@P.J.Clear case of sexism, where they wanted someone more "conventially" attractive for Michelle while Buffington is kept for about three years or so more.

46 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

You're amazing, thank you!

You're welcome.

46 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

I'm surprised she didn't do the dry-out at the cabin episode

I think that was sometime in 1996.

46 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Now I wonder what episodes Kim submitted for that year LOL. I have to say so far, Annie definitely outshines Reva in the first half of 1997. I also wonder what storyline Lucci had that year, I'll have to go back and remember what Erica was up to in 1997.

Not sure if the other 1998 Lead Actress nominee reels are online.

Edited August 10Aug 10 by kalbir

17 minutes ago, kalbir said:

You're welcome.

I think that was sometime in 1996

Oh you’re right. I just checked my notes and that was October 1996!  

Watros winning is a prime example of what happens when voters actually watch the submissions. I remember Maurice Benard saying it was one of the best reels he'd ever seen. Too often, the judges just vote for name recognition, if they've worked with the person, or by the show the person works for or any combo. I also remember this was one of the few years where Susan Lucci had decent submissions. Her submissions were not attacked the way they usually were. Davidson's submissions looked awful out of context even though I think she was seen as the frontrunner. 

I remember there some GL fans who complained Watros were too subtle in her performances. Others find her over the top. I guess you can't please everyone. 

1 hour ago, Spoon said:

@P.J.Clear case of sexism, where they wanted someone more "conventially" attractive for Michelle while Buffington is kept for about three years or so more.

I'm not as sure that it's sexism. Budig arrived sometime before Peter Simon left, and making Michelle slightly older sort of lets Ed off the hook of being a horrible father just leaving a teen with her older brother. Meanwhile, had Maeve not decided to take time off, they might have very well recast Bryan around the same time. It would've been very jarring to see Van come home to a new face or watch Matt and Dinah "raise" a kid who looked old enough to be out on his own. 

Matt and Vanessa...easily one of the top 5 worst pairing ideas in the show's history. Instant FF material and it pains me to say that because I started watching GL in the early 80's as a teenage boy because I had a crush on Maeve Kincaid. She was SO great as a bad girl...I was sad when they diffused her and made her a "good guy".

@Lujack4Ever Pamela Long diminished Vanessa in favor of her creations Reva and Alexandra.

2 minutes ago, kalbir said:

@Lujack4Ever Pamela Long diminished Vanessa in favor of her creations Reva and Alexandra.

TBF, Marland never really seemed to know what he wanted to do with Vanessa. At first she  mostly dropped her mink in front of Ross, vamped Alan and Ben just for the hell of it, had that ill-advised affair with Ed, slummed with Tony, pouted while Ross dated Eve and married Carrie. . .at least Long gave her a love story and worthy screen partner. Getting caught up with Matt and being at the mercy of couples fans was what hurt the character the most, IMO.

3 hours ago, P.J. said:

Bill, Michelle and Ben really should've been the building block for the next generation of Springfield, and instead they ruined it by shipping off Ben and recasting Michelle. I know Budig has her fans, but I don't like her.

I really loved their friendships.  I didn't get why they got rid of Ben like they did either.  

The most heartbreaking for me was the aging up Little Marah.  I only got two short years with her on the show. Ashley Peldon was awesome in her role.  I don't get why they didn't get her back. 

Aging up some characters and not others took me so out of it. 

I keep forgetting to add that it's so funny how at first Blake is so pro-Dinah being with Hart and then tries to get Cassie and Hart together.  LOL  These writers.

Edited August 10Aug 10 by MLH

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

@Lujack4Ever Pamela Long diminished Vanessa in favor of her creations Reva and Alexandra.

Alexandra I can get behind...easily a top tier character. Reva however never did it for me and she basically ate the show all the way up to the final curtain.

43 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

TBF, Marland never really seemed to know what he wanted to do with Vanessa. At first she  mostly dropped her mink in front of Ross, vamped Alan and Ben just for the hell of it, had that ill-advised affair with Ed, slummed with Tony, pouted while Ross dated Eve and married Carrie. . .at least Long gave her a love story and worthy screen partner. Getting caught up with Matt and being at the mercy of couples fans was what hurt the character the most, IMO.

I don't often agree that Marland didn't have a plan for his characters, but other working her back to Ross, I'm not seeing any true options for her in '82.  

1 hour ago, Lujack4Ever said:

Matt and Vanessa...easily one of the top 5 worst pairing ideas in the show's history. Instant FF material and it pains me to say that because I started watching GL in the early 80's as a teenage boy because I had a crush on Maeve Kincaid. She was SO great as a bad girl...I was sad when they diffused her and made her a "good guy".

No wonder McTavish pushed them hard, any bad idea, she glommed on to. Ugh.

The SORAS inconsistency was crazy.  Late 80s child Daisy/Susan was stunted in her aging while being leapfrogged by Jonathan, Elizabeth, Coop and Shayne.  Don't forget Leah Bauer leapfrogging over Harley's boys because they refused to age any of her kids up under any circumstance- even after BE was gone.

56 minutes ago, MLH said:

I really loved their friendships.  I didn't get why they got rid of Ben like they did either.  

The most heartbreaking for me was the aging up Little Marah.  I only got two short years with her on the show. Ashley Peldon was awesome in her role.  I don't get why they didn't get her back. 

Aging up some characters and not others took me so out of it. 

Ben had always gotten the least amount of attention. But he'd have been an important component in the future, until TIIC decided to make him a serial killer. Morons.

I was okay with Ashley Peldon. But I'm not sure I could've stood years of her being the cutesy Reva mini-me they looked like they wanted to make her into.

I agree---you have to age characters together. It's still nonsense that Daisy/Susan was born before nearly EVERYONE, yet Marina, Lizzie, Coop and Shayne became a decade older than her by the end.

Or that Jason and Kevin simply disappeared off the canvas.

Edited August 10Aug 10 by P.J.

5 minutes ago, Lujack4Ever said:

Reva however never did it for me and she basically ate the show all the way up to the final curtain.

Few will disagree with you here.

And as long as we're talking about Vanessa...unfortunately, after JC left the first time, Vanessa was pretty much used in service of the Reva story. TWICE Long tried to convince us that Alan would want to marry Vanessa, but I never bought it, even if it was just for a marriage of convenience. Alan wanted to dominate his wives (that's why his engagement with Reva and marriage to Olivia also didn't fly...but it made total sense for him to want to marry Annie. If it wasn't so cringy, his marriage with Beth would have made sense for the same reason).

He was never going to dominate Vanessa, but Long likely chose her as the third side as a contrast to Reva. Poor, born into nothing Reva, going up against the snobby nepo baby.

Some may argue that Billy dominated Vanessa, but that was different because she was in love with him. Never, ever, would I believe Vanessa falling for Alan's line (or not immediately ejecting Alan's rent-a-whore Elise from his house). It made Vanessa look foolish.

While it was terribly sad when Maeve left at that point, it did cut that part of the story short, which is not a bad thing.