Up to April 28th, 1992.

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"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

 

So what is going on right now?

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In the search for the Hesser killer we had a new twist that flipped the script on Asa Buchanan. Bitter and scorned, Renee decided it's time to confide in the district attorney and tell him that she lied and gave her husband a fake alibi. Asa was apprehended, but quickly released due to his connections with the mayor. Talk about corruption. Then we had Renee revisiting all the warning signs that she somehow tried to ignore - the little details that made it so apparent that Blair and Asa were getting closer. Renee did what Renee does best - in a gesture of contempt she gave Blair the keys to her house. Told her - he's yours. Take him.

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Dorian's search for the missing pieces of her childhood led her to the hospital where her sister Agatha presumably died as a child. Strangely, the records didn't show anyone named Agatha Cramer passing away from pneumonia. No, they only had one patient with that name and that patient didn't suffer from a respiratory disease, but from paranoid schizophrenia and was transferred to a specialized sanatorium. Following up on that information, Dorian entered the mental institution only to see the sad ruins of people's psyches and the horrific atmosphere that her sister was a part of. In one more stunning twist, she learned that Agatha Cramer was indeed a patient in the hospital, but... passed away in child birth... years and years ago. Dorian broke down in tears.  

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Tina did the most stupid thing possible - she slept with Cain Rogan. I really don't know what to say except that Cord has been dead only a few months and she's already sleeping with other men. To me, that's disappointing. Not only this, but Tina has chosen to associate with an incredibly dangerous man that could put her entire family in jeopardy. She is not listening to Viki or anyone who tells her otherwise. Cord was suppressive and controlling, yes, but I didn't realize Tina was THAT stupid and naive. 

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Cassie finally had the chance to turn the tables on Alex. She went into to question her about the murder of Carlo. Far from the crying girl that got terrorized on her wedding, this time Cassie was the aggressor and it was a nice change of dynamics. Alex did gloat when she talked about how Bo left her for Sarah, though. And she finished the meeting with something like - It's not even Sarah, YOU are not enough to satisfy a man like Bo and I always knew that.  Touche!

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Victoria tried to help bring Renee and Asa together by staging some sort of intervention meeting with the entire family. While organizing it, she overheard Leanne talking to someone on the phone (it sounded very intimate). Mother lion was instantly alerted. Leanne Demerest is the most shockingly ungrateful creature I've seen on the show. Her constant chip on the shoulder make her suspect that everyone thinks of her as "less than". Victoria has tried to make her comfortable in million and 1 ways, but Leanne choses only to see the negative. I get that she feels guilt and is purposely self-sabotaging... but still, lying to an 18 year old boy that you are carrying his child, because you got DUMPED by your lover... is next level tramp behavior.  

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Just after asking Renee for forgiveness and practically begging her to NOT divorce him, just mere minutes after... Asa was trying to get into bed with Blair! She put the brakes on the kissing and making out... because she wanted something in return before going further. She wanted Asa to buy the shares of "The Banner" while the stocks were DOWN and low... and she wanted more than 51 percent - a controlling interest. Asa agreed, because he wanted the making out to continue. The old goat gave in to Blair's sex-appeal and took the bait. So... it looks like Blair may soon be the owner of "The Intruder". She promised that she'll give him MORE after that. If this is not high-level escort behavior, tell me what it is. Blair is such a bad, bad girl and I LOVE HER. Not a boring second!

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We have a new male presence in town - Andrew's father - Sloan Carpenter who instantly clicked with Victoria. I couldn't help but wonder if Saint Viki will not slip up and do something that may put her dreamy marriage in jeopardy. She is too morally correct all the time and that is quite boring for a soap opera. Sloan impressed me in his first scenes. He is definitely making a mark on the show. And I can't lie about it - he and Victoria do have chemistry on screen. So I'm really interested where this may lead. Sloan strikes me as this incredibly multi-faceted man, he has a controlling and menacing presence. It will be a shift from the good-guy Clint who only serves to hug Victoria from time to time and give his son Kevin advice. Clint pretty much always does what Victoria wants... and this new person Sloan may be a different kind of man. We'll see. Maybe I'm seeing too much and there will be nothing.

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Overall - 10 out of 10!

Clip of the day - Renee gives Blair the keys to her house and her man.  "It all began so innocently" - it always does, Renee, it always does.

Edited July 1Jul 1 by Maxim

Thanks @Maxim I love how they keep finding ways for Renee to have more dramatic moments. That was done with some restraint too, which helped.

 

21 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks @Maxim I love how they keep finding ways for Renee to have more dramatic moments. That was done with some restraint too, which helped.

 

As she put it in one episode "I've been dirt-poor and filthy rich, but I never married for money!"❤️ 

 

Up to May 7th, 1992.

🫣

"SHE'S ALIVE. AGATHA'S ALIVE!"

This is one of my personal records. 7 episodes in 24 hours! I binged in portions through the day, when I had free time. In my work break, after work, before sleep, I ended up falling asleep at 3-30 in the morning, because I couldn't stop.  

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So what is going on right now?

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The Carlo Hesser murder investigation is starting to drag a bit. Not much, but it's definitely coming to a place where it isn't that interesting anymore. We have too many people getting constantly arrested and released. It makes the entire thing circus-like. First we had another attempt to arrest Asa, that ended with a devastating blow to his marriage. Just as when Renee was about to forgive him and give him a second... (or more like 100th) chance... Blair came out of the shadow to give Asa a fake alibi - she lied to the police that she spent the night with Asa. Renee thought this was true and all hell broke loose.  

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Victoria is getting more and more interested in Sloan Carpenter, she even organized a dinner in his honor. We saw glimpses of his toxic relationship with Andrew - Sloan despises that his son is too sensitive and not macho enough. The thing that he is most proud of... is that Andrew killed a man in Jaba city. Sloan met with the entire town and his comment when he saw drunken Asa Buchanan calling Renee "a tramp" for the millionth time... was "What kind of people are these?" or something like that. I'm starting to adore his passive aggressive Joan Crawford-style remarks. It's very entertaining and we need that kind of superiority-complex male.  

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Troy asked Sheila to marry him. It was romantic and special, but Sheila did not immediately say "Yes", which is a red flag. She confessed to Andrew that she feels very attracted to Hank, in a way that no other man makes her feel. It's the classic bad guy vs good guy female drama. And Sheila is playing with fire. Andrew took her to the local bar (now that's what I expect from a person of good faith), where she sang "Natural woman" and got a steamy kiss from Hank at the end of the performance. What Sheila did after was typical - she ran away and accepted Troy's proposal. It's getting really messy and I love it. I like the battle of the two mustaches. 

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After releasing Asa, the police got enough evidence (provided by Cord and Tina, but that's a long story that I don't want to bore you with) to arrest Alex Olanov. We got a very campy, over the top scene in which she was eating a luxury meal with romantic setting... and threatening Maggie with a knife from her cell. Who the hell gave her a knife, that kind of food and even candles to put in her cell?! This show is usually not that campy, so this was a strange decision. We don't need to get cartoon network so fast.  A little minus. 

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Now let's get to the most interesting part. Dorian went to confront Blair about digging in her past. That's when she saw Addie (Agatha). In the culmination of the scene, Agatha attacked Dorian with the scissors and then escaped. Blair went after her. Dorian was left alone in Cassie's apartment... where she found an album full of newspaper clippings and pictures, showing the full extent of Blair's obsession. Dorian reached the breaking point and emotionally unraveled on the floor of the apartment.   

 

Overall - 10 out of 10!

Clip of the day - Dorian breaks down. Yes, it's Mommie Dearest-Faye Dunaway level of melodrama, but... forgive me - I LOVE IT. 

 

Edited July 2Jul 2 by Maxim

Thanks @Maxim Oddly Elaine reminds me of Susan Lucci in that clip (she even has a similar style here to Lucci). 

So much potential in a story of Dorian finding out all the layers of her family. If only it had been treated well later on. 

Maggie was originally cast with Saundra Santiago (she was also originally meant to be paired with Andrew). Saundra and Tonja would have torn the prison bars off and ate them for lunch.

The Maggie Vega they went with was painful even in small doses. It's no wonder they dumped it. Saundra could've been interesting back then, though I was surprised she was that hard up so soon after Miami Vice.

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks @Maxim Oddly Elaine reminds me of Susan Lucci in that clip (she even has a similar style here to Lucci). 

So much potential in a story of Dorian finding out all the layers of her family. If only it had been treated well later on. 

Maggie was originally cast with Saundra Santiago (she was also originally meant to be paired with Andrew). Saundra and Tonja would have torn the prison bars off and ate them for lunch.

I'm not feeling the current Maggie at all. The actress is really wooden compared to the other talent in the show. She is improving very slowly, but still sometimes I can feel her saying her dialogue as fast as possible. She and Andrew have 0 chemistry. Andrew has the most chemistry with some of the guys in the show if you ask me. Especially that hot psychiatrist that got Sarah addicted to drugs. I forgot his name - the cute one with the blond hair that looks like he is an escort. Andrew and him have more chemistry than he has with Maggie. 😂

4 minutes ago, Maxim said:

I'm not feeling the current Maggie at all. The actress is really wooden compared to the other talent in the show. She is improving very slowly, but still sometimes I can feel her saying her dialogue as fast as possible. She and Andrew have 0 chemistry. Andrew has the most chemistry with some of the guys in the show if you ask me. Especially that hot psychiatrist that got Sarah addicted to drugs. I forgot his name - the cute one with the blond hair that looks like he is an escort. Andrew and him have more chemistry than he has with Maggie. 😂

I'll have to check him out.

I think Andrew works best in complex platonic relationships like the one he had with Megan.

Maggie is a real washout.

11 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I'll have to check him out.

I think Andrew works best in complex platonic relationships like the one he had with Megan.

Maggie is a real washout.

I remembered his name. Dr. Jonas and he's played by Christopher Durham. 

 

16 minutes ago, Maxim said:

I remembered his name. Dr. Jonas and he's played by Christopher Durham.

Thanks. I guess someone at ABC was being kind after Ryan's Hope.

15 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks. I guess someone at ABC was being kind after Ryan's Hope.

🤣

Up to May 15th, 1992.

💍

"Marry me, Blair!"

I'm so excited that... I'm actually watching mid-May 1992 episodes. This is my 8th month of the show and considering that the episodes are 40+ minutes and there aren't many missing (2-3 missing so far I think)... I can't believe I still haven't been bored or fed up (which I usually am at a certain point with all the soaps). On the contrary - it's becoming better and better. I'm definitely putting OLTL as my number 1  classic soap. I've found my biggest obsession.

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So what is going on right now?

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Let me start with the big stuff first. After searching for Agatha for 2 days, Max and Blair found her in Max's attic. She had regressed to a child-like state. Soon Max and Blair were joined by Dorian who finally faced her sister after 4 decades. Blair accused Dorian of deserting Agatha and before that - tormenting her and driving her insane. Dorian had another version of the story - all of the details that Blair knew, all of the abuse that Agatha blamed Dorian for... were actually things that Dorian survived at the hands of Agatha. When Agatha told Blair that Dorian cut her with scissors, it was actually Agatha stabbing Dorian in the back. Dorian even showed Blair her scars. In the end of the episode, Addie jumped from the window. She survived with a broken hand and was admitted to the hospital.

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Leanne Demerest did what she does best - she self-sabotaged by kissing Jason. Of course, in a typical soap opera fashion... the idiot Kevin saw it. The young "couple" had a huge fight which led to Kevin and Jason to a physical altercation. When the rest of the family found out what happened, Leanne was once again on the receiving end of Asa Buchanan's threats. This time deservedly so. Victoria tried to reason with her with no success. Why is Victoria even trying? Leanne is a lost cause. And then... as stupid as Kevin is, he blamed his family for alienating Leanne and... wanted to give her another chance. Jesus Christ. I have to remind myself that he is still very young, practically a kid... so I can't blame him. 

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A search warrant was issued for Sarah and Bo's apartment. Sarah and Bo found a strange gun in the house couple of days ago, which Sarah claimed to have no recollection where it came from. Bo presumed that it was probably planted by Alex. They had been hiding it till now... Before the search... Andrew tried to stop Cassie and Maggie from entering telling them to give Sarah "a chance"?! WTF. Move away, reverend and let the girls do their job, please. And let me tell you, when Sarah was busted... her whole demeanor changed. Suddenly she appeared menacing. She pointed the gun at Maggie and then... managed to escape. Is this our killer? I'm not sure anymore. But they better wrap this up, before it gets boring. Wrap it up!

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In the aftermath of finding out that Dorian was not the evil woman she believed she was... Blair was in deep despair. She wanted to do something impulsive that will make her forget for a moment, so she went out for a ride on one of Asa's horses. Without any safety measures, Blair fell down and Asa found her unconscious. Instead of transporting her to a hospital, Asa put her in one of the bedrooms and hired a private doctor to take care of her. Cain Rogan tried to intervene and told him that Blair is a dangerous opportunist. Of course, just as Blair was all cozy recovering in one of Asa's beds, Renee came to collect some of her belongings. Not knowing that Blair is sleeping in the bedroom, she opened the door and saw her. Renee stormed out and ran to inform Victoria of what she had seen. Cain Rogan shocked the Buchanans with even scarier news - he told them that Asa wanted to marry Blair. Realizing what was about to happen and what kind of monster was going to rule their family, Victoria decided it's time to STOP Blair. In one of the best scenes in the show so far! (The clip of the day) Victoria's voice dripped with honey, her face... sunny and sweet... but the truths she was saying were piercing to the core. The "kill-them-with-kindness" queen Victoria... delivered.

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The biggest loser in all of this... right now is Max Holden. He thought that Blair had finally opened up to him, he was so sure that they were going to be together, but Blair pulled the rug underneath him again. He found out that she was staying with Asa... and completely lost it. Seeing a man be so distraught over a woman is a nice change to seeing the opposite on soaps all the time. Luna (who the writers have lost interest in... in my opinion) tried to stop him going after Blair, but that made Max even more angry. For some reason I enjoy seeing the womanizer Max being put in his place. He dumped Leanne like a dog... so he deserves this as his karma.

Overall - 10 out of 10! 

Clip of the day - Victoria confronts Blair about infiltrating the Buchanan family.

 

Edited July 3Jul 3 by Maxim

Thanks @Maxim I like how they handled the Viki and Blair encounter, where you aren't sure if Blair is playing up a helpless act or if she is genuinely broken. 

The scene where Dorian shows Blair her scars is such wonderful soap melodrama.

@Maxim do you have any 2003 episodes?

8 hours ago, cassadine1991 said:

@Maxim do you have any 2003 episodes?

As I recall the entire year of 2003 is on youtube, I think uploaded 2 or 3 times by different uploaders. If they have missed a certain episode, tell me the date and I'll search in my collection. I should have full 2003, even though I haven't checked the folders. 

22 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks @Maxim I like how they handled the Viki and Blair encounter, where you aren't sure if Blair is playing up a helpless act or if she is genuinely broken. 

Yes!!! It's just on the verge of being... too broken up. Like she's acting. And that was even more apparent when Max came to see her in the next episode... and suddenly when Asa was not around or looking... Blair was on her feet and acting like she's fine. Love a fox that knows how to use an injury to her advantage. 😂 The makings of a true antagonist.