Broderick

I'm not familiar with Irna's timeline of comings/goings, but I got the impression Neil Wade was written off circa 1967-1968. (And I might be jumping to conclusions, but I also felt maybe the character was jettisoned because Rosemary Prinz was leaving?) I know who Doug Cassen is, I think. Wasn't he one of Claire Lowell's husbands? They didn't mention Neil was his son. But clearly there was a LOT unmentioned in the short synopsis that I was reading.

I hope so! Despite allegedly being on the show for several years, Neil Wade got a total of ONE paragraph in the Laguardia book. Paraphrasing, it said, Neil Wade (Michael Lipton) "helped Penny put her life back together after Jeff's death", "was a physician who didn't practice medicine for personal reasons" (didn't know that), "opened a bookstore with Penny" (sounds right), "planned to adopt a baby with Penny who couldn't have children" (sounds right), "began losing his vision and was struck and killed" (who knows?), and then Penny ultimately moved to Europe and married the racecar driver and adopted an Asian baby named Amy (sounds right). And that was it.

@Reverend Ruthledge I sure won't argue one way or the other. The first time I ever laid eyes on Penny was when Douglas Marland brought her back for periodic episodes in the 1980s. My parents (who'd watched World Turns since Day One) would always get excited when Penny reappeared, and Penny was always the subject of much discussion around our house, lol. I wish someone who remembered Neil Wade was around to ask, but I don't know of anyone. I just flipped through that old book Robert Laguardia wrote, and he opined that Jeff Baker had been killed in a car wreck (probably true) and Neil Wade was losing his vision and was struck and killed (which could go right back to the embolism you referred to).

Robert Laguardia's old book from the early 1970s says Neil Wade was going blind and was struck by a car and killed. Can't vouch for the accuracy of that.

I don't know what killed Penny's husbands, but that sentence about "losing two husbands in automobile accidents & is now married to a racing-car driver" made me laugh out loud.

7/13/1973 --- Big jump for Y&R from 15th place to 12th place, and from 4.7 to 6.1.

Thanks for letting us know about that. All this time, I've been thinking they were just too lazy to create a simple, temporary set for an office. That clearly ain't the case; it's the never-ending budget crisis. The "business stories" about all these zillion different companies can't be told effectively in a restaurant, so they probably need to re-think the type of stories they're telling.

Y'all could be right that it wasn't Henry Slesar. But I think it's mighty strange that Russell Kubeck popped in as head writer with seemingly no previous writing credits or experience, then vanished into thin air once Somerset bit the dust. And when you look at the subject matter of those last 6 months of Somerset combined with Slesar's previous tenure there under his own name --- I dunno.

😂 I've always been convinced "Russel Kubeck" is Henry Slesar. There are 3 different mystery/suspense/crime writers whom I instantly identified as Henry Slesar after reading their works. Those three are "Sley Harson", "Eli Jerome", and "Russel Kubeck". Slesar's estate has subsequently verified that "Sley Harson" and "Eli Jerome" were indeed pen names used by Henry Slesar. No word yet on "Russel Kubeck". I wish Slesar's kids, his agent, or P&G would ultimately acknowledge whether or not "Kubeck" was one of Slesar's pen names. Here's what I think happened: I believe P&G approached Slesar and said, "We're pulling the plug on Somerset in December unless you can get the ratings up to a 6.0 for a 13-week period". [Or some other target they had in mind.] Slesar took the job but knew the chances of failure were far greater than the chances of success, so he used a pseudonym for it. Look at it this way. A few years later, in 1983, P&G dismissed Henry Slesar from The Edge of Night and went out soliciting a new mystery writer to take his place. They settled on Lee Sheldon. If "Russel Kubeck" were a real person (other than a pen name of Slesar's), don't you think P&G would've hired Kubeck instead, since they'd already worked with him on Somerset. I believe P&G was fully aware that the paychecks written in 1976 to Russel Kubeck had gone directly into Slesar's account, and there was no sense in interviewing Mr. Kubeck to take Slesar's place on EON in 1983.

I caught most of the episodes during that time period. Subsequently Bell or Alden (I forget which) revealed that Peggy's rape story was done for strategic ratings purposes. Chris's rape had occurred earlier, before the show really caught on & was near the middle or the lower end of the ratings. Bell had been pleased with the concept and wanted the rape story to play-out for a much larger audience. By the 1975-1976 season, the show was near the top of the ratings and was extremely popular among high school & college kids. He felt the time was right to re-tell the story. When I was watching in 1976, I didn't find it especially "cruel" that lightning had struck twice in the Brooks family. I felt it was more of a continuation of Chris's storyline, giving her a chance to continue dealing with the trauma of her own rape.

What Dan Curtis never seemed to understand -- and what Art Wallace knew from the get-go -- is that a slow, suspenseful build-up creates a far more satisfying episode than the constant "cliffhangers" that never amounted to much. ("I'm going to kiillll you, Julia!" before every commercial break, lol.)

I find the black & white episodes FAR more atmospheric and spooky than the color episodes. The first few months of Dark Shadows move ploddingly slow when you're binge-watching, with entirely too much repetition and exposition. But as someone noted above, it's the only time in the show when you get much character development. After the 1795 sequence, it's pretty much like "just make something up; nobody cares." The series essentially became self-parody with the overload of monsters & ghoulies. I was watching a scene one time in which the Witch was attempting to stop the Phoenix from staking the Vampire, and I got tickled at the absurdity of three "monsters" in one scene.

Thanks for the walk down Memory Lane! (Can you imagine what the synopsis for 2024/2025 will look like 50 years from now? It'll basically just be a flowchart of who was the CEO of which unseen corporation, lol.)

Mansion of the Damned sure is a "talkative" horror movie. In the past when I've watched those episodes, I was paying attention to The Edge of Night characters and not really zeroing in on the rehearsals/blocking/filming of the actual movie. This time I've been following the plot of Mansion of the Damned pretty closely, and all I can say is Hester Atherton and Nicholas Harriman are about the most chit-chatty Witch and Devil I've ever heard in my life!

I've often thought that as well. I stuck with EON until the bitter end, but my viewing dropped off DRASTICALLY after the Rexford Clinic storyline concluded in 1981. The show had always "re-grouped" fairly well after a mass exodus of cast members --- but I never felt it never made a full recovery after the loss of Albee, Frances Fisher, Joe Lambie, Tony Craig, and Terry Davis. Slesar seemed to have a decent storyline in mind for Raven and Jefferson Brown, but once that arc ended (and he was stuck trying to sandwich Larkin Malloy back onto the canvas), the storylines got sillier (Smiley & the Maskers), and there was too much emphasis on the trials & tribulations of Jody Travis and on the Raven & Schuyler characters. The new writer (Sheldon) took Slesar's weaknesses to an even greater extreme, making the characters unrelatable and often cartoonish. A return of "three musketeers" police-type storytelling would've been more than welcome, in my opinion.

Aristotle Dumas. Just thought I'd throw that out there!

All I'll say is that she returns at just the right time, and she's even more entertaining when she returns than before she went away. lol.

I didn't wanna "ruin" it for you if Raven hadn't left on her midnight trip to London yet. But based on where she's going -- and who she'll be staying with -- you can assume there will be some drama when she returns! I believe she even says to Logan or Eliot Dorn before she leaves, "My stepfather, Ansel Scott, always had a 'thing' for me!" lol.

With Raven & Draper, it's more "past-shadowing" than "foreshadowing". Draper dated Raven a couple of years earlier (1976 or 1977). Draper's father is a sleazy but successful attorney named Ansel Scott. Ansel Scott became engaged to a vain, wealthy, middle-aged widow named Mrs. Nadine Alexander. Nadine's husband had been dead for many years, but she had a nubile, shallow, selfish daughter named Raven Alexander who was about Draper's age. Nadine thought it would be WONDERFUL if Draper took Raven out to dinner and showed her a few nice evenings. He obliged. But it soon became evident that Raven had a "daddy fixation" -- Raven didn't care much for her mother, but she was practically in love with the memory of her deceased father. Since her father was no longer around, Raven decided her new stepfather (Ansel Scott) would be a suitable substitute, so she began batting her eyes and wiggling her ass at Ansel. Ultimately, Ansel Scott and Nadine Alexander got married and moved to London. To Draper, Raven is nothing more than the horrible girl who was always attempting to seduce his father. To make herself even MORE unlikable to Draper (and to April), Raven lied for several months about the paternity of her baby, little Jamey Swift. She told April that Draper had fathered the child, as Kevin Jamison was sterile. Well, really it was Logan Swift who'd gotten her pregnant, but she did her best to make April believe Draper was the baby daddy. April and Draper absolutely can't stand Raven -- but April LOVES Jamey Swift, as April had a miscarriage and lost her baby and can theoretically never get pregnant again. April thinks of Jamey Swift as the baby she'll never have. If Raven ever announces any intention of moving to London to be with Nadine and Ansel, you can already guess where she'll be dumping Jamey, lol. In my opinion, Margo is one of the most fascinating characters on the show. She's like a contagion, contaminating everyone she touches, but she's so forlorn and needy that you can't help but love her. The actress (Ann Williams) puts a tremendous amount of depth into Margo Huntington.

It's AWFULLY hard to tell. But out of the (approximately) 16 weeks so far in 2025, Bryton has only had about 12 episodes. That's significantly less than 1 per week. Once the actor drops down to less than 1 per week for an extended period of time (such as a 39-week cycle), I start thinking there's no contract in place for him or her. Surely these folks aren't tying themselves down to a show for a guarantee of 1 or 2 episodes a month. If I counted right, Bryton has had 21 episodes in the past 24 weeks. They're either (a) about to kick into high-gear & work his ass off to meet his minimum guaranteed appearances, or else (b) he ain't got a contract that guarantees him squat.

Of the so-called "contract" cast members, I'd venture to say these are recurring: Bryton James, Camryn Grimes, and (possibly) Michael Graziadei. I've suspected since 2018 that Kate Linder and Christian LeBlanc are recurring. And I believe we all know Miss Ordway is, because she said so. lol.

Sarah (with the English accent) isn't just some random character. Sarah was once the housekeeper for Eliot Dorn and Margo Huntington. One of the following 2 scenarios happened a few months ago: (1): One night, while Margo wasn't at home, and while Oscar the Doorman wasn't at his post, a burglar sneaked into the private elevator, rode up to the penthouse, stole several thousand dollars worth of Margo's valuable diamonds and pearls, and tied-up Eliot Dorn and Sarah the Housekeeper, ensuring that Eliot and Sarah couldn't pursue the burglar back down to the lobby or phone the police to apprehend the burglar. OR -- (2): Eliot Dorn was SLEEPING with Sarah the Housekeeper, and the two of them conspired to steal Margo's jewelry and went on a lavish spending spree and then tied THEMSELVES up to make it look as though a burglary had occurred in the penthouse. Margo Dorn currently believes Scenario #1 occurred, and she's rather annoyed that the "incompetent police" haven't located her stolen jewels yet. Eliot and Sarah know that Scenario #2 actually occurred. When Sarah stopped by the Unicorn and saw Eliot kissing Raven Swift, Sarah snidely said, "Oh! This must be Mrs. Dorn! Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dorn!" Sarah knew good & damn well Raven isn't "Mrs. Dorn" because Sarah worked for Margo Dorn on a daily basis for many months. That was Sarah's not-so-subtle way of announcing, "I'll be paying a visit to District Attorney Logan Swift and letting him know that his wife is sleeping with you, and I'll be paying a visit to WMON to let Margo Huntington know that you're sleeping with Mrs. Swift!" lol.

What annoys me a little bit about the "day players" is they sound a bit too "Brooklyn-ish" sometimes. Obviously, the show was taped in New York City, and the actors are all New York actors, but Monticello is supposed to be located in Illinois or Ohio. Occasionally, they grab actors and actresses for small roles who have VERY distinct New York accents, which contrasts sharply with the main cast, none of whom have noticeable accents (except for our dashing European gigolo, Eliot Dorn, of course). The heavy Brooklyn accent works fine if the character is a bookie, or the owner of a pawn shop, or a guy who's selling stolen guns on the street corner. But when it's a steadily recurring character -- such as the first Mrs. Goodman, who worked for Miles and Nicole -- it's pretty jarring to me sometimes. And you'll see it often -- such as an "under-five" character who witnesses a car accident, or a character who witnesses a shooting, or the occasional desk clerk, or waiter.

Thank you, @j swift. I'm probably more sympathetic to Draper Scott than most audience members are -- even though I'm absolutely CRAZY about Ann Williams & her bizarre Margo Huntington character 😂 The more I watch these episodes -- and I've watched several of them a zillion times, I'm ashamed to admit -- you realize there's a WHOLE lot of passive-aggressive hostility brewing inside Margo Huntington about Draper. She wants to take April AWAY from him and recreate the childhood that she never got to experience with April, because of the adoption 25 years ago. Draper has sense enough to realize how heartless and vindictive Margo really is about other people's lives and their feelings, but he bites his tongue rather than poison his wife's mind about how horrible her mother really is. And I admire him for that. He's a sweet boy.

Kim Hunter is excellent, and she only gets better & better. By the time the storyline ends, she's downright DAZZLING. As for whether or not Nola Madison will encounter Eliot Dorn again, all I can say is that everything on the show happens for a reason. lol. Paige Madison is a wealthy young debutante. In real-life, in the 1970s, there was a rich heiress in California named Patricia Hearst who joined a violent gang and committed a crime; there was some question about whether Patty Hearst was brainwashed or whether she voluntarily broke the law. Paige Madison is the "Edge of Night" version of Patty Hearst. Paige Madison's storyline is loosely based on the real-life events surrounding Patty Hearst & the Symbionese Liberation Army. In the show, Paige Madison assisted a mysterious man named Tobias in stealing some firearms from the US government & delivering those stolen firearms to revolutionaries in a South American country. Paige faces jail time for what she did. However, she's been given temporary immunity from a prison sentence if she cooperates with the police in finding the other members of the Tobias Gang. The only problem is that various members of the Tobias Gang keep popping out of the woodwork and trying to kill her, before she talks to the authorities; that's why her father has hired a bodyguard to protect her. There is ALSO some fear by her family that she was romantically involved with Tobias himself, and that perhaps Tobias (or "Toby", as she calls him) still has a certain hold over her emotionally. All of that will play-out in the coming weeks and will involve a VERY surprising character whom you've already met. Paige Madison is NOT involved with the blond-haired, blue-eyed bodyguard. He has a girlfriend of his own. He's involved with a cute, red-headed female police detective played by actress Frances Fisher. Miss Fisher has been given a few weeks off to rest, because she's about to be featured very heavily in the Nola Madison storyline. Paige Madison is in love with her step-brother, Brian Madison. The "official story" of the Madison family is that Paige Madison is the daughter of Owen Madison and his first wife (a lady named Elizabeth); Brian Madison is the son of Nola Patterson Madison and her first husband. Many years ago, Owen Madison's marriage fell apart, and Nola Patterson's marriage fell apart; Owen and Nola then married, raising Paige and Brian as step-siblings. But in 1976, Owen had a "secret talk" with Brian about certain events from the past; Brian was so horrified by what he learned that he ran away from home and joined the Navy. Nola and Owen didn't hear from Brian for three years. He's recently returned home, and he feels VERY uncomfortable around Paige. She would like to resume dating Brian, but Brian isn't willing to participate. All of this will be discussed in coming episodes, and you'll learn the "secret" that sent Brian away three years earlier. The show's logo will change drastically in the summer of 1980 to something that doesn't look cheap at all. lol. I'll defend Draper to the "death" on this business with Margo. The woman is absolutely wretched to him. Not only did she trick him into purchasing a $100,000 house (which she led him to believe cost $65,000), she wheedled and schemed until she got APRIL to participate in the subterfuge of tricking Draper. Now Draper is not only annoyed that Margo lied to him, he's subconsciously realizing that Margo is easily able to manipulate APRIL into lying to him; he's wondering if Margo has created an environment in which his own wife will callously lie to him about important things in order to take advantage of Margo's open checkbook. The "subtext" is that he's unsure if he can trust April to be honest with him anymore, thanks to her horrible mother's haughty interference. (But of course the worst thing that Margo has done is interfere with the lucrative job he landed in New York City, an offer which was immediately rescinded before he even started. He doesn't know yet that Margo used sexual blackmail against the senior law partner in New York to snatch his job away from him, but the audience knows.) Right now, Draper isn't working for the Crime Commission. He's Mike Karr's "junior" law partner. Remember, Mike & Nancy Karr encouraged him to take the job in New York City, because the pay was so much better than what earns working for Mike. Then when Margo pulled her ace out of her sleeve and yanked the job away from Draper, Mike happily welcomed him back.