DRW50

It's interesting to think of the show as being badly beaten by SFT and RH, as neither of those soaps are really talked about as being big hits in that era. I guess it shows again how CBS took SFT for granted and could have done more with it. I think that Rauch and Lemay both worked best with AW because AW gave them very interesting characters and family situations and all they had to do was flesh them out. You weren't starting from scratch. It helped that people already cared about Pat or Ada or Liz or Rachel. I have an SOD writeup introducing Lovers and Friends if anyone wants to read that.

I think Mo would still do her wheeling and dealing on the stall. Michael I can see working there. Probably Shirley too. The show may want to keep a Mitchell presence so I won't be surprised if one of Ronnie or Roxie still work there sometimes. If it were me I would have Pat, Shirley, Tracey, and maybe Christian and Jodie.

Maybe it's that. And Lisa is good in a crisis, and perhaps Sabrina has Dingle relatives I really hope they keep Pat in the Vic even when they get new owners. I have missed her there.

I had some dream where Donna called Kathy up to apologize and then kept on talking and talking and Kathy hung up on her. Then Kathy was in one of the bedrooms at the Vic, near tears, trying to explain to people about Donna, only to see Donna walking towards the room with a crazy grin on her face... I will blame that on the show putting Pat back in the Vic. Not sure who to blame for the dream with Seth Snyder, Sabrina, Frannie, and Lisa Dingle running in and out of a burning building to get old movie reels...

There are rumors going around that Collinson is going to fire a bunch of younger actors because he thinks the show is too much like Hollyoaks. Sadly I wouldn't even be surprised if this is true. Anyway, Vicky Entwistle is quitting. I'm going to miss her, she is a fantastic actress and Leanne needs Janice in her life. Yet another wasted character while dross like Graeme/Tina, Nick, Michelle, Sean, and Stape keep on keeping on. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a254796/janice-battersby-to-leave-corrie.html

This is what SOD added at the end of the synopsis. AGAIN FAILURE WHY??? Originally born as the highly touted LOVERS AND FRIENDS - a birth that met with a very early death - FOR RICHER, FOR POORER bowed, with what was hoped, a totally improved version of its predecessor. In the opinion of this writer, it was a successful revamping, but bad programming (in a large part of the country it was opposite ALL MY CHILDREN) and viewer bigotry (duped once, it seems that viewers were prepared not to make the same mistake twice) denied it it s chance to strut its stuff. If it had been better situated and less plagued by the stigma of its originator, it could have succeed. It was an improvement. The major failure of LOVERS AND FRIENDS was its storyline - too draggy - a characteristic not inherited by FRFP. From the onset, FRFP's plot was a grabber. It hooked you because you instantly cared about the characters. They were real people - not cartoons - none were all bad or all good. It made you want to discover the motives for their behavior. It made you want to find out the reasons why they played their self-serving and sometimes dangerous games - games played in the theater of big business and the underworld. ...But without good acting any teleplay could have brought on the snoozies...but this definitely wasn't the case with FRFP. Sure there was some bad (stilted, wooden) acting - as on most soaps - but almost to the last cast member, the quality of the work was good. The chemistry was excellent. They played off each other with great deft and skill. FOR RICHER, FOR POORER deserved better than what it got. IT was nipped much too early in the bud. It had potential.

This is from the 12/78 SOD, which means it covers the last episodes (September 1978). FOR RICHER FOR POORER Putting two and two together, (very easy after she learns from Edith, Jason is going to be in New York) Viola now knows why Laurie developed this sudden need to go furniture shopping in the Big Apple - and she can't let her daughter do it! She has to make Laurie see that a few passionate nights with Jason is not worth the possible sacrifice of her marriage. Desmond is a good man. He could give her a life of constant love, security, and wealth. Jason could only bring her heartache. He loves only himself. Viola's motherly concern only results in a heated argument; it only results in strengthening Laurie's strong resolve to be with her lover. When Laurie comes up with something Viola can do for her, Viola hotly refuses. She says she will not accompany her to New York to be her cover. She will not help her get together with Jason. Those last words spoken rather loudly are overheard by Desmond. He comes into the room, Laurie quickly leaves, and finding herself alone with Viole confronts her. He asks her what will Laurie really be up to in New York? What did she mean when she asked her to be her cover? Not wanting to wreck her daughter's marriage, Viola comes up with a rather unbelievable explanation - one that far from quells Desmond's anxiety. Desmond then tries to get the truth from Laurie...he runs into the same wall. Laurie just replies he isn't responsible for killing her love for him. Desmond then responds she leaves him no choice but to initiate a separation. He'll pack a few things and be out of the house by nightfall. HE HAS TO KNOW! ...But even by himself, Desmond can't let matters rest. He tells his father he's going to New York. He feels with upmost certainty that whatever is responsible for wrecking his marriage will most likely be found there. Feeling very strongly that the problem couldn't possibly be with him, George is really thrown for a loop when Dr. Ballard reports the test results show that this is most certainly the case. George is responsible for Ellie not being able to conceive. George has developed a low sperm count - but it could be a temporary situation. He will begin hormonal treatments and he would like to recommend that George and Ellie go to this clinic on reproduction in Chicago. George says he isn't going to any clinic. He's not going to share this humiliating problem with strangers. George's image of himself as a man has been totally shaken. Will Ellie be able to help him through this critical time? Let's pray she does. HE CARES...HE LOVES...IN VAIN? Roy tells Connie Bill came to see him and wanted to know if it was safe for him to tell her what transpired during their marriage. He gave Bill his okay. When Bill brings the subject up, he wants Connie to be honest with him. She shouldn't play dumb. She should tell her husband the treatments have been working and she remembers everything he's reporting. If Bill loves her, he'll understand and forgive all the terrible things she did. If he lacks that compassion, he isn't worth her love. She can survive without him. She doesn't need him to prove she exists. Connie follows Roy's advice...but the end result was what she feared. She asks Bill if he loved her and he can't say the words. What she has been thinking is true, Bill only married her out of a sense of duty - and now that she is healthy he will probably leave her. She has lost him. Laurie is walking, or more to the point, gliding through the streets of New York. The avenues, sidestreets, and people dissolve into a haze as she falls prey to her dreams and starts re-experiencing the passion of the night before - recalling quite vividly the dizzying heights of desire to which she was brought. Still lost in this personal reverie, she asks the hotel's desk clerk for her key, inserts it in her lock...and then reality. There sitting in a straightback chair is Desmond. He's ice. He wants to know where she was last night. He won't let her cop out with her usual lie. Tired and weary (and not caring one bit if she hurts Desmond), Laurie confesses all. She tells this ferocious bull-like creature before her that she was with Jason - and it wasn't the first time they were together. She and Jason have been having a hot and torrid affair for many, many months. A saber plunging into his gut couldn't be any more painful. Desmond orders his wife (his slut is more the word) to quickly pack a suitcase. They're returning home to Pt. Claire. The plane ride home was wrought with a tension filled silence, but once in the security of their home, Desmond lets his emotions fly. He asks Laurie who else knew about her affair with Jason. Laurie is steel as she responds Viola and her father. Still filled with an agonizing pain, Desmond storms out of the house to pay a visit to Jason. Telling Jason he knows all about his relationship with Laurie, Desmond then lets his fury ride with one powerful left to Jason's jaw. Jason now fears all his dreams of power and glory (the presidency of Cushing and Sons) may soon go up in smoke. GOOD NEWS! Lester is with Tessa as they await the results of her test - the test done to determine whether her paralysis will be temporary or permanent. Dr. Roy White enters the room. His face breaks into a wide grin. The news is good. Tessa's paralysis is temporary. She should be walking in a few days. Lester's joy is cut short by Tessa's next words. She says as soon as she's fully recuperated she's going to head to the city where Lee has been sent. Following Roy's advice (and her own strong resolve that she wants more out of a relationship than what Bill is giving her), Connie has left Bill. She tried to make Bill understand her feelings but he couldn't. He will not allow himself to believe that this is something she really wanted to do. He has laid the blame completely on Roy's doorstep. She has fallen prey to this man's clever manipulations...and he means to find out why Roy is so interested in wrecking the marriage. Jason's callous indifference towards her sends Laurie reeling. She feels as though she's being sucked down into a deep, dark pool. She has to end this torment. She can't go on living without Jason - and she knows just what to use as a murder weapon - the bright, shiny new sports car, Jason plans to give Megan as a gift. She enters the Cushing garage, positions herself in the driver's seat, and turns on the ignition. She then tilts her head back and waits for the deadly carbon monoxide fumes to fill her lungs. It doesn't work. As Laurie drifts into unconsciousness, her head falls forward and hits the horn on the steering wheel. The subsequent piercing wail brings Amy and Austin rushing into the garage. They are in time. They bring Laurie to Megan's bedroom and a few minutes later she regains consciousness - and she's not too happy to be alive! Megan goes to comfort Laurie and Laurie spews forth all her hatred for this woman. She ends the tirade telling Megan that she and Jason have been having an affair for many, many months; in fact they were together during his last business trip in New York. Confronted by Megan, Jason can't deny the charges...Laurie meant nothing to him. Megan is cold and deaf to his words. She tells Jason their marriage is over. Jason receives another blow. He loses the presidency of Cushing and Sons. Edith appoints Austin. Bitterly, Jason tells Edith he knows why she made this decision. He won't be around to trouble them any longer. He's quitting the firm. After telling Roy good-bye, saying she's not yet ready to commit herself to a new love, Connie makes a decision about her marriage. She tells Bill she has decided not to return to him. She needs time alone. She has started becoming a person in her own right, and she likes the feeling. Bill says he understands; he won't stand in her way. They bid each other a tender farewell. Good news for the Kimballs. George's hormonal treatments have worked. Ellie thinks she might be pregnant. Connie, there to pick up Billy, hugs Ellie in joy. Megan is crushed. She's in dire need of something to cure the ache. She looks up from her typewriter and there is Bill standing by the door of her office. The love they feel is evident in their eyes. They are back where they belong. They are home.

Thanks Paul! This is the SOD summary from their 3/78 issue, I guess this must have been when they first started (Dec. 77)? EDITOR'S NOTE: "For Richer...For Poorer" is a continuation of the saga begun in "Lovers and Friends." There have been some changes, as follows: Rhett Saxton is no longer Rhett, he is now Bill. Richard Cushing, husband of Edith and father of Megan and Austin, has died. His stock brokerage house, Cushing and Sons, is now being managed by Desmond's father, Roger Hamilton. Lester Saxton has returned to the bottle. He has lost his job and his beautiful new house. He and his family are now living in a small but comfortable home in the working-class section of town. There have been two marriages. Amy Gifford, cousin of Ellie, Bill, Jason, Bentley, and Tessa Saxton, has married Austin Cushing. Laurie Brewster, long time friend of Megan Cushing, has married Desmond Hamilton. Speaking of Desmond, he has left his father's investment banking firm and is opening his own law practice. ...NOW ON TO THE STORY It is Megan and Bill's wedding day. They, and all their friends, are joyous. The Cushing house, where the service is to be held, is all abuzz with activity and happy chatter. It is a very happy time, but in a few short hours everything goes wrong. Megan calls off the wedding. She had no other choice. Just moments before the Wedding March is to begin, Megan receives a visit from Billy's childhood girlfriend and longtime live-in lover, Connie Ferguson. Connie first asks Amy to leave the room and then states the reason for her visit to Megan. She first tells Megan she's pregnant and then begs her not to marry Bill. Connie then follows the request with the asking of another favor from Megan. She pleads with Megan not to tell Bill the reason why she's canceling the wedding. She wants to be the one to tell him she's pregnant. Connie concludes the conversation by saying, in addition to Bill, Megan isn't to tell anyone else about their talk either. Being a very compassionate and sensitive woman, Megan agrees to Connie's request. Bill is now very hurt and confused. Connie certainly isn't. She's glowing. She now feels she has a chance to win Bill back. Is her pregnancy a fact or was it just a plot to break up Megan and Bill? Lester Saxton is missing. Ellie feels to blame. After all, her father vanished right after she turned him away from Bill's wedding. He was drunk. Ellie was afraid he would embarrass her in front of Edith Cushing and her very rich friends - and what Ellie wants most in life is to impress, not alienate, these people. She's very anxious to be part of this super-rich clique. Amy tells Austin about Megan's prenuptial visit from Connie. Amy says she doesn't know what Connie told his sister, but whatever it was it was harmful enough for Megan to call off the wedding. Austin tells Amy he's going to see his sister and find out exactly what Connie told her. Wanting to keep her word to Connie, Megan at first fights off all of Austin's questions...but finally the burden becomes too much to bear and she tells all. Austin then asks Megan if Bill knows yet and when she replies no, he says it's time to push Connie into action. Bill has a right to know. Very forcefully, Austin tells his sister, "I'm taking you to Connie's house, right now!" Megan's first question to Connie is, "Is it true?" Connie answers this question by pulling a prescription bottle from her purse and slamming it in Megan's hand. Megan reads the label which says the pills are for morning sickness. Megan then asks Connie how far along she is. Connie replies five months. She found out she was pregnant right after she and Bill broke up and he announced his engagement to her. Megan then asks Connie why hasn't she told Bill. Connie replies she couldn't. He's still suffering too much from Megan calling off the wedding. Megan says Bill has to know. If Connie won't tell him she will. Megan is true to her word. Right after departing from Connie's house, she heads for Bill's parents' home. She tells Bill that Connie is pregnant with his child. Bill is stunned...but he's shaken even further by Megan's next words. She says Connie's pregnancy means their relationship is over. They can never be married. She wouldn't feel right having happiness at someone else's expense. EDITH FEARS THE WORST Edith confides in her close friend, Viola Brewster, that she fears Jason Saxton will destroy Cushing and Sons. He has come very far in the short time he's been with the firm, and already is handling most of her deceased husband's old and loyal accounts. It doesn't take a prophet to deduce that that means if Jason ever leaves the firm these accounts will go with him, and Cushing and Sons will most likely fall into bankruptcy. There is a glimmer of hope though, her son Austin; but he still refuses to give up art and take his rightful place in the family firm. He has even forsaken his inheritance to pursue his artistic career. (One of the stipulations in his father's will was that he gets the money when he becomes head of Cushing and Sons, not before.) What is she to do. The firm needs Austin. Edith wishes she knew some way to get her son to change his mind. Lester has returned home. He tells his family he spent the last two nights in jail. He was arrested for drunkenness. Ellie fears this will hinder her father's chances of getting another job. Roger tells Edith he plans on leaving CUSHING AND SONS very, very soon. As executor of her late husband's estate, he gladly took over the reigns of the business, but now he's beginning to feel his own investment banking firm is starting to suffer. He's finding it more and more difficult to divide his time between two thriving businesses. He's in the process right now of doing an executive search to find a new president for CUSHING AND SONS...but things aren't going very well. Her late husband's shoes are going to be very difficult to fill. Edith then asks Roger if this shaky transitory period is giving Jason any ideas? Will he institute a power player? Roger replies the possibility does exist. Jason Saxton is one very hungry young man. Learning that her fears aren't unfounded, Edith rushes right over to Austin's apartment. She pleads with her son to return to the family business. He's the only one who can fight Jason...and this man must be stopped. He's a potential destructive force. Austin wants to be an artist, not a stockbroker, but he knows he can't sit back and watch the family business fall to ruin. Everything his father left his mother and sister is tied up in the firm. If the firm falls to pieces, so will their lives...and he can't let that happen. Austin tells Roger he'll work at the firm on a part-time basis. Amy is distressed by Austin's decision. She fears this is the beginning of the end of his artistic career. The minute he steps in the door of CUSHING AND SONS there'll be no returning to the world of art. Edith will never let that happen. She'll find some way to trap him in the firm. Austin assures his wife that will never happen. He'll never give up his painting. JASON MAKES PLANS Jason does want it all...and he definitely means to get it. He has already attained power and money (Enough for a while anyway) and now all he needs is the woman he loves. Who is this woman? It's none other than Laurie Hamilton. Jason makes plans to emmesh himself in her life. He learns she receives a stock portfolio as a wedding present from Desmond, and he doesn't waste a second rushing over to her house to make her an offer she can't refuse. Jason tells Laurie if she lets him handle her account, he'll triple the value of her portfolio. He'll make her an independently wealthy woman. He knows she wouldn't like that very much. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life depending on Desmond's money? Does she? Jason definitely has Laurie's number...and she admits so outright. She tells Jason in no uncertain terms that she wants to be rich. He can handle her account...but that's all he'll be handling. Being very worried about his daughter (he can sense Connie is hiding something from him), Ira places a call to Connie's brother Lee and asks him to come to Pt. Claire. If anyone can get the truth out of her, it'll be Lee. Ira's assumption is correct. Connie's stubborn determination to keep the truth about her pregnancy from her family is no match for Lee's strong-arm tactics. Her brother is not the sort of man from whom you keep secrets. She quickly tells him she's pregnant with Bill's baby and in the same breath begs him not to interfere. She's in full control of the situation. She doesn't need his help. She has spoken with Bill, and though he hasn't agreed to marry her (he fears their marriage would end in divorce), he has agreed to financially support her and the baby...and that means he still cares for her...that means there's still hope he'll change his mind...he will marry her. As soon as he gets over his broken engagement, he'll ask her to be his wife. It can happen any time now. Lee suggests to Connie they give Bill a push in that direction...and they have the perfect battering ram to use...Bill's love for their baby. They're going to make Bill feel that if he doesn't marry her, he may never see their child. Connie is going to go away for a few days and go through the motions of selling their child to some people involved in the black market adoption racket. When Bill gets wind of her sudden desire to give up the baby he's sure to rush right to her side and make her his wife. Connie at first balks at Lee's evil plan...but no one refuses her brother anything. What Lee wants to do...he does! She's going to get involved in a black market baby operation whether she likes it or not. JASON WINS AGAIN The lust Jason feels for Laurie is not one-sided...a fact which Jason was very sure of all along. Desmond may be fattening her bank account, but he's in no way fanning her flames. He can sense that only he, Jason, will be able to perform such a feat. Feeling so strongly about this belief, Jason is not at all surprised to see Laurie standing outside his apartment door. The initial reason for her visit is one of warning (she tells him Edith has brought Austin into the firm to win back some of the accounts he's now handling), but he can sense there's a deeper, more hungering explanation for her presence. He takes immediate steps to prove his point. After thanking Laurie for the warning, he takes her in his arms and kisses her long and hard. She doesn't fight. Jason is a very satisfied man. He now has power, money and love.

I wish they would breathe some new life into the Beale family even if Steven doesn't return. Kenny Beale hasn't been seen in over 20 years, even though he was, in the mid/late 80s, a very important character, talked about a lot, and his arrival was also fairly momentous (you had scenes of various characters like Pete and Pat checking their watches). The actor who played him has passed away but the role can easily be recast. He also has a daughter, Elizabeth, who was a bit wild and brash. She could fit into Walford (she knew Ian fairly well) and she might have children who would be in their mid or late teens. There's also Harry Beale, Lou's oldest son, who was rarely mentioned, as he was estranged from the family due to being a serious alcoholic who used to stop by the house and cause scenes. He might be dead, who knows, but he could have kids or grandkids.

Oh that's right, I always forget about Mick. And of course as Amello mentioned, the Dingles too...

Schemering's book has Sarah as Antoinette Panneck 1976-1977 and Dorothy Fielding 1977-78. Have any other soaps ever brought a family in with the entrance of one of the siblings dying? Or was that not the plan and originally there weren't supposed to be so many Dancy siblings?

I can never remember if she or Yorke brought the Moons in... I know Kirkwood brought in a lot of Hollyoaks families (McQueens, Valentines, Roys), but then that was a less established cast at the time, lots of big names leaving. I still wish they'd bite the bullet and recast Simon, recast Steven too, bring them both back. It would also be more for Pat to do. Kirkwood seems to be opening Pat up more across the canvas, so I'd like to see that continue.

Berridge also brought in the Millers. I think they could split the difference and bring in a new family with ties to the old. How about a family for Ian's old friend Kelvin Carpenter?

So it looks like in Hollyoaks Later I still have no idea why they wanted Riley to be 17. He doesn't look 17 and they aren't writing him as being in that age group.

Billie was put in the brig for not showing up for duty on time. I don't think we'll see Todd again but it would be nice. I just wonder what they will do with Whitney. Her character was damaged quite a bit early this year and then she just vanished. She's very easily dispensable. It's kind of ironic...she was brought in as the new Stacey. So was Zsa Zsa. And now you rarely see them OR Stacey.

Yes. If they'd kept Whitney's boyfriend Todd around I would have liked to have met his family. I hope Lindsey would stay if they'd ask. I know she has done a lot elsewhere but then I never thought she'd come back in the first place.

Well, we're really enjoying Corrie, aren't we. I'm about two weeks behind. Anyway, some interesting stories, I guess. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a254066/corries-gary-windass-to-go-to-war.html http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/scoop/a254090/corrie-legend-to-die-in-tram-disaster.html There are also several papers claiming that popular characters Reg Holdsworth and Curly Watts will appear in a DVD or a one-time TV episode. They wouldn't be on the Street, I guess. Reg and Curly worked together at Bettabuys, Reg was the greedy, lecherous boss. They both moved on to other plots after a year or two but they were a very popular double act.

I don't think Bianca will have another child. Some at Walford Web said they could do a story where Bianca has to go to prison for benefit fraud or for taking blame for something Whitney does. I wonder if this means that they might keep Carol around longer, if Lindsey Coulson is willing to stay. I'd like to see her have something to do. If they don't keep Carol around then I wonder if they will just have Bianca pack up the younger kids and leave for six or seven months. I can't say I am missing any of those children very much as it is... The problem with younger men on the show in recent years is they are always either thugs like Sean or teary-eyed wimps like Deano, Syed, Ryan (when he's in his sanctimonious mode), Danny, Callum. The casting for younger men was poor in Santer's time...hopefully that might change now. If it were me I would do what many have suggested and have a new family arrive, a family with three or four brothers.

Thanks so much for your insight, you help fill in so many blanks. It sounds like great stuff.

What duet partners are all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjMXg_5EcY

Were Billy and Nola ever together on the show? I remember Kim Zimmer talking about how Alec Baldwin used to massage her feet when she was pregnant.

Thanks for posting that. The stuff with Steve and Carolee sounds interesting. Was Billy always a schemer or did he become that way?

I think Matthew Robinson all but implied he would have fired them but he was afraid of their angry reaction, something about being strung up by a lamppost? For some reason I thought he only fired the grandparents. That scene makes me cringe. Steve's PMT enraged sister: He has a gun. di Marco sister: <wood shout> WHAT? </wood shout> I wonder if that PMT rage story is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Martin was hammy but I think he was a good fit at the time. He and Dan (even if Dan was poorly used, IMO) were both much more attractive and charismatic men than Phil, who was written as the big stud and the show's main man at that time. Steve added some of the camp and glamour which Eastenders was trying for at the time. After his departure I think they've tried that again with people like Scott Maslen but it's never been the same. Ugh was that a di Marco sister.

V for Vendetta