Bill Bauer

I think you're confusing Claire with her husband Jim. Jim was having an affair with Edith Hughes and Irna wanted to have Jim leave Claire for Edith but the censors wouldn't have it. So, Irna decided to kill off Jim Lowell in a boating accident. Claire never committed adultery. She just had husbands cheat on her (Jim with Edith, Michael with Lisa).

He was the Michael O' Leary of ATWT. Always overestimating his comedic talent.

While I would welcome an Eileen Fulton interview in the Locker Room, I fear that it would just be a wasted opportunity. I just imagine the interview thus: Alan: So what was it like working with Van Hansis? Eileen: I never worked with him. Alan: That's crazy! So what did you watch during lockdown?

Claire died in January 1971 and Barbara Berjer started as Barbara Norris the same month.

Oh, I never said I liked RVF. I actually didn't like him at all. I just preferred him over Peter Simon. That's not saying much though.

I couldn't stand Peter Simon. I actually have a bad physical reaction when he pops up on screen. I'm not entirely sure why. I actually prefer Richard van Vleet and that's saying a lot!

Maybe Gentry just plays angry son better than he does concerned father.

Not surprisingly, I whole-heartedly agree with all of your points. The only point I only slightly disagree with is point four. I would keep Days on but only because it's a sentimental favorite, I love longevity (it's strangely comforting knowing it's always there even if I don't watch it), and hope springs eternal that it might somehow, miraculously be good again (even though it hasn't been good in over three decades IMO). I guess it's like having a loved one on life support for a very long time but not being able to bring yourself to pull the plug. I feel the same about Y&R to a lesser degree. I couldn't care less about GH or B&B. Robert Gentry was my favorite Ed from what little I saw of him but I just recently watched his return in the 90s and the magic was gone. It was strange. He just didn't seem to fit. Something was off.

Although I don't feel qualified to have this opinion since I never really watched AMC, I agree with the above posts about Erica Kane/Susan Lucci. From what little I saw, both Erica and Susan seemed overhyped and overrated. Both the character and the actress seemed like one-trick ponies.

I'm full of unpopular opinions because I'm usually quick to notice when the emperor has no clothes. However, one opinion I've really developed in my current rewatching of ATWT is that Scott Defreitas is a horrible actor. I think he's just a sentimental favorite because he grew up on the show and played the character so long. He had "moments" of good acting but, for the most part, he was very stiff and in some scenes his acting is downright laughable.

He's always been that way. That's his style. Apparently nobody in his life has pointed this out to him. It's very frustrating. He's a PR guy, not a trained interviewer. He doesn't seem very bright and just likes to see himself on camera. He seems very self-absorbed and people who are that way have trouble thinking about other people and what would matter to them. In this case, if it's not interesting to him, he won't pursue the line of questioning even though it would be interesting to most people watching. If it has to do with him, he's very eager to talk about it. For example, an actor could be telling a story about meeting with a producer to talk about the show in a certain restaurant and Alan will get wide-eyed and enthusiastically break into the story, "Oh my God! I used to eat there all the time. That's crazy!".

Deidre Hall was a GREAT actress in the 70s and 80s. I think she just stopped trying somewhere along the way and kind of went into autopilot.

I guess this proves that even in the golden age of soaps they still were guilty of not honoring history.

Judge Lowell never made it to the 80s. The last year the character was on the cast list is 1978 or maybe 1979. I don't think he was seen much in the few years prior to that. He was most definitely not on the show in the 80s.

I find it hard to believe people are excited about the interview. I don't think anybody but hardcore ATWT/soap fans would even know who he was and all of us hate him.

Those are the same episodes. I guess they were just posted by different people. There are 197 consecutive episodes from 1950/1951 that we are VERY lucky to have. It was one of the best times for GL (if not the best).

I loved Claire Beckman and wish she would have stayed on the show longer, but her version of Sabrina was very different. Not as dark and ambiguous as Julianne Moore's version.

I can't believe that photo of all the Christina/Blakes exists. I can't believe someone (other than a big fan of the show) would think to take the photo. I can't believe they cared enough to find Cheryl Brown. And I can't believe they were able to get them all together for the photo. It's very cool. I wonder what happened to Cheryl Brown? It looks she hasn't acted since she was a child according to her imdb page.

I think they should have had her remarry Grant and leave Oakdale with him. That would have been a more fitting ending than John and Lucinda laughing at her and her just standing there looking hurt as happened in her final scene. But then, everything was so depressing about the show in the end, I guess it fit.

I really can't believe she stuck with the show considering how badly they treated her to the very end. She was neglected and disrespected for at least the last ten years of the show. Perhaps longer.

Right. It's not odd for a divorced woman to retain her ex-husband's surname but why didn't she retain McDermott? Why go back a couple of husbands? Yes it was ridiculous but he seemed more like Tom's contemporary than Bob's. Wasn't he coming out of med school around the same time Tom was in Vietnam? Of course, Tom's aging was ridiculous as well. I just always thought of David being Bob's contemporary in age, not Dan.

LOL. Very true!

Yes. If I remember correctly, she was mad at Larry for cheating on Susan and being a deadbeat dad after Larry divorced Susan and took off. That was her justification for changing her name to Stewart because it was her Mom's last name. Although why Susan wouldn't keep McDermott or revert back to her maiden name Burke and instead go back to using the last name of a previous ex is a mystery.

No, they were never emphasized after Judge Lowell died (or moved off) but that was because the name "Lowell" went with him. Like I said, though, the Lowell descendants were there till the end. Of course, unless someone had been watching from the beginning or was read-up on the history, they never would have known these people were "Lowells" because they didn't carry the last name. However, I will say that it was great that they would throw a bone here and there to in-the-know viewers. I remember Ellen telling Brock in the late 80s or early 90s (can't remember exactly when) about Judge Lowell and Jim Lowell. I also remember and even more shocking reference to the Lowells when Emily told Tom she thought baby Daniel looked like Judge Lowell! It was a particularly shocking reference because the writers at the time had ZERO regard for history. I'm sure 95% of the viewers at that time didn't know who she was talking about. I really appreciated the reference though! You are right that it was bizarre that Susan would keep the name Stewart and Allison would take on the name Stewart. But I guess that was just a way for the writers to keep the Stewart name alive. By that time, there were no male Stewarts to keep the name alive unless you count Stewart Cushing. But he hadn't been on the show in ages and even though he was a Stewart he didn't use the last name. Probably because it would have made him Stewart Stewart.

The Lowells were kind of swallowed up by, or morphed into, the Stewarts. Jim died in 1957 and he and Claire just had a daughter (Ellen) so when she married David the last name was lost. Judge Lowell stayed around until the late 70s but he didn't have any other children other than Jim. So, the name was lost. Claire died in 1970 but had lost the last name Lowell when she married Doug Cassen and then, later, Michael Shea. There was really no way to keep the Lowell name alive. They tried to do it by naming one of Annie's quads Lowell but the quads weren't on the show long. So, technically, Dan, Annie, Dee, Betsy, Emily, the quads, Dani, Daniel and Allison were all Lowells (through the bloodline if not the name).