adrnyc

Carol and Jay, for me, fall under the category of characters that I've heard so much about (and read about in the Soaps & Serials books) but I've barely seen them or really understand their place in the Oakdale canvas.  All I've seen is the '79-'80 We Love Soaps videos.  It's interesting to read everyone's take on the character of Carol. She did seem a little bland to me but, as others have said, you need some bland/regular characters on soaps.

59 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

I loathed that weird opening of RH, with shots of generic, unknown models running around instead of featuring the regular cast members.

I prefer it to the last one - just Maeve and John with little Johnnie Ryan (who is much older than that at this point) in Sheep's Meadow.  But I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I like the updated theme tune, not necessarily all of the shots of perceived NYC life.

I just watched Episode 1328. WOW! Those scenes between Jill and Faith could be used in acting classes. Faith really let. her. HAVE IT!!! I'm gonna have to watch that again. Jill certainly gives it back to Faith regarding her alcoholism. After Faith defiantly pours herself a glass of scotch and guzzles it, Jill crosses the room and pours her another, BIGGER, glass. Amazing. Everything is on all cylinders - the writing, the direction, the acting. Bravo, Ryan's Hope, Bravo.

And now Delia suspects about Barry and Lily. Thank God! I was worried they were going to end up getting married. I doubt Barry will get out of it - Delia is too clever these days. She's starting to put it together. I like where this all is going! Now onto Another World 1989 while I exercise.  

Ah, Tom. What a useless character. His death is still one of the more shocking moments that has stuck with me to this day. (Granted, I first saw it 2 years ago.) Does Roger ever see any consequence of killing him? Rae got her comeuppance but I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop for Roger. Does the series just ignore it from here on out?

That is one of my favorite scenes from Dynasty!  Season 9 was just getting underway. The new writing was clear, funny - the show was coming back from some pretty awful years. You can tell how much fun the cast is having in the first few episodes of the season. I just finished a rewatch of the entire series and Season 9 holds up as one of the series' best, imo. The production value had clearly dropped (Carringtons in JEANS????!!!!!! - that horrible excuse for a police office set) but the writing took a step up in the show's final season.

Thanks @DramatistDreamer for the detailed information!  It makes a lot of sense why they felt that way but still so frustrating.

46 minutes ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

 

I'm pretty sure he and Ellen Wheeler where under instructions to dismantle both GL & ATWT. I'd even go a bit further and say he might've gotten those same instructions almost a decade earlier at AW. 

 

P&G sucks major a** b/c networks entertained the idea of wanting to buy the rights to many of their shows. There were whispers that NBC and even ABC was looking to get the rights to AW upon its demise. And didn't Les Moonves say that he would've been interested in owning GL & ATWT, but P&G opted not too? 

 

I'd love someone to buy the rights to these shows one day b/c I still believe someone could make a profit off of them if done correctly.

I'm with you on all of that. I didn't watch AW at the end, but I heard about it. I would love to know why P&G hated their soap operas so much. Was it just one person who was in a position of authority? Frustrating. I'm glad that there's a lot of the hey day to watch on YouTube.

I completely agree about Maroney - I do not enjoy her as an actress at all. I felt the same way about Ilene, too. I couldn't stand her acting as Delia, but I loved the character. I feel the same way about Kimberly. I freaking LOVE that character. Well, I love to HATE that character is how I should put it. Part of my continued tuning in is "Ooooooo, what kind of trouble is Kimberly going to get into/stir up today??!!!"  Especially because, at least as of August 1980, she mostly causes trouble for Rae and Senaca, two people who DESPERATELY needed to be taken down a notch or 750, imo. 

11 hours ago, applcin said:

The Soapnet run would recycle at the very beginning of the Egyptian storyline.

Thanks for the info. Now, I'm curious about it. HAHA! Maybe, by the time I get through the SoapNet run, other episodes will have found their way to YouTube!

11 hours ago, cassadine1991 said:

CBS and P&G could've intervened 

P&G clearly didn't care about their soap operas anymore. In fact, they actively wanted to be out of the soap opera business.  I often wonder if CG wasn't under instructions to dismantle the show so that it could be canceled. 

I remember being so torn towards the end. When GL was canceled, I knew the writing was on the wall for ATWT. Even though I didn't enjoy a lot of what was happening, I was so grateful that ATWT was still on the air that I just went with a lot of stuff. Dusty/Janet being one of them. Although, as Nothin' But Attitude said, I was also just so thankful that Janet was away from Jack. Carly and Jack's ending was pretty near perfect for me, so I was thankful for that. 

Without Martha Byrne, I didn't mind Lily and Holden being apart at the end of the series. Katie/Chris was just stupid (as was the whole switching houses with Margo storyline) but Katie was such a popular character (including by me - one of my absolute favorite characters/actors on the show) that she had to have an HEA (happily ever after).  I like the idea of Katie being single and learning to be happy without a man but I suppose, after the tragic loss of Brad, that just wasn't possible. 

I was completely over Luke and Noah at that point and I LOVED Reid. I enjoyed the tragic ending for him and that he was insistent that Chris get his heart. Luke and Noah separating made perfect sense - especially at that age. They were never going to last.

And then there was Barbara and Henry. If ever there was a reason I was devastated by the cancellation, it was that those two would've made for great TV for years to come! Barbara could've really mellowed due to Henry's love for her and her love for him. 

It's so odd for me to think about all this right now. My current 1987 episode of ATWT is on as I'm typing this. I'm so into that era (which is new for me) that it feels as if that's what it "currently" happening in Oakdale. HA!

10 hours ago, applcin said:

I think it's like DeliaIrisFan said. RH was trying to emulate what the other ABC soaps were doing successfully, as well as copying movies (Jaws with Joe & Siobhan, King Kong with Delia). That period of 1979 through the mid-1980s saw the ascendancy in popularity of GH, mainly due to the story of Luke & Laura and them running away from the mob. AMC had the youth storylines featuring Jenny, Jesse, Tad, etc. OLTL had the Buchanan cowboys. This was also the time of Dallas & Dynasty, so there'll eventually be more wealthy people showing up on RH, which kind of took the focus away from the Ryans,  not mention the creation of the Crystal Palace...somewhere else for the characters to go than Ryan's Bar. There's even an Egyptian queen storyline coming up later which, I imagine, was influenced by the King Tut exhibit and fascination in the late 70s.

I think they were in an unenviable position. The other soaps seemed to have found their sizzle. If RH stayed too close to its original style, maybe they would bore the audience by comparison. If they strayed from it, they risked alienating them.

I really enjoyed both the Jaws and King Kong riffs. The Kong one went on just a wee bit long, perhaps, but the novelty of a guy in a gorilla suit got me through it. HA! Even my husband, who pops in from time to time during my viewing, would sit down and watch the episodes with the gorilla. Go figure!  (Of course, he also seems to enjoy the character of Delia.)  I will be sad when the focus goes off of The Ryans I suppose. However, I enjoy some glam and glitz in my soaps so maybe I'll go along with it. 

I was one of the AMC watchers at the time. My 7-10 yr old boy self loved Greg/Jenny, Jesse/Angie, Tad/Liza, etc. But now, my 45 yr old self enjoys watching the older characters more. There's an Egyptian storyline coming, eh?  Is that available through the SoapNet run?  I know there are more RH episodes after that but they appeared to be pretty scattered - no more year long runs of episodes.  Still...I have another year and a half of the SoapNet run - it won't be until December 2018 when I finish it.

I didn't watch all the time here but I also always preferred Maddie and Casey. I never really liked Hunter - no problem with the actor, just the character.

2 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

They just pop up for guest shots after this.

 

When Marland joined ATWT in mid-1985 he told Mark Pinter that he couldn't do anything with Brian, but that he would take time to give him a lengthy exit story, which is what he did.

Thanks for the info! That was nice of Marland to do. Personally, I loved Brian - I've always enjoyed MP from AW. Actually, I loved all the McColls (bar Whit) - little that I've seen of them. I'm glad Brian got a good exit and that we get to see a couple's happy ending. I'm also happy to hear that they will pop back from time to time for awhile. I do love how the old soaps would do this. It was great seeing Penny in London for the time that the Hughes family was there with Frannie!

I keep changing my mind about Doug Marland. I can't decide if I like his ATWT or not. I have a feeling he is such a detailed writer that, unless you see every episode, the story just doesn't flow well. I'm re-watching AW (am at 1989) and ATWT for a first time (am at 1987). Neither of these shows have all of the episodes. When I miss some eps of AW, I don't feel like I've missed much. When I miss some eps of ATWT, I have no idea what the eff is going on!  Haha!!

Anyway, I was just leaning towards thinking I don't like his writing, when he totally subverted my expectations. I just made it through Brian & Beatrice's wedding. I was dreading the whole secret of her parentage coming out because I didn't want to sit through weeks of her being upset and feeling betrayed and crying and blah blah blah. Instead, she thinks it's the most delightful thing in the world and is running around town telling everyone all about it. The entire town of Oakdale is shocked while she just goes about telling more people and laughing about it. I thought it was a hoot and laughed myself silly, as Beatrice was doing. How fun!

PS Are they gone now? They've moved back to Edinburgh - are the leaving the series?

It was interesting to watch that clip - I didn't know any characters except for Mac!  (Well, and little Amanda)  It's like Another World was a completely different show back then! Someday I may go back and watch older episodes - it's seems as if many from 79/80/81 exist on YouTube, yes? 

21 hours ago, safe said:

Catherine Hicks (Faith #3) and some of her volunteer pursuits

 

 

http://www.cornellclubla.com/article.html?aid=1724

 

 

She recently wanted to ” follow the women’s march with meaningful activity… so is proudly working for Congressman Adam Schiff doing grunt work in his campaign office and The League of Women Voters…. on committee .. recently addressing homelessness in downtown LA.”

 

 

Good for her! That woman won't need to work again for the rest of our life (although Stephen Collins' past antics did get 7th Heaven pulled from every\ airing again, didn't it? That will make her royalty checks drop severely, I guess.) so it's good to know she's putting her time to something about which she is passionate!

On 7/26/2017 at 10:26 PM, DeliaIrisFan said:

 

ABC had just bought the show, and their other soaps were enjoying record ratings featuring characters/stories that were not very Ryan's Hope-esque.  They seemed to be pushing the types of things that worked on those shows onto RH.  Also, co-creator Claire Labine said in interviews later on that she was burnt out at this point, and in hindsight wished she had told ABC she wanted to take a year off.  However, she was afraid they would further upend the core of the show in her absence to make it more consistent with the rest of their lineup...and later in the decade the network demonstrated that her fears were not unjustified.  It sounds like it was a vicious cycle.

 

From what I remember of Barry on the SoapNet run, he didn't bother me, but he wasn't exactly a classic, beloved character, either - in fact, I barely remember some of his stories.  Honestly, the only thing I recall about his wife was that I read at the time those episodes were reaired that she was played by the actress who had sung "Dance Ten, Looks Three" on the original cast recording of A Chorus Line.  I can see why they might have felt a need to expand the stories beyond the original core ensemble of characters, and at least Barry was distantly related to the main family, but...

 

 

Thanks for all the info. I remember I had read something about this earlier but, in my mind, things didn't go sour until much later in the show's run. Although, I also remember reading that the first 5 years of RH are considered some of the best in soap operas and I *am* five years into the show now. Is it just all downhill from here?

On 7/27/2017 at 5:41 AM, DRW50 said:

For me it's not the stories themselves, but the aftermaths. Delia finally moving on to a new man who wasn't part of her old toxic patterns, a man who is charming and loves her on some level, but is also a user and very weak. She gave her heart to him, and along with her having the Crystal Palace, it was the best chance to develop her away from the same old stories about clinging to the Ryans.

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Unfortunately the show chose to yet again regress her and take everything from her, going back to her poverty-stricken, wailing at Johnny and Maeve, yet again being shamed by that sanctimonious prick Roger and his fellow hypocrite Faith. And Barry also became another generic self-righteous finger-pointer, until they realized they had truly made the character pointless by going this route, and he was written out. The decision to take Delia back to factory settings for the umpteenth time (which even Ilene Kristen couldn't salvage when they gave her these stories YET AGAIN a few years later) and to turn the Crystal Palace over to a new and extremely unlikeable Joe were to me huge mistakes.

 

Jill finally being forced to face up to her fear of commitment and of just how limited her life with Frank was also had some dramatic value for me, and some lovely work from NAA, who was always better as a flawed figure.

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Unfortunately this was mutated into a predictable and unpleasant "sister" triangle, complete with months of KMG and DHK and their anti-chemistry, and finally, blatantly rewriting Jill's history with the Coleridge family in order to have the vile, cruel, selfish Faith rage at length about Jill being a "thing" who had been let into the house and taken away all of Mommy and Daddy's attention, all while no character was allowed to remind her that she was the one who chose to get involved with a man who had been hung up on her sister for a decade.

 

Add in Kimbo and it was a recipe for a 1981 I couldn't take,

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aside from Jack and Rose, which was quickly ruined too...

Thanks for the spoiler tags! I don't expect to be able to watch these old soaps completely spoiler free but every little bit helps!

With Delia, she's just running from one toxic man to another. I suppose she hasn't really earned a decent love story yet. Delia has just changed so much, especially with this actress whom I much prefer, that I'm ready for her to meet a decent human being and have an adult relationship. And Barry is still a Ryan so Delia is still caught up with the family. 

Jill....well, I'm finally coming around to realize that she is a deeply troubled woman who seems to self sabotage at every opportunity. Again, I thought she had grown after the mistake of marrying Senaca, and the death of her baby. I was ready to have her grow up and move on to other stories but I guess the writers aren't yet through with that.  And, as DeliaIrisFan mentioned earlier, Labine was burnt out at this point. It's starting to show!

Kimbo...hehe...well, I do love her and enjoy watching her antics. She just married Senaca yesterday - can't wait to watch that train wreck of a marriage play out!!

On 7/25/2017 at 5:42 PM, rlj said:

Never liked Barry

 

Jill was/is NEVER rational, she is insecure  and can be irrational ie the triangle with Seneca and Frank, and this KGJ thing ain't the last out of nowhere dalliance she has LOL

Interesting. So Jill's a little tramp, is she? Well, I never!  ;-)  I'm glad I know that going forward. I'll distance myself from Frank/Jill. I still get really caught up/involved with these shows. LOL

Okay, Ryan's Hope is losing me. I don't like Barry Ryan - I don't understand his purpose on the show. He's a cad. He's a pretty rotten human being - just look at how he treated his ex wife! Why are we, as the audience, expected to care about him? Just because he's a Chicago Ryan? Even the New York Ryans don't like him! Please get him off my screen.

Ken George Jones - again - what is the purpose? Frank and Jill have NEVER BEEN HAPPY TOGETHER! It's been 5 years. Why can't the writers actually let them be happy and get married? It's too long. I have now officially given up on Frank and Jill. I used to like Jill but going to bed with KGJ so quickly??? I just don't understand that. I can understand being completely enamored with him - he's a singer. We all fall in love with singers/actors, etc. especially when we see them work. But she used to be a rational woman. Jill sleeping with KGJ yet still expecting to marry Frank? What are these writers doing?

Were other people annoyed at this point? Does anyone know the history of what was going on with the writers? with ABC? This is just ridiculous. I am not enjoying the summer of 1980.

31 minutes ago, watson71 said:

Here are some scenes on the Cafe Paradise set...

 

 

 

Thanks! That's the episode I just watched on Friday and led me here to ask the question. I don't have a single memory of anything happening on that set. At least not yet. I'm hoping at some point, I have a flashback realization!

22 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

Yes. We see it for a few years.

4 hours ago, watson71 said:

 

Ada's new restaurant was called Cafe Paradise and was featured on AW from 1989 to 1993.  This restaurant was phased out around the time that Constance Ford's Ada died.  Ada hired her old high school boyfriend from World War II, Sidney Sugarman, to work at her restaurant as a chef.  Sidney was played by Larry Haines who had previously played Stu Bergman on Search for Tomorrow for 35 years.  Sidney was featured on the show until the Summer of 1989.

Thanks to you both! I can't believe I don't remember Cafe Paradise. I mean nothing. Not the name. Not the set. '89-'93??? Wow. I've clearly killed a lot of brain cells over the intervening years. 

Another question - I just started what I can find of January 1989. Mary's Place has burned down (I have no memory of that from my teenage years - although I know Mary & Vince leave in '89) and Ada seems to be working in a new restaurant and expecting an old flame to come back to town? My impression from today's episode ("Up In Smoke" is how it is labeled on YouTube) is that Ada is running/owner of this new place? Does this ring any bells with anyone?

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

You can find a lot here, albeit in clips.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtgQFFpLPDFeyt1b460_ZOQ

Thanks so much for that!!!

12 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

 

Wow. Am watching 1987 right now - and I have no idea who those people are in this promo. And that generic promo guy - oof - super OTT

1 hour ago, Paul Raven said:

We Love Soaps has just posted a summary of the July  17th ep of HIH

1946: On syndicated radio soap opera Hearts in Harmony, Steve Parker and his fiancee Penny took a drive through the countryside around Rossville just a few days before their wedding.  Meanwhile, Jed told Johnny the FBI may be investigating Parker Industries. Hearts in Harmony premiered in 1941, and was sponsored by the Kroger grocery store chain.

Thanks! I actually saw that last year when they posted it - it's what originally caused me to search for HiH. I can't believe I've been listening to it for a year - I listen every morning while I walk the dogs.