AMC's two SoapNet marathons Jan 12-13

[Chris B]

LOL! I hadn't thought about it that way. I agree, just keep forgetting OLTL exists Frons! He doesn't even seem to be forcing Ron to pimp anybody now.

[heatherwebber]

I only had time to watch the first 2 Angie & Jesse eps. so far. I did see the 3rd years ago.

I think both the first 2 were from the time Agnes had left the show to concentrate on Loving. I think it listed Wisner but Agnes only as creator. I didn't save them so I can't recheck.

I'm not sure if she was back for the 3rd but I suspect she must have been. I did notice the end credits was from the time Gillian Spencer was doing the story consulting (i.e. long-term storylines.)

The 2 I did watch were "classic" excellent writing. Stuff we don't see anymore pretty much anywhere. The shows might have better production values now but shockingly damaged writing.

[Wendy]

I know someone named donna515 has clipped it at YouTube.

[dragonflies]

Yeah they're posted at youtube

[AddictedToSoaps]

I just saw that today by accident. I'll watch them when I get a chance.

[EricMontreal22]

Wasn't Lorraine Broderick listed as HW on some of those 1987-88 eps? On some I have she is

[heatherwebber]

Maybe Lorraine is on the third? I think the other 2 were 83/84 eps. weren't they?

[Steve]

Phoebe and Langley were so fierce! I only know the Langley actor from Dark Shadows, so that was a treat! I now see why AMC fans loved Phoebe so much. Who was that busybody annoying them?

LOVE LOVE LOVED Debbi Morgan when her father died. You just don't see that ugly, completely devestated type of grieving unless it's done in a campy way. She totally broke my heart. It reminded me of various family members during my grandpa's funeral. I cannot wait to see her sink her teeth into some meaty material.

Honestly, the biggest shock to me was how bloody GOOD the show was then! I've always assumed AMC just wasn't for me, but I now see it's just this modern AMC that isn't for me. Honestly, say PSNS was 30 years old and someone told you for many years it was Agnes Nixon levels of great...would it be possible to believe that knowing how bad the show is now? That's how I am with AMC now.

I just wish ABC would finally give OLTL a marathon of classic episodes. To date they STILL haven't had one! Y&R hasn't had one with real classic episodes either.

That was Edna Thorton annoying Phoebe & Langley. She was married to a doctor named David who had an affair with Ruth Martin in the late 1970s. David died shortly thereafter while plotting to kill Edna (their daughter Dottie accidentally switched glasses and he drank his own poison). Edna left Pine Valley and was brought back after Dorothy Lyman's Opal left the show as a comic relief character. Her daughter Dottie later became Tad's first wife.

ITA about Debbi Morgan. That type of grief is rarely shown on TV and Debbi is an acting powerhouse. I just hope she gets some good material from B&E, but I doubt she will.

[Steve]

Agnes wasn't listed as headwriter with Wisner Washam in the 1980s even when she was working on the show. The first two episodes were from 1983 and I think Loving premiered a year later in 1984. I don't know if she was back at AMC by 1987 or not.

ITA about the writing. Back then, it was all character driven on AMC and the show had a good mix of young, old, rich, and poor. I doubt it will ever be that good again.

[EricMontreal22]

Loving started Summer 1983, but Doug Marland was head writer for it for a full year and Ganes came in (on one of her stints) late 1984. And yeah Agnes was rarely listed as headwriter at AMC in the 80s at all even when she was involved--more or less depending on the year--for most of the 80s. What I was surprised about during the I Love Lucci marathon is how many of the 80s episodes listed Lorraine Broderick as Hewadwriter (I knew she was part of the team, but few books mentioned her ever be listed as a HW in the 80s).

And yeah the show was magnificently balances there--also a good mix of humour, homely domestic situations and soap twists and melodrama. But soaps in general were back then too--AMC was one of the best of course but it was a diff soap world. Sadly

[EricMontreal22]

To B&E's credit this may be the ONLY good thing they've done with their tenure. I have zero doubt, especially after reading an interview in an old SODigest I found with news on the City where Barbara says that Angie and Jacob were her fave characters/actors to write for that it was them who requested them coming back to AMC (let's face it, besides Ghost Jesse every so often, has Angie even been mentioned ina decade on the show?). So I thank them for that... But yeah, as much as I loved how they wrote them for Loving/City, I have very little faith we'll get good writing for them now. Still I'm looking forward to seeing them back