Sam: "I love you, Amanda. I love you. I always have."
Amanda: "Why did it take you so long?"
Sam: "Because I'm a jerk."

Well, yes, you are, Sam, but Amanda loves you and so do I!

Finally!!!!! ::Does happy dance around study, bumping into desk and getting a limp like Sam's::

I'm glad they are dealing with the very real problems of their estrangement, the breakdown in trust, the class differences [the fact that Mac hates him is yet to be dealt with but I think that will go away, with some help from Rachel and Ada]. I'm also glad that they got out of those ugly jackets, especially Sam's.

Bluedevilblue, you will not want to miss the last scenes. The Mac/Rachel/Ada stuff is completely priceless! Hurry home! Your VCR is waiting, and so am I...

Samanda! The game is on!

An awesomely good week indeed. Denise Alexander was stunning throughout; I absolutely loved "Oh, that old line" during the B-O-M-B sequence, and her rage at Mary's Place afterward was even better. Plus there was Betty White ("Mackie" -- hee!) and the "I'm from New Jersey" location-shot hilarity. And I must completely agree with:



But with Philece redeemed, Julie Ann contrite for once about her big mouth (about bloody time), and minimal Dawn, who's left to snark at? Oh, right, Ming-Na! With her AW appearance, she started her chain of All-Purpose Complaining Killjoy Supporting Roles on NBC. Was she any more sympathetic as Lien on ATWT?

I finally have access to SoapNet and have been thoroughly enjoying watching AW, for some reason I completely blocked out the FauxDonna years, but what really cracked me up was the lack of cell phones, it totally cracked me up when the girls were trying to get Sam on the phone using the pay phone, complete with quarters in their hands.

Jamie has had a beeper a few times. It made me laugh when I saw how big it was.

It sure was. Grandma - HA! I just caught part of Thursday's and Friday's on the SoapNet marathon. Still have to go back and catch the whole week. But man those 2 episodes were chock full of soapy goodness. You want Mac to stop blaming Sam, TudorQueen, I'd be happy if he'd just stop blaming "Sam Fowler". His verbal tic was old when you pointed it out a month ago.



She's amazing. The look on her face when Jason tells her that he thinks Reggie killed his wife - wonderful. As I said, I haven't seen the whole week, but I'm really enjoying DA with Chris Robinson. Maybe it's all the horrible couples GH has tried to make me love recently, but the chemistry seems much better between Mary and Jason than I remember (although Mary still belongs with Vince). And ITA with TudorQueen, Reginald does love Mary in his own fucked up way. Normally, I don't like the actor who plays Reginald very much - too much incesty leering with daughters and granddaughters - but he does bring some poignancy to his scenes with Mary. But then I'm beginning to think DA just makes everyone better, even Cheryl is palatable when Mary's in the house. I can't believe how little I appreciated her Leslie on GH in the 1980s. I'm chalking that bad judgment up to youth because when I recently rewatched some old GH, there she was - wonderful.

ETA -



Hee. Just caught Ming-Na. She might be more pleasant if she didn't sleep in full makeup, including blush and eyeshadow.

I can't say I miss cell phones much when I watch, but then I long for a pre-cell phone world. The furs, however, are so old school, what with the absence of red paint and all.

General comments about this wonderful week, RKK is still the cutest thing EVER. Ada still ROCKS! And my favorite Mary quote - "That's exactly what I want, of course, is to ride to the hospital in a squad car." Hey, it's all in the delivery.

Oh, those furs. They're still going to be having those furs on the shows for at least the next five years. I don't think they go off our screens until around 1995ish. I remember I saw them when I first started watching AW.

"Hey, New York! We're Sam and Amanda! We're in love and we're pregnant!"

What more can I say. ::blissful sigh::

Oh, yeah, Cass's farewell to Kathleen was wonderful.

So, when is Amanda going to have her baby? I thought it was June of '88, so it would air sometime in May, then?

I don't know if I can handle so many soap characters acting like grownups. Nicole encouraging Cass in his struggles to get over Kathleen. Sam admitting to Amanda why opening up for him is difficult. Donna, last week, accepting responsibility for the problems with Michael and Victoria. Fortunately, we have Mitch and Felicia acting like 12-year-olds with Cass/Nicole - there was a disaster in Europe but we won't tell you until tomorrow. WTF? I do like Mitch and Felicia as a couple though.

Cass broke my heart. But where are my Cass/Kathleen flashbacks, dammit. But maybe I should be grateful since I'm sure that would have pushed me over the edge to crying. I don't need to be crying over any fictional soap character's death, especially one that I know isn't even dead. One nit to pick - I was surprised that Cass wasn't wearing his wedding ring. Is that new or has he never worn one? If he ever wore one, it seems a little early for him to have taken it off. I could see it after the cemetary scene, but not before.

Just last week I posted that RKK was the cutest thing ever, but somehow he managed to be even more adorable today. How does he do that? And if McTrash on AMC has to obsess over some man, why does it have to be Cameron Mathison and not RKK. RKK, I could understand. Of course, then I'd be stuck watching AMC, so maybe I should be grateful. And there must be something about the Fowler/Blake genes and proclaiming declarations of love out windows because I seem to recall Matthew doing a similar routine with Donna. Ah, Matt/Donna - *sigh*.

Custom, according to the Another World homepage recaps, Alli was born the week of June 8, so I'd say that will probably be May.

Who was singing that really cool version of "I Got You, Babe" while Samanda were in the toy store?

It's Mr Big! Whoa he's looking VERY good and very young. It's not long after this that he starts playing Logan on Law and Order, huh? Mmmmmm....Mmmmm...

I didn't see this particular episode, but given the time frame, UB40 and Chrissie Hynde had a top 40 remake of "I Got You Babe" in the summer of 1985. Could that have been it?

I think Alli was actually born a little later. I went on a trip shortly after (HS) graduation and didn't return until at least the 20th...and I recall watching the birth after my return. My sister had her first daughter the same week, and my niece's birthday is the 30th. It became a running joke with my family, because my niece didn't suddenly turn 16 like Alli did in 1998. That darn SORAS just won't work for us normal folk.

Nope, I went to the AWHP myself and it says Alli was born on June 6, 1988.

I wasn't paying much attention to the music, I had assumed it was the UB40/Chrissie Hynde remake. AW was good at using actual Top-40 hits. I'll double check tonight. Any excuse to swoon a little more over RKK.

ETA - yep, it's UB40/Chrissie Hynde.

This dates from the mid-1990s, but it's still funny.

Today had the Vicky I know and love. Being unforgiving and high and mighty because Michael is softening towards Donna after her little almost fling with John, while at the same time trying to get Jamie away from Lisa and never seeing the inconsistency for a moment.

I loved seeing Mac and Rachel fool around. They over 30 and they are allowed too. Wow! Denise Alexander is amazing though I agree Vince and Mary all the way. Sam and Amanda are what a young couple should be like on a soap. They aren't sickening sweet.

Go FauxDonna, it's your birthday! Michael isn't the only one who prefers FauxDonna when she has a spine. I think the key to Philece Sampler's portrayal is when Donna is being strong, she's good. Not Anna Stuart, but perfectly acceptable. When Donna's being all needy and whiny, however, she's so very Faux. While I thought the immediate lead up to the anger!sex was a little weak, the kissing itself was oddly hot. And I loved her turning on Michael about his ego - I think she was reading my mind.

Has any young actor ever portrayed first love better than RKK? It's not just that he's hot, it's his ability to get this look on his face of complete awe at the love Sam feels for Amanda. SF is doing a great job too. I loved her response to his proposal - you jerk! But when she finally accepted, did she have to call him "Sam Fowler".

I've almost become convinced that Denise Alexander could single-handedly save GH. That's how great she is. While ultimately Mary belongs with Vince, a little temptation towards Jason wouldn't be the worst thing. Then she could head over to GH and get Luke to help her go find where Helena has stowed the RealRickWebber, rescue him and take him to Laura so she can see she didn't kill him and come home. After making everything right in PC, she could swing on back to Bay City for some macking with Vince. Speaking of Vince, is it me or does the actor look older lately, like he's lost weight in his face or something? And to answer your question, TudorQueen, tv tome lists a number of 2003 television credits (Law and Order; Third Watch; The Wire) for Robert Hogan. Check out that picture of him on Batman.

What exactly did the policeman arrest Reggie's henchman for? Not that I'm complaining that for once the twisted soap opera version of the law was used to arrest a bad guy.

New day, so new post.

I'm going to have a hard time staying on the Michael/Donna reconciliation train if it means having to listen to Kale Brown sing. Step away from the guitar, Kale.

I've been liking Mitch a lot more lately. He's been giving good advice to Sam and cute with Felicia, but then he had to go and compare Mac's reaction to Sam/Amanda to his reaction to Mitch/Rachel. If Mitch had just expressed concern that Mac was upset about the pregnancy and might never accept Sam because of Mitch - I'd be good and agree. Mac's anger at Sam is real and is a threat to Samanda. But to compare that anger to Mac's finding out that Rachel lied to him about being Matthew's father and that Matthew's father was really Mitch, a man who conspired to kill him - not the same thing. Rachel's behavior when it comes to Mitch was far from exemplary, but I can't stand it when Mitch acts like his relationship with Rachel was like any other failed romance. Not to mention that no matter how angry Mac has been about anything, ever, when it comes to his family he eventually does the reasonable, rational, right thing. Note his continued employment of Mitch.

I understand the need for Cass to move on and to pair him up with someone new and I'm liking him with Nicole more than I remember, but to go from Cass says goodbye to his dead wife at her grave site to Cass and Nicole share awkward naked moment together in like a day and a half - whiplash.

Ada continues to rock the house. I love how when Jason caught her dissing him, she didn't recant or act embarrassed or awkward, she repeated it to his face. And of course Mary is still wonderful. Can that ever be said enough?

Is Wally dead? Felicia has mentioned him a few times lately but we haven't seen him. Is he already dead at this point in the show and they just haven't written it in yet?

His last appearance was in early January 1988 so we have seen the last of him.

Okay, someone reign in my Mac apologist tendencies. Am I crazy to think he's being pretty reasonable? He would hardly be the first father to wonder if his pregnant 18-year-old daughter will be happy in the long run in her shotgun marriage. It seems to me he said the right things to Sam and the confrontation with him only came because Sam overheard Mac's private discussion with Rachel. He's clearly torn between being thrilled his daughter is happy and worrying that it won't last and she'll be hurt, not unreasonable IMO. He also didn't go grab Amanda behind Sam's back - she confronted him and he admitted that he had reservations, but that he hopes Sam does make her happy. So I don't see Mac as the bad guy. At the same time, I thought Amanda handled the issue with her father well - she accepted his honesty about his feelings without overreacting. As for Sam, while I think he should've let Mac's private conversation with Rachel go - I understand having allowed himself to admit his love for Amanda, why he wants everyone to see it too. This story is just so well constructed because, IMO, no one is wrong - that kind of conflict is always so compelling. But then maybe I'm tainted by GH's pathetic need these days to assassinate one character to make another look like a hero.

One more thing, Vicky is a lying, scheming, man stealing bitch. Thank God.

Ada was just the best - AWESOME. i'd love it when she called rachel or mac on their foolishness, too! one of THE BEST characters ever. i wish i had seen more from the '70s - i always wondered how she handled beverlee mckinsey's iris.

As I recall, it was generally in ways Iris couldn't handle - Ada often refused to take her seriously and was frequently just amused by her. Not that she couldn't be fiercely protective of both Rachel and Clarice (Iris's two worst enemies), but mostly it was along the lines of "Oh, come off it, Iris!"

Yeah, screw Sonny - let's have our SoapNet Ada-licious marathon. Although it really would need some other name - for starters, I don't want to taint Ada with anything remotely connected to Sonny. Hee, I just imagined an Ada/Sonny showdown and she totally kicks his ass.

Rachel visits her mother at Mary's Place and remarks that "something's missing" in Ada's wardrobe. Ada plays it cool and tells her daughter she has no idea what Rachel's talking about. Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Sonny's hanging from the rafters, a tea towel fashioned into a serviceable noose.

Coming this Sweeps Month:
"An Ada-ty Hour Event: The Ultimate AW Marathon! An Entire Week That Will Rock The House!"

I'd so be in for that as long as it didn't have any lovin' between Ada and Aunt Liz.

man i wish i had watched it more back then. (i saw a few shows back then, but not enough to ever see beverlee's iris and ada interact.) you know, if everyone had taken ada's philosophy, iris would have been rendered powerless.


i also would have loved to see the iris/clarice scenes. by the time i came along, clarice was in larry's orbit and really wasn't interacting with the A-list players except blaine and ada (and mac and rachel on holidays and gatherings).


man i wish so bad they had saved shows from about 1975 to 1978. i'd love to see gwen parrish again!

Why, oh, why do they have to start tainting my Mary/Vince/Jason storyline by bringing in Lisa and her psychic crap. And Actor Playing Reginald - stop your incesty vibe with Philece. It's icky. Icky. Icky. And Ew!

Am I the only one hoping that Mary lets Vince help her "work at it"? Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Mac- "Liz, allow me to give you some advice that I'm giving myself."
Liz - "I know I'm going to hate this."
Mac - "Sam is Amanda's fiance. You and I are going to have to try very hard to keep an open mind about him."
Liz - "I hate this."
Mac - "It's what Amanda wants us to do."
Liz - "That's very sensible. Maddeningly sensible."

Irene Daily rocks. I'm beginning to think Ada/Liz could have been a Super Couple. Adiz? Lada? C'mon, Custom, can't you see how great they'd be? Okay, maybe not. But I wish they'd pair them up in scenes together. They'd make a great bickering, ambiguously gay duo.

I know I've said RKK is the most adorable thing ever, but Stephen Schnetzer ain't bad. Is it wrong that I find him more attractive when he's being all lonely and broody?

If that's wrong, then who among us really wants to be right?

[looks down at floor in silence] And just wait until you see the chemistry he had with Anna Stuart. If only, if only....

Yes, I really, really loved the Ada/Aunt Liz chemistry. Two really good actresses who understood their characters inside and out, as well as how their respective characters reacted to one another.

I recall some friends and I dreamed up this early fan-fic thing fashioned on the Golden Girls. Ada was the Dorothy character, telling people off and being kind of bossy. Aunt Liz would be a snootier, less sexy version of Blanche, trying to put on airs while the others put her down. Sam and Mitch's mother Loretta would be the ditzy Rose character (she will show up soon, IIRC), while Clara Hudson would be their senile Sophia type. The four ladies would end up living together and driving one another crazy--and driving AW's ratings into the 10.0's.

What, no role for Bridget?

I loved Barbara Berjer on Guiding Light, and Bridget was certainly a lovable character, but I always felt vaguely sorry for Berjer on AW because she had to do that ridiculous accent for all those years.

What? The accent wasn't real? I feel so betrayed. :-)


ETA -

I guess we have our answer about when Wallingford dies on the show. Bummer.

The Wally death stuff so far has been really good. Cass breaking down with Wally's hat.

Amanda and Sam still entertain and I love how Mac and Rachel figure into this situation. Mary getting back her memory. How great is that? I hope Vince finds out soon. I missed all of this stuff due to elementary school.

You're right, Scrumtrelescent...let's toss out Loretta (she was a klepto anyway!) and replace her with Bridget, because we have to do something to give her more screen time.

I really loved Bridget. She brought so much to the Love family (which, ironically, was in desperate need of more love) and was just a recurring character who was under-utilized. Some of my favorite AW moments through the years included Bridget. Yes, the accent wasn't real, but I still smile when I think of her way of calling the Love children "Miss Donna," "Mister Peter," etc. despite their being younger than she was. JFP might get the bad karma points for Maureen and Frankie, but IMO opinion she is on my #$%" list for Bridget.

It kills me that Bridget is such a bad liar. How did she ever last in the Love-Hudson household. And yes, Bridget is yet another reason to put JFP on a shitlist. What is that now, reason #3452 and that's just the AW list.

I cannot get over how stupid everyone is being by spreading the news that Mary is getting her memory back. They all agree that Jason was targeted for no reason and that Mary is who Reggie should have been after and then - they go announcing to everyone in crowded restaurants and elsewhere - Mary's getting her memory back. Dumbasses.

And I don't think I realized that Mary had had an affair with Reginald since I missed this part of the story (I had always assumed he had some sort of obsession for her and then stole her away). Now that I now, just let me say - EWWWWW! I lost a teeny tiny bit of my Mary love (but not my Denise Alexander love - this may be my first amnesiac gets her memory back storyline that I've ever found compelling).

Mary's maid outfit cracks me up every time. I think it's the little hat.

Today's episode was nicely balanced, and Denise Alexander was once again completely awesome. I do like the way they've used her chemistry with Chris Robinson in a different way - it's obvious these two aren't going to be a romantic couple, but that sense of knowing each other - even during her amnesia, makes for a more compelling story. I love the way she's always pressing him for the truth. Her anguish over her missing years, her growing fury at Reginald [again] for his role in it all, her combined anger and compassion towards Jason, which sometimes seems almost maternal, as if he were an unruly child who can't help himself, and then her true maternalism towards Cheryl and Scott, trying to shield them from the danger she is almost willfully entering, because the alternative - to never know the truth - is unacceptable... well, I can't say enough about her! Clearly.

I love the way 'tribute' to Wallingford is extending beyond any formal memorial service to the realistically casual way people are saying, "I can't believe he's gone... he was always nice to me... he was one of the great ones... etc". I loved the way Jamie used Wallingford's sudden death to drive a few truths home to Mac.

I'm losing some of my Mac love, temporarily. Really, can you blame Sam for not wanting to be around a possessive father-in-law who makes it clear that he can't stand you? Rachel, who has her own doubts, at least seems willing to try - this is helped, of course, by the fact that, artist-to-artist, she has her own sometimes thorny rapport with Sam. Loved, loved, loved her line about 'Cory women always give them something to talk about'!

The Dawn/AIDS plotline is driving home anew the fact that, in those days, people were remarkably ignorant, which led to fear, which led to cruelty, which led to the dark side... wait, wrong movie. No Jedi knights here... though Scott is trying to be one.

And that was Chris Noth as the guy from the school! Billed as Christopher Noth, but so recognizably him from the moment he entered!!

I pulled my old soap book from the '70s down from my bookcase and I have quite an interesting bit about Mac/Rachel. I'll probably end up typing that because the Steve/Alice/Rachel bit is REALLY long.

From "All My Afternoons" by Annie Gilbert:

Who is Mac's grandson?

Would she possibly be referring to Dennis Wheeler?

Yes, Jamie and Dennis were longtime friends.

Did anyone buy the NBC 75 years book? In the soap section, they have a picture of Jake and Paulina's wedding, and at the very right they credit the black-haired chick as Kathleen. I don't remember Kathleen having black hair, or even showing up that late in the series. In fact, that kind of looks like Brett, Colleen Dion's character. Is that who it is?

Which wedding of Jake and Paulina's? Kathleen was definitely not at their second or third wedding--if it's a girl with short black hair, then yes, that's Brett, who was a bridesmaid at their third wedding. However, I missed Jake and Paulina's first wedding (I started watching several months into the marriage and got immediately hooked) and I'm not certain Kathleen was still around then. I do know that she came back to Bay City to be with Jake after he was shot by Paulina, which is how he blackmailed Paulina into marrying him the first time. But she may or may not have left town again by the time of the wedding. She was definitely gone by the time I started watching.

Yes, it was a girl with short black hair. I thought it was Brett. Ryan was in the picture too, and someone else. I'm blanking on who the other person was.

Sounds like it was a picture of the wedding party at the third wedding, then--Ryan was Jake's best man--so that would mean the other person is most likely Amanda, since she was Paulina's maid of honor.

Yes! It was Amanda. Christine Tucci's Amanda.

I figured. That was a lovely, classy wedding--I remember wardrobe dressed all the guests in varying shades of deep blue and black, and Paulina's dress was beautiful.

Of all the later-year AW weddings, I thought Vicky and Grant's wedding, Jake and Paulina's third wedding, and Jake and Vicky's wedding were the best, looks-wise. The location for the last, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, was just spectacular, and I remember Jensen Buchanan saying that she wished she could have worn Vicky's dress at her own wedding. When AW first showed her in the dress, coming down the steps with Michael, I was just like, "wow".

That third wedding is amusing in soap fashion when you consider that the entire bride's half of the wedding party, including her mother, had slept with the groom.

So when was this third wedding? 1994?

I get those years of my early soap viewing of DAYS and AW mixed up. I thought Carly being buried alive and Sami shooting Alan's mm-hmm happened in the same month until much later, when I read and realized the latter event happened two years after the former.

Yes, I think it was in 1994. I was a junior in high school at the time and I cut class that day to watch the wedding. Hee, I always skipped school on big Jake/Paulina days. It's a good thing their trapped-in-the-wilderness reunion SL was during the summer.