I don't remember 6 months building to it. Though my memory might be a little foggy. On the board I was on at the time we were just pissed Sami was getting yet another child because AS wanted her pregnancy written in.

There was zero way of hiding pregnancy #2. She was gigantic an they were not willing to write her out at all, given how they pre/post taped.

The 6 months building to it was the reveal of the pregnancies, mia, nicol losing hers and taking mia in, etc.. it wasnt like one day nicole just swapped babies and took one home, lol. tho id expect it from days./

There was no hiding AZ's pregnancy either where it looked rather silly to hear people yelling at this obviously pregnant woman telling her she can't have kids.

I was thinking about this, as well as Viki and Dorian's rivalry, and I wondered if we're really talking character relationship here rather than storyline. Perhaps various storylines born out of a single umbrella relationship? What are everyone's thoughts on that?

Not relationships but actual stories.

Edited October 5, 201213 yr by allmc2008

That George Rawlins story on Y&R seemed to go on foreever LOL!

Alice/Steve/Rachel lasted from around 1968 -1974/5 give or take. Maybe I'm old, but I think soaps were best when the stories took years to tell. Bill Bell and Jim Reilly were great at this.

On ATWT, for several years they had the "Sierra" being dead story - it was written so that it was the IMPACT of Sierra being gone on all the people lives and she was mentioned continually - even though the character was not on the canvas. It was actually quite good. And, then, boom - Finn Carter showed up one day and took Craig away.

Maybe I'm old, but I think soaps were best when the stories took years to tell.

And the stories weren't as convoluted as they are now, were they? Instead of attempting to fool the audience, which never turns out well, the writers instead concentrated on the characters' thoughts and feelings about their predicaments.

From watching the GL dvds... I think Philip being Justin/Jackie's child instead of Alan/Elizabeth spanned from 1977 through 1983 and was maintained through three major headwriters.

I think never bringing Elizabeth back (at least during the reveal in 1983) then spiriting Justin off the canvas shortly thereafter, robbed the reveal of some major fall-out. While having Jackie died when the reveal was done could have affected fall-out, I think having the secret come out after her death made it all the more riveting because Philip always would feel regret/anger at never getting to know Jackie as his mother instead of a step-mother/family friend.