Loving/The City Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I have to go read up on this Egoli. 

 

Are you talking about the '89 episode I posted with Jeff taking Trisha off and that young lady being blown to bits? Yeah, I watched it and loved it. I've enjoyed a lot of Loving that I've seen as of late. I don't get how the show never caught a following. From episodes in the late 80s, I've found it more interesting that I've seen of episodes of GH from around that time. 

[DRW50]

 

The oddest story I read about on Egoli (although there were many) was when one half of a loving gay couple suddenly became a bisexual psychopath who shot his boyfriend after a fight and went on to become an assassin and master criminal. 

 

Yeah. I really liked it too. I guess the timeslot and the many onscreen upheavals caused a problem. It's too bad as the bits I've seen of the show are good. I'd say it's because soaps of the last 20 years are so much worse, but some of the episodes actually are very good in their own right. But from what I've read it did go off the rails and then come back, over and over, so maybe people just didn't want to deal with it. I remember reading about one story that sounds especially stupid where Clay or someone gaslighted Stacey with a holograph of Jack. 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

A bisexual psychopath/assassin?! 

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 Yeah. Reading up on this show might be my reading material for the next couple of days. 

 

Back to Loving, a hologram?  Reading up on Loving, they had their duds too. That devil story and Ava using a pillow to play pregnant sound hilarious. 

 

When it comes to Stacey/Jack though, were they a popular pairing? They do have chemistry, but I find them cheesy in the episodes I've seen and from what I've ready. I wonder from long-term fans what they thought of Jack. From synopsis of the show that I read, I find myself endeared to Curtis over Jack. Jack, though sexy as hell, seems like he was boring except for the time he was with Ava. 

[Vee]

I think the endless recasts of core characters, the constant turnover, etc. prevented the show from ever lasting. I find a lot of the eps from the early-mid '90s really intriguing as an encapsulation of Agnes' vision (and in some ways IMO a precursor to her AMC 2.0) but they seem to always struggle to find and keep a core. I liked the show back then too.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Vee

[DRW50]

 

I think @juniorz1 when they used to post here, felt Stacey was a weak spot on the show. I don't mind her that much, but I agree that I'm not sure she and Jack were that great as a couple. For me Linden Ashby's Curtis and Roya Megnot's Ava could have been a supercouple. I've always found Ashby boring in all his soap roles so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed what I saw of him as Curtis. 

 

Did you ever watch those lengthy clips someone put up a few years ago focused on the Jack and Stacey conflicts when she was with Rick? If not I'll try to see if they're still around. 

[Vee]

I also recall one of the main soap journalists singing the praises of Elise Neal and hating that she was written out. I agree, big mistake. I always liked her - not sure what she's doing now.

 

IIRC, Agnes also originally intended to bring Ellen Holly and Lillian Hayman onto Loving as OLTL's Carla and Sadie Gray. Holly said no so that was that. This may have been in the late '80s, I can't recall, but she did later bring on Debbi and Darnell as the Hubbards + Jacob. The show often intrigues me as this weird island of Agnes' various longtime ideas and misfit toys. In that sense Corinth's brief, silly cameo on GH a few years back sort of fit into that - this strange, gothic town time forgot.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Vee

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I've seen one of them for sure. I think it was a clip where Rick was arguing with Trisha about Jack and Stacey. I think he was accusing Trisha of Jack's side or something along the lines of that. Wasn't Rick her brother too? 

 

And poor Linden. His soap roles are boring with the exception of his time at Y&R. He was damn sure boring on Melrose Place.

[Vee]

I will always love Linden Ashby for Mortal Kombat.

 

I remember someone on Datalounge once said Robert Tyler is independently wealthy. I remember another ep from '94 I saw a few years back where I thought he and Jessica Collins were smoking hot - she was just smoldering off the screen. What they did with the Trisha character and her ending is bizarre even by today's non-standards.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Elise was last doing a reality show on TVOne called Hollywood Divas. She did it for about 2 seasons and quit. I think she is doing small films and TV stints still. She also has a dance troupe. 

 

This is the first about hearing Agnes wanting to bring Carla and Sadie to Loving. Was Ed in the plans too? As you stated, Loving was like Agnes' island for ideas and misfit toys. What I find even weirder and intriguing as that many of those throwaway characters on their main soaps fit perfectly on Loving. Angie, Frankie, and Jeremy fit well on the show. 

[DRW50]

 

Yes. He was the son of Gwyn and Clay that she gave up for adoption (I'm not really sure why she did). 

 

There are some clips of him on Chip Albers' YT channel and then some longer ones. I'll look in a bit to see if the latter are still uploaded.

[slick jones]

 

I was just typing the same point. aside from Nada Rowand from 84-end, there was never a truly steady cast. There were many gems over the years, but a bunch of clunkers as well.

 

Janie (Elise Neal) was a great character and her death was a mistake

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I'll love Linden for MK too. I'm still pissed that they didn't bring him back for the second movie and in turn killed Johnny Cage. 

 

Glad to hear that Robert Tyler is doing well if those rumors are true. I just miss that man on TV. He was just so sexy. Ugh!! In that '94 episode how she climbed on top of Dinah Lee and they were kissing ... oh my!

[Vee]

 

Angie, Frankie, Jacob, etc. on Loving was basically my first brush with them. I loved Debbi Morgan instantly and thought it was very cool when I discovered they were from AMC. I've never been too hard on crossovers when they're done well. I also loved them on The City.

 

I didn't hear anything about Al Freeman being a part of it - I think it may have been offered in the late '80s just after Rauch let both Holly and Hayman go, whereas Freeman stayed at OLTL for several more years.

 

And yeah, Agnes constantly reinvented her youth canvas ideas dating back to the original AMC over and over, I think, but they tended to stay fresh. I'm not sure how much input she had into the college scene revamp at Loving - with Cooper Alden the poor little rich boy, Ally, Steffy, etc. - but it feels a lot like her. Of course she did it again with the teens on AMC 2.0, very successfully IMO.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

If you don't find them, I'll try. All this talk about LOVING makes me wish more episodes would pop up. This is one show I'd love to see from start to finish. I really think I'd enjoy it. 

[Vee]

We've probably all seen the same episodes online at this point but there were some great ones with Steffy addicted to pills or something, when she was with Clay. I'd stil like to see more from '92 and '93, but I think there's actually a ton from early in the revamp I just haven't had time to watch.

 

I also loved characters like Tess or Lorraine, who might've gotten short shrift on other soaps but were stars on Loving/The City.