dc11786

I always assumed the Jeff / Trisha 1993 exit was intended to build natural conflict when Trisha would return to Corinth. Of course, that day never came and it felt odd. The dramatic value of Trisha having amnesia, falling in love with a "reformed" Jeff, and then having to deal not only with the life she left behind, but the lies Jeff told her was probably the reason they went that route. I don't really love this era, but some episodes from 1989 popped up: Janey was great and, I suspect, an unfortunate victim of the crossover from Agnes Nixon to Laurie McCarhty and Addie Walsh. For years, I have heard that the original (or one of the original) plans for Ava was to make her biracial. Janey seemed to be Agnes Nixon's attempt to make that version of the Erica/Ava mold happen. I thought that Janey was a well integrated character in a time when a lot of characters were islanded in stories. She seemed to just flow through stories. I love when she claimed she was Clay's daughter for a hot minute. Babbin was pretty blunt in her Loving interviews. She took the job as a favor to Agnes Nixon and was only staying one year, which is what she did. On air, Fran Sears takes over in July, 1991. In her interviews, Babbin was pretty clear about her dislike of the show she inherited. Said it was nothing more than a Dynasty clone and that it needed its own identity. Under Babbin, a large number of the cast were cut. Wesley Addy's Cabot dies. Augusta Dabney's Isabelle leaves Corinth for Palm Springs. Stan Albers' Curtis is sent to Iraq. Perry Stephens is dumped and replaced by Christopher Cass. She also wrote out Egypt and Alex Masters. She brought on a lot of character actors in bit parts. I remember there was a district attorney who was fairly well known. Harvey Fierstein played a hypnotist. Ilene Kristen was on as Norma. Class distinctions started to be present again. Shana was broughtback. Carly Rescott was introduced. Patrick and Rose Donovan were back occassionally for the first time in years. Storywise, you had Trisha lose Trucker's baby and the adoption of little Tommy, which led to the blackmail scheme of Monty and his subsequent murder mystery. Carly was hiding that she had Paul's baby in high school. Dane was manipulating an amnesiac Shana after Jim and Jimmy died. Cabot died and there was in fighting over the family fortune. Kate and Louie married. Rio and Rocky (nearly?) married to prevent Rio's deporation. Alex and Egypt's daughter Alexis had a medical crisis. There are probably other stories, but I don't recall.

That's a great question. I don't think it was ever rerun and given hw cheaply the show was producd, I almost wonder if the masters were even saved. I imagine that P&G would have, but I am not convinced they would have saved them in the first year. Chris "C.T." McIntyre passed several years ago, I believe. I think the best hope for recovery with the show in terms of longer sequences of whole episodes (or even partials) would be if any actors or production staff saved it. Babe is a rather fun character. She is featured in several sequences I have seen. Her final story (or a fairly late run story) had her paired with Dirk Stack. Criminal Dirk involved with cop Babe while the shadow remained of his relationship lawyer Maggie Catlin (who seemed poised for a return based on how often she is mentioned from Novembe 1984-March 1985) remained. Bolling managed to keep Babe rugged without teetering into the territory of off putting. I wish we had more of the show's first year as I suspect it really started to take shape under Steve Lehrman, who came in mid-to-late July, 1983. I know that early August episode online is a bit of a chore, but so much of the show was dropped or revamped shortly after. Babe seems part of Lehrman's soft reset with Joe Ranier's Dirk Stack, Charlie Hill's Woody Thorpe, and McLinn Crowell's Cullen Quinn. I wonder if Iris Little Roberts' Andrea Smith was also a Lehrman addition. All of these characters seem slightly more developed in the later episodes I have seen rather than others. As was common with shows, there was so many recasts. I really appreciate both versions of Annabelle Catlin. Pamela Burrell has such a quiet strength and managed to hold her own against more established Michael Forest and seemed to be fine with David Haskell's Robert Boone. Muriel Moore's embodied Southern aristocracy from my very Northern perspective. I would be curious how Forest and Moore appeared as a couple because there was at least a two month period where they were in the roles together. I almost wish they could have kept Moore around in another role. I adore Jane Berman's Lucille Crowe in the iittle bit I've seen her when she basically is Medger Quinn's mistress and operating his TV station, which irritates Stacey Manning. I'm not sure I would have liked her oriignal story, something about a shady modeling agency that roped Jennifer Catlin in, but the 1985 episode I saw her in was pretty fun.

@watson71 The P&G logo appears at the end of the episodes starting in late March or early April, 1984. I believe P&G assumes production responsibilities around the first year's anniversary. In the meantime, P&G was the primary (and possibly only) advertister. The financial logistics for the show got a bit of press because not only was P&G and Ted Turner's WTBS involved, but there were also private investors. It seems like there was quite a bit of financial mismanagement with some suggesting that it was intentional on the part of the producer, but I am not sure if anything went to court. @slick jones I found an article stating that the full name of Charles Hill's character was Elwood T. "Woody" Thorpe. In watching episodes of Another Life, I have gotten very nostalgic about The Catlins, which was always the soap that had so little presence on line given how long it ran and that it aired during the VCR era. The little we see doesn't seem anywhere near as strong as Another Life, but we also don't really have anywhere near close to a stretch of consecutive episodes to see how the day to day build was. in looking through this thread, I was reminded of how disappointed I was in that August, 1983, episode which was probably under a month into Steve Lehrman's run as headwriter. I do wish more of that period was available when Sam Smiley and Lehrman each were in charge of the show. Smiley said he had kept material, but I don't know what his family did with it when he passed. Unfortunately, I think a lot of it was saved on his computer which I imagine wasn't saved. The closest we have to a continuous run is about 6 or so episodes from late November - December, 1984. By that point, the show is mostly LA and NY with a few Atlanta stalwarts mixed in. It's a decent show, but I know the numbers were not great. In December, 1983, it was reported the ratings were around 240,000 households. I don't hold out hope we will get much more than a few episodes here and there, but I need to get better at saving what does come up. I could kick myself for letting the Tony Wright episodes come and go without saving them. Also, I have spent the last day trying to find a post saynotoursoap/jon made about the show, before realizing he made it on danfling's old soap opera board. I remember he referrred to the show as a "Southern fried soap opera" and complimented elements of it while acknowledging its faults. I did stumble on some new information (or maybe its stuff I forgot), but there were two sets of pilot episodes. The first pilot was filmed in early 1981 and shown to P&G in April, 1981. The next set of pilot episodes were filmed in June, 1982. I believe the June episodes were actually used, but I am not sure. Sam Smiley came on in the fall of 1982 as the consultant during the development phase and then was in charge of story. Sam Smiley wrote (at least) 48 scripts which would put him into June, 1983. Sam's script writing team included Claudia Johnson, Craig Brown, and his wife Anne Smiley. Producer Chris McIntrye stated in an article that he wrote the story for Steve Lehrman (at least initially) and that Lehrman developed the outlines. I wonder if that's why Lehrman didn't stay. I know in later shows (in 1985) McIntrye gives himself onscreen credit for the shipping storyline so I don't think this process continued until the end. Though, Smiley also commented in an article how television is a director and producer genre from his experience with The Catlins. For Marilyn Martin's son, if he ever pops in again, his mom might appreciate this. I suspect it's from the opening episodes even though it was attached to a December, 1983, article Also, a shot of David Frizzell (as himself) who appeared as himself and sang at the local honky-tonk bar, The Lucky Seven. And since I mentioned Sam Smiley and his computer

If Josh's secret child was a male, he would have slept with Reva. Be careful what you wish for.

Susan Scanell had a busy 1982. She marries Chris Roland on April 23, 1982. She first appeared on air as Kristen Carter on Search for Tomorrow the last week of May, 1982. Then about a month later she exits as Becky on Another Life. I dislike most of Becky's story after her miscarriage. I did like the final implication that Dave had lied to Becky and that he wasn't really a famous producer with Becky being his first star. Don't even get me started on the "not married" revelation. Wasting mother from hell Carrie Weaver on that tripe was disrespectful on multiple levels. I felt like you could always revisit Becky. Jaded by her career, Becky returns to Kinsley and doesn't receive the warm greeting she was hoping for with everyone moving on with their life. I would have had her and Carla fighting for a position at a nightclub as a lounge act with the club owner having mob ties and drawing Becky into that life which would provoke some sort of response from the people who have loved her. I also would have revisited the idea of who Becky's biological parents were and maybe reveal she was the daughter of a minister or someone in the political circle. Russ and Becky would be a toxic end game because Russ would always want Lori so I would probably move Becky onto someone like Gil if they weren't going to keep Amber around. Amber does seem increasingly hostile without any real moments of sincerity. This is one of my only complaints in the Phillips family story. There was a nice moment of jealousy where Gil gushes over Miriam when she and Charles are dining at the Greenbriar with Amber being furious about the lack of attention, but Miriam is so possessive. Everything is an object to her; everyone is just pawns in her game. Part of the issue is Amber's world is so narrow. I'll be curious to see how she interacts later on with Blair Simpson. I think I would have twisted the knife with Amber by letting her land a local public access talk show so that she could be a faux journalist and torment Stacey some more. I think Elain Graham left Another Life for a travel production of Home, which she did for most of the fall and winter of 1982. She appeared with Samuel L. Jackson and S. Epatha Merkensen for the Negro Ensemble Company. I also feel like Elain Graham is known for speaking her mind. I did notice that they recently had Carla wearing a bit of a turban to cover up the new haircut Graham got. Kari Page was just very unmemorbale in the role. She also wasn't given much to do. Streisand is definitely someone on the mind of the writers. In a bit in the last set of episodes I watched, Nancy calls a second hand store to speak about selling her mother's furniture. She gets the store owner's wife Rose and starts cracking up, and I believe mentions Streisand by name. Babs is interesting. There is quite a gap, from what I recall, from when she starts until when she appears regularly. I remember her initial appearance in jail with Nancy (just like Dave with Jeff Cummings), but I don't remember her popping up again until what felt like several weeks later. The original appearance is definitely under the Barnes, but I cannot recall right now if Babs is featured much again until she is thrown out of the car. I feel like she is already looking into another life out of the prostitution ring before Vinley arrives, but maybe I'm wrong. I thought Babs' monologue about running into a former classmate who was now a wife and mother leading to Babs to want to start over was well done. Jesus was Jewish. I have seen sitcoms do more of the blending of Christmas and Hannukah than I have soaps, but I do know there is occasionally an attempt at unity. The suggestion that Babs and Harold might have been presented as Jewish characters is intriguing and something I will think about more.

I hadn't heard about the profit sharing being an issue either, however, in Alan Locher's Generations interview, Sally Sussman Morina spoke about NBC's interest inreveal the success of Santa Barbara overseas. She had stated that NBC had greenlit Generations in part in order to outright own a soap opera that they could sell overseas and increase their own revenue. Eileen Davidson's point about it being a weird time because there were all these big names with nothing to do was an interesting critique, but, to be fair to Pam Long (who I am not a fan of), Davidson's Kelly under the Dobsons didn't have much either. I'm curious how Davidson's Kelly would have fared had Marcy Walker not left because it does seem like they try to make Kelly Eden in some ways.

Thanks for sharing! I'm wondering if any consideration was giving to bring back Becky. I don't see Susan Scannell returning because she was fairly busy in the New York soap scene, but I would be curious if any discussions were had about bringing the character back to Kingsley to disrupt Russ, Lori, and Ben's lives. Given Scannell's send off, this probably was off the table. Watching some of those clips, I am curious how Becky would have been with Tony Cardello (I know I'm bordering on obsessing) given the clip with Susan's character speaking about her daughter in coma and her fight for gay marriage equality. I see an equally vicacious Becky singing in a nightclub that Tony ran with Russ brooding in the corner with his latest flavor of the week at how chummy his former pseudo wife and his half-brother are. I've come to enjoy Marianne and Russ for what it is, but I cannot help but think how much more impactful all this current material would have been if it was still Susan Scannell as Becky in the role (and Jeannette Larson as Lori). Becky's connection to Vince was so special and Becky would have been devastated by the loss. Did Vince even get a funeral? I've lost track of where I stopped last and I think I missed a few episodes. Anyway, Russ killing Blue in Lori's name would have also given Susan Scannell some juicy material to react to. Becky loved Lori, but she was always in the shadow of the intensity of Russ' feelings for Lori. My heart just breaks for Becky thinking of how that would play out having the one, two punch of Vince dying and learning that Russ killed for Lori. Vinley hasn't really done much with Carla's singing, which is such a shame. Kari Page's Carla was such wall paper and Elain Graham brings life to the character that doesn't always seem to be written on the page, which I appreciate about her. I do wish a little more was done with Carla, and I wish there was a slightly more complicated relationship between Carla and Ione.

Early Vicki seemed to be a supporting player so that there was someone in the political set in the office with Gene. The Vicki - Peter thread seemed more like background noise with Peter interested in the older, engaged woman. I suspect that Susan Scanell's departure in mid 1982 resulted in a some story shake up. Originally, when Gil Prescott was introduced, it looked like Gil and Lori were going to have a much deeper connection than what played out. The Gil and Russ rivalry initially involved Sheila, but I suspect would have led to Lori and maybe Marianne down the line. I think the Deena - Gil - Vicki stuff was the Barnes scrambling after the departure of Becky to create something big for the younger set. As you well know, most of this is all dropped (including Jill-Peter) fairly early in Vinley's run. Honestly, I would have killed off Vicki by the point I am at now (April, 1983) if not before. Kathryn King may not have invoked much sympathy from me, but I'm sure Peter's reaction would and possibly allow Nancy to have a moment of humanity realizing she has lost her only friend. Of course, I would also let this lead to Nancy trying to rekindle her friendship with Miriam with Miriam letting Nancy in. I think having Vicki dead when the revelation about the Cantebury Complex came out would have led to more problems for Marianne and Peter as having Vicki unable to defend herself, Peter might see the need to defend her honor against Nancy's accusations. The new actress is more natural in the role, but she has such a nasty edge to her that we seem to still heading in the wrong direction with her. Though, I feel like they are also chemistry testing Peter with Stacey Phillips as Peter says he's now considering journalism as a major. Going back to @YTG 's earlier comments about Paul Gleason, he does look younger when I focus on him. I am imagining him more as he looked in The Breakfast Club where I think his hair was more gray. I wonder what the original story was for Kate - Lee. In a recent episode, Sebastian Knight mentions Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. I wonder if that was the original plan with Lee's lover dying and seeing how that played out. Or maybe Lee himself was going to be murdered. I do think there were ways to do a lot ofthat is to come with slight variations in the story. Also, this early on, I wonder if they were considering Amber and Lee at all because I could see some chemistry between Woody and Gleason. Even a quiet CBS morning soap in the 1970s like Love of Life or Where the Heart Is might have tried that angle. Amber aborting Lee's baby would have also been incredibly messy. I'm not to surprised that you thought Blue might be Tony Cardello, or another child of Vince's. There is so much talk of Tony and Blue's backstory was given such a large amount of story space for someone who ends up dead in a few months. There is also aslot of homoerotic subtext to the Lance / Blue relationship that would suggest that Blue might have been gay Tony. Like Babs, Dave is introduced as someone (in this case Jeff's) cellmate). Jeff's charges were related to pornography being sold in the books store. I think it might have been bootleg VHS tapes, but it also may have been selling to minors. I remember it was college students who were looking to purchase the material. I appreciate hearing your point of view on the Kate Philips' trial. Everyone I have heard from loved it, so it's interesting to hear about some of the flaws. I wonder why they were so quick to drop Amber when it seemed like she had such a significant position on the canvas. I'm not looking forward to the recast of Gil, which I imagine I am fastly approaching. I was aware that Lee Tatum died during filming. I was very shocked, and saddened, to read that Kim Strong took his own life a year and a half after the show ended.

I forgot where I left off in my viewing so I picked up with 485. It was a good place to start as so many interesting things are going on. The biggest shock for me is how deep the writers are exploring the issues in the Lori / Blue story. As I had hoped, they really seem to be leaning into the idea that Lori might have an abortion, or is at least not taking care of herself because she believes Blue is the father of the child. This is such a complicated angle to take in an abortion story on a Christian soap opera. Lori is presented as not completely mentally well, but she also isn't villainized. There is an undercurrent that society's view of the mentally unwell makes the situation worse for people than it has to be. McLeod's plays the subtext fine without leaning into it to heavily, which avoids the moralizing. While Lori isn't the villain, and we know Lori won't go through with it, it's interesting that they are going there with Lori's thoughts on abortion. She wasn't raped, but she believes she is. The child isn't Blue's, but Lori believes it is. Ben is clearly fraught about it, but he is still giving Lori her bodily autonomy. This conflict, Lori's decision, drives the tension in Ben and Lori's marriage and it feels very natural that we would be heading to a breaking point for the two characters. Terry's role as mediator also keeps Mary Jean Feton busy. There was a nice scene between Dave and Ben where Dave starts sharing information with Ben that Dave had heard from Terry, assuming Terry had already spoken with Ben. When Dave's own history working in an abortion comes into play, Ben immediately rejects Terry and Dave's concern that Lori might be considering teriminating the pregnancy. Quickly, Ben starts to realize that Lori isn't the same woman he married after the attack. The characters' backstories are used to naturally drive the conflict in the story even if the over arching story may be a bit over the top. The best moment though has been the reunion between Lori and Miriam Carpenter now that Miriam has been returned after months of being held hostage by Lance, Blue, and Ron. Also, like I had hoped, Miriam brings up Blue to Lori and it is a wildly satsifying scene. Miriam's newfound understanding of Blue, Lori's closemindedness regarding Blue's past actions as they relate to her, and Lori and Miriam's own complicated history mesh together to deliver a powerful conversation between two people. Lori remains strong in her stance that Blue is a monster, while Miriam tries to get Lori to see that Blue suffered terribly in life through his childhood in foster care. In a pivotal moment, Miriam struggles to understand how Lori can forgive her (Miriam) so easily after all the terrible things that Miriam did to her, but not Blue. This leads to Lori's confession that she is carrying Blue's baby. It's really intense and well done. Miriam's return to continues to spider out in nice ways. Still believing the Redlons are responsible for her kidnapping, Charles insists his daughter stay away from them. Miriam makes it clear that the Redlons are her friends, and that she will not be kept from them. I appreciate this because those scenes of Mama Ione and her "daughters" Miriam and Babs were such warm scenes that may not have moved the plot, but enriched the storytelling by building such emotional ties between the characters. Another story is picking up the mantle in this direction, but in a slightly different way. The Phillips story is more and more making sense to me. On a show like Another Life, there always needs to be a family that has such a disrupted moral core that redemption and the hopes of reconciliation will drive the story. We saw it very early on with the Cummings, semi-completed with the Slaymakers, in an unfinished way with the Carpenters and the Prescotts, and now more so with the Phillips brood. The interactions at the penthouse with Kate and her polar opposite daughters Stacey and Amber Phillips make compelling viewing. Flowers are delivered to the residence and there is a big to do about who they are from. Kate suspects they are from Gil for Amber, Amber thinking that they are from Lee for Kate, and Stacey hoping they are for Kate, but from Dave. This immediately plays into the Lee-Kate-Dave triangle, but also emphasizing the ongoing tension between Amber and Stacey. Amber makes a brutal cut when she says that the flowers could easily have been for anyone in the apartment, except Stacey. In the meantime, Kate seems very torn. She seems to still have deep feelings for Dave, but she seems to think that the past is the past. There is a nice bit of gossiping between Kate and Stacey earlier about how Gil seems very interested in a cool, calm Amber. Of course, all of this coincides into the bigger moment, Dave's arrival at the penthouse to see Kate for the first time in years, unaware that Lee is there. Kate and Dave's reunion is tender and bittersweet with Kate later recalling the scene with her daughters saying that she felt more pity, than love, for Dave. Lee's presence also sets Dave off. They apparently were a part of the country club set together and have at least a passing knowledge of the other. Later, Dave recalls how in this moment he felt like he was in high school all over again. There's just such emotional richness in this story that it's hard not to stop what you are doing and watch. The fallout of this incident sets out to be heartbreaking; Dave decides he's going to wallow in his misery at the Castaway Bar. In a case of strange bedfellows, it is Nancy who cozies up to Dave hoping that they can connect on another level. It is broke, desperate Nancy who ends up stealing Dave's drink, not out of kindness but out of her own selfish desire. It's a nice resolution complete with some fun sniping at Nancy from Ernie the bartender who won't serve Nancy because she has a tendency to not pay her tabs. I don't hate the characterization for Nancy, but she is such a bigger character to be just floating around the canvas. Though, I think they mentioned a stockbroker Ben/Dan Myers so maybe her story is about to change. There is also some nice movement in the Monk story, finally. Carla and Gene have it out over Gene's desire to house Monk when Ione has offered to do the same. Gene makes it clear that he feels Monk needs a male role model, and that is something he wouldn't have on a daily basis at Ione's. It's an interesting point to make as Gene makes it clear he grew up without his father. The more surprising moment was the suggestion that Carla's concerns regarding taking in Monk aren't just about the fact that her new child will need stability that Monk is sure to disrupt, but that streetwise Monk doesn't fit into the surburban dream that Carla has been cultivating with her husband and children moving into Nora's old home. The hint of classism is a nice layer for Carla, who, under Kari Page, always seemed paper thin. Monk meets with the judge and is freed. It is nice to see this resolved after what has to be nearly seven months. I am not sure if Joe James was unavailable or the writers felt the other stories needed more space, but it was a shame to just stall this story over and over. There were some nice scenes and revelations in Russ' story. He is currently on the run because the police suspect he had a bigger role in the kidnapping than he did. Russ has hit up Peter for money and made a suggestion that Peter is going after Marianne. I was trying to figure out how this could play out with any real interest (Peter/Marianne) and I settled on Terry acting as the torn in their side knowing that Marianne hasn't given up on Russ. If Peter and Marianne were to be a couple, Terry would fear that Marianne would go back to Russ at some point and break Peter's heart. Also, Vicky's role in the Cantebury Complex report would certainly give Peter and Marianne different sides of the same issue to fight over as the outcome is sure to impact Prescott Development and their reputation. I also think the Peter / Gil friendship would be tested by Peter's interest in Marianne even if initially Gil might have been pleased to see Marianne move past Russ. In episode 490, Russ has found himself back at the warehouse where he killed Blue having invited Marianne to join him. Lance has tracked him down and I think I see where this is all heading and I'm ready for it.

I loved Laura Laigh Taylor as Vicki. I thought the uptight, no non-sense Vicki who worked with Gene and didn't have he time of day for Peter was a nice running gag. I also didn't hate it initially when her Vicki started seeing Gil after breaking things off with her fiance. I thought that was fine. The second actress (Kathryn King, I think) was just too big a departure in the role. In story, I could see how Vicki might have spiraled after going from a relatively reserved young woman to having been bedded by town mattress Gil Prescott, but I don't think King had the experience to embed the kind of emotional depth that one needed to keep Vicki from falling completely off the cliff into a shallow woman scorn. I was surprised to see how far into the year Vicki lasts. In an episode from the time of the murder, Vicki and Peter are engaged, I believe. I imagine her concluding story has something to do with the collapse of the Cantebury complex. @YTG Feel free to say whatever you want and not worry about the spoilers. I have been reading about Another Life since 1998 so there are lots of things I have and haven't read about the show. When I first stumbled upon soap opera message boards in that time period, I never expected to see as many shows as I have now. I know Sebastian's fate, which is why I mentioned in one of my last marathon posts that I was very surprised to see the writers have Lee state that one day Sebastian will go too far in his pursuit of political power. There are times I feel that Jason Vinley just redoes a lot of earlier stories, but with stronger emphasis on character and emotional fallout. For example, I have to wonder if the Russ joins the mob story was originally a part of Vinley's late 1970s Another Life bible. We get that very briefly in 1981 after Vince gets the doctor for Lori and Russ goes to work at the trucking company. As much as I love Russ' story in 1983 with the mob, Blue, and Lori, I really thought they could have drawn out Russ' work at the hospital longer, but I do see how critical Russ' role is in the overall tale. A lot of the Amber / Gil / Stacey stuff feels like much stronger version of the Deena / Gil / Vicki story that the Barnes were stringing together towards the end. Peter returning to the construction company seems like a reset, but I also wonder at what point Jason Vinley was asked to start watching episodes again because I want to say Dave #1's departure from the show is around the same time as Babs first appearance. You asked earlier about Dave's family when John Cardoza was in the role Dave's original (offscreen) exit was to go reconcile with his ex-wife/wife and I feel like Dave mentioned losing his family to his drinking, but I could be wrong about that. There were never any specifics given. I think the most substantial backstory relationship John Cardoza's Dave had was he had been friendly and worked with Dr. Alex Greely. I also think the abortionist angle was mentioned in 1981, but I'd have to review my posts for accuracy.

I’m very early in the Lee Carrouthers episodes. I have very little sense of the character overall. He has political ambitions, but Sebastian Knight’s ambition seems much grander. Gleason is charming as Lee, and, on a network series, I imagine the story would have been a Kate / Lee / Amber triangle in the traditional sense. Lee seems found of Kate, but ultimately, he is not a one-woman man. And that they have made very clear. I have seen a few episodes much later in the run, and they rarely seem to have the same energy I find in the current lot, even when I have caught stuff from the lead up to the murder of Kate. I will be curious how I feel about the show by January, 1984. I also question some things in the long run. I like Kelly Gwinn as Lance, the enforcer, but I don’t think that is a character that needed to live on after the end of the storyline involving the mob. I know there was some chemistry testing late in the kidnapping story, but Burnett was a strong enough actress that she could have carried a story with anyone. Given her history with Nancy, I think pairing them with the same man would have made sense. I know the fate of Paul Mason, but I do think they should have tried to reunite Paul and Miriam as I think there was mileage to play there even without Paul being endgame for Miriam. I feel like Vicki Lang may have outstayed her welcome. The third actress has come on and I really just don’t care about her story. I think the second actress was miscast, but having her allow the falsified soil report go through was the beginning of the end for the character. With Gil firmly enmeshed in the Amber story, I just don’t see the need for Vicki’s story to continue especially as they seem to be attempting to move Peter towards Marianne. The Dar Saalam bible story was Vinley’s favorite, but I don’t think that it is anything I’ll enjoy. It seems very plot heavy. The DOMI story is something I am looking forward to in the final year, but I can see how the supernatural twist could be viewed as an about face on a fairly serious show. For years, I thought the idea of Russ going to hell seemed hokey, but seeing the build up now, I am understanding the deeper emotional and spiritual ramifications of that act. I still am deeply moved by Blue’s final moments. I will be curious to see how I feel about the other Carpenter clan. I do really enjoy Miriam and Charles, while also thinking it would be nice if Helen popped in more often. I imagine Randy Kraft and Ginger Burnett were considering leaving which is why that branch was added, but they were introduced many months before either actor left. I have to wonder how much steam that part of the show lost with Peter Davidson departing a couple months before the cancellation. Nancy’s best days do seem behind her, but I saw a few scenes of her explaining why she was suing Ben Martin and it seemed logical. I do think at some point Terry was going to have to distance herself from Nancy after all the terrible things she did. I am also curious to see her relationship with Doug Hughes, who I really liked in his brief appearances in 1981 during the Hollister Square storyline. If only Mitch Dunbar could have returned as well.

It's been years since i've watched Paper Dolls, but I remember liking it for the most part. There was a ton of characters, but most seemed fairly well connected. There were too many layers. It probably should have just focused around Racine's agency. I think the pilot film had just Wesley in it, but not the rest of the Harper family. I would have dropped the Sara character (the lawyer who was sleeping with Rosco Borne's Mark Bailey and was Blair's pal) and I don't think Laurie's parents would have lasted into a second season. I think the show made a smart decision writing off Marjorie in the finale while building a Wesley / Colette / Grant triangle, though I don't remember having much interest in the story as it played out. I liked Laurie and the young man who had a salatacious past (he had done adult films I think). I thought Taryn and John Waite was fun. I saw a handful of episodes of Berrengers. I liked the Julian Morell/ Julio Morales story. I thought Robin Strang's character seemed interesting, but didn't do much from what I recall. The French model (Laurel Hayes?) didn't work as well I think they hoped it would. It would seem both the other primetime soaps we have talked about lately (Executive Suite and Beacon Hill) also struggled with that.

@YTG Welcome back! I was unaware Bob Turnbull had appeared in those lost episodes. I was able to solve the mystery, though. He played Lorring Chase, Mandy's married lover.

@Paul Raven I don't think Rebecca Hollen is a bad choice. I was trying to think about an actress who could embody Laine's ability to operate in a man's world, while also embracing their feminity in a way that bordered on manipulative. The best option I could come up with was Brynn Thayer, but I don't see her jumping ship from One Life to Live to go to the much lower rated Search for Tomorrow. I figured someone like Lisby Larson was more likely to be cast, but Hollen seems better. I don't dislike Stephen Burleigh the way others do. I haven't seen much of Dr. Mike Powers, but he seemed fine opposite Hilary Bailey Smith in the few episodes I saw. I enjoyed him enough in some of his sleazier roles, Ian Cox, the arrogant philandering lawyer husband of Andrea Hall's alcoholic Virginia Cox and father of two teen girls on Tribes, and as Rhonda's sexual predator boyfriend who had abused Karen on General Hospital. If Burleigh wasn't available, I would probably lean towards Richard Bekins as Gary.

MyNetworkTV was learning from the mistakes and the 3rd set of shows were stronger. It was a relatively new format for English language production companies. It took a while to find the groove. By the third set, they had eliminated most of the flashback sand a good amount of the recap episodes. I think they realized the importance of story. I also think the last set were written by headwriters who had written for the other novelas on the network and had a better understanding of where they wanted to go. I think the source material for "Fashion House" may have been just no exciting enough. Initial, the writing on the shows was non-union because the network and production company were designating the writers "translators." This went on I think through the production of "Fashion House" because Tony Tripoli, who played on of the designers, had a blog and said he was asked to write a script or two and hated the process. So it was a good way to do something which others might have avoided. Later, all the writers were unionized as I recall. I wouldn't be surprised if they were short on material. It also remember them saying they initially did the flashbacks because they knew most wouldn't watch every night and they wanted them to stay up to date. "Fashion House" didn't have enough story, whereas "Desire" had too many characters and plots from what I vaguely remember. I also think part of the issue in the beginning was the choice of stories. Some of the shows were rather obscure while others were also being adapted either right before or during/after the show. I think "Amar Sin Limites" was telling the same story as "Watch Over Me" at the same time. "La Heredera" may have aired a few years before "American Heiress." Novelas tend to kill off a lot of characters from my limited experience. As I vaguely recall, the "action" novelas fell under the "Secret Obsessions" banner and tend to have a high body count.