On 4/24/2026 at 6:46 PM, DeeVee said:

Her death amounted to pretty much nothing except causing this big gap on the show that was felt for years. Part of the problem was the lack of other Reardons on the canvas at the time. But even if they couldn't have found a way to bring them in even briefly, many possibilities were left on the table: Ed and Lillian being ostsracized, their good reputations left in the dust, Ed drinking again, the impact on Ed and Lillian's professional relationship, Michelle finding out why the accident happened--that would have impacted her relationship with her father for years! Rick, too, because he loved Maureen (was he on the show at the time? I can't recall).

This is why I wanted Nola to find out about the affair and cause of death two years later..when she returned. Michelle, Rick, Bridget and AM would have all had to deal with their perfect "parents" having this horrible cloud over them. Nola who had been gone for years would turn her guilt over not being there for her sister to torturing Ed and Lillian (and give Nola a good reason to go back to her bad ways for a bit.)This could have given PS something to do at the time as Ed finally returns to the bottle, and Holly rushes in to help him (so its Ed causing the issue in the Folly relationship..not Roger, though he would love Ed fall from grace and make use of it.)

On 4/24/2026 at 2:04 AM, Paul Raven said:

Smart writers, like Bill Bell rarely killed off major characters so when he did there was drama. Otherwise, characters were recast or just left town, leaving the possibility of a return of an actor open w/o having to jump through hoops to explain their return.

He usually did a good job with those exits. They either just faded away, or they left town after a round of heartfelt goodbyes. You could tell they thought about the impact down the line. Phillip’s death set up Nina for years of stories, and kind of grew up that younger set of characters because of the tragedy.

2 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

Vanessa, Nola or Jenna abusing...Henry??? What, did you find McTavish's storyline projections somewhere?

The only storyline like this that would work is Reva slapping that old fool (and cliche) Hawk. Well, I could accept actually Reva and or Buzz being strapped to a chair and the people of SF collectively come and slap the hell out of them, like the citizens of Haddonfield turning on the Monsters that have been abusing(their ears) for years.

I don't think it's beyond the scope of possibility. Not at all, sad to say. Elder abuse as committed by adult women is more common than most people realize. And much of it is committed by family members. Unassuming, gentile Henry would make an easy target, no matter how unpalatable the thought.

You could have Hawk or HB be the target of the abuse, but that would involve Reva, which means the story would be about her, her blubbering and how misunderstood she is. No thanks.

Reva needed to be Patient Zero in a STD story that left some additional Springfield residents sterile. Have her sh*tty, self-centered behavior permanently (negatively) affect the lives of others. Reva deserved nothing less.

Buzz needed to flip out in a PTSD rage and commit suicide.

Just now, Speed Racer said:

I don't think it's beyond the scope of possibility. Not at all, sad to say. Elder abuse as committed by adult women is more common than most people realize. And much of it is committed by family members. Unassuming, gentile Henry would make an easy target, no matter how unpalatable the thought.

You could have Hawk or HB be the target of the abuse, but that would involve Reva, which means the story would be about her, her blubbering and how misunderstood she is. No thanks.

Reva needed to be Patient Zero in a STD story that left some additional Springfield residents sterile. Have her sh*tty, self-centered behavior permanently (negatively) affect the lives of others. Reva deserved nothing less.

Buzz needed to flip out in a PTSD rage and commit suicide.

genteel Henry, not gentile

3 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

On 4/24/2026 at 7:46 PM, DeeVee said:

their good reputations left in the dust, Ed drinking again, the impact on Ed and Lillian's professional relationship, Michelle finding out why the accident happened--that would have impacted her relationship with her father for years! Rick, too, because he loved Maureen (was he on the show at the time? I can't recall).

That is actually what happened after Maureen was killed off. Ed was struggling and very close to falling off the wagon. It had to do with the conflicts between him and Michelle, as she suspected what had happened and was punishing him (as well as Lillian) for the affair. No one wanted to tell Michelle, but she was a smart girl and figured it out all on her own.

3 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

This is why I wanted Nola to find out about the affair and cause of death two years later..when she returned.

There was a scene where Nola shunned Ed, when she returned to town. Nola had to go to the Emergency Room, and Ed was on call. But she refused to be seen by him, and they had this big blow-up over the affair.

IIRC, Ed was drinking and was made to think that he caused Dylan blindness but he was framed. The real culprit was the dad of Dylan's girlfriend. I think they were crooks involved in construction? Feel free to fill in the blanks, please.

7 hours ago, kalbir said:

But was Alexandra initially interested in running Spaulding or was it more about beating Alan? During the Calhoun era Alexandra was shown as being business-minded.

They're not mutually exclusive. Both actions were punishing Alan and righting the wrong her father had done in taking Lujack from her. But she was scheming from the beginning. There's a scene after Alan is gone where she's playing Henry, Vanessa and Quint, moaning about who should run Spaulding now--and they back Ross. And since they (at the time) had the controlling interest, of course she follows their advice. Alex realized she couldn't just walk in after 20 years (or so) of not being involved in the business and expect shareholders to back her. And she pushes them out by September, solidifying her power.

7 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

The only storyline like this that would work is Reva slapping that old fool (and cliche) Hawk.

A story like elder abuse would only work if the perpetrator was short term. The audience never would've accepted someone close to Henry abusing him. It might've worked while Vanessa was out of town, for instance. Or if Henry had gotten hurt, and discovered it was going on at the nursing home/rehab center he was recovering.

26 minutes ago, P.J. said:

A story like elder abuse would only work if the perpetrator was short term.

It's the kind of story that Bill Bell would've reserved for the summer months on Y&R - something that could begin around Memorial Day, continue on throughout and then be wrapped in time for Labor Day and the kids to return to school; and often, even the victim(s) wouldn't be someone already on the canvas, but maybe a new, short-term character that one Y&R regular (usually Cricket) would befriend.

Wow! July 4th has come and gone in 1999 and there was no Bauer BBQ this year. There was one every year from 95-98, so I just assumed there would be another in 99... although now that I think about it, Rick and Michelle are at odds, no one is really happy, and San Cristobel is just starting. I guess they couldn't figure out a way to make it work this year.

Was this the first year, or had they let other years go by with no acknowledgment of July 4th?

27 minutes ago, Khan said:

It's the kind of story that Bill Bell would've reserved for the summer months on Y&R - something that could begin around Memorial Day, continue on throughout and then be wrapped in time for Labor Day and the kids to return to school; and often, even the victim(s) wouldn't be someone already on the canvas, but maybe a new, short-term character that one Y&R regular (usually Cricket) would befriend.

Like when Cricket was at the Legal Aid and befriended that old lady and whoever Parley Baer played. And then they'd occasionally reappear for short periods.

It might've been a nice little side story for one of the older actors.

13 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Wow! July 4th has come and gone in 1999 and there was no Bauer BBQ this year. There was one every year from 95-98, so I just assumed there would be another in 99... although now that I think about it, Rick and Michelle are at odds, no one is really happy, and San Cristobel is just starting. I guess they couldn't figure out a way to make it work this year.

Was this the first year, or had they let other years go by with no acknowledgment of July 4th?

It's a little weird that there was no acknowledgement of the holiday---at all? I see in '99, the Fourth was on a Sunday, so that might've played into it. It's hard to gauge if/when shows started acknowledging the holidays outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Bauer BBQ wasn't officially "the Bauer BBQ" I don't think until '89, I think. When Alan-Michael arrived in '87, he parachutes in to the 4th of July celebration, but it's being held at Johnny Bauer's airplane hanger for some stupid reason.

In '83, the Fourth was right after Quint and Nola's wedding, and I think they acknowledged the day while they were on their honeymoon in Ireland. But I'm not sure they celebrated it in Springfield.

I think Maeve and Fletcher may have married the 4th in '88.

My favorite it '90---Ed and Mo fight about her potato salad, Ross proposes to Holly, Billy and Vanessa officially reconcile, and the cast sings at the end.

They had a BBQ in '92, even though it was literally on the heels of the Blackout. Ed frets about his kiss with Lillian, while Fletch ponders his feels for Van.

21 minutes ago, P.J. said:

It's a little weird that there was no acknowledgement of the holiday---at all? I see in '99, the Fourth was on a Sunday, so that might've played into it. It's hard to gauge if/when shows started acknowledging the holidays outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Bauer BBQ wasn't officially "the Bauer BBQ" I don't think until '89, I think. When Alan-Michael arrived in '87, he parachutes in to the 4th of July celebration, but it's being held at Johnny Bauer's airplane hanger for some stupid reason.

In '83, the Fourth was right after Quint and Nola's wedding, and I think they acknowledged the day while they were on their honeymoon in Ireland. But I'm not sure they celebrated it in Springfield.

I think Maeve and Fletcher may have married the 4th in '88.

My favorite it '90---Ed and Mo fight about her potato salad, Ross proposes to Holly, Billy and Vanessa officially reconcile, and the cast sings at the end.

They had a BBQ in '92, even though it was literally on the heels of the Blackout. Ed frets about his kiss with Lillian, while Fletch ponders his feels for Van.

Nope, no acknowledgement or reference to July 4th at all. No decor, nothing. So odd, but like I said, the storylines right now probably didn't lend itself to really squeezing it in, even for a day. The location shoot in Puerto Rico when Reva/Josh get to San Cristobel started on July 1st, Michelle and Danny get married privately at Laurel Falls on July 2nd. Rick and Abby are fighting about the Michelle situation. Blake/Ross just finalized their divorce (although over July 1st/2nd, they have sex in the bathtub - more details coming in my recaps haha). Max just learned he isn't related to Drew, so he ran away from home which makes Drew sad. Susan hates everyone, which drives a wedge between Jim/Beth. No one is really happy right now LOL.

That '90 BBQ sounds like a great episode! I'll have to go see if it's in the Vault and maybe I'll watch it as a one-off. I'm curious what song they would have sang at the time.

I keep forgetting that Ross and Holly were together before he got with Blake. That had to be awkward for them haha.