No, you're right--in a way that was its strength. I think, obviously Vicki (and to a lesser degree characters like Dorian) helped anchor a lot of that element. I think that's one reason I disagree with people like Khan who see the Malone/Griffith/Gottlieb era as gutting the show--I have a bias as that's when I got hooked, but regardless what one thinks about bringing it back to its original theme, or that it needed to be revamped, the show had a history of that already.

I do agree that Ron's "clever" way of connecting everyone reeks of fanfic--particularly because there's no pay off (a running theme with OLTL the last decade). It's been a cliche since the 40s with Phillips to tie random charcters together, but even the semi debacle of AMC having Damon be Tad's child with Hillary and the execs not letting her on the show, had SOME good character scenes pay off.

I don't think they ruined the show intentionally, and they saved the show in many ways - I'm not sure it would have lasted another twenty years if they hadn't shown up. I think the problem is their most dangerous ideas are what was carried on, and their best ideas were jettisoned. I will never believe Todd - any Todd - should have been a leading man, or a long-term character, and that skew was essentially the death of Kevin and Joey and Cord and any leading man who wasn't a sociopath. The Victor molester storyline is the other story of theirs I feel led to disastrous decisions because of some weird need to one-up Malone's writing - I imagine, or hope anyway, that Malone never intended for his story to be regurgitated that way, and worst of all, for someone at OLTL to begin fetishizing sexual abuse.

I always ask myself with these insta-relatives - did one good story come out of Todd, Rex, or David being glued to core families? For me, it never happened. I guess it's hypocritical, because I loved Megan as Viki's insta-daughter, but they at least had a lot of strong scenes for the few years they were together.

From a June 1993 Digest.

I don't think it's fair to say they never wrote anything you connected to - I remember you being pretty into Kish and Sky, among others. They're certainly not without their massive flaws and mistakes, but they did do a number of stories I care about, I'm enjoying most of the end and it does feel like OLTL to me, however battered and bruised over the last 12-something years.

True enough.

I am going to post the rest of 1983 that I have (anyone who has any others please add them). I have a November 83 somewhere but can't find it at the moment.

August 30 1983

October 25, 1983

December 20, 1983

January 3, 1984 (covering some of the end of 1983)

I just seems extremely random to bring Giles Morgan back to hold Clint and Echo hostage, he has no history with them. I think Kim Zimmer was married to the actor who played him though. Despjte that, it just made no sense. I think Pat was just about to leave around that time and he also knew Samantha, Dorian and Viki.

It's too bad they wasted Robert Gentry that way. I wonder if anyone at ABC saw his potential - how soon after this was he on AMC?

Do you know when exactly Pat left? For a long, long time, I thought she was fired from OLTL because Rauch was on the way, but I guess that's one of those things which just sounds true, and actually isn't.

Sorry to change gears, but here's another 1994 clip. Is it me or were they heavily pointing to a Who Killed RJ? story.

A tribute I made for the show -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GauO2xvW9uA

I actually think this a pretty appropriate clip for one's reaction to the end of OLTL--you laugh, you cry, and you repeat.

Funny, this feels like my reaction to a certain couple not being together in the end (well, except not as much laughter) .

Pat left town in August 1983, Rauch came in June 1984.

Haha....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql7w-CvLnPI

You sing it Kassie, lol.

Near the end of this AMC there's a promo I'd never seen before - it has Carla and Ed. It's at about 50 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37vI7QqNwv8&feature=player_embedded