3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I don't think the show ever fully got Max after his original run. When JDP returns Max seems very desperate, his pairing with Lee Ann seedy (although they probably never intended that as anything beyond wrapping up what Walker had started), and the fling with Blair is not centered on him the way Max's old relationships were. He could be a sexist pig under Rauch, but you tended to see all sides of him. He wasn't that way after his return and I imagine that slowly ate at JDP, although I think from the Max/Blair stuff up to about early 1994 he's in a decent place.

Any time I see your comparisons between Todd and Jason I'm reminded of what a better character Jason was and what a better actor Mark was, although I know Roger had more charisma and sex appeal. 

I think the desperation in Max when he initially returns is actually deliberate. Everyone around him in Sweetwater says he is putting up a big front to hide his pain over his terrible year, including Lee Ann's surprise cousin? sister? Ruth Ann who I did not expect to see in the flesh. I actually think JDP and Max are a big shot of dynamite, charisma and energy to the show at this point, but it's early days yet. He's a lot fresher and more fun than Nicholas Walker.

I think after he settled down with Luna into comfortable marriage with family, and then again after she died they had no real idea what to do with Max, particularly once Malone was gone. I think JDP has said as much about that period being the real downhill slope. He had chemistry with Crystal Chappell but that whole pairing was so messy. (By contrast, the unpopular gambling story does suit Max's past IMO and the famous, intense sex scene with Blair set to Pearl Jam still holds up - even if I hated the story back in the day, I kind of get it now.)

I have always wondered what would've happened if Malone had been given a freer hand in 2003 to do the quad he clearly intended with Max, Gabrielle, Bo and Nora that year instead of Frons and the network mandating the Holdens being wiped out after Nathaniel Marston got himself fired the first time (and then rehired). Malone had never written for Gabrielle before, and got very little opportunity to do so that year beyond her being Bo's troubled girlfriend, Al's grieving mother struggling through intense heartache and depression after his death, etc. Malone was far from at the height of his skills at that point but I still wonder how he would've approached Max and Gabrielle, which was a primal force and the polar opposite of Max and Luna. I'm not sure he would've known how but I would've liked to see what happened. (JDP's Max has a funny line on his first day back in '91 about his wife being America's Most Wanted.)

I did like both Howarth and Mark Brettschneider and think they're both talented, just different. I understand why Roger and Todd took off, but looking at a lot of that material today post-2010s is a different experience. There's some great stuff still with the Todd saga and his therapy, rehabilitation, etc. or the early pairing with Blair (and some of the dark relationship with Rebecca) that I still really value, but it is so weighted down by considering the road not taken for the show, and the queasy, often inappropriate nature of the stuff with Marty and others that plays even more inappropriately now. Then there's the whole dark prince mystique which the audience bought into and the show wrote the hell out of, but which also seems so different and disturbing vs. the show's focus two years before, and overall it just hits me different given the world we live in today and what Todd and characters like him, for better or worse, wrought. Of course we could also say a lot of the same about pimp Marco Dane, Roger Thorpe, Luke Spencer, etc.

I guess that's part of why I find Max's return so refreshing here, despite also being familiar with years of the more moribund, sadsack Max near the end of his tenure on the show. Max may be a scoundrel but he's happy-go-lucky and hey, he hasn't raped anyone.

It's worth noting Max's first full day in late October is also when they begin to lock in on forging Megan and Andrew's friendship more deeply following the first couple meetings, less than a week after Heinrich/Cain has been ejected from her life. It's also when they make a point to mention Megan's health issues again after several small hints, and have Wanda and Andrew urge her to see a doctor.

I was thinking about the gay Joey angle in some of these episodes, as Chris McKenna is featured heavily over the last several months and I assume will continue to be. I don't think it ever got past the network so I would assume it is not hinted at onscreen, but who knows.

Edited August 30Aug 30 by Vee

Max has a busy first week back - the dates for October eps online are off but judging by the calendar for October '91, his first day in the Love Nest bordello was a Friday reveal and tag, followed by him going from the bordello to a barfight to jail to the sweat lodge and finally back to Llanview for Halloween all in the following four eps. Max's sweat lodge vision quest with his father's old ranch hand Joe Hawk is a hoot with some kitschy special effects - JDP overacts hysterically during Max's visions, bless him. I really like the guy playing Joe but can't find an accurate name for who plays him online, or any clear closing credits - I hope it's not another Star Trek: Voyager situation where they got a Latino dude playing indigenous again.

The timeline for the latest round of Buchanan/Holden family feud reveals ("20 years ago", complete with sepia flashback) is surely a bit off for Asa to only have made his proper fortune by stealing from Wingate in 1971. But the retconned rationale they introduce here for the last year of story, with Asa bizarrely obsessing over Max being his true heir out of guilt, makes a lot of sense. Asa is also still legitimately tortured about this secret re: Wingate, which was not always the case for the old man. And Max returns with JDP clearly revved up, with charisma to burn and the character driven by a stronger purpose, which he really didn't seem to have much of under Nicholas Walker.

Max's reunion with Little Al is cute and he and JDP instantly seem comfortable together and very cozy. I don't remember if Evan Bonifant (later of 3 Ninjas and the infamous Blues Brothers 2000) was in the role long before this point but he already has a lot of character; the Al I remember most fondly as a kid was Jason Alexander Fischer or whatever his name was, with the big teeth. Side note: Bonifant went on to very briefly play a teen Lucas Jones on GH under Guza II in 2002, caught between cousins Maxie and Georgie Jones (yes, eww) and the network promoted the trio of Lindze Letherman, Robyn Richards and Bonifant a bit in the mags but it never went anywhere as GH clearly was not interested in anything non-mob at that point. I always wondered what happened to that kid.

The whole 'fake crazy Cassie' storyline is a bit much, and always has been when clips previously floated around online, as is her wearing Sarah's old Halloween dress to 'sell it' which poor Bo does not seem onboard with. As @DRW50 has noted, Laura Bonarrigo was constantly being made to play hysterical and sobbing/shrieking during the Alex terror saga in the summer and now fall, and it really didn't suit building her popularity. Not because she can't play it because she absolutely can, but it gets so OTT and grating when Cassie seems to be at full tilt 11 every day. When you were used to the relatively more stable and mature Cassie of the mid-90s as I was watching as a kid (though the character definitely had her mental lapses, lol) it's a lot, which is probably why her eventual mental spiral in '98/'99 before being dumped by JFP was so shocking to me. Anyway, Cassie's entire 'fake' psychosis is already exhausting but they are definitely playing it, in script and onscreen, as though she might actually be losing it. There is a hilarious moment when she mistakes a trick-or-treater for Alex and screams at the door, only for an off-camera voice to snap 'Happy Halloween, bitch!' I do wonder what they had in mind for poor Cassie when Bo/Sarah was going to be the endgame down the road - they didn't hit on Andrew and Cassie til later. It was interesting to hear her talk about her relationships with Rob and Jon Russell briefly in this period - I don't remember Laura's Cassie ever mentioning Rob other than this.

With Cain and Megan's temptation by Heinrich 'gone' they're also playing the Megan/Andrew angle even more heavily on Halloween, as Viki teases Andrew about his adoring female parishioners and him finding a woman and Andrew gets awkward just in time for Megan to usher Jane Ebert into the Llanfair drawing room. The lavish Halloween '91 costume party (or as they keep calling it 'the Halloween fair'), long seen only in rough bits and pieces on YT until now, is great to see in full. Princi's Dorian looks incredible as Morticia Addams(?) and of course, Craig Wasson's abusive Doug is on the loose here as an evil clown a la Roger Thorpe. And Max making a grand masked entrance planting one on Megan at the kissing booth is fun. Megan running interference for Tina yanking Cord away from Blair is cool - MK's Blair looks like a million bucks in her 1940s outfit, which seems like a nod to mousy Blair's true nature. She even sings a sultry little ditty to herself when leaving her apartment for the fair.

I always appreciate when a soap amps up the atmosphere and does Halloween right. OLTL did it many times. Here they nail it again with little Jessica ending up at the boardinghouse trick or treating and seeing Luna and Lee Ann, then stumbling into Blair's room and seeing the back room slam shut (thanks to invisible Addie, again very Jane Eyre) and becoming convinced it's haunted. Great, spooky stuff. The scenes with Lee Ann and Luna drinking together in her little apartment and sharing sorrows and feelings are great too - this is the first time I think where Luna talks about her first husband, Bobby Ever, who died young and foolish. SB is wonderful in this stuff and Yasmine Bleeth was always so empathetic in this role. I always wanted to see Lee Ann return once so Kevin could deal with the loss of Duke, and maybe have her make trouble briefly for him and someone else. Obviously it wouldn't be Bleeth, but I do wish she hadn't gone downhill personally and in her career; she really was strong on the show, more than just a Baywatch hottie.

The more atmospheric, dark and synth-like riff on Blair's deceptively wholesome theme music is amazing. I wish these Gottlieb revamp music cues (by either Suzanne Ciani or David Nichtern, or both) were easier to find online. I wonder when they retired this theme, if they ever played it for KDP.

From a doc about Ciani, featuring her and Linda Gottlieb. The post-production process before '91 does sound fairly primitive.

Upon doing some digging, David Nichtern is responsible for at least some of these early cues too and as many of us know he was at OLTL for several more years - he created the great "Lee Ann's Theme", which is often done in harmonica or synth on the show in fall '91. You can hear a more heavily produced version on his album From Here to Nichternity (lol), along with I think at least several more OLTL cues. I'm still trying to find Blair's cue, or whatever it's called. The recurring Luna music cue is also great.

 

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Vee

I should add, in Laura Bonarrigo's defense - I've always loved her - she plays a much more scary unhinged Cassie in '98, sinister, quieter and calculating. There's none of the really OTT histrionics from '91 (or some of the miscarriage drama, IIRC). That whole '98 storyline was designed to write her off and make her the antagonist, but she wiped the floor with Sonia Satra and at the time I found saintly Cassie going dark very interesting. I just wish it hadn't ended with her being excised from the show.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Vee

A great read @Vee 

I'd never seen that music interview. Gottlieb is so blunt in the show's problems, I'm not surprised some were unhappy, but I am glad ABC gave her carte blanche, especially as this was, I think, a little while after Monty's disastrous GH return so they could have easily been more gun-shy. If only an incoming producer on a soap now would be allowed such power.

Considering how blase or sarcastic in the case of the music person they both are about Megan's death story, I'm glad they still put in so much effort for the material.  

Lee Ann's theme is beautiful. Very much in that early '90s tone that reminds me of Faces of the Heart, but this feels deeper and has less of the overly lite jazz parody vibe that pulls me back a tad on Faces of the Heart.

Evan Bonifant still acts here and there (his last project that went on for a longer period of time seems to be Steam Room Stories), and he's on Instagram, where he posts occasionally.

Instagram

I think they're just being playful about the material now, decades later. Gottlieb was clearly serious about it at the time.

I did find "Blair's cue". It's Suzanne Ciani from her '91 album - she and Nichtern really did some beautiful work for the show. Again, this version is different as the one in the show often uses either flute or some other kind of synth, then there's a darker variation, etc. They composed an entire new library of music at the time. I had no idea Ciani was apparently a serious electronic music pioneer. I'll keep digging through both their discographies to see if I can find the others I like (like the sultry Twin Peaks guitar-esque track they use with Jason a lot).

 

9 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Lee Ann's theme is beautiful. Very much in that early '90s tone that reminds me of Faces of the Heart, but this feels deeper and has less of the overly lite jazz parody vibe that pulls me back a tad on Faces of the Heart.

The Lee Ann theme in the album is lush and very FOTH, but the version on the show is prettier to me - simple harmonica or something. Then there was this very interesting sort of delirious version of it they played when Lee Ann had a nightmare about Asa tormenting her for her mother's sins.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Vee

Thanks again @Vee 

Blair's theme is lovely. In patches it reminds me of the theme Gottlieb brought in. Other moments remind me of Twin Peaks music, as you mentioned. I would have loved seeing Julee Cruise pop into Llanview.

On 8/30/2025 at 2:47 AM, Vee said:

I guess that's part of why I find Max's return so refreshing here, despite also being familiar with years of the more moribund, sadsack Max near the end of his tenure on the show. Max may be a scoundrel but he's happy-go-lucky and hey, he hasn't raped anyone.

I think Max gets a pass for leaving Gabrielle pregnant under the control of her evil father.  Hindsight is 20/20, and certainly we would see more sensitive storytelling today.  But, if you consider the circumstances for a moment, Max's reputation is never diminished by the fact he took Gabrielle's virginity, and despite not knowing that she was pregnant, left her in the household of a drug lord.  Then, he returns with a new chick, Tina.  Sees that Gabrielle is pregnant, and leaves with Tina and baby Al.

 

@Vee  Actor Rino Thunder appeared as Joe Hawk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rino_Thunder

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0862079/

I'll do a deeper look into him and include him in Soap Hoppers during the week.

4 hours ago, slick jones said:

@Vee  Actor Rino Thunder appeared as Joe Hawk.

Thanks! What a name.

11 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I am glad ABC gave her carte blanche, especially as this was, I think, a little while after Monty's disastrous GH return so they could have easily been more gun-shy. If only an incoming producer on a soap now would be allowed such power.

Monty II was still in swing when they hired Gottlieb, maybe six months after Monty's return - it seems they took the big risk around the same time. Monty II really begins onscreen, IIRC, in February '91 and Gottlieb's early production changes and first additions begin to air in July or August, with Malone's work and more characters debuting in September.

The whole Monty cartel umbrella arc with Faison, Paul Hornsby, Harlan Barrett, etc. was climaxing in this period IIRC. Then they dumped Monty and her sister what, 4-6 months after Gottlieb's work began to air, in February(?) of '92.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Vee

 

TV Guide April 20 1985

With summer right around the comer, One Life to Live is heating up a summer like young-love storyline involving the fair Giulietta from Venice. Italian actress Fabiana Udenio. who plays Giulietta, so impressed the show's executives during their stint in Venice that they have now brought her to New York for a major role on the soap. Says series head writer Sam Hall,

“Giulietta will show herself to be older than her years in a romantic storytine with Bo Buchanan,”played by Robert S. Woods.

John Brotherton (Jared) reprises his role from The Conjuring in The Conjuring: Last Rites this week in theaters.

I will resume babbling ceaselessly about OLTL '91 in short order.

To add to the Max discussion, I agree that the writers never got a hold of him. By the time I started watching regularly in the late 90s, he felt like a plot point. 

On 9/1/2025 at 3:57 AM, Vee said:

I should add, in Laura Bonarrigo's defense - I've always loved her - she plays a much more scary unhinged Cassie in '98, sinister, quieter and calculating. There's none of the really OTT histrionics from '91 (or some of the miscarriage drama, IIRC). That whole '98 storyline was designed to write her off and make her the antagonist, but she wiped the floor with Sonia Satra and at the time I found saintly Cassie going dark very interesting. I just wish it hadn't ended with her being excised from the show.

This was some of her best work. I hate that the reasoning behind this is that JPF wanted her friends to take up airtime, but I loved Cassie during this era. I hate that the OG Kevin/Cassie had to be sacrificed. Their chemistry was so easy.

I'm getting a tingling to binge early Todd and Blair again. KD and RH are acting soulmates who just made this relationship work. I loved how they defied convention and were two screwed up people who found each other. Starr turned out to be a starry-eyed disappointment from her younger chaotic years, but T&B will always have me in a chokehold. 

2 hours ago, CrazySexyQ said:

To add to the Max discussion, I agree that the writers never got a hold of him. By the time I started watching regularly in the late 90s, he felt like a plot point. 

By that time he definitely was. I think the early-mid '90s were different, but it varies.