Bill Bauer

The 80s was ATWT's decade, the 90s GL's.

I didn’t even watch ATWT when Grant was originally on but I still thought it was weird that they made him a suspicious character when they brought him back. Like it was possible that he would be trying to kill Lisa or drive her crazy or whatever. He was an established good guy for many years on the show. Melanie Smith had so much sex appeal, she would’ve had chemistry with Pa Hughes.

I believe Vera Allen went on to play Granny Matthews on Another World.

He really, really was. He delivered every line exactly the same way. Like he was announcing sports scores.

I think I heard that too. She killed her off in another morbid but creative way when she fell up the stairs.

Must have been. That was the same year she had lead character Robin Fletcher kill herself by throwing herself in front of a truck on Guiding Light. But Irna was always very morbid. Ten years earlier, she had Robin’s mother, Kathy, killed when, confined to a wheelchair, she was knocked into oncoming traffic by kids on bicycles.

But Meta never lived in Five Points and never knew Rev. Ruthledge. I guess I’d be one of the few that would know that or care.

Yes, it would have been more logical but I think the reasoning with the writers at the time might have been; to be a “Bauer”, they had to have the last name “Bauer’”. That couldn’t have been done with the off-spring of Meta and Trudy. I honestly believe that they heard the audience cry of “We need more Bauers!” at the time and thought the only way to answer that was to bring on more characters with the last name “Bauer” even though they would have to reach far across the family tree to do so. They just didn’t get the fans’ love of the history of the show. The love was for the family who had been the focus of the show for decades, not for the surname “Bauer”.

Thankfully, not long. A year maybe? It was awkward probably because of a combination of the actor’s style and the way the character was sort of shoe-horned in. It was just a way for the writers to bring in more “Bauers” without bringing back more Bauers. It was just silly. I couldn’t tell you a single storyline the character had. I think she just sat around looking confused and startled.

Oh wow. Now that you mention that, I vaguely remember it. Given the year, I’m sure they were going to link her to the fake Bauers (Jack, Lanie, Johnny and Lacey).

Not at all and that’s why they were my favorite soap family. To me, the Hughes family were the”good guys” and more boring family. Trudy hated Meta. Meta shot and killed her husband. Bill was an alcoholic who cheated on Bert several times. Bert was a nagging shrew in her younger years. Mike was a womanizer who drove the mother of his child to suicide and committed adultery with the wife of a crippled man. Ed was an alcoholic who beat one wife and cheated on another wife, indirectly causing her death. The only real “good guys” would probably be Papa Bauer, Mama Bauer, Chuckie, Hope, Hilary, Maureen, Rick and Michelle. That’s a pretty big number but the greater Bauer family was always so complex. I love the Hughes family but they were a little “too good” for a soap family.

The Bauers were never the same after the mid 80s. Bill, Bert and Hilary died and they shipped off Mike and Hope. I’m actually surprised they let Ed, Maureen and Rick stick around (although they were reduced to secondary players). Of course, Charita Bauer’s passing couldn’t be helped but someone during those years really hated the Bauers and nobody after them cared enough to place them back front and center.

God, I love the 70s!

I always thought it strange how Bill Bell decimated the families he created (the Brooks and Fosters). It was, sadly, common for new writers to do that to families past head writers had created, but I don’t know if any other writer besides Bell who did it to his own families. Why he got rid of the Brooks and Fosters and created the Abbots to refocus on them, I’ll never know.

I agree about Lipton’s run. Thankfully, it was very short. I actually liked Irna’s writing in the first year, however. Even though the stories were a retread of stories she had already done on GL and ATWT.

I totally agree with you except I would say 1964-1975 were the best years. Just curious: Why did you exclude the first two years?

What was David’s deal? Did he have amnesia or a split personality. It’s strange that the writers gave David and Ellen a big juicy story at the same time that Chris and Nancy left town due to neglect from the writers. I wonder if these writers just preferred the Stewarts over the Hughes.

That doesn’t even make sense. The character WAS slutty. Melanie Smith was just doing her job. KMH played her slutty too. Just histrionic and slutty. MS played her more chill and slutty. I personally never took to KMH in the role even though she played the part for many, many more years than MS. MS was just more relatable and sympathetic. Emily had daddy issues which made her promiscuous. There was a depth to the character when MS played her and I think she personified the character better than any actress in the part. KMH made the character too superficial and loony.

I may be wrong. I watched the interview once and don’t want to watch it again to make sure but I think she said they wanted to replace her, not that they did. I know they made her start wearing her hair up to try and make her look older.

Do any of you fellow old-timers remember if it was the same guy who raped Chris Brooks that raped Peggy Brooks? And didn’t the rapist have an overweight wife that they made an issue of? I swear I remember that but I’m going by childhood memories and they are VERY vague. I remember Peggy taking showers compulsively after she got raped. Not sure why that sticks out. Again, childhood memories.

Can someone who watched ATWT back when Jennifer was on tell me how she died? I mean, I know she died in a car accident but what were the circumstances? Was it just a random car accident? Did it happen off-screen?

Did she now? Nancy being salty?

Now that I think about, you’re right. Bob did always did have a haughtiness about him. I always thought he was too tough on Christopher as an adult. Then there is the time when Kim was having a hard time forgiving Bob for cheating on her with Susan and Bob had the gall to say, “Could you imagine my mother being so unforgiving to my father?” Then Kim rightly replied, “Chris never would have cheated on Nancy!”

Wow. I realize Rick was always a weasel but Bob seemed like a real dick in that scene between the two.

Maybe Shenanigans?