Classic SOD Tumblr Goodies

[titan1978]

Part of that was just the times changing.  Rich people and celebs kind of did drugs and partied out in the open back then especially the hedonistic 1980’s.  The beginning of entertainment television becoming poplularized and stuff like the tabloids and People magazine suddenly had more weight as the 1980’s closed and the 1990’s began.  Plus as a culture thanks to things like talk shows we had begun to talk about addiction more openly and more often.  Kids were being taught things like DARE.  It didn’t stop the behavior, just kind of moved it away from work and more underground.

 

Soap ratings and fandoms had calmed down too, which made them seem less like rock stars in their own minds as the tours to meet fans slowed down past the 1980’s.

[robbwolff]

I don't think it's referring to Leo. Rather, it was referring to Matt Weiss, a short-lived character on Guiding Light. Matt was involved in a story with Harley and Mindy, I believe. Leo didn't show up on Loving till around 1992.

 

I find it odd that SOD referred to the character of JD on Generations as Sam's younger brother. JD did appear on Generations in 1989 and was played by Gerard Prendergast. Only, JD was Sam's older brother. I don't think JD ever returned though there were plans to recast the role.

[j swift]

I am not surprised because SOD got a lot of stuff wrong in 1990.  The more you read it in retrospect, the more it seems very poorly edited.

 

However, your ability to recall Gerard Prendergast after 28 years is remarkable.  I googled him and found that he is who one would cast if they were looking for a Billy-Zapka-type.

[Franko]

My mistake, @robbwolff. The department store and New York soap clues seemed so certain to me.

[robbwolff]

The guy who played Matt Weiss was Jeff Gendelman, who had been on Loving. If I remember correctly, CBS nixed the storyline with Matt and he was quickly written out. I believe the story goes is that CBS' interference is what we led Pam Long to leave as head writer.

[Franko]

Yup, I just looked that up. In a few months, maybe we'll hear about that in Pam's exit interview.

[titan1978]

I didn’t watch GL until the late 1990’s, and even then only sporadically.  Thanks to YouTube I have seen a lot of the Curlee as part of the HW team era.  If Long leaving allowed that then I’m glad she left.  I’m sorry I wasn’t watching it then.

 

I’ve seen quite a bit of Long’s work too, it’s far too Reva centric for me.

 

I am so in love with that period of the show.  Casting, writing, production, all were just exceptional.

 

As much as I loved supercouple soaps and star driven shows, when the show is an ensemble is my favorite type of soap writing.  Every character felt like they had moment and story to shine during Curlee/Demorest etc era on the show.

[j swift]

up until 10 minutes ago, I thought Bob Woods played Cal who kidnapped Kimberly, but he played Paul Stewart, part of the couple that raised Kimberly's kidnapped baby. Hence why I thought he was still around in 1990, they were both spanners in the Kim/Shane relationship played by actors more famous on OLTL

[Soaplovers]

 

Long/Curlee were a good team.. Long provided the emotion and warmth while Curlee provided the consistency/focus.  When Long left, the show's tone shifted and I often think the fun and spirit was missing from the Curlee/Demorest era that was there in spades when Long was around (at least in her 2nd stint).

[Faulkner]

The Curlee et al era was almost perfect soap for the reasons you pointed out. Every character’s perspective felt honored and necessary. A pet peeve of mine is soap characters only defined as part of their self-contained story du jour. If they are involved in a romance, they are preoccupied with that romance to the exclusion of everything around them. Work, family, friendships barely figure in, except on rare occasions. Only their “true love” and whatever threatens it matter. When Curlee and team were writing, I rarely felt that tunnel vision until towards the end. It set my expectations very high for what soap opera could be, and I couldn’t help but be disappointed (and even demoralized) by what followed on GL and other soaps I watched. We were really spoiled.

[MichaelGL]

I agree. Long and Curlee as a whole were the best of both worlds when they shared the helm.

[Franko]

10/16/90

-- We get a break from the Judi Evans and Patsy Pease drama.

-- This time, it's did Jack cheat on Kristina (just before she gave birth)? Is Michael E. Knight leaving? How delighted is Steve Bond to get the hell off Santa Barbara?

-- Santa Barbara (or rather, John Conboy) says no to terminal illnesses. Different Times: "You don't introduce a character with AIDS and then have that character survive." Ecology, however, was okay (and really should be tackled today).

-- Conboy also claimed Casino still had a future on ABC. Speaking of whistling in the dark, Bill Bell claims a 55-and-older couple would come if B&B expanded to an hour. This is interesting to read 28 years later, when the 50s are considered mid-middle age, not past it.

-- A pan for GH's new young couple Decker & Dawn, not exactly the second coming of Luke & Laura. "Fans aren't waiting on the edge of their seats for them to get together."

-- Billy Warlock is frank about his first run as Frankie: "Melissa Brennan and I never even had a summer storyline." I could have sworn they did, something about a convenience store robbery. Or was that her and Glenn? Also, Shelley Curtis did a pretty good job of keeping the true nature of Frankie's return under wraps.

-- Mary Beth Evans is not a fan of chemistry testing. "I don't want them to parade a bunch of people past me like they've done with other characters on the show." Kayla's most likely new matches are Shane (which did happen), Marcus (which should have happened) or Victor (he did briefly end up with a medical woman, Carly)

-- "Kelly (Capwell) thinks she's running for prom queen and Eden is prom queen ... for life." I'm guessing that dialogue writer jumped ship for OLTL, as I remember Dorian referring to Viki as prom queen once or twice.

-- The primer for this issue is on OLTL, flaunting its escapism. You'd never guess things would change in a year. "Entertainment is the name of the game. Period."

-- All this and a teaser for Susan Lucci's SNL episode, which had no shortage of good sketches. Personal favorite: All My Luggage.

 

[j swift]

The 90's anachronisms are deep in this issue: there's a criticism that characters use cordless phones too often and Todd McKee isn't "fine-tuning his walkman to the wedding bell dial" any time soon (which makes no sense since walkmans didn't have dials or ringtones).

 

Also, a lot of concern about hiring and using older actors.  Meanwhile, Ron Harper has been hired to save Generations and he's no spring chicken.  Also, 28 years later, most of the leads on B&B are over 55.

 

Jack Wagner either left the birthing room to have an affair or to tape scenes on GH; both alternatives are reported and both make him look less than chivalrous.   

 

The Dawn and Dekker critique is interesting because GH tried recasts and rewrites but they just could not make Dawn work.  I would argue it was the fundamental issue of an audience not accepting a retcon.  Emily is basically a Dawn replacement, but the logic behind her introduction made more sense.  However, it is interesting that Michael Watson (Dekker) went on to play Zach on B&B, who was essentially the same character and failed just as hard.  Once again proving my thesis that a bad haircut should not be considered a legitimate character trait.

 

Steve Bond's comment about soap storylines moving too quickly to gain audience support is interesting.  In the near future, many of the soaps will go to shorter story arcs, or they'll try telenovella length plots, so it is interesting to hear an actor express concerns about the logic of those decisions.  I wonder if 28 years later Steve Bond would even recall the reasons he gave for leaving?

 

It is cute to read Erin Torpey coming to OLTL with the recasting of all of Viki's kids, but we are also getting one of the 14 different Kevins and I don't recall this guy at all.

 

Also, Mack and Bunny are leaving SB which means that this is the last time that we'll see The Liar or The Polo Club.

 

Finally, Hunter Tylo has the chicken pox so she needs to a temporary re-cast (from Sherilyn Wolter who seems like a poor fit to play Taylor).  That's five actors needing emergency recasts in four months, which may be part of the genesis of soaps giving themselves more lead time for productions errors.

[~bl~]

I used to have a Walkman that was a cassette with a radio, so I think the dial they meant was a radio dial. The analogy though was strange. The cordless phone thing is ridiculous.  

[Franko]

Good heavens, you're brilliant. Hairspray isn't listed on Erin Torpey's IMDB page. I'm guessing she was an extra in the pre-teen day scene.