2 minutes ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Funny. But I had the idea first.  LOL

And is Doug3 an imposter, or just a criminal?  I only watch DOOL during special occasions.  

 

If he's an imposter we don't know it yet. So far he is only a thief, well, maybe a thief & a cad. 

2 hours ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

How about a Ricky Matthews impersonator taking advantage of Liz?  Until Pat comes to Bay City for a visit, and recognizes that this guy is not Ricky -- whom she had seen just a few months earlier while visiting Missy in California.   Now Pat must break Liz's heart by telling her the grandson she adores is an imposter.   

It's an interesting idea but I would want to tighten up some of the questions around why Liz wouldn't have known where Ricky was supposed to be etc if Pat and other family members were in contact. I don't recall Liz ever mentioning Bill or Missy or Ricky in all the time I was watching, even when she went to California with Kevin or came back a few years later, but there would have to be some kind of explanation.

It's so easy nowadays for scammers to just operate by phone or internet, a good imposture storyline should be sure to have an emotional component so that there is or there develops a reason for the imposter to want to be around the people he's conning. I'm a big fan of Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar for example. And since we're speculating and lamenting what could have been on a show that has been off the air for more than 25 years, we can at least assume a storyline with no video calls or Facebook keeping faraway relatives in constant contact. 

43 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

It's an interesting idea but I would want to tighten up some of the questions around why Liz wouldn't have known where Ricky was supposed to be etc if Pat and other family members were in contact. I don't recall Liz ever mentioning Bill or Missy or Ricky in all the time I was watching, even when she went to California with Kevin or came back a few years later, but there would have to be some kind of explanation.

It's so easy nowadays for scammers to just operate by phone or internet, a good imposture storyline should be sure to have an emotional component so that there is or there develops a reason for the imposter to want to be around the people he's conning. I'm a big fan of Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar for example. And since we're speculating and lamenting what could have been on a show that has been off the air for more than 25 years, we can at least assume a storyline with no video calls or Facebook keeping faraway relatives in constant contact. 

Irene Dailey's Liz did mention Ricky and Missy several times during her first couple of years on AW. There was even a situation in which Mary Matthews flew to Arizona (or was it California?) to take care of Ricky, when Missy was ill.  Missy didn't want Liz to know she was ill, because she didn't want Liz to upset Ricky with her meddling, so she called Mary.  And the entire Matthews clan kept Mary's visit secret from Liz.  And then later, around 1978, when Susan Matthews returned -- there was so much conversation about Bill that fans began to believe he was going to somehow return to the show.   But after Harding Lemay left as head-writer, I don't recall Liz ever mentioning Missy or Ricky again, but perhaps she did. However the ignorance of later writers does not negate Liz's history with Bill, Missy, and Ricky.  

I do see your point about social media connections and video calls between family members in 2025.  So an imposter plot today would need to cover a lot of those bases to be believable.  But when I made my original comment, I was really thinking of this storyline occurring before AW was cancelled in 1999.  So most of those more modern details would not have been an issue with believability.   

It's always strange when shows dip into history but make odd choices eg Julia Shearer, the never mentioned adopted daughter of Susan. They had Ricky Matthews, a possible daughter of Russ and Sam's daughter Susannah (Ada's niece) waiting in the wings as new young characters, but chose to do a rewrite.

Same on Search when Sarah Whiting, Patti's never mentioned adopted daughter arrived, when her actual daughter Tracey could have been SORASED.

20 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Thanks @DRW50 In my story Mike fell for Sara who was on the outs with Ben over Paulina .

Ben was in a car accident arguing with Paulina and guiltily married her on her deathbed. Paulina appeared to have died and Ben fled the hospital. But they found a pulse and Paulina made a miraculous recovery and Ben found himself married. Paulina was recovering and Ben couldn't divorce her during this. Paulina used this to her advantage. Sara was distraught and Mike moved in, but realized Sara's heart belonged to Ben. So Mike began wooing Paulina to draw her away from Ben  who  deep down she knew  really loved Sara and not her.

So she began a relationship with Mike and he began to have genuine feelings for her, Paulina gave Ben a divorce but then found our Mike pursued her only for Sara's sake. She wouldn't believe Mike now genuinely cared for her. Pat returned from time to time to visit Mike, Liz etc.

Ben and Sara finally married.

Quinn got involved with Reece, Michael's business partner, but he was a bit of a player and Quinn wasn't sure she could trust him. She found herself attracted to Dennis, who as he had done with Elena, fell for an older woman. Iris was aghast about the age difference and the inter racial aspect. Eventually Quinn married Reece and Dennis turned to Vicky.

Iris had a fling with Mitch, but he was hot for Pam. That kept Rachel in the mix. Iris also tried  with Michael which put her up against Donna. Then Russ returned and Iris had to battle a now widowed Felicia for her one time fiance's attention.

More great ideas. The idea of a Quinn/Dennis pairing is something I can't believe I never thought of - she is just his type of classy, remote older woman. And Iris would definitely question the racial element. I can see Iris being involved with Mitch too. 

12 hours ago, Xanthe said:

I like the idea of any of these types of plots including lying/imposters/red herrings. The storyline where Paulina was looking for the baby she had given up was better because of the part where Tito passed himself off as her son before Paulina found out it was Remy. The idea that a grown Mikey or Mikey imposter would try to take advantage of Donna and Michael could have been interesting. Of course I have also taken the position that if they had wanted to do a triplet storyline with Scott it should have been a red herring before they determined who his real real parents were. 

I hadn't even considered someone impersonating Mikey, but it makes sense. Maybe a more coherent version of all that Sandy/Jonathan mess on GL, without puppets.

3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

More great ideas. The idea of a Quinn/Dennis pairing is something I can't believe I never thought of - she is just his type of classy, remote older woman. And Iris would definitely question the racial element. I can see Iris being involved with Mitch too. 

I hadn't even considered someone impersonating Mikey, but it makes sense. Maybe a more coherent version of all that Sandy/Jonathan mess on GL, without puppets.

DEFINITELY NO PUPPETS!

3 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

DEFINITELY NO PUPPETS!

I don't know anything about GL puppets and imposters, but on AW, when Kathleen went to California while she was paralyzed, Cass interacted with her through a puppet show (because he was on the run from the law and/or she refused to see him). I don't see it mentioned in the synopses but the name of a puppet is given as Mickey on Cass and Kathleen's couples page on the AWHP.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/casss1.html

2 hours ago, Xanthe said:

I don't know anything about GL puppets and imposters, but on AW, when Kathleen went to California while she was paralyzed, Cass interacted with her through a puppet show (because he was on the run from the law and/or she refused to see him). I don't see it mentioned in the synopses but the name of a puppet is given as Mickey on Cass and Kathleen's couples page on the AWHP.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/casss1.html

What we were referring to on GL was that the character Sandy used a sock puppet to talk for  him. It was ridiculous. Ellen Weston's idea of a joke, I think. But, it bombed. And, everyone just felt sorry for the poor actor who had to play that part.

 

Edited March 30Mar 30 by Contessa Donatella

Not to bore you further with my story ideas, but I had Vince and Maisie marry and become the working class tentpole couple, with Maisie's past as a venue to provide story if and when needed.

Thom would return, her teen marriage to Carter over as he had an affair. Carter returns to sort out the divorce, only to find that his new love is no longer interested and Carter is alone. he tries to make it up to Thom but she is unforgiving. Thom and son move in with newlyweds Quinn and Reece, who is not happy sharing his marital home with his step daughter and her child.

Carter and Ben establish a gym, with healthy eatery/juice bar which would be a meeting point for characters.

44 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Not to bore you further with my story ideas, but I had Vince and Maisie marry and become the working class tentpole couple, with Maisie's past as a venue to provide story if and when needed.

I don't remember the details of how Vince and Maisie and Ada decided to invest in Mary's Place together, but there were definitely points where I wondered if they were trying to set up some kind of love triangle. In hindsight they were of course setting up the return of Mary so it seems unlikely that they intended to have both Ada and Maisie competing over Vince when his wife returned from the dead, but maybe they were thinking about having Vince starting a relationship with one of them by the time Mary turned up. 

56 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Not to bore you further with my story ideas, but I had Vince and Maisie marry and become the working class tentpole couple, with Maisie's past as a venue to provide story if and when needed.

Thom would return, her teen marriage to Carter over as he had an affair. Carter returns to sort out the divorce, only to find that his new love is no longer interested and Carter is alone. he tries to make it up to Thom but she is unforgiving. Thom and son move in with newlyweds Quinn and Reece, who is not happy sharing his marital home with his step daughter and her child.

Carter and Ben establish a gym, with healthy eatery/juice bar which would be a meeting point for characters.

Paul, not boring. Just get over that. 

1 hour ago, Paul Raven said:

Not to bore you further with my story ideas, but I had Vince and Maisie marry and become the working class tentpole couple, with Maisie's past as a venue to provide story if and when needed.

Thom would return, her teen marriage to Carter over as he had an affair. Carter returns to sort out the divorce, only to find that his new love is no longer interested and Carter is alone. he tries to make it up to Thom but she is unforgiving. Thom and son move in with newlyweds Quinn and Reece, who is not happy sharing his marital home with his step daughter and her child.

Carter and Ben establish a gym, with healthy eatery/juice bar which would be a meeting point for characters.

Those are very good ideas, and very fitting for the time (the gym/eatery). The family drama for the Todds too.

Maisie and Vince would have made more sense to me in the long run than Vince and Mary reunited.

52 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Maisie and Vince would have made more sense to me in the long run than Vince and Mary reunited.

Bite your tongue! Vince with Mary were EndGame. Robert Hogan of course.

I always thought Maisie should have been a spoiler for them but Vince and Mary were always to be the end game.

In my AW 'bible' Reg and Mary didn't happen. Two back from the deads and an amnesia  that really didn't have any long term effect didn't warrant inclusion for me.

I did think about Reg faking his death for whatever reason and coming back, but he wouldn't have been the moustache twirling villian we saw.

So my question is, who would you have had Denise Alexander play in 86? She was 47 at the time.

Is there a past character she could have played? If not , who would you create that would have fitted into the canvas at the time and provided an outlet for her talents?