Franko

Going back to the lack of a salt of the earth mom and striving for more daughter on Agnes Nixon's OLTL, I've started wondering if/hoping that this was part of the initial plans for Sadie and Carla.

Nice work, @will81! This solves a question I had when I first read The Soap Opera Encyclopedia, which mentioned that Eileen had quit "three times 'forever.'"

I'm sorry I haven't said so sooner, depboy, but these loglines are the best!

There was not. The only time Dominque was away from the canvas while still involved with Mac was when she was instiutionalized (in order to facilitate the recasting with Shell Davidson).

Forty years ago this week, ABC announced the show that would become Loving.

Geez, was it ATWT or was it summer stock for soap veterans?

I can answer some of this. Laura's death was in 1988, while Brooke was married to Adam. Most of the events in your timeline appear to be from 1984-85. If I'm not mistaken, it's Tom, Mark, Giles and Adam. I could be wrong, but I'm going to assume that Ellen took over The Chateau after Nick Davis left. I believe the place was originally his. Laurel did not die from a bomb at The Goalpost. I don't believe The Goalpost was still around in 1995 (the last clips I've seen it in are from approximately 1989-90). Janet had originally planned to have a bomb go off at Laurel and Trevor's wedding (this was rewritten in response to Oklahoma City). Laurel was instead shot during a taping of The Cutting Edge.

Nope, I've never seen the 1981 movie. I am intrigued about the idea of it airing on ABC, as 1981-82 was the year that Dynasty gradually became a hit. The only thing I remember about the book is Billy learning French fluently because it was all that was ever spoken when she stayed with a host family. I remember more of the miniseries, like stroke victim Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. giving Lindsay a pep up message with his Scrabble tiles (U got clas, kid), or Gene Tierney lusting after Kim Cattrall.

At 0:54, it looks like Drake Hogestyn dancing with Genie Francis. I'm going to assume Stephen is dancing with Mary Beth Evans. Genie's also there at 2:34.

The original miniseries aired Monday, Feb. 25, Tuesday, Feb. 26 and Thursday, Feb. 27, 1980, on CBS. The TV movie aired Friday, May 22, 1981, on ABC. The remake pilot from 2012 never actually aired on ABC. IMDB credits it as a "TV movie," but they've done that for sitcom-length pilots, too.

And Scotty, but your point stands. All of these deaths early on ... I dunno, the show was going for an anything can happen kind of feeling, some verisimilitude?

I think my new mission is to track down an Aremid bible (if one exists) and compare and contrast it to early Passions.

It's either a con job, or the plans for what became Del Henry changed pretty thoroughly.

Actually, that would make sense.

I forgot to give my thoughts on your earlier point: it would have been nice for Carrie to have a female friend in her age group. Either that, or it could have been part of her characterization; that for one reason or another, she just didn't get along well with most young women.

Chad Webster was a short-lived character. From the old Who's Who in Salem biographies (as always, thanks to Jason's site): Porter Rollins, a low-budget film producer, rolled into Salem with his movie crew and teen idol Chad Webster ready to film a new movie: Wild Night of the Teenage Vampires -- Part 2. Carrie was thrilled at the fact that there was an open casting call for the movie and tried out for one of the leads...and got the role! She and Sarah Horton were ecstatic at having gotten parts in the movie...and to be working with Chad Webster. The movie was, as you might guess, a cheap horror flick that would be filmed in a real haunted house. But the film was as jinxed as the script was bad. Several "hauntings" stopped production many times. Unbeknownst to everyone, the ghosts were just illusions created by a machine being used by Johnny Corelli. On the set, however, there were worse problems. Teen idol Chad Webster was dating both Carrie and Sarah. What was worse, he was a regular drug user and just plain trouble. At one point, Carrie was caught with his cocaine-freebasing equipment in her possession and arrested. Soon after, a small fire occurred on the set and Roman shut down the entire production. For some reason, this was tied into Lawrence's initial storyline: Meanwhile, a producer named Porter Rollins arrived in Salem to begin producing a teenage horror film and attained Nick Corelli, Victor Kiriakis, and Shane Donovan as investors. The production of the movie was redundant, confusing, and plagued by mishaps. Money was spent but never accounted for, a fire broke out, ghosts haunted the set, and drugs were found on one of the actresses. The people affected by these mishaps were all tied to influential townspeople, and Lawrence was behind all of it. The movie was a ruse meant to distract everyone from his plans involving Jencon Oil and its hostile takeover of the forested Green Oaks area.

One of my biggest pop culture surprises was when my mom casually admitted that Falcon Crest was her soap. I should ask her if she was Team Chase or Team Richard.

Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) and Quentin (David Selby), Dark Shadows.

Joan van Ark knows your sins. And she's disgusted.

Not to mention that she went to jail for shooting her now-ex-husband's then-wife. Johnny Carson had a lot to work with! The writing was on the wall, according to the Tune in Tomorrow recaps. Liz and Neil's relationship was eroding during her last two years. She had the affair with Carlo, followed by the tension over Noel having juvenile diabetes (and Liz not wanting to conceive another child out of fear it would be diabetic, too), Tod's return, Savannah Wilder and the drug storyline, Liz getting shot and losing her singing voice, Tod falling off the wagon and dying, Savannah trying to seduce Neil and finally Liz picking her career over her family. Oddly enough, Savannah left in the same week that Liz did. I guess they figured they could keep Neil around for hospital scenes, plus he did have that sweet, slow-burning almost a love story with Jo Johnson for a few years (after they killed off his immediate new love, Grace).

Liz left to begin her new life as a movie actress. Before we scoff at the idea, remember that 1986's top box office draws included No. 5, Bette Midler (who turned 41 that year). Neil received the divorce papers in spring 1987.

I vaguely remember the Carol Burnett special and wish I had caught the 1995 episodes. I think Khan spoke highly of them, that it was treated like an EVENT. I think it was the first time we saw the Martin house set since the tornado episodes.

Yeah, I feel like AW's 25th in '89 was the first acknowleged anniversary and flashbacks celebration. AMC apparently did a special 20th anniversary episode with the remaining original cast members. And DOOL celebrated its 25th around the time of the earthquake at the Alamains' home country. I don't remember DOOL doing anything big for the 30th, but the 35th also was full of flashbacks.

I'm fond of GH's 30th anniversary episode from 1993, the one that introduced "Faces of the Heart" and had the special teaser and tag with John Bernadino. I'm now convinced that John's dignified walk through the darkened soundstage was meant as a retort to Paul Rauch stamping out his cigar on the floor in Santa Barbara's last moments.

The gal on the left looks like a Martha Stewart caricature.