6 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I do remember watching some early Vanessa stuff that seemed like they were ticking off the "brunette schemer" boxes. I've just seen so little of Vanessa/Ed that it's hard to judge what the attraction was. The way the recaps made it sound was that he saw a lot of Holly in her after her (fake) suicide attempt. And Vanessa wasn't above pushing that narrative to land him.

I have only seen the bits on Youtube but I think some of the characters mentioned the comparison in that Marland therapy-speak way. I can also see the comparison to Holly. 

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

I actually did like Kathleen Cullen (although I haven't seen her full run) and I blame the writing for regressing her and making her so passive (by the time she became stronger she was written out), but I think Toby Poser could have made the part work if given the proper chance. The biggest problem is there was just no reason to bring Amanda back. I liked the idea of expanding the Spauldings, but as years have passed, I've realized I did not actually care about the Spauldings as a family. I cared about Alex when Bev played her, and Alan when Chris played him, and yes there were some compelling moments here and there with their ties to Philip (or rarely, with Alan-Michael), but they just weren't compelling as a unit. Laibson/McTavish just dumped them all together. I think it was SOD at the time who named "A. Spaulding" as the worst story of the year and pointed out that every person in the family was written the same way. 

McTavish was really making sure she got the coveted "worst storyline" title that year, between that...Lonatrat (and those idiots Dinah and Hart besting Roger) the twins storyline and last but not least Zachary the Angel...she was on FIRE!

It was really weird that they wrote Amanda out just as she was getting her own thing going (I remember they even redid the Wexler Mansion set for her...) Maybe it was CB leaving and Bev coming in that changed that...but it would have been interesting to see AmandaCullen and BevAlex dealing with each other.

I agree that McLaiby didn't really do much to explain the Spaulding dynamic other then they were at each other's throats and constantly talking about who had the most stock and none of it ever made sense.   Alan and Alex had such an interesting relationship that was thrown out the window with the recasts..AM was reduced to romantic hero (he should always have been dealing with his Bauer/Spaulding duality) Amanda was reduced to a cartoon badgirl (as fun as that was) and Phillip the Golden Boy was portrayed as the outcast...and Nick...I don't even know what Nick was about.  However, their was a rich dynamic that could have been played out with all of them (I can see why Rauch got rid of MarjAlex...she and Amanda were basically playing the same character..tho the sister thing was unneeded.) With Alex and AM out of the way I would have focused Alan manipulating competition between Phillip and Amanda, repeating the history as it were. But they had Alan holding Annie's purse, Phillip mooning over Harley(did he ever work during that time) and Amanda flouncing around town chasing after Roger or just snearing at people.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Chris Bernau was, sadly, no longer with us. 

Due to unfortunate real-life circumstances, we didn't get MZ Roger vs. CB Alan in the late 1980s/early 1990s. If I have the time line correct, CB departure was May 1988, MZ return was January 1989, CB passed away June 1989.

Those who were able to see MZ Roger vs. CB Alan from 1977-1980 were most fortunate. It's too bad so little of that era has surfaced.

2 hours ago, P.J. said:

I don't think there was a chance in hell of ever getting Lenore back. And certainly not to the east coast when she was guest starring on everything in LA.

Hmm, I thought this was your typical fantasy casting thread. My apologies. 

41 minutes ago, Mitch64 said:

With Alex and AM out of the way I would have focused Alan manipulating competition between Phillip and Amanda, repeating the history as it were. But they had Alan holding Annie's purse, Phillip mooning over Harley(did he ever work during that time) and Amanda flouncing around town chasing after Roger or just snearing at people.

That would have made sense. 

I remember Philip swearing vengeance on Alan after he drove Alex out of town. The whole situation with Amanda's paternity reveal was very overwrought, but well-acted. Unfortunately it had absolutely zero long term value.

43 minutes ago, Mitch64 said:

It was really weird that they wrote Amanda out just as she was getting her own thing going (I remember they even redid the Wexler Mansion set for her...) Maybe it was CB leaving and Bev coming in that changed that...but it would have been interesting to see AmandaCullen and BevAlex dealing with each other.

I think there was a year or so gap (maybe not that much - 6-7 months?). I could see Gail Kobe wanting to dump anyone who couldn't fit into her Texas vision. 

29 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

That would have made sense. 

I remember Philip swearing vengeance on Alan after he drove Alex out of town. The whole situation with Amanda's paternity reveal was very overwrought, but well-acted. Unfortunately it had absolutely zero long term value.

I think there was a year or so gap (maybe not that much - 6-7 months?). I could see Gail Kobe wanting to dump anyone who couldn't fit into her Texas vision. 

The actress said the new people in charge (Kobe) wanted to move the show away from the Gothic elements that the Dobsons/Marland had created and enhanced.

Oddly, Pam Long was able to write gothic scenes elements quite well in her first stint.  Lesley Ann's death was so eerie and dark...plus the Tony/Annabelle cottage story had gothic elements in it at first.

Reva and the Lewis family was as southern gothic as you could get in 1983/84.  

34 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Hmm, I thought this was your typical fantasy casting thread. My apologies. 

There's nothing to apologize for. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they wouldn't have welcomed Lenore back in a heartbeat. Including me. I don't know if there was ever any serious interest in bringing the character back. I just asked the question because, like Alan and Roger and later Reva, Rita seemed like one of those characters writers would love to write for.

40 minutes ago, P.J. said:

There's nothing to apologize for. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they wouldn't have welcomed Lenore back in a heartbeat. Including me. I don't know if there was ever any serious interest in bringing the character back. I just asked the question because, like Alan and Roger and later Reva, Rita seemed like one of those characters writers would love to write for.

Ι think that Curlee (or was it Calhoun?) wanted Rita to return with Holly and Roger, but Lenore Karsdorf turned. So they must have had something in mind for Rita storywise. 

41 minutes ago, P.J. said:

There's nothing to apologize for. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they wouldn't have welcomed Lenore back in a heartbeat. Including me. I don't know if there was ever any serious interest in bringing the character back. I just asked the question because, like Alan and Roger and later Reva, Rita seemed like one of those characters writers would love to write for.

Yeah, Lenore really was a fan favorite. I mean Rita, oh, you know what I mean. 

Amanda was abruptly written out around August 1983. As Mitch said, her exit was very weird as Long and Culliton had been building up the character after their material started airing in May 1983. I think she was raising her half-brother Matthew and had hired a nanny named Jane Hogan (played by Mary Pat Gleason, another transplant from Texas). Beverlee arrived as Alex around February 1984 and Alan disappeared into the jungles of San Rios around May 1984.

So, I recently found a whole folder of GL screencaps of two episodes, March 4th & 5th, unknown year, but Laura Wright is playing Cassie still so it's over 18 years ago. It is very obvious that Edmund is on trial. The challenge here - should you choose to accept it - is what is the year & what was he on trial for!!! There are 70 pix in this media album. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1055607226077312&type=3

It's also clear that Liz & Laura have portraits stashed in attics or basements. They've apparently not aged a day. And, yes, it's true I still love Jude/Nick. Here's just a few. 

16 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

So, I recently found a whole folder of GL screencaps of two episodes, March 4th & 5th, unknown year, but Laura Wright is playing Cassie still so it's over 18 years ago. It is very obvious that Edmund is on trial. The challenge here - should you choose to accept it - is what is the year & what was he on trial for!!! There are 70 pix in this media album. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1055607226077312&type=3

It's also clear that Liz & Laura have portraits stashed in attics or basements. They've apparently not aged a day. And, yes, it's true I still love Jude/Nick. Here's just a few. 

Given that John Driscoll is in the stills, this must be from March 2005. Driscoll joined the previous Fall, and Laura Wright left later in the year. 

3 minutes ago, prefab1 said:

Given that John Driscoll is in the stills, this must be from March 2005. Driscoll joined the previous Fall, and Laura Wright left later in the year. 

Yes, I made a mental note right off that Coop was there. Thank you so much for putting in a date between his arriving & her leaving. Now, who recalls what in the world Edmund had gotten into trouble about *that time*? 

25 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

Beverlee arrived as Alex around February 1984 and Alan disappeared into the jungles of San Rios around May 1984.

That means BM Alexandra and CB Alan interacted February-May 1984 then July 1986-May 1988.

We know the real-life circumstances surrounding CB departure in May 1988, but what was reported as the reason for the May 1984 departure?

39 minutes ago, kalbir said:

That means BM Alexandra and CB Alan interacted February-May 1984 then July 1986-May 1988.

We know the real-life circumstances surrounding CB departure in May 1988, but what was reported as the reason for the May 1984 departure?

I'm not sure how accurate this is, but in a recent thread on another site, someone said that Bernau decided not to renew his contract, which led to the creation of Alexandra. I know that the 1984 rewrite that Brandon Spaulding was still alive was very unpopular, but I do wonder how the story would have played out if Bernau had still been around as Alan.