Between 1976, say, and 1987, I'm there. Before and after that, though, not so much.

I'd like to see Gillian Spencer's work, and early Wanda/Vince, and Nancy Pinkerton as Dorian. And the Viki/Meredith relationship.

Not me. For me, OLTL's golden years are the 80s. Overall the late 60s/70s didnt come across all that exciting from what Ive read and seen in comparison. Late 70s and onwards was when it really started popping

Really? I think the first five years sounded pretty amazing. It does seem like in the mid 70s it got kinda dull.

Really? I think the first five years sounded pretty amazing. It does seem like in the mid 70s it got kinda dull.

Yeah, if I had my choice of what ten years to see it would be from the late 70s to late 80s. The early years dont interest me that much

The early '80s were seen as a slumping time for the show. I'd still like to watch them, but the '60s are what seem to be the most fascinating. Just for the chance of seeing Ellen Holly and Doris Belack...

I agree, all of the early Carla, Viki/Niki, Larry/Meredith, Tony stuff up until Victor's death (Dorian, Melinda) fascinates me the most.

I admit, I've never taken to what I've seen of the Rauch era the way many have--though I do think when Peggy O'Shea was writing it was still pretty classic soap--much less so when she left (or was fired?). It does seem like Gordon Russell took some time to really find his feet with the show--after Agnes left in '73, even though she speaks about helping Russell write the show for a year after, it took till '76 or so to start to really seem like compelling soap again. It's interesting, one of LaGuardia's soap books from the mid 70s says that OLTL had already become more of a fantasy and lost its original issues. One character I wish we could see more clips of is Cathy Craig, who in the last years Nixon wrote seemed to be the show's heroine, more so than Vicki.

It's always interesting to me that Cathy was played by actresses who don't have the usual soap look, are very offcenter, at least until the end, with Jennifer Harmon.

For me the Rauch stuff is about the characters, not the stories, even though many would call those years rigidly plot-driven. There were so many strong and interesting characters you could relate to or entertained you. And even with the pervasive misogyny and violence the female characters - what soaps should be about - still had strength and drive.

I rack that up to Peggy O'Shea, who I think is such an underated soap writer. From all I've seen, the show crumbled into full on camp when Schnessel became HW--especially after a year.

All Her Children implies that Agnes thought of herself as Cathy in a way. I know she was very involved in casting back then, I wonder if the |not typical soap starlet" look was on purpose.

I rack that up to Peggy O'Shea, who I think is such an underated soap writer. From all I've seen, the show crumbled into full on camp when Schnessel became HW--especially after a year.

Peggy was certainly a superior writer to Schnessel, but I think the show was still in good hands even with him. The stories weren't as sharp, but they featured charismatic and likeable performers, and were treated seriously which made all the difference (and is why the 1988 story was much better than the 1968 stuff, IMO). Renee was a good match for Asa. Gabrielle and Tina were still fascinating, and the show succeeded in maturing Tina while keeping her naughty edge. Max was at his best and the triangle with Gabrielle and Megan worked. Even though Eterna was a very odd decision, to say the least, Megan was a delight - my only complaint is I wish they'd taken a little longer for her to become close to Viki. Sarah was a wonderful ingenue, something that soaps always struggle with, Fraternity Row was fun, the baby switch story was generally watchable and full of interesting people. I do think there were mistakes, but nothing serious.

I think it was Schnessel's death which seemed to lurch the show in a more hazy and unpalatable direction.

Edited October 5, 201114 yr by CarlD2

Was Cathy Erica-like to a certain degree? I ask because Erica is apparently Agnes-like as well, and Robin Strasser was wanted for Cathy when Reinholt and Courtney were hired.

It's too bad Cathy's character seemed to become defined solely by her role in the Viki/Joe story.

I wonder what they were considering when casting Harmon. A return to the days of the show's relevancy campaigns? Or just because she was a lead on another show and they were poaching from NBC at the time?

She was fiercely independant, so in that respect Ithink she was similar. I've only seen her in the scene from that 1969 episode--it['s too bad nothing from the Odyssey House story seems to exist

An interesting article of Viki (OLTL)...

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