It's not pathetic at all. I also miss a lot of those characters. They never really leave you. I know the last episode of that was widely derided but I think it had a lot more heart and happiness than most soap finales, including ATWT's, most likely.

Barring the Gorilla appearing in the last episode and that stupid hip-hop dance to lure the gorilla out of the tree.. the rest of the last episode was wonderful. It had a wedding, had every single person give advice via a video montage (sort of a good-bye to the fans as well) and it ended with Rachel looking over all the photos in the Cory living room before she and Carl turned off the light and went upstairs.

I am working my way through AW episodes, watching them for the first time. Right now I am at 9/6/91. Carl tried to have Rachel killed, and Jenna is in love with Dean (a mullet-haired RPG). Oh, and Jake is in a marriage of convenience with Paulina (Judi Evans) and currently making cow eyes at Marley but I think he's going to end up falling for Paulina. God, I really love this show! The only person I miss is Anne Heche, though I will give Jensen Buchanan props. Her Vicky is cringeworthy, but her Marley is spot-on.

OMG! ROTFL! I love early 90s cheese and boy did I get it with the dress rehearsal for Dean's "music video" and Olivia expressing her emotions via the medium of dance. Not going to lie, I sort of miss the fact that soaps are now too cash-strapped to pull "hip" stuff like this.

Looks like the 91-92 episodes will be off Youtube and Hulu at the end of the month. I guess I'd better start watching them...

WHAT?! No! Why would they want to do that? I am loving discovering AW for the first time. All those supercouples I only ever heard by name!

It doesn't make sense that they're taking them down. :S

I love Cali Timmons's work in this May 1991 episode, especially the way she brushes off Iris on her way out of Tops. Cali and Carmen were so believable as sisters. Iris is great in this episode too, making the most out of her brusque treatment by Sharlene. I always liked Sharlene, but this story doesn't do a lot for me, aside from the truly hilarious acting of the woman who plays Taylor Benson ("JUST LIKE I DID TO JERRY!"). Sharlene's constant drumbeat of "How dare you chair the ethics committee and you'd better be impartial so I'm going to hurl abuse at you just so you'll be impartial!" is also self-defeating and annoying. The great thing in this episode is the wide variety of strong female characters. There are more in this ONE episode than in all of daytime today. I miss AW so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yWoxBd6thk&feature=channel

Edited September 21, 201015 yr by CarlD2

That's Ricky Paul as we know him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBo3oBnjC6U

"LAY-DEHHHHH. Lay-deh KILLAHHHHHH." God, that song. That music video! That awful mullet.

Carl, I love that episode you posted for exactly the reasons you stated. These strong, relatable yet glamourous women. AW was so great at drawing out friendships as well as romantic relationships that scenes like that never come across as filler, they merely lay the groundwork for possible future storylines/friendships/rivalries.

I've been watching about 2 episodes a day. I would normally watch one but early 90s AW is like plunging into a compelling book where you just want to sneak in one chapter more. Some might argue that this kind of soap would never work today because people just do not have the attention span for it. Take it from me who wields her remote control like a weapon -- my FF button is my friend. I am constantly FF the soaps I currently watch, but I have rarely felt the need to with AW currently. You might argue that it is nostalgia-love which is stopping me from doing so, but I believe that 1991 AW is well-paced and structured. There is always something in the final few scenes that makes me want to tune into the next show.

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Carl, I love that episode you posted for exactly the reasons you stated. These strong, relatable yet glamourous women. AW was so great at drawing out friendships as well as romantic relationships that scenes like that never come across as filler, they merely lay the groundwork for possible future storylines/friendships/rivalries.

i seen an episode a few months ago that was so full of such different female characters. Amanda and Olivia were arguing, Paulina Marley and Viki all had scenes with eachother, Donna and Rachel both had great scenes with the men in their lives, Iris too. I was likw wow, in that one episode there are more interesting female characters than in all of daytime. And the writing wasnt even THAT great!

Oh, and forgot to add: Judi Evans blows me AWAY as Paulina. I liked her on Days but she was crying an awful lot and the role was typical ingénue. Here, her face radiates such love and beauty when she contemplates Grant... and her low voice suggests intelligence and warmth. She is a "complete" multi-dimensinal character. It also helps that she has chemistry with absolutely everybody. The scenes when Jamie took her to a classical music concert and she fell in love with the music were remarkable for everything she expressed without saying a word. I can see this Paulina-Jake thing is going somewhere special. The only regret is that Dack Rambo's Grant was replaced by Mark Pinter. Rambo had more charisma and I totally bought his love for Paulina.

This has the big reveal of Taylor's demons, via somewhat cheesily done childhood flashbacks (the part where the girl speaks and we hear Taylor's voice sort of makes me cringe), and then the carousel goes around and Sharlene tries to avoid being shot. I guess "In the Good Old Summertime" is a song for short haired brunette women with mental problems -- that was one of Judy Garland's last MGM films. Anyway Taylor is kind of ridiculous but I enjoy when she starts the yelling. She should have been kept around as some kind of campy psycho.

HATE Michael and HATE Michael/Stacey. You have to work hard to make me hate Hillary Edson but AW did it. That character just offended me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv1Qhqz35Vc&list=SL

Edited September 26, 201015 yr by CarlD2

I'll be honest. I really did not enjoy that whole Taylor SL. At the risk of getting spat on by hard-core AW fans, I find Sharlene & John to be a total snore. Even with the hint of multiple personalities. I do like John when he's in Doctor Mode at the hospital, and the only part of this particular SL I enjoyed was Carmen Duncan as Iris presiding over the mediation between John and Taylor. But every time John and Sharlene share screentime, it's like all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room -- in stark contrast with the many other chemistry-rich characters and pairings on the show.

Taylor was a fun, unstable psycho though (is there any other kind?).

I'll be honest. I really did not enjoy that whole Taylor SL. At the risk of getting spat on by hard-core AW fans, I find Sharlene & John to be a total snore. Even with the hint of multiple personalities. I do like John when he's in Doctor Mode at the hospital, and the only part of this particular SL I enjoyed was Carmen Duncan as Iris presiding over the mediation between John and Taylor. But every time John and Sharlene share screentime, it's like all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room -- in stark contrast with the many other chemistry-rich characters and pairings on the show.

Yes. I agree 100%.

HATE Michael and HATE Michael/Stacey. You have to work hard to make me hate Hillary Edson but AW did it. That character just offended me.

lol, i LOVED Michael/Stacey