teplin

I've heard rumors that Lemay wanted to bring Bev Penberthy back and make her a spoiler for the John-Sharlene relationship. Pat & John seems like an odd pairing to me, but who knows?

Diego Serrano (Tomas Rivera, AW) guested on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this week.

And she looks fantastic.

He's also in a few episodes of this season's "Where the Bears Are," a silly, occasionally funny, R-rated web series about a group of big, hairy gay guys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27KEPylQbEg&list=PLcZwPhipfbTBmwAJRHqoT2Mfr-3HJ51DE&index=12

SHIELD is on ABC, Tuesdays at 9 pm.

Simmons also has a recurring role on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., starting with last week's season two premiere.

I've never seen any Kamel-DAYS stuff online (or Denise Alexander-DAYS stuff or Peter Brown/Greg Peters-DAYS stuff). I'd love to see any of it. IIRC, Kamel and Alexander were indeed on screen together for a time. Checking Jason47, he has a 1972 cast photo with the both of them.

I know the show used Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" for the culmination of its Miami location sequence, but I never saw this. None of what's going on here seems familiar to me, so I must've missed a larger chunk of the show in that era than I thought. What this clip brought to mind for me: Michael Leon (Pete) was a terrible actor. Lisa Trusel (Melissa) was a weak actress, but I loved her anyway. There was a time when Josh Taylor was sexy as all get out. And '80s fashions really sucked.

Susan Flannery was amazing as Laura -- both smart and sexy, icy and hot. Rosemary Forsyth came off as somewhat of a schoolmarm in comparison. Plus, I thought she was too old for the role. Her coldness was effective as Laura descended into madness, however. Bauer's Laura bore no relation to the one that came before.

I remember that quote. I wondered at the time what 50-something Deidre Hall, the network's most popular and highest-paid daytime performer, thought about it. I also remember that, as a young teen, I was fascinated by AW's Mac, Rachel and Iris, and had no interest in the show's teen stories. I hear the same thing over and over again from AW watchers of my generation. Have young people really changed that much over the years?

I saw this news reported elsewhere early yesterday and was hoping it was a mix-up. Sad to read this morning that it's been confirmed. I loved Keating's portrayal of Carl, both pre- and post-redemption. His performance was hammy in the very best way -- just this side of over the top but always absolutely committed and totally riveting. There's another current thread about actors who "phone it in" ... Charles Keating never did. I found Carl and Rachel's romance hard to swallow from a logical perspective, but I couldn't deny the chemistry, skill and dedication of the actors. I still find it hard to believe that so much airtime was spent on a courtship between two characters in their 50s while TV networks were becoming ever more obsessed with the elusive youth demo. I understand NBC strongly resisted it, but there was no denying the fan appeal of Carl and Rachel -- or the talent of Charles Keating.

I didn't recognize it from YouTube, nor did I recognize the two characters involved -- but it was a B&W clip from the '50s. The premise had Mrs. Masters and her new African-American nanny/maid watching the show, which is a favorite of the nanny's.

There was a brief Love of Life clip on this week's Masters of Sex episode.

Love your stories, TimWil. Thanks for sharing.

Jacker was definitely Rauch's attempt to recapture some of Lemay's magic. Like Lemay, she wasn't a soap writer -- she was a playwright. And she had some worthy ideas -- but I felt the execution was, for the most part, terrible. I remember being extremely bored by her stuff. But yes, some great performances shone through. I also agree that the show was terribly produced at this time. I was pretty young during the Lemay-Rauch years and I didn't really start to pay attention to the look and feel of the show until 1980 or so -- but my mind always flashes to this era when someone mentions how gorgeous AW looked under Rauch. Maybe it was in the 70s, but in the early 80s it looked cheap and felt shoddy.

Richard Bekins (ex-Jamie, AW) plays Linda Lavin's love interest in the off-Broadway play, "Too Much Sun." http://www.broadway.com/shows/too-much-sun/photos/too-much-sun-show-photos/201097/too-much-sun-show-photos-ps-514-richard-bekins-linda-lavin

Anne was miscast as both AW's Nicole and DAYS' Kim ... but she has always seemed like a sweetheart in interviews. Philece Sampler, an utter disaster as Donna, would have been much better as Nicole. Her acting persona is certainly much closer to that of Kim Morgan Greene (Nicole #1).

Eric Sheffer Stevens (ex-Reid, ATWT) will be on Nurse Jackie next week.

"Did ANYONE like Rachel and Mitch together? I haven't heard from one person who did. Not when her true love, Mac Cory, was still there." I loved the beginning of their story, when Rachel seduced Mitch in St. Croix. But I never for a single moment believed that Rachel loved Mitch (aka the block of wood that walked like a man). They must have had fans because the story lasted much longer than it should have. I saw no chemistry between them at all – VW's Rachel was so vibrant and alive in scenes with Doug Watson and so dull and limp with Mitch. I always wondered if Wyndham deliberately "sabotaged" scenes with Mitch so she could get back to her favorite acting partner.

Re: that second episode, why did Deidre Hall and Josh Taylor have chemistry as Marlena and Chris, but none as Marlena and Roman?

She was a naturally warm and empathetic actress who really projected that caring quality with most every other character. That inherent goodness made her love for dastardly Alex Marshall all the more fascinating.

Happy 50th to my favorite soap. It never again came close to matching its mid- to late-70s brilliance, but the characters kept me tuning in year after year. I wonder what Matt Crane (and Vicky Wyndham and Charles Keating and Linda Dano and Anna Stuart and Anna Holbrook and so many others) are doing today?

A young Ray Wise turns up at about 16:10 in the episode above! Lanna Saunders' Marie was a wonderful "talk-to" character.

Thanks. Gretchen apparently made even less of an impact with me than Sandy!

The only person I can't place in that 1982 is the blond woman in the back row, third in from the left, next to Don Frabotta (Dave). Is it Martha Smith (Sandy Horton)? I think she was around then, though I can't remember a single storyline or scene of hers.