Franko

I could be off base, but did something similar happen (and at more or less the same time) to Mickey & Maggie once Melissa became a romantic lead?

Damn ... John was a dynamo! Over in the divas on the set thread, there's a bit of an interview where SSH alludes to being backburned leading up to her and Bill's departure in 1984. How soon was this apparent? I previously thought it occurred around the time Hope got involved with Bo, but Susan made it sound like this had been happening for years. Paging @vetsoapfan ...

I like to think Cass and Lila would have transitioned into AW's tentpole couple if the series lasted into the 2Ks. Perhaps in any of the thousand other worlds it's Cass and Lila, or Cass and Frankie (who wasn't killed). Or Cass and Kathleen. Cass and Cecile. Cass and no-longer-crazy Nicole Love ... ETA: Oh, hell, might as well go for it: Cass and Felicia.

It's the little victories, you know? Could it possibly have started earlier than that? I just found a listing for Jan. 2, 1998 that has "TBA" for the 9 a.m. hour. Martha Stewart Living and Gayle King's shows filled the post-ATWT hour (2 p.m.) on WBBM. Speaking of Chicago, we've got WBBM: news and Y&R, then B&B from 11-1, ATWT at 1 and the above-mentioned ladies at 2. WMAQ: DOOL at 11, AW at 12 and SB at 1 (With Jerry Springer at 2, the lead-in to Rosie O'Donnell, of all shows.) WLS: PC and news at 11, AMC at 12, OLTL at 1 and GH at 2 Over in Nashville around this time ... WKRN didn't air PC (unless it was late at night); AMC at 11, news at 12; OLTL at 1, GH at 2 and Jenny Jones at 3 WSMV had news at 11; Sunset Beach straddling the hour, Inside Edition at 12:30, AW at 1, DOOL at 2 and People's Court at 3 WTVF had news at 11; Y&R straddling the hour, Talk of the Town at 12:30, B&B at 1:30, GL at 2 and ATWT at 3 GH was still not airing on WDTN (Dayton) as 1989 drew to a close. This time, Geraldo Rivera had the spot. He aired at 4 p.m., after GH, on the Cinci station, WKRC. The other Dayton and Cincinnati stations aired the soaps in pattern. Finally, northern Colorado in mid-Nov. 1994, where the soaps are all over the place: KCNC (NBC): Colorado Today at 10, Other Side at 11; news at 12, Leeza at 1, AW at 2 and DOOL at 3 KGWN (CBS in Cheyenne, Wyoming): Y&R at 10, Love Connection at 11, B&B at 11:30, ATWT at 12, GL at 1, Ricki Lake at 2, Jenny Jones at 3 KMGH (CBS in Denver): B&B at 10, TPIR at 10:30, news at 11:30, Y&R at 12, ATWT at 1, GL at 2 and Sally at 3 (KMGH also had Regis and Kathie Lee at 9 and Oprah at 4) KUSA (ABC): No LOV; Geraldo at 10; AMC at 11; news and Start to Finish (?) at 12; GH at 1, OLTL at 2; Maury at 3 Forgive all these mentions of non-soap programming, but I think it's interesting to note what the heavy-hitters (in soaps and talk) face off against.

Comparing and contrasting Oklahoma City for April 1987 and April 1990. KTVY 4, later KFOR (NBC) DOOL aired at 3 p.m., after AW (1 p.m.) and SB (2 p.m.) in both instances. In 1990, GEN aired at 12:30 p.m. (KTVY cleared all of NBC's game show lineup -- Sale of the Century, Blockbusters, Wheel of Fortune, Scrabble, Super Password and Wordplay -- during the 9-11 a.m. hours in 1987. By 1990, that time was filled by Regis and Kathie Lee, Joan Rivers, and the network lineup of The Golden Girls reruns and Marsha Warfield's talk show. Like the other network affiliates, Channel 4 had a 12 p.m. newscast. Divorce Court aired at 12:30 in 1987.) KOCO 5 (ABC) 1987: LOV aired at 10:30 a.m., followed by AMC at 11, local news at 12, RH at 12:30, OLTL at 1 and GH at 2. (Loving shared the 10 a.m. hour with Sally Jessy Raphael, whose show was still offered in a 30-minute format in '87. Both Loving and All My Children aired on a one-day delay.) 1990: LOV at 10, Home at 10:30, AMC at 11, local news at 12, The People's Court at 12:30, OLTL at 1 and GH at 2. (Sally got promoted to the post-GMA slot at 9, while Donahue moved to 4 p.m.) KWTV 9 (CBS) In both instances, TPIR at 10, Y&R at 11, news at 12, B&B at 12:30, ATWT at 1, GL at 2, Oprah at 3, a game at 4 (syndicated versions of The Newlywed Game, then Family Feud) and Jeopardy! at 4:30. The syndicated Wheel of Fortune had the prized pre-prime time slot of 6:30 p.m. both years.

Thanks for the bump, @kalbir. I should do some more research, see if there's a few more goodies out there.

One more for the what-if pile: Edge premiering at 3:30 on ABC. The OLTL/GH order flip-flop happens sooner, and really, if you wanted to keep the game show The Neighbors, plug it in at 4. I'm just trying to figure out the ripple effect if/when everybody extended to an hour. (In this scenario, the 45-minute experiment never happened). 1-2 p.m.: AMC 2-2:30: Either OLTL or GH 2:30-3:30: Either OLTL or GH 3:30-4: EON Of course, both OLTL and GH could expand (which did happen), either pushing AMC to 12:30 and making RH vulnerable much earlier, or EON eventually ending up at 4.

Don't forget Olivia, whom I believe he was chem tested with for a bit in 1987, as well as Danielle in early 1992. Random question: Jennifer & Emilio, thriller or filler for the fandom?

He certainly had plenty to choose from!

I should note, this was my first time live-watching the show in six years. (I've seen extracted sketches, though.) The pacing seems so slack, but I don't know if it's a directorial thing or a producer thing. Low-hanging fruit, but I was concerned that the cold open was 10 bloody minutes, or that Update stretched past 12:30.

Speaking of that, I was racking my brain trying to remember times where Eddie was the straight man in sketches from his first run. It takes a certain skill to let a demonic cake get the best lines/business.

Yup. Just having him there was pretty darn special. I'd say the night's best bits were Mister Robinson's Neighborhood and the Home for the Holidays film.

Question for viewers who were watching in late '86-early '87 ... I see several front-burner characters were added in a relatively short time (Adrienne, Justin, Jo, Anjelica, Diana, Jack). Was there a definite "new chapter" feeling, especially since the show was also losing some popular characters (Marlena, Bo & Hope), or did it come across smoother than I'm imagining?

He really did. Just unashamedly checking him out.

Simon and Alex's dynamic seemed to be all over the place in 1986. Also, enjoy Bev making a sound that defies description.

I see your Jane Eyre and raise you a Great Expectations ... would there be room for a Miss Havisham-style older aunt? (Alas, Grayson Hall was already long dead.)

Throw in the idea that GH isn't receiving the funding/research/regulation it badly needs and you've got a relevance angle, too.

A pity that didn't pan out. This might have been a mess, continuity-wise, but I'm now trying to imagine Zaslow as Tony #4 (with at least some of David's backstory).

*fiddles with handkerchief* I would like to talk about ... Jenny Eckert. *support group screams in trauma and frustration* No, but seriously, I'm actually kinda impressed that the show didn't rush her and Paul into bed. If I read the summaries right, that didn't actually happen until February 1993, after nearly two years of will they or won't they tension.

Grace didn't care much for serving dishes ...

Speaking of cake, I'll never forget Tabitha receiving (of all things) an angel food cake from Charity.

I keep meaning to try it. It's apparently just a spice cake. What I remember was the show treating it as an item of gross-out cuisine. Wasn't there a scene where Julian was at a junkyard and found a cake pan with some soup residue? Naturally, it dripped out. Well, that settles it. Lobster from The Lobster Shack (not sure when that place was written out), "love noodles" and tomato soup cake for us all.

This was what I was hoping for. I found a sample of listings for the Cleveland-Pittsburgh-northernmost West Virginia area between 1994-1999. PITTSBURGH -- While KDKA (CBS) and WPXI (NBC) aired their networks' full soap lineup in 1994-1995, by late October 1995, WTAE (ABC) had dropped LOVING for The Golden Girls. Instead of THE CITY, WTAE aired Judge Judy as of February 1997. At that time until at least March 199, WPXI was airing SUNSET BEACH at 1, ANOTHER WORLD at 2 and DAYS OF OUR LIVES at 3. KDKA kept its lineup intact by late winter 1999. CLEVELAND -- WEWS (ABC) and WJW/WOIO (CBS) aired their networks' full soap lineup as scheduled in 1994-1999. By February 1997, WKYC (NBC) moved DOOL to 11 a.m. SUNSET aired at 1 and AW at 2 p.m., an arrangement which remained for March 1999. Side note: WEWS was more likely to preempt ABC's morning programming in favor of its own show, The Morning Exchange. When "MX" was still a two-hour show, Mike and Maty aired at 4 a.m. in Cleveland. Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends aired at 2:35 a.m. By 1999, MX was cut to an hour, airing at 10 between Regis & Kathie Lee and The View. WHEELING/STEUBENVILLE -- WTRF (CBS) and WTOV (NBC) aired their networks' full soap lineup in 1994-1999. WTOV aired SUNSET BEACH at 11 a.m., with news and Mad About You (later, Extra) as the lead-in to DOOL and AW. YOUNGSTOWN -- WKBN (CBS) and WWTV (ABC) aired their networks' full soap lineup in 1994-1999. WFMJ (NBC) aired SUNSET at 3 p.m., following DOOL and AW.

That's how it was in Columbus, Ohio, in the fall of 1997. SUNSET at 1, AW at 2, DOOL at 3. The ABC and CBS stations aired their soaps in the usual order. One more for tonight: WRGB, the CBS station in Schenectady, New York, was airing GL at 9 a.m. in September 1989. The 3 p.m. hour went to Everyday (presumably a talk-local show). I'd heard about DYNASTY being cut into half-hour installments for syndication, but didn't know FALCON CREST did the same.

May 1973 in the Green Bay, Wisconsin region: ATWT aired at 3 p.m., rather than 1:30 p.m. on WBAY. The station also preempted The CBS Morning News, The Joker's Wild (for an exercise show; it aired on the ABC station, WLUK) and The Price Is Right (for ATWT). AMC aired on both WLUK and WLUC, the CBS station in Marquette, Michigan, at 1 p.m. Tuscon, Arizona, as of late September 1976 (Mountain Time Zone): KVOA (NBC) 8:00 Donahue 9:00 Fun Factory 9:30 Gong Show 10:00 Sanford & Son 10:30 Celebrity Sweepstakes 11:00 Wheel of Fortune 11:30 Hollywood Squares 12:00 News 12:30 The Doctors 1:00 Another World 2:00 Somerset 2:30 Days of Our Lives 3:30 Medical Center 4:30 The Odd Couple KGUN (ABC) 9:00 Happy Days 9:30 All My Children 10:00 Ryan's Hope 10:30 Family Feud 11:00 $20,000 Pyramid 11:30 One Life to Live 12:15 General Hospital 1:00 The Edge of Night 1:30 Hot Seat 2:00 Afternoon Movie 4:00 I Dream of Jeannie 4:30 ABC Evening News KOLD (CBS) 8:00 Price is Right 9:00 Tucson Today 9:30 Search for Tomorrow 10:00 Love of Life 10:30 As the World Turns 11:30 Guiding Light 12:00 News 12:30 Match Game 1:00 Tattletales 1:30 All in the Family 2:00 Gambit 2:30 Young and the Restless 3:00 Dinah! 4:30 Adam-12 Eleven years later, in the summer of 1987: AW was still at 1 p.m. on KVOA, with SANTA BARBARA at 2. DOOL aired at 11 a.m. This was the same arrangement for KPNX in Phoenix and KYEL in Yuma. While KGUN aired both RH and LOVING in the 11 a.m. hour, KTVK in Phoenix aired news and LOVING. On both stations, it went AMC (12), OLTL (1) and GH (2). On KTSP in Phoenix, the arrangement went Y&R at 11, news and B&B at 12, then ATWT at 1 and GL at 2. Over on KOLD, it was Y&R at 10:30, B&B at 11:30, then ATWT at 12 and GL at 1.