Classic SOD Tumblr Goodies

[j swift]

Best/Worst of 1990 has been posted!

 

There's a lot to digest (pun intended).  Knots and ATWT got best soap.  Generations was the most improved, giving SOD readers a confusing message that good work is not always rewarded.   

 

GH got trashed, except for the new Quatermaine set, every story was bad.

 

Loving is an odd case.  The engagement party for Rocky/Rio/Louie/Kate was bad, but a dream sequence about a brothel after Trisha's wedding was great.  I guess you had to be there.

 

Vanessa Chamberland (GL) was best dressed.  Suzy Cote's makeover as Samantha Marler included ditching her glass, throwing on a strapless party dress, and the most minimal makeup possible.  It's one of my favorite soap tropes; she is a beautiful, smart, young woman but nobody can see it because her hair is in a ponytail.  Villains can plan world domination but they can't notice that the lady next to them is stunning because she put on glasses.  Those P&G products were so helpful in making girls go from glum to glam.

 

Carrington Garland's Kelly got a lot of backlash.  She was the most overused and her stories were not great.  This is one that I totally disagree with, because in a period of change while Marcy Walker was on maternity leave, she stepped up and carried that show in 1990.  Even her wedding dress was interesting and contrasted with her sister Eden in a way that was unseen in prior versions of Kelly.

 

Y&R is the most disappointing.  New 1990 stories like Brad's wealth and Kay's kidnapping contrasted poorly with the slow-moving mysteries of the recent past like Cassandra's husband's murder.  It's a fun read because I realized that Y&R is like SNL, everyone has a favorite period based on when they started watching it and they are always lamenting about the way it used to be; even though the way it used to be has changed multiple times.

 

So, we end 1990 in a conundrum.  Y&R, the highest rated soap all year is the Most Disappointing and Generations, the least watched soap was Most Improved. 

 

Lastly, getting ahead of my resolution to be more grateful in 2019, magazine creases aren't as unreadable as they were a decade ago.  Remember decyphering the broad linear shadows that were on older scanners?  I am grateful for improved scanning technology that let us read 28-year-old magazines.

[Franko]

Finally getting a chance to comment! Happy New Year, @j swift!

 

I'm hoping that when SOD seriously covers it, the Dobsons' return to SB gets all the hype of Patsy Pease with a hangnail.

 

Today in Exoduses: Generations from NBC (I wonder if SOD will include a "Sorry, it's officially over" article, or just rarely speak of the show again); Pam Long, Kassie Wesley* and the last remnants of GLs leading men from the mid-'80s; Lucy's extended family, plus Shep, on GH (and SOD is now out and out calling it an exodus); and Melanie Smith on ATWT. I'm also guessing Dan Wolek's days on OLTL are numbered.

*Kassie's comment about Pam not really having a vision for Chelsea makes me wonder if she had even fleeting doubts or worries about Blair during Pam's brief run writing OLTL.

 

Today in Significant Arrivals: Heather Tom as Victoria Newman. Side note -- even though it didn't go anywhere, I'm intrigued by the idea of Greg Nelson coming back to AMC around this time. Suppose he romanced Dixie for a few years?

 

As long as I'm indulging in fanfiction ... picture an NBC lineup of DOOL/GEN/AW/SB facing off against ABC's AMC/LOV/OLTL/GH facing off against CBS' Y&R/B&B/ATWT/GL. Would Loving have lasted longer? Would B&B have been more vulnerable?

 

Today I Learned: Bette Davis liked ATWT too. I would love if she was a total P&G maven, getting real pissed at things like ATWT and AW becoming timeslot rivals.

 

Did Nat, Alex's dad, ever make it to OLTL? I'm loving the idea of Viki with a Burt Reynolds type.

 

SOD has a point about Carly and Jennifer not being convincing as friends (did they stay in each other's orbit after 1990?). But what's with calling attention to the not that prominent age gap between Melissa and Crystal? Melissa -- born in March 1967. Crystal -- born in August 1965. Another digression, that photo of Michael Sabatino is hottt!

 

"We hear that Geary may be interested in writing for (GH)." And unofficially producing ...

 

By the Numbers:

ATWT: Best (6), Worst (1)

OLTL: Worst (1), Best (3)

GH: Best (3), Worst (2)

SB: Worst (2), Best (2)

Y&R: Best (2), Worst (3)

AMC: Worst (6); Best (1)

GL: Best (9); Worst (1)

DOOL: Best (2), Worst (3)

Twin Peaks: Best (1), Worst (1)

Knots Landing: Best (4) -- I can't remember, will 90210 and Melrose eventually be covered in SOD? We're nearing a point where KL will otherwise be the lone night soap.

AW: Best (1); Worst (1)

B&B: Best (2), Worst (2)

LOV: Best (1); Worst (1)

Dallas: Best (1)

GEN: Best (1)

 

Man, the disdain for Dixie and Opal just breaks my heart. Also, I concur about how off the mark their appraisal of Kelly was.

 

"It's a fun read because I realized that Y&R is like SNL, everyone has a favorite period based on when they started watching it and they are always lamenting about the way it used to be; even though the way it used to be has changed multiple times."

Again, spot on. I'm now trying my darndest to make a GH/Tonight Show analogy make sense.

[j swift]

How about - GH is like when Joan Rivers guest-hosted the Tonight Show; it's only good one day a week.

 

I hope SOD submitted their exclusive with Pam Long's fiancee for the Pulitzer in 1991. 

 

I think SOD misunderstood the ending of Twin Peaks.  And how would Russian Alex Olenoff have "Burt Reynolds" for a father (I guess there were very different plans for that character)?  

 

Thanks for the numbers breakdown.  I always appreciate a little data crunching.  The lack of attention to Another World is a shocking detail.

 

SOD never recapped 90210 or Melrose, but SOW would usually cover the major episodes and cliffhangers. 

or just casting...

[j swift]

The 1982 recaps are especially odd this week

 

ANOTHER WORLD: Week of September 27 - October 1, 1982

Jason, Jamie, and Liz were upset that Cass hired a shady company to distribute Jamie’s film.  Steve landed a university construction project and tipped Jamie off to a college teaching job.  

 

Is this how Bay City U worked?  They just hired inexperienced/failed screenwriter professors based on their step-father's construction work?  The actual scene with Jamie and Liz discussing the failure of his film A View from the Bay is on YouTube, hysterically, because it is 192, it takes place in Jason's disco with Liz screaming over the synth beat.

 

Also, a later missed story beat, when John Hudson was accused of sexually harassing students, nobody brought up Jamie's history of sleeping with his students while on faculty.  I wonder if he kept the same university ID once he worked for the hospital.

 

DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Week of September 27 - October 1, 1982

 Julie and Doug shocked Stefano with the news that there was no titanium under Doug’s Place. Roman was puzzled to find a lot of money and a Swiss bank deposit ticket secreted in Anna’s suitcase. Sarah inherited Evan’s estate.

 

Is Doug's Place still connected to the Dimera Mansion?  Sarah's a lot older than Rex or Eric, and Carrie should be about 40 y.o.  The Anna/white slavery story was very insensitive

 

TEXAS: Week of September 27 - October 1, 1982

At Ryan’s funeral, a drunken Paige incorrectly announced that Ashley is carrying TJ’s child, while Ginny told Reena the baby is Justin’s.  Mildred encouraged TJ to romance Ginny.

 

 

Note to self: Don't invite Mildred to any more funerals

[BuckyB12]

 

Sarah was an infant when Evan Whyland died, but yes, she was originally a few years older than Eric and Sami, who I think were born in 1987. But SORAS in Salem has always made relative ages completely impossible to justify or explain ever since Michael and David became teens in the mid-70s.

 

Isn't the current Doug's Place the former TBD, Chad and Sonny's club, which Julie renamed over Chloe's objections? It's in downtown Salem, near the Horton Town Square, and IIRC the original Doug's Place was out by a lake or something. But location in Salem is almost as flexible as the relative ages of characters.

[jcar03]

Eric and Sami were born in October of 1984.

[Franko]

And for completion's sake ...

 

SEARCH FOR TOMORROW: Week of September 27 - October 1, 1982

Brian checked out Warren’s Detroit past.  Ringo reminded Warren that Jenny might remember their previous meeting.

Paging Axel Foley. Axel Foley, you are needed in Henderson.

 

THE DOCTORS: Week of September 27 - October 1, 1982

Althea spruced up her image.

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, she's got a new attitude!

 

The downtown vs. lake aspect of Doug's Place has always confused me. Paging @JAS0N47! I think the timeline is like this:

1. Original recipe Doug's Place (Sergio's-Doug's Place, downtown Salem)

2. The new Doug's Place (which I think also had gambling, by the lake)

3. Original recipe again (this time as Blondie's and eventually Wings)

4. TBD and now Doug's Place again

[Paul Raven]

Doug's Place by the Lake was created in the Nina Laemmle era and stayed around till Doug and Julie departed in 84.

 

I think it ceased to exist after that?

 

Blondie's/Wings were re-incarnations of Shenanigans which was opened I think by Chris Kositchek. a compeletly different venue to Doug's Place. I think Shenanigans may have originally been The Twilight Bar, which was rather low rent.

[Franko]

Aah, thank you. I forgot about Shenanigans. Chris did it all -- manufacturer, workout entrepreneur, gentrifier ...

[JAS0N47]

 

That sounds good to me.

 

No, Blondie's took over for Doug's Place, and Wings took over for Blondie's.

Shenanigans (originally Twilight Bar) existed at the same time as both Blondie's and Wings. It eventually became Alice's Restaurant.

[Franko]

And then, of course, The Tuscany became the county-western Alice's. Is my memory failing, or did the sequence of upscale restaurants in Salem go like this (with a little bit of overlap):

Wings --- Penthouse Grille --- Tuscany

[Darn]

I want to follow along but I wish you guys would link to exactly which posts you're talking about.

 

Anyway, reading the best and worst was fun because they had a large amount of shows to choose from and they weren't grasping at straws trying to find the good like they do now.

[soapfan770]

Hey @YRfan23 want to know the most ironic thing about SOD choosing Y&R as Most Disappointing Show for 1990? By 2005/2006ish when SoapNet was running AW reruns from 1990, SOD at the time in  praised the quality of the show and even stated "AW was only second in quality behind Y&R in 1990 as far as soaps go at the time." I remember us at the ancient WOST discussing that SOD bit quite thoroughly at the time @SFK . I do agree ATWT was obviously the best soap of 1990, with Y&R and GL being right up with it.

 

That being said, it's always fascinates me when contemporary reviews in soaps just absolutely fail to hold up to the test of time. SOD for some reasoned loved Courtney on ATWT in the early '90s  I have noticed, yet proved to be very insignificant in the long run as she left in 1994 was never mentioned again after her exit. 

[YRfan23]

I think they were a little too harsh on the "Best and Worst" for Y&R, even with the clunkers, 1990 was still a terrific year.....maybe the reviewer wasn't a big fan of the show in general, and preferred more of the faster paced/action packed shows at the time....but I think them saying "not enough payoff" is a little off the wall, for a show we know use to thrive more on character vs plot...so I think some of the story climaxes were supposed to be based off of how it effects the characters, rather then the story itself if that makes sense?

That's interesting about the AW/Y&R comparison...unless it was a bias review....it doesn't surprise me, as I think a lot of people took Y&R for granted until more shows started disappearing...

[j swift]

Actors and characters may come and go, but SOD has upheld at least three critical values over the past 28 years.

 

1.  They hate camp, but they love melodrama - thumbs down to anyone in drag, thumbs up to crying at the dining room table over your family's latest diagnosis

 

2.  They like romance, but they hate sex scenes - every sex scene is either irresponsible because they didn't discuss contraception or unrealistic because they discussed contraception.  

 

3.  It is a cardinal sin for a female character to be frumpy unless they have a fatal illness.