1 hour ago, Vee said:

I sympathize with Donna's struggles but she clearly believes she is still ruling the roost on USENET 25 years ago.

Well, thank you for good thoughts but I must correct an impression. I didn't rule any roost on Usenet & I don't rule any roost now. I've always been a follower, not a leader.

More or less 35 years ago ... (And the hopes of Rhonda Lewin's legion of fans were forever crushed.)

 

2 minutes ago, Franko said:

More or less 35 years ago ... (And the hopes of Rhonda Lewin's legion of fans were forever crushed.)

 

Is that Zach Grenier as Mr Kessler?

Just now, Xanthe said:

Is that Zach Grenier as Mr Kessler?

It certainly is.

33 minutes ago, Franko said:

It certainly is.

Thanks. I see in the Soap Hoppers thread the only AW credit for Grenier is currently "Greg Brady" in 1995. Now we know another!

Taking a customer's clothes and forcing her to stay in a bubble bath until her father bails her out seems a tad out of line. And frankly I would have expected Victoria to be able to figure out how to cover herself in any of the bedclothes or draperies in the room rather than put up with it. It feels like when my friends and I would play Barbies as children and come up with salacious and improbable storylines in which the dolls were obliged to dress in as few clothes as possible without being naked. (The winner wore a single belt of scotch tape.)

 

 

 

8 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

Taking a customer's clothes and forcing her to stay in a bubble bath until her father bails her out seems a tad out of line. And frankly I would have expected Victoria to be able to figure out how to cover herself in any of the bedclothes or draperies in the room rather than put up with it. It feels like when my friends and I would play Barbies as children and come up with salacious and improbable storylines in which the dolls were obliged to dress in as few clothes as possible without being naked. (The winner wore a single belt of scotch tape.)

The hotel could at least have given Vicky a robe. And just how long was she waiting in that tub? Suppose she threatened to drown herself? (Yes, I'm overthinking a mostly-for-laughs series of scenes.)

I haven't seen enough of Ellen Wheeler's early tenure as Marley and Vicki. I wish there were an on demand service that aired the show (the way The Doctors is). I had no idea that the Rhonda Lewin who played Vicki was the Rhonda Lee that was on Star Search. She competed in the actress category. Rhonda Lewin on Star Search (at the 40 minute mark).

Aw, now I feel bad for snarking on Rhonda. She did her darndest to polish that turd.

40 minutes ago, Franko said:

Aw, now I feel bad for snarking on Rhonda. She did her darndest to polish that turd.

David Cowgill went on to give a very touching performance in a recurring role on Y&R for a year or two - he was probably more successful on daytime than she was. Weird how things go.

Rhonda does seem a bit more in focus here than she was on AW. I wonder if the huge mess the show was at that point and having no one she could really lean on (as she just had Michael and yet another Jamie recast) hurt her.

Edited July 13, 20223 yr by DRW50

8 hours ago, chrisml said:

I haven't seen enough of Ellen Wheeler's early tenure as Marley and Vicki. I wish there were an on demand service that aired the show (the way The Doctors is). I had no idea that the Rhonda Lewin who played Vicki was the Rhonda Lee that was on Star Search. She competed in the actress category. Rhonda Lewin on Star Search (at the 40 minute mark).

According to the imdb, she also has credits as Rhonda Jensen.

7 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Rhonda does seem a bit more in focus here than she was on AW. I wonder if the huge mess the show was at that point and having no one she could really lean on (as she just had Michael and yet another Jamie recast) hurt her.

They tied her very closely to Reginald in a way that essentially made her his patsy. If that whole storyline had been more nuanced maybe she could have had more relationships with Scott, Mary, Cheryl, Nancy, even Brittany. Vicky didn't really have an existing relationship with Jamie, and the recast Larry Lau started around the same time as Rhonda. I don't know if they were already thinking about putting those characters together but in hindsight it feels like they needed to wait for a Lisa in order to make enough conflict for it to be interesting. 

I remember when Rhonda started as Vicky, I couldn't stand her because I was such an Ellen Wheeler fan. Watching her now, I don't find her as bad as I remember. The writing wasn't the best for her and I don't think they knew what to do with Vicky once Jake/Marley were gone. I also didn't like Anne Heche in the beginning but she grew to be one of my fave daytimers of all-time. Maybe if Rhonda had a little more time with a better story, she would have been decent. 

5 hours ago, Xanthe said:

They tied her very closely to Reginald in a way that essentially made her his patsy.

I think it's a classic example of "good pitch, poor execution".  Of course, Vicky would be conflicted about Michael versus Reginald as a father figure.  Reginald promised unconstrained access to everything she missed growing up, while Michael was not consistently available.  It grounded and propelled the Michael v. Reginald feud, without relying on the destruction of the character of Donna.  I mean, if the recast was popular, most of the victimization of Donna by Reg could have been given to Vicky, and the resolution would have been the start of their closer maternal bond.

But, then you add the murky retcon of John and Donna's sexual past, an unpopular recast, and writing that failed to mine the depth of Vicky's psyche and the whole plot just comes off as a mess. 

And, while I find Larry Lau a capable soap actor, I hated the direction of Jamie under his portrayal.  Prior iterations of Jamie were so much more like Rachel, a little f-ed up, prone to jealousy, and more emotionally than intellectually driven. Imagine if Jamie, who was envious of Sandy's paternal relationship with Mac's was paired with Vicky who coveted Marley's relationship with Donna.  Now that's a dynamic duo!  I always prefer a pair of damaged souls to a bad girl trying to dupe a bland romantic hero.

Edited July 13, 20223 yr by j swift

1 hour ago, Melroser said:

I remember when Rhonda started as Vicky, I couldn't stand her because I was such an Ellen Wheeler fan. Watching her now, I don't find her as bad as I remember. The writing wasn't the best for her and I don't think they knew what to do with Vicky once Jake/Marley were gone. I also didn't like Anne Heche in the beginning but she grew to be one of my fave daytimers of all-time. Maybe if Rhonda had a little more time with a better story, she would have been decent. 

I agree with you about Rhonda. I'm currently rewatching that era. She never got the chance to prove herself.

12 hours ago, Xanthe said:

They tied her very closely to Reginald in a way that essentially made her his patsy. If that whole storyline had been more nuanced maybe she could have had more relationships with Scott, Mary, Cheryl, Nancy, even Brittany. Vicky didn't really have an existing relationship with Jamie, and the recast Larry Lau started around the same time as Rhonda. I don't know if they were already thinking about putting those characters together but in hindsight it feels like they needed to wait for a Lisa in order to make enough conflict for it to be interesting. 

Thanks. I forgot about how close she was to Reginald. I find him so repulsive - he's a big reason why I struggle watching a lot of 86-87. 

I also don't believe he would have really left Vicky his money, I think he would have just cut the whole family dead, but I do give the show credit for never having Vicky lose the money, which I hate and is so common on soaps. 

Lau just seemed so ill-at-ease on AW, lacking chemistry with anyone, family or love interest. 

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks. I forgot about how close she was to Reginald. I find him so repulsive - he's a big reason why I struggle watching a lot of 86-87. 

I also don't believe he would have really left Vicky his money, I think he would have just cut the whole family dead, but I do give the show credit for never having Vicky lose the money, which I hate and is so common on soaps. 

Lau just seemed so ill-at-ease on AW, lacking chemistry with anyone, family or love interest. 

I agree about Reg & his money but I thought Larry Lau fit in well, although I don't honestly remember him this early on.

 

I found a picture of Oliver Cromwell & Anna Stuart yesterday & thought I'd share it.