13 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

Based on some of the episodes floating around Youtube, it looked as though Marland remained as head-writer until September 1982 (Mid September)

That's earlier than I thought.

Does anyone know when Grant's first appearances aired? Was it after Marland left? I always assumed so, but now I'm not sure. I know O'Leary didn't come in until early 1983. There was another actor playing Rick at first.

34 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

That's earlier than I thought.

Does anyone know when Grant's first appearances aired? Was it after Marland left? I always assumed so, but now I'm not sure. I know O'Leary didn't come in until early 1983. There was another actor playing Rick at first.

Grant I believe was December '82. He and the Rick before MOL both were back around Xmas. 

7 hours ago, DeeVee said:

That's earlier than I thought.

Does anyone know when Grant's first appearances aired? Was it after Marland left? I always assumed so, but now I'm not sure. I know O'Leary didn't come in until early 1983. There was another actor playing Rick at first.

I know O'leary came on in May 1983 after the Long/Kobe team came in... even though the other Rick was very cute.   However, the other Rick probably wouldn't have worked chemistry wise with Mindy/Beth so I can understand why the decision to recast was made.

Oddly, the brief stint where Temu Morgan was interacting with the original Rick and Philip pre Kobe/Long worked and was the first time where Temu Morgan had a bit of personality.   While OG Morgan would have been out of place in the whole Josh/Kelly situation that developed in 1981/1982.... I think she would have been very effective in the whole Amanda/Jennifer/Mark story.. moreso than Temu Morgan was.

I’m up to July 20, 1998.

Reva comes up with a plan for the clone and surprises Josh, Cassie, Sean and the kids (Shane/Tammy, Marah is strangely missing) with a visit from her long-lost cousin ‘Dolly’. It’s the clone donning a short red wig, swinging her purse and smacking her chewing gum. Oh brother. When the kids leave, in front of Josh, Dolly presses Reva and Sean if they got romantic and why it took them so long to get off the island, which upsets them both. Dolly continues to press Sean alone about their kiss on the island (and of course they have Sean shirtless throughout these episodes, even when not on the island haha). Later, Dolly takes off the wig and pretends to be Reva and tries to seduce Sean, but he realizes it’s not the real Reva and tells her off. That night, in retaliation, she calls the cops and reports seeing Sean, the runaway fugitive. Later, Sean prepares to leave town but privately admits to Reva he wishes they could be together, but he knows she’s in love with Josh and he respects that. Reva says in another life, maybe they would be together, but she wishes him the best and they say goodbye. How sweet. But, he runs into Dolly, and then the cops show up and she admits she called the police on him. Reva returns and they convince the officer that she was mistaken and the cop leaves. Sean runs off to Cassie’s to hide and takes a shower. After a night drinking with Harley, Cassie returns home, thinks it’s Hart, and gets in the shower. They’re both shocked of course, but I knew this show should go here! I think Cassie/Sean have potential. He explains why he’s there and they bond a little and she lets him stay there overnight.

Josh/Michael have breakfast and see Vicky/Alan together, which makes them suspicious. Alan tells Vicky he’s ready to get going with cloning and provides her with a lock of Annie’s hair, which surprises her because he’s pushing too quickly with her first clone attempt. Alan mentions that the only thing Annie had when she escaped was the wedding ring he gave her, and then OMG we have a very quick clip of a woman in all black, face unseen, pawning a wedding ring.  Is this Annie???  Anyway, at the next table, Vivian and David are having breakfast and Vivian talks to Alan and asks if he could get David a job at Spaulding. David gets upset and says no, and Vivian says some things never change with David (they don’t get along because they don’t see eye to eye about his career goals, which was a theme years before). Later, David runs into Josh in the hallway and calls Alan scum, and Josh says he has a proposition for David. He wants him to take the job at Spaulding and spy on Vicky and Alan, since David used to work with Frank long ago at his PI firm. David goes to Alan, apologizes, and asks for a job in his security department, which Alan agrees to.

Michael catches Vicky in his apartment and threatens to call the police, but she says she has the cloning formula that she stole from him earlier and gave it to Alan. She needs the growing agent formula, but he said it’s destroyed and he’ll never give it to them. Vicky voices her concerns that Alan will do anything to get Annie back now and he needs to help. He kicks her out of his apartment. He later goes to Spaulding Mansion and confronts Alan. They argue, but Michael ultimately leaves and then Alan has flashbacks to good, loving times with Annie. We then see the mysterious woman in black rip up a newspaper annoucement of Josh/Reva getting remarried!

Phillip/Harley host Buzz/Jenna for dinner and it’s quite comical, as Buzz keeps making digs at Phillip by joking he’ll be back with Beth by next week with all his flip flopping, etc. Phillip finally convinces him that he’s committed to Harley, and Buzz finally gives his blessing for their marriage.

Rob shows up at Dinah’s before he leaves town and finds prenatal vitamins, but she blows it off by saying they’re Vanessa’s. She finally gets Rob to leave, and he later calls Cassie from the airport. He tells her he landed a job in Alaska, but that he and Dinah slept together a couple months ago and she was all over him. Cassie rushes to the hospital, where Dinah and Hart are having their first sonogram. She takes the sonogram picture and taunts Dinah about how much the baby looks like Rob LOL. Dinah says she’s lying and knows she can’t prove it since Rob will be in Alaska and unreachable for months. Hart then demands a paternity test to set the record straight. He takes a blood sample and they should know the results in a week. Dinah secretly tries to bribe the technician to fix the results to show Hart is the father.

With the new Bill actor, they’re revisiting the Michelle/Bill relationship. Bill is single, he’s moved back to SF full-time to attend college there, and they’re reminiscing about being kids, supporting each other during Maureen’s death, and their one kiss. I really wish they took the time to do this long ago with Buffington in the role. Elsewhere, Jesse is babysitting Cooper and Drew comes over and admits she was behind the drawings. She says she wanted him to draw her and feel the same way about her as he does with Michelle, but Jesse tells her to find someone else because he’s not interested. They’re watching Cooper and playing with him as Michelle/Bill come in, which upsets Bill (who doesn’t trust Jesse now), and he walks out.

Holly gets another telegram from her brother Ken, and tells Ross/Blake that he’s being released from the psychiatric hospital he’s been in for years and plans to see her soon.

Ross tells Ben about Blake’s past and how she’s worked hard to find her partner and be happy, which surprisingly gets to Ben emotionally. Ben decides to leave town and move to LA if Ross drops charges against his disbarment, and tells Blake and Beth he’s leaving. Blake seems torn, but ultimately says good riddance and she and Ross make up and have sex, but while they’re in the act, she envisions Ben on top of her instead LOL. Blake just can’t get over this man. Ben and Beth have a nice conversation and decide to take a mini-vacation to Hawaii to get away from their feelings over Blake and Phillip (Lizzie is at camp, so good time for Beth). The next day, Vanessa tells Ross about Ben buying back the pin from the Second Chances charity (from the BBQ auction), and he gets upset because he knows he’ll do something wrong with it. Before she leaves, Vanessa tells him she’s going back to work at Spaulding part-time (hmm). Before leaving, Ben goes to Blake to tell her goodbye. He gives her the pin, which makes her crumble a little. He ends up telling her he loves her and pressures her into telling him that she watched their tape and can’t get her mind off him. He then pulls her into a kiss, which she sort of tries to push off, but he says he loves her and pushes her to admit she wants him and she finally does. She wants him, kisses him back and they seemingly have sex on the couch. After, a shirtless Ben is about to leave and an emotional Blake is still so unsure of what to do, but he kisses her just as Ross walks in! OMG, Ross has a gun and assuming Ben was trying to rape Blake, he shoots at Ben but he hits Blake’s stomach instead!  Both men are distraught and call 911, thinking Blake is dead. Blake is rushed to the hospital and treated on. Holly arrives and Ross tells her what happened and she breaks down thinking she’s lost both Meg and Blake now. Beth calls Lillian about going to Hawaii, but Lillian being at the hospital, tells her what happened and Beth rushes to the hospital. Hart also arrives, upset, and Ross tells him that Ben had just raped her, but Ben and Beth both tell him he’s wrong. Ben tells the truth that they both wanted each other, and Ben says if Blake dies, he’ll spend the rest of his life getting revenge.

@alwaysAMC Holly's brother, Ken Norris was played by Roger Newman who was later on GL's writing staff in the 1990s.  He was part of the team that won the Best Writing EMMY in 1993.  He was married to fellow actor/soap writer Fran Myers.

12 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

I’m up to July 20, 1998.

but Ben and Beth both tell him he’s wrong. Ben tells the truth that they both wanted each other, and Ben says if Blake dies, he’ll spend the rest of his life getting revenge.

I can't believe there was anyone who liked Ben, or Ben/Blake. ICK.

I hated Ben, but I grew to like him as Craig on ATWT, despite him basically playing the same slimy character.  He had better chemistry with his female co-stars on ATWT.

2 hours ago, Spoon said:

@alwaysAMC Holly's brother, Ken Norris was played by Roger Newman who was later on GL's writing staff in the 1990s.  He was part of the team that won the Best Writing EMMY in 1993.  He was married to fellow actor/soap writer Fran Myers.

Oh that's cool!  I always notice Roger Newman's name in the writing credits because I kept thinking in the beginning of my watch that it was Robert Newman haha. I look forward to seeing him on screen soon!

40 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I can't believe there was anyone who liked Ben, or Ben/Blake. ICK.

LOL - I really hated him in the beginning, but then I thought Ben/Blake got really hot and interesting because of their forbidden flirtation and strong chemistry. I also enjoyed getting to see his softer side with Beth... but I'm starting to really hate him again based on what I've recently been seeing (more recaps coming).

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

I can't believe there was anyone who liked Ben, or Ben/Blake. ICK.

That storyline literally gave me headaches. I wasn't even a Bloss fan. I hate villains who are just a-holes, with no nuance or layers. He was one of the worst.

54 minutes ago, Spoon said:

I hated Ben, but I grew to like him as Craig on ATWT,

I liked him better on ATWT, too. Probably because Craig was a long-established character. He didn't come off as two-dimensional. I liked him with Cady McClain, they had a good vibe.

33 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

That storyline literally gave me headaches. I wasn't even a Bloss fan. I hate villains who are just a-holes, with no nuance or layers. He was one of the worst.

I liked him better on ATWT, too. Probably because Craig was a long-established character. He didn't come off as two-dimensional. I liked him with Cady McClain, they had a good vibe.

It was the opposite for me. I thought he was more layered on GL than ATWT, in spite of this early material. I just never saw him as anything but slimy on ATWT, because at least GL could call Ben out at times. We were always meant to see his Craig as in the right. They destroyed a long-established character for Sheffer's masculinity issues.

I never thought he had any chemistry with his co-stars on ATWT either. And the attempts at playing out grief or any emotion beyond smugness...

He may have been better with Cady. By that point I was on a long break.

Edited November 13Nov 13 by DRW50

12 hours ago, DRW50 said:

It was the opposite for me. I thought he was more layered on GL than ATWT, in spite of this early material. I just never saw him as anything but slimy on ATWT, because at least GL could call Ben out at times. We were always meant to see his Craig as in the right. They destroyed a long-established character for Sheffer's masculinity issues.

I never thought he had any chemistry with his co-stars on ATWT either. And the attempts at playing out grief or any emotion beyond smugness...

with you on all of this!

I thought Ben had more layers,especially when more of his backstory came out that involved Selena and their daughter Drew.  

I also liked his friendship with Beth, and it was the rare times when Beth Chamberlain didn't do the weird acting tics that she was doing during that period of time.  She acted more like the old Beth when she was around him, and it was a shame that the show wasn't interested in mining Phillips relationships with his Marler relatives since I thought stories/scenes would have worked better if the show had remembered his close relationship with cousin Dinah and uncle Ross.. plus his thoughts on his half uncle Ben hanging out with his ex wife Beth.

Plus, I think he would have taken his newly discovered cousin Drew under his wing because he would have understood how she would have felt finding out who her real parents were.

I just always thought Ben was a sleeze. There's a scene where Blake is literally crawling away from him, and this was supposed to be who she was attracted to? BS. Ben didn't have one redeeming quality. They tried making him more human by giving him a kid, but it was way too little, too late. 

I know there are people who like Block, believe me, I know. But it's a hill I would die on, HE STUNK. Sheffer's obsession with Block was a nail in ATWT's coffin.

 

18 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I thought Ben had more layers,especially when more of his backstory came out that involved Selena and their daughter Drew.  

I also liked his friendship with Beth, and it was the rare times when Beth Chamberlain didn't do the weird acting tics that she was doing during that period of time.  She acted more like the old Beth when she was around him, and it was a shame that the show wasn't interested in mining Phillips relationships with his Marler relatives since I thought stories/scenes would have worked better if the show had remembered his close relationship with cousin Dinah and uncle Ross.. plus his thoughts on his half uncle Ben hanging out with his ex wife Beth.

Plus, I think he would have taken his newly discovered cousin Drew under his wing because he would have understood how she would have felt finding out who her real parents were.

Agreed..I liked Ben in terms of him being an a**hole, because there are some people on earth like that..but I thought GL did a good job of showing the other side of him or maybe its just that the show stank with the clone and Alan dreaming of cloning Annie (like there are no other blond women who would jump in bed with a rich guy having a midlife crisis...so you create a psycho who betrayed you, and would, have to go to prison anyway cause everyone would think it was the real Annie..oh I am thinking too deap for Rauch/E.B. shallow GL..) I also always thought the actor was sexy..he just seems more intelligent than most soap actors??

I thought that the Ben/Blake thing was interesting as I am not a Bloss fan and never thought they should have lasted that long, and it showed how damaged Blake really was as a person, and would always be (this was before they turned her into Blake the Flake.) As with all GL at this time, it just happened too fast..why would Blake go crazy over this guy that fast...they needed to let it develop that Ross was working a lot, and she was feeling sexless as a Mom of twins..(of course the Dobsons would probably give Ross some "performance problems" as he dealt with his career, his crazed daughter and still not trusting Blake..which would hav made sense.) 

I did like Beth with Ben, and thought she was at her most interesting then. And as you say, Phillip being p*ssed that his uncle was screwing his ex wife would have been good, but the writers had poor Phillip so mired in Cooperland that they couldn't add that depth.