The Diner of Love
3503 Angel Square Court
Llanview, PA  

"Nothin' Could Be Finer Than Some Lovin' In the Diner"
"There ain't no lovin' like some diner lovin', hey ho"

 

What can I get you?

Coffee's a dollar

I hope you like whip cream.

I just love the Voice of the Night. We have this special connection.

Raising A Glass to the Holden Family

 

What Was, What Is, What Should Have Been

As Al “transitions” on Monday, February 16, 2004, one of the consequences will be that the presence of the Holden Family in Llanview will effectively be erased.

For some of us long time viewers, the passing of this family into the soap opera equivalent of oblivion is significant and, although all of us acknowledge that things change and soap viewing is often about moving on, I thought it would be nice to have a thread here in The Kitchen acknowledging the Holden Family--what was and what might have been.  So following SophieSoaps’ suggestion in an earlier post, I’d like to invite everyone who’s interested to pause for a moment and symbolically raise a glass to the Holden Family.

And, if you feel like it, :heartpump2share a memory or two, or talk about what was, or talk about what might have been, or post a graphic, or suggest a song, or just give out an extra big hug or two as we start on this new journey.

Raising my glass:

Here’s to the Holden Family. I’ll always cherish the memories. ~~ Tessarae87

 


 

 

I haven't been a viewer for long but I could tell in the moments that I did see that this was a close-knit family portrayed by brilliant actors. I celebrate their scenes and the joy they brought to long-time viewers. Here. Here. -–Marcalrimi

 

 


  

What a beautiful picture of one of my favorite families on OLTL!! I've had my ups and downs with the Holden family, going from dislike to adoration throughout the years but I am going to miss them and the possibilities of what might have been (Man am I still disappointed about 2 missed opportunities of "Moxy"!)

I'm not going to walk down memory lane for long, it depresses the hell out of me further but I just wanted to say that I will miss them: Gabrielle's adoration for her son; his tender love for her & his desire to take care of her even at such a young age; Max's wanting to be a better person for his boy. And the boy himself? Ah the possibilities!

Thanks for the thread Tess...  and here's to the next regime of OLTL who will get it. That's the good thing about soaps...nothing is ever written in stone. --Whlwtcher

 

 


 

Wonderful thread, Tess, and thanks for this opportunity to pay tribute to an awesome clan! Well, what is it about those Holden men? It still amazes me how they went from men that I loathed and detested at one point, to men that I adored!

MAX HOLDEN- It seemed the man was ALWAYS scheming and was never satisfied with what he had. He met and later married Luna Moody. They had a deep, powerful love. However, Max developed a gambling addiction and ended up having an affair with Blair Kramer. That just infuriated me! I could not stand him for cheating on Luna; also, Blair was a skeezoid that used his addiction to sink her hooks into him! Anyway, that's why I loathed Max. However, throughout the years something amazing happened- Max developed a conscience! He would still scheme at times, but he would do the right thing in the end! Also, I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED how he wanted to be a better person, an example for his eldest son, Al. I also loved how he encouraged Al to tell the truth when he realized that Al was faking his paralysis to guilt Jen into marrying him. I also liked how Max seemed to have genuine affection for Asa and Renee, despite fraudulently claiming (on several occasions) to be Asa's biological son. I think some part of him really wanted to be their son, and not just because of the money! I know I'm leaving out loads of stuff, but those are the things about Max that stuck with me; that's why I miss him, but smile when I think of him.:)

AL HOLDEN- there's just not enough time, space, or words to adequately describe how I ADORE Al Holden! Yes, I did indeed loathe and detest him during his Jen obsession! Frankly, the boy scared the crap out of me. He was so ANGRY, INTENSE, MANIPULATIVE, AND INTIMIDATING! However, somehow, I started to feel sorry for him; maybe it was his willingness to let everyone think that Jen's baby was Christian's after Jen threatened to (abort the baby???) if he told her secret. Or, maybe it was him thinking he caused her to lose the baby. I'm just not sure what did it, but I know I started to root for him after he kicked Jen to the curb! However, it was every scene of the MARCAL friendship and romance that made him so endearing to me! Now, I'm not even going to attempt to describe specific scenes. We've done that countless times already, and frankly, I don't have the energy tonight. Also, I'm trying very hard to control my emotions where "Al Holden" is concerned. How many friggin' times can a person cry over the loss of a soap character and lament over what could have been? More times than I care to admit. So, I'll simply say this: I think it was his sensitive side that made him so endearing to me. If Al Holden loved you, you knew it! He'd feel it, say it, and show it! He loved his parents, siblings, friends, and his girl! If he was scared, he'd admit it. I loved how he loved, protected, and encouraged Marcie. He made huge mistakes in the past, but if ever a person learned from his mistakes, Al Holden did! NO ONE (in Llanview) was more deserving of a second chance than him. The mortal Al Holden will always hold a special place in my heart! I'm happy that his soul lives on- what a beautiful soul it is! :pinkheart

GABRIELLE- I don't know how old I was when she came to Llanview. There's a lot that I don't remember about her earlier days. I'm sure some of you can give her a better tribute than I can. My memory of her comes down to a single word- class! I just remember her as being a classy lady, who loved her son beyond words! I do recall that she and Max had some sizzling chemistry when they were paired together!:smokin


What endears her most to me is her love for Al; Oh, and her accent, Dahlings! I'll miss the shining light that was Gabrielle Medina!

MARCIE HOLDEN- WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN--- I won't even go there people, I just won't allow myself to go there! However, I will say "Thanks!" to all the Fan Fic writers who joined Al and Marcie in Holy Matrimony! Through your stories I have and/or will have the MARCAL HAPPY ENDING THAT I REALLY WANTED! And yes, oh yes, I do recall that MARCAL'S Souls are married, "always have been, always will be." However, in this instance I'm talking about a Real, Physical Wedding on Planet Earth- Mortal to Mortal! So, I toast all the beautiful, romantic MARCAL WEDDINGS that I have or will read about in your stories! You Fan Fic Writers- ALL OF YOU- ROCK!

Here's to THE HOLDENS: THANKS FOR THE LOVE, THE
LAUGHTER, THE DRAMA, AND THE

:fireworks1  --marcalmelter

 

 


 

 

I didn't start watching Max and Gabrielle until the early '90s a few months before James DePaiva left and the recast happened. It was around the time that little Al was kidnapped and Max was shot trying to save Gabrielle from a bullet, Gabrielle running away to a convent, Max going after her, etc. I stopped watching after JD left.

I had only seen a few months of story, but I always was holding out hope that Max and Gabrielle would get back together and was disappointed when it didn't go that way. They had the best chemistry!

I was a bit surprised to see that they had SORAS'd Al and thought his whole storyline with Jen was silly (what little bits I saw by accident and read about) but I thought NM was a very good actor from having seen him on ATWT.

It's disappointing they don't just leave the door open for memorable characters anymore...the finality of killing part of a soap's history off is just plain sad and a terrible thing to do to fans. -–reneerose242000

 

 


 

 

Beautiful Collage, Tess.  Adding some thoughts:

Max
From the moment he first strutted into OLTL to the last wink as he left the stage, here was a fascinating character -
one for which much potential remained and it appears squandered. I remember the Tina days, the Gabby days, the Megan days, and of course, the Luna days. And the story that might have been with Roxy.


Gabby
My feelings for her were more love-hate: loved her with Max, didn't like the way she treated Steve Holden and Marcie when she first found out Al and Marcie were dating. But she was a beautiful woman and didn't deserve to end up in a bathroom stall.


Luna
One of my favorites ever although Heaven Can Wait even had me frustrated with her. Loved her with Max; loved her as Al's step-mom. I've even enjoyed most of her ghostly appearances but not this one for the most part.


Al
Too much to say and I've said it all I think.

But will sadly lift my glass to this family! Thanks, Tess, for starting this.

DAMMIT! 
--Nancy Ge

 


 

Raising my glass…a toast to the Holden family.

Thanks for starting this, Tess.

Gabrielle: I've loved her, I've hated her, I've adored her, I've been frustrated by her... and in the end I will miss her. I was thrilled when they brought her back with Al, and frustrated that they wasted her.

The early Gabrielle/Tina scenes are some of my favorite soap moments. These two incredibly different schemers just lit up the screen. My all-time favorite is Gabrielle giving birth to Al in that cabin in Argentina with Tina there trying not to get hysterical. I remember Gabrielle holding that unusually large baby in her arms and telling him "You have a father, yes you do. And his name is Max Holden." It killed me when they showed her remembering that scene after Al had died (the first time). I've made no secret that I wanted Marcie to be carrying Al's child. I had a mental image of her holding baby Gabrielle and telling her "You have a father, and his name is Al Holden." Because I thought it would add symmetry to the story, and give us just a little bit of Al to hold on to. *sigh*

Max: A tour de force, both the actor and the character. He was complex and interesting. I secretly held out hope that he and Gabrielle would end up together, even though I did enjoy Bo and Gabrielle. There was always a spark between Max and Gabrielle. I adored Luna, and adored the way Max was with Luna. Until that unfortunate incident with Blair... HOWEVER... he was fun and interesting and charming and, deep down, he loved his children. He never shied away from the fact that he was deeply flawed, yet he had a humanity to him.

Al: I could go on and on. NM was by far my favorite Al. He really seemed to "get" him on a level the previous Al's didn't. I totally bought him as the grown-up version of the Al who looked his father in the eye and told him he was going to live with Gabrielle after she got out of prison because she needed him. Even when he was an obsessed Jen stalker, you could always sense the pain under the anger and this kept him from being irredeemable. When Al and Marcie got together, I wasn't just happy for Marcie. I was happy for Al. For so long, he got the short end of the stick. He had all this love pent up inside of him and finally, he found someone who needed it and who honestly loved him back. The absolute turning point for this character was when he chose to keep silent about being the father of Jen's baby so she wouldn't abort it. The decision that it was more important for his baby to have a chance than it was for the world to know it was his was selfless, mature, and completely Al.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and memories. Here's to the Holdens. --SophieSoaps


 

 


 

 

Raising my glass and pressing a hankie too my tear stained eyes. Seemed we have done nothing but cry this last year. The demise of something so wonderful is pure torture. True, I wasn't an early watcher to the party but I was instantly captivated by the Holdens. Loved Max with Roxy, Adored Al with Marcie, and had a soft spot for Gabby and Bo in the beginning. And even though I didn't get to actually see Max and Luna in action the story intrigued me. Soul mate's seemed to sum them up just as it does Al and Marcie. Now as the final chapter closes with Al Holden I raise a glass and toast these amazing characters and talents that gave them such life and you never know, another time and another place, memory's can return and the Holden's could be resurrected. --Gottahavemarcal

  

 


 

Hoy Polloi,

Here's to Holden on.

Tess that collage you made truly took my damn breath away. And reading everyone's tributes have brought tears to my eyes.

Not sure what I can add at this point. I too remember that baby being born in the cabin in Argentina....and I wept when they decided to bury his body there…no grave to visit, so far away and all alone. Though if we are to believe the writers, Gabrielle was taken home to be with her son.

The injustice...the White Scene…for what? Why? And then to be snuffed out next to a damn toilet??!! F.U. MM & JG & FV & BF for that. Gabby, and more importantly Fiona, deserved better, WAY better than that.

So sad all the Holden's we'll never have. Marcie. Little Gabrielle. the return of Frank & Leslie....and Max (may as well have killed him off too)

Gosh I loved Max! Even when he was being the worst fly in the ointment for my fave couple Todd and Blair back in the day. Hell I even loved him when he was lying to Renee about being her son.....because I knew he really wanted to be her son. Loved the Max and Tina days! Loved Max and Luna!

And mostly we are here to say good bye to Al Holden AGAIN. Damn, I could have sworn I mounted a campaign to save Al Holden as well as Nathaniel. So they killed Al twice basically. What great soap opera. Not.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda. I watched the Holden family from the early Max & Gabby days (even though I wasn't a huge fan of theirs) to the birth of our little guy Al, to the Max and Luna days when Al was CJ & Sarah's pal and a part of the Llanview canvas. I loved the Holden family and am saddened that the current regime just didn't GAF about them to bother saving them.

Here's to the Holden family and to all who still hold them near and dear in their hearts. -–Ladyday

 


 

Great collage, Tess --SnappyDaze 

 


 

Here's to the Holden's, they will forever live in our memories and in our hearts! Gone but NEVER forgotten! I will never understand how such a brilliant group of people who brought so much to Llanview could be wiped out in the twinkling of and eye. It certainly was not for the viewers because we all stood firmly behind them. It was just a series of missed opportunities that were never capitalized on. Much heartfelt thanks to James and Fiona for bringing such wonderful characters to life. You will be missed! I know Al will be leaving us in a matter of days which feels like ripping scab off of a old wound, but we have to look at the bright side we still have Nathaniel and Kathy to keep bringing us joy! Thanks again Holden Family for keeping us laughing and crying over the years! BRAVO --conniemae

 

 


 

 

Beautiful, Tess.  Here's to what could have been...

Max was great...I've always loved JDP and what he did with the role. And the love Max had for his son, as well as his relationships with Gabby and Luna, well, made me adore him all the more. His exit was shoddy and not the way a great character should have went out. The IIC missed the boat with that one.

Gabrielle- Lying, scheming, manipulating, loving, tender, willing to give up her life with her son...what can I say ? I think the moment I most loved her was the scene in Al's hospital room, when she had to explain to him about his liver failing and the transplant...how she told him he saved her life and she was merely returning the favor. Now I'm not a mother, but that was the most beautiful, realistic scene ever. Having her die the way she did, was a HUGE disservice, to both FH and us.

Al- I adored Al from the time NM came on the scene, even during the Jen stuff, cuz you could see Al's pain, through everything that he did, NM made him a real person. And when he fell in love with Marcie, we all fell in love with him. Saying good-bye to him twice was a punch in the stomach and this is gonna take a long, long time for me to come to terms with.

So, I raise my glass to a beautiful family that I won't soon forget, no matter what happens. -–Jezzebelle22


 

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