Contessa Donatella

1 hour ago, Franko said:

Surely NBC could have scared up some more space for The Doctors at 30 Rock. It's not like there was THAT much going on there circa 1976 (Today, WNBC, NBC Nightly News, Tomorrow and SNL).

 

Well, they did not own it. Colgate-Palmolive would just have been renters to them, so it's just what was in the contract & more space would have been more rent. The expansion was not AT ALL without costs. According to Lin Bolen the budget would be MORE than double & that did not count that you'd need more space & more actors. And, the people who would get the gains from ad revenue were the network, not the show. Sort of the fine print. 

On 2/18/2023 at 2:11 PM, JoeCool said:

Sorry to see Carla go. Sad scene with Ed.

Paul Rauch was awful to Ellen Holly and fired her. Ellen deserved better. I read Ellen's book.

For as many good things that Paul Rauch did, there are plenty of black marks on his record & Ellen Holly is definitely one of the earliest ones. 

Changing the subject, ... 

I am looking at credits for the Director/Producer Jorn H. Winther & I readliy find AMC, SB, GEN & Rituals. But then I read in an article in the Hollywood Reporter, upon his death:

Quote

 

He later spent more than five years as an executive producer and director on ABC’s One Life to Live and helmed episodes of other soap operas including ABC’s All My Children and NBC’s Another World and Santa Barbara.

From <https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jorn-winther-dead-director-landmark-david-frost-richard-nixon-interviews-was-88-1162181/> 

And I've found a picture of him that shows both OLTL & AMC as the backdrop. 

Now, sure enough I did find him listed as a Director for AW. But I find absolutely nothing for OLTL. Is anyone aware of his being involved at any time at OLTL? Of course, it can just be an error in the article, ... Thanks for any assistance. 

From <https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jorn-winther-dead-director-landmark-david-frost-richard-nixon-interviews-was-88-1162181/>

Thanks @Paul Raven! 

36 minutes ago, Melroser said:

Didn't she flirt with Jake at the time? I kind of remember liking that possible pairing. 

Yes, she did. 

Just now, Franko said:

What's everybody's feelings on mid-'90s Amanda, the Christine Tucci and Laura Moss years?

I can honestly say that I liked every recast. They all had pretty good writing. They all were good daughters, mothers & sisters. The Alli's that were also recast went along with them, appropriately, obviously with great casting intent. I get a kick out of the fact that Christine Tucci and Alicia Coppolla are RL buds where they are each other's children's godmothers & talk on the phone every day. And, that has nothing to do with the show! I kinda think the success of 3 very different Amandas proves the pudding about soaps & recasts. I have this crazy picture of Laura fooling around one day. 

No idea if this is true and old news, or what, but I just saw it on #SoapTwitter & thought, HMMMM. The tweeter then had more to say which I've included below but it really went in the direction of Strasser & Jill at OLTL, so it's really nothing to do with GL. I just include it for closure. 

12 minutes ago, Melroser said:

Thanks for unlocking, @Toups

This thread is the primary reason I come here (though I check out many more).

Just watched the Nov 20, 1987 ep. I remember liking the show a lot then even if many others didn't. I enjoyed the Rex/Cass story. Yes, it was campy. That's why I liked it. ...

I liked it because I love Stephen Schnetzer! 

12 minutes ago, Melroser said:

I, unlike most people on this thread, liked Philece Sampler as Donna because I was a fan of hers. The writing wasn't the best for her, but I still enjoyed watching her on AW. 

I run into people all the time who liked Philece's Donna. Now me I adore Philece as Renee & adore Anna Stuart as Donna but I recognize that Philece has quite the following on AW, too.

12 minutes ago, Melroser said:

Of course, Anne Heche. Denise Alexander. Wally! "Villain" Reginald (yes, cartoonish at times) looming around. I'm glad they never "redeemed" Reg like they later did with Carl to make him a romantic pairing with Rachel, but that's a whole other story. 

I was also a big fan of early Sam and Amanda/Mandy. I thought the two were great and could have really become the show's "supercouple". At least, as much as AW did supercouples. They had the Romeo and Juliet feel as Rachel's daughter and Mitch's brother. I was behind them until Amanda became pregnant with Ali and the air fell out. 

I think I'll have to go back and watch some more of '87. 

Anne Heche was so new then & it was so great from the get-go. 

I really liked Sam & Mandy. Besides RKK, the only other person I liked Sandy with was Evan Frame. 

27 minutes ago, janea4old said:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/richard-belzer-dead-homicide-law-order-1235329813/
Belzer died early Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southwest France, a longtime friend of the actor who does not wish to be identified told The Hollywood Reporter.  “He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, ‘F*ck you, motherf*cker’  ” , his friend said. 

RIP   I really thought he would just live forever! 

35 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Thank you @Toups!

Yes, thank you! @Toups!

I happened upon the names of the last Writing Team for the show the other day. It filled me with nostalgia. I don't know if you're interested, and it's not news by any means, but then what is news for AW, huh? 

Leah Laiman co-HW, Jean Passanante co-HW, Stephen Demorest, Melissa Salmons, Laura Maria Censabella, Judy Tate, Tom Wiggin, Tom King, Maura Penders, Richard Culliton, Shelly Altman, Carolyn Culliton, Richard J. Allen, Sofia Landon Geier, Lynn Martin, Gillian Spencer, Mary Sue Price, Edwin Klein, Gordon Rayfield, Courtney Simon, Eleanor Labine.

Jean Passanante has since retired. Shelly Altman has since retired. The Cullitons are Script Writers for DOOL. And Carolyn Culliton tweets on #SoapTwitter. 

For Valentine's Day I re-watched the AW 1992 Valentine's Day show, the B&W film noir "Case of the Stolen Heart" and it has really stood the test of time. Still really enjoyed it! The show won an Emmy with it. 

I was organizing photo files the other day & found this gem of Doug Watson in the 1950s & one with him & the director Ira Cirker. 

On 2/14/2023 at 2:54 AM, Paul Raven said:

As for TD expanding, the only thing I can think of is that Colgate Palmolive didn't want to cough up the $$ for the hour format and that there was no studio space available in NY. TD operated out of  a tiny studio in Rockefeller Center.

Edited Tuesday at 02:56 AM by Paul Raven

That's the only thing I've been able to come up with, also. They did an hour trial run with DOC. And, Len Bolen, the woman NBC exec who spear-headed expansion at AW was gung-ho in general that the hour was THE WAY to go. They just wanted to make sure it would work at AW, which it did. And, then, proceeded right on to DOOL, where it was fine also. I can't imagine that she wouldn't have also been gung ho for DOC! And, they did the trial, so we know that they considered it. Either no way to add studio space, as they had done with AW. Or something specific different with dealing with Colgate-Palmolive. Anyway, a long-winded way to say I agree. 

53 minutes ago, ironlion said:

... 

I know this is a soap but GH has had way too many paternity/maternity reveals and switches going on in the Frank era. We have Esme and Willow's parental histories playing out simultaneously. Sometimes the confusion further compounds when writers RETCON what happened offscreen.

Great points! Right now, you've listed Trina, where this thread began, Esme, Willow, and there's even one more Cody Bell! FOUR! Right now. It's kind of ridiculous. 

1 hour ago, Darn said:

Thank you @Vee and @P.J.

As far as I know only the Cassadines and Laura knew.

Can I just say it’s effing wild that the show with the most famous rape survivor had her go on to have a child as a product of rape with a completely different man? Both of whom went on to be her husband (with the Stavros marriage being forced and not at all legally binding of course)!

I will say GH does a good of not invalidating what we saw play out on screen. Nik’s birth fits in the timeline and do does Trina’s if you account for the sliding scale of soap opera time.

Yeah, it is WAY effing wild! I'm sure it is part of the reason that Genie would speak up & say that she's sick of talking about it. 

But you make a good point that they do keep these twisty-turny plot events sorted out. I do not know how sometimes but ya gotta love em for it. 

On 2/17/2023 at 10:53 PM, xtr said:

Brooke Kerr does look amazing especially in her wedding grown. I also enjoyed the wedding ceremony/reception and how good the sets looked. I also liked that they had a lot of people at the wedding including several extras. It made it look more realistic.

Loved all of this about the wedding! The Costume Designer said he took a chance with the dress for Brooke & boy was it ever a success! He said the dress is a bias cut slip dress designed to show off curves. That it did! 

8 minutes ago, Joseph said:

What's up with Wayne?

I know few things about Wayne today. (1) Kin Shriner calls the house & is (they say) impossible to get off of the phone with. So, seems odd but Wayne talks to Kin on the phone. (2) Wayne knows what a lucky man he is to have Lynn Herring as his wife, mate, etc. & he sends her flowers & gifts all the time, for no occasion! 

29 minutes ago, Joseph said:

On 2/16/2023 at 12:13 AM, janea4old said:

Who was Megan Hathaway's mother?

I think We Never Knew!

I literally saw it written in a recap of the time as "Mrs. Hathaway." I just laughed. That doesn't help any! 

I can't remember any "Real Eve" aka Charlotte Ross catfights but I feel like there must have been some! 

On 2/17/2023 at 5:12 PM, Joseph said:

... 

ANY DAYS REQUESTS???? ANY VIDEOS ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SEE OR WATCH (DON'T ASK ME THE IMPOSSIBLE LIKE PRE-1980'S STUFF)

...

Dates might be prohibitive but I'd love something/anything sympathetic to Real Roman aka Wayne Norhrup during this troubled time in his life. 

15 minutes ago, ironlion said:

Again, a huge issue with today's GH are charachters with loaded backstories that didn't play out on screen.

Just this week a friend & I were trying to figure out if anyone knew that Nikolas had been born when he was a baby, like Leslie? Like Amy? Like anyone? We got nowhere. 

But do you think GH does this more than most soaps? 

19 minutes ago, P.J. said:

Portia told him he wasn't the father.

Yes, she did! She even went to the nth degree & used the word "impossible"! That pretty much makes her lie, not just an ordinary lie, but a whopper!

This is certainly not new & it may have been posted already. If so, I'm sorry to duplicate. It just tickles me so that THE DOCTORS were the first. I watched a lot of this show in it original broadcast & loved it. 

25 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Yeah I know lol

I meant more that he’ll probably come back for visits. I hope they at least get him to come back for Victor’s funeral 

Personally I'm feeling real down in the dumps about them losing 3 diversity characters who are also legacy characters. Seems like such a waste. Will & Allie, Sami/Lucas, Horton & Brady. With Allie we also lose the twin things with Johnny. And, Sonny, Justin/Adrienne, Kiriakis & Johnson. Plus all 3 gay leaving only Chanel & Leo till we get an infusion in March. And, I suppose they are going to be playing Chanel as straight for the foreseeable future. 

26 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I’m excited for next week too.

That was a good cliffhanger and it sounds like the

  Reveal hidden contents

Sprina kiss is going to happen on Monday!!

I cannot wait! GH has just been so good for about a week and a half! So many stories that have dragged along are now finally having rapid movement forward!

I'm still frustrated with The Hook storyline & that was the big cliffhanger for Friday. We know now that Heather was the copycat Hook for two killings - Rory & Britt. So, now the real genuine hook is back for the first time since the Oz killing, I believe, which is a heckuva long time to go between killings! And this most recent attack on Austin cannot be tied to Trina, so hmm, wonder what the motive is there. 

I figure that we saw Emmy Reel for Taby/Trina when she had her confrontation with Portia. 

I figure we might have seen one show reel with Nik, Laura & Spence in the chapel after Britt's memorial. 

I think the gaslighting story of the Asst. Mayor Eileen is delightful. And, I love seeing Anna & Valentin & wish we were seeing Marty & Lucy!

The show is just going bonkers. They did the wedding & then right on to the photo shoot followed immediately by the Sonya Eddy special and then kept on going into the Nurses' Ball which will encompass the actual day of their anniversary. (The first is on a Saturday so the NB will be before & after the weekend.) I think they're smart to be doing the actual anniversary this way. It is very hard to put that much pressure on one day. The only show I know of that has done that well was when GL recreated the radio show which I felt should have won the Emmy that year. 

2 minutes ago, Joseph said:

Well I was supposed to be traveling tomorrow for the beach and spend Carnaval There, However it's a Family trip so

Well, I hope you have a great time. The beach is always good!! If you want to keep talking let's take this to Personal messages, though because this is both off topic & very personal. 

4 minutes ago, Joseph said:

It's Hard To feel good or be positive I am just so tired of taking Deep Breaths, you let me spill the beans, my father has been a total jackas* lately, my sister has only thought about herself since forever but lately she has been just as lazy as they come, I try to help my mother but she has been overstressed lately and I have to endure her bad humor because I'm the only one who gives her the time of day, and Today to crown my happiness I got nearly bald and For nothing because my hair doesn't "measure up" to be donated 😤 GOD I am tired of being good and only receiving bad things

Sorry to make the full confession here but I am very deeply frustrated 

Well, you're in a position that many people have been in, one way or the other & that is when your home life is driving you crazy! Is there any chance that you can spend time away from home for awhile? And, it's kind of you to try to be nice to your mother but don't let yourself suffer as a result of it!! 

2 minutes ago, Joseph said:

Thank you very much!!! I'm just depressed because nothing seems to be going well to me lately but today That Cake Got some extra frosting!!!! 

If something good happened get as much mileage out of it as you can. Your body will put out good endorphins from your smiling & being excited & those endorphins will help you feel better the next day. 

11 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

That's cuz they are basic. lol.

 

That said...their drama has been quietly set up in the background this month in terms of Sonny's secret shipment and Dex/Michael continued meetings...so they are definitely going to have such drama. 

I do not like Dex & that is getting in the way of my enjoying Joss. I loved the other day when she turned to Spence and said, "Are you 5?" I like it when people bicker. It passes for witty repartee. 

So, I think Taby's got Emmy reel & I think the show should use Nik, Spence & Laura in the chapel as one of their episodes. Maybe Virgin birth at the Qs for the other. 

11 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Oh yes, this week has been great. Y&R and B&B are just sitting on my system, but when a new GH has loaded this busy week, I squeezed in time. The pacing has been great. And cliffhangers at the end of each episode. 

 

Yeah, I love seeing Sam in PI mode.

 

I agree. I honestly am starting to feel conflicted with Esme just on the actress's talent. 

7 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

No lie. I swoon.

If he were my type, I would too! 

7 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

 

EXACTLY!!!! Stories exploding all over the place. I LIVE!!!!

GH loves to do this. Drag stuff out forever with nothing happening & then BOOM. Then another boom & another!! 

But when it comes time to pay it off, they are pretty good with the delivery. I am SO excited that Dante & Sam found Maggie!! And now they know Ryan is her papa!!!

7 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

 

I agree. AP has been playing very good as an Esme with no memory. Such a 180.

Proving that she she is a very talented actress indeed. I once doubted that. No more> 

6 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

It really was a beautiful wedding. I was only bugged by Drew. lol.

 

I agree...it was just to up the soapiness. 

 

Awww Sprina.

And I agree. Ugh. Liz was finally free. 

I've still got Wink Martindale in my head & I blame GH for that! Drew no tux & definitely no microphone! 

At least Liz told Terri that she & Finn are just being nice to each other for Violet's sake! I hope that is true.

Did you just scream EMMY REEL at Trina taking Portia's lifelong lie on?! I did. Of course then I literally screamed again when it was Ryan at the door!

But I am loving GH right now!!!