16 hours ago, DeeVee said:

Maybe some people will disagree, but I thought Pickett was a lovely actress. When she did over her look (I believe that was done for her movie role) she looked less conventional, but that kind of went with Jackie's boho-hippie vibe, which she always had.

I believe Mowery's casting was meant to erase Jackie's quirkiness/uniqueness. Same as with Cooke replacing Vigard.

If we're making a list of Rea's rare casting blunders, I going to put Mark Pinter on it. No way could they convince me that women would fight over that man (especially a mother and daughter).

If she was there in 1996, I suppose she was involved with Ron Raines' casting. Which is suprising, since she cast Bernau.

(Just as an aside, it's possible Rea had little to nothing to do with these castings. Sometimes producers, or even the headwriters, bring in people they want, i.e. Jane Elliot's casting as Carrie. IIRC, Marland wrote that role specifically for her).

Raines was cast in 1994. She likely had some input but JFP seems like she just did whatever she wanted on all her soaps, until Frons/Guza brought the hammer down on GH.

Nothing against Mowery, but I never really looked at her as Jackie and thought, "What a looker." She was pretty, but the styling for the show, with a few exceptions, was extremely drab during that period. Cindy Pickett had more of an inner light which Mowery never had.

16 hours ago, P.J. said:

Mark Pinter does have a somewhat smarmy vibe about him, which probably should've worked for the role of a cold-hearted grifter who jumped from woman to woman. It's hard to know what Marland's original intent was. With Marland's departure and the revolving door of writers that fall, I think they tried rebooting Mark and Amanda as a love match, which just didn't work. And the character is gone in a little over a year.

Not to pick on Peter Simon---but I just don't think he fits as Ed.

My issue with Pinter is for someone who was meant to have such female attention, I thought he just had little sex appeal. I know there's an episode where he's in a towel...he has a nice body, points for not shaving his chest, but I feel nothing when I see him.

@AlwaysAMC one thing I'd say is the Phillip/Harley/Beth/[redacted] storyline is one of the highlights coming up for you- lasting through 2000. Light spoilers....

August 1999 is noteworthy because its probably the last "classic soap style" remote for GL. They filmed in Puerto Rico for the introduction story for the island people.

Unfortunately, you are two years away from Gus-- i kinda liked him even tho he took the role on the show of A-M. But yes, by the end of 1999, the show is totally different with both the mob and the island people basically taking over the whole show. Whatever vets left are just there to prop up the mob/island people. Then B&E leave and there's a writing revolving door until Kreizman in 2004.

20 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

She wasn't a fit on GL at all. She stuck out like a sore thumb during that era.

Sometimes a performer is good, but their vibe/aura doesn't fit well onto a show. Doesn't mean the show is bad nor the performer is bad.. just isn't a corporate fit.

I'm not so sure that was the problem. I get that actors hate being typecast, but playing a put-upon heroine (even one with an evil alternate personality) didn't work for her. Like Pickett, she has a unique quirkiness that demands she play a larger than life character like...Tracy Quatermain. What was her name on AMC? Cynthia, I think? A woman plotting to marry into money, willing to do anything to make that happen--she was perfect for that.

4 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Nothing against Mowery, but I never really looked at her as Jackie and thought, "What a looker." She was pretty, but the styling for the show, with a few exceptions, was extremely drab during that period. Cindy Pickett had more of an inner light which Mowery never had.

Mowery would have been a much better Elizabeth recast. Replacing Pickett had to be a major challenge, but since Marland wasn't that interested in the Phillip story, choosing Mowery comes across as them going, "Whatever, we need someone to play this part, she'll do."

6 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

Mowery would have been a much better Elizabeth recast. Replacing Pickett had to be a major challenge, but since Marland wasn't that interested in the Phillip story, choosing Mowery comes across as them going, "Whatever, we need someone to play this part, she'll do."

That's it. There was clearly no real interest in Jackie. Pickett gave her a lot of life but there was still something on the paper. Marland seemed disinterested in wide swathes of the canvas...oddly, including some characters he introduced like Trish.

Just now, GL95 said:

58 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Raines was cast in 1994. She likely had some input but JFP seems like she just did whatever she wanted on all her soaps, until Frons/Guza brought the hammer down on GH.

Nothing against Mowery, but I never really looked at her as Jackie and thought, "What a looker." She was pretty, but the styling for the show, with a few exceptions, was extremely drab during that period. Cindy Pickett had more of an inner light which Mowery never had.

My issue with Pinter is for someone who was meant to have such female attention, I thought he just had little sex appeal. I know there's an episode where he's in a towel...he has a nice body, points for not shaving his chest, but I feel nothing when I see him.

Given the casting starting in 1993 or so, it has the feel of there being a network note that GL needed to go “higher energy” or something. It’s like someone from the network noted that Kim Zimmer had been very popular and the show needed the actors to be more like her. (Or Jay Hammer lol). I don’t know if it was just a lot of actors playing off of Bev, but watching 1990-1993 after having recently watched 1995-1997, there just seems like there’s a general direction to go “bigger.” Even how Zas plays Roger is notably bigger by late 1994 or so.

Just now, GL95 said:

Given the casting starting in 1993 or so, it has the feel of there being a network note that GL needed to go “higher energy” or something. It’s like someone from the network noted that Kim Zimmer had been very popular and the show needed the actors to be more like her. (Or Jay Hammer lol). I don’t know if it was just a lot of actors playing off of Bev, but watching 1990-1993 after having recently watched 1995-1997, there just seems like there’s a general direction to go “bigger.” Even how Zas plays Roger is notably bigger by late 1994 or so.

You can see that in that ludicrous scene of Roger and Alex bitch slapping each other and Roger throwing Dylan off the balcony, "Billy" walking across the table, etc.

I’m up to February 19, 1999.

*I just binged a whole week and you can tell it is sweeps month, the Holly/kids storyline was in full force.

At the camp cabin, the kids are having fun and playing. Ken tries to convince Holly this can’t be long-term, but Holly says it has to be and she has a plan for the next chapter. Susan is the first to suspect something is wrong, as she tells Lizzie that it’s weird how much Holly keeps telling them she loves them, when she doesn’t even know her since she’s new to town. Susan then overhears Holly tell Ken that Harley doesn’t love her because she just threw her away at childbirth, which upsets Susan. Holly tells her not to worry because she’s her mother now, which freaks Susan out. Holly then corrects herself and says she’s her den mother at camp and Harley does love her. Lizzie and Susan ask to call their moms, but Holly says the phone lines are disconnected in the winter, but Susan picks up the phone and there’s a dial tone. Holly then pretends to call Harley and says everything is fine and they’re going to stay another night, but Susan still pushes to talk to her. Holly hangs up and says she’s starting to become a bad girl.

At the hospital, Lillian tells Cassie, Jim, Beth and Matt (who are there for Maureen’s check-up) about Holly taking the kids. They freak out and Cassie tells Hart she has to go for a bit, but she’ll be right back. Hart then says ok but after Cassie leaves, he sees more white light and that same nurse returns who tells him she’s his guide, which freaks him out and says he can’t die (oh no!). He keeps telling her to go away, he’s not ready.

Meanwhile, the adults all gather together and Frank questions Marah, to include asking why she didn’t join Holly and the kids, to which she says she had homework and didn’t want to babysit them all anyway. They eventually all argue and point fingers, but ultimately come together. Frank then gets a call from the police station and announces all of the bad news - Annie has escaped from prison and Holly made a credit card purchase at the drug store to buy enough sedatives to put the whole town asleep, which terrifies everyone.

The next morning, the kids keep asking when their parents will arrive and Holly keeps blowing it off and wants to do activities. Susan confides in Marina and Lizzie that she thinks Holly kidnapped them, but Marina says she’s overreacting and ruining their fun. Ken then finds the sedatives and confronts Holly and says he won’t let her do anything bad to the kids. Holly says if the kids are good, then it’ll be no problem, which Susan overhears. She tells Lizzie and Marina about the sleeping pills and they finally get scared. Susan then convinces the kids to put on a musical skit for Holly/Ken, which delights Holly. The skit involves each kid hiding behind a blanket wall, one by one, as a way to escape. Lizzie is the last one to go, but she gets scared and starts crying and begs Holly not to hurt her. Holly brings down the blanket wall and gets stern and says they’ve all been bad, but Susan stands up to her. The rest of the kids stand up to her too and try and leave, but Holly gets frustrated and won’t let them.

After finally convincing Eleni, the moms all agree to plead with Holly over a WSPR news broadcast in hopes that she’ll realize they all care about their kids. Of course they choose Reva to be the lead spokesperson haha, but eventually Harley/Cassie/Beth all get to plead to Holly (poor Eleni haha). The fathers are all gathered at the police station and they happen to see Reva speaking on TV and Frank gets upset, because he told them it could blow up the investigation if they go public right now. At the cabin, Ken is able to usher the kids upstairs just as Blake comes on the TV and pleads to Holly to let the kids go. Her pleading seems to get to Holly for a bit, but she ultimately tells Ken there are no second chances. She tells the kids to pack their stuff up, making them think they’re going back home, but she makes everyone hot chocolate first and puts the sedatives in each drink, to include Ken’s.

Meanwhile, Annie is on the run in a seedy bar, trying to scam a truck driver into driving her to CA. She happens to see Blake and Reva pleading to Holly on the TV and it gets to her (knowing how much she loves children). She decides to ditch the guy, but steals his money and cell phone in the process. OMG how corny, Annie just happens to hike through the woods to find a cabin to take shelter in and sees Holly and the kids through the window. Annie then uses the cell phone she stole and calls Reva and tells her she knows where the children are! She tells Reva how to get to where they are, but Holly plans to leave soon so she better hurry. Reva does believe that Annie really cared about the children, so she believes she’s telling the truth. She tries calling Josh, but can’t reach him, so she writes him a note and leaves.

Selena introduces a psychic to Josh and Buzz, who get upset with her thinking it’s a wacky idea. Selena says she’s just trying to help, but Josh lays into her and says this is all her fault in the first place, leaving Buzz’s boys alone to be kidnapped. Josh is kicking the psychic out, but she finds Reva’s note and then asks who Annie Dutton is. Josh gets freaked out and the psychic says Reva is with Annie looking for the kids, but she’s in danger because she sees dark water and another lady. Josh leaves to find Reva and the other parents show up and want to go look too, leaving Matt and Beth alone at the house in case someone calls.

Holly packs the sleeping children up in the van, but Lizzie wakes up and demands they go back for her Annie doll that she left behind. Holly is hesitant, but decides to go back to shut her up. We then see Reva show up at the empty cabin, screaming for the kids just as Annie walks in! I really wasn’t expecting the Annie and Holly stories to combine here, I like it. Reva and Annie start to tussle just as Holly walks in, looking freaked out. Reva grabs and pulls Holly into the cabin, just as Annie is able to leave. Holly threatens Reva with a fire poker while Annie gets to the van and wakes the kids up. Holly hears the van take off and freaks out, hitting Reva in the back with the poker. Reva is unconscious and Holly realizes she lost the kids and starts to panic. Meanwhile, Annie is at the truck stop with the kids, asking the truck driver she was scamming to help her get the kids home. Annie has a nice moment with Lizzie, where Lizzie tells her she likes her new face. Josh then arrives and sees everyone! At the cabin, Reva wakes up and Holly starts apologizing and says she was only trying to help the kids and now she wants to just kill herself. Josh calls Reva’s cell and she tells him about Holly being suicidal and turns around and realizes Holly left the cabin! Reva tells Josh she needs to find Holly, but he doesn’t like the idea. Annie pleads with Josh that she saved the kids, didn’t do anything wrong, and begs that he just let her go. Josh says no, her word is no good and Frank shows up and arrests Annie. I actually feel bad for Annie in this moment, even though I know I shouldn’t. Lizzie pleads with Frank that Annie is her friend and she helped them. Josh leaves to find Reva and Frank says he’ll take that into consideration as he arrests Annie. Lizzie calls Beth and they have a tearful moment, which was sweet. The rest of the parents get there and they all have a reunion and everyone is crying and happy. Outside, Alan sees Annie and thanks her for saving Lizzie, but the truck driver shows up and becomes protective of her and Alan is obviously angry. He realizes she was planning to run away to CA without telling him and he walks away, saying she really never loved him. Annie cries and is escorted away in handcuffs.

Reva finds Holly on an old abandoned bridge, where she’s threatening to jump. Reva climbs up to the bridge and pleads with Holly not to jump. After some back and forth, Holly slips and falls over the bridge but catches the ledge and Reva holds her arms so she won’t fall to her death! (Of course it’s Reva they chose in this role, I would have preferred to see Blake tearfully plead with her mother instead). Reva is able to pull her back on the bridge to safety just as they hear Josh calling out. Reva pleads with Holly to come with her, but she ends up slipping and now Reva is hanging on the bridge by one hand. Josh arrives and both he and Holly pull Reva up to safety, saving her life. Josh and Reva embrace and Holly tells herself it’s over, she’s done.

Danny and Michelle are gearing up for their family wedding. Carmen still doesn’t believe Michelle loves Danny, while Danny warns Jesse not to show up to the wedding or he’ll be dead meat. The wedding day starts and we meet Danny’s grandmother and then his best man and cousin, Ray. Rick, Abby and Meta arrive and seem sad, hoping that Michelle changes her mind. The ceremony starts, with Drew as Michelle’s maid of honor. Jesse watches from a distance, then dreams of objecting to the wedding and Michelle declaring her love for him and running away with him. But, he doesn’t do anything and Danny/Michelle are married (2/16). At the wedding, Drew gets friendly with Ray and asks him on a pretend date (as Brad, who Drew has been lying to Jesse about to make him jealous of her having a hot date). After the wedding, Danny talks sweet to Michelle and she sort of ruins it, so he walks out. At Millennium, Ray shows up pretending to be Brad and Drew introduces Jesse to him. Later, Drew thanks Ray for playing along, and he reveals himself to be a priest, which surprises her given he’s part of the Santos family. He comes up with a way to “break if off” with Drew in front of Jesse and he tells Jesse she’s a special girl and he leaves. Jesse then asks Drew on a date. Danny comes back to Michelle and apologizes, but the FBI shows up wanting to question the family about potential money laundering. The officers get Michelle alone and tell her the truth, that Drew called them saying Michelle is in danger and forced to be part of the family. Michelle says that’s true and she’ll do anything to bring Carmen to her knees. The FBI agent tells Michelle that they have to get both Carmen and Danny to bring the family down, but Michelle starts to realize she doesn’t want to harm Danny. The agent says it’s all or nothing, and if she’s not willing to cooperate, she’ll be tied to the family forever. She then reluctantly agrees and says she’ll help them. The FBI leaves and Danny hugs her and says he’ll protect her, which makes Michelle feel conflicted.

5 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

You can see that in that ludicrous scene of Roger and Alex bitch slapping each other and Roger throwing Dylan off the balcony, "Billy" walking across the table, etc.

There’s a scene circa 1995 where Marj’s Alex barges into the yacht to do one of her shrewish yammerings about Alan to the point where A-M literally covers his ears and starts making unintelligible sounds just to get her to stop talking. There’s obviously a character dynamic shift but even at his most irritated/pissed off you can’t imagine AM doing that to Bev’s Alex (or Rick making that acting choice). I hadn’t seen any of Bev’s Alex when I first watched and the entire tone of the show is so different.

When Holly completely loses it over Blake/Ross and is breaking down/lashing out for awhile Maureen plays it pretty big but it’s effective because Holly’s not generally over the top. By 1995 you feel like most characters would go on a 5 minute table clearing rant if they ran out of ketchup.

12 minutes ago, GL95 said:

There’s a scene circa 1995 where Marj’s Alex barges into the yacht to do one of her shrewish yammerings about Alan to the point where A-M literally covers his ears and starts making unintelligible sounds just to get her to stop talking. There’s obviously a character dynamic shift but even at his most irritated/pissed off you can’t imagine AM doing that to Bev’s Alex (or Rick making that acting choice). I hadn’t seen any of Bev’s Alex when I first watched and the entire tone of the show is so different.

That's so embarrassing for Alex and sums up just how degraded the character became. You're right - that would never happen with Beverlee.