Broderick

They actually WANTED her more often than they got her, I believe. I've heard that the show had scheduled her for yet another appearance as Laura, but the cancellation came before the story was written.

I agree. When you put 6 characters in groups of 2, and d-r-a-a-a-g out their conversations with each other for a whole hour -- Lord, it's dreadful.

I think you're right. In the original 1967 storyline, didn't the old caretaker at Eagle Hill Cemetery explain to us there had been a "Laura Stockbridge" who died by fire in 1767 and a Laura Radcliffe who died by fire in 1867, leading us to realize there would be a Laura Collins who died by fire in 1967? (Or as the old caretaker said, "Diiiiied by fiiiirre!") When they introduced the 1897 storyline and snagged Diana Millay again, they "retconned" the two previous incarnations of Laura into Mrs. Jeremiah Collins and Mrs. Edward Collins.

I'm guessing "budget", and it sure makes for some stale, stagnant episodes I'm sorry to say!

Same here. Even though I watched The Edge of Night most afternoons in the late 1970s and early 1980s -- and therefore I already know how each crime and mystery is resolved -- I enjoy watching the old episodes to catch the clues that I foolishly missed when the episodes originally aired. The style of writing includes many red herrings deliberately thrown in our direction, and many actual CLUES sprinkled into what appear on the surface to be mundane conversations. When I re-watch an episode on You Tube, I always find myself wondering, "How did I MISS that clue in 1981? I sat there and WATCHED this episode!" There's a certain timelessness about it -- probably because of the film noir/cops and robbers format -- that simply doesn't exist in other serialized shows.

That's the way I've always understood it. I believe Laura married into the Collins family three different times. In the 1897 storyline, we learned that Laura had originally married Jeremiah Collins in the 1780s or 1790s. (Jeremiah was supposedly widowed by Laura Murdoch when he ultimately married Josette du Pres.) Barnabas remembered Laura Collins well. Barnabas said that he was a pre-teen (or a teenager) when Jeremiah married her, and Barnabas had a little crush on her. Laura recalled Barnabas as the "sad-eyed little nephew" who followed Jeremiah around the Old House. By 1897, Laura had reappeared (after a 100 year hiatus) and was married to Edward Collins (but was more interested in Quentin Collins). Then in 1967, after another 100 year hiatus, she reappeared yet again and married Roger Collins. So yes, I'd say Roger married his grandmother.

Absolutely heartbreaking news. When he joined Y&R, he was like a bolt of lightning across a sometimes desolate landscape. So much infectious energy and mischief infused into each of his scenes. (And yes, occasionally his energy level seemed almost manic, and now perhaps we can appreciate and understand why.) He was much admired by many longtime fans of the show; we've seen a plethora of Billys, but never anything like Billy Miller! Also appreciated by his colleagues, as evidenced by his phenomenal three Emmy wins in six short years. A tremendously talented man, gone way too soon. As Horatio says, "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest."

I wasn't around in the 1960s, but there used to be a club in downtown Monticello (Cincinnati) called the "Club Ho-Hi-Ho" (pronounced similar to "Ohio") where Mike Karr hung out. Is that the one you're remembering?

Oh, I agree. I can't even picture them knowing each other. But there was some complicating factor --- wasn't he a friend of Mark Lambert (Victoria Mallory's husband), and there was something wrong with a car or something, and Mark asked him, "Will you pick up my wife from Television City if you're not doing anything right now"? lol.

Doug Davidson (Paul Williams Y&R) stopped by Television City to pick-up Victoria Mallory from work, landed an under-5 role as Paul in May 1978, got a contract in early 1980, and stayed for about 40 years. Kate Linder [Esther, Y&R] got a non-speaking role as "Maid" in 1982, got a name when her co-star called her "Esther" during a scene, got a contract about 5 years later, and has been around for more than 40 years.

I didn't *intend* to sit down & watch an entire episode of Guiding Light. But that episode was so well put together, it was hard NOT to watch it.

It's about a "three-way tie" on 7/1/1983 for #1 among GH, Y&R, and AMC.

I had done the same thing for Calendar Year 1980 (1/4/1980 - 12/26/1980 - 52 week period), but I was too lazy to do the shares. 1. GH -- 10.4 -- 46 weeks at #1 2. AMC -- 9.4 -- 6 weeks at #1 3. OLTL -- 9.0 -- 0 weeks at #1 4. GL -- 8.1 -- 0 weeks at #1 5. Y&R -- 8.0 -- 0 weeks at #1 6. ATWT -- 7.8 -- 0 weeks at #1

That was a sad day. 😉 She definitely wasn't Lilibet Stern. But In hindsight, compared with all that nonsense with the tall, demented Patty from a few years ago, Andrea Evans was just fine in the role.

What's funny is that if you go back and look at VERY EARLY 1980, before Margo was even murdered, Slesar was already previewing it to the audience. Draper, April, and Logan were playing Monopoly. April was telling Logan that she'd been dreaming about Draper, a "silver bracelet" (the handcuffs), and a train whistle. She also said she was trying to decide on a girl's name for her baby, even though it would "probably be a boy". Logan remarked that in his family, everyone's first name was the mother's surname. April asked, "So your mother's maiden name was LOGAN?" Logan Swift said, "Yep, JULIA Logan." That one scene previewed the next 6 months of storyline -- baby Julia, Draper's arrest, the train derailment, and April's relationship with Logan.

I think it's one of those "old wives' tales" that's been handed down erroneously over the years. The ratings for that week don't support viewership of "20 million" on the wedding day.

I've been wondering how they're budgeting for Miss Eileen. Her appearance fee per episode is likely fairly high. I'm not complaining; I'm always happy when she's on. But the show looks so desolate & poverty-stricken in every other respect, as though they can barely afford to pay their electric bill.

Y&R beating OLTL in three out of four weeks here.

Half-sister, I believe. My recollection is that Ben Travis had an affair with Jody's mother while he was married to Nicole's mother. It was a touchy subject when Jody first appeared, having to tell Nicole that (a) "your dad had an affair" and (b) "I'm your little sister". I agree that April Cavanaugh was a far more complex character than Jody ever was. April had that whole mysterious thing going on with the visions she sometimes suffered from, after her heart stopped beating for a few minutes; no one was ever sure whether to take her premonitions seriously or not. Also, she wasn't some spineless little jellyfish. When Raven started badgering her mercilessly, she would roll her eyes, flick her hair out of her face and tell Raven, "Get out, and don't come back." It was refreshing to see an ingenue stand up for herself, the way April often did.

lol, I honestly have no expertise. But Slesar clearly LOVED writing for April, Draper, and Raven. I expect Sharon Gabet's maternity leave was a factor, along with a "demographic mandate" to feature more of Preacher & Jody, as well as Lee Sheldon's love of Preacher Emerson, Del Emerson, and Jody.

Put your mind at ease. It was "luck". If Sharon had it in her contract, she was BREACHED in 1984, lol. Jody and Preacher got the FIRST shot and the LAST shot in this one, which ran through much of 1984. I think the placement was "pet" based. In 1980, Terry Davis & Tony Craig were Henry Slesar's "special pets", so they got the closing shot. By the time the shots were redone in 1981, Sharon Gabet had joined them as a "Slesar pet" and she got the final shot (immediately following April and Draper). April & Draper left the show in the summer of 1981, so Raven was Slesar's sole Special Pet who remained. She got the final shot through the rest of Henry Slesar's run. Lee Sheldon's special pets were Jody and Preacher for some unknown reason. So they got it for a while.

I think Raven's positioning was just "luck". Draper had the spot first. Beginning in June of 1980, when the photographs were introduced (along with the "disco" opening), they concentrated on three couples. First were Nancy & Mike Karr, followed by Miles & Nicole Cavanaugh, and then they closed it out with April & Draper Scott. Once Jayne Bentzen (Nicole) left, and they needed to update, Raven got the ending shot. (She'd been omitted from the first sequence, as she wasn't part of a "couple"). From then on, it was various shots of Raven that ended it, as far as I can remember. (I believe for the final one in 1984, with the "techno" opening, we might've had Jody & Preacher on the beach for the last shot.)

What's sad about the station clearance of The Edge of Night is to run the math on its potential. It clocked in at a 2.8 for the week of 10/12/1984, with a clearance of only 106 stations. If you take that 2.8 rating and extrapolate it to clearance of 208 stations (which General Hospital had), you'd be looking at a rating of 5.5 or 5.6 for that particular week, placing it just behind Capitol. (And this is when Edge was already in its death throes.)

My opinion only --- no sources to cite. TWO actors were cut from that storyline and replaced fairly quickly. One was the actress who played Molly Sherwood, and the other was the actor who played Kelly McGrath. Henry Slesar often plotted his storylines FAR in advance, dropping random little clues as he went. For the storyline to work correctly, the actress playing Molly Sherwood needed to be a motherly type, ditzy but loving, a lady who appeared to be kind, open & caring. The recast actress (Laurinda Barrett) seemed to imbue those qualities a little better than the original, who'd already seemed a bit brusque and sinister. The actor playing Kelly needed to be a young leading man who appeared to be all-consumed with his puppets, a friendly sort with no agenda or secrets, who'd just popped over from Europe to spend a few months with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mike. As the story progressed, other characters would begin discovering that he had a certain secret past in Rome that didn't align with his pleasant personality (things that involved an injured person and a knife attack). The recast actor (Allen Fawcett) seemed to imbue those qualities a bit better than the original, who'd already seemed extra-fidgety, awkward, and uneasy. I've always believed Henry Slesar & Nick Nicholson recast those two roles because the original actors were "telegraphing" too much of the storyline that was still many months from being told.

When there's a "tie" in the ratings (such as 9/24/1982) when Guiding Light and The Young & the Restless both have a 7.7, I'm inclined to think the one with the higher "share" (Y&R's 31 share versus GL's 27 share) should be listed first. If both shows are tied in households and in shares, then I think they should be alphabetized. That's just my two cents, and I'm not complaining. I'm thrilled to have the weekly data, and I appreciate the work you put into these! 😉