MarlandFan

Marland's scripts began airing in October of 1985, so while he was probably not responsible for the initial Craig/Lucinda tryst, he clearly saw their chemistry and kept a slow burn going over the next six months or so. Sometime in early 1986, the two began kissing passionately and Lily walked in on them. Craig, ever the "big brother", had to calm Lily down and explain the situation to her.

I liked actress Mady Kaplan very much. She played a sweeter, Sad Sack-ish character on "Edge of Night" a few years earlier and that character was also murdered. The demise of that character (named Bobbie) tugged at the heartstrings. Marie's demise...not so much. lol After a quick Google search of her, I see that her mother was Frances Heflin who played Mona on AMC! Wow!

Yes - Marland was definitely facile with his plotting, even in the very structured 1986. For example, he certainly did not expect actor Don MacLaughlin to die and yet he was able to incorporate Chris's death seamlessly in the overall storytelling. And the recast of Tad Channing leads me to believe that he quickly revamped the original story to create a Who-Done-It. And there has always been the "rumor" that he originally intended to put Holden with Emily instead of Lily, and that when he realized the chemistry and story potential he had with a Holden/Lily pairing, he quickly resolved the incest issue by suddenly making Iva adopted.

Marland was so confident in his storytelling abilities during his first year. All of 1986 felt like one long, fully-planned-out novel. Oftentimes, soaps felt like they were being written "off the cuff" (which many of them were); reactive, inconsistent, with uneven pacing. ATWT's 1986 excelled, in part, because Marland came prepared with a full year (or two) of story AND he was apparently given total (or near-total) control of the show's direction. Marland's 1986 was (and is, thanks to those who were smart enough to videotape episodes and later share them on YouTube) a high watermark in all of soap history.

The only Marland-era 1985 episodes that have been posted on YouTube are Oct 16, Nov 1, Nov 11, Dec 24 and Dec 31. I've been downloading and collecting all Marland episodes for years and these 5 dates are the only 1985 episodes I've ever seen.

Not to be cold-hearted, but OJ did more than just kill Ron and Nicole. His trial, with it's almost daily preemptions, helped to hasten the death of soaps.

Judi Evans.

It's no surprise why the show hit #2 in the ratings; ATWT was running on all cylinders during the spring/summer/fall of 1990. Andy's alcoholism reached it's climax with him going to jail for hitting Lien while driving drunk. That story (in part) caused Bob's dissatisfaction with his marriage and he slept with Susan which blew-up his marriage to Kim. The Margo/Casey right-to-die story was gripping and emotional. These and other stories (Julie marries Caleb then sleeps with Holden, Shannon's "death", Duke's paternity and Lucinda's machinations), helped ATWT win it's 2nd Emmy for Best Show that year. Plus - Jimmy Wlcek was super hot (still is!) and seemed to be shirtless throughout most of that 1990 summer (thank you ATWT producers).

I wish episodes of Marland's Showtime night time soap "A New Day in Eden" were available somewhere. As racy as it may have been in 1983, it's probably pretty tame today.

In the mid-1980s, there was no one hotter.

I don't think it ever happened on ATWT, but perhaps on the nighttime spin-off "Our Private World"? I do know that actress Beverly McKinsley received such a billing on "Texas". As far as I know, she's the only soap performer to ever receive such top billing.

I loved Barbara once she transformed into the manipulative vixen in the mid-80s. No longer a doormat, she became very 3-dimensional, capable of being both a vindictive bitch AND a kind. loyal friend. I remember when Hank Elliot came out to her in 1988, her response was very matter-of-fact and loving. She told him that she had already guessed it and, being in the fashion industry, was very aware of -- and comfortable working with -- gay men. She and Hank always had a very loving friendship. She was also an early and strong supporter of Duncan and Jessica's relationship. If you were ever going to war, you wanted Barbara Ryan on the front lines with you.

The Grimaldi family had such amazing potential and Nicholas Coster was a welcome addition to the cast. He was one of the few reasons to watch the show as it spiraled out of control after Marland's death. Killing him off was such a waste -- and yes, gruesome. Did Coster wish to leave the show? Or was Eduardo's death a writer/producer decision?

The article was in the February 5, 1991 issue of Soap Opera Digest. So the episode probably ran in either the last week of January or the first week of February 1991.

I think Jaclyn Zeman got more attention because she was currently on the air, was only 70, and passed away so suddenly. Actors like Hubbard and Kathryn Hays spoke to an audience that is now in the 50+ age bracket -- and current TV/newspaper editors are in their 30s and 40s. They just don't understand how significant these actors were. And perhaps there is a bias against soap actors: I've noticed that the NYTimes does not publish obituaries for soap actors. Nothing for Anthony Herrera, Lisa Brown, or Elizabeth Hubbard to name a few. And these were SIGNIFICANT actors who were known by millions outside the soap world -- and who had long acting resumes in other fields. I noticed they did give Kathryn Hays an obituary - but only a full three weeks after she died (perhaps the editors only included her once they realized she has been on a Star Trek episode and had once been married to Glenn Ford?)

Yes, we know. We're surmising what he would have done if he had lived. I do know what you mean by those years feeling very dark. I think some of that overall darkness may have been due to the shifting fashion trends in 92/93. We went from bright pastels of 88 to 90 to the browns and muted earth tones of the early 90s. And suddenly every woman seemed to sport that short bob haircut that became mega-popular.

I don't think Marland's final years were dark or ponderous at all. Once the horrible Carolyn Crawford murder mystery finally(!) ended, the show improved. The Lily/Holden amnesia story, the reveal about Aaron's paternity, Scott's arrival, Lucinda's half-siblings, Susan and Larry's romance, the introduction of Damien Grimaldi were all great stories that injected both past history and future potential. If he had lived, Marland would definitely have tightened/fixed the Royce/Neal storyline and was also creating/preparing the Kasnoff family for a 1993/94 debut. I do think that Marland may have become frustrated with the havoc that the OJ Simpson trial brought to soaps in 1995. By that point, with the constant disruption of airings and the escalating cost of production, P&G may have become more "hands-on" and he might have quit.

I never understood the Hogan Sheffer love. And bringing back Craig as a villain was a slap in the face to both the character and the audience.

I think we find it hard to believe because -- if true -- it is perhaps one of the most idiotic corporate decisions ever made. You never delete or trash content/property -- especially in this day and age when there are so many niche-related media outlets and so much demand for content. Even if they trashed the physical tapes because it cost too much to store, at some point they were creating episodes in digital format. Storing digital is easy and cheap.

I was also a little put off by Martha's appearance on NewsMax (besides being crazy-partisan, they are so unprofessional they couldn't even spell her last name correctly.) But I imagine that NewsMax may have been the only media outlet that was willing to have her on (or maybe she had some sort of contact over there?). While it's a big news story to ATWT fans, the rest of the world may not be interested in what seems like a complicated case. And -- again -- while past soap actors are important to us, the rest of the world may no longer even remember who she is. However, given the frightening situation which has happened to her husband/family, I'm willing to give her a pass on this appearance. Everything I've seen from Martha over the years indicates that she is loving, inclusive and open-minded.

After Marland's death, I watched ATWT for another 18 months. 1993 stayed strong but by early 1994 the seams were showing. While Shannon's January 1994 return was a fantastic surprise, her story immediately became boring when it was clear that the new writers did not know how to write for her. And the villainous Hans was also boring largely because the actor playing him was a light-weight. Conflict, subtext, weighty confrontations all seemed to disappear from the show. With Marland, I felt he was always one step ahead of the audience; Friday cliff-hangers were true nail-biters. But post-Marland, I was rarely surprised. I know I keep using the word "boring" -- but there it is.

It appears that someone downloaded every ATWT episode they could find from YouTube and is now attempting to sell the MP4s. 😒

Thank you so much for the Kathryn Hays profile! It's incredible that she was never nominated for an Emmy - especially during the Marland years when she was given such great material. I'm not certain if it's because she didn't wish to put herself in the running or if she never got pre-nominated, but she was often head-and-shoulders above those who were nominated. The Emmys are notorious for ignoring talent, though. For example, Susan Flannery was doing incredible work on B+B for over a decade before she was finally recognized with a nomination. (Then, like a dam bursting, she won several times.) I suppose some actresses just make it look effortless and are therefore overlooked.

I remember reading a 1992 interview with Fulton after the Scott reveal. The previous year, Doug Marland had taken her aside and asked her about Chuckie's death: had he died off-screen? Marland was hoping to do a "Chuckie returns" story. But when Fulton confirmed that there were scenes of his death, Marland (who had great respect for the fans) decided not to erase history and instead created the Scott and John Eldridge storyline. In the long run, I think that worked much better. It's easier to believe that a young, selfish Lisa had abandoned her child rather than to imagine her hiding Chuckie for decades in a rehab hospital or something.