1 hour ago, P.J. said:

I've caught mentions here and there too--when Alan's pushing the idea of marriage, he says something to Vanessa about having grown up in Springfield--I just roll my eyes.  I don't know why the writers do little tweaks that don't make a difference. Alan and Vanessa have a long, established history. What difference does it make if they grew up in Springfield? The stupid idea that Calla and Ross were high school sweethearts---blah. I caught one mention of them using the LIghthouse as a hangout---like WHAT? 

It's another example of how lazy the writers often were - even back then there was clearly little interest in history. I suppose it's easier with the Lewises and Shaynes as there was a whole clan of them and they were brought in via Oklahoma, Cross Creek was a major part of story for years, etc. (although even then the show later seemed to think Josh had grown up in Springfield). 

It makes less sense to claim Vanessa grew up in Springfield when one of the story points even by '94 was her hiding away through her pregnancy with Dinah, which would have been more difficult to explain if she had been living in Springfield.

2 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

 

 

For your edification, that is called "preferential treatment in billing", not to be confused with star billing or billing above or before the title.  And, it is a contract item. 

I knew it was contractual. I just didn't know the formal term. The "Eileen Fulton billing" is much snappier, imo. lol.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

It's another example of how lazy the writers often were - even back then there was clearly little interest in history. I suppose it's easier with the Lewises and Shaynes as there was a whole clan of them and they were brought in via Oklahoma, Cross Creek was a major part of story for years, etc. (although even then the show later seemed to think Josh had grown up in Springfield). 

It makes less sense to claim Vanessa grew up in Springfield when one of the story points even by '94 was her hiding away through her pregnancy with Dinah, which would have been more difficult to explain if she had been living in Springfield.

What's strange to me is that for a large portion of time you've got a consistency in the scriptwriters. And it's still in the era of a continuity person. There's always been some revisions of history---but when a new character comes on, why can't they just look at what hasn't been established and go from there? Calla could've been the woman Ross dated after Vanessa dumped him to marry her first husband, or at least in the period that Vanessa was off in Maine hiding her pregnancy. 

It's minor, I know. At least some of them. Funny though, and I know that there's huge gaps in the Dinah reveal---but other than Ross and Billy, the only person in town that I saw being shocked about finding out Ross and Vanessa had a child---Maureen. 

6 hours ago, P.J. said:

I knew it was contractual. I just didn't know the formal term. The "Eileen Fulton billing" is much snappier, imo. lol.

Whatever floats your boat. Me, I see "Eileen Fulton billing" and I automatically think "not a grandmother thing" so it doesn't work for me at all.  When they came back to DAYS in '91 Deidre Hall & Wayne Norrthrup had preferential treatment in billing & I can't find a way to bring ATWT's Lisa into it. YMMV.

I wonder why Kim demanded or was granted special billing?

Hardly a way to endear yourself to castmates.

Maybe most of them just laughed it off and thought... That Kim, not only does she get frontburner stories and a big salary, she also wants the special tag as well.

4 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Whatever floats your boat. Me, I see "Eileen Fulton billing" and I automatically think "not a grandmother thing" so it doesn't work for me at all.  When they came back to DAYS in '91 Deidre Hall & Wayne Norrthrup had preferential treatment in billing & I can't find a way to bring ATWT's Lisa into it. YMMV.

I don't know when Eileen got that special billing, but I see it as acknowledgement of how impactful her presence was for the show. She's ATWT's equivalent of Lucci, Zimmer, Hall or Slezak. Everyone knew who Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn was.

2 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

I wonder why Kim demanded or was granted special billing?

Hardly a way to endear yourself to castmates.

Maybe most of them just laughed it off and thought... That Kim, not only does she get frontburner stories and a big salary, she also wants the special tag as well.

lol...well, by this time she had won two emmys. And it's not like she wasn't alphabetically most likely to be last anyway. Unless they hired someone named Zwick or Zzzuzz.

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

I don't know when Eileen got that special billing, but I see it as acknowledgement of how impactful her presence was for the show. She's ATWT's equivalent of Lucci, Zimmer, Hall or Slezak. Everyone knew who Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn was.

I don't know when either. I just thought of that "don't make me a grandmother" thing but maybe that was Lucci. Speaking of Lisa I am still bitter that Goutman so misused her at the end. Inexcusable! BTW, Eileen was a special favorite of my mother's. Makes her extra endearing to me. Wasn't she Eldridge twice?

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

lol...well, by this time she had won two emmys. And it's not like she wasn't alphabetically most likely to be last anyway. Unless they hired someone named Zwick or Zzzuzz.

I really like that showrunner guy isn't his name Zwick?

No, you were right, rumor had it that Fulton had a grandmother clause. 

Ed Zwick co-created thirtysomething.

6 minutes ago, P.J. said:

No, you were right, rumor had it that Fulton had a grandmother clause. 

Ed Zwick co-created thirtysomething.

Yea & Hooray, but Ed Zwick also one of my favorite primetime soaps, ONCE & AGAIN! 

Whether Lucci or EF, cannot blame them about not wanting to be made a grandmother too young!  Isn't it funny that both of them sing?!

21 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

I like it..can you write an alternative universe GL!!! What if "NotLana" was a Vietnam war protester? You know Brandon, Master or Evil was profiting from the war...so naturally there would be a problem there. And conservative Catholic Bea would have disapproved of her war hating free loving daughter so Lana ran off, much to Bea's dismay so she never mentioned her...(and she got hers when Nola grew up.....)

Isn't Sean Reardon (Matt and Bridget's father) a Vietnam vet? She'd be fighting against the war because her brother(s) would have to go, while Richie Rich Alan gets endless deferments because his war profiteer father arranges them for him.

21 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

Though I am now seeing NotLana and Reva, uh Rebecca getting stoned on the farm porch and I dont think I could take a stoned Reva.

OR, back in the day she initiated Alan in the joys of getting stoned. Alan being a stoner for a while in his youth would be hilarious. Which would have made Brandon even more furious. She wouldn't just be an inappropriate match for Alan, he would see her as his enemy.

16 hours ago, P.J. said:

The other thing about '88....Meredith seemed like she was toadying up to Phillip from early on. She seems to be the only one who understood Phillip's takeover and thought it was hunky-dory.

I noticed that, too. Remember, a good chunk of 1988 was written by scab writers. I will give them credit for doing a couple of things right. For instance, Chelsea not falling for Phillip's BS and refusing to be his doormat anymore. If she had been written more like that early on, I would have liked the character a whole lot more.

It made me sad to realize that Bernau's exit was written by scabs. It was actually a very good idea for an exit storyline (Phillip doing to him what he did to Brandon) but it was not executed very well. 

 

Edited July 19Jul 19 by DeeVee

2 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I noticed that, too. Remember, a good chunk of 1988 was written by scab writers. I will give them credit for doing a couple of things right. For instance, Chelsea not falling for Phillip's BS and refusing to be his doormat anymore. If she had been written more like that early on, I would have liked the character a whole lot more.

It made me sad to realize that Bernau's exit was written by scabs. It was actually a very good idea for an exit storyline (Phillip doing to him what he did to Brandon) but it was not executed very well. 

I think the scabs also leaned in to Alan-Michael/Harley, but that might've been just out of desperation, as Dinah/Cam are so, so bad.  

At least the set up to Alan's downfall had been in motion for months before the strike. I can't imagine what the scabs might've come up with on their own.

21 hours ago, Speed Racer said:

Speaking of India, I have long thought that she and Holly should have started a business together....perhaps when Holly was ousted from WSPR and went over to the Journal.

I think India and Holly would be phenomenal working together.  Imagine the love of words the two share!  India with her penchant for European commentary and HolIy with her Latin.  I'd make them fast friends.  Kinda like Donna and Ginger, but much more sophisticated.  Holly never had a female friend, so she'd be entering new territory here.

MLH:  Was it you that thought that maybe Hart should have been killed off when Jeff Phillips left the show?  Fascinating idea.  Would sure mess with Roger's psyche and spiral Blake out of control from a deep sense of guilt.  

I wouldn't have created Hart at all.  It started out ok, but he was gone so much, I didn't get the point. 

2 hours ago, P.J. said:

I think the scabs also leaned in to Alan-Michael/Harley, but that might've been just out of desperation, as Dinah/Cam are so, so bad.  

At least the set up to Alan's downfall had been in motion for months before the strike. I can't imagine what the scabs might've come up with on their own.

Who was EP during that strike? 

17 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Who was EP during that strike? 

Joe Willmore. His run was January 1986 to June 1989, so that overlaps with the 1988 writer's strike.

1 hour ago, MLH said:

I wouldn't have created Hart at all.  It started out ok, but he was gone so much, I didn't get the point.

The funny thing is, when Roger married Peggy (after Christina/Blake was born) she insisted he get a vasectomy. Which was one of the reasons he was obsessed with Christina, because he believed she would be his only biological child.

Another thing that was retconned. 

In this case, I can understand why it was changed. First of all, it's extremely possible close to 15 years later it was simply a forgotten detail. Even actors forget details of storylines they've been in.

The other reason is secret children and inconvenient pregnancies (especially those caused by the married main villain) create a lot of drama, as happened with Mindy's ill-fated pregnancy by Roger and what was intended by the introduction of Hart.

There were various reasons Hart kind of failed as a character (I think one of the actors was badly injured in an accident, is that right?) but you can understand why they would think bringing Roger's secret child into the story would be a win.

Edited July 19Jul 19 by DeeVee