@Maxim I appreciated reading your thoughts on 1988 AMC. I had forgotten just how much of the year is missing. I imagine that does weigh on views. My own view is that AMC went into 1988 with assorted riches but also had a multi-tiered system that was always going to collapse. The same had happened around the late '70s, but they did a better job with pruning and bringing in new creations around the early '80s than they would manage in the late '80s and early '90s. I think those decisions ultimately helped rob the show of its identity. 

There are also decisions at that time I've never really understood, like hurriedly and permanently splitting Jeremy and Natalie after many fans had waited years to see them together (it was not down to personal reasons as Kate and Jean were good friends).

Your points about Brooke and Adam remind me of why I never felt very involved in the pairing. The chemistry between Julia Barr and David Canary, along with just how much Brooke was written into a corner by the mid '90s, seemed to keep the relationship alive past a very natural endpoint. Even by 1995 the soap magazines were pointing out how repetitive their interactions were.

The story with Adam and Dixie and Brooke was pure soap and had long-lasting consequences...but it's not something I ever want to sit through. 

Edited February 13Feb 13 by DRW50

15 hours ago, Maxim said:

Aaaah... This is making me excited. I can't wait to see it unfold. ❤️

 

I mean it basically is still unfolding in the shortlived 2013 Hulu reboot so... yeah long lasting lol

1 hour ago, slick jones said:

She started on AMC in 1983 and reportedly last appeared in 1996. She may have had later appearances.

Yep one of those recurring characters I loved seeing still show up.

7 hours ago, Khan said:

Yet, when I've re-watched clips from that period, and I've compared them to clips from earlier periods, AMC still feels like AMC to me.  I don't feel like I'm watching a different show (or, in Megan McTavish's case, a darker and nastier show).  I can't explain it, lol.

Well she was HW for 8 months or something so that's not long enough to change things too much

16 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

I've enjoyed reading your recaps and going through your first time journey!  It makes me want to go back and rewatch that era.  I started as a kid around that time so my memories are very faded until about 1991 when I was REALLY into the show with Natalie in the well and Wildwind.  

But... how dare you say "that trash Dixie"!    She's one of my favorites, and Tad/Dixie will always be my favorite couple of all time!  Hopefully your mind changes haha.

Ahahahhaha, don't get me wrong - I LOVE trash. And I'm sure that in time I will see more dimensions in that character. ❤️

 

4 minutes ago, Maxim said:

Ahahahhaha, don't get me wrong - I LOVE trash. And I'm sure that in time I will see more dimensions in that character. ❤️

I, too, have a time, place, person, etc. that can be called trash, or guilty pleasure, but my love & admiration for Dixie simply don't have her in that category. This must be an issue of varying perspectives! Meanwhile Beware pancakes! And, no, you can't ask why because it's a SPOILER! Just a tiny bit of torture, meant in the best possible way!

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

@Maxim I appreciated reading your thoughts on 1988 AMC. I had forgotten just how much of the year is missing. I imagine that does weigh on views. My own view is that AMC went into 1988 with assorted riches but also had a multi-tiered system that was always going to collapse. The same had happened around the late '70s, but they did a better job with pruning and bringing in new creations around the early '80s than they would manage in the late '80s and early '90s. I think those decisions ultimately helped rob the show of its identity. 

There are also decisions at that time I've never really understood, like hurriedly and permanently splitting Jeremy and Natalie after many fans had waited years to see them together (it was not down to personal reasons as Kate and Jean were good friends).

Your points about Brooke and Adam remind me of why I never felt very involved in the pairing. The chemistry between Julia Barr and David Canary, along with just how much Brooke was written into a corner by the mid '90s, seemed to keep the relationship alive past a very natural endpoint. Even by 1995 the soap magazines were pointing out how repetitive their interactions were.

The story with Adam and Dixie and Brooke was pure soap and had long-lasting consequences...but it's not something I ever want to sit through. 

Aaaaaah, I felt that they are going to split Natalie and Jeremy. I just knew it! Just as the way they desecrated Travis and Erica in such a short period of time. How many times have we heard that Jeremy only likes women in trouble and unattainable things... It was meant to happen. One thing I can give the show at this particular moment in time - it goes faaaaast... and it's never boring. Some type of people/soap viewers would definitely appreciate this. I am in the middle - I do like the dynamic pace and that every episode offers plenty of drama and excitement, but I also... don't like rushed relationships and rushed endings. Why care to get them married or together when you are going to split them up in couple of months? Of course it's far from hack-writer material in the vein of Bradley Bell who can put couples together and annul their marriage the next week and then marry them again to ad nauseam. 

BTW, I have so much new stuff to talk about... since I'm up to Erica and Travis's divorce hearing. I stopped at that episode last night and I will continue today. I want to clip some scenes too so I can share them here, but will do that later after I finish work. ❤️

1 hour ago, EricMontreal22 said:

I mean it basically is still unfolding in the shortlived 2013 Hulu reboot so... yeah long lasting lol

Now that is extreeeemely long-lasting. Hahahhaha. 

Just now, Contessa Donatella said:

I, too, have a time, place, person, etc. that can be called trash, or guilty pleasure, but my love & admiration for Dixie simply don't have her in that category. This must be an issue of varying perspectives! Meanwhile Beware pancakes! And, no, you can't ask why because it's a SPOILER! Just a tiny bit of torture, meant in the best possible way!

That's the beauty of experiencing soap operas. Every person can see different things in characters and have their own subjective opinion. What is trash to one... is gold to another. And vice-versa. And I don't really overthink when I write these commentaries. That's my natural reaction to that character so far. ❤️

15 minutes ago, Maxim said:

Aaaaaah, I felt that they are going to split Natalie and Jeremy. I just knew it! Just as the way they desecrated Travis and Erica in such a short period of time. How many times have we heard that Jeremy only likes women in trouble and unattainable things... It was meant to happen. One thing I can give the show at this particular moment in time - it goes faaaaast... and it's never boring. Some type of people/soap viewers would definitely appreciate this. I am in the middle - I do like the dynamic pace and that every episode offers plenty of drama and excitement, but I also... don't like rushed relationships and rushed endings. Why care to get them married or together when you are going to split them up in couple of months? Of course it's far from hack-writer material in the vein of Bradley Bell who can put couples together and annul their marriage the next week and then marry them again to ad nauseam. 

BTW, I have so much new stuff to talk about... since I'm up to Erica and Travis's divorce hearing. I stopped at that episode last night and I will continue today. I want to clip some scenes too so I can share them here, but will do that later after I finish work. ❤️

Now that is extreeeemely long-lasting. Hahahhaha. 

That's the beauty of experiencing soap operas. Every person can see different things in characters and have their own subjective opinion. What is trash to one... is gold to another. And vice-versa. And I don't really overthink when I write these commentaries. That's my natural reaction to that character so far. ❤️

I have this notebook. It fits in my purse. On the front I have affixed a sticker which says:

Hang on. 

Let me

overthink this. 

I totally love it!!

This is a moment that hit me to the core. As a child I was put in the extremely inappropriate and traumatic position to sit and observe my parents' divorce hearing. My mother didn't care for my feelings so she used me as a mediator to express things to my father - she refused to directly acknowledge his existence. So I was there sitting next to my mother on one of the benches... and looking at my father, sitting on the other bench, staring at me with tears in his eyes. My mother was unflinching, he had called her a whore for going on a trip with her friends and she was determined to never ever forgive that. Minutes before going into court, my father told me to ask my mother for one last chance... and he expressed similar sentiments to what Erica is saying here. He wanted one last attempt to save the marriage, and I was the messenger. She refused, laughed at me. They divorced. 

Hearing Erica say all of these things, as melodramatic and cliche as they are, I find myself wiping tears from my eyes... because I've been there... felt that... and lived with it for years  thinking "What if" my mother had said "Yes". I loved Susan Lucci's performance in the entire episode. Before that scene, Erica had a fantasy in which Travis stopped the divorce, hugged her and took her back. That moment was equally touching to me, because it was quite obvious it's not real. That made it seem so tragic and sad.    

 

 

1 hour ago, Maxim said:

This is a moment that hit me to the core. As a child I was put in the extremely inappropriate and traumatic position to sit and observe my parents' divorce hearing. My mother didn't care for my feelings so she used me as a mediator to express things to my father - she refused to directly acknowledge his existence. So I was there sitting next to my mother on one of the benches... and looking at my father, sitting on the other bench, staring at me with tears in his eyes. My mother was unflinching, he had called her a whore for going on a trip with her friends and she was determined to never ever forgive that. Minutes before going into court, my father told me to ask my mother for one last chance... and he expressed similar sentiments to what Erica is saying here. He wanted one last attempt to save the marriage, and I was the messenger. She refused, laughed at me. They divorced. 

Hearing Erica say all of these things, as melodramatic and cliche as they are, I find myself wiping tears from my eyes... because I've been there... felt that... and lived with it for years  thinking "What if" my mother had said "Yes". I loved Susan Lucci's performance in the entire episode. Before that scene, Erica had a fantasy in which Travis stopped the divorce, hugged her and took her back. That moment was equally touching to me, because it was quite obvious it's not real. That made it seem so tragic and sad.    

 

 

Love this! Thanks for sharing 🫶

On 2/8/2025 at 7:43 PM, Contessa Donatella said:

So, in the past 24 hours I have watched 3 episodes of China Beach, 2 episodes of 1988 AMC, celebrated my birthday,

  Reveal hidden contents

found out GH is going to do the Nurses Ball again this year

& I'm due at a GH Jarly Zoom in an hour. This is entirely NOT usual for me! 

AMC 1-5-1988

The actor Todd McKee is familiar to me because he played the youngest Capwell son on Santa Barbara. Who is he right now on AMC? Today was mostly about Julie and Nina. Ross, of course has just had the biggest change, his first day in prison. Besides the guy who led him to his cell his only contact was meeting a prisoner/chaplain who knew he was in for rape & told him about a group that meets that is Sex Offenders. Ew & Ugh. Why do I need to get to know a rapist? Oh, yeah, because I'm a US soap fan.

Okay, Julie. Love Lauren Holly! Again, she looks so freakin' young! Now, I do not understand what the relationship is between her & Ellen. Nor do I know who her "real" mother is who lied about her biological father for years & years. It seemed to me that Julie & Ellen had just had a kind of coming back together & that Julie was all set & excited to be moving back (I think) into Ellen's house. So, yesterday they said "No more secrets between us, going forward." In that spirit today Ellen told Julie that her "real" father isn't actually dead & instead is Mark, Erica's brother & Ellen's lover. To say that Julie did not take this news well would be a huge understatement! First, she flat out refused to believe it. Once convinced, she's very upset about it to the point that now she's not going to move in at Ellen's. Mark came in & tried to talk to her but it did no good. After Julie left, Ellen & Mark reaffirmed their relationship, nuzzled, kissed, etc. Julie went & talked to her boyfriend, who looks familiar but I haven't figured out who he is yet. He says she belongs with him. 

The show began with Palmer on the phone, worried about Nina, who arrives just as he hangs up the phone. I guess the woman in the scene is Nina's mother. Nina is all upset because she's married both to Cliff & to Matt. She's concerned about her legal status. She loves Cliff, always has loved him, never stopped loving him. It was just inconvenient with his being dead & all, so Matt was there for her. She married him. She seems to regret it. She seems to think she never really loved him, maybe it was just gratitude & being lonely & grief-stricken over Cliff. Also she mentions a son she has with Cliff. Didn't see him & do not know his name. We did see both Matt & Cliff, no, not together. We'll come back to Nina.

Natalie! She has a meeting with a reporter. Her expectation is that it will be usual, regular, nice but it is definitely not. The reporter is rude, crude, aggressive, etc. 

We saw Cliff with Doc Martin. 

Then, Cliff is at Palmer's, in the front room by himself. There's a 3-4 step down from the next room, or perhaps a hall. Cliff is looking slightly up watching Nina descend those few steps down to him. The look on his face is so full of love for her. They embrace but they do not kiss. She moves on into the room & they begin to talk. 

We saw Nina express that she never loved Matt & should not have married him & the scene dissolves to Matt's face. He's been daydreaming this, which does not speak well for his current frame of thought, at all! 

Checked my notes & I have said everything I have to say! I'm going to give today a 9/10. 

Got a bit of closing credits. Agnes Creator & Stephen Schneckel (sp?) EP.

 

1-6-1988 Who is this guy?

AMC 1988

June 1st 15:44 Scott & Cindy wed. Scoot is stealing all the scenes. They're in Paris! Why is Skye faking serious illness? (We always called him Scoot.)

Same date, next file. 29:19 Brooke at home. Phoebe: Over my dead body! Woman of Independent Means. (So maybe Ruth Warrick really was crazy?)

New day: June 3rd: OMG! Okay.

Nina & Matt have reached a decision. They are leaving Pine Valley. She says she needs to get away from the sight of Cliff. Also she thinks if she does not break with her father NOW, she never will. She says she wants her marriage to Matt to work. Cliff is an obstructionist. Also a sourpuss. 

It's interesting. At first I liked Cliff. Didn't like Matt. Now I have reversed. This thing with Nina loving 2 men is, well, interesting. 

Anyway, Cliff does have a point, and that is, "What about Bobby?"

Jack is dealing with Erica & something about a movie. Also Jack is buying lots of shares of some stock. "Leave my name out of it."

So, with the way these files are, I'm not sure just how much I have watched. Let's say it's been 3 more days.

I give these 3 days an 8/10. Pretty good. Oh, and, BTW, Palmer is useless but I already knew that.

Erica is her usual self. I've always liked her with Jack.

At the hospital, in the hall, outside Nina's room, Cliff stops to console Bobby. A long hug. Just what the doctor ordered.

I'm a big fan of hugs.

 

Nina keeps crying. Bobby is upset when he hears the news. He asks her, "Mom, are you in trouble?" How endearing!

OH NO. I completely forgot that Cecily went to the cop shop to ask Josh a favor. He made a kind of counter-offer. Would she be his date to the Policeman's Ball? She will. Their deal is sealed.

Good grief, Charlie Brown! I also forgot about Adam.

You see, this is the deal. I injured my right hand & it's my dominant hand so writing & keyboarding have both been a problem. 

Adam in a kind of a costume has traveled to Pigeon Hollow, rented a room & is now going around town telling people he teaches history & he's writing a book about local stories, the oral tradition, but it's all a fake. He is shining them on. His true purpose is not clear, at least not to us. But, the costume is very good.

 

Edited February 13Feb 13 by Contessa Donatella

Erica and Jackson's plane Crashed right after the divorce was finalized.

I am shook.

Like really shook.

I want to continue watching. 

But since tomorrow is Valentine's day... I have promised my husband to go to sleep early so I'm not like a zombie tomorrow... I will call it quits for the day.

Aaaah. Why can't days be at least 30 hours or something. 24 hours is not enough time for me.

 

10 hours ago, Jonathan said:

Love this! Thanks for sharing 🫶

❤️

Up to March 22nd 1989!

🐍

Let's start y'all!

So... where I'm at... Erica and Jackson have just survived a plane crash... Of course just mere seconds after Erica dragged Jackson to safety... the plane exploded. So now Erica is not only a fresh divorcee, but a hero!

And just when you think that nothing worse can happen (that is not possible on soap operas...) Erica was BIT by a bitchy snake that was not having Erica come and disrupt her home base. There is only room for 1 snake in this forest! And that snake is Erica. The snake didn't make it, because Jackson killed that poor innocent thing that was just minding it's business. Where is PETA when I need them?

And why is all of this happening you may wonder... well it's obvious they are setting up Erica and Jackson for the next love-affair thing. And you know what - I prefer Jackson over Travis any day! I just hope they do it slowly and build it up nicely.

This entire storyline reminds me of when Brooke and Thomas crashed on a desert island in 2011 and Bradley wrote them eating hallucinogenic berries and then... acting naughty. I hope Erica and Jackson don't turn to sex for surviving purposes... it will cheapen the entire storyline. But we'll see. 

Overall - the show is veeery different than what it was in early 1988, it feels like they are playing for ratings and doing these hardcore cliffhangers every episode. I am not disappointed, not at all... but I do miss the vibe of early 1988.  

But of course, how can I be unhappy when we get a scene of Erica and a poisonous snake staring at each-other like they are old enemies from high-school? I laughed so much... I woke up my husband still sleeping in the other room. 

 

 Oh... and Happy Valentines to all of you! 

❤️

Edited February 14Feb 14 by Maxim

3 hours ago, Maxim said:

Up to March 22nd 1989!

🐍

Let's start y'all!

So... where I'm at... Erica and Jackson have just survived a plane crash... Of course just mere seconds after Erica dragged Jackson to safety... the plane exploded. So now Erica is not only a fresh divorcee, but a hero!

And just when you think that nothing worse can happen (that is not possible on soap operas...) Erica was BIT by a bitchy snake that was not having Erica come and disrupt her home base. There is only room for 1 snake in this forest! And that snake is Erica. The snake didn't make it, because Jackson killed that poor innocent thing that was just minding it's business. Where is PETA when I need them?

And why is all of this happening you may wonder... well it's obvious they are setting up Erica and Jackson for the next love-affair thing. And you know what - I prefer Jackson over Travis any day! I just hope they do it slowly and build it up nicely.

This entire storyline reminds me of when Brooke and Thomas crashed on a desert island in 2011 and Bradley wrote them eating hallucinogenic berries and then... acting naughty. I hope Erica and Jackson don't turn to sex for surviving purposes... it will cheapen the entire storyline. But we'll see. 

Overall - the show is veeery different than what it was in early 1988, it feels like they are playing for ratings and doing these hardcore cliffhangers every episode. I am not disappointed, not at all... but I do miss the vibe of early 1988.  

But of course, how can I be unhappy when we get a scene of Erica and a poisonous snake staring at each-other like they are old enemies from high-school? I laughed so much... I woke up my husband still sleeping in the other room. 

 

 Oh... and Happy Valentines to all of you! 

❤️

I was always a fan of Erica & Jack together!

4 hours ago, Maxim said:

And you know what - I prefer Jackson over Travis any day! I just hope they do it slowly and build it up nicely.

LOL, this made me laugh! How can I say this without spoiling anything… Hmm… So you’re watching 1989? Well, you’ve got 22 more years of Erica and Jackson ahead—talk about a slow burn! 😂 Enjoy!

11 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

LOL, this made me laugh! How can I say this without spoiling anything… Hmm… So you’re watching 1989? Well, you’ve got 22 more years of Erica and Jackson ahead—talk about a slow burn! 😂 Enjoy!

You have just made my day! I have felt their chemistry emerging even while she was married to Travis. Jackson is... in a way... a perfect fit for her... He is waaaay more down to Earth and normal compared to Travis. And I've always thought that a hurricane of a woman like Erica can be happy only if the man is calm, collected and takes ALL of her with a sense of humor and... not that serious... Travis and Erica were also too ego driven in the way they correlated to each other. Both gave each other non stop compliments and cheerleading, which is good, but... Still the lies became too much at one point. Erica wanted Travis to perceive her as perfect everything and Travis wanted her to think he is so successful. I still liked them though... especially since they have a child. Bianca. 

Jackson is way more real to and with her... he tells her some very uncomfortable truths and I love it. And I've noticed how much he laughs while he overhears her talking. That's the kind of attitude that makes people stay together for decades.

Sadly I think Erica will have trouble appreciating Jackson... She is still quite obsessed with Travis. But that's the fun of the show.

❤️❤️❤️

36 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I was always a fan of Erica & Jack together!

❤️ How were they called? J-erica?