Thanks again, everyone. I have loved reading your insights. In the midst of all that drama, poor Alfred still couldn't find anyone!! LOL

Mona died 20 years ago today

http://youtu.be/QhNNntJKWfw

This was also the debut of the newly remodeled Linden House, and more famously, Susan's nose (and face, and neck) management. She'd been off the show for weeks and I always wondered if she'd had a planned vacation, or if they gave her time off when Frances Heflin passed, or a mix of both.

Erica coming down the stairs was actually the cliffhanger of the previous episode. They did tight shots of her hand gripping the railing and she sat at the foot of the staircase in eerie silence. Previous scenes were her at the airport heading home.

Actually, the new Linden House debuted earlier in the year - maybe April or May? There's an episode online where Erica runs into Jack at a train station and admits that she's watching her budget. She comes home and tells Mona that she loves the renovations on her house, but she's not sure she should have splurged on them right now because the modeling jobs aren't coming in as fast as she thought they would. I loved the renovated Linden set in that it was definitely overdue for a facelift, but it always drove me crazy to see brand new sets that were supposed to be in the same house, but they'd moved fireplaces and stairs and major things like that because IRL, if you want that big of a change, you might as well just buy a new house.

IIRC, Frances Heflin died in late May or early June. It was the beginning of the summer. I remember reading about it in a soap magazine and wondering how they were going to address that, if they'd recast or if they'd have Mona died and if so, when that would happen. I don't know if Susan had her surgery already scheduled for that summer before Fra died or if she died and everyone decided it would work best if Erica came home after being gone and found her dead. The episodes around Mona's death and funeral were just so sad to watch. I imagine that after working together for decades, it must have been hard on the veteran actors to film those scenes.

In the midst of all that drama, poor Alfred still couldn't find anyone!!

Does anyone know why Peter Bergman left AMC for a time, leaving his grieving "widow" Nina to turn to Matt Connolly for comfort?

I think that he chose to leave due after having been on the show for a pretty lengthy run. I guess that he wanted to audition for primetimes shows and movies.

I remember when he returned. When he was written show (his second departure), he became bitter toward the show.

I was surprised to see Gerald Gordon in that episode. I never knew he was on AMC.

Kendall and Bianca learn about Mona's death

I know much has been made of the Susan Lucci/Sarah Michelle Gellar feud over the years, but has SMG ever talked publicly about Frances Heflin and how it was like to work with her?

I thought Tom and Brooke were great as friends, but I didn't care for how Tom wanted Brooke to sacrifice her career. I thought Brooke was too domestic and dull with Tom. When Brooke got involved with Adam, the writers wrote her as smart and driven. Adam and Brooke's sexual chemistry stemmed from their intelligence,

Brooke always sought the unconditional love that she missed out on as a child. Adam loved Brooke the way she needed to be loved. Brooke loved the tenderness that Adam only displayed with her, but her inner bad girl was also attracted to Adam's dastardly ways despite her moral compass telling her she shouldn't.

Adam vs. Tom

Adam is the winner. Edmund is second. Tom is at best third place.

Kendall crashes Mona's wake

I am hearing that actor Charles Keating (Dr. Damon Lazarre) has passed away.

Yes, it has been confirmed by We Love Soaps. He was 72.

Thanks for posting that!! I knew that someone was posting OLTL audio from that time period, but not AMC.