P.J.

IKR??

It's just a wish and a hope...geez. I think we all know there's zero chance that P&G will do anything with their library. They've always been the last to come to any kind of pop culture wave. They've probably just learned about a little channel called "Hallmark".

Assuming that The Gates actually gets off the ground (I'm not certain what "in development" obligates them to), P&G should make a splash and honor their history in soaps. They could stream some truly classic soap episodes from their library. I'm not sure if that's even possible, with residuals, etc. but it would be nice of them to pay back some of the loyalty their viewers showed them for decades. There's nothing so frustrating as missing episodes on youtube. I'm watching GL from the '80's and while you're thankful for what you can find, missing that crucial episode is a bummer. Did everyone remember Don Hastings birthday on April Fool's? He turned 90.

It's weird what you think you "remember" vs what actually happened. I could've sworn that Vanessa backed over Reva in the summer, that she was alone behind the wheel and that Reva was practically about to give birth. Instead, Reva barely seems pregnant, it's in the middle of winter (on a set that looks like it cornered the market on fake snow that year) and it's actually Billy in the driver's seat fighting with Vanessa as the car shifts into reverse.

I was watching some early '80's episodes. In it, Mike has a flashback of a fight on a ski tram. What is that about? Other notes---I'd forgotten that they developed a relationship between Vanessa and Quint. It's not overly warm, but it's not entirely antagonistic either. Vanessa's hat game is fierce. It's very Dynasty-inspired.

LOL...I LOVE Vanessa giving Lillian those marching orders. It's no wonder that Ellen Parker won the emmy that year. Between reading Ed and Lillian for filth, and telling Vanessa she was done with listening to Ed's litany of excuses after the third affair in their marriage, I doubt anyone else came close.

Well, since I had completely forgotten there were lyrics, no. But even after hearing them, all I can remember is "hold on to love".. JFC...is Maureen's death is like two solid weeks of misery. I mean, it's great misery. But I can't recall any soap ever wallowing like that before or after. And they damn sure never ran pictures of the character during the entire credits crawl. I don't know if that's respect for the actress or making sure all the doors are locked and bolted.

LOL...the '83 intro reminds me that the Lewises' showed up and existed before REVA.

I like the melody. I must have forgotten there were lyrics to it. It's not very deep, that's for sure.

Thanks!

While I agree the vets could have been better used (lol, it warms my heart to think Wagner didn't want to be in scenes dispensing advice to that lame brain Katie...) I don't think they were misused as badly as some do.

Exactly. That narrative exists well into the 70's as well. One of the stressors in Bob and Jennifer's marriage is the fact she *gasp!* wanted to continue her nursing career.

lol...the episode is 5/14/91. Although I guess i oversold it a bit, it's one soap opera day that she puts it all together, starting 5/10.

Granted, it's not a calendar year. I was a little iffy on when Johnny departed, because what I'm catching some eppys aren't around (sigh--huge bummer when you're into a story). Watching May '91, and in literally ONE episode, Alex is hit with three revelations--that Mindy miscarried Roger's child, that Alan-Michael and Henry have uncovered Roger's embezzling, and that Roger has another son. People rave about her blitzkrieg at the Country Club, but hearing Bev McKinsey growl "I want to rip out his lungs..." is FABULOUS.

Wow...I'd forgotten GL had such a mass exodus. In a little less than a year, they lost Reva, Josh, Philip, Beth, Rick, Johnny, Chelsea, and recast Alan-Michael with Rick Hearst. While Johnny and Chelsea are negligible, there's a lot of history tied up in the other characters. Major upheavals like that usually leave shows floundering.

Like all shows, it had highs and lows. I think it was better than some would give it credit for.

I'm sure I enjoyed it the first time around, but the last 5-6 years of GL just killed a lot of feeling that I had for the show. But be still my heart---Rick Hearst. And this is the Harley I really liked.

LOL...she plays someone called Mrs. Beasley? The Family Affair kid in me giggles. '94 is spotty. I fell down a rabbit hole trying to find out Carly's original origin story. Rosanna and Mike are annoying, and of course, just as we got to the point where Ro was going to find out Carly was her sister....there's a two/three week gap, and presto, Ro and Mike are back in Oakdale. And I admit to using google. LOL.

Man, 89-90 Guiding Light is kicking ass! I'm actually a little more than skeeved out by Roger/Mindy, but I'd forgotten how likeable Kimberly Simms is in the role. At least before this war with Alex starts.

The NY shows definitely had better access to talent, and they would pop up in different roles. Phyllis Somerville (who played Annabelle Fettle, the baby broker) was also in episodes in '94 when Mike and Ro went to Montana, and GL in '90 as a mouthy attendant at a Spa Blake went to. Who knows how many the shows hired over the years. But I'll always know Sara Ramirez as Hannah, who married Jack and Carly in Montana.

I'm sorry---I didn't mean to single you out. It just happened that I quoted your post. It's an open question for the board. I'm not sure what gets Hogan credit as doing anything different in terms of story. He egregiously retooled beloved characters to fit his stories, and after the first year, he pretty much recycled his own scripts. I will say, that ATWT under Goutman did some nice stand alone episodes (which at the time I hated, but have grown to appreciate, especially after watching GH's trainwrecks). But that's Goutman, not Sheffer. I guess I just credit Carolyn Culliton with Hogan's first year that felt fresh and revitalizing (although I now wonder how much of that was just spin from the soap press) and see the flaws in years 2-5 that signalled epic burnout.

Am I just dense? What kinds of story points did Sheffer do that "no one else would have"? Deal with two actresses pregnant at the same time? Puhleeze? (I wish people would remember, Sheffer didn't send Byrne to the Spa story because she was pregnant. She ended up getting pregnant and gave birth in September of 2002. In fairness, even Byrne seems to have forgotten this. Unless Sheffer had ESP, he sure as hell didn't know when he planned The Spa out Byrne was gonna get knocked up.) Otherwise, he ripped off movie plots (as soaps had done before; sigh, I didn't know until much later that GL ripped off major points of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the '80s with Reva/Lewises) and recycled himself. His writers seemed to like him. But reinvent soap opera he didn't.

Scott really should've had staying power, but after Joe Breen was fired, the writers seemed to regard the character as nuclear. It is an odd episode, having so much focus on the hokey wedding.

"biological twitchings".... :DEAD: I'd like to find more early Vanessa/Reva. Later, Vanessa slips into the "too much of a lady" to truly rip Reva a new piehole when she deserved it. Early Vanessa does seem like a bitch in search of a purpose. It isn't until much later that her old feelings for Ross even seemed sincere.