I just posted my interview with Richard Shoberg (ex-Tom):

http://thepinevalleybulletin.blogspot.com/...shoberg-ex.html

He last popped back up when Livia returned again a few years back right? some fourth of July picnic? or am I totally deranged...

Oh i just read you rgreat interview *blush* yep a few yers back under McTavish. I do hate when characters just fade away the way he (and before him Livia) did in the 90s

Great interview. It's so strange seeing how daytime has changed. It was such a huge part of American culture back in the 70s and 80s, and it just seems to fade away as time goes on.

I didn't understand why AMC let him go. They already lost Cliff, and Pine Valley had precious few nice guys who were down to earth and all-american. Tom always came off to me as a core character of the show, one the show woud always follow, like they would Erica, Brooke, Adam, or Tad. AMC has changed so much, and not for the better. Tom Cudahy would have been a perfect character to be paternal yet not geriatric. I also liked his sneaky brother Sean.

We went from Tom Cudahy to Zach Slater. Ugh.

It wasn't just Tom, it was Tom, Cliff, Chuck, Benny...the show lost all their likable nice guys, and that's a role that needs to be filled. Now everyone is a billionaire.

I didn't understand why AMC let him go. They already lost Cliff, and Pine Valley had precious few nice guys who were down to earth and all-american. Tom always came off to me as a core character of the show, one the show woud always follow, like they would Erica, Brooke, Adam, or Tad. AMC has changed so much, and not for the better. Tom Cudahy would have been a perfect character to be paternal yet not geriatric. I also liked his sneaky brother Sean.

I agree, that letting Tom go was absurd. At the end of the day, for him to stay on canvas, they probably had to break up his marriage with Livia since the Frye family basically disappeared in 1995. I would have been fine with that. Like Shoberg said, the romance was all really rushed and to me seemed plot driven by the sheer fact that the writers wanted the racial tension to be so center stage. Did Tonya and Shoberg had chemistry, yes they did. But was it an impossible type of chemistry that made them an unbreakable super couple, maybe not. At the end of the day, I think of Brooke and Tom long before I think of Livia and Tom. Brooke was languishing in the late 90's in storyline limbo with so many bad pairings. I think Brooke and Tom would still be such viable characters if they kept Shoberg around.

I also wanted to push that Tom was such a different character, a conservative man who wasn't a billionaire, who wasn't judgmental, who didn't care about perceptions. Because of it, Tom seemed like such a genuine character. He believed what he believed not because of social constructs or because of what people told him to believe.

When MMT brought Tom back in 2004 and 2005, it seemed like the show was on the right track. There was so much potential in summer 2005 to flesh out the Fryes, the Martins, and the Montgomerys with the Josh story, the Sam story, the Dani story... but that all changed by August. I think someone intervened in that month, because they show had refocused on history and seeing the series as an ensemble since MMT came on 2003, but it all went to [!@#$%^&*] that August. It never really recovered since. Characters began to languish on the backburner, fade off th canvas, vets were let go, and the show just became so imbalanced. Something that exists to this day.

I agree, that letting Tom go was absurd. At the end of the day, for him to stay on canvas, they probably had to break up his marriage with Livia since the Frye family basically disappeared in 1995. I would have been fine with that. Like Shoberg said, the romance was all really rushed and to me seemed plot driven by the sheer fact that the writers wanted the racial tension to be so center stage. Did Tonya and Shoberg had chemistry, yes they did. But was it an impossible type of chemistry that made them an unbreakable super couple, maybe not. At the end of the day, I think of Brooke and Tom long before I think of Livia and Tom. Brooke was languishing in the late 90's in storyline limbo with so many bad pairings. I think Brooke and Tom would still be such viable characters if they kept Shoberg around.

I also wanted to push that Tom was such a different character, a conservative man who wasn't a billionaire, who wasn't judgmental, who didn't care about perceptions. Because of it, Tom seemed like such a genuine character. He believed what he believed not because of social constructs or because of what people told him to believe.

When MMT brought Tom back in 2004 and 2005, it seemed like the show was on the right track. There was so much potential in summer 2005 to flesh out the Fryes, the Martins, and the Montgomerys with the Josh story, the Sam story, the Dani story... but that all changed by August. I think someone intervened in that month, because they show had refocused on history and seeing the series as an ensemble since MMT came on 2003, but it all went to [!@#$%^&*] that August. It never really recovered since. Characters began to languish on the backburner, fade off th canvas, vets were let go, and the show just became so imbalanced. Something that exists to this day.

I agree with all you say, especially this last part. For me, I liked Tom and Livia, but wasn't exactly gung-ho for it. When she came back to recurring recently, I was in favor of her saying that she and Tom had parted ways, freeing up both characters. I'm not too sad that Tom left; nice guys do finish last and are awfully hard to keep interesting; however, it's the way people leave that's bothersome.

As for the last part, I think you've brought up something I need to ponder. It's as if "The Writer" had run out of her hot Comeback (Baby Switch) and was ready to transition to some new things and then it was all thrown back in the pool and remixed-not-for-the-better. At this point we hit the steep drop that had begun with the gradual descent of the "Poisoned Tattoo" and the sharp fall of "Proteus."

Oh my goodness he looks good! The years have definitely been good to him. I wish they would be Tom back for Livvie. But alas, the Anybody But Color network continues on the "I hate diversity" path.

Thanks so much for posting.

Nice interview. It brought back lots of good AMC memories. I liked Tom a lot. I liked him with Skye the best. I thought that they were scorching hot.

Oh my goodness he looks good! The years have definitely been good to him. I wish they would be Tom back for Livvie. But alas, the Anybody But Color network continues on the "I hate diversity" path.

Thanks so much for posting.

Sometimes, I am so surprised by just how beautiful the actors are today! Richard looks like he did two decades ago. Carmen Thomas, hot momma. Even in her candid photos, she looks just as young and sweet as ever.