2 minutes ago, YRBB said:

 

 

There was definitely improvement when Bell toned it down a little (a little - I mean, Cricket still appears in an episode to have sex with Danny even when you don't need her lol) and, most importantly, when Lauralee started improving as an actress (thanks to the date rape story). I'll always give her credit for that: Mediocre as she is, she worked on the craft and improved. It also helped that Danny and Cricket were genuinely nice and sweet.

LOL whenever I always get a kick out some of the early 90’s episodes where Christine and Danny appear and all they do is gossip over breakfast and/or dinner. 

LLB was definitely put through her paces in that rape storyline.  WJB and LLB had to have felt some pressure to prove the worth of Cricket after TL walked.  I mean TL's Jack was so popular that WJB built an entire family around the character (from what I've read).  Deep down, you just know that WJB was like "Oh sh*t!" when TL decided to walk away from the role.

 

9 minutes ago, YRBB said:

 

He was so pretty though.

 

Ultimately, it worked out fine. Lauren and Sheila needed an excuse to feud. He was there for that purpose. Also, "poor" Barton: How can you shine next to Brown and Bergman, especially at the height of their powers? Impossible!

 

 

There was definitely improvement when Bell toned it down a little (a little - I mean, Cricket still appears in an episode to have sex with Danny even when you don't need her lol) and, most importantly, when Lauralee started improving as an actress (thanks to the date rape story). I'll always give her credit for that: Mediocre as she is, she worked on the craft and improved. It also helped that Danny and Cricket were genuinely nice and sweet.

 

Edited May 6, 20205 yr by DramatistDreamer

8 minutes ago, YRBB said:

 

Depends what you mean by "not bad". Was he a decent actor? Sure. Was he creepy? Oh God YES. And when he started pawing Nikki? Ew.

 

In the late ‘90’s shortly after Seinfeld ended Thudley seriously considered O’Hurley as to finally cast John Forrester and SOD even interviewed O’Hurley. It never materialized though, I guess something happened to change their minds. John Forrester finally appeared in 2014 played by Fred Willard.

6 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

LLB was definitely put through her paces in that rape storyline.  WJB and LLB had to have felt some pressure to prove the worth of Cricket after TL walked.  I mean TL's Jack was so popular that WJB built an entire family around the character (from what I've read).  Deep down, you just know that WJB was like "Oh sh*t!" when TL decided to walk away from the role.

 

 

I always believed having him write Phyllis calling her “The Bug” was his answer to any fan complaints. 

Edited May 6, 20205 yr by soapfan770

23 minutes ago, Alan said:

In all seriousness, I think that ED is the definitive Ashley. I think she is the only actress who has been able to fully flesh out Ashley in all her complexity. BE's Ashley was like a different character. She was a sweet heroine, and lacked the edge that ED brings to the role. It's the same issue with SH as Kristen on DOOL. Actresses who take over ED's roles are only able to play one note of her characters.

 

And the writing still fell short for her, in most cases, imo. Maybe because of ED's physical look, it seemed as the writing of early Ashley worked too hard to make her overly vulnerable.  I would have loved to see her in a more powerful position, early.  It seemed like that's what they tried to do with her battles with Jack (which she generally ended up on the losing side), especially the last time before she left town for Paris, or NYC but it seemed like a half-hearted effort, of sorts.

Why did TL leave?

5 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

 

In the late ‘90’s shortly after Seinfeld ended Thudley seriously considered O’Hurley as to finally cast John Forrester and SOD even interviewed O’Hurley. It never materialized though, I guess something happened to change their minds. John Forrester finally appeared in 2014 played by Fred Ward.

I always believed having him write Phyllis calling her “The Bug” was his answer to any fan complaints. 

 

Wasn't much of an answer though. Maybe a small gesture to placate people who didn't care for her? In any case, having a psycho like Phyllis being the one to deliver the line, gave sort of a back-handed perverse pleasure that was momentary, I guess. 

12 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

😝😝😝

 

7 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Theres also those of us who just dont like ED in the role, nothing to do with anyone else lol

 

I'm only teasing you, I hope you know that! I genuinely understand why one would prefer BE. You not liking ED doesn't surprise me one bit. She was very different. Me, I think it's one of the best soap performances. Playing a reserved character that did not like to show emotion and yet communicating so much emotion and thought was masterful work. I loved the bizareness. It made her unique. But, hey, to each their own!

12 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

LOL whenever I always get a kick out some of the early 90’s episodes where Christine and Danny appear and all they do is gossip over breakfast and/or dinner. 

 

Oh God. And they did that 4 days out of the week lol Michael Damian has a LOT to thank Lauralee for.

 

I guess one can think of them as the Greek chorus of Y&R. It almost helps excuse it.

2 minutes ago, YRBB said:

 

 

I'm only teasing you, I hope you know that! I genuinely understand why one would prefer BE. You not liking ED doesn't surprise me one bit. She was very different. Me, I think it's one of the best soap performances. Playing a reserved character that did not like to show emotion and yet communicating so much emotion and thought was masterful work. I loved the bizareness. It made her unique. But, hey, to each their own!

 

Oh God. And they did that 4 days out of the week lol Michael Damian has a LOT to thank Lauralee for.

 

I guess one can think of them as the Greek chorus of Y&R. It almost helps excuse it.

Lol I know 😜😚😉

4 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Why did TL leave?

 

He had enough of the INSANE Cricket propping (and it was ridiculous) and walked.

Terry Lester joined Santa Barbara not long after he left Y&R and was there for a year. He joined As the World Turns in the fall of 1992 and was there until the spring of 1994. Terry guest starred on some primetime shows in the late 1990s but he must have been dealing with health issues in the early 2000s as he passed away in 2003.

Edited May 6, 20205 yr by kalbir

5 minutes ago, YRBB said:

Oh God. And they did that 4 days out of the week lol Michael Damian has a LOT to thank Lauralee for.

 

At least for giving him several additional years of story until he was furloughed in 1998. 

16 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

LLB was definitely put through her paces in that rape storyline.  WJB and LLB had to have felt some pressure to prove the worth of Cricket after TL walked.  I mean TL's Jack was so popular that WJB built an entire family around the character (from what I've read).  Deep down, you just know that WJB was like "Oh sh*t!" when TL decided to walk away from the role.

 

Yes! I just know it shook him to lose TL and made him realize a few things.

 

If BB hadn't been such a masterful writer, what happened with Cricket would've been enough to sink a show.

1 minute ago, kalbir said:

Terry Lester joined Santa Barbara not long after he left Y&R and was there for a year. He joined As the World Turns in the fall of 1992 was there until the spring of 1994. 

 

 

He was widely loathed at Santa Barbara but he was great on ATWT. I wonder if he ever regretted leaving Y&R?

4 minutes ago, YRBB said:

 

He had enough of the INSANE Cricket propping (and it was ridiculous) and walked.

The tragedy of it all, is that a few months after TL left - Cricket's insta-family was no more: Jessica dead, Jim written off, Scott sequestered off w/Lauren.  And the character of Jack was in a front-burner story with Nikki! Imagine if TL played that story instead of PB 😕

17 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

 

In the late ‘90’s shortly after Seinfeld ended Thudley seriously considered O’Hurley as to finally cast John Forrester and SOD even interviewed O’Hurley. It never materialized though, I guess something happened to change their minds. John Forrester finally appeared in 2014 played by Fred Willard.

 

I didn't know that. They probably realized he was creepy AF.