P.J.

Honestly, did Reva have a successful pairing other than Josh? I know every pairing will have fans, but the only ones the show seemed to take seriously were Kyle and Jeffrey. I don't know what happened with Larkin Malloy, but they tanked that pairing fairly fast. And I can't even discuss Brad Cole seriously. LOL...that story's funny. I can see her bellying up to a bar and ordering bourbon. Bev seems like that kind of gal. It's so sad we didn't get more of Beverlee and Chris Bernau than we did. You literally can't take your eyes off them in scenes. It's the same kind of shark vs. shark vibe that Bev and Michael Zaslow give off later. Didn't most of Sonni/Solita play out during the '88 writers strike? I didn't think Long wrote a lot of that.

I've never watched her time at AW, and actually didn't realize she lost to people on her own show. On GL, I think Alex is a lot tougher role with many more layers. I'd almost argue that Alex and Reva are the only two women Long really liked writing for. They're the only ones who consistently drive story. The problem I usually had with Josh is he got whiney. He would go on and on about hating people feeling they had to protect him, but the moment his feelings were hurt, he usually ran away. LOL...I probably noticed ATWT's location shoots more when they included Carly/Jack.

But ATWT did drastically increase it's location shooting the last three years. What I never understood was why/how ATWT's looked so much better than GL's. They were supposed to be the same equipment. GL seemed to pick every crummy spot in Peapack and shot it, simply to have it in the can. ATWT at least seemed to put some thought into choosing it's locations. Was Suzy Cote the world's best ingenue? No. But she did bring a sensible sweetness to Samantha. Whether that should've been the personality of Jackie and Justin's child.....is up for debate. But in a way, I was grateful Ross had a chance to "raise" her before Dinah came back to town a complete trainwreck. It's undoubtable unfair to blame Gus on Wheeler. He may have even been dead before she took over as EP. But he was insufferable. I reserve the right to throw it out there at every opportunity. I found it impossible to like Jon/Tammy. Jon was a rageaholic. He had sex with his cousin to lash out at his mother. The entire dysfunctional plot around him (which I believe at one point included Cassie trying to set him up for raping her) was disgusting. GL spent years dealing with the consequences of rape (Holly, Rita and Beth's) and to have Tammy make excuse after excuse for Jon's behavior was like watching a prequal to Holly/Roger. No thanks. As for KZ...there's no denying the talent. In the hands of a lesser actress, Reva could have easily veered into a shallow, home-wrecking whore that's done by year three. But it's a lot easier to find her over-the-top moments than these quiet, more grounded ones. Sometimes I do wonder though, if a) she would have all those emmys if Beverlee McKinsey had submitted or b) if Reva would've been as popular without Josh. I don't think Robert Newman gets nearly enough credit in that pairing.

Her list of offenses against soapdom is long...Jammy, Otalia, firing JvD, Gus Aitoro, etc etc etc. The only good thing she did was bust up Vanessa and Matt, and I speak as a Billy/Vanessa fan. BTW, does anyone remember what the five fan favorite moments were (for the 50th anniversary)? One was Nola getting busted, one was Roger's death. And I assume one was Reva's "slut of Springfield" moment (because...of course...RME) What were the other two?

Reading synopses of 80-81, I wish even more there was more of that period online.

Thanks, everyone. I have the ATWT 40th anniversary book, and found it very useful. I wouldn't be expecting complete accuracy. I thought Harley was great---until the Gus Aitoro years. Ugh.

They talk about how slow soaps are. Both Tony & Annabelle and Billy and Vanessa were fast-track romances in the summer of 83. Does anyone have the Guiding Light history books? Are they any good?

I think Steve Basset played Det. Scott on GL in 1983, not 1999. I just saw him after Mark Evans was arrested.

Again, thanks for this marvelous list. I couldn't find the name of Vanessa's mother or first husband anywhere!

Of all the actresses that got shoved aside for Reva, I think Rebecca Holland is the one that surprises me the most. She's talented, gorgeous, and the most practical Lewis...and yet fades into the background. Trish and Vanessa should've been teaming up to keep Reva in check from day one.

Michelle and Joe Breen were great. The story was a quagmire. Ugh...right? and none of them are really allowed to get over her. Even Billy. RME. She slept his way through his family

LOL...I kinda fell down the utube rabbit hole. It seems '86-'88 isn't anyone's real favorite, it's harder finding shows from that time. On one hand it's hard, I'd like to see more of the Vanessa/Dinah story. But obnoxious Chelsea? No thanks!! One thing I have notice re:Reva---everyone puts up with her sh*t. Everyone has to be made to understand that Reva's not a bitch, she's just "full of life". OTOH Nola and Vanessa start out the same way, manipulating their way through people's lives, but *surprise* no one lets them get away with it. They evolve. Reva's the same human wrecking ball she was when she first came to town. A little less gold-digger, but barely any wiser. And re: the discussion a few pages back about Vanessa/Quint---Vanessa's never attracted to Quint. She may have vamped at him, but no more than she did anyone else at the time. She spends 1982 chasing Mark and especially Tony---she's jealous almost to the point of obsession trying to get back in his bed right up until Wired for Sound closes. She quickly puts it together that Quint is her half brother. (Henry was looking for someone, and she found a note of Carrie's referencing an illegitimate son) She does threaten Quint with going and telling Henry that he seduced her knowing she was his sister. And Vanessa misleads Helena about why she's pumping her for info on Quint. But there's no hint of romance going on.

This is utterly fabulous. I can't imagine the time it took to compile it. A couple of things: ATWT Sage Snyder didn't fake illness to get to the Miss Snowflake pageant. She lied about caring about pageants to get Jack and Carly to take her to Detroit, hoping that family time would reignite their romance. Jack's name is Jack, and it's not short for Jacob. He and Carly had the baby that Julia Larrabee kidnapped christened "Jack Joseph Snyder Jr". No one ever implied that his name was anything other than Jack until Katie opened her mouth to name her son. Guiding Light-- It's Maeve Kinkead. I think you threw a "c" in there.

I do agree---'85-87 is a low point, and not surprisingly, most of the new hires were disposable and forgotten. And the '88 writers strike that brought us the interminable Sonni/Solita saga didn't help. Thank God Zimmer left in 90 and allowed the show to breathe again. I wish there was more '75-80 online. I'd love to see more Jackie/Justin and the Andy Norris blackmailing scandal. That seems like good soapy times.

Ugh...the influx of wannabe Fabios.

I grew up on CBS soaps. I can remember when the line up included Love of Life, SFT, Y&R with the Brooks' sisters, ATWT and GL. They were always on. My GL memories go back vaguely to Adam and Barbara, Sara, and when Alan, Jackie, Justin, Rita and Evie were new in town. The first story that really hooked me was Nola/Kelly/Morgan. So '80 to '83 really feels like the start of "my" GL because so much of the acting core remains intact to (mostly) the end of the show. Ross, Vanessa/Henry, and Josh weave in and out of the show without being recast (aside from the occasional sickness or maternity leave). Phillip/Rick/Beth/Mindy drive story for years. Alan and Roger are presences even if not on-screen. I didn't really think about it critically then (only getting to watch consistently during the summer break) and now I don't feel qualified to when a lot of what's available is chopped up or missing large chunks of time. I have been amazed that the location shoots have such long tracking scenes. It feels like Nola spends forever underwater in St Croix, and really does nearly drown before Quint hauls her up on the beach. I know the '84 changes are sweeping, and in general, I wasn't impressed with the Calla/Jessie/Simon and invasion of the Shaynes era. (There's no denying Kim Zimmer's acting chops, but the obsession with Reva the human wrecking ball seems even more ridiculous now.) I enjoy '83 more than '82 for a couple of reasons. There's the fabulous payoff to the Quint/Nola romance, the beginning of Billy/Vanessa, the Eli Simms mystery and Phillip/Beth/Rick/Mindy, the four musketeers.

psst...1983 is better.

A) it would've been EPIC to have Vanessa and Mo go at it over Bridget and Roger's involvement in Peter's life. Their friendship was great, but it's always good when established characters get to air out some old laundry when the story calls for it. B ) Nick, Julie Camaletti, Jenna, Eve....or just not bring Buzz at all. And honestly, Fletcher.

Of course these are all on youtube: Tennbelle---has Josh and Reva (and Reva/Kyle) playlists from 1984 on SentieriGuidingLight---Italian episodes (seem start summer of 86) Jimmuneco--random episodes from 79-91 SoapsNthings---random episodes 79-84 quintnola---focuses on the Quint/Nola romance from 82-85 Leorubysun--episodes from 1980, 1981, 1984 classicGL---videos by storyline blakemarler---playlists from 89-07

Oh, to have Maureen for the Peter saga.... Have you found a good playlist of '82 episodes in English? I've been stitching the year together from clips and random episodes mostly. The German episodes are good to fill in, but the translations are awkward at best. I found an episode in German of Carrie going off on Vanessa, and whatever Carrie says scares the bejesus out of her.

I understand that point of view, and the value of those kind of connections. But in this specific case, Roger really was doing villainous things, and Maureen never got the full tea. Granted, I don't think they really ever did much other than have Maureen occasionally give the occasional grace to Roger or try to reel someone back from obsessing over him. But when she comes back from the country club and says "I feel dirty", yadda yadda---all I can think is that she's never had Roger screw with her life for his own gain.

I recently rewatched the buildup to Alex's takedown of Roger. I found myself getting mad that Maureen was so willing to give Roger the time of day. After everything that he'd done to all these people she knew....ugh.

I'm not disagreeing, athough I thought Ed split those duties. Or maybe would have, if Peter Simon hadn't been so ...Peter Simon.

In some respects, the changeover is almost as dramatic as when Bill Bell switched the focus of Y&R from the Foster/Brooks to the Newman/Abbotts. It didn't strike me at the time, but on GL's last episode, Maeve Kinkead is the actor who'd been there the longest (aside from the cameos by Maureen Garrett and Lisa Brown).

OMG---thanks!