dc11786

I'm rougher on timeline for 1992 than I am for 1993, but I think this is where there story is... late May, 1992: Felicia arrives at the Brownstone and passes out. Wakes up with amnesia and no memory of what happened. June - October, 1992: Felicia has memories of a man and a relationship in Texas, but not really clear on the details (neither Felicia, nor I, but I believe it turns out to be Ryan's first wife, Gloria). Ryan arrives at General Hospital as a pediatrician. He becomes involved with Felicia. She and Mac are slowly piecing together her past. November, 1992: Felicia and Ryan go off to a cabin. Felicia regains her memory. Ryan keeps her hostage. There is a faux marriage ceremony, an attempted rape (I think), and finally Felicia shoots Ryan. This is definitely November because Felicia's argument in the episodes is that she needs to get home for Maxie's birthday (which is early November). What is available of this period should be worth watching. It would also feature the fallout of A.J.'s aborted wedding to Nikki when Alan paid off Nikki to leave town. January-February, 1993: Felicia's trial for shooting Ryan. Felicia is in the sanitarium. The trial stuff is a bit over the top at times, but once you are into the time period, it doesn't feel as painful. Not stuff I would suggest that you need to see, though there is a nice scene of Ryan showing up at the mental hospital to mess with Felicia that is pretty noteworthy, in my opinion. March-April, 1993: Mac and Felicia are on the run. By late March, I think Ryan is slowly starting to unravel. April 1993 is a good month to watch because you get the 30th reunion week. The start of Karen and Jagger. Dominique, Scotty, and Lucy having the baby while Dominique has to accept that her days are numbered. April-May, 1993: Mac and Felicia fake her death and start gaslighting Ryan. This sequence is very good. Everyone at GH seems to be getting involved in it. Bobbie steals a picture. I think Audrey is distracting Ryan. I haven't gotten to it myself yet, but Ryan holding the Hardys hostage seems exciting and one of their last big stories. I didn't realize that Gina had been adopted. I saw an episode or two from the summer of 1993 and Gina was hanging around at the tennis courts with her bougie friends before getting a visit from Brenda, I think. I think Nikki Cox worked as the poor girl trying to fit into the newer environs of the upper crust, but, yes, not really looking much like her siblings. Jagger was their half-brother right? I know there was some discussion of the family make up in the episodes I watched but I wasn't giving too much attention to detail. It did sound though like Jagger didn't get along with his step-father.

I saw "Glitter and Doom" last fall at a LGBTQ film festival. It was a gay musical romcom with the music of the "Indigo Girls." The general audience liked it, but it wasn't my favorite film. I think it won an audience award, but the director and a cast member appeared so I think there was good will. It was a film that really leaned into cameos. I think DeLaria played a club owner and Ming-Na played the mother of one of the characters. If I remember correctly. One of the shorts shown during the festival, "Lux Freer," was directed by Cynthia Gibb (ex-Suzi, SFT) and featured Jamie Martin Mann (Tate, DOOL). Judith Light was attached to another (producer?)short they screened, the animated "Aikane."

That was a nice read. And timely, for me. I received a copy of the bible for "Generations." It's pretty intensive; it's over 300 pages. The biggest shock to me, in just scanning it, is the Doreen was not originally a main player. She is listed under supporting characters as Martin Jackson's ex-wife. From my quick dip, she is barely present in the story. Her main function appears to be making Martin sympathetic (they are in midst of a divorce and she's spending all his money) while he pursuing Ruth Marshall (again, roads not taken from soap bibles to onscreen story). Martin was also listed as a supporting player. Rob Donnelly was also not part of the original concept for the show. Though it seems their are origins of Rob in two different minor characters (Professor Donovan and Rob Raelko). It looks like that career paths for Adam and Sam were switched. Originally, Sam was going to go into advertising while Adam was going to become a male model. There were several major characters in the bible that never materialized onscreen. Jacquelyn Marshall was mentioned onscreen, but never appeared. She was originally a main character as was her husband, cop Kevin Grant. Also, Chantal had a married love interest, David Jordan, who worked in the State Attorney's office with her. Another character in the main cast was Lisa Morgan, a teacher who would have been involved romantically with J.D. There was also a character Dr. Greg Sutton, a white plastic surgeon who was a childhood friend of Laura's who Ruth had been romanticlaly interested in. Also, several later additions were intended to appear much earlier. Peter Whitmore was suppose to arrive just as Rebecca's romance with Lloyd Bradfield heated up, with his second wife Francesca in tow. Eric Royal was suppose to be part of the original cast, though his name was Eric Taylor in the bible. It's clear that cuts were made for a variety of reasons, but mostly to trim down the large cast. Chantal had a whole storyline which was later reused in the second year with Eric Royal though it looks like the story was reconfigured. Though this meant that Jacquelyn, Kevin, and David didn't make the final cut. Also, Greg didn't make it onscreen though it seems that a lot of his function was given to Peter when they decided Peter, not Henry, fathered Chantal. Corey McCallum was set to have a flirtation with Jessica Gardner, but I imagine that story made NBC skittish. Probably not as skittish as others though. Lisa's story involved the revelation that she had been male and had undergone sexual reassignment surgery so that story was probably vetoed by NBC. Peter's arrival was late in the bible so it was probably just prolonged when the show's initial plots weren't generating the energy that was expected. I can definitely see though why what ended up onscreen was so messy early on because the reconfiguration of so many major pieces of the original groundwork changed.

Tess was a con artist from the start. She stages the run in with Trucker in the mountains at the clinic so that she can connect with the recent widower who had inherited Trisha's millions. Tess was (briefly) Christopher's nanny, but she didn't care for kids. She simply wanted Christopher's daddy's money. I suspect some of this was cribbed from the plans that Taggart had for Dinahlee was her last (or second to last depending on when Flynn first aired) characters from her 1988-1991 run. Tess' backstory with Curtis and Buck was convoluted. Her marriage to Dante just piled on the insanity. I've never figured if they were really going to go with Tess and Trucker, but I don't think there was much story there to tell. Given the strength in other parts of the canvas, I imagine story was initially pitched by Taggart and Guza in late 1992 with Trisha remaining on the canvas. The stint as secretary at Alden Enterprises continued the throughline that Tess was after money. This was when she was blackmailing Curtis with the gun that killed Dante. Also, Clay seduced Tess to get her off of Curtis' back. It was all fairly stupid, in my opinion. When Nixon comes on, she does lay some (minor) groundwork for the advertising storyline when she becomes Steffi's manager. Clearly, Tess is after a quick buck hoping that with very little work she can make a boatload of money. Today, Tess would probably attempt to be some sort of social media influencer without putting in any of the effort. Nixon puts a bit of work into salvaging the trainwreck of a character that is Tess. It's Nixon that really smooth the edges and gives them more purpose. It is through her management of Steffi that she gets Clay to invest in the agency, while simutaneously getting Jeremy to back it as well. Nixon reimages Tess as a sorta second chance at the Ceara Connor character with the abusive background (except Tess suffered at the hands of her husband, not her father) and the sort of cunning business tactics that I imagine made Ceara appealing to Jeremy. I believe Jeremy makes a comparison to a woman from his past when he references Tess, which I've assumed is Ceara but may have been Erica. I found the instant and massive success of the agency a bit of a stretch as well as how quickly Steffi soared out of a small agency in the suburbs of Pennsylvania.

On "Generations," the bedrock of the show was the friendship between Doreen Jackson and Ruth Marshall. Both women had grown up poor and had elevated themselves into the upper echeleons of Chicago society while still facing discrimination. Doreen married old money Martin Jackson, who was involved in investment management. It was through Martin that Doreen came to know Ruth and Henry Marshall, the owners of several South Side ice cream shops that Martin helped to develop into a national food brand. Ruth had been supporting her husband along the way, and, in the clip alone, had ambitions of her own which included owning the home her mother Vivian had worked as a maid. Here is an episode featuring the women individually from the first months of the series. Both women have a strong sense of who their charactes are even from the beginning. Here: Ruth and Doreen were good friends. Doreen often had to keep it real with Ruth, who hoped that money would help to avoid racial tension. Both women worked together on the Womens' Art Council. They also were supportive of each other in good times, and bad, as well see in this clip: the Maya and Doreen catfight is always cited, but I think some of the scenes leading up to it are equally important. In this clip, Ruth Marshall confronts Doreen over the revelation that Danielle is Ruth's grandchild, a secret Doreen had been keeping for many months. The delicious irony of this sequence is that Ruth herself is embarking on the start of her own story where it is revealed she has been hiding the paternity of her own daughter, Chantal Marshall, from the rest of the world. Chantal was the daughter of Peter Whitmore, not her husband Henry. Henry was aware that Chantal wasn't his, but he wasn't aware (if I recall correctly) that Peter was the man in question. And finally, here is a bit from the final days when Peter Whitmore has returned. Doreen, who had been established as a saloon singer in the earliest of episodes, becomes enchanted when she learns Peter is reopening his old jazz club, the Music Box. Doreen is determined to work with Peter to get back into a business that she knows increasingly well. The connection to Peter is still developing as the show comes to it's conclusion and before Ruth's secret that Peter is her father's daughter can be revealed publically.

The show never committed to Patti having developmental issues. Taggart and Guza started the story, but Nixon and crew didn't really stick with it. Patti received birth to three services (or whatever it was called back then), but they said they would have to see if she would be behind permanently and she kept making progress. Patti had some slight gaps in her development, but they would never say whether or not Patti would be dealing with a condition for the rest of her life. There was a lot of talk about how they had to wait and see. The network might have been skittish about the issue and vetoed it or Nixon might have decided she didn't want to do that story after dealing with it with Beth Martin on "All My Children." Also, Nixon had initially had Shana befriend Tess Wilder in the fall of 1993. I suspect, at one point, the plan may have been for Tess to be Patti's nanny. Though, they did quickly introduce the idea of the ad agency so maybe I am wrong.

I don't think resting Shana was a bad idea. Around this time, I believe a bunch of the Aldens were dropped or taken off-contract. For example, I want to say Augusta Dabney and/or Wesley Addy went off-contract. Callan White was also dropped. As stated, Shana had been too neutered by marrying her and Jim off. I forget that Jimmy was born offscreen. To me, Shana had a bigger part to play in 1994 when they wrote her out when they brought back Cabot and revealed that the Rescotts, not the Aldens, were the originator of the product which Alden Enterprises had made it's fortune. Baracuda Shana fighting in the boardroom would have forced Leo to play stay-at-home dad and deal with his daughter Patti's developmental issues, if they actually decided to develop that story. The Shana / Ann rivalry was interesting and gave the show some momentum. It's a shame they couldn't have found interesting ways to keep their dynamic at the center of the story. I think Shana should have defended Lorna in her trial for the murder of Zona, which could have lead to Ann losing it when Lorna went to prison. Also, a Shana / Merrill (recast) friendship with Shana keeping Merrill's secret that her child was Roger's and not Doug's could have given the show more for both women to do. If Trisha wasn't in that clip, I would have sworn it was early 1984, but that clearly isn't possible. The coat narrows this down to about February-March 1985, but it might be slightly earlier. In December, Trisha arrives home. In January, Stacey has just had her aborted wedding to Tony Perilli. I don't get the sense that this is playing out right after that, but I could be wrong. I believe this would be when Stacey and Jack are running around behind a pregnant Ava's back, but I don't get the sense of any subtext from Lauren Marie Taylor that she is lying when she says she and Jack just ran into each other so I could be wrong.

Lynda Hirsch quoted Susan Keith at the time of her departure (mid-May, 1989) that Keith and Davies had both been let go. Keith talked about how the couple had been getting less and less story once they had been married, but suggested that playing the dynamic of Shana wanting a child while Stacey was dealing with an unwanted pregnancy would have been worth exploring. In this context, I actually understand bitchy Shana circa fall 1991 much better than I ever have. Keith also cited the turnover in writers and producers. Joe Hardy would have been producing at this point with Tom King and Millee Taggart writing. @DRW50 Thanks for posting that. 1987 isn't really the best year for the show, though I agree I wish more would appear. The November, 1987 episodes that popped up later were much stronger and I would be curious to see the teen set that started off the year with Kelly Conway (surrogate Alden granddaughter) and Rob Carpenter (working class punk). Overall, the April Hathaway tale seems very unappealing and a poor imitation of the Donna Beck story Nixon had told on "All My Children."

I've resumed my viewing of "Eldorado" from the DVD set I purchased a couple years back. I'm in the episode 91-100 range so I am in February, 1993. It is really solid show. Roland Curram as Freddie Martin, the retired gay nurse, has got to be one of the best written and performed characters in the show. Curram gives you a whole meal of emotions in an episode. In this set, his character is set with a double-header. The arc with Natalie, the daughter he had from the disastrous first marriage when he was still in the closet, comes to a close when Natalie returns to England with Freddie agreeing to give his daughter away at Natalie's wedding, even though her husband to be is homophobic (and possibly closeted). Freddie and Natalie's goodbye referenced their first meeting and how far they had come. I am sad to see Natalie go, but I appreciate that the character isn't being forced to stay and forced onto the canvas. Freddie is immediately shifted into his next big drama: the revelation that his secret Saturday night sidepiece Paco is actually Javier Fernandez, the twenty something year old son of his friends Roberto and Rosario. Javier has recently married his girlfriend Ingrid, pregnant with his child, in a civil service but the Fernandez clan planned a larger celebration including a church blessing of the union. The preparations take up most of the episodes and then the fall out. Freddie visits Javier hours before the wedding to give him a gift, an Egyptian cat statue which I imagine will come back into play later. Freddie seems to know that it is over, and Javier gives him a letter not to be read until after the ceremony. After Freddie departs, Javier slips into the hotel bath with a faulty gas water heater and dies from carbon monoxide poisoning though it initially appears he may have drowned. Curram is wonderful in playing his well hidden grief, while the real surprise is Buki Armstong as Gerry, Freddie's tomboy best mate who seems to be a comic character for the most part. The night before the blessing, Gerry caught Javier slipping into Freddie's for one of their Friday night rendezvouses. Armstrong plays every little look as Freddie avoids her attempts to talk and then later when the infamous Bunny arrives to tell Gerry and Freddie, who have been preparing Giorgio's restaurant for the reception, that Javier has died. The friendships on this show are just beautiful. Gerry gets ugly in order to force Freddie to open up (she typically prepared the meal for Freddie and his mystery man and wonders if Freddie is going to ask her to do it again this week?). They are a pair who I've come to enjoy dearly. The rest of the Fernandez family is also doing well. A lot of the emotion is coming in waves. The initial shock wears off and they each lose it one by one. Mother Rosario Fernandez had been walking around in a daze in the days leading up to the blessing haunted over whether or not she made the right choice by aborting her late in life pregnancy. When her youngest, Maria puts the pieces together and learns that her mother had an abortion, she lashes out. In the days after Javier's death, Maria disappears only to return to brutally tell her mother that Javier's death is God's punishment for her abortion. It is powerful stuff even if a bit stilted by the acting. A real treat in the midst of all the blessing preparation and fallout has been the character of Monika Olson, Ingrid's mother who has come in for the wedding. Monika isn't pleased with the union, but isn't the typical soapy mother from hell actively scheming to break up the duo. She just makes some suggestions to Lars, her husband and Ingrid's father, about how better off Ingrid would be back in Stockholm. It sets up the impending drama well; what happens to Ingrid, pregnant with Javier's child, now that her husband has died? Ingrid has been a source of some drama in the household as she was Rosario's sounding board during the pregnancy drama as she had considered an abortion herself when she first discovered it. The trajectory of the Fernandez clan the past few months of episodes has been wonderful weaving in the drama of both pregnancies, the impact it has had on Rosario's sense of independence, the backdoored revelation that quiet and brooding Javier has been living a double life, and the question of how will they all go on. Will Ingrid stay in Los Barcos? Will Maria ever forgive her mother? Will Rosario forgive herself? Will the Fernandez family find out that Freddie and Javier were lovers? If so, how will this impact Roberto and Freddie who are working together at Giorgio's restaurant, the dream left behind by the dead Javier? While Fernandez crew has been soaring, the Lockhead crew is facing a similar risen from the ashes situation. The Lockhead women have been shipped off (temporarily) to England so that Nessa can have surgery. In his wife Gwen's absence, Drew has just deteriorated. His alcoholism has truly gotten out of control. He allowed his second hand book stand to get ransacked, the family's flat is in shambles, and he is getting into drunken altercations with many of his worried friends who have been asked by Gwen to look after her wayward husband. Complicating the situation, Drew and Gwen's son, Blair, has moved into a caravan given to him by his employer, the nefarious Marcus Tandy. The relationship between father and son is in a bad place; Blair is embarased by his father's alcoholism and Drew jealous and hurt by Blair's fatherly relationship with his crime boss employer. Blair, one of the characters I thought should have gotten the axe in the first round of cuts, has emerged as one of my favorites at this stage. His relationship with Marcus is intriguing as Marcus enjoys playing Daddy War(crime)bucks to Blair gifiting him the caravan and then nickling and diming him on every expense. This plays out as Pilar, Marcus' girlfriend, is considering her own future and desire to start a family. She is starting to realize that Marcus isn't father of the year material and I feel like there might be hints that Marcus has had a vasectomy. With Nessa away, Trine Svendesen, her pal, has made a play for 'Razor' Sharpe, the latest addition to the younger set now that Arnaud LeDuc has been written out. Trine is quickly growing bored with the young man and has informed an overly friendly Bunny (he of the marriage to underage tart with a hart Fizz) who informs her she needs an older man. On an American soap, Trine would have gone after Phillipe LeDuc, her ex-boyfriend's father and her mother's secret lover, but I think it heads in a different direction. Phillipe and Lene's affair was enjoyable in my viewing last time, but we've hit a lull. It is not an A story at the moment, but we've entered a bizarre arc where Phillipe wants a contract drawn between the two of them equivalent of a marraige where they won't cheat, which is wild given the fact both are married. Per Svendsen, Lene's husband and Phillipe's best friend, seems to be onto the fact that Phillipe and Lene are carrying on. He's not in much position to judge as he and Isabella, Phillipe's wife, were running around earlier in the series. The last bit that seems to be weaving into the show's fabric is the mystery of Joy Slater's attack that left her in a coma and hospitalized for a good bit of time. Joy is now awake and doesn't remember who attacked her, but the police have had a field day interviewing most of the male cast. The money seems to be on Terry, Joy's abusive boyfriend who has also been running her bar in her absence. I appreciate that the Terry-Joy story has allowed Polly Perkins' Trish Valentine to play mother hen. Joy and Trish feel like Eldorado's attempt at "Absolutely Fabulous," which I am not sure is intentional given that AF only would have premiered after Eldorado's launch. If it comes up again on YouTube or elsewhere, I'd suggest people give it a shot, but probably start in the 30s and not at the beginning which is a really not a good period.

Cooper and Steffi are great. I think because there time is shorter than Casey and Ally's, they might get lost in the overall scheme of things. Steffi and Cooper came together nicely at the end of Agnes Nixon's 1993-1994 run with the Cradle Foundation and Walsh & McCarthy just continue to run with them. Cooper and Steffi are both such broken people. I love their look at the anniversary party for Alden Enterprises when they are dressed like they are from the 1930s. I adore Steffi. Amelia Heinle and Jessica Collins were true finds in the late stage of "Loving" in terms of taking whatever was thrown at their characters and making it work. Paul Anthony Stewart was excellent like his spiritual predecessor Eric Woodall. Woodall's performance as Matt is quite compelling. Steffi and Casey as a couple was the real surprise for me when I was watching "Loving" for the first time. Fair regarding Bill. For some reason, I thought he was more present. I would argue that Mickey's role as supporting is a little misleading. There were two fairly hefty legal issues in the pre-Bill Bell era with the Sawyer family suing Tom for the death of their patriarch because Tom had been busy to tending to Marie when she attempted suicide and Mickey was involved in the investigation of Woodstock Industries, who had dumped chemicals in the river that had poisoned Julie. His romance with Diane Hunter might not have been front burner, but I feel like his professional life was front burner even if his romantic one wasn't. I think killing off Johnny was a silly move and not because Lloyd Bridges was a name. The Johnny character needed a bit more care and polishing. He was the original murderer in the pilot film in the planning stages where he was clearly crafted as a more Joseph Kennedy-esque political wheeler dealer. I think they should have gone that route, but presented him as a bit more of a mafioso adjacent type in contrast to the Aldens with Cabot despising him because of Forbes' "new money" status and not really wanting the marriage between Roger and Ann. I would have had him allign with Dane Hammond and had Johnny feeding him resources and money in his pursuit of AE. I would have kept Johnny in a minor role, recurring with some heavy play at times, but again someone in the background. Similar, I'd have done the same with Jake Vochek, the Vochek patriarch, but I would have eventually paired him with Rose. Down the line, I'd probably have married off Johnny to the Vochek matriarch, who I always imagined as this woman who abandoned her family to live a more glamorous life, but would end up down and out and back in Corinth only to learn that her husband had faked her death to keep his kids from realizing that their mother had abandoned them. I see the woman, who I call Sophia Vochek, as a lounge singer type who has briefly married into some money as a wealthy man's second or third wife and had a contentious relationship with her stepkids who would eventually have been disinherited after her husband's death when one of the kids learned the truth: she had never divorced her first husband. I also probably could have crafted a whole story around the man dying and the stepson hiring Noreen to be the man's nurse and Sophia trying to terminate her marriage to Victor and quietly remarry her second husband before he died hoping that this would make everything legal with, of course, nothing working out the way it was suppose to. In the bible, Rita Mae was slated for an affair with Curtis and Mike. There was an attempt to build a rivalry between Mike and Curtis that stemmed from (a) Rita Mae's casual fling with Curtis and (b) Mike's suspicions that Curtis was tied to the drug ring that had inadvertedly led to Patrick Donovan's death. Rita Mae was a more sinister character in the bible who lured Curtis into a trap where Mike beat the crap out of him and Rita Mae seemingly found this a turn on. The problem was the source of Rita Mae's need for the attention of other men was supposed to be because Billy was impotent. This story wasn't told; mostly likely due to network interference. Also, Ann Forbes was storyless and it was probably decided there was more mileage from an Ann/Mike relationship than Mike/Rita Mae. There was also a niece, Colby Cantrell, who was added at the end of the first year. Colby worked at Burnell's and was torn between Curtis Alden and Keith Lane. Keith was involved with Gwyneth so there was a bit of a mother-son love quad.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/bryan-college-station-eagle-oltl-megan/140979164/

No definitive answer for you, but some timeline stuff to consider. Gerald Anthony returned to "One Life to Live" in 1989 as Marco and played the romance with Jessica Tuck's Megan, in her Ruby Bright persona. I think he lasted thirteen weeks and split. There are references to him appearing in 1990, but I am not sure that is accurate. When I was trying to find the Ruby/Marco story several years back it was just a summer tale from what I recall. In late 1991, Anthony took a role on "Another World." There were some comments that he purposely took the job because it was the timeslot competitor to "One Life to Live." This role went on for a little bit, ending in June, 1992. In January, 1992, when Megan is dying, the press states that Tuck was going to be visited by both Joe Lando's Jake and Gerald Anthony's Marco before her demise. Marco didn't actually return in 1992 to "One Life to Live" did he? When he departed "Another World" in June, 1992, it was stated even though his character Rick had perished, the plans were for Anthony to continue to direct. I imagine ABC had their eye on Anthony throughout 1992, and when he came available, they snagged him. Why he didn't end up on "One Life to Live," I really don't know. Given the tight ship that Linda Gottlieb ran, I cannot imagine that would have been a good pairing, which might be why his early 1992 appearance was nixed. Gottlieb and Riche knew each other so it may have also been a case of "One Life" not having space for the character.

Given Mulcahey's comments about the lines that were cut from "The Bold and the Beautiful" about how Julius needed to reconcile his past with his trans daughter's identity, if we don't see Blaze's mother having a carthartic moment in which she has to merge her dual identities (loving mother and a woman with a strong religious conviction) then it was more than likely cut. And I'm not sure that will bode well in the long run for Patrick Mulcahey's time on "General Hospital." This might be the wrong topic for this, but I am excited for this Kristina / Blaze story with Mulcahey at the helm. I have always admired the work of Kate Mansi when she was on "Days of our Lives" (she will be always be my Abby), but haven't gotten the chance to see her on "General Hospital." I think she will be somehow who will shine in the coming months. Similarly, I am curious to see what happens to Cynthia Watros' Nina, who I imagine will either soar or have one of the more memorable exit stories in recent years depending on the direction. Felicia wanted to work out at the boxing gym. She had read an article in a magazine about how it was a growing trend among women. When she went, Marco dismissed her stating that the gym was the last sacred place where men could be men. Felicia launched a one woman protest and Marco caved. Gerald Anthony was a gem. Marco was introduced in September, 1992, and was immediately used as Tracey's lackey doing her dirty work in the Jenny Eckert/Jack Kensington affair, which I am pretty sure was based, in part, on the Bill Clinton/Gennifer Flowers situation or whatever the most current Clinton affair was at the time. Marco was played with Lucy as well when Lynn Herring returned as he worked as a masseuse at the Deception spa. He also had a fun C-story where he and Reginald went off to California together to dig up dirt on Tiffany for Bobbie during Lucas' custody trial and they just ended up gambling and having a good time. I really appreciate the pre-Labine period. I think its admirable that Riche and crew really tried to stick within the frame of what was there rather than whole sale turnover. In some ways, I think the use of the veteran cast is better even when the stories aren't the strongest (and I say this as someone who isn't a Nixon or Bell, but a Labine style soap fan). I think Felicia and Mac were in the works during Monty or were at least being chemistry tested. Post-Frisco, Felicia definitely was being tested in several directions, but I think the other one (Conner) was pretty much over by the time Felicia returned to Port Charles. I would say you are right though in how much they gave Felicia/Mac. Marco was ditched late in 1993 under Labine, but Gerald Anthony also didn't like to stay anywhere too long. Also, with his main crew gone or about to be gone (Tracy, Jagger, Karen) it wasn't like he had a strong connection. I do think the character had utility and they could have had him in other ways.

Who would you have suggested be kept offscreen from the Donovans in the beginning? "Days" introduced almost everyone (except Kitty and Danny, renamed and regendered Sandy) but quickly wrote out Addie, Ben, and Steven. They were still present. I think Noreen and Mike should have separated early on if they weren't going to do the AIDS storyline. The bigger issue is that the Donovans weren't significant enough in the bible. Mike's story is a leading story, but most of the family conflict was tied to his father's death, which didn't happen, and to the animosity with his more intellectual brother, Doug. Doug is presented as little more than a cuckhold or the friendly loser in the Merrill-Roger storyline. Stacey is presented as a potential young schemer, but she doesn't have any story. Patrick si suppose to die. Rose is just present. Noreen also was underdeveloped. Even underdeveloped there was potential there. The Jack-Stacey romance at least tied the two families together but that wasn't until March, 1984, that the story really picked up. As I think I've said before, I would've gone to town with the Donovans. I would have played it in the pilot film that Doug was carrying on with a man who had ties to AU, Ted Cummings. The investigation into the prostitute murders would have led Patrick Donovan to suspect Ted Cummings might be involved because Ted was spotted at the motel when the murders had begun. Ted would be arrested and refuse to explain his whereabouts during the murders. When things looked bleak, Doug would confess privately to his father that he was having an affair with Ted Cummings, a public relations representative at AU. That Ted was keeping quiet because they had been lovers. Deeply Catholic Patrick would get into a nasty argument with Doug suggesting that he would rather have learned that Doug had been the murderer. After the fight, Patrick would have confronted Ted during which time he would realize that Amelia was the murderer. He would tracked down Amelia Whitley after calling Mike, who ignored his call, and ended up being shot and killed by Amelia before Amelia called Cabot Alden, who helped her escape Corinth for South America unaware that Amelia had killed anyone. In the final moments, as Amelia got on the plane, Amelia vowed to keep Cabot's secret. As the series picked up, everyone would know that Amelia Whitley was the madam and that she had murdered Patrick Donovan. The Donovans would be preparing for the funeral each reacting in their own way: Stacey seeking solace from the boys at AU leading her into a dangerous situation where Jack had to save her, Mike would quit the force following the hero's speech at the Fourth of July picnic because how could be a hero when he killed his father, Rose would be numb and locking herself away, and Doug would turn to writing because not only had Patrick died but Ted took a position in Philadelphia to escape the drama. Weeks later, Doug would go to see Ted in Philadelphia only for his wife Cindy to open the door. Meanwhile, everyone would suspect that it was Johnny Forbes who had helped Amelia Whitley leave town as Johnny was out on his boat when Amelia had fled jursidiction. Johnny would become a pariah. This would deflate a lot of Roger's political ambitions. Merrill, slowly falling for Roger, would agree to help Roger to clear Johnny's name by digging deeper into Amelia Whitley's background. While Cabot plotted to ruin Merrill's career, a publishing or production company would approach Merrill about turning the serial killer/Amelia Whitley story into a book or film. Merrill's investigation would cause animosity among the Donovans. How could Merrill help clear Johnny Forbes' name when the Donovans all knew he was connected to Amelia? Doug would try to remain neutral as he was loyal to his beard as Merrill. Meanwhile, there would also be a level of sexual tension between Mike and Merrill, who would be an independent woman who was having a very fulfilling sex life which may not have played well for her newsanchor image hence her agreement to set up house with Doug to each of their own benefits. As if the tension over Merrill's report wasn't enough, members of Jim Vochek's church had gotten word that Alden University professor Dr. Andrew Lambert was working on an AIDS research project, which the church was planning on protesting because they didn't want their town to be a haven to prostitutes, homosexuals, and addicts. Noreen would then confess that she had accepted Lambert's offer to work on the AIDS research project because it would came with a significant paycheck, which they would need because of Mike's decision to quit the force. Mike would deliver a homophobic rant which would lead to a rather hostile moment where Doug would slug Mike. Noreen would move out into a studio apartment and spend more and more time at the lab with Dr. Lambert. Jim Vochek would try to play mediator. He wouldn't believe in his parishioners hostile approach, which, in turn, would cause him some grief with the diocese as a good friend of Rose's, Mrs. Irene Malone, had expressed his distaste in Jim's pro-acceptance sermon. Jim and Mike would have a similar conversation and Mike would be left to wonder if Jim didn't join the Church to escape his own feelings for men. Jim would also visit Doug, who would expect hositlity from Jim, but found friendship. Doug would quickly confess to Jim, who will admit he had known for years about Doug's sexuality due to the confession of a former boyfriend of Doug's. Doug would slowly begin to fall for the very straight, very Catholic JIm and have to fight his feelings. Mike and Noreen's feelings regarding having a baby would be complicated by Mike's ongoing mental health issues. Mike and Anne would have a fling still, but Noreen wouldn't be accepting. Realizing she was getting older, Noreen would decide to divorce Mike and have a child on her own. Meanwhile, Dr. Lambert would admit that he had developed feelings for her. Noreen would seek out adoption services, but realize how time consuming the process might be. Stacey would be engaging in unsafe sex with several young men, including Curtis Alden. Stacey would becoming very enamoured with Curtis' group of friends from Europe who shared Curtis' very open views on sex and sexuality. It would be suggested that Curtis was very libertine after being raised by Clay and Gwyn who engaged in a very transparent open marriage. Prior to Stacey hooking up with Curtist, Noreen would express her concern to Stacey about her relationships given the work Noreen was doing with AIDS patients. Meanwhile, Roger and Merrill's investigation of Amelia would not only unrattle Cabot Alden, but also Garth Slater, Amelia's former boss. As Amelia left in a hurry, there would be lots of mess left in her wake. Roger and Merrill would learn that Amelia was extorting a series of people. Merrill would wonder where the money was as Amelia, in Corinth, had led such a low key lifestyle. It would only be through investigation that we learned that Amelia had funded the best boarding school and Ivy league education of her adopted daughter, Shana Sloane. During the investigation, Garth would attempt to murder Merrill and Roger leading them to a situation where they were injured. When they recovered, Merrill was treated at the hospital and it would be discovered she was pregnant. Merrill would contemplate an abortion, which would lead to a huge argument with her sister Noreen who desperately wanted a child. It would be when Merrill nearly miscarried the baby that her secret came out. Everyone would assume it was Doug's and it would be the impending birth of the grandchild that would life Rose Donovan out of her depression, after a suicide attempt. Merrill and Doug would plan to marry with Jim performing the ceremony with only Stacey being aware that her brother's feelings for Father Jim were more than platonic. The board of trustees at Alden University has learned about Dr. Lambert's work and some of the more conservative members are demanding that Lambert's project be terminated. A battle over who will vote for the funding. At the same time, Curtis' pal Mark St. James arrives from France to reveal that he has AIDS and is worried for Curtis based on prior activities they engaged with involving a young woman, Amanda, who has also suddenly died of a mysterious illness. Isabelle takes in Mark, who has been rejected by his family, and is by Curtis' side and she takes him to Dr. Lambert to run testing. Curtis is cleared. Mark stays on with Noreen doing private service. Cabot is furious when he realizes what has been going on and Isabelle kicks out Cabot, who is forced to stay in the Corinth Inn. At the same point, there is a vote over whether or not the funding should continue for the project. Isabelle gives a stirring speech about Mark and about her own brother, Leonard Dwyer, who she suspects was in love with his best friend and had died by his own hand shortly after his friend married a woman. With the baby on the way, Rose would rejuvenated and with the wedding in air, she begins to design a very simple, but beautiful dress for Merrill. Merrill, who has befriended the Aldens in the process of trying to clear Johnny Forbes' name, shows off the design to Anne and her mother, Isabelle. Isabelle is incredibly impressed and wonders why Rose doesn't have her own shop. Rose makes it clear that the Donovans don't have the kind of money, and Isabelle wants to provide the initial financing for this to occur. She has been secretly been looking to prove to Cabot that she has much more business acumen than he has given her credit for as she has asked to take over the fledging Burnell's department store, but he has dismissed her interest. News of Doug's wedding brings back Ted Cummings for the bachelor party, which leads to Ted revealing he and Cindy have divorced. Ted wants Doug back. Doug doesn't believe this isn't anything more than an attempt to Ted to get him into bed. A drunken kiss occurs between Ted and Doug which is witnessed by Mike leading to a rather a heated confrontation where Mike, during the rehearsal dinner, outs Doug to the entire Donovan/Vochek clan. Stacey and Curtis would become involved, but Curtis would be encouraged not to sleep with her because of his potential HIV/AIDS exposure. Stacey meanwhile doesn't completely understand why Curits, who is so sex-positive, won't sleep with her which pushes her towards his cousin Jack. When Stacey starts to exhibit low self esteem, it is Rose and Isabelle who help to transform her as part of their work to open the The Irish Rose Dress Shop. The former tomboy turned beauty queen evokes new interest from both men. And on and on... clearly lots of this never would happen on ABC daytime in 1983-1984 because of the gay nature of the material, but I am sure someone else could have easily found a way to ignite some interest in the Donovan clan with a little creative thought. Additional follow up stories would have involved Noreen getting artificially inseminated with Doug's child (because Noreen wants a Donovan baby) only for Noreen and Mike to reunite and Mike raising Doug's son with the animosity between the brothers continuing to brew, Victor Vochek (the father) arriving and falling for Rose Donovan only for their wedding plans to fall apart when Victor confesses his first wife abandoned the family rather than dying like he claimed, and Doug's professional and romantic relationship with closeted football star Billy Rescott who roams around the old Slater mansion after being injured in a car accident that killed his lover while his wife Rita Mae Rescott attempts to infilitrate the Alden family through a friendship with Isabelle by working at the dress shop while planning her own career as a clothing designer. I don't think any American daytime show on network television would ever truly allow itself to be set around a university or a high school because the assumed appeal for the younger demographic would be the student body who would eventually age out. The closest thing I've seen to this being attempted well was "Tribes." "Loving" is at its most creatively viable with a college setting in late 1991 when there are absolutely no college students just adults working on the campus. Millee Taggart and Robert Guza don't do a terrible job either around 1993 with telling college based stories, but I'm not sure if they could have maintained the energy longterm. To be fair, not sure if Mary Ryan Munisteri could either. "Santa Barbara" struggled more with casting than "Loving" did. I think the cast of "Loving" was more than serviceable, but like "Santa Barbara" they weren't utilized to their full potential. "Generations" needed the working class element. Doreen Jackson should have been carrying on with Ruth's working class brother-in-law or nephew.

On "Rituals," it was the case of a poor aunt Sarah and married into a rich family niece Christina. Given the age difference between Teri Keane and Christine Tudor Newman that dynamic might have been better to mimic. The only issue with that is the biological ties between the Gwyn's children and the Donovan clan. "Rituals" made sure that Christina's only child Jeff was her stepson. "Santa Barbara" attempted the class structure backdrop with more of an "Upstairs/Downstairs" element with the Andrades working for the Capwells and the Perkins having various positions of servitude. Even Cruz was initially in C.C.'s employ. "Passions" also utilized the class structure, but not to the full extent. The Donovans were essentially replaced by the Rescotts. As originally envisioned, I get the sense that the Rescotts were even farther down the social ladder literally living on the wrong side of the tracks. The Donovans were able to send two of three kids to college. I don't think the Rescotts were doing the same.

It's a large foundation that you would need to be willing to rest at different times. Soaps use to be good at that, but somewhere that got lost along the way. Instead of resting, the show would just do away with. The episodes surrounding Mike and Noreen's 1985 exit surfaced briefly a little while back. The characters are sent to Saudi Arabia. Mike's job was only supposed to last a year. The set up is for them to come back, but they just don't. Given Nixon's prior history, I am surprised she didn't just have Gwyn and Clay dead from the start like Chuck Tyler's parents on "All My Children." Then again, Roger's career means the character would have to relocate at some point if he were to get his dream. And the bible doesn't really suggest that Merrill and Roger were the show's endgame so I could see Merrill and Clay ending up together at some point to upset the social dynamics of the Vochek/Donovan and Alden clans. Like "Santa Barbara," it seems like there is only one character in each supporting family that the show cared about (Merrill / Mike) at the outset of the drama. Also, the original plan of Patrick Donovan dying would have opened up story opportunities if it was played right. I'm still convinced the only reason Patrick Donovan was dead in the 1990s was because Nixon forgot that she hadn't killed him off originally.

The original foundation was interesting, but just never really utilized. Stacey and Shana were all that was really left of the Donovan/Vochek circle. I think that's a shame. Doug could have been brought back when the show was going the route of reestablishing the university. Richard Cox could have played Doug, even though I loved the original version of Giff. If it was Doug / Gwyn, then you could have also played Shana more in that orbit, and Susan Keith was floundering in that era so it would have been good to give her something to do. Of course, if Giff no longer exists, than Casey would probably need some reworking and I have an idea on two on where you could go there to maintain elements of the character. To maintain a connection to Mike, you could always make Casey either a secret child belonging to Merrill and Roger Forbes to give the kid ties to the Aldens or a secret child that Edy had by her first husband Jonathan so that you could still have Casey haunted by sins of the father. I think Mike could have returned in 1993 potentially to replace Alex's return. He could have played the investigation into the threat on the Aldens (who in my version would be Dane Hammond, not Dante, because I wouldn't have introduced Buck or Tess). Given the PTSD story, I probably would have revisited Mike's late Vietnam pal Gage and brought on Debbi Morgan as Gage's ex-girlfriend and Alimi Ballard could have been Gage's son. Under the right circumstances (writer/producer), I think Stacey could have easily been "Loving's" answer to Felicia. I think Kristina Wagner had a bit more natural charisma, but Lauren Marie Taylor could match her in the spunk department.

The "Peyton Place" angle was also dropped. Stacey was hired by Tempo magazine in February, 1992, to write an article on the Alden family during the brief Tides mystery. I don't think the story would have been effective. I don't think Stacey would have really done that route. The college professor angle was clearly a plot dictated move to get Stacey into Jeremy's orbit for the breif Jeremy/Stacey pairing that wouldn't have worked. I think they could have done a story where Casey took a writing course and became linked to Stacey, which might have been too close a replay of Ceara/Matt/Ally. Especially once Trisha "died," Casey was anchorless and could have been involved with the Stacey / Buck / Heather / J.J. family unit stuff. I wish they had just revisited the Donovan family in full, which I think would have given Stacey natural drama. Rose Donovan suffering from dementia. Doug coming out late in life. Mike Donovan supporting Curtis Alden during his PTSD drama only for Mike to be a thorn in Curtis/Stacey's side. And the inevitable Patrick Donovan marrying Kate Rescott.

The episodes of GL that I got on audio are from @Matt when he was still writing his online show "For Now and Forever." He held some sort of contest and I remember the day I got them in the mail. Nice memory to have unlocked. There's also a stretch of about forty or so episodes from "The Road of Life" from 1946 when the show shifted production to New York or Hollywood, I forget which. It is interesting because some of the voices I can clear tell are different, but some I don't do as well as picking up on. What is neat is Dr. Tom Parsons is featured. This is the grown up son of Helen Gowan and Reginald Parsons that had been the source of much conflict earlier in the sereis. He and Butch Brent are both interns in the story. There are definitely stretches of different shows in private collections that I haven't seen listed online. I am hopeful that the final years of "Road of Life" and "Right to Happiness" will appear someday as both seem rather strong in the dying days of radio drama.

Raunch is credited as EP at "Santa Barbara" as of June 5, 1991, on the Santa Barbara Le Site Francais page. They have been fairly accurate and it matches up with the timeline I'm reading in the paper. Loon Lake seems to be in July, 1991. It's possible that the remote was filmed before Raunch left (circa May, 1991) or it was simply filmed in the between period where Raunch was out the door and Gottlieb was overseeing things from abroad. Best guess, even if he was involved, he probably wasn't credited.

Trisha's position comes from neopotism. She went into the media division of Alden Enterprises in 1988 shortly after her first husband Steve Sowolsky died. That's how she and Jeff Hartman met when Hartman was still a relatively gray character rather than and out and out psycho. She originally launches "Images" with Egypt Masters as the host, if I recall correctly. Is this the show that Trisha is hosting in 1990? In terms of structure, Agnes Nixon had originally pivoted the story around Merrill Vochek because she knew there was a strong desire for a desired demographic (young woman in their late teens and twenties) who were interested in careers in media. I suspect this may be why there was a shift in Trisha's life trajectory once Steve was written off. Shana would have been unappealing as a host. She was a very bitter character, rightly so. Initially raised by her single mother, who later died. Often denied her birthright. Then, losing her husband and son in a plane crash. Shana hosting a consumer affairs show would have been appropriate, but I don't see her having the appeal needed to carry a lifestyle show. After really liking the idea of Stacey as a writer, I've wavered in recent years whether that was even an appropriate role for her. Soccer mom, car pool driving Stacey is quite effective and was a character type that was too quickly abandoned as the 1990s went on. I think Stacey's personality would have been appropriate, but I don't see Stacey enjoying that type of work. That film was around wayyyyy too long. I wish all of 1991 was available. I would like to see the scenes of Paul taking (searching) for the job at the radio station. I suspect this might have been some input from Matthew Labine, who was on Ryan Munisteri's staff. He was big on music, which was why it is was going to be central to the never developed "Heart and Soul." Anyway, I understood why Paul took the job and I thought it was brilliant; he wanted to be out of the spotlight because he was ashamed of his paralysis. That was much deeper than I expected. I LOVE the Weird City rants with Tough Guy and Beauty. Michael's interest in the station made sense; Charlie was in a jazz band. His little pal (the actress had previously played Dorrie on GL) made less sense, but I could see how people could be drawn to his brooding demeanor at that age. But the timing never makes sense and the overall "Lord of the Flies" crowd that supposedly flocked around and required a social worker (S. Epatha Merkerson) to appear seemed a bit much. In the 1990s, each writer / producer had a different vision and tone with people coming and going constantly. This promo was from a period where Millee Taggart and Robert Guza were headwriting which started off strong and then descended into madness before Nixon returned and pivoted the show again into another direciton.

In a May 9th, 1991, newspaper, Linda Gottlieb's start date is listed as being July 15, 1991. It is said she will continue to work on her other projects. Paul Raunch had quit prior to this, but then by mid-May (May 18th), the papers are reporting that Raunch has already vacated the offices. Raunch leaves to assume EP position at "Santa Barbara." This is most likely why there is no executive producer listed in the August 9, 1991 episode available on YouTube. So, it is likely that mid-June, 1991, until August, 1991, Gottlieb is tinkering with the onscreen material as there is no producer listed. On June 2, the newspapers have announced Gottlieb has hired Robyn Griggs to replace the original actress in the role of Stephanie Hobart. Griggs claims in a paper from the time her (Griggs') first film date was May 15. Michael Malone is announced in the papers on July 28. A lot of the material covered is about a week or two out (lots of references to mid-July events). Another interview states that Malone started watching "One Life to Live" in spring 1991 (probably late spring). He also mentions he was behind the Daughters of Llanview plot so he was there no later than the week of September 13. When all this is being announced, the "Loving" turnover is also mentioned a bit. Mary Ryan Munisteri started the second week of August. This would probably be the same time period for Malone. I realize it doesn't pin it down as far as you would probably like.

Pauline was married and divorced prior to the premier of the series. Her first husband was John Harris. Pauline and Ellen were sisters. As you probably know, Pauline was engaged to Peter before he broke it off and married her sister. My guess is there was some consideration of introducing John Harris down the line in the 1950s as an antagonist in Pauline's manipulation or maybe Pauline divorced John after Ellen died as so little of that first year seems documented. Watching this episode, it makes me wish that Pauline had been retained as a character even after Hailia Stoddard decided to focus on producing/directing. If she was still acting, Barbara Becker (who played a similar role on "Road of Life" might have been a good choice.) The business intrigue seems like it would have played out well in the "Dynasty"/"Dallas" era. I believe NBC bought rights to "Love of Life" and "Secret Storm" in the early 1980s and I have always pondered what a "Secret Storm" airing on NBC in January, 1983, after the cancellation of "Texas"/"The Doctors" might have looked like.

I think "Santa Barbara" in the first episodes ooze potential that seems to get lost among the weeds of poor casting, backstage influences, and a series of rewrites. I'm rewatching the second week. My initial reaction was wow there is a lot of time spent on this younger set in scenes of just them that are quite awful. Though, pulling back some, other things come into view. Knowing now that the Dobsons were originally planning to have Warren Lockridge be the murderer, the whole dynamic in these early episodes shifts. In particular, the Jade / Warren scenario comes off as even more delicious. Melissa (Brennan) Reeves is miscast as Jade, without a doubt. I think they should have straightened her hair and made her Laken. Jade fascinates me. The working class girl coming of age in a world of privileged and elite young men and women who are use to getting whatever they want. Jade, too, has learned to do that with her body. Yet, she isn't just a cut and paste vixen. Jade's relationship with both her father and her brother are complex in what I've seen. Pretty smoothly, Jade is able to coax her father into letting her go to Hollywood by buttering him up, not unlike the way she does to the beach crowd. She also is fiercely protective of Joe. Watching Jade go after Warren is delighful because he is in fact the murderer and the reason her brother went to jail. With this scenario in mind (Warren as the murderer), the younger set becomes dramatically more interesting in the long term. Eventually, a Lockridge will be revealed to have killed a Capwell meaning that Laken Lockridge and Ted Capwell's love will be tested. Given the return of Sophia, the Hollywood starlet, on the horizon, and Jade's intense desire to become an actress, the obvious next stage is Ted and Jade once Warren has been outed as the murderer and Joe has been cleared of the crime. Ted and Jade now threatens every dynamic in the younger set: Ted/Laken, Laken/Jade, Jade/Danny, and Danny/Ted. Also, Danny and Ted would have also have had to survive the inevitable revelation that knowledge of the existence of Santana and Channing's child would shake the foundations of the ties between the Capwell and Andrade clans. I see Jade becoming deeply attached to Sophia and there being shades of an 'All About Eve' style plot with Sophia pushing Ted towards Jade because of the animosity among the Lockridges and the Capwells, while C.C. struggling with his feelings about the family now that Joe has been revealed to be innocent. Danny and Laken would more than likely grow closer (as I suspect, in the intersecting story, we would see Ruben and Rosa leave C.C.'s employ to go work for the Lockridges, because you know that's a boss move that I could see Minx and Augusta finding common ground on). With the inevitable staging of a movie that Lionel would secretly finance and Sophia and Jade would star in with Danny possibly involved in stunts. This casual Hollywood fluff is fun, but it would be a nice counter balance if the show was in the midst of strong high drama, which is potentially there but just never hitting the mark. The murder mystery stuff is hit or miss. I often wonder how Dominic/Sophia is accomplishing some of this. I know she has a partner in crime, but is she dressing in other outfits to sneak into the police station and such? Joe trying to clear his name, while also being in love with Kelly seems very generic at times. Witherspoon and Wright have chemistry. I don't necessarily hate Kelly and Joe, but I wish there were deeper layers to each character. Marissa Perkins keeps saying Joe has changed. I wish Joe was more hostile and deeply jaded by his prison experience and that Kelly's engagement was driving that rage that would let the audience think that maybe he did in fact kill Channing. I do like that the Joe / Kelly relationship is more complicated. Kelly is trying to move on, but it's clear she can't. There was a nice Rosa/Kelly scene where Rosa gets her to admit she isn't completely over her first love (it's also wild when young consider a counterpoint scene is Santana going off on her own to Acapulco to track down her stolen child while her mother plays sounding board to the white princess she raised when the girl's own mother abandoned her). Anyway, the real triangle of interest that seems to be brewing for Joe is that between Joe and Augusta Lockridge with Marissa Perkins in the wings as the antagoinst. Marissa is such a hovering presence in Joe's love life. Trashing the picture of Kelly, pushing her own husband out of the house (and her bed) to protect her Joey. I wish Armstrong leaned into that psycho-sexual dynamic that seems to be in the undercurrent of the writing. As I believe I said before, I believe the next stage of the Augusta/Joe/Marissa story would have been Joe ending his relationship with Augusta and her hooking up with Joe's father, John Perkins. I think if they played the Augusta / Marissa dynamic early with Marissa wanting Augusta to keep her hands off her man (Joe) would have given Louise Sorel some chances for some delicious pre-Sophia tongue lashings. Given that Joe commented that John wanted to make Joe into the man John never got to be, hence John's deep hurt at Joe becoming a murderer, adds more sense to not only Marissa desire for Joe (the version of her husband that she fell in love with but who John never truly was) but also the sexual rivalry between father and son as John is envious of Joe's potential as a man that he no longer has. Joe would have won Marissa, but I could see John winning Augusta in the sexual sense with John/Augusta bringing out resentment from both Joe and Marissa. Obviously, for this to work, both John and Marissa would have required stronger actors or at least more appealing in John's case. My other missed opportunity on this round of viewing involves Peter Flint. I think Peter Flint should have been a real person that Stephen Meadows' Antonio Fiorno was impersonating. If Antonio/Peter had married Kelly, then been killed they could have brought in the real Peter down the line to at least provide a silly legal obstacle to Kelly and Joe's marriage plans. Though I would have Kelly and realPeter bound over how they were victims of Peter's and having Kelly lean emotionally on the real Peter while Joe is busy caught up in some other plot (ideally, I think I would have Joe pursuing a law degree which could allow him to have Julia as a law professor). Of course, I probably would also want Joe raising faux Peter's baby as well, but I think I mentioned that in my last rant about the potential of this story. It's a shame that the show abandons the Santana plot because it is probably my favorite. Santana is fierce and takes no grief from anyone. Her handling of Ramirez is beautiful. Her persistent attacks on C.C. are wonderful. Her devotion to Channing is admirable. She isn't moving on. He is the love of her life. It's a very interesting contrast to Kelly who has abandoned Joe for Peter. I can see what they are trying to do with C.C. and Santana, possibly better because I could see how they were doing it in 1991. The bond is about shared grief and access to a child that unites them. I feel like there is the bones of some great conflict as the Andrades come to terms with the role C.C. has played in keeping their grandchild away from them. Rosa and Santana are both determined to keep Ruben from finding out. His knowledge of the child is presented as a great threat to the family's happiness. I would love to see this all play out, but I don't believe it does. I think Rosa coming to terms with her role in the family drama would also be worth seeing. Her loyalty has come at a price that might be too high for even her. Mason is just a great character and slowly you can see the layers unraveling. Mason shows up to a party for Peter, who seems to be the perfect blond haired replacement for Channing, hosted by C.C. Peter cannot attend as he is recupeating from a polo accident. Mason becomes the secondary guest of honor with C.C. toasting about his predictions about his son's political career with a slip of the tongue calling Mason Channing. It's a very raw moment, maybe too simple, that just makes it clear the dynamic between the two. Mason will never be Channing. To top it off, there is a great little line about Mason's date, Patricia Hampton (played by one of the stars of the American "Prisoner" show "Dangerous Women), a file clerk at town hall. She isn't one of Channing's type of women, which I wonder if this was intentional given the later revelation about his sexuality. The potential in these early episodes could have developed into a show with the roots that would have survived the back to realism 1990s if it had found an audience. Though, I feel the same way about the first few years of "Loving."

Yes. It did out last the Garden of Eden murders though. Right after Eden "dies," Bill tears it apart and it becomes a much smaller, much darker, and much different looking set that is essentially Bill and briefly Bill and Olivia's for the remainder of 2004 and into 2005 I believe. The original set in the picture aired between March, 2003 and May, 2004. I believe by June the set had already been broken down. Wheeler pretty much cut a lot of the sets when she came in, which made sense. Orchid Manor was sold. Eden's apartment underwent renovations. I think even the lobby of the Beacon lobby shrank, but I might be wrong. That Main Street set I think was used in May, 2004, to reintroduce Marina (Mandy Bruno) after Kit Paquin's quick exit. I don't remember it being used very often. The office that was used for Harley's Angels was eliminated, which I think may have housed a crisis hotline in memory of Ben Reade. in rewatching that 2004 episode, I forgot how intiially there was also a lot of pop music in the Wheeler era. Not only is Daniel Beddingfield's song used (he had appeared a year earlier to sing to Danny and Michelle at their 4th of July wedding) but you can hear Maroon 5's "This Love" playing at Bill's bachelor party as well during a Joey / Lizzie conversation. Prior to this, "All for Love" was used in April for a montage involving the Bauer family and others after Ross one the election (possibly after Leah was born). During the wrap party for Romeo & Juliet, Joey seranaded an absent Tammy (she was off trying to kiss Edmund) with "Your Song" by Elton John. Later in the summer, Dido's "White Flag" played during a teen scene about Tammy and Joey.