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I managed to watch 10 more episodes this weekend so I am at 460. I'll start off with Another Life's answer to Bobbie and Lucy. The rivalry between Babs Farley and Nancy Lawson is just fun. Babs arrived on the scene as Nancy's prison cellmate and, from the beginning, Nancy has always thought of herself as better than reformed hooker Babs even though Nancy is never against using her body to get what she wants. For all my praise for Jason Vinley, I will say Nancy is one of the few characters not better served by this writing, yet. Babs, on the other hand, has emerged as a comical secondary heroine who will make you laugh and break your heart in the same scene. I do feel these episodes moved the dial slightly towards improving Nancy's position on the canvas. Nancy and Babs' separate stories collided when both women were visiting Harold Webster and a cat fight ensued. Babs' got the upper hand and left Nancy with a nasty bruise on her face, which led Nancy to file charges against Babs. Nancy's pursuit of "justice" later ends up saving Babs' life when another hit is arranged for her in Fairmount involving Lance and Marty, an informant for the organization. Before we even get this far, there is a very great episode that highlights the hypocrisy of Nancy. When Russ comes to collect the money that Nancy owes, Nancy alludes to the fact that she is willing to sleep with Russ in order to work off her debt. For all the grief that Nancy puts Babs through, Nancy is the one who offer her body still to pay off man. In the same episode, Gene visits Babs at Walter's Restaurant where Babs is employed with money from Harold. Babs vows she will pay the money back. It's a very deliberate contrast to Nancy who thinks she doesn't have to pay. Nancy's big story has been dragging for weeks with her refusal to leave Nora's house, which she cannot afford, and her desire to keep the Redlons from owning it due to Nancy's blatant racism. Nancy's money problems have been brewing for awhile and we finally learn that, yes, she has borrowed money from a loan shark from Vince and Nick's organization. It's a delightful turn which I figured was coming, but I hadn't expected. When Russ comes to collect, now Nancy is privy to knowledge that should move forward Russ' story. It's only a matter of time now before Nancy lets the Davidsons know Russ is working for the mob. I can't wait for Lori to react. Nancy is back to a lot of lower level scheming with characters like Vicki and Carla. With Vicki, Nancy manages to not only get 500 dollars from her, but also a place to crash once Nancy is evicted. With Carla, Nancy goes the extortion route and offers to vacate the house without issue and sell to the Redlons if Carla will give her 1000 dollars. Carla later considers it as she despertely wants the house with the baby on the way. There is little movement in the Monk story with Carla and Gene arguing over whether or not Monk can move in, and Harold making it clear that securing Monk's release is dependent on Gene agreeing to become Monk's guardian. It's a story I wish got a little more play because I do think there is threads to play given that Monk was Lori's student. I think Lori's pregnancy is a complicated story. I do think Lori isn't completely healed and I do think it's a stretch for her to think the baby is Blueś, but I don't hate it. I just wish they would lean into others acknowledging that Lori isn't as mentally well as they would like her to be. For me, the biggest issue is that we are suppose to believe that Lori got pregnant around the time of the attack in September so Lori is supposedly fairly far along and this wasn´t caught at all when Lori was in the hospital. The movement in the mob story is nice. I cannot beleive how much I am enjoying this story, but because Vinley has grounded it in relationships, I am fascinated. Ron has decided to make Russ his second in command which aggravates the current second in command, Lance. The tension between Lance and Russ is continuing to build. I am not really sure where they are taking it, but I enjoy it. Russ' loan collections has put him in contact with Nancy, which threatens to cause problems in his world. There also seems to be a bit of a suggestion that Ron might be elevating Russ just to stick it to Vince for insisting that Russ be in the organization. While I do think Ron admires Russ to an extent, I do think part of this is making things more chaotic for Vince so that he doesn´t look too deep into the record keeping. I also wonder if Lance and Ron will set up Russ as the fall guy for the side hustles. I hope Nancy becomes more involved in this world. I do think Nancy would be the perfet mob wife for either Ron or Vince or married to Vince and sleeping with Ron on the side. I am ready for the kidnapping to end. It's gone on for a long time and I feel like it has stalled the Carpenters as characters. There was a lot of good stuff in the Phillips' story, but I'll save that for a later post.

Thanks for filling in some gaps for me. I didn't realize that Marty had appeared as early as the Isis storyline. I think this has to be one of the earliest recurring roles for a Native American character in soaps. I don't remember liking Del in much of the bits and pieces I've seen over the years. He seems too sleazy compared to Gerringer's more larger than life, slick Striker Bellman. I can see why people wouldn't like him. I imagine they were going for an opposites attract situation with a society matron and slightly reformed con man ala Phoebe and Langley on All My Children.

Labine and Mayer left in May, 1975, in anticipation of the premier of Ryan's Hope. At this point, the bigamy hadn't been revealed yet. Paul and Margaret Schneider are writing in June, 1976, when Christopher Reeves' Ben is sent to prison. Gabrielle Upton is writing when Ben returns in October, 1976, when Chandler Hill Harben premiered in the role with the prison rape occuring in November during sweeps. Love of Life tried several stories that seemed much more successful on One Life to Live several years later such as the prison rape story (I believe Brad Vernon was raped in prison) and the prostitution tale (Karen's story was much better remembered than Arlene's stint as a hooker).

Reading through the "lost" episode summaries, it's interesting seeing how the faux infidelity story was plotted out with the first arc being the divorce case and custody suite where Charles paid off Creasy and Norm to lie about the infidelity including the tie clip. This seems to be such a silly plot point to secure a divorce on. The second arc seems to be the countersuit with the Davidsons going after the Carpenters because of the perjury and the bribes. It's also worth mentioning, I believe Norm Elliott is also Lori's former boyfriend. I don't think this made the summaries, but was mentioned in a summary of the premier episode. The review was rather vague so I didn't include it in this. It would seem that the show replaced this story with drug trafficking plot involving Scott's investigation and Capital Distributors. I'm actually surprised that CBN didn't reset the show in 1984 back to episodes 56-60. That seems to be a rather engaging week with the introduction of the Capital Distributors plot, Jeff's DUI, and Russ' attack on Norm. It would seem that the Lori / Paul / Miriam story was wrapped up in the week or two prior. I have to wonder if those episodes weren't somehow legally bound up because they had been syndicated with The 700 Club. The original distribution deal had the first 13 weeks sold as a part of a package deal with CBN's more established series. It was also nice to fill in some holes. Becky had spent time with Francis in order to get intel on Norm. Mitch was brought in for the initial divorce trial representing Lori. I don't think I knew the intricacies of Norm's connection. Peter drinking is a sequence I would like to see. As is the material surrounding Jimmy's overdose. The secondary plot in these opening episodes involving Jeff's fall from grace is less clear to me based on what is happening. I think it picks up a bit with Mandy Bolen. It is a surprise to see that Nick Trench was only there a few weeks before episode 70. Mandy still seems intriguing and less problematic with Jeff's deception regarding his marital status. I can't say I find any of this super appealing in the broader sense, but it was nice to have a bit more of an idea of what was going on.

My apologies. I should have checked a soap book before posting rather than doing a quick Google search. The information I posted may not be completely in the right timeline. I know the bigamy story continued until Paul and Margaret Schnedier were there in 1976 so some of the blackmail stuff with Jamie Rollins might be Maragaret DePriest.

I can't say I'm the biggest The Edge of Night fan but I really liked the use of music in this last episode posted. I also thought the use of the Christmas decorations was a great way to revisit the past. That whole sequence in the Karr house was pretty fascinating. The set seemed very small, but the conversation gave such depth and dimension to the home talking about the kitchen and the "infamous" decision to dump the twin beds for a full. I've seen Linda Cook mostly in her more animated role as Egypt Masters on Loving and in some throw away parts as the mother of schemers on One Life to Live and Guiding Light. She is very effective as Laurie even though she's been gone for several years. Am I reading correctly that Laurie's return wasn't for just the finale but that the plan had been to bring her back before cancellation was announced and that there was a longer story planned? I was a bit surprised that Mike Karr let his grandson off his radar enough that he was unaware of where his whereabouts was, but I guess that generated better story. The Sky / Raven and Mark / Michelle stuff does little for me. I like the use of Pachibel's Canon in their scene (I think it was their scene) as I was just talking about Ordinary People in the Another Life thread. Christopher Holder and Sharon Gabet would be involved again on Another World in the following year, correct? A lot of the newer female actresses female a bit green. And I felt Larkin Malloy overplayed some things but maybe Sky was just suppose to be an over the top character. Didi's law partner Marty who was mentioned is the Native American man from a story earlier in the fall correct? I LOVED Robert Gerringer's early work on Texas under the Corringtons. Del seems colorful, but I think the Gerringer has so much more range that I hope was utilized.

Labine had watched Love of Life in the late 1950s/early 1960s when she was nursing her babies so she had a working knowledge of the show. I cannot remember if she specifially watched the period where Meg was present, but based on the available dates of birth for Eleanor and Matthew, I think that it's unlikely unless Labine had been watching longer than she claimed. She would have been watching in the early Rosehill period. Prior to Labine and Mayer's arrival at Love of Life there had been some creative upheaval. The show had spent several years on two or three storylines that had either come to a close or never completely sparked the audiences interest. Vanessa Sterling, the show's central mature female lead, learned that her first husband, Paul Raven, was alive and living his life as attorney Matt Corby, which led to a series of complications involving both of their new spouses (Bruce Sterling and nasty Southern anatognist Evelyn Corby). If I remember correctly, the story ended when Matt/Paul was revealled to be Evelyn's murderer. In the other really big story, singer Bill Prentiss (the son of the Sterlings neighbor) and his love Tess Krakauer overcame a series of obstacles to be together (including being accused of murdering Tess' husband, John Randolph). Bill got sick with a blood disease and died leaving Tess to raise their son on her own. Tess ended up being duped by a phony psychic who claimed he could communicate with Bill and there was something about a song that Bill wrote that was being published. The fan reaction wasn't great from what I've read. There was also a story involving Kate Swanson, a singer, in love with an uppercrust doctor, Dr. Dan Phillips, and was pursued by Rick Latimer, Brue Sterling's son-in-law. A Who's the Daddy occured with Nurse Candy Love, who liked Dan, changing the baby's blood type so it looked like Rick was the father of the baby and that Candy could have Dan for herself. Dan's elitist mother Lavinia Phillips also didn't approve of the lounge singer as a potential daughter-in-law. Eventually, the truth came out and Dan and Kate were together. When Labine and Mayer came on, they did seem to explore some less conventional soap opera stories than what had been playing out previously. Meg returned with her family in tow, ski bum Ben who had been practically raised by Vanessa in tandem with Meg, Meg's innocent daughter Cal, and yet another ex-husband of Meg's, Eduardo Aleata. Meg became involved with the newly introduced Jeff Hart, a businessman with criminal ties runnning for mayor of Rosehill. Meg marries Jeff and Jeff wins the mayoral election making Meg the First Lady fo Rosehill. Meanwhile, Vanessa, now a reporter, began investigating the school cafeteria because her niece, Cal, said the meat tasted funny. It turns out, Jeff's cronies had been skimming money by providing the cafeteria with horse meat. Vanessa and Cal ended up locked in a freezer to keep the corruption from being exposed. In the interlude, stepsiblings David Hart and Cal Aleata were becoming romantically involved. David was a more sensitive young man than his ruthless father. As Jeff's world was crumbling, he attempted to sexually attack Cal leading David to shoot his own father dead. Ben's story is the one that you most likely already now. Meg promised Ben his inheritance once he had been married to a proper young woman like Betsy Crawford. Ben seduced and married Betsy despite already having a wife, vampy piano player Arlene Lovett. Arlene and Ben schemed together to get Ben's inheritance while keeping quiet about Arlene and Ben's marriage. Jamie Rollins, a district attorney, started to put the pieces together so they set up Jamie to look like he slept with Arlene, to blackmail Jamie. Jamie didn't crumble to their blackmail scheme and the pictures were sent to Jamie's live in-lover Diana Lamont, an older woman had been married when they began their affair. Diana lost the baby she was carrying as a result. Jamie and Diana's situation was a bit of a the talk of the town as gossipy society matron Vivian Carlson clucked about the two living in sin at Ben and Betsy's wedding. The Ben bigamy story is the broad outline for the Lois / Ned / Katherine story nearly 20 years later on General Hospital. If you look at the @saynotoursoap posts early in the thread you might get a better idea than what I provided.

I did a little research using a newspaper archive and looking at which of the major soap opera columnists overdue Another Life. Jon-Michael Reed only covered monthly synopses for the show for the first and second month. Seli Groves seems to start with summaries in late August, 1981. The earliest consistent summaries come from Mary Ann Cooper's column. With these, we are able to get a broad overview of the missing episodes. A real treasure was finding 2 weeks worth of summaries (9 days) from late July from a Massachusetts newpaper where the show was carried in primetime. I suspect other papers may have provided daily teasers so hopefully we will, in the nearish future, get an even clear picture of the missing weeks. June 1981 Miriam Mason accused her professor husband, Paul, of adultery with student, Lori Davidson. Lori's parents, Scott and Terry, hired Mitch Dunbar to defend Lori. Paul was suspended and Miriam sought custody of their child, Frederick. Miriam conned her father, Charles Carpenter, to pay for student Norman Eliot's false testimony. Norm is Miriam's secret lover. Lori's friend, Becky, and Lori's sweetheart, Russ Weaver, failed to break Norm's lies. Liz Cummings' husband, Jeff, took to drink. Lori learned that her brother, Peter, also hit the bottle. Scott convinced Gene Redlon to help him investigate drug traffic July 1981 Miriam was granted a divorce from Paul and won custody of Frederick. Scott and Terry filed a countersuit to clear Lori's name. Jeff seduced Mandy Bolen, who has a married lover, Loring Chase. Jeff assured Mandy he's divorced, while Liz suspected Jeff is cheating on her. Mitch convinced the judge to reopen the case because of evidence that Norm perjured himself in return for loot from Charles. Paul was fired because of the adultery scandal. Monday, June 29 - Friday, July 3, 1981 (episodes #21 - 25) Paul Mason and Lori Davidson refuse to settle out of court and are determined to clear their names. Charles Carpenter pays Norm Elliot and Creasy to testify against Paul. Paul admits to Terry Davidson that he loves her daughter Lori, but would never say so. Liz Cummings threatens to divorce her husband Jeff Cummings as he continues to drink. Monday, July 6 - Friday, July 10, 1981 (episodes #26 - 30) Lori Davidson worries about her boyfriend Russ Weaver's lack of faith. Miriam Carpenter Mason and Charles Carpenter try to put more pressure on Paul Mason. Creasy says that Paul Mason's tie clasp was found in Lori Davidson's room. The divorce is granted on the grounds of adultery. Miriam Carpenter Mason gets custody of Frederick Mason. When Miriam condemns Paul to their son Frederick Mason, Frederick runs away. Monday, July 13 - Friday, July 17, 1981 (episodes #31 - 35) Paul Mason refuses to resign his post. Scott Davidson accuses Miriam Carpenter Mason and Charles Carpenter of a frame up. Monday, July 20 - Friday, July 24, 1981 (episodes #36 - 40) Jeff Cummings makes a play for Mandy Bolen and succeeds. Becky Hewitt steals a deposit slip and letter addressed to Norm Elliot from Miriam Carpenter Mason from Norm's room. Scott Davidson discovers that Norm was dishonorably discharged for stealing and dealing in the black market. July 20, 1981: Mitch investigates Creasy's financial situation and Paul checks around the church for further leads. July 22, 1981: Becky steals a deposite slip and a letter addressed to Norm from Miriam; Mitch learns that Creasy deposited a $2,500 check in May. July 23, 1981: Back from investigating Norm in Washington, Scott praises Becky for her discoveries and makes copies of Norm's letter from Miriam. July 24, 1981: Scott's findings in Washington reveal that Norm was dishonorably discharged from the army for stealing and dealing in the black market Monday, July 27 - Friday, July 31, 1981 (episodes #41-45) Mitch Dubar plans to reopen the case soon. Scott Davidson praises Becky Hewitt's efforts. Miriam Carpenter Mason fights back when Paul Mason reopens the case. Jeff Cummings continues his affair with Mandy Bolen. Lori Davidson tries to maintain her optimism despite her fears that the tables will be turned on her and Paul once more. July 27, 1981: Jeff assures Mandy that he is divorced, but she puts him off. Charles warns Norm to stay away from Miriam. July 28, 1981: Liz confides in Terry that Jeff may be cheating on her. Russ considers working at the Norfolk waterfront to earn money for medical school. July 29, 1981: Moran is having second thoughts about pulling Scott off the air. Norm learns that Becky has been seeing his roommate, Francis. July 30, 1981: Mitch convinces judge to re-open case after revealing new evidence. July 31, 1981: Warren tells Charles and Miriam that Mitch is suing them for defamation of character and that they could go to jail if the witnesses were bribed. Monday, August 3 - Friday, August 7, 1981 (episodes #46-50) Scott Davidson and Becky Hewitt land a hand to Paul Mason. Charles Carpenter learns money won't buy everything. Jeff Cummings lies when he tells Many Bolen he is divorced. Scott Davidson has to hold his temper on the job. Lori Davidson receives a great deal of peer pressure to change her values. Monday, August 10 - Friday, August 14, 1981 (episodes #51-55) Paul Mason gets support from an unlikely source. Jeff Cummings is almost caught. Norm Elliot is picked up by the police for questioning and threatens to get even with Francis Miller for squealing to Becky Hewitt. Helen Carpenter tells Charles Carpenter that she'll seel th house and leave him if he's guilty of framing their son-in-law, Paul Mason. Moran gives Scott Davidson editorial control and his old job back. Russ Weaver asks Lori Davidson to marry him, but Lori thinks they're not ready yet. Monday, August 17 - Friday, August 21, 1981 (episodes #56-60) Russ Weaver has an angry confrontation with Norm Elliot. Helen Carpenter takes strong action. After Norm Elliot is beaten up by Russ Weaver, Norm suffers flashbacks about his life in Vietnam. Charles Carpenter plans to sell his import business and return to his trucking firm which services Capital Distributors, dealing with liquor and drugs. Jeff Cummings' drivers license is suspended and he may lose his sales job. Scott Davidson and Gene Redlon plan to begin their drug trafficking investigation. Monday, August 24 - Friday, August 28, 1981 (episodes #61-65) Jeff Cummings' life hangs in the balance. Norm Elliot has more violent outbursts. Mandy Bolen is hired by Capital Distributor's new boss (Nick Trench?) as a secretary and Jeff Cummings, out of the hospital, is also hired as a sales rep. Miriam Carpenter Mason puts her lover Norm Elliot down, but convinces her father, Charles Carpenter, to hire Norm. Norm says he is available to do anything, even drive, steal, or kill. Jimmy Redlon is in the hospital from a drug overdose. The loss of his driver's license threatened Jeff Cummings' sales job. In a panic, he asked Nick Trench for a job. Mandy Bolen promised Jeff she would behave. Monday, August 31 - Friday, September 4, 1981 (episodes #66-70) Miriam Mason moves to Richmond. Russ Weaver gets a new job. Afraid of being hurt, Jimmy Redlon will not tell who gave him the drugs. At Paul Mason's home for dinner, Lori Davidson, Russ Weaver, and Becky Hewitt learn that Charles Carpenter and Miriam Carpenter Mason, Paul's former wife and father-in-law, have moved to Richmond. Norm Elliot goes on his first assignment for Charles delivering "fish" with a gun for protection. On the way to Lori's parents home, Russ and Lori are side-swiped and overturn many times before landing at the bottom of a hill. Norm Elliott realizes he needs help, but isn't ready to ask for it. Scott Davidson agreed Terry Davidson must befriend Liz Cummings, no matter how much Jeff Cummings hates the Davidsons. Scott crusaded against drugs on the air.

Thanks @Khan ! There's something very unique about the show. The power of forgiveness and letting go among the Davidson clan is something that I find very appealing. It is something that has been present since at least late 1981 when Lori Davidson quickly accepts that her best friend Becky Hewitt was having an affair with Lori's fiance, Russ Weaver. Granted, Lori also had been introduced to her true love, Dr. Ben Martin, but there is something quite beautiful about watching joyful, jubliant Lori planning her wedding while Becky is more emotionally unfulfilled by her relationship with Russ. Becky's punishment is just dealing with the reality of being with a sexually frustrated man who only was with her because of the moral compass of the woman he really loved. This power of forgiveness also plays out in other relationships. Terry's attempts to keep the peace with Nancy even when Nancy is going havoc in her home after Nancy's initial arrival in Kingsley. Terry's forgiveness of Dennis Fraser, the man who killed her mother and husband, at the very emotional climax of the story where Fraser nearly takes his own life. Miriam finding God because of the Davidson clan seeing through the past and knowing that Miriam needs love, not judgement, during the end stages of her pill addiction. All of these are incredibly powerful sequences. The opposite end, the failure to forgive one's self, provides a lot of torment. Becky seems to be miserable after her actions involving the affair with Russ, the pregnancy, and the marriage under less than perfect circumstances. Peter Davidson gives himself grief for weeks for not picking Lori on the night of her attack because he was being seduced by older woman Vicki Lang. Now, there is the fall out of Russ killing a man and having to deal with the emotional residue left behind by the acting of taking a life. I really would be curious how a Jason Vinley approach could have played out on mob centric General Hospital in the early 2000s. Vinley's underworld is richly developed full of complex motivations and complicated relationships that focuses on the betrayal and the value system over the glorification of violence and failure to comply with the laws of the land. The murder of Blue Noble by Russ is quite honestly one of the strongest pieces of soap opera I think I've ever seen for sheer amount of emotional complexity in the final scene with Russ fulling embracing mob life as Blue, in his final breaths, finds peace in the embrace of Jesus. I'm not a super religious person, but having spent so much of the last 25 years watching characters be deconstructed and never restored, seeing the low level criminal given such a tragic backstory that doesn't forgive him, but rather helps the audience understand how Blue became the person he did is fascinating. I don't remember if I've really addressed this, but there does seem to be a bit of backpedaling with Blue with Sgt. Bruebaker suggesting Blue might not be the Cinderella Rapist and the emphasis on the fact that Blue never actually violated Lori Martin. I almost wonder if this was to help soften the character for the audience. With that said, I'm not sure how long the mob story could be appealing in this universe, but I'll be curious to see how it plays out. On a separate note, how great is it that we have been able to double the length of this thread in a year's time. I think the last post of 2024 is on page 8.

Sam Welles appears in 1990. She is in charge of the Policemen's Carnival, which was the site of Wendy Masters' murder. This was in June / July, 1990. I don't think she appeared much (if at all) earlier in the year. In the call, Frisco leads a squad of young recruits during the hospital hostage crisis and a young Remi, a young blond woman, was introduced. Remi essentially replaces Sam on the canvas before she is dumped in 1992 (I think) when Bill Levinson trims down on the minor recurring characters from the 1990-1992 period that Wendy Riche had kept around. On Santa Barbara, Monty's return was have preceded, by only a few months, the return of the Dobsons to the show. A live feed of those meetings would have outrated most of whatever would have been created for the show.

Very interesting. This seems to be the market research for SoapNet which ended up launching less then 2 years later. It's interesting to see how they felt the impact of multiple showings may have eroded the audience in the daytime. Early SoapNet was fun. I loved when they would do the "Ryan's Hope" St. Patrick's Day marathons and even "Soap Center," which was cheesy but at least kept the focus on daytime shows.

I think this is an interesting gray area. I think there are several approaches that I can see happening with A.I. in the arena of soap opera. I believe one of the European soaps out of the Netherlands or Germany has already started, or discussed the possibility, of using A.I. actors for the extras. In the states, I think the shows have started using them for some of the establishing shots. It's rough, but I do think that they could get smoother and, honestly, probably develop a more accurate feel of the community if theycontinued to use the technology to enhance the environs. I could definitely see if micro soaps continue to pick up more steam with a production company using it to pump out content at a quick rate to appeal to viewer demand. I watched some of one show earlier this fall and it wasn't terribly good, but with a bit of tweaking, it was definitely could have been something of value. For this, I could see the A.I. being used also to write the shows and not just create the visuals. The area that I'm most interested in this would be the fan developed content. When I found my way into the Internet soap community in the summer 1998, there was already a burgeoning fandom for fan generated original content, not so much fan fiction but brand new soap opera by fans of the genre. The amount of time and energy those fans put into those shows from plotting, writing, designing websites, and interacting with their fans was amazing. I think using this tech to revitalize that community by creating unique content that it created with original, or A.I. influenced rather than A.I. generated, story is possible. The last area, which I think has been discussed in other places, is how it could be used to take old content and recreate the audio and visual. I do think there would be something lost if we end up with only A.I. generated content. Actors make such interesting choices and writers explore such facets that I'm not sure A.I. would ever or could ever do, but maybe I'm wrong. I do think from a writer's perspective, having control on how an actor plays a scene could become appealing. Not sure if this was really the response you were looking for, but I figured I'd engage.

@DRW50 Yes, I am pretty sure that is Edye Byrde. When thinking about the Phillips family drama that's developing in February, 1983, I am amazed at how Jason Vinley slowly develops strands and intertwines them to create the bigger story. He did this brilliantly with the mob story that brought Lori's attack, Babs' knowledge of Ronnie's side hustles, Miriam's kidnapping, and Russ' entrance into the organization all under one banner by the climax of the story. In the Phillips' story, we are first (re)introduced to Dave Phillips around Thanksgiving, 1982. He has been away searching for his wife Kate, who he would like to reconcile with. From listening to the fan recollections, I knew of the Terry and Dave's romance, but I was genuinely surprised by how much dramatic energy and story space is given to Dave's desire to reconcile with his estranged wife. Vinley plays on the elements that were already established for Dave from his December, 1981 - May, 1982 run and enhanced them. Grounding Dave's alcoholism in his professional unhappiness due to his clinic's abortion practices really gives more dramatic weight to the current desire Dave and Ben have for the new clinic to be independently run and not controlled by government oversight. I don't agree with Dave's stance on abortion, but I admire his conviction is not about what he wants others to do but rather what he doesn't want to do. The death of Kevin Phillips' is an element that Vinley introduces within an episode or two of Dave's return making the impact of Dave's addiction devastating to the family. The car accident not only echoes the New Years' Eve tragedy earlier in the year that took the lives of Nora and Scott, but it is finally a version of the alcoholic father that the show has been trying to tell since its beginning (Jeff Cummings, Dennis Fraser (to an extent), Dom Cavalares) with the most powerful effect. Dave is a smart, successful doctor burden by guilt that he numbed with booze. The death of his son is not only the ultimate sacrifice, but a painful reminder of the fact that he believes he has taken other people's children away through the act of abortion. Dave is the most integrated and his relationships with the cast are great. I actually really enjoyed John Cardoza as Dave, but he doesn't seem to have the hint of melancholy and saness that seems to absorb Dave. In Cardoza's defense, his Dave was more a man rebuilding his life. Ulrich also is a mature adult lead in the traditional sense, while Cardoza's more laid back Dave was more of a utility player in a large canvas. After we meet Dave, we meet Amber Phillips, the model and I believe older daughter, in early December. It's interesting that Vinley makes no attempt to obscure her identity as she is someone who could realistically being using a professional name when she walks into Gil Prescott's office. Amber in some ways is just a female counterpart to Gil. Sexual, aloof, and driven by her own desires, Amber makes it clear to Gil that she isn't looking to settle down or be tied down by any man. Part of the aloofness seems to be an act to incite desire in Gil, but I get the genuine sense that she has no real emotional needs. There is an icy coolness to Amber that seems to represent a jaded modern woman who is capable, independent, and free from the ties of the family and home. Amber is clearly intended as a catalyst for drama, but Peggy Woody (Smithhart) does seem to make you care a bit for Amber. It's hard to tell if she is a successor to Nancy Lawson in that she was deeply hurt by her family life or if she was always this way. Amber's dynamics with others are also intriguing. Her hatred for her father's weakness is thick and I am not sure she will ever forgive him for Kevin's death, which I cannot determine is an actual wound for Amber or just a convenient tool in her arsenal to use on Dave. In a grand sense, I think a woman being mad at her alcoholic father for his carelessness resulting in her brother's death is understandable. The problem is Amber takes it to an extreme, and every relationship Amber has is about control. This is demonstrated in her ordering her sister Courtney's lunch in one of their early scenes and then later by her cold reaction to her mother Kate's wavering about how she is going to react to Dave now that he is back in Kingsley. I suspect there is an undercurrent that Amber is afraid of being hurt by him or him hurting others she cares about, but I am not sure if Amber cares truly about anyone. A late in the game revelation regarding Kevin's death is that the entire family was in the car. This sounds almost as if it may have been cribbed a bit from Ordinary People where the death of one son haunts the brother who was present in the accident and slowly puts crack sin the marriage of the dead boy's parents. The actor who played Buck in that film ends up playing a role on A New Day in Eden in this same period. There isn't a sense that the family has first hand felt the pain of watching their brother and son die. This isn't Terry being in the hospital and the bodies being wheeled in. This is being in the wreckage of a car alongside a dead or dying family member. If they leaned into this, even a little, I would think Amber is more human. The scene where Amber initially encounters Dave for the first time in years is powerful. Amber's disdain, Dave's desperation, and Gil's utter confusion on what is going on between the two. I seem to recall feeling a bit of Amber's pain in Woody's delivery as Amber reveals to Gil that the degenerate who just bothered them was her father. It's really great work from the actors involved and beautifully shot scene ending with a shot of Amber in the forefront with Gil while Dave stares at them from the back of the restaurant. From there we meet Courtney Phillips, the mousier younger daughter who has secured a role at the newspaper alongside Gene Redlon tying the Redlons and the Phillips together further as Gene's mother Ione Redlon has now taken a position as a receptionist at the clinic where Dave works. Courtney's inquisitive reporter instincts leave her less jaded than Amber and more open to receiving the new version of her father. Courtney is the perfect foil for Amber as she is all the things Amber is not: insecure, intellectual, and painfully shy. I think an argument could be made about Amber experiencing more of her father's alcoholism and the pain resonating more because it was more clear and defining in her childhood, but I don't remember how long ago the accident was though I'm thinking it was less than a decade. In addition, Courtney and Amber seem to be set to mirror the Deena Greely / Vicky Lang dynamic with Gil involved with a stunning woman and then a more mousier one. As a stand alone character, Courtney isn't quite there yet. The ambitions at work are noteworthy (she's handling fluff and she wants to handle harder hitting news) as is her connection to her coworker Gene Redlon. Karen Chapman did quite well in the reunion scene with her character's father. I thought it was a touching contrast to Amber's brittle, hostile interaction with Dave episodes earlier. Also, setting the scene in Dave's new clinic, the source of his new life resonates the message of the title. I also enjoy the slowly building opposition that is growing among the Phillips' women over what side of the fence they are on in regards to Dave's recovery and new start. The last of the Phillips' clan introduced is Kate Phillips, the ex-wife of Dave and the mother of the two girls. Dorothy Stinette gives the character a crisp cold exterior with a hint of warmth and humor underneath. Kate could easily work a room, which is how Dave described her. She was a socialite with political leanings that led her to back causes (like access to abortion). While never specifically stated, Kate is a liberal with a freedom and ease that appears softer than her daughter Amber's calculated hardness. When Amber tries to guilt her mother into avoiding Dave, Kate doesn't completely let Amber control her the way Amber has Courtney. In Amber and Courteney's early episdoes, Kate is dealing with the death of her own mother, which should have been an opportunity to further revisit Kevin's death and maybe it will down the line. The only character we haven't met is the late Kevin, who is mentioned often but we are given a little sense of who he is beyond the son that was lost. There is a sweet scene between Dave and someone (maybe Alex) where Dave recounts gardening after Kevin's death and discovering toy soldiers buried in the garden that belonged to his son and sobbing. I wish we knew more because maybe it would make Amber's point of view seem more legitimate emotionally and in terms of story. So far this story has been a bunch of chess moves about feelings, allegiance, and the belief in whether or not you can be reborn. It's the perfect story for this show. There have only been a handful of truly meaningful scenes and they are all about confrontations (between characters, between a character and the past). It really grounds the story even if it's not generating a lot of story heat yet. The threads are still very new and being weaved together, but doing so as the Blue Nobles story climaxes was smart. The show feels vibrant.

Parker O'Hara appears in the Bad Seed clips. She first appeared in late June, 1986, after Susan Walters contract was up. I'm pretty sure the Dolly story is wrapped up by mid-July so this should narrow it. This would be very early in O'Hara's run. I don't have much use for 1986, but I'm surprised by how many short scenes are in that clip. Carl was the father of Dolly's baby and her former pimp, if I remember correctly. I believe the legacy of Hunter Belden (Jeff Trachta) is that his family is the namesake for Belden Pond which was around until at least 1994. I don't think we have ever gotten a full episode of August, 1991. I believe this might be the same account that had some of the other snippets from that month that we've seen (the early Dinahlee / Jack seduction, the camping trip, Lauren Gilbert as Reverend Ford). August is when Millee Taggart departs and Mary Ryan Munisteri takes over. Fran Sears arrives in July. I think the Carly / Paul / Ava stuff is strong, as always, and the tension about Paul's paralysis and Carly's son makes the material much more engaging for me than the 1986 material. It's a shame that Addie Walsh dumps the characters, but I know the show needed space to explore the college kids.

1990 is a tough sell. I enjoyed it when I was watching it, but I have no desire to revisit it. I understand why there are people who are fans of edits. The Alan / Monica / Lucy stuff and the Scotty / Tracy stuff is fun, but often so much else is either underplayed (Bobbie / Tony / Lucas until late in the year and Tommy Hardy's paternity) or is such C-grade leftovers from the action and adventure era that has some interesting scenes. I did like elements of the Ned / Decker / Dawn romance (mostly the Wendy Masters material and Monica's angst over the secret she had slept with Ned) and some of the Greco stuff is interesting only because it is class conflict stuff that enhanced the Lucy / Alan story. Lucy has a complicated relationship with her family in 1990. She has little to no use for Decker because he is always involved with something. When Lila hires Decker as the mechanic, Lucy is mortified. She doesn't like Colton romancing the maid. It's different than a lot of the other parts of the show, but Lucy could take or leave her family. I think she was close to Charlene in 1990, but so much of 1990 can be kinda weird with Charlene. There was a pseudo romance with Drago and Decker slut shaming her a lot. Colton probably rakes up a good amount of episodes in 1990. I felt like the Carla / Colton threat was reaching a natural conclusion, though I think there may have been some beats they were considering with Carla's mother in town. I think the Greco father was an academic or intellectual who was missing or presumed dead, but then they got the proof. I thought Frankie was interesting and having the Frankie-Colton dynamic could have produced some more drama in the Edge Jackson plot as Frankie went to work as a videographer and planned to film Frisco's music video. Katherine's exit was under Hardy. She last appears around Thanksgiving and Gloria Monty's first day in the studio was early December, though her name doesn't appear in the credits until late January/early February. It's possible that Monty did some uncredited consulting before that, but she was also in contention to takeover Santa Barbara in the same period. I think Hardy / Palumbo wanted to do Robert / Anna for most of the year. I felt the climax of the Wellington collection plot involving Sean Donnelly in the hospital confessing he had arranged for the Faison / Anna affair in the 1980s in order to split up Anna / Robert for the good of the agency was to push Robert and Anna back together. The Anna / Faison / Robert story ending with Robert / Anna seemed like the natural conclusion. There is a lot of effort made to make Katherine work by giving her the club and trying some screwball romance scenes with Robert / Katherine before the dominatrix scene. I think the best shot at grounding her in the canvas was bringing her into the Quartermaine circle. There is a rather elaborate, from what I recall, costume party sequence that I believe was mostly focused on Decker and Sharon Case's Dawn. You are right that Colton was never at the heart of any of the main nexuses but always on the periphery of all of them. He flew the medical chopper for GH. His connection to the Grecos and Lucy put him in the range of the Quartermaine. His military background and his knowledge of the hospital was used by the PCPD during the siege story. I think Colton was a good utility player, but also easy to replace. I don't even think fakeDuke is on two months. And those stories are literally back to back. Duke dies on Monday and Casey crash lands on Friday in the same week. There is a very homoerotic Duke / Julian Jerome scene set in a steam room where Duke is hiding in the heating vent and is watching a towel clad Julian who is styled in a Jesus like way performing a last supper monologue for a group of mobsters. I'm missing a bit of FEbruary, 1990, so I'm not sure how much more homoerotic tension there is between Julian and Duke, but it wouldn't surprise me.

The tail end of Wes Kenney's General Hospital from what I saw definitely emphasized the comedy aspects. I think Janis Paige is also on around this period (late 1989) as a kooky relative of Katherine Delafield, who's character may have been the original owner of Wyndmere and Spook Island. I think there's a pseudo ghost story, but maybe I'm completely off. And then you had Elizabeth Savage as Jynx Henshaw, who was some wealthy sexpot from what I vaguely recall. I think Port Charles pre-arcs is often undervalued for its commitment to the General Hospital lore surrounding the crossover characters. I know Charlene pops up first under Scott Hammer, who's run gives me such Bill Levinson vibes when ignoring the psychic spy crap (which is hard to do). I don't think she continues passed Barbara Bloom and Karen Harris' run. I though a lot of the comedy stuff was passable, but lacked the real dramatic oomph that really doesn't return with any consistentcy until Riche. In Colton's final year, he has two major pairings and one chemistry test. I think he is briefly a televangelist or some sort of motivational guru at Tiffany's TV station who falls in love with criminal Olivia Jerome. In the brief bits I saw, Colton and Olivia were strong together, but I'm not necessarily sure that they had fan support. Colton's story mostly becomes about being Decker's big brother and opening the gym, which is located next to Duke's nightclub. When Katherine turns Duke's into Delafield's, there is an extended Katherine / Colton chemistry test while Robert is off on some story (I want to say something Faison related). I got the impression, this may be very misguided, that Palumbo wanted to do some sort of Robert / Anna / Faison triangle and may have even intended to play with Robin's paternity (they made sure repeatedly to say Robin's age and how Anna / Faison had been together a year prior to her birth). My main point is I don't think Katherine Delafield / Robert had the long-term story. After the Katherine stuff, Colton is immediately thrown at Carla Greco, who is reconned into being Monica's favorite maid and who is clashing with the new lady of the manor, Lucy, Colton's cousin. Additionally, Carla's brother Frankie has been accused of being the man who stabbed Ned Ashton during a period where Decker has started to have blackouts. Colton plays white savior and takes the kid under his wing with the tension being that Colton wants to find out who actually stabbed Ned, and we are led to believe it was Ned. It turns out the knifer was Drago, which was tied into some insane Midvale story that ends with a sequence at a carnival that makes Casey the Alien look like high art. Carla / Colton remain a couple for the remainder of their run dealing with Carla's ex boyfriend or pseudo love interest Rico raping her and then Colton becoming involved in the rescue squad of hostage crisis at General Hospital. Colton saves Carla's mother from the war torn country they come from and they become engaged. By the end of 1990, Colton and Carla have actually been written out, being sent off to Carla's fictional country to prepare a life together, only to be brought back briefly in 1991 to usher out Charlene and Frankie. Colton is a solid (not always exciting) lead, but I would say he's basically replaced by Mac Scorpio. Monty pretty much gets rid of every single new character introduced since she left. The only ones I think she retains are Tom Hardy and Meg Lawson. Simone is written out and brought back later in the year after the Eckerts flop. Lynn Herring goes on maternity leave in the late January, 1991, episodes after losing Scotty's baby that she has been passing off as Alan's. She isn't even around for any of the departures of her family in February, 1991, nor do I think she is around when Decker departs without fanfare in March, 1991. if I remember correctly. Lynn leaves permanently during early Riche, in late March, 1992. I believe Riche and/or Herring basically said that Herring's contract was up for renewal and no one seemed to do much about it so she jumped ship. I think Riche had been trying to convince Rogers / Hughes to stay at that point and there was no headwriter. Lynn returns mid November, 1992, in the "Summer in Provence" story initially before being incorporated into Scotty / Dominique. I believe Lynn's return involved some disguise at some art auction with audience seeing Lucy for the first time since she left, which was suppose to echo, I suppose, the big mousy librarian to sexpot reveal from the 1980s.

Thanks. I have an odd fascination with that 1990-1993 period because there is such ongoing level of chaos because of the constant change in headwriters, producers, cast, and stories. I think there is a bit of irony that it is ultimately the return of Luke and Laura that grounds the show in a reality that was often abandoned by their initial rise to prominence. I think Bobbie and Tony's wedding is a surprise to Bobbie if I remember correctly. I could be wrong. Bobbie thinks she is just going on a vacation to Puerto Rico (I think?) and she ends up getting married to Tony. I think Jackie was pregnant at some point in 1989-1990, but I don't remember what part of the year. I don't think that would have played a role in anything, but maybe it did. Given Bobbie's often mentioned past as a sex worker, having her marry Tony, who loved her for just being the amazing woman she was, seems like such a richer emotional story than it probably was intended to be. The woman who had started off weaponizing sex to get what she wanted settling down with a man seems to borderline conservative wet dream and a truly happily ever after. Palumbo is writing most of the romance as I recall. Tony and Bobbie are fairly on the outskirts of the story until late in the year 1990 when Cheryl returns and Bobbie starts working with the adoption agency after a substory in the summer where Bobbie had helped the pregnant bodega worker. Despite the lack of focus in 1990, when Tony and Bobbie get material, Zeman and Maule always hit it out of the park. When Simone is first diagnosing Lucas with diabetes, there are some nice scenes where Bobbie is worried about not having the medical history of Lucas because he was adopted and thinking that this was somehow her fault because of her call girl past. Tony is so supportive as Bobbie is crashing out. It was a rare moment of depth for them at a time where I don't remember them having much of their own story. I would have preferred to see Laura without Luke and letting Geary play Bill, but I accept that was never going to be a possibility. I think Tony Geary was too big a name (with too big a paycheck) to be playing a supporting role in a much broader canvas like I would have liked. I don't think Bill could have played a leading man opposite a strong mature female lead unless the woman was morally corrupt. Maybe Bill and Katherine or Bill, Katherine, and Damian in a story, but I don't think that this would have been front burner material. Similarly, there was some discussion about Tiffany and Sean earlier in the thread. I do think there was a place for them in the late 1990s with the Cassadines as Sean had a roguish start and there were always questions about whether or not he'd go turncoat again. Similarly, wasn't Tiffany basically one of the Cassadine women when she was first introduced (Tony's girlfriend?). I think having one or both of them playing double agent in the Cassadine circle might have been intriguing, but maybe nothing that could be played long term. I also think Tiffany being dragged into the Bobbie / Tony / Carly stuff as an anchor in the storm for Lucas would have been an interesting layer. I just don't know if you could justify contract money for those sort of positions. Riche always seems to be about the long game. Even though Sly was raised in Luke and Laura's home, and Bill was a terrible father (sorry Geary, he was), Bill still died saving Sly and Lucky because the hitmen thought Bill was Luke. Sly lost his father because of the Spencers. The setup for a bitter young man would have been too similar to Nikolas, who hated the Spencers because of their connection to his family. It could have been interesting to bring back Sly, have Nikolas try to turn him to the dark side, only for Sly to remain a positive force. The last episode Sly is mentioned in the curlyq summaries is January 23, 1996,though sometimes minor characters don't always make the summaries. I will be curious to hear about this after having done bits of Monty's return run recently. These transition periods always seem to be rich in roads not taken. I don't think Hardy / Palumbo's GH was amazing, but it wasn't the creative wasteland that needed to be hacked away in the manner Monty did. There were stories that should have continued to their natural, non-rushed conclusion (Cheryl / Bobbie / Lucas and Dawn / Decker). Some characters leaving was probably for the best (Colton and the Grecos, even though I enjoyed them), but the wholesale dump of everything in the course of 2 months was too extreme for daytime. I enjoy what I've seen of 1992, but it's definitely rocky. For me, it seems to settle a bit by the time Levinson is left to be the solo headwriter (c. October 1992) until Labine's arrival in the next year. Tonally, Levinson's material can lean into the "women in peril" more than I feel Labine did, but it would also be a bit of a turn. Felicia may have been tortured by Ryan Chamberlain, but she had a lot of agency in his comeuppance. I don't feel like we would have seen that under Monty.

Thanks @Vee The standout comment to me seems to be Bill was just an unconventional dad, not a bad father. I believe that Bill would believe that, and, as a result, Tony Geary should have. The truth is though Bill was a sh*t father who dumped Sly with his grandparents, then Finian, and then whoever else would watch him (Jenny, typically). I think an argument could be made that when he was with Fred and Angela Eckert that Bill was off at sea and providing for his kid. In the initial backstory, this was a sort of noble act where Bill's work on the ship was less about the life of adventure and more about the big pay day that came with that type of work. To examine Bill as a father would mean to look into Bill's own father, Fred. As presented in early in the run, Fred was a loud, boisterous family man who was also maintained a family feud that was tinged with ethnic bigotry. He was also a successful small business owner. Fred is the first of the Eckerts that are dumped. I think later Fred was described as more complicated and possibly abusive. I don't think that is present in those February-May, 1991 episodes, but I think it's possible Fred could have mellowed over the years. Making Fred a recovering alcoholic may have given Fred's history a little more nuance explaining how Fred could be a wonderful grandfather and still create the man that Bill became down the line. I think by the time you introduce Nancy Eckert it can almost be seen as a way to justify Bill as a parent because Nancy was so much worse. I haven't seen much of Nancy-Bill interaction but they seem incredibly toxic. It's hard to imagine what the thought was that drove Bill to Nancy. I imagine we are suppose to see Fred's strict disciplinarian ways as the impetus for Bill's departure from the Eckert home not necessarily In a super negative way, but just a catalyst for Bill's independence. The Eckert parents characterization changes several times (I'm more aware of Angela's), and Angela's evolution into a status conscious domineering matriarch who helped conceal Jenny's miscarriage from a fling with a much older man sheds a different layer on the Eckert family. It is Bill's own actions for me though that make him a crap father. He chooses the women in his life over his son (Julia, Holly, and Victoria) as well as going off on those adventures and leaving Sly at home when he has already lost one parent, a grandparent, and never been in a stable environment for long. There could have been fun tension of Bill trying to be a good dad and just failing miserably, but Bill's parenting style seems very ahead of its time. He wants to be more of Sly's friend than anything else. By 1993, they have Sly pretty consistently calling him out on it and pair Sly and Scotty in an inspired friendship that adds such depth later when Dominique is dying and she wants to give Scotty a child. Michael Logan is right though that so many writers had their fingers in 1991-1993 that it's hard for any character to find a solid, consistent footing in that period (though I enjoyed many of them). I suspect one of the greatest influences on end stage Bill Eckert may have been, ironically, Anne Howard Bailey who was a consultant in the spring of 1992 during the headwriterless period. I suspect she may have been the one to create the San Sebastian tale which has a very mid 1980s vibe to it from what I've seen. Out of that story, with Bill away, I think they started to lean into Bill as the deadbeat dad. I also don't think Bill as bad father was anything new to the show. Monica and Alan are pretty consistently skewered in those years for the way A.J. turned out and people insisted that their bad parenting was to blame. So Bill wasn't alone. I do feel it became part of that unique perspective that made him interesting. I also think that Bill dying protecting Sly and Lucky shows that the show didn't think Bill was without worth or redemption. Good or bad aside, the truth is that Bill wasn't the father Sly needed and that was his fatal flaw that made him fascinating and yet a hard sell as a romantic lead. I am nearly positive that Bill's origins are in Gloria Monty's 1990 proposed soap opera project that was set in Portland and also to be filmed there. I think we would have gotten Bill Eckert without Geary, but Geary was brought back to for impact on the ratings. If Bill was played by someone else, I wouldn't be surprised if Monty had axed Bill before 1991 was over. In his initial form, Bill is just boring because the connections to the canvas aren't there. The romance with Bobbie is quickly aborted as is the blooming romance with Carol Pulaski (who's entire family was introduced and quickly faded into the woodwork). At the end of the day, I do suspect Geary may have sabotaged the more effective version of Bill who took over the cannery with Paul, was business rivals with Jenny's husband Ned, and was still in love with Julia even though he killed her father. I doubt Geary fought against Holly and the San Sebastian story and I'm not sure how he felt about the Victoia Parker gothic mystery but I don't think either suited Bill well. For me, Bill at his best is grounded in Port Charles possibly feeling restless, but deeply involved in the fabric of the town. I think Bill is a fascinating creature and I do wonder what Labine might have done long-term with Bill, but I doubt this was ever truly a consideration.

I'm not sure about Bobbie / Scotty, but I know a little about the follow up romance for Bobbie. Bobbie was paired with Gregory Howard, who was the father of one of the teen characters. Gregory was played by Alan Feinstein, who I believe took the job because of the Writers' Strike. Gregory was a married man. When the strike ended, Ann Marcus was hired as headwriter and didn't want to continue the story. Monty 2.0 ends with Monty's return to the past. Delfina is around working on either the wedding or engagement party. It think she is in a couple episodes. Slick Jones is back around the same time, but he is around through at least April, 1992. I am not sure if Riche also kept Delfina round as well.

Jason is very aimless under Riche in what I've seen. There is the desire to be the doctor and the very complicated relationship with Karen which becomes so nasty and vicious by the end, but that's more than likely Levinson's misogynistic slant to the material. He is tethered too long to Karen as the loser, which was sort of the fate of Kurt McKinney's Ned Ashton for a bit. I think the Karen / Quartermaine connection is very interesting, but they probably should have leaned into the possibility of Brenda / Jason sooner even if it was as a scheme for both of them to get the other person, though Jason would have been a more manipulative character. Because he's the good brother, he is always forced to play mediator. It might have been nice to have gone with a Brenda / Jason story where Jason was trying to break free of always being the good guy and wanting to be more carefree and slightly dangerous. Break his moral compass long enough for Karen to save him and allow Karen and Jagger fight when Karen (wrongly) assumes that Brenda is the source of all Jason's woes, but only for Brenda to bluntly inform Karen that it's Jason inability to get over his obsession with St. Karen that his driven him down this road. Of course, if I'm allowing for a briefer moment of a darker Jason, I would also have Jason and Karen reconnect when Karen worked as a stripper with Karen confessing the truth about Ray to Jason before Jagger, causing more Karen / Jagger tension, and later causing A.J. / Jason tension when A.J. continues to slut shame Karen. And in this situation, you could play out the possibility of people thinking Jason killed Ray which could add more tension to many dynamics (Jagger / Karen, Alan / Monica, Alan / Rhoda, Jason / Brenda, Jagger / Jason). I'm going to stop before I go too far down roads not travelled.

@NothinButAttitude I really enjoy how that "Another World" story idea turned out based on what @DRW50 had suggested. As someone who isn't a huge "Another World" fan but has a working knowledge, this all seems like something Lemay would have written with the possible exception of the vague Iris / Michael stuff which may have been referring back to the earlier suggestion that someone try and marry Michael off to a Cory cousin. I do think stuff like this is fun especially once, as you suggested, explore it out a little bit more. In 1975, when Michael returns, Iris would be involved with Robert Delaney, or on the verge of becoming involved with Delaney. Given the suggestion that Julian Vane (I'd change the last name to something else) was a promising architecture student, I would make him Robert's protege working together at whatever the firm was in Bay City. I see the more likely connection not to be Michael and Iris, but rather Julian and Iris through not only Julian being connected to Robert, but I would have played on Julian being somehow tied to the jetset group that Iris would drag to Bay City. I would really be interested in at least suggesting that Julian was a bit of a social climber and if we were to go the Cory cousin route, let's call her Betsy Cory, I think Iris meddling in Betsy's romantic life trying to put her and Julian together, could lead to some of the tension that would later lead to the Iris / Michael confrontation. I like how the story suggested on playing on John's insecurities, which I don't think was necessarily something embedded into his character but I think Lemay could slowly simmer to the surface in other ways. I would have Julian charm Pat and not only have John threatened by Michael's presence in Pat's life, but Julian's as well. Making Julian a bit like Terence Stamps' Visitor character in Teorema who has an influence on the entire family. With this situation, I think John's aging and his relationship with a much younger wife, Pat, as well as a blooming romantic entanglement with an even younger woman, Barbara, could bring a level of neurotic desire to ensure Michael's (heterosexual) virility in order to placate his own fears that his own is fading. If the show still told the Marianne abortion plot, I would have have had Marianne confide in Julian and have Aunt Liz cluck about Marianne's closeness with the more sophisticated Julian causing some neurotic paranoia for Michael especially as Julian and Marianne deny this. Later, when Michael learns that Julian has paid for Marianne's abortion, he again jumps to conclusions fueled by Aunt Liz's gossip and insinuations. I'd also have the Barbara Weaver thread play slightly differently. With John deducing that Michael and Julian's living arrangement is more than financial, John pushes Barbara towards Michael as a way to "get the boy on the right path" with Barbara agreeing to intercede mostly because she admires John. John's language would suggest that he thinks Michael is just a shy and needs to come out of his shell. It would be Barbara, who would quickly deduce Michael isn't straight that becomes his confidante. Barbara who claims she and Michael are going out for intimate evenings as cover for time spent with Julian. I would go a step further and even play the potential angle of Pat being threatened by the Barbara / Michael romance feeling that Barbara, an older woman, is out to replace her in her son's life. A Barbara / Michael / Pat triangle over Michael's affections as well as Barbara replacing Pat as the one he shares his secrets with causing tension. In addition, if the Chris / Marianne stuff is playing out with Pat's own fears about Marianne replaying her past, Pat might feel the need to turn more to Michael, which would infuriate John as it would thwart his plans to keep Michael from being so attached to Pat. This, of course, would spill over later into the Barbara / John affair which would now hurt both Pat and Michael much more given Michael's affection for Barbara and Pat's already established animosity. There would also be fun little moments to savor throughout. At one point, John would accuse Pat of liking the idea of Julian / Michael because it would mean that Pat would always be the most important woman in Michael's life. John's painful realization that Michael had confessed to Barbara months ago about his sexuality, and that Barbara had hid this from John and continued the charade. In the romantic entanglement, I would have Betsy Cory, Mac's niece, become smitten with Michael after meeting him through Marianne; Marianne and Betsy could be in college classes together. Maybe lothario Chris makes the moves on Betsy which would fuel Marianne's desire to sleep with Chris and to encourage the romance between Betsy and Michael, which never gets off the ground for obvious reasons. Chris could continue to also pursue Betsy with Michael coming to her rescue leading to Betsy, at times, to purposely flirt with danger because of Michael's protective nature. Later, when Betsy learns of Michael and Barbara, she would end up crying on Julian's shoulders, who she had befriended in her failed pursuit of Michael. At this point, I would have Iris trying to play matchmaker between Julian and Betsy as she wants Julian, who she has learned about some of his "complicated" backstory (spending a holiday with a wealthy couple known for having an open marriage) from a mutual acquaintance on a trip to San Tropez. Because Julian is cultured, seems more settled, and is Robert's protégé, Iris sees it as her duty to arrange the romance between Julian and her cousin. I would have Julian play along for the career aspirations while Michael becoming more concerned how easily Julian is willing to use Betsy for his won social gains. I don't know how accurate this would be for John and Pat as it definitely muddies them up more than they probably were at the time, but I think it could be compelling.

The Jason / Robin seed is in March, 1992, when there is no headwriter and Wendy Riche is overseeing pretty much every aspect of the show. Riche had Robin and her pal (who I think stuck around through early Levinson/Thoma as I think its the same girl who is with Robin during the storm when I think they are babysitting the Jones kids) talk about Robin wanting Jason, while Jason was pining after Karen in her first few appearances. I think you and spoke about this before, and I think you suggested that the show may have been waiting until Kimberly McCullough either came of age or at least appeared older, which makes sense. There was definitely indication that the show wanted Robin / Jason as endgame as you said especially since it seemed Karen / Jagger were the intention from the start. Riche wanting Jason / Robin from the start would explain why this thread plays out pretty much until Riche leaves.

I think anti-Christian sentiment plays a role in the view of the show, but I think it is also a bit more complicatedthan that. That first year is incredibly rough. Roy Winsor's work is dramatically flat. Dallas and Joann Barnes' material lacks a true understanding of the structure of soap opera with most stories ending with some deux ex machina conclusions which may be effective on a weekly dramatic nighttime show, but fail to grab the audience's attention in a daily serial. In addition, by the time that Jason Vinley's work did start to appear, a good number of the local channels that syndicated it no longer carried it. Though, I guess you are right a large number of people, even if they heard about the dramatic improvement, more than likely weren't going to hunt it down on the Christian Broadcasting Network. By the point I am currently at (February, 1983), though show is easily as strong as or stronger than its network competitors especially in the half-hour form. And, it seems like there may even be some lifting from one show to another. The conclusion of the Blue Nobles story set in the abandoned factory is very similar to the conclusion (later in 1983) of Jo's kidnapping by Vargas in the factory down to the blue hue color scheme. I feel a bit of connection between AL/SFT of the same time period. Like Ringo / Warren of SFT, Blue and Lance have a bit of a "Midnight Cowboy" inspired friendship that seems to have hints of homoerotic subtext. Throughout the final pursuit of Blue, Lance seemed genuinely worried about Blue and now we get a scene of Lance singing Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Without Blue, Lance has now shown an increased sexual interest in Miriam. I suspect that the show has simply decided to beef up Lance's role, but the timing provides for a bit of queerness to the mob storyline. Given the jealousy (which Ron calls out) between Lance and Russ, I could easily see a story where Lance gets into bed (figuratively or literally) with Tony Cardello. The show's current view of queerness continues to be quite negative. Peter alludes to the fact that Vicki Lang might think he is gay without stating it, while Babs goes off on Nancy because Nancy calls her a thespian, and Harold has to explain to Babs that it's not what she thinks it means. It's still being addressed which is more than most of daytime would be doing. I still would be curious to see how Vinley would have approached Tony Cardello. I can'tremember if Hill Harben is one of the interviews done by the AL fan on YouTube. @YTG would probably know better. I wish there had been any real coverage of Another Life because I am deeply curious about what the reaction was of the audience to Blue's death. While I imagine many were happy that such a violent man reached his end, he is very clearly saved and welcomed into the arms of the Lord. It is such a happy ending for such a complicated character. It hasn't been made clear yet completed to Miriam that Blue is dead; she has been told he is no longer part of the organization. I am curious if we will get any further exploration of Blue's death after Miriam is released. I would love to see a scene with Miriam and the Martins where Lori and Ben are forced to process that Miriam, held captive by Blue, has been able to forgive him and how they still have intense feelings regarding the man. There is a really great scene where Russ goes to visit Lori after he has killed Blue to talk about the situation in very coded terms. It's very powerful. It is almost like Lori might know what's going on, but is adamant that she won't accept this. This would be very similar to how she has reacted to her own near rape for the past few months. Lori and Russ is one of my favorite relationships on the show. I don't want them together romantically, but there is something about their shared past and the road not taken that I just adore. Russ clearly will always love Lori and Lori will always try to save Russ. I am curious how late 1990s General Hospital fans would think of this mob heavy sequence (Blue's demise). There is another delightful scene in which Ron Washington lets Vince Cardello know that ti was Russ that killed Blue. Nick Benedict is coming into his own as sleazy menacing Ron Washington. This is a more polished performance of his later Curtis Reed on Days of our Lives. Ron has used Russ' role to his advantage. He seems to be keeping Russ closer because he knows it is inciting jealousy from Lance (this is stated on air) and to keep Lance in line. He also seems to genuinely admire Russ realizing this isn't just some nepo hire that Russ is the man he claims he is; a scraper from the streets of Chicago who survived on his own wits and hands. He also seems to be forcing Vince's hand by showing him the terrible consequences of forcing Russ on to Ron. I'm not sure how Ron plans to keep the side businesses quiet, but I think Ron has a plan. All the plotting and scheming here is much more appealing than I ever expected. The ripples in this story continue. Marianne has broken it off with Russ moments after the murder and she admits she cannot support Russ in whatever he is doing. It is a nice way to strip away whatever human connections Russ has left. I cannot tell exactly where this is all going. I cannot tell if we are taking Russ to the bottom in order to redeem him or if he will enjoy living in the gutter. There have been comments to suggest that this can go each way. Ron explains about how they are all living by the sword and they should pretty much expect to end the same way. Meanwhile, Terry mentions Russ' visit to the house and says she thinks this is the start of a new Russ, insinuating he might actually find God. This after Terry, Lori, and Marianne discuss that maybe God wants Marianne to hold out hope for Russ. I am realizing more and more that Marianne seems very limited. Renee Crawford is a talented enough actress, but Marianne doesn't have a lot of potential. I do think I would have sent her into Amber's modeling agency for a bit. Marianne has always been controlled by a man, her father, her brother, and Russ. I think putting her in Amber's orbit, who is a strong female who also likes to control other females, would be interesting. Also, in that orbit, I think Marianne could explore her commercial art interest. I also think that the Russ - Lori connection is too strong in the long run for Marianne to work. With Becky, Becky was more complicated a character that made it all work. There was some good stuff with the Phillips family that I save for another post. Happy holidays everyone.

Kate Phillips is on the scene. She is an interesting character from the start. They immediately don't hold back and reveal to her that Dave is back in town. Kate is the middle ground; she doesn't know how she feels about Dave's return. Stinette gives the character an elegance in these early appearances I wasn't expecting given that I mostly know of her from Loving where she was working class Rose Donovan. I guess she gave a different aura in her roles as Kate and Nadine on The Edge of Night. There is some simple sloppy writing in the Babs Farley story that borderlines on well intentioned camp. In a typical soap opera fashion, Ione Redlon and Dr. Dave Phillips are talking about an on the run Babs' whereabouts in a public space while an U/5 mob goon listens in a chair nearby. This alone isn't insane, but add in the conversation that follows about them needing to pray for Babs' safety with Dave insisting they shouldn't waste their prayers borders on hilarious. I get we are probably building tension for when Babs is in danger, but overall I just can't. The end of the reign of Blue Nobles is powerful. Blue was a rapist. A kidnapper. A stalker. A general menace. Yet, I still feel for him, which I think was the point of it all. Blue has terrorized Paula for money and informs her where he is staying so that she can bring him more, only for Paula to inform Russ, who is hunting Blue down. In the meantime, Lance accurately deduces where someone like Blue would hide out. Lance is still playing the jealous boyfriend (of which boyfriend it is unclear: Blue? Ronnie?), but it's interesting that in the conversation with Ron that he is wearing a blue shirt. This actually makes me like Lance for the first time. As Blue's hours tick down, we get a scene of Miriam praying for Blue hoping that Jesus will help him to find the path to Him. It's all pretty intense stuff, which, out of context of the larger story, would seem hokey, but given all the beats played leading up to it, there is such weight to the material. Russ tracks Blue down to the warehouse and a fight ensues. The verbal back and forth between Russ and Blue is delightful with Russ admitting he can lose people like Lance and Vince, but it is the Loris and Mariannes of the world that make it worth wild. And then, the bomb is dropped; Russ' true motivation for his intense hatred towards Blue. As Blue insists he has never had Lori, he never raped her; he delightfully adds that neither has Russ. This is a such a delicious low below from the writers that Blue has no way of knowing, but sheds light on Russ' character. Russ is pissed because he thinks Blue got to do something he didn't, have sex with Lori. It's a crazy surprise for an already great sequence. At this point, Russ loses control of the gun and now when Russ does finally shoot Blue, it is self defense. And now Russ joins the likes of the truly criminal. Blue's final moments,in the next episode, do find him finding God moments before dying saying Jesus' name in the last seconds of his life. This is pretty profound stuff. In the year prior, we would get so many of these find Jesus moments after literally a single interaction between a believer and a non-believer. This works better for me. Kudos to Vinley for taking the deus ex machina ending of the last writers and making it not only palatable, but powerful. This features Miriam's prayer for Blue and Blue's demise. I feel like Russ' role in all of this should be more controversial than I am taking it. The show has inconsistently shown that Russ still cares for Lori, but I've always found it such a critical part of his character. The show's writers have several lines in episode 440 where they imply Blue and Russ are two peas in a pod. When Russ talks about the Loris and Mariannes of the world, he asks what would be left with them gone and Blue says "You and I." It's really shockingly psychological stuff for a location sequence. It's also wild to have Russ witness Blue's moment of belief when Lori spent months and Marianne spent months trying to convert Russ. Where does Russ go from here? Does his guilt lead him to religion himself or does it lead him deeper into the mob? I think I know the answer, but it provokes such intense questions. Chandler Hill Harben will be missed on this show.

The Miriam-Blue dynamic is intriguing. Miriam is unaware that Blue is the man who attacked Lori and there is a suggestion that Blue is attracted to her in the same way he was Lori. At one point, he asks Miriam about her sex life when she was married, which seemed very disturbing when he said it at the time. In a grander context, I have to wonder if Vinley wasn't trying to keep the haunting spectre of Paul and Lori's "affair" present as a way of keeping Lori very present in the Blue / Miriam situation. For a character who doesn't do much, Lori has many connections of the canvas so a one-time attack can resonate far and wide. Miriam does recite some Bible verses to Blue, but mostly talks about how much Blue loves the story of Samson. It wasn't until yesterday that I considered how much they've really crafted this into a George & Lenny from "Of Mice and Men" situation with Blue, like Lenny, being such a mix of brute strength and childlike naivete. What could easily be a cringe character (and in some ways Blue is) there is so much more depth and humanity instilled into the character than I ever expected. Blue's role in these two critical stories (Lori's attack and Miriam's kidnapping) is such an important cog in the show's success at the moment. I have to wonder if there was ever serious consideration to keeping Blue around with redemption, finding God, and living in Ione Redlon's house while doing some odd jobs. They haven't really mentioned his Cinderella Rapist past much (though Lance and Ron seem to finally accept that Blue is a rapist). Not that I necessarily feel this would be ideal, but I could see the drama of it. Lori and Ben struggling with their faith saying to learn to forgive while not able to accept the realities of living in the same community as the man who hurt Lori. Dave and Terry's arguments when Dave, the recovering alcoholic who killed his own son, supports Blue. Gene's moral dillema when McGovern wants a Gene to do a salacious follow up piece on Blue. The community's gasp when Blue does meet a young woman for the first time who is unaware of his past. @DRW50 I'm slowly warming to Debbie McLeod (or rather cooling my disinterest) as the character's story involving her mental health is treated so differently than I am use to on the soaps. Lori is often talking about overcoming the stigma and correcting people's impressions about those who are deemed mentally ill. Recently, Babs Farley has been hiding out in Fairmount, where Mercy Hospital is located, and runs into Ben and Lori Martin. When Babs makes some tactless comments, Lori corrects her. Babs is definitely uneducated, but she is someone we root for. It's just nice to see that the show addresses how casually people will dismiss what mental health can look like.