Hiking on Llantano Mountain

I've heard tell that David Vickers Buchanan and his cousin, Rex Balsom, can sometimes be found in those woods feverishly discussing their shared journeys ... specifically what it's like to discover -- as an adult -- that you're heir to a dynasty. They hold weekly discussions that usually take hours to hash out.

We already have a Llanview thread you idiot.

So I'm continuing my 1989 binge and I've grown exhausted with The Sarah Gordon Crying Hour. I looked up the ratings for the time, and apparently, the show did well -- a 7.1 for Season 1988-1989 which translates to being the number three-ranked soap of that year. That's impressive, especially with so many shows still on the air. I'm not one to allow ratings to dictate quality to me, however, as tastes differ.

Anyone who watched during that period willing to share their opinions of the show's quality at that time? I literally jumped six weeks ahead at one point, hoping for another storyline. I'm aware that soaps move slowly, but watching Jensen Buchanan mewl and hide and jump is annoying. Meanwhile, Gabrielle is only brought out to look fearful when Brenda gets near Michael Grande's baby. Tina's is nowhere to be found (I know that was due to behind the scenes issues with AE's stalker), and Viki is simply a talk-too.

I wish I liked the Gordon sisters more. I know many viewers consider Megan's death to be an important part of the show's history, but I'm just hate-watching at this point.

There have been many times in my soap viewing that I was watching show out of habit rather than out of compelling stories. That could certainly be said of the Dena Higley years on OLTL in the mid 2000s. Same could also be said of the period in 95-96 after Michael Malone departed as HW.

I loved the Gordon sisters. Great actresses with chemistry with anyone they are paired with. Oltl needed heroines at that time since the female leads (Gabrielle, Tina) were more bad girls/anti heroines.

Megan. Tina. Gabrielle. Some of the all time best characters of the show. IMO

Marcia McCabe as Alicia Grande was a highlight of 1989! Then at the very end of the year we got the lovely Elaine Princi as Dorian. Paul Rauch knew what he was doing.

I was a small child at the time, yet I remember Megan. However, I have no memories of Sarah.

Jensen Buchanan was a beauty! It was a sad day when she left even Bo had a hard time forgetting his “paradise”. always wished she’d have come back from the dead again. Prefer Bo and Sarah over Bo and Nora as greatest loves! Megan wasn’t on the show for long but her impact huge. Liked when she was the spoiled diva and at odds with her mother. Loved Megan with Max, Jake, and even Andrew. Jessica Tuck was a revelation and her characters death week the highlight of the shows run.

R6 Elaine Princi played two roles on Days of Our Lives

She was the original Kate in the 70s and Linda Anderson in the mid 80s, DAYS ripped off AMC by having Linda fuck her teen daughters gay porn looking boyfriend Pete Jennings, he was also male stripper too, just like when Marian Colby fucked hunky Tad Martin, her daughter Liza's teen boyfriend on AMC

I liked her Dorian less of a caricature

Elaine’s Dorian was much less of a caricature. Yes, she lacked the chemistry with Slezak but they kind of spun her off into her own orbit away from Viki. Princi had much better chemistry with Mark Brettschneider (Jason) than Strasser had when she returned.

R2 It's been paywalled you festering cunt scab.

Now sit down and shut up!

This clip is dedicated to the divine R12.

Dear Friends, This has been a year for the books, my friends, and I most sincerely hope that all of you are well and healthy, and have survived this monstrous year.

I thank God that my family and I are completely vaccinated and boosted and healthy. Unfortunately though, Brian had a bad fall a few weeks ago, and had to have emergency surgery on his back. He is now finally in a wonderful rehabilitation hospital and is working hard to regain the strength in his legs. I come to see him every day, and Michael and Amanda alternate days to visit.

It’s been a somewhat busy year: As most of you know, I was pleased to shoot a Hallmark Christmas movie called “Next Stop, Christmas.” It was great fun and was shot fairly close to where we live, so I could come home everyday. The people on the movie were all so wonderful, and my trailer, where I was keeping my things and resting between shots, was called Rudolph. All the trailers were named after reindeer, but unfortunately mine didn’t have a red nose on the front. The only hard part of the movie was that it was shot in August when it was 95 degrees outside, and we all had to pretend that it was December, so we were wrapped up in coats and boots and gloves, and really really hot!

As difficult as this year has been, the bright spot for the fan club is that we celebrated the “Golden Anniversary” this last October, and you can see the letter I signed back in 1971 to permit Walter to start it. It’s completely amazing that he and I have known each other for 50 years! I don’t know how that is possible since I’m only 39 years old 😁. Of all the things we have to be thankful for, I include my many, many years of friendship with Walter, and the fan club that he created. And even though "One Life to Live" has ended, the club is still going, thanks to the wonderful folks who run it and take care of it. A great big thank you to Walter and Kit and AJ for their time and patience with me.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season, and I thank all of you for sticking with me all these years. Sending you hugs and best wishes for a Happy New Year and healthy 2022.

Love, Viki Sleestak

I love that woman. That movie had a lot of "bigger" stars in it, but if they named her trailer Rudolph they were showing respect. Rudolph is the star of reindeers.

R3- I am rewatching these same shows. I had just turned 12 when these aired and a massive fan from 85-94. Early on I only watched with my grandparents in the summers/at holidays) I was a more casual fan later on.

The critics hated the show post 1987 and for this very year SOD voted it as the most disappointing show. They said it was horribly lit, said the actors looked orange, hated most of the storylines minus Fraternity Row.

Considering that the show was pretty horrible from 1990-1991, that is no small feat. And it lost some of its biggest stars- Andrea, James DePaiva, and then Fiona (a massive loss in my opinion)

Well I loved it then, and I loved it now. To this day I do not understand Rauch's aesthetic- but the look fits the time. And I read an interview once where the lighting designers were asked why the show was lit so brightly, and the said Rauch wanted the actors eyes to sparkle (they actually do) and for the show to look and feel upbeat (it kinda does actually) The show looked far better earlier in his tenure around 86-88 especially. The storylines moved so fast and SO MUCH happened.

The background music was a show of itself, and people still talk about this on Youtube- The show had great scoring, probably 2nd to Y&R (even though OLTL's was modern and keyboard based and Y&R's was orchestral/cinematic)

I LOVED Sarah and Megan- and it was clear that show knew Andrea would forced to leave and were trying to find some new female characters who could kind of fit /take over.. Sarah is now backburnered a little in the shows I am watching from 8/89...

It was not Shakespeare but the show was addictive, suspenseful, and despite what critics said- there was not a show like it on daytime.

ATWT, AMC, SB, and Y&R, GL(sometimes) were the critics show's at this time- OLTL was the probably the most derided in the late 80's.

OLTL finally fell to #4 in late 1989 if I remember correctly, and then hit #3 one more time during Mendorra in early 1990. The show then free falled and was pretty bad for 2 years. The show was so bad that it could not even capitalize on the massively rated Natalie in The Well on AMC which proceeded it..

I have rewatched some Gottlieb era stuff on Youtube recently, and I stand by the fact that the show was utterly boring most of the time. It looked amazing (like a different planet from the Rauch era) but the scoring was so boring, the storylines felt like after school specials (Marty's rape was awesome) and there were endless dud characters. I was rewatching some 1993 shows and holy shit- Its really boring. Very intelligent- but horrible.

Gottlieb's ratings sucked as well- however Marty's Rape did bring the show to #3 for 1-2 weeks during the rape trial .

R1 speaks the truth.

LOL that one of the comments is like "This is Nifty material (fan fiction)"

Is John Paul Lavoisier a gay?

Rex should have been bi at the very least JPL always came across more gay than a straight viable leading young male.

After 1971, OLTL would become and remain the bridge between AMC and GH. When Nixon stopped caring, ABC did as well.

I would have watched an hour of Tuc and JP edging. As long as they came all over each other's chests at the end.

Rex was definitely bi... he would do anything to get what he wanted especially in the beginning

As I recall, Rex was intended to be gay when they introduced him in 2001. They even had Randy Harrison from Queer as Folk drop by to meet with JPL to talk about playing gay on TV.

Genie Francis was asked to portray recast Sarah Gordon after Jensen Buchanan quit in 1990; this was also a year or so after her stint as Diana Colville on DOOL. She had three offers to choose from; B&B wanted her along with AMC (which she ultimately chose as Ceara Connor). I've always wondered what would have been had she chose OLTL; her take on Sarah, being paired with Bo, would've been interesting imo (and would've probably prevented the recast of Sarah in 1992 with Grace Phillips)

I've having a hard time picturing Genie and Bob Woods as a couple.

Bob Woods is so fug. He was barely passably handsome for a minute in the 1980s and then he fossilized.

I always had a hard time buying Asa and Bo marrying so many women because they were so fug. Clint I could sort of understand.

R26 Lol maybe another reason why she turned it down is because of the popularity/chemistry Bob Woods & Jensen Buchanan had, along with the whole aspect of being a recast. Even though she was a recast as Laura, she did take over from a child actress, so that's not necessarily the same. From my understanding, her roles on DAYS, AMC and Y&R weren't recasts (she also said she thought it would be a challenge to tackle Ceara's incest abuse on AMC).

[quote]Lol maybe another reason why she turned it down is because of the popularity/chemistry Bob Woods & Jensen Buchanan had,

On Days, Genie was playing a brand new character, albeit a poorly developed one. She was cast purely for her name and the writers never put much effort into developing a character for her. After they paired Genie with Drake Hogestyn, she suffered through two years of fans attacks for trying to replace Deidre Hall.

Can't blame her for not wanting a repeat of that on OLTL.

Ceara felt like another Diana Colville-an ill conceived character created purely to give Genie Francis a role on AMC. She went from gold digging schemer to incest victim in very short order.

Genie would have been interesting as Connor Walsh on ATWT, or even as Tina on OLTL.

[quote]Genie would have been interesting as Connor Walsh on ATWT

There was never any need for another Connor Walsh, especially not one from the ABC stable.

Sorry I meant Genie would have been a good choice for Connor in 1990. Doug Marland liked her, and I think it would have allowed her to better showcase her acting abilities against Liz Hubbard

Let’s get back to me.

Genie and Robert S Woods worked together on Days of Our Lives, she played Diana from 87-89 and he played Paul from 86- late 87, I was watching a 1987 DAYS episode awhile back and they were definitely testing them as a couple, Paul's wife was dying

In fact, in interviews Genie mentions Bob and Drake and Arleen Sorkin as the campy and wacky character Calliope Jones, as her highlights working on DAYS, she also said that she had never met Woods prior to DAYS, despite both coming from the he ABC soaps, also Jane Elliot was on DAYS at that time as Angelica Devereaux

Calliope should be brought back to DAYS and recast with Andrea Evans

Genie did nothing and does nothing but complain. "Oh a show wants me for my star power and nothing else" "Wendy Riche called me fat". "I don't get as much time off as Tony". Boo fucking hoo.

R34 Well OLTL and AMC both filmed in NYC and GH in LA. It makes sense they had never met.

R29 & R30 Those are excellent observations about Diana and Ceara. That seemed to happen quite frequently back then, Marcy Walker as Tangie on GL and Jensen Buchanan as Melissa Bedford on GH are two other examples that come to mind. I also agree that Genie likely saw portraying Sarah with Bo as a similar situation to Diana/John. Same if she would've played Tina given how popular Tina was on her own and with Cord.

R31 Didn't they go to the ABC stable when they cast Luna Moody as recast Connor? Lol it was bad, like she was playing Luna in the corporate world.

*Luna Moody actress Susan Batten lol her name escaped me.

Yes, r38 r39, that is [italic]exactly[/italic] the stable to which I refer in r31. A recast as awful as it was unnecessary. How those ABCunts failed to appreciate Allyson Rice-Taylor as Connor is a mystery we shall never understand. It was almost as bad as their inexplicable hatred of Scotty D.

They should have been in some car demolition career, and not taken their aggression and hostility out on daytime television.

That was Felicia Minei Behr's big idea at ATWT, that she bring a whole slew of ABC people over. Unfortunately the suits at CBS and ATWT used that as a template for the rest of ATWT's days.

r25 Genie would have been a wonderful Sarah.

[quote]She had three offers to choose from; B&B wanted her along with AMC (which she ultimately chose as Ceara Connor).

What part did B&B want Genie for?

The only thing I can think of at that time is if they were going to do a Caroline recast or try to make Genie Karen (Caroline's twin)...?

Was Genie up for the role of Taylor on B&B? She debuted in 1990, around the time Ceara first appeared.

DAYS want crazy casting ABC soap actors in the late 2000s

Jessica Tuck played Madeline Reeves on DAYS , Stefano 's prostitute and Chad's Mom, from 2009-2011

Matt Borlenghi, Sydney Penny, John Callahan, Robin Mattson, Kale Brown, Ty Treadway, Stuart Damon, Roscoe Borne etc we're all DAYS castmbers around that time

r41 I refrained from using the Name of Horribility. The ABC bitches' unspoken mission was to destroy the P&G soaps.

If Genie had taken B&B they wouldn’t have been able to fire her from AMC and ultimately force her back to GH. I wonder if she would have ended up back there anyhow but more on her terms.

FMB was no help at all but honestly she was not as destructive as many of the people who came later

Elaine Princi was one of the most successful soap recasts ever. Robin Strasser as Dorian was iconic, and EP resembled her enough, and caught Strasser’s controlled fire enough, that she was instantly accepted.

Elaine was very good, but Robin brought something special to the table with Slee that just couldn't be duplicated.

Was it the Buchanan men that said in an interview that they preferred Princi to Strasser? I know they said something not very flattering about either Robin or Elaine but can't remember who.

Most likely B&B would have cast Genie as Taylor and Caroline.

Although given what she went thought at Days with the Marlena fans attacking her constantly, I doubt she'd really want to be involved in the Ridge-Caroline pairing either as a Caroline recast or as the new love interest for Ridge.

R50 Elaine Princi was a great Dorian. And by all accounts, she was/is a very kind person. I think it was Phil Carey that loved Elaine so much that he marched his bad hip up the stairs to Linda Gottlieb’s office and told her off for firing Elaine. Michael Logan reported this in TV Guide.

[quote]Most likely B&B would have cast Genie as Taylor and Caroline.

Yikes! That should be Taylor OR Caroline.

[quote] The ABC bitches' unspoken mission was to destroy the P&G soaps.

If she really wanted to do that she should've talked P&G into hiring Brian Frons.

R40 Lol oh so ABC execs had made their way over to CBS bringing ABC talent with them lol that makes sense. Scotty D? Is that Scott DeFreitas?

R43 I honestly don't know. I read about it in a soap magazine interview she gave many years ago. She specifically mentioned being up for Sarah on OLTL and how B&B wanted her, yet she went with AMC who created Ceara for her. I'm in agreement with those who say it had to be Taylor since Hunter Tylo made her debut there in 1990 which fits the time frame that Jensen left OLTL and Genie joined AMC. The only other option is Caroline since she died from leukemia during that time as well however I think they intended to kill her off then realized they wanted Joanna Johnson back when they created her twin Karen, so irs pretty safe to assume it was Taylor. Again, as someone mentioned, Genie would've been placed in the middle of fan wars either as a recast or in a triangle or both, which she didn't have to worry about as Ceara. And as another person said, they wouldn't have been able to get her back as Laura from B&B like they did from AMC had she played Taylor.

That FAT ugly slob Casey Hurch updated his pic. Why????? He’s so fucking ugly!

....

I thought Rafe Garrison was gorgeous. I never understood the big deal over Bo Buchanan. He was okay looking. I don't understand how he was able to stay on the show for as long as he did. The show must have been catering to his ego when they paired him with pretty, younger woman.

Changing my mind from what I said at R57 I think Genie was asked to play Caroline. I didn't know Joanna Johnson quit in 1990; I thought she was written out since Bill Bell is known to write characters out as he sees fit lol. Maybe they were hoping Genie would say yes then Caroline would've went into remission; when she didn't that's when Caroline passed away. She had the blonde, good girl look that fit and Caroline however that would've placed her in the same situation as playing Sarah (taking over a popular character with a just as popular pairing). Playing Taylor would've placed her in the same situation as Diana on Days which she more than likely wouldn't have welcomed as well, yet if it wasn't known to her that Taylor would've eventually fell for Ridge, she might've accepted the role. Either way I'm leaning more towards Caroline now instead of Taylor lol

At R61 and a lot of my other posts, please ignore the spelling errors I'm always on here from a phone while working. This helps the time go by lol

Genie said yes to AMC because they gave her tons of time off (which she demanded) and she wanted Tony Geary pay. She got it.

For those unfamiliar with Genie's stint on Days in `1986-88, they paired her character of Diana Colville with Roman Brady (then played by Drake Hogestyn).

Diedre Hall had left Days to star in Our House with Wilford Brimley, Shannon Doherty and Chad Allen. It was Diedre's choice to leave Days to star in prime time,

Yet Diedre's fans were opposed to the Diana-Roman pairing, somehow believing that Genie was the reason that Roman and Marlena were not together.

Genie was up for recast Caroline on b&b before they killed her.

Ken Meeker (Rafe on OLTL)

Oltl had a lot of under the radar hotties - Dan G’s Kevin, Wade, Mark Arnold’s Rob, the Moody Brothers, Rafe, and of course Ryan’s Billy Douglas!!!

Teddy Sears and Brandon Routh were the hottest on OLTL, followed by Trevor St.J.

Teddy Sears for sure and Brandon Routh. Anymore from the 80s?

Does anyone else remember a character named Mick, a professional figure skater? I think he had a relationship with Katrina Carr.

Brandon and Teddy worked there in 2001 and 2002, R69. Know your hottie history.

Llanview may not have Ada Hobson to kick this thread in its cunt, but it does have David Vickers sashaying around in a speedo.

God bless America!

You are all making me miss my OLTL more than I did before. They eye candy! Gabrielle throwing her hair around! Viki's personalities! The hotness of the very young Clint! Jon LoPrieno's bathing suit bulge!

R3- I’m doing the same OLTL binge on YouTube and I can’t believe how overexposed Sarah and Megan were that year. Between the Austin saga and Ruby Fucking Bright… those characters and actresses were worked to death. They squandered Marco Dane’s return by not mining his history and weighting all his scenes with Jessica Tuck. You feel Tina’s absence in a big way. She’s finally back and front and center in the latest uploaded episodes, which are the off the rails scenes in Atlantic City with Ursula and the other escaped inmates. It’s so over the top and insane. Wrestling matches are involved. Paul Rauch really embraced the stupid.

I'm trying to embrace it, R74. All soaps go through shifts depending on the writing regimes, producers, and actors present. It just seems like this period is very much Women in Jeopardy! Not that I mind that sort of thing, but it's taken up most of the plot.

Another poster wisely reminded me that Sarah/Megan are heroines that the audience rooted for and worried about. My favorites -- Tina and Gabrielle -- were vixens and troublemakers. It's a different dynamic. I'm just missing Tina right now. And during the time I'm watching (Summer 1989) Gabrielle is skulking around trying to hide her secret from Brenda and Michael Grande, so I'm waiting for that to erupt. Gabby will have to pay for that, and I can't wait for the dramatic fallout.

I just realized that my favorites never really "won." Women like Tina, Gabrielle, and later, Blair, usually always got the short end of the stick. They weren't villains, exactly, but they came up short, especially when compared to women like Megan and Sarah.

Their imperfections only made me root for them more, though. I wanted them to win, even when I knew they wouldn't win. Even when I knew they shouldn't win.

Does anyone have the David Vickers versus Ford speedo showdown?

R76, R72 posted it.

Tuc Watkins was such a great addition to the show.

I loved David Vickers so much. And, I really like how he was a rare person who both Dorian and Vicki liked, and he liked and respected both.

Vee. Fuck off! Serial Nutcase. Fuck off!

r75 Tina and Gabrielle were truly the original frenemies. Am I right or am I right?

Gabrielle was one of my favorite OLTL characters. I loved her and Tina together. I vaguely remember the two of them appearing on a daytime talk show together in the late 80s/early 90s. The topic of the show was soap operas. When the two of them were introduced by the host, Andrea Evans and Fiona Hutchison walked out together holding hands.

r79 Vee is in the biz, you know. He is the expert of all things soaps and politics.

R81- That was Oprah!

How many OLTL actresses have DUIs?

You're darn right, R80. When I saw the episodes of how they first met in Argentina, it all came together for me. These women were never friends. They were never meant to be friends. Yet they always seem to NEED each other. They always had USE for each other, lol.

They're just so glamorous. I also liked their vulnerability underneath all the shine. They both stayed in trouble constantly despite their yearning for love and the good life. Neither of them could get out of her own way long enough to get what she yearned for. That's why these two (alongside Blair) were my favorites. They self sabotage like nobody's business, but they're so entertaining as they're doing it.

[quote]he was a rare person who both Dorian and Vicki liked, and he liked and respected both.

Ahh, but Viki did not like David a tall at first. Was very suspicious of everything he did. I remember a scene where Viki drops by Dorian's for some reason and finds David and a still addled Addie playing Scrabble. Viki exchanges a few barbs with David, clearly detesting him, while being nice to Addie. She then helps Addie with her Scrabble tiles and spells out the word CHARLATAN, looking directly at David.

Viki only warmed to David in the final 6-7 years of the show, apparently thanks to Erika's Slezak's asking to have more scenes with Tuc.

Thanks, R83. I vaguely remembered it being Oprah, but then I thought maybe my memory was not serving me correctly. I remember the two of them looked so cute together.

I don't think it was a coincidence that OLTL introduced the character of Jamie Sanders after the media went wild over the story of the preppy killer Robert Chambers.

R86 Yeah, I meant more of where they ended up. I think part of it for the characters was that Vicki didn't want him around Tina, but he was fine for Dorian.

How did you guys feel about the other Tina's? I've seen Karen Witter and Krista Tesreau's versions however I've never seen any episodes from the 80's with Kelli Maroney, Marsha Clark or Nancy Frangione as Tina, only Andrea Evans. I also rear somewhere before that AW's Cali Timmons was set to play Tina in the early 2000's until Frank vetoed it.

Marsha Clark’s Tina came off as a big dyke.

R91 Marsha Clark ended up on Days of Our Lives from 1993-1996 as dykey, hard hitting DA Pat Carroll

She was always out to win at all costs

In one of the few videos I could find of Kelli Maroney's Tina, she discusses how much she liked going to "business school", and she's nothing at all like Andrea's Tina , who's return the following year as a vixen took the ratings through the roof. I'm not sure of how good or bad her chemistry with Slezak was, but I don't think they shared very many scenes.

I didn't realize Karen Witter married and divorced producer Chuck Lorre. I bet she is now a rich bitch.

Karen Witter was married to him from 2001-10, so during the creation/syndication of Two and a Half Men and the creation of Big Bang Theory.

I ate out Karen’s snatch.

Speedos, baby!

Kelli Maroney was barely on the show. I remember she was gone within a month. I think they must have decided immediately that she didn’t work. I remember she had a desperate phone call with Vicky, and I think a plane crash or something, and then she just disappeared.

Andrea Evans had not aged well. The red hair is a big, garish mistake. She could lose five years immediately with a soft sunny blonde.

Fearing for one's life does that to a gal ...

Based on that clip at R93, I can see why they did not keep Kelli Maroney as Tina.

As a die hard Andrea Evans Tina I quickly warmed unexpectedly to Karen Witter’s version. She was a ditz but more warm hearted. Less of a anti heroine. They wrote her as close to Luna and Megan. Closer to Viki. All her bad girl edge gone. I did like her with Cain since can’t say she sparked with JL Cord like AE.

Karen Witter wasn’t a particularly great actress but she had definite charisma, particularly in her first year or two. She had huge shoes to fill replacing Andrea Evans and I believe it was her first or second acting job which made her success that much more remarkable.

Out of all the Tinas, other than Andrea, Karen Witter was my favorite and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.

I liked Karen Witter as Tina. In fact, she's probably my favorite Tina. She doesn't seem to be very popular on here though from past theads. I think she was generally excepted by fans and the soap press at the time.

Couldn't stand Krista Tesreau in the role.

Never seen Kelli Maroney other than in brief clips and wasn't impressed. I did enjoy her in some of the B movies (Night of the Comet and Chopping Mall) she was in back in the same time period though. They knew how to use her correctly, like the soaps never did.

Marsha Clark was an odd casting choice, although she was just hired to fill in until Andrea Evans' returned.

I've been devouring the 1989 uploads. We're getting so close to the finale of the baby switch storyline, not to mention the end of Max & Megan.

I’m also watching the 1989 episodes, and I’m reminded that the actress who played Brenda McGillis was very odd. She wasn’t a traditional soap beauty and there was a dash of redneck to her. She always seems to be on the brink of forgetting her lines, but comes through. I’m surprised she had as big a storyline as she did.

I really wanted a mustache ride from Jon Russell.

The Andrea Evans/Karen Witter change was similar to the Brenda Dickson/Jess Walton thing on Y&R.

Although Andrea did have more skills as an actress, for sure, it felt like her Tina had veered into a weird cartoony area, and Karen's portrayal was more real to a lot of viewers.

"Dear GOD, you are Tad Clayton's daughter, come back to haunt me! He tried to drive me to madness and he never succeeded so you’ve simply returned to to pick up where he left off, and in the process you want to destroy MY FAAAAATHERRR?! You want to ruin his reputation, rip apart the very fabric of his character and turn him into a dirty old man!!!!"

Slee did not like that atall!

.......

Max and Megan we’re such a great couple. Very underrated… Tina was such a great foil for Viki so different from a Dorian. Once we got the Todd is Viki’s brother reveal this became a very similar sibling dynamic to the point where we never got much of Tina in the mid 90s to the end of the show. Instead we got Todd.

OLTL was awful. Happy day when it got the ax. Hammy and crazy Robin Strassman and crotchety Republican Slee. Queen Ron headwriting. Terrible TV.

OLTL loved that storyline so much they did it three times - Tony, Tina and Todd.

I kinda wonder why they went to the trouble of introducing Luna when they could have just kept Brenda around for a few more years. I guess she felt too tied to the Paul Rauch era.

Did Brenda Brock fuck Paul Rauch?

That Lois Kibbee was a big ole lez.

R93 Thanks for the clip and my goodness I agree R101 Kelli Maroney did not capture the essence of Tina at all. I guess it could be attributed to the writing as well as her arrival being pre-Paul Rauch, however she just didn't seem like Tina. She actually reminded me more of an early Mindy on GL/Krista Tesreau, so it's funny that they both played Tina. Krista didn't really seem like Tina either so guess it makes sense lol Kelli seems like she can be an earlier version of a character played by Krista or vice versa however neither seem like they were actually Tina.

How popular was Delilah? Was she ever up there with Tina, Gabrielle or Blair? She must've been the top younger schemer before Andrea returned as Tina before they reformed her; was her relationship with Rafe the main reason she changed? She is sort of reminiscent of Mia Korf's Blair, in the sense of an exotic non-traditional villainess, although Shelly Burch seemed more of a stronger actress than Mia (maybe due to her having more experience, Mia probably could've improved if she was given the chance to). She seemed top tier when Paul Rauch joined, appearing at the beginning of the credits with Viki and the Buchanan's, however towards the end of her run she was pushed further back so I'm assuming once they defanged her she lost her popularity.

In R97 's picture of John LoPrieno in a speedo, is his cock pointing upward?

Last night I went down a early Tess rabbit hole. I didn't watch the original story and why didn't you whores tell me about Forbes March. Damn.

Where are you finding full episodes of OLTL?

Forbes March is an asshole. He told Miss Locher that our beloved Miss Sleestack tried to get him fired on his first day. Was he talking with Ellen Holly beforehand?

......

Llanview=Clanview

Once Mama and I were hiking on Llantano Mountain, and Victoria Lord called the park ranger, pointed a finger at us and said, "Get these two black bitches off my mountain!"

[quote]crotchety Republican Slee.

Erika Slezak isn’t a Republican. You’re probably thinking of Susan Lucci, who is.

Slezak is a registered republican but she knew and admitted that Trump was GARBAGE and that is fine by me.

R128, That was for you, sorry.

And I looked it up years ago- its all online. She is a registered rebublican. And I suspect a fiscal one.

Fuck me. REPUBLICAN. Oh dear.

I was the Republican. We need law and order.

"How ... how much more do you want, Mr. Callison? Haven't I said what everyone wants to hear? What you want everyone to hear? That I am a COMMON HOOKER LIKE KATRINA KARR?!

Sleestack is still a registered Republican, according to online voting data. Her hubby is the same. But the son is a registered Independent.

.........

Slee hated my civil rights.

.....

I miss my OLTL. Viki's personalities! Dorian's outrage! Tina's campiness! Cord's bulging basket!

Stop making excuses because you like her. Erika is a republican, end of story. Stop being so childish about this stuff, sometimes people have different politics and you can still get along.

[quote] Stop making excuses because you like her

How about you fuck yourself? No need to police other people's responses.

Vee, who’s in the biz, advised Mrs. Sleestack to vote Republican.

Atall

If terrible OLTL and awful AMC hadn’t been canceled, ABC would have avowed Republicans Sue and Slee doing fan events at DJT rallies to boost the numbers.

Why are you reading this thread r143?

Take your negativity elsewhere please.

Easter Weekend, 2000, is the weekend Mimi Torchin killed OLTL with her spoilers. Knowing Will escaped the train taking him to Statesville, I didn't have to watch the show for another week or two. And I simply never went back to it. The shows should have had more respect for viewers than to let their storylines play out in the soap tabloids.

Best OLTL couples - Tina and Cord Max and Gabrielle Bo and Sarah or Bo and Nora? Jake and Megan Marty and Patrick Blair and Todd or Todd and Tea? Clint and Viki Asa and Renee Max and Megan

Any others worth mentioning?

Both Slezak and Lucci are Republicans. So are Brenda Dickson and Deidre Hall. Liberal soap queens are an unknown species lol

Deidre Hall is a leftist Democrat, she has hosted liberal radio shows and supported Dennis Kucinich.

Slezak and Lucci are clearly moderate country club type Republicans, who were probably never-Trumpers.

Brenda Dickson, probably doesn't know anything about politics but fits in to the Q wing of the party.

Why exactly do we care what soap queens' politics are? Does it really spoil one's illusion of Viki, Erica and such on to know that her actress is a Republican?

R149 It doesn't to me I was just pointing it out to the other posters, who were speculating. Being that soaps originated in NYC and LA, I can understand why lots of soap actors might be Republican. They live in high tax states, pretty well dominated by Democrats, and are far from the highest paid actors for the amount of work required of them, I can totally understand them supporting candidates who support lower taxes.

Getting back to hiking on Llantano Mountain, I'm wondering who in the cast fucked whom, over the years. Any intel?

I understand, R148/R150, I was just getting nervous that it was becoming another stock joke along the lines of "____ is a drunk!" or "_____ sucked toes!" or all the other things that recur in the soap threads.

Sleestack's real life husband, Brian Davies, was the original Rolf in The Sound of Music on Broadway. He also was the male juvenile in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

[quote]I'm wondering who in the cast fucked whom, over the years

Well, Kassie Wessley and James DePaiva certainly did.

And before them, Gerald Anthony and Brynn Thayer.

La Sleestack interviewed at home. Her dog is called Sophie and her cat is called Kate... WTF?

I remember a Soap Opera Digest feature story about behind the scenes feuds. Bergman v Braeden was one example where they named names. They did include a tantalizing but frustrating blind item about two actresses who feuded terribly on the set of OLTL in the 80s. Does anyone have any idea who they were referencing? I have a couple theories (Jessica Tuck and Erika Slezak… Erika didn’t thank her as a fellow nominee the year she upset her at the Emmys). But anyone have any dish here?

R157 I thought that was Robin Strasser and Kristen Meadows.

Nobody liked Kristen. She was blowing Paul Rauch, spying on them and then reporting back.

Poor Louise Sorel landed a role years later and had some sort of relationship (past or present) with Rauch and got frozen out there. They'd been burned with Kristen Meadows and didn't want a part 2.

You can kind of understand why those actresses were dropping panties for Rauch. Young Rauch was gorgeous.

Was it Robin Strasser and Louise Sorel? To the best of my knowledge, they've made up, but supposedly Louise was brought to OLTL in '86 with the intent of being the new Dorian ... and was dating Paul Rauch to boot!

With all that said, the idea of an Erika-Jessica feud would be interesting. Susan 'n' Sarah, eat your hearts out!

Also, sorry, incomplete thought: "with the idea of Judith Sanders (Louise's character) being the new Dorian."

Erika and Jessica did not feud. They adored each other. And not that long ago when Erika was being interviewed and being asked about former costars, when Jessica's name was brought up Erika was effusive and called her "My JESSIE"...

Based on 1980's clips, Kristen Meadows was as boring as fuck- probably one of the worst female castmembers and all time cast members.

She looked like a cocksucker.

How long did Mimi King last, anyway? She was introduced as Asa's bimbo girlfriend, then dropped by him when he went after Samantha, then wound up with Larry Wolek for a while, then what?

Poor Larry did he ever really have a story after Karen? I just remember him occasionally being seen in the hospital. Then I learned about his history and I was like, why was he sidelined? He was still a pretty good looking guy until he left.

Also, I remember asking my mom did they ever have Vicki and Larry consider a romance? And, she said she don't remember them ever trying that. I think it would've been nice.

Jim Storm gave an interview where he complained about lack of storyline just as a new storyline was about to happen. It was when they brought on a young woman who seemed obsessed with him and she kidnapped him. Tracey was her name . I believe she was going to turn out to be his daughter but that changed as the storyline happened. I don’t remember how it all went, but that was the last time Larry had a storyline which was too bad. I liked him.

Robin Strasser and Louise Sorel are best friends in real life, Robin tweeted a few weeks back that she was having lunch with Louise

When Ron Carlivati decided to bring Vivian back to Days of Our Lives, Louise didn't feel it was worth it to go back out to LA , her and Robin both live in NYC, so best friend Robin Strasser took over as Vivian on DAYS for a bit

The two other actresses who played Vivian on DAYS were Marj Dusay and most recently Linda Dano

All 4 actresses who played Vivian also appeared on All My Children at one time or another and 3 of the 4, except Dusay, appeared on OLTL

Daytime Storylines - Marty's Gang Rape, Karen's Belle de Jour, Lily's Paternity, Nora's Reveal, Cindy's Aids Story, Edan's Rape. Best Soap Story?

I thought Robin has been living in LA for a while now.

Elaine Princi has been an elementary school teacher in LA for several years now as well.

Add Bj's heart transplant which would be my number 1 followed by Marty's Gang rape

For those of us who watched OLTL from the beginning and remember Larry Wolek as a key character (he was from a low-income Polish family, and in love with Meredith Lord, from a wealthy WASP family), it was frustrating that they never even explained his departure from the show. He just faded into the background, more and more after the Karen Wolek story eclipsed him.

Larry sorta has stuff to do in the 1989 episodes. He's part of the baby switching storyline, albeit behind Gabrielle, Brenda, Michael, Max, Tina, Cord and his own son, Dan.

R169 I would put Marlena 's FIRST demonic possession storyline on DAYS on that list as well

It changed soaps for better or worse

Robin has always been a NYC girl.

I think she briefly lived in LA in the late 80s/early 90s when she was trying to make a go of nighttime, around the time that she had a recurring role on COACH, but ultimately she's lived in NYC - her main work has always been there.

I wonder if the distance has contributed to the alleged fallout between her and her sons. I think the sons grew up more with dad and later, with stepmom Lucie Arnaz.

Robin Christopher would have been an incredible Frannie and Sabrina recast. They should have brought her onto ATWT in the 90s instead of Another World. Love her as Skye on AMC.

There were many characters I never understood why they never brought back, Frannie/Sabrina, and Andy come to mind off the top of my head

For the best soap story, it is a tie between Bill/Laura/Mickey on Days and Alice/Steve/Rachel on AW. No soap has ever been to recreate the magic of those two stories. AW came close with Iris/Mac/Rachel.

People didn’t like Slee and Sue because they were and are huge Republicans. It was a huge deal on set when they refused to vote for Obama. Especially Slee, given her history with Ellen.

r178, Lucinda and Iva trying to keep Lily's true identity a secret is up there.

Elaine is the Dorian that I know. Robin became hammy and over the top in her return in 1993 and I didn’t like her returning as a redhead. She’s a nasty c*nt. She was set to take over as Alex when she called up OLTL. They fired Elaine and brought Robin back.

I loved Mia’s Blair. She was the only female who made Tina feel insecure! And she was involved in several stories. No other Asian female on daytime was written like her. Sure, the critics loved Kassie but she should’ve been someone else. And Blair was re-introduced being surrounded by boy toys. That’s not who the character was.

*take over as Alexandra on Guiding Light

Upon rewatch- I love Mia Korf as Blair. I always found KDP overrated and really shrill/one note.

I did not like Kassie as Southern Eve on Days either. It’s weird that she’s only had one original role on daytime.

Mia Korf could not act her way out of a paper bag. Get real.

And yet Kassie’s Caucasian Blair was always a sideline in her own stories. Losing to Tea. Marty. And whoever else. Yawn!

R184 the original Eve on Days of Our Lives, Charlotte Ross, was a knockout and could really axt and get under stop mom Kimberly Brady's skin when she played Eve from 87-91

DePaiva's Eve barely resembled Ross' Eve and DePaiva looks way to old to be Charles Shaughnessy's (Shane from DAYS and now currently Victor Cassadine on GH) daughter, they look more like a couple than father/daughter

R185- Sorry, I really never like KDP- Just hysteric one note soap opera bullshit.

And I remember a critic saying Mia was a lousy actress at the time.

I am really enjoying her.

Upon rewatch Gottlieb's OLTL was an utter snore fest and mixed bag at best.

However, the show looked SO GOOD. Extremely elegant. If the show had better sets and background music it would be on par with classic Y&R.

A snore...fest....... Very after school special combined with ATWT.

Alex, Asian Blair, Marty/Todd, Bo & Nora- That was the only good shit.

Horrid.

Paul Rauch era all the way- fluorescent lighting and all.

Even KDP during her much lauded live week- What was that May of 2001?

Just screaming hysterics. One note and no subtext.

She ran the show for 20 years and was as bad as the McBain/Evangeline shit.

[quote]She was set to take over as Alex when she called up OLTL. They fired Elaine and brought Robin back.

That's not quite right.

Robin Strasser had a meeting with JFP about taking over the role of Alexandra after Beverlee McKinsey quit GL. However, that's all it was, a meeting. She was never officially cast in the role. JFP was talking to numerous actors about taking over the role.

According to Strasser, when she was leaving GL, she ran into a Soap Digest reporter in the lobby. She knew that her being at GL would be reported in the mag and the soap industry would be gossiping about it. Consequently, she made a courtesy call to Linda Gottlieb to let give her a heads up she was a contender for the Alexandra role. Courtesy calls like that are pretty much expected in the soap business if you left the show on good terms.

A few hours later, Gottlieb called Strasser, inviting her to come back to OLTL at Dorian. When she accepted, show said sayonara to Elaine Princi.

These Princi lovers kill me.

She was NOT a good actress, could not shed one real tear (but to keep it real- neither could Andrea Evans- who I adore)

Robin Strasser WAS Dorian. Charisma to spare. Princi had NO edge. There was no Dorian there.

However- I 100% believe that Strasser was a LUNATIC AND CUNT behind the scenes, and that Phil Carey went to bat for Princi.

You can tell that Princi was a much better human being because she is an elementary school teacher!!! (I LOVE HER FOR THAT!!!)

But she was NOT Dorian.

And that being said- I believe that Strasser was an utter monster. Every word. I think a former OLTL Stage Manager or something used to post here.

Charisma to spare?

Strasser was utterly dreadful as Vivian on Days.

She hasn’t been a good actress since her first run as Dorian. The so-called chemistry with Erika wasn’t all that. She had chemistry with Tuc Watkins, yes, that’s about it.

Princi’s Dorian had Viki all riled up! And if Phil Carey likes you, that’s a good sign.

No one at OLTL was thinking about Strasser until she placed that phone call. I HIGHLY doubt it was innocent as the poster above made it sound. Cause Strasser knew that Elaine was already in the role. You don’t do shady shit like that!

Robin Strasser was superb as Dorian in the 90s. Absolutely riveting. If we want to talk about the most underrated dramatic soap actress of all time, may I throw Fiona Hutchison's name into the ring.

Completely agree about Fiona.

As a whole, OLTL probably had the best set of vixens and heroines (Tina, Gabrielle, Megan, Sarah, Kate Sanders, Asian Blair, Alex, early Marty) collectively.

Jesus Christ- I have sung Fiona's praises here forEVER. I called her the TOP 10 BEST DAYTIME ACTRESS EVER. In some thread not that long ago (along with Susan Haskell as Marty). Fiona Hutchison was probably OLTL's Top 4 actress - EVER. I adore that lady.

I adore her.

R194- I agree about Strasser in the 90's, and I also believe she was an UTTER CUNT behind the scenes (there was a lot here 10+ years ago from clear "insiders')

R193- I totally believe that RS was HORRID on DAYS - as I found her horrid on OLTL in the last 5-10 years- just so over the top and empty. However, early 90's Dorian? She was amazing. (Truly) And of course I adore 80's Dorian (and all of 85-89 OLTL).

Robin Strasser deserves credit for giving Susan Lucci the model for Erica Kane with Rachel Davis Frame on Another World. It was really Robin's creativity that handed her an entire character, to say nothing of their resemblance.

I've been watching classic 80s Days of Our Lives episodes on YouTube and I'm at 1984 and Elaine Princi is playing Linda Anderson and there's this GREAT old school soap scene where she saunters into Maggie Horton 's (Suzanne Rodgers) house (Mickey and Maggie had adopted Linda's biological daughter Melissa) and she throws down her fabulous mink stole on Maggie 's couch and informs Maggie that they have unfinished business to discuss, Maggie goes off on her saying "How dare you show yourself in their town after the stuff you have done" and Elaine does this great acting choice where as Maggie reads her the riot act , she looks down and plays with her manicured finger nails as if she could care less

They don't write soap scenes like that anymore and I imagine that's how Princi played Dorian on OLTL as there seems to be no clips of her OLTL run online

R198- LINK THAT CLIP BITCH!

LINK IT!

R198-Never been a DOOL fan- AT ALL- but I watched that amazing episode with the lady who died recently- Did she play Renee Dimera? She was utterly outstanding! Anyway, was 1983-86 Days AWESOME? It looked pretty great to me,

From videos, 1982-84 OLTL seemed dreary and dated as FUCK. It seemed lifeless and old fashioned.

I enjoyed Princi well enough - she did a decent job, but it was a no-brainer that if Strasser was available, they'd want her back.

I enjoyed Strasser when she came back and for several years after - but by somewhere after the stories when her mother and sister were on....Dorian just lost focus, and she became more shrill when played as a cougar with David Vickers.

I like Strasser a lot but I don't think Harding Lemay was wrong - she played Dorian very well but complexity and/or vulnerability was not her forte.

R201- Agreed. I enjoyed her until she was fucked by JFP-

I did not dig her as much into the new millennium- When did she return? 2003?

I love Robin Strasser, but really all female soap vixens must pay homage to Eileen Fulton's Lisa Hughes.

r203, yes, but Susan Lucci was instructed by Agnes Nixon to emulate how Robin played Rachel. And the rest is history. My point is, Robin Strasser may not have the same iconic status as Lucci, but she is the pioneer behind Erica Kane.

R200 80s DAYS from 82-88 was pretty outstanding, and hey had the former GH headwriter, Pat Falken Smith take over and she made DAYS more GH than GH itself by 83-84

Maggie DePriest than took over as headwriter and she would also headwrite AW, OLTL and AMC before the 80s ended! A busy woman

80s. DAYS is very campy, comic booky and romantic at the he same time, te nig story in 1984 episodes I'm watching is Bo and Hope traveling the world and going undercover to get the magic Prisms that Stefano Dimera wants to take over the world, and Stefano has kidnapped Tony and replaced him with his lookalike evil serial killer cousin, Andre Dimera, no one knows Tony is really Andre although Anna Dimera is starting to get suspicious

There was also a big gang war storyline between The Warriors and The Vipers, with everyone talking with a New York accent, despite the show taking place in the Midwest and filmed in LA, it was The Angel Square on OLTL storyline 10 years before!

Calliope is a campy, drag Queen hoot, this is the character that Andrea Evans should play if DAYS decides to bring Calliope Jones back, her love interest Eugene is an inventor, who built his own robot and is working on his time travel machine

Holy SHIT R205- I suspect I would have dug Days.

I vaguely remember checking it our circa 1988-89? I 100% remember Diana Colville, Drake, and the mother from Y&R- Kevin's mom?

That episode with Renee was outstanding and the show was instantly watchable.

Strasser got a cold welcome back in ‘93, especially from the crew. She was such a bitch to them whereas Princi couldn’t have been nicer to them. The summer of ‘93 brought some very hot humid weather to NYC so Strasser has the bright idea of buying some cases of popsiscles for the crew to enjoy during their hourly breaks. Most of the crew said “no thanks, cunt you’re a bitch. Don’t try to buy us off with popsicles.

R207- Why do I believe this shit?

Howie?? Is this you buddy?

Agnes wrote the bible for AMC before AW. It’s just that AW made it to the air first. Rachel and Ada were actually based off of Erica and Mona.

As for Strasser, imagine how she would feel if another actress had pulled the same stunt on her.

Strasser is known to be a perfectionist. Slee and Strasser got along because Slee recognized the importance of the Dorian/Viki relationship, especially in later years.

Slezak on Strasser: "I was constantly just floored by what Robin did. I’d think, “Okay, I can go with this. I know how Viki would react to that.” It was the most important relationship on the show, those two women. What was it between them? Working with her was always such a treat. Robin didn’t like doing scenes in a row, because she needed to check dialogue in between. I don’t like using the word “perfectionist,” but boy, is she one. She is, I think, the person I admire the most of all the actors I worked with on One Life to Live. She lived her character, from the moment she walked through the door in the morning. She would show up on stage, and I would be blown away -- everything about her was Dorian. The nails, the purse, the hair, the wardrobe -- but there was a point to it all, and it was all perfect, and that’s why she was so freaking good."

Tony Call on Strasser:

"She’s a very opinionated, strong-willed woman who wasn’t going to let anyone mess her up. She fought for everything she got. And it was amazing to me how she just gave herself to me on the stage. Whatever I brought, she’d respond -- and that made our performance. Working with Robin was the gift of my life. She’s a very, very intelligent woman, and that was an exciting part of working with her."

(both posts from Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live by Jeff Giles)

r209, yes, but the point is that Robin Strasser defined the role which Agnes originally wrote as Erica, which became Rachel, and which Lucci then modelled her character on.

Princi's contract was about to expire when they approached Strasser about returning, so technically she wasn't fired. Although I bet if Strasser had said no they would've resigned her once again (if she was willing to).

There’s a difference between being a perfectionist and being an out and out bitch to those beneath her who aren’t in front of the camera. The crew. They make you look good and help bring all that perfection to life. There was no reason, other than being a nasty bitch because she could, to treat crew members like low level beneath her citizens.

That OLTL set had many, many problems and egos. Robin was no shrinking violet, but she was hardly the worst person on that set. The list is long.

Yes, the OLTL set could be very messy. Giles book certainly did cover all of it.

GH was pretty bad also (and still can be). The AMC and especially Loving sets were largely drama free with some occasional exceptions.

*Giles book certainly didn't cover all it

Agreed- OLTL had massive egos-

It was mainly the men wasn't it?

JDP, Phil, Clint-

Strasser..

And Paul Rauch sounded utterly toxic..

That chick from Y&R who played Larry's wife for a few years (84-86?) said Paul was ALLEGEDLY utterly horrible and that the union had many complaints - ALLEGEDLY.

The Gottlieb era did away with Paul's era and it seems like that was another layer of toxicity that set in.

OLTL sounded like it had a really bonded cast in the 77-83 timeframe. I think Judith Light had said alot of things to that effect-

When the ABC lineup became so big in the 80s all those shows, GH, OLTL, and AMC all got a case of the big head. OLTL was nasty. AMC had problems. GH was an ego driven coke den. Since this is about OLTL, everybody got in the mud, not just Strasser. Like I said earlier, Strasser is no shrinking violet (and perhaps a little eccentric), but she had to be because she didn't want to get run over.

Do you think Erika Slezak survived to the final show because she was nice and sweet? No, she cut a few bitches and stood her ground along the way. You don't think she had a "chats" with Jacquie Courtney to remind her whose show she was on.

Lots of furious monitoring of Q ratings ...

Who is JDP?

R221 Max

Courtney apparently had a bad rep too-

And her boyfriend Joe Stuart

[quote]Strasser was utterly dreadful as Vivian on Days.

And Princi was absolutely dreadful as Linda on Days.

Giles' book covered more than I've ever seen anyone cover about a soap before, with the possible exception of Lemay's book about AW.

It was honest without being gossipy or hateful. We need many more books like it.

Strasser wasn't a great Vivian, but she was being written as Dorian. And Vivian is one of those characters that is so closely associated with one actress that no other actress could possibly win with that role.

Strasser wasn't bad as a witch on Passions.

Interesting. Slezak said that Linda Gottlieb wasn’t good for the show yet many fans live the Gottlieb era.

^love

I agree with Slezak for the most part.

Is so utterly boring.. Mostly.

Dorian and Viki felt played out by the end. Prefer the rivalries of Nora and Lindsay or even Blair and Tea. Of course the frenemy dynamic of Tina and Gabrielle!

Gabrielle should have brought back from the dead when Andrea Evans returned.

[quote]You don't think she had a "chats" with Jacquie Courtney to remind her whose show she was on.

But Jacqueline Courtney WAS the star of the show in the late 70s and early 80s. While she was dating the EP, she was the bigwig, the star. It was only after Joe Stuart left to help launch Loving in early 1983 that her status fell.

Meanwhile Viki Sleastack was just a member of the ensemble. She was hardly the star, just a featured player. She was hardly the center of the show. She was someone who went on six month maternity leave and was replaced by Christine Jones who excelled in the role so much, many expected her to replace Sleastack as Viki permanently.

It was only when Paul Rauch came onboard as EP that he moved Viki to front and center and built the show around her.

I'm not sure if Viki the character was exactly a B player in the ensemble in the 70s......but R233 you are correct that Slee was not THE STAH! of OLTL until the 80s. The character had a long history but so did quite a few others.

I wonder what would have happened if Paul Rauch never showed up at OLTL, would Jacquie have remained on the show to the end?

If Viki hadn't wound up with Clint, it's not unreasonable to think she would have faded away sometime in the '80s.

Strasser apparently said very loudly in the make-up chair re Kristen Meadows “What a dumbbell. If I had to chow down on that dick of his for lunch every day I’d own half the studio by now.”

Didn't Slee do something shady re Christine Jones when it was a possibility Christine would play Viki permanently? That may have been someone's fantasy dream here or on some other soap chat board but I remember something along those lines.

[quote]I wonder what would have happened if Paul Rauch never showed up at OLTL, would Jacquie have remained on the show to the end?

Apparently, a condition of Rauch coming aboard as a producer in 1983 was that the show had to fire Jacqueline Courtney first.

But from the moment Joe Stuart left in early 1983, Pat Ashley moved to the back burner. Was barely seen. So when the show fired her six months later, it wasn't especially noticable.

In fact, I don't know if the show even gave Pat a send-off scene. It may have been that Llanview residents just started referring to Pat as having moved away.

As for whether Pat Ashley would have stayed on the show, I don't know that she was an interesting enough character to remain front and center for another 30 years.

Kristen couldn’t have been that good of a cocksucker, Mimi came and went during Rauch’s tenure. Or did he just replace her with Louise Sorel.

Sorel returned to Santa Barbara as Meadows was leaving. I wonder if they swapped stories about Rauch.

Which actresses did Paul Rauch fuck or try to fuck?

Wasn't Viki the original central character on OLTL? I remember watching the show every day in 1968 when I was home with mono, and every day it was Meredith and Larry and Viki, talking and drinking coffee in the kitchen at Llanfair. If not kitchen sink drama, it certainly counted as kitchen coffeepot drama.

I always thought a fun story would have been if Carla Gray's biological father was really Victor Lord. That would have been a hoot, but during those days Victor was an upstanding above reproach kind of guy who would have never slept with the black housekeeper.

What did Erika not like about Linda Gottlieb?

Rauch certainly tried to fuck Maeve Kinkead when they were working on AW in the 1970s.

And Maeve, to her eternal credit, was not about to chow down on Passaround Paul.

In 1980 to avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit regarding Paul Rauch's actions, P&G moved Maeve Kinkead from AW where she played Angie Perrini to GL where they created the role of Vanessa Chamberlain for her.

Erika dated Anthony Ponzini (nice italian cock) and was married once before. She got around abit.

Someone must have some dirt -- really dirt, not just gossip -- about Jean-Paul Lavoisier.

r248

you would think but crickets...

Ellen Holly was an unclaimed treasure.

R248 John Paul ate out Farah Fath’s snatch. He stuck his tongue right in there.

r250 and r251

I don't know if it translated into high ratings but I remember during the Gotlieb era every TV in college dorms and public rooms was turned onto OLTL for the gang rape and the Billy Douglass story. People stopped scheduling classes for 2pm. It really was quite something.

I think the Woleks were the last poor/working class family we ever saw on a soap.

R253- The Gang Rape storyline/and especially the trial that summer (93?) was huge. We actually all talked about it my freshman year after returning from summer. (Even male jocks!)

The only time OLTL hit #3 during Gottlieb's tenure was for a few weeks during the trial.

A big problem with OLTL was that it did not sustain any watchability for long under her reign. Malone should have plotted more like Bill Bell in my humble opinion. And I hated all of the cutesy/goofy characters.

The show was just boring. I am watching the episodes now on YouTube and most of the storylines were duds.

R255 Agreed. Despite his experience writing novels, Malone never quite got the pacing of a soap. He usually drove one story really dramatically, at the exclusion of others.

I hope that ‘Needles’ told Strassman to shove her popsicles up her twat! Perfectionist my ass.

OLTL was uneven, but had some wonderful plots and performances. One of the things OLTL did well, sometimes, was friendships. Karen Wolek and Ed Hall, going way back, for example. Dorian and a, also going way back. Although most of the relationships were marriages and family, they occasionally gave us a friendship and the conflicts and drama friendships can bring. Bo and Rex, in the more recent years.

Was Pat Ashley really the center of the soap in the late 70s / early 80s? From what I’ve read, wasn’t this the heyday of Judith Light and Karen’s high drama? I would think Karen, Ciki and Dorian were the big three with Pat more supporting. I know Jacqueline Courtney’s hire was a big deal because of her AW success, but did it really translate? Doesn’t seem like she endured.

That was supposed to be "Dorian and a," in my entry above -- R258. As for Jackie Courtney, it was a big splash when she came in as Pat Kendall, paired with George Reinholt playing Tony Lord, Viki's long forgotten illegitimate brother. The Courtney and Reinholt pairing did not take off as it had on AW. They were both limited actors and Reinholt was downright awful. The plot ended with the death of their son (believed to be the son of Pat's husband but actually the son of Tony Lord), which dovetailed with the Karen Wolek story (it was Karen's rich boyfriend who ran the boy down in a hit-and-run, leading to the reveal that Karen was secretly a hooker). [Pat's husband Paul Kendall was played by the handsome Tom Fuccello, who was later on Dallas and died young.] When the son died, the character Pat went away to mourn, which I thought was a gift to the audience because I couldn't imagine Courtney projecting the emotions associated with losing an only son. Afterwards, they renamed her Pat Ashley, she also played an identical cousin with a terrible British accent, and they tried to pair her with Bo Buchanan. It was agonizing. There was no chemistry and the pairing seemed forced. Then, she simply faded out and eventually vanished, her departure being noted with a passing on-screen remark.

This is R258 again. Somehow, Datalounge won't let me enter her name. I meant to say Dorian and E D W I N A. I hope it works this time!

I think Karen's trial was big, but I don't think that Karen was on the same level as Viki or even Pat Ashley. She had a moment that everyone remembers, but that's it. Can you name one Karen storyline outside of the trial and what lead up to it?

R261 I had the same problem when trying to post about AbFab, apparently because there is a well known troll with a similar name, any variation of that name is now verboten on DL.

Jacquie Courtney was a bust on OLTL. They TRIED to make her work but she didn’t fit in. She slept with the producer and that helped to extend her stay but overall it never worked.

R264

R264 Courtney and Reinholt joining OLTL in 1975 is the THING that jump started that show in the 70's. It was a GREAT show without them, but they got it a buzz that Slezak and Patterson could never had ignited.

Then Reinholt started pulling the same shit on OLTL that he did on AW. It kind of served them right, everybody warned them before hiring George.

Megan Gordon Harrison's death was one of the most brilliant devices in soap opera history that seamlessly transitioned a specific era of OLTL into an entirely different one. The way it incorporated flashbacks, was absolutely mesmerizing.

A Daytime TV reader's poll from 1976 has Courtney and Reinholt at #1 in their respective categories. Patterson is #4 and Slezak #6.

I suspect a lot of Steve & Alice fans did follow the actors to OLTL.

Even though that is not the official "Daytime TV" poll, that is the vastly inferior Daytime TV Stars

Kathy Glass is #8 for goodness sake.

A 1978 poll from R270's preferred source has Courtney at #2 and Slezak at #5.

You need the proper sources R271. This is a legit source. I had no idea how popular Kathy Glass was, she was so dry on The Doctors.

You can't take those polls too seriously. Some rallied for their fans to vote for them in these polls/awards via their fan clubs. Dee Hall was especially bad at it.

Seeing Jessica Tuck in that clip reminded me of how appealing she was as an actor. She played an original character -- not a typical ingenue, villain, etc. She imbued Megan with an interesting and different personality. She did both comedy and drama equally well on OLTL, and she was believable as Viki's daughter. I'm sorry she didn't stick around longer. She might have given the show more gravitas as it spun too often into caricature.

But wasn't Megan, Nicole Smith's daughter?

Jessica Tuck’s teeth annoyed me.

r276, your existence annoys me.

Fuck off, R277.

That is all.

r278, shut your fucking mouth about Jessica then, cunt.

Girls! Girls! You're both cunts!

And you can fuck off as well r280.

I loved Jessica Tuck on OLTL. So bummed went she moved on. She was perfectly cast as Viki’s daughter. I wish they would bring her back on GH.

Why did they kill off Megan? Her character’s husband had left (Joe Lando, to do Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman). Why didn’t they just send her off to be with him? She was a popular character. I know her death got Erika her third Emmy but that would have made more sense.

Why doesn’t Miss Frank bring Wanda Webb to GH? She is needed there!

Megan was the best! Liked her when she was this hurt diva like character and they gave her tons of comedy to play with it. Max and Megan! Wish she’s been on longer so we could have had more rivalries and storylines with the character - but once she met Jake it didn’t feel like there would have ever been a romance that compared to that.

Slee is just like Canary, Berman and that lot that craved The Emmy. All fucking hams.

Did someone say HAM??!?????

I was thinking about how all soaps have identities. I'm a frequent poster on the P&G threads where some of the elders post about Alice/Steve/Rachel on Another World or Guiding Light's Bauer family.

GH had Luke and Laura. DAYS was known for adventure and dove into the supernatural quite successfully. AMC had Erica Kane.

I was trying to think of OLTL's identity in a sentence or a simple phrase. The show stopped being about social commentary and the haves and the have nots early on. Later on, the show became Viki's Life to Live, but it wasn't always that way since characters like Karen, Tina, Gabrielle, and Megan eclipsed her often. The show went completely bonkers during the mid-90s when it became all about Todd, though I enjoyed much of that ride.

Our show has had so many identities that I'm hard pressed to find one. Maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much.

Any opinions on what OLTL's core identity was?

R288, you have a point to a degree, but remember that those other shows changed tone and direction, also, over the years. For me, in the end, OLTL was about the characters that lived in (or passed through) Llanview. I caught the bug of watching serials as a teen watching Dark Shadows and stuck with OLTL, on an off, through teen and college years. When VCRs came along, I could watch it after work. Occasionally, it exasperated me -- predictability is not a friend of daytime drama -- but many other times it engaged me and sometimes even entranced me. Finding the balance between comedy and drama, between drama and melodrama, between the familiar and the unexpected -- it's hard for the writers and producers, but sometimes it worked. Jennie giving back her baby after discovering the switch. Viki's multiple personalities (Jean, Princess, etc.) emerging and eventually integrating. Marty's gang rape. Billy Douglas. The later years were a roller coaster, but nothing really stuck -- no important stories were told and it was all so plot driven. Great characters like Marty and Marcy were squandered. It was more like popcorn and less like a delicious meal.

No soap really is what it was. Except, maybe B&B. That show is still pretty consistent. Young and Restless is no longer the show about young people looking to escape their demons. Most of the shows had to change to survive. GH wouldn't be here today, if it kept down the same path that it was going down pre Gloria Monty.

OLTL adapted to survive like the rest, but I agree that OLTL never really had an identity other than the soap between AMC and GH. They did crazy and over the top supernatural stuff in the 80s, but that was it. The rest was just standard fare soap opera. It was just the Buchanan show, then it was the Viki show and then it became the Todd show.

I've watched a couple of scenes concerning Jenny returning the baby, R289. Really gripping stuff. Marty's story can still make the hairs on my neck stand on in. Classic storytelling all around. Those Emmys were so well-deserved.

Adaption IS key, R290. The vibe of the 1989 episodes are so different from the later years that it's definitely like watching a different show. I also think if a show catches you or not has a lot to do with where you are in life.

When I was little, I was raised on DAYS and its adventurous supercouples and spy sagas. I've not watched seriously since Franco's murder (way back in 1998! when I was 22 years old) and I really don't miss it. I peek in sometimes, but realize that DAYS was more my mom's soap more than mine. I was a teenager in the 90s when I adopted Guiding Light, and an adult when I fell in love with One Life to Live, so those are my mainstays. I also have vast appreciation for early 90s Another World.

I think the last decade of OLTL was about the huge fight over who would get to share John McBain's bed, interspersed with Victor-Todd's tantrums, Rex's search for an identity (he literally had about five backstories) and cartoony visits from villains such as Margaret Cochran, Spencer Truman, and the show's special guest star: Mitch Laurence.

Viki Lord WAS OLTL!!

.....

Damn the lack of editing feature. Oh Dearing myself....

- "stand on in" SHOULD BE "stand on end."

- "more my mom's soap more than" SHOULD BE "more my mom's soap than mine"

I may have missed more, but those are the most egregious examples.

R294, I think I love you.

I love me too, R295!

Seriously, though, this site needs an editing feature. If it added this feature and lifted the soap ban (why must we skulk around in the shadows like criminals?) I would subscribe.

Not sure if you're the same person who just posted in another thread R296 but there is no soap ban at present.

We haven't been skulking in at least five years.

For me, OLTL means Tina and Gabrielle. They are my emblems for that show.

Andrea Evans is a terrible actress.

....

I love Strasser, but I adored Elaine Princi. It was almost an impossible assignment, to come in and replace someone as iconic as Strasser had been, and I thought Princi did very well with it.

I once saw 5 episodes of OLTL from the show's first year. It was a very modern, interesting show. Very different. It's a shame they couldn't sustain that for awhile longer.

I was the best actress in soaps.

That was me, R297. I took several years off from DL. Before I left soap threads had been banned. When I returned I thought we were still sneaking around. Had no idea that there is one asshole getting all the threads killed around the 300th post.

Looking back, R300, some of my favorite characters weren't played by what most people would consider great actors. Charisma can take a character a long way; that certain something took Lucci's Erica Kane to the top. In the 40 years she headlined AMC, she never learned to act, IMO, but she was always very watchable. To me Andrea Evans embodies the same principle.

R305 Yeah, most threads that get paywalled get that because they are so popular and of course TPTB want us all to be paying posters. But since our mentally ill troll posts a lot and then answers itself a lot, it looks like there's a lot of activity, but it's really very little outside of the demented troll.

Completely agree with a previous poster. If Kevin was allowed to be a rapist by ABC, Viki's oldest son would've been infinitely more interesting and an unknown wouldn't have come in and stole the show. It was evident the storyline was intended to prop Kevin whether in a good or bad light. But the rape victim and the ringleader absolutely (which should've been Kevin) stole the show from him. And they all won Emmys.

So Billy Douglas was meant to be Joey and Todd Manning was meant to be Kevin? Would've made great drama.

Right you are, r308. Great drama. But that's how big of a pussy daytime drama is. Just ask me. I'll tell you.

It would have been made excellent drama, but it all fairness you can understand ABC's reluctance to go there. You have to remember who is mainly watching these shows. They would have pitched a major fit if one of Viki's sons was a rapist and the other was gay. Y&R tried to do Victoria and Neil in the 90s and their audience lost their shit.

r310 didn't want Noah and Luke to kiss that NYE.

I didn't care one way or the other R311, but I did know it was stupid to make Luke gay. One, it was ATWT and two it was on CBS. There was no other way for that nothing of a storyline to turn out. CBS Daytime, the network where it's okay for cousins to fuck, but not gay guys.

I always preferred Kelly with Kevin. Nathan Fillion was great with Gina but i found her the most touching with Timothy Gibbs. I also like Gibbs' Kevin the best with Todd. He really really held their past against him and he played it well.

I wanted Timothy Gibbs inside me quite deeply.

He was the hottest Kevin, with Dan Gautier a close second.

Dan Gaultier was by far my favorite Kevin (and possibly my Top 5 actor on OLTL ever) however. I rarely watched during that Higley era as the show was just unwatchable.

Tim Gibb's was my 2nd favorite Kevin.

I have to say that despite it being plot driven, lurid, and almost exploitive (at least it exploited and destroyed some characters like Nora) I much prefer JFP's OLTL to Gottlieb's. It was very, very watchable- minus Jen Rappaport. I really loved Hickland and Laurence Lau. I could not stand the first Sam- the dude once married to Karen Allen?

JFP got the show excellent demos after the show was a ratings bomb for 7 years as well as its first Best Show Daytime Emmy nomination in many years. (It must have been17 years?) However, Gottlieb most certainly deserved it in 1994- as the show should have won the year it swept the Emmys and was not even nominated.

I loved Georgie Phillips.

Kale Browne was the first Sam. I think HBS hated him and she certainly hated the story she had to play with becoming Sam's love interest.

[quote] However, Gottlieb most certainly deserved it in 1994- as the show should have won the year it swept the Emmys and was not even nominated.

A perfect example of the kind of politics in the Emmys - Gottlieb was an outsider and would have been shunned despite the quality of the work.

[quote]Kale Browne was the first Sam. I think HBS hated him and she certainly hated the story she had to play with becoming Sam's love interest.

Then they should have replaced her.

I would love to do a thread on just who hated who in soaps. Everyone knows the famous ones, I'm more interested in the under the radar feuds. I never knew that HBS didn't like Kale Brown.

Did Kale wear an unpleasant cologne? Drink red wine and whiskey at night and not brush in the morning?

HBS is supposedly one of daytime's cuntiest of cunts.

R321 She is, but I'd almost side with her over Kale Browne, who allegedly pissed everyone in the entire studio off with his BS. He was cold and rude and thought he was the star of the show - and apparently scripts were suggestions, and he'd change lines all the time.

It was what brought her and Cat Hickland together to scheme, but then they went on to be scheming cunts together with other cast members.

You can see why a costar at her previous show slapped her.

Wasn't Cat Hickland a crazy bitch?

So but Kale was just too ugly to buy that Nora and Lyndsey were both in love with him.

Viki Sleezak says she DOES NOT believe all #MeToo Survivors

Gawd Slee pours on the ham. She wanted another Emmy like she wants 3 scoops of rocky road.

Did someone say HAM?????

[quote] I loved Georgie Phillips.

Now that Georgie's name has been mentioned, the "Mimi Torchin Ruined Soaps For Me" monologue should be starting in 3....2.....

I barely remember Georgie Philips, r328. She doesn't figure in my Mimi Torchin diatribe at all. What Mimi destroyed was the "Will Rappaport escapes the train taking him to Statesville Prison" storyline. When I saw that screaming headline at the supermarket, I realized I didn't watch that week, and I ended up never watching it again.

I was off soaps entirely for five years, until LML appeared in Genoa City.

^ I didn't need to watch

This thread appears to have been M'd - new one here

New Llanview thread.