I think there is a vault of files that I never delved into--let me investigate.
Ideally, if BeondTV had their reasons not to start in the 80s or earlier, I would have said starting right with the 20th Anniversary in Jan 1990 and Agnes Nixon's 2 year return as full HW, would have been ideal (I didn't start that early, but as I've said ad nauseum it was "Natalie in the well" in late 1991 and the introduction of Wildwind that instantly hooked me.) And I do have fond memories of the first couple of years of McTavish (when you would have started,) even if I can see why some longterm fans weren't happy with the change in direction in hidnsight. But I think they actually made a good choice with starting with 1995--more than I initially thought. While I still think it was dumb to not open with the first week of 25th anniversary/flashback heavy episodes, and watching on PlutoTV we missed the last few months of McTavish's run (which I wish I could have revisited just because I remember even at 14 thinking the show was getting to be too much....) starting in the summer with the setup for Broderick's return in early Sep seems an ideal starting point. A number of key storylines are either starting in full force or the seeds are being clearly planted, and there seems to be a subtle reshuffling of Pine Valley to build back up the sense of community (I mentioned how suddenly Marian is back, and people act like she's always been there, just off camera--well in the most recent streamed episodes that's been even more true with relatively subtle reminders of her storyline with Tad and Liza coming up, etc. I'm sure at the time the soap press probably already mentioned Marcy Walker was returning, but...)
By
EricMontreal22 ·
