Mitch

The actor who played David Stenbeck was sex on a stick..why did they replace him with that greasy Chippendale's looking guy?  Dumb decisions after dumb decisions. 

Maura West always reminded me of a young Kim Zimmer..both of them balls of fire when they first came on the show and then,kind of settled into a certain acting style that lost all that spark, rather it was the writing, or the drudgery of being front burner ALL the time.

On 5/17/2021 at 7:36 AM, DRW50 said:

Sorry if this has already been posted, but it's an interview with Kane Manera (the notoriously awful Grady on GL, so awful that he was turfed off a cliff by Philip and no one gave a damn), who is now a real estate agent. In another example of lazy journalism, it seems whoever did this just went to Kane's IMDB page and assumed he was on GL for three years, rather than noticing the 2006 credit was for a shorter-term role.

 

https://www.inman.com/2021/02/01/corcoran-agent-kane-manera-found-his-guiding-light-in-real-estate/

Hahaha..having a core character murder someone and everyone was like...okay, lets move on. I don't think he was ever mentioned again. I am amazed that the person pictured in the story is the same person who disgusted the GL audience so much..he looks much better, cleaned up!

On 5/20/2021 at 5:44 PM, Liberty City said:

 

SUPER BARBARA TO THE RESCUE!!!!!

LOL.. a bit too campy for me..(and I love camp) and I what was the window three feet from the ground and Babs didn't even have a cut on her hand? I wish they had a guard say "Yea, we are replacing that window with a temp until the trial is over..be carefull it seems really flimsy" and have Babs overhear it with an evil "Ahh.." look on her face. What was she on trial for and didn't she still have to face the charges when they caught her?

On 5/22/2021 at 9:09 PM, lilyredd said:

It is too bad the show didn’t keep a Bianca around for Lucinda - she was the only daughter never fazed by her shenanigans. 

They should have had Bianca come back when Lucinda had her stroke, and had her in charge of Walsh..or whateverthehell it was then..and she becomes a nice little ball buster like Mama.

9 hours ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

in total agreement! there is a scene somewhere between gentry’s ed and his mother bert. watching her defend her husband to her son, who wants to hold his father accountable for his philandering is absolutely riveting.  Of course, it has a lot to do with the writing: the conflicting emotions all stem from an emotionally authentic place. 

I know it was partly due to the writing and to TPTB disintrest..but when Gentry came back in 96 he had NO chemistry with anyone..and that is saying a lot coming off of PS' cold distant Ed. Its too bad as Holly needed Ed there for her post Meg crash and they could have been a viable long term couple.

On 5/15/2021 at 7:27 PM, Forever8 said:

Promo for Search For Tomorrow and As The World Turns from 1981. 

 

 

Ah, a promo for the infamous "John rapes Dee" only kinda sorta not.  And totally agree with you, this group Annie, Brad, Dee, John, were morose and depressing and CONSTANTLY on..and I was glad when the Dobson's spun John off into enemies with James (while keeping Dee in the mix but only on the side.) Days and days would be full of weird Brad looking longlingly at Dee and Dee doing the same and being yelled at by John and David..David angry all the time, Ellen looking worried, Nancy and Chris pulled out of moth balls for walk ons...

18 hours ago, DanMan869 said:

ATWT became somewhat labyrinthian and heavy under Marland as his characters took root and his stories had lots of Sturm und Drang, but I kind of appreciate that in retrospect. Look at the last year of ATWT and their "6-week Storylines"! Now that was a real nightmare of storytelling!

 

Oh--and yes, I loved Shannon/Margaret Reed when she first arrived, but... the whole Duncan/Scotland/Castle thing just got to be eye-rolling. (Michael Swan was always sexy as hell, but... the Scottish accent after while? Ugh.)

Its too bad that Horgan didn't go on to head write GL in 95 instead of McTrash.  GL was more freewheeling fun and kooky then its sister show but still had the focus on the families,  and with Nola back I think Horgan could have written her as fun instead of Iva in weird clothes we got.  I also wonder why Swan didn't go to other soaps..he also could have been on GL (without the dumb accent) and paired with Brown or I wonder if he and Zimmer would have chemistry.?

1 hour ago, DanMan869 said:

could be wrong as there were no credits at the end of the episode, but I think this (with the Halloween party) was written under headwriter Susie Bedsow Horgan. Though we know Doug Marland was first credited as headwriter sometime in November 1985, he *might* have been there beforehand (October), tweaking scripts and storyline points though SBH was still being credited as HW. I'd venture to say that the Marie Kovac mystery was possible tied deeper into the Doug Cummings storyline than originally intended.

Interesting..I always thought that Marland created Doug Cummings and started the Kim has a stalker story.  If this was a combo of Marland and Horgan they were a dream team as this is the ATWT I loved..more free wheeling and full of energy, some camp, tied to the core families...the "Snyder Incest years,' as I call them were so drab and boring...someone was having a mercy killing, or being raped and afraid of getting HIV, or there was a teen alky, or getting Alzheimers or of course, being stabbed by a letter opener..(which actually is fun..) I think my appreciation of Marland really stems from these years and not the bulk of his drab last years.

Speaking of drab...Iva wasnt the only one who lost their spark...I forgot Shannon was fun before the "Aye LASSIE" days.

12 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Rick, on the other hand, should never have turned into the "comedic" schlub next door. He had inherited the mantle of the Bauer family's younger male lead, and should have been an attractive, interesting leading man. He wasn't. It was a waste and a weakness TGL never remedied.

That's the writers, directors producers fault for allowing MOL to do that. I know Wheeler went on and on about how funny he is and keeps everyone's morale up but while that might be true with people you work closely with, it does not translate well on the screen. I think Rick was so underwritten that MOL threw things in he felt were funny to just get attention and fill a scene. I think in scenes where he is a good husband, brother, son and friend he did quite well (and he looked damn good in those scenes of Abby leaving him.)  A show needs "normal" people to ground it and the Bauers were always those people (while having soap issues.)

12 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Regardless of how shallow "the suits" think viewers are, we love our vets even as they age, lose some hair, and get pudgier like the rest of us do! (And Peter Simon's hair was not a lion's mane, either.)

This is exactly right...and I think the Bauers filled that "everyman" role on the show so they, like us, can get a bit more pudgy and loose hair and still exist in Springfield.  I actaully thought Zimmer's weight gain and aging made Reva likeable again. It was totally in character for Reva with her big appetites to get a bit heavier and maybe get tired of "dolling herself up to go Kroger" but  oh, if they only knew how to dress women who weren't stick figures..they made her look worse.

14 hours ago, zanereed said:

Oddly enough, Mike Bauer would have still known most of the people in Springfield at that time. He would have been able to fit back into conflict with Alan and Alex, and there was Lilian to rekindle a romance with.

Oh, yea, there would be issues there with Lillian and her role in Mo's death. Great fodder.  I wish that McTrash brought Mike back when PS left under her reign of terror. Alan was busing destroying 5th Street and Mike on AM's behalf could have intervened and then Alex would be caught between Mike and Alan. The only problem was that really bad recast of AM was on then.

12 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Of course, everything is dependent on how characters are presented and storylines played out. A new family being introduced to be in conflict with the Bauers might have worked and provided TGL with years of storyline fodder, but there were not enough "good" Bauers on canvas battling against the bad Santos clan, so the conflict was never really developed.

I agree, and yes, the Santos and Carmen should have been developed more. With Carmen wanting to get out of the dirt but constantly dragged back in, as a Latina trying to get power and respect in Springfield, and Danny who she felt was the ticket to respectability so she would both hate Chele for her role in whatshisfaces death and also see her as a ticket to social respectability through the Bauers.  I think SS could have played it well, but they just brought her on and kept her as Cruella Deville and it never worked.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

Michael O'Leary asked writer Pamela Long if Rick were gay and in love with Phillip. The undertones were obvious to him, too. Unfortunately, Long was the only writer who really understood the complexity of that relationship. Later scribes couldn't (or at least didn't) keep complex nuances and undercurrents going.

That had to be that weird stuff lamb incident and when MOL told Long other actors were making fun of them and saying they were a couple Long was like "Tell me who said that..Im going to fire them!" 

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

They should've went there with Rick and Philip.

While I would be totally for a same sex couple with two bi guys, I like that Long presented this intense "Bromance," before the word became popular.  Guys can form intense non-sexual bonds and Long infused that with all the loyalty, rivalry, jealousy, admiration and yes, just a touch of sexual spark that guys can have together. Long was the only one who got it right.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

MHO. Frederick's most viable relationship was with Abby. Mel was underdeveloped and unfocused, and she and Rick never clicked in a believable way.

Agreed, it was stupid to let her go.  After that I think Rick and Frank could have existed as the nice big brothers of the town and everyones' best friend, who occasionally dated day players, etc. Actually, I think Rick and Frank would make a better same sex couple then anyone else...Frankie D, after middle age hit him, couldn't must chemistry with anyone since Melina.  Though I do think if they wrote for Mel during the Phillip goes nuts and then had her be one of Harley's lawyers could have fiilled her out. She had a quiet firebrand feeling underneath her, and one of Rick's wives clashing with Phillip, a suspect in his murder and then say cross examing Lizzie on the witness stand would have made more senese of Rick turning to Beth.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

Aligning the vile Santos clan with the Bauers always repulsed me. The only way to redeem that entire situation would have been for Mike to return and fight to purge the criminals from both his family and Springfield.

It thought having a shady family besides the Spauldings ,having a conflict with the Bauers was a good idea..especially a new immigrant family vs. old immigrant family..however, not how it played out of course. And yes, Mike Bauer coming to town once Chele marries Danny to sniff around Carmen (who would have been trying to go legit but had a "SECRET" she was hiding (I would say she killed Papa Santos with her own two hands in self defense when he tried to rape her..) would rack up the tension..Mike pushing on Carmen to give up her contacts in the mob and Carmen getting very nervous about Mike getting too close to the truth.

1 hour ago, zanereed said:

Mel Boudreau (was I the only one...?),

Haha..that I thought I would never hear..the actress was lovely but the part was underwritten and she and Oleary had no chemistry. Tell us why you liked her!

1 hour ago, zanereed said:

That really shows the evolution of Mart Hulswit visually, and within the span of a few years. Actors certainly aged quicker at that time. Although the family photo would likely be from 1972, I assume the top photo is from 1971 or 1972?

Ah everyone is always on MH and his weight...(hello Doug Marland...everyone can't be a muscle twink for you to fawn over..) I thought he looked cute in all of those. Agreed on DS..though I never found him as accessible as MH's Ed, he did not age. I too can't believe that Rauchie didn't offer him a return with no Ed around to have a Bauer patriarch .they could have kept Marj's Alex to pair him with (and recast Raines for God Sake!) The eventual mob storyline would have been better with Mr. Law and Order vs. Mob Mama.  Stewart was in California at that time so would have have agreed?

2 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Yes, this was the storyline where Greta slapped Emily outside of the courtroom after yelling "Whore!". The funny thing is how Emily kept it moving, as if determined not to let Greta see her react to it.

 

From a writer's perspective, a character like Greta is best used sparingly, in short arcs, or the character can easily become unsustainable. In order to make the character a regular part of the canvas, the writing would have to make her more like everyone else to fit into the canvas or the writing has to increasingly "up the stakes", in which case the storylines and characterizations become more over the top, at risk of making the character cartoonish, a frequent problem on soaps, which has cost the genre credibility, imo. 

You can't realistically write a character like Greta consistently, over the long term, unless you devote huge amounts of time to writing storylines especially focused on exploring deeper psychological aspects of the character, in order to both humanize as well as prevent the character from becoming stale, and what then becomes of the other characters on an ensemble show when you devote so much time an resources to one character? Then you get a Victor Newman-like situation, unhealthy for the show.

That's why a character like Greta is more likely to appear in a script for a movie, where there is a definite beginning, middle and end, than a serialized show.

 

I know..but she sure is fun..and really, she could have just gone across town slapping practically everyone but Nancy Hughes and calling them "Whores"!!!

11 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

 

Some of Marland ages better then others....Duncan and Shannon were so weird with their quasi gothic and all the bad accents. Was Beecroft difficult to work with, I always thought he was sexy from good guy Tony to mobster Brock..why didn't he get more work?

Loved Greta..and Babs reaction to her.  Was this the trial where she slapped Emily, called her a "whore" and walked away. Just wish she was a regular character, the anti-Nancy Hughes..."Well I think arsenic always solves pesky family problems don't you Nancy?"

On 5/9/2021 at 2:21 PM, RavenWhitney said:

Audrey Peters was a lovely actress but was so wrong for the role of Sarah Shayne.  Never worked.  And there was zero chemistry between her and Kim Zimmer. The writing was a problem too, but Audrey couldn't pull off the Oklahoma accent.

Agree, I thought she was too classy to be Sarah..I think they should have cast someone who was a faded beauty..heftier and tougher. What would you think of her as Meta?  I never understood why they let Bea Reardon go right around the time Charita died, as the show needed a matriarch and Sarah was not it and the while most Reardons were gone she was good a Mrs Garrett kind of housemother with new young characters, and Lee Lawson had good chemistry with the 4 Ms, etc.

On 5/9/2021 at 7:48 PM, MichaelGL said:

One of THE best scenes between Holly and Blake from Guiding Light. Maureen Garrett is simply flawless and its an embarrassment how GL neglected her in its final years along with this interesting dynamic. 

 

There’s many parts of this confirmation online but this one particularly stands out to me. 

This was so good...like prime time good..say what you will about JFP, the combo of her and this set of writers made GL the best I believe it ever was. Who had ever heard a soap mom, who wasn't an outright villain..tell their kid they didn't love them? I always liked LK okay as a more gentle older Blake, but I would have loved to see SS play this out, and it wouldn't have been the sighs and softness of this Blake.

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Yeah. She likely still is, on the inside. As for the outside, with some concerted effort, in terms of self-care, she can be yet again.

 

 

I know some people find those scenes that feature group events to be chaotic but I love the choreography of the camera work against the ebb and flow of characters moving in and out of spaces. It looks so lively.

 

The scenes between Kim and John and Kim and Andy seem very realistic if what you would expect from a couple and their kid when the couple's split was not amicable.

 

 

 

 

My only quibble is that I wish there were a separate channel for the soap content from the news pieces on that YouTube channel.

LOL..I remember thinking this was the dullest bachelor party in history..obviously Marland has never been to one...poor Casey...having to go into marriage with dull as dishwater Lyla and this is the send off.

How BIG was Bob and Kim's house..that honking ass living room, foyer (Iove the "close the doors to have an inimate conversation and parternity reveal foyer that doors can easily open for snooping) den, kitchen...I remember turning into ATWT during Goutman and wondering what happened to Bob and Kim's house set where people would just walk in at all hours of day and night.

And even JAMES kidnapped Lily??? I love her offhanded comment on her kidnapping...get used to it kid.

13 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

Justin Deas screaming on a rooftop for an hour. Shameless Emmy bait that nearly got the show canned. 

Oh...God....my ears still hurt from that. And yes, it was shameless Emmy bait..JFP was not stupid..she rode the show on Buzz, and the ratings fell with the aforementioned firings and people leaving, so she had to prove that she made the right choice and if your audience turned you off you need an Emmy for you leading man to say, "See, it was worth it and they will come back."

11 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

I never understood how Deas won those Emmys in the mid-90’s tbh except for the Academy always loving a previous winner. Likewise while I did always like Buzz & Jenna most of the stuff with Nadine wasn’t fun at all and it felt Nadine was settling for less than she had done in the past . 

It was just depressing seeing these beautiful women chasing after that looser. I think JFP and the writers watched the "Witches of Eastwick" too much with all those hot women chasing after gross, fat Jack Nicholson's character. They may have pulled it off if they had hired a sexy guy to play Buzz but it still would have been depressing.  Deas won those Emmys as for some reason the industry thought he WAS the JN of daytime and the rest of the actors all seem to gush on how great he is...the only lone voice was Marcy Walker who alluded to him being "self indulgent." in his choices.

I always thought Nadine and Ed might have been interesting..he had money and respect, and maybe she could light a fire under dour PS.

39 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Yes it was. I would watch up to GL. I was never a Mash fan. I never watched LOL either.

I hated it...we would watch GL as a kid and then that damn "Suicide is Painless" would start and we would rush to change it...(before remotes..) and I still rush for the remote as soon as I hear a few bars of that song knowing that show is coming up.  Our affilate went directly into "Dialing for Dollars," and I never knew LOL was still on at that time.

56 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

Summer of 1992 is when my interest started to wane. No Alex, recasting Blake, Mindy leaving, the woeful, dull as hell Nick mushmouthing "Melinda" 50000 times a week, tedious Mallet/Harley and Harley losing her spark, etc. 

 

 

At the time the Frank and Julie story was one of the few that interested me, along with the custody battle for Peter. I enjoyed seeing her scheme. It helped that I hated Lucy and she did too.

It was fun in a campy, dumb way...but it made no sense...(why all of a sudden is she after dullard Frank, and they could have at least given him some temptation to actually do it...) and yes, you, I, Julie and the rest of the world HATED Lucy...why the hell did JFP think the actress was so great???

30 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

God, I remember that like it was yesterday … so bad. Julie really lost her usefulness without Hart or being in the mix with Dylan and Bridget. Whatever happened to Jocelyn Seagrave?

She was in one of the reunions with Melissa and Morgan. She looks great and seems to have given up acting and was talking about kids, etc...(sad to think little boring Julie has teenagers now..
I'm old!) Agree the story was obviously a redirect with Hart gone and to give Frank and Eleni story. Problem was.. Frankie D is not an actor (he is basically playing himself) and didn't have the chops to pull it off and Julie's obsession came out of nowhere. They should have just written her off and for that matter, Frank and Eleni when the original actress left.

3 hours ago, ironlion said:

To me, Guiding Light declined after 1997. Y&R 2001- The production quality went down afterwards. GH - 2000 when Wendy Riche got the boot & Sonny really began to eat the show. OLTL-1996 after Michael Malone left and the Viki DID plot wrapped up. AMC-1997 after Lorraine Broderick left. 

 

I suppose the dates everyone listed were when shows began to decline rather than become utterly "unwatchable". 

 

I've come to understand that Reeva is Sonny Corithos of GL, in that she eats the show at the disdain of older fans. This in stark contrast to Erica Kane or Viki Lord whom fans seemed to like at the center of their shows.

I think most of the Reva disdain is directed at post resurrection Reva. While Pam wrote the show it was more of an ensemble show (not as much as it was during Marland or Curlee but..) and Reva had mostly "normal" for a soap character problems...she needed to be accepted, she was uninhibited sexually which was looked at as being a "slut" but she fell (or felt that she did) in love with her partner..she needed everything to be big or she was bored, she craved domestication and safety but again, felt constricted once there...all of those things can be relatable.  Reva as the middle aged sex goddess fighting psychos, being cloned, jumping through paintings and etc, etc. was not relatable. I have to say the most relatable she did become post Long was during Wheeler...dealing with her devil spawn...(though Jon quickly grated on your nerves) and facing a menopause, cancer, etc...(well the baby got too much but that had to be to assauge Kimmer's ego.)

2 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

So what is the scoop on all this? Where did the rumors come from? I loved her as Hillary.

Isn't it sad...well for me it is...that they were great on GL and ATWT but were dreadful on their own soap Santa Barbara....

Oh God..they were terrible for ATWT...they could write three stories....James and Babs and John...Tom and Margo and Betsy and Steve..everyobdy else just kind of sat around and they almost decimated the Hughes family.  Tho I did love John faking his death and Dee on trial for his murder...that was as close to an umbrella story as they could muster. I wonder why they could write for the Bauers but disregarded the Hughes?

12 hours ago, zanereed said:

 

Thank you, @robbwolff - it *was* 1984, which I assume was because of Charita's surgery? Did they give any reason on-screen as to why? I'm now starting to think they never did address any sister of Bert's after all, and @vetsoapfan was absolutely correct!

Bert was indeed front and center with Long and Kobe...to their credit, and yes, the plan was for Bert and H.B....(when they Lewis boys came to town and went on a yelling spree in Cedars Bert put a stop to them right away...)Bert was running the Patient Advocate program (I wish they would have had Abby take that up later in a nod to history) and in what had to be a scene written for Bert  before Charita become ill, H.B. came looking for her to give him advice on his kids and found Mo instead and talked to her.  The explanation for Bert being gone was that she was visiting Meta and then Mo went to visit and came back and told Ed, and the viewing audience, not to be upset but Bert had lost a lot of weight but she is fine.

I don't understand why they did not bring Meta in then to fill the void or use Bea instead of just letting her sit there and then the actress left. 

On 4/26/2021 at 7:25 PM, 72Hearts said:

Great quality on that '85 vintage ATWT episode! Bob and Kim were my fantasy mom and dad.

I loved and love my parents..but Bob and Kim as the fantasy parents..Lisa as your fantasy eccentric flamboyant aunt that would take care of and keep your secrets that you didn't want your parents..and Greg Marx as your fantasy boyfriend/husband...ATWT hit all the marks in those years!

On 4/27/2021 at 1:54 PM, SoapDope said:

I wish Bert had a sister that could have been introduced after her death. I picture Sada Thompson from Family playing the role. 

Funny..that is what Marland called Charita..the Sada Thompson of daytime..I didn't see it Sada was sour and sexless...not that Bert was Reva..but you could see where she was a "hoot and a half" in her heyday!

On 4/27/2021 at 4:23 PM, Soapsuds said:

t's Marsha who Alan wants to interview and asked Harley for help to get in touch with her to which Harley said... She is going to say no.

I love that the GL actors stay in touch..its almost like college..they all did a few years i this place that only they shared..and they went on to other things..but they are still friends...

On 4/27/2021 at 4:42 PM, victoria foxton said:

I think she would make a fascinating interview. She seems like someone who doesn't give a beep. And of course Alan will put one his sour faces. When she says something he doesn't approve off.

Oh I think a double team of Ms. Marsha with Ms. Susie Pratt..and lets see.. Peter Simon...I know she is sick but Eileen Fulton...Elizabeth Hubbard...would be Alan's hell on earth!!!