Classic SOD Tumblr Goodies

[titan1978]

I also thought Rafe was handsome, but he was also kind of bland.  Hot but bland.

[j swift]

And we're back - after a week off, it is April 30, 1991, and SOD is getting excited for May sweeps.  https://classicsodnews.tumblr.com/

 

First up, a thumbs up to DAYS for creating more great couples like Jack and Jennifer.   Unfortunately, their examples aren't great.  Does anyone recall the "fun" of Brian Scofield and Melissa Horton?  Or Roman "filling his void" with Dr. Whitney Baker (who I just learned was played by a pre-Colby's Claire Yarlett)?  And between Marlena, Whitney, and Kristen, does John/Roman have a therapist fetish?  Is that why they always do "it" on the couch?

 

Also, a thumbs up for Kurtis Blow on OLTL.  It is odd that Bo wasn't involved in that story since he owned a recording company and later enjoyed a close relationship with Snoop Dog.

 

Thumbs down to AMC's Palmer's niece Melanie losing her virginity to Charlie due to "smooth talking."  Another thumbs down to ATWT for the use of suicide by gun to resolve stories too frequently.  Finally, a funny continuity error, GL's Dylan was illiterate when he was introduced, but now he is shown reading like a pro.

 

In the real world, Elizabeth Savage, (the not-great Gweneth replacement on LOVING) is being given her own show on Lifetime about weight loss.  In a very 90s move, they went from being called America's Diet Club to The Image Workshop.   

 

Yet another story about Gloria Monty, this one is about Robert and Anna reconciling.  I think she's not doing herself any favors.  I just read the Linda Gottlieb profile on the OLTL thread and it references Monty's return as a failure.   However, if Monty wasn't so available to SOD then the fact that the stories didn't live up to her promises wouldn't have been such an issue.  There is plenty of blame to spread around, (cough, cough Tony Geary and Cousin Joey), but it is hard not to point the finger at her when she is so forward in the PR. 

 

It amazes me that we are in the big AW story of Who shot Jake? and ATWT's Carolyn Crawford Mystery (sidebar - ATWT is getting rid of Sabrina the same week that Carolyn is murdered and I wonder if the purpose was to eliminate her as a red herring for Frannie?)  but we only hear about GH and Monty every week.  If the news didn't cover every show's plan for sweeps we would rarely read about AW, LOV, or B&B.   It hardly seems fair to cover GH as much as it does; especially given its lower ratings.  Perhaps SOW was covering the news that SOD missed?

[Franko]

I don't know if it was proven, but wasn't the rumor that DOOL fans made up a large portion of SOD's readership in the 1990s? I suspect GH fans were also a formidable demographic, which would explain the constant publicity.

 

That said, the over-hyping is getting on my nerves. I'm ready for Mac to be a good guy, Dominique to arrive and the Tracy/Paul/Jenny/Ned non-quadrangle* to begin. The "whole readjustment of lifestyle" for Bobbie and Tony translated to a few weeks of them living together as a non-couple raising BJ. Meanwhile, Gloria Monty's crowing over the reunion of Robert and Anna. She also -- yet again -- rationalizes the cast exodus.

*If it was a true quadrangle, Jenny/Ned/Tracy would be a possibility. I don't need to explain why that's a no, right?

 

Meanwhile, on DOOL, the supercouple assembly line continues. Although at the moment, it's mostly spitting out lemons and unspectacular vehicles. If I was a car salesman, Jack & Jennifer would be an easy sell. Ditto Bo & Carly (with additional Victor)? But how does one try to stir excitement for Lawrence/Kimberly/Shane, or Kimberly/Shane/Kayla**? Eve & Frankie? Roman & Whitney (or Isabella***)? Brian & Melissa? Oh well, at least there's the reliable station wagon, Mickey & Maggie (soon to be without Neil).

**Speaking of that, why didn't they go for a quadrangle, a la Lucas/Carrie/Austin/Sami?

***I'm onto you, SOD. Days "isn't currently negotiating" with Deidre Hall because it probably was already settled.

 

The closed lips award goes to AMC, for barely contributing to the May Sweeps preview (for what it's worth, OLTL didn't get a full writeup and LOV isn't there at all) and keeping mum about whether or not the furs are real. "Erica enjoys the advances of an unexpected suitor" -- that was her relationship with Charlie Brent, right?

 

Jake and Megan's wedding on OLTL was indeed uneventful. I remember its writeup in "Love, Honor and Cherish" (the collection of ABC soap weddings), including some dialogue. Cord mentioned to Tina that it was the first non-fiasco wedding in a while, admitting he expected the ceiling to cave in at any moment.

 

This stuff about union issues at The Banner, I'm guessing it's part of the newspaper-driven storyline that's ultimately going to go nowhere.

 

All this, and Genie Francis auditioning for a revival of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

[Wendy]

 

Except, arguably, Roman (later John) and Isabella were popular. But the rest of the duds you list, I get. Although dorky Brian and Camilla Scott's Melissa had a bit of charm...until the whole thing went off the rails and she killed Emilio, but I digress!

[Franko]

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with John & Isabella. I should look up what the the reason behind their being separated, anyway*. And how did they come up with Melissa killing Emilio? That feels so odd to me.

*ETA: She blamed him for being partially responsible for Victor's stroke at the end of 1990.

[j swift]

Practically, based on what we've read so far in SOD '90, Billy Hufsey had already come and gone once before so there was no future for the character and Camilla Scott was on her way out the door.   Also, both were hired by the prior regime.  So, they killed two birds with one stone; literally.

 

I was a Brian-fan and I got the appeal of Robert Mailhouse, but the character was made redundant by the growing charm of Jack.  Salem couldn't sustain two comically heroic hunky guys, with brooding brothers, who were afraid of commitment based on their lousy fathers.

 

[Wendy]

If I recall, too, at the end, they made Emilio almost a stalker/creepy guy, when he was nothing like that before. But by the time Melissa killed him, it was framed as a self-defense scenario. Either way, since Brian was a cop, the whole thing ended their fling. But Melissa never served jail time, etc. Every visit with Melissa since, Lisa Trusel (original Melissa) reprised the role.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Didn't DAYS fire him for cutting his hair - or NOT cutting it?

[victoria foxton]

I liked Brian & brunette singing Melissa. I think it was Gene Palumbo who wrote off Melissa and Sarah. The writers made Emilio unbearable then killed him off.  So Days had 2 murder mysteries going on at the same time. I remember i liked parts of it. But hated that they killed both Nick and Emilio. Never liked Brian with Ginger.

[j swift]

 Not to repeat myself but, I still think it is ironic that Robert Mailhouse was in Dogstar with Keanu Reeves, and he was cast as Brian the geekier brother to Michael Easton's Tanner (a neo-Patch).

 

Emilio and his family were introduced by one set of writers and producers.  According to SOD, Hufsey was part of a purge of that family, but months later, due to audience response, he was re-hired.  Then, the writers and producers changed and six months after he came back they killed him off in order to make room for the Scofields.  New Year's Eve 1990 was a remarkable episode because Emilio died and Victor had a stroke at a big, entire cast, party at the mansion.

[titan1978]

When there were Soap Opera Digest awards, I remember the winners were more often than not DAYS and GH people.

 

They clearly had a huge fandom between both shows reading SOD.

[j swift]

It's May 14, 1991, and SOD's Broadway coverage caught my eye this week

 

Robert Duncan McNeil (AMC) and the guy who played Garth on LOV were in the original Broadway cast of Six Degrees of Separation.  Rex Smith was replaced in the musical of Grand Hotel with John Schneider (which made me wonder if the Caroline Crawford murder story that just started on screen got in the way of his rehearsals).  Lisa Porter (now Vroman) was just fired from OLTL but she is in the OBC of Aspects of Love.  And Ashley Crowe (Beatrice-the-head-shrinker ATWT) was in the original cast of  Prelude to a Kiss (Alec Baldwin (DOC) was in the film which is highly recommended).  I love stuff from when Broadway and soaps were still symbiotic - it is so NYC

 

In LA theater news, Stephen Nichols is performing a non-musical play of the life of Jim Morrison of The Doors and I'm gonna take a hard pass.  

 

The SOD News got a new look this week.  New fonts and simpler background.  Somehow, Gloria Monty only got a single mention.  And, SOD admitted that GH was slipping in the ratings despite their weekly exposure in the news.

 

Parker Posey has been hired at ATWT.  If you scroll back a few pages I predicted it as soon as the blind item was posted.  What is the opposite of a psychic prediction?

 

Jack Wagner quit GH and soon he will turn up at SB.  SOD had the scoop two weeks in advance, but GH seems to have dropped the ball in terms of an actual exit story for Frisco.  Soon we'll have the Port Charles earthquake of 1991.  Felicia is an interesting character to have survived Frisco, Colton, and Luke, and then go on to a successful pairing with Mac; when in contrast DAYS was never able to pair Kayla with another partner after Patch.

 

Also, in a tale foretold by @Franko , Ellen Wheeler is being forced to compete to get the part of Marley back on AW after Anne Heche is leaving.  Not only is her ex-husband mentioned, but also that she had recently failed to score a part on DAYS, and another GH actress is vying for the role.  No word on if Ronda Lewin was approached to return.  The humiliation of being an actress is remarkable.  Jenson Buchanon was on OLTL so I wonder if it is one of the three recent GH Dawns, (although it could be any of the fifteen actors recently fired by Monty)?

 

Finally, an odd reminder that Janine Turner started on GH and SOD suggests trying to watch LOVING, but be quick because it is going to be canceled in four years.  https://classicsodnews.tumblr.com/

 

[Franko]

How 'bout those new graphics, huh? It takes so little to impress me.

 

Our top story, Jack Wagner is now part of the GH exodus. Up next: Kurt McKinney, then Kristina. Good call, @j swift, on how Felicia transcended her initial supercouple status. Of course, we wouldn't know that in 1991. Speaking of which, I'm guess Kristina spent her year off of GH as a stay at home mom, but I wonder if NBC or the Dobsons thought about her as a possible nu-Kelly. Also, please note Brad Maule's oh-so-timely Kitty Kelley joke.

 

SOD spills quite a bit of ink about the daytime-nighttime exchange. Debbi Morgan's actually going to make a better impression on the Cosbyverse's other show, A Different World. Later in 1991, she'll play Dwayne's apparently ideal woman, leading to his and Whitley's broken engagement. (I'm actually up to the final season, which I'm giving commentary on to friends of mine.)

 

Actually, it wasn't an ex-GH actress who was trying out for Vicky and Marley, but an ex-GEN actress. The only one I can think of would be Kelly Rutherford.

 

I totally agree with you about how cool it was when all those soap actors were moonlighting in Broadway plays. That said, part of me would love to see Stephen Nichols as Jim Morrison.

 

Speaking of Patch and Kayla, I had no idea Mary Beth Evans' contract lasted until 1993. She's only going to be on DOOL for one more year. This also pokes a hole in my theory that DOOL largely had actors with three-year contracts, like I assumed with Lisa Howard.

 

The opposite of a psychic prediction, I think, would be either being intuitive or just plain right.

 

Joseph Cousins' story about making Kindergarten Cop is cute, although I'm a little disturbed that Arnold could toss him into the air a full two feet higher than Ted Shackelford.

 

Uh-oh, be careful Victoria Rowell. SOD doesn't like it when an actor's not forthcoming. Ask Patsy Pease.

 

We just need the SB primer. I didn't know LOV had a mob storyline in 1991. Check out the array of big hair going on.

 

All this and Robert S. Woods as Indiana Bo-nes.

[kalbir]

 

Days usually cleaned house at the SOD awards but yet were mostly ignored at the Daytime Emmys.

[j swift]

Wait, why aren't we discussing A Different World anywhere?  The debates over which opening you preferred, which dorm was the best, which Whitley roommate you preferred, and the controversial riot/honeymoon episodes.  Personally, I don't think we needed to follow Jelissa beyond her college years. 

 

Felicia is back for the earthquake because she gets trapped in the brownstone.

 

One big unanswered question of the week - Where is the Cousin Joey News Update?