10 minutes ago, Donna B said:

Back, way back, in August 1980, the show stopped broadcasting in 90 minute slots & went back to an hour. L. Virginia Browne was headwriting & focusing on younger characters, including Richard Bekins' Jamie. Among other things she had him play 267 straight episodes carrying a daily drug addiction. If I am counting right, that's 7 weeks! In 1983 the next headwriter Corinne Jacker brought Steve Frame back from the dead. That helicopter crash had not killed him, instead it had given him amnesia.In May 1984 they celebrated the show's 20th anniversary & brought Alice back & along with her the star-crossed lovers who became so popular Sally and Catlin. Unfortunately the show brought on Margaret De Priest and she created her first serial killer mystery.

L. Virginia Browne is the one who brought back Steve Frame. And it was in October 1981, not 1983. Jacker took over as head writer about a month after Steve had reappeared. Robert Soderberg and Dorothy Ann Purser killed off Steve in early 1983.

5 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

L. Virginia Browne is the one who brought back Steve Frame. And it was in October 1981, not 1983. Jacker took over as head writer about a month after Steve had reappeared. Robert Soderberg and Dorothy Ann Purser killed off Steve in early 1983.

 

Which was so dumb.  Bringing back Steve from the dead...just to kill him off again?  If David Canary wasn't working out, either recast or just let Steve leave town until you DO find someone who could play the part well!

5 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

L. Virginia Browne is the one who brought back Steve Frame. And it was in October 1981, not 1983. Jacker took over as head writer about a month after Steve had reappeared. Robert Soderberg and Dorothy Ann Purser killed off Steve in early 1983.

Okay, that's wrong in Christopher Schemering 1987 then (page 23.)

 

1 minute ago, Khan said:

 

Which was so dumb.  Bringing back Steve from the dead...just to kill him off again?  If David Canary wasn't working out, either recast or just let Steve leave town until you DO find someone who could play the part well!

Totally dumb. Totally.

2 hours ago, Donna B said:

In May 1984 they celebrated the show's 20th anniversary & brought Alice back & along with her the star-crossed lovers who became so popular Sally and Catlin. Unfortunately the show brought on Margaret De Priest and she created her first serial killer mystery.

 

Alice's arrival coincided with the murder of David Thatcher. Sally had already been growing close with Catlin since his arrival earlier in 1984, so I would hardly say that Alice brought that romance with her. And Margaret dePriest arrived a couple of years later after a lot of intervening stories and then she killed off Sally and invented: Reginald and Mary; MJ's prostitute past and her pimp/boyfriend Chad; John Hudson and the idea that he, not Michael, could have been Marley and Victoria's father; and Lisa Grady and the serial killer the Sin Stalker.

2 hours ago, Khan said:

Which was so dumb.  Bringing back Steve from the dead...just to kill him off again?  If David Canary wasn't working out, either recast or just let Steve leave town until you DO find someone who could play the part well!

 

If they had been able to create a story with Alice and Steve that didn't undermine her maturity and her career as a doctor, that could have been more interesting than what she did get (mild romance with Mark Singleton and maternal support of Sally). Did Steve interact with Sally much during his David Canary phase?

Oh, yes, Lisa Grady (Joanna Goings) & David O'Brian (the Sin Stalker).

21 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

21 hours ago, Xanthe said:

 

Yes. He almost killed her three times. You could say the first two times were accidents and that Rachel was just collateral damage, but the third and final time in 1991 he hired someone to kill her because he was worried that she could implicate him in Grant's shooting. 

 

Yes, that was what I was getting at, he never intended to kill her in the 1980s, he just came up with cockamamie schemes that wound up putting her in danger in his quest to kill Mac. It's hard to blame Matthew and Amanda for being suspicious about whether it was a good idea to trust Carl. Of course Matthew also seemed to forgive Mitch for his crimes, so...

5 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

 

Yes, that was what I was getting at, he never intended to kill her in the 1980s, he just came up with cockamamie schemes that wound up putting her in danger in his quest to kill Mac. It's hard to blame Matthew and Amanda for being suspicious about whether it was a good idea to trust Carl. Of course Matthew also seemed to forgive Mitch for his crimes, so...

Good points! And, they were cockamamie! We almost have to cut Matt & Amanda some slack. Now, Mitch, I don't know - there were just times when he was up to no good!

In a very real sense Mitch was a bad boy, if you know what I mean.

On 9/24/2019 at 5:34 AM, Donna B said:

 Now, I don't know that he could've talked Bev into coming even if they had said yes. She was more introverted after her transplant. I don't know what her health was like. She just wanted to putter in her garden & play with her grandchild.

Anne Meacham, who was quite a Broadway and off-Broadway actress and also a good friend to Tennessee Williams and is credited with saving his life once when he had a nervous breakdown! She played a servant in the Cory household, Louise Goddard, and it was her job to keep up with absolutely all of the Cory houseplants! Williams once wrote an editorial in The New York Times praising Meacham, noting "There's nothing she won't say or do onstage without any sign of embarrassment".

On 9/28/2019 at 7:39 AM, Donna B said:

Which Jamie are you speaking of here & what was his occupation? Richard Bekins, novelist? Larry Lau, doctor? Russell Todd, I forgot because I never really cared for him.

Larry Lau was the Jamie who came home as a doctor. (There was also Stephen Yates between Richard Bekins and Larry Lau. He worked at Cory Publishing and had no patience for Peter Love's nonsense. He dated MJ.)

 

Larry Lau didn't appeal to me as Jamie. He was somehow too self-satisfied. I preferred Russell Todd (whose Jamie was still a doctor; was he the one who had the whole sexual harassment problem with Kelsey?) probably only because Larry Lau had set the precedent for bland and pompous Jamie and I shallowly preferred Russell Todd's looks for it.

8 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

Larry Lau didn't appeal to me as Jamie. He was somehow too self-satisfied.

Ah! I can see how he might somehow come off as smug.

 

I am blank on who had the trouble with Kelsey.

 

And, yes, I just plain forgot about Stephen Yates. Peter Love was a pain. I loved all of the Loves (get it? Loved the Loves, LOL) except Peter.

On 9/28/2019 at 7:39 AM, Donna B said:

Same question: which Vicky? which Nicole #1 cocaine user? #2 Cass's lover & a fashion designer?

 

Rhonda Lewin was the only Vicky who can be said not to have had much of a chance, IMO. All of the others were popular and lasted for years.

As for Nicole, Kim Morgan Greene was cocaine Nicole who dated Jamie. Lauri Landry was singing Nicole who didn't get much to do. Anne Howard was the last Nicole, the fashion designer who was engaged to Cass and killed Jason Frame. 

 

I have been watching some of the episodes from 1986. Adam is supposed to be a fine upstanding honourable man, and I know I shouldn't expect much from the DePriest era, but I was somewhat shocked by how it was totally fine that he made his work colleague (and really I guess subordinate because she had been demoted to uniform for no good reason) MJ feel uncomfortable about having to sleep in Cecile's hotel room in scanty lingerie on their stakeout. 

2 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

 

Rhonda Lewin was the only Vicky who can be said not to have had much of a chance, IMO. All of the others were popular and lasted for years.

As for Nicole, Kim Morgan Greene was cocaine Nicole who dated Jamie. Lauri Landry was singing Nicole who didn't get much to do. Anne Howard was the last Nicole, the fashion designer who was engaged to Cass and killed Jason Frame. 

 

I have been watching some of the episodes from 1986. Adam is supposed to be a fine upstanding honourable man, and I know I shouldn't expect much from the DePriest era, but I was somewhat shocked by how it was totally fine that he made his work colleague (and really I guess subordinate because she had been demoted to uniform for no good reason) MJ feel uncomfortable about having to sleep in Cecile's hotel room in scanty lingerie on their stakeout. 

No, Rhonda didn't get much to do. I remember Kim Morgan Greene and Anne Howard vividly. But, ya know, I just don't remember Lauri Landry. Who was with her?

 

Adam shouldn't have done that.

45 minutes ago, Donna B said:

I just don't remember Lauri Landry. Who was with her?

 

She bridged the gap between Anna Stuart's Donna and Philece Sampler's Donna. She mostly functioned as a sidekick for Michael against Reginald.

16 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

 

She bridged the gap between Anna Stuart's Donna and Philece Sampler's Donna. She mostly functioned as a sidekick for Michael against Reginald.

Okay. Thanks.

I set out here to do a search on & for AW: Anne Heche. Turns out AH is not specific enough. I've seen Anne Heche in just about everything she's done including in PROOF from the 4th row on Broadway. Then, like a doofus I stood across the street too shy to go ask for an autograph!

 

As an AW fan I was lucky in that I got to see all of the Love/Hudsons - Donna even when Anna Stuart went to Hollywood for five years & we were left with Philece Sampler who I did not care for. She just reminded me of the role she had played at DOOL. And, Ellen Wheeler as Marley & Vicky who I loved. And, Anne Heche as Marley & Vicky who I loved. And, Rhonda Llewin who was okay. And, Cynthia Watros who was filling in temporarily. And, then, at long last Jensen Buchanan as Marley & Vicky & then as just Vicky. I really resented Jensen because she was intent on playing the role when she came back from maternity leave but she told them she would only play Vicky & not Marley, too. Then, she only worked part of each week. And, then, she had them transport her by helicopter from the studio to her house and back. While she was at it she tried to get them to make her the star appearing above Victoria Wyndham's name. Meanwhile Ellen Wheeler had been ready to come back in & play both parts for just ages! At the very end of the show she played a Marley who was taller than Vicky! Now, of course, Jensen has really screwed things up by having a serious accident & a DUI, etc.