teplin

I agree that they took Cecile too far over the top; the queen bit was ridiculous. However, Nancy Frangione was so good with comedic elements that I forgave it. Every interaction she has in this episode -- with Rachel, Ada and Donna -- are pure gold. I'd love to see the next episode with her and Vicky getting into it. Also, this reminds that as increasingly goofy as the Red Swan storyline got, I was thrilled that it got Vicky Wyndham so much air time. Her scene with Carmen Duncan, even though it wasn't the real Iris, was layered with meaning and emotion.

To be fair, the show asked viewers to make the same leap in 1984, when Tony/Andre and Roman both wore masks that also magically altered their heights, body types and voices.

Aww, I always liked Neil, from his early days as somewhat of a cad to his star-crossed romance with Liz. Once Gloria Loring left, it seems the writers lost interest in him, except for the ridiculous affair with Maggie and the reveal that Sarah is his daughter. He was ushered off the canvas soon after that, and by that point, I didn't much miss him.

That's now how I remember it, though it could be my memory that's faulty. I remember Mac and Iris sitting together in the hospital, and Mac overcome with joy at the birth of Amanda, and just blurting out how happy he is to finally have a daughter.

I would argue that Don was A-level in the mid-to-late 70s, both before and during the time he was paired with Marlena -- Jed Allan was somewhat of a fixture in those Daytime TV fan polls. But he was mostly an afterthought once he and Marlena broke up. I thought he had great chemistry with Suzanne Rogers for the brief time they were paired, and also with Ann-Marie Martin's Gwen Davies. But yes, CC was such a great role for him, being fired by DAYS worked out for the best.

I think they did a pretty good job of keeping Donna's edge throughout her relationship with Michael. Maybe that's more of a credit to Anna Stuart than the writers, since Philece Sampler's Donna was a whimpering, simpering mess. Sadly, Donna mellowed too much (for me) when paired with Matt.

I thought Josh paired pretty well with Catherine Mary Stewart's Kayla, thought that seems so odd to say now that he's played Kayla's brother for so long.

That entire week of shows was riveting to me as a teen. I had no idea who the Strangler was so the suspense was great, I loved Patty Weaver and the songs she debuted (I even bought her album) and the costumes and production were pretty cool. Only negative was the Melinda Fee was so miscast as Mary Anderson that I didn't care what happened to her.

Reilly also didn't get Julie.

My sense with Joshua Fallon was the the show was trying really hard to position him as the new leading man, so they played him heavily with their most popular stars. He also got a fair amount of screen time with Julie, for rather contrived story reasons. A lot of people here like him, but I found him very off-putting. (He was a fair sight better than the next guy in the role, however.)

Was the remodel acknowledged on screen? I hate when a set is completely overhauled and the characters don't seem to notice.

I really liked her energy, which was completely different than anyone else on the show, and I am sad to see her leave. I hope she will be back sooner rather than later (and I hope the same for Suzanne Rogers).

I always thought Marci was basically auditioning for indie film projects in her first DOOL stint. She appears to have given up on that ambition and has adopted a more traditional soap acting approach. I think she's overdoing it a bit at this point ... but that may just be my reaction to how differently she's playing it.

Some really incredible black actors were on the show during this brief period. Too bad the writing sucked.

Isn't that Giancarlo Esposito as the young criminal?

True, but Marlena started off with much higher intelligence than them, so the fall was steeper.

That's why I can't get as upset as others at the recent Susan/Kristen prominence -- soon enough, the entire storyline will disappear for three weeks or so.

Who knew that she dated Burt Reynolds? And that ol' Burt was a lying liar who always lied?

Beverlee McKinsey's son Scott has posted a Canadian TV interview his mother did just after leaving Texas. It really is quite amazing. It's on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/scottmckinsey

I thought Cady captured Jennifer's warmth but not her spunk. Still, I was fine with her staying. This seems like a really odd time for Jennifer to be off canvas, given the stories that are currently swirling around her character.

I love Susan, but there have been several musical numbers on the show over the years that confirmed her lack of vocal prowess.

Like the various Susan Flannery successors in the Laura Horton role, Ms. Gatteys couldn't hold a candle to Denise Alexander and felt like a place-holder for the "real" Susan. I'm surprised she lasted three-and-a-half years, her screen impact was minimal.

I think this late-70s hairstyle served her well. But don't get me started on her wardrobe -- it looked great in the '70s, mostly jeans and other casual wear, and again in the early '90s when she was mainly wearing business suits. But the '80s were a complete disaster and I didn't like the "flowy" pantsuits she took to wearing in the late '90s.

It was even more boring on screen than it plays on the page.

I have not been terribly happy with Marlena since James Reilly shaved 30+ IQ points from her, but i loved her and Dee Hall so much in the early years that I still root for her. I only saw bits and pieces of the Maggie-Daniel stuff, but it didn't damage her in my eyes -- again, the wellspring of affection I have for her dates back decades and is not dependent on what the writer du jour does with her character. I wish Doug & Julie got better material, but I will watch anytime one or both are on. I'm glad all four are still there, and I would rather watch any of them before the current crop of "stars."