Up to February 1st, 1993

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"A vulture circling for carrion..."

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I can't believe it's already February 1993... how time flies! I think I'm only a few episodes away from when Robin Strasser returns to the show. I'm keeping it a secret from myself and won't look up the exact airdate, even though I used to know it or read about it. I've forgotten it, which is actually better because it keeps me in suspense.

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Our very own Anna Karenina is going through a tough new chapter in her self-created drama. The tables are turning on her. Did she expect that Clint would just hang around waiting for her when she takes her time choosing who she wants (while sucking on Sloan's face every single day), but I’m sorry, sweetheart - that’s not how reality works. Clint is starting to pull away, he’s asking questions in a colder, more business-like manner. "What are we doing?" "When is this going to end?" now feel like a task he wants to finish instead of the pain we felt at the beginning. And throw the little conniver Lindsay into the mix, and you’ve got a classic scenario. Now Anna Karenina-Buchanan is NOT so sure if she wants to hand Clint over to another woman. Her pride can’t handle the thought of being replaced, whether it’s by Lindsay or someone else. She wants to have her cake and eat it too.

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Cord is back. The way they built up to this was just ridiculous, I can't even call it a build-up. It was max 3-4 episodes of hints (and an absurd scene with an OUIJA board), and then he just showed up at the door. Now... let me take this down piece by piece. Clint's reaction was totally wrong. He didn't even cry or shed a single tear, his shock was way less than when he saw Viki hugging Sloan for example. Some could say - that's how shock works, but it didn't read well. It was just a poorly executed scene. A dead son comes back, and two minutes later, they're chatting like he never left. In contrast, Viki's reaction was true and believable, Erika Slezak turned mediocre material into gold again. Her acting choice was spot on for the situation.

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Cord's already talking about Tina as if she's still the same boring housewife waiting to bake him a lemon pie in the kitchen. (Surprise, Cord... we now have LUNA in that role!) Apparently he was in a labor camp, (which is a better excuse than Sarah held in a cabin by her kidnappers in the mafia for years without being killed, like she was the lost Romanov daughter) looking for his wife, completely unaware that she is actually having a good old orgasm in an Atlantic city hotel room. I can't wait to see how he reacts. Cord was a bit controlling and totalitarian in his approach to Tina, but he's better for her than that parasite Cain. The writers completely dropped the ball on Tina's role as a mother. For the past year, we barely have seen these kids. They basically erased that part of her. It would be interesting if Cord could comment on that - how she is not spending any time with them anymore and is neglecting them for Cain.

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Jason and Leanne have officially broken up. Initially, Jason went to see Leanne to cancel their wedding. He did this because Kevin gave him an ultimatum. In a way, he was trying once again to protect Leanne, but she was too stupid to realize it. And then, while bickering, Leanne finally revealed her true nature to him - she began to blame him for all her problems. SHE HAD THE NERVE to do that. She even mentioned that he can't read better than a 2 year old. THAT GUY WORKED 5 JOBS FOR HER. He went to jail for her. What an ungrateful BITCH. I hope Rachel and Kevin raise her child. In the end, Jason told her something we've all been thinking - YOU RUINED MY LIFE. And left her. I still think they are breaking them up too fast, but at least they gave Jason his backbone back. It was about time he stopped humiliating himself for this woman. She's only pretty and nothing else.

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Finally... Luna is showing a hint of pride. She left Max a note saying she's going away, in the process breaking his son's heart. They are exploiting the little boy's sorrow to evoke sympathy for Max, but I refuse to be deceived by that. Max deserves to be dumped, yet I doubt Luna will truly follow through. She'll return. She always does. This sad excuse for a relationship will continue.

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Aaaand I almost forgot - Asa and Renee seem to be... maybe... getting back together. Hmmm.

Overall -  6/10 - BTW, talking about Josh Griffith - I notice the scenes are getting shorter and shorter lately.

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Clip of the day

Lindsay (that's her name, I first heard Clint calling her Lizzie and thought she was called Elizabeth, but I think Lindsay fits her better) vs VIKI

Edited yesterday at 10:18 AM1 day by Maxim

4 hours ago, Maxim said:

Clip of the day

Lindsay (that's her name, I first heard Clint calling her Lizzie and thought she was called Elizabeth, but I think Lindsay fits her better) vs VIKI

Wait is this Lindsay Rappaport? I've only know the character played by Hickland.

I'm afraid to admit, but I've never read Anna Karenina. @Maxim - you've got me itching to look into the book and read it!

1 minute ago, alwaysAMC said:

I'm afraid to admit, but I've never read Anna Karenina. @Maxim - you've got me itching to look into the book and read it!

OMG... If you haven't... then you ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BUY it for Christmas! Buy it for yourself and you won't regret it. I can help with choosing translation. I think that's the most important part, because a translation can make or break a book. I've done TOO much research into it the last few days... haha.

I recommend either the Magarshack translation (Signet Classics edition - black background with the approaching train)... or the Bartlett translation (Oxford World Classics edition) and finally - the newest (from 2014) Marian Schwartz one (The Margellos World Republic of Letters edition).... it is amazing (the negative is that it's slower and harder to read, the sentences don't flow as well, but that can also be a positive depending what a person wants from a book) - still I think it's the closest to Tolstoy of all of them. My husband read it to me in Russian and we compared translations together. The Schwartz translation is quite expensive even though the kindle or the eBook may be cheap. P.S. Just checked the kindle version is 0.00 for that one and trust me... it's sublime.

So if you want to read it and feel the melodrama and the language to flow easy and not even feel like a translation - Magarshack no doubt about it, but if you want something as close as possible to Tolstoy, but a bit harder to read - Bartlett or Schwartz (both are the newest translations and they have the advantage of being based on the fullest Tolstoy text, the earlier editions have some missing sentences or parts). The Bartlett translation has a very beautiful hardcover and it's very easy to find online.

This is just my opinion, but the most popular Pavear and Volokhonsky translation... is just not as good. I read the first 50 pages and it's just so much worse compared to the other ones. But whatever edition you decide, it's still going to be okay, I think. Let me know if you start reading it! I'm still waiting for my Signet edition to arrive, and it will be sometime before Christmas.

OLTL has gotten me a bit obsessed with Anna Karenina right now. 😄 This soap just makes people want to read books and that's amazing.

Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by Maxim

5 hours ago, Maxim said:

Up to February 1st, 1993

Clip of the day

Lindsay (that's her name, I first heard Clint calling her Lizzie and thought she was called Elizabeth, but I think Lindsay fits her better) vs VIKI

19 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Wait is this Lindsay Rappaport? I've only know the character played by Hickland.

Not Lindsay Rappaport in the clip.

I'd never seen her before but the youtube closed captioning says her name is "Lindsay Butler" (but I know closed captioning is often wrong).

I looked it up.
The character, Lindsay Butler, portrayed by Anna Holbrook.

info from April 1994 usenet archive (Link)
#Lindsay Butler (Anna Holbrooke)
Putting the character details behind spoiler tag since Maxim hasn't seen all this yet

- a reporter for The Banner
- was marginally involved with Clint during the worst of his break-up with Viki
- beat out Viki for a coveted journalism award with her series on the homeless in Llanview

- - - - - - - -
Interesting. I never heard of this character before just now.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by janea4old

Oh, yes... that's it. Damn, I wanted her to be something more than this. Thanks @janea4old for that info.

1 minute ago, Maxim said:

Oh, yes... that's it. Damn, I wanted her to be something more than this. Thanks @janea4old for that info.

Oh gosh I edited my post to put the details behind spoiler tag, but you'd already read it before I edited.

Lindsay Rappaport doesn't appear until 1998.

Anna Holbrook's Lindsay Butler is a potential romantic spoiler for a Sloan/Viki/Clint quad which doesn't work out for BTS reasons.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by Vee

1 minute ago, janea4old said:

Oh gosh I edited my post to put the details behind spoiler tag, but you'd already read it before I edited.

Oh, no problem. Quite the contrary. I liked to read that she beat Viki in something. I'll look forward to that, haha.

22 minutes ago, Maxim said:

OMG... If you haven't... then you ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BUY it for Christmas! Buy it for yourself and you won't regret it. I can help with choosing translation. I think that's the most important part, because a translation can make or break a book. I've done TOO much research into it the last few days... haha.

I recommend either the Magarshack translation (Signet Classics edition - black background with the approaching train)... or the Bartlett translation (Oxford World Classics edition) and finally - the newest (from 2014) Marian Schwartz one (The Margellos World Republic of Letters edition).... it is amazing (the negative is that it's slower and harder to read, the sentences don't flow as well, but that can also be a positive depending what a person wants from a book) - still I think it's the closest to Tolstoy of all of them. My husband read it to me in Russian and we compared translations together. The Schwartz translation is quite expensive thought in paper, even though the kindle or the eBook may be cheap. P.S. Just checked the kindle version is 0.00 for that one and trust me... it's sublime.

So if you want to read it and feel the melodrama and the language to flow easy and not even feel like a translation - Magarshack no doubt about it, but if you want something as close as possible to Tolstoy, but a bit harder to read - Bartlett or Schwartz (both are the newest translations and they have the advantage of being based on the fullest Tolstoy text, the earlier editions have some missing sentences or parts). The Bartlett translation has a very beautiful hardcover and it's very easy to find online.

This is just my opinion, but the most popular Pavear and Volokhonsky translation... is just not as good. I read the first 50 pages and it's just so much worse compared to the other ones. But whatever edition you decide, it's still going to be okay, I think. Let me know if you start reading it! I'm still waiting for my Signet edition to arrive, and it will be sometime before Christmas.

OLTL has gotten me a bit obsessed with Anna Karenina right now. 😄 This soap just makes people want to read books and that's amazing.

I think the Magarshack version would be what I prefer - thank you so much for the details! :)

Ahh ok, thank you all for the info on this particular Lindsay info! Curious about the BTS info that put a quick end to this one.

Just now, alwaysAMC said:

I think the Magarshack version would be what I prefer - thank you so much for the details! :)

Ahh ok, thank you all for the info on this particular Lindsay info! Curious about the BTS info that put a quick end to this one.

Then we'll be reading the same version soon! ☺️ So excited that it will be your first meeting with Anna Karenina. So much of modern drama steals left and right from this masterpiece... and it's almost IN EVERYTHING at this point. But for a soap opera fan... woooow... it's just the type of thing we love. Think - adultery, scandal, love, lies and twists... absolute 100 percent soap opera. It's not hard to read at all, like I've heard people say. It flows like a fairytale for me.

P.S. I would also love to hear more about that BTS stuff. Sounds interesting.

Thanks @Maxim I appreciate the details about the changes you think Griffith is making, and the various books Malone is adapting to Llanview.

The main reason for the change in this story is soon Clint Ritchie will be offscreen for a good long while due to having an accident on his ranch.

I knew Lindsay was there for Clint, but I wasn't expecting her to also make a play for Sloan.

It's as if Marty and Lindsay have been conjured up to make Viki pay for her wicked ways.

I wonder if they may have originally planned to reveal that Lindsay was on Dorian's payroll.

41 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I wonder if they may have originally planned to reveal that Lindsay was on Dorian's payroll.

It's totally a Dorian thing to set up, for real. 🤭 Lindsay could have been a really fascinating character. I really like the actress. Actually, she was my favorite along with Iris in AW when I was watching.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks @Maxim I appreciate the details about the changes you think Griffith is making, and the various books Malone is adapting to Llanview.

Now I remember how in the beginning Cain reminded me of Patricia Highsmith's Talented Mr. Ripley. But only in the beginning. A failed actor, using his talents for presenting as different people, changing his accent to suit the role... I think I even called him Ripley in the beginning. The influence only in characterization.

I also found many nuances of Bronte's Jane Eyre in the Addie hidden in the bedroom/Blair/Dorian storyline. So much of that gothic atmosphere and the element of the hidden in the other room madness. I instantly thought of Bertha when I heard Blair talking to that mysterious entity in the beginning.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Maxim

Up to February 4th, 1993

🦩

"The Undoing of Clint Buchanan."

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I'm sorry to say, but the love triangle has turned violent. Lindsay's smart manipulation of Clint was the last straw that pushed him over the edge. I don't support any form of violence... I condemn it. However, I understand where it came from. I can see how it built up over months. There's only so much humiliation and deceit a man can take before reaching his breaking point. Lindsay casually revealed the truth to Clint, like a viper, mixing the facts in with other things, which made it hit even harder. You really need to be a smart writer to create such clever scenes. This was the first time Clint caught Viki in a blatant, almost childish lie. There was no way she could talk her way out of this one... even though she tried. Our Viki Buchanina at first glance seems like a morally superior woman, looking down on everyone from her high place, her condescension that she wraps up in friendliness - striking. But beneath that shiny exterior lies a woman who is just as real and damaged as everyone else. I'm putting this scene in the Highlight of the Day section, you really need to watch it. The Viki Buchanina story is now moving into the darker chapters.

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Luna walked away from Max and discovered her "inner goddess", just for a day. Then Max tracked her down and pretty much forced her and manhandled her till she forgave him. It was supposed to be this cute "The Taming of the Shrew" type of scene, but it read wrong and chauvinistic to me. Just as I expected yesterday, Luna couldn't say no to him and they nearly did it under a tree. So disappointing! For a moment, I considered that maybe I had misjudged her and that she was actually going to leave him. I'm really having a hard time with this character. I don't see the point in having her if she's going to be so ordinary and basic. Yet, I can see how they've been trying so hard to make us care about her. I almost cried when I saw her walk back into her own apartment, realizing that Max will never be what she truly wants and needs. But then she put that wool back over her eyes and chose to humiliate herself even more. Now, even if Max eventually starts to love her and sees her as his top priority, I will always remember that pathetic beginning. It's not that these kinds of relationships don't happen - the woman settling for another woman's leftovers and being okay with it... but it's just depressing.

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Now that Cord has finally cleaned up his scruffy homeless beard and transformed physically from a character out of a Dostoevsky novel to someone you'd see in porn films, he continues his search for Idiotina. We saw these almost cartoonish scenes of him moving from one place to another in search of her, while Tina is busy riding Cain in the bed. It's not that it isn't effective... it is, but something is amiss and I know what. The writers have made us dislike Tina so much, or even worse, we stopped caring about her months ago. So now, all this suspense surrounding Cord finding out feels diminished because the stakes have been lowered. Still, I can't wait to see his shock and disgust. I actually care more for Cord than I do for Idiotina. And it's a shame, since the actress is perfection - that smile is one in a million.

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In the more ridiculous parts of Llanview, the clown Alex Olanov Hesser was dressed in a wig and attempting to steal documents to sabotage Renee's restaurant. Why - because the writers need to give her some scraps to act in. They gave Tonja these over the top scenes where she was once again speaking to Carlo's ashes, but this time she brought the urn with her to the restaurant. Watching a grown woman, even if she's clearly mentally unstable, talk to an urn in a way that's meant to be FUNNY, made me cringe at the show's sad attempts at humor. STICK to drama, guys. Don't try to do comedy, because the attempts are painful to watch. I'm saying this with love and respect.

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At last, Nora and Bo are trying to find out who was driving against Bo and Sarah the night she died. This plot is designed to bring them closer together and test their chemistry even further. And it's definitely working. Bo is beginning to flirt like he did with Cassie - you know, that kind of flirty chatting and storytelling that can be a bit much, but also really sweet at the same time. It's the smart guy kind of flirting. As for Nora... she completely outshines everyone she shares a scene with. I LOVE HER, truly the best new character in the past few months.

Overall -  9/10 - WE ARE BACK! (Would be a perfect 10 without Alex's scenes which diluted the episodes.)

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Clip of the day

Clint attacks Sloan!