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Ok. I'm trying to piece some of this together. @Paul Raven Thanks for what you've added. During the trial, it came out that Andrea was responsible for the death of Len's twin brother Jamie who died while Andrea was committing adultery, correct? I could see how that would be pretty life altering because Len had been poisoned against Sam for years and then learned that his mother was the true problem. It's interesting that based on what it is said, Jo learns about the paternity on March 27th, 1970, so the secret comes out to someone fairly quickly. I'm wondering if Grace did decide to go off to be with Bill Frazier or at least claimed he was the father and either joined him or claimed she was joining him. I'd offer up to other possibilities for how the baby got back: either cousin Harriet brought the child back or possibly Dr. Bob Rogers since he appears close.

I'm continuing my walkabout of the early 1990s and have landed in the final days of Gloria Monty's second round. It would appear that Monty had realized the errors of her way and started to make some decisions that were moving the show in a much stronger direction and setting the show up for Wendy Riche's arrival to a canvas that had more story potential than actual story. In the late December 1991 episodes I watched, a couple things stand out. The Quartermaine family is back in full force. Edward was brought back from the dead. Jason is home from boarding school. Monica and Alan are actual present and tied into the messy quadrangle between Tracey / Paul / Jenny / Ned. It is all quite appealing. A.J. is starting to drink. He has brought booze and strippers to his friend Chip's house only for Chip's parents to come and tell Monica and Alan that all of Port Charles thinks that A.J. is an entitled priveleged jerk and the product of Alan and Monica's dysfunctional marriage and poor parenting. It's a wild thing to see play out (and again after after A.J. manages to be charged with a D.U.I. I can see how A.J. is later a sidelined character. Monty brought on an aged A.J. in mid 1991 and didn't build a world for him. She inserted him into the slot of young male with James Morrison's Joey Moscini leaving. I wonder if they were planning on bringing in the younger Eckert, Ava, for A.J. Anyway, instead, they just went with Sheila / A.J. and brought on Eric Simpson, which is not a terrible choice, but certainly one that needed more work. At this point (December), A.J.'s been on nearly six months and only now are they starting to figure out the character's trajectory. He is the older, screw up brother of the golden boy Jason. This early A.J. / Jason dynamic is fascinating to me as A.J. becomes very protective of Jason in the early days of Sean Kanan. Hopkins is fine to me. He doesn't thrive in the big emotional stuff, but he bothers me less than Sean Kanan did in the material I saw him in. Hopkins' A.J. suffers because his world is so small and fluid. I've seen maybe three weeks and each week there seems to be a new blonde that A.J. has taken out (I think the one he got into a car accident with might be Shannon Sturges, but the actress doesn't seem to be credited). I like all the character work, but it hasn't materialized into a big story yet. Also in December, Shell Danielson has assumed the role of Dominique, fresh from the mental hospital. Now the merry widow, Dominique swoops back into Port Charles and decides she is going to fight Whitney Kershaw's Charllie Ahearn, a psychiatric nurse (every outgoing EP loves to introduce a naughty nurse on their way out the door), for Mac, who has been on less than a year. The story gets a good chunk of time with some nice shades of gray writing with Charlie potentially gaslighting Dominique only for primetime actor Casey Sander (in the credits) to appear as a no named "Stalker" who attacks Dominique in her apartment after slashing women on the docks. Going into the New Year, this is set to be the big triangle, but then, the new year happens... In the meantime, the end of 1991 also brings minor movement in other plots. Bill and Julia reunite after spliting when Bill admitted he killed Harlan and the two fight over a loophole in Bill's contract. Ned seems to be gunning for some sort of corporate allignment in order to get control of ELQ. This is all complicated by Paul facing criminal charges for his involvement in the Cartel's plot to hurt the citizens of Port Charles. Overall, the show seems to be moving. It's not always super exciting but the parts are moving into place for something big to happen. The overload of new characters is slowly fading. Eddie Ryder is back as Slick Jones for the holidays and hangs around (it appears) until early Wendy Riche. Tracey has brought Nita Talbot's Delphina to the Q mansion to plan the nuptials of Jenny and Ned in early January. There's a sense that the show is more grounded than it has been in other sequences I have seen from earlier in the year. Something that I hadn't realized was that Linda Grover was added as headwriter alongside Norma Monty in early January (the first episode I noticed her credited was January 6). Grover's arrival coincides with several things we have discussed in the recent or not so recent past. Right after Grover arrives, Bobbie is sitting at General Hospital reading Joseph (possibly Joshua initially) Adkins book Violence Unleashed (or something along those lines). The initial conversation with Tony regards whether or not someone can be redeemed as does the conversation that follows with Tom Hardy when Bobbie asks him if its ok she correspond with Adkins. In a further scene, Bobbie states that the book reminds her of someone she use to know who she felt could have been saved but died. I am assuming she is referring to Roy DiLucca, but maybe it was somoene else. Also, in terms of new story, there is an extensive set of scenes outlining the inner workings of General Hospital with a staff meeting where Alan has assumed the role of assistant chief of staff and he reviews who the department heads are with a chart included. This feels like something that Grover would do. She speaks in her interviews for "The Doctors" about how she needed to know the floor plans and the map of Madison. Then, Tom runs the staff through a trauma training, which is also used as a romantic moment for the forgotten Sheila and Eric. This training comes in handy a couple episodes later when a plane crashes into the Port Charles mall. The plane crash brings David Langton to the scene as he was on the plane and we first meet him in surgery with Monica who has flashbacks of Charleson and Pomerantz playing younger versions of their characters as David is about to head off to war. There are already sloppy elements to the David story, which I want to like. Initially, David is a "John Doe" though he is a well-known humanitarian. Ok, I'm willing to ignore no one in the hospital realizing who he is, but Monica, even after David's surgery, doesn't reveal who David is, which seems incredibly dangeorus given the concerns the team had going into surgery without any medical history. Furthermore, there is no real concern (from what I can see) about the fact that Monica's state of mind was further complicated during surgery by the fact she arrives at GH for the trauma work and finds a drunken A.J. in cuffs being arrested for DUI. This might be addressed later. Finally, if David was well known, why didn't Monica ever go looking for him before? Other stories are given new, and often interesting elements. Angela Eckert returns to town for her daughter's engagement party after a trip to Italy where her cousin Alphonso has now employed her as a brand representative in the States and we meet a much more glamorous Mama Eckert. Angela goes toe to toe with Tracey, which is quite fun. This nouveau riche version of "the baker's wife" (as Tracey refers to her) is an interesting change in character that gives some more layers to the Eckert/Quartermaine dynamic. The Charlie Ahern element of the Dom/Mac situation is being downplayed. There was a brief attempt to delay Dom and Mac going to bed by focusing on Dominique's recovery from her marriage to the late Leopold and the sexual violence that Dominque endured as his wife. I thought this was a very smart move, but it played too briefly. A lot of the show presently (January 1992) is the reaction to a past event which I don't hate, but sometimes I find it doesn't necessarily move things forward. Dominque is now in New York dealing with the IRS and other financial matters related to the Taub estate where she and Mac have now met her stunning British neighbor, Sabrina (Holly Sutton). Bill and Julia's relationship is now being complicated by the memory of Harlan. Julia has (what I believe is) a newly created flashback of a time a man tried to attack her sexually and she killed him. Michael Cole returns for the flashback to play Harlan as he claims he was the one who killed the man. Julia misses having her father as a protector which leads to a forlorn moment when a Christmas present (a baby doll) arrives which was a tradition from when Julia would leave each year to go back to school. Scott is up for disbarment because of his involvement with Nancy Eckert in the Eckert custody case. Ned's bigger goal (to destroy the canneries in order to regain the ELQ stock held by the Eckert-Hornsby-Barrett contingent) is revealed. It all works. There are also just more scenes with the hospital staff and patients. I'm curious why Linda Grover didn't work out. She's there at the start of Wendy Riche, but gone before Norma Monty. Monty is still EP as of January 30, but it seems like by February 15 or so Riche has taken over. Grover is still listed alongside Monty in February, but is gone by the first week of March. Monty is solo for the first part of March and then no headwriter is credited from late March-April before Maralyn Thoma arrives.

Thanks. The only real details I can add is that Grace had a brain tumor. It would definitely seem like Grace is pregnant as Len and Patti have just married and Grace is entertaining the proposal from an old flame. It's interesting that the thread regarding the paternity of the baby was allowed to go on for as long as it did, but maybe "Search for Tomorrow" was trying to do its own Mike Horton/David Banning style paternity plot. I'm thinking that "Search for Tomorrow" chose a different route when they expanded to an hour. Instead of fleshing out the canvas with long term characters in stories, they may have pushed for more issue based or short term story arcs the way some of the radio soaps use to do where a character came in to play a story and then exited with there being some impact on the mainstays, but while the core stories played out their own pace while the sub stories kept things moving.

I'm still stumbling through 1990 (I got to August but now I am jumping around to periods that capture my interest better). Joe Hardy takes over as EP in late 1989 or early 1990 I believe. He was the one who wanted to open up Anna for new possibilities, hence Duke was out and Casey was in. Hardy initially dumps the mob all in the same period (late February/early March) having Duke, Julian, and Olivia all quickly killed off. I'm very mixed on Casey. There are elements I enjoy (the early stuff mostly where Casey is experiencing the world for the first time), but I found the backend of the story drags until the conclusion. This will probably be unpopular, but I find Faison such a camp figure it's hard to take him as a serious threat. His opening story with the Crystal, his partner in crime Jacques, and the general sense of Faison's personality is just too much for me to take him seriously. The only thing I find mildly (and I do mean mildly) is the timeline of Faison and Anna's affair in terms of Robin's conception. I don't think they ever suggested onscreen that Faison might be Robin's father, but it was definitely something I was wondering. I struggle with most Robert/Anna material from this period. Katherine Delafield doesn't interest me. It seems pretty clear from about March 1990 that there is no Robert/Katherine story left to tell and there seems to be a slow build back to Robert and Anna with the double agent reveal in June. I saw some episodes from March, 1991, and Robert is fighting for his life after some bombing. Anna is crying a lot. Mac receives more visitors in jail than most people get during any hospital visit. I feel like that era of "General Hospital" no longer works in the early 1990s, but maybe I just haven't seen enough.

@Matt Powers I think it was Erwin Nicholson who sealed Sailor's fate. Nicholson arrived right around the time Sailor did in March, 1985. I think Nicholson came in knowing that Sherry Mathis was considering leaving and felt that the possibility of a juicy storyline would have kept her. Glynn seemed to be heading in the direction of Sailor / Liza / Lloyd with Lloyd and Liza co-parenting T.R. which would eventually lead to conflict and a non-romantic pairing that might have required co-habitation or a relationship down the road. In the long game, Lloyd and Liza as the long game until you could bring Travis back made sense. Introducing a Travis-lite in the form of Sailor would have to do for the moment. I don't know why Avila Mayer and Braxton went the predatory route with Sailor / TR, but they always seemed to be trying things that were different. Some worked, some didn't. I think Jeanne Glynn had a very clear plan for Wendy. I don't think the custody battle for Jonah would have ended as quickly as it did. I think the Wendy-Sunny rivalry would have also played into some other aspect of the canvas and I wouldn't have been surprised if Glynn had paired Wendy and a recast Alec in some sort of messy shape with Chase, Adair, and Justine all intertangled with Quinn. Wendy was often rudderless other than the brief period where she emerged as Wendy the husband stealer. Lisa Peluso is amazing but she had so many bad storylines. Similar to Marcia McCabe. I know people don't like how Tomlin has a tendency to not give characters clear exits. It is smart move when you consider how few people who watch actually followed things like the magazines. Characters fading into the background made things seem less chaotic. It is just a terrible way to end one's story. Adair and Chase meet the same fate as Wendy during the same time period. I think Hogan and Liza should have been at low places together. TI should have been in a financial crisis when they wrote out Kentucky Bluebird and with him the government project to build the prototype should have also died. Liza should have defaulted on the government loans and been in bad financial shape leading Lloyd to sweep in and buy a chunk of TI (which he does later anyway under more calculated circumstances). This would have pissed off Martin, who should have returned to Henderson in a recurring capacity at the least. Hogan and Liza bond over their mutual grief while Lloyd and Sunny (who should have been nominated for a journalism award) would have been having the time of their professional lives. There are a lot of less interesting recasts in the NBC run. Lambie is serviceable as a version of Lloyd who was already so watered down. Given Louan Gideon and Jacqueline Schultz hiring later in the year, this just seemed to be the trend. Haskell was more charismatic and sexier (in my opinion) as Lloyd. I don't blame Haskell for leaving though. Lloyd was a supporting character at that point and as C.J. Field on "Rituals" he was a major player. Danny, TR, and Ryder are a decent teen set. It's a shame they didn't develop them further.

I never know what to think about Avila Mayer and Braxton's take on Sailor. It is definitely creepy. The initial concept presented by Jeanne Glynn intrigued me, but I block out that there is definitely an uncomfortable tension in the scenes between TR and Sailor once Glynn is gone. I remember briefly thinking there were moments where they were laying the groundwork for Sailor to be Ryder's father, but I think that was just a conclusion I drew that may not have had much in story support. I like Hogan returning disillusioned by his experience in Hollywood, but I find him blowing off Sunny the way he did to be obnoxious. I do like Hogan / Liza as an arc, but not as an end game couple. Sunny's clinginess is a turn off, but Sunny has never been well utilized other than the original Hogan romance during the NBC years. Quinn and Wendy last as long as Braxton and Mayer do. I like what happens with Wendy, Quinn, and Sarah, but Michelle Joyce is very green. At times, I like the idea of stories more than the execution. There are some nice set of scenes involving the characters, but the overall story may be weaker than I remember. I dovetails into a rivalry between Chase and Quinn, which also had potential. Then, the writing staff changes. Tomlin sets up Quinn in a new direction and Lisa Peluso jumps ship not long after, but not before a storyline involving Stephanie I don't think you'll enjoy too much. The Suzi/Cagney premonition stuff isn't my favorite either. I do like the more character based stuff later on with Kate and Suzi, but it's not the kind of gripping tale one would expect for a NBC style supercouple like Suzi and Cagney.

I'm on episode 2 and the show has a slow start like I remember. The central conflict seems to be around who will get to control Gabriel. Will it be his new wife, Rachel, the waifish city girl who recently married him after a short courtship? Or will it be his hellraiser sister Charlie, who's desire to monopolize her brother's time borders on obsessive? Or will it be his meddling mother Jessica, who wants to maintain her strong bond of emotional intimacy despite the fact he has married. There is another potential contender, but they haven't been revealed yet. I forgot how much of the show was about Rachel's outsider position in the family. On the initial viewing, I felt a bit bad for Rachel as the Rattigans come off as so overwhelming with their dinners and church services. I think familyless Rachel is no better or worse than Jessica. Rachel needs to respect that she is joining a family, while the Rattigans need to recognize that Rachel needs to be brought into the family circle. Ultimately, this is about who has control over Gabriel, who is such a dependent character. His career as an artist has left him dependent financially on his family, presumably during his time in London but most definitely now that he is living in the Lodge after marrying Rachel. He was dependent on heroin to cope, now he is dependent on methadone to stay off heroin. He is also dependent on mommy dearest to maintain the treatment. Some of this is rather salacious. Gabriel and his mother carrying on in his mother's bedroom over Gabriel's dirty little secret. Gabriel is just as guilty in the potential conflict between Rachel and Jessica as he is keeping Rachel on the outs and placing Jessica in a position of privileged information which cannot help his own marriage to Rachel. I think the show is definitely leaning into the incestuous vibes between Jessica and Gabriel with Jessica going as far as offering to decorate the bedroom in the Lodge much to Rachel's horror. I still think Charlie would go to bed with Gabriel if he let her and her obsession with Thomas is more about her inability to land Gabriel. I still find Emma Roberts' Charlie one of the most insufferable characters. I know most people hated Lucy Robinson's Rachel, and she is a bit of an elitist pain in the ass, but I do feel she loves Gabriel and that she seems to want less of Gabriel for her own selfish gains. Edward's morality is hilarious given what is coming next. I still don't care much for Lenny and Mark, but there story seems a counterpoint to other stories so I don't mind. i think things pick up much more in a few episodes. By episode 4, I feel like things already start to feel much different.

I'm probably gonna hate myself for thinking too much into this, but is this soap within a soap thing suppose to be something that Samantha Evans did prior to her death?

In the late 1980s, Gene Palumbo revisits this characterization during Simone's pregnancy. Audrey becomes a bit meddlesome and is coaching Simone on how to handle the situation in which Simone is married to Tom and unsure if the baby is Tom's or her former lover Harrison Davis'. The result of her part in this leaves Audrey ostracized by both Tom and Steve and leads to some nice scenes where Audrey has to deal with the fallout of her actions. It is by no means a big story, but it is one of the nicer beats Palumbo has a tendency to play in his B- / C-stories often featuring the longterm hospital staff.

Susan Carey Lamm is Adair #2. She had appeared on "Another Life" in its final year. I think Lamm comes across as very cold even when she doesn't intend to. Adair is definitely suppose to be more mature when Lamm assumes the role. There is a fairly strong scene between her and Justine where they are watching an old movie and they share their views on love and romance. Adair never really gets off the ground from what I recall. Part of the issue is timing. Both Barrett and Glynn leave in March, which is the same month Quinn arrives. To me, Quinn is the most intersting McCleary. With a still indevelopment characterization, and a romantic lead (Alec) out the door, Adair was destined for failure. By the time Tomlin arrives, I remember Adair's coldness being channeled into her position at the Herald and it being rather effective. The even flirted with a pairing with Ryder, but that never went beyond a chemistry test, but the story potential was clear. Ryder was with TR, Adair was with Chase, and Ryder was working at the paper. They had earlier flirted with pairing Ryder with his guidance counselor at the tale end of Avila Mayer and Braxton, but again, that's an aborted story. I think Lamm is most effective as Chase's girl Friday during the San Marcos story in October, 1985, but it is a suppoting role at best.

Lemay's gripe was that all the characters were living in the same situation and that there was no real diversity in the living situation. Without a multigenerational element, he argued that an array of conflicts were being overlooked. I wouldn't say he was wrong. I don't get any sense of generational feel in terms of story or type of story. I acquired quite a bit of "The City" recently. Even in stuff where there are clear generations (the dueling paternity reveals of Zoe and Richard / the Roberts family secret) there is just something that is off. In the case of story number one, a lot of the adult story with Nick / Sydney / Lorraine / Jared feels secondary to Zoe and Richard's romance. It doesn't help that Joel Fabiani is so campy in the role that Jared is a non-entity. I also don't get any sense that the adults are experiencing stories differently from the younger characters. In the case of story number two, the parents are paper thin which is ashame because there is definitely mileage in that story if it wasn't being presented as if it was scripted for a mid-1990s talk show. The idea of a created family is interesting, but I don't think the show really invested in that concept enough. I will say, rewatching the reveal of Gwyn as the killer, the confrontation between Angie and Lorraine holds my interest as much as Gwyn's confession and certainly more than the cop shop scenes. @DRW50 Thanks for the foreshadowing video. My thoughts on the serial killer plot are pretty well known so I won't rehash that too much. I will say I am curious when the writing team knew they were going to go that route. Some of the material, in my opinion, is a stretch on foreshadowing. The Stacey/Buck/Tess material was so thin after Nixon left because she had made that story so plot heavy that Laurie McCarthy and Addie Walsh fumbled it because they had no clue where to take that group next especially when they dropped Janie. I don't think Tess worked with any writer other than Nixon. Her dealing tarot seems to be about as interesting as anything Tess had in the final half of 1994. Buck and Stacey talking about Deborah of all people shows how little material they have. I also think that Gwyn as a psychologist is odd, but her "I've been taking courses for a while" is even more so. Having watched a bit of "The City" recently I've noticed that Brown and Essensten are decent at pulling random threads together to build cohesion when it shouldn't be there. In early May 1996, Buck dates some random art gallery owner who is later revealed to be an FBI agent in the mob story with the Soleitos. I don;t think that was the intention when she was introduced.

I believe Ettlinger replaced the Averys, but there is so much lost soap opera history that it wouldn't surprise me if there was someone else in between. Don Ettlinger and Joe Hardy had worked together on "Flame in the Wind," which became "A Time for Us." Hardy had co-created that show with screenwriter Raphael Hayes. The setup for the Farrell / Reynolds clan and the Garrisons was very similar. On the prior show, Jason Farrell was the older patriarch and head of a publishing company (wasn't Chandler Garrison also a publisher) who had a younger second wife, Rita Lloyd's Leslie Farrell who was a terrible flirt (similar I believe to LIAMST's Jean Hurley) and there was a grandson Steve who was torn between two women (much like Chandler's son Spencer). I may be wrong on Hardy and Ettlinger crafting the Garrison clan. I suspect, without looking, that I probably speculated earlier that the Averys had created the Garrisons because of the characters seemed like they would have fit well into Averys upper middle class Woodbridge from their time on "The Secret Storm." I don't know how long Joe Hardy was at LIAMST but I wonder if the working class Chernaks weren't something he was involved with as they a very ethnic sounding name like the Skerba clan did on "Flame in the Wind." No clue who wrote what, but I suspect Ettlinger couldn't have been there too long if he ended up at "Secret Storm" some time between 1969-1970. Good luck. I think the best source for the Averys "Storm" work would be the Elward collection. I think there is another script writer from "Storm" that has a collection (Milton something) who may have written during their era. I tried several years back to know avail. The Averys had two daughters who married in the late 1960s / early 1970s. Maybe they would have something left of their parents' writing legacy, but maybe not. Does the WGA keep record of their holdings for the public? I know Claire Labine told me she intended to donate all of her material for "Ryan's Hope" to the WGA West upon her death.

@Joseph Thanks. The link to the episodes was posted to the YouTube episodes was posted in the "Families" thread so I had just embedded the link to a single episode above. Thank you for taking the time to post the individual links, as I know there are some who prefer that. Did you watch of the links you posted? If so, what were your thoughts? *** The next batch takes us into the second season from early April, 1996 until the end of June 1996. I believe the show was now being aired on another network (or am I thinking "Springhill"?). Anyway, the cast list and summaries are below. There was less production information provided by the BFI on these episodes. Similarly, the cast list may be a bit off as some of the characters are listed in episode summaries, but not lists themselves. If I felt it was definitive they were in the episode, I included it with no note. Some I noted below. There were a couple of times where characters are mentioned (Jessica fights with Mark about Lenny, Lenny plans Ben's birthday party) where I didn't include them because it didn't sound like they were present, but they may have in fact been present elsewhere in the episode. No one is credited for playing Simon Jenkins. Also, I think Caroline Thomas may be Caroline Blackwell from season one, the maid of honor from Gabriel and Rachel's wedding. This I may be wrong on. It's interesting to see how certain characters who were prominent in season 1 quickly fade into the woodwork in season 2. Judy Loe as Jessica Rattigan (2.1 – 2.11, 2.13) * Gary Cady as Steve Whittaker (2.1 – 2.11, 2.13) Carole Nimmons as Mary Beckett (2.1 – 2.3, 2.6, 2.8, 2.10 – 2.11, 2.13) Emma Roberts as Charlotte “Charlie” Rattigan (2.1, 2.3, 2.6 – 2.10, 2.12) Nina Marc as Helena “Lenny” Rattigan Tyler (2.1 – 2.3, 2.6 – 2.8, 2.10 – 2.13) Matthew Radford as Mark Tyler (2.1 – 2.8, 2.10 – 2.13) Miles Harvey as Jimmy Moran (2.1 – 2.3, 2.6 2.7, 2.10, 2.12) James Weber-Brown as Daniel Tyler (2.1, 2.3 – 2.4, 2.6 – 2.10, 2.12) Amanda Wenban as Ruth Tyler (2.4 – 2.6, 2.9 – 2.13) Sue Holderness as Joan Travis (2.11) Stephen Mapes as Gabriel Rattigan (2.1 – 2.4) Paul Shelley as Edward Rattigan (2.1, 2.7) Victoria Gay as Sophie Ross (2.1 – 2.3. 2.5) Lucy Robinson as Rachel Whittaker Rattigan (2.1) Katy Carmichael as Caroline Thomas (2.1) Margo Gunn as Anne Fraser (2.1) UNKNOWN as Simon Jenkins (2.3) Oliver Carroll as Ben Tyler (2.6, 2.11) * Mentioned in summary that suggests may (but may not) be present, but not cast list, 2.10: Miles Harvey, Judy Loe 2.11: the character of Ben REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 1 The Rattigan family celebrate Charlie's birthday, but Jessica is away visiting her husband Paul at his retreat, where he is recovering from a nervous breakdown. They are unexpectedly visited by Stephen Whittaker, who is determined to find his sister Rachel, who was murdered by Jessica. Mary, who is the only person who knows the truth about Rachel, panics and calls Jessica, who returns. She grudgingly suggests Steve stays at the house for as long as is necessary. a: 4 April, 1996 w: Russell T. Davies d: Kay Patrick p: Tony Wood REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 2 Jessica and Mary are worried that Steve knows too much about the family but are adamant that he cannot know that Rachel is dead. They decide to find letters Rachel wrote to Steve to determine how much he knows. Mark and Lenny are delighted that Jimmy has found himself a respectable girlfriend. Mark becomes suspicious and goes to visit her in the pub she works in. Gabriel makes Steve feel welcome and takes him to see the Lodge where he and Rachel lived after they married. Steve questions Gabriel about his feelings for Rachel, but Gabriel insists they were happy together. a: 11 April, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 3 Jessica holds a dinner party to say farewell to Simon, who is leaving the church. He talks about Edward for most of the evening. Lenny and Mark go out for the evening, and Sophie babysits. Sophie tells Jimmy about Mark's flirting, but he insists Mark is just being friendly. Steve has suspicions that Mary has been reading Rachel's letters kept in his room. He questions her, but Charlie arrives before she confesses. Steve goes to the dinner party and accuses Gabriel of murdering Rachel. a: 18 April, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 4 The Tyler family's financial problems are revealed. Ruth asks Daniel to repay money she has lent him, unaware of his own financial situation. She calls in at the Rattigans where she thanks Jessica for letting Mark and Lenny move into the Lodge. Jessica hopes that Mark will not cheat on Lenny again. Steve shows Gabriel an old Whittaker family album. Jessica joins them and is again persistently questioned by Steve. a: 25 April, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 5 Breakfast at the Rattigan's is an uneasy affair until the ice is broken by Steve who announces that he's leaving having outstayed his welcome. Ruth calls to see Mark to ask him for a loan. Jessica confesses to Steve that the Rattigan family played a role in Rachel's disappearance, but says she has no idea what actually made Rachel leave. a: 2 May, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 6 Ruth is happy to show Steve the church in which his sister was married. He asks her about Edward, explaining that he feels uncomfortable taking about her family. Jimmy looks after Ben for the afternoon, and Jessica gives him the keys to the lodge saying that Ben will be more at home there. Jimmy finds Mark in his underwear, and is suspicious. Later, there is an all night poker game, and Daniel loses everything, including his watch. a: 9 May, 1996 w: Brian B. Thompson d: Eugene Ferguson p: Anthony Wood REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 7 Lenny prepares for Ben's first birthday party. Instead of going to the party, Jessica visits Edward at his retreat to ask him about his future plans. Charlie provides a sympathetic ear for Daniel, and ends up telling him about her decent into drink, drugs and prostitution. She leaves, regretting having revealed so much. Jessica returns and is getting ready for the party when Steve enters her room. a: 16 May, 1996 w: Brian B. Thompson d: Eugene Ferguson p: Tony Wood REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 8 Lenny has gone back to the Rattigan home having found out about her husband's affair. Mary is unable to prevent Mark from bursting into the house demanding to see Lenny. Steve tells Jessica that what goes on between Lenny and Mark is none of her business, but she reminds him that he has no right to interfere. Charlie and Daniel keep out of things, and Charlie has a solution to Daniel's money problems. a: 23 May, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 9 The relationship between Charlie and Daniel is far from steady, as she has confessed her past indiscretions to him. Ruth discovers from Jessica the money Daniel has given her has come from Charlie. Jessica tells Ruth she doesn't want Mark or Daniel to associate with her daughters. After her argument with Ruth, Jessica feels depressed and isolated. Steve comforts her, and Jessica is glad that he decided to stay with the family a little longer. a: 30 May, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 10 Mary feels threatened when Steve offers to make dinner for her and Jessica, and suspects Steve and Jessica may be in a relationship. Ruth presumes the rift between Charlie and Daniel is caused by Charlie lending him money. She is fed up of supporting her children now they are grown up. Lenny moves into the Rattigan home having left Mark, and when she goes to a party she spends most of the time with Jimmy. a: 6 June, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS SERIES 2, PART 11 Having returned the £2000 to the Rattigan family, Ruth turns to an alternative source. Mary is not impressed when Steve announces is staying for a while, but Jessica is keen to help him. Lenny takes Ben to see Mark and tells him that it is over between them. Mary welcomes the arrival of Joan Travis to the parish as the new vicar. a: 13 June, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 12 Despite a temporary solution to her financial worries, Ruth is still adamant that Mark and Daniel should find work and start paying their way. Jimmy asks Lenny to meet him, but she declines. Mark visits Jimmy, who tells him a few home truths. Charlie and Daniel have patched things up and enjoy an afternoon together. a: 20 June, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ?? REVELATIONS: SERIES 2, PART 13 Jessica tells Steve their relationship is over. Mary is unconvinced when Jessica tells her. Ruth is amazed to hear Jessica's apology for neglecting church business, but is horrified when Jessica tells her she wants to look through the accounts. a: 27 June, 1996 w: ?? d: ?? p: ??

I thought I read Ira and Jane Avery wrote scripts for Phillips and assumed the roles of headwriters after she left once they wrote out Mia Elliott in February, 1968. It always sounded like the Averys were intended to be interim writers since they had already been working on the show. I wonder now if Jane and Ira weren't simply working off Irna's projections.

After their initial romance, I don't think Wade and Janet had much story as a couple. Wasn't most it reactionary to Janet's children? @saynotoursoap posted a bit about why Wade's murder was ineffective. I don't think it revived Janet as a character in the way it could have, but that was mostly due to the choice in her love interests. I think there was grander possibilities with Ted Adamson and Janet especially in the canvas that the Corringtons were creating which had an emphasis on how the community reacted to events. Having wealthy widow Janet Collins marrying industrialist Ted Adamson could have created business conflicts that could have rippled across the canvas. Janet had just played the terminally ill husband in the early 1970s with Dr. Dan Walton. I think a second illness would have been overkill. With that said, the approach to the murder was definitely wrong. Wade could have been recast or written out in a story with some ramifications for the canvas.

It's funny. Overall, I like the Ryan story. Charismatic doctor who is secretly a sociopath is definitely intriguing. I also liked how people slowly turned on Ryan over the course of the story. Psychiatrist Tom Hardy never seemed to like Ryan, while Simone thought that Ryan was upright citizen. Similarly, Steve Hardy remained neutral until Ryan showed up at the facility where Felicia was institutionalized in order to cause trauma. It was at that point that Steve's facade broke and he admitted that he could no longer defend him. There are elements that seem overblown. The trial seemed a bit over the top. Yes, it is a soap opera, but there were just moments that were too much. I will say that I appreciate Kristina Wagner much more after witnessing her in this story. Felicia really evolves during Riche's reign. I think another reason that the pre-Labine era of Riche is so accessible is that Riche has the writers maintain the stories in place. They may evolve (like I pointed out in the Joseph Adkins plot), but, for the most part, the frame of the stories and the characters stayed the same. For example, I think the messy entanglements of Tracey-Paul-Jenny-Ned-Julia remained pretty much in play until Tracey left in mid-1993. I like it. Is it perfect? No. Is it the best soap opera I've ever seen? No. It is, however, written as soap should with beats played, emotional notes emphasized, and character relationships tested over and over by the intense emotions of the characters involved. By the point that Tracey departs, I think they had already started splintering Ned and Julia off to deal with AJ, correct? Without Tracey, did Jenny and Paul really have any strong opposition? Similarly, the direct line from Cheryl's death to the custody battle between Tiffany and Bobbie to Tiffany's drinking while Sean carried on with Jessica to Tiffany's miscarriage and Jessica's murder is a pretty strong sequence for Sharon Wyatt who had been sidelined in so much of the material I've seen from prior to this. For me, this kind of build makes other mistakes (Levinson's special brand of female dominated stories presented in a slightly misogynistic lens) more bearable. The younger set has already been addressed, but, I will say, is the fact that they stayed meant they were no longer new by the time Labine arrived. Dynamics and characterization was pretty much set up. While I know that some think Karen was pointless or forgettable, I think Riche planned to bring Karen back eventually, which was why they set up Karen as Scott's daughter. Scott as Karen's father tied her to Port Charles beyond her mother. @depboy Thanks for all you are doing with those summaries. I don't comment, but I look them over and it's fascinating to see how the characters evolved.

This is the second half of season 1. Like before, the cast listings are first. Some of the minor characters may have had more like Ben, Mark and Lenny's infant son, and Simon Jenkins, who worked at the church. I also think Patrick James may have been the individual coming to check to make sure there was no scandal surrounding Anne's death, but that's just speculation. Stephen Mapes as Gabriel Rattigan (1.14 – 1.26) Lucy Robinson as Rachel Whittaker Rattigan (1.14 – 1.26) Paul Shelley as Edward Rattigan (1.14 / 1.16 – 1.26) Judy Loe as Jessica Rattigan (1.14 / 1.16 – 1.26) Emma Roberts as Charlotte “Charlie” Rattigan (1.14 – 1.18 / 1.20 – 1.26) Nina Marc as Helena “Lenny” Rattigan Tyler (1.14 – 1.16 /1.18 – 1.26) Matthew Radford as Mark Tyler (1.14 – 1.16 / 1.19 – 1.23 / 1.26) Carole Nimmons as Mary Beckett (1.16 – 1.18 / 1.21 / 1.23 – 1.24 / 1.26) Miles Harvey as Jimmy Moran (1.15 – 1.16 / 1.19 – 1.23 / 1.25 – 1.26) Phillip Johnson as Ben Tyler (1.14 / 1.21 / 1.23 / 1.26) Grant Thatcher as Thomas Hunt (1.14 – 1.15) Eamonn Riley as Simon Jenkins (1.21 / 1.26) Randal Herley as Patrick James (1.22 – 1.23 / 1.25) Matyelok Gibbs as Ellen James (1.23) REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 14 Charlie cannot understand why Thomas is suddenly so disinterested in her, and Rachel is determined to explain why. Jessica makes it clear to Thomas and his preferences and she wants him to stay away from her children. Meanwhile, Edward has a visitor checking there was no scandal attached to Anne's death. a: 12 January, 1995 w: Catherine Hayes d: Ric Mellis p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 15 Charlie and Lenny plan a girls night out, and Jimmy and Mark follow them. Meanwhile, Thomas turns up at the lodge, and Rachel discovers the truth about her husband and Thomas. Charlie is very drunk and instead of going home, calls to see Thomas. When he gets home he finds her asleep in his bed. a: 19 January, 1995 w: Ayshe Raif d: Simon Massey p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 16 Rachel helps out in Edward's office, and reveals that she knew Anne was pregnant when she died. Mark and Jimmy call on the house, Mark is determined to make up with Lenny, but they are interrupted by Charlie. Jessica is keen to get home to give Gabriel his injection, but when she gets in all hell breaks loose. Rachel tells Charlie that it's Gabriel that Thomas really loves. a: 26 January, 1995 w: Ayse Raif d: Simon Massey p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 17 Rachel cannot understand Gabriel's heroin addiction and packs her bags to leave. Jessica holds an important dinner party planned to help with Edward's promotion chances. a: 2 February, 1995 w: Russell T. Davies d: Simon Massey p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 18 Gabriel is unconscious. When she learns that Rachel had left him, Jessica blames her. When they return home to get some rest, Edward has a nightmare. He blames himself and Mary is unable to comfort him. a: 9 February, 1995 w: Russell T. Davies d: Simon Massey p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 19 Rachel turns up at the house to discover that Gabriel has been discharged without her knowing. Rachel and Jessica argue who should help Gabriel overcome his addiction, both of them think they know best. Rachel goes to Edward for help, but finds him desolate and full of self-loathing. a: 16 February, 1995 w: Jan McVerry d: Eugene Ferguson p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 20 Edward is full of self-reproach about Anne's death, and Jessica tells him to pull himself together. A very upset Charlie makes a play for Mark, who tells her to get a grip on her life. Rachel tries to give Gabriel his injection, but her failure leaves her frustrated with the Rattigan family. a: 23 February, 1995 w: Helen Brandom d: Eugene Ferguson p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 21 Charlie tells her parents she has left school, and Edward becomes so angry that he ends up hitting her. Mark takes Lenny out for a romantic picnic in a vintage car. Meanwhile, Jimmy calls on Gabriel for a chat and confides that he still has strong feelings for Lenny. Rachel and Edward discuss Jessica's power over people. He says he will stand up to her, but Rachel is doubtful... a: 2 March, 1995 w: Sally Wainwright d: Eugene Ferguson p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 22 The Diocesan Bishop of Bodenshire, Patrick James, meets with Edward to bring news of Edward's impeding promotion. Edward confides in Rachel that he doesn't intend to accept the offer, and tells her all will become clear when he delivers his sermon the next day. a: 9 March, 1995 w: Sally Wainwright d: Eugene Ferguson p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 23 Jessica takes Edward back to the house, and explains to the family that he has had a crisis of faith. Meanwhile, he confesses to Mary that he killed Anne. a: 16 March, 1995 w: Stephen Lowe d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 24 The Rattigan family quiz Mary about Edward's behaviour, whilst Charlie becomes more outrageous and Lenny wonders whether they should cancel the meal they had planned for their parent's anniversary. Jessica tells Edward they must act as normal, but Edward is losing his grip on reality... a: 23 March, 1995 w: Stephen Lowe d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 25 A distressed Jessica tells Gabriel that this is the last time she will give him his methadone. Gabriel and Rachel, in a moment of passion, decide to leave and make plans for the future. Charlie's behaviour is getting worse and she runs out of the house, threatening to follow in Gabriel's footsteps. While Gabriel goes in search of Charlie, an almost catatonic Edward turns up to see Rachel - and mistakes her for Anne... a: 30 March, 1995 w: Stephen Lowe d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 26 Charlie announces she is going back to Oxford to live with Mark. Gabriel also wants to leave, but Rachel says she still has things to sort out. Simon confirms that Edward has been given the promotion. Everyone bids a sad farewell to Lenny. Rachel turns up at the house, but Jessica will not let her see Edward. She realises that Rachel is going to inform on Edward, and takes a drastic course of action to try and silence her - forever... a: 6 April, 1995 w: Stephen Lowe d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson

I think Riche sets a tone almost immediately for the type of show she wanted "General Hospital" to be. Even if the stories weren't always the strongest, the stories were rooted in human emotion. No matter who was writing in those early years, the characters seem to connected and invested in the world around them. There are stakes. I think even in some of the weaker stories, there is something to find of value. Actions had impact and often ripples across the canvas. Romance was also back. Characters relationships were central to the drama. There is a feeling of community in Port Charles. All of this was in place by the time that Labine and team arrive and run with it. Part of me thinks that it was for the best that Robert and Anna left when they did. It forced Riche to shift the show away from the action and adventure stories that had been the show's staple and required the humanity to be returned. Bringing the hospital back to the forefront was very smart. Characters who were ignored were given material of substance. I do think Riche leaned into her TV movie background and, at times, the stories may not have seemed like soap opera stories. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Personally, any episode from 1992-1993 is stronger than the material I've seen in 1990-1991. @DeliaIrisFan I looked at the summaries again. Bill inherited land from Fred Eckert which he used to get into business with Harlan Barrett. My apologies.

@JamesF@DRW50@Vee Here is what was on the BFI site for "Revelations." Some of the information might be inaccurate. For example, half of the cast wasn't credited for premier episode. Throughout, there are times where a character is mentioned in a summary and they aren't listed in the cast list. I credited those actors where I could. On the other hand, Margo Gunn is credited as Anne any time her name is mentioned. In the C-story, Mark, Lenny and Jimmy are rarely credited so they most likely have inaccurate listings. Same for Mary, Nick, and Simon. I think Margo Gunn's last episode was actually 1.10, but I'll eventually compare these to the episodes on YouTube (if they remain long enough). First, here is what they had for the cast for the first thirteen episodes: Judy Loe as Jessica Rattigan (1.01 – 1.13) Paul Shelley as Bishop Edward Rattigan (1.01 – 1.13) Stephen Mapes as Gabriel Rattigan (1.01 – 1.13) Lucy Robinson as Rachel Whittaker Rattigan (1.01 – 1.06 / 1.08 – 1.13) Emma Roberts as Charlotte “Charlie” Rattigan (1.01 – 1.13) Nina Marc as Helena “Lenny” Rattigan Tyler (1.01 – 1.02 / 1.06 – 1.10 / 1.13) Matthew Radford as Mark Tyler (1.01 – 1.02 / 1.06 / 1.09 – 1.10 / 1.13) Carole Nimmons as Mary Beckett (1.01 – 1.02 / 1.08) Miles Harvey as Jimmy (1.01 / 1.10 / 1.13) Margo Gunn as Anne Fraser (1.03 – 1.12) Grant Thatcher as Thomas Hunt (1.01 / 1.05 – 1.13) Ben Hull as Nick (1.01 / 1.03 / 1.05) Eamonn Riley as Simon (1.04 / 1.11) Helen Hobson as Caroline Blackwell (1.01) Uncredited as Dr. Kenyon (1.12) As for the episodes, there are also some things I've noticed that are wrong. When Anne's body is found in episode 1.11, it says Simon calls Mary, when he calls Anne. This takes you through the story that is available online through the recent YouTube videos. Those can be found here REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 1 a: 6 October, 1994 REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 2 It is the morning after Rachel and Gabriel's wedding and Charlotte's outrageous behaviour threatens to scandalise the Rattigan name. a: 13 October, 1994 w: Sally Wainwright d: Simon Massey p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 3 Rachel refuses to let Jessica decorate the upstairs rooms at the Lodge, and Jessica is offended. Charlie is playing truant with Nick, and offers to play an exciting new game, but leaves him tied up naked in the barn. Meanwhile, her father Edward is waiting for the opportunity to spend some time with his secretary. a: 20 October, 1994 w: Chris Thompson d: Eugene Ferguson ep: Carolyn Reynolds REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 4 Rachel leaves Gabriel to do some work while she goes to make her apologies to Jessica. Charlie arrives with a bottle of wine, and Gabriel is easily distracted. Meanwhile, in a hotel bedroom, Edward and Anne's sexual antics continue. a: 27 October, 1994 w: Chris Thompson d: Eugene Ferguson ep: Carolyn Reynolds REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 5 Gabriel wakes up in a strange bed after his drinking session with his sister, and Jessica lies to Rachel to cover up for him. Thomas arrives to see Gabriel, and Charlie persuades him to play the part of her boyfriend to help her get rid of Nick. a: 3 November, 1994 w: Peter Whalley d: Eugene Ferguson ep: Carolyn Reynolds REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 6 Rachel starts her new job and returns home to find that Gabriel, Thomas and Charlie have been having a party. Helena leaves Mark after she discovers that he didn't end his affair with his secretary, and turns to her father for a shoulder to cry on. a: 10 November, 1994 w: Peter Whalley d: Eugene Ferguson p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 7 Lenny is distraught at the break-up of her marriage. Bishop Edward's secretary is distracted from her work because she is preparing to tell him she is pregnant - with his child. He tells his wife who insists he either forces Anne to get rid of the baby or gets rid of Anne herself. Meanwhile, Charlie tries her persuasive best to seduce Gabriel's best friend Thomas. a: 17 November, 1994 w: Catherine Hayes d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 8 Edward arranges to meet Ann for dinner to try to persuade her to have an abortion, but Jessica arrives in his place. Meanwhile Charlie tells Rachel and Gabriel about her relationship with Thomas, and how she wants them all to go to dinner together and play adult games... a: 24 November, 1994 w: Catherine Hayes d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 9 Mark arrives at the Rattigans, wanting to visit his wife. Jessica confronts him and tells him Lenny does not want to see him. He confides in Rachel. Later at the wine bar Gabriel and Thomas are discussing old times, and Charlie cannot get a word in, so starts to tease Rachel about her visit from Mark. Edward is determined to silence Anne, and goes round to see her. They immediately embrace and end up in bed... a: 1 December, 1994 w: Catherine Hayes d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 10 Edward returns home pale and shaken. He tells Jessica that Anne is dead, and claims it was an accident. Jessica returns to Anne's house to clear his voice off the answerphone. Gabriel, Rachel, Thomas and Charlie arrive back at the lodge, and Thomas wants to stay the night with Charlie... a: 8 December, 1994 w: Russell T. Davies d: Romey Allison p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 11 Rachel leaves for work and Charlie dashes off, but Thomas would rather stay at the lodge with Gabriel. Jessica decides to arrange a family dinner to try and cheer Edward up, but he needs persuasion to attend. Simon has been failing to contact Anne on the phone, and decides to call at her house. a: 15 December, 1994 w: Russell T. Davies d: Ric Mellis p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 12 It is the day of Anne's funeral. Anne's GP, Dr Kenyon, arrives and wants to know whether he should tell Anne's mother that she was pregnant. Edward advises him not to. Edward conducts the service, but afterwards feels terrible and writes a letter to Anne's mother, but will his wife let him send it? Meanwhile, Thomas appears to be interested in Charlie, and Gabriel is furious. a: 22 December, 1994 w: Sally Wainwright d: Ric Mellis p: David Hanson REVELATIONS: SERIES 1, PART 13 (05/01/1995) Gabriel is desperate to repair his marriage with Rachel, and tells Thomas to stay away from him. Charlie is thrilled with her sexy Thomas, and they both arrive to take Gabriel and Rachel out for a drink. Mark is determined to winn Lenny and Ben back, but makes the mistake of sending Jimmy on his behalf. a: 5 January 1995 w: Catherine Hayes d: Ric Mellis p: David Hanson

Thanks. I found the article. In case anyone else is interested: its here Bill Eckert as the "Father Knows Best"-type must have been incredibly short. I just watched a late September 1992 episode where Sly gets into a fight in school and runs off because he doesn't like Bill dating Holly instead of Julia. This relationship pattern continues quite a bit as I've later seen the same situation when Bill has chosen Victoria over Holly. It was also very neat seeing the origin (or so I imagine) of the Scott/Sly relationship. Bill does "evolve" a lot under Monty. I believe the ratings dipped significantly in the first part of 1991 once the revamp started. Monty had to change so Fred was killed off, Angela went back to Portland, and Joey went somewhere. Nancy is introduced just as Fred is dying to quick off the Bill Eckert, wealthy man stage. With Angela and Fred gone, Bill now has to take on Sly and has Finnian be his caretaker. I wonder why Sly was created. In many ways, he is baggage to Bill. I wonder if Sly was present because the plan was for Bill/Bobbie and Bobbie's desire to be a parent was going to be part of her attraction to Bill. The light romantic hero image seems to be his longest characterization alternating between businessman and adventurer. After the Cartel, he was involved with Holly and the story with Holly's half-sister Paloma, while also plotting business ventures with Paul Hornsby. In the Logan article, he refers to Bill as, at one point, "a Noel Coward-ish bon vivant." I'm assuming this was referencing the art caper / Victoria the ghost stage of the story. By the time the Victoria story starts, the route to a much darker Bill seems to have been set in motion. Bill's obsession with Victoria is all consuming at times. People try to talk to Bill about his parenting (Jenny and Scott at different points), but Bill doesn't care. Which version of Bill do people felt worked best?

Ryder is introduced in the final days of Jeanne Glynn during a story where T.R. runs away out of fear that Lloyd is going to use his power and position to have her removed from the Sentell home. Ryder is introduced with Cruiser McCulla (Joseph C. Phillips). Glynn tries to reestablish class conflict with Ryder and the McCullas (Crusier's sister Selina is a nurse played by Angela Bassett). The waterfront is being featured rather regularly and I suspect Glynn would have leaned in more to the working class status of the McClearys. Braxton and Avila Mayer have a different take on Ryder's working class roots and have him running from his family of circus performers. I felt they played up the seediness of the circus with Bela. I don't have any true interest in the circus trappings, but I like the Ryder / T.R. / Danny Walton triangle as both Ryder and Danny were friends and T.R. was trapped between the two men that she cared for in different ways. Regarding Liza/Hogan, I've always speculated it was an attempt to keep Sherry Mathis on the show. Liza hadn't had a lead story of weight since Travis died. The Cord Tourneur tale is barely remembered. Liza and Kentucky were well liked, but I don't think they were being featured in the type of top tier stories Liza was usually in. Jeanne Glynn introduces Liza's next (aborted) love interest before exiting, the barely remembered Sailor. Sailor appeared to be a Travis Sentell type, wealthy guy who was masquerading as poor. I imagine the original plan was Sailor/Liza/Lloyd. When Peter Haskell left for "Rituals," Joe Lambie was brought on as a romantic lead for Liza as well. At one point, it sounded like Sunny was going to ask Hogan to be the father of her child. Now, that situation, Hogan dating Liza, but Sunny carrying his child, would have been interesting. Even what happened with Hogan and Liza isn't terrible in my eyes, it's just how they interacted with Sunny, and how Sunny reacted that was a hard pill to swallow. Also, Lloyd became more duplicitous than he had been in the past. He had tried controlling his children, but he was actively plotting to orchestrate a situation where Liza would need him under Avila Mayer and Braxton. This wasn't a stretch, but it was certainly a new element to Lloyd's character. You don't have much more of Alec in general. He departs very early in Braxton and Mayer's run or before. Chase and Adair have some story, but mostly a Chase/Quinn professional rivalry. Chase and Adair get more story (briefly) under Gary Tomlin in October-November. There are things I like about Avila Mayer and Braxton's run and there are things I don't like. I'll be curious @Matt Powers to see where you stand once it gets going.

@j swift I made a slight mistake in my retelling. There is a storm in mid-July. Robin and Jody are at the Brownstone by themselves with BJ and Tony and Bobbie are concerned that the recently escaped Joseph Adkins will go to the Brownstone. An episode ends with a window being broken, but it isn't Adkins, it's a tree branch. It looks like during the storm or shortly after that is when the Adkins is on the island (late July-early August). By late August, Joseph is blackmailing the teens for money so they start stealing cars. In mid September, Adkins breaks into the Brownstone and holds Bobbie hostage. The Adkins story wraps up on Monday, September 21. Brenda arrives on Friday, September 18. So there was little downtime in the younger set. With Monty's substantial reset in 1991, where she basically nixed every single character who had been introduced since she had left, there was no substantial attempts at a younger group. There was Joey Moscini, Angela Eckert's nephew who was ditched in June, 1991, during the first Bill Eckert reset when Bill went from working class guy to insta millionaire due to money he inherited from Fred Eckert. Joey was replaced by Gerald Hopkins' AJ Quartermaine who's graduation from prep school was being discussed in the same episodes where the Eckerts were grieving the loss of Fred. While AJ is definitely a teen, I think Joey was a little older, but not older than 21. Either way, no one was introduced with them to flesh out that group. At the tailend of Monty, Steve Burton is added as Jason Quartermaine. By this point, AJ is already being played as older as he is in stories with intern Eric Simpson and nurse Sheila Cantillion. In early 1992, Robin and Jason are the foundation Riche and the writers use to build the younger set. Riche seems to have a big hand in shaping both Karen and Jagger. I wonder if the plan wasn't originally for Robin / Jagger for a spell as criminal Jagger would cause some grief for Anna/Robert, but both Hughes and Rogers couldn't be convinced to return. That group, with some additions (Brenda/Stone/Keesha) and deletions (Jagger/Karen), remains the core younger group until Lucky comes of age, correct? What were all the different versions of Bill?

It is a particularly bizarre story in a period of time that is fairly decent in terms of plot, characterization, and dialogue. I've only seen late February - early April 1992 so I've seen mostly the second stage of the story. The first though appears to be typical Monty sisters. The prior year Simone is written out of the show after being compelled to help Romanian war orphans after staying up all night watching them on the news leaving Tom and her son behind. I went back and looked at the synopses again. The first month is Bobbie reading the book, talking to Tom Hardy about whether or not it is appropriate to write Adkins, and then Tony being against it. In February, Adkins starts writing her back and Robert wants to know why Bobbie is talking to a cop killer. In March, as the show transitions writing teams, Bobbie and Tony fight about Bobbie going to visit Adkins, which doesn't end up happening until late in March. It was during that meeting that Adkins reveals he is from Port Charles, which was unknown to Bobbie up until that point. I think the story turns in about May as Bobbie decides to no longer speak to Adkins just as Adkins parole hearing comes up. Then, when Adkins doesn't receive parole, he starts to lash out at Bobbie. The escape is in June. Credits for the 1992 episodes online seem sparse so it's hard to see who to attribute what to after about April. I do know there were articles from late summer 1992 claiming that ABC wasn't happy with Wendy Riche and were supposedly seeking her replacement because she was too involved in the story.

@Vee re: Joseph Adkins. In what I've seen, Bobbie starts communicating with Joseph Adkins, a convicted cop killer who has written a book about how he has reformed as a result of his time in prison. Bobbie's decision to maintain this relationship put strain on her marriage with Tony. Several other women read Adkins' book (I believe Audrey and Simone were among them). The story started under Norma Monty in January, 1992. I'm not sure what the direction they were going to take with it. The interim writers played into the idea that Bobbie believed in redemption given her own past, which strained her relationship with Tony because Bobbie was always concerned about how her past would haunt her in the present. The sense I got was that Joseph Adkins was suppose to be a sorta Luke Spencer figure which was why Bobbie felt connected to him. I believe Adkins was fairly young and had been involved in a robbery and had killed a cop in the process. He appeared genuine. Given the stories the Montys were trying to tell, I imagine there would have been many conversations that went no where about prison reform without even really digging into how the prison system impacted Adkins. I think under Thoma/Levinson they added some new layers. Adkins was revealed to be faking it. He had began threatening Bobbie. He escaped from prison during a storm. Tony and Bobbie worried because Robin was home watching the kids with her friend. I think Adkins tried to go to the brownstone, but eventually it was revealed he was the older brother of Cal, one of the guys who Jagger had been friends with before the robbery. Cal and Joseph I believe ended up harassing the teens on the island and then there was some sequence where Karen was helping Jason and Jagger to steal cars for the Adkins, for a reason I cannot recall. From what I can gather, it started as a social issue story that would have an impact on Tony and Bobbie's marriage. Then, it was more a complication in Tony and Bobbie's marriage with some potential to cause domestic drama if Adkins was released. Finally, it became an action story. It is a very ill-fitting story overall for a couple of Tony and Bobbie's prominence. Someone like Tom and Simone, who were barely frontburner even when they had meaty story (the whole Harrison Davis tale was played as a filler). To be fair though, this was not atypical of the Monty era. The veterans were kept by Monty, but so much of their stories were rough.

I have the posts printed off somewhere. I have re-read it within the last year or so. I convinced a friend of mine to watch season one of "Springhill" since we were on a quirky supernatural shows binge (we had just finished "In the Flesh"). I think I had the "Revelations" posts with the "Springhill" posts because I cannot find either at the moment. The conversation did remind me about the origin of the Charlie is a prostitute comment. I remembered I had copied the episode synopses that were once posted on the BFI site and attached to each episode. For some reason, the BFI revamped their site and dropped the synopses. I'll clean everything up when I get a chance (I'm currently working on "Families" synopses because in the search for "Revelations" posts I found about 100 or so episode summaries that use to be on TV.com for "Families" from late 1991 until the final weeks of the show). For now, from "Revelations" season 2, episode 7: Drama about the Rattigan family. Lenny prepares for Ben's first birthday party. Instead of going to the party, Jessica visits Edward at his retreat to ask him about his future plans. Charlie provides a sympathetic ear for Daniel, and ends up telling him about her decent into drink, drugs and prostitution. She leaves, regretting having revealed so much. Jessica returns and is getting ready for the party when Steve enters her room. By the way, Daniel is Mark Tyler's younger brother. I think you are thinking of Jimmy, Mark's best pal and the groundskeeper for the Rattigans, who carries on the affair with Lenni. Based on some of the episode synopses, there seems to be a suggestion that Mary Beckett, the family housekeeper and a distant relative (at one time at least), has a latent lesbian attraction. This didn't surprise me as I knew about Joan Travis, the lesbian vicar who replaces Edward, but what I didn't know was that there seems to be a suggestion that Mary's feelings are actually for Jessica, while Joan is definitely attracted to Mary. Do you recall picking up on this, or am I just reading too much into the summaries? Regarding Sue, Mike, and Diana on "Families," it's all very slow. I don't think Mike returns to England until September, but most of the drama is people going to Australia to find him and convince him to come home and leaving empty handed. I feel like things pick up a little bit in August, 1990, by the time Corinne Todd (Tessa Humphries) accuses Anton Vaughan of doing something unseemly towards her sexually with the nuptials of Amanda and Neil in September, which I'm not even sure actually happened, seem to move the show forward. It takes some time, but I do feel like it builds. "Sons and Daughters" told more story in a week than I think "Families" told in a year. I think there would have to be a happy middle ground lol. It is a shame especially since Russell T. Davies' new work still continues to rate well from what I understand. I wish Network would consider a release of the remaining "Revelations" episodes and possibly "Families." The trajectory of "Families" would be worth seeing. Someone may have recorded "Springhill" season 2 off the Acorn site when it was up. "Springhill" got the stateside release to coincide with the American "Shameless," I believe. "Families" is floating around in trading circles, but I haven't been able to find anyone willing to sell it just they have it in there possession.