Mitch

JWS I can see...(or as a bartender in my hometown once said..."Gay guys aint got muscles." ..uh..I guess you never saw a gay guy...) but Clarke??? I cannot see anyone who took MC for straight...(didnt she play Tina Lord on OLTL too????)

Marsha Clarke sp? was a mole for Marland...while being the most hilarious unbelievable beard for JWS..(and he for her!)

On that I can kind of see as television production is expensive and daytime never stops. Its too bad that the funeral wasn't held later or at least a wake where the cast could attend...(I know KT mentions going so she must not have been filming that day.) Sarah and Rusy were kind of like Billy and H.B. where a name is thrown out by one writer (this time it was Long) and another writer used them. I always thought Sarah should have been harder, tougher and trashier then how she was played.

I don't think he was bad..and I can see why they thought he could short term it for Bernau. He was better then Raines..who just looked "grouchy" when he was supposed to be evil Its too bad as watching some of the early RR and when he is at the Amish Farm he is kind of sexy..so I can see where they thought he would make a good rogue...but then he got...old so fast, and he just wasn't Alan no matter what.

This would have been the perfect time to re energize the Bauer Family. They had Alan in the wings coming back so at the very least bring back a recast Hope (sorry, never was a fan of ER's annoying Hope) with Stewart's Mike, but ideally I would want to bring in a recast Mike to put him with Alex getting ready for Alan's return. I would have brought back Aunt Meta during the previous holiday episodes to establish her for Bert's death (say she was in New York visiting Hope) and not have three major Bauers recast. Meta as they had for a bit during Labine's time would be a great foil for Claire, alternating between ringing her beads and supporting her as she knows how it is to be black sheep in the Bauer family and a "conflicted personality." Ideally, I would have recast Ed with MH going into the service. Then at least bring back Bea (she makes a phone call which I am sure was Curlee's doing) and Brown was on ATWT give her a few days as Nola so at least some of the old guard was back (and she could have mixed in up with Claire in a scene) and have the Justin actor return to have a few scenes with recast Phillip...all returns which could have given some strength the to paper thin plots going on at that time. I think Kobe didn't give a [!@#$%^&*] and Ryder had no GL connection so they used the excuse of "People will bitch and moan if we bring back recasts for the funeral so what can we do?" when in reality they could care less if people bitched. I can see being pissed at Clarke for making them film on weekends (Clarke was a pain in the ass to begin with and she was Marland's "mole" on the GL set to see what other actors said so I am sure she was an instigator in DM's problems with MH) so just write her out of town or better yet recast. The show was such [!@#$%^&*] at that time that I think a new writer would say the infamous line of Gloria Monty..."I don't know what the hell to do with all of you but put you in a plane and crash it!" Ha..was Warren Busy at the Company Muscle Boy contest as his beard was being bit by the mouse? Warren being straight was more unbelievable then the Dreaming Death, Brandon being alive, Infinity and the Clone all put together!

Yea, Bert's memorial really put a glaring focus on Kobe/Long's huge changes and the impact it had on the show. They had Parker, O'Leary, JVD,Kinkaid, WR, and Terseau as the only people left who had really any scenes of impact with her..(they even had Judi Evan off screen for that dumb ass Sampson Girl thing...you would think she would be there for MOL and to bring her back closer to Phillip, and Bev was on not there, though Alex had only one scene with Bert McKinnsey spoke fondly and highly of Charita on an interview when she just left Texas, which focuses on both of their mutual dislike and annoyance with Ruth Warrick!!) Not only the actors who werent there but it was glaring how the tone of the show had totally changed from an warm ensemble show to a cold, campy show dominated by Reva and the Lewis men and Kyle Sampson,and a bunch of newbies.

Great story!!! I loved that they used the 70th anniversary episode sound bite as Ehlers as Irna and Boque as a network exec. As much as I dis Wheeler, that was a great imaginative episode.

That is why they should have cast him as someone else and just had Phillip skip town to go looking for Alan when Alex tells him she thinks he is actually alive. Here comes this new hungry exec at Spaulding (is there any other at the factory or evil) who conspires with and against India. I mean, India chasing after that feathered haired blond bore Simon????

This is it..you can work 24/7 but if you aren't capable and you make wrong choice (putting JVD on recurring) after wrong choice (thinking that weird assassin guy and Hillbilly Bonnie would make a super couple) there are no kudos for you. I am also sick of hearing that Peapack saved GL for a couple of years...who cares...it sucked and should have gone off the air if the net and P & G didn't give a damn anymore. Hey she could have ended up filming people having sex in roadside park restrooms who wants to see it..oh yes, she did film people have sex in park restrooms..so..no..just enough with Wheeler, she is where she belongs right now. No..he truly was as if Bernau had a kid..but that was the problem...Phillip wasn't Alan's bio kid!

Wheeler truly DID care..but caring, and hard work unfortunately does not help if you just don't have the talent and you continue to make the wrong decisions. She was put in a situation where she couldn't win...Conboy screwed the budget, years of Rauch left the show in tatters and a lot of history unusable from that time (ya can't mention a clone and time travel, what are you left with, the mob and the island???) the Bauers were beyond resurrection, and she had to deal with MADD and the network which just wanted GL gone. However, a better producer could have worked with that and had a more presentable product. Its no mystery why she ended up as a line producer for right wing crap shows. I would have freaked out to be sitting next to Reva Shayne on the bus! He was sexy as hell on AW, even though I didn't care for that show. He would have worked on GL as he had really incredible chemistry, really the only sexual chemistry MKA had with a man, on GL..if he was just cast as someone other then Phillip. GA owned Phillip and Bolger came off more as more east coast formal then GA's midwestern golden boy. He shoudl have been a young exec at Spaulding working his way into Alex's good gracess and they should give Phillip a rest until GA could return.

I don't know..the guy answering the question kind of was acting like he has bodies buried in the basement!

Kimmer was back..this was the summer of McTrash as we lovingly called the producer and writer...it was a summer of Lonitrat..(Dinah convincing Roger he was going crazy) Alan trying to destroy 5th street and being bested by Buzz of all people, and poor Reva, stuck in the diner, begging Buzz for sex, and to top it all off,we got an angel as a character!

I wish they had kept them fighting..though over something more interesting then Limp Richard.. They should have turned Cassie into a raving bitch (I mean, the kind the rest of the characters would notice) after Reva pulled the plug on Richie.

But isn't this kind of what is strangling any kind of story? Soaps have all kinds of people who are still considered "good" but have adulterous affairs. I remember back during Curlee's run on GL where the black characters got to be "good" but not perfect..Gilly was ambitious and put career over a relationship, and she could actually play the same game that Roger and the Spauldings did, while not initiating it, she gave as good as she got in the subterfuge area. That would be intereseting to see in a gay character. I have no desire to see another boring gay storyline like the ATWT. I actaully thought Otalia was kind of interesting, besides the boring Natalia nobody thrown in there, as Olivia's voracious sexuality seemed to always be open to experimentation...(I thought they were going to write Jonathon that way for a bit but no..) and if the story continued I am sure they would be hamstrung and then write them out because they couldn't do the inevitable...Olivia would cheat on Natalia with a man or a woman as that is what Olivia does..not because she is bisexual..but becasue she is OIivia., but the fans of the couple and others would complain that it cast gay couples in a bad light. All couples, gay or straight don't need to be Chris and Nancy Hughes, or the storylines would dry up. Edited to say, FrenchBug82 said it better then me! Totally agree.

I love that idea! She comes back to find Alan who has left to go find Reva...(I would have had it that Alan didn't just happen to be driving thought Goshen and literally run into AmnesiaReva but a private eye firm found someone who may be her and he went to see for himself) and she is left dealing with Alex. While AM was all obsessed with the dullard Lucy she undermines him..Alex demands blood tests, Roger, of course, sees the results and fakes them, and while marrying Dinah for her trust fund ...with a hidden clause that he gets her money if she cheats...begins to ignore her and focus on the new girl in town, who he seduces to actaully get back at Ed...(eventually she would have a Bauer/Thorpe hellspawn as even intelligent sexually active people in SF never heard of birth control.) I would even recast Rita if they needed to...and maybe LK would come back for a short term or sporadic appearances. Or just have her lie on her death bed and say she was not "sexually active" with Ed but was with Alan so it was his.

Its not that I was wedded to Toby as Amanda...I just loved her and thought her vampy campy but not OTT take was fun. She played the humor and the pathos well. I do think they needed to bring back Amanda but not boring Cullen (all I can remember is her in an attic and not able to get it on with HotGayBen and the constant talk of her being "frigid." in bed) I would have someone age appropriate, classy, smart who could hint about her bad past (Poser's Amanda would NEVER be locked in an attic or not able to get it on with her hunky husband..but then, she would have figured out Ben was gay..) but that she came out of it. I would have had her replace Alex and her anger would be by being supplanted by her two younger brothers in her fathers' eyes. Then phase Alan and Alex out for the next generation as you can only watch round 280 of Alan vs. Alex. I like the idea zanereed, but she comes to town thinking she is a Spaulding, she is bad, she is greedy, she is sarcastic and fun..but then she finds out she is actually a Bauer!!! I wanted Ed to have a kid with Rita, who Roger found and adopted, or took under his wing to learn the wicked ways of Thorpe. He lies to the kid and tells him Alan is his father who abandoned him to and raises him to get revenge on the Spauldings. Rog was playing a long con though and the kid is actually Ed's. I thought of it as a boy but Poser would have been great..trying to fit in and have dinner in the Bauer kitchen smoking and rolling her eyes "No Michelle, I don't care about your love life, and Rick, your impressions really suck!" I could kinda see MOL and Poser as siblings with their curly dark hair. That time in 95 when they brought Poser on and Alan is off with Reva in Amishville woudl have been perfect for a fake illegitimate to come back and claim her piece of the puzzle all to find out she too was fooled by Roger. Agree. And despite his annoying schtick..MOL did come off as a warm nice guy. God, I hated his mugging, and when he did the Bill Murray Caddyshack impression during a dream episode I could tell he thought it was hi-LARIOUS. They needed to reign him in and also, stay away from the drama. Rick should have been a nice, stable guy who had his act together instead of this looser in love. However, when he was low key he was right on target.

I can undestand them wanting to fit Poser in somehow..she was great..but not as Amanda (and yes, I prefer her A then Cullen's dishwater dull Amanda..but the age thing was hard to get over.) Why not just give Alan a daughter that he had in San Rios as Poser was slightly younger then the AM actor so it would fit in that way. Plus she was one of the few sparring partners who had chemistyr with Marj..and her Amanda made Marj's Alex less mean as she just rolled her eyes and flipped her hair at her. Regarding Simon...yes, I really do think the Bauer family was stalled with him in the role of Ed. He really had no chemistry with anyone, even MOL he seemed cold and distant from. His deciding to leave in 96 was the perfect time to bring back MH..with Parker gone they needed his warmth...so what if he had gained weight..its not like Ed was a himbo like Tony Santos or Grillo's Hart. A big warm guy is what the Bauer kitchen needed and I would have loved to see if MG and he could pick it back up..and save her from Fletcher Reade stepping over her lines. Someone suggested Roscoe Borne for a recast Alan..(at least during RR's time.) I think he would make a really good, sexy Alan and I wonder if he would have had chemistry with Zimmer? I know Borne had his issues though so don't know how long he would have lasted.

They could have brought her back as Marland did, for special events and storylines..and especially towards the end of the show. They could have brought her daughter back and have her make visits, etc. Shame that they had no imagination.

They should have just let Alex leave for good, handing her stock over to Henry and Vanessa, who the writers had a place cards in the Jenna vs. Spaulding story...(and I like Van's dynamic with Jenna more then Alex's...how she didn't like her but came to be protective of her...) The Alex/Nick/Mindy thing had reached its expiration point by then.. I love the Character Profile of Van...I like how in that Peapack era scene with Mel, MK looked like someone's stylish mom who could still rip your throat out. I know Van/Billy and Ed/Holly were the end game but I wonder what it would have been like to have Van/Ed (they were sleeping together briefly when Van was a vixen..) too weird that she was his dead wifes best friend and had married his nephew? I think gradually it could have been a Bob/Kim thing of past lovers, turned friends getting togther.

Yea, I would have loved Marj as a totally different character. Both Bev and CB played the Spauldings as "to the manor born" and quite different from the rest of midwestern SF and the Lewis. Not so much Marj and RR. RR would have made a great Mike Bauer, no matter what he came off as too nice and too fatherly that his "badness" just made him look like he had gas all the time. But agree, it was so weird that tightly controlled Alex was huffing and puffing and acting like a nutcase. I thought they were going to do a menopause storyline (not that women with menopause act like nuts but looking for some kind or explanation.) The worst had to be when smart Alex was tricked by Roger into thinking that a snake bit her and he was acting like he was sucking the venom out of her as she was moaning more in ecstasy then anything else, no a car hood no less. I know that JFP would take out her own venom on the actors characters, even after they left so I wonder if poor Marj had to play JFP working out her issues with Bev through Alex. But its in other regimes too, the change of Alex's character from JoanAlex purring and in control to Marj screaming and thowing chairs in the police department is striking. I think she would have been great but too close to her GH character. I always thought that Lara Parker from Dark Shadows would have made a great Alex...I know they were considering RS from OLTL and Jane Elliot but Parker was away from soaps long enough to bring a fresh spin and not replay her old character. She would also bring that icy glamour with a just hidden "Ill cut a bitch" vibe Bev always gave. I think she and Zaz would have given off some heat.

I agree, as soon as Marj appeared the writing had changed...(I remember her coming home to the Spaulding mansion where Roger and Jenna were sleeping in her bed..and she gets in on top of them not knowing they were there..it was supposed to be comedic but it was stupid..Alex would have no idea what happened in her absence even though she was in NY before SF and could have easily found out, etc.) Yes, no one could play what Bev. did. but that is why they should have never recast..or just recast to finish up the Jenna vs. Spaulding storyline and had her leave..(if I was JFP I would have gotten on my hands and knees to get Bev to finish out the storyline.) Have Van assume the role or bring back Amanda...which would have been a smart thing to do...a fresh take with Amanda and A-M bonding against Roger and Jeana and then bring back a recast Alan to pit them against each other. Funny you mention Myrna Clegg, Alex wasnt Myrna but I gotta say, Marj was more fierce and Alex like as Myrna so I can kinda see why they chose her. And I agree, when they properly for Alex Marj was really good and solid. And, she has one of my favorite scenes in the horrible Alex druggin Alan storyline where RR is laying there like a sack and Alex goes to walk out, but then turns around to kick him...so not Alex but hilarious in its own right..I wanted to kick the boring sack that was RR's Alan!

True, but I will take THIS over a clone anyday!!!

I would add Lisa and Babs...they would always snap at each other but would be there when the other needed them.

I almost said that Marland and "humor" should not be mentioned in the same sentence, but then I remember some stuff he did on GL when he was redeeming Nola and she was in London doing something with Quint...there is a slap stick fight between Nola and some other woman that was funny and campy and poking fun at the Dynasty cat fights...and I think..did Marland have a sick day? His ATWT is so earnestly morose especially in comparison to GL at the time, which, however badly written it was in periods..had a zestiness that was lacking in its sister soap. What happened to him? He even takes the fun out of Lisa..who I must say, had to put 50,000 miles on her car every year zipping back and forth between her businesses, the hospital, Bob and Kim's, Tom and Margos, and whomever else's business she was getting into. I agree, but at least it is better then the tired old...there is an exact unrelated double of a character impersonating them. Maybe Iva and Alex had the same doctor deliver their kids?

I think this was trying to emulate it..but it was the Marvel comics version of that scene. I agree, Marj did quite well as a "different" version of Alex and strangely, I believed her more as a business woman then I did Bev...(Bev played the behind the scenes manipulating the strings better..."Oh me..why I just let others with more experience handle that..." as she takes a knife to your throat..) Again, both were dependent on the writing and also the directing..at that time I think JFP just wanted everyone to go OTT like Deas and Marj. The confrontation with Faux Annie really makes me want to see what Marj could have done with a harsher, more midwestern version of Alex. It does make me laugh at all the faces and the throwing of chairs..for no reason at all..and Van/Maeve's look of embarrassment through this. I just wish they had progressed Van into the rich matriarch of SF role instead of sighing away with Matt and letting Dinah abuse her, and not recast Alex. A non Ron Raines Alan really turned on by Biz Van and Van playing him would have been good.