Jump to content

Classic SOD Tumblr Goodies


Recommended Posts

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 241
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

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).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • I think the arrival of the Spauldings (Alan/Elizabeth/Phillip) caused the erosion of Sara's character on the show since Elizabeth took over Sara's place in the whole Justin/Jackie story.  Sara's brief marriage to another deceptive man sounded like it paled in comparison to the previous deceptive man story that she had played the decade beforehand.. and it was probably done because of the whole Alan/Jackie/Mike/Elizabeth cluster that took off story wise.   I know the show had introduced Brandy, the woman Justin cheated on Jackie with... but I don't believe she lasted more than a year.. and didn't make much of an impression. While the Dobson's were good at writing/juggling multiple characters/stories.. they weren't perfect though they did manage to make use of characters not in the front burner like Sara, Ann, etc. I do know that Sara/Adam looked to be starting up at the end of the Dobson era with a jealous/regretful Barbara looking on.. which played out during the Roger/Holly rape story and Hollys prison story.   I don't know if Marland was as inspired by that story when he took over
    • If you ever make it to the Paley Center in NYC (fka Museum of TV and Radio), in their viewing room, you can watch Days 1/1/73 featuring Denise Alexander as Susan. It’s her last month on the show before switching to GH.
    • Overall I was impressed with this week and fall out from the revealation.  I am looking forward to seeing the Nicole/Dana showdown next week.  I do wonder if June is going to be tied to Hayley.  
    • I thought Adam and Sara got married? Although I do not remember any mention of her when Adam returned for Blake's weddings. But MA certainly got the short end of the stick storywise, as Marland's obsession with therapy reared it's head. 
    • Didn’t Meg Bennett return to SFT as a writer in the last few years. I always wondered if they tried to get her back as Liza.
    • Millette Alexander got the short end of the stick once they killed off Joe. The Justin thing was a non-starter. Then she was briefly married to Alan's corrupt lawyer and HE was killed off. She was paired briefly with Adam and that ended because she believed Holly over Roger about the rape. Definitely, Marland had zero interest in her except as the therapist for the many, many of his female characters who needed therapy. It's not odd she left the show. One of the rare 1978 episodes on YT shows Alan going to Cedars for a physical check-up. He ends up with Sarah as his doctor. In between making mysoginistic comments about women doctors, he also openly flirts with her. It's very obvious they were chem testing Sarah and Alan. It's a really good scene. Bernau is both obnoxious and charming and Millette is amazing, trying to be pleasant and profesional without rolling her eyes at him, but at the same time maybe a LITTLE bit attracted to him. An interesting what-might-have-been. So it appears the Dobsons were actively looking for someone to pair her with, they just never found the right one for a long-term story.
    • I'm happy to read whatever you provide, @Paul Raven. 

      Please register in order to view this content

       
    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • First, let me say I love reading all of your takes and thoughts. They always provide a different point of view... a breath of fresh air... in this sometimes stuffy topic. 

      Please register in order to view this content

      You've inspired me to add my 2 cents about this product placement debacle.  I absolutely HATE the way they are doing product placement in BTG. I really hope this doesn't catch on or evolve into more and more of these moments. It's incredibly off-putting to place them in a highly dramatic moment where we are still on the emotional journey with the character. What is next - Dani spraying the house while having a nervous breakdown? It makes me not want to buy the product they're selling. LOL. That's just me.   
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy