Cat

It's not you. He's a ham who learnt his craft at the Charlton Heston School of TV Acting. I mean, I love his voice but, I lot like Kyle Brown, he sounds like he listens to himself speaking. Does that make any sense? It's all slightly self-important and theatrical. Though not theatrical in the same way Linda Dano, Stephen Schnetzer or Victoria Wyndham are. I love their delivery.

Carl, I always get worried that I'm going to unwittingly unleash a whole bunch of spoilers which will spoil your enjoyment of the show! Or bitch too much and turn you off it. And I don't want to do that. I'm just noting my impressions as they come because this show is new to me and I am watching episodes for the very first time. Loved Carmen Duncan and Dack Rambo. Dack wasn't the greatest thespian alive but he was HOT and and exuded the same kind of warmth that PMV had as Ryan. You could believe that, even though one was a high-society politician and the other a cop, they came from the same family. The way DR's Grant would eye Iris while she was flirting with him was also kind of hot. LOL, yeah, Judi is an EPIC cryer. And I mean full-on, make-up running, snot coming out of her nose, heaving sobbing. She also doesn't look soap-pretty when she cries and that is a relief. I'm sick of the Hunter Tylos and Laura Wrights who do the dry-eyed boo-hoo. LOL, you view Matt the way I view Jake. With a touch of lust!

Duh! Alicia, of course. And ITA. She just shines as Lorna. She is so fierce. And she looks like a Native American! I'm still wondering why they are wasting her on that teenybopper Matt when it is so obvious how Woman she is next to his Boy. It's crazy how much chemistry she has been able to spark with the chemistry-free piece of wood masquerading as Jamie. LOL, actually Jamie and his portrayer are totally growing on me now that I also love her scenes of confrontation with Felicia. I think I know where this is heading here (!) but thus far they absolutely despise one another. I'm not sure what to expect from Robin Christopher as Lorna (if I ever get that far). I have always *heard* rather than *seen for myself* Ms. Christopher's apparent brilliance. Right now I can't get past how much I love AC in the role. You guys -- I've actually seen an episode where Frankie & Cass were not so annoying! It's the 2/12/1992 one which is entirely film noir. Cass plays a private dectective called Cass A. Nova (LOL sheilaforever). It is a great episode. However, they soon returned to Kooky Frankie and her granola life with John and Baby Gregory and Cass pining for her badly-dressed ass. Alice Barrett constantly sounds bunged-up, like she has a permanent cold. Or snorts coke (which I doubt -- though I hear Eplin and Wheeler were into it in the AW bathrooms back in the day). Frankie just went off on Donna because Donna offered to pay for all of Baby Gregory's private schooling. Frankie thinks Baby Gregory is a free-spirit who will chafe at the restrictions of an expensive private school. I'm like "Baby Gregory is one year old. He can't even speak." But obviously Mother Earth Frankie knows better! If AW were still around today and John took Frankie's advice, poor Gregory would probably be at community college desperately looking for a job in today's economy. Nice work, FF! On the other hand, they are trying to make Frankie look less crunchy and more Cass's soulmate by having her dress up from time to time and mentioning how much she loves caviar omelettes. OK then. Jake's backstory is fascinating. We are back in Lassiter for a few episodes. And Paulina and Jake just need to break down and kiss again.

I was going to say... what would AW talk about?! I thought AW in the late 80s *was* about the Loves, Hudsons and McKinnons! LOL. I am in January 1992 now! Woohoo! Today is prob the final day I can check these out so perhaps I should start weaning myself off these. A few random observations: Grant (as played by Mark Pinter) comes across as so sinister and manipulative. There was a point where he confronted Paulina about her past and he was borderline emotionally abusive. I am not likeing him at all, don't understand how Spencer could ever have idiolized this cold, nasty individual, don't understand why Paulina moons over him or why Vicky is so loyal and possessive of him. Sam and Amanda have a love montage every. Single. DAY. All they do is shag. Not that I'm complaining as I miss these love scenes from our soaps today! And AW seems to have specialized in building up its romantic pairings, drawing out the romantic tension and choreographing superlative love scenes. HOWEVA! The Samanda stuff seems forced. Like I said, they seem to be at it all the time. As a couple, I find them a bit meh. Amanda comes across as a bit of a smug bimbo whenever she confronts Olivia. I'm curious about Amanda's affair with some guy when she first married Grant. Where they a hot couple? Why did it end? Why did Amanda start sniffing around Sam again? It is a blessed relief to have Carl off the show for a little while. He certainly hammed his ass off in the Hallowe'en scenes. Constance Ford is just... awesomeness. And so is Carmen Duncan as Iris. And so is Sofia Coppola as Lorna. She's so clever and defensive and she swings that long curtain of black hair about like a witch. I really like her character -- and her name! Even wearing dresses and business suits and big jewelery, Paulina comes across as a girl from the wrong side of the tracks playing dress-up. That's a good thing because that is exactly what she is. Her hair has been looking fab lately.

OMG, is that SNL? Is that John Candy as Jack Harrington and John Belushi as Rocco? Rick MOranis as Clay Collins and the dad from American Pie as Dr. Eliot Sabian? That is an amazing piece of satire. It is uncanny how just like a 70s soap it was. Whoever wrote it must have been a major AW fan because the whole thing is done with love and attention.

I admit, I skipped over a lot of July and August because the Taylor stuf draaaaagged. I jumped right into early September and really do not regret it. SLs seemed to renew and pick up steam. Awesome, awesome episode, including a great scene between Jake and Marley. This character Jake... one minute I hate him, the next I feel sorry for him. It's been a while since I have gotten so invested in a show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeDwxXeY19o

I love Carmen Duncan, even in that random work-out gear. Her voice, her entire demeanour is exquisite! So, is this the last day we can watch AW episodes in full? I am so sad. And SO addicted. I love the variety on this show and how the friendships and rivalries are as important as the romances. Sure, I could stand to see a little less of John and Frankie. But that is a small complaint on a canvas as rich and full as 1991 Another World. Currently in December 91. Jake just did THE most abominable thing. And Vicky threw Marley a baby shower. How funny that I like Jensen Buchanan in scenes with herself as Vicky/Marley or with Anna Stuart and groups of other women. But when she's with Mark Pinter or Paul Michael Valley, it just does not chime as well for me.

LOL! Although the roomates thing is probably just that - roomies (CLB seems to prefer small, shifty-eyed younger dudes!). I think what threw me off is RPG's preference for eyeliner during his Dean Frame days. I think I know what it is about Frankie that bothers me -- or perhaps the writing for Frankie. Or perhaps even the actress, Alice Barett. I think it's because she is not nearly as funny as she seems to think she is. Most of her stuff is played for kooky laughs but I don't think I have laughed once at any of her shtick. It's all a little heavy-handed. It is a real contrast with Cass and Felicia's urbane wit, Iris's fabulously bitchy asides and Donna's feather-light delusions/self-deprecation.

Must be my mistake, sheilaforever. I guess I still have that Jossip rumor involving RPG and Rick Hearst stuck in my sub-conscious! CarlD, AW must have known what a gem they had in Heche and the critical and fan acclaim for her, hence the big send-off. I continue to marvel at this woman's talent (even in crap movies, she's stands out). What I find most impressive is how she, a victim of atrocious sexual and physical abuse by her father, managed to portray a woman like Vicky who luxuriates and glows with desire for Ryan. Her performance was so visceral and complete, and she really conveyed those emotional, romantic, swept-away moments. Come to think about it, portraying repressed Marley, especially after the rape, must have hit close to home. I guess taking on another person's skin must have been her therapy. Whatever it was, she really impresses me.

LOL, OMG Paulina and notVicky facing off in a bridal shop. notVicky: See, I really thought Grant had taste... but you know, with some guys, they see trash and it turns them on. Paulina: You'd better go home, Vicky. You're obviously frustrated because you can't find a wedding dress that'll work miracles and make you look virginal. notVicky: Now listen here, you little slut. I don't know why Jake married you or why Grant puts up with you. All I know is that you can't stand me because I stand for everything you're never gonna have. Deck her, Paulina!

OMG, Grant is such a dick! Now I get why they recasted the character. I still wish Dack Rambo were in the role, though -- he was so lovely to look at. Mark Pinter looks sinister. Vicky is not coming across much better in all this. Vicky and Ryan are each other's true loves, but I can see where this is going here... Grant manipulates the situation, Vicky gets attracted to all the wealth and political spotlight. Jake and Paulina are driving me crazy -- but in a good way. I had forgotten how effective soaps used to be about dragging out the romantic tension between couples who are hot for each other and don't want to admit it. What makes it funny is the fact that Jake & Paulina are pretending to be newlyweds and have to share a room together. I am so Team Olivia at the moment, even though Olivia is so obviously in the wrong. Amanda comes across as so smug and trifling. When Olivia accused her of using baby Allie to get Snorific Sam back, I couldn't help but agree. Biggest mystery of all, though, is why Olivia is still moping over that wet blanket Sam and not jumping her physiotherapy guy. Jenna & Dean = super cheesy but at least they are promoting safe sex. And they are hot together. RPG may annoy the [!@#$%^&*] out of me (and did he really date Yasmine Bleeth? I thought he was gay) but he brings out the best in Alla Korot.

I'm on the 11/21/91 episode right now which says that "Kathleen says good-bye to Bay City." Don't know if I want to see this. Jake and Paulina, just shag already!

Are you talking about the Hallowe'en party episode? I loved that scene between her and Cass, though it was all too brief (I also thought her 20s flapper wig was very flattering -- it reminded me of her hair before she left the how the first time). It was so sad the way she said that there was no place for in Bay City anymore. And I know what you mean about the posse. Dean had a party to see him off to NY and Kathleen showed up (this was just before she was going to leave). Dean was all over Frankie "OMG, are you ok with her being here?!" You invited her, dick! Frankie replied with a heavy sigh that it was ok and Kathleen was leaving town anyway. Dean goes "Oh, that's very big of you, Frankie." BARF!

Frankie as a character is just not growing on me. And I still can't buy Cass with her. Sorry, fans of quirk. With Kathleen leaving, it has kind of added a cloud of boringness to the show I am in November 91's episodes... I dread the day they pull these. Jake/Paulina. Jensen Buchanan's Vicky is starting to annoy me. Like she's pre-channeling Laura Wright's version of Carly Corinthos. I *love* Olivia Matthews and hope she hooks up with her physiotherapist.

Well. I am contnually impressed by Emmerdale's production values, which puts its rivals Corrie and EE in the shade. Nevermind the US soaps, which look piss-poor next to this. Aaron and Jackson fighting. Jackson driving off in his car. Aaron standing there, his eyes glistening with tears. I have such a talent crush on this actor. He is the best cryer I have ever seen. Aaron calls Jackson on his cell. Jackson, driving, can see his cell ringing on the passenger seat. He lets it ring for a while before finally giving in and reaching for it -- only it slips out of his grasp and falls on the floor. Jackson searches around for it WHILE driving and suddenly swerves to avoid hitting something in the road. His car smashes through fences and shrubbery to turn over and over. The shot switches from the view in the car to Aaron, listening from far away to the crash and realizing with horror what has happened. Closeup on the wrecked car. Jackson tries weakly to extricate himself from the wreakage. Then the camera pulls back to reveal a flashing red light... Jackson's car is smack in the middle of a railway crossing, and the red light signals that a train is approaching. Aaron begins to run down the road. Jackson doesn't even realize he is in imminent danger until he hears the roar of the train right behind him and then it is too late. OMG. OMG! So much efficient, effective filming here. The shots inside the car, the use of silence and then noise (the crash, the sound of the train appearing from nowhere), The direction was superb. Whatever one may think about Emmerdale right now, about this character, you have to admit that the technical know-how is impressive. More than that, these Big Events are never soulless behomeths. Emmerdale always manages to hook something emotional behind the Big Event. Here it was Aaron's unwitting part behind Jackson's accident. It is also the fact that in the UK, deaths on the railway line somehow hang in the public consciousness. What an awful way to go. And Jackson WILL die, right? Nobody could conceiveably survive that double car crash! Just had to sing my praises. Miller never fails to deliver, but I was way impressed here by the whole episode.

Nope, I haven't. I'm currently on Jenna who goes looking for a dancing job and ends up at a strip bar. Alla Korot's hair is a subject of endless fascination to me. Meanwhile, Marley and that thumping bore Jamie are on the point of breaking up. Iris has taken some young DA to the dressing up store where Carl is hiding, so that they can choose some costumes for Halowe'en. It is actually pretty hilarious. And maybe it is because I am unfamiliar with Cali Timmins work, but Judi Evans's Paulina and Jake are courting all that sexual tension, and I. Am. LOVING. IT! Perhaps one of you could recommend an episode where Cali Timmins' talents shine through? I'd like to be able to judge. From the bits and pieces that I have seen, she looked a little stiff and hair-modelish, and almost completely interchangeable lookswise with Sandra Ferguson and Jensen Buchanan. But I'm ready to eat my words! Judi Evans, OTOH, I love because she makes Paulina so grounded and warm, yet she has this deep, throaty voice which hints at something sexy. And I like how she plays off Tom Eplin. then again, maybe I need to check out Timmons and Eplin together. Heche-Buchanan and Rambo-Pinter, OTOH? They really stick out as recasts that I just cannot warm to. Juniorz, the reason I am watching AMC right now is because of Swajeski. I am really impressed with her AW work. In fact, I am watching AW fanatically these past few weeks. I am addicted. I am only sad that I didn't get into it the first time around.

I've seen that photo. Alla Korot is in no way shape or form a large girl, but all I remember about that shot was RPG's feather earring and AK's spreadeagled thighs. Eeek. Tickle him to death with his paintbrushes? Somebody pointed out in that episode that Carl was squeamish at the sight of blood. I'm thinking Sam will throw some red paint over him and stand there playing with his perm while Carl has a nervous breakdown.

OMG. Juniorz, that is spooky. I just finished watching that episode yesterday night. Here it is (it won't let me embed): Another World (10/23/1991) Kathleen was the BOMB. She essentially said what I thought -- here are the manly men thumping their chests and tryin' to protect their wimminfolk. She felt she had every right to be there. I went into this epi with some trepidation, thinking it would be some GH-style "we gotta take the law in our own hands" macho mess. Instead, it turned out to be a meditation about what happens when people cross the line and think they are above the law. Here is the LAYDEH! LAYDEH KILLAH! shoot where Frankie jumps on Kathleen as Carl's bomb goes off. Again, more cheesey video tomfoolery with convent girl Jenna donning some fishnets and what looks like a black leather g-string bathing suit. LOL, OMG, RPG punching his fist through a glass door. Another World (09/24/91) I still haven't figured out what the heck investigative journalist Kathleen was doing in the video playing a femme fatale. Oh well.

Holy [!@#$%^&*]. 1991 Tom Eplin. Is insanely HOT. I think I'm developing a bit of a crush!

Spooky. I was going to post that one, too, alongside the train trestle one, but didn't want to make my post too long. I love that dance scene. Back when soaps used name artists and songs! I still love that Mariah Carey classic and that Gloria Estefan song. OK, the dancing is cheesy but it was 1990. The best bit for me is actually after the dance, when Ryan tells Vicky a few home truths. When she tries to hit him and he grabs her arm, he sort of holds it so that her fist is softly brushing against his face. Even though she tells him "You really hurt me" and her fist is close enough to hit him again, she can't bring herself to do it. That whole moment embodied his gentle strength. I think they may now be my favorite ever pairing in soaps. And no, they don't write men like Ryan Harrison on soaps anymore. That and no strong women, I believe, signals the deathknell of the genre. Who wants to watch weaklings and bullies on the frontburner every day?

OMG, I thought that was Anne Heche and they just couldn't be bothered to update the credits! Am I right in thinking that Brian Krause (of Charmed fame) was later recast as Matt? Because he was kinda hot on Charmed. This Matt? Looks like a little kid trying to be a Big Record Producer. This is my reaction to any character Ricky Paull Goldin plays generally. The irony is that Dean is less annoying IMO than Gus on GL or Jake on AMC. And that's with that awful mullet. RPG is more sensual as Dean (and slightly more -- how can I put this? -- metrosexual) than he was/is as Gus or Jake. Yes, that "I Dream of Jenna" song is horrific. But WAIT until you get to September 1991 because they film a video for his song "Ladykiller" and it is the funniest thing ever shot. It is so bad, it's good. PLEASE watch it before AW is taken off YouTube -- you will not regret it. Also, RPG and AK's chemistry is off the charts. They do kiss on the grass at night in early October and, I'm not even kidding, it was so tender and hot that I was fanning myself. And, like I said, I am not an RPG fan. One of the hottest, most romantic scenes EVER: <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Rl3ggEtNc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Rl3ggEtNc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Rl3ggEtNc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> PREACH IT. I never wanted to badmouth the character of Frankie because I know she was killed off in such a cruel, cynical way and it really signaled the deathknell for what had been one of the best soaps on the dial. However! I can't stand her forced quirkiness, her "jokes" (which really are not that funny), her "Mama Earth" shtick. Kathleen took a while to grow on me with the whole "I'm fiery and Oirish" thing but she is such a warmer and more relatable character than Frankie, who I always found brittle and a bit boring. And I just can't see Frankie being this perfect match of Cass's who was an urbane, witty, slightly-Euro-trash lawyer.

LOL, Ted King was known as TW! LOved him on GH as Lorenzo. Never saw him on Loving or The City. ABC needs to upload all episodes on YouTube!

Saw this episode a few months ago -- it was the BOMB, especially that Vicky-Jake confrontation. That rape SL was such a turning point for the show. What made it difficult, though, was the fact that AH as Marley and TE as Jake had so much chemistry. I think only PMV surpassed TE in terms of chemistry with Heche. She really was my favourite Vicky/Marley, by a country mile. And, yes, you were seeing what you thought you saw. Soaps used to be a lot more adult in terms of love scenes. I mean adult not just in terms of sexual content but in terms of showing a love scene that wasn't saccharine or fairy-tale. The way Kathleen and Cass interact with each other afterwards is so intimate and real. Soaps just do not show that physical and emotional closeness anymore. Carmen Duncan. I never saw Beverlee McKinsey as Iris so CD is essentially my fave Iris. I'm still not sold on Cali Timmons as Paulina. I find her to be a bit of a hair model and relatively interchangeable from the other blondes on the show (especially Sandra Ferguson). Anybody else think that the actress who played Olivia Matthews looked a lot like Anne Heche?

I love what carmen Duncan said about Dack rambo. Mark Pinter has just started playing Grant (where I am on AW) and I just cannot warm to him. DR always played Grant as having a heart underneath all that political ambition.

Yeah, Mark. He was a little hottie. And I liked he and Gabi's burgeoning relationship.