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Paul Raven

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I've been checking out a lot of YouTube in the past few months (bandstandmike has an appalling number of complete episodes and storylines) and I've actually come to the conclusion that while it would be a great fairy tale for Roger and Holly to end up together, I don't think it was ever meant to be, even under the writers who crafted their '94 relationship.

Holly became appallingly stupid and oversensitive while she and Roger were together in '94 and Roger, while obviously making an effort to change for Holly, kept lying to her over and over again about his involvement with Tashiwa/Alan, even after he knew for sure that he was dealing with an Alan Spaulding trying to get the company back from Alexandra.

Refamiliarizing myself with what led up to the Roger/Holly implosion in late '94/early '95, as it was written, Roger really had it coming to him. I was always sorry to see Holly hurt, but Roger was playing with the old Spaulding fire and he got burned. Frankly, after the amount of crap he was either directly, solely, or partially responsible for putting Alexandra through, part of me can't help but *fistpump* at her getting him the only place it would truly hurt.

Now, in the hands of even more creative writers, it could have turned out differently, but this was long before the wheels came off the wagon in late '95/early '96.

Oh, and I defiantly state right here that no one was more destroyed by the Roger/Holly implosion than Fletcher was. Yeah, Holly took it on the chin in later years, but Fletcher was utterly destroyed within a week.

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Actually, I thought 1990-1995 was the last truly great period for GL. Yeah, there was some great isolated stuff in the following years (Ed's initial return in 2001, Rick's heart transplant, etc.) and there was a good deal of iffy and weird stuff during that period, but that was really the last EP and group of writers who truly recognized the benefit of not only a good ensemble of characters, but a good ensemble of stories as well.

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At the time I felt like it wasn't so much of an ensemble as a lot of Buzz, Nick, Lucy, and a lot of people running around in bizarre stories about criminals and conspiracies.

If I look back now I might feel differently but I just couldn't get into any of this back then, aside from a few isolated stories.

I think what annoyed me most was dragging stories out - Alan-Michael/Eleni, for instance. That went on for so long and by the time it ended the only thing left for him was that wan triangle with Tangie and his father.

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So, I decided to look up that scene of Holly finding Ross and Blake together and wanted to know - was Holly right for being mad at those two for getting together behind her back? Or did she need to sit her ass down and get over it?

From how that scene played, it could be taken as either Holly overreacting over a man that wasn't even hers (as JVD played it), Ross being a callous assh0le for sleeping with the daughter of the woman that he was seeing (as MG was playing it), or Blake tiring of her mother's selfish and overdramatic behavior and standing up for herself (as SS played it).

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The situation was very complicated. Holly and Ross had technically been dating, although Ross was mostly doing this because Holly was a respected citizen, someone that could help his image while he was running for the Senate. Holly and Blake had had a bad relationship, as Blake had felt like Holly had never been enough of a mother to her, while Holly felt like Blake had never been satisfied, and that Blake had made many self-destructive mistakes in her attempts at money and power and love. The last straw had been when Holly had accidentally let it be known that Blake had called immigration on her. Alan-Michael, Blake's ex-husband, whom she carried a torch for, was in love with Eleni. This had backfired on Blake, as Alan-Michael had convinced Eleni to marry him. Blake seduced Ross out of revenge, although she soon fell for Ross.

At the time, I felt sorry for all of them.

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That's part of the beauty of the material, it was written that each character had their own point of view that were valid in their own ways. More than once Ross said to Holly that they were going out as friends, and that he couldn't have a serious relationship with anyone. Holly felt like Ross was giving her hope that they could get back together.

There was one thing you're missing CarlD2, the last straw with Holly and Blake's relationship happened after Eleni and Alan-Michael were married. Blake thought she still had a chance and was working at Spaulding. Holly let it slide accidentally to Eleni and of course Blake lost her job. That was why Blake exclaimed to herself about how Holly stole her chance with AM, so Blake was going to steal the man Holly wanted. You stole my man, mother...I'll guess I'll take yours.. something along those lines..

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God...1994...terrible and I don't know what the ratings were at the time but I know that the quality of the show itself just screamed "cancel me!" Buzz, the Coopers, Frank and Eleni in an endless boring storyline, the fake Eleni, Vaness and Matt in their "ABC," romance, and of course, Tangie Hill and the Duck.

I do remember JFP touting the 5th Street on fire thing (how many times has that dump been on fire) and the soap press, or maybe just Logan, getting on board...when Buzz through the TV set down I remember someone touting that to be JFP's indication that the bad times were over for GL. HA, HA!!!

Yea, but we got a full week of Buzz screaming at the top of his lungs, etc.

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