I assumed that Reva viewed Cain as someone she owed her life to since he was the one that helped save her during her attempted suicide.. so she felt responsible when he became ill.

I imagine that Long would have used Cain as an obstacle/distraction for Reva as Kyle was working through his marriage to Maeve.  What interested me was that Fletcher/Maeve were tested earlier then I thought with his constant visiting Maeve in the hospital in December 1985... so possibly Long had it planned out that Fletcher would have been the right man for Maeve while Reva was the right woman for Kyle.

Both Kyle and Maeve came from money... so I could see Long planning to ultimately pair them with opposites in a socioeconomical sense of the word had she stayed on.

I certainly know had she been headwriting the show when Newman came back as Josh.. she wouldn't have quickly reunited Josh/Reva.

I'm now up to the 1986 Bauer BBQ episode, and everything has changed again!

In episodes just a month or so before, Jackson was giving Mindy wise and friendly advice about her career and marriage. In this one, he's suddenly a scruffy villain who has trashed Mindy's reputation by sending some risqué photos to a men's magazine. 

WHAT?

Simon has been outed as an imposter. Is he in jail? No.

India is in Andorra with her father and  Alan, who is plotting his return to SF. Her father is pushing her to marry Alan. Even though she is obviously attracted to him, she's completely against the idea.

The woman who blackmailed Phillip and tried to blackmail Simon into marrying her because her one goal in life was to become a Spaulding is now hesitant about trying to land another one?

Sure, I get she doesn't trust him, but what a missed opportunity! Bernau and Adams had a strong onscreen chemistry. Their scenes together are really enjoyable to watch. What fun it would have been if they had followed through with this and had them marry or plan to marry while both planned to stab each other in the back. And MAYBE at some point actually fall for each other. They could have been an awesome scheming power couple.

Not surprisingly, the HW team had changed again. Ryder was out, and Munisteri was now paired with Ellen Barrett. The 1986 roller-coaster continues. 

I’m up to October 2, 1996.

Ugh, the opening was updated to add Zachary and Dahlia, and remove Vanessa.  I guess this means Maeve left the show and everyone will just assume Vanessa died in her car wreck, so sad.  Matt found the MRI test results from the mail, just before Vanessa’s memorial, but Nola convinced him that no test results matter at this point. They also gave Nola the short Vanessa haircut now, so it’s throwing me off haha. Btw, how is Quint not around for any of this? He just came back full-time, but then couldn’t be available for his sister’s memorial?

Billy is back!  He just showed up at the hospital and gave Josh a big hug. So did Reva, and Reva finally just mentioned that she calls Dylan every week (ha!).  He has 24 hours out of jail for deaths in the family, so I guess he isn’t staying right now beyond the memorial. He’s pushing Reva/Josh as a couple to Reva.

I feel so bad for Matt during this whole thing. Watching him break down at the beach is heartbreaking.

Rick just told Phillip about his one-night stand with Blake, and now Amanda just told Roger the truth in front of all of them about Rick being one of the fathers. Blake denies it, Roger doesn’t believe it, but Amanda is so bad and I kind of love it haha.

Zachary is now obsessed with Michelle and saved her from drowning. He called her Mary until he corrected her and said she’s Michelle. Was there a Mary in the Bauer family? It seems like he recognizes her from a long time ago. It seems like Michelle is done with J for good, as she’s now developing a crush on Zachary. It looks like they’re going with a J/Dahlia/Marcus triangle, away from Michelle.

So Griffin was behind his assassination attempt?  Weird and I don’t care.

Roger got electric shock treatments now and is acting differently, like a changed man who is overly nice, but of course it’s an act. I sure hope he ultimately gets the upper hand and we can get him out of this hospital. Blake and Hart seemed to be upset that Dinah allowed the treatments to happen, but those two are too little, too late for me.

Annie is now missing work because of the pill addiction; things are getting worse. Annie just went off on Abby at work, so you can tell she’s getting angrier. What I do like about this story is how quickly others began to question her pill taking, and it’s not some secret that lasts for months. Josh just caught Reva skinny dipping at the creek and Annie found her diner apron and realized they were together. I really think Kim Zimmer puts a lot of herself into the Reva character haha. I’m in the middle of reading her book and Kim and her friends are into skinny dipping in real life!

Overall, a boring month but I’m looking forward to another holiday season in Springfield for something new and fun (I love the holidays). I think I’m now going into McTavish and Laibson’s last month as HW and EP. I’ve got to say, post-Marion/Brent, McTavish’s big umbrella storylines of 1996 (Lonatrat and A. Spauling/5th Street) were huge busts. Lonatrat made everyone unlikeable and A. Spaulding/5th Street was so slow and uninteresting. Otherwise, my thoughts on the smaller B storylines: Grant family/Griffin was so gross and unnecessary; Dahlia/Marcus is boring; Holly/Fletch/Meg is nonexistent; Zachary and his meddling, I’m on the fence; Abby/Rick pairing I like; Blake/Ross/Rick and the twins I like; Annie and her pill addiction I like, but the slow Reva/Josh movement is boring and I lump Reva’s return into the 5th Street storyline because she’s mostly just with Buzz and Alan.

15 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

Cady McClain said the same thing with her hairdos - she switched it up so much because she was either unhappy or bored.  Kim must have been unhappy in 1996 because she has so many different short styles, it's wild (haha).

EF on ATWT would do the same thing. During the MEB and Dobsons days, and they were decentering the show around Lisa, she went to this weird shock red hair and started REALLY sputtering and acting frantic...if she and Meg Ryan were in a scene together..it would have to last 20 minutes of stuttering...EF started to make Lisa act like an airhead and the writers went with it....it was high time she took that year off. I think Zimmer and Fulton are very similar in terms of divaness if not acting styles.

12 hours ago, DeeVee said:

Sure, I get she doesn't trust him, but what a missed opportunity! Bernau and Adams had a strong onscreen chemistry. Their scenes together are really enjoyable to watch. What fun it would have been if they had followed through with this and had them marry or plan to marry while both planned to stab each other in the back. And MAYBE at some point actually fall for each other. They could have been an awesome scheming power couple.

Not surprisingly, the HW team had changed again. Ryder was out, and Munisteri was now paired with Ellen Barrett. The 1986 roller-coaster continues. 

 

12 hours ago, DeeVee said:

Sure, I get she doesn't trust him, but what a missed opportunity! Bernau and Adams had a strong onscreen chemistry. Their scenes together are really enjoyable to watch. What fun it would have been if they had followed through with this and had them marry or plan to marry while both planned to stab each other in the back. And MAYBE at some point actually fall for each other. They could have been an awesome scheming power couple.

Not surprisingly, the HW team had changed again. Ryder was out, and Munisteri was now paired with Ellen Barrett. The 1986 roller-coaster continues. 

Some of this course correction works (Alan back, India conspiring with him, Simon proved to be a fake so he can go into a dumb young love story with Jessie and not take up Alex's time, Parker settling in and showing promise in being a new Bert..though they are not writing that yet) Yet most does not work, Calla is dragging Ross down, and India is searching for jewels in a cornerstone! You are right, India and Alan have great potential, two of a kind, conspiring with and against each other and what fun it would have been to see India blackmailing another Spaulding, Alan making her life hell as they both scheme to take over, and then realizing they like each other, just as Hope Bauer returns, yet another blond heroine to thwart India, but this one is an adult. What fun to see Bev/Alex's reactions to Alan/India being married..and MKA's line reading of "Were SISTERS!" And India to Reva, "Apologies for calling you a slut, I too now have slept with a son and father, thought I have to say, I have not yet had the other son, so you are still a slut!"

1 hour ago, Mitch64 said:

Some of this course correction works (Alan back, India conspiring with him, Simon proved to be a fake so he can go into a dumb young love story with Jessie and not take up Alex's time, Parker settling in and showing promise in being a new Bert..though they are not writing that yet) Yet most does not work, Calla is dragging Ross down, and India is searching for jewels in a cornerstone! You are right, India and Alan have great potential, two of a kind, conspiring with and against each other and what fun it would have been to see India blackmailing another Spaulding, Alan making her life hell as they both scheme to take over, and then realizing they like each other, just as Hope Bauer returns, yet another blond heroine to thwart India, but this one is an adult. What fun to see Bev/Alex's reactions to Alan/India being married..and MKA's line reading of "Were SISTERS!" And India to Reva, "Apologies for calling you a slut, I too now have slept with a son and father, thought I have to say, I have not yet had the other son, so you are still a slut!"

I can see MKA's devilish glee in that "We're sisters!" line. What might have been...

It’s always interesting how people remember things. I remember that Pam Long gave an interview the week that GL was going off the air and she didn’t remember that she wrote Reva’s post partum depression story that lead to Reva driving off the bridge. ( I’m Coming Bud!!) Pam swore that she didn’t write that. How can you forget writing off Reva Shayne! Pam later backtracked. 

4 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

Alan making her life hell as they both scheme to take over, and then realizing they like each other, just as Hope Bauer returns, yet another blond heroine to thwart India, but this one is an adult.

It really writes itself, doesn't it? SO obviously the way to go.

Even though I already know most of the upcoming stuff is frickin' awful, I am enjoying Bernau's return, just because he seems to be having such a good time. For some reason they have him carrying a cane, which he clearly doesn't need. He's jogging up and down stairs, dancing at the ball, all while carrying this cane which never seems to hit the floor. I get the feeling it was a choice; maybe even a wink at the audience. 

I howled when Reva described Alan to Kyle, and she exactly described Kyle! Bit of a self awareness problem there!

19 hours ago, DeeVee said:

Even though I already know most of the upcoming stuff is frickin' awful, I am enjoying Bernau's return, just because he seems to be having such a good time. For some reason they have him carrying a cane, which he clearly doesn't need. He's jogging up and down stairs, dancing at the ball, all while carrying this cane which never seems to hit the floor. I get the feeling it was a choice; maybe even a wink at the audience. 

 

Alan was shot when he disappeared in whatever sterotypical South American country Alex helped him (and banished him) escape to..so they might have added the cane and you can see how sloppy the show is now, so CB might have just found it an annoyance.

Which is another weird thing, its been not two years since Alan left, and Alex is pining over him....she blackmailed him into banishment originally.

Its weird having him back without his old enemies like Ed, Mike and Roger around...Faux Ed doesnt count. But then I have to remember how McTavish and Wheeler made Buzz Cooper of all people Alan's greatest enemy...right!

19 hours ago, TEdgeofNight said:

Pam swore that she didn’t write that. How can you forget writing off Reva Shayne! Pam later backtracked. 

I don't think she was that happy at the time on GL...it was coming up on the time she quit because of the network...she was the original writer to want to bring Reva back as a ghost and then the Jewish family....the net was right on the first choice wrong on the second.

But she also denied not liking the Bauers and said with Jeff Ryder there she couldnt ignore them even if she wanted to as he knew so much about GL history....sure didnt show during his lone tenure.

1 hour ago, Mitch64 said:

Which is another weird thing, its been not two years since Alan left, and Alex is pining over him....she blackmailed him into banishment originally.

I can't keep up with all the changes in character motivation. Under several previous writers, Brandon was portrayed as an awful father, which is why Alan took Spaulding away from him and parked him in a rest home. He stole both Alan's and Alex's children. Both talked about how he set them against each other. Now they're both talking about him with warm affection and how loved they were by him. When Long returns, he's back to being an even more blatantly abusive father.

I get why Alex named her kid after him. It's common for abused children to still seek love and approval from their abusive parent. But she never pretended he was a kind and good father.

1 hour ago, Mitch64 said:

Its weird having him back without his old enemies like Ed, Mike and Roger around...Faux Ed doesnt count. But then I have to remember how McTavish and Wheeler made Buzz Cooper of all people Alan's greatest enemy...right!

He's just running around town yelling at everyone. It's so silly. Alan looking for a chest of gold? Oh, come on. Like the upcoming art theft storyline, that's beneath the character. If he's rich enough to buy up TV stations and newspapers, he doesn't need a treasure chest!

The writers who really understood Alan's character knew it wasn't money or even worldly power that motivated him. His "villainy" was about controlling the people in his personal sphere, which always escalated to the point where he would be in danger of losing people he cared about, like Phillip, Hope, or his sister.

The only time Long deviated from that was in stories she was told to write, like the Dreaming Death or Roger's return, or if she was cleaning up another writer's mess, like the art theft story. As much as I loathed them pairing him with Reva, at least that story was classic Alan, doing things like switching DNA tests or bringing back Sonni and teaming up with her to keep Josh and Reva apart.

Don't even get me started on what they did to him when he came back in the 90s. Total Snidely Whiplash stuff.

Edited June 12Jun 12 by DeeVee

1 hour ago, Mitch64 said:

But she also denied not liking the Bauers and said with Jeff Ryder there she couldnt ignore them even if she wanted to as he knew so much about GL history....sure didnt show during his lone tenure.

Wasn't she kind of ordered to get rid of them by Kobe? There's that story that she axed Elvera Roussel so the rest of the cast would know none of them were safe.

That atrocious "tribute" to Bert definitely negates the claim that Ryder cared about GL history. 

Pamela Long is another one who can't recall details. I remember an interview she gave with a podcaster where she  talked about SB and that she didn't like a performer's behavior/complaints and put this actor (male or female) in a coma for six months as punishment. That didn't happen so I don't know what she was thinking of. That happened somewhat to Hillary B. Smith on OLTL, but Pamela Long was "long" gone by then. 

This is why I always try to go by articles/interviews at the time because the amount of rewriting/amnesia is extraordinary in the soap world. 

10 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

Alan was shot when he disappeared in whatever sterotypical South American country Alex helped him (and banished him) escape to..so they might have added the cane and you can see how sloppy the show is now, so CB might have just found it an annoyance.

Which is another weird thing, its been not two years since Alan left, and Alex is pining over him....she blackmailed him into banishment originally.

Its weird having him back without his old enemies like Ed, Mike and Roger around...Faux Ed doesnt count. But then I have to remember how McTavish and Wheeler made Buzz Cooper of all people Alan's greatest enemy...right!

I don't think she was that happy at the time on GL...it was coming up on the time she quit because of the network...she was the original writer to want to bring Reva back as a ghost and then the Jewish family....the net was right on the first choice wrong on the second.

But she also denied not liking the Bauers and said with Jeff Ryder there she couldnt ignore them even if she wanted to as he knew so much about GL history....sure didnt show during his lone tenure.

Peter Simon returns with, dare I say, such emotion. It's some asinine plot about Alan going after Rick after Phillip was shot, and wants to make sure Rick doesn't get his medical license.

It doesn't quite make sense to me, but Ed throws out Rita and Hope's names, anyway.

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

Peter Simon returns with, dare I say, such emotion. It's some asinine plot about Alan going after Rick after Phillip was shot, and wants to make sure Rick doesn't get his medical license.

It doesn't quite make sense to me, but Ed throws out Rita and Hope's names, anyway.

You would think that this incident would have made Alan and Rick life-long enemies. Weird that doesn't really happen.

I believe Lenore Kasdorf said in an interview once that she was offered the chance to come back as Rita around 1987. So they could have been starting to foreshadow her return here. There was talk about Hope being brought back around this time, as well. As far back as the late Marland tenure there was a plan to bring Rita back, and I think Kasdorf was asked back yet another time later on. Kind of a shame the stars never aligned to make it happen, for both Rita's and Hope's returns, even if they had to do recasts.

The weird part about this particular scene is Ed accusing Alan of wanting revenge over Rita when, if either one of them still cared about it, Ed would have been the aggrieved party, not Alan. And apparently these writers didn't know that Ed had forgiven Alan during Alan's sackcloth and ashes period after he went to prison for his dealings with Roger. They even became almost friendly.

Edited June 13Jun 13 by DeeVee

11 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

You would think that this incident would have made Alan and Rick life-long enemies. Weird that doesn't really happen.

I believe Lenore Kasdorf said in an interview once that she was offered the chance to come back as Rita around 1987. So they could have been starting to foreshadow her return here. Also, there was talk about Hope being brought back around this time, as well. Perhaps that didn't happen because of the many writer changes.

The weird thing is Ed accusing Alan of wanting revenge over Rita when, if either one of them still cared about it, Ed would have been the aggrieved party, not Alan. And apparently these writers didn't know that Ed had forgiven Alan during Alan's sackcloth and ashes period after he went to prison for his dealings with Roger. They even became almost friendly.

You would, wouldn't you? I mean, even Mo is livid at Alan's actions! So different from Roger's return, where Mo thinks everyone should join hands and sing kumbayah and Ed keeps a healthy distance between him and Roger.

It is wonderful to see Chris Bernau back in action, effortlessly sliding into Springfield like no time has passed.