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(edited)

I have some eps from 1989 that I've never seen before. I know 1989 was a terrible yr, but I was going to check it out anyway.

The one story I was going to skip was one with Heather, Scott, and Celeste? It seems like these characters come and go, so I'm not sure it's worth my time...

Any thoughts, anyone think I'm missing something super exciting?

Edited by cleo
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Number 1 is.... Of course! I'm always surprised at how many people loved this show. But I think that just shows how antiqued the Nielsen ratings system was even back then. It was not properly showing how many people in the states watched this show. I remember people complaining about why such a low rated show won so many Emmy's. LOL, I think that they were just jealous their show hadn't won 3 Best Drama Series 3 years in a row.😊

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(edited)

Interesting list, but I think AMC and DOOL are rated too high. I think GL is better than both. I guess my list is 1. SB and 2. GL/GH. GL and GH are very different, I don't think I could say which one I liked better. But SB definitely no. 1 for me.

Havent seen the others though Dark Shadows and the Edge of Night look interesting.

Too bad we don't have a general soap discussion thread.

Edited by cleo
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On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 9:44 PM, cleo said:

Interesting list, but I think AMC and DOOL are rated too high. I think GL is better than both. I guess my list is 1. SB and 2. GL/GH. GL and GH are very different, I don't think I could say which one I liked better. But SB definitely no. 1 for me.

Havent seen the others though Dark Shadows and the Edge of Night look interesting.

Too bad we don't have a general soap discussion thread.

I watch Dark Shadows on Amazon Prime. Although, I was old enough to watch it in it's original run I didn't. I think it was on at 4 and I was probably watching Match Game. LOL!!!! Anyway, it's great to watch and old time soaps for the first time and not know what's going to happen.

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https://tvline.com/2019/08/02/santa-barbara-a-martinez-interview-cruz-eden-storyline-hated/

Santa Barbara Vet A Martinez Reveals the Cruz/Eden Plot He 'Hated,' Was 'Ashamed' of: 'I'll Never Get Over It'


By Michael Ausiello / August 2 2019, 4:22 PM PDT

 




Santa Barbara is widely considered to be one of — if not the — best soap opera that ever graced the daytime landscape. But as one of the series’ stars recently pointed out, the late, beloved NBC sudser was not immune to the occasional narrative misstep.

In a refreshingly candid Facebook Q&A, A Martinez — who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Cruz Castillo, soul mate to Marcy Walker’s Eden  — revealed that there is one Santa Barbara plot he was embarrassed to take part in.

“Pretty much the only thing I hated about [SB] — in fact I was ashamed that I did it — is when Eden came back [from the “dead”] disguised as another person to try to lead Cruz into the next stage of his life,” the actor shared of the 1991 arc that found the mentally ill Eden taking on the personality of a painter named Suzanne Collier. “She wore glasses and a [red] wig and we were supposed to pretend that Cruz would not know she she is when he danced with her. I was ashamed that I played that. I’ll never get over it. That was one of the weakest things I ever did as an actor.”


That one creative slip-up notwithstanding, Martinez stressed that he “loved” his time on the soap, which ran from 1984-1993. “You can be picky about it and look a gift horse in the mouth and all of that, but the truth is so much of the reason the [Cruz/Eden] relationship worked as well as it did was that the writers wrote us gloriously rich, sensitive [material],” he enthused. “We were so lucky. I want to be very careful not to fall prey to thinking ‘woulda-shoulda-coulda.’ We had a full meal for years. We were lucky.”

Martinez also divulged during the Q&A — which served to promote the forthcoming Santa Barbara-themed cruise — that the storyline he remains most proud of was the one that dealt with the aftermath of Eden’s rape. The landmark 1989 plot earned Santa Barbara eight Daytime Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actress for Walker. “It was a hideous thing that happened to that character,” Martinez admits, “but the way [Marcy] played it was off the charts great .”

You can watch Martinez’s full Facebook Q&A below.

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I liked the Lisa storyline but the poor resoolutionand Suzanne Collier thing broke my 14 year old heart. Once I gave up on Eden coming back I stopped watching.

The travesty with Cruz and Kelly after was worse though and I am very thankful I never saw it lol.

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So I got my hands on some 1989 eps which I've never watched. This is the first time I've seen Bunny and OMG he is my favourite secondary character. Unfortunately I think 1989 is toward the end of his time on the show. 

Actors play CC, Sophia, Julia still really bringing it. Mason as Sonny- Mason as Mason- LD seems off overall, and I'm distracted in his scenes by imagining that LD is probably thinking:

-WTF am I doing and

-how can I get out of here. 

And 1989 was indeed the year he left. 

The thing with Zack and the baby- that whole storyline from start to finish seems gross to me. 

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This story with Adriana being dead or kidnapped is beyond stupid even for a soap. They make a big deal about her birthmark when she's born. Then she is kidnapped and they find another infant who died and assumed it is Adriana. Duh she she have a birthmark? Obviously not. They dont even check? It's such a glaring plothole. Not to mention some poor person has lost a child somewhere. Not sure they ever come back to that.

I dont expect a lot of realism in soaps, but this gap just seems too much.

Mason as Sonny is also a super dumb story but man any scene between NLG and LD is still great. Say what you will about NLG but she was/is a very good actress.

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Checking into this thread after a long while . Kinda forgot it existed. 😉 

Does anyone remember when/how Julia found out that Chip was not Mason's biological son?

 
That really bothered me during that whole story line. Torri kept on throwing her son in Julia's face, saying he was the legitimate child and not a bastard/child out of wedlock. I wish Mason would have confided in Julia sooner.  I checked many YouTube vids but never saw a scene in which Julia finds out that Samantha is Mason's only biological child.  

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Ah, good times. I love how in one episode, Tori and Mason ended up at the same Lamaze class as Julia, Eden, and Cruz...you can imagine all the awkward looks flying around...

Edited by Hiyo
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7 hours ago, AllAboutEve said:

Does anyone remember when/how Julia found out that Chip was not Mason's biological son?

I assume she found out when everyone did, which I think was when Chip needed a bone marrow transplant or something? I'm not sure as I never watched those eps but I think that's how Eden found out. 

Tori was just exhausting and irritating. I blame the writers more than the actress, I mean they set her up to spoil C/E, spoil M/J and really no story or personality of her own. The lamaze class with all of them was indeed good though. 

Related to Tori it drove me nuts when Cruz (imo) raked Eden over the coals and was so unforgiving about Robert that she didn't throw Tori in his face. 

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3 hours ago, cleo said:

Related to Tori it drove me nuts when Cruz (imo) raked Eden over the coals and was so unforgiving about Robert that she didn't throw Tori in his face

Yeah, but...Tori essentially raped Cruz to conceive Chip. If I recall, he suffered some sort of head injury, hallucinated that Tori was Eden, and things went from there. Sooo...I'm rather glad Eden didn't do that.

Of course, it was the '80s, and male rape probably wasn't considered valid, but that's essentially what it was.

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It wasn't the conception of Chip that bothered me, it was the months and months of Cruz prioritizing Tori before that. Like both C and E had histories with other people. But when Robert was around I thought some of Cruz's scenes where he was criticizing and castigating Eden were over the top.

I mean I assume I was in the minority, bc I understand the fanbase was upset about Robert as well? Regardless I thought there was a clear double standard in play with Cruz and Eden when it came to Tori and Robert. And not bc of chip but the respective relationships past and present.

Edited by cleo
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10 hours ago, cleo said:

I assume she found out when everyone did, which I think was when Chip needed a bone marrow transplant or something? I'm not sure as I never watched those eps but I think that's how Eden found out. 

I think you're right. I vaguely remember a scene in a hospital waiting room with Julia and Mason.. don't think they made a big deal out of it.. it wasn't emphasized. 

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17 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Ah, good times. I love how in one episode, Tori and Mason ended up at the same Lamaze class as Julia, Eden, and Cruz...you can imagine all the awkward looks flying around...

Still watch those scenes regularly on YouTube, some great stuff there.. and all the scenes of Julia denying that Mason was the father..  and then when she broke down and told him..

Paraphrasing..

J: What if had told you..

M: Well if you had...

J: If I had then what?? 

M: Silence..

The anguished look on Mason's face.. basically wanting to say that if Julia had told him from the beginning that she was pregnant he wouldn't have married Torri. But he can't say it cause;

A. He doesn't even know if that is true, would he have chosen Julia?
B. He can't tell Julia that the reason he married Torri was basically for money and to protect Eden.

I'm hoping only B but A is a strong possibility as well... Mason had a very selfish side.

Edited by AllAboutEve
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So I am continuing with 1989 and boy does it start getting bad.

Sandra the psychic- helping Cruz. At first it was fine but the actress has gotten increasingly over the top and bug eyed. I ff her a lot.

Of course ongoing Gina and CC fighting over Brandon. I was bored of this in 1985.

Megan meh. Although Sophia's expressions when she meets her are fun.

I ff through everything Scott and Pretty Woman related.

 Michael and Laura- so so. As a child/teen watching I didn't like Michael. I have more appreciation for his character now and I would be into the story more if the actress playing Laura was better. I just don't buy she lost a son, it seems more like she lost her favourite pen or something.  But this is the only story so far where I'm not skipping parts.

Ted with some weird blonde woman. FF.

SB writers had a lot of glaring weaknesses, one of them was never really developing Ted much. 

I'm hoping it gets better when Ric and CG joins.

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https://www.soapcentral.com/gh/news/2019/1025-nancy_lee_grahn_memoir.php

General Hospital's Nancy Lee Grahn writing memoir, promises juicy tales from the soap world



Soap opera fans can look forward to a shocking, tell-all book by Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis, General Hospital; ex-Julia Wainwright, Santa Barbara; ex-Beverly Wilkes, One Life to Live), who is in the middle of writing a memoir about her love life and experiences as a soap opera actress.
General Hospital actress Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) has never been one to hold her tongue if she can help it, and it won't be any different when it comes to the juicy reveals set for her upcoming memoir.


Grahn took to social media to share that she is in the midst of writing a book about her life. And given the amount of honesty she dishes out each day on her Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages, the book will be a can't miss project that gives the real story of what it's like to be a part of the soap opera community.

"Much to tell and most of it I can't. But I am writing about it for hours at a time in my book. The good and the not so good," Grahn teases about the writing she's already started. "There are many times that I've had to hold my tongue, which as you can imagine is not an easy thing for me. Well, I won't be doing that in my book. I will tell tales about the loves of my life, and the not so much ones. I will spell out the names of the many that unconditionally helped build [my daughter] Kate and me, and misspell with enough room for you to make good educated guesses the names of the very few who pissed me off."
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On 7/22/2019 at 8:44 PM, cleo said:

Interesting list, but I think AMC and DOOL are rated too high. I think GL is better than both. I guess my list is 1. SB and 2. GL/GH. GL and GH are very different, I don't think I could say which one I liked better. But SB definitely no. 1 for me.

I would agree about GL.  Although with SB, its short run helps it out. 

On 8/4/2019 at 5:59 PM, CanaryFan98 said:

I have a vague memory of SB in the later years although it got me to discover Eric Close who went on to have a solid primetime career. I even didn't mind Bridgette Wilson(now Sampras) either.

I had very little use for Eric Close on SB.  It's one of those scenarios, though, where I really enjoyed him once he hit prime time.

In more sad death news, Roscoe Borne has passed away. I loved Robert and Kelly.  Even Robert and Eden worked as an obstacle to Eden/Cruz.  Of course I rooted for Eden and Cruz but there was something compelling about Eden and Robert.

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43 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I would agree about GL.  Although with SB, its short run helps it out. 

I had very little use for Eric Close on SB.  It's one of those scenarios, though, where I really enjoyed him once he hit prime time.

In more sad death news, Roscoe Borne has passed away. I loved Robert and Kelly.  Even Robert and Eden worked as an obstacle to Eden/Cruz.  Of course I rooted for Eden and Cruz but there was something compelling about Eden and Robert.

SB was on its last legs at that point and he played much better characters later on in PT so I get that but for me back then he was one of the few things I liked at the end.

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It's really sad seeing a lot if the SB actors pass away. I liked Robert and Eden, I wish they would have taken it further even if E and C were endgame.

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I've been watching the eps where they write Santana off, basically the story where she hit Eden with the car. I was never a Santana fan, but man the writers really did a number on her character and tbh I found it hard to watch between her being drugged by Gina, and then manipulated by Keith to confess. And then Gina and Keith just get off scott free. It's all kind of gross, and so I'm half watching it and half fast forwarding it. 

Also, apparently A Martinez in an interview said that Cruz was a terrible cop and I really do agree. Cruz doesn't notice his wife is on speed all the time? Not to mention the numerous times she's at the police station with other cops around on speed and they apparently don't notice? 

Not to mention Gina has a history of drugging people?

Not to mention Santana HERSELF not noticing something wasn't right? 

When I was a teenager someone slipped me acid at a party. It was not a pleasant experience, primarily bc I did not understand what was wrong with me. It was 24 hours later (because it takes a long time to come down) - I finally realized what had happened, although I never figured out the exact person. But trust me- I knew something was wrong. 

I love SB but there are lots of moments where I'm like- and this is why this show was cancelled and never had high ratings 

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First time Santa Barbara viewer currently making my way through 1985 episodes and I'm wondering what people who watched it when it originally aired thought about a few things (for reference I'm at the part where Channing's killer is revealed):

* What did you think of the way the show handled Santana and did you like the recast (the first one, since I realize there were two subsequent ones)? I loved Ava Lazar in the role and so far think Margaret Michaels' take is a bit... whiny. My take on the character so far is that the show kind of wrote itself into a corner because Santana is all about Brandon but it's hard to root for her because Gina's bond with Brandon is so strong and, in this case at least, Gina is very much a victim of CC's machinations when it comes to him.

* What did you think of Nick Hartley? It might just be because I'm watching, like, 3 or 4 episodes a day (while I'm, ahem, working from home) but it feels like the show is really shoving him the audience's face. It doesn't gradually weave him into the show, it just suddenly puts him everywhere. And he's waaaay too old for Robin Wright's Kelly.

* What did you think of the show's storytelling style compared to other soaps? I started watching soaps circa 1994/95, so it might be that the difference I'm seeing is the difference between eras rather than shows, but at times SB's stories almost feels more like they're told in a telenovela style in that the characters go off on these little self-contained side stories that last a couple of weeks, resolve fairly neatly, and then the characters jump into their next short term, fast unfolding story.

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2 hours ago, Steph J said:

* What did you think of the way the show handled Santana and did you like the recast (the first one, since I realize there were two subsequent ones)? I loved Ava Lazar in the role and so far think Margaret Michaels' take is a bit... whiny.

Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet where whiny Santana is concerned. Wait 'til Gina Gallego takes over.

Also, there were four actresses to play Santana: Ava Lazar, Margaret Michaels, Gina Gallego, and Wanda De Jesus.

Two actresses would play Gina: Linda Gibboney and Robin Mattson.

As you may discover? SB will have MANY recasts. Patriarch C.C. Capwell had four actors [with only three even making it to air], two actresses would play Sophia, although only Judith McConnell is seen as Sophia [long story], three Mason Capwells, four Kelly Capwells, two Ted Capwells, and a partridge in a pear tree. LOL! Eden Capwell [played by Marcy Walker] is the only Capwell family member to not be recast.

But there are many more than just the Capwells.

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(edited)
2 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet where whiny Santana is concerned. Wait 'til Gina Gallego takes over.

Oh man, really?

Today I watched the episode where Sophia realizes that she shot Channing and there's a scene where she's sitting on the floor, stunned at the realization of what she did, and Santana comes over and is all, "When I had to give up Brandon..." and it's like, girl, really?  Now is not the time to make it about you.  But it gets worse?

Edited by Steph J
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1 minute ago, Steph J said:

Oh man, really?

Today I watched the episode where Sophia realizes that she shot Channing and there's a scene where she's sitting on the floor, stunned at the realization of what she did, and Santana comes over and is all, "When I had to give up Brandon..." and it's like, girl, really?  Now is not the time to make it about you.  But it gets worse?

I don't know if "worse" is the right term. But it doesn't get much better...

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5 hours ago, Steph J said:

First time Santa Barbara viewer currently making my way through 1985 episodes and I'm wondering what people who watched it when it originally aired thought about a few things

yeah Santana is always whiny and awful. I think I liked Margaret Michaels the best- she seemed less whiny and over the top. Of course she lasted the shortest. 

Nick- I don't remember that storyline very well when he first started. I don't like Kelly and I don't rewatch her stories. I liked Kelly's storylines better in the later years -1990, 1991. Of course by then she was almost a different character. 

I don't know about the storytelling style. In general I think the Dobsons were very limited. They could do certain things very very well- the Capwells and the occasional secondary character. But they couldn't seem to build many sustainable long term characters outside of the Capwells. So they did not have the same breadth of a world that other soaps did. They also seemed to struggle with casting, as has been discussed. 

However what they did well, was excellent and it's my favourite soap. @Steph J would love to hear your thoughts as you go through. Stuff with Channing was so good. I rewatch alot but I'm on 1986 and sometimes 1989.

 

Spoilers below:

While I'm here- rewatching 1986 and the storyline with Amy. Fuck Hailey and Ted, some of the storylines on SB drove me nuts. I guess I'm cold bc she should have faced some consequences. At one point Brick is grief stricken and says to Ted- I'm your brother! And I'm like yeah Ted. He's your fucking brother.

 

 

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Dobson's were fairly good on GL...but maybe they needed someone to keep their creativity in check.  On SB..they were given free reign the first years..and that could have been why it was inconsistent 

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I think with GL the world was there, the foundation was there and so they could build on it successfully. I think starting from scratch was obviously hard.

And yeah they did need some input or help they didn't get. My understanding is a lot of fhe bad casting/revolving door was all them at least until the lockout.

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I've now watched through episode 235 (in that episode: Nick and Kelly are hiding out in a ghost town; Cruz and Eden are looking for them; Brick kidnaps Amy's doctor in order to find out where Amy's baby has been taken; and Christy goes home for her mother's birthday).

Things that I'm liking from the current plots:

*Lionel and Augusta - can't say it enough. Even though the premise of their current story is gross (Augusta was left blind after the collapse of the tunnels between the Capwell and Lockridge houses, so Lionel enlists the milkman to pretend to be an astronaut and seduce Augusta so that Lionel can sub in once the milkman gets her into bed) but it's saved by the fact that Augusta secretly gets her sight back but pretends she's still blind so that she can torture Lionel.

*Eden and Cruz, even though they're broken up right now (because she resents him for arresting Sophia for Channing's murder).

*Warren and Maggie, which is such a classical type of soap story where the conflict is internal and the result of one party's inclination towards self-sacrifice (in this case, Maggie's torn between wanting to be with Warren and wanting to stay faithful to her husband, who has been permanently mentally and physically disabled in an accident).

*Christy, even though she's still relatively new and even though I'm probably not supposed to be rooting for her in the triangle with Laken and Ted, but I can't really help it because Laken is such a drip and because Tricia Cast is such an engaging performer.

Things I'm iffy on:

*The New Stailand plot. I've read about this storyline previously, but it's even more bonkers now that I'm actually watching it unfold and Brick and Amy are such an odd choice for this type of storyline because they're such down to earth characters. That said, I do like how the writers were able to work it in so that there are threads of it present in multiple other storylines (Augusta and Julia both have pasts with Jack Lee, whose identity has been stolen by his cousin who is one of the masterminds of the plot; Kelly accidentally drifts into it, which leads to an assassin trying to kill her, then ending up dead herself at the opening of the Orient Express, and then Kelly's memory being wiped out and hiding out with Nick, which is turn leads to Eden and Cruz searching for them).

Things I'm not liking:

*Gina's pill addiction, which felt very rushed (I swear she was addicted within 2 episodes of taking her first painkiller).

*Kelly's memory being wiped out. This is in its early stages, so it might turn around, but it's bizarre to me that, 1) Kelly not only loses her memory, but also loses a basic understanding of what things are (Kelly to Nick (paraphrased): "What's this that I'm doing?" Nick: "Dancing."), and 2) that it's being treated as a light-hearted caper once she and Nick get to the ghost town.

*Everyone claims to be so concerned for Brandon, but I swear to god he's managed to almost accidentally kill himself on three separate occasions in the span of about 2 weeks worth of episodes: he runs off at an amusement park to follow a dog and gets locked in a power station and almost plummets from the catwalk; he takes Gina's pills then passes out on the Capwell roof; he finds the gun in the study right before the reenactment of Channing's murder and Rosa finds him playing with it. I know the 80s were a different time in terms of kids being left to do their own things without supervision (source: was born in the 80s), but Jesus Christ, someone keep an eye on this kid.

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I have never managed to watch New Stailand. It just seems awful. Man NLG has been stuck in some terrible stories lol. Agree Brick and Amy are down to earth, they were great characters.

I also disliked Nick and Kelly in the ghost town and found parts of it kind of squeamish. I also really liked Kelly and Joe so I never wqrmed up to her and Nick.

Kelly always ended up in stories apart from the rest of the family and usually with a man. This is why I dont like her character until the later years.

Cruz and Eden- I enjoy them a lot so I really liked their storylines from 84 through to 86. It gets more spotty after that. I thought the fallout from the Channing investigation was very realistic and in character for them.

Yeah pretty much everyone was terrible with Brandon and passing him around repeatedly would have done a ton of damage.

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1986- fall- Santana was better and less whiny once her marriage with Cruz broke up. There were some scenes with Brick...I think they played around with the idea of pairing them. I think it would have been ok.

Once Lily stopped with the bullshit she was an interesting character. Too bad she left so soon.

All I can think when I watch Tori is how much hate mail that poor woman must have got.

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Was Marcy Walker supposed to be on SB from the beginning but couldn’t due to her AMC contract? Did she leave AMC for SB or was that well after? I still remember seeing Robin Wright for the first time & thinking she was the most beautiful person in the world. I can’t believe she was only 18 years old. Simply stunning. 

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(edited)

I don't know what Walker's contract with AMC was but she did leave AMC for SB....I think she was only on AMC 2 or 3 years. I saw some of it. I think the role on SB was a step up, more of a central role even if it was on a fledgling soap but that is just speculation on my part.

ETA I mean she was on AMC for 2 or 3 yra in the 80s. Of course she went back and I think when she went back Liza was a bigger character on AMC than she originally was. But imo her best work was on SB. I think the writing at AMC was poor, imo 

 

 

Edited by cleo
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I'm back to watching 1989. Haven't seen it all. It is super awful lol.

Does anyone know when the Dobsons came back? Like when in 89?

The Sandra sex stuff with Cruz and Eden is gross and I skip most of it.

The guy playing Asher looks beyond weird with the fake blonde hair.

I wish they had utilized Michael better.

I really like Robert Barr so looking forward to him coming on the scene.

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It’s too bad they replaced Carrington Garland with Eileen Davidson. Carrington had really made the role her own & I thought she had great sisterly chemistry with Marcy Walker. Eileen is a great Ashley & Susan but was a horrible Kelly. 

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