23 hours ago, Chris 2 said:

Anne Heche acting weird is about as uncommon as the sun coming up in the morning. Remember her other personality, Celestia?

 

I get the feeling hanging out with Anne Heche over a few martinis would be either the greatest experience ever or a living hell. I doubt it would be anything in between. 

1 hour ago, j swift said:

Agreed (although I would add RKK's pension for short shorts)

But

I have to put in a good word for Stephen Yates.  He was Rachel-est of the Jamie's.  They shared the same hair and an artsy vibe.  They were also both vulnerable with a hair trigger temper that interfered with their relationships.  It was a shame that the character changed so much in later iterations because I thought Yate's Jamie seemed like the one who really shared some character DNA with Rachel (certainly more than Amanda or Matthew ever did). 

I agree with you. I loved him.

10 hours ago, RavenWhitney said:

Sandra could never act her way out of a paper bag.  RKK was okay as long as he was half naked and mouth shut.  Charles Flohe was inconsistent. Had some good scenes on Edge where he played tender emotions nicely but he never cut it on AW and the character had potential being Janice's son. I've always been amazed over the years that TPTB on many shows seem to have difficulty finding outstanding performers to fill the role of the adult/aged children of the show's vets. Some get it right. Grant Alexander and Mike O'Leary were fantastic for years as Phil and Rick.  Y&R has failed with Josh and Amelia as Victor and Nikki's kids.  They can't get the right actor for Ashley's daughter or Nick's kids, Noah and Summer. All these actors are terrible.  On AW, they couldn't keep actors in the Jamie role for very long. Bekins was the best fit. After him, none of the others worked.  Look what they did with Lorna.  Alicia was awesome then we got Sky Chandler. Terrible

 

Sometimes it does seem as if people were cast purely based on looks -- although I suppose in some cases it's possible that the audition was strong but the actor found it hard to keep up with the pace of daytime. 

 

How much influence does a good casting director have vs the HW and EP? For example I thought the early 80s cast of AW was generally very strong, and my dissatisfaction with the later 80s cast felt very tied to Margaret DePriest's vision as HW, and of course the huge amount of turnover.

15 hours ago, RavenWhitney said:

Sandra could never act her way out of a paper bag.  RKK was okay as long as he was half naked and mouth shut.  Charles Flohe was inconsistent. Had some good scenes on Edge where he played tender emotions nicely but he never cut it on AW and the character had potential being Janice's son. I've always been amazed over the years that TPTB on many shows seem to have difficulty finding outstanding performers to fill the role of the adult/aged children of the show's vets. Some get it right. Grant Alexander and Mike O'Leary were fantastic for years as Phil and Rick.  Y&R has failed with Josh and Amelia as Victor and Nikki's kids.  They can't get the right actor for Ashley's daughter or Nick's kids, Noah and Summer. All these actors are terrible.  On AW, they couldn't keep actors in the Jamie role for very long. Bekins was the best fit. After him, none of the others worked.  Look what they did with Lorna.  Alicia was awesome then we got Sky Chandler. Terrible

 

I thought Charles Grant worked well with Anne Heche, and the few times we saw him with the Frames. The triangle with Sam and Amanda just became so tedious. 

I thought Sandra Ferguson was a fine Amanda. I also liked RKK as Sam (the best one as it turns out). I think the problem was in the writing. I don't think Swajeski knew where she was going with the Evan/Olivia/Amanda/Sam storyline, and it showed. There was an odd rhythm to their stories. They would be the Friday cliffhanger, and then you wouldn't have cliffhanger resolved or talked about until Tues/Wed. of the next week. It was bizarre. I found that with most of Swajeski's stories. She could write a killer episode, and the stories always had potential, but they inevitably fizzled out because she hadn't focused on the long term. I liked the Amanda/Sam romance more so than the Lisa/Jamie one. I'm probably the only one who likes AW post-serial killer (still think killing off Quinn was a huge mistake) and pre-Swajeski period. IT wasn't always great, but it was immensely watchable. 

2 hours ago, chrisml said:

I thought Sandra Ferguson was a fine Amanda. I also liked RKK as Sam (the best one as it turns out). I think the problem was in the writing. I don't think Swajeski knew where she was going with the Evan/Olivia/Amanda/Sam storyline, and it showed. There was an odd rhythm to their stories. They would be the Friday cliffhanger, and then you wouldn't have cliffhanger resolved or talked about until Tues/Wed. of the next week. It was bizarre. I found that with most of Swajeski's stories. She could write a killer episode, and the stories always had potential, but they inevitably fizzled out because she hadn't focused on the long term. I liked the Amanda/Sam romance more so than the Lisa/Jamie one. I'm probably the only one who likes AW post-serial killer (still think killing off Quinn was a huge mistake) and pre-Swajeski period. IT wasn't always great, but it was immensely watchable. 

 

Evan Frame and Caroline Stafford both appeared when Harding Lemay returned to the show in September 1988.  He even made the two of them a lovers when they arrived.  I wonder what his plans for the two characters were, because neither reached their full potential under Donna Swajeski.  I could see Lemay making Evan more sinister and dangerous to the Cory family once it was revealed that he was Janice Frame's son then what played out on screen.

Caroline seemed like she was created for a specific purpose..yet it never became apparent to the audience.  I wonder if she was meant for the Mac story that had to be rewritten when the actor passed suddenly?  She was an art dealer..maybe she was supposed to play a part in the Red Swan story?

14 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Caroline seemed like she was created for a specific purpose..yet it never became apparent to the audience.  I wonder if she was meant for the Mac story that had to be rewritten when the actor passed suddenly?  She was an art dealer..maybe she was supposed to play a part in the Red Swan story?

 

The Red Swan Story was entirely Swajewski's idea, but Caroline was created by Lemay.  I do agree, it seemed Caroline was created for a specific purpose, but Swajeski didn't follow-through with Lemay's plan for the character.  There was one scene, while Lemay was still writing, in which Caroline was on the phone with her mother (back in Australia).  And their relationship seemed to be very troubled.  So I'm assuming part of Caroline's oringinal purpose included her mother.   

1 hour ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

The Red Swan Story was entirely Swajewski's idea, but Caroline was created by Lemay.  I do agree, it seemed Caroline was created for a specific purpose, but Swajeski didn't follow-through with Lemay's plan for the character.  There was one scene, while Lemay was still writing, in which Caroline was on the phone with her mother (back in Australia).  And their relationship seemed to be very troubled.  So I'm assuming part of Caroline's oringinal purpose included her mother.   

(The Real) Steve Frame died in Australia and Willis and Gwen moved there so I wonder if Caroline was intended to have a Frame connection.  

1 hour ago, Efulton said:

(The Real) Steve Frame died in Australia and Willis and Gwen moved there so I wonder if Caroline was intended to have a Frame connection.  

 

I have thought that too.  But she was having sex with Evan, so it's unlikely she'd have been a Frame.  

 

25 minutes ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

I have thought that too.  But she was having sex with Evan, so it's unlikely she'd have been a Frame.  

 

In light of the fact that AW cast two Australian actresses (Joy Bell and Carmen Duncan) in such a short period of time, perhaps Caroline was slated to have some kind of connection to Iris.

1 hour ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

I have thought that too.  But she was having sex with Evan, so it's unlikely she'd have been a Frame.  

 

I wish Harding Lemay’s storyline projections for his return were available.  He talked a bit about his plans to We Love Soaps but I would love to know more. 

46 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

In light of the fact that AW cast two Australian actresses (Joy Bell and Carmen Duncan) in such a short period of time, perhaps Caroline was slated to have some kind of connection to Iris.

 

Yes, I don't think Carolyn's being Australian was just a coincidence .  Lemay had something planned for her.

 

1 hour ago, robbwolff said:

In light of the fact that AW cast two Australian actresses (Joy Bell and Carmen Duncan) in such a short period of time, perhaps Caroline was slated to have some kind of connection to Iris.

I don't think Carmen Duncan being Australian had anything to do with any storyline Lemay had planned.  I suspect it was purely about the actress being liked by the powers that be.

 

We Love Soaps: You were instrumental in bringing Iris back in 1988?
Harding Lemay: Yes, well, with a different actress. And she wasn’t Bevey McKinsey. She was Australian, actually. I wasn’t there when they cast her.

 

https://www.welovesoaps.net/2009/08/harding-lemay-interview-part-four.html

11 minutes ago, Efulton said:

I don't think Carmen Duncan being Australian had anything to do with any storyline Lemay had planned.  I suspect it was purely about the actress being liked by the powers that be.

 

We Love Soaps: You were instrumental in bringing Iris back in 1988?
Harding Lemay: Yes, well, with a different actress. And she wasn’t Bevey McKinsey. She was Australian, actually. I wasn’t there when they cast her.

 

https://www.welovesoaps.net/2009/08/harding-lemay-interview-part-four.html

 

You're right, Lemay wasn't in charge of casting the new Iris.  But knowing who was cast (and that she was Australian) likely impacted his creation of Carolyn.  I don't think Carolyn's Australian background was unintentional (although Iris's was).   

Edited September 9, 20205 yr by Neil Johnson