Members DRW50 Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) I've wanted to see this for a while so glad that it's been uploaded. This is the setup to the story where Tina gets Sheila into the country club and Luna drops in via parachute (and then apparently Sheila and Tina forgot each other's existence for over two years!). Sheila tries out for the local musical and has to deal with racism. This is something no soap would ever touch today, as they'd be called dated, PC, out of control bleeding heart liberals, but this type of bigotry is more common and popular than many will ever say. Also very telling is when Babs says Llanview can't deal with interracial relationships - 20 years later, she's as right as ever. It may be heavy-handed, but it's beautifully acted by Valerie Pettiford, and with good, fun support from Karen Witter. And giving a campy and yet believable performance as the local control freak/ham/diva/racist is Broadway's Carole Shelley, who also had the unenviable task of temping for Beverlee McKinsey on AW in 1980. Carole's a lot of fun here - my favorite part is when they announce Cord as what she assumes to be her co-star, and she licks her lips in anticipation. Plus, John Lopreino sings! And Karen Witter does acrobatics! Edited August 31, 2011 by CarlD2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vee Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Sheila was an utterly different character as played by Valarie Pettiford versus Stephanie Williams, who took over the part and was an utter non-entity as Hank and Sheila became Bo and Nora's token black talk-tos. It was sad yet totally uninteresting and unsurprising to me as a kid when I tuned in one day and suddenly Sheila was leaving Hank for vague reasons, out of the blue. But Pettiford's Sheila had grace, strength and intelligence. I have only seen a bit of the days when Hank, Sheila and Troy Nichols occupied the canvas together. Troy always seemed like a bit of a goofy stick in the mud to me with an odd voice, a holdover from Paul Rauch's very late attempt to re-inject black characters he didn't care about into the canvas. I recall reading one of the articles here where Gottlieb talks about hiring a black writer to handle that triangle - saying she had Sheila between a "new kind of black man" and an "institutionalized one" (Troy), or something. I'd like to see more of that story, however dated the language is now. I always wanted Hank to come back to the show as a suave, "grayer" defense attorney. I figured Nathan Purdee would come back to the role if you pitched him his opening scene as being woken up in the middle of the night by one of his old friends or family - the camera pans past a beautiful young woman in bed to Hank, who picks up the phone. It would be more action than he'd gotten in his last five or six years on the show. I also had liked the idea of pairing him with Tina, just because I thought it would be two hilariously different types. Edited August 31, 2011 by Vee 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 They could cast Shanelle Workman. OK maybe not... I'd love to see Hank again. You could do anything with him. I wanted them to try Hank/Nora when Nora lost her memory for a while. One of the best moves Labine made was giving Hank a love interest and a strong voice on the canvas again. They could make Hank mayor and have some tough crime policies and see how they affect the canvas, especially if RJ also returns. I also thought it was a wasted opportunity to have Sheila pregnant and then lose her baby and vanish. A baby would have given Rachel story and would have caused angst for Bo/Nora in that phase where they weren't sure about having a child. Sheila was fading away even for the last year Pettiford was in the role, but her presence added so much to scenes like Marty's rape examination. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vee Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 I think if the rumors are true that they're bringing Rachel onto the new show - and I would love to believe they are - than they might as well go for new tentpole couples and pair her up with Kevin once again. That would be a new, interracial generation for the Buchanan family to cement things while you'd also have Natalie, Jessica, Joey etc. in play. That also gives a base for other Gannons to be brought back in from. I do think there's an edge and fire to Nathan Purdee as an actor and artist that they did not properly utilize in many of his later years on the show. And they could do that if, after being sacked for a serial killer (that was Hank's exit - the city dumped him offscreen for Daniel Colson in the wake of the Mitch Laurence debacle, and he went to teach law at Llanview U), Hank had grown fairly cynical and turned towards a lucrative career as a defense attorney while also struggling with his honor and moral fiber. Or perhaps, yes, as a hard-driving federal prosecutor, maybe that's more apropos. I think you could do a lot with both brothers. RJ could have been running this show years ago if daytime knew how to deal with leading men of color. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 I didn't even know Hank had had an exit in 2003, I thought he'd just gone. I guess at least he wasn't killed. I'd love to see Rachel again. The Rachel/Hank relationship had so many layers, at least with Ellen Bethea in the role. The dynamics when she was involved with Kevin were just so rich, especially during the rape trial. I would love to know what Gottlieb's plans for the story were as I assume the network stepped on this story. Rachel was in a backburner story with Ben (first goofy and mumbling, then boring and saintly), and Kevin spent most of 1994 in a supporting role until they recast him with the piece of ass from Eden. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vee Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 Hank did not have an onscreen exit. He last appeared convincing Rae to divorce Asa - in order to be with him (cue vomiting). He was last seen luring her into a delightful game of touch football in Angel Square that spring, as I struggled to contain my lunch at the thought of Hank being pawed by Linda Dano. A few weeks later, Daniel Colson strode into the LPD and informed Nora and Bo that due to the Mitch Laurence mess, the state had dismissed Hank and appointed him as acting DA - Hank was said to have gone over to Llanview U to teach law and coach football, so he was still in town, unseen. I think they said more recently that he, Rachel and RJ had all moved to Chicago. What I never understood is how Peter Parros ended up playing virtually the exact same role - Dr. Ben - on two shows only a few years apart. When he turned up on ATWT in the same boring role I literally thought the character had crossed over. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) I didn't think it was onscreen, I am just relieved to know he had an exit at all. I thought until his 2009 appearance he'd just vanished without a trace. Of course Hank is now living in the Buchanan mansion attic... I always assumed someone at ATWT had been watching their competitor and thought he'd make a good addition to their show when they wanted to tell a token story for the fresh hell Zoe. He did fit in better on ATWT than he did on OLTL, I have to admit, but then I haven't seen all that much of him on OLTL beyond being the straight man for Mari Morrow as she went on her long audition for Requiem for a Dream's orgy sequence. I know he had a big part in that "Superflu" story but for some reason I've never really wanted to see that. Edited August 31, 2011 by CarlD2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vee Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 I remember that story. Leah Brahms from Star Trek: The Next Generation nearly got Viki killed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted September 1, 2011 Members Share Posted September 1, 2011 (edited) Andie and Hunter marry. I'm confused about her stories. I remember the actress said she always hoped for Dan/Andie. I guess Dan was gone by this time. Did they ever try for Tony/Andie, or were they just friends? Hunter/Andie seem a little forced but there's nothing here that would suggest he'd start beating her. I know in real life that also happens but on a soap, with characterization, it kind of annoys me. Why not just say they had differences and split up? Andie seems to have saran wrap on her head. Andie and Max seem a little too close. Nick Walker does a good job of using JdP's mannerisms. While I do think they were right to bring JdP back, I wish someone else at ABC Daytime had given him a job. Why not a Travis recast on AMC? Who is playing Hunter's mother? She looks familiar to me. Edited September 1, 2011 by CarlD2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted September 1, 2011 Members Share Posted September 1, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR5MEEzgmKA 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OLTL_fan Posted September 1, 2011 Members Share Posted September 1, 2011 Me too. Hated the way she was written off last year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted September 1, 2011 Members Share Posted September 1, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc9cvXFFoJY&feature=related 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted September 3, 2011 Members Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) This has some more of the Viki DID 1995 story I don't think has been on Youtube yet - this is after Tori burnt down Llanfair. As "Viki," she launches into an increasingly unhinged monologue about how their family was built on a degenerate and how they need to move on with their lives and go their separate ways. It's very good work from Erika, very strong writing. The saddest part of this for me is that Tori was right. We were supposed to see this as Tori being insane, but that truly is what the Lord family was built on and what they have become - to see Jessica, so innocent and so traumatized in this clip, and knowing that she has become nothing more than a soulless poster child for trivializing sexual abuse...for a while now I wanted the show to end with Viki realizing the family needs to split apart for their own sake, with Jessica dead and Natalie moving away with Liam for a new life, and Kevin and Joey away, as usual. It won't happen, but if it ever did, this clip would be a good one to use. You can also see some of Alex/Renee/Asa/Nigel, and some of the Angel Square story. Manzo was much more interesting than any of the later Andie stuff where Carlo pretended to be a priest and Andie was (literally!) clinging to Antonio's legs begging him not to leave her. Matt Servito and Wendie Pratt have some good chemistry in the part when he says you see, I'm a good cop. And Javier and Linda were also great characters. Angel Square lost something without them. Edited September 3, 2011 by CarlD2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted September 3, 2011 Members Share Posted September 3, 2011 So much hair, Todd, so much hair. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted September 3, 2011 Members Share Posted September 3, 2011 From a November 1981 Digest. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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