I’m up to May 29, 1998.

Michelle secretly went away to California to have an experimental laser surgery on her eyes (I guess this is why we haven’t really seen her in a month). She surprises Rick with the fact she can see - yay! She’s still hesitant to see Jesse, thinking he’s already moved on and she doesn’t want to impose in his life (ugh!). But, she’s excited to see Carlos (who is Jesse). Meanwhile, Michelle’s doctor calls Jesse to tell him she’s back. He heads to the institute and is stopped by Drew, demanding answers as to why he’s pretending to be this “Carlos”. He tells her the full truth over what has happened with Michelle. Aww, later, Jesse goes to Michelle’s room as Carlos and starts talking in Spanish and Michelle turns around and realizes it’s really Jesse and she gets upset for him lying to her all this time. He tries to explain how he’s still in love with her and wanted to be with her, but she’s still upset. He begs her to give them a chance and kisses her. Later, Michelle comes back home and reunites with Dahlia.

Drew gets a random phone call and learns her father died of a heart attack, and Jesse happens to be there at the same time and consoles her. As they’re hugging, Michelle walks up and it doesn’t help the situation between her and Jesse.

Buzz recalls not seeing a scar on the clone’s arm so he rushes over to the Lewis house and asks her who she is, just as the real Reva calls the house from her hospital. The clone answers and demands who is calling, while the real Reva also demands who is calling LOL. The clone hangs up and the real Reva is shocked, demanding to know who that was. She then calls Lewis Oil, where Billy and Josh are talking, with Josh drinking and telling Billy he and Reva got into a fight. Billy answers and Reva is excited and asks about Josh. Billy says they need to make up, and he hands the phone over to Josh. Reva is so happy to hear Josh, but he, thinking it’s the clone, says he’s not interested in talking and hangs up. Poor Reva! She then calls Cassie, who is currently in a fight with Hart because he thinks she’s having an affair with Josh (bc of Dinah). Cassie, thinking it’s the clone, says she doesn’t have time to talk to her and she’s brought enough hell into her life and would be glad to never lay eyes on her again. The real Reva is stunned. Hart gives Cassie an ultimatum, either tell him the truth or walk out of his house forever. She walks out and Dinah comes in to console him. Back at the Lewis house, Josh comes home and interrupts Buzz/the clone and Buzz leaves confused, telling her to ask for his help anytime. Meanwhile, the clone tells Josh a prank caller has been harassing her, the phone rings and it’s the real Reva, and before she can say anything, Josh tells her to stop harassing his wife and hangs up. The real Reva is confused as to who he’s talking about, but she starts to think Annie took over her life and perhaps had plastic surgery or something. She tells her doctors and they start to think she’s hallucinating, so they give her a sedative just as she’s trying to leave and go back home. The next day, a nurse tells her about Sean being arrested and taken to jail, which upsets her because she thinks it’s her fault now that he was caught. She escapes the hospital and goes straight to jail to see Sean. She tells him about her phone calls home and how she thinks someone is impersonating her.

Dahlia teaches Buzz how to use a computer (which is LOL and a good reminder what the late 90s was like). He uses it to research cloning and comes up with Michael’s name.

We have a night out on the town, with the clone, Josh, Cassie and Billy having dinner. Hart/Dinah show up together on a date which upsets Cassie. Buzz shows up to confront Michael about whether he’s ever cloned a human, and eventually tells him that Reva’s clone told him the truth about her and his growth serum. Dinah and the clone agree to take down Cassie in the bathroom. The clone then gets on stage, sings a song (Kim’s voice is good, but this is eye-rolling!), and then professes her love to Josh. She then tells everyone the old Reva is dead and this is her new version. Josh gets upset and says she’s finally gone too far. They go outside and argue, and the clone gets into the fountain, cries and then we get the Slut of Springfield flashbacks haha. So of course Josh feels bad for her, gets in the fountain and kisses her. They then go to the beach and he explains to her the lighthouse, and even talked about Lucy being kidnapped by Brent (throwback - loved it!). The clone Reva is giddy because Josh now finally wants to be with her and they plan to spend the night together and have sex again. Before they get back home, all of a sudden, the real Reva shows up at the Lewis house and Marah walks in. Reva is so excited to see her, but Marah is wondering why she’s not at the country club, as if it’s no big deal seeing Reva. Reva plays along and vows to get to the truth. The clone and Josh finally get home, and the clone gets ready for her night with him and then OMG Reva walks into the bedroom and they come face to face - finally! Reva assumes Annie is still involved and they argue, but the clone has turned into a weaker, less confident version of herself and almost pouts about wanting to stay in the life she has. However, when Josh arrives, he calls from downstairs and the real Reva yells down to him, saying she’ll be right down. The clone knocks her out with a vase and ties her up in the closet, while she goes downstairs to be with Josh. The next morning, the clone drags Reva to the car and the real Reva purposefully drops her ring on the floor. In the car, the clone tells Reva she’s a clone, which Reva can’t believe. Josh then finds the ring and realizes that’s what the real Reva was wearing the last time he saw her. The clone locks Reva up in the basement of the lighthouse and then heads back home. Josh confronts the clone about the ring and she plays it off and then puts it on and says it’s now hers, which baffles Josh.

After Hart/Cassie break up, a drunken Hart goes to Dinah and they make out. But, Hart is too drunk and falls asleep. Dinah uses that as an opportunity to get him naked, and then the next morning, tells him they made love and he kept saying sweet things to her. He keeps saying he doesn’t remember and was drunk, but Dinah keeps feeding his mind with lies (or maybe the truth - we didn’t see if she essentially ‘raped’ him or not). Now she wants to get pregnant and make him think it’s his from that night, oh boy. So, as Rob is on his way out of town, Dinah seduces him and they sleep together. The next morning, she kicks him out and tells him to leave forever. So I guess she’ll get pregnant with Rob’s baby and make Hart/Cassie think it’s Hart’s.

Meanwhile, Beth/Phillip/Harley are continually arguing about whether Beth killed Carl or not outside while Reva’s clone is singing. Later, Beth goes back to Ben and they discuss their pasts again. Ben opens up and confesses about his ‘bet’ with Blake (sleeping with her to get the tape and let Abby go), but ultimately tells Beth that he has fallen in love with Blake. So now they both have something in common - they want someone they can’t get. Later, they have sex which was pretty hot haha. Philip and Harley get trapped in a stairwell and put the pieces together - the guy (JC Clayton) that Lillian hired to scare Carl (not kill), was the guy that killed him, which Beth saw that night, but realized Lillian hired him, so she’s confessing to protect her mother.  Beth still refutes that idea. Harley then overhears Ben/Beth talk about having sex and tells Phillip. Phillip confronts Beth about it and tells her he doesn’t believe she slept with Ben, and Beth calls him jealous for it. Then, Lizzie tells Harley she saw what happened that night, and as Harley pushes her to tell her, Beth interrupts and yells at Harley. Later, Phillip gets Lizzie to tell him who she saw - and she says Uncle Rick! That shocks me since he wasn’t too involved in any of this story. Phillip confronts Rick about it, they fight about it and Rick denies it. Rick then goes to Beth and says they have a problem. But later, Lizzie starts saying her friend Carl hangs out with her, has tea parties with her, etc. When Lillian visits, Lizzie starts talking to an invisible Carl, so now we’re not sure if Lizzie really saw Rick that night or not. This story is exhausting.

Baby Maureen finally comes home, which is sweet to see. Dinah takes a liking to her, which prompts Vanessa to ask if she’s pregnant. Dinah says she might be and Hart is back with her now (more lies). Later, Hart goes back to Cassie and they agree to give their relationship another shot. Vanessa sees them together at dinner and later tells Dinah what she saw. Dinah, after being very distraught after taking a home pregnancy test that was negative, saves face and lies to Vanessa that she’s pregnant. She later goes to a hospital and finds out she actually is pregnant and she’s elated and plans to tell Hart right away. But, I guess it’s really Rob’s right? Oh boy.

Abby is dealing with a gross cop who keeps harassing and sexually abusing her. She and Selena come up with a plan to get back at him and out him as a pig, but right in the middle of their plan, Rick comes to surprise Abby about getting her out of jail given that the tape has shown up. Abby is shocked but wants to complete her plan first, which she doesn’t tell Rick. They trick the cop into the laundry room for a sexual rendezvous, but all the ladies show up and surround him, forcing him to apologize. The warden of the prison walks in and arrests him, the end haha. Abby and Selena have a tearful goodbye and Rick then comes to take her home. Close family and friends welcome Abby back at a surprise party, which was sweet. Vanessa proposes they start a women’s support group in SF and later Holly volunteers to babysit Maureen. Uh oh, later she’s alone with Maureen at the park and calls her Meg!

Vanessa then goes to Alan Spaulding to help fund her new support group, but they’re interrupted by a fed up Michael and the random lady he started quasi-dating and hired as his assistant awhile back - Vicky. Michael tells Vicky that he successfully cloned someone (but didn’t say who), and he’s so fed up that he can’t advance or acknowledge his accomplishments, that he goes to Alan for financial support at Spaulding Enterprises. He ends up telling Alan he can clone humans and has successfully already done it. When Alan pushes for proof, he scares Michael by bringing up his arrest history. While Vicky is waiting outside, she’s looking at a very large, new portrait of Brandon Spaulding (Alan’s father), and Vanessa tells her who that is…. Hmm, there has to be a reason for this. As Michael leaves, Vicky walks in and says he’s making a mistake and she’s seen the clone herself, and tells Alan about the baby she saw and held. But they tell Alan he can’t see the baby and then allude to the baby having complications, but when they get more money, it’ll be a success. Alan then gives them 2 weeks to prove he can really clone someone and then he’ll give them funding.

18 hours ago, Khan said:

The thing is, "Harlan Billy" doesn't sound right to my ear or roll off my tongue that easily.  I think "William Harlan" or "Billy Harlan" would've made more sense.

I think you hit on what bothered me about "Harlan Billy." It isn't that it was inauthentic, it just doesn't FLOW. I think Long did it to tie Billy to his father as the first and preferred son. So, on that level, I can understand the choice. Luckily, the full name was not used very often.

18 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I would love if someone asked Pam Long how she came up the name of Reva since it's an Indian name originally.. while Roxanne (Roxie) and Russell (Rusty) were probably due to name popularity back in the 50s/early 60s.

As I said, I've always been interested in nomenclature. I think I can come up with a possible way she came up with the name.

Back during the Middle Ages, there were very, very few first names. You had a lot of Thomases, Richards, Henrys, Marys, Anns, Margarets, Elizabeths, etc. So they would have to come up with variations of the names to differentiate people. Shortening/elongating the name and/or replacing vowels and/or consenants were some ways to do it. So you'd have Tom/Tam, Richard/Rich/Rick/Dick, Henry/Hank/Hal, Mary/Mare/Mae, Ann/Nan/Nancy, Margaret/Marge/Maggie/Meg/Peg, Elizabeth/Eliza/Lizzie/Beth/Bess/Bette/Betty, etc.

Most of these names survive to today. Certain variations go in and out of fashion. Sometimes people even come up with new variations.

For Reva, I can see the evolution being Rebecca/Reba/Reva.

3 hours ago, P.J. said:

Given the way Long focused on his family issues, I doubt it was accidental. Happy or otherwise.

I think it was deliberate, too. The fact that Phillip gave Beth his mother's wedding gown to wear at a party (I think it was the one where Phillip's paternity was revealed) would seem to support that.

Edited October 26Oct 26 by DeeVee

2 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I think you hit on what bothered me about "Harlan Billy." It isn't that it was inauthentic, it just doesn't FLOW. I think Long did it to tie Billy to his father as the first and preferred son. So, on that level, I can understand the choice. Luckily, the full name was not used very

I think it was deliberate, too. The fact that Phillip gave Beth his mother's wedding gown to wear at a party (I think it was the one where Phillip's paternity was revealed) would seem to support that.

Yeah, no one says "Harlan Billy" very often. While we think of Billy as a nickname, it was a more popular name from around the 1880's-early 1900's. For me it's the "Harlan" that just sounds harsh. There's a lot of other names they could've used...Howard, Harrison, Hamilton even Harwood, that arguably might sound better with "Billy". I'll have to pay more attention to the earlier episodes I watch to see if it pops up under Marland. 'Cause honestly, it does sound like a Marland-ism.

Beth wore Elizabeth's wedding gown to the party welcoming Alexandra back to Springfield, where they also announced their engagement after returning from New York. (this is also Vanessa and Billy's first wedding.)

Ugh---part of what I hated about the clone story was how stupid everyone else had to be to not know something was off with "Reva".

10 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I'll have to pay more attention to the earlier episodes I watch to see if it pops up under Marland. 'Cause honestly, it does sound like a Marland-ism.

The name HB was definitely Marland's invention, along with Billy. But I'm very certain it was never revealed to stand for "Harlan Billy" until Long took over the show. In fact, I think it was around the time Reva was introduced because Reva always called HB "Harlan." The only other person who ever called him that was Miss Sally, IIRC. (Now that I think of it, how odd that all his children called him "HB." Is that a Southern/Western thing?)

1 hour ago, DeeVee said:

The name HB was definitely Marland's invention, along with Billy. But I'm very certain it was never revealed to stand for "Harlan Billy" until Long took over the show. In fact, I think it was around the time Reva was introduced because Reva always called HB "Harlan." The only other person who ever called him that was Miss Sally, IIRC. (Now that I think of it, how odd that all his children called him "HB." Is that a Southern/Western thing?)

I assume that Martha would've called him Harlan, just as Sally and later Sarah do. Given that, I think Reva does it (in the beginning) to manipulate him and then later because they're closer (having been married) or because that's what Reva heard him called as a child. Reva does occasionally call him HB, but Vanessa never, ever called him Harlan.

Billy, Trish and Josh each had their issues with him, so I think they started out calling him HB to create that distance. The same way Phillip would call his fathers Alan and Justin most of the time. And in direct contrast with Vanessa and Mindy, who nearly always use "daddy" when referring to their fathers, emphasizing their closeness. Later, Billy and Josh would occasionally use "daddy", but it would be in personal conversations with him.

Edited October 26Oct 26 by P.J.

4 hours ago, P.J. said:

Beth wore Elizabeth's wedding gown to the party welcoming Alexandra back to Springfield, where they also announced their engagement after returning from New York. (this is also Vanessa and Billy's first wedding.)

Oh, and another thing---how unlikely was it that a) Elizabeth just left her wedding dress somewhere where Phillip could find it at the Spaulding mansion? Like, is there a separate attic space for each of Alan's wives? or that b) Alan would actually remember it, which he claimed to do? 

2 hours ago, P.J. said:

Oh, and another thing---how unlikely was it that a) Elizabeth just left her wedding dress somewhere where Phillip could find it at the Spaulding mansion? Like, is there a separate attic space for each of Alan's wives? or that b) Alan would actually remember it, which he claimed to do? 

There's a lot of things wrong with that wedding dress bit:

You can't just take a wedding dress out of storage after what we must assume was at least 20 years, pop it on and expect it to look the same as the last time it was worn. Or that it would perfectly fit. Ask any woman who has tried on their mother's wedding gown.

20 years before would have been the 1960s. That dress was definitely not a 1960s style gown. It looked like a typical wedding gown made in the 1980s.

Who wears a traditional wedding gown to a party unless it's a costume party?

O.K., so this is nitpicking, and there was a valid storytelling reason to do it. (Something about Beth puts Phillip in mind of Elizabeth, which is kind of sick if you think about it, but considering how their relationship progressed over the years, that seems appropriate).

But this wasn't the only time they did this. When Hope married Alan, Bert gave her a wedding gown that was in HER attic (maybe Mama Bauer's dress? I don't remember exactly). Also in perfect condition and ready to wear. I wouldn't be surprised it ended up in the Spaulding mansion attic, too. Along with Jackie's wedding dress, which I also remember. She didn't get married in a traditional gown. I think it was made of gold lame, or something like that.

To round everything out, Harley found Alex's wedding dress (that she never wore), in the attic of the Spaulding mansion. 

Speaking of Alan and Hope's wedding--I have not been able to find the episode(s) anywhere. I don't think it's available on YT or the German or Italian channels. But I remember it. It was the SHABBIEST affair. They got married in Bert's house. Bert baked the wedding cake, and their first dance was to Bert singing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."

I kid you not. 

Alan and Jackie's wedding was on a yacht off the French Riviera. There were like Saudi Arabian shieks and other super-rich people in attendance. Phillip (still a kid at this point) walked Jackie down the ailse (if they had one on the yacht). 

It's just so funny to compare the two weddings. One was what you would expect a multi-millionaire to do for his second wedding, the other is something you would expect for a couple of kids who could only afford to stay at a motel for their wedding night.

53 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

There's a lot of things wrong with that wedding dress bit:

You can't just take a wedding dress out of storage after what we must assume was at least 20 years, pop it on and expect it to look the same as the last time it was worn. Or that it would perfectly fit. Ask any woman who has tried on their mother's wedding gown.

20 years before would have been the 1960s. That dress was definitely not a 1960s style gown. It looked like a typical wedding gown made in the 1980s.

Who wears a traditional wedding gown to a party unless it's a costume party?

O.K., so this is nitpicking, and there was a valid storytelling reason to do it. (Something about Beth puts Phillip in mind of Elizabeth, which is kind of sick if you think about it, but considering how their relationship progressed over the years, that seems appropriate).

But this wasn't the only time they did this. When Hope married Alan, Bert gave her a wedding gown that was in HER attic (maybe Mama Bauer's dress? I don't remember exactly). Also in perfect condition and ready to wear. I wouldn't be surprised it ended up in the Spaulding mansion attic, too. Along with Jackie's wedding dress, which I also remember. She didn't get married in a traditional gown. I think it was made of gold lame, or something like that.

To round everything out, Harley found Alex's wedding dress (that she never wore), in the attic of the Spaulding mansion. 

Speaking of Alan and Hope's wedding--I have not been able to find the episode(s) anywhere. I don't think it's available on YT or the German or Italian channels. But I remember it. It was the SHABBIEST affair. They got married in Bert's house. Bert baked the wedding cake, and their first dance was to Bert singing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."

I kid you not. 

Alan and Jackie's wedding was on a yacht off the French Riviera. There were like Saudi Arabian shieks and other super-rich people in attendance. Phillip (still a kid at this point) walked Jackie down the ailse (if they had one on the yacht). 

It's just so funny to compare the two weddings. One was what you would expect a multi-millionaire to do for his second wedding, the other is something you would expect for a couple of kids who could only afford to stay at a motel for their wedding night.

Well, technically, Alex's introduction party was a masquerade. GL loved doing them. This also gives Alex the freedom (or in the first episode, Alex's double) to wander around the party unrecognized, not to mention Bradley and Jim.

OMG--Alan and Jackie's wedding sounds like a HOOT. Alan and Hope's, not so much. I think I've seen a picture of that wedding dress and it looks drab.

The German episodes start around the summer of '82. I keep hoping more of them will pop up. Odd ones from earlier will occasionally. But seeing more with Jackie would be epic.

Thanks again for your recaps @alwaysAMC . So are you enjoying the clone story more or less now that the two Revas are together? 

I'd forgotten about the painting of Brandon. I wonder if they used an image of one of the actors to play Brandon or if they just threw anything on the wall. Once again, we see the ignorance of history on GL by this point - reintroducing Brandon's legacy when Alexandra and Amanda had both been written out.

I remember enjoying the bond between Selena and Abby, and Selena's presence on the canvas. I'd forgotten Abby stayed to help catch a crooked guard. On some soaps she would have likely been stabbed to death for "irony."

By this point Hart truly is just a meat puppet. You could have just put a cutout in his scenes, and no difference would be made. I guess you are now pas the point of the hilarious scene of Hart and Rob grappling on the bed (I think Rob may have been shirtless).

The Carl hallucination/tea party scenes are what I remember most from that story. I thought they were effective.

10 hours ago, P.J. said:

I think I've seen a picture of that wedding dress and it looks drab.

I found a picture from Hope and Alan's wedding. Somehow they found a vintage wedding gown that was even fussier than the average 80s wedding gown. It didn't suit Roussel at all. I didn't like it then and I still don't like it.

The cake is actually nice, though. My memory had it as a plain Publix 2-layer cake, so nice job, Bert. 😂

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of Alan and Jackie's wedding. I'll keep checking my Pinterest feed, lots of interesting obscure soap opera stuff ends up there.

I think the reason their wedding was so crummy is because they weren't Marland's characters. Kelly and Morgan had that big wedding at Laurel Falls shot on location. (Morgan's vintage gown was gorgeous). The only other wedding that any effort was put into during his tenure that I can remember was Ross and Carrie's. Carrie being his pet character that's no surprise. 

Edited October 27Oct 27 by DeeVee

21 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

I'm happy the Vault is back online, finally able to continue my GL watch!  It's been way too long, although I'm tired of the clone storyline and ready for it to end haha.

I can empathize with watching a show you love and getting tired of a storyline. I had a similar moment this year with the "Who killed Carlo?" on OLTL. But I'm truly impressed how you are hanging in there and watching this crazy story in it's entirety. That's what makes us soap fans so remarkable. We have the patience of Gods. I wish it to end sooner so you can move on to greater things. 🤩

 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks again for your recaps @alwaysAMC . So are you enjoying the clone story more or less now that the two Revas are together? 

I'd forgotten about the painting of Brandon. I wonder if they used an image of one of the actors to play Brandon or if they just threw anything on the wall. Once again, we see the ignorance of history on GL by this point - reintroducing Brandon's legacy when Alexandra and Amanda had both been written out.

I remember enjoying the bond between Selena and Abby, and Selena's presence on the canvas. I'd forgotten Abby stayed to help catch a crooked guard. On some soaps she would have likely been stabbed to death for "irony."

By this point Hart truly is just a meat puppet. You could have just put a cutout in his scenes, and no difference would be made. I guess you are now pas the point of the hilarious scene of Hart and Rob grappling on the bed (I think Rob may have been shirtless).

The Carl hallucination/tea party scenes are what I remember most from that story. I thought they were effective.

You're welcome! Hmm, I guess I like it better now that the real Reva is in town, probably because that means we're getting closer to resolving the story haha. The clone's personality is just too inconsistent for me. At times, she's very strong and determined, but then other times she's weak and scared when confronted. One day she's nice and saintly, but another day she can be a villain who doesn't care if the real Reva dies or if Marah is safe. I guess she's probably just snapping due to the stress of it all. 

Oh yes, I remember that scene with Hart and a shirtless Rob. Wasn't mad at that  

I do think Lizzie shooting Carl was a good twist, along with the hallucinations, which made it a little creepy. It also helps that Hayden is a great and believable little actress, even if a little hammy. Curious to see how Lizzie turns out after this, but so far it's clearly just driving another wedge between Phillip and Harley, given that Phillip and Beth now need to live together again.

Here is a picture of the Brandon portrait. I'm not sure if this is really him or not, unfortunately not the best quality. 

 

Edited October 27Oct 27 by alwaysAMC

19 minutes ago, Maxim said:

I can empathize with watching a show you love and getting tired of a storyline. I had a similar moment this year with the "Who killed Carlo?" on OLTL. But I'm truly impressed how you are hanging in there and watching this crazy story in it's entirety. That's what makes us soap fans so remarkable. We have the patience of Gods. I wish it to end sooner so you can move on to greater things. 🤩

Yes! ♥️ And even if there is a storyline that drags, I almost always enjoy another storyline happening, so it just keeps me going regardless!

1 minute ago, alwaysAMC said:

Yes! ♥️ And even if there is a storyline that drags, I almost always enjoy another storyline happening, so it just keeps me going regardless!

We literally need to be studied. The soap fan's patience and persistence is unmatched. How can I explain to my husband who ditches shows after 2 episodes (if he doesn't like something)... that I can wait 500 episodes for something to happen... and still find things to like in the mean time. 

BTW, I bet that clone storyline is full of unintentionally hilarious moments. I've seen some scenes here and there and it's like Mommie Dearest times 2. 😂

10 minutes ago, Maxim said:

We literally need to be studied. The soap fan's patience and persistence is unmatched. How can I explain to my husband who ditches shows after 2 episodes (if he doesn't like something)... that I can wait 500 episodes for something to happen... and still find things to like in the mean time. 

BTW, I bet that clone storyline is full of unintentionally hilarious moments. I've seen some scenes here and there and it's like Mommie Dearest times 2. 😂

Haha you're so right. There's got to be some level of obsessive/OCD in our genes somewhere too.  

Oh there are a handful for sure, like the clone taking the stage, singing to all of SF and then declaring her love for Josh - just LOL cringe. I also wonder if it's just unintentionally hilarious now, watching ~25-30 years later, but in that moment in time, it wasn't... based on advances in tech, our experiences in life, evolution of TV/film, etc...