From what I've seen of Karen she seems like a very complex character. It's a shame she was later totally forgotten. Another one who seemed to be forgotten as soon as she left. It's strange at times to see some of the women like Karen who never would have gotten a look in by the mid-80's, as ATWT female characters were more black or white and much less fun.

Karen and Ariel were WONDERFUL characters and I found it stupefying that neither was revived before the 90's. I loved actress Kate McNeil on the CBS prime timer WIOU. And Judith Blazer was last seen as Marissa, Olivia's sister, on GL.

Any chance of a Linda Dano (Cynthia) ep? I loved her and David. Sorry Ellen...

I like how episode 7 flowed into episode 8. We found out what happened to James although I forgot what happened to the passengers on the plane....with Gunnar and Co....when was Hugo Napier's last airdate?? I loved his character...too bad him and Karen were let go.

I like how episode 7 flowed into episode 8. We found out what happened to James although I forgot what happened to the passengers on the plane....with Gunnar and Co....when was Hugo Napier's last airdate?? I loved his character...too bad him and Karen were let go.

The plane crashed. I watched the episode where they started waking up but can't remember how/when they got back to Oakdale.

antmunoz, one of the episodes I considered for this set was also a big Linda Dano day but ultimately it didn't fit. But as much as that story frustrated me at the time, it's great to watch now having become such a huge Dano fan from AW.

The plane crashed. I watched the episode where they started waking up but can't remember how/when they got back to Oakdale.

antmunoz, one of the episodes I considered for this set was also a big Linda Dano day but ultimately it didn't fit. But as much as that story frustrated me at the time, it's great to watch now having become such a huge Dano fan from AW.

Aww..thanks Roger!

It fascinates me seeing all the different writers through the years before Marland arrived.

I never understood why Ariel Aldrin was let go. She was wonderful, and would have made a good sounding board for James later on. She could be greedy and conniving, but also weirdly sympathetic (like when she found herself falling for Burke Donovan, who she initially was just using). If I'm not mistaken, didn't Karen leave after the John/Lucinda romance started up?

When John started working for Lucinda, at the time when Lucinda seemed to have designs on him - then after Karen left they became enemies for quite a while.

I guess Ariel may have gone when they decided to get rid of James for good.It's too bad no one remembered her when Marland brought James back - perhaps they thought she was too campy.

Had a great time last night watching the 86 and 87 episode of the James Stenbeck DVD followed by the 87 Bauer BBQ.

Well, I have to say the first episode of the James DVD (February 1980) was kind of dreadful. What a frustrating time for the show this must have been.

Why would James Stenbeck ever get on a bus? Why was Barbara on a bus in the first place? It just pointed out the obvious when James announced they were getting off in Atlanta and a helicopter was waiting for them. After all, there were planes in 1980... And, really, she fell asleep on the bus and woke up the next morning to find that her long-lost love had boarded and sat down next to her (I'll give kudos if the show already planned for James to be an evil bastard and this was supposed to be stalking, not high romance)? But viewers were at least supposed to be momentarily moved by this turn of events. All I kept thinking was what about morning breath, et al?

I also have to say that I strongly object to the stock villain in the flashback, who happened to be Swedish, trying to trick Barbara into having an abortion. As I understand it, Sweden - which has long been ahead of the U.S. in terms of health care - was a safe haven for some American women who needed access to safe abortions in the pre-Roe v Wade era. That sequence was just offensive, IMO, and exemplary of how out of touch soaps became.

Well, if nothing else, this episode makes me understand why Doug Marland decided to make Barbara a bitch. In those scenes, she basically was anyway, but it seemed like she was supposed to be a long-suffering heroine?

And Dee moping around in her bathrobe - and then her raincoat - just made the episode all the more dreary. Ellen did look about 10 years younger in this episode than she was made to look in Tom and Margo's wedding episode 3 years later on the first DVD release, though.

The high point of the episode (other than a young Anthony Herrera in a speedo, whom I always respected immensely but I never quite realized was so hot) was Lisa putting her two cents in with Don about Joyce. I never realized he was still around in the '80s.

It was a werid transition period and didn't really fit with what ATWT was at that time and the camp fest it was soon to become on the Dobson's second tenure beore Marlend brought it down to earth. I havent seen the episode but was the Swedish villian supposed to be James father or someoen employed by him to get rid of Bab's baby? The guy didnt want a commoner to give birth to a Steinbeck so he wanted Babs to loose it..a plot point more then a political statement....

So that was how the first scenes between Babs and James were? Funny the last episode should have been Babs getting on a plane and seated next to her you see James, "Hello Barbara!" HMMM, Herrara in a speedo!!!

Dee was such a mope and a bore..she made the rest of the rather serious and uptight Stewarts look like fun! I never understood why they turned the show into the "Dee Hour," for a while and the Jackie Schultz show..she was so dour as dumb Dee and her recast wasnt any better.

That wasn't the very first James episode. He saw her picture (with Annie) in a newspaper (I forget why) and had no idea where she had gone after they first met. After he came to Oakdale (he received a big and WARM welcome, HA!) there was some build up leading to him finding her on the bus. For the purpose of this DVD I chose this one because it had all the great Santo Domingo flashbacks and kind of explained their past history better than the earlier episodes. She was trying to avoid him at the time because of Tom and how they ended before.

Thanks Roger. LOL at him getting a warm welcome! I know this is sacriligious but James had so much potential and then the Dobson's screwed him up by making him a cartoon villian. I remember as a kid I wondered "What the hell do you do all day," as they just had him stand around in that bad penthouse set, with that brown jacket rubbing his hands together with another scheme against John, to get Babs back, or to kill Gunner. At least Alan Spaulding went to work and did something! I like how Marland first had him working for Lucinda and doing business (along with plotting against everyone and screwing his way across Oakdale) it made him more real, before he turned him back into the ulitmate evil.

Thanks Roger. LOL at him getting a warm welcome! I know this is sacriligious but James had so much potential and then the Dobson's screwed him up by making him a cartoon villian. I remember as a kid I wondered "What the hell do you do all day," as they just had him stand around in that bad penthouse set, with that brown jacket rubbing his hands together with another scheme against John, to get Babs back, or to kill Gunner. At least Alan Spaulding went to work and did something! I like how Marland first had him working for Lucinda and doing business (along with plotting against everyone and screwing his way across Oakdale) it made him more real, before he turned him back into the ulitmate evil.

Well, his main priority was getting the Stenbeck fortune so he was "working" overtime on getting Barbara to marry him LOL. I remember Annie meeting him at the airport and being so sweet and apologizing for David who was so upset he couldn't greet James himself. That was probably just a plot device because Annie was Barbara's roommate at the time and Paul was staying with her while Barbara was staying with Lisa (for some reason),

Thanks to the summer coupon, I got the James Stenbeck DVD.

I've only watched the February 1980 episode so far.

Seeing early James and Barbara was quite a treat - they had very good chemistry together, and I enjoyed the flashbacks, even when she was wearing a Little House on the Prairie dress in the middle of summer. I wasn't sure why they had to be on a bus, especially since it looked like someone had reused an airplane set, but at least it was something different. Their backstory was so dense for one episode but the chemistry between the actors sold it.

I was happy to finally get to see the Wade bookstore, although I think they ended up reusing the exact same set for Lisa's hospital bookshop a year later. I loved seeing Lisa bitching about Joyce "the spider," and it was nice to get to see her with Carol. Carol is another in the line of the young heroines ATWT seemed to struggle with, but she has a certain core which makes you care about her.

I don't understand the casting for Brad at ALL. He looks like a cross between a porn actor and the guy on My Sister Sam.

He was also given the most ridiculous porn actor dialogue, as he kept telling Annie (who was a little more effective in this episode than in others I've seen) sexual innuendo about food, then was perving on Dee and going on about how'd love her to take a bath. What was this? I guess the idea was that he was this sexual dynamo who was going to shake up uptight Oakdale and the very uptight Stewart family, but he just seemed like a weirdo who got in through an unlocked door. The problem with casting someone who looks like a skeevy porn actor of that era is that in porn, they show their main talent. On ATWT, they won't be doing that.

Thanks for sharing your opinion! I can't wait to get this set. Next to the 20 episode sets and the GL Bauer one, this is the other I am most excited about, and it seems a lot of people have enjoyed it.

Thanks to the summer coupon, I got the James Stenbeck DVD.

I've only watched the February 1980 episode so far.

Seeing early James and Barbara was quite a treat - they had very good chemistry together, and I enjoyed the flashbacks, even when she was wearing a Little House on the Prairie dress in the middle of summer. I wasn't sure why they had to be on a bus, especially since it looked like someone had reused an airplane set, but at least it was something different. Their backstory was so dense for one episode but the chemistry between the actors sold it.

I don't understand the casting for Brad at ALL. He looks like a cross between a porn actor and the guy on My Sister Sam.

I ran into Colleen Z. one day when we were finalizing this and I brought her to SoapClassics with me. I had written summaries which said James tracks Barbara down on a TRAIN. She was like, "Uh, Roger, that is a BUS!" I'm not sure why my brain was locked in on train but that almost got published.

Peter B. is a great actor.

I'm sure he would have been fine in another role (maybe Rick Ryan), but I don't think he was right for Brad, although the dialogue didn't help matters.

I'm glad CZ got to see these again.

Edited July 23, 201213 yr by CarlD2