October is a whirlwind, as it adds Blair and then wraps with Max's big return which I actually really liked, OTT reintro and all. Early November lags a bit because they have the Eber domestic abuse saga that is fortunately wrapping up quick, but Blair's introduction is amazing for me too.

I think I know what they're doing with Cain's background and Asa's secret, and it's kind of crazy how many times the show did this both before and long after this (including the fact that it may be a xerox of Max's own past).

31 minutes ago, Vee said:

October is a whirlwind, as it adds Blair and then wraps with Max's big return which I actually really liked, OTT reintro and all. Early November lags a bit because they have the Eber domestic abuse saga that is fortunately wrapping up quick, but Blair's introduction is amazing for me too.

I think I know what they're doing with Cain's background and Asa's secret, and it's kind of crazy how many times the show did this both before and long after this (including the fact that it may be a xerox of Max's own past).

Do you think things just blew up in October due to their constant experimenting or was there another push?

I don’t think I know what’s coming up with Cain (I know he works for Asa and ends up with Tina) so that sounds interesting!

I saw Max at the brothel in the tub but not yet his face and yeah, I think it’s great actually, felt like 80s Max!

4 minutes ago, soapfave06 said:

Do you think things just blew up in October due to their constant experimenting or was there another push?

I think it was just a combination of 1) A lot of experimenting, first with chemistry tests or tone (the past lives romp) and with other less successful things (the sort of novella-esque Eber domestic violence story, which I think likely only runs about a month total). Gottlieb has said she would bring in new people early on and only then decide who they could be with or where they would go. I think that's evident with Jason Webb in particular, as well as possibly Luna (who has a few dates with Jon Russell) though they certainly jump right on introducing a Luna and Max angle quickly, as you'll see. But I think at one point Blair and Max were endgame, and that is a topic for down the road.

The other key factor I think was 2) The focus on a lot of new, ambitious objectives: Bedding in Luna, introducing Blair and Andrew, setting up the beginnings of Megan's fate or maybe chem-testing her with several men in case they could convince JT to stay - I don't know when it was finalized, but they had been hinting at Megan being ill as early as late August, at Hunter Guthrie and Andy Harrison's wedding as Gottlieb wrote those two out. Slowly unveiling Cain, which still isn't finished. Getting ready to write out Cord, as John Loprieno must've given his notice well before now yet they are still toying with him and Blair. And of course there was bringing back James DePaiva's Max to massive fanfare (and by most contemporary accounts around August of '91, they actually had not initially planned to bring Max back until someone hit on the idea of reaching out to JDP).

I just think they tried a lot very quickly, and a lot of it worked in October due to an excellent dialogue staff, actors and a fresh production team and style. Next comes Gottlieb burning down Llanfair to remodel it, which I said not long ago I felt was beautifully shot with unique, daring camerawork. The lovely scenes afterward, in the wrecked drawing room, got Erika an Emmy IIRC.

Edited 3 minutes ago3 min by Vee