Soap Opera Digest Best and Worst 1999

[DRW50]

I liked crazy Julia at first, but then it all became so unpleasant shock value stuff (look, she's killing a horse!) and I felt like it was a sad departure for what ATWT should be, because once upon a time her mental illness would have been explored. While I can't say I wanted to see Annie Parisse attempting to play a serious mental illness storyline, bringing her back over and over as this overacting headcase was just so one-note. Then you had Jack raped and Craig yukking it up over Jack's assault and Jack almost being killed, and Hogan's issues trampled over everything. I should watch some of that again I guess. I had such a visceral reaction to Craig, I just wanted Carly away from him...in my head I know Hunt and Maura had chemistry, but the writing was not for me.

I did like the scene when she shot David's coffin...and then the throwaway scene where she punched Jack during an argument, which of course was supposed to tell us that she was nuts, as Julia was too sweet to do that.

I guess they couldn't because of story plans but I think they should have just written out Brad quickly after Nick K left. He had such charisma and so much chemistry with everyone. The only way the character ever sort of worked after this was with a long break and a personality rewrite.

I can't remember but I think Rauch tried to act like they would have given Alex story if Marj had stayed. I have a hard time believing that -- I know that she had the little scene with Jenna after Jenna died, which could have led to Alex/Buzz, but I think they probably already had plans for Buzz/Selena. I never saw Marj as someone Rauch would write for. Fletch's return was so brief and depressing and just seemed to be something they had no real plans for. India, big waste. She ended up holding Alan's hand.

I liked Hart's death at the time, as I thought Laura Wright did a good job, and it gave Maeve Kinkead a bit of material beyond being told by Beth that she needed plastic surgery, but I can see where some were annoyed.

Here's the writeup on GL:

[Saving ATWT]

Wow, I remember most of that. I'm not a Broderick fan but the story you mention was real traditional soap. That ATWT was nothing like the last 4 years of ATWT--same characters but totally different shows. If Goutman and JP had tried to tell such a story it would have been done within a 3 day story block and Camile would have ened up in the hospital on life support. Almost dying was Goutman's idea of fall out. Wow...ATWT used to be a soap a long time ago!

[Sindacco]

Princess Gina was not confusing.

[MrPrezident]

Eh, this wasn't so much a triangle as it was Carly and Jason wanting eachother and AJ trying to keep them apart - You know, because he was married to the girl. I do have to say, Carly (SB version) and Jason will probably always be my favorite "What if?" couple. I had invested so much into them just for it all to go down the toilet in one day.

Ugh! This literally made me sick to my stomach when this all went down. Although, I did come to really enjoy them as a couple. (again SB version)

[DRW50]

I don't even know if Jason wanted Carly that much. I was a fan of theirs at the time but it was so clear that Steve Burton was playing against the material and the show seemed to want to try to eventually pair AJ and Carly. The problem was, well one of many problems in the story, was that Sarah Brown and Billy Warlock had no chemistry.

I did like Sonny/Carly at first but SJB's best chemistry was with Steve Burton. And that was the last time I was interested in ANYTHING with Jason.

[EricMontreal22]

Was to me

[MrPrezident]

It was indeed very obvious that Steve Burton did not want Carly and Jason. He played it out like that in the material and in interviews. But you couldn't deny the chemistry Sarah and Steve shared. Hell, it was the reason they hired Sarah Brown in the first place! Also, just look at their first sex scene together, it blows any sex scene Jason has had since out of the water! (You know, like all three ) And I agree, after Jason left and then returned, he's just never been the same. Again, I think it's because they let Steve Burton have way too much say in his storylines. Jason used to be a character I loved watching, so unbelievably hot with the right amount of danger and charm. Now, he's just a bloated robot who's over stayed his welcome for about 9 years too long - Sonny included!

[Gray Bunny]

Wow, I *so* don't remember that! I forgot how they wrote her off, but didn't think it'd be with that guy!

[dm.]

Annie always had the best fantasies.

[DRW50]

I didn't remember either. At most, in a stretch, I remembered her saving the kids from Holly, but not anything after that really.

[bellcurve]

Oh, wasn't Hamner also the one that wrote the story about Frank planting Karen's panties in Joe's house or something to make him look like a stalker and perv? Yeah, lovely.

It amazes me that this wretched hack still got hired to write another soap opera after this befuddled sh*t he wrote on Port Chuck.

The last great year on this show would come after this nonsense, when Karen Harris took over as Head Writer. Felicia Behr and Angie Shapiro should burn in hell for deciding PC should be some trashy telenovela.

[DRW50]

That story was beyond vile. And then spying on Karen through a telescope.

When I first started watching PC I thought it was a breath of fresh air but LML and then Hamner just gutted it with their agendas and their sicko writing. I still can't believe ABC Daytime let them tell some of that story. Stories like having Lucy take the gas out of Eve's car and Serena is blinded -- why?

The show was run into the ground in 98-99.

[JackPeyton]

wow i agree with them on everything except for days firing Louise Sorel, that needed to happen.

[Gray Bunny]

I hate to say it, but it almost would've been best to have her and Ivan stay in jail in 1997... every storyline she was involved in post-Kristen was humiliating.

[Mitch]

I really liked the Nursery Rhyme Stalker (well parts of it, it was a good idea, but typical of Rauch E & B, it all became a cartoon) and Holly being the stalker made sense in a soap way (as a matter of fact I think Days later tried to kind of copy the shock by revealing Marlena as the SSK) She didn't "kill," anyone and in their inept way, explained that she was good old soap nuts (the kind that conveniently disappears when the storyline is over, would have been much better to show that Holly was drinking again and all this happened during her blackouts, hell, they could have given Holly a split personality while she was "passed out," who did all these things, that later she could have incorporated into her own personality as a finally a strong no hold bars woman...would have liked to see her take on Alan and kick Carmen's ass.) It also gave Holly another layer of sadness and regret, unfortunatley, instead of having her eventually get over that, she was obscured and that was all she was, a lonely woman whose past had left her.

However, after the storyline and her two days of "INTENSIVE," therapy, they paired her up with Wiggens (who I HATED as annoying Kurt on ATWT) and they had suprisingly good chemistry (and Wiggens actaully was kind of sexy in the role) and it was nice to see MG get a chance to make Holly happy and light.( I remember a scene of her sitting on a bale of hay, looking very sexy despite the fact that she had to wear one of Rauch's pastel suites that all the woman wore under him.) In retrospect it would have been better if they developed a story arc romance of Holly, the sophisticate falling in love with a rodeo rider, the first guy who loved her for being a smart intelligent, kinda bitchy, woman, and then written them both off, having Holly return for guest appearances, etc. (I never understood P & G's reluctance to just write characters off happy, instead of shoving them in a closet and further ruining their character) But I dont remember the Wiggens character having a romance with Annie or leaving town with her. His whole point was of course to give LW and Casshole a storyline, as he stole her money, leading her to try to go back to stripping to be saved by the gayest prince that ever, uh princed. He just left town after he embezzled Cassie's money and Annie just left town after they closed in on her for kidnapping Lizzie.