dc11786

I appreciate this episode in the most unusual way. I'm always interested in "The Catlins," but this was quite bad. I do think there were a few bright moments with Julie Ridley (who I think may have elevated her scene partner, Kent Whipple), but overall I felt I finally understood why it received the grief it did in the press in 1983. In comparison to CBN's "Another Life," this is quite amateurish. Even with the addition of Steve Lehrman (Henry Sleasar's script writer from EON) the show is still struggling to gain some footing. I see what Lehrman was attempting in the scenes with Lauren / Matt and Lauren / Beau as this was most likely the central story now the Powell Jackson is in jail (I'm assuming he was Robert Goode's killer or was involved in some plot that resulted in his death). There is an attempt to give layers to both the brothers by making Beau more impulsive and impetuous and Matt more logical and slightly pompous. Poor Christina Reguli, a beautiful woman, is stuck constantly getting verbally attacked (in the last episode, as Lauren, she learns she's pregnant as Matt's ex-wife Crissy arrived to wish her well on marriage to Beau). The script isn't subtle and the performances are broader than I would prefer. I thought the moments where Matt admitted he still cared for Lauren had potential and the general outline of the fight, a wedding celebration, was admirable, but the show needs a lot of work. There are no writer credits but the creative consultant is the defacto headwriter. Lehrman was hired after Sam Smiley was dismissed. Smiley wasn't credited in the July, 1983, episode. I believe creator/producer C.T. McIntrye was a pseudo interim headwriter. According to the creidts, Lehrman is joined by Joe Ranier as Dirk Stack, an executive at Catlin Enterprises, and Charles Hill (ex-TEXAS) as Woody Thorpe. Neither actor appear in this episode, but both are involved with Maggie Catlin Brown (Julie Ridley Williams). It would seem Roger Brown, Maggie's lawyer husband, seems to be on his way out the door. The Roger / Maggie material was probably the most reflective. Kent Whipple was very dry in his deliver, which was a pleasant change from a lot of the other performers. I thought Maggie and Roger reminscing about their law school days and the failure of their marriage was decent, but the dialogue definitely could have used some work. It was also nice to hear that Roger mention he was involved with Faith, who was played by Marion Guyot, who was the wife of Dan Albright (Matt). The Medger / Seth scenes set in what I assume was a very real production office of "The Catlins" standing in for the Southern Coastal Bank, I think that was the name of the Quinn's financial instituation, wasn't as effective as they thought it would be. Danny Nelson works better as comic relief in later episodes, and does well in some of the more emotional stuff involving his granddaughter in the Christmas, 1984, episodes I've seen. This is very hard to watch. It's curious to see that it is Seth Quinn who starts the hunt to ruin the Catlin family financially. His brother Cullen's drug operation is what eventually does him in. I thought it was smart to have Seth go after Powell Jackson, the unhinged psychiatrist seen holding Jennifer Catlin hostage in the late July, 1983, promos online. Using Powell to reveal new family secrets was an interesting choice. I feel like Lehrman directed the showed into a better place, it was just gonna take time.

@DRW50 I have never seen this episode. The only 1983 episode I have seen pop up is from a month or so before in July, 1983, right after Bo and Lauren’s wedding. I haven't watched it all yet, but this is the first time I’ve seen Brett Rice as Seth Quinn, Larry Jordan as Beau Catlin, and Kent Whipple as Roger Brown. Thanks @EricMontreal22

The interesting thing is that the show was at its most provocative, in my opinion, in the era where there were also no traditional broadcasting people leading the show. In November-December, 1981, between Bob Aaron's departure and Darryl Hummel's arrival, the show really approaches a lot of hot button issues that seems to dull quite a bit when the Barnes' arrive in late 1981. With that said, I do think there are issues that soaps would have been more fearful to approach even in the other periods. It was just interesting to consider how a lot of TPTB came from traditional soaps (Winsor, Aaron, Vinley, Hummel) and how that may have shaped the way the show evolved. I think the issue is also the lack of knowledge of some of these 1980s off-network soaps is so limited that people are probably coming across them in some found VHS/Beta footage and not knowing what it is or what it is worth. Soap operas were significant early original scripted ontent on cable television and, as such, I think might hold a little more interest than possibly traditional network fare to TV historians. Jerry Timms is an attractive guy. His charm often overshadows his ability, which works for a character like Gil. His Gil appears more low key compared to J. Michael Hunter's Gil who seems more sitcom like in some of the material I have seen with him. The story sounds like something out of the show itself. I imagine if only Timms had Timms agreed to repent like some of the televanglists caught in scandals later in the decade. There's something very wholesome about Jeanette Larson. She plays everything so earnestly without overdoing it (at least some of the early stuff in her relationship with Matt Williams' Ben that easily could have been overdone given the quick pace of the material). Her Lori has a great rapport with Chris Roland's Russ as well even after the breakup and such nice ease with both Renee Crawford and Susan Scannell. I'll be curious to see where things go with Debbie McLeod, who definitely bares a nice resemblance to Mary Jean Feton. I made it a little past 400 before taking a break. Amber Phillips just showed up at the construction office to solicit Gil for use of the construction site for a photo shoot. Amber bares a resemblance to Deena Greely, but Peggy Smithhart seems more energetic than Donna Denton. In addition, Amber has more built in conflict with her newly returned father (who I haven't seen her with yet). The setup is done quickly, but you can already see where the story is heading. Terry had a very nice showdown of sorts with Charles, who has recovered nicely from his heart attack and has dropped his interest in Jesus. Charles implies that Terry is foolish to give her energy to her faith and Terry makes the point of her faith as an investment stating that the bigger risk for Charles is not to believe. I thought it was a valid point without being as heavy handed as it could have been. Miriam is trapped in the gardening shed with her cat, Gabriel, and managed a brief escape thanks to Blue's incompetence. People are slowly becoming more and more concerned about Miriam's disappearance and Harold is pressing John Brubaker to do more. I do appreciate that they acknowledge that it is crazy that no ransom demand has been made so they are dismissing the idea of kidnapping. There was also a nice little bit of story crossover when Ben and Lori are out of town having dinner close to where Lori is hospitalized and Babs, who is on the run, pops up. To remind us that Babs in the wig is a disguise, Ben initially thinks it is Miriam, but Babs quickly dismisses them. Nancy has attempted to make a play for Dave Phillips, which at least makes some sense to me as Nancy would be searching for a new husband. Dave seems very unfazed by Nancy. The clear endgame is Dave and Terry already, which makes sense. The setup for Nancy and Vicki's revenge against Gil is slowly forming, and if it is what I think it is, I will say it will be the biggest disappoint in Vinley's run so far. I wish that they had just had Vicki #2 be a new character at this point. In Russ' story, Marianne has become increasingly interested in what it is that Vince Cardello does for work, which is pertinent because of Russ' decision to join his father's operation. Vince has a nice standoff between Russ and Vince over whether or not this triangle can end with all three parties still getting along; Vince says there will be no happy ending for all of them. I appreciate that Vince is now the unintentional interloper in Marianne and Russ' relationship, but I really would have loved for Carrie Weaver's busybody self to show up and make Marianne prefer Vince's mob life to Carrie's Lady MacBeth / Jocasta cosplay. I probably will start with this again in a week or two. I just needed a break because I feel like as I enter this era there is so much backstory that I need to be more aware.

@YTG Wow. This length of time you committed to this project is remarkable. I mean digitizing the episodes itself must have been super time consuming itself, but the pacing of acquiring the episodes is wild. Lori's assault is pretty powerful. I was actually speaking with a friend about the sequence on Saturday and the hints of racism that are embedded into the story of Monk and Fernandiz being accused of the attack due to their other crime. Jason Vinley's early work there is very remarkable considering the time period. The sequence of the chase between Blue and Lori is quite remarkable. A lot of the filmwork in that story is fairly strong. Blue watching Lori and Marianne play tennis through his dark shades is something out of a thriller. Hummel does a nice job capturing suspense in some of the episodes I've seen. Other beautifully shot suspense scenes include Dennis Frazer outside the Davidson home with Terry frightened on the other side (early 1982) and Gene Redlon racing to and through the airport to prevent Carla from running off with their son, Jimmy (spring 1982). These all seemed much stronger than the opening car accident and even the raid of the drug cargo ship in the fall of 1981. I am glad you found your way to this board. I did try to join that group weeks (months?) ago and got no response to my request. It is fine. I am not losing any sleep over it. You have provided some very interesting details. I believe Travis (who did the interviews) posted on this board briefly years ago. Earlier, he posted on danfling's soap opera board as he (at the time) shared an interest in the more obscure cable soaps like myself; I remember speaking with him about the number of episodes of "A New Day in Eden." The work the two of you have done is remarkable. My favorite of the interviews I have read is with Jason Vinley. Such insight into the process of the show, especially its creation from Vinley's perspective is delightful. I have read it at least a half dozen times at this point. Thanks for sharing where you started watching. I am curious have you been able to determine with what episodes were first shown in your country through archived newspapers listings. Sometimes they help and sometimes they don't. I am curious if the show was sold in its entirely internationally before the repackaging in 1984. Scott and Nora's deaths stand out. Scott's death may be the episode I have watched the most over the years because it's just so stark seeing Mary Jean Feton sobbing while covered in what is suppose to be Scott's blood on her cheek and uniform. I can't see any show ever getting that messy (literally) with a death. CBN still having the tapes is intriguing. This is something that I think is getting lost; material from the 1980s is getting old and deteriorating. I'll be curious to see if anything pops up of the early episodes. To be honest, the early episodes from Roy Winsor and Bob Aaron were a bit of a chore to get through and I admire some of Winsor's writing elsewhere. I have seen articles about the show being cancelled stating they would immediately pick up with reruns, which is quite interesting. Its a shame they couldnt find ways to financially make it work but its an interesting alternative though I will be curious to see how I feel about 1983-1984. What have been some of your favorite characters and/or stories?

@YTG Thanks for posting that Mary Jean Felton interview. Also, am I correct to assume you upload all the episodes to YouTube? Thanks! It’s how I’ve been able to enjoy the show.

This is from the opening of the Outback. This is the start of the Monday, July 22, 1991 episode. This would be very early Gerald Hopkins as A.J. His date is Nurse Sheila Contillion (Stacey Cortez). Sheila appeared in February 1991 and was initially a potential love interest for James Morrison's Joey Moscini. Joey was the Eckerts' cousin on the mother's side. Joey can be briefly seen in that sequence sitting at the same table as his cousin Jenny. Sheila and A.J. are the younger set for the second half of Monty's 1991 run with Brandon Hooper added as Dr. Eric Simpson. Riche keeps the younger set and adds Nikki Langton (who appeared in the final Monty episodes). Sheila's biggest moment is in the transition from Monty to Riche (January-Febraruy 1992) when Linda Grover (briefly one of the headwriters with Norma Monty) introduced a story involving Sheila's abusive stepfather, Pete Kaufmann. Sheila and Eric are a D-story for throughout the headwriterless period and into Maralyn Thoma / Bill Levinson's run. Sheila and Eric fade out in the later part of the fall of 1992 when Nikki ditches A.J. at the altar and A.J. ends up in rehab for his alcoholism. It's also why they slot Sean Kanan's A.J. into the Brenda / Jason / Jagger / Karen group because there was not much of an early 20 set left. Tracy is there with Paul Hornsby, who she would later marry. Michael Lynch played Connor Olivera, who I think they tested with a bunch of different ladies on the show (Dominique, Felicia, and I think some others). When Connor is set to be deported, he is revealed to be Sean Donnelly's son. Monty's second run is dominated by a very basic attempt to emulate "EastEnders" by having characters of different ethnicities present. Connor identified as Mexican; he was being deported back to Mexico before it was revealed his father was an American. Conner is around until October, 1992, but he is mostly doing stuff at the Outback and pining for Dominique. He appears to sing at Scott and Dominque's wedding in February, 1993 once Dominique learns she has the tumor and doesn't have long to live. I don't believe he is at her memorial later in the year.

Thanks @Search For Yesterday for posting this episode from July, 1988. It's clearly a strike episode even if you didn't check the credits. So many characters and stories going on in a single episode there is very little time for the material to breath. With that said, there are a few nice beats. Jim and Lily's conversation at the homeless shelter about her previous love for music and how it hurt her. This is another opportunity where the show delved into part of her past in a way that was very reflective. I think placing Lily in a space with a woman who had been abused (Mei Ling) and her son was a smart move. It was a nice reset for Lily, though she doesn't last much longer. Jim and Shana's reflection on Shana's miscarriage and how both had thought about what it would be like had the child lived as well as it's impact on Jim's faith were nice, but underdeloped. Ava's miscarriage happens so quickly its hard to really get a sense of purpose. The dream sequence with Jeff and Trisha was silly, but Noelle Beck played her anger well. I like Scott Feraco and his version of Jeff. All this "Image" stuff with Egypt isn't for me. I don't hate Gwyn / Jeff, but the material doesn't really pop the way you would hope. Ron Nummi plays Rick well. I'm now seeing how having Jack, the non-Alden raised as part of the family, against Rick, the Alden not raised by the family, had potential beyond just fighting over Stacey. I still don't like where Rick is in the fall with the material (already scheming) similar to Jeff (who quickly becomes unhinged with the quick recasts). Rick and Stacey's scenes were nice, and I'm not a huge Rick / Stacey fan. I think it dawned on me what my issue is with Egypt. She comes off as the latest in a long line of women of a similar type on this show, the Southern comic relief. It started with Rita Mae Bristow, and then it was Dolly Jones, then Lotty Bates, and now Egypt. Mostly all played by talented actresses, the type isn't for me. Rita Mae had the best potential when Marland paired her in a younger man relationship with Tony Perilli. https://archive.org/details/ABC-daytime-07-15-88/Loving+1988-07-15.mp4

Six minutes of late run episode (best guess is late 40s or early 50s) featuring just Lara Parker as Betty Franklin. Betty drops a lot of exposition about her background, which reveals that she had been born in Eden but moved to Atlanta. I think there is some nice romantic tension on Jim McMullen's part and, despite her claims she tanked romances, I don't think Lara Parker kills the mood. End credits are included. Only new name @slick jones is Michael Gates as Luke, who is most likely Luke Lombardi https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14FQZwzSDX4/

Some next day previews for an early May, 1984 episode. It is worth noting that we have previously seen an episode from this period (the complete episode featuring the poker game scenes) that is a few weeks later. Worth noting that Muriel Moore is still playing Annabelle in early May and that Matt Catlin is still around. He wasn't in the credits of the April 1984 episode I had. Starts around a minute in.

5 minutes of an episode. Most likely from October, 1984. I'll look into it to see if I can identify the exact episode @NadineC If you haven't seen it already, Tim Maier is featured prominently in two scenes. https://www.tiktok.com/@superdeformed/video/7522610768211201335

@Kane After I typed, it dawned on me that the fireplace was more than likely included in my "Trucker is Temu Steve" theory even going as far as putting Trucker and Trisha in a recreation of Steve and Trisha's home, though I wonder if anyone even remembered that the set had once belonged to Trisha and Steve. Also, during this period, Trucker bought the garage. A more astute writer could have really delved into those parallels and potentially laid the groundwork prior having Trisha push Trucker into buying the garage and redecorating the house with someone like Stacey noting how much it looks like her home with Steve. Slightly off topic, but I much preferred the more rustic hunting lodge layout of the original Tides in late 1991 than the modern contemporary 90s Ashley Furniture look of 1992. The original had such character and the redesign was very generic, which is funny because I thought the layout of Ava and Paul's house stood out. @DRW50 I've only seen the tailend of Ellis' "Search." I'd be curious if I saw any comparison if I watched what was available of his work on "The Doctors" in 1980. Something that Ellis had done well on "Search" was crafting a younger set so the failure of Ned / April is very disappointing. I initially disagreed with your assessment of Curtis being too complicated, but given further thought, I think you might be right in the sense that Curtis of 1987 had changed so much since the Curtis fo 1983. His edges had been dulled a bit, while Jack seemed to a bit sharper. It would have been interesting if it was Curtis and Lotty who took Lily in at the behest of Gwyn hoping that Curtis would choose the more socially prominent Lily despite everyone in Corinth knowing her own complicated past. Jack immediately assuming that Curtis' intentions are less than noble and revisiting Curtis and Lily's history with Curtis eventually confessing to Lotty that he feels he needs Lily's forgiveness because he felt he exploited her illness; even though he was unaware at the time. You could even have an early Gwyn taking Lily under her wing to build up her confidence. I believe that June Slater had died in the weeks preceding Lily's return. Jack and Stacey could have asked June to settle the estate and would have had Jack offer to help her sell the house. I think going through the things would have been a chance for Lily and Jack to relive the past in the sort of soft gothic tone that daytime occassionally does well with them revisiting the horrible history between Lily and her father and how Lily wants to move forward but seems so stunted by her past. Curtis would have picked up on the tension between Jack and Lily, but people would assume that Curtis was jealous. With enough people saying this, tension could build in Lotty and Curtis' marriage. I think I would even had a manipulative Gwyn (much earlier in the story) ask Lily to play piano at Curtis and Lotty's wedding at the mansion just to stir up the trouble. The only person who I think would agree with Curtis would be Ava, which would lead to Ava seeking out opportunities to catch Jack and Lily in the act in order to delight in Jack cheating on Stacey the way he cheated on her with Stacey. This would, in turn, would be fueled subtly by Gwyn who would think that Ava is beneath Clay. Curtis's marriage to Lotty would have unravelled by not only Lotty's insecurities about Curtis / Lily but because Gwyn kept nagging Lotty about how Eban Japes' wedding shootout ruined Trisha's wedding day. No longer able to stand it all, Lotty would be the one to discover the truth about Gwyn and Rick's connection and reveal it to everyone at Ava and Clay's rehearsal dinner or engagement party with the second act of Gwyn's story being who the father of Rick is. Curtis and Lotty would call it quits when Lorna, who would visit at Christmas, would invite her friend to come live with her abroad. Eventually, after the affair, I would have liked to see Lily try to rebuild her life. I would have her be more independent by finding a quieter job, like she did at the community/homeless shelter with Jim Vochek, but also returning to Alden University as a student to study psychology. Curtis, now single, would attempt to build a life outside the Alden realm through Harry's casino but become addicted to gambling while becoming involved with a newly single Stacey. Lily would learn about Curtis' gambling and try to help, while Jack fought to reunite with Stacey. The more I think about it, Rick as Mike's son would just add some really nice layers of tension and push for Mike's return which would build up the Donovan crew. I have to admit, a Mike and Gwyn dalliance in their youth would have been a rewrite, but if it was framed the right way (a one-night stand between a very drunk and frightened Mike shortly before being shipped out and Gwyn, Anne Alden's childhood pal, growing closer to her brother Clay and wanting nothing to do with her working class roots) it would be passable, but still evoke some (well earned) complaints. Cecilia's shooting may have been part of a redemption arc as she seems to be less of an interloper in those final weeks and more of a solid B- or C- character who is trying to carve out a new life for herself. Cece as Ava's pal, Kate's boarder, the Amourelle model, Steve's ex, and Rick's girlfriend positions her well on the canvas. I think she should have been given more time and been allowed to carry Steve's child to term. Thanks for sharing the flashback to Shana's miscarriage. If they were considering having Jim return to the Church, I could see how Shana's very over the top miscarriage could be framed as a major hurdle with some suggesting that Jim may have caused the accident to release himself from his marriage or Shana guilting Jim into staying after causing the loss. Instead, there is more spy garbage isn't there? Peter Davies is a very strong, quiet presence, which I think works better for a character like Shana as the one who got away and who would intimidate the weak willed men that Shana would attract as a strong woman dominating her male companions. Ava seems fairly self aware, and a bit over the top, in a lot of the material in this era in ways that are wonderful and occassionally cringe. Ava's justification when Clay offers the pre-nup being that she had walked away from Curtis and Jack without the family jewels was both on point and a wild way to approach the outrageous marital history of Ava. Her saying goodbye, again, to the boarding house feels right. In my ALT Loving of 1987, I would even have Ava buy the Slater home at a bargain price without even considering the role the murder and Garth's abuse played in the asking price with the Aldens being mortified by Ava's crude decision. Of course, I would have Gwyn be the first to arrive at Ava's housewarming to snicker.

Some of the scripts from this period are very well done compared to others I've seen around this time. There are layers to some of the material that I haven't seen before. The conversation you are referencing was very powerful and a deep insight to how Lily still saw herself as attracting the danger. The scenes with Jack and the detective were also thought provoking regarding Lily's intent with going to the bar. I didn't question Lily's intent myself, but I thought how what was going on could have blown up and led to an investigation where Jack and Lily's affair came to the surface. Nowadays, Lily and Jack would just have to go to a Coldplay concert. I also noticed that some of this Lily / Jack setup is repeated in 1991 for the Dinahlee / Jack story, which I don't know if it was intentional or not. Dinahlee stays with Jack and the kids when Stacey is out of town (most likely visiting someone) and that's how the "seduction" occurs. Someone else (I believe it was @Soaplovers) mentioned that they wish there had been a more equal playing field for Lily and Stacey rather than Stacey and Jack clearly being endgame. I think there was an opportunity to explore mental health issues with Stacey after the robbery. Part trauma from the event and part survivor's guilt, I could Stacey becoming increasingly unwound, which I think would have placed Lily in the position of either trying to help her friend and or take advantage of that situation. It would have been even more wild if Stacey had become paranoid and assumed Lily and Jack were having an affair, when it had been called off, and they were simply sneaking around figuring out how to best handle Stacey. Jack having to rectify whether to call out Stacey's paranoia or to acknowledge the possibiity that Stacey had been picking up on their closeness all along and needing to accept his part in Stacey's unravelling. At the end of Ralph Ellis' SFT run in 1982, he started to do some psychological games between Rusty Sentell and his daughter-in-law, Liza, which was never completely played out to its natural conclusion. It was fairly well done so I think Ellis could have pulled off something similar (maybe having Jack downplay his closeness with Lily). With that said, I find Stacey's madness in 1992-1993 one of my least favorite Stacey stories. Off topic, I had never seen the house Trisha and Steve shared, but it looks like it is similar to Ava and Paul's house in 1991-1992. I doubt its the same location in story, but the set seems to be very similar.

I got through most of the 1987 material that was recently uploaded. November into December is very strong in the way soaps use to be really good when ending a long going storyline. It's fascinating to watch nearly half the cast gather in the waiting room of Corinth Hospital while others are at home awaiting news because Steve was so integrated into the cast. It's not really surprising to think that so many threads are abandoned (Cecilia, Ned) in the immediate aftermath because of the strength of the character. Also, this affirms my belief that Trucker becomes the poor man's Steve without the strong ties across the canvas. I cannot see Trucker's funeral generating this much genuine feeling emotion. The bank robbery is well staged. Hindmann is dragged out as resident cop to handle the hostage negotiations. At this point, John Danelle is one of the longer running actors even if he's only recurring. The tension across the street in the makeshift headquarters is mostly good except for the moments that lean into the theatrics (Harry belting "Getting our people out of there!" breaks the tension in a way I don't hink was intended). Steve's stoicism paired well with Stacey's fears for her child. I was pleasantly surprised by all of the fake outs. When Steve covers Stacey and J.J., I figured one of the bank robbers were going to get up to shoot him again, but instead he just seemed unaware of the wound. Then, Steve is in the hospital and recovers before eventually succumbing. Watching live must have been a rollercoaster. I recognize that some of this is practical; the bank robbery needs to happen in November for sweeps and Johnson's contract isn't up until December. They certainly got their money's worth in the final days even having Johnson appear as a ghost to Trisha. I like Trisha and Steve, but their story becomes so overwrought with Steve's prison stint and Trisha's involvement with Nick Diantos. Maybe this all plays out better in the day to day, but the overall synopsis is usually pretty unappealing. I think a pregnant Cecilia having to cope with Steve being dead while cozied up to Rick Stewart would have propelled the story especially if Trisha decided she wanted access to Steve's child, which she really had no right to, but got the backing of the Aldens. It would have positioned Rick well and would have continued the story nicely without thrusting Trisha into a new romance. I appreciate how Steve's shooting is a true umbrella story that intersects with the B- and C- stories, even the ones I have little to know interest in. Jim recovering fragments of his memory during all of this was a calculated move that works well especially when Shana finds Jim praying for Steve in the church chapel. These two (Shana and Jim) are well positioned with Jim's memory returning just as Shana has learned she was pregnant. I think she miscarries this baby, right? Jimmy is born later, or is this the same pregnancy? I think this works better than what was going on with Shana and Jim's conflict over her return to Alden, at least in the little I've seen. I could see Jim fearing that Shana's return to the corporate world would have brought out a harder Shana, like the one who initially came to Corinth. To be fair, in October, 1987, Jim probably doesn't remember this version so we are left with the more generic conflict. I don't love what actually follows this for Jim and Shana, but the potential in December, 1987, is awesome. Similar, I have no horse in the race involving the Harry / Gwyn / Anne love triangle. Harry was introduced as a fairly repugnant man who had kidnapped and nearly raped Shana while also threatening to kill multiple people. I think it would have been worht exploring the bank robbers having a connection to someone else on the canvas. My initial thought was Cecilia, having one of the robbers living at the boarding house and Cece using him to make Rick jealous, but now I wonder if they shouldn't have tied the robbers to Harry and his criminal past. Something that would have given the story a little more legs. Callan White is adequate at showing Anne's internal torment at wanting to be there for Harry, but not being able to get past her own pain. Gwyn is too good for this as was evidenced by her July, 1987, scenes where Rick confronts her about being his mother, which showcase the emotional force that Christine Tudor is. Those scenes reminded me of Tudor-Newman's final performance as Gwyn confessing her crimes to Steffi while being raw emotionally. Gwyn's fear that she will be caught is delightful and the fact that no one even picked Tudor-Newman up for another role is criminal. I would even have settled for one of Goutman's villain on the months that were so common on the last half-decade of "As the World Turns." During Gwyn and Rick's confrontation, an alternate route for Rick's paternity formed in my mind when Gwyn suggested that Rick's father had died in the Vietnam War. I think it would have been messy as anything if the show had made Mike Donovan Rick's father instead of Clay. Rick as Mike's son by Gwyn would have impacted not only Gwyn and Rick, but would have drawn in Mike's former lovers Shana and Anne as well as his friend Jim and sister Stacey. Obviously, you couldn't do Stacey and Rick down the line (which is fine because most of Rick's story should have gone to Curtis anyway), but I think there was a way to easily enhance the Harry, Anne, and Gwyn material if it was Mike who oversaw the hostage crisis with Harry blaming Mike's tactics for what happened while Anne cozies up to Mike, while Rick seeks Shana's legal advice on tracking down his father as Jim starts to get more of his memory back. Gwyn having had Mike's child would have deepened the Shana and Anne relationship by giving them a true common enemy. Anyway, back to reality, I am not sure how I feel about flip flopping Cecilia out and Lily into the Amourelle model role, though Cece never was officially named to the position. If it was Curtis and Lily wanting Lily in the modeling role, I would be more interested. I could see Curtis wanting to tap into Lily's more integrated personality that once included a very promiscious side that he was drawn to (I would have killed Lotty off at Eban Japes' wedding shoot out). Curtis guiding Lily would have reignited the old conflict between Jack and Curtis, which would have made more sense and, again, added another chance for story interaction for Anne-Gwyn. Most of the Stacey - Jack - Lily material is also very strong. Something I really appreciated in the fragments we are getting is that the writers lean into Lily's childhood abuse in ways I didn't expect. It would be easy to write this story as an old flame comes back to rekindle what once was. There is more at stake for Lily than just that. As an abuse survivor, there have been very few times she has felt romantically safe with someone, which is one of the reasons she talks about with Jack. This is also why having Curtis more involved would have given a nice layer to all of this as Curtis also had a brief romantic history with Stacey. I could see Curtis being drawn to Lily and Lily being repulsed by Curtis because of her involvement with one of her alters (though I don't think he was aware what was going on when he was first with her). I think Curtis and Lily may have slept together in 1983, but I'm not sure Lily adn Jack did. This would be something that could have been explored much more. I don't mind Britt Helfer's Lily. She clearly isn't Jennifer Ashe, but she does seem to lean into the lost quality of Lily more than I expected. There is definitely an ongoing sense that we are suppose to be questioning how well Lily really is and I think Helfer, on occassion, presents that well. When Lily visits Stacey after the robbery, she has a very nice little speech about wanting something that she was trying to explain to Stacey which the clear subtext is she is referring to Jack and herself but covers by saying she is speaking about Trisha and Steve. It's fairly well done in my opinion. The crossover content in the Lily / Jack / Stacey situation with the Anne / Harry stuff is nicely done. Anne is clearly uneasy about how Jack has duped Stacey the way Harry has duped her and it seems to be present Anne as a crucible that should explode at any minute and reveal Jack's secret. I have to wonder if Anne ever compares Jack to Roger with the extramarital activity. In some of the smaller flashes, I can definitely see how Ralph Ellis is replaying his earlier material. I always thought that April Hathaway, teen prostitute, was more Agnes Nixon trying to retell the Donna Beck story, but the more I think about April's background, April is a younger Jenny Deacon from Ellis' "Search for Tomorrow." Jenny, like April, was a prostitute who has a child; Jenny gave her daughter up while April aborted her baby. In both cases, the child's father was dead. Steve Fletcher's Alan Howard is such an odd villain. None of it works for me. I have to wonder if Teri Polo's Kristen Larson was a poor imitation of Search's Kristen Carter. Not that we've seen a whole lot of her, but Polo's Kristen seems like a very underdeveloped character. The Ava / Clay parachuting plane crash seems to be a bit of a replay of Warren / Suzi / Brian's plane crash. Some of the dialogue seems very familiar, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm not thrilled with Ava and Clay as a couple. I think Ava coming into money and position through an older man is appealing. The scenes where Ava is with the society woman and is embarassed by Kate was something I would like to have seen more of. I did think Roya Megnot did very well at highlighting all the shades of Ava's personality with Steve's death by equally loving Steve "like a brother" and wanting to use her newfound clout to provide a hero's funeral for Steve, which felt like the perfect balance of Ava's love for Steve as well as her own selfish desire to be in the spoitlight and elevate her own family. Trisha calling it out is delicious, but having a competent Curtis around to stroke Ava's ego would have been even richer. It was nice to see Harry call out Ava because I can believe Ava growing up with Steve like a brother and aging into a position where she despised his lot in life. I think Ava even says something along the lines of I regret the things I didn't say to him, and I thought that was a very powerful line. I am also assuming part of Ava's emotional makeup in these sequences involves guilt as I imagine she is the one who stole the itinerary from Shana, or is that incorrect? Another Harry moment that was delightful was seeing hypocrite extraordinaire Jack Forbes rip into Harry for the way Harry was two-timing Jack's mother. I do hope that when the truth about Lily and Jack comes out, that Harry calls Jack out for the egotistical jerk he can be. While I can totally believe that Steve saving Jack's wife and son could be a life flashign moment for Jack, there still needs to be a lot of work done by Jack, which he doesn't seem interested in doing. Another couple random thoughts: Steve and Trisha's gun toting wedding guests are too much. I'm sure there are some that find Eban Japes humorous, but I find him such a base individual who doesn't really generate the interest the writers think he does. Cecilia getting shot just after her miscarriage seems to be overkill especially since it didn't stop Steve and Trisha's marriage. Cutting Eban and the Lotty / Curtis story was a smart move. Cutting the April / Ned story was even smarter. I do think there may have been a missed opportunity with Marty, the alcoholic. I believe June Slater died in March or April, 1987, after her years of drinking. It might have been worth having Lily intervene with the situation as a way of broadening Lily's involvement in the canvas as well as having Anne, in recovery, also attempting to help her. I'm genuinely surprised that Ned is still around in December. Perry started in February which means his contract would have had an out around the time Judith Hoag left. I can see keeping Ned at the garage if that was still going to be a thing, but all of Steve's secondary characters fall off almost immediately. I wonder if Ned even gets an exit scene. Kate's daughter Sherry having given birth at Ava's November wedding gives Sherry a good out for missing her cousin's funeral, even if it isn't specifically stated onscreen. I think Cabot and Isabelle leave for a bit after Cabot's trial. I wonder if this was one of the reasons they dropped Kelly as they were watching over her. Not that Kelly Conway was someone worth investing time and energy on, but she was the most connected of the 1987 younger set, though its Dave Hindman, the illiterate basketball player, who ends up last several years on and off on recurring. I'll be curious to see if anything else pops up.

I believe I may have mentioned these in the radio soap thread. They are also fairly significant because they cover the period where the show moved from Chicago to New York (or Hollywood?) and there is an entire cast change within the first 10 episodes. Some voices don’t change much but some do. I can’t remember off the top of my head if this is one of Irna Phillips’ last year as headwriter or very early Teichman. It’s worth noting that the Tom character has been SORASed as has Butch. Tom is Reginald Parson and Helen Gowan’s son in one of her typical “mother gives up child” stories more akin to Fredericka Lang/Ned Holden than Rose Kransky and her son, Chucky I think.

@slick jones I'm sure you had this in your notes and just didn't add it, but Sylvia O'Brien would also have the role of Patricia "Mother" McGhee, Johnny's mother, on "How to Survive a Marriage" in 1974.

Here is the next set of episode summaries covering June - September, 1990. I chose to end with September, for now, because we have several episodes from October / November as well as I have a possible missing episode in October I need to see if it exists or not. In addition, my information for October is very sparse. Episode 012 [Monday, June 4, 1990] Sue Thompson decides to go to Australia. Anton Vaughan is anxious about Vaughn’s, his new cafe, will not be ready for the big opening night. Episode 013 [Tuesday, June 5, 1990] Sue Thompson is the recipient of even more crushing news. Nathan Thompson struggles with adjusting to attending a state school after years in private school. Christian faces a disappointment. Episode 014 [Monday, June 11, 1990] Mark Thompson made plans to locate his wayward father, Mike Thompson. Andrew Stevens shocked his mother, Diana Stevens, when he phoned her to wish mother a happy birthday as well as to share news from England. While his mother celebrates her birthday, Christian Stevens remained irked by the presence of Mike Thompson in the family home and sought comfort at his father’s grave. Episode 015 [Tuesday, June 12, 1990] Amanda Thompson suspects her fiancée Neil Brooks’ motives when he persuades her to postpone their wedding. Corrine Todd contemplates the prospect of getting a job. Diana Stevens has a business dinner with Anton Vaughan. Upon returning home, Diana discovers that her houseguest, her first love Mike Thompson, has disappeared. Episode 016 [Monday, June 18, 1990] Sue Thompson struggled to handle her daughter, Amanda Thompson. Corrine Todd finally agrees to a date with Christian. Diana Stevens confronts Mike Thompson. Episode 017 [Tuesday, June 19, 1990] While taking a midnight walk, Mike Thompson made a proposal to Diana Stevens. Sue Thompson had to decide whether or not to sell the family home to pay off the family’s growing debts. Episode 018 [Monday, June 25, 1990] While Amanda Thompson goes job hunting, she discovered that there was more to working than she had expected. Two big surprises turn up on the doorsteps of each family’s home that threaten to turn everything upside down. Mike Thompson tried to smooth things over with Justine and Christian Stevens. Episode 019 [Tuesday, June 26, 1990] Mike Thompson was shocked when his son, Mark Thompson, turned up at Diana’s home in Sydney. Mark is equally surprised to discover his father. Amanda begins working at the Thompson garage. Episode 020 [Monday, July 2, 1990] With the help of Diana Stevens, Mark Thompson tried to convince his father Mike Thompson to go back to England to be with his wife and family. During the discussion, Mark sought information from Mike about the history of Mike’s relationship with Diana. Diana doesn’t want to be involved in the conflict between father and son. In order to solve some of the family’s financial issues, Rachel Grandby suggests to her daughter, Sue Thompson, that Sue sell the horse paddock. Sue sought the approval of John Thompson, her brother-in-law, but received one dissenting voice, Amanda. Episode 021 [Tuesday, July 3, 1990] Mike Thompson played a game as attempts were made to get him to return back to England. Episode 022 [Monday, July 9, 1990] Mike Thompson felt hassled when Diana Stevens wanted Mike to make his position clear and forces him to phone his family in England. Friends continues to oppose Sue’s schemes, such as selling the paddock to pay off the family’s debt. Neil Brooks proposed to his fiancée Amanda Thompson a weekend away, but Amanda comes up with an alternative with the help of her brother, Nathan Thompson. Episode 023 [Tuesday, July 10, 1990] On his last day in Australia, Mark Thompson had unpleasant news for Diana Stevens; his father, Mike Thompson, planned on returning to England. In contrast, Mark shared the news of Mike’s return to Sue Thompson, Mike’s abandoned wife. Mike was adamant that Mark not share with Diana the real reason he was returning. Diana worried that her preoccupation with her own personal problems has meant neglecting her children. Episode 024 [Monday, July 16, 1990] Mark Thompson prepared to return to England. When Mike Thompson, Mark’s father, takes him to the airport, Diana Stevens, Mike’s first love, discovered that Mike’s passport was missing. Sue Thompson told her excited family that Mike was returning home. Episode 025 [Tuesday, July 17, 1990] The partnership agreement between Diana Stevens and Anton Vaughn was finalized. Episode 026 [Monday, July 23, 1990] The Thompson clan are in for yet another shock when Mark Thompson returned home from Australia alone, without his father, Mike. The family had to come to terms with Mike’s continued absence. Sue was philosophical about Mike’s absence: “All I can do is get on with my life.” Episode 027 [Tuesday, July 24, 1990] At the garage, Andrew Stevens and Lisa Shepherd learn to deal with John Thompson’s despotic rule of the garage. Upon Mark Thompson’s return, Mark, Lisa, and Andrew toasted the future success of the Thompson garage. Episode 028 [Monday, July 30, 1990] Diana Stevens sent her son, Andrew Stevens, a latter which angered him. When Nathan Thompson announced he was leaving school to take a job, Nathan and his mother, Sue Thompson, clashed. After speaking with Sue, Mike Thompson came to an inaccurate conclusion. Episode 029 [Tuesday, July 31, 1990] A rare sighting in a Sydney car park stated a hunt. Mike Thompson pursued a business deal at the expense of his relationship with Diana Stevens. Amanda Thompson was let in on Andrew Stevens and Mark Thompson’s secret. Episode 030 [Monday, August 6, 1990] John Thompson tricked his nephew, Mark Thompson, into telling him the truth surprising the Thompson family in the process. There is some rivalry between Andrew Stevens and Mark over Lisa Shepherd, the secretary at the Thompson garage. Amanda Thompson suspected her fiancée Neil Brooks was having an affair when he again postponed the wedding. Episode 031 [Tuesday, August 7, 1990] Corrine Todd prepared for an all-night party. Diana Stevens discovered some new information about Mike Thompson. Lisa Shepherd predicted that an early wedding for Amanda Thompson and Neil Brooks would bring an end to Amanda’s desire for Andrew Stevens. On a country outing, Lisa informed Andrew that Amanda is crazy about him. Episode 032 [Monday, August 13, 1990] Mike Thompson was unwilling to listen his brother John Thompson’s reprimands or to John’s self-centered plans for the garage. Amanda Thompson discovered that Neil Brooks volunteered for his post in Hong Kong, information that Neil had kept from her. Episode 033 [Tuesday, August 14, 1990] In Sydney, Mike Thompson’s prospective partner Don McLeod informed Mike that he had to check on his business reliability by phoning England. Don informs Mike his background checked out. When flowers arrive at the garage for Amanda Thompson, Andrew Stevens deduced that they were an apology gift from Neil Brooks for lying about his post in Hong Kong. Corrine Todd arranged a night out with Anton Vaughn. John Thompson persuaded Mike to agree to most of his proposals. Episode 034 [Monday, August 20, 1990] Sue Thompson was frustrated to learn that her daughter Amanda Thompson was giving out wedding invitations with Sue’s knowledge. In Sydney, Corinne Todd paid another visit to Anton Vaughn’s flat which ended in tears leading to disastrous consequences. Episode 035 [Tuesday, August 21, 1990] Suspicions arose as Corrine Todd kept quiet about the exact events tat unfolded in Anton Vaughn’s flat. When Sue Thompson discovered the truth about her absent husband Mike Thompson’s life in Australia, she feels deceived by her family. Episode 036 [Monday, August 27, 1990] Corrine Todd kept secret what happened that night in Anton Vaughn’s flat. After Barbara Todd makes serious allegations against him, Anton confronts her, Barbara’s daughter Corrine, and the Stevens with the truth about what happened that night at his flat. In Westbury, Sue Thompson informed her children, Mark and Amanda Thompson, how she felt about their behavior. Episode 037 [Tuesday, August 28, 1990] At the prompting of Andrew Stevens, Amanda Thompson phoned Mike Thompson, her father, to inform him of her upcoming wedding to Neil Brooks. Corrine Todd continued to cause havoc. When new of John Thompson’s directorship of the garage is announced, the Thomson clan reacts with various degrees of credulity, and Sue Thompson spoke her mind. Episode 038 [Monday, September 3, 1990] In England and Australia, apologies are made all around. Ruby and George Davidson, Diana’s divorced parents, speak over the phone for the first time in years. Ruby informed Diana of bad news shared with her by George. Rachel Grandby has her own fit for Neil Brooks, her granddaughter Amanda’s husband to be. Episode 039 [Tuesday, September 4, 1990] As Amanda Thompson and Neil Brooks’ wedding day approached, Andrew Stevens had to accept it was time to move on. Episode 040 [Monday, September 10, 1990] In anticipation of future business deals with Don McLeod, Mike Thompson set up a makeshift office. Nathan Thompson and his friend miss out on the rowdy stag night. Episode 041 [Tuesday, September 11, 1990] In England, the Thompson and Brooks families and their friends gathered at the church for Amanda Thompson and Neil Brooks’ wedding. Amanda was nervous as she left for the church on the arm of John Thompson, her uncle. Neil stated he had never felt so alive in his life. Outside the church, misgiving arose. In Australia, Mike Thompson’s thoughts are also on the wedding. He and Anton Vaughn share a toast to Amanda’s happiness. Episode 042 [Monday, September 17, 1990] After the wedding is called off, the Thompson family gathered at home with mixed feelings. Unaware of what has happened in England, Diana Stevens encouraged Mike Thompson to phone his daughter, Amanda Thompson, to wish her well. Mina Sandoval, Amanda’s pal, had a plan. Episode 043 [Tuesday, September 18, 1990] There were declarations of love from Mike Thompson towards Diana Stevens in Sydney and John Thompson towards Sue Thompson in Westbury. Episode 044 [Monday, September 24, 1990] Sue Thompson was riddled with guilt and shared her feelings with her brother-in-law, John Thompson. Diana Stevens informed her friend Barbara Todd about Mike Thompson’s proposal./ Episode 045 [Tuesday, September 25, 1990] Corrine Todd tries to convince her pal Justine Stevens to share a flat. Mark Thompson confronted his uncle John Thompson over the classic car deal and is shocked by his response.

I finally got around to watching these three episodes. The meat of the material in episodes 58-59 is Diane and Sue's 2 part confrontation in episode 58. Due to the stroke of Diane Stevens' father, which I think was featured in some of the episodes we have available, Diane has arrived in Westbury to see her long absent father, which Sue Thompson sees as an opportunity to confront her rival. I don't think the showdown is as juicy as the July, 1992, episode where Jane Richards explains to 'daughter' Louise that Jane's sister, Jackie, is her true mother, but there is something well played. It is very clear that Mike Thompson has been giving each woman a different story and it doesn't seem to be clear to me who he actually wants to be with, which is such a great shift from what I am use to. No one in this situation seems to be any good. I don't know if the audience knows by this point that Diane is keeping the secret that Andrew is Mike's son, I suspect they do, but this is definitely hinted at with Sue trying to deduce when Diane and Mike were a couple. There were a couple quieter beats to the story that I really enjoyed. Dot Downing, George Davidson's girlfriend, admitting to Diane that she has always feared having to meet Ruby, DIane's mother and George's ex-wife. The Thompson family fawning over Sue in the family living room (which is such an interesting constrast compared to the Stevens' set) while Sue recounts the encounter with Diane was nice. One of my favorite little threads is Mark Thompson, Sue's eldest son, becoming more and more unsettled by the obvious liasion going on between his mother and his uncle. When he questioned why Uncle John has to come over every night, I got a good chuckle. Then, at the garage, Mark rejecting John was a nice continuation of that with Mark acting as a stand in for Mike in a way. Martin Glyn Murray isn't given much to do, but he is doing a nice job with some of the minor work. Moreso than a lot of his counterparts. Diane discovering Sue's secret (the affair with John Thompson) was delightful, but moreso was John attempting to play hero by popping around Dot's cottage to speak with Diane only for Diane to confront him with the affair. It's all quite fun. Especially Diane going off about "English hypocrisy" to Andrew, the son who she has passed off as her late husband's. Maybe because the English stuff is so tight, the Austrailian sequences just seems to be left in the dust. Imogen Annesley is very bland as Justine, but she is expectedly to be frienemies with Tessa Humphries' Corrine. Humphries is hard to watch. I can't tell if she's trying to embody a certain attitude that was prevalent in the late 1980s/early 1990s, but Corrine is very off-putting. Ruby Davidson popping up to chatisize Justine for her housekeeping was one of the few bright spots, along with some of Anton's one-liners. The younger set overall just is very tough. I still enjoy the dissolution of the Todd marriage with Barbara meeting Geoff at the Cafe bringing him his clothes. Geoff wondering what Barbara is really expecting out of this separation, which I was also curious. Geoff and Barbara seem to have reconciled a bit by 61, but Geoff dies by the end of November, 1990, so he's only around for a handful of episodes after this period. I have to wonder if the plan was for Barbara - Don McLeod, the sleazy businessman. As we get a glimpse more of the first year, I can see why the show eventually shifted away from the Aussie storyline. Not only was it a logistical hurdle at times, it just wasn't very compelling overall. I'll be curious if things improved at all when they introduced the Williams family into that story set.

Weatherly appeared more interested in the comedy aspects, in my opinion. He seemed more lively when Cooper was cutting up than when he was handling some of his more emotional moments, though that could also be dependent on the writing. I do remember him delivering some decent work with Tyler and reacting to Steffi's bulimia. In Weatherly's defense, the show was also in a creative flux when he initially arrived with story and character changes happening frequently. His sexual abuse story was quickly aborted and he had to play some sloppily rewrites at the end of that story which would have turned me off as well. Laura Sisk Wright goes with the flow and seems to be much more in command of every version of Ally, but I think she was also surrounded by more grounded actors when she started. A lot of the Aldens Cooper dealt with were new recasts (Clay, Isabelle). I am not sure if you were referencing my comments, or just in general, but I said 1986 is boring with stuff like the Zona trial leading into Zach / Lorna / Kelly, the Hunter Belden / Dolly Lane relationship complete with Dolly being told her child had been sold to child pornographers, Ava's grand romance with Judd Beecham, and so on. I think 1987 has more energy, but I still think there are many decisions made that were ineffective leading to some really bad stories or stories that were altered that keep them from being enjoyable.

In the limited stuff that appears, Burke Moses' Curtis always feels like a very watered down version of the character, but even Linden Ashby's Curtis feels very diluted. The writing doesn't help from neither a storytelling perspective nor from the dialogue. I don't think Moses is around much after this. I am not even sure if he makes it to Trisha and Steve's wedding in August (?) as Moses leaves to perform in a play (maybe "Joseph and the Technocolor Dreamcoat?). Hoag leaves in late October/ early November when they decide to not bring Curtis back and Lotty joins him in Germany. I also just don't see much potential in Curtis / Lotty as a couple. Wilson is painful, but Luke Perry is equally so if not slightly more at times. This was not a strong younger set. One of the previous snippets with Kelly Conway and Ned weren't much better. 1987 isn't super appealing, but I don't find the stuff we've seen from 1986 much better after Dane's board meeting exit. The show is very much falling apart from mid-1985 until 1987. 1986 mostly seems boring with 1987 seeming downright awful until very late in the year. I also feel that the April Hathaway story was a terrible attempt to tell the Dolly Jones Lane story better only to make it worse. I agree they should have kept Cecilia, but I also think they shouldn't have had her miscarry. There would have been more drama had Cecilia had Steve's child, which would then have been something that Trisha could never have had. Also, they were trying to weave Cecilia into the Amourelle stuff with her vying for the modelling gig that either Lily was assigned or had abandoned. I think Cecilia as Lily's talk to would have been interesting especially if some of the details slowly got back to Ava who would see the opportunity to stick it to Stacey. I think Cecilia could have also absorbed some of the Dinahlee story as Ava's friend, Trucker's lover, etc. I mean they wouldn't have been mad too long. Trucker seems to be a poor man's Steve without the strong family ties on the canvas.

After starting it several years back, I finally finished Emerald Point, N.A.S. I think the overall premise of a family saga incorporating the soapier aspects of the military wasn't a terrible idea, but I don't think it every got where they wanted it to. The story never seems to be strong enough, but I still wonder what a second season would have been like. At the very least, I imagine the title would have been shortened to Emerald Point as they seem to be downplaying the military angle by the end of the series. Even if the story picked up, I don't think the acting would have. St. John is serviceable as Deanna, but Vaughn wasn't as Harlan. I would have accepted Patrick O'Neal back. Dennis Weaver was very bland as Tom, but when they seemed to write him more as a father and less of a military commander I felt it was slightly better. Unfortunately, the crux of a season 2 being successful would have needed a strong Tom / Harlan dynamic and I am not sure if Weaver could have risen to the challenge even if the scripts did. It was nice to see the end of event that has been mentioned for years: Harlan attacking Tom's wife, Jenny, and as a result the paternity of one of the daughters was in question. Is the paternity issue mentioned on air? I only half listened to some episodes. The mystery of the gazebo was one of the stronger sequences and some of the sequences in the psychiatrist office were better lit than usual. The filming of the flashbacks also worked to capture the film look of photographs from that era which worked well for me. Wikipedia states that it was Leslie Mallory's paternity in question. This makes sense based on Celia's age in the flashbacks. It also makes sense as Sela Ward and Doran Clark do bare a slight similiarity. In addition, Leslie being torn between her two sisters, Kay and Hilary, would have been appealing. To be honest though, none of the Mallory girls were standouts by the end. With all that said, the resolution of this story would have been of some interest to me. The show improves when they wrap up the KGB/Russian deflection stuff involving Loggia's character and Alexi. The ending of the story is brutal; Deanna rats out Leslie and Alexi to Loggia's KGB head leading to Alexi's kidnapping and Leslie being held hostage in her personal attempt to save him. Ultimately, Alexi dies and Deanna's criminal charges are dropped in order to perserve the character, err keep the fact that Loggia's character would be a double agent a secret. It was a mistake. I cannot help but wonder if the show could have made more strides if they ended it earlier or did something else. I thought the tension between Leslie and Deanna at the end was the most interesting Leslie got to be all season other than the constant low level sexual tension between Leslie and Simon. The show seems to lose Simon and Celia somewhere towards the end. I don't know if Lakin decided to downplay them because they were overexposed early on or if she had run out of ideas for them. Celia's divorce drags out all season with Jack just hanging in the wings until they make a decision very late in the run that Jack and Hilary are going to be a couple mostly to lure Glenn away from Kay. I feel like Jack would have been the easiest character to dump if there was a season 2. As a concept, a navy lawyer with romantic ties to both the Mallorys and the Addams he has some significant weight, but I never get the sense they knew what to do with him. Though, I have to wonder if Susan Dey was done as well since the season ends with Celia's breakdown and becoming catatonic. Some of what they were trying with Tom and Maggie worked. I thought some of the David Marquett / Maggie story was effective with his connection to her husband, writing a novel with Maggie as the prototype for the lead, and the sense of mystery. The kidnapping provides a nice cliffhanger, but I cannot imagine that the show wouldn't have reunited them without much fanfare. I do think Maud Adams has a nice rapport with Susan Dey and the Maggie / Celia friendship was one of the more enjoyable pieces of the final sequences. I do wonder if the decision to play Hilary and Jack wasn't an attempt to shift the Hilary / Kay rivalry to Hilary / Celia. The Hilary / Glenn / Kay material was pretty dominate in the final episodes. Some of it was pretty strong and some of it was too plot heavy. I feel like it is the reverse of Lakin's work on "Flamingo Road" several years earlier. Glenn's emergence as a business shark in training falling into gambling just as Kay discovers she is pregnant was a fun sequence especially given Glenn's comments about his father being a gambler. Hilary manipulating him further and further into debt by paying off the loan shark in order to keep Glenn spiraling was downright wicked. The plot twist that Kay wasn't pregnant due to a lab error was trite, but Kay lying about the baby was the most interesting she was the entire series. Hilary was devious as anything by arranging an accident at a horse farm so that Kay would be injured which revealed she was in fact not pregnant. It was all very messy. Hilary and Glenn's one night stand right before the finale and Glenn and Kay reuniting only for Hilary to reveal Glenn's gambling debts was nice movement for a slow show. I do think there was a missed opportunity by not letting Kay actually be pregnant. It could have been used to explore the secret of Jenny's attack with Deanna making veiled comments about Jenny. There could also have been an arc with Celia and Jack slowly reconnecting over the loss of their child while Celia and Simon not being super firm on where they see their relationship going.

I will say Alice Barrett Mitchell tends to be one of the more generous actresses who has spoken time on "The Catlins" and is very consistent in what she says. There are some interesting details shared. The poker game that she speaks about is featured online currently. The episode it was a part of was also online several years back by the gym owner Tony who had appeared on the show. I'm very sorry I was never able to get in contact with him about that. Anyway, the poker scenes were in May, 1984, around the time Alice would have first appeared as Jacqui. I believe Jacqui used a different last name at the time of her first appearance. She would later be revealed to have spent time in Paris and was treated by Dr. Peter Crane (Victor Bevine), and she had a brain tumor. This may or may not be connected. I hadn't heard that Brett Rice's Seth Quinn was involved in ownership of the horse. This brings some clarity to the departure of Seth and Beau, who left some point in late summer to mid-fall 1984 for Argentina. I imagine they were working on some sort of horse farm now. The horse storyline only played out from May until maybe October. By November, Jacqui and Woody (Charlie Hill) have settled into a domestic situation with Woody owning the old Catlin mill that was sold to Woody and James O'Neill in the spring when the Catlins started to experience financial difficulties. Woody and Jacqui were up in a cabin where there was some sort of creature. I think, maybe I'm wrong, there may have been some oil or minerals on the property that Medger Quinn was trying to takeover. By December, Jacqui has discovered she is pregnant and she is warned by Dr. Peter Crane that her pregnancy could threaten her life because of the brain tumor, but Jacqui decided to continue with the pregnancy. In February, Jacqui and Woody are still together, but there is a threat to their happiness in the form of Maggie Catlin, who was Woody's former love interest before she departed for Washington, D.C., to handle some legal matters for the family. Jacqui told Andrea Smith (Iris Roberts), Maggie's legal partner, of her fears. At the time, Andrea was dating James O'Neil, Woody's business partner and the son of the Catlin family maid. I don't think that Jacqui and Woody were seen in the April, 1985, episode that was online. I really want to know if Maggie Catlin came back because they talked about her a lot in the episodes I have seen from November 1984 - early March, 1985. Not only would she have been a threat to Woody / Jacqui but to Babe / Dirk as Dirk and Maggie had been involved, and possibly engaged, before Maggie miscarried their baby. Decaying video is definitely a concern. Watching more and more of "Another Life" and doing some work on the call sheets for "Rituals" has me yearning for material from the show. I doubt we will ever get the complete series, but it would be wonderful to get longer sets. Someone once claimed to have the last six months or so which covered Lisby Larson's run as Vanessa. I think this would be great to see, but I'd even settle for some more episodes from 1983 with Candy Howard's delightfully wicked Crissy Catlin (I suspect she wasn't present long because there was a recast) and some of Steve Lehrman's material (particularly from December 1983 with the remote on Hilton Head Island). In the interview, Barrett Mitchell mentioned the casting being done in Houston and going back to that... did she ever go back to it?

I think it's hard to see the depth of Beck when Trisha was constantly in the role of victim. When she wasn't being terrorized by madmen like Nick Diantos, Jeff Hartman, and Giff Bowman, she was constantly fighting another woman to keep her man entertained. I don't think a lot of her business stories have made it to YouTube and I would be curious to see the early stages of her romance with Steve because I don't think she was battling Cecilia for Steve's attention right away. I wish more was done to ground Trisha in a career that gave her agency on the canvas. I do feel the TV production angle was a nod to Nixon's original vision for Merrill Vochek, but I don't know if that was the right role for her. I liked her managing the Alden art collection, but I feel like it limited the scope. Having her go into Alden Enterprises (which I think they tried towards the end) might have given her some more story space outside put upon romantic heroine, but I think it would have been interesting if they had paired her up more with Kate and had her involve in 35 Maple Street and some community service work that could have helped bridge the gaps between the haves and the have nots. I will say, I appreciated Beck's work much more in her final days when she wasn't carrying the story and she was sorta just living her life as a mom and wife while paling around with Stacey and Shana. Anyone who is asked to carry as much of a show as Beck has was bound to be forced into delivering material in a certain way.

I'm at 390. Tom Ulrich has just arrived as Dave Phillips in an lengthy exposition dump with Dr. Alex Greely which both reintegrates established backstory when CBN exec John Cardoz was in the role and adds new layers. There is mentions again of the abortion clinic and the alcoholism tying the two directly together stating that Dave's life spiraled when his "civic minded" wife Kate encouraged him to open an abortion clinic that led to a devastating car crash that took the life of Kate and Dave's son, Kevin. It's a lot to handle in his first episode, but Ulrich does a decent job. I was surprised that he still seems determined to reunite with his wife. Also, they are retroactively stating that Amber and Stacey Phillips have been in Kingsley all this time. I don't remember if there was any mention of the kids before, or if there was it was general. Dave name checks Jeff Cummings and Alex informs Dave that Jeff is still studying divinity out of town. Carolyn Lenz was in a few episodes as Liz in a strange little visit a few months back about a month or so after the Cummings left town. I don't see the purpose except that Ione was very busy in story and Terry needed a talk to, though I suspect given the Hollister mall opening was occuring that the original plan was for Jason Prescott to return to resolve that dangling story thread. While Ulrich is a fairly decent recast, I am struggling with Debbie McLeod as Lori, but I suspected this. I admire that McLeod is attempting to mimick Jeannete Larson's vocal inflection while also being burdened with a heavy story from the beginning trying to reintegrate back into society after her stint in a psych ward. It reminds me of Elizabeth Mitchell having to play Dinahlee regaining her speech in her early episodes. McLeod resembles Mary Jean Feton, but there was something charming about Larson that McLeod doesn't have, yet at least. I am not sure if Larson would have handled this heavier story well though either. Another recast has also appeared, Kari Page as Carla Redlon returning from Lake Tahoe with Jimmy. I don't hate Page in the role as Carla was such an underwritten character. There was an edge to Elain Graham's performance that made her more engaging to watch. Page's Carla is sweeter so I'll be curious to see how she does if she lands any dramatic story. I admire what Vinley has done in a short time. He has managed to find ways to keep the show tight while also expanding the canvas. For example, Russ' stint as Lester Lewis' assistant ended with Weaver's termination after the threat of a hospital strike while Terry's job hung in the balance. It was a nice conclusion to a short tale about how Russ' ambition has gotten the best of him. This led to a nice little set of scenes where Marianne, always the good girlfriend, tries to bring him into Prescott Development as Gil's office work was rarely being done well or on time. In the meantime, Gil had brought in Peter Davidson, which places Peter professionally back in Vicki Lang's orbit. And Marianne's offer allows Gil and Marianne to squabble over Gil's hatred for Russ. The weaving together of stories wasn't as well done under the Barnes or Winsor so its a pleasant surprise. Other nice story crossovers has seen Vicki Lang befriending Nancy which led to a nice little scene where Nancy tried to pry information out of Peter about Terry (who was absent due to another story) and then proceeded to call her friend Vicki to taunt Peter because Nancy knows of Vicki and Peter's connection. This type of relationship work between Vicki / Nancy / Peter is interesting and creates potential angst down the road. While Nancy / Miriam were better bosum buddies, Nancy's new friendship will suffice for now. Miriam's kidnapping has been a masterpiece in many ways. The pursuit of Babs led to a Babs donning a blonde wig and spending several episodes spouting off about how Babs and Miriam could be sisters even suggesting at one point that Gene should wear a wig too so they can be triplets. The antics of Ione's house are such a welcome breath of fresh air. Positioning Ione as the show's matriarch, not just as the head of the Redlon but of all Kingsley, has been such a pleasant revelation. Something that seems to gotten lost to time is that the kidnapping is actually a mystery at first with the suggestion that Terry might have been the one who was kidnapped (she went over to the Redlons house for something) and Terry is off the entire episode after the kidnapping (this is when Nancy showed up to talk to Peter and calls Vicki). It's just very compelling and then at the end of the next episode we find, in a location shoot, that Miriam was kidnapped. The criminal syndicate has been fully fleshed out with the arrival of Ron Washington and Lance joining Blue. Lance is truly vile creature who spend a good amount of time talking to Ron about how he has hired this teen runaway, barely legal Paula James, to work as a prostitute in Ron's brothel while pumping her with drugs. Another one of the girls, Ramona, calls Babs to let her know that the mysterious Prince, the head of the syndicate, is at the Kingsley Arms where Babs discovers Harold Webster in the room in a delightful cliffhanger. Babs and Harold are great. Julie Jenney conveys a lot in a sequence where she leaves the Redlons house for parts unknown fearing that if she stays in Kingsley she will be a threat to the ones she loves. It's all very well done. The show is just doing a much better job lately at spidering stories by letting people be impacted by the major events and the conversations continue to be richer. Too often, though, really remarkable episodes do not have credits listed so I don't know who the script writers are. I do think Chris Auer managed to slip in a what I think was a fairly clever line when Lance menacingly called Babs and mentioned that he had the desire to "reach out and touch somebody," which is the line from the AT&R commericals which I believe Edye Bryde (Ione) was doing at the time. I'm curious to see how the show continues to expand with the addition of the Phillips' clan. Charles Carpenter's recovery from his heart issues has led him to consider letting Jesus into his life, but I am not sure it will stick. I think it's a nice, and realistic, approach to religion because Charles has faced death and fears what will happen next. I think that the numbering on the YouTube episodes is off slightly. Thanksgiving was on an episode that would have been a Monday episode and I had suspected that the show's episodes ending in 7 and 2 were Friday episodes for quite some time so I think this will need to be investigated a bit more. The Nancy / Harold Webster sequences in this episode are worth the peek. There are two and I set up the first:

Regarding Zimmer and the paycut, my argument remains that her point is valid; opening a contractmidway through sets a precedent. The summary implies that Zimmer's out wasn't until almost a year later so maybe she was throwing around the sentiment, but I do believe she took the cut a year later. In that climate, post-DAys serial killer plot, I don't blame Zimmer. And this was all 2005. The timing was the Daytime Emmys brunch and I seem to remember Erika Slezak and Jeanne Cooper agreeing with Zimmer. If Zimmer was that much fo a financial burden, they easily could have spent the year deemphasizing her role, which they pretty much did anyway as she played second fiddle in the Jonathan / Tammy story and then they slowly paired Nicole Forester's very fresh on the scene Cassie with Josh. Also, wasn't there supposedly an attempt to lure Grant Alexander back full-time in 2005. Where was that money coming from? There was a lot of cast turnover in 2005. Entire front burner storylines saw their entire cast dropped by choice or force (no one survived the baby switch other than Dinah). Maybe with a stronger writer, Wheeler could have weathered the storm, but not with Kriezman and Swajeski at the helm. She made some nice adjustments when she initially arrived in March, 2004, but within the year, the potential was lost as Kriezman went into overdrive with centering the show on his toxic male avatar Tom Pelphrey's unchecked Jonathan and by replacing Danmy and Michelle with Gus and Harley as the show eating couple. By the time the budget cuts hit, the show was pretty lost anyway. With or without the cuts, I think I would have left as my jump the shark moment was the onscreen reveal that Phillip was alive and being hidden by Alan after months of story around a non-existent murder mystery.

The preaching seems to end before the Barnes settle in late December, 1981. The stuff that felt overly religious (the Davidsons believing a miracle will save Lori rather than a surgeon, Jeff's miraculous recovery from a beam of light) was quickly nixed because it wasn't working. The closest thing that you get to that under the Barnes is when Dennis Fraser, the drunk driver who killed Nora and Scott, turns his life over to god. The born-again redemptions out of nowhere seem to stop fairly early into the Barnes' run. I do think Miriam's transformation was much more delicately done with her turning on her bestie Nancy because Nancy was seducing Charles, Miriam's wealthy father, so Miriam offers to testify for the Davidsons in the trial against Nancy over possession of Nora's house. In turn, Nancy repays the favor by pumping an emotionally distraught Miriam with barbituates while Miriam carries on her affair with low level thug turned political aide Norm Elliott. Miriam is used by everyone into her life and finally lands herself in the hospital becasue she has become so addicted to the pills. At the hospital, it is the friendship and kindness of the Davidsons that brings Miriam to a more peaceful place. The Davidsons ability to forgive is both appealing and, at times, dramatically limiting. In this case, the Davidsons lead Miriam to her new Mama, Ione Redlon. Now, under Vinley, Miriam is determined to reconnect with her son, Frederick, and her ex-husband, Paul. My bigger issue with the Barnes' writing is that they write the storylines with twist endings that sorta come out of nowhere. I know the resolution to the Kate Carrouthers mystery sorta plays out like that so I am curious to see how I feel about that. The biggest change throughout the writing teams has been the view of morality. Winsor had many characters who could be viewed purely through the lens of black and white, but others explored the shades of gray (often younger people). The brief head writerless period was much better at embracing an action doesn't make a person and there characters were much more gray or at least evil at a more local level (Nancy, in this period, only flirts with her brother-in-law where as later she is actively providing pills to Miriam to keep her addicted and away from her own father). The Barnes, for the most part, seem to embrace this level of political corruption that seems to permeate throughout the show making it clear that power (as well as money) is the root of evil. Even criminal Vince Cardello is presented as less evil than Charles Carpenter, though Carpenter's murder of a resident of his complex was rewritten to relieve Carpenter of any responsibility in the matter. Vinley's work seems more into exploring the why or delving deeper in general. Babs Farley, the hooker who is looking to reclaim her life, is such an intriguing character. She is given such meaningful monologues regretting her decisions and desperately trying to keep away from the hands of her former pimp, Ron Washington, who hasn't appeared yet. Monk and Fernandez seem to be wrongly accused of Lori's attack and there seems to be hints of racism that the show is looking to address. Marianne confronts Gil about his feelings towards God in relation to their mother's death years earlier. There does seem to be a layer of misogyny to Vinley's work, but it's early so I'll be curious to see how this plays out. There are a lot of attacks on women (Lori is nearly raped, Babs was beaten, Nancy is on the verge of being blackmailed for sex by Tab, and the Russ / Marianne / Gil scenario has hints of toxic masculinity. It's very early so it'll be neat to see if that is maintained. Jerry TImm lasts about a year I think (March, 1982 - March, 1983). One of the episodes on TouTube has a comment suggesting that Timm was fired by CBN because he had done something in his past that came to light. It didn't seem to be clear what that was. I like what I've seen of Timm as Gil. He has such a presence that it covers up some of his weaker acting choices. It's unfortunate that he didn't get to play as much of the Gil - Stacey - Amber triangle as his replacement does.