6 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I just gotta ask the question---is it really possible to "trash" talk Reva? Vanessa could've told the unvarnished truth about her ex-sister-in-law, which was sordid enough.

You're right, although IIRC the way it was worded was odd as I doubt the show at that point even knew much about her history beyond her return and Josh. The main issue was the characters involved, beyond Vanessa, who had every right to dislike her (even if Vanessa by that point was often written as saintly - if only she'd turned some of that fire on Dinah).

24 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

You're right, although IIRC the way it was worded was odd as I doubt the show at that point even knew much about her history beyond her return and Josh. The main issue was the characters involved, beyond Vanessa, who had every right to dislike her (even if Vanessa by that point was often written as saintly - if only she'd turned some of that fire on Dinah).

Well, I don't doubt whoever was writing at that point (Weston?), probably barely knew Reva's history, much less her relationships around town with people. Or Lillian's for that matter.

I guess what I'm asking is, was it Lillian that viewers might've still be sore at, or was it a skewed version of events? Because (and depending on when this is, before or after Reva's skulked around town for months avoiding her kids and still plans on leaving) Reva's past is, to politely put it, checkered. And honestly, in any discussion of her past, it'd be hard to avoid the less than admirable parts. 

And I'm making the assumption that Lillian's included because she and Annie are both nurses, and have some kind of relationship.

Personally, yes, at times Vanessa became a bigger saint than Mo, and I wish she would've let it rip a little more. The way she went out of her way to "understand" Nadine made me sick. So if Van let a little bit of personal knowledge about ol' Reeve out, I can't say I'm sorry. Van put up with a lot of her crap too.

It's not exactly that I forgot that this was the finale week for both ATWT and GL, ....but it was the finale week for both shows.

22 minutes ago, P.J. said:

Well, I don't doubt whoever was writing at that point (Weston?), probably barely knew Reva's history, much less her relationships around town with people. Or Lillian's for that matter.

This was McTavish. I can't remember the exact scene now - I think it was just basically saying Reva had a history of homewrecking or being with a lot of men. I think they were in a fitting room or store.

Edited September 18Sep 18 by DRW50

6 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

This was McTavish. I can't remember the exact scene now - I think it was just basically saying Reva had a history of homewrecking or being with a lot of men. I think they were in a fitting room or store.

eh...McTrash. Explains a lot.

Y'know that episode where Reva and Phillip dance all over the Blue Orchid (where Kim shimmys like Tina Turner?) Reva supposedly is upset that Alex, Van and India are gossiping about Ed (I guess after it comes out that Claire's pregnant by him). But I've never found the entire eppy in English to see what they say. It's arguably the most interesting thing about Richard Van Vleet's Ed. lol

43 minutes ago, P.J. said:

Reva supposedly is upset that Alex, Van and India are gossiping about Ed (I guess after it comes out that Claire's pregnant by him). But I've never found the entire eppy in English to see what they say. It's arguably the most interesting thing about Richard Van Vleet's Ed. lol

I've seen the shimmy part of that episode (probably on The Locher Room 😂) but I don't recall the rest of this.

WHY would Reva care about Ed? 

45 minutes ago, P.J. said:

eh...McTrash. Explains a lot.

Y'know that episode where Reva and Phillip dance all over the Blue Orchid (where Kim shimmys like Tina Turner?) Reva supposedly is upset that Alex, Van and India are gossiping about Ed (I guess after it comes out that Claire's pregnant by him). But I've never found the entire eppy in English to see what they say. It's arguably the most interesting thing about Richard Van Vleet's Ed. lol

 

1 minute ago, DeeVee said:

I've seen the shimmy part of that episode (probably on The Locher Room 😂) but I don't recall the rest of this.

WHY would Reva care about Ed? 

I couldn't even remember if they ever interacted.

9 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I couldn't even remember if they ever interacted.

She worked at the hospital for a short time.

That's it. That's the only connection. 

It's kind of wild that Reva, the show's de facto "star," had very little to do with anyone outside the Lewises and Spauldings other than her brief marriage to Buzz. Did she have much to do with Abby after she married Rick?

Going back to GL being lousy when it came to friendships, that would be a prime example of dropping the ball.

1 hour ago, DeeVee said:

She worked at the hospital for a short time.

That's it. That's the only connection. 

It's kind of wild that Reva, the show's de facto "star," had very little to do with anyone outside the Lewises and Spauldings other than her brief marriage to Buzz. Did she have much to do with Abby after she married Rick?

Going back to GL being lousy when it came to friendships, that would be a prime example of dropping the ball.

I haven't gotten to Abby/Rick's wedding yet, but I'll say that for all of 96-97, I was quite impressed with how close they kept Reva and Abby. I was concerned at first they would drop that Goshen connection, but Reva supports Abby quite a lot. They even live together and Reva gave Abby her house, which has now sadly burned down. Abby babysits Shayne/Marah sometimes. 

During Abby's trial, Reva even works with Blake, Harley and Jenna quite a bit to get information on Ben. So there are examples where she's connected, but you're right, they're to serve a purpose in storyline but don't extend long-term.

I remember Harley and Cassie having a pretty consistent friendship from 1998 and on.

7 hours ago, DeeVee said:

She worked at the hospital for a short time.

That's it. That's the only connection. 

It's kind of wild that Reva, the show's de facto "star," had very little to do with anyone outside the Lewises and Spauldings other than her brief marriage to Buzz. Did she have much to do with Abby after she married Rick?

Going back to GL being lousy when it came to friendships, that would be a prime example of dropping the ball.

IIRC, Abby is very isolated after she marries Rick.

I think the friendship issue is across all soaps, to the point where I didn't even think about it as much with GL until pointed out here the last few days. Now I do wish that we got more.

I don't think it helped that a number of friendships did seem superficial - for instance, I never really believe in a Hilary and Katie bond, no matter how many scenes they share. I suppose that's one of the reasons viewers connected to the Philip/Beth/Mindy/Rick quad, as they did seem real, at least in those early moments. Long, at her best, brought a certain reality alongside the wealth and discount Tennessee Williams.

4 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I don't think it helped that a number of friendships did seem superficial - for instance, I never really believe in a Hilary and Katie bond, no matter how many scenes they share.

A lot of times on soaps friendships are just a way to convey exposition or for one character to be the sounding board for the other. Nola and her friend Gracie were kind of cute together, but mostly Gracie was a sounding board.

Same with Hope and Amanda. I would have liked them to have a real, complex relationship, including calling each other out more, like when Amanda was screwing her pregnant mother's husband or Hope obediently stood by Alan when he stole the Spaulding presidency from Amanda.

The nice thing about Rita and Evie's sister relationship was that they often disagreed about a lot of things, even hurt each other sometimes, but did support each other in the end.

With Reva and Roxy...it was mostly about Reva, of course. I don't remember much about her and Cassie because my viewing of GL was very spotty at the time.

Edited September 19Sep 19 by DeeVee

21 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I've seen the shimmy part of that episode (probably on The Locher Room 😂) but I don't recall the rest of this.

WHY would Reva care about Ed? 

It's hard to believe she does. Maybe she's miffed if they're (at least Alex and Van) worried about the hospital's reputation more than Ed. (I think Ed is also embroiled in the Charlotte Wheaton case by this time.)

Between Ed and Claire, Reva at least interacted with Claire a little at the time of Josh's accident. I doubt Ed and Reva ever interacted over more than some treatment she needed. He does come over the night her PPD showed itself at the country club, but it's off-screen.

Or maybe it's just an excuse for the writers to script some random music video-like scene. 

11 hours ago, DeeVee said:

It's kind of wild that Reva, the show's de facto "star," had very little to do with anyone outside the Lewises and Spauldings other than her brief marriage to Buzz. Did she have much to do with Abby after she married Rick?

Going back to GL being lousy when it came to friendships, that would be a prime example of dropping the ball.

Other than the Lewises and Spauldings, the people Reva's surrounded by in her stories are used up by the end. It's Kyle/Maeve/Sally, Will/Sonni, Annie, Dolly, the San Cristobal group, Jeffrey...they're not the core of the show. Even the other Shaynes who drift in and out...Cassie probably comes closest to being a part of the show's core. She at least manages to have stories outside of Reva.

22 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

 

The nice thing about Rita and Evie's sister relationship was that they often disagreed about a lot of things, even hurt each other sometimes, but did support each other in the end.

I do think GL does some sibling relationships very well. Frank/Harley, Josh/Billy/Trish, Rita/Eve, and probably Tony/Maureen/Nola. 

54 minutes ago, P.J. said:

 I do think GL does some sibling relationships very well. Frank/Harley, Josh/Billy/Trish, Rita/Eve, and probably Tony/Maureen/Nola. 

Sometimes the Alan/Alex dynamic was very well done, but I think they resorted to them being almost cartoonishly antagonistic too many times.

Strangely, I never really bought Ed and Mike as brothers. Or maybe it's not so strange, since Mike stole Ed's wife.