11 minutes ago, AdelaideCate007 said:

On OLTL, Gabrielle's return is another one that started fine and then just ended badly. 

I would say it went in the opposite direction there. The way I remember it, Gabrielle's initial return at OLTL was wildly unpopular with everyone except, well, me lol. I had not been around for Gabrielle's first run, I only knew the legend and a handful of old episodes online at that time, and I found her Annie Lennox haircut and OTT campy ways insanely entertaining. There was no one like her on the show and I was all in. But the story with her marrying Asa, histrionically pawing herself and the furniture horny for Max, etc. was roasted by the mags and most fans, and within a couple months even the show was mocking them in the Trading Places episode where they had JDP and Fiona switch roles and played the Michael Bolton song, lol.

Allegedly, one of the two actors found the story so radioactive that they quietly asked for Max and Gabrielle's reunion to be curtailed. That led to Gabrielle being moved to Bo and Max going towards the Roxy thing, which sadly never quite took off for Max. But I actually do think Bo and Gabrielle were fairly popular and a surprise modest success for the show. I certainly enjoyed them and I think it was only in 2002 that Fiona found her footing with the audience again.

I do think Malone had planned to put both Bo and Nora and Max and Gabrielle back together, which could've been very interesting as he'd never written for Max/Gabrielle or Gabrielle at all. But instead they both fizzled out when Frons wanted the budget cut and the Holdens canned. I still miss Gabrielle. But I do think her return started a bomb and then became a reasonable success with an unlikely pairing. People were very sad to see her go.

As for GH, yes I'd bring back Brenda (and teenaged/college-aged, gay af Alec) tomorrow.

Edited September 5Sep 5 by Vee

Yeah, I thought Bo/Gabrielle actually kinda worked and was liked!

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

Wrong. Lol.  There's actual proof she helped ratings every time.

I don't even like some of the material especially in 2010, but there is no indication it ever hurt the show or even the character of Brenda.

Thank you. 

 

I saw that, too, and went NEXT. lol. 

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

$6 dollars is a lot to spend on that "actress",

Oooooooooooo SHADE. LOL.

4 minutes ago, Michael said:

Yeah, I thought Bo/Gabrielle actually kinda worked and was liked!

14 minutes ago, Vee said:

 

Allegedly, one of the two actors found the story so radioactive that they quietly asked for Max and Gabrielle's reunion to be curtailed. That led to Gabrielle being moved to Bo and Max going towards the Roxy thing, which sadly never quite took off for Max. 

As for GH, yes I'd bring back Brenda (and teenaged/college-aged, gay af Alec) tomorrow.

I had totally blanked on them as a couple when I said that, but yes they were. My bad lol. 

I was thinking mostly about how they never could quite get her and Max back together and then her dying a few months after he left. It just all felt pointless, at least to me, y the time she died.

I thought the Max and Roxy thing started off well but then never went anywhere and he was just gone. I randomly came across an episode the other day of Roxy finding some tapes of poor dead Luna and her giving them to Max and him crying. I'd forgotten they were still playing that up by the time he was tied up with Roxy.

If OLTL hadn't gone if the air, I do think they should have tried to bring Max back somewhere down the line. I think there was still some mileage left there.

 

7 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Thank you. 

 

I saw that, too, and went NEXT. lol. 

Seriously, Sonny/Brenda's wedding was a huge rating success. GH would kill for those numbers now.

And you could literally just drop Brenda into the canvas seamlessly at this point, but let's waste more time GH lol

10 minutes ago, AdelaideCate007 said:

I thought the Max and Roxy thing started off well but then never went anywhere and he was just gone. I randomly came across an episode the other day of Roxy finding some tapes of poor dead Luna and her giving them to Max and him crying. I'd forgotten they were still playing that up by the time he was tied up with Roxy.

If OLTL hadn't gone if the air, I do think they should have tried to bring Max back somewhere down the line. I think there was still some mileage left there.

From what JDP has said over the years it sounds like Frons stepped in again on the Max/Roxy stuff, prepping to cut him out of the show. I think they also, briefly, were toying with a potential Asa angle with her either at the end of Tomlin/Whitesell or beginning of Malone II - maybe a triangle with Asa and Max. Then it all evaporated, and we got some very minor hints of Max and Gabrielle trying to make Bo and Nora jealous as they reconnected over Matthew before none of it went anywhere and everyone got fired.

I know what I'd do with Max (and Gabrielle) for a short arc but it'd never happen. Ah well!

IIRC we had not seen hide nor hair of Luna or Susan Batten for years since Luna's death until SB made the brief cameo in the end credits during Live Week 2002 (as one of the ghosts, like Dennis Parlato, Jessica Tuck, etc.) and then a few months later we got the videotapes of Luna that Roxy found. It was a pleasant surprise at the time as again, Luna had not been seen since '95. Then they had Malone using her ghost incessantly in 2003-04 during the terrible Al/Michael story and we all got sick of her lol.

Edited September 5Sep 5 by Vee

8 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Seriously, Sonny/Brenda's wedding was a huge rating success. GH would kill for those numbers now.

And you could literally just drop Brenda into the canvas seamlessly at this point, but let's waste more time GH lol

I remember it well. A good time. And it felt like everyone was talking about it in mags and online. And we know I've lived for her during the 50th even if the plot was a bit silly. 

 

Exactly! I know we say this every other week, but it's so true how easily Brenda can slip right back onto the canvas oh so easily. Anything to save Sonny from that 'actress' and Deception from said 'actress' RL husband. 

Every Sheila return after 1998. I only watched Sheila 2005-2006 Y&R return and none of the B&B returns. Sheila is Bradley's "break glass in case of emergency" character.

I'm so lost on what was Sheila and what wasn't and who was where when... I know the recent B&B years are all clearly canon but it's weird she's so fixated on Finn with no thought about any of the other kids.

43 minutes ago, Michael said:

it's weird she's so fixated on Finn with no thought about any of the other kids.

We saw Sheila pregnant twice: once on Y&R which was Scott Sr.'s child that was miscarried and once on B&B which was Mary Warwick. The other kids would be rewrites.

Joanna Johnson as Karen on B&B.

Viewers loved JJ as Caroline. So the reasoning behind making her a totally different character and not playing a Ridge/Karen romance made the whole thing pointless.

They should have either

1. Sent Caroline out of town, either dying or not, leaving the door open for a return

or

2. Killed her off and stand by that decision. The return was a fizzle, so really no point.

Eva La Rue as Maureen Gorman on All My Children. A HOT azz mess that ruined her legacy as Maria

8 hours ago, Michael said:

Bill Hayes also had that weird 1986 return without SSH where he... became mayor or something? Did they explain why Julie wasn't around for that?

Julie was running a dress shop or something in Paris at the time. She and Doug had already gotten divorced.

I think that was when SSH was on Y&R

1 hour ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Julie was running a dress shop or something in Paris at the time. She and Doug had already gotten divorced.

I think that was when SSH was on Y&R

Thanks! I didn't realize they divorced offscreen between the '84 exit and that Doug return. I'm actually surprised/relieved they didn't recast Julie with someone cheaper.