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@EricMontreal22 in case you missed this as I don't remember how far across the soap sphere this travelled outside this board. The entire show finished shooting before January, 1983. They shot a script a day, which was basically two half hour episodes. The shooting of scripts 26-33 were all done in December, 1982. When it was cancelled, Paul Kent and Dana Halstad came back and shot the conclusion to the serial killer plot when Francie found out that her father Frank had been the rapist/serial murderer and had been faking his paralysis. This was probably in June/July, 1983.

McCarthy and Walsh had also been associate headwriters under Nixon. So she basically had trained them in the vision she wanted. I don't always agree with their execution (almost everythign for the older crowd was trash except for Clay's hit and run). I thought Walsh "got" this version of Cooper / Ally / Casey better than she had in round one. I also think there was a sense of immense satsification getting to have the scenes in September 1994 where Cooper admits to Steffi that he had been molested, and not that he "wanted it" like Walsh had more than likely been forced to say in July, 1992. I find Brown and Essensten's stuff very hard to watch. There are some interesting stories (I think Lorraine and Brianna Hawkins were intriguing additions), but there is such nihilistic (maybe that's the right word) tone to their writing that I find it very hard to engage in. Even with the best of "The City," there is such a nastiness to all the proceedings that it hard to truly enjoy and connect with the material for me. I feel like Marcantel circa 1994 was approaching the hot suburban dad mode for me. Marcantel was hotter than ABC gave him credit for and Robert Tyler was a better actor than ABC expected him to be. Also, other than December, 1984 - June/July, 1985 Marcantel and Noelle Beck never got a chance to interact which seems like a huge shame. If Marcantel's Curtis had landed a strong pairing, they might have given him more of the Geary treatment. Marcantel and Peluso would have been dynamite together, but the timelines didn't intersect until 1993.

Nixon is clearly trying to replay Mike / Shana / Jim with Curtis / Dinahlee / Trucker in 1993-1994. I just don't think Curtis going to war was ever the best solution to any problem. I think resetting the character after the failed romantic entanglement with Rocky during Stan Albers run made sense especially with Rick Alden dead. Though, traditional romantic lead wasn't the original construct of Curtis. Curtis / Stacey had such potential. When Stacey punched Curtis in Vegas, I was shocked and delighted. Marcantel and Taylor were very natural together. I think a slow burn of those two together would have been dynamite. I liked Stacey and Buck, but I think there was a lot of space to explore with Curtis/Stacey especially when Jack returned. Also, Nixon had set up the reveal that the Sowolskys were entitled to all of the Alden fortune so having Curtis in a position to either go after Ava or allign herself with her while also involved with Stacey would have tickled me. Jessica Collins was great as Dinahlee, but I would have dumped Dinahlee in August, 1994, when Collins decided to leave. I would have let Trucker leave town with her and let Tyler out of his contract early. I would have kept Shana and Leo instead at least long enough to play out Nixon's answer to the BeLieF formula for "Loving." I think tonally Laurie McCarthy / Addie Walsh was more appealing than Walsh / Ryder in 1992-1993. The gothic conclusion to Gilbert's reign of terror (more than likely inspired by the Jonathan Maitland and/or Ryan Chamberlain) worked well for me. They also wrote really well for the younger set with Casey's mental health induced cocaine issues and Cooper / Steffi's romance against the backdrop of Clay's hit and run. I just wasn't a huge fan of the decision to ignore the set up that Nixon had built with Ava taking over AE being so quickly dumped.

@Vee Sometimes I have forgotten what I have read and what I have speculated. The bible laid out Rebecca's story pretty much to the mark early on (the hope for advancement at the law firm and the romance with the British attorney Lloyd Bradfield). I think Rebecca was also suppose to be more involved in the merger between Marshall Ice Cream and Midwest Equity or whatever the name of Martin Jackson's company was. The Whitmores in general had more going on in the bible for Rebecca to react to (Laura's affair, Laura's mother-in-law's Alzheimer's, Cory's attempt to recreate "The Graduate" with Jessica, J.D.'s engagement to transwoman Lisa Morgan, Sam's antics, Monique and Jason's relationship, and so on and so on). The aborted stuff from the bible was Peter's return in the first year. He was off living in Europe with a younger Italian wife, Francesca. Peter and Rebecca were going to run into one another in London during seperate vacations with their new partners. The meet up was the end of the story projection. Onscreen, there was a soft reset after the first thirteen weeks or so in the summer around the time of Doreen and Adam's affair. The relationship with Lloyd Bradfield is jettisoned despite Lloyd being played by British soap vet Ronald Allen (former David Hunter on "Crossroads"). Rebecca lingers on through the fall and into the winter before Pat Crowley is dropped shipped off on business to Japan, where she stays until Dorothy Lyman arrives. I suspect Peter's return was cut for two reasons: (a) cast size and (b) NBC's insistence [per the Dobsons] that the soaps cut back on hiring older characters. When Peter does arrive, Rebecca is no longer on contract and when Lyman arrives, her role was recurring. A lot of the best of "Generations" isn't online, but there is still a lot of solid stuff. There are also massive gaps in the tape trading circuit (most of April 1989, fall 1989, late spring-early summer 1990). Hopefully, "Beyond the Gates" will inspire some new discoveries.

The clip posted on YouTube was very interesting. I thought the dynamic between Peter Willis and Dr. Julie Franklin was very different for daytime, but on brand for the work of Rick Edelstein. This reminded me of how others had described the relationship between Johnny McGhee and Fran Bachman after Dave's death. I wonder if this was Edelstein's work or something that possibly inspired Edelstein based on the work of Anne Howard Bailey. I'm curious about the time period because I know George Welbes who played Tony had cancer towards the end of his run and his death resulted in Tony being written out. I am curious if Tony was still onscreen at the point this scene aired. I hope that someday some work of Brad Davis from this series appears. He is such a soulful actor in the work I've seen of his. I would love to see Alex Kronos' story. I really love the look of the set. I know it is very of the era, but I don't feel like that is the look of other series of the time.

No one that I know of was leaving other than Amelia Heinle since her three year contract would have been up in January, 1996. The show would have also had to deal with Wesley Addy's death in January, 1996.

Part of the problem with "Texas" was it was suppose to premier a month earlier. When the material started airing on "Another World" was when the actual premier date was suppose to be, but it was pushed back. I really love the early "Texas" stuff I've seen. The Southern gothic tinged revenge tale between Justin Marshall and Alex Wheeler over Mike Marshall's suicide and the whole Marshall clan reacting so differently to that was great. Striker Bellman as the tragic cuckhold realizing his alcoholic wife is hit the sheets with his "best friend" Alex Wheeler prior to having a heart attack is an amazing dramatic performance from the actor who was so folksy and comical. I thought the set up of Reena and Max with a dash of Justin was great as was the Sam and Justin pairing even if Ann McCarty wouldn't have been my casting choice despite her looking like Carla Borelli's little sister, which worked given they were cousins and Justin wanted both of them. The Middle Eastern plot is interesting because they never let Jasmine and Ryan have any physically affectionate scenes despite falsifying a marriage to keep her safe. I think the launch was a struggle. I probably would have opened with the surgery plot involving the Sheik and had the suicide on "Texas' proper.

Peter and Ruth were together when Peter was married to Rebecca, but Ruth didn't meet Henry, yet, I believe. Henry married Ruth knowing the child she was carrying was another man's. I think they even discussed this onscreen fairly early in the storyline (October/November, 1990). Ruth was a teenager, and may have been underage. I believe there is a pretty decent scene between Rebecca and Vivian where Vivian reveals the sordid truth to her former employer and Rebecca is disgusted by Peter and pretty sympathetic to Ruth, who Rebecca felt was taken advantage of by Peter. I want to say its in the Monday episode of the final week. Doreen was so entrenched in the Marshall orbit that playing a beat with Henry and Doreen was smart, and leading to the health crisis was also good symmetry. I would have been wicked and brought in Dr. Warren Jackson, Martin's father who had appeared previously in the story, to handle part of the crisis. I imagine the heart attack stuff would have led to Chantal learning that Henry wasn't her father with the truth coming out that month. I cannot imagine it wouldn't have been out any later than May sweeps. I will die on the hill that November, 1989 - March, 1990 is strong stuff. The racism storyline deals with so many different issues and leads to a climatic bombing scene where Joan Pringle gives an amazing performance where Ruth, in shock and soot stained after the bombing, attempts to maintain the facade that nothing is wrong. Pringle is just phenomenal. Jonelle Allen is equally amazing and gets her roses, but Pringle's Ruth is a hidden gem. The love triangle between spunky Sam, quirky detective Kyle, and debonair Jordan worked well. Maya and Adam have such a nice romance threatened by the secret of Danielle's paternity with Doreen connecting with Maya's father Daniel. Daniel's false accusation plot and Rob's investigation to clear Daniel is also just a really underrated piece of soap opera history. The interconnections across the canvas in this period are great. The summer of 1990 stuff seems more flat. I'm not a huge fan of all the recasts. I think Jorn Winter wanted more daytime names which is why Blacque was out and Reynolds was in. I thought I read Blacque was fired, but I could be wrong.

There were so many things wrong with "The City." I don't know if the blame can solely be placed on Morgan Fairchild's shoulders. Sydney didn't have enough connections to be the big bad bitch of Soho that they really wanted (needed?) her to be. Fairchild hasn't bothered me in what I've see, but Joel Fabiani is REALLY bad. Like embarassingly bad. I think they wanted to make Sydney more ambigious with the arrivla of Jared, but Jared was a non-starter with Fabiani in role. I would have recasted immediately and tried to make Jared work. The storytelling in the first half of the show is salacious as hell without the depth needed to make it work. It was Agnes Nixon strained through a Rikki Lake filter with lawyer Jocelyn moonlighting as a prostitute because her father exchanged her with other men as a kid for sex while also having an affair with Alex, who was old enough to be her father. Or the barely played relationship between mysterious model Azure C. and the embodiment of machismo Bernardo only picking up when they finally revealed that Azure was trans. I think both stories had potential to be very topical and very interesting, but the seedy misogyny needed the strenght of a Wendy Riche to make palpable. Instead of Levinson's GH, we get something so staged it should have been on Jerry Springer. In one of my "Loving" speculative fictions, Morgan played a recast Ann Alden Forbes who swoops in around the time of Cabot's (natural causes) death and causes havoc since Clay would have been written out (Parlato was leaving the show in 1995 either way). I would have kept Roscoe Born around as Dane Hammond.

There was a slow burn tease between Adam Marshall and Sam Whitmore that never went there. If I recall correctly, I felt like the original bible said they would get together down the line and had even positioned them in the same career orbit (Adam was going to become a male model and Sam was to go into the advertising game with Trevor McCallum and his hot shot colleague Rob Raelko, a pseudo-predecessor for Rob Donnelly). On screen, there was hints that the show might go there, but this was nixed. Additionally, Sussman had planned a romantic triangle between Laura Whitmore McCallum, Ruth Potter Marshall, and a white classmate from high school who had become a plastic surgeon. This storyline was also nixed, but I suspect was the origin story of the final tale. Henry Marshall knew that Chantal wasn't his daughter and that she was the child of a man who had abandoned Ruth. In the final week, Vivian told Rebecca that Peter and Ruth had had an affair, but I think it was made pretty clear early on because the notes about Chantal's paternity (Chantal was unaware) were being hit just as Peter returned to Chicago after several decades in Instanbul. Also, Ruth and Peter were growing romantically closer. I remember reading one of the soap encycolpedias in the late 1990s and being very curious about Chantal's paternity plot because the description sounded half-baked or hadn't completely reached fruition yet. I'm pretty sure it would have come out in February, 1991, sweeps so the story was pretty deep starting in late September. Yes. When James Reynolds arrived in August, the show started a heart health story for Henry that was slow burning throughout the fall. By late January, he had ended up in bed with Doreen and had a heart attack before anything happened. Adam walked in to find his father and the mother of his child in bed together with a closeup on Doreen's face while "To Be Continued..." flashed on the screen. Henry's fate was left up in the air. Doreen and Ruth's friendship detriorated once Ruth learned Doreen's child, Danielle, was actually Ruth's grandchild. At the same time, Peter Whitmore returned after years away and Peter and Ruth were brought together when Peter decided to restore his former nightspot, the Music Box, which I believe doubled as the rendezvous spot for Peter and Ruth's trysts years earlier. Caught up in the nostaglia, Ruth was drawn back into Peter's world. There was definitely some working of a potential Doreen, Henry, Ruth, Peter quad. I don't think Rebecca and Peter reconnecting really had a shot because I don't think Dorothy Lyman was intended for the long run, but I might be wrong on that. Ruth and Doreen also both wanted to sing at the reopening night of the Music Box, but Ruth landed the coveted spot. As I stated above, the Ruth / Chantal / Peter plot was more than likely borne out fo something planned in the bible for Ruth, Laura, and a childhood friend. In addition, Ruth revealling that she was hiding a paternity secret about her eldest daughter after reading Doreen for filth over Danielle's paternity would have set the stage for reconcilliation. I suspect Doreen would have sympathized with Ruth and offered her an olive branch while others would have turned on her. There was another interracial couple: racist Charles Mullens was carrying on an affair with Rita Barton, the wife of the security guard that Dr. Daniel Reubens was accused of killing. Charles had been tormenting the Marshalls when they moved into their North Shore home and was later revealed to be behind the bombing at the pharmaceutical plant that killed Rita Barton's husband. Charles' daughter Karen, like Daniel's wife Amy, had died due to a poisoned batch of cough syrup. It was also why Helen Mullens (Charles' abused wife) knew Maya; Helen briefly cared for Maya after Amy died missing her own daughter, Karen. It was a part of Helen's redemption arc (which included the domestic abuse) once they decided to keep Marla Adams.

I believe the scripts for SFT in the New York Public Library are 1979-1980. Or maybe 1978-1979. I remember thinking they would be scripts from the Corringtons.

I'm sure that's what was said onscreen, but I don't think that makes sense either. I don't think Dominique and Mac even had sex until after Leopold had been murdered. There is a big plot point in January, 1992, where Dominique sees a therapist to help get past her sexual trauma that she endured while being married to Leopold before she and Mac could sleep together. Then, when they do have sex, they literally set the house on fire because the blanket is too close to the fireplace. Maybe they had slept together prior, and Monty/Grover just played up Leopold/Dominique's toxic marriage.

I've listened to a few more episodes of "Radio Playhouse." Most noteable revelations: In "Face of Love," there was a rather shocking revelation; Kate's late husband Tom Wakefield had been left impotent from his drug addiction. The reveal acts as a sorta ABC Afterschool Special as Kate drops this tidbit to her 19-year-old niece, Nancy. In addition, I think it sets up Kate as a virgin even though she was married, which might be a way of explaining Kate's relationship with Tony Cushing. Kate doesn't seem ready to commit to Tony and cannot seem to fully connect with David. In "To Have and To Hold," I had missed completely that Richard and Suzanne Holland had departed the series, most likely to commit to "General Hospital." The Hollands used script writers so I just assumed Dornheim was handling the scripts, but the Hollands haven't been credited for a bit. I jumped ahead and in February, Mary Dornheim is still the only writer listed and Michael Storm has replaced Bill Redfield as Marsh. I cannot imagine Bert and Dr. Larry Wolek as a couple, but I am excited to see it play out. In another surprise casting, something I had suspected (due to her distinct voice) was true: Morgan Fairchild is appearing as Ann, Caroline's daughter by her first daughter. This pre-dates her appearance as the lead on "Face of Love." I'll be curious to see if Ann sticks around with Fairchild in the part because Ann has been introduced as a possible spoiler to the Kurt / Lynn romance. It is also clarified that River Run, the family home, belongs to Caroline and Ann as Caroline's late husband was a succesfful businessman. This is an interesting development that has slowly unfolded over the course of the last few episodes, though I suspect it might be a rewrite by Dornheim. Either way, I don't hate it. It's a shame these didn't continue for a few years. I would love to have as many episodes as CBS Radio Mystery Theatre has from this same period of time.

I caught a couple episodes last week. I watched a little of May, 2000, episodes. There were two major plots in the episode: (a) Lucy showing up at the park during Julie's supervised visitation with Christina leading to the social worker taking Christina away from both women and (b) Serena ending up in Claire Wright's room. I don't hate the custody story as much as others, but the comment that this isn't the material that suits Lynn Herring best. I think it is still rather intriguing. Herring and Lisa Ann Hadley are fun as rivals. Lucy being willing to keep Christina safe from Julie that she is on the brink of destroying everything. In her desperate attempt to keep tabs on Christina, she has forgotten to pick up Serena from school leading to the other story. Serena wanders into Claire Wright's (Linda Purl) room. Serena is aware that Scotty is doing the legal work so that Claire can die at home. This is a rather poignant moment as it was clearly playing on the Dominique story, but this is going with a very different angle. Serena's point of view on the issue (she seems deeply aware of everything) asks Claire if she is scared and if she is in a lot of pain. Purl does well in this role and she has nice chemistry with Carly Shroeder. Something like this moment would be easy to skip, but it makes the story very heartwarming. In addition, I watched two October, 2000, episodes following the other ones I had been watching. The fall out of Joe's HIV test is very interesting. It is coming to light who was behind it and it's a desperately ugly move by a character who 100% would stoop that low. Alex Melendez isn't terrible, but he doesn't really excite me as Joe. To a lesser degree, he seems more age appropriate for Joe compared to David Gail who came off as too old for me. Melendez cast as the son of the Irish Scanlon clan is definitely a choice. The mystery of Livvie's paternity is unraveling very nicely with each episode giving a bit more of the story. Each piece seems to be building to a very obvious conclusion, but I think it's such a fun journey. It is also interesting that it seems to be driving Kevin and Eve apart and Kevin and Lucy together. This is just really nice. Herring and Lindstrum have great chemistry in this story and Lucy's point of view (re: Christina) makes this material meaningful. I really like Jamal and Allison. Amanda Barrington is desperate to keep them apart even threatening to have Allison committed to an asylum. I am curious how far Harris and Bloom were going to go with this. Allison shows some signs of PTSD after the Cedric situation and I think this would have eventually lead to Allison / Kevin. Jamal pushing away "Spunky" to keep her safe from her controlling grandmother is sad. It kills me to know what they will do to Allison and Jamal down the line. I would be curious what a modern reaction to all this would have been. A lot of 2000 is a variation on some of the best of Riche from 1992-1996.

I am not always the best at identifying actors, but I believe the woman involved in the car accident is actress Destiny Love, who is playing Laura, a character we haven't been told much about yet, unless I've missed something. Overall, the promo is great. I think highlighting Dani and her story is multi-leveled. Dani does seem to be a catalyst who generates plot and is played by the cast member with most recent CBS daytime experience. Tamara Tunie and Clifton Davis are bigger names in entertainment, but Mosely played a fairly significant role. Though, I am probably unaware of how long Maya has been offscreen. And that is Dani hooking up with Andre, correct? That was a pleasant surprise.

The 1972 episode I believe was the one uncovered a few years ago by a soap collector. I believe there is also a copy of this episode at a library or museum.

I had trouble finding it in TV Listings for the United States as well. I did find it in Australian listings in 1996. Also, someone usually would write something up about the TV movies when they aired and there was nothing. Also, that is Peter White uncredited as Winston Van Degan, Lawrence's brother and Drexel's father.

"Thanks again for the synopsis as I know I enjoyed the that era too, at least from May 2009- at least February 2011 or so when the show gave us Faux Rafe/Arnold (funny he’s back now), the whole Taylor/Fay debacle, and Chloe the hooker with the inexplicable Vivian’s beloved but never mentioned son Quinn. Although Sonny’s introduction was definitely a highlight at the time. I recall I was indifferent to Dario mainly because it seemed fruitless at the time especially on the heels of losing Ariana just as she finally became interesting as well as losing the original Gabi. MarDar was a fatal blow to me because once EJ and Sami slept together again later on in 2011 I was so repulsed I tuned it out, regardless of Will’s reaction. " @soapfan770 I figured I'd respond here to your comments from the Francisco San Martin thread. I got back into Days in fall 2008, but what sealed the deal for me were two moments: Nick's arrest after drinking and driving (Berris delivered a phenomenal performance of Nick at the end of his rope) and Arianne Zucker's performance as Nicole after losing EJ's baby at the clinic. I felt real emotion from the show for the first time in what felt like a decade. February 2011 was defintely a marker. The return of Taylor should have worked, but Natalia Livingston was very wrong for the part and Tamara Braun came in too late to salvage it. I would have preferred what seemed to be coming in fall of 2010 (E.J. and Arianna). I hated losing Fay who had delivered one of my favorite monologues in December 2009 when she told Nicole it was her (Fay's) fault that Nicole was always involved with dangerous men because of Fay's involvement with Paul Mendez. Definitely a Richard Culliton script. I didn't hate Chloe the hooker as I felt they had positioned that well enough for it to work. She was coming off post-partum. Phillip had fled Salem and there was a custody battle for Parker. She feel into it when Quinn offered her the money and decided to stay with it. Somewhere in 2010, Nathan had questioned whether or not Chloe had a sex addiction based on her behavior. I thought her saving Kinsey, who had glamorized prostitution and was broke after her family lost all their money (the actress had just appeared in the Facebook movie so I think they threw her a bone). I thought having Kate be involved in was a wicked choice that felt on brand for the era, but bordering on crossing a line. I thought having Kate and Carly in the orbit of Vivian's newly discovered son was too delicious to pass up. I HATED Quinn for a hot minute, but I was able to justify him in my head that Vivian having her son kept from her is what drove her to be so possessive of Lawrence and Nikki. It was nice seeing Nikki in 2011, but Cody Longo too has passed way too young. Nothing onscreen justified Quinn though, but I was more disturbed when he was brought back under MarDar to do very little. Sonny's arrival was special. I loved all the work they had put into Adrienne and Stephanie's relationship the previous year and was afraid that Adrienne was going to fall off now that Shelley Hennig was gone. Seeing Adrienne and Justin back together (remarried off screen) and welcoming their out son was a treat. I wish that little family unit had been highlighted more in the MarDar period, but Sonny was sidelined quickly. I also enjoyed Sonny and Chloe's friendship though I never completely could figure out what the angle was for it as that sort of pairing usually led to something plot wise, but it was too late in the game to ever see it materialize. I liked Camilla Banus immediately as Gabi and felt that she was a step in the right direction. She seemed more mature where as Gabriela Rodriguez, bright and energetic, always came off as a bit naive. The Gabi / Arianna dynamic was fascinating and I love that Tomsell ended up naming Gabi's daughter after her and then allowing Gabi to suffer the same fate as her sister by ending up in jail for a crime based on a domestic partner. I thought the construct of Dario was brilliant given that you had cop older brother Rafe and the now dead sister Arianna who had been the criminal sibling (reluctantly) while now Dario was proudly a con artist. Pairing him with Melanie seemed to work, but there wasn't that big story that they would have needed to keep them front and center. I would have worked Dario into Vivian and Quinn's orbit and played the tension of Carly's daughter involving herself with people so closely tied to Carly's sworn enemy. Didn't Quinn buy the Salem drug operation from EJ in the summer fo 2011? I felt like that was going to go somewhere, but so much groundwork was laid that never got followthrough because of the turnover. The initial reset list left me put off by MarDar because I didn't miss the story restraints of the super couple era. The dropping of the big couples had opened up storytelling in a way that was much more rich and interesting than what was being put out in late 2011. Also, these were essentially newly returned characters forced on the frontburner which was a mistake because now all the stories were in the beginning stage which is boring. The moment I knew this was no longer my Days was when Jack told Adrienne why he was out of town offscreen denying us Adrienne's reaction to propel the idea of "the secret." The 2008-2011 era was all about the reaction and those Days were gone.

Jason is dropped from contract in November, 1990. I feel like when they killed him off they actually dumped him from the show and then renewed his contract so that it was up in November and it wasn't renewed because the show was cancelled. I could be wrong. I feel like it becomes clear as time went on that Sussman was planning on doing Jessica / Trevor before Jorn Winter comes and shakes things up. I felt the Jessica / Laura relationship was suppose to parallel the Ruth / Doreen relationship to the point that Doreen even got Jessica's original story (In the bible, Corey McCallum was going to try to seduce Jessica into bed in a storyline based on "The Graduate.") I cannot remember if I read the part of the bible detailing Monique and Jason's story, but I know what played on air had Jason / Sam and I thought that had potential to give Laura / Jessica some added layers dealing with that turn of events. Once Jordan Hale is introduced, it seems like the story changes. Then there is Jessica and Rob's quickie wedding and the story just blows up. Linda Gibboney takes over in September or October 1989. I feel like she might be the first Winter hire as she had worked for him as Sybil on AMC. Gibboney gives Jessica a much needed comic flair and elevates Kelly Rutherford in her performance as they become rivals. I imagine Pat Crowley's Rebecca was going to be in the thick of the business negotiations involving the acquisition of Marshall Ice Cream, but the business stuff wasn't really suited for NBC so it got scrapped. I don't think there was much to go with Lloyd Bradfield and Rebecca because Lloyd didn't really generate conflict though it was great seeing Crossroads' Ronald Allen on an American soap. Also, once the Peter Whitmore return was delayed, Rebecca's key story dried up. The late 1989 arrivals are game changers with Jordan Hale and Kyle Masters setting up a solid triangle for Sam and Maya Reubens giving Adam a viable love interest. The Mullens provided a much needed element of bigotry that lead to one of the show's bigger moments where the racists set off a bomb in the basement of the Marshall mansion during their housewarming gathering. By the time we get to Daniel Reubens and his quest for justice the show really has gotten somewhere strong.

I saw it this morning and made the choice not to mention it either. Mental health conversations don't happen often enough. I was quite upset to read that because I remember the very joyful presence on screen, forgetting how often behind the facade can be so much more going on. I work with middle schoolers and the mental health crisis in this country has exploded since COVID. I hope some will find a way to channel their energy into working on generating conversation on the importance of mental health services.

Jason ends up with Monique by the fall and they plan to wed. On their wedding day in November, 1989, Jason is "murdered." Everyone is told Jason has died, but we learn a month and half later it was his best man, Paul Jarre (Jon Lindstrum), who was murdered. This introduces Kyle Masters, Sam's love interest. Anyway, Jason goes stir crazy and pops up back in Chicago and reveals himself to Monique and his Aunt Mary, who is revealed to be the one out to kill him for her late brother's inheritance. Aunt Mary, in turn, prepares the couple a poisoned English trifle that nearly kills them so that she can get Jason's money. Jason and Monique marry in early 1990 at the hospital and are pretty backburnered in the material I have seen. Monique deals with the breakup of her parents wedding, and then the two open an art gallery which is the site of an art caper in the summer of 1990. By late 1990, Anthony Addabo is off contract and they flirt with the idea of Monique and Butch Hartman's Sean Masters. Most of the story for the Whitmores in the Bible was more than likely axed by the network. J.D. and Jessica's relationship was more transactional and J.D.'s true love interest, Lisa Morgan, was going to be revealed to be a transgender female. Laura's story was focused on her competition with Ruth Marshall to win over a former white classmate who was now a plastic surgeon. Laura was going to win because the classmate had a crush on Laura when they were younger. During one of Laura's trysts, her mother-in-law Frances, who was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers, was going to get into a car accident threatening to reveal Laura's extramarital liasion. In addition, Sam was going to go into business and allign herself at the ad agency with Trevor's younger rival, Rob Raelko, while Adam Marshall was going to become a male model. The Marshalls material tends to stay very strong because domestic conflict was something the series could afford to do well with the well casted Marshall clan. If you didn't catch the MLK Day episode from 1990, it is a strong moment for Vivian and Ruth.

I watched to episodes from late in Harris/Bloom's run (September 29, October 2). The episodes were well constructed. The September 29th episode in particularly smoothly moved between multiple stories by keeping the characters in two main locations (the nurses' station and the Scanlons' bar). I thought it was an effective way to move between stories without cutting to different locations. It created a sense of movement while also sorta building longer scenes. I forgot how good Alison and Jamal were. Erin Hershey was very energetic early on as Alison and Kiko Ellsworth is just smooth. It's a shame he never landed another leading role (I don't think his GH part was more than supporting). Anne Jeffreys as the heavy is a delighful use of the character. The show is also tackling the HIV storyline with Joe testing to see if he contracted the disease from his one-night stand with Nurse Jill. I was surprised to see that Jill was still around and given such a point of view. It was really nice to see the layers even to such minor supporting players in the story. Alex Mendoza is passable as Joe, and probably more age appropriate than David Gale as the younger brother. He still just doesn't feel right, though he seems fine enough opposite Ion Overman as Gabriella. The Livvie story is just really well constructed. Harris had been present for the original Grace story on GH I believe, which helps. I think Kevin's intense interest in Livvie causing tension in his marriage to Eve was the perfect way to segue marital discord while also setting up Lucy to swoop in with her own daughter missing. Ian is actually a lot of fun as the renegade doctor who thinks outside the box to help his patients. He is a necessary firework that I imagine Rachel couldn't stand, but I could see why Eve is drawn to this version of him. They are searching for the missing patient, which I think ended up intersecting with Alison and Jamal's story. Harris not being offered another position is disappointing. She would have done well on the P&G shows if she was given the freedom.

"Fifth Avenue" was in development for a while. In January, 1992, Dunne was talking about developing "999 Fifth Avenue," and, by March, 1992, his script was undergoing a second draft after submitting it to the network. My guess is that it was in contention to be the replacement for "Knot's Landing," but then KL was renewed. At one point, Dunne had planned a character who was going to be an entertainer, a Carly Simon-type who would have inherited her apartment. I suspect the character morphed into Valerie Damore. The next year, when "Knot's" did close up shop, there was "Second Chances." The greenlight for the pilot came in early 1994 after "Second Chances" had flopped. Regarding "919 Fifth Avenue," it's not bad, but not great. The plot to the pilot is decent but the characterization is pretty paper thin for a good number of characters. The cast is decent, but wasted wiht a banal script. I wouldn't have gone forward with Brian Krause, personally, and possibly considered someone more dynamic than Tracey Needham. Noelle Beck has more life here than she did on "CPW," but I wonder how her part would have played in the long run. If it had gone to series, the "downstairs" element needed to be developed more. The dialogue was generic. I was also able to guess who the rapist/killer was fairly easily. Given Dunne's penchant for celebrity miscarriages of justice, I would have let the killer get off and have the pompous people at the fancy residence deal with the complications of that individual returning. In comparison to "Central Park West," the show that made it on air was more stylish and the characters were, for the most part, better drawn. The script was livelier. I think the plot wasn't as strong in places, and the casting of a bunch of young up and comers was going to be less polished than the cast of "919 Fifth Avenue." Something Darren Star has talked about in regards to CPW is that it was the first show in a while to develop a glamorous view of New York City after years of gritty depictions. I am curious waht 919 would have done to develop that world view. Almost the entire episode takes place in that building barring a few scenes.

Jorn Winter arrives around September, 1989, and things improve by mid-November when Jason has been "murdered." It remains relatively strong until at least April, 1990, where my episodes go into a gap. I don't find the summer of 1990 very strong, but there are moments that are worthwhile. I'm nearly positive the show was developed as an hour long show. Rebecca's romance with Lloyd Bradfield would have been interrupted by the return of Peter Whitmore and his new wife, Francesca. With only 30 minutes, stories needed to go and the Lloyd romance played out briefly and then was dumped. I think the voiceover narration may have continued into July, but they became less and less frequent. Sorry I thought I posted this earlier. Will reply to the other responses in a bit.

I didn't have a problem with 2011 until MarDar arrived, but I also wasn't as aware of how dark the tone had gotten by the dying days of Higley/Whitsell because I was so in the midst of it. Despite the darkness (Carly the pill popping doctor and Chloe the post partum mom turned prostitute) there was such lighter fare involving people like Maggie, Justin and Adrienne, and others that it didn't feel as bleak as it was. There was definitely a massive shift in cast and story in the first to second quarter of 2011, which hadn't been the case for the past 2 years. After the big names were dumped in early 2009, the show's cast was relatively stable with a few people coming in and leaving. By 2011, there was a mass exodus (Shelley Henning and Jay Kenneth Johnson quit and Mark Hapka was let go) and there were new people introduced. I thought the transition was smoother than expected by playing the Brady / Melanie / Dario triangle, which wouldn't have worked forver, but made story sense given Arianna's recent death, Melanie and Brady's connection to Arianna, and resolving the thread of the hit and run driver by tying it back to her ex Troy. I don't know how I would feel revisiting that period today, but I enjoyed it immensely at the time.