dc11786

Raines or Walker was originally Faye's maiden name. Nicole was a social climber so I think she might have changed her name to distance herself from her working class roots. Original Taylor was a cleaning lady in the building where Eric Brady was handling all his photography. I believe Sally Sussman Morina created Taylor and Nicole, while Fay, Brandon, and Paul came later under Tom Langan, but I might be wrong on some of that.

I have copies of the scripts. It wasn't very good from what I recall. I only got as far as about episode 5 when I stopped. At the point they wrote out the gay couple, only to replace them with a straight woman, I was pretty much over the only unique element of the show. There were few witty lines from what I recall and that plot was twisty enough to be that sort of show. They basically hoped Genie Francis' name would carry the show. I think there was one unfilmed or unaired episode, but I believe that too was also a cliffhanger.

I would like to know how Augusta Dabney felt playing Isabelle when she returned in 1994. Both she and the writers tried to find a common ground between the comforting matriarch she originally played and the meddling manipulator that had developed in her absence. I felt a little bad watching Clay being cruel to Dabney's Isabelle over the Tim Sullivan stuff because she hadn't gotten to play any of that story. I'd also have loved to seen what would have happened with the character if Meg Mundy had stayed with the show.

Thanks for this. It's interesting to see that the special did go up almost a full point, but that it really didn't convince anyone to keep watching back in the 12:30 slot. I had only started watching in the summer of 2000 because I had SoapNet. The first stories I remember were Cedric holding Alison hostage and Jamal trying to save her and Livvie trying to track down her father by locating Rachel's ex-husband, Joshua Locke. I think Karen Harris set up the younger set fairly well, but wasn't really there long enough to define Jack in a meaningful way. Jamal and Alison were great. It was a shame what was done to them. I watched some of the arcs sporadically. I thought the honor killing story with Arianna Shapoor was intriguing even if Opal Anchel wasn't the strongest actress in the world. I remember "Time in the Bottle" seemed like a ripoff of a popular movie at the time where a guy spoke to his father across time using a radio. I liked Eve being pregnant and seeking counsel from Fr. Michael and Chris agreeing to step up and claim Eve's baby as her own because Ian was remaining with Arianna for immigration reasons. Once the meat of "Tainted Love" began I didn't really like that too much. Wasn't there an attempt to do "I Know What You Did Last Summer" with Jack dying and the other three keeping secret? I don't think I watched any of "Tempted." "Miracles Happen" was a very nice holiday story from what I recall, but I hated that it basically was the end of Alison and Jamal. I couldn't follow it much later because it was so insane. I tried. I think I saw Elizabeth Barrington's first few episodes, but that didn't look that was doing anywhere. I remember the blood bar now that you mention it. The originals were definitely wasted. Once Eve died and Ian and Lucy became a thing, Kevin was basically a dayplayer. Chris never seemed to have much story. I thought he might have dated Shannon Sturges' Kate the lawyer character, but wiki says that she was with Ian. Frank and Karen were supporting after "Time in the Bottle." Was Karen a vampire before she died? I thought her death was underwhelming as it was occuring just as ABC announced the cancellation (granted it would have been filmed much earlier). Everyone became a vampire basically. Again, I tried "The Gift" but all I recall is Alison and Rafe opening a gym and wasn't there some sort of Monkey's Paw like ring that caused chaos like Alison sleeping with Caleb. It's funny because I've always been curious about "The Doctors" final year where they dabbled in things like plagues and aging serums, but this all just didn't play well.

@robbwolff That's how I remember it. It was the start of one of the books. The concluding episode of the last arc aired in the 12:30 slot, I think, and the hour long episode during the 2:00pm slot. I don't remember the hard numbers, but I think there was a bump for the episode in the 2:00pm slot though not that much. I liked "Secrets," the arc with the angels, because it was self-contained for the most part. The story ended with the three returning to heaven with Eve in the fourth chair. I thought it was effective in that way. I remember trying to stick with it through "Superstition," but that arc was just very slow and silly. Something about Rebecca Barrington ( played by Vanessa Branch) making candles in the past and being accused of witchcraft with Alison doing the same thing in the present. I feel like by the time "Torn" was over the show was just a vampire soap opera. I remember trying to watch "The Gift" because ABC announced the cancellation in May or June 2003 so I wanted to see the end. It was also very bad. Rafe and Alison were opening a gym. I think Chris was messing around with a cop in a C-story. I didn't blame Kiko Ellsworth saying even if the show had continued he had no intention of renewing his contract. The stuff with Imani the werewolf was not super engaging either from what I recall.

Still in 1998 and stumbled upon something that maybe everyone else knew, but I didn't. Chris invites Eve, Matt, and Grace to a dinner party with the intention of gathering information on Matt to ruin competition for the Quartermaine Fellowship. When asking the room about their family, Grace states that most of her family is still in China. I was bit surprised. I went looking into Lisa Lord, the actress playing Grace Sullivan, and saw that she was married to Mark Teschner. She is also the daughter of Winston Lord, a politician, and Bette Bao Lord, a Chinese American writer. Given the limited number of Asian Americans characters in the history of daytime, it's a shame that this wasn't given a little more attention at the time it was going on.

The writing staff, or maybe Wendy Riche, was really big on referencing the history of "General Hospital" on "Port Charles." During the January, 1998, episodes, Scott is on trial as Rex has set him up as having faked Serena's kidnapping to get his hands on her trustfund. When Lucy throws Scott under the bus in order to keep Rex under the impression she's on Rex's side, Lee is quick to say in open court that Lucy was previously found guilty of perjury during the O'Connor murder trial as a part of Lucy's opening story. An episode or so later when Scott's on the stand, he claims he would never use Serena's trust, but the prosecutor is quick to remind him how he had no issue utilizing Jason Quartermaine's trust in the past. I know the DV story really goes against the established history, but it seems like such a low hanging fruit. Lee was always the only father Scott knew and this didn't change it. If anything, it was stupid to dump the character as quickly as they did, but his stories were so over the top, I'm not sure how the character would have been able to function in Karen Harris' "Port Charles" a year later. Also, it's worth noting that the DV reveal is all happening the week Lynn Latham works ends and Scott Hammer work starts. In my skimming to find the scene, I ran across some scenes from earlier in the week from Mary Scanlon's bridal shower which features a rather brutal reference to Karen's past as a stripper when it comes up and Mary bluntly places the blame on Karen's shoulders.

Scotty asks Noel Clinton about Meg and Lloyd Bentley. The week starts with Scott and Victor discussing a picture Scott found of his mother in DV's apartment. There is follow up on Wednesday. This episode is Friday.

The "Port Charles" wiki looks right for the headwriters. 2000 is a mess. Scott Hamner finishes off his run in January/February. No headwriter listed in February. Harris and Jonathan Estrin for a few weeks, then Harris solo for a few weeks, and finally Harris and Bloom. About a month before the books, Brown and Essensten take over in early November. I don't think the show ever truly had a shot given its timeslot, but I am curious how the ratings would have looked if Harris took over a year earlier pre-SoapNet. I remember there being online buzz for 2000, but I'm curious if the numbers weren't reflective due to the advent of SoapNet. Then again, VCRs had already messed with the numbers for years. Rachel came in July, 1999, according to IMDb. Scott Hammer would have been in charge for a few months at that point. Hammer's stuff seems very disjointed and abrupt. Ellen's disappearance. Eve's dead child by DV. It's all very bizarre from the little I've seen. DV was brought in at the tailend of Lynn Latham. I think Scott's paternity is done in the crossover time, but I could be wrong. The show dug up Noel Clinton, the man that was in love with Meg but married Brooke, to confirm that yes, Meg had slept with DV back in the day. In theory, I get the point of DV and the paternity reveal. They were trying to build a longterm villain, and having the lawyer as the son of the criminal businessman makes sense, it was just so poorly done. Pre-Arcs, the strongest longterm antagonists seem to be women (Rachel/Courtney) rather than some of the men (DV/Rex). Who knows what Hammer's plan was for Rachel and Ellen if he even had one. Having recently watched some of the Scotty / Lucy / Dominique / Serena story from 1993, the stuff in early "Port Charles" is more meaningful. Without that background knowledge, it just doesn't stick because there just isn't an emotional attachment built onscreen in 1997. When I watch the Cullitons work on "Port Charles," I feel like I'm watching edits of a show, rather than an entire show. I think that's a problem I'm seeing under Latham as well. Riche was good with the hour long format at providing a dose of romance, comedy, family drama, hospital politics, and friendship. On "General Hospital," a lot of time those played out in different stories. On "Port Charles," there wasn't the time for that. There needed to be overlap and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I'm still in January, 1998, and Karen and Joe are trying to consummate their relationship now that Karen is divorced. Lots of comedy of errors with getting locked on the roof in a snowstorm, a fire starting in Karen's apartment, being called in to work repeatedly. There is a brief discussion on Karen's part about making sure that they use condoms and how Joe wasn't prepared last time, but was this time. It's an attempt to do a little of it all, but I just still cannot completely commit to it. The strongest potential comes out of the Lark story for Karen and Joe, each being forced to revisit their childhood, but it hasn't gone there yet. Lark is also just super bitchy almost like a combination of early Brenda, but with Karen's backstory. I think Lark is dumped during Scott Hammer's run and I'm not sure what happens. The character is recast I believe. Rhonda does appear during "Time in a Bottle." I just think Rhonda would have been pushing Karen at Chris Ramsay, who pretends to be more well off than he is, which would cause some tension for Karen/Joe. Especially since Rhonda would be sure to throw it back at Karen that she told her that Jagger was a mistake. Neil's leukemia was the kind of story "General Hospital" did well so I'm curious to see how it will play out on "Port Charles." I watched a bit of March, 2000 (maybe a week) and I thought the setup was good. Neil was in the hospital during the Nurses' Strike while Joe was also up for termination for some action he took in treating Neil. There's a lot of potent family drama here. How did Mary feel about the strike given the impact it had on her grandson? Is Joe ever gonna get over feeling fatherly to Neil? One of the nurses crosses the picket line to sneak Serena in to see Neil with Rachel being a royal PITA about Nurse Katie being in the hospital accusing her of sabotage. I believe Neil and Courtney leave as Harris is out the door and B&E come in. Michael Dietz is probably the best of the Joes, but I think they could have found someone more dynamic. Dietz's Joe is a hothead with a mouth whereas David Gail's Joe seems more brooding and a physical hothead. Alex Mendoza is the last one, I think. By that point, the show has pretty much given up on Joe. To be fair, Joe's function on the canvas is pretty much absorbed by Ian Thornhart. Plus with Joe's HIV status up in the air, they weren't going to do much with Joe storywise, even though they could have.

Recently, I've been watching the early years of Wendy Riche's "General Hospital" run and I was curious about how I would feel about early "Port Charles." I've seen the early months before so I jumped into January 1998. There are definitely things that remind me of what I've seen in early Riche pre-Labine "General Hospital." Continuing the Scott/Lucy/Dominique story with Rex Stanton is intriguing, but it lacks the heart of the original tale. I appreciate the friendship between Scott and Lucy and Scott and Kevin, but it lacks the depth of emotion that was explored when Dominique was dying. Also, I feel like Lucy's motivation should be questioned more. If Lucy is with Rex and Rex has Serena, Lucy has the opportunity to be with Serena. That's an intriguing scenario with mixed motivations, but that doesn't seem to be what's developing. Similarly, continuing the story of Karen Wexler after watching her strive to be a doctor in her teen years was nice to see. I wish that Rhonda was around, but I do like her relationship with Scott. I also appreciate the attempt to retell a bit of the original Karen story with Lark Madison. I wish they had developed that a little longer. I feel like we meet Suzanne Madison and the story wraps up quickly. It might have been nice to introduce a boyfriend for Lark as a red herring and then it turns out it was Suzanne who had gone off her meds possibly with Kevin being involved. I think the strongest emotional material is Ellen recounting her marriage to Sam Burgess, his dream of becoming a lawyer, and his death of a cerebral hemorhage after marrying Ellen. Ellen's mother and brother are on the scene because Alice Morgan has a heart condition. I don't think they end up doing anything with the mother or the brother outside this arc, which is a shame since there is a bit of investment there. Meanwhile, the groundwork for the Matt backstory is developing with Matt keeping quiet about his past while Chris digs into his past hoping to discredit him for the Quartermaine Fellowship, which both men are in line for. Chris' father is calling looking for money, but I'm not sure if that really goes anywhere in the long run. I know Chris' brother Jack is introduced years later, but I don't think theres anything in the immediate future. Jake seems to be a deadend now that Danielle is gone. Rib Hillis is an attractive man, but not the most engaging. Julie and Frank are tied up in the Lark story. Joe and Karen are cute, but there is no real meat to the story now that Karen and Jagger are divorced. There was a nice scene with Joe and Frank about whether or not their late father was an alcoholic and how that impacted the family. I'm not sure how long I would stay in this period as I'm not super interested. It just lacks the spark. The hospital setting is utilized well. The action is intriguing, but it's missing stronger characterization. I might stick around though because I'm curious to see the General Homicide story; the third serial killer storyline on ABC daytime in a short period of time. Also, the arrival of Courtney, who seems like a real gem. Matt's mob story is something I've seen bits of but I would like to see how it all plays out. I know 1999 is very bumpy with the psychic espionage/DV Bordisso tale and the arrival of Rachel Locke. 2000 is fairly strong, but I'm not sure if I would appreciate it as much without seeing what comes before.

The way you described Gwyn and Clay is perfect. I've always assumed that this is basically how Gwyn and Clay lived when they were in Paris. Clay and Gwyn both openly carrying on with others while also maintaining some strong feelings between each other, but never able to fully commit to being only with the other person. I thought that would explain why Curtis was the way he was. The approach that Nixon took to the Aldens in the 1993-1994 run is a mixed bag. I think Clay and Cooper fair well. I like Curtis as this pot stirrer struggling with mental illness who would use his mental instability to keep Dinahlee at his side with neither he, nor the audience, knowing where the lie started and the illness took over. I felt like Nixon was setting up Curtis/Stacey in the final weeks of her run, which I would have been here for especially with the inevitable reutrn of Jack. Gwyn's journey is intriguing. Cutting the ties with Clay and working at the agency had some potential, but I don't think removing Gwyn from the Alden orbit for long was going to work. I imagine that Gwyn and Jeremy would have imploded in the fall of 1994 even if the Gilbert story hadn't played out. If Ava took control of AE, I could easily see Gwyn being pulled back into the Alden orbit trying to fight to secure her son's legacy with Jeremy siding with Ava leading to the eventual break up. I also suspect that the original plan for Ava's prediction regarding the death of someone in Corinth was Jeremy.

Hartford House and Caldwell House were both properties that were operated by Stu and Jo. Hartford House was in the 1970s (starting around 1977) for a few years. I believe it previously belonged to the family of Dr. Greg Hartford, one of Jo's love interests. Greg had impregnated Louise Bergman, Stu's sister, years earlier and she had died before giving birth. So there was some animosity between them. I'm not sure when Hartford House stopped being a thing. Stu is operating the Terrace, a wine bar in the fall of 1981 in the clips we have seen. Caldwell House was introduced in March or April 1985 when Jo, as a part of the city council, was trying to preserve the property due to its historic significance. I believe the bank was trying to buy the property. Later, the show actually introduced the property, and Jo and Stu turned it into lodging. Sarah Whiting stayed there for a bit. So did Mel Hibbard. Suzi and Cagney were living there while Cagney was doing maintenance work before becoming a cop. In November, Sarah Whiting was murdered in the basement. In a separate plot, Hibbard was trying to break through the basement of the Caldwell House to access the bank and steal money.

I find it very interesting that Guza/Taggert and Nixon run back to back because they each have their strengths, and they don't necessarily overlap. With Guza/Taggert, I love Shana/Leo/Ava, but elements of the story are very unappealing. Ava's fanatasies annoy me, to be honest. I also think they were too quick to move Ava out of that orbit, but I think that they might have looped her back in down the road had Guza and Taggert stayed. I find most of the Buck/Tess/Curtis stories incredibly unappealing. Buck's entrance was intriguing, the Curtis/Dinahlee/Clay triangle had potential, and Tess as a scheming AE employee. Those moments were just weighed down by the clunky backstory in Kuwait. I also don't remember Dinahlee having much agency other than dealing with Curtis, which seems on par with where Walsh left her and where Nixon continues to go. Guza and Taggert though had some very strong sexual material which I thought was well done. I think the romp between Cooper and Steffi in the window display was pretty enjoyable. I remember some rather intense moments between Dinahlee and Patrick Johnson's Curtis. The bubble bath, which I believe was posted, where Gwyn joined Buck was also good. There was also a stronger generational feel. I liked that Louie's prostate cancer led to sexual issues and that Louie and Kate got the chance to face them. There balance was different than Nixon's. More story was told at once, but often at warp neck speed. Ava/Leo/Shana basically is told in under six months which is really wild to think about. Ally and Cooper's marriage ends super quick, even if that was the characters intentions, the writers should have dragged that out. Nixon did focus on stories in bursts and the cast wasn't balanced. She also had a huge cast that she probably should have trimmed down. Steffi's journey under Nixon is just an amazing story. I know Amelia Heinle has gone in a different direcction in her acting, but I'm shocked to hear how people don't like her on Y&R given her strong run on "Loving." I like how the show did maintain ties between Steffi and Casey, which is a relationship I really enjoyed even though I don't think I would have wanted them as end game. I hadn't thought about Nixon's approach to Stacey. She definitely is a passive and reactive character rather than being in control of her own story. I wish we saw more of the domestic issues between Stacey and J.J. before jumping into Buck and J.J. I appreciate that towards the end we saw a little more of Stacey's energy when she punched (I think she punched him) Curtis in the face for the Trisha is alive ruse. I don't have a problem with Nixon's approach to Curtis. It's not my favorite, but it isn't until the plane crash that Curtis becomes irredeemable which I think is just after Nixon leaves. Maybe it's before. I think Michael Lord's Curtis was already reverting back to a very Marcantel like Curtis with the scheming. The PTSD element was probably wrong for Curtis, but I enjoy the potential of him manipulating that while also not being able to truly be in control of it. I also may be more forgiving because Tess/Curtis/Dinahlee was such a turn off to me. I didn't care too much about Egypt in general so none of that bothered me. I thought dropping Clay/Gwyn to go Gwyn/Jeremy was stupid. I did enjoy reading your thoughts so thanks for posting.

Marland created "Loving" the way Nixon created "Search for Tomorrow." They were each the first headwriter. Nixon wrote the "Loving" bible. I suspect Dan Wakefield's original creator credit was he was going to be the show's first headwriter. Why Marland's credit was removed I don't know. Given Marland's penchant for spending money, I could definitely see him being bought out of the credit, but truthfully, she might just have removed it.

Eras I think were strong: The Marland Years (June 1983-May 1985, but in particularly December 1984-February 1986): Mostly as @Sapounopera describes, down to earth soap. The constant turnover of those early years is not fun. I think the structure that started to tighten in November/December 1984 with the arrival of Steve and Trisha, Ava's pregnancy becoming a bigger story, Dane and Ann marrying, and the show dropping the Doug/Lotty story. I think Ava's pregnancy lie, Dane's takeover of Alden Enterprises, Tony and Rita Mae's older woman/younger man romance, Lorna's romance with Linc (pre-Zona and Rebekah), and Trisha and Steve's young love affair played very nicely. After Marland, it sort of teeters on until about early 1986 when Dane leaves, Stacey and Jack marry, and Zona ends up dead with Lorna accused of murder. The Jacqueline Babbin Year (late 1990-January 1992): While not purely the time that Babbin was EP, I think what she set in motion in her year came into fruition fairly well by the end of her tenure and through the time Fran Sears worked with Mary Ryan Munisteri. The reconstructuring of the Alden family in spring of 1991 opened up the canvas to new spaces. Reestablishing Patrick and Rose Donovan. Building up the supporting cast. Telling strong umbrella stories like Abril's pregnancy and the Carly/Paul/Ava triangle were very effective. I think the idea of Shana becoming more gray again was appealing (executed poorly) as was the attempt to reintroduce the college campus through the adults. Matt and Ally's sweet romance complicated by the the sexual abuse that Matt's stepfather committed as well as Matt's drug problems that resulted from that were strong material. I think Trucker's affair with Dinahlee was intriguing, but it developed sides of Trisha and Trucker that the audience were uncomfortable without all the necessary nuisance or clearly grounding the motivation in the characters recent tragic loss of two of their children (Benjamin and Tommy). The Guza and Taggert Era (January 1993-September 1993): Guza and Taggert provided a much more layered "Loving" with deeper characterization and stronger plots than had been going on for a while. I don't think the younger set would have taken off if they hadn't introduced Amelia Heinle as Steffi Brewster allowing Ally to transition into a more heroine role. Shana and Leo's romance offered comedy, social issues, and business intrigue. Casey and Ally became a stronger rooting couple. Early Buck and Stacey was a lot of light hearted fun and a rivalry between Stacey and Gwyn was new and interesting. There were weaker plots (whatever was happening with Tess/Buck/Curtis) but it was mostly strong. The Return of Nixon (September 1993-August 1994): Agnes Nixon returned in September 1993 and took the show in a very different direction than Guza and Taggert. Some things worked better, some did not. Shana and Leo's story became narrower and less interesting (Patti's potential developmental delays were the only source of conflict) to the point it was easy to write out Shana and Leo in June 1994. Bringing in Dante Partou gave the Kuwait story some weight and pivoted characters in much more sustainable directions. Nixon made Tess likeable and nasty at the same time. Steffi's eating disorder was well done. Janie Sinclaire had the potential to be the next Erica Kane type. Curtis/Dinahlee/Trucker was fun. The return of Cabot was intriguing. Nixon sets up the revelation that Kate Rescott's father created the formula for the soap that was the basis of the Alden family fortune. It had the potential to be "Loving's" answer to the BeLieF formula on "The Bold and the Beautiful." Pushing Ava into the seat of the head of the Alden empire had the potential to impact the canvas in new and interesting ways for years. The Stacey/Curtis and Trucker/Dinahlee pairings were ripe for ripping apart once Trisha and/or Jack returned from the dead. Casey and Ally had little story and were set to be the next Shana and Leo if Walsh and McCarthy hadn't developed Casey's psychological issues and his coping through drugs.

The conversation in the "Loving/The City" thread made me think about how limiting it was. In theory, I like the idea of Liberty House because the structure itself allows you to play a lot of domestic drama. I wish it just wasn't Liberty House that had survived. It might have been interesting if a class issue was embedded into it. From what I recall, the riverfront area was very working class. This was where Selina McCulla's clinic was and where Ryder and Cruiser had their little home away from home where T.R. crashed. I think it would have been interesting if that Liberty House had been some sort of development with city funds intended to bring in upscale business types who worked at Tourneur and other industries. The owner had perished in the flood and Jo, as a representative of the city council, convinced the new owner to turn it into lower income housing for the working class. Of course, some of the units were already sold so now you have a class, and potential race conflicts if you brought back the McCullas. I think playing that sort of element would have been effective and still allowed you to still have sets like the Sentell home and maybe a couple others. I think a nasty mess with Stephanie/Steve/Martin/Lloyd/Jo/Estelle/Sunny would have been fun. Tomlin set up some really good longterm material in 1983-1984 that was never seen to fruitition. I think there was an attempt at the start of his run to revisit that, but it never completely worked. These were the only two previewed in the article I saw. I believe Jo had never met the owner, but that they had specifically requested she would be the property manager. I remember a second article with someone, maybe it was his successor (Lawrence?) previewing how they would tell short term stories with new characters and if they caught on they would keep them. Hopefully this works: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/128429047/ I think what Tomlin and Lee did in 1983 was incredibly smart as it was a model similar to what had been done by the Corringtons. I do think it needed some tightening. Another revamp of that style with introducing several new character groupings that were connected to the larger structure of the show. I think the Sentells and Kendalls as rivals worked if both families had members. Travis should have come back from the dead at some point probably after Lloyd married Liza and Martin had decided to groom Steve to take over Tourneur Instruments. The McClearys as part of the working class worked, but I would have trimmed it down to Kate and two kids (preferrably Adair and Quinn, but maybe Hogan and Quinn). Marrying Jo and/or Stu off into a family of new characters may have helped. Maybe Stu marries a widow with a son who goes after Patti, but Jo struggles with because the man has a past that might lead to heartbreak for Patti. Of course, this creates tension for Stu's new lady and Jo. I don't think Martin and Jo would be my endgame, but I think as exes who care deeply for one another but understand it isn't healthy to be together would be effective. Eventually, I'd like to see Jo paired with someone more working class because most of her men were always socially mobile. Or maybe a newsreporter who worked for Lloyd Kendall's paper. Someone different than Jo's usual type. The McClearys were one of those families that just materialized having been living in Henderson for some time. Kate was the housekeeper suddenly at the Sentell house and then Cagney and Adair showed up. Adair, I believe, was away at school, Bedford College?, with the Kendall boys. I prefer Jo Henderson to Maeve McGuire, but I haven't seen a whole lot fo Maeve. My favorite version of Kate was the overbearing mother causing havoc for Suzi and Cagney by cutting Jonah's hair and criticizing Suzi's mothering.

I was curious so I looked it up. John Whitsell stated that the decision to kill off Ryder was "unavoidable" because he had no more story to tell and little viable relationships. From a story point of view, who was Ryder going to live with? In the same article, Whitsell previewed that 4 new charactes were going to be introduced in spring of 1986 to fill in some of the gaps on the canvas. One of the character was described as an older, mysterious man who was a potential love interest for Jo. This was the owner of Liberty House, but I think the story changed as I don't think the owner and Jo went anywhere romantically. Steve Kendall's return and exit is brief. I'm surprised he was on contract, but he was listed among the contract cast. He might have had a moment with Sunny Adamson, but the bulk of his stuff was Estelle's return, which logistically made sense. He's only on for about a month. If he even made it to 10 episodes I'd be shocked. The high school stuff could have gone either way. Ryder could have gone to bed with the teacher, or T.R. could have just felt that he would. I feel like this is why Tomlin tested Ryder and Adair. Their chemistry test was in the Kendall living room. I want to say it was only one set of scenes, but maybe it was two. Anyway, Adair, IIRC, was tasked with distracting Ryder while Chase was doing some snooping related to the checks being sent to San Marcos. This would be October, 1985. Ryder was going to end up working at the paper so I could see how this would have continued. The stuff with the Herald seems to fall off again fairly quickly, but so do Adair and Chase. There was some weird sequence with El Patron, the shadowy figure who ran the island who I believed was murdered on-air without us seeing his face. I wondered if they were going to tie this into Martin's return, but it didn't happen. If we could have managed Estelle, Aniston's Martin, Peter Haskell's Lloyd, and a compeetent Steve onsceen togehter it would have been exciting. Sorry, Hogan's grief wasn't the focus, but his grief was the focus of Ryder's death. TR is a little upset but Hogan goes on and on. Liberty House was an apartment complex that was being built in Henderson at the time of the flood and was one of the only (if not only) building to survive the flood. I think it could have been limiting in that it meant the entire town was gone. Also, it's harder to explain why someone doesn't know someone or something when they all live in such tight confines.

@Matt Powers thanks for sharing your thoughts. Stephanie Braxton and Paul Avila Mayer are credited until late September, but I suspect there was some tweaking by Tomlin in the month before that. The Ryder/TR/Danny stuff was more character based in September. and, in my opinon, was more effective. Ryder was a gifted student and TR (who hadn't been able to read until August, 1984) felt insecure and ended up in regular classes with Danny, who had failed his second semester out in California. The guidance counselor was dropped immediately when Tomlin arrived as was the Henderson High School set and most of the TR/Ryder/Danny story. There was a brief attempt at Ryder/Adair flirtation, but that chemistry test went nowhere. A lot of the fall of 1985 issues stem from the turnover in both headwriters and in executive producers. No one is there long enough before there is another shift in the story. Tomlin clearly comes in with a long story for the rebuilding of the Kendall family with Chase working at the Herald, Steve returning to town, and Estelle turning out to be alive. For a brief moment, there is a solid set of characters in that grouping even if some of the actors are clunky (People give grief to Robert Wilson but Steve Lundgren was worse). Then the new EP comes in and all that story seems to be swept away. Then Steve leaves town, Chase and Adair disappear, and the hinted at return of Martin Tourneur (which I imagine was intended) was dropped. A lot of air is let out of the sails. Women to Watch is atmospheric to me in the way some people enjoy the Corinth serial killer on "Loving." I don't think killing Sarah hurt the show in the long run. Stephanie's murder was foolish, but Louise Shaffer's Stephanie had been so watered down by the writing, or the lack there of, that the loss doesn't feel as impactful as it should have. Lloyd Battista's Rivera character was odd. I felt the stand alone episodes of the flood are engaging, but the longterm impact is hard to gauge becasue again there was another new headwriter and another new executive producer. I think the idea of flood was intriguing, but in the end, the Liberty House setting may have been more limiting than helpful. Ryder's death was hard to watch, but watching the main focus of grief coming from Hogan McCleary almost seemed more painful. I find myself unable to find any significant interest in the final months with under Addie Walsh and Pamela Long. Long is an accomplished writer, but her style doesn't work for me. I cannot put my finger on it exactly but there is a bit of emptiness in the heart and family attempts I find in her work, even though these are the things that are celebrated. Walsh's work on "Loving" isn't my favorite, though I felt her second run with Laurie McCarthy was stronger than her first with Jeff Ryder. I don't have much use for Kat. Liza going crazy over Hogan and trying to blame Patti for her miscarriage seems like a grander scale character assassination than Sunny's faked suicide attempt. I don't think Bela is strong enough to carry a triangle with Sunny and Estelle. Suzi was killed because the show wanted to pair Joanna Going's Evie with Cagney so they had to get rid of Suzi. I did find the scene where Jo visits Jack Bett's character at jail interesting, but not enough to keep my interest. This is from January-February 1985. I want to say T.R. ran away from home on New Years' Eve because Lloyd was finally going to confront Liza with the news that TR was his daughter and TR didn't want to go live with him. In the candystore, TR is looking at the Herald which I believe has the story of her disppearance which is why she reacts as she does. By March, T.R. is back home.

At one time, I thought she was a construction worker. Later, in some of the 1984 material that has popped up, I think I saw she was on the construction site in the hard hat, but I don't think she was a construction worker. I think she worked in the on-site office, or that was the impression I got, but I could very well be wrong on that. Patty was in the role until October, 1984.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but it is easier to cancel a show when it is network owned. NBC may have already decided they wanted the flexibility to cancel the show without much pushback. Though, they didn't seem to have any issues cancelling "The Doctors" and Proctor & Gamble "Texas" at the same time.

The serial killer storyline was successful, but it was a story of deconstruction. It cleared a slate, but didn't naturally build up anything. Keeping it in Corinth wouldn't have changed that. I would have preferred the show staying in Corinth, but ABC wanted a large scale revamp including a name change and location. From a business standpoint, this made sense. There was a major revamp in 1991-1992 to bring Alden University into the forefront and then 1993-1994 Nixon made the show more in her general nature. Another version of Corinth wasn't going to stand out so I can understand why. The bigger issue is the foundations of "The City" weren't strong. Lemay mentioned the family/generational element, but I would go even a step farther. Almost everyone was starting at the bottom. A majority of the characters were in brand new (romantic) relationships and new careers. Nick intrigues me because he is a reviving his career. Sydney has been in her position of power for a bit. Mostly everyone else is just stepping into a brand new world. I don't think that's the best way to establish the show. It would never have happened, but I would have liked to have seen Morgan Fairchild as Ann Alden Forbes. The issue with "Loving" in 1995 was even if it had continued sans serial killer there several key performers leaving (Michael Weatherly, Paul Anthony Stewart, Amelia Heinle, Dennis Parlato). This would have left huge gaps in the canvas anyway. I think Louise was never seen onscreen. I believe Kate was out of town once visiting Louise, but I may be wrong. Sherrie Rescott Watley only appeared once in the 1990s when Ava was in a coma in April, 1994, for a handful of episodes with Carly. Her longer run was 1985-1986 when Ava lost Jack's baby and used Sherrie's latest child Johnny and passed him off as Jack's son. Sherrie eventually fought for custody for her child and one. I think she popped up a couple more times. She gave birth at Ava and Clay (Alex Masters) wedding in November, 1987. Ava was slightly different though than Rachel and Erica even if she was casted in a similar mold. Ava was part Erica Kane, part Nola Reardon. Kate Rescott was originally a cleaner at the Catholic church which Jim Vochek presided over. Ava worked at the office for Forbes Construction. Though, Ava had the shady, criminal uncle like Rachel did. I don't know if it's true, but an additional rumor is that Ava was suppose to be biracial, but had been raised without that knowledge the product of an affair between Kate and an African American man. I could see how Nixon might want Carla, who denied her heritage, to be on the canvas when Ava learned that her identity was different than she had embraced her whole life.

You copied and pasted the blog. You reworded a few things, but you didn't take out the caption in your second paragraph referencing the picture included in the original blog about Tess wearing the tiara.

@Donna L. Bridges Because I was interested in your comments on Azure C., I went looking for your blog post. Are you also Matthew Turcotte? http://popcultureaddictlifeguide.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-city-secret-life-of-azure-c.html https://shallotpeelblog.org/2023/06/29/blog-255-the-citys-transgender-story/

I have a potential theory about the choppy nature of this episodes. I was looking into the ON-TV airings of "New Day in Eden" and saw that both "Eden" and "Loving Friends" were sometimes aired on ON-TV as early as 9am. I know it is cable, but I am not even sure if they would air that type of content in the early morning. I've read a quote from the producer of "A New Day in Eden," Michael, stating that they would film two versions of the show with the hopes of syndicating it. I'm curious if "Loving Friends, Perfect Couples" was doing the same. I found some further information about the ON-TV airing of "A New Day in Eden." ON-TV aired the show only once a week, while Showtime aired it twice a week and had mini marathons. While Showtime aired ANDiE from November 1982-August 1983, the ON-TV run went from November 1982-January 1984.

This is why I am leaning into believing NBC did in fact wipe the tapes. Sally Sussman Morina made the point of saying that NBC was interested in a new soap in the late 1980s because they were very impressed with the money New World was making with syndicating "Santa Barbara." If they had the September 1980-December 1982 run of "The Doctors" which is basically the entire Alec Baldwin run I cannot imagine them leaving it on the shelf even if the show was not as creatively strong as it had been. The addition of African American characters, which "The Doctors" had done fairly well in the 1960s/early 1970s, is a treat to see of the Ralph Ellis/Eugenie Hunt episodes I saw. I was particularly surprised that they had Teri deal with a white couple where the man basically says he wants Dr. Aldrich after realizing Teri is black. The conversation with Teri and Calvin (I think it was Calvin) afterwards was pretty strong. The cast feels very large in early 1980 with the addition of the interns, which I don't think was a terrible idea in theory. Bringing in everyone at once probably wasn't the smartest idea.