2 hours ago, DeeVee said:

While the Dobsons were still there, they were talking about it, with just about everyone trying to talk Hope out of it. So it could have gone either way. But I believe they would have taken the darker turn. It was Marland who decided to gratify the fans who wanted them to get married. He said as much in interviews.

Jennifer was so poorly conceived. It's one thing that she got involved with Alan when she was 16; it's another that she married a clod later on and then was easily fooled by Mark. I honestly can't understand why you would hire an actress like Court to play such a spineless, weak character. It totally went against the expectations the Dobsons set up by having her mysteriously arrive at Brandon's funeral in the black veils. Marland was totally aware of that, because he did a flashback where Jennifer's husband was giving her grief for going to the funeral in the veiled hat.

It seems like Morgan was soley created to do his teen fantasy story about a teen girl marrying an older guy. Once that happened, the character was kind of adrift.

Let's face it, he didn't write women well in general, unless they were a special pet of his, like Nola and Carrie.

Did they? I was under the impression that they were reunited but not married. And yet for some reason they kept Eve around for another year. I still say it was because they were planning to bring Rita back. That must have been scuttled because Marland quit or because Lenore wouldn't come back/they couldn't find a satisfactory recast. Possibly a combination of all three.

I think Ben and Eve started drifting back to each other after he and Amanda divorce in early '82. But I think he heads for Italy (or Spain.) There's a brief weird moment where he runs into Morgan at an airport around the time Josh, Morgan and Kelly all end up in Tenerife. He encourages her to call Kelly or something.

The Morgan recast didn't work. If Vigard had stayed, (or hadn't gotten fired, whichever) I think she would've remained popular, although that's no guarantee she'd have stuck around longer after Long arrived.

Both Jennifer and Elizabeth should have been written as somnambulists, who were used to commit heinous acts, including murder, a la Cesare in The Cabinet of Caligari. That way, the dull-as-dishwater personas of both characters could have been maximized to move plot rather than extinguish anything resembling drama. You could have them bump into walls and each other for comedic effect, too. Or something. Anything.

DeeVee, you are 100% correct in your assessment.

And, having either poison Mike Bauer would have been most welcome.

Of course, this comes from someone who very much liked Peter Simon as Ed, almost as much as Mart Hulswit as Ed.

2 hours ago, Maxim said:

Chile... this show is out of control. This is next level psycho sh-t. 🤭The clones again!!!!!!! CHILEEE. But it's so hilarious... it makes me want to watch just for that. Thank you for the write-up @alwaysAMC !

LOL - it really is quite wild. I was really surprised they brought in the real Teri and did the Teri/Annie clone thing (via plastic surgery) even though the press raked them over the coals with the Reva clone storyline just before this.

Glad you're enjoying the write-ups. :)

"Holly is released from jail and has a farewell scene with Clara, her cellmate. I wonder if the Dobsons might have been planning for Clara to return in 1980, having been released from jail and meeting up with Holly."

CLARA! Holy guacamole! I remember her...very likeable. She and Holly were two songbirds in a cage. I know that Holly wanted to see Clara sprung from the clink, too, and felt guilty about leaving her behind. I was surprised that Holly didn't pursue finding a route to make that happen, given her considerable wealth.

Clara should have worked for Ross in some capacity, which would have created a bit of friction between her and Holly. It's Clara - along with Evie, who also befriends her - who steers Ross toward a better path.

13 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

Jennifer just...never worked. She had no spark with Mike. I didn't miss her when she was written out.

Kristen Vigard had a certain quirky appeal, I think, and chemistry with John Wesley Shipp, but her replacement was dull as dishwater. The weak writing for the character after Jennifer Cooke took over the role didn't help matters. I didn't miss Faux Morgan when she departed, either. I recall Geraldine Court saying in the press that Vigard's replacement was "a very cynical choice." She must not have felt Cooke was right for the part either.

I know it wasn't a Marland touch (shades of years later when Iva adjusted quickly to learning she was given up by a couple who later became filthy rich and stopped being mentioned after a year or two), but they did Jennifer a real disservice by not having much more of an adjustment period for her. She went from barely getting by with Morgan to having a major position at Spaulding.

I imagine the idea of her relationship with Mark was meant to show her indulging in a life she couldn't have had, but Mark Pinter always seemed older than his age and they just had no chemistry.

Once Cooke was moved away from Kelly and Morgan was able to act her age, I thought she improved, but it was probably too late.

29 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

Both Jennifer and Elizabeth should have been written as somnambulists, who were used to commit heinous acts, including murder, a la Cesare in The Cabinet of Caligari. That way, the dull-as-dishwater personas of both characters could have been maximized to move plot rather than extinguish anything resembling drama. You could have them bump into walls and each other for comedic effect, too. Or something. Anything.

DeeVee, you are 100% correct in your assessment.

And, having either poison Mike Bauer would have been most welcome.

That would definitely have livened those two ladies up!😂

4 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

CLARA! Holy guacamole! I remember her...very likeable. She and Holly were two songbirds in a cage. I know that Holly wanted to see Clara sprung from the clink, too, and felt guilty about leaving her behind. I was surprised that Holly didn't pursue finding a route to make that happen, given her considerable wealth.

Clara should have worked for Ross in some capacity, which would have created a bit of friction between her and Holly. It's Clara - along with Evie, who also befriends her - who steers Ross toward a better path.

Clara was played by Anna Maria Horsford, who is best known for the sitcom Amen and has been in copious movie and TV roles, including several other soap roles.

I wonder if they meant to bring her back. Another thing possibly scuttled by the Dobsons being switched over to ATWT.

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Once Cooke was moved away from Kelly and Morgan was able to act her age, I thought she improved, but it was probably too late.

I agree with that. I thought Morgan and Cooke strongly improved when they had her stop genuflecting to Kelly and start standing up to her mother. I liked the relationship between her and Josh. He tried so hard to get her and once he did he was like, "Whoa, this moving WAY too fast!" Between the crack-up of her marriage and Josh being another guy who failed her, she seemed to be finally growing up. But the target was already on her back.

I would have liked it if Morgan had been brought back (of course with a better actress). She had a lot of ties to people on the show and a troubled backstory that was already familiar to the audience. I think she could have been developed into an interesting character.

Edited 44 minutes ago44 min by DeeVee

1 minute ago, DeeVee said:

I would have liked it if Morgan had been brought back (of course with a better actress). She had a lot of ties to people on the show and a troubled backstory that was already familiar to the audience. I think she could have been developed into an interesting character.

They could have brought her back when they brought Amanda back in the mid '90s. Maybe she would resent Amanda for leaving the family behind and secretly work to undermine her. Maybe she would form a triangle or quad with Lucy and Alan Michael.

I recall when the whole Brandon being Amanda's father came out that no one knew where Jennifer nor Morgan was.. and that Amanda had lost contact with them years ago. Considering the way things stood when Jennifer/Morgan both left in 1983, I can imagine that Amanda never was able to bridge the gap between the three of them.

In a way having Brandon be Amanda's true father would have made more sense since Brandon had given Amanda to Lucille to raise and never really told Alan about what had happened. And the lady in the veil did show up to Brandon's funeral so it was possible that maybe Brandon was the real father of Amanda.

Had Jennifer been bought back for even a short stint, or if a better actress had been cast as Amanda.. it could have worked as a story. I recall a rumor that Lauren K (Kate Roberts Days ) had been a possible contender for a recast Amanda in between her stints on B &B and Days... and it would have worked better age wise than Toby had as Amanda.