From Llanfair to Eterna To Mendorra pt 3

If Julie Montgomery had stayed as Sam she would have become the show's leading lady. I hated the amazon they replaced her with.

Julie had the nice titties.

Bringing Victor Lord back to life was one of the dumbest storylines I’d seen on this show. Mitch Laurence wheeling him out.

And that’s saying a lot.

Did anyone else think that John McBain was just the coolest too cool for school cop character? He also had a dash of camp about him.

McBain and that hair was total camp! Like a bad noir.

WHET that blonde actress who played Andie and the guy who played Drew?

My life would have so much more meaning if they brought the show back.

Valentini brought Victor Lord back. He was 120 by then. Stupid stupid story.

That's about when I stopped watching. Then Jean Randolph brought me back for a while.

stay tuned for scenes from the next One Life To Live bumper

RARE video of Christine Jones as Viki

R9 Victor Lord was originally born in 1916, though they later changed it to 1925 so when he reappeared in 2003 he was between 87 and 78. I actually liked the storyline, because it was such a surprise out of left field.

But they didn’t do anything with Victor Lord so what was the point? It rewrote history - Dorian killed Victor and then they rewrote it again that Viki’s Alter did but I never bought that...having him still be alive negates all that history.

Thanks for posting that video r12.

Mark Goddard was so fucking hot. Jerked off many a load thinking about him.

Loved him as Don West on Lost in Space. But he was on fine DILF by the time he was playing Ted Clayton in 1980-81.

R14 By that point they had changed who killed Victor, and what kind of a man he was so many times, I didn't care that they negated anything. If anything, we the viewers finally got to witness the nasty side of Victor that resulted in Vikki's alters. Because, remember when the character was originally on the show, we didn't see him as the nasty old pervert that he was retro-conned into.

OP is a cunt for leaving out the great Badderly Island.

I thought in subsequent years, we were led to believe that the 2003 Victor Lord was a fake.

Look at the fire Christine Jones brings to Vikki in that clip. Clint Ritchie was engaged as well - and obviously turned on. Who could blame him? Having to work with the Pillbsury Dough Lady in Slee was daunting!

I'm not the biggest fan of Slee but there's a reason they kept TempViki in a drugged stupor for most of her run. Sleepy was pretty much all she could play. I will agree that she could have played Slee's daughter but that's another post.

Seriously, the show's been gone since 2012, when are you bitches going to let it go?

R21 NEVER, Llanview will always live on in my heart.

Strasser always said she played it like Dorian really did kill Victor, even after the Viki reveal and the 2003 retcon.

Why is there a picture of the Imperial Palace in Vienna in OP's link?

I liked Eterna. Badderly Island. Mendorra. Loved the Daisy Awards and fraternity row when Megan was on it! Great era of soap operas!!! Long live OLTL!!!

Loved Max and Megan! Bo and Sarah! Tina and Cord! Clint and Viki! Asa and Renee! Max and Gabrielle!

It's funny cause you never hear her mentioned but one character I loved, and everyone I watched the show with loved, was Becky Abbott. Both of them Becky1 and Becky2. It was a shock when demure Becky1 left cause i loved her. Got really used to Becky2 and ended up liking her just as much. She was the best of the backburners. That's one thing about OLTL as opposed to the other but they had a shitload of backburners.

Don't I know it.

She got to be an a lister for a while when she married Asa. The queen of the backburner was Wanda.

I liked Becky’s son Drew. Both adult actors but the show had no interest in developing the character. When he went from a grifter to a cop I knew it was the beginning of the end for Drew!

I like when soaps have backburner characters who've been around for years. They're often the best ties to history and continuity.

That's one of the things that I loved about OLTL they had a ton of likeable back burner characters. So many of them were easy to like. They were always a great supporting cast to help the wheels of the stories turn. Of course by the end that was another thing they had let fall away.

R31 By the end the only one, I can think of was, Nigel, and they even tried making him more front burner with that absurd Roxie romance.

In the mid-to-late 80s, the show had a ton of backburner characters which made me wonder why they were kept around. Wanda, Rafe, Delilah, Larry... to name a few. At one point, it felt like the show revolves around 4-5 characters (Clint, Viki, Tina and Cord). Sure Max, Gabrielle and the Gordon sisters became more prominent but those 4 carried a lot of freight for a long time.

Killing characters like Drew and Duke never made any sense.

It did seem that if you weren't in the Lord-Buchanan orbit, you were out of luck for airtime. I'm wondering how things played out a few years earlier, during the transition from the Karen and Marco era to the Paul Rauch years.

Paul Rauch made me blow him.

Gabby and Tina, the Queens of OLTL

Fiona was servin' some Lady Eyes a Buggin' realness.

Tina was a cunt!

R38 OMG yes! LOL

[quote] Killing characters like Drew and Duke never made any sense.

Shows seemed to do it all the time in the 90s and early 00s. They did it for short term ratings gains, but since most of those writers were new to soaps, they didn't realize how it would affect future story options.

GH was the worst! We lost all the Qs for a shock kill! Bye bye Alan, Aj, Emily...

I always thought killing off Megan Gordon was stupid. If Jessica Tuck wanted to leave so badly, why not just recast the role?

I liked Viki having an older daughter before Jessica got old enough to really matter.

Jessica Tuck was Megan I could never see that role recast and her goodbye/death was so amazing. One of soaps best!!!

Always wish Asa had a long lost daughter. Could have been Skye

TBH, I never understood the fascination for Megan. I know she was popular but I read her as little Miss perfect.

When she first came on she was an amazingly bitchy guarded diva like character and she evolved into a spirited beloved heroine!

Megan was on the best OLTL characters!

Slee!!

R47 I'll watch just to see her, because damn Jeff Daniels is not looking good.

How lovely she booked an under 5 in an indie.

Sue, get the fuck out of here you cunt.

Sue, Slee was working while you were laid up with your heart problems.

I'm just wondering why Megan had to be killed off. She could have been so useful as a guest/recurring character over the years. OLTL's stable of young leading ladies during that time was interesting. Gabrielle was gone. There was a new Tina, Sarah and Cassie. There was the original Blair. Marty wasn't yet a heroine. And Luna dropped in.

[quote]Megan was on the best OLTL characters!

No way. She was a Miss Priss.

Megan was interesting enough but she was no Gabrielle Medina.

Has anyone seen Scott Evans on the newest season of "Grace & Frankie"?

He's turned into a pudgy, balding queen in record time.

r52, I would not want any of the later regimes touching Megan. Look what happened to FH and AE with their respective returns.

R47 HD is NOT Slee's friend!

She needs Youthful Essence STAT!

So who is Strassman playing on Days? Vivian?

^Mama Hernandez

I love this thread!

All kidding aside, it's great that Erika is booking these small roles. Very happy for her.

This summer she'll be touring in Grease. She's going to play Sandy and Rizzo.

[quote]Killing characters like Drew never made any sense.

Oh, but the death scene (go to 2:48)!

[quote]Megan was interesting enough but she was no Gabrielle Medina.

For which those of us who watched the show felt nothing but utter, abject gratitude.

Slee is not aging well.

Hey y'all! I'm parachutin' into your thread!

R67 What, no Evan Walsh?

R68 LOL

Poor Susan Batten. I enjoyed Luna but she was miscast at ATWT on a grand scale.

I remember that. The ATWT fans were SO nasty to her.

It was FMB's fault. A Connor replacement was utterly unnecessary.

Ugh. Drew's death was the catalyst for that heinous JFP plot with Nora lying about the baby. Talk about ruining all characters at once.

What baby?

Nora lied to Bo and said she was pregnant to get him to come home after Drew died. IIRC, he was on a boat somewhere and she was talking to him on the radio. That set in motion all the bullshit with Sam and Lindsay and the paternity tests. I am not sure if this was when JFPee was doing the writing, or if it was still Pam Long at that point.

I sent cans to CBS as part of the Can Faux Connor campaign. It worked. Batten was soon out at ATWT.

I contributed “ninnyhammer.”

Susan Batten was really unattractive. She resembled a donkey. Luna usually annoyed me.

Batten thought she was safe at ATWT. She pretty much said in an interview that if the fans didn't like or accept her, than too bad. Such arrogance. It pissed fans off even more. She sure got put in her place fairly quickly.

I couldn’t stand Luna

Glad to see Strasser working again. Could never get into DOOL though and never been a fan of Ron's. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a big mess,

She will chew her way through Salem

Robin is appearing on DOOL?

R82 Yes. A picture of her in the DOOL make-up room surfaced online. What role she's playing isn't known yet. She probably won't air until late summer anyway with DOOL's crazy taping schedule.

Some sites are speculating she's going to play Vivian Alamain. This site has the make-up room picture.

Good for her.

But I have no hopes with Ron writing. He will likely have it be some lunacy camp with a little "wink, wink - do I know you?" between Robin and Kassie.

Fucking hated Luna.

I didn't hate Luna until they transferred her to Oakdale and renamed her Connor, with whom she had absolutely nothing in common, darling.

Crystal Chappel as Maggie!

I didn't like that they brought Becky Lee back as a bitch when they introduced Drew. It was completely inconsistent with her earlier character, when she was a heroine. Why can't the powers that be understand that we love our characters...and not to shift them around simply for some plot they want to pitch to us.

Oh I know. I loved Becky almost as much as I loved Myrtle on AMC. Sometimes a soap just needs a couple decent characters. Becky, and both actresses, made her decent and likeable. That was OK. The Becky II was also a great singer.

What a waste of Crystal Chappell coming off her breakthrough role of Carly on Days! She could have been a bitch or even a long lost of Asa’s...something that would have tied her to the canvas.

Instead they made her a nun and Andrew’s cousin. During this time Andrew was already being phased out. Maggie was a joke who ended up running off with the circus at the end of her run! Awful!!!

R91 she was James DaPavia leading lady

Maggie went off to clown school! LOL!!!!

I still chuckle when I think of how stupid that exit was.

Biggest waste of a name soap actor/actress on OLTL?

I’d put Crystal top of the list. Add Kimberlin Brown. Yasmine Bleeth.

The problem with Maggie was that she was created by Malone, but then with the shift in writing regimes, she had no focus. I definitely liked what Malone was doing with her, and Chappell was a good addition. She and JdP had great chemistry.

r94, not sure I would call Yasmine Bleeth "wasted". She was pretty much front burner until she left. And she wasn't necessarily known as a great thespian.

Crystal Chappell character of "Maggie" had all the makings of being OLTL great heroines. But changes in the writing staff just doomed that character

Agreed. Malone introduced a conflicted, spunky type of character. But it didn't last.

I always wondered who wrote the nun angle - Malone or the new regime. I know I remember reading that Laiman used some of his story outlines.

[quote]Add Kimberlin Brown.

No, subtract her.

In the later years, the buffoons in charge wasted all the talent. I still can't believe what happened with Gina Tognoni's return. Only those three morons - Frank, Frons and Ron - would squander what a raw actress Tognoni evolved into.

Luna was fucking WONDERFUL, and Luna supposedly was an old high school friend of Reba McEntire! Remember her two day guest stint?

Luna was great in the first year or so, because she was different.

But characters like that usually either burn bright and leave or become boring. And sorry, James DePaiva was kinda boring, and drained most of the interesting parts of Luna away.

[quote] Luna supposedly was an old high school friend of Reba McEntire!

Who knew Luna under her real name, Fancy.

Malone managed to make all those early introduction characters feel like they had been on the show forever. Luna, Andrew, Hank, Marty, Nora. Always proved that new characters were never the problem - it was the writing.

[quote] Only those three morons - Frank, Frons and Ron - would squander what a raw actress Tognoni evolved into.

She was on FIRE on Guiding Light. Probably her best role, to be honest.

Nun?

For some reason, I don't think the writers in the later years could write for the character of Kelly, Heather Tom, was great on Y&R, but they made her boring on OLTL, ditto with Tognoni. Tognoni's first tenure on OLTL was the best Kelly.

Kelly Cramer was not supposed to suffer from PSS.

I remember when Luna was introduced I knew it was the end of OLTL as i knew it. I remember the photos of her released to the soap mags were very new age-y and her posing over crystals and flaky accoutrement. She was homely and weird. I thought ... where’s Tina? Megan? Gabrielle? Who is this goofball? And we are supposed to think that Max is in love with her?!?

r109, Tina and Megan were right there when Luna was introduced, so you couldn't have thought "where are they?" for long.

at the time Andrea Evans asked to be put on the backburner as she went into hiding due to her stalker - she would eventually leave the show altogether

Yasmine was great as a bitch on Titans her country bumpkin character wasn’t memorable.

Max would never be drawn to Luna. No way!

The soaps loved their silly angel-spirits visitations to impart a comforting message in the 90s. AMC did Natalie a lot. I think Luna came back 4 or 5 times.

We just called her Lunatic. Not very original I know. It fit though. We all hated her.

We got it. You and everybody hated Luna. They kept bringing her ghost back just to aggravate us.

Strasser is joining DOOL as Counsela Hernandez, Rafe and Gabi's elegant, drug running Aunt.

[quote] Strasser is joining DOOL as Counsela Hernandez, Rafe and Gabi's elegant, drug running Aunt.

That would be funny if they cast Robin in a Hernandez role.

I'm just remembering the unusual way she pronounced "Carlotta" on OLTL.

Robin is very good with the right material, but with Ron, I fear high level of camp and histrionics. It would be very refreshing if he actually wrote a good sinister character for her.

Luna and Blair were fucking sucked. They weren't fit to kiss the feet of 80s Tina and Gabrielle.

r119, you are starting to sound deranged.

It was only a matter of time before Strasser joined DAYS, it seems every former ABC Daytime star shows up on DAYS eventually

The last 10 years alone we had Roscoe Bourne, Ty Treadway, Jessica Tuck (in a 2 year stint), John Callahan (2 years too), Stuart Damon, Matt Borlenghi, Sydney Penny, Melissa Archer, John Paul Lavosier, Vincent Irizarry, Jordi Valusio, Tyler Christopher , Kassie DePaiva, Camilla Banus, A. Martinez, etc hit Salem

I wish Fiona Hutchinson was playing Leo’s mom or even Andrea Evans! Judith Chapman and Robin Strasser are over the top in a bad way.

It would be a thrill to have Fiona Hutchison back on soaps.

R122 the irony bus in an interview with Michael Fairman soaps over 2 years ago, BEFORE Ron became headwriter of DAYS, Andrea Evans said she would love to be on DAYS because that's the soap she used to always watch and she'd be a good fit with the campy and comedic tone, according to HER. LOL

Vincent Irizarry in his prime. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM I didn't even watch Guiding Light and I knew who he was. He kept his looks for a long time.

Vincent should be playing Ridge on Bold and Beautiful not the completely miscast Thornheart poet

Andrea Evans on Days would make complete sense

Tina sucked on Y&R

Andrea could reprise her Passions character Rebecca Hotchkiss on Days.

Even the cream of the crop talent needs good story to tell of which the well ran dry long ago. Any insights honed in on and lamented by long term soap opera fans have had no impact towards rectifying this problem. They play like they're just dumbfucks but it's sinister and off putting.

So in addition to Alan Sarapa, who has never left his momma’s basement, we have this god damn retard Michael Mortimer. Jesus.

[quote] Even the cream of the crop talent needs good story to tell of which the well ran dry long ago.

There's good story out there, but most shows and networks gave up good writing long ago for short term ratings gains, and got addicted to the rush of plot heavy stories.

Asa just referred to me as that bitch in a turban. I think his yacht needs a little explosive heat.

My twin sister Geraldine in Monticello told me that revenge is a fool's game. Our cousin Emily in Somerset doesn't agree. Someone has been luffering her stretch marks too much and putting something in her Baby Ruth bars.

There's a rumor going around that Allison Perkins and Carlo Hesser are long lost siblings. Too bad my son Mortimer was murdered.

[quote] My twin sister Geraldine in Monticello told me that revenge is a fool's game.

Geraldine knows all and SEES all.

I just discovered that I have a twin sister who is in a mental institution outside of Port Charles and that my real father has an illegitimate daughter with someone named Delia who looks like that wacky hairdresser Roxie. I've contacted my old media mogul pal Rae Woodard to scoop out the truth. Her granddaughter Arley is a fantastic reporter.

At least I married the hot Del Emerson. Raven's obnoxious doppleganger Melinda interviewed you and described you as frigid, even though you told your granddaughter Kate that what we did in our day would curl your hair. I had no issue with Judith marrying my nephew Charles. I wanted Judith to marry the D.A., Herb Callison. He looked so much like my late son, Colin.

Elizabeth Sanders had the nice nubile titties.

Euphemia Ralston gives good turban.

I didn't just fall off that roof. I fell onto the agent who got me an immediate gig on Broadway in the original cast of "Nine" where one of my co-stars impressed my old boss in the audience who immediately cast her as Delila, marrying both my ex husband Asa and my son Bo. And this was even before "Guiding Light" conceived the idea of Reva Shayne after the same actress seduced my son, Clint.

Remember me? I was the original Harry O'Neill who went on to sitcom immortality by being told off by sub Dorian, Dixie Carter, in the premiere episode.

[quote]I wish Fiona Hutchinson was playing Leo’s mom or even Andrea Evans! Judith Chapman and Robin Strasser are over the top in a bad way.

Judith Chapman is EVERYTHING! Especially playing Greg's mother again.

Andrea Evans invented "over the top." She singlehandedly kept me from watching soap operas, or thinking that people who watched them had even one brain cell left.

Dorian is just sour. I don't know the other one.

I invented over the top!

143 You don’t Fiona Hutchinson or queen Gabrielle Medina? Wow you are in for a treat!

Another lost opportunity, 2nd to Viki's kids, is how they never were able to make anything out of Melinda and gave her such a dull ending. They really tried with Melinda though but they just couldn't get it right and would always just give up in the middle of whatever story they were running for her. I like how she was originally written. Though it probably wouldn't have worked with Robin's Dorian. The first Melinda was a fragile little mouse. More importantly she was Dorian's weakness. She kept Pinkerton's Dorian human. So much of what Dorian I did was to provide for Melinda to keep them from being poor again.

Original Medlinda had a paralyzed arm.

Which kind of sucks if you wanted to be a concert pianist.

Jane Badler, as Melinda, made Daytimer of the Month once. Even with her they couldn't make anything out of Melinda. Except for maybe when she was stalking fake Jenny.

I'll drink to that!

Yeah Patricia Pearcy was good as the original Melinda. Jane Badler was way over the top too sexy to succeed her. Pearcy's Melinda knew about Mark Toland and Dorian's affair and wanted to tell Mark's wife Julie but instead confided in Larry who read them the riot act.

Lynn Benesch should never have been killed off. The hostage crisis of the summer of ‘73 was epic and poor Meredith died.

they kept showing her head hitting the floor in slow motion. over and over.

Sharon Gabet’s Melinda was great! Wish we’d seen her and Dorian more or even see her dynamic with daughter Kelly. I think she went “crazy” off screen and was eventually killed by Mitch!

Sharon Gabet was great as Melinda, and she acted as sort of a Dorian substitute in the years when Dorian was in Mendorra. They let her go too soon.

She definitely could have hung around longer. Didn't Melinda leave town close enough to when they wrote off Cassie for a few years? I guess, with Dorian already gone, the show figured it was time for a complete pruning. Oh, and to rewind to the idea of Andrea Evans on DOOL, I wonder what would have happened if she played Diana Colville, the role Judith Chapman's playing right now.

BRING BACK BARBARA TREUTELAAR!!!!!!!!

I liked Grant Goodeve as Bo's army friend.

I would have liked Grant Goodeve to sit on my face. Well, during his Eight is Enough years.

[quote]Oh, and to rewind to the idea of Andrea Evans on DOOL, I wonder what would have happened if she played Diana Colville, the role Judith Chapman's playing right now.

I would not be watching the scenes she's in.

Judith Chapman had a six month role in One Life to Live that wasn't anywhere close to her Ryan's Hope part. But Judith could steal the scenery in any role and not even be caught anywhere in the facinity.

It's obvious that One Life to Live had more Broadway musical talent than any west coast soap.

When Judith was young she was impossibly beautiful.

Judith Chapman and Anna Stuart should play sisters fighting over aging beauty that is truly real.

I would watch that, r166. ORD is always worth watching, and I love Judith.

I played Rae for one episode, was Donna for the wrap-up of Jake's story, and started a three year recurring role as Mary Smythe, all in the period of one month in 2002. Matthew Cory wants me back, and I don't blame him.

The musical "Chicago" is about me! I am Roxie!!!

"Days of Our Lives" should cast Anna Stuart as Linda Anderson. Maggie needs a new rival to keep Victor. Mary Smythe nearly got Palmer, so Anna could really be what Margaret Mason could have been before they cast Kate Winograd in that part.

Am I Anna Wolek? Am I Gloria Petrillo before mother nature took over? Or am I Gloria Monty in "Tootsie"?

There is a rumor going around that Rae Woodard hired Diana Colville to return to Salem. This will be the opportunity for Louise Shaffer to take over the role of Marie Horton.

I thought that my mother-in-law in Santa Barbara was tough. Then I moved to Llanview. Minx was a Mrs. Danvers doll compared to Elizabeth. I went to Salem under one condition: no mothers in law.

Shit show with shit actors and bat shit crazy writers. A fucking disaster.

They recasted Diana Colville on DAYS and went from Genie Francis playing the role in the 80s to Judith Chapman, who played her STEPMOM on General Hospital in the 80s, playing the role?

Wow

Also in the 80s at the same time Genie was on DAYS as Diana Colville, Judith Chapman was playing another role, Angelica Deveraux on DAYS, replacing Jane Elliott....

Genie Francis is the anti-Dee Hall.

Time for me to do double duty on daytime as Lesley and Susan like Wally Kurrh. I'm fine with it as long as Diana isn't my daughter! I'm just wondering though if Leslie Charleston would be interested in playing that role. If she can't do it, I'll personally suggest Erika Sezak.

Nearly 20 years on this show after winning a Tony really was an Imitation of life. Why didn't Leslie Uggams cast me as her mother on "All My Children"?

Leslie Uggams did the casting for AMC?

I'm lost. What happened to the OLTL thread?

I heard the Strahan show is also tanking in the ratings.

ABC should have never cancelled OLTL.

[quote]ABC should have never cancelled OLTL.

+1,000,000. It would be the only soap I watch.

What is on besides the GMA show in the timeslots? Did ABC give the hours back to the affiliates?

I don't believe ABC ever wanted to cancel 2 shows at once - I think it was all politics.

R182 If you believe the stories, Frons (President of ABC Daytime) wanted to cancel all 3 ABC soaps at once but somehow GH got a reprieve and is still on the air today. Someone higher than Frons at ABC got nervous about cancelling all 3, which was smart on their part. AMC and OLTL should never have been cancelled.

ABC could have cancelled AMC and GH and kept OLTL. It would finally have had its day in the sun without those other two shows overshadowing it.

Why weren't the soaps cut back to 1/2 hour and the casts trimmed? The stories would have been better too.

r185 they could have merged AMC and OLTL into one show... All My Life to Live?

Believe it or not, they (the networks, ABC?) supposedly did a study and determined that they wouldn't save a substantial amount of money cutting the soaps back to a half hour again then just letting them die out in their hour long form.

You would think that a show like OLTL, with perhaps a small but devoted fan base, would offer ABC automatic views on some platform. I keep thinking of the nonsense they try to offer us instead, and think -- what a waste.

viewers, not views.

Do some of you still believe that Frons actually had the power to "cancel" shows on his own? Whatever decision or mandate came from Disney.

Frons lead the charge to cancel the shows. Sure, someone higher up had to give the final ok, but that someone didn’t know soaps and took Fronsie’s word for it that this was the best thing for ABC Daytime. Someone who didn’t have a clue about soaps took Frons’ word and gave the ok to cancel AMC and OLTL but surely said to Frons that as long as he (Frons) thinks it is best for ABC daytime, they’ll gobalong with it.

I wish they had kept all 3.5 hours of ABC soaps on the air. Then the Drew Dixon Douche wouldn't have the time or interest in trolling the P&G threads.

When you take a step back and think about what it takes to produce a 43 minute drama every single day... it’s actually astounding. The fact that there were about 3 decades where the medium actually did it well (yes, shit got outlandish)- it’s a marvel. And didn’t one of the New York soaps have to break down sets and reassemble them every day? I think it was OLTL. Jesus that sounds Herculean. Talk about labor. From the writing, the actor, the set design, the costuming... they had to create an entire town every day. In that respect, I feel like soaps are a bit unsung.

r193 at least it gave people in New York jobs. Taking the soaps out of their birthplace is one of the reasons NYC is such a shithole today.

What real life enemies? Strasser and slezak really friendly?

When Andrea Evans left in 1990, Slezak made a smug and snide remark about people going off the show because they want to be movie stars and returning in defeat a few years later. I always thought that was very telling about Slezak's resentment that Evans became for OLTL what Susan Lucci was for AMC (despite Lucci and Slezak being the same age, Slezak was perceived as matronly and older in comparison to Lucci and with Evans playing Tina, OLTL finally had its own version of La Kane).

Never mind the fact that Andrea left because she was in fear of her life, this comment was purely and simply malicious:

[quote]...on why people leave Daytime: “Because they think they can do better somewhere else. And the track record isn't good. In the number of years I've been here, I've seen any number of people leave...”I'm gonna be a star'...and off they go. And two years later, they're back. Sometimes they come back, and almost without exception, it does not work when they come back. Andrea (Evans, ex-Tina) was the only exception.”

Tina was a whore.

r193 Tina was the face of OLTL's most popular era. No scenery chewing RADA trained Lee Remick reject can take away that simple fact.

Tina made me go in the other room when my friend would watch his soaps.

Tina was the BEST. Such a memorable, fun, compelling character who drove endless story in the Paul Rauch era. She got people to tune in in droves. It became a water cooler show with her as the lead character.

r198 WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!!!!

Are you DDD, r200?

Tina was the best in the late 80s! I’d include Viki, Gabrielle, Megan, and Sarah in that list too. Strange that OLTL thrived without Strasser and Dorian. Of course the Buchanan men - Asa, Clint, Bo, Cord were great male counterparts. I loved JDP as Max during this period and was always thankful they never went through with making him a Buchanan.

I liked the late 80s Cassie she was a bit more haughty which made her finally feel more like Dorian’s only daughter. Wish they’d have given her more to do.

What is DDD?

r204 Drew Dixon Douche, an ABC Daytime fan who has nothing to do anymore, so he comes to Those Midwestern Towns to bitch, cunt, and bully.

Go to 18:44. You can see why Tina was so popular- I LOVED when this bitch stole Llanfair from Viki-

Andrea was FUN to watch with great eyes. There actually were not many ditzes on daytime in the 80's-

Wonder if the other OLTL alum are seething over Melissa Fumero's sweet gig on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, not to mention the fact that she gets to bed David Fumero every night. Funny that she's the one who actually wound up working outside of soaps. She was only ever serviceable on OLTL, although I love her on B99. (I will say, though, she must be a pretty good actress because she made it seem within the realm of possibility that JPL was straight. JPL's actual girlfriend couldn't even do that.)

And ANOTHER thing- Andrea had a simple talent of making ANY other actor look good. She has a built in chemistry with everyone. That really is a rare thing. You don't have to be Meryl Streep to have charisma or "stardust" as Aaron Spelling once put it-

r206 YESSS!!! That's the character who sent me running from the room.

All I see now is what I saw then: what a horse's ass Tina was. That my friend was so addicted to her made me think less of him.

Andrea and Fiona Hutchison played the first frenemies in television or film history and that's a fact.

Agreed R210-

And at least the show was smart enough to capitalize on this!!

Loved when these two ended up in a Halfway House together.

OLTL was very good at ingenious plot twists. The show knew how to entertain.

Andrea and Fiona were gross. Remind me of how many Emmys each won?

R212 both got Emmy Nominations

[quote] They recasted

No, they recast.

Because there is no such word as "casted" or "recasted"

r206, very cool to see OLTL from 1986 when it was still firing on all cylinders. Is it just me or did that guy playing Richard Abott ping for anybody else? I forgot how diabolical Stick and Tracy were. And that is vintage Andrea Evans Tina on display in that episode.

Makes it even sadder to think how far the show fell in later years.

R215- 1985-1987 were OLTL at its VERY best, I am talking on par with 77-80 (although completely different shows)

Peggy O'Shea in my opinion is OLTL's best head writer.

[quote]Is it just me or did that guy playing Richard Abbott ping for anybody else?

R215, he even pung for Asa, who threatened to send him back to "Gay Paree."

I would love to visit Eterna

Is there a parking garage in Eterna?

I loved when teenage Tina, who hadn't been on the show that long, was trying to get Brad into bed. Those scenes were hysterical.

R188 I think ABC, and also P&G, jumped the gun in canceling when they did. Also, Prospect Park, was too early. With the streaming industry today, it would make sense for them to use the soaps as filler programs for streaming services, that would provide a steady baseline of subscribers. Streaming platforms are built on small niche audiences. For instance, I subscribe to Britbox and the backbone of new content added to the service every week, is the British soaps. They are what brings people to check out the service daily, and then you start watching other programs.

R221 Yes, PP was 3-5 years too soon. Now it might fly.

I always wonder what would have happened had Gottlieb stayed. The show was so well-crafted 93-94 before her exit that I would have loved to see how she would have overseen the DID story. And I don't think the gang story would have happened under her.

Jerry Ver Dorn in as nuBill Horton.

[quote]I don't think the gang story would have happened under her.

Who was in the gang story?

R225 I think they meant gang rape story.

The two Renee's (Phyllis Newman and Patricia Elliott) were Tony winners. Elaine Stritch once told Newman on camera "I've never liked you" ("Follies in Concert"), then was hunted down by Elliott's Renee while gambling in Atlantic City to come to tell the truth about Mortimer's parentage. Shirley Stoler, who played the mob widow, had once been Dorian's cellmate whom Dorian saved from choking, turning an enemy into a devoted friend.

r225/226, no I meant the 1995 gang wars story with the intro of Angel Square.

R228 Oh, I had forgotten all about that story. It really did bring back more of Agnes Nixon's original vision of OLTL, of the haves and the have nots.

From 1985 to 1990, I was absolutely addicted to OLTL....

and the 2nd floor of the student union was the place to watch it.

Course, I also taped it so I could watch the good parts over again.

My original point was that if Gottlieb had stayed, I don't think the gang wars story would have happened. It went way too broad and Malone went off the rails without someone strong overseeing it.

I DESPISED ANGEL SQUARE AND ALL THE CHARACTERS. It was trite and boring. And that Kamar due was THE WORST- the absolute nadir.

And by the way, Shirley Stoller was also Wade's mother!!!

I like almost any "haves v. have nots" story. It's the thing soaps do best. But I did not love the Angel Hair gang story. Gangs are so ick. Fortunately, 1995 was the year of "Lisa Grimaldi v. Johnny Boy Dixon," my second-favorite ATWT story of all time, so I wasn't watching/taping ABC at 2:00 that year.

R233- Same here- BUT Angel Square was so trite. (Malone's "B" stories were SO MUNDANE) He seemed to be able to write one excellent "A" story, but the only B story which I loved was ANYTHING with Alex and Carlo- Brilliant.

God, I hated those Angel Square characters. I could tolerate both Christians, but it was just so cliched and SO BORING.

And did I mention how much I hated Kamar!! He was up there with McBain. In its last decade, OLTL really went down the tubes with some lousy characters/actors. And that Andy character. Talk about Charisma Free. She played Kamar's love interest. I did enjoy Sherri Saum.

You should have gone to Oakdale in 1995, r235.

OLTL was must watch until 1995 and the Angel Square shit was part of the reason why, I remember Luna getting shot and killed there and her brother, the one who dated Marty Saybrooke, being devastated by it. The show was on a role until then with the Marty rape story and Viki and her alters back and burning down Llantano and the Dorian/Blair/David/ Tina hijinks.

In fact fall 1995 is when OLTL started to loose it, they also brought on Crystal Chappelle, whom I loved as Carly Manning on Days of Our Lives (the first soap I watched and the only one of the current 4 I still watch) and gave her the horrible thankless Maggie Carpenter, the secret nun!, role and paired her with Cord and Max with zero chemistry at that time too and the boring ass Marty/Patrick Thornhart storyline began at that time

AMC and GH were still solid but had fallen from where they were in 93/94 as well

Thank God that DAYS was rocking on all cylinders back then with it's supernatural, far out camp, fun storylines of fantasy and adventure. DAYS headwriter at the time, the late James Reilly, wouldn't of dare wrote an Angel Square type storyline on DAYS, he knew viewers watched soaps to escape from reality and he fully embraced the camp.

That is why Ron Carlivati just FITS so much more at DAYS as headwriter than he did at OLTL or GH

Antonio was awful! Hated him and all his pairings! John MCBain sucked the life out of this show too.

The last good year for soaps was 1993.

I think it was clear that Malone went too broad when he was not policed by a strong EP. That being said, 1995 was still light years better than anything that would follow.

It was a shame because Viki's DID in 1995, while having its problems again possibly because Malone wasn't being reigned in, was such a compelling story. But the AS stuff was mostly must-miss TV.

Soap Magazines went downhill around 94 that’s telling they went from almost 6 to just 2

r241, huh? there were at least 5 soap rags throughout the 90s/early 00s.

Never could stand Antonio. Never. But I loved Cristian. David Fumero could be quite endearing for a himbo.

I, too, could never stand Antonio. Carlotta wasn't much better. Cristian was the best of the bunch. Also, it always grated on me that they always called Carlotta Mommy. I have no problem with grown-ups calling their mother, mom or mama, but mommy just sounds strange.

It's not "Mommy," it's "Mami." It's Spanish. Deal with it.

Never had a strong opinion of Carlotta either way. Pat Mauceri must have been a real cunt though. Don’t remember any of the cast defending her after Valentini fired her. David Fumero gave an interview saying he preferred working with Saundra Santiago playing his mom.

How could anyone work with David Fumero? I'd forget my lines for wanting to give him blowjobs all day long.

The only time Fumero had any real spark was working opposite Erika Page.

"The only time Fumero had any real spark" was every time he took his shirt off. Which was often. Wasn't he posing as a model for someone to paint him?

Erika Page/Roseanna was such an underrated character on OLTL. She made both the Vega boys come to life. She was great with Will and versus Jessie!

I must say again that there was SO MUCH about the JFP era that worked. It was purely lot driven, but the show LOOKED good, and it was generally MUST SEE, if you didn't mind character destruction. lol. And once Laurence Lau arrived? HEAVEN. Goddamn. Heck, I even like Timothy Gibbs.

JFPee was producing the show that she wanted - she didn't really care about OLTL itself.

I won't disagree that some of it was compelling.

I cop to liking most of her additions - Cat Hickland, Mark Derwin, Robin Christopher, John Bolger, even Tim Gibbs (although still laughable as Kevin the character).

I could not stand Sam/Kale Brown though. And I hated unnecessarily forcing the abomination of Rae Cummings on the audience.

R252- It was a GUILTY pleasure. And yes, it was all about JFP. The show was LURID and DARK. lollll

I fully understood when Felicia Mini-Bear (spelling wrong was deliberate) called it "unwatchable".

JFP and Megan always leaned on the lurid, dark, violent side...

But OLTL shot to the top of the demos and got an Emmy nomination for Best Show under her. (Before the show finally won)

Was it McTavish who wrote the summer of Nora in the bed? I always remember thinking that went on way too fucking long. And then the stupid "memory-erasing drug"? Ugh.

R253- I could have written your post word for word!!

Rae Cummings- WHY DID THE NETWORK THINK THAT RAE WOULD TURN THAT SHIP AROUND!!!?

LOL! It was bizarre (and shocking) that a woman in her 50's who played a NOTHING role on OLTL and starred on a low rated time slot competitor would deserve to be in every fucking storyline.

And fuck, I almost want to give JFP and ABC some respect for giving a woman in her 50's the starring role on the show!!! Today it would be talentless 17 year old.

20 years- and it feels like a lifetime.

R255! Yes!! With Ty Treadway!!!!

r251, Larry Lau did not come on until after JFP left. I always found it funny that Browne and Gibbs were axed immediately after JFP left.

KB was let go. I'm pretty sure Tim Gibbs left on his own, didn't he?

I detested what JFP did to Dorian, Mel and the Cramers. It was just completely unnecessary destruction. And basically throwing Cassie away because of Tim Gibbs.

REALLY R258!!??

Was Kale fucking Brown on for 3 years????

In my memory, he was on for maybe a year and then Lau played him from like 99-03..

R260- AGREED- It was really horrible in so many ways. I do think that my "misty water colored memories" are probably a little skewed by time.

I started tuning out during the Tomlin era (the show looked cheap under him and I wasn't into the very light tone it constantly had)

I was COMPLETELY done when Dena Higley arrived- this was truly the show's lowest point in every way.

I came back during Carlivati and really enjoyed it. I did not mind the campiness as there was some good drama and good acting as well. And sorry, I was always a sucker for the nods to history.

I find it very interesting that OLTL's finale scored so much higher than AMC's, as AMC was the golden child and classic show- I would have expected older fans from far and wide to tune in. OLTL kicked its ass, which was odd for a red headed step child.

Higley made OLTL unwatchable. Put Nora in a coma. Backbunrbered Viki. Brought on and forced so many new characters. Serial killers and non stop John McBain.

r261, Kale Browne was on from 1998-2001

Lau took over in 2001 after JFP left. The rumor was that JFP was the only one protecting KB.

During the last 15+ years of the show, I missed Wanda Wolek, the salty voice of reason who was a combination of Aunt Ruby ("GH") and Myrtle ("AMC") who could tell it like it is yet still make you want to hug her. Marilyn Chris, the actress left of her own accord, because she wanted to move to California, but they never had another character that had her spunk and wit. In the early 80's, Wanda ran several restaurants where tenants from Ina Hopkins' boarding house went to get good food and free advice. Of course, they got that from Ina as well. Sally Gracie's voice reminded me of Beverlee McKinsey, but on a different class level.

Don't forget that poor Frankie was just POWERLESS to stop Higley or change the show.

The biggest laugh is still how he managed to skate any blame all those years. Writers were trashed left and right as well as Frons, but Frank was just an innocent bystander. LMAO.

You know who I liked a lot during Higley- Heather Tom and that HOT Dan Whatshisname (the best Kevin EVER)- to my memory they were the only thing that worked? I still tuned out within 4-6 weeks of Higley. It was TRULY the worst. There was nothing there. And I vaguely recall the UNWATCHABLE McBain/Evangeline/Natalie things running the entire show?

I would take busybody Gretel Rae Cummings shoved down my throat vs Jyawn McBANE any day.

What made JFP think of bringing an AMC character on, was it due to the fact that she wanted to hire Robin Christopher?

r269, JFP didn't really see her as an "AMC" character per se. She wanted Robin because she played Lorna on AW. The Skye tie-in came about because of the Rae stuff, giving her an excuse to visit all three shows.

I was no fan of the JFP era but I’ll give you yes the drama could be compelling at times. I just hated how damn dark the show got under her. Higley’s era was indeed the most unwatchable in my opinion too. I can’t stand her slow paced, tedious, slow burn with no real payoff style of writing. Hated her stints on DAYS as well. I’ve gathered from reading these boards for years that Carlivati isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but he brought me back into the show and kept me hooked until the bitter end. I enjoyed the lighter, bouncier tone and all the endearing nods to history. One of my favorite scenes was with Vicki prior to her wedding to Charlie sitting and talking to Noel about all of her past husbands and saying something memorable about each one. You would not have gotten that under any other writer but Carlivati. And there were so many others like that during those final years. Yeah he could go off the rails from time to time but I’d still take that over Dena Higley any day.

R271- Pretty much agree with every word. Carlivati MAY have been a near perfect writer for OLTL if he could have STAYED ON THE RAILS and maybe gave the show 30% of Gottlieb's/Malone's seriousness.

And upon years of review on Youtube, I am not a MAJOR fan of that duo other than Viki's alters, Marty's Gang Rape, Marty, and the AIDS Quilt, and Carlo and Alex. I also loved the religion/faith element with Andrew. It was a VERY humane show. It had alot of love in the writing- a spirituality which definitely came from Malone. I loved what Linda did for the shows production values. Especially the lighting. (Paul Rauch's OLTL lighting was like fluorescent gymnasium lighting) But the Gottlieb show was also pretty trite, boring, and had too many dud characters on the canvas at any given time.

Suede Pruitt. Luna and her fucknut brothers. etc....

JFP has11 emmys. Does any other soap producer even come close to that?

[quote] Does any other soap producer even come close to that?

Her wins came during the soap decline, when there were less soaps in the mix competing against one another. If there were 13 soaps on the air during that time, no way would she have 11 Emmys on her shelf (btw one of those Emmys is for music composition)

[quote] The last good year for soaps was 1993.

True enough. GL, AW and ATWT all cratered that year. OLTL went off the rails and so did AMC (to a lesser degree).

The only shows that were really clicking were GH (because of the L&L return) and DAYS.

[quote] that HOT Dan Whatshisname (the best Kevin EVER)

Yes, Dan Gaultier. A hot stud and one of the most wasted actors ever.

The best Rae moment

fgsdfgfdgf

Who wrote Jean Randolph? Randolph was Slee's best work. By far. The subtlety she used was something new to her acting.

Robin Christopher was so beautiful and a really superb actress.

What genius thought she would bring ratings LOL ?

[quote] . It's a question that is a waste of time to consider.

Another World was cancelled, and ABC wanted to bring those AW fans over to OLTL - what better way than Linda Dano

I fucking hate Linda Dano

[quote] I fucking hate Linda Dano

Why?

r282 WHAT Another World fans? Only about 10 people watched it.

There's nothing real about her. She's always talking in that breathy, over dramatic way. She could be having a cup of coffee or being stabbed to death and she would play the scene the same way. The only one that would set me on edge more than her was fake Nina from AMC.

The one thing I liked about Rae was how it tied in and showed that ABC soaps all existed in one universe. Not like NBC where each show was in it's own world, or CBS where only Y&R and B&B share any connection. Yes, I know that the various P&G soaps shared some minor connections, but it wasn't as rich and encompassing as the ABC soap universe. Which is why I get so upset at GH fans, today, who lose their shit over OLTL or AMC characters, the shows have always been interconnected and that was something that made them special and more real. ABC really was the soap equivalent of the Marvel or DC Universe.

Carlivati earned my ever lasting hate when he gave more time to that Pussy Cat whore guest appearance then the Jared and Natalie wedding.

And then he killed Jared off and started moving Natalie back towards....yeah, can't even deal with it 10 years later.

Fuck you Carlivati.

r287, the shows were established as being in the same universe LONG before Gretel Rae Cornpole arrived. Case in point, Erica Kane referring to Dorian as a filth monger in this 1991 episode:

R287 NBC wanted to do a DAYS/AW crossover around 1996, when DAYS ratings were sky high and they were the envy of every other soap and P&G was for it too but Ken Corday said "nope not gonna happen".

It was funny how DAYS huge numbers and millions of viewers the show had picked up from 1993 to 1996 didn't effect AW's ratings at all, research shown that while DAYS had it's core fanbase of NBC soap lineup watchers, the show was also purging viewers of All My Children and too a lesser extent Y&R and B&B

It was a big concern over at ABC Daytime

R289 I know that, in fact it was established early on that OLTL and GH shared a universe when Dr. Steve Hardy crossed over in 1970., What I liked about the Rae storyline is that it reinforced the fact, and required you to watch all the soaps to follow the storyline.

Plus Jeff Martin defended Slee when they accused her of killing Marco. That was probably the biggest cross over.

You mean Paul Martin?

Yes it was Paul Martin who crossed over from Pine Valley to defend Viki.

When he crossed over, Bobby Martin was in the trunk of Paul's car and then took up house in the basement at Llanfair.

I thought Bobby Martin went upstairs for his skis and was never seen alive again?

No matter, as long as that wrench Erica Kane never crossed over, all else were more than welcome to visit Llanview.

[quote]that wrench Erica Kane

"Wench" or "wretch"?

Wench LOL

Erica Kane DID visit r286, she hid out at a Llanview boarding house when she was on the run for murder, which was run by Mia Farrow's mother.

Ewww...r299, I must have (gladly) missed that.

Not a fan of that character or the "actress" who played her.

Every Pine Valley reject did a cross over on Loving.

r301 go to the 1:43 mark for the kitsch Loving theme song. AS LOOOONG AS WINDS MAY BLOW, MY LOOOOVING WILL PROOOOOOOTECT YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!!!

They didn't just do crossovers they moved to Corinth.

Why are the AMC loons infesting this thread?

I cannot stand the AMC fans at DL. They are NOT our people.

Keep out!

In their hearts they know when OLTL WAS GREAT, it was MILES better than AMC.

And AMC was ugly as shit to look at.

r288, that decision was NOT Ron's. That was Frank/Frons and their hard-ons for Easton and appeasing his 2 rabid fans. Ron did everything he could to minimize John McBain.

OLTL gives AMC a swirly:

Who is the big stud cop at the very end of R307's clip! Yum!

[quote] I fucking hate Linda Dano

I fucking LOVE La Dano.

LOVE.

HUH.

More Linda coming soon!

Linda Drano.

Has Linda had yet another facelift?

r312, at they very least, a serious eye lift.

At least Linda looks like she tried a different hairstyle. It looks 1/8 of an inch shorter.

"The role of Rae Cummings is being played today by Anna Stuart."

They should not have canceled AMC and OLTL.

Eh. AMC had been lifeless for a while. OLTL deserved a reprieve by ABC.

OLTL sucked by the time it was cancelled in 2012.

It was a mercy killing by ABC.

OLTL was doing great ratings wise at the time of cancellation. The quality wasn't great. But it was the best ABC soap airing at the time.

And one of only two soaps to post an increase in year over year viewership. Also, it is clear that ABC didn't think the quality of the show was bad, or they wouldn't have given GH to FV and RC.

Hi Sue @r318, please eat a sandwich, because you are clearly delirious with hunger.

The Rauch stans confuse me. While I loved loved some of the 80s stuff. This show was never as true to its roots as it was was with Gottlieb and Malone. The Homophophia story and Marty's Gang Rape are right up there with the social issue stories of Carla and Karen. I still think Judith Light and Susan Haskell delivered two of the great performances in the history of daytime. It wasn't just the immediacy of the the performances. It was how they carried it over to their characters. Many times in soaps once the story was done the character started fresh. These actresses carried the history of their characters into everything they did after.

R322 Also, they seem to hate the RC/FV camp, yet Rauch gave us Eterna, Vikki's trip to heaven, the very meta Fraternity Row, the Crown Jewels of Mendorra, and Clint and Vikki's time travel trip to the Old West. You can't say you hate camp and yet like the Rauch years of OLTL. In many ways it is why the last few years actually worked for me, since even though it wasn't as good as the Rauch era, it reminded me of the OLTL on which I grew up as a small child. Though, I actually preferred the 1990s OLTL. I saw Susan Haskell's performance when it happened and like you I think it is one of the best, when they did "A Daytime To Remember" I finally got to see Judith Light's performance, and again I agree with you, the third greatest performance to me was Trevor St. John when Todd was being executed.

The beauty of Haskell's performance was that to that point Marty was not a sympathetic character. You got see what a sad, careless, damaged girl she really was when something horrific happened to her.

Tim and Jenny's love story is the number one plot on OLTL.

R325. Sure

Kathy Glass had the nice teefs. She got so much fan mail for the nice teefs.

R322- Let me tell you this, I at least AGREE about Susan Haskell, and Marty is one of my favorite characters ever, and not only was Susan one of daytime's best actresses, I think she gave some of daytime's greatest performances EVER In 2008/2009? The storyline was not great, but it was the year everyone said Debbie Morgan was going to win the Emmy. After watching Susan that year, I KNEW that if Susan was nominated, her reels would be UNBEATABLE- they were that good. But I thought that she would never get nominated. She did. And she won. That aside- Malone and Gottlieb made an elegant, literate, humane, and GOOD LOOKING and beautifully produced show (from the Youtube videos I have seen OLTL had looked gaudy since 1981- and what Gottlieb did production value wise, WAS remarkable- although I missed Paul Rauch's larger than life sets and AMAZING BACKGROUND MUSIC- the best background music a soap had ever had other than Y&R) But in my opinion, other than Carlo and Alex, Malone could only write one good A story with compelling characters and usually a very good storyline. But his B shit was straight up trite, boring DRIVEL. When I watch the show from that era now, its overall quite boring- Its slow and the secondary storylines and characters are just not compelling. Max and Luna, "Serenity Springs", Luna's brothers, Angela Holliday, Marty and Suede, Angel Square (I am including this because its still Malone)- It is all so schmaltzy. Andrew and Cassie were boring, although I LOVED Andrew. What a kind soul for a soap. The show did not get enough credit for being so humane at that time. I just don't find that the Gottlieb era "holds up" well. It is a true mixed bag.

r328, I am curious what "B" stories were so good under Rauch? Aside from the 6 or 7 core who dominated the mid-late 80s, none of the rest were memorable nor did half the cast have staying power.

[quote] I still think Judith Light and Susan Haskell delivered two of the great performances in the history of daytime.

Susan Haskell Emmy reel from 1994

It would have been exciting to see what the future held for OLTL if it had been the last surviving ABC soap.

That was never going to happen as long as GH was still there.

Do some of you have selective memory loss? Other than Todd's return, the show was a mess at the end. As usual with the Valentini/Carlivati regime, they coasted on a singular story which hit a stride for a couple months.

This was Ron's MO. He could write a good climax, but the rest was trash. And everything usually fell apart again after any "big event". I would choose the PP version of the show any day over most of the dreck "Cartini" threw at the audience. McBain, Rex, Gigi, Fords, Tess, teens, random newbies. A big hell no.

The PP stuff is best left forgotten.

I don't even acknowledge it as true OLTL.

PP felt more like OLTL and the real characters than any of the soap parody/trash under Frank.

The worst thing at the end was Todd's birth mother being such a ridiculous story. Imagine if they had played it for the drama of the woman who gave Todd to Peter Manning to torture actually being alive. Although in 1994 RH could have played it for all it was worth. By the end I don't think he still had the talent or desire to put all he had into a story.

PP became the Todd/Blair/fake Todd/ Tea show, and it was BORING as fuck to watch.

To each his or her own, r337. I thought they were trying hard and had a lot of potential.

I was done with PP when they let that KdP sing in an episode.

Does she have a thing in her contract that says she HAS to be able to caterwaul in at least one episode wherever she works?

Geez.

R339- I was never into Blair or Kassie. I was thinking of that earlier. She was so -ONE-NOTE. Bored me. She was ALWAYS on- every day. And the singing voice- perfectly pleasant, but not STAR worthy.

That being said, I wish Kassie nothing but the best (health, etc) She seems like a good person/cool chick. I am strictly talking OLTL.

Kassie DePavia praying everyday to god must of paid off, as she last from the early 90s to its cancellation, never getting the ax, always having a storyline and getting paid six-figures a year to do it.

It is true R341- SHE WAS ON ALL THE TIME.

Never felt or dug her, or the character. Boring.

You know what bothered me most about PP's OLTL??

Dorian's mansion!!! It was SO cheap. The grand staircase was gone.

YET, Llanfair looked BETTER!!

R341 but she was hired by DAYS in 2014, let go in 2015 and brought back in 2017 to the present

Also does anyone know what role Robin Strasser will be playing on DAYS?

Speculation Strasser will either be a new Sister Marie Horton or Dr. Sandy Horton.

How many people did Viki kill? I can think of (1) Victor Lord, (2) Johnny Dee, but there must be others? How many did Dorian kill?

[quote] but she was hired by DAYS in 2014, let go in 2015 and brought back in 2017 to the present

Considering the state of daytime, that is pretty good gig - btw she was battling cancer, which explains some of the partial absence from "Days"

R346 It is up in the air as to who killed Victor Lord. So leaving him aside, Dorian killed her mother and caused the death of Jessica's baby Meagan, in addition she was convicted of Mitch Laurence's murder, however he wasn't dead, though she tried to kill him multiple times after that over the years. Outside of Victor, Vikki only killed one person, Johnny Dee Hesser, however Vikki was really Nikki at the time.

[quote]In their hearts they know when OLTL WAS GREAT, it was MILES better than AMC.

Peak AMC was the best soap ever, IMO. In the early 80s, AMC featured unique and interesting characters, great stories, and incredible family and relationship drama. Erica, Kent, Silver, Palmer, Donna, Chuck, Nina, Cliff, Phoebe, Langley, Opal, Jenny, Greg, Liza, Jessie, Angie, Brooke, Ellen, Mark, and I could keep going It was firing on all cylinders, and didn't have a weak storyline.

r349, but the pinnacle of AMC's greatness was the divine Natalie Marlowe Hunter Cortlandt Hunter Chandler Dillon played by Kate Collins.

AMC at its best never sniffed a story close to Karen's Prostitution or Marty's Gang Rape. Ever. And I watched it for 20 plus years.

Haskell would have won Lead, Supporting or Younger (I think she was one year too old hence the Supporting placement) in 94. She absolutely stole daytime for something like nine months. Devestating work.

[quote] AMC at its best never sniffed a story close to Karen's Prostitution or Marty's Gang Rape.

You must of been in a coma during Natalie rape storyline

No R353 I was not. That and Cindy's AIDS story with Canary at his best as Stuart are my favorite stories from AMC. dixoe's gas lighting and Laura's death next in line. But those stories didn't tower over daytime like Karen's Belle De Jour and Marty's Gang Rape.

Cady McClain won the Emmy for the Dixie gaslighting storyline

I mentioned Todd's execution earlier, but it really was for me the greatest story in the last decade of OLTL. It is one of the few times, outside of shows dedicated to deceased actors, or the end of a show, where I actually cried.

TsJ played Todd like a sociopath. Dangerous arrogant hot and wasn’t afraid to play his interest in men. Would flash Chris in the sauna and so many other acting choices that implied Todd was bi or suffered some kind of childhood abuse. He was great as the villain but layered.

R357 Exactly, I know people loved Roger Howarth and I thought he was great when Todd first came on, but he is just no where as good an actor as TSJ. Plus he is beautiful!

R330 that was tape two. Back then there was still two tapes the blue ribbon panel judged on. Tape 1 was the actual rape.

I agree tha TSJ played Todd very bi. Which worked for a dark character with a history of sexual violence. Roger played him different on that aspect. But great too. He played him very skittish sexually. He was only ever safe sexually with Blair. He was nervous and anxious with any other woman.

R359 how sure are you that the "rape" was tape 1?

R359 I remember reading in Soap Opera Weekly the list of tapes submitted. Hilary B Smith did the summation at Marty's Rape trial and the Wait Until Dark sequences with Todd as Nora starts going blind. Howarth was on every tape but 1 think that OLTL submitted that year I believe. It was just stupid they weren't up for show.

R362 ok thanks I ask because I'm the DLers that has been doing these Emmy Reels, so if your info is accurate I'll re-upload those two with the additional episodes.

Howarth and Haskell were magic together. It strange that by looking at them you would never know but they brought their best whenever they played any science together. In a way they didn't do with the other actors.

*scene

Susan Haskell Emmy Reel (2009) winning Best Actress with her scenes opposite Trevor St, John

Ina Hopkins was not Myrtle Fargate!

Hated that we never got that Marty and RH Todd reunion when he came back to the show. They had dynamic chemistry as enemies!!!

I liked Marty and TSJ Todd as a couple. Great actors and a sick and twisted romance that was daring.

R369 Me too, I mean I knew it was wrong, but I still liked them together. I loved RH's Todd with Blair, but for TSJ's Todd my preference went Tea, Evangeline, Marty, Blair.

They really should have had Todd fuck Niki Smith

r356 Who executed Todd and why?

r357 Who was Chris?

Todd and Blair were the daytime Kurt and Courtney, although Blair looked less unkempt.

What is fun about Rauch's OLTL (looking a it now) is it SCREAMS 80's!!! Even more than GH and OLTL. Tina's salmon colored penthouse from 1986, the synth heavy background music- It is very Miami Vice meets Pennsylvania. I cool time capsule of the best and worst of the 80's.

Also interesting to watch in the videos, is that it took a year for Rauch's vision to reflect onscreen. 1985 still had that old fashioned background music for the most part and the show had elements of that homey/stodgy tone - but as 1985 progresses, OLTL slowly changes into a fast moving thrill a minute show. 85-87 to me are OLTL's true renaissance. Not too over the top with fantasy- but a fast moving thrilling show. And THAT Viki/Niki storyline I love more than Malone's frankly. And the Tina element, puts it over the top into pure soapy goodness. I was only 8 or so, and wish I could have watched the show then, and not on Youtube!! I watched it during summers

[quote]AMC at its best never sniffed a story close to Karen's Prostitution or Marty's Gang Rape. Ever. And I watched it for 20 plus years.

That's a wonderful opinion. I stand by my opinion of early-80s AMC being the best. It was more than "a story"; it was multiple, ongoing stories; it was a landscape of full, well-defined characters; it was intergenerational families and relationships.

R375- I respect that, and many fans and critics would agree with you.

OLTL never got that respect, even when it deserved it.

AMC was never my show. However, watching Youtube videos at Christmas from 82-84- that show sure had a comforting vibe to it.

AMC was a great show sans Erica and the "actress" who played her.

Yes, I really came to despise SL.

The shift in focus to make rapist Todd the star of the show was the beginning of the end.

I absoutely agree r378.

And then they even replaced Viki and Tina's other kids with Todd's kids right at the end.

Even if they couldn't act.

R378- Agreed. Was never a great fan of Todd either. He was watchable though.

Todd was fine as a periphery tortured villain.

But good god. The buffoon he became after RH's 2000 return as well as turning him into some oversexed lothario with TSJ were the worst.

TSJ was wonderfully edgy. He didn't play the guilt that Howarth played in the role...Howarth understood that Todd was a repentant, but still messed up, rapist. TSJ played Todd as an unrepentant rapist, and a sociopath -- two entirely different interpretations. Howarth's approach played well with Slezak's Viki, who pitied her brother, while TSJ's approach didn't play as well -- why would Viki pity such an evil man? It just didn't work. That's what made Howarth and Slezak's scenes so mesmerizing, while TSJ and Slezak's scenes didn't make any sense. I will say, however, as an unrepentant homosexual, that TSJ's always palpable sexual energy turned me on and I wouldn't have minded if he had flashed me in the locker room or anywhere else.

R372 Spencer Truman, David Vickers' half brother, framed Todd for the death of Margaret Cochran, who had raped Todd and had his baby. Spencer did this in order to get Todd out of Blair's life and leave her free to be with with him.

[quote]The shift in focus to make rapist Todd the star of the show was the beginning of the end.

I might not have minded if they'd let the cute Irish rapist (far right) play Todd. The character's name was Powell IIRC, but the actor's name was straight outa Dublin.

Sean Moynihan played Powell, r384. So "Dublin," his parents spelled "Sean" correctly.

r374, I loved your description of Rauch's OLTL... I wish it could have lasted forever.

Boring Bo fucking sucked. They should've killed or written him out in the early 90s.

Roger Hprwarth has had Broadway ya know

Seriously how would Rauch survive the MeToo Generation? So many horrible tales. Because he made the networks money it was mostly hushed up. How did someone with a rep for being classy like Slee stand him? Susan Lucci would never have put up with him.

r389, Robin Strasser wouldn't put up with him; she left the show in 1987 because of Rauch and his disgusting sexual advances.

And everyone applauded when the bitch Strassman left. Especially the crew, who she treated like shit.

I have heard more stories about Strassman's behavior at OLTL than Rauch's..

And the fact that Phil Carey went apeshit when the fired Elaine Prince 5 years later to have Strassman return, speaks volumes

Back when we had insiders, we had a really good one who worked at OLTL and was very clear have horribly Strasser treated the crew.

Rauch? Do I believe some of the stories, Yes- Why Erika had no issues with him is because Erika was sure as hell not his type!!! She probably never experience any harassment.

The stuff about Rauch has largely been innuendo, mainly because of how shabbily he treated Lillian and Ellen.

[quote] Seriously how would Rauch survive the MeToo Generation?

He wouldn't.

Neither would a long list of others. John Conboy. Probably Bill Bell, to be honest.

Didn't Bill Bell rape Brenda Dickson or did I dream that

She claims he did something but her claim, even in its original form, seemed quite unbelievable.

Bitch is CRAZY

r392, LMAO. As if Carey was some bright spot on set?

In the oral history of OLTL there are numerous stories of Clint Richie and Paul Rauch doing horrible things.

But it was lovefest with Phil Carey

I love how some of you like to perpetuate the myth about Strasser.

Do some of you honestly think she would have been brought back twice for extended periods if she treated people on set horribly?

I am not saying people didn't love Phil Carey, but he was also known as a bit of a curmudgeon.

His "tantrum" about Strasser is relative, especially when all of those guys around that time - Carey, Woods, Ritchie, DePaiva - had problems with Gottlieb in power.

In oral history of OLTL no one said anything bad about Strasser

Quite the contrary it was a lovefest - remember no one was holding back about the bad apples. An ENTIRE chapter was devoted to all the horrible things Paul Rauch did.

Was Ellen Holly telling the truth about Slee or should we chalk it down to fabrications caused by envy?

[quote] Was Ellen Holly telling the truth about Slee or should we chalk it down to fabrications caused by envy?

When Ellen has absolutely NOTHING nice to say about anybody, it is envy

For all the shit talked about OLTL BTS, a majority of the actors seem to be a lot closer, even now, than anyone from AMC which always had a great BTS rep.

What was Valentini’s reputation on the OLTL set? Would he have been MeTooed?

Frankie loves to grab big tits and grope pussy.

R404 according to the oral history of OLTL Valentini is beloved by everyone connected at OLTL

No single bad thing was said about him.

He may be fine as a person, but he has produced CRAP for 16 years. And he should be called out for it.

R387 Woods left OLTL for a role on DAYS in the mid 80s, he moved to LA for DAYS and everything,, he played Paul Stewart and was involved in a storyline with another ABC soap refuge, Genie Francis as Diana Colville, despite being ABC soap stars before and after DAYS, DAYS was when they first met and became friends and have been ever since

Shit, then I stand corrected!!!

What did they say about Rauch in the Oral History of OLTL!!??

I read /downloaded that when it came out and had it saved on my computer which died soon after!!

I do not recall anything like that, which is weird.

And I will say, that Ellen accusing Erika of saying "Get these black ladies out of my face" might be the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard. I was surprised that Erika did not do something legal against Ellen and that book.

Ellen Holly was the original Victoria Rowell.

What did Clint Ritchie do? I had heard his breath was something awful, but anything else?

buy the book, you cheap whore!

r411, he was an unreliable drunk on set. With Rauch, the male chauvinist, that was fine, but with Gottlieb, it was unacceptable.

Slee seemed to relish when Viki was finally pulled away from Clint. I guess now we know why.

[quote] Slee seemed to relish when Viki was finally pulled away from Clint. I guess now we know why.

Actually according to the oral history of OLTL, Erika Slezak was one of the few actors who didn't have an issue working with Ritchie. Many, many actors couldn't stand Ricthie (Tony Call - ex-Herb being one of them)

But the actors who made up the Buchanan family (including Erika) were tight. Anyways the story goes that Ricthie would show up drunk after lunch, but somehow always pull it together when it came to tape. Erika only had to stop tape TWICE in all her years working on OLTL, one of them was with Ritchie

He was once so wasted he threw a chair at her! She stopped tape and everyone took a break to cool off, and then resumed.

Fast forward a year later and Erika comments to Ritchie that she wishes she had her directors chair to sit on set between scenes. Later she finds out that Ritchie refused to re-sign his contract, unless Erika got her own director's chair on-set. Which she got.

I LOVED Vikki and Clint together, and I HATED Sloan Carpenter with a passion.

Clint Ritchie was very unhappy they made his character the town homophobe - he was actually in the process of seeking legal council to terminate his contract.

But then he had his accident, and that went by the wayside. By the time he came back the gay storyline had wrapped up, and his character's homopobe stance had been dropped.

Erika did not want a Viki/Clint reunion which the Labines had been in the process of penning. That's why JFP put the kibosh on it.

I really liked Viki with Sloan, but I did have not any real attachment to Viki/Clint.

[quote] Erika did not want a Viki/Clint reunion which the Labines had been in the process of penning. That's why JFP put the kibosh on it.

BS - as by that time Clint Ritchie was exiting the show.

One story about Paul Rauch. One day he exiting the studio wearing an expensive Italian leather jacket. One of stagehands complimented him on the jacket and said he wished he had a jacket like that. Paul took the jacket off, put it on the stagehand and walked out the door without saying a workd

r420, that is not BS. The Labines spent the better portion of 1997 prepping a Viki/Clint reunion. Clint Ritchie did not exit until late 1998 after JFP was firmly in place.

[quote] Erika did not want a Viki/Clint reunion which the Labines had been in the process of penning. That's why JFP put the kibosh on it.

Provide link where Erika said she didn't want that storyline

r422, do you actually think she came out and said that? LMAO.

Did you actually watch the show at that point? And why is that so hard for you to believe? I didn't say she had a problem with him personally per se, but she did not want the characters reunited and be stuck in storyline oblivion.

I thought the way the storyline played out was pretty good, having the audience thinking they were going to get back together, then Vikki turns him down, goes away on a cruise and changes her mind, only to return and find that he has married Lyndsey.

Loved Lindsay as the newest Mrs clint Buchanan wish that had played out...

R423 so you are just pulling something out that you have absolutely no proof. Do you really think if Erika didn't want to do that storyline, it wouldn't lead out somehow? That it wouldn't be reported in the press?

It wasn't even in the oral history of OLTL

r426, I suppose you also believe that everything was roses between HBS and RSW because there was no official confirmation of a rift? LMFAO.

What was Rauch and Lemay's attraction to Vicky Wyndham? She was a good actress and sort of Grace Slick attractive, but the idea of making Rachel the star of the show? I could see it with Strasser who could play many layers.

Susan Sullivan - who I've always pegged as a lez - was Rauch's 1st real obsession at AW. Later he harassed Maeve Kinkead to the point that P&G put her on GL to avoid a lawsuit. It was said Rauch would call Maeve at home and not say anything, he was pretty odd.

[quote]Strasser who could play many layers.

hahahahahahahahahahaha

Strassman can play a bitch - basically herselfz

[quote]What was Rauch and Lemay's attraction to Vicky Wyndham? She was a good actress and sort of Grace Slick attractive, but the idea of making Rachel the star of the show?

Who could have imagined Lisa Brown's Nola as one of the stars of GL in the early 1980s? But it worked.

Caryn Richman was a really homely actress on TEXAS - but she could act rings around the peroxide blondes who were plucked off the casting couch. I'm sure Rauch never touched her.

Rauch loved women with big tits.

Fran Brill didn't have big tits.

Rauch supposedly had a thing for Janice Lynde, he cast her on AW and OLTL and both times it must have been a bad break up. Both of her characters were blown to smithereens in a car! Her Tracy DeWitt Matthews was a stupid character. Janice wanted to sing more than act to back up her cabaret career and Rauch indulged her with pricey session men and a glittery nightclub set. Other actresses on the show didn't have to wonder why.

[quote] I suppose you also believe that everything was roses between HBS and RSW because there was no official confirmation of a rift? LMFAO.

Considering they worked together on he PP version of OLTL, what rift?

r435 is simply too precious.

R436 is no soap insider

If you legitimately have to ask what rift between HBS and RSW, then you don't belong in this thread.

When both AMC & OLTL, Sidetrack, a Chicago institute of higher drinking big viewing party for the episode of each. Went to the OLTL one which was three days after coming home from burying my mother. Met the cast who came to the event (Ilene, Tonya Walker, Mark Dobies, Robuck, Florenzia, Josh Kelly - Ilene signed my cocktail napkin! Actually said to her at the bar 'Aren't you Delia Reed Ryan Ryan Colridge?' which made her laugh as we were introduced). Asked Dobies about Zimmer and HBS - he laughed and refused to answer when I asked who was the tougher scene partner). Unexpectedly warmest? Tonya Walker. Robuck and I had the eye 'conta. Josh Kelly lamented Prospect Park (at the time not going forward with the online version) as costing him TWO jobs as he had a film project going with them as well.

Still have Ilenes cocktail napkin waiting to be unpacked from my last move - should probably have it framed.

Best scoop? A cocktail invented for the occasion called the Cartini (Vodka/Something/Something Else/Pink Stuff). That and Ron supposedly had great stuff on deck for the initial online transition that had to be jettisoned (apparently not used for the reboot either!)

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the episode where Nurse Shelia Rafferty made a final push for Timmy Siegel, reminding him that Sister Jenny Wolek could not give him what she could. The bravura performance of Christine Jones stayed with the network bosses at ABC, Agnes Nixon and Gordon Russell. Agnes was overhead saying if only Christine Jones had auditioned for Victoria Lord in 1971 she would have had the right actress in the role. Christine was always particularly kind to Lil Hayman and Ellen Holly.

But Kathy Glass still got the dick and the story. Oh, and the fan mail. Bye Christine.

The classic first season "Twilight Zone" episode, "Third From the Sun" features two "OLTL" vets as a married couple: Fritz Weaver (flashback Victor Lord) and Lori March (Adele Huddleson/Eugenia Lord in Vicky's 1987 Heaven sequence), as the parents of Denise Alexander, just a few years away from starting her soap career on two short-lived soaps, "The Clear Horizon" and "Ben Jerrod", later the "GH" pilot & another role in 1965 (Lorna Hill) and then "Day's" Susan Martin before returning to "GH" as Dr. Lesley Williams and later playing Mary McKinnon on "AW". Ironic that Weaver & March's characters on "OLTL" would have been married even though they were not on the show at the same time. Les Tremayne (a sub. Edward Quartermain) played Victor during the heaven sequences.

What ever happened to Viki's sister Meredith. I remember watching OLTL one summer when I had mono. She and Larry, her husband, spent all their time in Viki's kitchen @ Llanfair, just talking with Viki. My mom used to gently make fun of me, saying "Your kitchen sink drama is on, dear" at five of two. And I'd say, "You mean 'kitchen table drama,' don't you, Mom?" And we'd both laugh. She didn't join me, though.

[quote]Vicky's 1987 Heaven sequence

"Vicky" was Victoria Hudson on AW.

"Vicki" is Victoria Newman on Y&R.

"Viki" is Victoria Lord Buchanan on OLTL.

No alternative spellings for millenniots, sorry.

R444 MARY!

MARY!

or should I say

MARTY!

r444 I adore autistic soap opera viewers like you... you have the ability to retain entire histories of all the shows.

Did anyone read OLTL fanfiction back in the late 90s and early 2000s? That seems to have been the era when there were tons of them around. If so, which ones did you read?

[quote] If you legitimately have to ask what rift between HBS and RSW, then you don't belong in this thread.

Which is just hot air, from people who speculate

I fingered myself while reading Patrick's notebook

Ellen Holly said Kathy Glass was so jealous of her during their time on OLTL

Ellen Holly telling anyone who would listen

"And then, a white actress on the show by the name of Kathy Glass came up to me and snarled, 'I bet you think you're responsible for this.' Well, I laughed my best “Uncle Tom” laugh and I said, 'Not necessarily.' She backed down, and she had no political traction, so I knew she wasn't going to be any trouble. But I knew there were people who did have a lot more pull than Kathy (And I liked Kathy!) and I realized I would never see a five day week again.

"Sure enough, I never would be given a five day week again. I'm sure it went up the food chain, and somebody said, 'Who let her off her chain? Put her back where she belongs, and don't let that happen again.' And it didn't.”

LOL it's been proven Glass was no longer on t he show for the incident that Loon Holly referenced. Kathy was on The Doctors then. Maybe she thinks it was Brynn Thayer? Who knows. Kathy Glass was very pro women's lib and political - she was an early Libertarian. She was also infinitely more important to the success of One Life and it's teen demo.

[quote] Which is just hot air, from people who speculate

HBS and her MANY conflicts at two shows are WELL documented.

No one gives even the tiniest of a fuck about Kathy Glass.

NO.

ONE.

LOL after Slee I think we've had more posts about Kathy Glass than anyone. All jokes aside she's fondly remembered. Of course given a little too much importance in troll posts(mine included). She was though a driving force in bringing OLTL out of the nursing home day room and making it a must see for younger viewers. She went seamlessly from her romance with Tim to Brad the cad. Jenny and Tim is the first story I really remember. All the young girls and gaylings rushed home for Tim and Jenny. So yeah the Kathy Glass posts are more than a bit trolly but she has a place in OLTL history. She connected with the viewers and it showed in ratings. Brynn was an also ran.

Please enough with the Kathy Glass troll. It’s not funny. It’s actually concerning. You belong in st. Anne's!!!

Just block the Kathy Glass troll, it's not that hard.

Block

the

Glasshole

Is someone actually trying to refute that something went down between HBS and RSW? Thanks for the laugh.

R458 Sorry I haven't been on these boards forever, so can someone enlighten me as to what went down between HBS and RSW? Are they better now? I've seen in interviews that she says they are still in contact, she even has a pet name for him Woodsey.

They had a major falling out right after JFP arrived. I think it centered on RSW wanting a new love interest and possibly going to JFP about it behind HBS' back. One or both blocked any reunion for the better part of a decade until they finally made up and both agreed to it - and the rumor was that was a mandate.

R460 Ok, at least they seem to have made up.

Ellen Holly was your classic ABB. Angry black bitch.

I think actually by the time OLTL ended HBS and RSW were genuinely on good terms.

But it took a long time to get there.

And at the height of the issue, they literally could not be in the same room. I know OLTL staffers who had STORIES about it all.

HBS is a cunt and was at other shows, too, but RSW didn't help - he was bound and determined to have a younger love interest.

RSW was always used it being "about Bo" with all his nondescript blonde love interests, then Malone came in and the stories were about Nora with Bo as a "sidekick". He never liked that.

But I think the often ridiculous material under the Labines for Bo/Nora was likely the last straw.

There were also rumors RSW and HBS had an affair in there, and it ended badly.

I could definitely believe that. Their romantic scenes in the 90s were also a little too real.

R463 Was that pic of Lil just before she ran from Paul Rauch in the garage? She must have fit into that tercel nicely.

R466 I've never heard that before!

If that was the case, then she's an even bigger bitch than I imagined. She stirred up so much shit at ATWT and slammed Colleen Zenk for her affair - to the point that they came to blows.

Alexis doesn't like Nora.

Fiona Hutchison (Gabrielle) today - she teaches drama at private prep school

R471 she looks happy.

If HSB was such a bitch behind the scenes, why didn't they just fire her? It is not like she was such a popular character like Viki or Dorian.

R473 Are you kidding Nora was very popular.

R474 Days of our Lives have fired popular performer before (when they got out of line behind the scenes) and never suffered in their ratings.

OLTL had other characters to pick up the slack, so if she was such a pain, they should of fired her - because she wasn't THAT popular

Fiona Hutchison looks full-on gay now.

I wonder if the rights to the show and its characters are worth anything at all anymore?

HBS and Bora had some of the most vocal fans out of anyone.

And Bo and Nora, and the hope of them getting back together was hugely popular.

R478 they were never together - how could they have "vocal" fans when they spent more years apart, than together?

Yeah I know it is a Soap Opera, and couples need problems to make the storyline interesting - but they were never together in the same storyline!

They should of just FIRED HSB and Bo would have gone on with a new love interest and the audience wouldn't care

Is Tonya Walker back on GH as Olivia?

r480, you have got to be new to the world of OLTL. The Bora fans were a VERY loyal and vocal group, although the majority of them were simply HBS fans. HBS had one of the biggest contingents of fans on OLTL.

R480 they were together for around five years, the first time, which is an eternity on a soap, and even afterward no matter whom they were with, they stayed in each other's orbit and shared a child. Then they remarried for the final two years. And, none of their romances in between were any good. Sam and Nora were horrible. Nora and Daniel Colson, the closeted gay guy, even worse. Nora and Clint, gag worthy. And, I can't remember Bo ever really having another romance between his marriages to Nora. They were and will remain one of my favorite couples of all time, and their Little Richard wedding is one of my favorite soap weddings of all time.

Of course, r481. They should have just fired as many vets as possible so Easton could have even more screen time.

Bo had Lindsay, Melanie, Gabrielle, Paige all in those years.

I actually did like Bo & Gabrielle.

Sorry Nora fans, but NO ONE would miss HSB, so TPTB should of just FIRED her is she was such a bitch

Hi Colleen @r487

I love the myth at DL that certain people were terrors and bitches BTS when that wasn't the case.

R486 Thanks for reminding me, I preferred Lindsey with Clint. And, Lindsey and Bo, was really about Sam & Nora, and ultimately Bo & Nora, with a side of Bo and Clint.

Melanie was an example of Bo and Nora sharing an orbit without being together, since Melanie was Colin's ex-wife, so really Melanie and Colin was about Bo and Nora.

I didn't care for Gabrielle during her return. And, I've never liked Bo and Asa sharing lovers.

And, Paige was just boring and best left forgotten.

[quote] they should of fired her

Should HAVE fired her. There is no such phrase in the English language as "should of."

Awww, so happy to see Fiona looking so great.

I didn't mind Nora with LL's Sam (could not stand Kale Browne), but I also hated when they tried to put her with Troy. That never made any sense for Nora.

Did Lawrence Lau play Sam Rappaport before or after Kale Browne? I don't remember him at all.

After. He was a recast after ABC finally let Kale Browne go when JFP left. If I am not mistaken, HBS was also pushing for Greg Marx at the time.

When three psychopaths make an exchange:

Yes, after Kale Browne was let go, HBS suggested Gregg (two Gs) Marx for a replacement, saying they had good chemistry on ATWT. Don't know if OLTL ever contacted Gregg, but he seems to have retired from live acting by that point.

Gregg does a lot of voice over work these days. His voice is heard in many commercials and film trailers. He was also the announcer on the Dr. Phil show for a three years in the mid 2000s.

R497 wasn't he David Banning, Julie's son on Days of Our Lives in the early 80s too?

Yes, Gregg's first soap role was David Banning on Days. He played that 1981-83.

I think Gregg had semi retired at that point because he didn't want to take on any long term roles where he had to pretend he was straight.

Once he was out he didn't want to go back in.

There were a couple other actors in the mix for the recast as well but I think it was a pretty quick decision if I remember correctly. They couldn't wait to get rid of KB.

Here's a long interview with Gregg from 2013 where he talks about many subjects, including his time in soaps.

About 3/4 of the way in, he talks about being gay and how being out is discouraged for male daytime actors, even now. Here's what he said:

[quote]When did you come out?

[quote]Well, again, it's been a process of moving through a lot of stuff. When I lived in New York, certainly my friends knew, but I didn't really discuss any of that with anyone - including the people I was closest to like Hillary. When I look back now, I really did enjoy my time on As the World Turns. However, I think I could have really enjoyed it a lot more had that degree of authenticity been something I could access at the time. As close as Hillary and I were, when I actually told her, it was kind of like "Why didn't you tell me three years ago?" But there were a number of reasons. It was at a time when there was no Will & Grace - there was no gay marriage on the horizon. I became very good friends with Vince Liebhart, who cast me in the show. When I would go back to New York to visit, we would have lunch or dinner, and I remember sitting with him in this little cafe down in the Village on one of my trips back a few years after I'd left the show. I said, "Things are kind of changing in terms of people being able to be more open about who they are", and he said, "Not in daytime." Now that was probably 15-20 years ago, but I was surprised because I thought things were moving - but they moved in that respect really slowly. That was just something you didn't want to publicize. You're the stuff of primarily women's fantasies, and there were many people in the business I think who felt that it wasn't possible - if you were known as a gay actor - to play a straight role, which is kind of ridiculous. But the lines between fantasy and reality - especially in the daytime world - get blurred. You're out in the public and people will call you by your character and expect you to answer. In hindsight - with what I know now - I wish either I had been more courageous or less worried about what people would think. I think it would have freed me up - as a person and as an actor. Acting is all about opening up and exposing yourself, and that is completely juxtaposed and antithetical to covering up and hiding and concealing. I really do think that I did some good work, but I could have done even better work if I'd been able to access all parts of myself more openly. I think I'm able to do that now with the music because I've come to a different place in my life, but also it's a different experience.

Both RSW and HBS were frustrated that they could not "move on" from Bo/Nora as a couple. But it was more RSW than HBS who would block the reunions. Malone was gearing up for it in 2003 along with properly reuniting Max & Gabrielle, but a lot of his initial plans were fucked over.

We never got a great Max and Gabby reunion.

Outside of Bo and Nora pairing - I liked Bo with Gabby and Lindsay but preferred her with Clint!

r504, you never got a lot of what Malone/Griffith originally had planned.

Enjoyed that scene @ r496. Dig TW and T&B's great eyebrows.

Oh that gawd awful Fiona H! Couldn’t stand her. It’s no wonder she never had any kind of career outside of soaps and now looks like a butch lesbian. She was an awful actress on soaps. No wonder she’s ‘teaching’ now. Teaching what????? How to act bad on soaps?

r507 fuck off Erika.

Great scene with Judy Light. Only Susan Haskell has touched the greatness of that Light performance.

Thanks, r495. I stopped watching One Life in 2000, and the break was complete.

R505, so it's years later and it hardly matters now, so SPILL! What did Malone and Griffith originally have planned when they came back to the show in 2003?

It couldn't be any worse than the dreck that ended up on screen.

LOL! A question on Friday's episode of Jeopardy had the clue, "Agnes Nixon created this soap opera that focused on the Buchanan and Lord families."

No one got the correct answer, but one contestant rang in, "What is Hawaii 5-0?"

Except for Nora being Bo's girlfriend was the kiss of death for any future story line.

I loved the whole Georgie story. I guess that was Pam Long?

The classic Soap Opera Digest Tumblr has an article about tackling social issues on soaps. Suicide is one of the topics. I thought about how Bo apparently had suicidal thoughts after losing Sarah. It's a pity that RSW didn't want to play that all the way through, but to be fair, Malone might have been writing it too extreme. A slow burn of Bo's loneliness ("No wife, no life," as some widowers say) could have been compelling.

I am sure RSW did not want Bo "crumbling" over a woman.

There was an interview with Carey, Ritchie and Woods somewhere after one of the times Strasser left or came back and it was pretty controversial.

None of them were very complimentary to Gottlieb/Malone and Carey was singing Elaine Princi's praises. Hinting at Strasser being difficult.

This from Phil Carey, who apparently didn't bathe all the time, reeked of booze and couldn't remember his lines. Ritchie was a drinker too. They were all misogynistic nightmares to work with. Somehow people found Carey charming.

Yes. The three of them, along with DePaiva, detested having Gottlieb there calling the shots.

The funny part is that Carey, Woods, and DePaiva flourished during that time. The only one who would have a right to complain over material was Ritchie.

PC likely had "issues" with Strasser because she was outspoken, unlike Slee who towed the line.

I know one of the reasons people give for the networks to replace soaps with talk shows is because talk shows are cheaper to produce, but is that really accurate? Most talk shows have a yearly budget of between $20-30 million. Meanwhile, most of the hour long soaps are reported to have gotten their budgets down to around $35 million. However, one major difference is that talk shows tend to take several weeks off every year, during which their ratings take a large dip, while soaps release new episodes 52 weeks a year, and therefore their ratings stay fairly even. Does it really make that much sense, to save a few million, up front, and settle for lower ratings? I'm not sure that things do not equal out. Soaps cost more up front, but can charge higher ad prices, while talk shows are cheaper to produce upfront, but brings in lower ad revenue.

Gabrielle was a cunt

At least we couldn't SMELL my cunt, darling.

Strasser could be dramatic at times behind the scenes and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. I liked Elaine Princi, but she just didn't click as well as Strasser did on the show.

I don't think Carey in particular liked Strasser at all. Catherine Hickland once said Carey was hard on her, but one after she flubbed a line, he called her a dumb blonde and she retorted with something to the effect of "I'm not a natural blonde, want me to pull my panties down and prove it" which made Carey stop giving her a hard time.

Princi clicked much better when she was actually given the material. Malone wrote some good stuff for her, and she shined more than the window dressing Dorian was under Rauch's last year or so.

Strasser has said that Rauch gave her almost nothing material in her last year as retaliation against her; for not giving into his sexual advances he kept putting on her. Eventually Strasser got sick of all of it and just left at the end of her contract.

As great as she was as Dorian, Elaine Princi unfortunately never got that daytime role that made her "A" list. Dr. Kate Winograd ("Days") was a recurring character who never clicked; I wonder if she ever shared a scene with Margaret Mason (Linda Anderson) whose role she later took over. (Mason was on "Y&R" in one of her brief returns when Princi took over as Linda.) Other than a few attempts at giving her a story, she just ended up being Salem's resident troublemaker with no real motive, and Linda faded out after they hinted but did nothing with a potential Linda/Victor story. (She did get a goodbye in the Thanksgiving episode, but it was nothing really memorable). Elaine was also badly paired with Bob Hughes on "As the World Turns" where she got to utilize her great French accent (also utilized on "Days" as Linda), but there was absolutely no chemistry. A brief part as a madame named Eva followed for her on "AMC" but it was a day here, a day there, and nothing long term. Perhaps that led her to being cast as Dorian, ironically crossing over to "AMC" a few times. After several guest stints as a judge on "Another World", Princi seemed to just vanish from the business. Her continental looks should have gotten her more work and a better part, but it just wasn't in the cards.

Princi was okay but that's the thing - she was always just okay, a utility player.

She was great with the Blair/Addie revelation.

It would have been interesting to see Dixie Carter as Dorian, pre-"Edge of Night", subbing for Nancy Pinkerton.

Strasser has said that her favorite character to play and writing was... Wait for it... James Reilly's writing for her when she played Hecuba, the evil witch and Tabatha's nemesis, on the camp travesty supernatural soap opera, Passions from 2000-2003

I still remember one chararacter on Passions actually having to say this line of dialogue, "I haven't had anything nice to wear since our house got sucked into the portals of hell last summer".

The IMDb lists "The Secret Storm" as Robin's debut (1964-1966, someone named Iris Ocasek). I've never seen any mention of this anywhere else. The span of two years indicates more than just day player status. As she would have been 19 years old, she would have been close to the age of the character of Amy Ames. I have my doubts about this as an accurate credit.

R531 guess she met Larry there. He was Frank Carver around that time.

I never liked Robin Strasser as Dorian because she took away the character's cerebral quality that Nancy Pinkerton exuded and Elaine Princi brought back... Strasser was too obvious, kind of like watching a Marlene Dietrich performance... what you see is all there is, you never get a sense of her withholding something from the viewer. I would have adored Victoria Wyndham assuming the role of Dorian... funnily enough, she also took over Strasser's role on Another World.

This is one strange board of OLTL fans. I just can't fathom all the hate for Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser, two of the greatest actresses ever to grace the television screen.

Hated Strasser also. No subtelty. Princi was also better with Mark Brettschneider thsn Strasser was.

And Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser were each the best acting partner either had. They were magic together.

Strasser WAS Dorian.

[quote] This is one strange board of OLTL fans. I just can't fathom all the hate for Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser, two of the greatest actresses ever to grace the television screen.

Some DL'ers live to be contrary. Over at the P&G thread there's regularly posters who shit all over some of the finer actors P&G had.

That is just one person, r538. Its name is Spicen.

The krazy on all the soap threads is that dumbass Serial nutjob. Dumbest person ever. His own family had him committed last year, he was so crazy. He’s a real dumbasd.

I just looked at Strasser's Dorian as a new character instead of a recast. The writing and the acting were completely different than what they wrote for Pinkerton. Pinkerton was a scary bitch. Robin was camp. I liked them both. If I had to chose it would be Pinkerton. By far. They must have really wanted to change the character and where it was going to do such a drastic recast.

r541 Vicky Wyndham would have brought back the scary Dorian, if they had the sense to fire Strasser and cast her when Another World was axed.

Horse face Wyndham? No thanks.

R543 I heard that!

LMAO at all the eldergays talking about Pinkerton

R545 We talk about the actresses from the good old days because they came from the theater and had real talent, real looks, and didn't look like they fell off an assembly line or were born with a dumb phone in their hand. The classically trained actresses we talk about never overused "like" or "you know" unless it was part of the script.

Strasser for the win!

R546 Pinkerton, only participated in two plays according to the Broadway League, and only as an understudy and as a standby. Robin Strasser is listed for three plays where she was the actual performer.

When Pinkerton died in 2010, Strasser wrote a tribute to her. I may not like Strasser as Dorian, but you have to admit she's a class act:

[quote]“I feel enormous gratitude to Nancy Pinkerton because it was her great talent as an actress, her intelligence as a woman, and her humorous and feisty energy as a human being that birthed Dorian Cramer. I am playing the delicious part, due in large part to the unique and dedicated artist that Nancy was. I am the third and fifth actress to play Dorian. Nancy Pinkerton was the first, Claire Malis the second, I was the third, Elaine Princi the fourth, and then, I returned and became the fifth … a distinction that amuses me to note. We all bit into the role with the gusto and relish it truly deserves. But I think of the four of us who have played the part, Nancy and I were wired most alike. I was a big fan of hers, because yes, I watched One Life then."

[quote]"I was handed her obituary by a crew member, and was saddened to learn she had passed so young. However, her solid relationship with her long-time partner, her activism in her community and business acumen, just validated what one might have predicted if you had known her only casually.I felt like a kindred spirit with her, even though it had been more than 30 years since we last spoke. I learned from her obituary that she was born on May 7. I wish I had known that bit of personal intel before so I could at least have once called to wish Nancy, “Happy Birthday! Now that I know, I won’t forget to light a candle in her memory. And I won’t forget because May 7 is my birthday, too!”

Yeahright. Strassman’s a sweetie. NOT!

r550 DO TELL

As someone who was too young to see Strasser in her original run, I was hooked on her 90s Dorian. She really did light up the screen.

Was Pinkerton a lesbrian???

R553 I don’t think so. When Pinkerton was on ATWT in ‘84, she went by Nancy Pinkerton Peabody, married to a man. The partner that Strasser talks about was also a male.

R553 She was not. Apparently her partner was a man.

One of the great scenes on "OLTL" which I could not locate (hidden somewhere on YT) has Robin and Lois Kibbee in a scene together where Elizabeth Sanders attempts in a very subtle way to push Dorian together with her son Charles (Peter Brown). The scene was reminiscent of what Geraldine Whitney was like when she first came on "The Edge of Night" and had a senator husband and son (played by Anthony Call ironically) and dominated from behind the scenes, much like Rose Kennedy. Ironically, Charles' wife (or soon to be ex) was played by Strasser's pal, Louise Sorel, considering that there are rumors that Robin might be coming onto "Days" as a short-term recast of Vivian Alamain.

Strasser is loved by fans, but people who know her have a more complicated relationship with her.

She can be a big emotional mess, but for what you could call acceptable reasons (childhood trauma). In acting, she has the same reputation of, say, Shelley Long - can go to extremes over small things, but in the end wants the work to be really good.

R557 A high-strung actress? I've never heard of such a thing.

Mmm, goes beyond high strung.

I love Strasser too. There's no way though she could have properly played the scene in which Dorian refuses to give Victor his heart medication. While he's dying she reveals all her sins to him and how much she's always hated him. It was the one of, if not the most, important scenes in OLTL history. It set up so much of what was to follow. Even when they rewrote Victor's history.

T557 Don’t speak for us all. I hate Strasser.

I don't know anything about Robin Strasser as a person, but I enjoyed her performances as Dorian immensely. She brought enormous energy and intelligence to her performance. When she was in a scene -- any scene -- you know there would be electricity.

Strasser was a phenomenal scene partner with ES' Viki too. The two of them in scenes together as adversaries were always something to look forward to whenever they occurred on the show.

No one in here knows Strasser personally. That's why a lot of this talk is just shit-stirring.

Nothing gets past r564.

R564 That's a rather tepid assumption on YOUR part.....

Robin was great fun as Hecuba the other with on Passions, her scenery chewing and overacting fit right in on that supernatural campfest of a soap, her Juliet Mills (Tabatha) and the late Josh Ryan Evans (as Timmy the creepy doll that comes to life) were comic gold, she called it the best writing (!) she ever had and her favorite role to play

She even praised the polarizing and Passions creator band DAYS headwriter JamesE. Reilly after he passed as a "genius"

She also shared scenes with Andrea Evans on Passions, who was playing Rebecca Hotchkiss from 2000-2008, the Camp meter went through the roof during those scenes!

I meant Robin played the other WITCH on Passions

r567, I never watched Passions but if they shared scenes, it kind of debunks the rumor that there was some sort of bad blood between them. I remember in 2008 when AE returned the first time, people were saying they deliberately did not have Tina in scenes with Dorian.

Robin would have been a good Vivian on Days. Her latter day Dorian had more in common with Vivian than anything from Dorian's first 20 years.

How appropriate that Strassman played a witch on Passions. Type casting?

Strasser couldn’t be that unbearable if Ron is bringing her to Days. I’d be curious to see her Vivian although I feel that role should not be recast!

Is Slee ready for the new reboot?

R572 Ron doesn’t work in the studio. He lives in NY. I pity the poor crew who Robin will demoralize. I hope they don’t put up with her shit.

Yes. They've hooked up a couple GoPro cameras in the nursing home.

R574- I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!

Everyone, this guy is the real deal.

Come on, spill!!!!

What was Paul Rauch like?

Linda Gottlieb?

R576 read the oral history of OLTL - the book is available on Amazon and features candid interviews from and about Linda and Paul

I have an oral history with Paul.

Paul Rauch was a sleaze hound.

Linda Gottlieb was a cunt.

Ok r573, I'll bite, what new reboot?

r580, the new head of daytime (I think?) gave some sort of press conference where she potentially teased that there were "talks" which was then picked and even Lucci has the bite on her IG.

R581 It isn't the new head of daytime, it was Kathy Burke the new head of the entire network. She made the following remark, when asked about possibly rebooting OLTL and AMC, at the winter Television Critics Association tour, "There might be some conversation about that. There might be.” She also spoke about how her goal at ABC is to return them to being the top network for women.

Interesting r582, well...we'll see I guess.

Thanks! r581 and r582.

Is anyone really clamoring to see Hooch vamping it up again?

[quote] Is anyone really clamoring to see Hooch vamping it up again?

I didn't know skeletons could vamp.

New thread for when this one is done

Screw you for putting those three abominations as the lead post.

Why would anyone want a reboot with ABC people in charge? GH is a hot ass mess. Let these shows RIP without any further destruction.

R587 MARY!

OLTL is DEAD. They will bring back AMC before OLTL.

And either way, the show will be GARBAGE.

Is Tercel Lil part of the reboot?

Yes R591, they are digging her carcass out of the ground now and will simply have Lil placed in a chair to have conversations with Ellen Holly (who is also returning).

They are sticking a wig on the skeleton and are having January Jones provide Lil's voice.

(announcer)

Find Lil's Tercel and you could win a trip for you and your friends to the OLTL studio!*

*As soon as we decide what former Big Lots we're filming THIS version in.....

Will Granny Kane still be fucking all the town's men?

You bitches can't finish out a thread properly?

Did someone say "reboot"?

What’s the next thread?

r597, it's already been linked

Thanks R598 I had forgotten!

LONG LIVE SLEE!!!!!