Thanks @Faulkner that's sweet. Erika looks a lot like my grandmother there. Brings back some nice memories.

@Maxim Thanks for the clip. Horrid behavior, but Phil Carey is having the time of his life. 

I agree with you that Malone never really does that well with humor.

I had never thought of it before but you're right - Ellen Bethea's Rachel is a young Viki in some ways. 

Nora is quite a character. 

I remember thinking Malone's OLTL was quite witty and sophisticated, but I also haven't rewatched the show as a whole in a while. The parts of OLTL I've rewatched were not comedic so I don't know if I'm just romanticising a time of OLTL that I mostly adored. I always thought Gottlieb could have been an excellent team at SB. From what I saw, I don't remember him being particularly amusing at AW.

I think some of the Malone-era comedy is great and some less so. It varies.

10 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I agree with you that Malone never really does that well with humor.

It's charming at best. Sometimes unintentionally funny (Dorian comes to mind) - that's what works for me.

But when they start making these elaborate comedic scenes with the sitcomish music in the background (that should be reminding us that it's funny SO PLEASE LAUGH)... for example - Tina is acting like an idiot, dressed like an idiot, going into a high security museum to steal like it's going to the grocery store to buy apples (it makes the whole show look like a circus and NOT SERIOUS) or Cain is breaking into an apartment in a joking manner while police is nearby (while talking loudly and acting all kinds of absurd) or Alex popping her eyes and doing a Woody Allen-style monologue (talking non stop to a point I can't even take it anymore) while straddling Mortimer... I just CRINGE.  Even Woody Allen doesn't succeed in this style sometimes. It's not funny IMO, it doesn't work in terms of the other scenes, it's aged badly and it makes the actors look very mediocre. Oh and I forgot Luna... and her crazy crystals and talking to Goddesses again with the sitcomish music... it's just too much. Still... you could somehow believe a kooky woman like Luna acting like that... But the others - NO. Cain and Tina work best when they are more serious, more savage in an intelligent way - for example... Tina manipulating Blair was a lot more natural than idiot Tina who has forgotten she is a mother. Alex works best when she is more torn and in turmoil and more dramatic and dangerous. Not that circus clown. Yeah, give her a bit of comedy, but not 24/7 and not with that carnival music.

It's just often times people who can do drama in such amazing way, can't do quality comedy and vice versa. We've seen it plenty of times in Drama school. I am grateful that the attempts at comedy... are at a minimum at this point, or they'll drive me away from the show.😂

Edited September 23Sep 23 by Maxim

Alex needed more restraint.  The actress was capable enough. I love it when the viewer sees how much fun the actors are having and we can feel they deserve to cut loose. I  see that with Phil Carey as well as Erika S when everyone was so critical of her later Niki portrayals, but I felt they had earned their fun.

Chris McKenna (Joey) with Erika and Jessica Tuck (Megan) at GH.

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Stevel said:

Alex needed more restraint.  The actress was capable enough. I love it when the viewer sees how much fun the actors are having and we can feel they deserve to cut loose. I  see that with Phil Carey as well as Erika S when everyone was so critical of her later Niki portrayals, but I felt they had earned their fun.

I agree. She is capable and she's shown she can do better material. The Fatal Attraction storyline with Bo was a cliche, yes, but I saw how good she is at dramatic-serious-scary material. I don't understand why they push her to be a clown right now. Tone down the carnival music and let Alex be a real human being, instead of caricature. 

@Stevel do you have a favorite era of the show? I ask this question many fans I meet... and the answers always surprise me. 

November '91. A great bit with Max and Little Al: Max telling his tiny son "you're doing a fine job of raising me." Amen to that.

The scenes following the Llanfair fire contain some really beautiful stuff, especially some lengthy, very deep scenes with Megan and Andrew at St. James Church, as she reflects on the tragedy and the mess of her life with a scattered family, MIA husband and failing health, and he calls her 'something of a pilgrim' both as an actress and a woman, searching for truth. "You see that in me?" she says, touched, and you can tell someone's never looked at her that way before. The clearly bereft Buchanans listening to Andrew's sermon is also really touching, as you can tell Joey and Jessica are beside themselves re: recent events and Viki and Clint are also spent. This leads up to a sequence in the smoky wreckage of the Llanfair drawing room that they later clipped for flashbacks during the 30th anniversary, a beautiful twofer with Viki and Clint where she sifts through various destroyed mementos - being at a state dinner at the Kennedy White House, her first byline for her father, etc. - and Clint tells her that the memories are inside of them as opposed to material things. Some of Erika and Clint Ritchie's very best work together, and very intimate. If you've never seen these scenes I do recommend them. Even Viki and Lee Ann get some lovely bonding scenes after Lee Ann risks her life to save Jessica from the fire. We all know that won't last.

Bizarrely, Stephanie is back again after leaving town with a recuperating Carlo for Chicago maybe 2-3 weeks ago just in time to leave again, in the same outfit she last wore to the airport! She shows up for a single scene with Joey, Lee Ann and Jason at Wanda's to wish Lee Ann the best as she gets out of the hospital, then says she is 'leaving town.' Again! Somewhere! Sure, why not? I wonder if it was a contractual thing. Regardless, they did swiftly remove Robyn Griggs from the Tour of Llanview opening recently very shortly after adding her, Lee Ann and Jason (and then JDP a couple weeks ago, but strangely they never bothered with either Luna or Blair despite both having major roles these last two months). Meanwhile there's a full end credits on the 11/11 episode, and it still lists both Griggs and Ken Meeker (Rafe) as contract (also listed as contract: Christopher Cousins as 'Heinrich Kaiser'). Whatever!

The Lee Ann/Jason relationship is also deepening, as he weaves a story for her doing her home recovery since he very obviously cannot read her beloved copy of "Black Beauty" to save his life. This connection is strong despite Max being back trying to make his play and Kevin being offscreen for several weeks at the Buchanan ranch, and it makes you wonder how far out that were planning or just improvising and experimenting with different combinations of characters and actors - most likely the latter, which was healthy early on. For example, Luna, Lee Ann's new bestie, merely clucks about 'this Max fella' taking up all her friend's headspace: "I can feel his aura just as strong as I can feel yours!"

Once again they have Asa alluding to his 'first love' Rose Smith (how many did he have?) during the drama with Max, Renee and Wingate Holden's will. She came up in passing a few times in October and maybe September with Kevin and Clint when the Buchanan men went up to the cabin, and I think I know what it's about; the baffling thing is if it all ends up ultimately being a full remake of Asa's link to Max and Patricia Holden with a very similar set of characters. But more on that another time, as the truth about Wingate which Max came to town all fired up about comes out, uh, pretty quick! Only for Asa to finally chuck the incriminating document in the fire in front of Max and his wife. Moving right along!

In the middle of this, Cord heads off to Japan with Blair in search of Jake in prep for John Loprieno's big exit. His relationship with Tina is still a bit frayed but tender and they have a sweet farewell that is neither over nor underplayed, followed by a bracing hard cut to the increasingly less mousy Blair's long legs draped across the backseat of the company car taking Cord to the airport, surprising both Cord and Tina. Nicely done. I have to wonder how their longtime fans would've felt though if they knew this exit was coming from the magazines, as this was the Cord and Tina even with the (well-received) KW recast. But I do think they'd been on the mid-tier of activity for some time now, certainly the last 4-6 months.

The increasingly tiresome Doug Eber (apparently not 'Ebert' per the credits) saga hits its climax as Viki and the ill, still undiagnosed Megan are abducted in the second week of November. The Eber stuff has only been going since mid-October or so but has moved very fast, and while I still feel it has not overly dominated the show's traditionally long-form storylines, it has taken up a fair bit of time, half the cast seems preoccupied by it and I am ready for it to wrap up lol. Jane is just such a drip.

Edited September 24Sep 24 by Vee

@Vee Has One Life to Live been your favorite daytime soap opera of all time?  Can you possibly tell me if any OLTL storylines had horror elements?  Do you remember A Martinez as Ray Montez?

Edited September 24Sep 24 by FlyRightOrchestraGuy

@Vee I appreciated your rundown. I do wish we could get the alternate universe of the Blair/Cord story, or Andrew/Megan, etc. So much built on impending cast changes. The ins and outs with Stephanie and how they are transitioning Kevin are also interesting (maybe moreso than they are onscreen). 

Actually hearing in detail about family and personal treasures lost makes the Llanfair fire feel more real than most soap fires where everything goes back to normal and the same head shots are put back on the same tables. It's also a clever way to hint at the unraveling of the family.

Edited September 25Sep 25 by DRW50

24 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Actually hearing in detail about family and personal treasures lost makes the Llanfair fire feel more real than most soap fires where everything goes back to normal and the same head shots are put back on the same tables. It's also a clever way to hint at the unraveling of the family.

You know where to find these eps in early November, but I think you can see most of the Viki/Clint scene after the fire in one of the 30th anniversary episodes in early July '93. The fire department has to demolish the hidden entrance to Victor's old secret room to get to Little Al and C.J., which triggers panic for Viki (an early hint to the DID saga) and then various flashbacks, including that scene when she fears that Llanfair will collapse entirely due to the controlled explosion. I'll see if I can find it for you, though.

I really don't know what happened BTS when and I'm not sure how many would recall today. I wonder if Susan Horgan (who is credited already at this point BTS) might have some input if she's still active online. I know Joey Thrower apparently told a fan years ago that Robyn Griggs was a headache even then, and I assume that's what got her swiftly canned despite them clearly testing her with Jason and Joey in Malone's first month and adding her to the opening. (She is Jason's unknown 'dream girl' he spots at random on the street before Carlo hires him to chaperone her, which leads swiftly to their fúcking on Malone's official first day in September and just as quickly to their burgeoning connection largely disappearing afterwards, as the focus shifts largely to Lee Ann with both Kevin and Jason in the month before JDP returns.) Griggs had chemistry with Brettschneider but was still pretty stiff in other ways. It is what it is, and you couldn't really argue with focusing in on Yasmine Bleeth and other new hires or priorities at the time.

One of the first overt mask-off hints that Blair is actually an active schemer (as opposed to just having a secret roommate and poring over Banner files) comes when she and Cord hit Japan in the second week of November, where Cord asks her to ask the hotel busboy if they can get separate bathrooms and instead she asks him in Japanese 'do you think it will rain today?' (The answer, of course, is no.) It's hilariously underplayed onscreen, but from there they have Blair going full tilt into seduction mode, her hair is down and she's starting to show the other side. I do wonder what would've happened had JL stayed.

I hadn't realized that it seems like Jake was deceived into providing security for an arms dealer - I thought he was deep into illicit business as a mercenary to make money, but from what was presented over the last couple months during first Joe Lando's occasional appearances and then the plot material here, it seems like Jake thought he was running security for a legit Japanese businessman only to fall prey to his boss' enemies and get abducted by Jaba when the boss turned out to be crooked. It is hard to watch Megan's swift decline in captivity after Doug Eber takes her and Viki hostage, as she is clearly miserable and terrified and now has less than 3 months to live. Knowing the ending you feel differently, especially as she pleads for Jake to come home and we know exactly when and how that will happen, maybe less than an hour before the end of her life.

Edited September 25Sep 25 by Vee

On 9/24/2025 at 8:39 AM, Maxim said:

I agree. She is capable and she's shown she can do better material. The Fatal Attraction storyline with Bo was a cliche, yes, but I saw how good she is at dramatic-serious-scary material. I don't understand why they push her to be a clown right now. Tone down the carnival music and let Alex be a real human being, instead of caricature. 

@Stevel do you have a favorite era of the show? I ask this question many fans I meet... and the answers always surprise me. 

I've been all over the place with soaps, seen bits and pieces of most of them since being a pre-schooler in the 1960s. For One Life, if I had to choose it would be the late 1970s when I was growing tired of AW.  The Judith Light/Gerald Anthony era.

I kept up though. Loved the Gottleib era as well, but that remote was also busy on other shows. 

I became a more faithful viewer post 2000. With many complaints.

Thank you for asking 

 

Another angle on the Erika/Tuc Watkins/Roger Howarth visit, with Erika visiting with Tuc's kids.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Tuc Watkins (@tucwatkins)

As Errol noted on the main page, Erika has wrapped at GH. From her website:

“The past three weeks have been an incredible yet exhausting journey. I worked every day with amazing, friendly, and lovely people—not just the actors, but everyone involved, from the hair and make-up team, including Angela, Wendy, and Karol, to the crew and the fabulous Bruce Cooperman, who I have known for over 30 years since his days as a cameraman on OLTL, and the security guard, Emma. Everyone was warm, welcoming, and incredibly helpful. I couldn't have done it without them.

Reconnecting with Chris McKenna (my Joey) and his lovely family was wonderful. Seeing Marianne, Chris’s mom, was a special moment, and it was a delightful surprise to see Jessica Tuck. Spending time with Tuc Watkins and his children, as well as with Roger Howarth, provided a wonderful break.

Adjusting to the different schedule has been a challenge, but Frank Valentini, "the boss," has been very helpful and patient. He's a dear old friend and a highly skilled executive producer. Many others I knew from OLTL have helped make the transition to GH less stressful.

A very special thank you to Jane Elliot, who was as wonderful, delightful, and challenging to work with as I had imagined. She’s positively brilliant!

It's been great to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.  While this has been such a terrific experience, I am very happy to be heading home. I have missed my family, my puppies, and my pussycat so much.

Working on GH was a wonderful experience, and I hope all of you will tune in tomorrow to watch me in Port Charles!”

I ran into Tuc at a bar in Toronto many years ago and he was just as you'd expect (or so I'd assume) - delightfully funny, but dry and sarcastic haha. He was with his former partner, pre-kids, and after his Jet Blue flight incident.  My partner (at the time) and I hung out with the two of them for a good hour, it was great!

Love to see those pictures above of their little reunion.

3 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

I ran into Tuc at a bar in Toronto many years ago and he was just as you'd expect (or so I'd assume) - delightfully funny, but dry and sarcastic haha. He was with his former partner, pre-kids, and after his Jet Blue flight incident.  My partner (at the time) and I hung out with the two of them for a good hour, it was great!

Love to see those pictures above of their little reunion.

So cool.

I once met Jean Leclerc. He was more interested in my late partner, also an actor then doing video games, than my gushing over his soap career.