-brothers" and some stupid remark them having different mothers. Billy NEVER would've disrespected Miss Martha like that. Ugh.

Restaurants with more than two customers in them, hospital emergencies with actual victims, and my favorite, parties with obviously professional dancers who twirl through scenes. During Billy/Vanessa's wedding/Alex's debut, there's a couple that randomly dance from the ballroom through the bar area. It's just so damn gorgeous! That fight between Mindy and Roxie is hilarious. Krista is throwing herself all over the damn place.

You were far from the only one. I was shocked to read a critique of the time, criticizing Alan returning to his wicked ways and busting up Alan and Hope. It seems so alien to me now, because I've watched him obsess over and then discard so many women. Making Alan a faithful husband would've been like making John Dixon not a curmudgeonly old crank. Or, y'know...Reva a nun.

Vanessa's high-handed snobbery is a thing of beauty. She was only a little campily obsessive over Ross, then that aspect went away after Carrie left.

Josh pretty much did. A fact that was probably made easier because he didn't have a lot going on. It's not like manipulating Floyd was some huge arc. Vanessa was the fly in Quint and Nola's ointment, therefore I guess had to earn her redemption. The good thing about the writing back then is that characters could do nasty, but not unredeemable things. Nowadays, the writing takes characters to such extremes, sometimes you can't redeem them. I'm not sure Long really invested in a character other than Reva, but she did better by Vanessa in the '89 return.

Maeve. But I know she'd probably lose if it were a poll. I should say, I also love Maureen Garrett's voice.

Calla Matthews (Jessie's mother) had contracted syphillis from her husband, and became infertile, which was one of the reasons she was hesitant to be in a relationship with Ross. Jessie left town to go to Duke University. Calla and Simon followed. I do agree with her, Maeve Kinkead's voice is so melodic. And it can drip in venom in a heartbeat.

Episodes are kind of streaky until about mid-'82. Although there are several clipped storylines that give you a good feel for characters/stories. Y'know...for someday.

GL does have Infinity, and ATWT had Bilan. (Bilan was the daughter of the drug-dealer Bob married, but I swear, we didn't know for months who or what Bilan was.)

I do not get the Amanda/Mark/Jennifer triangle. Or, more precisely, I don't know why Jennifer was moved into that story. I would've gone Ross/Amanda/Mark/Vanessa, with Mark using Vanessa to get into Spaulding, Ross falling for Amanda after Carrie left him, but Amanda falling for Mark's since she can't truly trust Ross after his history of manipulating her. That way you use the animosity already brewing between Amanda/Vanessa, Ross and Vanessa at some point realizing they again have a common goal to keep Amanda/Mark apart, Mark and Vanessa plotting to take over Spaulding, and Vanessa at risk of finding out about Mark's past as he plots to kill her (after realizing he wants Amanda) like he did Mona/Rebecca. The only angle Jennifer really brought was conflicts between Amanda and Morgan, which well, underwhelmed. Though I suppose the problem with this scenario is that Marland didn't plan on losing Carrie mid-82, therefore Ross wasn't really free. As much as I love Vanessa, her plotting under Marland is almost childish. I'm sure he would've fleshed her out with the Quinton reveal, but he does seem preoccupied with Carrie in '82.

Well...there is that.

And Carrie (2) tried to kill Ross with a pair of scissors. Or at least wanted to. And I sure don't think there's any way he could've gotten the audience to forgive her killing Jackie, (even if Carrie Mowry was a bad recast).

Agreed. As much as I love Marland, I could see Potter's point---another year of wandering through Carrie's alters would've been pointless. (Shades of the Sonni/Solita story, which is just a mess, though that's due in part to the writers strike.) I just wish they'd have been able to settle it amicably and keep working together.

Yeah, '86 is just broken. If anyone ever asks again, Infinity is no longer the worst story. Cain/Camp Cauyoga is. And, much to my surprise, they added insult to injury and replayed the tribute to Bert at Christmas time.

It was enlightening to me to how unstable the writing regimes are at GL after the Dobsons leave in '80. Marland had two years. Long does 2 three year stints. Curlee/Demorest (with Reilly and Broderick) last about three and actually dovetail with Long's last tenure. Starting with '94, I don't think anyone lasts more than a year until Kriezman in '05. That's appalling.

I'm not sure why bad writing seems to ripple through the entire look of the show. You'd think that direction or wardrobe would be immune somehow. But you're right---1986 is not good. But, on the upside, I found the episode of Vanessa in her red/Scarlett/feather dress. Someone must have missed the memo that only Reva's allowed to wear red.

Yeah---I just skipped right over the Cain stuff. The length the show went to make all the Lewis men stupid over Reva really is grating.

I'm a little surprised--Calla's all over '86, she doesn't get unceremoniously dumped on the train out of Springfield until the very end of December. Calla/Jessie/Simon are ALL exiting by December. Hello Rusty and Meredith, and Grant Aleksander sneaks back in sometime after Beth "died" and Dinah finds out she's Ross and Vanessa's child. Susan Pratt was born to play a bitch. Claire's more likable earlier in her run, she begins in '83. Forget Reva---she'd have been a good actress to go up against Zimmer. She shows up as Julia Lindsay's mother on ATWT in '99, and she almost made me feel bad for Julia. And I hated that twit. Re Maeve: yeah, she knew what she was getting into when she married Kyle, but Kyle is so overbearing that I get why she thought they'd never truly "co-parent" a child.

yeah, I hadn't really thought about that when Mike/Lillian crossed my mind. But, Michelle having to deal with her family dynamic instead the endless Santos hoo-ha might've been refreshing. Well....that Karma is a bitch...lol