StevieM

Great post. I wonder, if the internet was around in 1986, would people have been screaming "Scott and Cheryl are brother and sister!!" I actually wonder the same thing about Tony and Kristen on Days of our Lives. It was weird back then how Peter Blake called Tony his brother, even though he was no more related to him than Kristen. Today, they are referred to by the show as brother and sister. Speaking of Scott and Cheryl, I didn't even know until just recently that they had made love right before leaving the show. I guess it was one of those things where if you blinked, you missed it...and I was away at summer camp. I wish I had known that because I was a big fan of theirs back in the day, and I would have enjoyed that resolution. Even at the time, at a very young age, I sensed that they were forced to break up because NBC did not want to let young heroines have sex too quickly. With regards to last names, Another World did that a lot. A character would suddenly have their proper last name, usually the name of their father. Dennis Carrington came back as Dennis Wheeler. Vicky and Marley Love became Hudsons. Evan Bates became Evan Frame. And I distinctly remember one episode where Scott called himself Scott Love, although I guess he went back to being Scott LaSalle. Actually, before Marissa became Mary again, there was a brief period where she was being called, and even referred to herself as, Marissa Love. This happened under a number of different executive producers and head writers over the course of many years. I think that certain shows have certain things that just do. For example, it was the norm on GH to kill off a bad guy, have them quickly come back from the dead, and then quickly kill them for real. Damien Smith, Katherine Bell, AJ Quartermaine (in 2005, notwithstanding his 2012 return).

Thanks!! I got my GH dates from IMDB, but they do have a lot that is wrong/missing. Robinson coming in as Vince McKinnon in early 1987 when the role was first recast would indeed have been ideal. Or if he had left GH a year earlier then maybe he would have been available sooner, assuming he was willing to consider the part. Maybe if AW offered to let him take on the role from the beginning of the "Who is Marissa LaSalle" story he would have said yes, especially if they made a really good pitch to him. As I said, the story had a load of potential.

There was actually a scene, early on in the storyline, where Cass recommended to Mary that she file a personal injury lawsuit against Reginald. Little did they know just how responsible he was for her loss of memory. I believe it was ultimately concluded that Reginald had his doctor deliberately damage her memory. I agree that the story was loaded with potential that was wasted. To be fair, it was the story that first got me watching the show. But it could have been much better. I think it would have been interesting if they could have persuaded Chris Robinson to take the role of Vince in early October 1986, right after he left GH in late September. He could have started on the day that Mary and Vince first came face to face after 17 years. As I wrote above, I liked Ben Hogan in the role. But reuniting Denise and Chris in a love story, where they were the couple to root for, would have been a great opportunity. I think it would have worked much better than bringing him in as Jason Frame. As for Reginald, I wish he had been written more like Victor Kiriakis from Days of our Lives (80s version). In other words, as a mobster. I also think they should have gotten an older actor to play him. And speaking of older actors, it would also have been good if Mary's parents were still alive when she came back. That would have added more emotion to the story, and possibly opened the door for creating another core family. I don't remember if they ever explained whether her parents died before she left, or if they both died thinking that they had outlived her.

Duke Stroud was fine as Vince in the way that Frank Parker was fine as Grandpa Shawn Brady on Days of our Lives. He was well-cast to be the patriarch of the McKinnon family, and he had good father-daughter chemistry with his children. Ben Hogan also had a good connection with the actors playing Vince's daughters. He had superior chemistry with characters like Ada and Felicia. And he came across much more like a leading man who was ready for a major storyline that he was at the center of. In the end, none of this mattered too much. What really mattered is that Duke had absolutely no chemistry IMO with Denise Alexander. Robert Hogan was a much better match for Denise. And I think having the story begin with Duke Stroud in the role of Vince prevented it from taking off as much as it might have, although I must admit it was the story that got me watching the show. There were also some problems with the writing, of course. What would have been amazing would have been if Chris Robinson, who had played opposite Denise Alexander as her husband Rick Webber on GH, had been cast in the role of Vince. He left GH at the end of September 1986. Vince came face to face with Mary for the first time in early October 1986. Imagine if AW had immediately recast the role and his first day was the day that Vince and Mary had reunited. I actually think he would have been well-cast as Vince McKinnon. He was somewhat of a combination between Stroud and Hogan. And I think he could have done good things with the part. You know that AW would have loved it because they eventually went out and got Robinson to play Jason Frame. And they immediately put Jason into a story with Mary. I think it would have been better if he had just been brought in as a recast of Vince McKinnon. I suppose they also could have brought him in when they brought Vince back in early 1987 played by Hogan after the character had been off screen for a couple of months. I suppose it is possible that they tried but he wasn't interested at that point. Mind you, I liked Ben Hogan a lot in the role. He played the part of Vince well. But reuniting Chris and Denise would have been too good an opportunity to pass up.

Deanna Wright was definitely the best Kay, IMO. She was to Passions what Sami Brady was to DAYS. She was definitely fierce, but like Sami she could show you her vulnerability. And I still remember when Charity was trapped in hell and Kay realized that she had to draw the line at some point so she finally went to the closet and tried to pull Charity out. I thought Taylor Anne Mountz was kind of one-note but she did have her fans. She also had good chemistry with Lena Cardwell, the first Simone (who should never have been fired IMO). I know people like to rag on Heidi Mueller but I thought she did well with what the part had evolved into. She made Kay into more of an adult than she had previously been. She actually showed Kay dealing with the difficulties of life while working in the cannery. And she made Kay and Miguel remotely believable, even if it was still a stretch. Gina Marie May is the often-forgotten temporary replacement when TAM abruptly left the show. She wasn't too memorable but she did have one good scene. It was a rare Kay/Theresa scene. I finally found it on youtube. There was very little interaction between them over the years, even though Maria was their shared family. There should have been more scenes with them. It is interesting to imagine this scene if it had been played by TAM, who had left 8 days earlier.

If DAYS hadn't screwed Matt Ashford over, so many times, Jack Deveraux could still be on the show right now. And I would love to see a reunion with Jack and Angelica. Of course, they could bring JE/Angelica back without MA/Jack there. She has ties to Justin and Adrienne. And I am sure the show would just act like Jack was never that important to her story. That's what they kind of did in 2006 when they fired MA and got rid of Jack right after the long-awaited return of Steve and Kayla--ironically, a return that had been pushed for by J&J/Jack fans for years.

Ashley Wagner got ridiculously low scores. She completely blew away that free skate. She wouldn't have won a medal, but she certainly shouldn't have finished any lower than 5th. I'm glad that she called the judges out on the absurdity of her scores. I hope the matter gets some coverage, because the scoring system is broke and the judges cannot be completely trusted. I am remembering the 2002 Olympics and a Canadian ice dancing team that lost out to a Russian team, in spite of a clearly superior performance.

I don't know if this was mentioned (I tried to read all the replies, but it was a lot to read and I might have missed a few comments), but in 1989 Rhonda Aldrich was a temporary replacement for Mary Beth Evans as Kayla on DAYS. She was absolutely awful. MBE was pregnant and Aldrich was there for about a week, I think. Also in 1989, Shelley Morgan Taylor did a few episodes as Angelica Deveraux, Jack's stepmother, after Jane Elliot had left the role, but before Judith Chapman had arrived to take over.