MarlandFan

I agree -- the Doug Marland era is the best and I would recommend beginning with the very sparse late-1985 episodes available on YouTube (I think there are only 5 or 6 episodes from Oct/Nov/Dec). There are a LOT of episodes from 1986/87 (the best era IMO) and then a very healthy number of episodes from 1988 thru 1993 (Marland died in March of 1993). I stayed with the show until early 1994, but the quality of the writing just never recovered for me.

While Heather Rattray was a bit of a shock when she first took over the role of Lily (she was much taller than Byrne and Lily was suddenly being written as a semi-ruthless business woman), I came to like her very much. She played Lily as more mature and sophisticated than Byrne did -- which came in handy during the very traumatic Angel storyline. I was sad when Rattray left the role. Once Byrne returned in 1993, Lily immediately went back to being petulant and sour.

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.

I attended an ATWT panel at the Paley Center back in 1997 and the panel included most of the heavy hitters at that time (Hastings, Hays, Hubbard, Fulton, Byrne, and a few others). Hastings was funny and charming, Hubbard was stiff and reserved, Hays seemed uncomfortable and quiet -- and Fulton and Byrne were both excited, effusive, and happy to be there. I remember being very surprised that the very kind Kim (Hays) seemed dour in real life and that the scatterbrained diva Lisa (Fulton) was in fact very down-to-earth and friendly. And Martha (who was VERY pregnant and by far the youngest on the panel) was very warm, confident, and proud of her association with the show.

For some reason, the interviewer's questions were purposefully edited out, so any back-and-forth discussion between them was intentionally cut. Luckily, Martha always gives long, thoughtful answers, therefore there are long stretches of this interview that did not get chopped. But yes, it would have been nice to get a fuller understanding of the Goutman conflict. It sounds like Goutman turned the conflict into a personal fight/vendetta. I'm not sure of the reason why since Martha has always seemed very pleasant and professional (even in her current MAGA mode).

Agreed -- Marland's 1985 to 1987 period on ATWT was great. 1988 promised to be just as good, but the 5-month-long writers strike disrupted his storylines. Once he was able to regain control of the show in the fall of 1988 he also had to deal with some cast defections and it took him a solid 6 months to regain his momentum. As a result, much of 1989 is largely forgettable but it laid the groundwork for what I think was an exceptional 1990. Casey's illness and death, Andy's alcoholism, the fantastic Bob/Kim/Susan triangle and the very mature way Marland treated Bob and Kim's marital struggles. ATWT definitely deserved their Emmy for Best Show that year. 1991 to his death, the only two major story misfires were the infamously horrid Crawford murder mystery and the Royce/Neal introduction. Granted, Marland died just as the Royce/Neal story was gaining steam and maybe he could have course-corrected if he had lived, but from the outset it was anti-climactic and odd with every beat.

The sexiest 91 year old I've ever seen. Love him.

I loved the Kim/Bob/Susan triangle. It was the most realistic examination of a marriage-in-trouble that I had seen on a soap. For the story to work, I think Susan needed to be a three-dimensional character. Marland had to soften Susan to make it believable that Bob could have feelings for her. And for the triangle to work, all three had to be "real" people (and with the possibility of Bob going with Susan instead of returning to Kim.) Prior to the tryst with Bob, Susan was already being written as "kind-hearted" especially with her friendship with Casey and her AA sponsorship of Andy.

I agree -- Marland must have decided that if he wanted to keep John on the canvas, John needed to become more three-dimensional and more integrated into the Oakdale society. Under Marland, John developed a fairly strict moral code -- gone were the days of lies, deception, and self-serving machinations. He still interfered and lurked, but now his focus was on the well-being of his children. All of these changes gave the character a longer life on ATWT, but it also neutered him. Case in point: during Stenbeck's first return in 86/87, the John/Stenbeck rivalry was only briefly the focus. Initially, John made a fuss about his arch-enemy being alive and needing to pay for his crimes, but that conflict quickly disappeared and they almost never shared scenes together. It became a Stenbeck vs. Duncan storyline. Marland felt that John was too "normal" to be a part of an over-the-top high-adventure villain plotline.

I never understood why Marland broke up Lucinda and John. I get why Marland injected trouble and divorce into their storyline (soaps are all about drama), but he never brought them back together. After the divorce, there was never even a hint that Marland felt that they eventually belonged together. They were such a fun, dynamic couple -- was perhaps the permanent break because the actors had difficulties with each other? And TPTB decided to relieve the stress behind the scenes?

These are amazing. Great quality and some have never been up on YouTube. Thank you!