I'll go first:

B&B

- While not perfect, the show is currently in the best shape it's been in since 2003.

Y&R

- Genie Francis is terrific as Genevieve Atkinson. I know she wasn't well liked in her first few months on her show, but I'm currently watching June 2011 episodes and I LOVE her campy take on the character, despite the overall wretchedness of the storyline. Although I never saw Francis on GH, so I don't have that to compare it to. I'd love to see her on B&B in a Sally Spectra/Jackie Marone type role.

- Phyllis is one of very few characters to actually flourish under MAB (save for the Lucy custody madness). And of course, I still consider La Stafford to be the best actress in daytime.

- Maura West was AT LEAST as miscast as Diane as Shari Shattuck was as Ashley.

That's mostly because she is given really bad comedy to work with. NLG is probably one of the best actresses GH has had since I started watching it circa 99'. Her vulnerability, her humanity and her humility as an actress is simply astonishing. I can't imagine it's easy to play such a neurotic role on a such a sexist show like the one on GH. I love how she plays up Alexis flaws and is not afraid to make her look worn and real. She uses Alexis flaws as a badge of honor but she also exemplifies everything good in Alexis as well she has her morals, values and she is an intensely strong character at the heart of who she is. Bad choices in men, aside she is probably one of the best characters on the show. I always tear up watching these scenes during her cancer arc and when Kristina was ill because I find it to be so deeply poignant and unflinchingly realistic. Don't let the fact that she isn't glamorous discount her talent. She's a powerhouse actress. She's incandescent as a performer in this medium. Not enough actresses like her as far as I am concerned.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this because I see clucking chicken set to level 10 here - especially in that second clip.

Questionable story decisions aside (like killing off ANOTHER WORLD's Frankie, and bringing Eric Kane to ALL MY CHILDREN's Pine Valley as "Barney the Clown"), Margaret DePriest is the most underrated writer in the industry.

I really enjoyed DePriest's SunsetBeach--and would love to have seen her material at Where the Heart Is. She does seem to play the camp, and while she was brought in to help re-focus AMC and largely seems to have succeeded, it seems like ABC quickly hired her at OLTL to do the same, where she didn't do so well. I know many liked her at DAYS.

Ok here goes, without having read most of yours yet:

--All My Children was in FAR better shape in its last six months than One Life to Live was. I'm sorry, but OLTL has been unrecognizable for YEARS and the only good thing they had going still was Dorian/David. But Strasser was gone for the last 6 months. AMC, while not the greatest soap in the universe, still had heart and long-term storytelling, OLTL was and is a mishmash of crap. Unfortunately, the show that replaced AMC ended up being a success and the opposite is true of the Revolution.

It's no shock, but I completely agree with this. While I think we all have our biases and opinions, I honestly felt I was going crazy reading the various soap blogs crap on AMC left and right and then seemingly often praise OLTL for almost the same thing they condemned AMC for. I wouldn;'t say OLTL was all a mishmash of crap by anymeans, but... (ALthough I was over David by this point too...)

Edited March 7, 201213 yr by EricMontreal22

I would take Megan McTavish - with a strong EP - over any headwriter in daytime today.

*ducks* so would I (the emphasis on a good EP).

I had to edit my one above, because I meant Rafe and Sami. Sorry if anyone thought I was batshit crazy...

-Still today, and I mentioned this in another thread, I think both Lloyd Gold and Millee Taggart were the last two writers to make Guiding Light feel like Guiding Light. I enjoyed most parts of Gold's tenure as he bought some focus to the show after Labine's unstable stint (I missed a majority of the time travel story due to school, which I understand the hate, but caught the end of the story which I didn't find so bad, being the sappy Jeva fan that I am).

-I was not abhorrently disgusted with the Tony and Marah near rape scene. However the fact that such scenes were swept under the rug later on as the two reunited was ridiculous. Then Ben's bet to take Marah's virginity later on? Kind of contradicted the portrayal of Marah in those scenes with Tony a few months earlier.

-For a moment or two, I liked the idea of Harley and Rick as a couple, and hoped they'd reconcile when Mel entered the picture. Now looking back, I can't exactly explain why.

The Tony/Marah near rape happened after the virginity story.

I was offended by the incredibly exploitive way the scene was filmed, with Lindsey McKeon bursting out of tight underwear. I was also offended by the way Taggart talked about how Marah was showing her "independence" in these scenes. Turning a violent attack from a boyfriend into "girl power" was one of the most pathetic things I had read from a soap writer at that time.

The Tony/Marah near rape happened after the virginity story.

Thanks, I seem to always to get Ben's arrival & first story and the Tony/Marah near rape scene mixed up.

The followup of the near rape was Marah losing her virginity to Romeo Jones and then everyone learned he'd killed Catalina, and Tony had to save the day.

Roger Howarth is overrated. He was great as Todd Manning in the 90s but has been dreadful since returning back in 2001 with the character being a pale immitation of his former self. Despite what some might beleive the character of Todd went downhill back when he was in the role. He used to be a really good actor with a unique and dynamic portrayal but he's very mediocore with nothing which really stands out and his portrayal is quite bland at least in comparison to the fire he used to put into it

Roger Howarth is overrated. He was great as Todd Manning in the 90s but has been dreadful since returning back in 2001 with the character being a pale immitation of his former self. Despite what some might beleive the character of Todd went downhill back when he was in the role. He used to be a really good actor with a unique and dynamic portrayal but he's very mediocore with nothing which really stands out and his portrayal is quite bland at least in comparison to the fire he used to put into it

If you change that to 1996, I would agree.

I don't think he was ever a good actor though. He was intense, which often passes for acting. Right place, time, writer, and scene partners.

The followup of the near rape was Marah losing her virginity to Romeo Jones and then everyone learned he'd killed Catalina, and Tony had to save the day.

Based on the wording, it sounds like Marah's physical assault by Tony happened before Romeo and Marah slept together. Romeo deflowering Marah happened first. It was when Tony learned that pure and innocent Marah had given it up to Romeo that Tony went overboard and forced himself upon Marah. Marah then ripped off her clothes and told Tony something along the lines of "Rape Me." I believe Oliver MacReady had already been fired by this point. I know the Tony / Marah stuff happened during the summer because I had the displeasure of watching the scene with my neighbor's adolscent grandchild wondering what this young girl must be thinking about this.

Not only did Taggert claim it was girl power, we also had to endure Holly talking about how the situation was similar to the situation between Holly / Roger.

I thought Millee Taggert's reign didn't live up to the hype. Some of her stories worked, some of them didn't. John Conboy immortalized Taggert by firing her before the audience got the chance to turn on her. I don't think there was any sastifactory conclusion to Gus' paternity that would please all the viewers. With that said, I think she penned some highly memorable moments, but I also think she set in motion the series of events leading to some destructive stories.

Sorry, I got the time mixed up.

I'd forgotten about Holly's involvement. Ugh.

I think the show was starting to get a little better as Taggart went along - I liked Alex's return, and I liked Danny/Cassie, even though I hated the buildup (especially the whole Cassie debts story). But I agree that her firing is what made her easier to see as the best. Overall I just did not enjoy the show during her time as headwriter, aside from some nice moments like the last Reva/Josh wedding (classy and a nice way to see old friends again) and Ed's return.

I think the show was starting to get a little better as Taggart went along - I liked Alex's return, and I liked Danny/Cassie, even though I hated the buildup (especially the whole Cassie debts story). But I agree that her firing is what made her easier to see as the best. Overall I just did not enjoy the show during her time as headwriter, aside from some nice moments like the last Reva/Josh wedding (classy and a nice way to see old friends again) and Ed's return.

What? You didn't find Cassie stripping for Danny in order to pay off her debts as acceptable foreplay.

In defense of Taggert, I feel like I spent most of the time tuning in at her absolute worst moments. I never cared for Ben / Marina. I already had a distaste for Marina when she decided to announce that she had some sort of sexual encounter with Gus, who was dating Harley at the time. I remember flipping the channel when Marina told Ben she would stand by him even though his credit card had been declined at the country club. I thought there was more potential in a Shayne / Marina story, anyway, as it was set up when Marina arrived in town. Initially, Shayne was pining for Marina, while Marina wanted bad boy Romeo. To be honest, and this will be a rather unpopular opinion, I think Marina sort of coasted for much of her time on the show with all three actresses in the role. I thought the direction taken with Kit Paquin in the role might have given the character some shape, but Kriezman decided to make Marina very generic.

Back on Taggert, I thought Phillip's decision to keep Harley from Zach seemed out of character, and the whole custody battle set the tone for the future Cooper / Spaulding clusterf#ck that dominated so much of 'Guiding Light's' final years. The arrival of Eden, the glorification of Gus, and the impending revelation that Gus was either a Spaulding or a Santos was enough to make me squirm.

Honestly, I sort of liked the trashier element that John Conboy brought to the show with Eden running the escort service, the drug connection between the mob and Spaulding Enterprises, and fleshing out Springfield with a lot of minor characters. In the end, I recognize he was detrimental to 'GL.' I do wish we could have seen what would have happened if Ellen Weston had been kept in the role of headwriter with Ellen Wheeler. I thought their brief few months together, while low rated, were really interesting. The warehouse bombing storyline was my second to last favorite storyline 'Guiding Light' did; the first being the initial Tammy / Sandy / Jonathan arc (September-November 2004).

The stripping bothered me but what annoyed me most was the whole thing of Cassie having no one to take money from, because of pride, and all the rest. Cassie had two or three young children - even if she didn't want to take money from Reva, she would have taken some from Blake or Harley. I just felt like so much was plot-driven. The whole Rick heart story, which was very rushed, and then Reva's trial, which was so dull because you knew what was going to happen, and then Edmund's hamming about the loss of his brother. Didn't they also tease Claire/Edmund at this time?

Carmen also came back around this time, badly out of place.

I never cared about Marina, mostly because of the awful rewrites they did on Eleni (an adulteress and a neglectful mother), but I did like her with Ben. I think Aubrey Dollar had a certain spark which hid some bad writing.

I agree about Phillip. I hate custody battles on soaps and this one was too contrived and too much reliant on stupidity. For instance, Harley going into the mansion to kidnap Zach. That would not have happened. Harley was a smart person.

When Harley/Gus first started under Taggart I was hopeful we would get to see some fun Harley again, which I'd missed dearly. When they went back to the misery AGAIN I knew "my" Harley was dead and not coming back.