5 hours ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

Before CBS cancelled GL, TPTB were actually holding auditions for a recast Michelle Bauer. Which seems such an insult to Nancy St. Alban, as she was available to come back to the role. There was talk that Martha Madison (Belle, Days of our Lives) was the leading contender the part. But then they got cancelled, and to close things up they brought Nancy back as Michelle for the final episodes.

I remember that. I recently read that they cast a Beth Bonner as Michelle-- they had a play a small, short role instead. Martha Madison auditioned for Marah years earlier, I believe it was when Lindsey McKeon won the role.

I know NSA was technically there as a guest star at the end, it like a wake at the end with past actors paying their respects: Peter simon, Lisa Brown, etc. Michelle would've returned to town without Danny-- i wonder who they would've paired her with?

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by Spoon

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I'm also shocked that Phillip KILLED his Uncle Ross?

How do you sabatoge a plane and think anyone is going to survive it? WTH?

I'm beginning to think cancelling the show was a mercy killing now. When you're doing dumb stuff like this, it's time to hang it up.

Axing the principle Bauers in the 1980s, killing off Maureen Bauer and Ross Marler in the 1990s, foisting all the sci-fi crap onto the once-erudite soap, populating Springfield with so many irrelevant and disposible faces in its dwindling years...TPTB had been making painfully atrociously decisions at TGL for a loooong time. I was ready for/expecting it to be euthanized by 1985.

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I would be for this. Give Stacy Nola's energy. Maybe have the story kind of mirror Kelly/Nola (without the desire to trap Rick with a pregnancy). A lively woman with a staid guy...like in the old screwball comedies. Write to MOL's comic talents (and reign him in a little bit so it's not just pointless mugging).

God, yes! Peter Simon and Nancy St Alban were dull as dishwater; Ed and Michelle were basically useless as remnants of the core family without the likes of Mart Hulswit and Rachel Miner (or even Joie Lenz) in the roles. Rick became an unnecessary talk-to as he hovered around the backburner, and O'Leary's mugging made me yearn to see a new actor take over the part.

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I actually thought of RVV as "the fake Ed." Or, "Dr. Chuck Tyler, who took a wrong turn into Springfield."

I always regarded RVV as "Chuck Tyler pretending to be Ed Bauer." He was totally miscast on TGL.

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I really think PS would have been less of a drag if they had written some decent stories for Ed. For instance, if they had done a better job with the fallout from Mo's death--have him go back to drinking, for one thing.

I liked Peter Simon on SFT, and felt he was good on ATWT, but he was abrasively lethargic and colorless as Ed. This was NOT the Ed Bauer I had watched for 20 years.

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

And wouldn't that have been a PERFECT time to bring back Hope? To help her uncle get back on the wagon.

They never should have written Hope off at all, but particularly with Bert, Hillary and Maureen dead, we needed a beloved Bauer woman aboard the sinking SS Springfield.

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

So many missed opportunities...

It kinda looked like TIIC were sabotaging the show right into the grave.

I thought Peter Simon was decent as Ed in the 80s episodes I watched when he was acting opposite of both Maureen's (Ellen Dolan & Ellen Parker), but I think the combination of the early 90s era of the showv and the killing off of Maureen caused Ed to fall into a fugue state that he never really shook. He seemed to have some life again in the final episodes of the show.. but seeing him in episodes in the 80s, he infused Ed with some life and personality.

And for those that say Alexandra falling for Roger was out of character, I talked to a therapist friend of mine and detailed some of her backstory... and they told me that her falling for someone like Roger was in character. And when I mentioned how she was forced to give up Lujack by her father and her brother didn't defend/help her.. they said that it tracks she wouldn't listen to people when they advised her not to get involved with Roger.. because it triggered memories of losing her son's and not having a voice in things that went on with her life.. so she doubled down on the Roger relationship/marriage.. and that was why she went hard-core against Roger and Mindy after she found out their affair (especially since she had known Mindy for years and had cared about her).

7 hours ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

Before CBS cancelled GL, TPTB were actually holding auditions for a recast Michelle Bauer. Which seems such an insult to Nancy St. Alban, as she was available to come back to the role. There was talk that Martha Madison (Belle, Days of our Lives) was the leading contender the part. But then they got cancelled, and to close things up they brought Nancy back as Michelle for the final episodes.

NSA was lucky to have the job as long as she did - just beyond bland.

I am glad Wheeler didn't do what Goutman and others did and say I'm going to tell all the stories I was going to tell, now at breakneck speed, it's all about me. She was smart to not bother bringing in a recast Michelle for only a few months. And I was glad to see Paul Anthony Stewart one last time.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

I liked Peter Simon on SFT, and felt he was good on ATWT, but he was abrasively lethargic and colorless as Ed. This was NOT the Ed Bauer I had watched for 20 years.

I wish I could see his Search work. The story he had on ATWT I found extremely tedious, especially when the Dobsons arrived, but that was typical of much of the show.

I enjoyed him as Ed and I liked that he was never afraid to play Ed unsympathetically, but seeing Mart made me understand why a number of fans never accepted him. Mart just had such warmth.

I wonder if P&G ever considered hiring Jacquie Schultz as Hope.

I thought Peter Simon's 2002 return was terrific until ConJob entered the picture six months later. They never got to explore the teased PTSD Ed had from Africa.

2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

And for those that say Alexandra falling for Roger was out of character, I talked to a therapist friend of mine and detailed some of her backstory... and they told me that her falling for someone like Roger was in character.

I can totally understand Alex being drawn in by Roger. At heart, Roger was a grifter. He took advantage of her one major weakness: loneliness. Since Locke Walls, I guess, she hadn't had a successful love relationship. Her brother was gone, (a brother who might have been able to convince her that Roger's intentions were not "honorable"), her son was gone, she needed love and he was offering that.

If she could be fooled by Simon, she certainly could be fooled by Roger.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

The story he had on ATWT I found extremely tedious, especially when the Dobsons arrived, but that was typical of much of the show.

Was that the piano guy? He played a pianist in something. He was BADLY miscast in that role. They needed someone with a lot more charisma for that one.

Maybe the reason he did so well on SFT is he was working opposite his future wife. They had a lot of onscreen chemistry. He also worked with an extremely young Morgan Fairchild and had a strong storyline where he was an alcoholic torn between a neurotic narcissist and his true love who had no desire to ever have children.

Some actors just don't do well playing characters who don't have intense storylines.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

NSA was lucky to have the job as long as she did - just beyond bland.

I didn't mind her that much, it was the whole Michelle and Danny "thing" that I hated. There's nothing worse than when they push a couple because some vocal fans get, well, vocal.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by DeeVee

21 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

Was that the piano guy? He played a pianist in something. He was BADLY miscast in that role. They needed someone with a lot more charisma for that one.

Maybe the reason he did so well on SFT is he was working opposite his future wife. They had a lot of onscreen chemistry. He also worked with an extremely young Morgan Fairchild and had a strong storyline where he was an alcoholic torn between a neurotic narcissist and his true love who had no desire to ever have children.

Some actors just don't do well playing characters who don't have intense storylines.

I didn't mind her that much, it was the whole Michelle and Danny "thing" that I hated. There's nothing worse than when they push a couple because some vocal fans get, well, vocal.

He was the piano guy who was ill. He originally showed up obsessed with his ex (?), the ballerina Bob dated. Dee began working for him, and they fell in love, I guess. I'm not sure if he was always meant to die but when the Dobsons took over, he died after having sex with Dee, which traumatized her.

I just thought NSA was too matronly and surface-level to play Michelle.

I wasn't particilarly a Manny fan (they were okay from time to time), but JL's Michelle at least had charisma and chemistry with her costars- all of which NSA severly lacked.

We talked about Hope and Stacy. If you needed to recast Mike or Ed, who would you choose? Would Nicholas Coster have been a decent Mike Bauer? Strike that, I just thought of SB's Lionel Lockridge being Gina's dad. I guess its working for Tamara Braun and the guy who plays Noah on Y&R.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Spoon

4 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Axing the principle Bauers in the 1980s, killing off Maureen Bauer and Ross Marler in the 1990s, foisting all the sci-fi crap onto the once-erudite soap, populating Springfield with so many irrelevant and disposible faces in its dwindling years...TPTB had been making painfully atrociously decisions at TGL for a loooong time. I was ready for/expecting it to be euthanized by 1985.

You put GL in cancel territory in 1985? In theory GL should have been in cancel territory in 1989 when it became CBS's lowest rated daytime drama but it wasn't until 1995 that the cancel rumors began.

GL was pretty good in 1984. Considering how long NBC let AW die a long and painful death-- GL was still very salvagable thru about '98. The mid-80s just needed P&G to stick with a creative team-- ride it out for consistency. They should've snagged Pat Falken Smith in 1986 or Gary Tomlin- i really enjoyed his mid-80s HW stint at AW.

14 minutes ago, Spoon said:

I wasn't particilarly a Manny fan (they were okay from time to time), but JL's Michelle at least had charisma and chemistry with her costars- all of which NSA severly lacked.

We talked about Hope and Stacy. If you needed to recast Mike or Ed, who would you choose? Would Nicholas Coster have been a decent Mike Bauer? Strike that, I just thought of SB's Lionel Lockridge being Gina's dad. I guess its working for Tamara Braun and the guy who plays Noah on Y&R.

Coster could have made a very good Mike.

For Ed, I actually think Justin Deas could have been interesting. He may have been a little young but he could have pulled it off.

Just now, Spoon said:

GL was pretty good in 1984. Considering how long NBC let AW die a long and painful death-- GL was still very salvagable thru about '98. The mid-80s just needed P&G to stick with a creative team-- ride it out for consistency. They should've snagged Pat Falken Smith in 1986 or Gary Tomlin- i really enjoyed his mid-80s HW stint at AW.

Whatever happened with PFS' 1982 stint may have put paid to her returning, although she did return to DAYS...

In 1985, GL was only really in bad shape for a year or so. It was up against a weakened GH and upstart SB-- other than an hour of game shows, what could they replace GL with? An expanded Capitol in '87? A 30 minute Capitol followed by Press Your Luck or something?

24 minutes ago, Spoon said:

We talked about Hope and Stacy. If you needed to recast Mike or Ed, who would you choose? Would Nicholas Coster have been a decent Mike Bauer?

I could see Coster as Alan. Other people have mentioned him as a good possibility for Alan. He could do the patrician thing.

I like Dan Hamilton for Mike. He was on GL twice (the last time was as the prosecutor during the Infinity trial, I believe). He usually played bad guys but he could have played an upstanding lawyer.

Ed's a lot tougher to cast, IMO. He's the good guy who has battled demons in the past. They should have begged Mart to come back.

6 minutes ago, Spoon said:

They should've snagged Pat Falken Smith

She wrote the show for 13 weeks after Marland left, and I really wish she could have stayed. She was the one who started laying down the groundwork for Alan and Hope's eventual breakup, and it was much more gradual an believable than the way Kobe and Long did it (because they were in a hurry to push Roussel off the show).

I would totally have been for it if she had come back to write the show.