I've got to say Liz hasn't lost a step. She was brilliant during the final reading. In a blink of an eye she became Lucinda all over again. It's times like those that I wish ATWT was still on the air. 

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

If anything, Lucinda acted as something of a plot device when the character first entered the canvas in 1984. She was Craig's boss and had quickly become Lisa's nemesis, due to her prickly relationship with Whit McColl. It wasn't really until 1985, when Sierra arrived that Lucinda became entangled and somewhat obsessed with her children's lives. That aspect predated Marland, although he continued it. If a plot device could function as a character, (which it really cannot since a plot device is a situation, not a character) it would've functioned like a Nick Castello, James Stenbeck's lackey. Lucinda was an actual character with perceived autonomy. Hubbard may not have liked not being the heroine (Kathryn Hays already had that role) but the implication seemed to be that she was accusing Marland of preferring to write for the younger characters and that's simply not true. Kim, Bob and Susan and John might beg to differ.

 

That's a good point. I didn't want to ramble on even more than I already had, but I should have said I feel like the plot device facility for Lucinda ramped up heavily around the time of Duke's arrival. Up to that point I think Marland gave her a little more character-based writing. Of course, the show became more blatantly plot-driven in general around then, IMO. 

 

I don't mean to make requests of anyone, but I almost never make the chats. If any of you happen to be on the one with Cassandra and Lauren and Napiera, can you ask Cassandra and Lauren what it felt like to play rivals early on and if they got any type of fan response? And also just asking Cassandra what fan response to her was like, as she seemed to be very unpopular online at the time (the character, not the actress), from what I remember, until they moved her away from the Lily and the Andy and Ben storyline.

Edited November 15, 20205 yr by DRW50

16 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Did Hubbard make her claim during the ATWT livestream or during The Doctors livestream?

 

Hubbard made this comment in her first Locher Room reunion w/ Martha Byrne.  

 

During much of his era, Marland gave more time to his senior cast than the younger set.  And Tom, Margo, Barbara, Hal, etc. were all in their 30s when Marland kept them front-burner...not what I consider "young love."  

 

Edited November 15, 20205 yr by gimmetoo

7 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I don't mean to make requests of anyone, but I almost never make the chats. If any of you happen to be on the one with Cassandra and Lauren and Napiera, can you ask Cassandra and Lauren what it felt like to play rivals early on and if they got any type of fan response? And also just asking Cassandra what fan response to her was like, as she seemed to be very unpopular online at the time (the character, not the actress), from what I remember, until they moved her away from the Lily and the Andy and Ben storyline.

 

I'd wanna hear some of their thoughts on the writing period. Some of that stuff between Camille and Denise came off as real colorist to me. 

 

But we all know Alan won't delve that deep...😑

11 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

I don't mean to make requests of anyone, but I almost never make the chats. If any of you happen to be on the one with Cassandra and Lauren and Napiera, can you ask Cassandra and Lauren what it felt like to play rivals early on and if they got any type of fan response? And also just asking Cassandra what fan response to her was like, as she seemed to be very unpopular online at the time (the character, not the actress), from what I remember, until they moved her away from the Lily and the Andy and Ben storyline.

 

I'm going to hop on during real time, and I will do my best to ask.

 

I wasn't following ATWT related things online during the time, and I'm surprised to read that. She gave Kim another grandchild and brought some well needed spunk to the show. I liked how Denise wasn't polished, admitted she had made mistakes, and her character was showing growth. I particularly liked her at WOAK; she had found a place to work and probably could've been a bigger fixture there, but they moved on with Katie and Molly being more prominent on that set.

Marland wrote Lucinda as the bad guy..the heavy especially when it came to Lily/Holden..and later Duke.

4 hours ago, NothinButAttitude said:

 

I'd wanna hear some of their thoughts on the writing period. Some of that stuff between Camille and Denise came off as real colorist to me. 

 

But we all know Alan won't delve that deep...😑

 

Much of it definitely felt like colorism at play in those storylines, which is why, honestly, I couldn't get through much of it.

1 hour ago, Soaplovers said:

Marland wrote Lucinda as the bad guy..the heavy especially when it came to Lily/Holden..and later Duke.

 

I'd love to hear from Larry Bryggman on how he felt about the writer(s) who wrote his character, John Dixon as a rapist and a blackmailer. John Dixon's level of malevolent bad guy >>>>>>> Lucinda Walsh's level of bad guy.  

I'd also be interested in knowing Lauren's thoughts on working briefly with Monti Sharp.

 

(Lauren had a very sudden exit from the show - I believe she signed a new contract then was fired not long after - but I assume she will talk about that anyway)

5 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Much of it definitely felt like colorism at play in those storylines, which is why, honestly, I couldn't get through much of it.

 

Was it you or @P.J. that said that Denise used to call Camille "high yella?" I remember bits and pieces of that era, but what stuck out mainly with me was that they wrote the obvious trope for Black women--light-skinned Camille being nice, educated, a doormat basically. Meanwhile, Denise, being of a darker hue, being angry, uneducated, etc. That irked the sh-t out of me seeing as once again they failed us Black viewers by providing us with real complex characters. 

 

47 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

(Lauren had a very sudden exit from the show - I believe she signed a new contract then was fired not long after - but I assume she will talk about that anyway)

 

If Alan will allow her to discuss it. His interviews lack mainly because he spends more time trying to protect people/companies that are no longer existing. I think he'd have WAY more viewership if he allowed folks to spill all the tea on these shows. 

Why Locher insists on protecting bad soaps and their incompetent TPTB when they're long gone is beyond me, and it grates when you see him trying to shut down the actors.

8 minutes ago, NothinButAttitude said:

Was it you or @P.J. that said that Denise used to call Camille "high yella?" 

 

Oh, it definitely wasn't me, lol. I cut cut out on that story so fast! I don't have much tolerance for stories that were that level of problematic. And so much about those storylines were problematic.

@NothinButAttitudeI think it may have been me. There was a Soap Opera Weekly item at the time which criticized the show for this choice.

I'm hoping both Lauren and Cassandra are more like Susan Pratt ,Alyson rice Taylor, or Sharon Gabet..where they spoke up about behind the scenes tea.

21 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Oh, it definitely wasn't me, lol. I cut cut out on that story so fast! I don't have much tolerance for stories that were that level of problematic. And so much about those storylines were problematic.

 

Sorry about that. I remember the comment being mentioned on here. 

 

19 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

@NothinButAttitudeI think it may have been me. There was a Soap Opera Weekly item at the time which criticized the show for this choice.

 

Well I hope this is addressed in the interview but I doubt it will. Alan is definitely a company man despite there no longer being a company. 😒

 

I wanna know too what writer thought it was OK to greenlight that drivel. 

 

While I can tip my hate somewhat to these shows trying to diversify in the 90s, I still can't get over how atrocious the writing was at the same time too. It just remains to be a constant reminder why soaps are so antiquated now. Look at them now even. Still using Black and Brown characters as window dressing; meanwhile, primetime, streaming platforms, and finally film are starting to realize the power of diversity. 

31 minutes ago, Vee said:

Why Locher insists on protecting bad soaps and their incompetent TPTB when they're long gone is beyond me, and it grates when you see him trying to shut down the actors.

 

This. 

 

Does he know something we don't know? Last I checked, none of those people in power are producing anything nowadays anyway. Why protect them? 

 

I would've loved to hear the actors in the last few years of ATWT and AW ream Goutman for his mismanagement on their shows. Same with actors on GL about Wheeler/Kreizman or even Rauch years earlier. 

 

Sometimes, this makes me wish that Daytime Confidential would've capitalized on this because despite their many flaws, they were messy enough to ask the questions many of us were thinking. 

32 minutes ago, NothinButAttitude said:

I wanna know too what writer thought it was OK to greenlight that drivel. 

 

While I can tip my hate somewhat to these shows trying to diversify in the 90s, I still can't get over how atrocious the writing was at the same time too.

 

Had it been written in 1987, it might have been more excusable but in 1997, just seems especially embarrassing. I thought 'School Daze' already covered this in the satirical context in which it deserved? The actresses did their best with the material they were given to work but sadly, each actresses got pulled into some of the worst, most stereotypical storylines ever written on the show (let's not forget Bonnie being involved in the Marshall Travers rape storyline as well as that stupid castle swordfight story with Billy.