kalbir

Thanks @Broderick Found it, 7/2/1985.

The counter programming theory is interesting. The short-term impact of that storyline resulted in long-term damage that GL never really recovered from. The aftermath of Maureen's death to Nancy Curlee departing the writing team was a chore to get through. At least that era saw Michael Zaslow (RIP) earn his long-awaited for Lead Actor Emmy.

You're welcome @Vee and glad you liked the articles

Y&R has a good number of 25+ year veterans in their cast, so I imagine salaries eat up a good chunk of the budget.

Victor/Ashley worked during ED's original run because Bill Bell saw EB was a match for ED's acting style. Victor entered the Abbott orbit during the Mergeron takeover storyline. There are a couple of Victor/Ashley scenes during that storyline I read about in recaps but haven't surfaced in clips/full episodes. Does anyone remember these scenes: Fall 1984 - Victor relates his experience with Cora to Ashley, who begins to think that perhaps she hasn't given Dina a fair chance. Summer 1985 - Feeling Ashley's talents are wasted in the Jabot lab, Victor offers her an executive position at Mergeron. Victor and Ashley connected over their parental issues, then Victor supported Ashley through the recovery from her emotional breakdown in the aftermath of learning that she was the result of an affair between Dina and alcoholic Brent Davis, and Victor recognized Ashley's business skills. Then Fall 1985 the eternal triangle began when Victor and Ashley became involved in Corsica. Did anyone else get a pro-life slant from Ashley's emotional breakdown in the aftermath of ending her pregnancy? I think it was reported in the soap press that Bill Bell got alot of flack for that storyline. I don't know how religious Bill Bell was in his personal life so his personal beliefs may have clouded his storytelling or maybe somebody high up at CBS in 1986, 1987 was pro-life. While I think Ashley cared for Steven, I didn't sense it was a genuine love. Steven supported Ashley through a difficult time, but I feel the marriage was her trying to move on from Victor. BE was a serviceable recast but in hindsight her main storylines (Brad/Ashley/Traci triangle, Victor marriage/divorce, Blade/Rick) didn't work. BE had no connection w/ EB at all. Making Ashley and Traci romantic rivals didn't fit the characters as Bill Bell originally wrote them. Blade/Rick was awful. The less said about SS the better. I think Bill Bell was planning a Victor/Nikki/Brad/Ashley quad in 1996, but since SS had no connection at all w/ EB and DD, Bill Bell pretty much put Christine in the Ashley role.

@Sapounopera Mishael Morgan moved on to bigger and better things. Her talent was being wasted on Y&R.

@Vee I changed the link. It should work w/o a paywall.

I am loving @Vee recaps. We are five episodes away from Ava Gardner. Her arc was a highlight for me. Between Lana Turner, Dorothy McGuire, and Ava Gardner, CBS soaps loved casting Golden Age Hollywood actresses as mothers to their villains. Ava Gardner was keeping it real when she admitted taking the part on Knots Landing for money. Ava Gardner still a star - UPI Archives A couple of cast interviews that mention Ava's arc. It seems she was well-liked and didn't throw any diva demands. A Conversation with Constance McCashin from Knots Landing Jan 2023 The Dallas Decoder Interview: Joan Van Ark – Dallas Decoder

I think all shows that weren't the ABC big three suffered. NBC on the whole was a giant mess in the late 1970s/early 1980s. CBS daytime was shaken up to the point that they made numerous scheduling changes in the early 1980s.

Victor/Nikki the accident supercouple but 1981-1984 they didn't get the same degree of attention in the soap press that General Hospital Luke/Laura and Days Bo/Hope did. There was also really no Y&R couple 1985-1989 that got the same degree of attention in the soap press that Santa Barbara Cruz/Eden and Days Steve/Kayla did.

@divinemotion Bradley realized B&B was tanking during summer 1995, that's why in the fall Sheila returned and Lauren relocated from Y&R. Funny thing is that 1996-1998 Sheila/Lauren were hardly in each other's orbits.

That's right, one full contract (spring 1985 to spring 1988). Her departure was during the writer's strike and before Robert Calhoun was replaced as EP by Laurence Caso.

Julianne Moore also had the good fortune of being on As the World Turns during the Robert Calhoun/Douglas Marland era when it was at its peak.

@soapfan770 Yeah, early 1996 it looked like there was going to be a Jill/Ryan hookup but it didn't happen. Instead we got that awful Nina/Ryan/Victoria/Cole quad. For whatever reason Bill Bell put teenage Victoria in the orbit of college-aged adults instead of building a teen group around her like he would w/ Nick a few years later.

Robert Calhoun laid all the groundwork for GL's early 1990s golden era but JFP ended up getting all the credit.

@ironlion I never got Ryan's appeal and can't figure out how he lasted for 10 years. He basically replaced Chase Benson (whom I don't think even got a proper exit storyline; he stopped appearing in late 1990 or early 1991) in the up-and-coming Jabot executive ranks. I also wonder if Bill Bell used Ryan to fill the void left from killing off Phillip III.

Preparing for streaming maybe.

Yes, but it made Ashley/Traci romantic rivals which did not suit the characters.

This should be a good episode. @ltm1997 I also hope we get to see TB first scene.

Jill/Nina lines up w/ Nikki/Sharon and Vanessa/Lorie lines up w/ Stephanie/Brooke. Brooke/Amber was Bradley's version of Jill/Nina and Nikki/Sharon.

@Liberty City @Faulkner Victor/Ashley worked w/ ED in her original run because Bill Bell saw that EB was a match for ED's acting style. I didn't feel EB had the same connection w/ BE as he did w/ ED in her original run.

Larsa Pippen Photographed Kissing Michael Jordan's Son Marcus (people.com) Am I the only person who finds the whole dynamic of their relationship creepy? I am pretty sure she was aware of him in the 1990s when he was a child. If a 48 year old man was dating a 32 year old woman that was the daughter of his ex's former colleague and he had been aware of her since she was a child, it would look like he was creeping/sniffing around her the whole time.

NBC tried primetime soaps with Flamingo Road, Bare Essence, Yellow Rose, Berrengers but none of them worked. It also didn't help that NBC was a mess in primetime for most of the time primetime soaps as a genre was at its peak.

Could Taylor move past Janet/Whitney/Madonna soon as far as #1s go?