GL on DVD!

[Mitch]

That was the plan, to have A-M come back and fight with Alex and Gus with Alan and Phillip for Spaulding. Would have set up a nice dynamic when Joan left. Also, Jonathon WAS slated by Taggert to be Reva's stalker. I think its so funny that Wheeler and Kreizman's biggest "success," was the character of Jonathon who was thought up to be the bad boy Reva hater by Taggert.

[DRW50]

At the time I was actually relieved they dropped the plans to make Jonathan her stalker, mostly because I thought the idea was extremely cliched and played out (just as that story of her mercy killing Richard felt that way to me), but then they made the bizarre and insulting choice of having Alex as the stalker.

[Mitch]

The Reardons were popular and they were a lot of complaints that they replaced the Bauers. I always felt they came across as the most "warm," family besides the later Lewis family. They would always have scenes in Bea's kitchen with all of them there and I loved how they would argue and tease each other but be ultimately supportive. I also liked how they had an Irish Catholic mom who was always fretting and worrying about her kids ( I myself have an Irish mom just like that.) I thought they were a good contrast to the Bauers (who I loved, and while not as uptight as the Hughes on ATWT, were still Irna's prim and proper 50s family which didnt show a hell of a lot of affection to each other.) Long wrote a scene between Maureen and Ed where Mo commented on the differences, I forget what the issue was but she said something along the lines of "Your family never talks about anything and they act like everything is perfect, and my family has to talk about EVERYTHING over and over again." Later when Roxie was carted off to the nuthouse, Phillip and Chelsea and Mindy and Rusty were talking and the girls were astounded that Rusty would be at company by himself and Chelsea says, "If something like that happened in my family we would all be together in the kitchen right now," of which Mindy concurs and Phillip and Rusty look a loss of why that would happen. (Long always had a good take on the differences of the families and how they interacted.)

Really, I thought it would have been a good idea. But then again, I would have made TP's Jonathon an amoral, bisexual rent boy! Would loved to have heard Reva (after she found out that he was pulling tricks, with Jeffie Oneil as the pimp) "Ma boy's a queer AND a whore!!!!"

[DRW50]

I guess I am not a fan of "evil 'unwanted' children come back to raise hell" stories, but I guess it would have depended on the execution.

[DRW50]

I really need to watch more episodes from the time the Reardons were on the show - it's so tough for me to imagine Maureen in the family, in part because I've rarely seen her with them in most of the clips I've watched.

[DRW50]

I got this yesterday. Very happy!

The first I watched was the Kelly/Morgan/Nola/Floyd wedding aftermath. I guess the actual wedding couldn't be used because of music issues. I didn't fully realize just how much music sets a moment until I heard that generic music played over the "You Needed Me" scene when they cut to so many people at the wedding. "You Needed Me" is just so cheesy and wonderful and suited Kelly/Morgan to a tee. With that said, I truly appreciate the time spent making this episode available for viewing, the time taken to replace the music. The picture and sound are first rate - it's like watching back on that day.

I'd never seen this episode, aside from a few scenes at the reception, so everything felt fresh. I thought JWS looked a little rough - I wonder if he was ill that day. I also wonder how fans felt at the time when Kristen Vigard was about to be let go. There is just something so unique and strangely touching about her work as Morgan - she's one of the most real ingenues I can remember on a soap.

I kept hoping Floyd would have a little more anger over the wedding being called off. Instead this seemed to be left to Tony, and then, for one scene, Katie. Otherwise it was a little flat. I guess Marland was building up to the time when Floyd finally did have enough and sued for custody, although I think he didn't get to complete that story before he left.

Denise Pence was fantastic in that short scene where Katie warned Nola about the baby. I wish GL had given her more to do.

I still never feel any real motherly bond from Bea to Nola. It seemed more like Nola was a burden to both Tony and Bea.

[RogerNewcomb]

sayno covered it well. A number of characters changed, and (if you ask the actors) not for the better when Marland replaced the Dobsons. Carl, Denise Pence's Katie was one of those characters. Of course, Marland's work was brilliant so for most fans the show was as good as ever. Once Hope & Alan were stranded on that deserted island in 1979 they became a sensation. They weren't originally planned to be a long-term thing. In 1980 one of the soap mags at the time named them Soaps' Sexiest Couple. They had great chemistry. But as the Marland time at GL wore on and then post-Marland, Hope became less useful to the show. It's a shame.

[DRW50]

Marland still seemed to write for Katie (she was heavily involved in the Andy Norris story, and was devastated when she learned what scum he was), but it seems like she didn't have the humor she had with the Dobsons. During the Dobsons time I get the feeling she and Floyd were the show's sole comic relief.

[Soaplovers]

Which is why Maureen Garrett quit the show.. there was interview with her shortly after she quit saying that she was hoping that the aftermath of Roger's 'death' would have been her character eventually becoming a stronger, more confident person. From what I read of her remaining months on the show, she seemed like a wall-flower and agnozing over her feelings for Ed affecting his marriage to Rita. I often think even if she had stayed, she would have been just as duped as Katie/Barbara was regarding Andy. jmho.

However, I think all characters change when a new head-writer comes in that didnt create the character. Sometimes, that change is a positive one.. and sometimes, it can weaken a character. A lot of the Dobson characters weren't written as well under Marland.. just like some people think that characters created by Marland werent written as well under Pam Long.. and so forth.

That said... I watched the Josh/Reva episode... and I was surprised at how much Kimberly Simms was trying to mimic KT's version of Minday... I assume she had just taken over as the character at that point?

[DRW50]

The Dobsons had basically rewritten the entire canvas - I think the only characters they hadn't created were Mike, Ed, Bert, Hope, the last remaining Norrises, Stephen Jackson, and Sara. So that's why it's tough for me at times to figure out whether he did or didn't know how to write the Dobson characters.

[saynotoursoap]

I think that Doug could write for the characters; however, the Dobsons' style simply did not mesh with what he wanted to do with the series. I feel that a transition between the Dobsons and Pam Long would have been smoother than the transition between Doug and the others, because their writing styles was similar. Doug Marland was as different as night and day. I think that he had to generate changes in order to make his vision of Springfield work. Also, he was in the unenviable position of having to satisfy the owners, the advertisers, the network, and an executive producer for whom he did not enjoy a good working relationship. P&G and CBS wanted changes made to the show, de-emphasizing the Bauers, picking up the pace, and specifically bringing in a much younger demographic through new characters. Considering the stranglehold that the General Hospital juggernaut had on the timeslot, Marland was remarkably successful. No, his writing for GL was not necessarily always to my taste, but it was successful and entertaining, and I understand that he had to remain true to his own vision.

[DRW50]

I guess his main goal must have been bringing in young viewers, which he seemed to do a very good job of.

You didn't think that Long was a little more OTT than the Dobsons at GL? The Dobsons always seem so low-key, in their work at GL, compared to elsewhere. Then again I guess Long was also relatively subdued early in her GL run.

[saynotoursoap]

Denise was fantastic, and so was Marsha Clark as Hillary. Arguably, GL had some of the best younger actresses on daytime television, far better than ATWT during this period. GL's young ladies were so natural in their roles. They were attractive, intelligent, likeable people. Even when given storylines in which they were duped by a man, they still seemed natural and fresh, and stronger, more independent compared to their peers on other soaps of that era. And, good God, when I glance at soaps today, I wonder why in the hell casting directors cannot seem to find the caliber of performers that we had in the good old days. Why do they now all seem like shallow, irritating sluts?

Well, in their defense, Nola was a handful. The interesting thing about Nola is that fans today forget how loathed the character was in 1980-81. Lisa Brown received the most vociferous hate mail of any actress since Eileen Fulton. I remember everyone at that time betting on Nola's death and a juicy murder mystery. People could not stand her. Compared to Bobbie Spencer, who was Marland's prototype for Nola, I can see why. If you think about it, Marland never really provided Nola with a great deal of sympathy. Sure, she did not arise from a wealthy background, but did that really give her an excuse to hurt innocent people? She had a home, she had food to eat, and she had a family who loved her despite the fact that she considered them uncouth and a source of shame. She was a character who lied and cheated and manipulated anyone to get what she wanted and nearly destroyed many innocent lives in the process, for no reason other than her own selfishness and envy. As a character, Nola was fairly despicable, and yet, because of Lisa Brown's performances, she grew to become beloved.

Back to the original topic, I think the lack of warmth between Bea and Nola was realistic. Bea did show Nola love; it was just that Nola seldom did anything to earn it. Actually, until I watched the July 1981 episode recently, I had forgotten just how good Lee Lawson was as Bea with the right material. She gave Nola hell in those scenes because Nola deserved it. The dialogue even denotes it when Nola screams that a mother would not do what Bea did, and Bea argues that she is doing it precisely because she does love Nola.

As for the Reardons, I understand what you mean, Carl, by the apparent lack of closeness between them. I felt that, too, on occasion. I certainly do not think that they had the closeness of say the Snyder family on World Turns; however, keep in mind that Doug wrote GL for only 2 1/2 years, and the Reardons appeared over time. Had he continued to write the show, I believe that more family members would have appeared sooner than they did under later writers, and they would have developed more close, homey scenes. Also keep in mind that it is difficult to gauge this type of thing by watching random scenes. I recall scenes in the kitchen with Bea, Tony, Nola, and Maureen that were warm and familial. Those are the ones that just do not pop up often when the big events are happening, the episodes you usually see posted on Youtube or released commercially. I pray that soapclassics.com is good to their word and allows us to watch consecutive episodes online one day...and that we get to see everything we can of 1979. If I can one day see Holly, Jackie, Elizabeth, and my favorite from that era Rita Stapleton Bauer, I will indeed be a contented man!

[saynotoursoap]

No, I thought that Pam was a LOT more OTT than the Dobsons in terms of storytelling.

What I meant was that Pam's general style of characterization and dialogue was closer to the Dobsons. Long and the Dobsons wrote warmer and lighter moments more so than Doug, who was a super serious writer. His tone was deadly serious. There was little overt humor under Marland. Also, in my opinion, his characters tended to be more black-and-white than those of Pam and the Dobsons, who seemed to write characters with greater shades of grey. Again, this goes back to the earlier topic of Marland's vision and what worked best for him. His stories were often centered around business intrigue, rather than emotions, thus a serious approach, where the drama is life or death, seemed suited to his dramatic structure. The writers before and after him wrote more for emotions and sentiment, so that a warmer, more touchy feely tone was needed. I may sound to some that I am criticizing Doug, and I am not. I thought that his storytelling was more solid than Pam's, his attention to history was certainly superior, and his mysteries more intriguing than the Dobsons. It is not that I think he was bad; he was just different than that to which I was accustomed.

[DRW50]

Compared to a lot of vixens or schemers, Nola had little comeuppance. The people she hurt tried to be cordial towards her and keep her secrets, and she soon got a great job and a whole new life. I guess Marland felt that she'd hit rock bottom when Kelly rejected her, and viewers could accept this and move on as she had more mystery and comedy. I'm a little surprised P&G let it happen, and that viewers went along (I remember reading some quotes from Allen Potter about how fans wouldn't let Rita get over her mistakes and become a good person).

ATWT and GL had the same casting director in these years, didn't they (Betty Rea)? The difference in young actresses is definitely striking. ATWT's younger ladies in these years always seem very old before their time, and very generic. The only two on GL around this time who fit that bill are Carolyn Ann Clark and Jennifer Cooke.