Wendy

As I said in the thread about the revival, I don't know how I feel. While the original should have outlasted SVU and should not have been axed for the failure that was Law & Order: Los Angeles, it has been over a decade since this last aired. And many of the existing cast members are now on other shows. And, frankly, the current writing on Dick Wolf shows does not exactly inspire confidence in me that the revival will not end up schitting on the original. And some, let's be honest, are too old now. (I adore Sam Waterston, but the man is over 80 now.) That means new blood, and casting is very hit or miss. Sometimes, things are best left alone. (But I will watch the first episode to gauge an opinion should it truly come to pass.)

While I don't think this should have been canceled when it was, bringing it back so many years later...I don't know how I feel.

Wow, I completely forgot that Carrie left with Mike. (And considering Mike's history, I know I should have probably been squicked out. But I was one of those viewers that liked Carrie/Mike over Carrie/Austin.)

Not soaps, but he did have the NBC series, Voyagers, under his belt - think Quantum Leap, but with a kid in tow (and not jumping into people's bodies!). Last I knew, that was on DVD. And, naturally, he died on the set of his last spy series, Cover Up, which aired on CBS. (Ironically, the actor to replace Hexum after his accidental death, Antony Hamilton, also died young, at just 42, of AIDS-related complications in 1995. And Hamilton starred with Peter Graves and Thaao Penghlis [Tony/Andre, Days) in the Mission: Impossible '80s revival, which aired on ABC. Also on DVD.) The hospital Jon-Erik Hexum died in, Beverly Hills Medical Center, changed hands and is now a Marriott Residence Inn. (That place has to be haunted, I'd imagine, considering it's a former hospital!)

Yeah, but he did do that cheesetastic movie with Joan Collins, Making Of A Male Model (I think that was the title!), back in 1983.

Thank you! Now that I know, I'll be sure to keep an eye out. Appreciate it!

Sorry, @Vee. But I hated Billie - HATED. (Loved Bo/Carly 1.0 and Bo/Hope.) So the fact that Hope came back (and Peter Reckell's Bo!) filled me with joy when Billie flew away. And the Billie hate persisted with Krista Allen's (villainous) version as well as Julie Pinson's, so it must have been the character as a whole. The puzzle box scene with Bo/Hope with Billie looking on still makes me grin like a maniac when I watch it.

Had no clue that Stepfanie Kramer was still working. Good to know! Thanks, @slick jones! She does still look good!

This just makes me love Charles Shaughnessy more:

And Cindy Brady [a.k.a. Susan Olsen] is cuckoo for cocoa puffs, too.

Not just the DH's, maybe. Saw some post somewhere that says Doug's issues may tie into all this. If so, oh brother. And poor Bill Hayes.

I will NEVER forgive that hack, Reilly, for ruining Days with the possession garbage. Figures Ron "Retread" Carlivati, mini JER, would be all over that s-h-i-t.

This is not really Y&R related, except it involves Eric Braeden. Found a clip of him guest starring on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

I liked Mary, but I really loved Julia. The only other character on paper (for me, as I was too young to watch in real time and did not get Soapnet for ages!) similar to her independence and intelligence was Jillian Coleridge on Ryan's Hope. And I think Julia was aware that strong women such as herself could be seen as "cold" or whatever. I remember a scene during the baby contract, when it was clear Julia felt insecure, when she asked Lionel if she was too...something. Forgot if she asked independent or something similar, and you saw Julia's softer core. I think this was around the time she had started developing real feelings for Mason. I say this not to disparage Mary, but the show made a point that the...more fragile women do tend to attract men easier because they like being needed or whatever. And I think Julia recognized that, too, and for a time, despaired that that wasn't her nature to need so deeply. When the show had the good writing like that, it was fire. Too bad the later downhill descent was so stark.

Biden can push all he likes. Manchin and Sinema are self-serving DINOs and won't want to end their power trips. Biden/Dems are screwed with those two albatross around their necks.

Amen. It's still sort of surreal that two decades have passed.

Maybe, but one of the reasons Lane left the show (besides his real-life break up with NLG and issues following) was he was said to have disliked "domesticated" Mason, which is what he still would have been had Mason remained with Mary. So, in the end, at some point, I think boredom would have still come had the pairing remained together. We'll never know.

I agree that Mary would never have cheated on Mason. But Mason was his own worst enemy, especially when he was drinking and/or in conflict with C.C. I can envision him cheating on Mary if just to punish himself for something. He had that darkness. I do believe he would have deeply regretted doing so as he did love Mary as much as he was able, and Mary would get story reacting, but since the show basically did that later with Julia/Mason, with Julia strong enough to cut him loose (if for a while), I think it would have also did Mary a disservice as I think she would have forgave him, and the show probably would have just did variations of that for years on end, diminishing the pairing and the individual couples. So the problem of lack of story for Mary would have still remained.

Arguably, I think the show tried with the Lockridges, Duvalls, Donnellys, DiNapolis, and later with the Walkers. But either the writing was subpar [first three] or the characters were a drag [Walkers]. Either way, the result was the same. The other families did a fade (save for the Walkers, who stayed 'til the bitter end!). I loved the Capwells, especially Mason and Kelly. But I do agree that the show should have learned to budget time and stories for non-Capwells much better than it did.

I think @j swift perfectly encapsulated just why Mary had to go. Looking back, maybe they could have made Mary more empowered, but even that was already happening with Eden, Julia, and Gina. As it is a soap, the only real stories for Mary were probably more "damsel in distress" stories, i.e. kidnapping or whatnot. She was already in the midst of "Who's The Daddy?" when she died. And as sweet as Mary was, I doubt she would have cheated on Mason [unless drugged or something]. IMO, as popular as Mary was and as great as Harley Kozak was, Mary being so honorable really limited her. She was, excuse me for saying it, too sweet/virtuous for her own good, as far as soap characters went. It shortened the character's potential and shelf life.

Well, we already know about Ingo. Camila Banus on Days is another. But who knows?

I would think, since it is a federal law, the state would have to comply.

And the Texas abortion law officially has a legal challenge...from the Satanic Temple, citing the ban infringes upon its religious freedom. Ummm... (I thought it was a joke when I read it elsewhere, but nope!)

The new Texas abortion law goes into effect today after the Supreme Court declined to step in, which does not fill me with confidence about Roe's fate. Dan Rather sums it up perfectly:

The apocalypse is surely upon us. Ann Coulter defends Joe Biden. No, I'm not high!