P.J.

I agree about Hayley, and I don't think that's a popular opinion. The more I see of Bill and Dani, the more it seems like Hayley probably got caught up in some weird power play and is eventually going to be crushed.

Floyd regularly saw Stacey when she was young. What she would've understood at that young age...*shrug* I still can't believe Stacey was never brought back, and AJ was little more than a blip. Of all the legacy children to ignore...*sigh*

I get that you have to hook viewers, but isn't it a little early to play the "they really are just two crazy kids in love" vibe with Dani/Bill? Being willing to do another tour of duty with each other's vindictive asses isn't romantic. Getting really annoyed with some of the Dupree sanctimony over Dani's arrest.

I was surprised to realize (via one of those '79 episodes posted) that Floyd appeared in town before Nola.

What soured Alan and Hope's marriage?

it's too bad there's no audio with this. Barbara and Mart look like they're having fun. I think in the very beginning one of the shadowy figures is Tom Neilsen, but it's just a guess.

Well, and I know I'm being mean, but there is something distracting about Ashley's nose. It's funny---but firefighter dude? Reminds me of Brooke's OG boyfriend at the start of B&B, played by Stephen Shortridge, IIRC. I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't tell some of the guys apart. There's boytoy photographer, there's congressman grandson, there's cop, and there's cardiologist and plastic surgeon. They pretty much act and dress the same. And I didn't like that BS press conference to cover up Dani's tirade. And then to have Nicole lecture Kat on using her privilege? GMAB.

I get the "cross paths" aspect. But I also have a photographer, a firefighter, and two daughters traipsing there. Meanwhile, there's like ONE nurse (regular, one dayplayer nosy Nellie type) a cardiologist (who I don't think's bothered to be there yet) and a plastic surgeon. Granted, it's only week two, but so far, it seems like there's more concern about been seen kissing the SO other than any kind of work.

I'm not really getting the point of the hospital setting at all, as I would think most psychologists (or psychiatrists) and plastic surgeons would have their separate practices. I will admit, it was nice seeing real dressed up events again. And opera length gloves! (silly, I know!) I kinda hate the overuse of the phone graphic to show two people talking. Yes, I know it's a sign of the times. But still. thanks...I thought I had missed something. it seems most of Vanessa's stuff has been with Dani, and I think Vanessa and Nicole had like one set of scenes together.

Larry and Jacqueline divorced ages ago.

Viewing week two, the acting is still kind of ....not connecting me to the characters. I'm confused. I thought Vanessa was Dani's BFF. Then she said she's Nicole's. And all Cady McClain got was like five lines? *really*? It was nice to see Jon Lindstrom.

I have a vague memory of him being some skeevy professor advising Noah on his college film?

Or just that no one over 50 at the time had sex. Five years, and I don't think Bea ever even had a true date. Alex loved to carp about the "new money Lewises" but that didn't stop her from dating HB. At least when it was only Josh in town. Had Billy been in town, I think he and Alex would've been at each other's throats. I don't know who wrote some of those histories on that site, but I wish the site would correct the easily correctable.

I can't really see either duo either. Vanessa would've hated it. She notoriously loathed Henry's friendship with Bea Reardon, which never really went beyond him squiring her to an occasional event. Had something started between Henry/Bert after Vanessa fell in love with Billy, she probably would've just gritted her teeth when/if a situation required her to defer to Bert. Although honestly, it's hard to imagine anyone at that time challenging Bert.

I could see Bert and Trish having issues---Trish had had an affair with Alan. Just because Trish almost instantly regretted it doesn't mean Bert wouldn't be bothered by it. Yes, Billy was the more likely candidate, but if they'd gone that route, it probably would've been over his addictions.

Every show has a handful of performers who literally left their mark on the show, so much so that they could easily slide back onto the canvas with a minimum of fuss. Lisa did it on two shows, which is even rarer. I have occasionally complained about Iva's endless "sad sack" story, but her performance was always on point and she never phoned one damn scene in.

True Dat. Using her to sell the loudmouth Rose felt like more of an obligation than trying to give depth to the story. I actually liked Reid and didn't mind that he wasn't related to anyone (that we knew of, no doubt if the show had continued, we would've found out he was related to someone...most people were.)

Reid could have been John's nephew. I think he was a little too old to be MJ. Nearly all the problem with Luke was Van Hansis' lackluster acting. The plot point writing didn't help, but he couldn't have made Shakespeare work.

Jean Arthur may be the perfect comparison. There was something so down to earth about her, and while she was beautiful, not unapproachable.

True enough! LOL...not everyone is Maeve Kinkead with her perfect diction.

Well, I think Matt was left in charge simply because he was a moron, and yet supposed to have enough integrity to outwit Alan. Or at least be street savvy enough not to trust a word coming out of his mouth (which ironically, even morons wouldn't do) after Alan tried blackmailing Vanessa. Yeah, if Reva had the Golden Hoo-ha, the Golden Wee-Wee was Roger's. I think there was so much mismanagement of GL, that it just fed on itself. Yes, they let core vets go, yes they overinvested in young performers, yes there were lousy recasts---but mostly there was chaos brought on multiple regime changes. The Red Sox had the curse of the Bambino, Guiding Light had the curse of Marland. Rarely was who/what was important to one regime important to another. There are things they couldn't control---Charita's death, Chris Bernau's health. And at some point, you have to invest in a new generation and some new blood. And even if they had tried, I'm not sure how much they could've dug into the past and reestablished like ATWT did. It worked because they had a core set of vets (Bob, Kim, Ellen, Lisa, John) viewers had known for years. Even in the 70's with the Dobsons, they were whittling away history and dumping vets. I don't think Lisa flubbed lines as much as she made it a quirk of Nola's to kind of let her mouth run in the moment, then pull it back.

They were still together at his passing.

Yep. I was unaware that writer Roger Newman was married to Fran Myers.

Quint had potential, Long was just too busy establishing Alexandra as the HBIC. Quint had been established as a shrewd investor when he snapped up Diane's shares of Spaulding. After Alan disappears in San Rios, there's a scene where Alex is clearly maneuvering Vanessa and Henry to name Ross as president, and it's clear that Quint is the only one who sees the strings she's pulling. Given how Reva, Blake and Harley slept through entire gene pools, I'm amazed Vanessa and Josh never crossed a line.

I can appreciate Kin....but the thought of him and Deas in a scene together frightens the hell out of me.