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Topic Started: July 25, 2011, 2:03 pm (35,841 Views)
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It's time to bring back Genie to GH. Tristan too. Garin would please a lot of people if he did this.
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August 8, 2011, 5:50 pm
It's time to bring back Genie to GH. Tristan too. Garin would please a lot of people if he did this.
Word!! Y&R really need to let our 2 vets go.They can keep the rest of those people. But let Genie and Tristan go.
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August 8, 2011, 6:04 pm
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August 8, 2011, 5:50 pm
It's time to bring back Genie to GH. Tristan too. Garin would please a lot of people if he did this.
Word!! Y&R really need to let our 2 vets go.They can keep the rest of those people. But let Genie and Tristan go.
It does seem like some former GH fans like Genie and Tristan on Y&R. If you could have anything you wanted, would you prefer GF and TR on Y&R or GH?
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August 8, 2011, 8:37 pm
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August 8, 2011, 6:04 pm
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August 8, 2011, 5:50 pm
It's time to bring back Genie to GH. Tristan too. Garin would please a lot of people if he did this.
Word!! Y&R really need to let our 2 vets go.They can keep the rest of those people. But let Genie and Tristan go.
It does seem like some former GH fans like Genie and Tristan on Y&R. If you could have anything you wanted, would you prefer GF and TR on Y&R or GH?
I hate it. Truly, truly hate it. Genie and Tristan should be on GH not on some boring ass CBS soap. This is just so damn wrong.
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August 8, 2011, 9:12 pm
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August 8, 2011, 8:37 pm
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August 8, 2011, 6:04 pm
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August 8, 2011, 5:50 pm
It's time to bring back Genie to GH. Tristan too. Garin would please a lot of people if he did this.
Word!! Y&R really need to let our 2 vets go.They can keep the rest of those people. But let Genie and Tristan go.
It does seem like some former GH fans like Genie and Tristan on Y&R. If you could have anything you wanted, would you prefer GF and TR on Y&R or GH?
I hate it. Truly, truly hate it. Genie and Tristan should be on GH not on some boring ass CBS soap. This is just so damn wrong.
Well, I prefer GF and TR on Y&R over Guza's GH. But I'm not sure what Garin Wolf is like yet. Does he know 80s history? I know he knows 90s history. What would Laura and Robert be like under Wolf's pen? Maybe not better than Guza.
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August 8, 2011, 9:12 pm
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August 8, 2011, 8:37 pm
Guest
August 8, 2011, 6:04 pm
Guest
August 8, 2011, 5:50 pm
It's time to bring back Genie to GH. Tristan too. Garin would please a lot of people if he did this.
Word!! Y&R really need to let our 2 vets go.They can keep the rest of those people. But let Genie and Tristan go.
It does seem like some former GH fans like Genie and Tristan on Y&R. If you could have anything you wanted, would you prefer GF and TR on Y&R or GH?
I hate it. Truly, truly hate it. Genie and Tristan should be on GH not on some boring ass CBS soap. This is just so damn wrong.
They are actors. Y&R is a job. Why is that wrong?
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WHAT HAPPENED IN 1985?

It was a year of romance. Social issues took a back seat to it, a few treasure hunts (thankfully!) took a back seat to it, even espionage stories took a back seat to it. Soap opera went back to its roots and told stories about couples finding each other and struggling to stay together.

The best part of this wave was the backlash beginning to be felt toward all those young-love story lines. While ratings remained high on ALL MY CHILDREN, this office received quite a few letters complaining about all those front-burner, teen story lines. What about Pheobe? they asked. What about Ruth and Joe? Toward the end of the year, Erica Kane was once again embroiled in a love affair -- this time with a fascinating Frenchman -- but it took a long time for AMC to get their minds off eighteen-year-olds. Yes, teens should have storylines, but not the only story lines.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES, often criticized for their indulgence in young love, brought us a fascinating story: a wealthy, very handsome and sophisticated crime boss (Victor Kiriakis) became passionately obsessed, not with some blonde tootsie, but with a housewife and mother of four adult children. Hurray to the writers, producers, and actors who helped us feel Carolyn and Victor's sexual tension and reminded us that lust doesn't happen just to kids.

Perhaps with the success of prime time's GOLDEN GIRLS, as well as the nighttime soaps which show people over 40 leading exciting, passionate and interesting lives, the daytime shows will once again remember who the meat and potatoes of their audience are (hint: they're not twelve-year-olds), and give the more mature and more experienced actors something to work with.

Soap operas have never really been ground-breakers when it comes to dealing with socially relevent issues. Instead, they let stories seep into the news where they're later captured in a movie-of-the-week, and then, if those movies get good Nielsens, daytime might pick up the story. It would be fascinating if that cycle changed. While the troubles in South Africa, Ethiopia and fear of AIDS dominated headlines, you'd never know it to watch the daytime and prime time soaps. If, in fact, these characters inhabit the same planet we do, it would be interesting to see them struggle with the same issues. Frankly, many of us are tired of seeing storylines that deal with teenage pregnancy and substance abuse -- they ahve been dealt with and dealt with for years. We would like to see something contemporary.

To that end, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS proved it was an Emmy winner in more ways than one by dealing with the matter of adult illiteracy, a major problem in this country. And they did it in a way that blended perfectly into the fabric of the soap, instead of making a red alert statement.

1985 was the year that saw the demise of PAPER DOLLS, BERRENGERS, and RITUALS, all shows that were born in the 1984-1985 season. Does that prove television is no longer willing to get involved with another soap? We are not sure, but with THE COLBYS coming on soon after this copy goes to press, we should have a better idea.

DYNASTY was a major disappointment to many viewers last season, although their ratings were stronger than ever. The soap nabbed celebrities including the late Rock Hudson and Ali MacGraw, proving that "stars" felt DYNASTY was a fashionable (and lucrative) show to do. But their storylines were ultimately silly and stilted.

On the other hand, DALLAS, FALCON CREST, and KNOTS LANDING served up smashing stories that kept us riveted to the screen. From the search for Val's babies on KNOTS LANDING, to the sensative handling of Sue Ellen's alcoholism and Bobby's death on DALLAS, to the humor and love injected into FALCON CREST, all three shows seemed to grow and improve.

We were all saddened in 1985 by the deaths of two daytime queens. Charita Bauer and Kay Campbell both began on their respective shows many years ago, and both will be sorely missed by the viewers of GUIDING LIGHT and ALL MY CHILDREN. Rock Hudson passed away this year, but the courage and openness he displayed in discussing his disease, making all of us more aware of AIDS, will be remembered a long. long time.

Donna Reed left DALLAS and Barbara Bel Geddes came back in a flurry of controversy; Taylor Miller, the original Nina on ALL MY CHILDREN, came back to daytime as Sally Frame on ANOTHER WORLD; and Roscoe Born, who was adored as Joe Novak on RYAN'S HOPE, skipped over to PAPER DOLLS< then found a temporary home as Mitch Lawrence on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Morgan Fairchild took off for FALCON CREST, Dane Witherspoon, whose experience on SANTA BARBARA was frustrating, found a role on CAPITOL, and Kristen Meadows returned to ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Michael Zaslow left that soap, and Apollonia Kotero was invited to play herself on FALCON CREST. Thaao Penghlis left DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Tristan Rogers, Emma Samms, and Brian Patrick Clarke left GENERAL HOSPITAL, Mark LaMura left ALL MY CHILDREN, James Kiberd left LOVING, and Vincent Irizarry left GUIDING LIGHT.

Michael Wilding, Jr. came to GUIDING LIGHT, and with his British accent and smoldering sensuality, made Jackson Freemont a character we were drawn to. Ava Gardner spiced up KNOTS LANDING and Joe Lambie, who works everywhere, brought his considerable style and depth to SEARCH FOR TOMORROW.

The couples who captured out hearts were the non-teens once again. Kyle and Reva on GUIDING LIGHT seethed with passion, AS THE WORLD TURNS's Margo and Tom shared intelligent humor, and GENERAL HOSPITAL's Robert and Holly were still able to keep a good marriage interesting television viewing.

Weddings were in full bloom (especially during ratings sweeps periods), and the ones that were most fun to watch were Bo and Hope's on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Mindy and Kurt's on GUIDING LIGHT, Val and Ben's on KNOTS LANDING, and Jimmy Lee and Celia's on GENERAL HOSPITAL.

GENERAL HOSPITAL became the first daytime show to introduce a full-fledged Asian storyline, giving work to a group of actors who rarely receive front-burner storylines (let alone roles!). While Frisco and Felicia were fun to watch, the love story of Ginny and Rick was moving, and Judith Chapman's fine acting must be singled out. John Reilly brought spice, wit and sophistication to the role of Sean Donely, and everyone was writing us about the split-up of Holly and Scorpio, combined with the arrival of Anna Devane. Finola Hughes proved to be exceptional in a job that was almost impossible -- asking the viewers to accept her as a "good guy."

ONE LIFE TO LIVE revived their old Niki/Viki storyline. While the idea of it inspired yawns, this was one of the few times where the sequel was better than the original. Erika Slezak was riveting not only in her portrayal of a woman with a multiple personality, but as Viki being Niki, pretending to be Viki. Don't ask. You only need to know it worked, and worked because of Slezak's fine talent. The storyline was made all the better when Andrea Evans returned to ONE LIFE TO LIVE as Tina Clayton. Her acting was never better.

With MIAMI VICE and MOONLIGHTING being two of the most talked about prime time series this season, it should be interesting to see how their themes infiltrate the soaps. Of course, we are listening to more rock music on daytime. And didn't Bo and Shane, DAYS's major super sleuths, just head down to Miami to catch a thief? What other characters, we wonder, might soon be dressed in tee shirts, Italian sports jackets, and no socks in search of criminals?

Then there is the business of MOONLIGHTING, ABC's classy show with outstanding writing and two characters who seethe with sexual tension and exchange snappy repartee. AS THE WORLD TURNS created that a long time ago with Tom and Margo, and ANOTHER WORLD had it was Cass and Kathleen. We like snappy repartee. And if each show wants to have their own Maddie and David (MOONLIGHTING's characters), we won't mind. Couples who are bright, charismatic and witty are always a pleasure to watch. But listen, any copycat producers, writers, networke executives or soap company owners out there: if you decide to create such characters, we would appreciate it if one isn't a model who looks like Cybill Shepard and the other isn't a detective agency owner who looks like Bruce Willis. A little ingenuity, folks. Please.
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1986 THE YEAR IN REVIEW


Traditional values, traditional storylines, and tradition tricks of the trade -- that's what soaps were about this year. Mystery and intrigue, mistaken identities, characters brought back from the dead (or from creative nightmares), amnesia, tortured lovers, calamitous weddings, confused parentage, a slew of kidnappings, topped with globs and globs of romance -- that was the stuff of 1986's continuing dramas.

It was also a time when the soap opera playing behind the screen was as exciting and dramatic as the one on the tube. Gloria Monty, the woman given credit for turning GENERAL HOSPITAL from a show headed for cancellation to the biggest hit on daytime, resigned in December to become an independent producer. Wes Kenney, executive producer of THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS (the only show in the last year to give GH a scare for its number one seat) took over Monty's position. Gail Kobe left as executive producer of GUIDING LIGHT and was replaced by Joe Willmore. John Whitesell was installed as the wunderkind to restore SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, but as soon as he pulled off a fantastic flood, made cast enthusiasm grow and the public take notice, his bosses urged him to move to ANOTHER WORLD where more of his kind of work was needed. In the end, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW was cancelled; the same year it celebrated its 35th anniversary on television.

And Y&R's executive producer, creator, and head writer, Bill Bell, decided that having one fabulous show on the air wasn't enough, so he created THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL, scheduled to premiere on CBS this spring.

Executives weren't the only people playing musical chairs. Actors who had left their shows, or daytime in particular, came back. Taylor Miller left Sally Frame on ANOTHER WORLD to once again become Nina Warner on ALL MY CHILDREN. William Gray Espy, one of the all time great heartthrobs, returned to his role as Mitch Blake on ANOTHER WORLD. Also nabbed by AW was Denise Alexander, who was so popular as Leslie Webber on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Bob Woods, after leaving ONE LIFE TO LIVE, turned up on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Tristan Rogers and Sharon Wyatt returned to GENERAL HOSPITAL, Anthony Herrera came back to AS THE WORLD TURNS, Rober Newman picked up his old role of Josh Lewis on GUIDING LIGHT, and the most talked about return of the season was Patrick Duffy's on DALLAS.

DALLAS came out of the doldrums with the return of Duffy and fromer executive producer Leonard Katzman, but some of the other prime time soaps didn ot fare so well. DYNASTY miffed, then lost many of its viewers in the '85 - '86 season when it swerved from the hot triangle between Alexis, Blake, and Krystle, and spent too much time on the convoluted Rita/Krystle storyline. It appears to be a loss they still haven't remedied. Has DYNASTY, once a daring and hlarious program, become a parody of itself? KNOTS LANDING continued to hold steady in the ratings with its moving plots and fine actors until this season, when its time slot was changed for a short while. THE COLBYS, heralded as the best thing to come along since DYNASTY, struggled in its first season, and has been fighting gallantly in a terrible time period against KNOTS and CHEERS.

These shows prove that nighttime soaps don't have the longevity that the daytime ones do. Prime time is a more volatile animal. It is subject to fads and fashions that daytime rarely has to deal with. In the early '80s, prime time soaps were very much in vogue, but in the middle part of the decade the sitcom came back into fashion. With their irreverent comments about life and romance, sitcoms, not the continuing dramas, seem to be the reason people are tuning in most nights now.

Still, the daytime shows forged ahead. This was not the year of the spy or the double identity or love on the run. No, in 1986, daytime soaps began to etch more deeply their own, personal identities. DAYS OF OUR LIVES could be clearly seen as the most amorous and fast-paced soap -- a combination of MIAMI VICE and Danielle Steele-style romance. GENERAL HOSPITAL stayed away from the operating room and continued to chase villains with their stock heroes. THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS kept true to itself with its slow pace and gorgeous close-ups. Y&R must be singled out, not only as the most gamorous show, but as a soap that can be counted on for characters who behave in a way that is in line with the way they have developed. ALL MY CHILDREN my have been ridiculous to many viewers for the first part of the season, but once Jorn Winter returned as executive producer, silly story lines were wrapped up, and integral charaters started behaving in a more understandable fashion.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE continued to excel with poignant stories about families and secrets, highlighted by exceptional acting from Clint Richie, Erika Slezak, and Andrea Evans, in particular. And AS THE WORLD TURNS, under the guidance of executive producer Robert Calhoun and head writer Douglas Marland, once again regained its identity as a soap opera for, and by, adults.

SANTA BARBARA grew each day into a bold, irreverent drama with delightful characters and imaginative writing. While watching that show, one can't help but wonder what it's like to pen it. There seems to be an outrageous collective sense of humor there -- not the kind you see on comedy shows, but the kind that comes out of real life situations. SANTA BARBARA seems to realize that humor is the tonic we often use to deal with the most difficult problems, and they have been able to blend it in quite nicely with even the most dramatic conflicts. Sometimes that humor and imagination gets a bit bizarre -- could we ever really forgive them for killing off Mary? -- but even that was carried off with a bit of panache. How many people get to die by a big "C"? We hope the network will be patient because we think with time this soap could be a winner.

The one disappointment this year was GUIDING LIGHT, the soap we named best show in 1985. With continual changes in producers, writers, and actors, GUIDING LIGHT resembled a revolving door more than a dramatic series. Perhaps this could not be helped, but all that change left GL muddled, confused; a mess.

If there was one trend in 1986, it was in the presentation of women. Victims seemed to be fewer, and villainesses weren't the only women in control of their lives. Finally, we began to see women -- nice women -- act as people who could take care of themselves and stand up for themselves. When THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS's Ashley was faced with an unwanted pregnancy, she took action and had an abortion. We applaud the writers of Y&R for giving Ashley that option, even though it is still a controversial subject. When CAPITOL's Sloane Denning Clegg was abandoned by her husband, she did not sit back and feel sorry for herself. She fought back -- with a vengence -- and then found romance with another man. SANTA BARBARA's Sophia Capwell was not about to let her fiance's ex-wife stand in her way without a fight, and even timid, innocent Hillary Martin from ALL MY CHILDREN stood up for herself. Tired of her husband's lies and manipulations, she left Tad after she discovered his final deception. The biggest change of all had to be the strength found in the women from DALLAS. Always dominated by the men, this show finally let their women stand up for themselves. Sue Ellen drove J.R. crazy by buying her own lingerie company. Mandy Winger, J.R.'s mistress, stunned him when she refused to give up her full-time career to be his full-time playmate, and even fragile Jenna Wade told Bobby where to go when he started advising her on child-rearing.

We're not sure why the writers chose this year to finally let kind women be strong women, but we approve their decision, and their work in general. 1986 was filled with tension, glamour, couples we could root for and good old-fashioned drama. We liked it.
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^^ SOD?
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THE YEAR IN REVIEW: LOOKING BACK AT 1987


Rape. Cancer. Alcoholism. Teen prostitution. Teen suicide. Drug abuse, interracial romance, and even the "A" word -- AIDS -- were the difficult and complex subjects that soaps didn't shy away from this year. It was about time.

Scripted by different writers, these story lines were handled with varying degrees of excellence and believability, but most were moving, thought-provoking and, thankfully, absent of heavy moral judgment. Sensitive writers, producers and network executives finally seemed to win the internal battle over the American public: with the airing of these story lines TV seemed to be admitting that the daytime viewing audience is a lot more intelligent and open-minded than they had been given credit for.

You can be assured that many of these stories did not cross the airwaves without a fight. There was talk for many months about whether such social issues would offend the viewers. Not even a year ago some network executives were quoted as saying that an AIDS story would no be told on their soap operas. But the times they were a-changing. AIDS and teen suicide were making headlines daily. And other forms of entertainment tackled the issues. Plays, films, nighttime dramas and movies of the week had all dealt with difficult topics, including AIDS; always, when the drama was stirring, people watched.

Concerned by daytime's seeming refusal to deal with AIDS, Soap Opera Digest put a questionnaire in its April 9 issue, asking readers if they would like to see more social issues, including AIDS, dealt with on the serials. A whopping 87 percent of you responded by saying, yes, social issues -- including AIDS -- were topics that demanded daytime's attention. Soon after the results of our survey appeared in print, both NBC and ABC announced that they would be introducing AIDS story lines on ANOTHER WORLD and ALL MY CHILDREN. And CBS's AS THE WORLD TURNS began a riveting story about teen suicide. In fact, when NBC announced their story line in a press release, they cited this magazine's survey. That questionnaire and your responses to it were among the things Soap Opera Digest editiors have been most proud of for it proved once again that the audience does have a voice when it comes to programming, that good entertainment does not have to suffer when an important issue is being dealt with, and tha tyou are an enlightened and informed group.

We were particularly glad to see how well, the 1987 social-issue story lines fared on air. Ratings, that all-important barometer of TV's every movement, did not drop when AS THE WORLD TURNS told the story of Kathy Evans's depression leading to attempted suicide. They did not waer when ALL MY CHILDREN's Mark Dalton realized he could have contracted AIDS from his days as an intravenous drug user, or when GUIDING LIGHT's handsome and virile Johnny Bauer learned that he had cancer. And few events on daytime television were as well-acted, -directed, or -written as the harrowing rape of Caroline Spencer on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL. The viewer felt the depths of Caoline's despair. Special mention must be given to actress Joanna Johnson for her remarkable portrayal of a sheltered rich girl whose life is devastated by one night. While GENERAL HOSPITAL experienced all kinds of ups and downs this year (some might term it chaos, others, rediscovering itself), it began a fascinating interracial love story between doctors Tom Hardy and Simone Vabelle. Daytime has tried this sort of story before but always aborted it mid-stream. GH must be applauded for their promise to tell the tale with all its complexities, despite scattered criticism, from start to finish.

Of course, social issues were not the only stories unleashed on serials in 1987. Ollie North and the Iran-contra hearings were a mesmerizing off-screen drama that erupted on screen and interrupted the daily airing of the soaps. For all its drama, lies, heroes and villains, not to mention the unraveling of secrets, one can't help but call those hearings something of a soap opera.

Nineteen-eighty-seven was the year that CAPITOL was canceled and BOLD & BEAUTIFUL premiered. It was the year that ANOTHER WORLD was told by NBC to shape up or possibly be shipped out; the year that rumors abounded about Procter & Gamble wanting to sell their soaps because the serials were getting too expensive to produce -- the company owns ANOTHER WORLD, AS THE WORLD TURNS, and GUIDING LIGHT. It was a year when GUIDING LIGHT celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, making it the longest-running show in the history of broadcast, and saw the return of head writer Pam Long to a serial that no longer made sense to many of its viewers. Patrick Duffy had come back to DALLAS, but Victoria Principal departed, leaving many to wonder if the show could survive her loss and keep its ratings intact (ratings have dropped since last year) and budgets on many of the prime-tiem soaps were cut. So was one of the soaps. THE COLBYS, DYNASTY's spin-off, came to an abrupt end after two seasons with Fallon floating off in a spaceship, only to return to Earth and Denver with her husband Jeff on DYNASTY. Meanwhile, FALCON CREST became funny and KNOTS LANDING stayed superb, particularly when it told the story of Olivia's drug abuse.

GENERAL HOSPITAL was down in the ratings, until the People Meteres came along, and then it regained its number-one spot over THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS. Actors with high TVQ's came and left, among them: Bob Woods, who left DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and returned to ONE LIFE TO LIVE; Peter Bergman, who left then came back to ALL MY CHILDREN; Vincent Irizarry, long gone from GUIDING LIGHT showed up on SANTA BARBARA; and Kin Shriner returned to Port Charles and GENERAL HOSPITAL as Scotty Baldwin. In 1987, ALL MY CHILDREN regained its strength, ONE LIFE TO LIVE became the Tina Show, and AS THE WORLD TURNS stayed a class act.

With all the turbulence of new writers, new producers and even new heads of networks, 1987 was a very good year for soaps. We will keep watching, and hope you do, too.
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