Dion

All those months of scheming with Alex and (as far as I know, will find out for certain over the course of the June/July) he didn't even get an invite to go to the yacht to that damned island lol. Speaking of Alex, I've come to quite like her, even if she is rude and aggressive to everyone. She has that late 70s/early 80s glamour about her.

Yes, the only storyline that doesn't really have much to do with the hospital is Luke and Laura/ELQ/Scorpio/Cassadine stuff. The other major storylines involve a few hospital staff. I disagree actually, I think a hospital is a good setting for the everyday and not so everyday - mobs, spies and supervillains - to intersect. Where I think it goes wrong is when the show gets unbalanced in favour of the non-everyday. That being said, so far in 1981 the balance has been quite good. It's actually Heather who is driving a lot of story, more so than Luke and Laura - though that will probably change as I head further into strike territory. Thanks Franko! I'm enjoying this and am glad you're really enjoying this too. It seems episodes through to early 1984 are available on Youtube (and then 1986 to around 1989) so we'll see how long I can carry this on lol

The next few episodes, May 13, 14, 15, 18, 19 were all a mix of the German dubbed version edited with English clips so I mainly skipped those. I did skim through them and some highlights include: Rick getting his commendation (Heather managed to get out of the ceremony somehow) A new nurse Stacy, who seems interested in Noah Robert went to visit Hutch. Hutch tells Robert to check Beechers Corners. Luke turned up at the Whittakers Farm needing a place to hide, while Bobbie admits to Laura that she hasn't heard from Luke. After Laura leaves it switches back to German and Bobbie, Steve, Jessie and Audrey apparently have a conversation about the new nurses uniforms (from what I can tell skirts are being phased out in favour of Trousers/overalls but I think Anne has been wearing the newer style for months). Richard Simmons and Kathy talk to Susan at the Disco and Kathy is intrigued still intrigued by "Arnold" the admirer Susan made up to throw everyone off the scent about Alan. Bryan, Claudia, Robert and Laura come to the Disco. Laura tells Claudia she is planning to ditch Robert but Robert has all the entrances and exits covered... Then unfortunately we have to skip the next 7 episodes or so and have to pick up on May 30, 1981 (which mysteriously was a Saturday so perhaps the date is wrong and it's the 29th!) -- May 29, 1981 Luke calls Alex and tells her that he is back in town and then hangs up on her. A shifty Luke then has an extended scene with a hotel clerk at the Croydon Hotel, bribing him to keep quiet if anyone comes looking for him. He checks into the hotel. Luke later sends hand delivered telegrams to Alex, Robert and Ton.y Alex tells Edward that Luke is back in town but Edward says that the Ice Princess is gone and that they are almost financially destroyed. Alex tells Edward that they will frame Laura for stealing the $50,000 they were going to pay Luke with in order to lure Luke out into the open. Laura interrupts and Alex and Edward gush over her, telling her how valuable she is. Susan tells Alan that she has invited Alice over for tea so that she can tell her about the pregnancy and convince her that the father is "Arnold", her fictitious lover. Susan has even bought a pipe and flavoured tobacco to make Arnold seem like a real person. Meanwhile Monica and Kathy spend some time together, and Kathy is trying to look up Arnold Wellington in the phone book. Monica notes that Susan has moved and Kathy says that she will probably be able to find where she has moved to. Hutch wants to see Joe Kelly. Meanwhile, Joe meets with Rick, Lesley, Audrey and Steve and asks Rock about the nurse from the night of the accident. Rick says that he only saw glimpses of her. Joe asks Rick if the nurse could have been Heather, but as Joe explains why he thinks that, Bryan interrupts and gives them a progress report on Heather - that she has not missed a session with Dr Katz. After Bryan leaves, Joe reveals that he spoke to Shelly Vernon. Joe says that Shelly is upset that she has received a commendation that she doesn't deserve and that somebody could be impersonating her. Later, Rick asks Lesley for dinner. Lesley is excited. Alice tells Susan that she is still upset about Heather but then changes the subject. Susan tells Alice about her married lover "Arnold Wellington" and that she is carrying Arnold's child. Meanwhile, as Monica watches approvingly, sneaky Kathy rings up the Disco pretending to be from Wyndhams Department store and finds out the location of Susan's cottage. Monica and Kathy realise that the address is close by and wonder if they can see Susan's cottage through the telescope. Before they can take a look, Alan interrupts. Laura is present at ELQ when Alex receives her telegram from Luke. Laura then tells Alex and Edward that she needs to look in a certain drawer to find certain files but it is really a ruse to see if the $50,000 Edward and Alex have earmarked for Luke is still in the drawer. Seeing the cash confirms to Laura that Alex has not seen Luke. Alex hurries Laura out the door to get lunch so she won't be there when Luke calls. Luke calls and demands Alex meet her at the Versailles Room. Alex fumes to Edward but then Laura comes back and says that Alex and Edward never told her their lunch orders. She leaves again to get Alex and Edward turkey sandwiches. Alex and Edward realise that Laura has not seen Luke and that Laura seeing the cash in the drawer plays into their hands. They both agree that if Luke wants more money then they will go ahead with their plan to frame Laura. Luke meets with Alex and the two make a toast to the Ice Princess. -- June 1, 1981 Lesley tells Alice that she is going out for dinner tonight. Alice wants to make the cheese things that Tony likes but Lesley reveals that she is going out with Rick, not Tony. Alice seems amused by this and also that Lesley's statement that she still plans to go on seeing Tony. Later Alice tells Rick that she is glad to see him and thanks him for helping Heather. Alice then tells Rick and Lesley that Susan is pregnant. Robert and Tony are together when Tony receives his telegram from Luke. Robert shows Tony that he has an identical telegram. Robert and Tony listen to a recording from a bug on ELQ's phone lines and learn that Luke and Alex are meeting at the Versailles Room. Luke plays a game of cat and mouse with Alex over dinner. He wants to know the truth about the Ice Princess. Alex figures out that Luke has been talking to Robert. Luke tells Alex that he wants more than money - he wants dignity, honour and truth. Luke warns Alex that the ELQ phone lines are bugged as he continues to toy with Alex. An angry Alex says that she knows Luke's Achilles heel. Luke denies that he has one and leaves. Alex phones Edward to warn him that Luke has double crossed them and that ELQ is bugged. Alex quickly finishes the call when Tony and Robert arrive. Alex tells them that the party's over and that Luke has gone. Monica questions Edward about the statue (the Ice Princess) but Edward storms off. Alan also evades her questions. Alan goes to visit Susan. Susan tells Alan that Alice believed her and that Alice is probably spreading it all over town by now. At Jessie's apartment, Bobbie waits for Noah and Jessie notes that Bobbie is quite anxious. Ruby arrives with a stack of library books about Mozart and Beethoven. Ruby tells Bobbie and Jessie that she learned a lot about Mozart herself, including his full name and that he died young. Bobbie confesses to Ruby and Jessie that she told Noah that she was a fan of classical music, so he invited her to a concert. Just then, Steve and Jeremy arrive - Jeremy has also brought a bunch of music appreciation books! Steve and Jeremy end up quizzing Bobbie on classical music. After Steve and Jeremy have gone, Ruby asks Bobbie who the composer was that had a problem with his ears. Bobbie says Van Gogh (lol) but Ruby says that Van Gogh was a painter and the answer is Beethoven, because he was deaf. Hutch meets with Joe and tells him that he has decided to co-operate with the Federal taskforce so he can cause as much damage as he can before he is inevitably taken out. Alice feels like she has spoiled Rick and Lesley's evening by telling them about Susan's pregnancy but Rick and Lesley insist that she hasn't and get Alice to tell them what she knows. Alice tells Rick and Lesley that a man named Arnold is the father and that Susan wants to raise the baby as a single woman. Alan is worried that Susan will have to give birth and raise the baby on her own. He promises that when the time comes he will tell their son (or daughter, but Alan is sure that it is a boy) who his father is. Meanwhile, Monica talks to Edward and mentions that Alan has been doing a lot of exercise lately. Monica eventually comes right out and asks Edward if Alan is seeing another woman. Edward says that it is of no interest to him and adds that it is probably no longer Monica's concern either. Rick and Lesley have dinner at what appears to be an Italian restuarant (named Gino's according to a youtube comment). Rick tells Lesley that he is pleased that Lesley is an independent woman now. Rick hopes that their "first date" won't be their last and the two tease each other about Lesley's suitors, particularly Tony Castle. Tony tells two of his men that while he has reaffirmed his partnership with Robert, he doesn't believe that Robert will stand by it and that Robert is expendable. Albert one of Tony's men reminds Alex that Robert disappeared for a year and Tony says that Robert can disappear again, and this time permanently. Just then, two more of Cassadine's men reveal that Luke is registered at the Croydon Hotel. Tony sends his men to go get Luke. O'Reilly and Robert meet at the docks. Robert tells her that they have to find Luke before Cassadine does, otherwise Luke will be dead. O'Reilly tells Robert that Luke is at the Croydon and she will deliver him to Robert.

It was partly caused by witnessing Ryan and Nina, but also her own first time with Ryan (which took place before Ryan met Nina) which was quite traumatic for her. She slept with Ryan without being fully aware of what she was getting herself into. Later, when Ashley found out and took her to a doctor, Victoria was left feeling humiliated when she realised that she didn't know whether Ryan had used protection or not and that she would have to undergo a year of testing before she was in the clear for HIV etc.

May 11, 1981 Robert finds O'Reilly in the mummy case, Luke has pushed her in there after turning out the lights. Tony asks Laura if she knows anything. Robert and O'Reilly figure out that Luke went down the dumbwaiter and out the kitchen window. While Lila and Dan are distressed about the theft of the Ice Princess, Alex and Edward are delighted. Steve calls the Ice Princess "a piece of coal on a pedestal" and wonders who would want to steal it. Tony confronts Alex about the theft and she threatens to scream. When Alex leaves, Tony is cordial to her again but tells Robert he has someone following Alex. Rick thinks Luke stole the statue and Tony tells Laura that he hopes that Luke won't destroy it. Anne is still unnevered by Heather's presence at the auction. Later Joe accompanies Jeremy and Anne home to the Hardy house. Joe tells Anne that she has to stop letting Heather get to her. Joe also says that he will have to spend a lot of time with Heather in order to expose her as Diana's killer. When he gets home, Alan rings Susan. Susan says she didn't feel up to going to the auction. Alan tells Susan he's in a mexican standoff with Alex and then asks if he can come over. Monica comes down the stairs just after Alan has left and looks for him. At Susan's cottage, Alan admits that he is worried that Alex's schemes will mean that he won't be able to make sure that Susan and the baby are financially secure. Monica attempts to find out Susan's phone number but is unsuccessful. Edward and Lila arrive home and Lila is thrilled that the auction was a success, despite the theft. Edward speaks to Alex, who tells him that she plans to make a big show of undressing in front of the window so that the men that Tony has sent to tail her think she has gone to bed. After Edward has gone, Alex does as she had planned and Cassadine's men watch her undressing, remarking that they are in for a long night. Rose and Bert talk at Kellys. Rick and Heather arrive and tell Rose and Bert about the theft. Heather asks Bert how the Diana Taylor case is going. Bert compares it to a jigsaw puzzle and tells Heather that they never close the books on a murder case. Rick says that writing Anne's name in blood was the work of a disturbed individual but Heather disagrees (lol). Bert and Rick then talk about the 3 car accident that also happened the night Diana was killed. Rick mentions that he'll be getting his commendation in the morning. Lesley phones Laura to check up on her and then chats to Tony about Luke and Laura. Meanwhile Laura waits for Luke but it is Robert who arrives. Robert warns Laura that Luke is a dead man if he shows his face anywhere in Port Charles. Alex comes down the stairs just as Alan comes home from Susan. She hides from Alan and Monica...then unfortunately the video abruptly ends with most of the final scene of the episode missing lol -- May 12, 1981 The next day, Edward tries to phone Luke but he is not at home. Alan wonders why Edward is trying to call Luke at the crack of dawn and says that Alex is not at home. Meanwhile Alex waits for Luke but it is Tony who turns up. The two have a highly charged conversation, with Tony eventually grabbing Alex's purse and finding the money Alex was intending to pay Luke with. Tony says that Luke probably wants more money. Laura is worried about Luke and goes to his apartment, but she is confronted by Cassadine's men who are also waiting for Luke. Laura heads back to her apartment, rings up Edward, telling him that Luke is missing and that there are two men outside Luke's apartment. Edward brushes off her concerns but Alan who has overheard the conversation, notes that Edward is in a panic over Luke Spencer. Meanwhile Laura calls Lesley and tells her that she is worried about Luke. Robert and O'Reilly try to figure out where Luke is gone, ruling out Laura, Bobbie, Ruby and Alex as people who Luke would have gone to. Robert decides to talk to Hutch about Luke while sending O'Reilly to find James Duvall. After O"Reilly leaves, Robert enters his secret spy room to have a conversation (with the WSB). The WSB order Robert to kill Luke if necessary. Laura tells Lesley that Luke stole the statue for Alex and that Robert told her that Luke could be in danger. Lesley offers to ask Tony about the statue. Laura tells Lesley that she is committed to Luke in the same way that Lesley still loves Rick, but Lesley is still uncertain. Alex tells Edward that Luke didn't show up for their meeting, but Tony Cassadine did and suggested that Luke has sold them out. Alan interrupts and wants to know what is going on, Alan tells Edward that Alex has been blackmailing him and that he has been having an affair, which Edward already knew about. Alan also reveals that he has figured out that they have offered Luke $50,000 to steal the statue. After Alan has gone, Edward compares Alex to Tracy, says that only Q men will inherit the Q legacy and that Alan is finally coming of age and embracing his heritage. Edward then tells Alex that Laura called him. Later, Edward and Alex tell Alan that the Ice Princess is really a diamond that Alex spray-painted black. Dan tells Jessie about the auction. Jessie tells Dan that the rumour around GH is that Luke stole it. Tony interrupts their conversation and Jessie asks him why the statue is so valuable. Tony says that it is in the eye of the beholder. Lesley turns up and goes with Tony to the cafeteria. Tony tells Lesley that Laura seemed distressed at the auction and Lesley confirms that and asks why Tony wanted the statue so badly. He comes up with a lame excuse about liking modern art. Tony then gets a call from one of his men and tells Lesley that he has to go. Robert visits Laura and again tells Laura that Luke is in danger, but won't give her the full details. Laura is angry and storms out of her own apartment.

May 7, 1981 Luke didn't believe Robert because Robert refused to go into further details about the true importance of the Ice Princess. Robert warned him not to give the Ice Princess to Alex. Lila is amused when Dan reveals he knows Robert from ages ago. Luke sneaks off and puts an out of order sign on the dumbwaiter. Luke tells Robert that he is engaged to Laura. Robert ignores Laura when she attempts to apologise for ditching him at Joe's party. James visits Alex at ELQ and curses the day he ever came up with the formula. James has a copy of the formula himself but Alex still wants the formula on the Ice Princess in order to have a monopoly control of the formula. Alex promises James that they'll run off to Jamaica once they have the Ice Princess. Alan and Susan worry about Alex. Later, Monica learns that Jessie won't be going to the auction. Monica offers to give Noah a ride to the auction. While they are waiting for Noah, Alan updates Monica about Alex's activities in ELQ but says he wants to give Alex more time. Monica asks Alan if Alex has any ammunition on them but Noah interrupts before he can answer. Steve, Audrey, Anne, Jeremy and Joe show up for the auction. Jeremy has a painting in the auction. Amy, Bryan, Claudia, Kathy and Richard Simmons also turn up for the auction. Lila talks to Steve and Audrey and thanks Steve for the shopping bags but Steve says he doesn't know where they came from, Ruby interrupts them to compliment Lila about the auction. Lesley introduces Tony Cassadine Castle to Lila and Alex. Alex makes a bit of a show about not knowing Tony but later tells Luke that Tony is Anthony Cassadine. Tony asks Robert about his mysterious activities in the Panama Canal zone in 1977 (which actually seems to fit in well with the whole WSB/Anna/Robin thing). Richard Simmons tries to interest Amy and Kathy in something he wants to buy at the auction but they are too busy looking at Luke and Laura for some reason. Bryan and Claudia congratulate Laura on her engagement. Emma Lutz feels snubbed when her name is left of the auction catalogue. Emma confronts Lila who is apologetic but Emma yells at her and leaves. The auction begins and one of Tony's men goes and stands by Luke. -- May 8, 1981 Bobbie notices a man (Cassadine's man) who won't leave Luke's side, so gets Ruby to distract him while she talks to Luke. Luke still can't shake the man. Alex tells Edward that Tony Castle is Anthony Cassadine and is dating Lesley. Some men (I think it's Cassadine's men) are abducting Alex's bodygaurds and putting them in the cloak room. Edward and Alex notice that her bodyguards are missing. While Edward is getting Alex a softdrink, Tony talks to Alex. Alex is clearly jealous of Tony and Lesley. Alex introduces Tony to Edward when he returns. Lee buys something for Gail, while Dan buys something for Ruby. Jeremy's painting goes to Steve for $75. Richard Simmons gets the item he wanted for $350. Bryan thinks Claudia is nuts when she buys something for $100 Rick takes Heather to the auction. Laura introduces Heather to Robert (they remember each other from Joe's party) and Lesley introduces Heather to Tony. Jeremy and Anne are unnerved by Heather's presence. Bobbie stands by the man following Luke around at the auction and screams claiming that he made a pass at her. Noah is ready to attack the guy and Lila screams "HOW DARE YOU!" at the guy. In the commotion, Amy, Bryan, Claudia, Kathy and Richard Simmons leave for the Disco. Cassadine's man is kicked out, much to Tony's dismay. Monica and Alan discuss Alex and then talk to Lee and Gail about what happened with Bobbie. Robert's agent Dobson takes over as the relief cashier. As the auction for the Ice Princess gets closer, Robert buys an item and O'Reilly comes to chat with Luke and won't leave his side. Luke gets suspicious when Laura chats with him and O'Reilly and mentions that O'Reilly was around during the preparations. Laura goes to get softdrink for Luke and then Luke tells Laura to go sit with her mother. As the Ice Princess comes up for auction, Luke pours the softdrink on O'Reilly. The softdrink also gets on the mummy case so Luke starts wiping the sarcophagus with a cloth. He then reaches behind to the main switch and turns the lights off...when the lights come back on the Ice Princess is gone!

I had a feeling that it wasn't Wayne's decision but wasn't quite sure. In any case, Roman was doomed the minute Marlena stepped onto that plane...no scratch that - he was doomed the moment Isabella was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I haven't really watched any of this period in depth, but it always struck me as a little bit odd that Doug and Julie would be so opposed to Hope's romance with Bo given their own history.

Other posters would definitely know better than I would but I think it's a bit more complicated with Mickey and Maggie. Suzanne Rogers was facing health problems (Myasthenia Gravis) and left the show for about a year during the period Melissa was becoming prominent. Mickey and Maggie had also been separated for a while (he'd been presumed dead thanks to Stefano and Maggie had gotten together with Don Craig during his absence) so there was a reunion story they could play out upon Maggie's return (though that included Maggie's rape by a serial rapist who it turned out was Melissa's former parole officer and obsessed with Melissa). By the time Mickey and Maggie were truly backburned, Melissa's importance on the show was also waning and she eventually ended up an ancillary character in the Steve/Kayla/Jack triangle. hmmm, yeah I think that's true actually. But I guess my point is is that Reilly spent two years building a history for John and Kristen that would at least make it plausible that he'd settle for her if he thought Marlena was unavailable before going full steam ahead with Kristen as the antagonist.

@KMan101 Pretty much, yes. I wouldn't want either of them to go though.

That's the one. And I think there were actually three Whitneys lol, the last one left just as the show was preparing to bring back Marlena. I think it was known that Wayne Northrop would not stay post 1994 so I'm guessing (with Isabella now dead) the show was looking for John to be paired with somebody that would rival his pairing with Marlena. This new pairing would delay John and Marlena getting back together for as long as possible. For whatever reason, Rebecca didn't work out as John's new love but then Eileen joined as Kristen and her pairing with John actually took off. Riley ended up spending roughly two years seemingly favouring John and Kristen (but always keeping Marlena there as a presence in John's life, particularly during the posession) before finally moving full steam ahead with John and Marlena post-Aremid.

Joe Kelly (who also lives at Kellys since he and Rose own it) found Heather lurking around Kellys early in the morning. Rick came in and learned about Heather's injury at the party. Joe then got called away to Forest Hills to meet Sarah who had suffered a setback. Sarah incoherently mumbled something about a gun but after becoming lucid, told Joe that she didn't know what he was talking about. After Joe left, Sarah went to where she had hidden the gun and wiped her fingerprints off it. Luke and Laura got passionate after returning from the Versailles Room, but stopped short of making love. Luke then asked Laura to marry him and she accepted. The two went to Kellys and told Rick the news who reluctantly accepted it. Robert and O"Reilly came up with their own plans for stealing the Ice Princess, which involved switching an item that Robert bought from the auction with the Ice Princess using identical tote bags ostensibly sent from GH. When the tote bags arrived at the auction hall, Lila thanked Dan, but Dan had no idea where they came from and wondered who on earth would organise such an expense! Laura told Lesley and Bobbie about the engagement at the auction hall. Bobbie seemed happy for Laura, as did Lesley. Laura saw O"Reilly trying to case the auction hall. Rose asked Bert if his ulcer was acting up again as Bert updated her on what was going on with the Diana Taylor case. Bert asked Rose out for dinner (in a sweet way, not sleazy at all) and she accepted. Joe then told Bert about his visit with Sarah. Joe theorises that Heather kept the gun to possibly use on Anne, but left the gun at Forest Hills. Heather went to visit Sarah and tried to learn where Sarah had hidden the gun. Joe later told Heather that Sarah had mentioned a gun to get a reaction out of Heather. Heather tries to explain Sarah's statement away by saying that Sarah imagines that her friend Edie was shot to death when in fact Edie drowned while Sarah just stood by and watched. Heather tells Joe about her reaction on learning Jeff and Anne were involved and about how her father always used to slap her as a child and that when she grew up she used her looks to get men's attention but could never compete with someone like Anne. Slick and Luke bought a (replica?) Egyptian sarcophagus (from henceforth known as the mummy case) and took it to the auction hall. Lila was quite impressed with Luke's generosity and left Luke and Slick to position it themselves, which they did in front of the main power switch. Bobbie and Lesley congratulated Luke on the engagement. Lila then told Luke, Bobbie and Lesley that she was annoyed with Alex and Edward for continually asking her about the ugly black statue (the ice princess). Bobbie later learned that Lila wants to move the mummy case to a more prominent position at the front of the hall. Lila rings up the hospital to leave a message for Steve and tells Anne about the shopping bags and the mummy case. Anne tells Jessie, Audrey and Steve about the mummy case. Steve comments that Luke should not cross Lila Quartermaine! Later Joe comes with Heather to GH for Heather's shrink appointment and sees Anne. Tony Cassadine is busy digging into Robert's past. Luke gets Edward to intervene and prevent Lila from moving the mummy case. Alan tells Monica that he's found out that ELQ is building a plant in Jamaica. Gail notes that Alan and Monica seem to be getting along better. Monica is still convinced Alan is having an affair with Susan. Later, Alan confronts Alex about the plans in Jamaica. Alex picks up the phone and rings GH and is about to tell Monica about Susan when Alan takes the phone off her and informs Monica that he is coming to pick her up for the auction. Luke demands to know from Alex what the real deal is about the Ice Princess. Later Luke finds out that Lila has changed the order of the auction and moved the mummy case from the end of the auction. Luke smooth talks Lila into moving it back to the end of the auction. Robert warns Luke that he is in over his head and cryptically warns him that the Ice Princess in the wrong hands is going to cause a whole lot of world problems.

Yes, it is really interesting how they all fit in. For example, I never knew that Amy was Heather's staunchest defender. Kathy is also an interesting character who I had never read much of before. Earlier this year, I did see a 1980 episode where Kathy was introduced as the paid companion of Heather when Heather was briefly released from Forest Hills the first time (Gail had recommended her to Lesley as she grew up in the same orphanage as Monica, which Gail stil has some involvement in). I had no idea she'd continue on the show as AJ's nanny. Monica is also quite fond of her since they have the same background and sees her as her only ally in the Q Mansion. Oh and I forgot to mention the most important part of Joe's party - we saw Jessie Brewer there, in normal clothes!

One last update for this morning since it involves the very interesting episodes of Joe's surprise party (for his admission to the bar) and lots of different characters interacting: Bobbie was jealous when she discovered Noah had asked Kathy out on a date but in the end went with Noah to a surprise party at Kellys celebrating Joe's admission to the bar. Heather was released and moved into Kellys with Rick (acting as a sort of guardian) and Rose. Heather was asked to stay upstairs in her room for Joe's party as the Hardys would be there. Joe's party got underway with most of the canvas in attendance (even Alan and Monica turned up!), Bobbie set her scarf on fire so Luke could slip out and case the auction hall again without Robert following him. Luke did a dry run of his plan to steal the Ice Princess, including climbing into the dumbwaiter and going down into the kitchen! Tony Cassadine also attended the party and Robert told him that Luke had slipped out. Claudia was mad at Amy for spending more time upstairs with Heather then downstairs at the party. Laura and Heather had a scene where Laura told Heather about being in love with Luke. After Laura left, Heather prepared to self-harm. Robert met with O"Reilly and another agent, confirming that his alliance with Tony Cassadine is a ruse. Luke returned and whisked Laura off to the Versailles room, Lesley told Robert that Laura had left so Robert got O'Reilly to monitor Luke and Laura at the restaurant. Kathy wasn't happy that Noah had blown her off to attend the party with Bobbie. Monica and Robert comforted her. Bobbie gave Joe a kiss in an obvious attempt to get a reaction out of Noah. Just then, having cut her own hand, Heather dramatically gatecrashed the party and fainted! Claudia and Amy almost had a brief spat about Heather while Heather was being treated. Alan took the opportunity that Heather's scene had caused to talk to Susan and warn her that Alex knows about the pregnancy.

@Paul Raven - thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying them 😀 @AbcNbc247 - I'd be interested in knowing that too actually. As I mentioned in my previous post, most of April was unavailable, so we pick up three weeks later. In the interim, Emma Lutz must have given the Ice Princess to Lila as Luke and Alexandria are now trying to figure out how to get it from the auction. Luke went to visit the auction hall and noticed the dumbwaiter leading down into the kitchen so is formulating a plan to smuggle the Ice Princess out that way. Meanwhile Robert and Tony have seemingly formed an alliance to get their hands on the Ice Princess themselves. O'Reilly has come to visit Robert and she has been updating him with some stories about a caper involving a snake and some emeralds, and also hints that she was involved in the Iranian hostage crisis. This is the first confirmation that I've seen that Robert is really a spy. Laura painted Luke's apartment a horrible Magenta colour. Luke and Laura are a lot closer these days and Laura is trying to find Scotty to get a divorce by placing ads in Mexican newspapers. Hutch is in prison playing on the guitar after getting 25 years (8 years with good behaviour). Bert Ramsey wants him to snitch on more mob types to hopefully be able to get out of prison a whole lot sooner. Bert later tells Luke and Laura that somebody slipped a fictional newspaper clipping about Hutch's death into his pocket as a warning. Bert sends Luke to visit Hutch. Joe Kelly has passed the bar and is now a lawyer in addition to a PI. Susan's been sending flowers to herself under the name Arnold to throw off suspicion that she is seeing Alan. The plan seems to be working, Kathy saw the flowers and the card at the Disco and reported back to Monica that Susan is seeing someone called Arnold. Monica has also demanded that Alan find out what is going on with Alex and the ELQ finances, but Alex knows that Susan is pregnant and so holds all the cards. However, a clever Alan decides to pretend to investigate ELQ but actually use that as a cover to visit Susan instead. I've been quite hard on Anne Logan in the past but the past few episodes have made me a lot more sympathetic as I have realised her actions make more sense if you view her through the prism of suffering from some sort of anxiety disorder which obviously today we know a whole lot more about than we did nearly 4 decades ago. It was possibly unintentional but it's a far more nuanced portrayal of mental health then what you get with Heather and Sarah in Forest Hills. Anne had a dream of Heather in her room pointing a gun at her and later freaked out when she saw Heather arrive at GH on day release. Heather went to visit Steve and eavesdropped on a phone coversation between him and Jeff and tried to trace the call but she was caught by Rick and Lesley. Heather threw a massive guilt trip on Rick and Lesley and pointed out that if she had a daughter who was missing and then was found but was taken away again (which is actually what happened with Laura) then Lesley would be doing everything to get her back. Heather later eavesdropped on Anne and Audrey in the nurses' locker room (Nurse Georgia actually sent Heather to the locker room to find Amy - like, do they just let anyone in there? lol). Anne later saw Heather again and after seeing her, she pretty much had a panic attack. Heather's problem is that a deputy sheriff recognised her from the car accident site and erroneously thought she was Shelly Vernon, the nurse whose car Heather stole on the night of Diana's murder. The deputy tells Heather that she will be getting a commendation for her actions. Heather realises that if she doesn't show up then people will figure out that it wasn't Shelly Vernon at the accident site. So Heather tells Dr Nelson - the most useless shrink in the world - that she now remembers trying to drug Diana with LSD. Dr Nelson says that Heather's 'breakthrough' means she will be able to be released permanently. Heather now has to figure out how to avoid Rick at the ceremony, because he will be getting a commendation too!

Coming to the end of March 1981 now... Jeff has now left Port Charles with Steven-Lars after having two separate farewells at first the Webber's and then the Hardy's. Lee and Gail attended the farewell at the Webber House, along with Luke and Laura, so it was awkward between them, but not as awkward as Heather turning up and learning Jeff was leaving. After having a moment with Steven-Lars, Jeff took Steven-Lars over to the Hardy house to say farewell to the Hardys, Joe Kelly and Jeremy Logan. Anne accompanied Jeff to the airport. Heather later tried to suck up to Steve by pointing out that Jeff had told her that he was Jeff's father and thus her father-in-law. Susan is pregnant, thus laying the foundations for Jason's domination of the show from the late 90s onwards. Monica is increasingly suspicious about Alan's behavior. Amy is still Heather's staunch defender, Lesley and Joe managed to get Amy to admit that she may have told Heather about the Anne/Jeff/Diana triangle. Richard Simmons and Bryan have noticed Amy is not herself. Joe is continuing to investigate Heather, but it's clear that he's attracted to her. There was a brief storyline where Jessie was acting coldly towards Ruby because of Dan. When Bobbie pointed her behaviour out, Jessie apologised. After Bobbie decided that she and Joe were better off as just friends, Noah Drake started working at GH and Bobbie is now determined to date him. Emma Lutz put the Ice Princess away so when Luke and Slick searched her apartment, they didn't find it. Emma is considering donating the Ice Princess to the art auction. Robert Scorpio is still competing with Luke over dating Laura. Much of April 1981 is seemingly not available, so the next update will probably pick up towards the end of April.

Hmmm, come to think of it, you're probably right. Perhaps Chris Robinson was unavailable for the shooting of those particular scenes, so they gave all of his lines to Richard Sarradet (Howard) as Howard was close to Lesley and could believably comfort the grief stricken Lesley.

Didn't that character also date Sophie Webster for a while, before she realised that she was a lesbian and in love with Sian?

I'm now mid way through March 1981 and a lot has happened! Anne thought Jeff had committed the murder and so acted like a complete moron by lying to the police about being at Diana's apartment - even though she'd actually spoken to the seamstress making the capes. Thankfully for Anne, the coroners report proved Diana was killed instantly, so Diana couldn't have written Anne's name in blood as an attempt to identify the killer. So suspicion has already started to fall on Heather. Sarah figured out that Heather drugged her and snuck out of Forest Hills to possibly kill Diana. Rick was with Lesley when they learned Diana had been killed and drove her to the apartment, but in the next episode, Rick was "somewhere around the building" (probably due to an issue with episode quotas or something), so Howard was left to comfort Lesley. Luke and Laura almost got together while Rotation by Herb Alpert was playing on the radio, but then the news cut in with reports of Diana's death. They ended up spending time babysitting PJ Steven-Lars. Tony Castle is Anthony Cassadine! What a surprise lol. Meanwhile Alex is furious at Laura for speaking to James Duvall Kurt Wheeler at the parade, and Robert overheard them. Luke's been interviewing taxi drivers to find the Ice Princess and has narrowed his search to Emma and Charlie Lutz. Most of the characters have been given a moment or two to express their feelings over Diana's death - even Richard Simmons! They all gathered for the memorial in the Hospital Chapel. Heather ended up gatecrashing the memorial after accompanying her psychiatrist to GH. Amy was the only one to defend her. Jeff has figured out that Heather may have gotten a hold of her mother's copy of the keys to Diana's apartment and duplicated them - flashbacks show Heather persuading Amy to leave her on her own for an hour while out shopping at Wyndhams and Heather heading to get the keys duplicated. Alan set up a telescope in the Q living room to look out at Susan's cottage where he can see Susan. Kathy (Heather's former paid companion who is now working for the Qs as AJ's nanny) has taken an interest in the telescope and has spotted Susan's cottage. Joe also got Kathy to ask Amy some questions about Heather. Amy told Joe that she reckons Alice doesn't like Heather. Amy's really gone into bat for Heather and Amy's perspective actually makes some sense. Joe ends up tricking Amy into admitting she left Heather on her own at Wyndhams. Howard is going to visit England to meet Dorie, his former flame. Rick has suggested Jeff take Steven-Lars and move away.

Actually Whitney was during the same period as Isabella, RoJohn and Isabella had fallen out over Victor and split for several months, during which time RoJohn investigated Nick Corelli's murder with Whitney's help (she was a police psychiatrist). I don't think their relationship progressed very far though, only a flirtation, as RoJohn and Isabella later reunited. As for Rebecca, while her flirtations with John were plausible, I thought it was a tad unbelievable that John actually slept with her while still grieving Isabella and being very much hung up on Marlena. Turns out Drake Hogestyn had the similar thoughts which you can read about in this article from the LA Times. In any case, Rebecca was tossed aside the minute Kristen arrived on the scene. I preferred Frankie and for a long time wanted him to come back so Jennifer and Emilio were definitely filler. (Of course once Jack and Jennifer got together and I actually grew attached to them, Frankie did come back which was kinda annoying lol)

I've been watching some 1981 episodes from February 1981 - the time period is of course Diana Taylor's murder. I think i've watched about 8 or 9 episodes so far and I am enjoying it. Here are some observations: - Anne Logan has spent episode after episode crying over Jeff and whining about Diana that even Steve Hardy is sick of her lol. _ Everyone at GH is obsessed with those nurses' capes for the upcoming Port Charles Week & bicentennial. - It took an awful lot to convince Jeff that PJ was Steven Lars, but once he was convinced, he became a man on a mission. - Lots of night location shooting with Heather sneaking out of Forest Hills Psychiatric hospital and heading to Diana's apartment. - Jeff, Rick and (separately) Heather come across the scene of a major car accident also filmed on location (and at night too). - Anne's name in blood has been written rather neatly lol, and while its totally morbid, PJ/Steven-Lars is seemingly having the time of his life on his own while Diana is lying dead in the kitchen. - Heather underestimated Sarah as Sarah already figured out that Heather snuck out of Forest Hills. - It's nice to see Rick get jealous of Lesley's interactions with Bert Ramsey and Tony Cassadine Castle. - I like the way Alan and Alex scornfully refer to each other as 'cousin'. - The Disco scenes are always enjoyable, especially when a familiar song like Blondie's Rapture starts playing. - Luke and Robert have great bromance chemistry and they are starting to become allies. - I think in Alex, Bobbie's now found someone she despises more than Laura. - Lee and Gail have not forgiven Luke and Laura (and who can blame them). - Not that much Q action aside from Alex and also Alan's affair with Susan. - Diana's murder, the start of Luke and Robert becoming friends and possibly Jason's conception have all taken place on the same night (spread out over several episodes) Unfortunately the episode from Feb 26, 1981 is not available so I won't be seeing the scenes where Alice and Howard finding Diana's body. I did manage to find the parade scenes from the same episode and they were nice. -

The show/Al Rabin was very clever in that they had already developed Kim and Shane to the point where they were as prominent as Bo and Hope, so even as Bo and Hope were being transitioned out of the show in late 1986, Kim and Shane could easily take up the slack. This also gave Steve and Kayla some time to develop slowly and organically as an offshoot of Bo/Hope, Kim/Shane's storylines before they too would become the focus in 1987. It's a bit murky in my memories as I was very young at the time and not able to watch every episode but the one transition that I think was a bit jarring was Marlena's exit as she was presumed dead (Orpheus bombed the house), revealed to be alive and then presumed dead again. I remember being quite confused lol. The show had also spent quite a significant portion of the previous year developing her connection with Drake's Roman, only to have to start again with Diana. The other characters mentioned all had ties to Steve and Kayla and/or Victor and were very much supporting characters until their characters and storylines had developed enough to branch out on their own (similar to how Steve/Kayla grew out of Bo/Hope, Kim/Shane).

Ah yes, thanks for that correction regarding Rick, @Paul Raven. And it does make sense to me that Monty would make a few necessary recasts at the beginning and then refrain from doing so for most of the rest of her first tenure.

True. The only permanent one that immediately comes to mind is Heather Webber (Mary O'Brien to Robin Mattson). There had been a number of recasts in the year leading up to Monty's tenure though - Laura, Rick, Monica, Heather (Georganne LaPiere to Mary O'Brien) and Diana. And I think there were a few during Monty's second tenure - most significantly Wally Kurth as Ned, and the short-lived Anna recast.

Well the 90 minute season finale has screened and there were a few surprises to end this decade of Shortland Street on so here are a few of my thoughts: Chris should have better security at his house. Having two separate hostage crises going on at the same time didn't really work IMO. The whole incel/coercive control storyline felt rushed and undeveloped. They keep flip-flopping Zara around between love interests. Chris is a grandfather for the second time. It was nice seeing Sass again, even if it was a Skype/Video call. It went from day to night pretty quickly at the end of the episode. Of course Damo was going to find the second bomb and mistake it for a christmas present. Frank's return will hopefully add a nice new wrinkle to Kylie's life, the one story that has decent pacing. Pyro Sophia setting the gun toting farmer who'd leered at her on fire was an interesting - although predictable - twist. Only a 3 week break this year - the show will be back on January 13.

Actually, while Bill Levinson seems to have created Sonny, i'm pretty sure he got booted out and replaced by Claire Labine almost immediately afterwards, so the would have been her work I think. It was under her tenure that Frank Smith's mob was reintroduced to tie into Luke and Laura's return. I think the mob angle should have been rested for a few years after Sonny left Brenda in the rain in 1997, with the show moving on to feature different sorts of action oriented drama - like the show did after Duke and the Jeromes left or earlier when Frank Smith's mob left. Instead, Jason ended up taking over the mob for a year until Maurice Benard came back. By 98 - 99, the show had really divided itself into the Cassadine side and the mob side. The show was already too mob dominated but at least had something else still going on over on the other side of town (and Stefan actually owned GH which was a good move to tie him into the core setting). Once Endgame happened and the more villainous Cassadine's ceased to be a consistent presence in Port Charles, then the mob ended up completely taking over the show.