Reverend Ruthledge

It wasn't.

I agree that KL was the best primetime soap. I actually loved all the first seasons of all the primetime soaps. I thought they were the show at their purist before they became over-the-top. I definitely think the first seasons were the best for Dallas, Dynasty and Falcon Crest. I would say the same for Knots Landing because the first season was so good but there were so many subsequent seasons that were just as good if not better. The first season, however, gave off the most Bergman vibes.

Billy Ross was Cricket's son. I think he appeared in either the late 90s or the early 2000s.

Yes! Gillian Spencer was the last person to play Robin. Her stepson was Johnny Fletcher and she blamed him for her miscarriage because he always kept his room messy and she was cleaning it when she fell and miscarried.

Actually, Mike is only in Venezuela a few months. He was signed up to work there for 2 years but Bert's cancer scare brought him back home prematurely. By the end of 1961, he's back on the show, albeit a different actor playing the part. Thankfully. I was not a fan of Michael Allen's acting. Ed was still on the show at this point. He was just always off "playing football" or "doing homework". He would make occasional appearances in the episodes but wouldn't do much.

Thank you. I love that episode. So much is spoken without words. That's what good television soap opera should be.

Yeah. I found Alex a fascinating character. He could really see through people and called them out on it but yet he was so insecure about himself. Even though he came off as so self-assured, strong and intimidating. Robin was such a tragic character.

Thank you so much for your thoughts! I love it! Just curious what you think would be difficult about the Alex/Robin story. So, the use of the word "bitch" was added by me. In the script, Agnes would write Doris saying "That little..." and then write the stage direction "Doris stamps out her cigarette on the word she would say if we could". LOL. So, Agnes wanted to write "bitch" but couldn't because of the censors so she would just have Doris stamp out her cigarette instead of saying the word. Agnes did this a couple of times. Doris definitely would have said the word but it was the early 60s TV.

You're very welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying them. I think this was the year that started the redemptive road for Bert becoming a more sympathetic character. Although I don't think she reached the warm, fuzzy stage until after Bill died in 1969. But 1961, after the reckoning she got, was when she really became more multi-layered and likable.

-1/3/61-1/31/61. Marie finally accepts Joe’s marriage proposal. Marie tells Bert the news but is disappointed Bert doesn’t give her her blessing. Bert intuits that Marie isn’t really in love with Joe but just wants to marry him to have the children she wants. Wanting to get away from everyone’s pity, Robin finds herself drawn to the art gallery and to Alex. Alex wants to paint her portrait. While having dinner with Joe and Marie, Phil faints. Robin tells Meta to quit smothering her. Both Bill and Papa try to get a worried Bert to accept the fact that Mike is a grown man now and not her little boy. At night school in NYC, Mike meets a fellow classmate, journalism major Frances Conway. Paul examines Phillip and he has a heart condition that needs operating on and recommends Dick to do the surgery, which Joe doesn’t like. Dick is upfront with Amy and tells her that, even though he enjoys her company, he doesn’t want to remarry after his divorce. -2/1/61-2/28/61. Bruce is concerned about Robin spending time with Alex because Alex is single and it could complicate matters more. Meta says Alex wouldn’t be interested in Robin because she’s younger than Alex and not as sophisticated. Bruce says Meta doesn’t know men very well. While painting Robin’s portrait, Alex talks about Mike because he wants to capture the pain in her eyes and because he says the more she talks about Mike, the quicker she’ll get over him. Alex tells Joe that he’s going to postpone the sale of the gallery until he finishes his portrait. Joe points out that Alex is being selfish by not thinking about him, Marie and Phil and Alex points out that everybody is selfish, he’s just honest about it and has the money to indulge it. Bill goes to see Paul for his annual physical and, after it’s over, Paul offers Bill a cigarette. Bert goes over to Meta’s to announce that Mike has mentioned to her that he has written to Robin but Robin hasn’t written to him and this shows that Robin doesn’t want to stay married. Meta boils over and tells Bert that she has a day of reckoning coming, that one day Mike will look at Bert with hatred in his eyes, and Meta can’t wait. Fran invites Mike over for dinner and they talk about Robin. When Marie asks about how Elsie treated Bert back in the day, Bert starts to see how she might now be acting like her mother used to but doesn’t allow herself to fully acknowledge the similarity. Bill implores Robin to write to Mike but Robin says she doesn’t want to talk to Mike anymore. Alex takes Robin out on a date and tells her she could have an exciting life ahead of her if she’d start making better decisions and, with his help, she might be able to do that. Alex meets with his lawyer, George Hayes, to continue arranging for “her” to be paid off. -3/1/61-3/31/61. Mike and Fran continue to spend time together but agree not to get seriously entangled. George goes to San Francisco to meet with Doris Crandall, the woman who he has been sending money to from Alex. She’s in a drunken mess and threatens to go to Los Angeles to see Alex even though George tells her Alex doesn’t want to see her. Bruce, feeling paternal towards Robin and not liking Alex, warns him not to hurt her. Dick grows affectionate toward Phillip as he cares for him. Phil becomes more than a patient when his health becomes even more important to Dick as he thinks about how much Marie cares for Phil and wants to adopt him. Dick wants to make sure he keeps Phil alive to make up for what he’s denied Marie. After the surgery, Dick delivers the news that Phil is ok and Marie suddenly sees how important Dick’s work is and feels selfish for complaining all those years about him working too much. She sees that a surgeon belongs more to his patients than to his wife. Alex has a svengali-like effect on Robin and he gets her to tear up a letter she received from Mike before reading it. Dick and Marie keep vigil at Phil’s bedside as he has trouble recovering from surgery. Papa tells Bert to quit trying to kill Mike’s marriage and Bert angrily defends herself by saying that Robin is doing that job herself by seeing an older man, Alex. The fight escalates and Papa yells at Bert to quit trying to run everything. Bill enters and attempts to break up the fight but it is too heated. Papa leaves without it being resolved. On a date, Robin says she’s happy she’s no longer a naive adolescent and Alex makes the bold statement that he would kill anybody that tried to take away what he’s found in Robin. Robin is strangely attracted to his boldness. With the divorce hearing coming up on April 10th, both Dick and Marie are having second thoughts. Doris shows up at the Bowden Art Gallery looking for Alex. -4/2/61-4/30/61. Dick expresses his regrets to Papa Bauer, Papa encourages him to go talk to Marie before it’s too late. Bert goes over to Meta’s to get the scoop from Robin and Robin lets her have it. She tells Bert she doesn’t have to worry anymore about Robin being a threat to her perfect family because she no longer wants Mike. After learning that Papa had told Bert about Robin tearing up Mike’s letter, an angry Robin lashes out at Papa and tells him to mind his own business. Dick and Marie learn that, though they thought the divorce would be final on April 10th, it’s actually an interlocutory decree that they’re getting, based on California law, and the divorce won’t be final for a year and neither of them can marry until then. On a date, Robin tells Alex about the trouble she’s had with Bert and Papa. Alex says he doesn’t like Bert and finds her “smug, petty, opinionated, completely provincial and utterly obnoxious”. When Robin notes that there are a lot of people who like Bert such as Marie Grant, Alex says, “Well, she’s a sentimental hausfrau type too. Although, I admit not as bad as Bertha Bauer". Doris is fighting alcoholism and some other sort of illness for which she’s in a lot of pain. Alex asks Robin to marry him. Robin apologizes to Papa but then gets into it with Bruce. She shocks Bruce and Meta by telling them she wants to get the annulment with Mike because Alex has proposed to her. Joe is upset when Marie tells him they can’t marry for a year but Marie is secretly relieved. Meta counsels Robin that Alex is bedazzling her but it doesn’t compare to the love she had with Mike. Robin says it could never work with Mike because it will always be a threesome with Karl. Alex mesmerizes Robin with the life he offers her and the chance to leave the old Robin Holden behind, convincing her to get her annulment from Mike. Robin goes over to the Bauers to ask Bert to call Mike and tell him to go ahead with the annulment because she’s going to marry Alex. She bitterly tells Bert that Alex is a man and Mike is just a boy, Bert’s boy that she finally has all to herself again. Doris goes to Paul for a refill of her medication to help with alcohol withdrawal but Paul won’t give her any without a physical which causes Doris to storm out. -5/1/61-5/31/61. Alex and Bill become enemies when Alex tells Bill to get Mike to give an annulment to Robin so he can marry her and Bill refuses. Alex gets George to investigate Bill’s background. When Papa and Meta try to find out if Robin really loves Alex like she did Mike, Robin replies, “No. Thank Heaven”. She declares she’s no longer a child with childish romantic fantasies and nobody will ever hurt her again. While Alex pressures Robin into ending her marriage to Mike, Mike tells Fran that he’s decided he wants to be with Robin and will return to Los Angeles after the semester is over. Dick admits and regrets his arrogance and selfishness to Marie and they both confess they still are in love with each other. Marie gathers enough courage to tell Joe that she can’t marry him because she wants to stay with Dick. Joe is furious, and says that she’ll be hurting Phil who is expecting them to be a family. He says she’s only going to be hurt worse than she was before and to not come crying to him when that happens. Joe sadly breaks the news to Phil that he and Marie won’t be married and they won’t be a family. With his dreams for the future crushed, Joe leaves for Oregon. Alex and Marie tear each other apart. Alex accuses Marie of being selfish and Marie accuses him of robbing the cradle and killing a young marriage. Dick admits that part of his past reluctance to adopt was because he feared the baby would take Marie’s attention off of him as a husband. He says he’s had a change of heart, has grown paternal feelings towards Phil while he was caring for him at the hospital, and tells Marie he’d like to adopt him. Doris, in the hospital for alcohol withdrawal, lets Paul know that she is Alex’s ex-wife and, even though he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her, he is all she has left in the world. Bert goes to Alex with the suggestion that he get Robin to go to NYC to see Mike about the annulment instead of waiting for Mike to come back home. Alex says he’s already thought of that and he’s going with her to make sure Mike doesn’t talk her into staying married. Bert says he should because she knows how much Robin is in love with Alex. Alex shocks Bert by calling her out and says she’s full of it because she can see that Robin isn’t in love with Alex. But he doesn’t care because he intends to make Robin eventually fall in love with him. Too smart to be manipulated and getting the upper hand on Bert, he reads her for filth and says, because he knows what she’s doing, she will basically do whatever he says from now on or he will go to the Bauers and tell them about her machinations. Dick and Marie legally set aside their divorce and return to the adoption agency to see if they’d be able to adopt Phillip. Phil is thrilled when they give him the news. Bert is scared of Alex. -6/1/61-6/30/61. Robin prepares to go to NYC to talk over the annulment with Mike. When Bill learns that the domineering Alex is going with her, Bill decides he wants to go to NYC to be a support for Mike. This freaks Bert out as she is afraid of Alex and the emotional blackmail power he has over her. She’s afraid Bill will find out about what Bert was up to. It’s enough to make her ask Paul for some nerve pills. Bert warns Robin that it will be a mistake to marry Alex which just makes Robin wonder why Bert has suddenly switched her tune. She tells Bert that if she doesn’t care what Papa, Meta and Bruce think about the situation, she definitely doesn’t care what Bert thinks about it. Paul lets Alex know that Doris is his patient in the hospital, that he knows she is his ex-wife, and implores him to go visit her as she is sick and alone. Alex lies and says he’ll go see her and then jumps on an earlier plane to New York. Anne is tired of living in an apartment and has dreams of moving into a big house in the suburbs like the one she grew up in. When Paul learns that Anne has found a big estate as a potential home, he is adamantly opposed to living in such a big house. Dick and Marie officially adopt Phil and everybody at the Grant home is joyful when Phil moves in. Robin and Alex meet with Mike, although Mike wishes it would be just him and Robin. Mike tells her that he is over his guilt feelings about Karl and wants to stay married. Robin, egged on by Alex, says that she’s over Mike and wants the annulment so she can be with Alex. Mike is annoyed at Alex’s influence and seeming power over Robin. Paul shares his dream with Dick of becoming a family doctor and having his own clinic attached to his residence. Meanwhile, Henry says he wants to give Anne her dream home as a belated wedding gift. Fran goes over to see Robin to encourage her to try with Mike. Robin isn’t there but Alex and the two meet. Alex says that the only reason Fran wants to encourage Robin is because Fran is really in love with Mike and wants to get in Mike’s good graces so she can pursue him when it doesn’t work out with Mike and Robin. Fran is offended. Alex questions why she’s offended by the truth. Fran storms out. Anne, Helene and Henry are shocked when Paul announces he’s resigning as Chief of Staff. When Paul tells Anne about his dreams of having a home/clinic and that he doesn’t want Anne’s dream home, Anne is outraged. Defeated, Mike agrees to the annulment. Back in Los Angeles, Alex is visited by George who implores him to show mercy to Doris and go see her because he is the only thing in between her and the bottle or suicide. Anne, a volunteer at Cedars, helps out Doris who tells her what encouragement her doctor, Paul Fletcher, has been to her and is surprised to learn that Anne is his wife. -7/3/61-7/31/61. Meta suggests to Robin that she’s just marrying Alex to blot out the past with Mike and to reconsider it. She asks her, “Is a supposedly successful marriage without love better than a supposed failure where there was love? Which becomes success and which failure? I know that a marriage lived without love is neither a marriage nor a life and I don’t want you to have to learn this from personal experience.” Fran comforts Mike but Mike says only he and his mother are to blame for the death of his marriage. He’s so despondent, he didn’t go to his final exam and, therefore, won’t graduate. Alex lets Robin know that he was married before but that it was a miserable, traumatic experience. His mother ran off with another man when Alex was young and his father didn’t have much time for him because he reminded him of his ex-wife. Growing up alone, he was desperate for love and thought he could find it with Doris because she was available but he never loved her so it was a miserable marriage and Doris always had a drinking problem. Robin’s sympathy for Alex overtakes any doubts that Meta has put in her mind about rushing into marriage with Alex. Paul and Anne argue about Paul’s need to serve the down-and-out. He says that he feels an obligation because he, as an illegitimate child, always felt like an outsider. Anne doesn’t share his calling. Doris is released from the hospital and thanks Paul for his encouragement but Paul is concerned about the other thing that has given her encouragement to recover from drinking, her pipe dream that there’s a future for her and Alex. Bill and Bert fly to New York for Mike’s graduation and are stunned when he says that he’s not going to graduate right after he signs the annulment papers they brought with them to sign. He bitterly tells Bert that it wasn’t a wasted trip for her because she finally got what she’s always wanted. He viciously tears into Bert for brainwashing him against Robin, destroying the only thing he’s ever had that was his own. He regrets not fighting Bert and says that he, Bill and Ed are just patsies for a conniving wife and smothering mother. Bert says that she didn’t poison anything, Robin has been the poison. Poison for Kathy, for Mark, for Karl and now she’s poisoned Mike against her. Mike says Bert has robbed him of Robin, his identity and his manhood and he doesn’t have to live with it anymore. He leaves. Meta accuses Alex of trying to play on Robin’s sympathies with his stories of his miserable past marriage. Alex replies that Meta is starting to resemble her conniving, scheming, interfering sister-in-law. Doris’ hopes are dashed when Alex lets her know there is absolutely no hope for the two of them being together. When Papa learns the news about Mike not graduating and his emotional upset from meeting with Robin is the reason, he asks Robin if that makes her happy. Alex jumps to Robin’s defense and assures Papa that he and Robin are happy together. Papa responds angrily, “At least somebody’s happy”. Bert has been left devastated and tortured by her moment of truth, triggered by Mike’s words to her. Her conscience tells her that she should let Mike know that Robin isn’t really in love with Alex, but she is also consumed by fear for her son. Doris runs into Robin at Paul’s office. Robin doesn’t know Doris but Doris recognizes her from Alex’s portrait. Robin mentions that she’s getting married to Alex and Doris is shocked and then runs off to find the nearest bar. Marie goes by to visit Bert upon her return from NYC and learns that Bert didn’t tell Mike the truth about Robin not loving Alex so that Mike would sign the annulment papers. Marie is furious at Bert’s “motherly love” and says it’s really possessiveness and Mike is her slave, not her son. She exclaims Bert’s not fit to be a mother or even a woman. Doris finds out where Alex lives and goes over to put a sort of curse on him. She says at least she’ll wind up with a bottle in her hands but he’ll wind up with nothing in his. -8/1/61-8/31/61. A drunk Doris shows up at Paul’s while he’s away but Anne is home. Anne doesn’t like Doris and resents Paul’s need to try to help her. Doris calls her a phoney, a snob and a bitch. Anne tells her to leave before she calls the police, Doris leaves but not before telling Anne to drop dead. Mike makes up his final exam and graduates as he prepares to go back to Los Angeles. Bert, tortured by guilt and looking for help, goes to her minister, Reverend Stevens, and confesses the fact that she withheld the truth from Mike. Reverend Stevens doesn’t give her the absolution she was hoping for but firmly tells her she needs to tell Mike the truth as soon as she can so that Mike can try to make his marriage work out. “Don’t play God, Mrs. Bauer. Join Him.” Bert, crying, with a maturity she’s never had before, thanks the Reverend for saving her life and, more importantly, her son’s life. Learning the annulment is final, Alex pushes Robin to get married ASAP. While Dick encourages Paul to fulfill what he believes is his calling or he’ll be miserable living a life not of his choosing, Henry tells Anne to stand up to Paul because somebody of her breeding was not meant to be living in a house/clinic in the poor side of town and she would be miserable. Helene, however, encourages Anne to stand by her man. Dick and Marie read in the paper that Amy Sinclair married a bank executive. Mike says goodbye to Fran as he heads back to Los Angeles. He thanks her for all she did for him and says they’ll keep in touch, but Fran is dubious. Paul locates Doris, blind drunk, in a bar and goes to help her. Mike comes home and Bert bravely confesses to him that she knew Robin didn’t love Alex but withheld the information from him. Mike is enraged that Bert would withhold that from him and meanwhile push him to sign the annulment papers. He scornfully asks, “Now you hurt, Mom. Where does it hurt?” and she replies, “In my soul, Mike”. Armed with this new knowledge, Mike rushes over to Meta’s to tell Robin that he knows she doesn’t love Alex and that Mike wants Robin back. However, he misses Robin by minutes as she has gone off with Alex to get secretly married at Alex’s insistence. -9/1/61-9/29/61. Meta’s resentment towards Bert grows when Mike tells her what happened. Meta is appalled that Bert would try to play God. An evil God, at that. Alex and Robin are married and Robin wants to go to Cedars to check on Doris and break the news to her themselves because she feels bad for her. Alex puts the kibosh on that quickly and says they’re not to think about the past. Mike goes to Robin and tells her that he loves her and he knows now that she doesn’t love Alex. He says he’s there to stop her from marrying Alex, not knowing that the marriage has already taken place. Mike kisses her. Robin responds but then says they can’t because she’s married to Alex now. Mike is shocked and he warns Robin that she’s making a mistake and that she should leave Alex and be with him. Robin says she can’t keep on ruining people. Mike says, “I love you” and leaves. Robin says, “I love you too” after Mike has left. Papa and Bruce go over to give the news of Robin’s marriage to Bill and Bert. Bert is shattered with guilt and fears she’ll never see her son again. Bill hopes that Robin could get an annulment from Alex but Bruce says there’s no hope of that because Alex has her brainwashed. Anne wonders why Paul cares so much about Doris who she sees as a dislikable lost cause but Paul says he can’t just watch people suffer without trying to help them. Anne sees the new house/clinic and is appalled at how ghastly she thinks it is but she tries to be accepting for Paul’s sake. Mike takes an engineering job in South America to get away from Bert and Robin. Henry goes by to see the clinic/house and is incensed that Paul wants Anne and Johnny to live in such a poor neighborhood. He goes to Paul’s office to blast him and is appalled when Doris barges in and begs Paul to let her have a drink. He later tells Anne to leave Paul while she still can. Mike packs his suitcase and gives a cold goodbye to his mom. Bert sobs after she watches him walk out the door. -10/2/61-10/31/61. Papa and Bill say goodbye to Mike at the airport as he heads to Caracas. Meanwhile, on their honeymoon in Honolulu, Alex’s controlling nature begins to exhibit itself. Alex starts to experience pain which causes Robin to call a doctor. At Anne’s urging, Paul tries to get Doris to see a psychiatrist but Doris is resistant to his treatment and the psychiatrist suggests that Paul is better suited to help Doris since they already have such a good rapport. This infuriates Anne who wants Doris out of Paul’s life. Doris tries to apologize to Anne for the tongue-lashing she gave her but Anne only politely accepts it. When Doris volunteers to help them move into the new house, Anne coldly says they have no use for her, prompting Doris to take back the olive branch. Doris laments to George the unfairness of great men like Paul being saddled with bitches like Anne. Alex and Robin call their honeymoon short as Alex starts to have stomach pains and they fly back to Los Angeles where Alex’s insecurity and possessiveness of Robin begins to show even more. Alex has an ulcer. Doris tells Paul that he should have let her die because, now that she’s still alive, her main mission in life will be to destroy Alex and Robin’s marriage. Robin goes to see Doris at the hospital, trying to befriend her. Although Doris likes her well enough, her bitterness won’t let her change her plans. Paul tries to take back his suggestion that Marie befriend Doris but Marie can tell that right away that Dick put him up to it and she stands her ground. She wants to help a fellow human being who is suffering whether Dick likes it or not. Bert apologizes to Robin for interfering in Mike and Robin’s marriage and their lives. Now that it’s too late, Robin is infuriated at Bert’s admission that the marriage could have survived without her interference. Robin becomes hysterical, laughing and crying at the same time, and shouts, “Oh Bert, shut up! Just, please, shut up!” -11/1/61-11/30/61. Robin recovers enough to apologize for her outburst but when Bert asks if they could still have a relationship, Robin replies, “Don’t call me. I’ll call you”. When Meta invites Alex over to the Bannings for dinner, he lets his resentment be known towards Robin’s family because they’re a reminder of Mike. When Meta relays this to Papa, he retorts that nobody’s going to stop him from loving his granddaughter. Paul tells Anne that he wants to hire Doris as his receptionist so that she can be productive and help others. Anne throws a fit. She gets determined to prove to Paul that Doris is rotten to the core and not worth “saving”. Papa goes to visit Robin and she tells him that she, surprisingly, finds herself feeling sorry for Bert because she’s lost the one thing she was trying to hold on to the most–Michael. Alex is furious when he learns that Anne has been visiting Doris. Paul offers Doris the job as receptionist but Doris warns him that he might regret it because she’s Pandora’s box. Papa tells Bill that Bert is trying to mother Robin now that she feels she’s lost Mike and is lonely for him. Papa thinks Bert feels the need to mother others so she won’t have to look at herself and that’s what’s going on with Robin. Henry is disturbed to read in the newspaper of an armed robbery of a gas station on the same street Paul and Anne have moved to. He’s also appalled when Paul says Doris will be working for him and accuses Paul of putting his wife and grandson in danger. Paul finally snaps and tells Henry to either get off his back or get out of his life and let the Fletcher family live. Bill calls Paul over for a house call as Bert has a fever. Paul encourages Bert to not stress out anymore over her guilt in the Michael/Robin situation. Dick tells Marie that he got a job offer in Geneva. He also tells Robin that Alex’s ulcer is made worse by emotional upset, such as the jealousy he’s exhibiting, and, as hard as it is, Robin must pretend to love him. -12/1/61-12/29/61. Meta and Bert reconcile. Paul tells Bert that one of the tests they’ve run on her after her physical, her pap smear, has indicated abnormal cells. Bert gives the news to Bill but tells him not to worry because she’s not. This doesn’t stop the worrying. Alex’s jealousy towards Robin starts to go completely mental as Alex finds out Robin spent the afternoon with George. When she tells him George was helping her pick out a birthday present and presents it to him, Alex accuses her of just using the gift as an alibi and smashes it against the wall. Bill calls Mike in Caracas, tells him about Bert’s surgery, and asks him to come home before it takes place. Bill surprises Bert by bringing Mike to the Bannings, where the family is gathered for Christmas, after picking him up at the airport. Bert is thrilled but tries to get Mike out of there before Alex and Robin come over but she’s unsuccessful, leading to an awkward Christmas gathering. Since Bill and Bert aren’t letting anyone know about Bert’s upcoming surgery, Alex, of course, thinks that Robin got Mike back secretly. Alex’s insecurity and paranoia lead him to think Mike is back to claim Robin and that Bruce, as Alex’s doctor and Meta’s husband, is using Alex’s ulcer as an excuse to keep him from continuing his honeymoon with Robin. Bruce has recommended that Alex not go to the south of France with Robin that Alex has planned since the honeymoon in Hawaii got cut short for medical reasons. -12/25/61. Papa, Bill, Bert, Bruce, Meta, Dick and Marie gather at the Bannings to celebrate Christmas Day. Dick and Marie are planning on going to Europe and Bruce is going to take over as Alex’s doctor. Bill goes to the airport to pick up Mike who has been living in Venezuela. Bill and Mike talk about Bert’s potential upcoming operation for her ovarian cancer. Bill is hoping Mike and Bert can reconcile. Bill brings Mike back to Bruce and Meta’s to surprise Bert.

Thank you!

An Evangelical that doesn't talk much about their faith? Isn't that an oxymoron? 😂

Wait. What? So Phillip killed Ross?

Not only do I not count them, I refuse to accept their existence.

One of the biggest mysteries in GL history is why they never brought Hope back. Especially after Alan-Michael came on the show. Not bringing Mike back was another mystery but Hope's absence was even more of a mystery. They just really seemed to hate the Bauers post-1983. I'm actually shocked that they kept Ed and Rick on the show for as long as they did.

Thank you for your insight! That's one of the reasons why I post my synopses. To try to generate discussion on the golden years of the show. Yeah, the argument between Paul and Bert was great. I always loved it when someone put Bert in her place! It was very out of the blue as it started as a friendly visit but Paul never held back when something bothered him. He was very outspoken. That's why he was one of my favorite characters. Bert sure didn't like him though. Even when they were on friendly terms, they never really liked or understood each other. They kind of tolerated each other. In my opinion, ANYTHING with Dick was dreary. I absolutely hated that character. I'll be glad to see him go. He was such a wuss with his mother and totally selfish. A perfect example of his selfishness, which is why I included it in my synopsis, was when he was talking to Marie about getting back together and he said, if they did get back together, he would want her quitting her job and being a stay-at-home housewife. Not uncommon for that time period, but considering the fact that Marie wanted to adopt a child because she was so bored since Dick was always at his work and she was always alone, with the fact he didn't want to adopt a child so she got a job to occupy her time...well, it's just a good example of how selfish he was. His name suited him well. Knowing how this plays out, SPOILER ALERT, I don't know how in the world Marie breaks her engagement to Joe and goes back to Dick. I can't imagine how that plays out. Joe was really good to/for Marie and Dick was just horrible. Those episodes are much better when you watch them knowing the context. For example, Robin and Bert give each other a lot of looks with nothing and the looks have so much more meaning when you know what was going on between the two at the time. You realize why Bert is being so cold and fake and why Robin is giving her the F.U. looks. EDIT: Sorry, my last paragraph is referencing the episode that's out there from January, 1961. Not the two that you posted. But any of the episodes are more enjoyable when you know the whole context.

Thank you, vetsoapfan.

You're all welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying them. 1960 was a really good year. In particular, the second half of the year. I think Agnes really hit her stride then.

-1/4/60-1/29/60. Paul and Anne name their baby John after John Lipsey. Karl asks Robin to marry him and she’s tempted to say yes just to have a place to belong. Bruce and Meta have the Bauers over and announce their wedding plans for the end of the month. Mike and Robin take a walk to the drugstore and Mike tells Robin he knows Karl wants to marry her and asks her not to do it if she doesn’t really love him. Dick and Marie meet with Nora’s parents, the Hansens, to discuss the custody of Nora’s baby. Nora’s mother doesn’t like Dick. The next day, they go over to Marie’s to tell her they’ve decided not to let her have the baby and that they’re leaving with the baby. Marie becomes hysterical and blocks them from taking the baby. The Hansens go to the police. Although Nora wanted Marie to have the baby if anything happened to her, Dick reminds Marie that Nora didn’t have her wishes in a legal document and the Hansens have the legal right to their grandchild. The Hansens come back with the police and take baby Marie away. Bert goes over to comfort Marie and Marie vows to get the baby back. After talking with Papa Bauer, Robin decides that, though they’re not strong, she might have feelings for Karl and that she’s not just using him to get back at Mark and Ruth. Robin accepts Karl’s marriage proposal. Marie tries to go the legal route to get the baby back and asks Joe to be a witness that Nora wanted Marie, not her parents, to have the baby. Joe agrees and an angry Dick, who hates Joe, wants Joe out of their lives. Mike tries to warn Karl against marrying Robin. Karl tells him that even though he’s his best friend, he needs to mind his own business. -2/1/60-2/29/60. Karl apologizes to Mike for their row and pressures him into apologizing to Robin. Marie resents that Dick doesn’t want to fight for the baby like she does. Before Meta’s wedding, Bill has an alone moment with her and says he’s happy it’s turned out this way for her. Later, Bert and Meta share an alone moment. Bert tells Meta how happy she is for her and Meta says she never thought she could be happy again like she is now. Papa comes up later to take Meta down to give her away and he tells her this is what he’s been praying for for so long. Papa, Bill, Bert, Mark, Ruth, Marie, Dick, Anne, Paul, Karl, Robin and Mike all gather at Meta’s house to watch as Bruce Banning and Meta Roberts are married on February 5th. After the wedding, Karl and Robin announce their engagement. Mark tells Robin the hopes this will bring him and Robin closer so things can be like they were when they were close. Robin tells Bert that she thinks she’ll love Karl after they’re married for a while even if she doesn’t right now. Bert assures her it will all work out. Mike thinks Robin just wants to marry Karl because she wants a family, not because she loves him. Papa thinks Mike is against Karl and Robin marrying because he doesn’t want to lose his best friend. Karl is pushing Mike and Robin together so that they will bury the hatchet. Ruth gives Karl her mother’s diamond ring to give to Robin but can’t get over the worrying feeling that something’s not right. Marie thinks Dick’s refusal to help her fight for the baby is because he’s up for Chief of Staff and selfishly doesn’t want any negative publicity even though Marie cares about being a mother just as much as Dick cares about his career. She says if he won’t help her fight for the baby, their marriage is through. Dick thinks Marie cares about being a mother more than being his wife. -3/1/60-3/31/60. Marie is forced to accept the fact that she’ll never get the baby back but feels dead inside. Seeing no point in the marriage, she leaves Dick and moves into an apartment at the Bowden Art Gallery. Karl asks Mike to be his Best Man and continues to try to force Mike and Robin closer as friends for the sake of peace. Dick thinks Joe is the cause of all of it. Laura goes to Marie and tells her that the scandal she’s causing by leaving Dick is making it difficult for him at Cedars and his possible promotion. A fellow doctor at Cedars, who is jealous of Dick, makes sure the rumors of Dick’s personal problems are known by the current Chief of Staff considering making Dick his replacement. -4/1/60-4/29/60. Mike suggests to Karl that he and Robin elope. Karl is for it but Robin the idea upsets Robin and nobody can figure out why Mike would suggest it. Robin’s emotional turmoil as the wedding nears causes her to get physically ill. Even though the marriage looks good on paper, she knows deep inside that she’s not in love with Karl but now feels trapped. Robin goes into Cedars for tests. Dr. Walter Pierce, the doctor who wants the Chief of Staff position, feigns concern for Dick and pumps Robin for information on Dick and Marie. He learns about the separation and goes straight to the Chief of Staff with the information who lets Dick he’s no longer under consideration for the position due to the distraction he has in his personal life. An angry Dick confronts Marie and tells her that she’s now gotten more than even with him for taking away her chances for a baby by taking away his chances for the position. He says he never wants to see her again. Robin is “forced” to postpone her wedding and Karl is frustrated as he is very eager to get married. Paul is shocked to learn that he, not Walter, has been granted the Chief of Staff position that Dick wanted so much. -5/2/60-5/31/60. Robin overhears that Dr. Pierce got his information from her and the guilt she feels for what happened to Dick causes her physical symptoms to get worse. Dick begins to think her illness is psychosomatic. Ed is the only one to figure out that Mike is sweet on Robin and Mike gets angry when Ed teases him about it. Now that it’s just become the 49th state, Mark’s company is doing a construction project in Alaska and Mike wants to go work there in the summer, consciously or subconsciously to get away from his growing feelings for Robin. Even though Dick says Robin should hold off on setting a date for the wedding, Karl is determined that it will be in June just as soon as the semester is over. Mike tells Bill he wants to go to Alaska and he doesn’t care if it means he’ll miss the wedding, even though he’s supposed to be the best man. Bill can’t understand Mike’s hurry to leave. True to form, Laura sticks her nose into Dick’s life and tells him he should leave Marie because she was never right for him anyway. Robin admits to Dick that she doesn’t love Karl enough to marry him but just thought marrying Ruth’s son would make her part of a family and keep her from feeling isolated from Mark now that he’s married to Ruth. Bert tells Marie that she thinks Joe thinks of Marie as more than a friend. Marie asks Joe about it and Joe doesn’t deny it but says he wants Marie to stay married. Karl, working hard to save up for the marriage, asks Mike to take Robin to the Memorial Day fraternity picnic until he can get off work and join them later. At the picnic, Robin admits to Mike that she doesn’t want to marry Karl and it’s because she now knows what love is. Mike kisses her. -6/1/60-6/30/60. Paul and Laura run into each other at Cedars and Laura mentions that she thinks it’s best that Dick and Marie have split. Paul ruffles her feathers by telling her to quit trying to run Dick’s life and reminds her that she’s his mother, not his wife. Robin is tortured as the voice of Karl saying he doesn’t want to postpone the wedding any longer, the voice of Mike saying he couldn’t do anything to hurt his best friend and the voice of Dick saying it would be worse to marry Karl without loving him than to break his heart now all swirl around in her mind. Laura purposely doesn’t give Dick the message that Marie called the apartment wanting to talk to him. Robin admits to Mike that she’s in love with him. Meta is throwing a going away party for Papa as he embarks on a trip to NYC to visit Clyde and Trudy. Bert can’t figure out why Mike doesn’t want to go to his Aunt Meta’s for the party, not knowing it’s because Karl and Robin will be there. She also can’t figure out why Mike wants to run off to Alaska. She asks Bill to talk to him and Mike finally admits to Bill that he and Robin are in love with each other but he could never take Robin away from Karl. Bill feels for him and tries to comfort him. Robin tells Karl that she can’t marry him. Mike and Robin discuss their predicament. Mike still plans on going to Alaska. Robin says she wants to go with him and she could if they were married. Mike is dubious about her plan until Robin makes him see that if they were married, it would help Karl get over her faster. Karl is the only one still in the dark as everybody else starts to realize the truth about Mike and Robin. Meanwhile, Mike and Robin cross the state line and get married. -7/1/60-7/29/60. Unable to accept the fact that Robin doesn’t love him, Karl looks to blame someone and targets Dick. He confronts him saying that he poisoned her mind by telling her that her problem was psychosomatic and she should put her marriage off. He even goes as far as to accuse Dick of being in love with Robin. Ruth begs Mark to go look for Karl but Mark refuses, saying that the kids need to work out their own problems. Ruth worries he’s making a mistake. Bert lets Bill know that she has figured out about Mike and Robin and is furious to learn Mike had told Bill and they kept it from her. Meta and Bert fret over the Mike/Robin/Karl triangle. Karl walks in on Mike and Robin on the Banning patio. Robin tells Karl she loves Mike, not him, and Mike tells him he and Robin got married. An angry Karl starts hitting Mike and, as Mike tries to leave, Karl lunges for him, loses his balance and hits his head on the iron patio table which knocks him out. Paul and Anne’s evening at home is interrupted by a call from Mike asking for help with Karl. Paul rushes over to the Bannings to check on Karl. Later at the hospital, Paul tells Mark that Karl is going to need surgery. Marie finds out about Karl and joins Meta at the hospital. Meta fills her in on what happened and Bruce tells them that Karl is through with surgery and now they have to wait for the results. Bill and Bert learn from Paul what happened during Mike and Karl’s fight and how Karl sustained his injury. Mike convinces Robin to keep their marriage a secret. Paul delivers the news to Mike and Robin that Karl has died. Ruth verbally attacks Robin, blaming her for her son’s death. She bitterly declares to Robin that Robin should be satisfied as she has finally gotten even for Ruth taking away her father by taking away Ruth’s son. Bill tries to comfort his guilt-ridden son as Mike blames himself for Karl’s death. Robin suggests that Mark take Ruth to Europe and perhaps move away from Los Angeles. Mark agrees and, right after Karl’s funeral, Mark takes Ruth to Europe to help her recover from the shock and to keep her away from Robin. Bert takes the torch of bitterness and blame towards Robin from Ruth’s hand before she goes. Bill, Bert and Mike are on edge as Mike is questioned by Detective Wyatt due to Karl’s death being violent. Marie confronts Laura and asks her if she gave Dick the message that she calls. Laura dodges the question and tells Marie that Dick never wants to see her again. Lt. Wyatt questions Robin. Robin tells the true sequence of events but Wyatt doesn’t believe her. -8/1/60-8/31/60. Joe and Marie are doing work with a children’s home through the art gallery and Joe thinks Marie has taken an interest in a young orphan boy, Phillip Collins, to try to fill the void she feels with little Marie gone. Wyatt doesn’t believe that Mike didn’t fight back with Karl and goes for a manslaughter charge. There’s to be a Coroner’s Inquest into Karl’s death which makes the Bauers nervous. A reporter with the newspaper named Grimes goes to Papa and Robin to interview them. They are shocked to learn that Bert had told the reporter that there was nothing between Mike and Robin. Just infatuation on Robin’s part. Paul thinks Laura is lying about giving Marie’s message to Dick so he takes matters into his own hand and asks Dick if he got the message which he says he didn’t. Robin lets only Dick know that she and Mike got married. Mike feels responsible for Karl’s death and his extreme guilt is making it difficult to be around Robin. Anne befriends a young widowed volunteer at Cedars named Amy Sinclair but there’s something about her Paul doesn’t like. The Coroner’s Inquest begins and Lt. Wyatt makes his statement on the witness stand that he believes it was manslaughter and not an accident. -9/1/60-9/30/60. Mike is forced to admit on the witness stand that he and Robin had gotten married the day Karl was killed. Everyone is shocked but the confession helps the coroner rule Karl’s death as accidental and dismisses the case. Mike comes down with viral pneumonia. Dick confronts Laura about not giving him Marie’s message. Laura tries to weasel out of it but Dick doesn’t buy it this time. He angrily tells Laura to stop trying to control his life and heads over to Marie’s to apologize for his mother’s actions. He interrupts a friendly dinner between Joe and Marie and thinks it’s something more. Bert and Robin’s claws come out when Robin stops over the Bauers to see Michael. Bert says Mike can’t have visitors and Robin retorts that she’s Mike’s wife, not a “visitor”. When Meta hears from Robin that Bert is trying to keep Robin from seeing Mike, Meta angrily defends Robin to Bert. Bert secretly consults a lawyer about Mike’s marriage. -10/3/60-10/31/60. Bert learns from the lawyer that the marriage can be annulled because he was underaged in the state he got married in and so, therefore, Mike must have lied about his age. Bert is not deterred by the fact that Mike would have to assent to the annulment, as she is determined to end the marriage no matter what it takes. Dick and Marie talk and Dick says that, if they got back together, he would want her to quit her job at the art gallery and stay at home. Marie says if he doesn’t want children, there would be nothing for her to fill her time with since he’s always at work. Marie later confides in Joe that her and Dick’s differences seem too much and it might be better to make a clean break now than to let the relationship die a slow, tortured death. Paul doesn’t trust Amy and thinks she’s after Dick. Bill tries to assuage Mike’s guilt of Karl’s death by encouraging him in his future with Robin. Mike answers Bill, “I married Robin because I was in love with her but you can’t deny that Karl would be alive today if she hadn’t become my wife. You can’t deny that, Dad”. Anne shocks Paul by saying that Marie would be better off with Joe and Dick would be better off with Amy. Joe tells Marie that the reason why Dick doesn’t want her working at the art gallery is because he thinks Joe is in love with Marie and Joe confirms that it’s true. Joe goes to Dick with characteristic straightforwardness and tells him that he’s in love with his wife and asks him if he intends on divorcing her. He bluntly tells Dick to either get back together with his wife or let him have her. When Joe says that he can make Marie happier than Dick can, Dick shows him the door. -11/1/60-11/30/60. Dick’s talk with Joe shakes him up enough to go to Marie and demand that she come back to him. When Marie learns that Joe told Dick that he wanted to be with Marie, Marie refuses to go back to Dick just because he doesn’t want another man to have his wife. Joe tells Marie that he would be happy to adopt the children she wants. Paul tells Joe to leave Marie alone. Joe points out that Dick is too selfish to really love Marie and the only reason he wants her back now is because he knows someone else wants her. Joe won’t stop pursuing Marie because he knows he can make her happy and Dick can’t and he says he couldn’t care less if Paul doesn’t like it. Alex Bowden, owner of the Bowden Art Gallery, comes back from his world travels. He immediately picks up on Joe’s feelings for Marie and Alex tells him to stay single because it’s the best way and he knows first-hand. Though not as on-board with the annulment idea as Bert is, Bill talks to Mike about it. Mike’s guilt and the difficulty it causes being around Robin, makes Mike agree with the idea of an annulment. He doesn’t think he could make her happy and thinks Robin deserves more than he can give her right now. Robin goes over to see Mike, excited about plans for their future, but is crushed when Mike tells her he feels their marriage would be wrong and wants an annulment. Sensing Bert’s hand in this, Robin quickly gets angry but Mike assures her that it’s what he wants as well. She runs out of the house and when Papa and Meta come by to pick Robin up, they learn of what happened. A furious Meta unleashes on Bert, accusing her of lying and brainwashing Mike while he was laid up sick at home. Marie tells Alex she saw Robin at the park across the street and she’s worried about her. Alex volunteers to go talk to Robin while Marie calls the Bauers. Alex tries to talk sense into Robin by admonishing her not to wallow in self-pity because nothing or nobody is worth the tears, especially a youthful romance with a boy. When Bill and Mike return to the Bauer household without Robin, Meta lays into Mike as well, pointing out that he’s always had a family and home but Robin hasn’t been so lucky. Papa tries to calm Meta’s anger by reminding her that Mike is her nephew. Meta says Robin has been like the daughter Meta never had and nobody is thinking about her, only about Michael. She’s the only one there is to protect and defend Robin. Joe tells Marie he’ll give her the life she’s always wanted, with a house full of adopted kids, and kisses her. Dick files for divorce from Marie on grounds of desertion. -12/1/60-12/30/60. Paul drops in at the Bauers to see how Mike is doing and has an argument with Bert. She says she’s only concerned about Mike but Paul bluntly tells her she’s only thinking of Bert Bauer and keeping her close little family in one piece as long as she can. Bert angrily tells him to mind his own business. Paul tells her to get another doctor. Meta talks Bill into talking Mike into not getting an annulment right away but going away somewhere alone for a while. Marie doesn’t like Alex, thinking that he’s cynical but doesn’t really believe the things he says. She thinks he just purposely says things to bait people. Joe tells Marie he wants to marry her and adopt Phil. Marie is served the divorce papers by a deputy. Meta and Bert declare war on each other. In front of Mike, Bill and Bert argue about Meta’s influence on Bill’s opinion of the annulment. Sick of the family drama, Mike yells at them both to shut up and says he doesn’t want an annulment but he wants to get away from everything. Alex announces his plans to sell the Art Gallery which devastates Phil as it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Mike tells Robin that he doesn’t want to get an annulment but wants to go away alone to New York City for a while. Robin has mixed feelings. Bert tells Anne that this was the first Christmas that she and Bill haven’t spent with Meta and Papa since Bert joined the family and she blames Meta for splitting the family. Papa tries to encourage Robin by noting that Mike wants to stay married but just needs some time. Robin despondently says that it’s only postponing the inevitable. She knows they won’t stay married and she wishes she had died instead of Karl. Alarmed, Papa goes over to tell Mike about Robin’s mental state but Bert forbids him to. Marie consults her own lawyer in the divorce and says she doesn’t want any kind of settlement from Dick. Alex gets a letter that he burns without reading. Meta takes Robin to the art gallery to visit with Marie. Alex takes Robin on a tour of the gallery and tells her to toughen up and forget about Michael. -12/23/60. Amy, Dick, Paul and Anne gather at Amy’s apartment to celebrate Christmas. Paul encourages Dick to reach out to Marie, who he is separated from. Marie gives Joe and Phil a Christmas they aren’t used to.

Thank you, Zane. I don't remember that footage from findyourlight. I wonder if someone captured it before the site went away. UCLA has several episodes of soaps that are on a reel and haven't been transferred. I'm not sure why somebody doesn't do something about that. You would think it wouldn't be that difficult in this day and age.

I'd be cautious. I've never given them money but have emailed them asking questions several times and never got a response. It just didn't seem very professional so, at this point, I would not give them money even if they responded. I've been ripped off by other sellers in classic soap opera material.

30s: Ned Holden, Charles Cunningham 40s: Julie Collins, Ted White 50s: Bert Bauer, Laura Grant 60s: Ed Bauer, Ben Scott 70s: Charlotte Waring, Stanley Norris

Well, I wrote synopses for the years 1937-1940 which, if you're interested, are in the radio thread. That would give you a lot of what you'd like to know about the characters I liked. I just liked Ellis because he was cynical and aloof on the outside but, when it came down to it, he would go way out of his way to help people in need. He was enigmatic, which is what I like in characters. I don't like one-dimensional characters. The philosophical debates between Reverend Ruthledge and Ellis were riveting to me. And Rose just had a great redemption arc as she matured. Watching the maturation process with her was fascinating.

I liked Julie mainly because she was a fascinating, unpredictable and sympathetic character. Also, because I'm a psychologist and she was an interesting psychology study. Her story was mainly tragic (GL IS a soap opera, after all. LOL). She had to wear this scarlet A because she got pregnant from Mike Bauer (with Hope) and he had to marry her (this was the mid-60s). She was in love with him but he wasn't in love with her. It was just a sex thing for him. Because he felt trapped in the marriage, he was emotionally neglectful and somewhat abusive to her. She fell out of love with Mike and was the one who eventually felt like the trapped one and wanted to leave the Bauers (she and Mike were living with Bill, Bert and Papa while Mike was going through law school). Just when she was getting ready to leave and live on her own with Hope, Mike raped her and she got pregnant again which made her situation even more unbearable to her. She felt even more trapped which triggered a mental breakdown. She basically went insane. She tried to say the baby was someone else's (someone who she never had sex with). Although this was more of a delusion than an outright lie. She would routinely attack the Bauers. She eventually miscarried and tried to jump out of the hospital room window but was stopped in time. Ironically, at this point, Mike finally saw how badly he had treated her and realized that he did love her but, by then, it was too late. Julie finally got what she wanted, Mike to love her, but by the time he did, she had fallen out of love with him and just wanted away from him. She eventually slipped into psychosis, went catatonic, and Mike had to commit her to a sanitarium. She eventually came out of her catatonic state and seemed to be improving but then had a relapse and committed suicide in the sanitarium. Mike was guilt-ridden for years after.

Yes.