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I read the KZ book when it was published.  I recall she acknowledged that the clone story was criticized but she appreciated the screen time; as being on screen seems the most important thing to her throughout the book.  She was also very sweet when discussing her marriage.

 

The oddest part, for me, is that she bookends the memoir with her DUI arrest.  She is honest about drinking and eating more toward the end of the series because she was very unhappy but then she goes to great pains to deny that she was an addict.  I thought it would end with a revelation about her drinking but she seems incapable of that degree of insight.  

 

So, it is this odd mix of honesty without insight which makes for a subpar book.

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I liked her book a lot. I did find her commentary on her drinking problem very candid - it's not for me to say if she was in denial about actually being an alcoholic. Not knowing the woman I can't make a judgment. She certainly didn't deny she had a problem.

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I love Zimmer, but she definitely went through some trials and tribulations there from about 2005 onward through the show's end. I remember her late 2007 interview where she spoke quite happily about her 4000 calorie diet, flaunted her obesity and said her favorite meal is a double cheeseburger with bacon on two sugar powdered chocolate filled doughnuts with an extra large mountain dew to drink and fried Twinkies on the side. Which is sad because in the early '00's she had been on SlimFast commercials regularly and looked good. I'm glad she got better though when I've seen her in more recent appearances she looks much fitter and healthier than in those final days of GL. 

 

Ho boy, I remember just about everyone here at SON including myself made quite the number of KZ fat jokes ten years ago, something to which we're all going to hell for lol. 

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I remember an interview where Zimmer said it was a combination of menopause, quitting smoking, and stress over the show that caused her weight to balloon.  The sad part was that the show dressed her quite badly when for years, Reva had been known for being a clothes horse.

 

Even though she was still heavy when she was on OLTL, the show dressed her in blazers and professional outfits that made her look less heavy then the crap GL put her in.

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I re-read the GL anniversary book today.  The change from the 70's to the 80's on that show was extreme; suddenly everyone was from Tulsa rather than Europe.

 

1.  Dr Sara McIntyre (sp?) is totally one of those female characters that they don't write anymore.  A mature women who other female characters look to for advice but with a totally f'ed up private life.  AW's Pat, AMC's Anne, and ever Jesse Brewer come to mind; women who were bright and competent but kept impulsively falling for bad guys.  Sara married two different guys while on vacation (both tried to kill her) but everyone in town still went to her for marital advice.

 

2.  Justin Marler - cad or victim?  Today I learned that Justin had dated Sara (before Phillip was born) but jilted her for Jackie who was better for his career; which makes him a bit of cad.  Then, when I considered how often he played second fiddle to Mike and Alan I felt bad for him.  I wonder if his character changed to suit different writers?

 

3.  I liked the liberation of Elizabeth Spaulding, Jackie Marler and Trish Lewis.  However, Elizabeth and Hope both had (70's term) "drinking problems" that turned into full hysteria and required hospitalization?

 

4.  The wealth of the 70's seemed both more attainable and at the same time more exclusive.  Alan and Elizabeth are as rich doctors like Justin or Ed.  Their homes seem suburban not mansions.  They have household staff but it doesn't seems as stuffy as the Chamberlains.  At same time, Elizabeth never interacts with poor characters which is convenient for the plot because they can conspire about her in her absence.

 

5.  Hindsight is 20/20 but I don't see how a fan from 1977 who loved stories about Mike and Sara stayed with the show once they were completely sidelined.  Both had firmly established roots but they just left once they got an out of town job offer and were spoken of again, (OK I'm sure someone talked about Mike but Sara disappeared completely). 

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Episodes like this makes me miss Guiding Light so much. 

 

It was so touching how Roger expressed having a teeny crush on Maureen and seeking her approval at times. God, I miss actors like Michael Zaslow on daytime. 

 

Even when GL was starting to lose its flame at this time, it still was some of the most compelling drama on TV. 

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I loved how Blake felt part of the Bauer family there with Ed and thinking of Mo as a mother figure. I always thought Ross and a more mature Blake should have moved into the Bauer hours with their kids and formed the core...Ross was the dad of SF and LK's Blake always gave off a warm vibe..

 

God I hate Irizzary, and this is the fake Mindy...Marj hadn't started yet...the show really did loose its steam with the loss of Bev, Simms and Mo. Nice to see Jenna before she got sucked into the black hole of Buzz/Deas. 

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Hearing the song over the closing credits gives me all kind of feels.

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It took me quite a few minutes to figure out that the actress on the screen was actually portraying Mindy! I don't remember her (I only remember Tesreau, Simms and Crampton) at all but that year I was busy with school, so it's possible that I didn't really watch that year until the summer and my viewing was probably inconsistent at best. She's not a bad actress but I think the biggest problem is the transformation of the character (seriously, skeet shooting??!) on top of an unfamiliar actress, just too jarring!

 

I enjoyed Alan-Michael talking about the Spaulding family legacy, while trying to draw Nick into becoming more invested in it.  As for Irizarry, normally I enjoy him in a lot of roles but this one rings a little hollow to me.

 

As a kid, I remember thinking how beautiful and graceful Jocelyn Seagrave was.

 

Kat and David, The Toni Braxton song playing in the background-- so perfectly 90s.  I love the energy of David when he's pitching the idea of him running Company to Ed. The Black characters that I see on soaps like Y&R are so staid and boring, it's refreshing to see a Black male character, in particular, being portrayed as being so full of enthusiasm and life!  And yes, it is possible to write that type of character without the criminal past!

 

Where is Amelia Marshall these days?  Just feels like there is a vacuum in today's daytime that she could easily fill.

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Even though Julie was an annoying mess at times, Jocelyn Seagrave was very gorgeous. I did grow to like Julie once she dropped the saccharine act and was as ratchet as Bridget was. 

 

And I miss Amelia Marshall on daytime too. Gilly has to be one of my top 5 fave soap characters b/c she was great representation for us young AA viewers, who watched the show at that time. I loved watching ambitious Gilly getting caught up in Roger and Holly's wild shenanigans at WSPR. Those were good times. She wasn't isolated. She wasn't the Black best friend. She wasn't saccharine. Gilly has just as much of a colorful past as the rest of the canvas. God I miss Gilly.

 

 

Sadly, Blake would be removed from the Bauers in due time. I found it disheartening in later years that they erased Blake being an honorary Bauer. They should've kept that connection with her by having her interact with Michelle and Rick. 

 

And I really don't get the hate for Nick. 

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I liked Nick/Mindy (Kimberly Simms version of course). He could be a bit righteous at times, but he was enjoyable for the most part. 

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