Contessa Donatella

#ClassicDays Roman & Marlena Country Inn #5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYkOJmh6aHI&list=PLKmA2lMn5BKs-vZ9yFwJjD4qyfHAcAb1v&index=11

But since Agnes first created the Ada-like character & the Rachel-like character on TBD they were actually created first, not second as we have long thought. She did the troublemaker daughter & put upon mother 4 times - TBD, AW, AMC & LOV. (Some call the troublemaker daughter the raven-haired vixen daughter.)

Okay, one thing, one very important thing. Douglas Marland wrote Lesley Webber & her discovery of her bio daughter, Laura & Laura's accidentally killing this man & Lesley taking the blame & Laura & Scotty & a lot more & then he also wrote Luke & Laura. Marland's writing is as much a part of the resurgence of GH as is Monty's production changes, to a point. When Monty decided to "rebrand" the rape & call it a seduction he left & the writing fell to Pat Falken Smith who also disagreed with the seduction but needed the job to support herself & her daughter so she went along, to get along. And GH continued to have stellar writing except for the switch from character-driven stories to action-driven stories, which is where Monty did soapdom a disservice. Me, I thought that the marital rape on GL was better & more important but the mainstream press was in love with Luke & Laura & had no interest in Roger raped Holly. And that press fed the fans which fed the press. Think Beatlemania. The L&L fans were crazed.

https://www.usenetarchives.com/index.php This is one Usenet Archive. There are others. When this guy began loading Usenet posts he started with 1981-1991 with the stated intention of continuing to add more. Soap discussion was first in Rec.Arts.TV & then a splinter group was created Rec.Arts.TV.Soaps so Usenet archives are one place to look. And that's all the search info you need. (In 1995 there was another split into rec.arts.tv.soaps.abc, rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs & rec.arts.tv.soaps.misc and also about then some alt.* groups were formed like alt.something.days-of-our-lives etc. but that is all older than you want. So you can ignore this.) In 1975 a woman named Bryna Laub ran an email soap updating service. She began by herself & by 1975 she had a half dozen employees & they did *I believe* weekly summaries of all soaps then on the air. At least one year, 1977, she put out a book of them, an Annual, which of course is out of print. I have no idea if a copy is findable to purchase. I looked 3 places for archives of her summaries online but didn't find any. So the book is the only realistic lead there. Back then I think most who did them did weekly, not daily. Hope this helps! Happy Hunting!

August 11, 2009, last actual production day, I believe. Today is an Endiversary. 14 years.

I was an NBC baby. Well, technically my mother watched ATWT, AW, DAYS, so that's what I began on. When the shows expanded she reluctantly gave up ATWT. I came to discover AMC & GL & GH on my own. But, I always thought NBC was terrible at promotion & they were paranoid & very jealous of ABC & thought they should own their soaps because ABC did. And they were huge copycats, although I know American business in general was imitative. And it's not like they were lacking for quality in their shows. At different points along the way DOC, GEN, AW, DAYS & SB definitely showed quality. BEACH & PSSN were sorta different but they both could've been long term niche soaps. SFT was inherited but good. The spin-offs had quality in them, even. They hated being 3rd out of 3 but they seemed to screw up more than anyone else.

Well, AW has synopses some of which were written up from scripts. Some from here, some from there, etc. The links are here & explanatory notes indicating what year ranges came from what sources. I don't know how good they are, just that they exist & they've been a labor of love for Eddie & Mike. The first link is the first year, 1964. http://anotherworldhomepage.com/synopses.html And Jason47 has DAYS way back although he also has gaps during the years Bill Bell was writing DAYS. But more is there than is missing by far! Here's Jason explaining about missing weeks to me in an email & then the links to his pages: As you will see he has a LOT, too. So that's 2 NBC soaps.

At the time I read it I thought someone from soaps should have been an editorial pass.

I wonder if a comparison might not be to The City. I think people found it visually jarring.

Very interesting. Surely it's not just coincidence.

Yes, I was. Not keen on the double wedding. Just think they're hokey. I bet no nobody actually has one.

Yes, I believe you are correct. P&G thought their trouble stemmed from being moved on the schedule & wanted them moved back.

ISO: In Search of a video Clip of Bo (PR) & Roman (WN) on the Pier, discussing their relationship as brothers & when they turned a corner with each other. They're both wearing brown leather jackets. Carly gave Bo his. It includes a flashback to them on the beach in '84. I believe it was either right before or right after Bo in the Yucatán.

#ClassicDAYS Roman & Marlena Country Inn #4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C7ccchUT5k&list=PLKmA2lMn5BKs-vZ9yFwJjD4qyfHAcAb1v&index=10

Absolutely, you are right to point that out. While writing it she had a stroke. But she persisted in writing it all herself & just had family help her get it from her head to the page. She always used a dictaphone & someone typed from that. She picked out the cover & died 2 or 3 days later, having Parkinsons & pneumonia, which I do not believe had been diagnosed, so no treatment. Thank you.

I can't see where anyone has posted the news about GH on Hulu. If I'm duplicating, sorry. Per the network, today, (tweets between SoapJenn & Nathan) Hulu is responsible for putting the show up "day after or sooner". Now, how in the world did all of us fans get it so wrong?! Weird news today. Of course I am also scratching my head over the walk down Memory Lane of Carly & Olivia's friendship. I am a fan of women on soaps having women friends. And, they are great friends! @ranger1rg I did not know this was a Minority Rapport but I am a fan of Olivia's. And I have always been a fan of Portia's but this is just awful. It was bad enough when she began cultivating Esme, who she by rights should detest but now being so underhanded & overbearing with Spence, it is starting to smack of villainy. I do not like it one bit.

Thanks. Clever.

Was Ron the HW then?

Okay. Duly noted.

I am unlike most GL fans because I did not dislike the end years or Peapack. Instead I thought that this might be the new way soaps looked. There were only 2 things that bothered me & they bothered me to an extreme. When EW repurposed offices to double as sets, most worked but the courtroom was an exception. The second floor was so steep to the first that it was ridiculous. It never should have been used. And the other was audio. They took way too long solving horrible problems with audio. And if you can't hear a soap, you can just forget it. Other things GL that I hated: Maureen's death including the fact that Lillian paid a price & Ed was just untouched; the clone; traveling through time via portrait; Holly kidnapping the children; Roger's son imprisoning Holly in an actual cell & then trying to romance her; sock puppet; Maryanne Carruthers; teens tunneling & falling down, somehow, into Danny & Michelle's apartment; Ben Reade sex storyline & suicide; Marty West & that baseball diamond; Eden the whole character; Natalia until Otalia. Random things I loved: Laura Bell Bundy; Gina Tognoni; "Doris Wolfe" mayor in gay bar with a hat on; Aubrey Dollar; Matt Bomer; Lisa Brown & Michael Tylo; "Mattessa"; Melissa Hayden & all things Bridget; "Nadine Cooper" loved Jean; "Jenna" earlyish; all the Lewis men; Hawk & Sarah; Buzz; Emma always but especially "My 2 Moms". Otalia, the graveyard & gazebo, written by Swajeski; Jami, Tammy's death & Jonathan's reaction; Richard's funeral where Cassie read "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, Pullitzer winning poet; GusH, a love scene where Harley's arm was broken so Gus obliged her & it was clear it was oral sex. Many years later on DAYS oral sex happened again & many pearls were grasped, so GL was that far ahead of the game; another love scene directed by Bruce Barry with Philip & Olivia where Grant's bicep covered so much of Crystal's body it looked like they were both naked.

AMC: Erica was there from the beginning, a native & presented from the start as a handful. Erica always had one story per year that she was the star of but the rest of the time she was in on everyone else's stuff just as a regular person, sorta. AW: Rachel was there from early days not the beginning & she regularly had starring roles in s/ls but also functioned as part of groups & had friendships, etc. She was a native. DAYS: Marlena came along pretty early but was not a native. She moved there. Her first identity was just as a doc & Mickey Horton was her first patient. BITD I don't think anyone would have predicted she'd become queen of the show. But Pat Falken Smith created another iconic romantic couple out of Roman & Marlena. Then when Stefano became obsessed with her, her status was sealed. GL: Reva was not a native & not there from early days either. Brought into town, paid, to do a dirty deed. Reva was never just a part of the gang. She always had her own stories. She did participate in stories of people in her sphere of influence, like family. She was with every Lewis man but Bill. They retconned her past so she was a child in the Lewis household but the Lewises weren't native themselves. 3 of 4 probably had guarantees of 4. Deidre doesn't. Carly at GH is probably the most like Reva. Hmm, Carly at ATWT maybe too.

Yeah, from your keyboard to the soap universe! I'm honestly not optimistic. See, Challie was easy. They had great optics & the camera loved them being lovey-dovey and they managed to foul that up! This isn't easy. It's the hard way. I fear the worst. I have more gay male friends than female friends & just on "sensitivity" alone I question how Ron got his membership card. @Gray Bunny Is it a stereotype or is it true? Or is it both?

Overall loved the book but 2 things: awful errors & so much stuff she didn't even mention. @Mitch64 I think I've already trashed Rauch on sets, lights & women's clothing!!

Now, see, I think she was really just crazy about the weight. And then in her book she did an awful thing & threw Costume Designer Shawn Reeves under the bus saying something like it was beneath him to shop in the chubby girls section.

It's funny but I don't like it when we only see Marlena as a shrink. I like to see her with family members. But, I very much do like it when we see characters actually in therapy. And, they really made their point with Talia & moving her from no experience being attracted to women to having romantic feels for Chanel. I was dubious that they could take us there. But they did.