MarlandFan

Yes, Marland came into the show with a tight, well-plotted 3-year bible and 1986/87 were fantastic. Unfortunately, the long 1988 writer's strike (and multiple cast changes) upset that momentum and by the time Marland returned in the fall of 1988, the show was in trouble. It took him most of 1989 to rebuild the show, which culminated in another great year, 1990.

That was my thought: that Neal would not be killed, but simply injured and then eventually leave the canvas. MKA signed with the show specifically because it was a 6-month deal, but her unexpected chemistry with Lucinda/Hubbard was so great that I think Marland would have recognized that the story needed to shift and that the audience HAD to see Lucinda know/accept Neal as her sister while Neal was alive and not after her death. That emotional connection between long-lost sisters was the real center of the entire story, not Royce and the mystery of his multiples.

I remember Janice being one of the few bright spots on the show during the second half of 1993. With Marland's and Morrisons's deaths, Joseph Breen's illness, Glynis John's miscasting, and the mishandling of the Neal Alcott murder mystery (I still think that if Marland had lived he would have convinced Mary Kay Adams to stay), ATWT was definitely suffering. Janice was (at least at the beginning) a three dimensional villain who was unpredictable and fun to watch. Holly Cate gave her a sense of humanity which made her "evilness" interesting.

I was excited when Ben Jorgenson was cast as Chris Hughes in 1999. Chris was SORASed and was now college-aged. Jorgenson was a strong actor with soap creds and his arrival promised that a significant story was in the making which would bring Bob and Kim back to front-burner status. But both Chris and Ben fizzled (I don't know why) and he was gone within the year. I remember being very disappointed with (as usual) the writing.

Thanks for posting! While the Y+R episode might be from June 27, the ATWT episode is from Monday, June 26. During one of the commercial breaks there is a promo for the Monday night comedies with the announcer declaring "Tonight!".

My usual downloader had a problem as well, but this link worked for me: https://vidfly.ai/youtube-video-downloader/ I agree -- videos and entire channels can be taken down from YouTube without any notice. Knowing this, over the years I've downloaded every Marland-era episode (the only period I wish to keep) that I can find. Currently, I have just over 800. I'm glad I did this because many episodes have already disappeared from YouTube.

That other 6-10-91 episode is one that I posted a few years ago. When this new video appeared, I did some research and I realized that I had been incorrect -- I was a week off. Mine aired June 17. I've made the correction now. :)

Another 1991 episode not yet on YouTube. Thanks to VintageNoSpintage.

Yes, that (very beautifully written) scene between Kim and Seth is from the August 2, 1988 episode. Other than a "Story by Douglas Marland" in the end credits, there is no writing team listed (for obvious reasons -- no one wants to be known as a scab writer.) I once had a conversation with the writer BK Perlman who wrote for "Ryan's Hope" in the mid-80s. Prior to being hired as an RH writer in 1983 she had actually been a scab writer for RH during the 1981 writer's strike. (She, of course, used a different pseudonym during that time.) Later, when producers were looking to fill their writing staff in 1983, they remembered her and her work and officially hired her. I'm not certain if others in the writer's room were aware of her past?

For a short period in 1985/86, Marland positioned Heather, Frannie, Betsy, and Sierra as gal pals (same ages, most pursuing college degrees). It felt very natural and there was definite chemistry between all four. I wish those relationships had strengthened, but each character had her own storyline which eventually drove them away from that core group.

lol

My enthusiasm for ATWT had definitely waned by 1997 and this was the final nail in the coffin. Such disrespect to Allyson Rice.

Agreed. By the mid/late 1990s, all the heavy-hitter soap creators had retired or passed on (Bill Bell, Doug Marland, Agnes Nixon, Harding Lemay, Clare Labine). They were the handful of writers who could demand autonomy -- and get it. With them gone, the suits took over and subsequent headwriters had to get approval for every little plot and subplot.

I wholeheartedly agree about the Labine-era being the last great period on a soap. Which is sad since that was in the early 1990s.

I also bemoan the spotty episodes from Marland's early run on ATWT. But we're actually quite lucky: most of 1986 is pretty much available on YouTube -- except for the late-May episode when Frannie's memory returned while testifying on the witness stand during Kim's trial for killing Douglas Cummings. And the September episode where Kim gives birth to Chris. Those are the two Holy Grails for me. And while we don't have the immediate build-ups to the climax of the Sabrina storyline, most of 1987 is also available. Thank goodness for those ATWT fans with VCRs (still a rarity back then). Because of their efforts, we can still enjoy that classic period today.