amybrickwallace

Ironic, isn't it? Watergate ended up becoming a bigger soap opera than any of the soaps on the air then - combined!!!

You're so right - I had forgotten that 1968 was also a presidential election year. Not to get too far off topic, but I wonder how much havoc the Watergate hearings would cause on daytime TV a few years after that - plus Nixon's resignation, Ford's swearing-in, etc., etc. No wonder people were watching the soaps so much then - romance, fantasy, mystery - when so much horror was going on in real life. Is John Rice really gone for good - at least at this point? We know that Steve will be taking on more responsibility and the new character, Dr. Stark, will also be helping to pick up the slack. But John was only going to be taking a leave of absence. I wonder if he'll be gone for a few weeks, come back and then leave again for good - not unlike Bethel Leslie. I've been checking the Google News Archives with no success.

I know - I was surprised to see that ultra-short, spiky hairdo. She did a great job those last few days - her heart-to-hearts with Jill, Roger, Maeve and Pat were wonderfully acted by all.

Interesting article. Is it true that Jack Wagner took the offer from SB to get away from GH because he and Kristina had broken up (one of the many times they broke up before finally calling it quits for good a few years ago)?

She could definitely play the ice queen when the script called for it. I also liked her return in the last few episodes of RH in 1989, but was shocked that Maeve, with that finely tuned maternal antenna, didn't realize that Faith's young daughter was also Pat's (though Faith never came right out and said it when Pat asked her straight out, the look on her face told the whole story).

I do know from reading articles in the Google archives that Lynn was a preschool teacher before breaking into acting, and she and a friend would put on shows to entertain soldiers (Lynn was also a pretty accomplished singer.). So I'm not surprised that she would have passionate views on the subject. Getting back to the new character of Dr. Ed Stark, not only was 1968 a very dicey year to deal with the war in even a minor way on a soap - but to do it with a character who was black? Not even Agnes Nixon did that. Kudos to Rita Lakin and CP for the idea, and NBC for letting them do it. Along the same lines, we are now coming towards the end of March 1968 in these shows, and MLK was assassinated at the beginning of April so I'm guessing even daytime saw preemptions (even though it was in the evening when the devastating news was first announced because a new episode of Bewitched was interrupted with the important news bulletin). June 1968 saw the assassination of RFK. So I'm sure all three networks at the time suspended regular programming to air their funerals, etc. I don't know for sure, I wasn't around in 1968 and wouldn't be for over another decade, but I do know it was one of the darkest years in American history.

That was great!! Not only were the promos fun to watch, but I got a melancholy sense of nostalgia as I remember when the networks USED to have all those great and some not-so-great made for TV movies. *SIGH* I've said it before, but I never understood why Lorenzo Lamas always got so much attention as the show's heartthrob when I think the show's true "hunk" was Billy Moses. Ironically, Lorenzo was the only cast member in all those years on the air to be in every single FC episode. I think the runner-up was David Selby, though he wasn't on the show in the first season.

Speaking of Lynn Benish/Benesch, she is briefly mentioned in this 1983 article about her then-husband, actor Colby Chester. He has a couple of very famous cousins, one of whom appeared on TD briefly towards the end of its run. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19830109&id=i5skAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1jQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4732,1341563

That's really a shame. As long as you have strong actors and good writing, the rest will fall into place.

Many of you know that Lynn Benish (also spelled Benesch) (Bonnie Evans) went on to play Meredith Lord on OLTL for several years, from 1969-73, and then reprised the role briefly in 1987 when Viki has a vision of her deceased loved ones in heaven. In an interview published just a few months ago in July, original OLTL cast member Niki Flacks (Nurse Karen Martin) recalls the casting change - when fellow original cast member Trish Van Devere, the first one to play Meredith, left the show: "Trish Van Devere was the first Meredith Lord. She was sooooooo difficult to work with. She decided she was a big movie star ordering people around. She was so awful and was fired. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Lynn Benesch took over and she was just lovely–an incredibly generous, beautiful person." If you want to read the interview in its entirety, here it is: http://sixtiescinema.com/2014/07/01/niki-flacks-ex-karen-martin-wolek-remembers-one-life-to-live/

Thank you!! It will be interesting to see a character of a doctor who is also a veteran. Of course, Matt is a veteran as well, having served in WWII after graduating from med school (and James Pritchett himself was a WWII vet IRL). Carl, thanks also for sharing the ATWT clips with James Pritchett. "Adulterous shoe salesman" - for some reason that strikes me as hilarious. Maybe it's because whenever I think of TV shoe salesmen, I think of Al Bundy. LOL!!

OK, I see. Thank you! I know she's taken her lumps on this and other RH boards, but of all the Faiths I liked KMG best. I felt it was one of the few roles the show was successful at recasting - and more than once at that, taking her predecessor Catherine Hicks into consideration.

Wow, I never heard that story. How long did Katherine Justice sub until Karen Morris returned? (She didn't become Karen Morris-Gowdy until later that year - in the summer of 1979, I believe.)

I know!! The famous CPR scene. LOL

Oh, definitely here in Ohio!! Yes!! Another thing I love so much about the vintage soaps is that they were so DIFFERENT from each other. So much variety. One would never confuse RH with Santa Barbara, or Search For Tomorrow with The Doctors, for example.

Good news for A Martinez and fans - Longmire, cancelled by A&E, has been picked up by Netflix: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflix-revives-longmire-750548

Yeah, it seems in that case that Rauch was stuck in the middle. I know that P&G and MADD were the ones that ousted Zaz, but did CBS have anything to do with what happened one way or the other?

Karen Witter and Chuck Lorre were married? I can't picture them together, either. You may or may not already know this, but he cut his show biz teeth as a songwriter. His best known composition is probably "French Kissing in the USA", performed by Debbie Harry.

One of my favorite parts of RH are the old afghans in the Ryans' living quarters. Afghans were all the rage then. My folks, who were married just months before RH debuted, received a couple of afghans as wedding gifts and they are still in our living room folded over the couch, thoroughly broken in and worn but loved!!

Falling five feet through a trapdoor? She herself stands at barely five feet. Ouch!! What a tough cookie!!

I hope John's not gone for good (at least, yet!) - but if he is, then I hope we at least get updates from him - like Carolee announcing that he and Bonnie were wed on a gondola in Venice at sunset or something. Yes, he did bring a lot of energy to the proceedings, and I always enjoyed his and Carolee's friendship. His cousin Steve had better shape up and take his work more seriously!! Dr. Powers did not sound too happy with him in their meeting - I'm guessing most of the complaints Matt had gotten about Steve were from some of the nurses (excluding Carolee) and candy stripers!! On paper, Nathan Bunker's transformation could easily be one cliché after another - but boy, House Jameson went above and beyond the call of duty making it work. Now that he is going home to convalesce (but will be back for physical therapy in a few weeks), his goodbyes with Matt, Nick and Carolee were very touching - as was John Rice's farewell. I swear I almost cried both times!!! As for the second episode, the talk between Maggie and Karen was very interesting. I'll look forward to seeing what happens from here on out. As much as I am looking forward to seeing Lydia Bruce, I feel sad knowing that the next time Bethel leaves (which won't be long) it will be for good. I'm also looking forward to seeing how the story of Paul Stark's son will play out. I think this is the first time the Vietnam War has been mentioned on the show (and understandably so, because soaps were an escape in that turbulent year of 1968). Was Paul Stark in the board meeting scenes from earlier episodes? I think I did see him before.

As a GIRL, I had the bowl cut. My mother would always have my hair cut short when I was a kid. Now as an adult, I've grown my hair out long - I think partly out of delayed rebellion. LOL

I seem to remember reading in an old soap book that Susan was at the studio looking up at a huge display of hats when she stepped backwards through a trapdoor and fell quite a few feet? I don't remember all the details. Can anyone fill me in?

Thanks, everyone. I always get the Rauch and Conboy tenures at GL messed up because Rauch replaced Conboy as EP at Santa Barbara several years before Conboy replaced Rauch as EP at GL.

Ahhhh, the good old days before ABC owned the show, and when Labine/Mayer were at their creative peak.