Mitch

I refuse to believe Peapack was part of "continuity" and as such never happened.

I think it all started with Pam Long's first run..surprising enough..the Eli Simms story had all the patriarchs knowing each other and Brandon in town, and then Alex herself is a revision as Alan mentioned no sister...(though on this count it was worth it and they did mention that they were estranged and had spoken for years so...) then we have the Cabin Mystery and the Founder's Day ball and the Spaulding "always lived in the castle." The show then morphed the house Alan bought next to Ed';s house (to appease the dull Hope who didnt like the mansion) into the mansion property adjoining the Bauers.. Its is forgivable as it makes more sense that the Spaulding were always there so I consider just like other families who are friends with the Bauers, Lewises and Spauldings that you never hear about but have to"exist" in their fictional world. I think they could have just said "I remember when Five Points and Selby Flats were towns on their own that the Reverend would take care of along with this town, until Springfield annexed them." (despite Selby Flats being in California..right?)

The only person I know who called her that outside of Roger was oddly enough Joan Collin's Alex, and it was more derisive. I don't have a problem with two characters of the same name being on a show...if the characters have history and are needed..like John Dixon and John Edlridge (though only to kill him off) But that characters was such a throw away character and I think she was just created because Wheeler had a thing for chipper, rather vacant cute young girls (not sexually, but casting them) like the Marina actress.

Great clips!!! One thing they got right was that they wrapped up the Lucinda/Lily thing (realistically, you know that it would still continue on and off until Lucinda makes an overally dramatic exit from this life...) got Lucinda and John together..etc. The wrong part was it should have been Martha..we deserved that. Love the Babs/Lucinda clip. I do like that they let Lucinda grow and mellow but she was still Lucinda and have can light a fire under someone's ass when needed. I love the John line..."Well what did you think, we still have blood in our veins." If Gautman and the writers would have known that about the vets!

I never thought of Bev as chewing up the scenery...now Marj on the other hand.

Agreed..I loved the AW of 82 up to that time in 85...and never understood why it suddenly..sucked. Now I know.

Yes..wrong Cooper killed...(and really GL, could you have quit killing Moms?)

I think a bad deaf girl is kind of cool, as long as they said she just was "bad" and not bitter because of her hearing impairment, but your right, the 80s were a different time. It was weird watching SG come off such an iconic role to be a lil nobody. I don't know why GL instead of making the dour and boring Kyle Sampson, have Sky come to town to do biz with Spaulding and fall for Reva, and then Raven comes back to face off. Now that would have made the really boring era of GL memorable.

Good question.. I think JFP thought of the Coopers as her own..though Long created them, and only Buzz was a JFP era creation. But obviously some people loved them...why did they stick around so long? Instead of killing Jenna, why not write Buzz and her out happy, as Buzz had no "storyline" since that then. Why when budget cuts came, they did not think of making the core of the show the family headed by Ross,the longest running cast member and the patriarch of the show, who was married (sorry LK never worked as scheming Blake but as a slightly off center Mom she did) and had three kids who could be SORAS for story? I know Jill Hurst (who I actually respect as a writer) thought of them as her "comfort food," but really, the only thing they had going for them is Harley, as Frank and Buzz just were "there" Past Harley and her first go around, and her relationship with Frank, I never got the Coopers.

JFP desperately wanted to move the focus of the show to the Coopers, headed by her FOJ Deas. The show replaced the calm, comforting matriarch was a too frentic, annoying patriarch..and the ratings dropped, who woulda thought huh? And yes, it was mentioned by others who seem to know that Parker was let go to make money in the budget for Deas..another reason I disliked Buzz.

I agree..maybe because Simon never could express any emotion besides that pursed lip thing..I really do think they did indeed need to recast Ed when Simon left, as it would almost be a start over for the character..why did they never bring the Ed before him back? Parker's acceptance was gracious and a kind of FU to JFP, talking about the people writing in for Maureen, that's a hard line to walk. I wonder why no soap ever hired her for something?

This is what killed the soaps and created those weird couple fans like the Jevas, Mattessa's and Manny and why the storylines grew stagnant. Can you imagine back in the day a poll on getting Bert Bauer in a hot romance...(they were going to pair her with H.B. which would have been cool as hell but...) No character could be an individual..I would say Reva, pre death was her own character no matter what romance she was in,, but that wasnt the case post resurrection and ruined her character. I didn't have the attachment to Miner and BB others did, but I can see that at that time in the shows history, it was important to keep them..at least until both of them wanted to move on. Especially since the Chelle story could have been handled by another character, like one of Bridget's sisters, named Maureen too comes to town and gets involved with Jesse while Chele and Bill were looking for the recipient of Mo's heart..Chele developes a little sister relationship with Jesse and supports him and her cousin and Ed doesnt like it,etc. Especially with Nola in town to try to take over mothering Chele..and encouraging her to be a free spirit..

God was this bad! It looked like an old Skinemax soft core porn thing..I was expecting to see some tastefull nudity and simulated sex. Was lil' Billy Warlock supposed to be a tough guy? Who did they think would want to watch this crap? I thought it was nice that Nancy considered Margo a much of a Hughes as anyone else, and Margo kept her identity but still considered herself a Hughes. And then there is problem that Scott Holmes couldnt display any warmth even with Wagner .

I think it was more MADD then anyone else..she LOVED her formula, which for her was to create a "super couple" (I hate that..) and break them up, make them up, break them up..etc. Jeva, Manny, Ross and Blake..(before they got bored with them..) boring as hell. I wish someone would write about the last days of P&G productions and Televest to show what really was going on. MADD seemed to be running scared all the time so she alternated from throwing crap at the wall to see if it stuck to being afraid to move away from a formula. But if as others wrote, even at the start of her regime, that she was hired in mind to shut it all down and she had a golden parachute...why was she so afraid?

I actually think its interesting that its all the women who were involved in this iconic storyline...they should have MG there but I know she was on the other, but the Holly/Chelle relationship, which disappeared when they recast Chelle was really interesting and I think ground breaking in its own right, you have these two wounded people, one who really was a terrible mother, and another who just lost Mother of the Year, and an adult who deals with this kid where she was, without pulling any punches or trying to baby here. Aghh.you lost me on the Alan/Beth stuff...I know what you mean and seen the validity of it but..yuckk! I would have liked, if she did have a split, and not a dumb ho like Loreli...that they proceeded with the storyline as it was done at first...AlterBeth marries Alan to get his power and to keep him in the nuthouse...Alan marries Beth to smoke Phillip out but does not realize what he has got himself into until he is trapped. Then both of them play a game against each other, with Alex playing them both....(I just cant deal with Gus being Alans kid and the whole Harley is president of a Multinaitonal Corporation....)

LOL..that is PROGRESS!!! A Beth's transformation could have been one that was totally believable if they had explained it and given it time. I could see an abuse survivor (Bradley.Dr. Blackburn,Roy and yes, psychologically Alan) turning inward and cold and perhaps even acting out sexually...but they needed the other characters, especially Phillip, Rick, Lillian and Alex, to comment on this and suggest therapy. They were kind of going there with Loreli or whatever, but that was just stupid. A cold, calculating split who takes over when Beth feels a threat (for example, when Phillip, her knight, was with Harley..or when Phillip was dead and Gus was trying to take his place as 1st son...) could have been good, if they have to go over the top, but I would rather they explain it as post trauma and then Beth get help...She could have still been more bitchy then Judi Evans saint character but..

Amnesia Chelle?? Remember when they wanted to turn the lighthouse into a nightclub..apparently the writers and producers have never been in a lighthouse as there is no room...and wasnt' the Beacon there with Olivia's bar?

To each their own..I never thought of TP as pretty...but. And I think he was more subtle his first few months..but maybe he wasnt on as much until Kreizman started writing him everyday.

LOL..I thought he was much younger also..hes only a bit younger them me...and Im ancient. I thought he was a really good Chris Hughes..I know he needed help in the acting but he came off as really nice without being bland and I liked his chemistry with all the women, romantic or not...he was really good with the Hughes ladies...Kim, Nancy and Lisa and I especially loved his protectiveness over "Gram." And he was pretty before but wow, he aged into those looks. Dylan Bruce looks like a bland underwear model, never got the love on him.

Totally agree...I mean look a Paulo in essentially the same role. I also think the thing about TP...was that he wasn't a generic pretty boy, and he brought, more a first, a sexual energy that most of the young male soap stars cant...they look like they just want to screw themselves. I sound like a TP fanboy which I am not..his run exhausted me but again, it was more the writing (taking Jonathon in the generic bad boy with a heart of gold TWU wuv thing was such a waste and I think he ovecompensated when he could) and directing.

I don't get why they didn't just keep Nola on recurring while Lisa worked backstage..she could have kept Company (so the stank of the Coopers didnt infect it) and just been like an Amy Vinning, but at the bar, getting in everyone's business.

She tested with another actor she wanted in the role..she made no bones he was a better actor but not muscular and that an net exec wanted Paulo...(the dreaded Babs Bloom who came up with the clone..did she want him to bone her.??) Probably RB let Paulo know it...and Paulo resented it. They should have written that on screen, Springfield's princess looking down on the hot dumb guy but wanting to get some ..and it might have worked better. Except Alan is old enough to be his dad..uggh, like an old creeper at a bar.. I had no idea who that actor was or who Max was or that Drew adopted..or how Selena was her mom and who cares...that era of GL sucked. I watched an Christmas Eve episode and instead of it being at the Bauers they are at Phillip and Harleys house..which was HUGE (looked like the took parts of the Bauer living room to make it) and there is Selena and Drew and Buzz windmilling and Beth acting like a freaking bitch and..I understood why I stopped watching then.

LOL..he was annoying when he was on the show..in the few scenes he was actually awake. Did they ask him to do his Speedy Gonzales voice???That bordered on soap parody. The Drew actress as Stacey..that would have been good..but Rauchie and MADD wanted to do their new versions of all old characters built around Jeva. I have been watching some of poor Nola's last days, before she got her last big storyline, and she is just ..there..Nola Reardon is just there. They have a really poorly written scene helping Matt build the Dream House to somehow conjure Vanessa back..and all the ladies are going on about how happy they are to be with a man...with the GL theme playing..the theme reserved for sentimental scenes or a character barring their soul (cause the end all and be all is to have a man and be in a couple..) and Nola is just sadly..."Well, I hope your ladies luck rubs off on me." Unfortunately it was better then her duping an amnesia Buzz butt.

I agree on that...the fun part was the supernatural aspects, i.e. Tabby's latest scheme and that was really the only part of it I watched (who coudlnt love a show that had a guest appearance from Dr. Bombay!) The model guys with shaved chests and jutting pecs and the women who were waiting around for a man part I skipped.

No I agree, the story worked for the time, but it WAS time to move on. The whole premise was kind of a retro write in Alex feeling betrayed by someone who she welcomed into her home (Alex, while not being mean to her..always had Mindy's number even with Krista playing her..and looked down on the Lewis family) but if you accept that premise I was good with it and it was refreshing that she was more angry by that a family friend betrayed her then Roger. By having her still look down on Mindy and make snide remarks after that would be fine...but then Marj comes in and SHRIEKS about Mindy the WHORE..and it just brought it all down. As for Pelphery..I do feel that he is very talented but not the second coming...I think the actors and fans like to see something positive in those horrible last few years and he was a bright spot. I do think the he got Deas Virus where everyone proclaimed his greatness and he began to believe it and no directors ever pulled him back and the writing supported his worst tendancies...I CAN see in Ozark how good he could have been with some reigning in and subtle writing. I hope he does well as he seems like a nice guy who really respects the GL opportunity.