vetsoapfan

There were specific rumors about why he had it out for her, but in the end, who knows? Not all rumors are true. As the writer steering the ship, it was his job to do what was best for the SHOW and the AUDIENCE, not to cater to his own whims.

Yes, McLaughlin's health concerns were no secret, and there had been times when she was unable to fulfil her contractual obligations to the show. By the early 1980s, Jessie had become a supporting player rather than a lead, thanks to the Youth Invasion and emphasis on idiotic science fiction. The network terminated her contract when her personal issues persisted, and there were times when Jessie would go unseen for months. McLaughlin rebounded later on, and during Joseph Hardy's reign as producer, she would appear on average once a week. The network was respectful enough to keep her top-billed in the credits (after John Beradino) and paid her a generous per-episode salary on the days she did appear, but then she got sick again and Jessie simply disappeared, for good this time. The character had been so marginalized by this point, I did not expect much in the way of a tribute, but I did expect GH to at least have Steve, Audrey, Bobbie...ANYBODY who had known and cared for Jessie...to acknowledge her whereabouts/death on screen. No one did, and she remained unmentioned for an extended period until the 30th anniversary episode, when Steve Hardy told Angie about Jessie's passing. I say this very...carefully, but I think Emily McLaughlin deserved a memorial episode or tribute just as much as, say, John Reilly did, considering her huge and original importance to the show.

A petulant Harding Lemay was infuriated that Jacquie Courtney portrayed Alice's acute schizophrenic nervous breakdown so overtly (he said he wanted it to be played as "muted grief" instead of raging emotion), and so ended the story almost immediately. Alice recovered from her breakdown within a few days, went back to normal, and the character began to diminish in prominence, as Lemay brought Rachel more and more to the foreground.

The show even FINALLY addressed the vanishing of Jessie Brewer, who had simply ceased to exist without explanation after Emily McLaughlin passed away. Hearing Steve acknowledge the character's death on screen, during the 30th anniversary telecast, brought quiet closure to a character who had once been a beloved and integral component of the series.

They may not have known specifically where in the building he was being kept, after being moved to solitary, but everyone knew the name and location of the prison and that Steve was in that building. After Alice's breakdown, Lenore drove out there and tried to convince the authorities to let her see Steve, so she could update him on Alice's condition.

I thought that completely abandoning the Gerald Davis character was a wasted opportunity. Rachel had a half-sister on her father's side, named Pammy Davis, who also could have been used to create reams of dramatic conflict with Rachel. Many, if not most, writers and producers on soaps do not mine the past effectively, IMHO.

She clearly loathed Hogan Sheffer too. And she criticized Jean Passanante in a group interview as well.

No.

I don't understand what you mean. Everyone knew where Steven was: he was in prison for conspiring with Gerald Davis to lie in court during Steve's divorce hearing from Rachel. While locked up, Steve got into a physical altercation and was put in solitary confinement, which meant no one could see or speak to him temporarily.

I don't remember that bit about Myrtle at all. Thanks for the info.

Paul Martin was the defense attorney when Viki was on trial for murdering Marco Dane, but I don't recall Myrtle crossing over to OLTL that year. Do you have an idea of why she would have gone to Llanview?

After all the painful recasts of Alice Frame on Another World, I was relieved that when the character returned for her final three stints (1984-5, the show's 25th anniversary and then for Mac's funeral), the part was played by Jacqueline Courtney. And when Mickey Horton and Bill Horton died on DAYS, the flashbacks used were of John Clarke and Edward Mallory. It all helped wash the bad taste of poor recasts out of the audience's mouth. Just like, as you say, with Mary Ryan. And having Kate Mulgrew participate in Ryan's Hope's final episode was a special treat for fans.

Ryan's Hope's recasts were a mixed bag. Some were great, but certain others were dreadful. I thought Daniel Hugh Kelly was excellent as Frank, but John Blazo just creeped me out as Pat Ryan. Anyway, TPTB using flashbacks of Mulgrew after Mary died was the right decision. It helped cement her as "the real Mary" in the Ryan's Hope universe. (Which, of course, she was!)

I agree. William J. Bell had been writing the show for a year by then, and DAYS was really rockin'; mesmerizing to watch. I imagine that the show's lack-luster first year had been disinteresting to soap fans who had tried it, so it took the audience a while to give Salem a second chance.

Mulgrew did return years later, as a "ghost" during the years Yasmine Bleeth played her daughter. KM agreed to participate in the show's finale as well. The idea of reprising the role temporarily must not have been distasteful to her. I guess we'll never know for sure if TPTB approached her about coming back for Mary's death storyline, but it would have been so much more meaningful and effective if an actress we knew and loved in the role had been playing her in that end. With NG, I felt no loss when Mary Ryan passed. (And I might have cheered if the character had died while KT was there, LOL!)

Me too. I thought--given decent, percept writing, which the the show usually did not have after the 1970s--that Hunter and Thomasina might have been interesting. There were a lot of dropped and/or missed opportunities over the years on AW.

Exactly. Then the show's going for a THIRD replacement, after Tolan, was ludicrous. They should have offered Mulgrew the MOON to return, even for a handful of episodes, and let her be the one who played the role upon Mary's death.

Mary Carney was both lovely and a good actress. It's a shame she was replaced. Kathleen Tolan, who was neither attractive nor a good actress. It was painful watching her constantly flubbing and stumbling over her lines. She had no chemistry with anyone. She probably lasted as long as she did because the show did not want to admit their mistake in hiring her. Of all the recasts among the main Ryan-family characters, KT was the worst.

🤮 💩 Hold back my hair, I'm gonna hurl.

That picture is tiny and my ancient eyes are weak, LOL, but I agree with Vee: it's probably Trish van Devere.

Well, Darren was around for a little while, but never as a major player. After he left, I don't remember anyone mentioning him at all. So many men back at that time were approachable babes, although Jeff and Scotty were tops for me. It annoys me to no end that Hammy Howarth is working on his third freaking character, while Kin Shriner is only rarely seen as a glorified under-fiver. Scotty Baldwin is the show's longest-serving character. He deserves a place on the canvas. You got it. Laura was such a brat! And an idiot too, for dismissing a hunk like Darren for an icky troll like David Hamilton.

I liked Darren a lot. I thought he was cute. Of course, Scotty was my main crush, LOL. GH sure had a plethora of attractive men back then. Yum. Now they only serve up greasy or dead-eyed mobsters. 🤮

I remember the divine scriptwriter Patrick Mulcahey acknowledging that during his time on SB, he and the other subwriters had to fight really hard to "hide things." I've always taken that comment to indicate AHB sucked on SB too, LOL. Certainly the Dobsons wanted her gone. Anyway, it is true that some writers fail miserably on certain shows but fare better on others. I hated Ann Marcus' stint on DAYS, but her time on Search for Tomorrow was great. I loved Claire Labine on Where the Heart Is, Love of Life and Ryan's Hope, but I cringed at her material on The Guiding Light. (To be fair, I blame MADD for interfering.)

A scene like that would never air in today's climate, but it was simply delicious to see back then. Poor Russ had been bending over backwards for months, and slaving to make Rachel happy, when all she did was lie, scheme, cheat, and treat him like a doormat. She was never satisfied and complained about everything all the time. She had expressed intense jealousy that Lenore Moore had such beautiful things, including an expensive set of crystal goblets. Russ went out and spent his ENTIRE paycheck just to buy her one, and intended to add more to the set as funds permitted. Rachel snapped, "One? Just one? What am I supposed to do with just one?" And then she threw it against the wall and smashed it. She's lucky Russ only spanked her. I was LIVID with rage.

ROTFLMAO!