In the writers' defense, they did make a point of having characters such as Amanda say that Gwen didn't always act so, well, Opal-like, lol. Plus, they did a reasonably good job, I think, explaining and/or justifying Gwen's suddenly (and jarringly) hostile attitude toward the Corys. Still, because Dorothy Lyman was perhaps more well-known from her work on AMC and "Mama's Family," I suspect the writers had difficulty separating those roles from Gwen. Either that, or they must've reasoned that having her act un-Opal/Naomi-like would be disconcerting for those who'd remembered her only in those roles.

Even Dorothy said she didn't know what had happened to Gwen. I guess she probably had an idea of why the show did that, and it was entertaining (from the little I've seen of Gwen she seemed like a fairly dull character), but I'd like to have seen a little more of her battling her mental problems and less of the hysteria. Too bad they didn't have her come back again when the show desperately needed a foil for Rachel, after Iris was gone and Rachel had nothing to do beyond Carl and his nemeses.

Is Linda Thorson the only actress/actor to have had a prominent role on both a US and UK soap? She was of course on Emmerdale a few years ago...

What little I've seen of Dorothy on Generations seemed pretty boring too, it's probably hard to go back from Opal/Naomi.

What little I've seen of Dorothy on Generations seemed pretty boring too, it's probably hard to go back from Opal/Naomi.

Generations was just boring, period.

Is Linda Thorson the only actress/actor to have had a prominent role on both a US and UK soap? She was of course on Emmerdale a few years ago...

Have Samantha Eggar or Shirley Anne Field ever done a soap in the UK?

I think it's just Linda.

was it all Sloan who turned Viki's head to this idea of Dorian being the murderer, or did they give Viki lines like, "I've awlwiz suspected Dorian's involvement in my fahthuh's death..."

IIRC, Viki had suspected Dorian for years, but before Sloan and his book, she never had the ammunition she needed to go after her. It was just one of those unspoken hunches. Of course, that's all moot now, thanks to the idiotic twist that Viki, or "Tori," had done the deed, not to mention the insane "Heart of a Lord" ish w/ Victor's straight-outta-"The Big Sleep" resurrection.

Shirley Anne Field did a guest role on Doctors (a UK medical soap) a few years ago, but it was just that one episode.

Edited August 1, 201015 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

What little I've seen of Dorothy on Generations seemed pretty boring too, it's probably hard to go back from Opal/Naomi.

Frankly, although Dorothy Lyman is a wonderful actress, she's too eccentric, IMO, to pull off the kind of role she had to on shows like GENERATIONS (and as Alvin said, GENERATIONS was just boring in-and-of-itself). She's much better as a "character actor," alongside the ranks of Ilene Kristen and Marilyn Chris.

I guess she probably had an idea of why the show did that, and it was entertaining (from the little I've seen of Gwen she seemed like a fairly dull character), but I'd like to have seen a little more of her battling her mental problems and less of the hysteria.

I'd have liked that, too, but that probably meant spending more time on her; and as it was, I think she was taping her scenes for the 25th anniversary while still working on "Mama's Family" (...although, come to think of it, there was an episode or two around the end of that (1988-89) season when Naomi was away from Raytown...).

IIRC, Viki had suspected Dorian for years, but before Sloan and his book, she never had the ammunition she needed to go after her. It was just one of those unspoken hunches. Of course, that's all moot now, thanks to the idiotic twist that Viki, or "Tori," had done the deed, not to mention the insane "Heart of a Lord" ish w/ Victor's straight-outta-"The Big Sleep" resurrection.

I think that the actual revival of the murder, complete with the hyperdramatic sequences like Dorian trying to destroy the corpse, the murder trial, Dorian's death row nightmares, were all riveting, mostly because of Erika and Robin and the high drama, but that is generally the only time I've been hooked by that feud. The rest of the time it just seems petty. Even under Gottlieb/Malone, they brought Dorian back doing stupid, petty things, like the ski lodge call to Clint and then the Emily Haines story. Robin said she was annoyed by all of that. Generally the Viki/Dorian feud is always about them squabbling and huffing and puffing and it's something I wish could just be turned into some kind of grudging friendship.

Aside from Dorian's relationship with Joey (before worthless Kelly) and the DID story with Viki, I don't know if even Malone/Gottlieb/Horgan "got" Dorian. Ron Carlivati did some good stuff with Dorian but she quickly became a plot device starting around the BE takeover and now it's more like writing some fun and campy moments which Robin plays the hell out of -- Dorian is not a character. In recent years the only writer I felt like got Dorian, or had the strong potential of doing so, was Claire Labine. If that story had been allowed to play out, and if Mel hadn't been there sanctimoniously barking in her ear about truth and apple pie and about the awesomeness of Viki, then it could have given Dorian some of her biggest and best material, material which finally played out so many mysteries to the character's past and motivations.

Dorian was definitely Labine's favourite character during Labine's poorly received tenure at OLTL. She wrote more for Dorian and kept her more central to the show than she did with Vicki.

With Lord of the Banner/Dorian Does Death Row, you saw Viki suddenly kick up some really strong feelings of hate towards Dorian which to me seemed, "Aren't we a little late on this Vik? "

Oh, don't get me started on that whole cockamamie, history-smashing jive that Mikey Malone had concocted. First of all, it seemed ludicrous of Dorian to say, "Gee, Viki, I thought you always knew [Victor had molested you as a child]!" Now, when, in the entire time you two have known each other, has it ever appeared to you, or to anyone else, that Viki consciously remembered the abuse and just didn't talk about it, Dorian? Don'cha think all that would've come out during the big "secret room" story of '85? Yeah, viewers knew for decades that Victor and Viki's relationship was unnatural, but if Niki Smith returned b/c Viki couldn't handle knowing that her father and her best friend had had an affair, wouldn't it be fair to assume there's other [!@#$%^&*] she ain't dealing with?

Yeah, that also brought back Melinda (whose treatment over the years was pretty damn pathetic considering she was central to Dorian's early years in Llanview) and gave Dorian a passionate relationship again and talked about what made her who she was. Unfortunately somewhere between the Hayes looking down their noses at Dorian and the Canton stuff and lack of followup, it all sort of fell apart, but there were some great moments. I'm just sorry that nothing else ever came of it because you can have years and years of story about Dorian, Melinda, and Addie, and not just about three women who probably make Frons break out into hives, but it could affect their kids, grandkids, new characters, anyone.

I think Malone/Gottlieb/Horgan did a great job of reestablishing Dorian as an intriguing, mysterious figure which made the Labinian promise of the exploration of her past so exciting. But I really wish I enjoyed Canton more. It was just... I don't know, just not what I wanted I guess. And I don't know what I would have preferred either. I like kooky weird and gothic but Sonya and Ms. Stonecliff, it was a little too kooky weird and gothic. It felt dare I say a little fan-ficky and not as grown up of a story as dark DID was.