12 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

Shout out to alwaysAMC-

I'm liking your write-ups and your interest in the show!  Keep 'em coming.

As several have pointed out, you very much need to watch early 1990s GL.  (You like Roger and Bridget in 1995?!  Boy, are you missing out!  Go back in time.) 

I recommend you start August/Sept 1989 to get a foothold, then watch all the way through the end of 1994.  1989 was an okay year (not great, but better than the awful 1986-1988 period).  GL really starts clicking in March/April 1990, with noticeable story and dialogue improvement happening in rather rapid fashion.  The change for the better is an interesting and tangible watch, almost inspiring.

As you are a first-time viewer, I'd love to get your comments and observations of that era as well.

Aww, thank you!  That is great to hear.  I might just take that recommendation once the Marion/Brent storyline wraps, as that seems like it would be a good, natural break.  I'd go back to where you suggested and watch back up to Feb 1995 where I started, and then jump back to that time in 1996 where Marion/Brent is gone.  I have been curious to see certain things, like how Frank/Eleni get together (ever since the old Eleni left in March 1995, the character has mostly been background at the diner, sadly).  I'd love to see Ric Hearst's intro as AM.  Maureen and then her death.  More of Roger/Holly/Blake...  I could go on and on.    

Edited April 24Apr 24 by alwaysAMC

I hope you do, for your entertainment's sake.

Lots of great actors:  Beverlee McKinsey, Michael Zaslow, Maureen Garrett, Maeve Kincaid, Jordan Clarke, Jerry VerDorn, Melissa Hayden, Monti Sharp (the original David, Gilly's brother - you need to zero in on that guy!), Rick Hearst, Amelia Marshall and several others.

Several umbrella stories that cross pollinate, interesting character friendships, and perhaps best of all, considerably above-average dialogue.

The show wasn't perfect of course.  There are some clunker stories (Julie and Hart's teen-time romance, and Daniel St John), but quite solid overall.

That said, when GL was at its best, it assumed its viewers had a brain and liked to use it.

 

6 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

The HIV storyline isn't aging well IMO.  On one hand I applaud it for the awareness and bringing real life people with HIV into the story to show they can still live a fulfilled life, but on the other hand it seems like this scary 'you're going to die' disease that will ruin your life forever.  You've got Marion who is so casual about it, clearly doesn't care about ruining Lucy's life with the disease, but then is scared about having a few drops of positive blood on his shoe like its the boogyman. Then you have Lucy and all the Coopers celebrating her final negative test like she's been saved from disaster.  It's a bit of a mind-F with the pendulum thoughts it takes, especially watching in 2025.

Hey, Always! This is said without any disrespect at all, but how old are you? If you didn't live through those times, this is extremely, and sadly, accurate. This is how it really was in those days. I'm in my late 40s and remember it well. As a matter of fact, GH's HIV/AIDS story the same year twisted my arm into remaining a virgin before I came out as a lesbian. I was terrified of dying. I think we all were.

6 minutes ago, Gatecrashers said:

Hey, Always! This is said without any disrespect at all, but how old are you? If you didn't live through those times, this is extremely, and sadly, accurate. This is how it really was in those days. I'm in my late 40s and remember it well. As a matter of fact, GH's HIV/AIDS story the same year twisted my arm into remaining a virgin before I came out as a lesbian. I was terrified of dying. I think we all were.

When people do this "the 80s had the best fill-in-the-blank" nostalgia turn, I really cringe.

12 minutes ago, Gatecrashers said:

Hey, Always! This is said without any disrespect at all, but how old are you? If you didn't live through those times, this is extremely, and sadly, accurate. This is how it really was in those days. I'm in my late 40s and remember it well. As a matter of fact, GH's HIV/AIDS story the same year twisted my arm into remaining a virgin before I came out as a lesbian. I was terrified of dying. I think we all were.

Hey!  All good, I appreciate that.  I'm 41 from the Midwest, so I was just being introduced to the subject of AIDS/HIV, but still too young to really understand it fully.  It was very taboo where I came from, but I actually do remember as a pre-teen the GH story with Robin and Stone.  And I even remember the Cindy storyline from AMC, both of which were done really well.  I think GL did a good job bringing awareness to the subject.  All three soaps did a great job of highlighting that it isn't just a 'gay person's disease'.  

I think my comments are coming more from how a lunatic (Brent/Marion) was using it as a weapon.  It was just a little jarring in how it was used that way and how the pendulum would swing between this horrible death weapon as revenge to bringing awareness/removing the stigma.  Hopefully that makes sense  

Oh I also strongly remember Pedro from The Real World during that time, another good example.

32 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

I hope you do, for your entertainment's sake.

Lots of great actors:  Beverlee McKinsey, Michael Zaslow, Maureen Garrett, Maeve Kincaid, Jordan Clarke, Jerry VerDorn, Melissa Hayden, Monti Sharp (the original David, Gilly's brother - you need to zero in on that guy!), Rick Hearst, Amelia Marshall and several others.

Several umbrella stories that cross pollinate, interesting character friendships, and perhaps best of all, considerably above-average dialogue.

The show wasn't perfect of course.  There are some clunker stories (Julie and Hart's teen-time romance, and Daniel St John), but quite solid overall.

That said, when GL was at its best, it assumed its viewers had a brain and liked to use it.

 

This is what I love and look forward to!  

And yes!  I thankfully got some exposure to the original David.  He was replaced about a month or two after I started my watch.  GL had three of the "The character of X is now being played by X..." voiceover moments back to back when I started my watch (Feb-May 1995).  First was Eleni, second David, then temporarily Roger (thankfully that was short-lived haha).

7 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Oh I also strongly remember Pedro from The Real World during that time, another good example.

Which brings us back to soaps because Mary-Ellis Bunim. 

1 minute ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Which brings us back to soaps because Mary-Ellis Bunim. 

Touche!    And hence why I loved The Real World haha! 

Oh I do want to add @Gatecrashers, that I appreciate your perspective and confirmation that it was that scary back then.  That's helpful context.  I think I was just 5 years too young, in a conservative part of the country, to really feel that back then.  Thanks for sharing! 

17 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Touche!    And hence why I loved The Real World haha! 

Oh I do want to add @Gatecrashers, that I appreciate your perspective and confirmation that it was that scary back then.  That's helpful context.  I think I was just 5 years too young, in a conservative part of the country, to really feel that back then.  Thanks for sharing! 

I was a grown-ass adult then & it was a hard-time to be alive, economically, politically & then way too many friends died of the dadgummed plague. 

Also there was a time when all of the soaps did *something* to acknowledge or bring awareness to HIV-AIDS. The Daytime Day of Remembrance, I think it was dubbed, was June 20-somethingth.

33 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I was a grown-ass adult then & it was a hard-time to be alive, economically, politically & then way too many friends died of the dadgummed plague. 

Also there was a time when all of the soaps did *something* to acknowledge or bring awareness to HIV-AIDS. The Daytime Day of Remembrance, I think it was dubbed, was June 20-somethingth.

♥️ Thanks for sharing!

1 hour ago, alwaysAMC said:

Touche!    And hence why I loved The Real World haha! 

Oh I do want to add @Gatecrashers, that I appreciate your perspective and confirmation that it was that scary back then.  That's helpful context.  I think I was just 5 years too young, in a conservative part of the country, to really feel that back then.  Thanks for sharing! 

No problem. No worries!

10 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

The HIV storyline isn't aging well IMO.  

Not to derail this thread, but in various shows threads here it's been said that the HIV storylines in the 1980s and 1990s have not aged well. I remember Y&R Jessica Blair being a summer social issue storyline with dialogue that was heavy-handed and very PSA yet the execution of the storyline was not a realistic portrayal of an AIDS patient.

5 hours ago, Speed Racer said:

need to watch early 1990s GL. 

I say start with May 1989 when Springfield learns Roger survived the fall off the cliff in Santo Domingo. Robert Calhoun becomes EP in June 1989 and GL finally hits its stride after a few rough years.

5 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

Aww, thank you!  That is great to hear.  I might just take that recommendation once the Marion/Brent storyline wraps, as that seems like it would be a good, natural break.  I'd go back to where you suggested and watch back up to Feb 1995 where I started, and then jump back to that time in 1996 where Marion/Brent is gone.  I have been curious to see certain things, like how Frank/Eleni get together (ever since the old Eleni left in March 1995, the character has mostly been background at the diner, sadly).  I'd love to see Ric Hearst's intro as AM.  Maureen and then her death.  More of Roger/Holly/Blake...  I could go on and on.    

If you want to see Roger/Holly/Blake, I'd start at the beginning of '89 (or maybe even December '88, when I believe Holly returns. I just caught like Xmas '88 and Holly/Blake (Liz Dennehy) are getting along...) You'd definitely need to see Roger's return to Springfield, which I believe is May. 

20 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

Amanda is interesting so far.  She's playing it cool and sultry, which is a nice contrast to the Dinah character.  This of course is pissing off Blake which is fun.  Vanessa has a pretty visceral reaction to her, so I'm curious what that backstory is and why they don't like each other. 

Historically, Vanessa and Amanda don't like each other. When Van first came to town, she was conniving and set every woman's teeth on edge as she flirted with the men. Van's first target in town happened to be Ben McFerrin, who was married to Amanda at the time. Van doesn't break them up outright, but she strains the marriage. Then Van and Amanda butted heads at Spaulding. They never fought outright over a man, but they had lovers Ross and Mark Evans in common. OG Vanessa found Amanda boring (as she did anyone who Ross was interested in like Evie Stapleton or Carrie). 

Plus, Vanessa's a little more territorial about being Ross #1 ex...which sounds a little weird I know. 

3 hours ago, kalbir said:

3 hours ago, P.J. said:

If you want to see Roger/Holly/Blake, I'd start at the beginning of '89 (or maybe even December '88, when I believe Holly returns. I just caught like Xmas '88 and Holly/Blake (Liz Dennehy) are getting along...) You'd definitely need to see Roger's return to Springfield, which I believe is May. 

I say start with May 1989 when Springfield learns Roger survived the fall off the cliff in Santo Domingo. Robert Calhoun becomes EP in June 1989 and GL finally hits its stride after a few rough years.

Sounds like May 1989 might be a good fit for me  I'll look online and see what my options are for full episodes.

2 hours ago, P.J. said:

Historically, Vanessa and Amanda don't like each other. When Van first came to town, she was conniving and set every woman's teeth on edge as she flirted with the men. Van's first target in town happened to be Ben McFerrin, who was married to Amanda at the time. Van doesn't break them up outright, but she strains the marriage. Then Van and Amanda butted heads at Spaulding. They never fought outright over a man, but they had lovers Ross and Mark Evans in common. OG Vanessa found Amanda boring (as she did anyone who Ross was interested in like Evie Stapleton or Carrie). 

Plus, Vanessa's a little more territorial about being Ross #1 ex...which sounds a little weird I know. 

Vanessa!  That doesn't sound like the Van I know right now - conniving and a flirt to all?  Haha, I love it.  So right now, Vanessa and Blake have joined forces to run Amanda away from Ross and out of town.  They definitely don't like her.

Nov 10-15, 1995

Poor Detective Cutter was just murdered by Marian - so sad!  What’s really good about this twist is that Marcus came across a dying Cutter, after Marcus was kicked out of the boarding house due to being framed by Roger for stealing money at The Towers.  Poor Marcus stopped to help Cutter, but was scared off by police and now is being suspected of his murder.  What’s scary/entertaining is that Cutter started spelling the murderer’s name on the pavement with his own blood and only got to MAR before he died.  Frank just found it and everyone is assuming it means Marcus and not Marian!  Great way to weave these stories together.

I am sad to see Cutter go.  He was a fun character and cute to boot.  I know they didn’t really do a lot with him outside of being the town cop, but still sad.  They did test him romantically with both Mindy and Tangie before they both abruptly left Springfield, but nothing stuck.

Oh and finally Lucy and AM were able to make love - many, many months in the making.  That was nice to see how happy they were.

I’m also interested in understanding how Springfield finds out about Nadine’s death.  At this point, she’s wrapped up at the bottom of the lake, but everyone assumes she left Springfield for her new chapter in life.

Amanda is baaaad.  She just showed up at Ross’ law office, donning only a robe, and then disrobed completely in front of him and brings him into a kiss.  She plays the seducer well, in a quiet, sultry way.  I like the actress so far.  There was a funny dream sequence that Blake had where she was in a game show with Amanda, competing for Ross, and Blake wins.  She then gets to slime Amanda, and the actress playing Amanda could barely keep a straight face. It was cute.

I’ve noticed the show is using a paused reaction shot on most cliffhangers these days.  Didn’t DAYS used to do that back in the day?  I kind of like it, as it adds some dramatic flair to the cliffhanger.

Edited April 25Apr 25 by alwaysAMC