Mona Kane Croft

Victoria Wyndham wasn't "given" star billing. She had been number-three in the cast list (behind Jacquie Courtney and George Reinholt) from her first episode. The same number-three that had been previously held by Robin Strasser. So when Courtney and Reinholt were fired, it was natural that VW would move to number-one. The stranger billing was that of Douglass Watson (a relative new-comer to the show) who was moved from near the bottom of the list, to number-two (upon the firing of Reinholt and Courtney), skipping over stars like Beverly Penberthy, Connie Ford, David Bailey, Hugh Marlowe, and Beverlee McKenzie.

Interesting. Caroline did have a troubling phone conversation with her mother back in Australia. But I don't recall if that was before, or after, Iris arrived.

Would anyone care to speculate on why TPTB did not ask Carmen Duncan to use an American accent, while playing Iris? It's not as if it cannot be done. Barbara Bejer (an American) played Bridget with a Scottish accent for more years than Duncan was on the show. And Brian Murray (a South African, who normally spoke with a very noticeable South African accent) used an American accent while playing Dan Shearer in 1978-79. So why not Duncan?

If I'm not mistaken, Alice began the adoption process while Steve was still alive, but working in Australia. And since Sally took the name Frame, I would say Sally was Jamie's sister (step? half?). But certainly not his cousin. The idea that he did not recognize Sally was his sister, and actually went on a date with her was really creepy! And yes, Frankie Frame was really an Ordway. They made-up some silly reason she used the name Frame, but it was ludicrous. Soap fans are smart enough to learn who's related to whom. Good Lord, Days of Our Lives is well populated with members of the Horton family, but almost NONE of them carry the name Horton. Still, we realize they are related And back to EON, I always thought Monticello was in Ohio!

I completely agree. Compared to what Lemay was writing 18 months earlier, 1980 was awful. The entire show was falling apart. Tom King was reasonably good at writing for the characters Lemay left behind, but the characters created by King were insipid and did not fit on AW. King would have been wise to keep as many of Lemay's characters as possible (since he knew how to write for them -- sorta). But instead, he jettisoned about a third of the old characters in favor of his own creations, which the audience didn't care about and never warmed-up to.

Cass's later appearances on ATWT, and his appearance(s) on GL were just as an attorney when needed. There didn't seem to be any personal reasons for his visits. So there would have been no need for Lila to accompany him. They were not divorced.

I agree about John Hutton. Had he remained on the show, AND the character had remained a good-guy, Peter would probably been a long term character. Nicole was all over the place (both casting and characterization), and was more poorly written than even Peter. So she never really stood a chance of being a long term character. And Reginald? He had to be one of the most poorly conceived characters in soap opera history. What idiot writer thought it would be a good idea to pen two returns from the dead within the same storyline? One would have been bad enough.

If I'm not mistaken, Maggie Dekker was not written out, she just stopped appearing. It's too bad, because the original writers (the Corringtons) had set up a mystery regarding the Dekkers and the Marshalls (probably regarding the parentage of Rikki Dekker) that was only alluded to -- and Maggie seemed to know the truth. But when Maggie stopped appearing, whatever secret she held went with her, never to be mentioned.

It's ridiculous how the writers forgot Cecile's background -- calling her a social climber and a gold-digger. Cecile was more of an aristocrat than anyone in Bay City. She was the daughter of a French count, a French citizen, an heiress, and only moved to the US around 1978. I wonder if anyone ever told Nancy Frangione about the history of the character she was playing? Good Lord. Cecile was originally the same age as Jamie and Dennis, but when Frangione took over the role, the character aged, even though Jamie did not. Still, I wouldn't say she was in the same age bracket as Donna. Just my opinion.

That's Kathy Glass playing MJ. She really wasn't accepted as MJ, but she did stay in the role for quite a long time. And she was a very good actress. She basically played MJ like an entirely different character -- not confident witty MJ as played by Lauren White. After Glass had been there a while, her MJ was sort of accepted, but more as a new character -- if that makes sense.

Dear God in Heaven.

Why in the world didn't they add some ambient traffic noises and some wind in the earlier scenes? They're on the top of a skyscraper out in the open air, for God's sake! Finally, after Michael is holding Reginald by the arm, there is a bit of noise, and a little wind. It couldn't be a matter of expense, because the wind would have been free and the traffic noise effect may have had a small royalty charge. Somebody in the special effects department was clearly asleep at the wheel. And I wouldn't say Reginald threw himself off the roof. He was trying to attack Michael again, but Michael stepped out of the way, and Reg's momentum carried him off the roof. It wasn't a suicide, I'm my opinion.

It's interesting that some folks find it surprising that Donna, Michael, and Rachel are around the same age. I always assumed Donna and Michael's age lined up with that of Rachel, Russ Matthews, and Alice Frame. I'd put Sharlene in the same age-bracket, because she and Rachel had both been married to Russ Matthews. I suppose, if you want to be literal, then Jamie Frame's SORASing does throw-off Rachel and Russ's age a bit. But that sort of thing happens on every soap, and it's usually best to ignore it. The really hard-to-swallow age retcon for me was that of making Jamie and Dennis contemporaries with Marley and Vicki Hudson -- and by extension, Nancy McGowen. If I'm not mistaken, when Nancy was born, Jamie was being played by Bobbie Doran, who was around 10 years old. And Jamie continued to seem about a decade older than Nancy. So when Vicki Hudson hooked her claws into Jamie, I thought it was a little creepy. Especially, since the age difference was never mentioned in any of the dialogue. They just started pretending they were the same age.

Technically the boarding house was still part of the show, and Buzz ran it. For the most part, Company was featured, but occasionally they would show characters living in the boarding house and show their room(s).

Here's a question: Does a soap opera head-writer always get fired after a strike, because he/she refused to cross the picket line? We talk a lot about Lemay getting axed after the strike ended. That made me wonder if it always happens, but maybe we are just unaware of it.

Your list of scab writers may be accurate, but I question the inclusion of Zaslow, Hufford, and Radell. First, because Zaslow was a member of two unions, the actors union and The Writer's Guild. So I doubt he would have been so disloyal as to work as a scab. Zaslow always seemed a man of integrity. Additionally, Zaslow, Hufford, and Radell were all part of Harding Lemay's writing team, just after the strike. And I'm not sure it is legal to immediately hire writers who have worked as scabs for the writing team on the same show. Frankly, I don't know how Swajeski was ever admitted to the Writer's Guild, since the entire world was aware she had been a scab writer. Isn't there any penalty at all for crossing a picket line during a writers strike? Who knows??? I'm surprised anyone would be able to compile an accurate list, considering the inflammatory nature of scab workers. I'm sure the production company, as well as the scabs themselves would have nothing to gain (and a lot to lose), by allowing this information out of the shadows. Although it probably does no harm for a list of scab writers to be released 32 years after a strike, had this information been released just after the strike, careers and reputations could have been damaged. But then we have Swajeski, who was rewarded by being hired as head writer. The world is crazy sometimes.

Frankie's history (not just her last name) was entirely screwed up. By the time Frankie showed up in Bay City, they were no longer saying Sharlene's farm was the original Frame farm. Now, Emma's farm was back in Oklahoma (it's original location), and Frankie was from there. However a year or so later, Frankie took Cass to her high school reunion, and the high school was just outside of Bay City. No mention of Oklahoma that night. Then a few years later, Emma visits Frankie -- coming in from Oklahoma. LORD help us! Frankie had the most convoluted history of any character on the show. Except maybe Mary McKinnon, but I won't open that can of worms. LOL. Regarding Iris's retcon -- since we know it was written by Lemay, I'm confident he didn't do it for any reason connected to a future murder accusation, because Lemay openly hated characters being accused of murder and avoided writing that type of thing. It's possible Iris's adoption was retconned for a reason as simple as the executive producer forced Lemay to do it. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it could have been something as simple as that, and done with no real intent at all.

I thought Duncan was a very good recast too. I just wish she had used an American accent. I really can't think of another actress who would have done as well with the role, other than McKenzie herself. I think it helped that Duncan was relatively unknown in the US, so the audience didn't view her with memories of other roles she had played. She played Iris as manipulative and fragile, as did McKenzie. Many actresses would have had difficulty with that combination.

The storyline began during the writers strike. So nobody really knows who wrote it. As I said in an earlier post, Lemay had submitted his long-term storyline projections before the strike began, which was really just a vague outline of the plots and characters he planned to write. So it is likely the Bennett Publishing storyline was part of his plan, and the scab writers decided they would use it. If my speculation is true, the scab writers would have written all the details and scripts. For example, I think it is likely the scab writers came up with the nickname "the chief", because that sort of cliche doesn't sound like something Lemay would create. Also, Mac's being arrested for murder likely was not Lemay's idea. But the basic plot of the attempted take-over may have originated in Lemay's plan. And of course, we know Iris's return was Lemay's plan.

I agree, we saw a lot of the "old Rachel" when Lemay returned. He's really the only writer who understood why and how much she had really reformed. All the other writers just played her as a heroine. Lemay never forget she had been a bad-girl who caused a lot of pain for people in her past.

Yes, there have been rumors for years, that Robinson was originally hired to play Willis, but he would only sign his contract if he played a new character. And then years later, Dean Frame arrived in Bay City and was said to be the son of YET ANOTHER Frame sibling. I forget Dean's father's name, but he was never seen on camera. He (along with Jason) was not a part of Lemay's original list of Frames.

Perhaps. Not to mention, hiring a lackey takes extra scenes and extends the plot for an extra week or so. Sometimes TPTB are in such a hurry to tell a story, they eliminate details. What they don't realize is, those details are what helps define character, and are the very things that attract fans to soap operas. A soap opera is a LOT more than plot.

You're right, but that's not the way is was in the old days. When Lemay was writing Iris, she initiated terrible things, but she never got her hands dirty. She hired people to do her dirty work, and usually it couldn't be traced back to her. The idea of genteel Iris waking around town toting a gun to shoot Carl, Jake, or anybody else was completely out of character for her. Donna should have been written the same way -- instigating dirty deeds, but keeping her hands clean. But how many times was Donna arrested (or threatened with arrest) over the years? Too many to count. That is lazy writing, in my opinion. So it was Depriest who created a new Frame sibling out of the blue! And Depriest who miraculously moved the Frame Farm from Chadwell, Oklahoma to Bay City! Depriest was capable of good writing on occasion, but those two moves were northing but idiocy. My opiinion only.

That's correct. Iris did not buy Donna's condo. Iris's apartment was a new set that had never been used before. I remember, it had a private elevator that opened directly into her foyer. At least at the beginning. The elevator may have been changed to a door later in the show.

When Iris returned to AW in 1988, she was always referred to as Iris Wheeler. And at that point, Vivienne called her Mrs Wheeler. Occasionally, Iris might refer to herself as Iris Cory -- but that was only to make a point that she was Mac Cory's daughter. I don't recall anyone else calling her that.