vetsoapfan

I thought these were audio only and not video?? I asked Eddie about this and he said they were strictly audios. Meaning just the voices and not any visual scenes. Tell me I am wrong and I will be very happy to hear that...

These are CDs/compact discs, not DVDs or videotapes, so yes, they are audio only, but still great fun, because you can experience them as if they were vintage radio dramas (which I, personally, adore, but which some other people may not care for).

I have the DVD that has the 64-79 material and that isn't on it.

I know he does have the following discs available to the public, because I received them from him. They are all excellent, and loads of fun for vintage AW fans!

AW CD 56:26

RACHEL'S BOMBSHELL

Various scenes from 1969, mainly centering on the

story of Rachel's pregnancy.

Highlights:

-At home, Sam remembers reuniting with Lee upon his

release from prison.

-After hearing that Susan and Fred Douglas are

romantically involved, Aunt Liz throws a major hissy

fit and promises to speak to Susan alone after Fred

leaves. Fred refuses to be bullied.

-At a farewell party in their honor, Bill and Missy

say goodbye to their family and friends in Bay City.

-During Steve and Alice's engagement party, Rachel

corners Alice in the bedroom and takes vicious

pleasure in telling Alice that she's pregnant with

Steve's baby (Robin Strasser spits venom like no one

else).

-Over his protests, Alice proclaims her disappointment

in Steve, and breaks up with him.

-Susan marries Fred; Aunt Liz attends, but makes her

displeasure known by giving them a tacky wedding gift

(a check).

-After waiting for a time when he and Mary can be

alone in the house, Jim tells Mary the shocking news:

Rachel is cuckholding Russ, may be pregnant with

Steve's baby, and Alice broke up with Steve because of

it. Mary goes beserk, in a well-written and

brilliantly-acted scene.

-A thrilled Pat, after believing for years that she

was sterile, announces she is going to have a baby.

-At the hospital, Russ tells Ada and Ernie that Rachel

has just given birth to a healthy, "premature" baby

boy.

-Rachel tries to force Steve to give her money "for

the baby's sake". She's furious when Steve shows her

nothing but disdain, and kicks her out.

-Wayne Addison proposes to Aunt Liz.

-Sam and Lahoma reunite when he professes his love for

her.

-Russ tells Rachel some news she doesn't want to hear:

his parents are not going to endow the baby with a

large cash trust fund as they had originally

discussed; instead, they are going to set Russ up in

his own medical career, and buy his office equipment.

Rachel is aghast at this and says she wants the MONEY

instead. They have a heated argument in which Russ

finally lays down the law and puts her in her place.

-To prevent Russ from being suspicious about the

baby's parentage, Jim and Mary feel cornered into

setting up a trust fund for Jamie after all. Alice is

bitter when she hears the news, and procliams that

manipulative Rachel was won yet again.

AW CD 56:22

AUNT LIZ UNPLUGGED/LEE RANDOLPH'S DEMISE

Various scenes from 1969, mainly centering on Liz'

atrocious behavior and the circumstances of Lee's

death.

Highlights:

-Aunt Liz visits Steve in his office and makes it clear she

thinks his luncheon date with Rachel was suspicious.

Steve doesn't care, doesn't let her manipulate him,

and ushers her out.

-In John's office, Liz enjoys spreading nasty gossip

about Rachel and Steve, until John reprimands her and

reminds her that Bill's near-fatal car accident was a

direct result of her gossiping.

-On the day Sam and Lahoma are to be married, Sam,

Lahoma and Lee all awaken to thoughts about what the

marriage will mean to their lives.

-Sam and Lahoma's marriage and reception.

-At Bill and Missy's new home, Bill offers a

straighforward (and unpleasant) opinion of his

mother's character. Liz reacts badly and screams at

him on her way out the door.

-At home, Liz is further annoyed by Susan's negative

opinion of their mother/daughter relationship. Aunt Liz

screams (and screams and screams) at her too.

-While driving, Lee has hallucinations and crashes her

car.

-Sam hovers over Lee in the hospital, and hears her

confession of love before she dies.

-John phones Pat and tells her about Lee's death.

-Lee's funeral.

AW CD 50:21

RACHEL ON WHEELS

Various short scenes, starting in December 1968, and

focusing mainly on Rachel's attempts at manipulation

and social-climbing.

Highlights:

-In their bedroom at the Matthews home, Russ and

Rachel argue about her selfish behavior. Russ tells

her he cannot allow her to remain a scared child

forever because it will negatively affect their

marriage

-In the car outside the Randolph home, Sam reassures

Lahoma that Lee is in his past, and that it's Lahoma

he really wants

-Rachel, on the phone with Ernie, tries to avoid

accepting an invitation to a party for Ada

-Sam comes to the Matthews house and lambasts Rachel

for not wanting to attend Ada's party. He orders her

to go, period

-Lee and Lahoma discuss Lahoma's upcoming wedding

-Rachel tries her hand at social climbing by showing

up unannounced at Aunt Liz' house and volunteering to

help with Liz' fund-raising work. Aunt Liz makes it

clear Rachel wasn't born for that kind of activity

-Rachel visits Steve in his office, pretending to be

an important part of Liz' society circle. Steve sees

right through her, and lets her know it

-Russ informs Rachel about an appointment he made for

her with Dr. Clater. He wants the doctor to assure

Rachel she can go ahead and have more children. Rachel

refuses to go, but Russ gives her no choice

-In Dr. Clater's office, Rachel tries to manipulate

him into agreeing that she shouldn't become pregnant

again, but the doctor assures her that she has no

health problems preventing future pregnancies

-At the hospital, Russ overhears Alice talking to Lee

on the phone, and he realizes that Alice is avoiding

spending time at the Matthewses' house. He asks her if

she doesn't want to go home because Rachel is there

-While Mary is preparing dinner in the kitchen, Russ

quietly asks her oif he and Rachel can be excused from

eating with the rest of the family. He feels it's best

if they take a tray up to their room. A somber Mary

understands there's trouble in her son's marriage, and

agrees to his request

-Jim and Mary visit Pat and John for a game of cards

-After yet another fight with Russ, Rachel storms out

of the Matthews house. Russ wants to chase after her,

but Uncle Dru steps in and advices Russ to let Rachel

go

AW CD 42:05

The End Of Walter Curtin

Various clips, mainly surrounding Walter Curtin's exit

(1972), including:

-Jim, Mary and Steven discuss John's heavy workload

-Walter confesses his crimes to a shocked Lenore, then

runs out of the house when she rebukes him

-Lenore receives a package with the incriminating

scarf

-Walter realizes the kind of man he has become, and

crashes his car

-Russ finds a distraught Lenore and tries to help her

and Wally

-Pat tells Lenore of Walter's death

-Walter's funeral (brief clip)

-Mary finds Alice, who has fallen from a stepladder,

and is unconscious. She phones Jim and asks him to

track down Steven through John

COMPACT DISC 43:53

December 24, 1971: A Matthews Christmas

In their kitchen, Jim and Mary Matthews prepare for

the holidays. While Jim marvels at how how Mary is

able to organize everything for large family parties,

she reminds him that she has had 30 years' experience

doing so. They discuss how much it means to them to

have their family over for Christmas Eve. Later, when

the guests have arrived, Jim advises John not to let

his growing work responsibilities take priority over

Pat and the twins. Russ' date, Dr. Paula McCray, tells

everyone that she grew up in boarding schools and

always missed out on family gatherings like this one.

Steven and Alice discuss her pregnancy, their

relationship, and Steve's seeing Jamie...and Rachel.

Everyone gathers to sing Christmas carols.

I completely agree. By October of 1984, the longest running cast member on GL was Jerry verDorn, who debuted on GL in 1979. To be fair, GL had cast overhauls previously over its rich history (primarily during the radio years), but nothing like that. I was someone who liked Pam Long's writing in a lot of cases, just not the decision to overhaul so much of the cast in a relatively short time period.

Pamela Long could be a very capable writer, but she was still a novice during her initial stint at TGL, and she made many grave errors. Her second term on the show, and her primetime series Second Noah, were much better. If she had stuck to family drama, romance, and interpersonal relationships in 1983 and 84, she would be much more favorably remembered. The problems were not with her human drama, but with the lowbrow fantasy and "adventure" nonsense.

I take your points, vetsoapfan.

Good God, the Dreaming Death and Infinity storylines were awful. And the one with the Springfield patriarchs messing with Annabelle was only bearable from time to time. I'm still scratching my head over Susan Piper and the ninja.

There were soooo many terrible stories being told at the time. Perhaps some of them might have been slightly easier to swallow, if we had had more beloved tentpole characters still around, but to be asked to endure asinine plots centered around actors who were new to the show...who cared?

I think 1983-1984 was a mixed bag. The best of it built on the history of characters - Phillip's adoption coming to light and the way that built up to the Four Musketeers adventure, and even the Lewis/Shayne Cat On A Hot Tin Roof that used the lives and history those characters had together.

The loss of many important characters was the worst of it, and I don't think the effects of that were felt for awhile. I think 1985 was when the WTF started to outweigh the good in many ways.

Yes, with the saga of the Four Musketeers, and with Bert's storyline, there were plusses to the 1983/4 season, certainly. But very soon, I'd say after Charita Bauer could no longer appear, the core of the show was lost, and the negative effect of having axed so many pivotal, beloved characters became apparent. Even Gail Kobe later confessed that the audience loathed the cast purge, particularly losing Mike and Hope Bauer, and commented that we should be surprised if the Bauers were written back into the story in the future. Alas, they never were.

I disagree, vetsoapfan. I think Kobe/Long re-energized the show in 1983/1984 and made it watchable again after a particularly dire number of months following Douglas Marland's departure. They came up with The Four Musketeers, for starters. They gave the show a new identity which was very popular. And I think the opening musical theme which ran under their tenure was one of the best ever composed for daytime.

You are right about the new musical theme, which was lovely. The construction of the Four Musketeers was also a success. But axing a huge number of the cast and dumbing down the plots was not the way to rejuvenate a soap that had had a short-term problem with writing. Once so many of the core characters were eliminated, the show was left with terrible writing and a bunch of newbies, many of whom never caught on. Soap fans will remain loyal to their shows even through periods of upheaval, if at least their beloved veteran characters are there. With a destruction of the show's core AND lame-o plots like Jonathan Brooks' Talking Computer, The Dreaming Death, The Ghost in the Attic, etc., the show was ASKING for longtime viewers to flee, LOL.

For the record, even Pamela Long later admitted in an interview that her "fantasy" plots were not necessarily the best way for TGL to go. She said that she had learned that between writing fantasy and writing realistic storylines, it was better to get real. Her second stint as the show's headwriter was much better.

I disagree, vetsoapfan. I think Kobe/Long re-energized the show in 1983/1984 and made it watchable again after a particularly dire number of months following Douglas Marland's departure. They came up with The Four Musketeers, for starters. They gave the show a new identity which was very popular. And I think the opening musical theme which ran under their tenure was one of the best ever composed for daytime.

You are right about the new musical theme, which was lovely. The construction of the Four Musketeers was also a success. But axing a huge number of the cast and dumbing down the plots was not the way to rejuvenate a soap that had had a short-term problem with writing. Once so many of the core characters were eliminated, the show was left with terrible writing and a bunch of newbies, many of whom never caught on. Soap fans will remain loyal to their shows even through periods of upheaval, if at least their beloved veteran characters are there. With a destruction of the show's core AND lame-o plots like Jonathan Brooks' Talking Computer, The Dreaming Death, The Ghost in the Attic, etc., the show was ASKING for longtime viewers to flee, LOL.

For the record, even Pamela Long later admitted in an interview that her "fantasy" plots were not necessarily the best way for TGL to go. She said that she had learned that between writing fantasy and writing realistic storylines, it was better to get real. Her second stint as the show's headwriter was much better.

What is Jennifer telling Amanda at the end?

Only watched part three but wow - never saw most of these characters interact. Interesting seeing Phillip with Hope and Amanda. Didn't realize Bill actually was on beyond Eli Simms pushing him out the window.

Would love to know what was being discussed behind the scenes as I see Pam Long is writing and also know soon many of these characters would be off the show. I remember GL more from mid 80s and on and loved it, but seems like much was lost to get there that could have been kept. GL really does seem like a show that changes drastically every few years...

For longtime devotees of TGL, the 1983/4 season was a nightmare, in the sense that Gail Kobe and Pamela Long were allowed (or encouraged) by TPTB to overhaul the show and hack away at its history and roots. We lost Bill Bauer, Bert Bauer, Hillary Bauer, Mike Bauer, and Hope Bauer, and were left only with a recently recast Ed and Rick, which crippled the show's identity. It was like doing THE WALTONS without John, Olivia, John-Boy, Mary-Ellen, Erin, and Ben, and only featuring a recast Elizabeth and Jason. We lost long-running characters like Sarah McIntyre, and popular ones like Amanda Spaulding and Nola Reardon. Not only was the cast decimated, but very soon the quality of the writing bottomed out, and we were forced to endure crappy, low-brow camp and a host of newer characters, many of whom never caught on with the audience. The show sucked from about 1984 to 1989, when Roger and Holly made a triumphant return and helped bring a renewed sense of continuity and history to Springfield.

The bizarre thing is, even against GH, which was very strong at the time, TGL was doing very well, and was a critical and popular success upon Kobe's and Long's arrival. Why they were allowed to hack away at such a fine, solid show remains a mystery to this day. The series never really recovered from their destructive decisions.

Thanks for the Randall stuff. Love Randall.

This was uploaded by Freeflyur years ago (the episode I mean), but this one is better quality.

I can see why that Joe wasn't around long.

What a huge dull slog. The only highlight was Maggie sticking it to that sad old perv Roger.

Was this Pat Falken Smith?

Yes, PFS was the headwriter during this time. It's a shame that the production of the show was so sluggish. PFS was a great writer, but even she could not save any show alone.

That's great. I hope we may be able to see some of that someday.

I wonder if Eddie Drueding has it on one of his wonderful AW DVDs. Has anyone ever checked with him? I can send him an email, to see what he says. Sadly, I no longer have the equipment to make copies of material from one format to another.

ANOTHER WORLD: May 3, 1974

Prologue:

--Janice Frame and Lenore Curtin assist Alice Matthews as she prepares for her wedding to Steven Frame

--Steven Frame and Robert Delaney discusses John Randolph's sorry state

Act One:

--Pat and John Randolph argue over John's refusal to attend the remarriage of Alice Matthews and Steven Frame. Later Mary Matthews arrives to comfort Pat

Act Two:

--A bitter Rachel Davis condemns Steven Frame and his actions towards her, but confesses to her mother how devastated she is to lose him

--As the guests mingle before the wedding, Mary Matthews fibs to excuse John's absence, while Aunt Liz Matthews introduces Robert Delaney around

Act Three:

--Sam Lucas reprimands a drunken John Randolph

--Alice and Steven Frame remarry on the patio of their country house, while across town, a miserable Rachel Davis flashes back to her own wedding to Steven

Act Four:

--Rachel Davis barges into John Randolph's house, to egg him on and encourage his anger at Steven Frame. She is rude to Pat Randolph, when Pat telephones home

Act Five:

--As the post-wedding party is in full swing, Mary Matthews and Alice Frame discuss family outcast John Randolph

Act Six:

--Tim McGowen proposes to Janice Frame

--John Randolph crashes the wedding party and verbally assaults Steven Frame during Robert Delaney's toast

--Alice Frame gives John a scolding

Epilogue:

--After the drama has subsided, Lenore Curtin encourages the band to resume playing music, so the guests can return to partying

People would kill too see that episode, including myself. Can you copy to DVR? I would be willing to pay to see that. 10 anniversary is a classic. I have never seen it since I was prob in first grade at the time.

Although I no longer have the ability to copy from one format to another, one of my friends has told me that he has seen the AW 10th anniversary advertised on another site, from another soap opera collector. I'll find out the specifics from my friend, and get back to you.

I was going to but forgot. I'll send her a message sometime this weekend and see what she says.

I would be surprised if any kinescopes did remain after all these decades, and even if they did, who knows what condition they might be in, or even if Courtney's daughter had the interest in copying them or making them available to die-hard fans. Certainly she doesn't owe the public anything, but it would at least be nice if some vintage AW episodes were still out there, even in the attics of former stars' family members.

Me, too! Jacquie's daughter, especially, would love to see the wedding episodes. According to Jennifer, her mother kept many issues of the soap magazines of the day - Afternoon TV, TV By Day, early SOD, etc. I think she said they are all in her attic somewhere now.

Were you able to ask Courtney's daughter if the family has the kinescopes of early AW episodes, which Courtney once said in a magazine article that she had had made? If the magazine report was accurate, those kinescopes would be like the holy grail to AW fans.

Cool!!

On tape, I have AW's tenth anniversary episode, centering on the remarriage of Alice and Steven Frame, and that does not seem to be on the internet anywhere. Also on tape, I have a couple of episodes from Y&R dealing with Jennifer Brooks' death, including her daughters finding out about her passing, and her husband reading a farewell letter from her. That hasn't shown up anywhere else, either. Most of my material is now widely circulated, however.

vetsoapfan, do you still have any AW episodes from your old Betamax?

Yes, although because I had tape-traded for so many years, almost all of my vintage material has been in general circulation among other fans for years now, and the most technology-savvy among the fans have uploaded "my" episodes to youtube.

Vetsoapfan I think you were the exception to the rule, which is a good thing. I know they were available by the mid-late 1970s, but not that many people had machines until much later, so while available they weren't persuasive like they became in the 1980/1990s. How many hours could you tape on your machine a day? It sounds like your machine allowed you to record things from different channels, which is even better. (Not everyone could do that, I say that as the machine my babysitters had in the 80s the channel didn't automatically change and you could only watch the show that was being taped.)

Most people I knew back then did not buy a VCR right away because the machines were so expensive. My first Sony Beta, if I recall correctly, cost $1,600.00 Blank tapes were $27.00 each. The only reason I splurged on this extravagance was because I was fiercely addicted to my soaps, and hated missing them. When I first heard about the advent of home VCRs, however, I immediately started saving up every extra dollar I could, in order to afford one. Audiotaping the shows was good enough when only audiotape recorders were available, but once I knew I could SEE and HEAR the soaps on a Betamax machine, I could not resist the thought.

Of course, back then, the shows were in their glory days and worth watching and preserving. Nowadays, I would never spend $1,600.00 on a machine to videotape Chuck Pratt's Y&R, Dena Higley's DAYS, or Ron's GH.

Considering people really didn't have VHS or even Betamax machines moving a show could cause fans to leave out of no choice of their own. If you were an AW fan and got home at 2:30, you were okay when the 90 minute expansion happened as at least you were home when it was on, but if you only got home closer to three or after 3 pm, you were screwed once it moved to 2:00 pm. Not everyone watching AW were stay-at-home parents, and even if they were depending on the schedules of children, having the show on a different time may not have been convenient.

Well, I got my first Betamax in 1976, and my first VHS a few years later, so some die-hard soap addicts did have the ability to timeshift way back then.

Before buying my first VCRs, I used to set up audiotape recorders to record the sound of my favorite soaps, so I could listen to them later, as if they were radio plays. I still have several audiotapes of material from the 1960s and '70s.

I generally managed to keep up with all my shows, but it was REALLY annoying when the networks shifted timeslots around, putting two favorites on different networks in competition with each other.

I think someone once said no. I'm not sure.

Personally, I would say yes. I'm pretty sure that is her.

I would flip if the episode from 1969 would pop up of Rachel telling Alice she is pregnant with Steve's baby at her engagement party. It would be double awesome if it's in color and not grainy b&w kinescope.

I can't believe that would be an episode they would destroy since it was such a important moment. Is it true that Paul Rauch destroyed material because of his dislike of Robin Strasser, Jackie Courtney and George Reinholt ? I know tape wiping was a common cost saving practice back then, but have heard that story about Rauch.

Material from the episode in which Rachel tells Alice the truth about the baby is only available on audio CD, as far as I know. I got my copy from the AW website. Eddie also has many other audio CDs with a ton of great material from the 1960s and 1970s, including a 1971 Christmas episode.

While I loathe how Rauch butchered so many of the soaps he produced, I doubt the story about him being responsible for destroying all the old tapes is true. P&G routinely erased all their soaps up until about 1978 or so, with only occasional episodes from here or there surviving.

I could email Jennifer Desiderio (Jacquie's daughter) and ask if her mom had any recordings saved of AW.

In a box of memorabilia somewhere, I have a magazine interview with Jacqueline Courtney in which she said that she had had kinescopes made of important, significant scenes from her run on AW. It would be nice to know these vintage episodes still existed somewhere, if only in Courtney's daughter's possession.

I was watching some episodes of a short lived 1970-1971 series called "The Interns" with Christopher Stone, Mike Farrell etc....on youtube and heard some background music that was later used on Y&R in the 70's/80's. The series was produced by Columbia Pictures. In one scene they were playing background music that I remember seeing in the 1975 Y&R Jennifer Brooks mastectomy episode.

Good Lord, THE INTERNS! I used to love that show, but haven't even thought of it in decades! It's on youtube? That's for letting me know, woohoo!

Mart was awfully cute at this time but didn't age well

I disagree about Hulswit's looks. I thought he developed into a very warm, cute and cuddly daddy figure, perfect for the role of the new Bauer patriarch on TGL. Peter Simon was a good actor, but did not project the same warmth and paternalism. As for Richard Van Fleet in the role...um, just no.

Though some dates aren't correct

Some of their dates AND information are not correct, but it's one of the only resources we've got, for in-depth character information. I've sent in some corrections over the years, but have been ignored.

Here's a long ago question, I hope someone can answer. Did Peggy Brooks ever marry? Did she marry Jack Curtis?

Check out the character's biography, here:

http://soapcentral.com/yr/whoswho/peggy.php

I was thinking of writing Ms. Brill again and telling her how so many here at SON remember those scenes of Fran Bachman becoming a sudden widow so vividly. I'd also like to ask her how she liked working with Gerald Gordon in FLD (I forgot to ask in my other letter).

I have a scrapbook with dozens of articles and interviews on HTSAM, and there's a great interview with Fran Brill, talking about the wonderful story involving Bachman's death. She quite rightly described writer Rick Edlestein (who wrote the series in its brilliant middle period, between hacks Anne Howard Bailey and Margaret DePriest) as a genius. With Edelstein's literate, adult scripts, the show was like a character-driven stage play every day. According to Brill, however, she got trench mouth from sobbing so much during the tragic storyline of losing her husband.