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@Vizion Tom Hardy and Lucy slept together during Monty's 1991 run. Before Monty, there was an ongoing triangle for Simone and Tom involving Simone's prior affair with Harrison Davis, who had managed to become assistant chief of staff at General Hospital. Harrison was briefly assumed to be Tommy Jr.'s father due to the meddling of Dr. Pauline Ravelle, Simone's mother and Harrison's biggest supporter. When Harrison learns he is the father, and realizes he won't get Simone, he marries Meg Lawson and launches a custody suit. In Meg's first scenes in February 1990, she had a pre-established crush on Dr. Davis so he was really taking advantage of how she felt about him. Over in the Alan-Lucy story, prior to Monty's return, Lucy had coerced Alan into marriage, and when Alan decided to leave her, Lucy announced she was pregnant. Alan stayed with her. In real life, Lynn Herring was also pregnant. In January 1991, Lucy miscarried her baby (it was actually Scotty's) and skipped town so Herring could go on maternity leave. The relationship between Alan and Lucy was dissolved, I believe, in February when Lucy was out of town. When she returned, Lucy was single. In the meantime, Monty continued to dump almost every single character that had been created since she left. This included Stephanie Williams' Simone Ravelle Hardy. During her return, Monty wanted to ground the show back in reality and felt that the best way to do that was to have characters just reference real life events and social issues. Simone became suddenly caught up in the plight of children in Romania while the war was going on. Her old college classmate Vanessa (Donna Leavy) popped in for an episode or two to talk about the work she was doing overseas. In February, when Williams' one-year contract was up, Simone left for Romania. Tom was left to care for little Tommy on his own with the help of Audrey and Steve. I imagine that Tom and Lucy's relationship probably came out of Tom's loneliness with Simone being away. It looks like the story starts in April when Lucy encounters Scotty and his cousin Tom Hardy having lunch. When Tom and Lucy later go out in late May, Scotty is again present. I think Tom and Lucy was about complicating both Tom and Simone and Lucy and Scotty. It also looks like that Lucy has been flirting with Harlan Barrett in the meantime. Williams' Simone returns in June as the show starts its second revamp since Monty arrived after the ratings fell out with the Eckert family consuming large sections of the story along with a slew of other new characters.

Adult A.J. has the misfortune of arriving on the scene during the second Monty run around June, 1991. In terms of story, he replaces James Morrison's Joey Moscini in the younger leading male role. Part of A.J.'s issue is that there are no strongly connected characters to the canvas in his age range. They place him in the same orbit as Sheila Cantillion, the nurse who Joey had chased after. His major conflict was he was using his parents' broken marriage to justify his own poor behavior. Gerald Hopkins, the first adult A.J., isn't terrible, but the character of A.J. feels very underdeveloped in the material I have seen. It's not until they decide to give A.J. an issue with alcohol that he develops a stronger sense of a presence on the canvas. This occurs around late 1991 in final weeks of Monty or the first weeks of Wendy Riche. By the time Nikki Langton is on the canvas, A.J. has already been arrested for a DUI and seems to be trying to get better, but who's sobriety is definitely in jeopardy for getting involved with a woman like Nikki. Nikki becomes the necessary catalyst in the younger set that include A.J., Sheila, and Dr. Eric Simpson with Nikki going after Eric and A.J. at different points to achieve her goals of obtaining the information she needs in regards to her father. Previously, prior to the drinking, A.J. was the troublemaker planting drugs in Simpson's locker at General Hospital to make him look bad to Sheila, but ultimately nearly costing Eric his job. The shift in persona made A.J. more rootable as he was just so self absorbed in his early days. Riche seems pretty influential in shaping the younger canvas having brought on Karen Wexler during the interim (as part of Audrey Hardy's VolunTeens program at General Hospital) and Jagger (through the robbery episodes I haven't really go into yet. Riche has also spoken about how she wanted to do the AIDS storyline initially with A.J. as a result of some sexual experience in college that may have been with a man or with a woman. A.J. was definitely a character that Riche had a strong outline for of who she wanted him to be, but not necessarily the direction she wanted him to go. At least that is how I look at it. I think as early as Gerald Hopkins, there is hints of resentment brewing underneath the surface between A.J. and Jason with Jason clearly the golden child and A.J. constantly feeling the need to prove himself. I think it was cemented more when Sean Kanan took over the part in February, 1993. To an extent, I think A.J.'s resentment was initially directed to Eric Simpson because he was a doctor at General Hospital working with his mother and father. Eric garnered the respect from A.J.'s parents that A.J. couldn't. Nothing I've seen has played heavy into this, but there seems to be an undercurrent to their animosity. When Kanan arrives, I definitely got the sense that the show was building A.J. and Julia as a thing because they were also building competition between A.J. and Ned at ELQ. A.J. was trying to find his way back into ELQ with Ned refusing based on some prior missteps A.J. had taken during a prior stint under Gerald Hopkins. I thought that all made sense, but they also layered Jason and A.J.'s relationship with A.J. still in the shadows of his little brother, but also really wanting to play the protective older brother when it came to Karen and Jagger. A.J.'s anger towards Jagger is intriguing. I guess it was misplaced anger relating to Alan's involvement in Nikki jilting A.J., but there is at least one point where the scriptwriters joke that A.J.'s sexuality maybe in question. Marco makes an off the cuff comment to A.J. at the gym about Marco being a fighter, not a lover in regards to A.J.'s attempt to interact with him. It may have just a been a natural extension of the show's undercurrent of toxic machismo from that era, but I still find it intriguing. To be fair though, an underfive gives Dominque and Lucy a strange look earlier in Levinson's run when Dominque is talking about how excited she is to have a baby with Lucy. I could see the mileage the show could get out of A.J. and Brenda given the dynamics between A.J./Jason, Jason/Brenda, A.J./Julia, Ned / A.J., Julia/Ned, and Julia/Brenda. There would be a lot of angles to explore.

@Vee From Curlyqgrl's site October 11, 1993 - No Commercials - Brenda wishes Robin a happy 16th birthday. A dazed Karen bails on her shift at Kellys. Felicia tells Sean and Mac that she thinks she has a sure fire way to prove Ryan killed Jessica. They should just put Ryan back in same hospital room with the same guard and wait. He will escape again. Amy suspects Karen stole pills from the hospital. Alan asks Monica if she will be using their opera tickets but she is not about to let Madame Butterfly go to waste on Rhonda. Alan tells Steve about a procedure he invented to help one of his patients being written up in a medical journal. Amy tells Alan and Steve that Karen stole pills from GH. Steve agrees to let Alan look into the matter before he takes any action. Brenda and Robin follow Karen to The Paradise Lounge. Brenda gets in to the club but Robin is out of luck. Alan and Monica end up at the opera together. Mac and Felicia ask Steve about inducing a condition that would require the hospitalization of a serial killer. Stone finds out Karen is now stealing pills. Stone wants to take Karen home, but Sonny convinces her stay and perform at the club. Steve makes a suggestion to Mac and Felicia. Brenda sees Karen strip. Felicia bakes some tainted muffins for Ryan. Thanks to all the pills, Karen freaks out on stage thinking that she “sees” Ray in the audience. October 12, 1993 - No Commercials - Karen tells Sonny she is finished stripping. Sonny tries to smooth things over but she insists she is finished. Karen storms out of Sonny's apartment. Jagger hears Brenda tell Rhonda that Karen is at a club working at a stripper. Stone convinces Sonny to let him go after Karen. Jagger is angry at Brenda for telling Rhonda about Karen. Stone follows Karen back to her apartment and tells her that Sonny is not going to just let her go. Lucy asks Scott if when she is feeling better if they could go shopping for the baby. Katherine interrupts their moment. Monica comes clean with Alan that she made up “Rod” to get his attention. Rhonda goes to The Paradise Lounge looking for Karen. Brenda tells Jagger that she knows he is still hung up on Karen no matter what she does. After Rhonda and Karen argue, she leaves with Stone. Alan and Monica agree to stop arguing and end up making love. Lucy and Katherine let each other know they are both on to each other. Brenda tells Jagger that she loves him and they end up in bed together. Stone takes Karen to a cheap motel room for the night to sleep off the effects of all the pills. From AddieCate's episodes, Bill Levinson is still credited as of October 7th. October 8th has no credits. The next episode in her set is October 25th and Labine is credited as headwriter. I think August, 1993, was when Labine was hired, but I think her material was on-air the week of October 11th based on what you are saying, which lines up with what is available online. @BrendaB I have DVDs I have been watching.

Levinson is headwriter until late September/early October. There are a lot of strong stories during his run. I made it up until April, 1993, when I decided to jump around, but I've seen a series of episodes from the tail end of his run. Misogyny seems prevalent throughout his run. The way characters go at Karen is pretty disgusting. Jenny Eckert received treatment earlier in the year during the investigation into her sexual involvement with Jack Kensington when she was only 16 years old. Also, the custody trial between Bobbie and Tiffany has competing secrets about their past involving each woman's history selling sex (Bobbie as a prostitute and Tiffany as the star of "Trixie Does Tennessee" or whatever the film title was). I actually liked Bill as a deadbeat dad. I thought that was an interesting perspective to take with a character who was such a hot mess. Sly's relationships with all his father's exes (Holly, Julia) as well as with father-to-be Scotty were great layers that the show played. Bill worked best for me when he was Ned's business rival and the impact that had on his relationship with his sister Jenny. I don't mind Bill and Julia, but I am not sure they were ever going to be able to get past the fact Bill had killed Harlan. I appreciated that the show had pretty much abandoned the sorta of action/adventure stories that had put the show on the map, but had fallen out of favor with the general soap viewing public by that point. The Portugal excursion with Richard Halifax gaslighting Bill by having Lucy impersonate Victoria was weak, but thankfully short-lived. The Ryan Chamberlain plot was a much more effective attempt at telling one of those type of action stories, but by grounding it in the hospital with Ryan's work as a psychiatrist and the impact the trial had on his relationship with his colleagues. From watching some different stretches of the 1990s, everyone teaming up to convince Ryan that he was going crazy was a very old school style plot with a more modern shading to it. One of Levinson's stronger points was he was good at utilizing a lot of the older cast. Gail as a sounding board for Monica as Monica tries to find some peace in her marriage was great. The family therapy session led by Gail where A.J. unloads about Alan paying off Nikki was great. The fallout of the Ryan story with Audrey and Steve both suffering bouts of post traumatic stress over what had transpired was also strong. Lee being there for Scotty as Dominque is dying is helpful. One of my favorite scenes is when Lila both scolds Tracey and comforts her over Tracey's attempts to hurt Paul through Dillon because of Tracey's own pain watching Paul and Jenny together. I have even come to appreciate Carol Lawrence's turn as the more meddling, social climbing version of Angela Eckert.

@danfling I didn't mention Ringo and Rhonda Sue because they were supporting characters. There story was a C-story at best and I think it was only told because Joanna Lee wanted to have a full canvas if she was allowed to expand the show to an hour. Lee knew that for "Search for Tomorrow" to survive, it had to expand. I don't think NBC would have even considered it, but I felt like Lee's expansion of the canvas was all in a prep to the show with her intent of convincing the network to see her way. As supporting charcters, I didn't mind Rhonda Sue and Ringo. Rhonda Sue aggravated Stephanie in a way that was slightly different than that she had with her maid Rose Beardsley. I'm not sure when Rose stopped appearing, but I think it may have been under Tomlin. Anyway, Rhonda Sue was the first of Stephanie's secretaries, a stock character on the show. She was succeeded by Alexandra Neil's Gwen Hoffman, who was nearly raped by Jack Benton. Later, I think I have even heard Gwen mentioned even after Neil stopped appearing before Stephanie hired Justine to be her secretary. Justine was succeeded by Quinn McCleary. I'm not sure if anyone replaced Quinn, but I suspect not. Stephanie's role was pretty minor in the final year before the triangle with Bela and Wendy. Ringo was not initially a sympathetic character. He was a hood who's purpose was to keep Warren's hands clean while still wreaking havoc. Ringo nearly murdered Jenny Deacon in October, 1982, because she had been involved with a man that had been in their drug operation in Los Angeles. I believe the accident that had caused Jenny's amnesia was the same one that killed the boyfriend. Ringo's position on the canvas, at least initially, was to provide Warren with a partner in crime. Often, these type of relationships have a romantic/sexual undercurrent. To me, this was no different. If you told me that Ringo had a small shrine to Warren somewhere, it wouldn't surprise me. I think Ringo's death was intended to be more purposeful than it was. I think it would have been eventually revealed that it was Ringo who's body had been buried after the ship explosion and not Travis'. Or were any bodies recovered? Ringo's death also left a void in the canvas when Warren Carter returns in October, 1984. Again, he needs a henchman and this time it is Brett Hamilton, III. Warren had somehow procurred a pornographic video that Brett had made. I never could piece together whether this video was created for commercial purposes or something that Brett had made to remember his conquests. Either way, I felt Warren controlling Brett by lording a video of Brett having sex again had a homoerotic edge to it. @Matt Powers Regarding David Cherrill, he was headwriter from mid-December, 1982, until late May, 1983. To me, it's not the most memorable time, but, like Bill Levinson's work on "General Hospital" in the early 1990s, it sets in motion a lot of material that Gary Tomlin runs with and makes quite memorable. Cherrill's "Search for Tomorrow" feels like a NBC soap rather than a CBS soap trying to emulate an NBC/ABC serial. Cherrill brings back Tom Bergman and Dr. Bob Rogers. Dr. Bob is the one who confirms Liza's pregnancy and continues to treat Liza throughout her pregnancy. Cherrill also introduces Tom Wright's Colt, blind pianist Michael Kennedy (who is only later revealed in Tomlin's first episode to be Michael Kendall), Rhonda Sue Huckaby, and Steve Kendall. A lot of Cherrill's time is spent maneuvering pieces. He cuts Rusty Sentell, who had become too convoluted in his connections to the canvas by the end of Hunt and Ellis' run. Instead, he shifted the spotlight away from the criminal element and focused moreso on Warren Carter's ambition, which often would put him in questionable situations anyway. Warren as the central antagonist carried the show for much of the next year and could have longer if they had recast Warren rather than accepted that Corbett wouldn't commit longterm and killed the character off. The murder mystery is short (maybe two months) and ends with Dane Taylor deducing that Aja Doyan was the culprit, but I think there was another bullet that was shot at Rusty, but it didn't kill him. This also played into Brian's new role as a rookie on the Henderson PD. Cherrill also introduced Lt. Marion Bowman, who appeared for several years in a supporting role. Initially, Bowman was a crooked cop, but that element was dropped fairly early and never revisited. I don't have much interest in seeing where Cherrill would have gone because what followed with Tomlin was so strong. The only story I felt that I would have liked to have seen where Cherrill would have taken was the Jenny / Michael romance. Jenny Deacon was the Bambi Brewster of "Search for Tomorrow" and had she not been played by Linda Gibboney, who managed to give the character some sense of a presence, it would have fallen apart. The idea of Jenny, who had gotten by with her looks, being romanced by a man who couldn't see her was appealing. It was certainly more appealing then Rusty and Jenny. What the intent of Rusty and Jenny was never completely clear to me. I think there was a decision made that someone needed to humanize Rusty, who was basically an over the top villain with ties to gun running and spy networks. He was trying to destroy his son's marriage in order to secure a grandchild so that he could get access to the Tourneur fortune. It was all very asinine. Rusty's attempt to help Jenny find her child seemed like a way to keep him from becoming one-note. I don't think it worked. Similarly, I don't think Gene Pietrogallo chose to leave, rather, NBC most likely decided it was time to cut their losses. Watching the Malaguay story with Brian dying in the jungle was unbearable and not for the right reasons. Given that this was the second sweeps on NBC, I think they decided to make some more course corrections. I don't think Pietrogallo strengths lied in heavy dramatic work, which Jay Avocone managed to do with more easy. Pietrogallo's strength was more in the area of a romantic lead.

That 1994 episode moved nicely. It doesn't seem like the strongest time for the show, but I found it entertaining. The story with Courtney's accident was interesting. I'm assuming that Sean Baxter returned for this. Is that Mark Lewis? And Courtney getting a visit from Bianca was interesting. The writing for Andy was a bit heavy. Could he be any more dense in the name of making the character ambitious? I also was surprised by how much physically Hayley Barr reminds me of Cari Shayne (Karen Wexler, GH). I didn't realize that the show had given Alexandra Neil that much to do as Dawn Wheeler. I found her story compelling. I am assuming she and Malcolm didn't have a happy ending since I believe this is before Dawn developed deep feelings for Tom. The fact that the character had her own set was very surprising to me. Colleen Zenk Pinter did so much with so little. I did like all the action shifting from the hospital to Mona Lisa and back. I also was amazed at just how many characters the show included in the episode. I think this was the norm for the show though wasn't it? The crowd that gathered at the hospital was large enough to carry the episode by itself.

I think Judd Beecham and crew were dumped because they didn't fit the vision Nixon had for the show once Marland left in May, 1985. Most of the conflict in Linc and Lorna's relationship stemmed from Linc's involvement with Dane and his plot to oust Cabot Alden from the CEO position at Alden Enterprises. From what I've seen, Nixon isn't really interested in telling those kind of boardroom stories. Nixon shifts the conflict in Linc and Lorna's relationship to Linc's meddling mother Rebekah Beecham who arrives in August, 1985, if I remember correctly. Rebekah immediately introduces "The Secret," which was suppose to keep Linc and Lorna apart. The secret was eventually revealed to be that Linc was married and that he had never disclosed this to Lorna. Zona arrives in town by October under an alias and starts romancing Curtis in order to get intel on Lorna. In November, gossip reporter Christy Connors Bennett confronts Lorna on Christy's talk show with the news of Linc's marriage, blindsiding her. By this point, Zona has begun to show symptoms of pregnancy, which turns out to a phantom pregnancy. It is all pretty lame if I am honest. I don't think Rebekah Beecham was a bad idea or even her as an interloper. The wealthy Aldens would need a rival family to continue the ongoing business shenanigans and, in concept, the Beechams could fill the role. While I understand the decision to end the boardroom drama, switching gears and pairing Lorna with John Gabriel's Zach Conway was odd. Giving Lorna a stepdaughter from hell like she had been to her own parents was appealing, but it never really went anywhere. Similarly, the Ava-Tony relationship was an odd choice. Ava and Nick would have made sense given that Ava basically spent the early 1990s lusting after Nick's successor, Paul Slavinski. The whole Nick/Tony/Marie story isn't super appealing.

I think Brian/Suzi fell apart due to the structural changes made to the younger set over the course of late 1982-1983 when the show shifted from Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt to David Cherrill to Gary Tomlin while the producers went from Fred Bartholemule to Joanna Lee. The change to NBC brought about a slew of younger characters. Prior to NBC, Brian and Suzi's conflicts had been more internal. Suzi wanted to be a dancer and I believe Brian had done something to jeopardize her dream. As a result, he became involved in boxing which had the potential, I think, to cause him issues as well like if he took another punch it might damage him. Some of this may be off. Once the NBC episodes rolled around Warren and Kristin Carter were introduced to split up Brian and Suzi. Wendy was given Keith McNeil as a love interest. The Warren-Suzi-Brian-Kristen quad was structured as the A story so that when one angle was highlighted (Warren's gun running threatening his relationship with Suzi) the next would build slowly in the background (Kristen would be hunting down Brian because she "had to tell him something"). Once Brian and Suzi learned the truth about Warren (he was involved in the gun running operation) they returned home together to learn that what Kristen had to tell Brian was that she was pregnant. In the B-plot for the younger crew, Stephanie disapproved of Keith and Wendy's relationship, but there was not a lot of juice being extracted from that story. There was a sort of looming threat to Keith and Wendy's happiness in that Keith's snotty younger sister, Andie, was clearly the child that Jenny Deacon (another NBC addition) was searching for, but that was a slow burn. In December 1982, a couple things happen that change the course of the younger set. Ellis and Hunt are ousted after a year of working on the show and David Cherrill is promoted to the headwriter position. Cherrill is the one that goes hard on developing a more NBC soap storytelling aesthetic. The pace became much quicker, the dialogue started to feature more wit, and the story managed to balance the older and younger cast as long as the story was firmly grounded in youth. In the course of three months, Brian marries a "pregnant" Kristen (in December), Keith weds Wendy because of the custody situation with his sister (in January), and Warren and Suzi tie the knot in February. Marrying off all three was detrimental to the story. It put all the characters in the same boat so things had to be blown apart. Cherrill also made some critical choices with the character of Brian (who was also recast in December when Pietrogallo leaves and Jay Avacone comes in). Avacone is a solid actor, but he enters playing the wedding and little time is given to the audience to really feel the connection between Suzi and Brian with the new actor in the role. In December, Brian also decides to enter the police academy which allows the rivalry between Warren and Brian to go from romantic to professional; Brian is now law enforcement and knows the connection between Warren and Rusty Sentell's gun running operation. This shift creates some natural tension for Brian and Suzi as now Brian and Warren will be at odds professionally and Suzi wants to support her husband (who she believes has changed). Kristin's secret, that she miscarried before her wedding to Brian, is also a story element that has to be revealed before Brian and Suzi can reunite. I feel Cherrill still intended for Brian and Suzi as endgame. In the B-story, Keith's attempts to gain custody have led to Stephanie stepping in to foster Andie in what becomes a comical plot that borrows from the story of "Little Orphan Annie" with Stephanie as Mommy Warbucks to little orphan Andie and her pet mutt. Cherrill adds a social issue to the plot by making Andie a diabetic and having her inability to keep her sugar levels steady an issue when Andie runs off. This story gives Keith and Wendy story to play, but very much in a supporting role. Joanna Lee has arrived just as the Little Orphan Andie plot is picking up some steam. The final cuts to Brian and Suzi seem to come in May, 1983, when Gary Tomlin arrives and the show decides that maybe Wendy Wilkins heroine isn't as effective as Wendy Wilkins maneater. The decision to have Wendy pursue Warren Carter, her step-sister/best friend's husband, essentially switches the story structure that was in place. Keith has been dumped, both by Wendy and by the show, while Wendy shifts the Suzi-Warren-Brian story into a Wendy-Warren-Suzi story with Kristen and Brian assuming the B-story roles formerly held by Wendy and Keith. Furthmore, Kristen is given a job as a photographer which gives her agency in the story outside her marriage, while still maintaining domestic troubles with her husband Brian pursuing Warren. There is more drama to mine in Brian's pursuit of Warren while he is married to Kristen rather than him being involved with Suzi. With that said, I don't think the show had completely abandoned the idea at that time. In late summer, Cynthia Gibbs makes her plans to exit to appear on "Fame" which means that the story needs to spotlight Wendy and Warren emerge as the main couple because of the change in actors. Gibb's replacement, Elizabeth Swankhammer, was incredibly green and, as a result, Suzi becomes a supporting character in the story. There is a bit of setup with Suzi and Steve Kendall, which may suggest that they decided they were either committing to Brian and Kristen or had simply abandoned Brian and Suzi. Either way, Steve Kendall filling the Cagney McCleary role in Suzi's pregnancy story would have been intriguing given that Steve himself had just discovered the truth about his own paternity. By the time Teri Eoff arrives in January, 1984, I think the show has lost so much of who Suzi is that she is more a complication in Wendy and Warren's happiness until Michael Corbett jumps ship at the end of his two year contract. Suzi's pregnancy and Warren's pursuit of her inheritance are complications in his relationship with Wendy. Warren's love for money was always going to be greater than anything else other than possibly having a child of his own, which Suzi was going to give him when Wendy couldn't. Eoff is competent, but Suzi no longer has any dreams of being a social worker and the baby defines her and takes away potential agency in other parts of the canvas. This problem plagues Eoff as Suzi even in her relationship with Cagney. Somewhere in the midst, Brian and Kristen get lost. As Lee leaves and Ellen Barrett comes in, Brian's pursuit of Vargas always has the potential to connect Vargas to Warren and the criminal element that Brian is always trying to rid Henderson of. Brian's work keeps him in thick of things with Jo Tourneur, Suzi's niece and a city councilwoman with similar goals as Brian. Brian and Suzi reuniting could still have happened, but Kristen the schemer was now more Kristen the girl trying to escape her past. However, once Warren departs, Kristen and Brian's place on the canvas is neutralized as the show moves into a new round of younger characters with Adair, Alec, Justine, and Chase entering the scene. By mid-1984, Suzi has had the baby, she and Cagney and Jonah have become the perfect defacto family, and a series of interlopers are introduced in order to keep the couple front and center (Justine, Brett Hamilton, III, and Warren). Incidentally, Cagney becomes a cop like his spiritual predecessor Brian, but lacks the sort of big bad that Brian had in Warren to keep Cagney as a character with a significant role across the canvas. Maybe if ambitious Quinn had become involved with the wrong people it could have created a strong ongoing conflict, but that is not the route the show pursued.

Jonathan Bolt played Georgio in May/June 1978. I thought I heard someone say it sounded like he might have been suggested to be a back from the dead Bill Matthews.

Charlene is the mother of both men. Charlene came to town first in September, 1987. She got hired as a housekeeper for Tony when he was married to Lucy. Lucy kept mum about the connection. Colton arrived in February or March 1988 just before the Writers Strike. Decker is the last to arrive in September/October 1989. Charlene, Colton, Carla, and Frankie all leave the country in February, 1991. They were casualties of the Monty purge of all characters that were introduced in her absence. Decker left town a week or so later after Dawn was murdered by Edge Jerome. Some sources state that Dr. Eric Simpson was also Charlene’s son. I’m pretty sure that is not true. Eric is introduced in August 1991 or earlier. He wasn’t around when Charlene’s brood was. In late 1991, when AJ sets him up on drug charges, Eric has said his mother is having money issues and it doesn’t sound like he is talking about Charlene.

Ally's first episode was June 25, 1991. It's a shame the beginning with Ally and Matt isn't present as I'd imagine that was there first scene together. Matt had been there for a few weeks. Matt's first episode was June 10, 1991. I wonder if this is the last appearance of Det. Art Hindman. I'm not sure who is playing the role in this episode, but if this isn't the last episode, it's gotta be one of the final episodes. The Louie material is incredibly strong. The story about Louie finding Paul's gang jacket when he was growing up was actually really impactful. Kate talking about always loving your child while Carly looks off into the distance was also very good. I do think that Millee Taggert's solo material is stronger than when Tom King was also there, but, to be fair, 1991 seems fairly strong despite the massive shift in the canvas. I can't for the life of me remember why Stacey would be in a wheelchair at this point in the story. I mean it may have been due to Lauren Marie Taylor being pregnant (she gave birth in early August). Shifting Shana back into the role of antagonist is interesting and I don't hate it. I imagine Anthony Herrera is recently out as Dane by this point or has to be close to being gone. This new direction for Shana has potential given her origin. The Archie Knapp stuff is very functional. I think the Tommy storyline was effective, but it's a shame that it is wrapped up so quickly in the transition period. As much as I enjoy Mary Ryan Munisteri's run, she definitely has some critical missteps like not letting the residue from that story play out (as the source of Trucker/Trisha tension, more ostracism towards Shana, etc.)

This is Friday, March, 18, 1996. So this would have been Guza's first month as headwriter. I'm still jumping around 1990s "General Hospital" but I've landed in 1990 and have made it from January to the end of April. Hardy has just taken over as EP from Wes Kenney and Palumbo is about to enter his second year as headwriter. I like most of the domestic stuff: the underplayed Tom/Simone/Harrison triangle (with Meg being weaved in), Lucas' mystery illness (we now know its diabetes), Lucy and Alan's relationship, and the impending doom that should come when Dawn learns about Monica's affair at the spa with Ward. It's the bigger stories that I struggle with. It was a shame to see Nicholas Walker in such a small role as the deranged Jimmy as he wrapped up his run in January. I really don't like the WSB stories. I don't mind the characters or the actors, but the stories themselves always seem to incorporate levels of insanity that make them hard to enjoy. For instance, the end of the Jimmy story has Robert faking his death and returning in disguise as "the Maestro," Katherine's old music teacher. It's not my cup of tea. I do appreciate the little moments like Anna wondering what impact all the losses, real and faked, will have on her daughter. I don't like how Anna is treated like she's "too emotional" in regards to Olivia Jerome and how that is seen as a weakness. Walker gave a strong performance towards the end as he had recall the differences between himself and Katherine growing up. There are little moments to like, but overall, I just don't enjoy it. This is immediately followed by Sean's aquisition of the Wellington collection, a set of rare and highly desired china that Sean apparently has wanted for years. Enter Jonathan Paget who is, at this time at least, Duke Lavery with a new face. I don't know why people didn't stop Greg Beecroft from performing his role as Paget with the odd speaking choice, but it was really distracting. The Paget stuff was mostly bland, but I did appreciate how the story emphasized that Sean use to work outside the lines of the law and that this was a reason that Anna/Robert should investigate Paget. It was more interesting as it builds nicely into the next adventure story. One of the most delightfully bizarre moments in the entire Paget story (I missed about three weeks from late February til early March) is Jonathan watching Julian Jerome host his last supper inspired mob meeting in the steam room of the sauna at Body Heat where Julian Jerome has a towel drapped around him as some sort of combo Judas/Jesus creation. The lighting is also fascinating as it has Jonathan watching through the vent which emphasizes the light/darkness. Visually, a stunningly surreal sequence, but just odd. My episodes picked up with the end of the Paget story with the standoff with Julian and Duke/Jonathan. I forget how short so many of the adventure stories in this era are. Beecroft is only around for about two months. I haven't finished the Casey/Lumina story, but that story is also only a bout two months. Nothing is ever around long enough to really have an impact. Not that I needed either story to continue to be quite honest. I was more disappointed my episode set is missing the final days of Olivia Jerome, who's pairing with Colton Shore was actually one of my favorite part of those early 1990 episodes. Whether or not mob princess Olivia was truly reformed or just faking it was fascinating as I think that she did truly love preacher Colton. It was bizarre seeing David Gale as the crooked judge on the case who Jeromes pay off and Casey Briggs in a recurring role as Olivia's defense attorney. Also, Dr. Walt Benson, who had been a recurring character for several years, ended up in Pittsburg after the Dermastatin deal went kaput. He's last scene talking to Monica's PI in January, 1990. The transition from Sharon Case to Lisa Fuller to Jennifer Guthrie in under four months is jarring. Fuller was too green. Case seemed more than functional in the role. I did like how her Dawn got to play the beginning of the character's self destruction when Tracey kept needling her before the Quartermaine television appearance. Guthrie isn't terrible, but she's not a warm presence, which, in a way, works because I don't always find Monica the most warm presence so like mother, like daughter. The Decker / Dawn / Ned story works for me. I like Michael Watson as the former carny, but I have no clue what's going on with the flashbacks to the carnival. Kurt McKinney's Ned works as the suave playboy, but, until they brought Wendy Masters to Port Charles, I didn't get the sense that Ned was anything but reformed. It seems now that Dawn and Decker are clearly the direction that Ned needs to be knocked down a few pegs. The fact that the show kept Ward/Monica's affair a secret for several years is impressive (or lazy because of the constant behind the scenes turnover), but I will say dropping the bomb on the verge of Dawn and Ned's marriage after Monica has prolonged her own decaying marriage to Alan to ensure Dawn's happiness, is just wonderful. I'm also realizing that this Monica/Ward story was seems to be the basis for the "Days of our Lives" story several years down the line with Jack and Laura under Reilly. I appreciate the minor schemers who have found their way onto the canvas. Wendy, the receptionist from the spa, came to respark something with Ned, only to learn that Ned is Decker and that Ned is infact the man she knew as Ward. It all fits very neat with Wendy then going to work at the gym with Colton and play as a potential post-Olivia love interest for him. They also seemed to test Colton with Katherine Delafield, which didn't really work for me, but, to be fair, Katherine doesn't really work for me. Other schemers like Clayton the adoption lawyer who is apparently in bed (figuratively more so than literally) with Gloria, the woman who runs the spa and has been making blackmail videos. In this post-Jerome Port Charles, it is nice to see someone who can wreck a little havoc without being completely over the top... Which leads me to Cesar Faison. I don't know how it is possible, but I find Cesar, Desiree, and Jacques camp at Wyndemere more off putting than the special effects in the Casey the alien plot. There are scenes with the trio with the monitors in the background and I find myself thinking this is dress rehearsal for the final year of the Aussie soap "Chances." I fully expect a half naked Jeremy Simms to walk into the shot at any moment. I appreciate that the story does pick up the secondary thread that Sean doesn't play by the rules by revealing that Sean and Cesar have a secret that Sean doesn't want out. Also, based on when Cesar "died," I can't help but wonder if there was at some point consideration of suggesting the Cesar, not Robert, was Robin's father. The Casey stuff is bizarre, but not as off putting as I expected it. I find the Robin / Casey friendship genuinely light at times, but, at other times, I am reminded this is a story about a pre-teen hiding her relationship with a grown man from her parents. I appreciate that the potential predator element was at least addressed with Tom Hardy's psychological examination of Casey and him trying to alievate Robert and Anna's concerns. The medical mystery of Casey gave the hospital crew something of value to do, and the powers of the crystal gave a nice delay to some of the lab work that they needed to push forward certain stories. Lynn Herring remains such a treasure. She manages to make anything Lucy does seem natural to her character. I've made it up to her and Alan's impromptu wedding at Aunt Charlene's house. I never realized the red wedding dress wasn't intentional on Lucy's part. The snickering from Tracey (who is done up in a way where I could see how someone could create the role of Felicia for Elliot but give the part to Linda Dano) is solid. Hugo Napier continues to just be comic relief, which is a shame because I think there is more to mine from that character given his ties to Tracey and Ned. I did like Tracey's little scam earlier in the year where she tries to get Larry brought up on domestic violence charges. Anyway, the Tracey / Scott / Lucy / Alan quartet is fun. Scott jockeying for power worked well and I did find Lucy's scheme to fake the board members messages quite humorous. Speaking of the wedding and the board, Mickey Manners' Martin appears at Lucy and Alan's wedding as guest. He is hanging around Amanda Barrington. I believe that he may have been a ELQ stockholder who may have appeared earlier during the original board meeting held to boot Alan because of the affair, but I would have to go back and look. It's just odd that his name is Martin given that Marcus Smythe is still appearing as Martin Ross, the new head of the WSB. Also in random people popping up, Sadie, a homeless woman, first appears in April, 1990, and I know she later pops up in early 1991 when attorney Broxton (Norman Snow) is working on the tunnels under Port Charles to reroute the water from the Willow Shores complex. Finally, Stephen Kay appears in April 1990 as Jerry, an orderly at General Hospital who has a crush on Amy and gives her the crystal that both Casey and Faison are after. The stronger material always seems to come from the quieter stories that aren't being shown all the time and aren't padded with a ton of exposition scenes. Lucas falling into a coma led to some great scenes regarding the fact that Lucas' unknown origins means that the doctors are missing medical histories which could help lead to the origin of the crisis. This leads to Bobbie lashing out at Tony because she thinks he blames her because "whores cannot adopt babies legally." The follow up with Tony at Lucas' crib confessing to Lucas, with Bobbie listening, that he doesn't care about how Lucas came to them is a dry run for the inevitable Tony at BJ's bedside during the heart transplant story. Then, all of this baby drama, has lead Simone to realize she can no longer put off the paternity test because they should know who Tommy's father is. It's a nice intersection. Similarly, when Simone realizes that Felicia is pregnant as she plans on jetting out of Port Charles, Simone's warning to Felicia is a little more poignant given Simone's own situation. There seemed to be some marital tension between Audrey and Steve early in 1990 when Tom was in a downward spiral after Simone (Laura Carrington) had departed before she returned in the form of Stephanie Williams. I liked that Tom lashed out at Audrey and how this undermined her own marriage. I am not sure if I missed the resolution or it was just dropped, but I do wish it had played out a little bit longer or had dug a little deeper into Audrey's own paternity drama. In another case of the underused have stronger moments, Maree Cheatham's Charlene is such a treasure. She is sort of a playing a flashier Kate Rescott with as many husbands as Kate had children. I love Charlene confronting Lucy about the fancy apartment Alan has got for her reminding Lucy that, back in the day, Charlene too was a loose woman who has had to pay for the consequences. On the same track, there is a nice confrontation between Decker and Charlene where Decker informs Charlene he knows that Charlene was cheating on his dad and that was the real reason that his father took him and split. It's a shame that the working class Simpson/Moss/Shore crew will be dumped in a years time for the Eckerts. I am curious to see where the year ends up before Monty deconstructs everything in 1991.

The move to NBC really changed everything. I think Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt were brought on specifically for the move as they had written the show earlier during a popular period. They had also worked rather recently for NBC on "The Doctors" and had managed to blend the past and the present by reintroducing Billy Aldrich and having him go after the van Alen money with Natalie Bell as his accomplice. I think they also introduced the Whitney siblings. Originally, a pair of unheard of writers had been hired to succeed Don Chastain as the head of the writing staff. When the NBC announcement came, it was announced Hunt and Ellis were returning. The big casting purge occurs at the end of the first cycle of the NBC episodes (June, 1982) which probably was always intended, but maybe the low numbers promoted changes as there were rumors as early as the summer of 1982 that NBC was thinking of cancelling the show. I suspect they just wanted to bring costs down as Millee Taggart would have carried a larger salary. I think Kathy is dropped with Cissie in the same period of time. I think Peter Stoneman, who was somehow tied up in the Operation Sunburst insanity and was a forgotten love interest of Stephanie's, also was killed off in June 1982. Ted sticks around until September, but then he too is out. Ellis and Hunt do introduce a slew of new younger characters including Warren and Kristen Carter, Jenny Deacon, and Keith McNeil. This shifts the story to the younger set of Suzi, Brian, and Wendy. Then, swapping Janet for David Gales Rusty Sentell, Travis and Liza continue to be involved in the insanity that is Operation Sunburst which I think finally peters out in November, 1982, without a big resolution because the story shifts to the psychological games that Rusty is playing with Liza (which would have been more effective in the long run). I think Ellis and Hunt try to toe the line of keeping the show a P&G series and something that NBC wants, but end up struggling to generate much excitement. Warren was a fascinating character, but all the gun running is silly. Stephanie as a heavy in Keith and Wendy's romance would have been fine if Maree Cheatham was given anything else to do with it. A lot of the original Corrington group that is around (Martin, Lee, Sunny), but has very little to do. Lee floats around in the Tourneur Instruments story, but rarely has much of weight. Martin has a half-hearted attempts to romance Stephanie even though his heart belongs to Jo. When David Cherrill comes in December, 1982, the show immediately becomes much faster paced. Everything happens at lightning speed. Rusty Sentell's murder plays out at a much faster pace than one would expect given that it starts in February and ends in April (they didn't even drag it into May sweeps). Cherrill definitely tried to utilize some of the past with Bob Rogers returning to help Liza with her pregnancy and Tom returning to defend Liza. There was more humor with stories like Stephanie playing Mommy Warbucks to little orphan Andie complete with a dog. Joanna Lee is there for the tail end of David Cherrill (late March-late May 1983) and definitely goes about a revamp that it is in the vein of the work that the Corringtons did. I know that there is a lot of complaints about the Kendall family, but they were introducing as an extension of the Tourneur/Sentell group with Lloyd and Martin's rivalry in business spilling over to the fact that the son Lloyd raise, Steve, was in fact Martin's. I think that initial setup could have played out for years as the original plan appeared to be for a Lloyd / Stephanie / Steve / Suzi / Warren / Wendy situation that could have been beautifully messy. The Moreno family also gave Stu something to do and helped to keep Danny grounded into the show. Vargas gave Mary Stuart her last big, memorable story. Kathy was back in town in a recurring capacity. Suzi's inheritance from Doug Martin drove the story for quite some time. I think this was all very smart.

I think the split of Arlene from Ben's story was facilitated by the departure of Christopher Reeve in the spring of 1976 leaving Arlene in Rosehill while Ben was in prison. The recasting of Ben didn't occur until the fall and by then, Arlene was already involved with Tom Crawford, which I imagine was a way to keep the Betsy-Arlene tension going with Ben out of the picture. Carrie's health crisis kept Tom and Arlene in the same circle, but when the bills mounted, Arlene turned to prostitution. In early September 1976, Michael Allinson was introduced as Ian Russell and by early October, Chandler Hill Harben was introduced in prison as Ben. I'm not sure CHH's Ben and Arlene had much interaction at all. In early September, the Schneiders introduced Michael Allinson as Ian Russell and the prostitution storyline was in place by the time Ben was back in Rosehill. Ben hits Jim Marriott in January, 1977, and the Marriotts arrive on the scene. I think the Jim-Mia scenario is bizarre especially as it is all played as backstory that Jim's accident was more the result of his failed romantic overture with his stepmother rather than Ben's carelessness. In theory, it makes sense to invest in Ben-Mia given that Liz Kemp's contract was up in June, 1976, but it would have made more sense to revive the Arlene-Ben story given that both characters were in dark places. I am very vague at the moment on what happened with Arlene from post-murder trial (summer of 1977) and then tailend of Gabrielle Upton (fall 1978). I know Arlene had her baby and she and Ray got together, but did anything really happen of interest until Bambi was introduced as a romantic foil in the Ray/Arlene story.

Your point about knowing the source of information is important. In the "Search for Tomorrow" thread, there is a comment from Jon-Michael Reed about the Corringtons wanting to dump all the older cast and shift the show to New Orleans. I can't help but wonder if Mary Stuart was the source of that tidbit given that Martin Tourneur couldn't have shown up in Henderson any earlier than November, 1978 as Aniston was still on "Love of Life" at the time. I have seen Tudi Wiggins say in papers she wasn't going to stay on with the series in papers, but a much missed poster Jon (saynotoursoap) had also stated this suggesting that a) her contract was non-renewed and b) the source was Charles Hill Harben. Regarding Meg's final storyline, I feel like it would have been much richer, and more entertaining, if it wasn't Tom and Arlene that Meg was trying to keep apart with her feigned paralysis and blackmail marriage scheme. Mark Pinter's Tom was more ambitious, I believe, than he was when Richard K. Webber played the part. His Tom was the one interested in the research projects and was sleeping with Meg to get access to the money. I think Meg making life a living hell for Tom and Arlene, with Arlene giving as good as she could get would be absolutely delicious. Especially if Carrie Johnson became aware of Meg's duplicity and had to choose between the happiness of her daughter or her friend. Of course, eventually, we'd have to wonder whether Meg was willing to work with reformed mobster Ray Slater to get what she wants. Ray, in many ways, seems like the kind of man that turned Jean McBride's Meg on. Meg agreeing to marry Ray in order to help Ray get custody of the child he shared with Arlene would make for a great set of sweeps storylines. Which, in turn, would give Ben and Betsy something to cluck about without being the center of the story. Then, you play this out with Amy and Bruce working together to represent Tom and Arlene, while Eliot decides to align himself with Ray and Meg. You can just continue to spin a lot of drama out of this especially if it's played at the same time that Meg has learned that Amy is NOT Bruce's daughter, something Amy only recently discovered from her mother. Meg blackmails Amy to provide her with tabs on Bruce's case providing them with details they couldn't know otherwise. Bruce, of course, would assume that Meg has taken advantage of Vanessa's familial ties and got access through her (access to the files in his home office when Meg was visiting). And, given it's Meg, there would be some elaborate scheme to discredit Arlene (maybe she gets Arlene set up for prositution again) that would be uncovered by Vanessa, who would plead with her sister to tell the truth. Then, Meg would decide to play her trump card and tell Vanessa that Amy is not Bruce's daughter and threatens to reveal the truth if Vanessa discredits her in court. Vanessa, knowing how much Bruce has come to love Amy, is torn. Vanessa confronts Amy, who reveals the whole story about how she honestly believed Bruce was her father when she came to Rosehill and, when she learned the truth, she loved him like he was her father. Vanessa tells Amy she is going to tell the truth and Amy prepares for the fallout. Then, Vanessa offers to share what she heard in court to help clear Arlene, which is the best they can do without having the crooked cop. Vanessa shares her story, and Eliot tries to trip her up by suggesting that this was a ploy on her part because Bruce had blamed her for supplying Eliot with information about the case (possibly at the suggestion of Meg, who, by now, needs Ray emotionally and cannot afford to lose him). Eliot presses her to retell the story hoping to trip Vanessa up, but slowly Vanessa says too much and she is forced to reveal in court that Meg attempted to coerce her into silence by threatening to reveal that Amy isn't Bruce's daughter. Then, the story becomes about Bruce's downward spiral having lost his "daughter" and feeling betrayed by his wife. And on and on...

Byers' appeared on "Search for Tomorrow" in 1985 as banker Melvin Hibbard, who rented a room at the Caldwell House, the historic home that Jo and Stu had converted into a bed and breakfast, with plans on going through the basement to get to the bank, located next door. He was introduced by Stephanie Braxton and Paul Avila Mayer. He was crotchedy at first, but I cannot remember if he was out and out villainous until Gary Tomlin came aboard in September, 1985. His nephew appeared briefly, hit on Adair, and then ended up murdered. Hibbard himself kidnapped Jo for sweeps in November, 1985, in a poor man's version of the Vargas story from a few years earlier. In 1980, Byers ended up being out shortly after the article posted. The heat was turned up on Jim Ramsay as it was becoming clear that David Sutton was getting closer to learning about the deception involving the building's construction (there were expensive fire systems in place for inspection, that were removed afterwards). Also, Ramsay had run into an old aquaintance, Dr. Jamie Larsen, who had known Ramsay in some way that Jamie didn't want let out. Jamie and Ramsay met by the train tracks and an argument ensued that was escalated by the arrival of Ted Adamson that ended with Ramsay in the river presumed dead. Jamie used this to get Ted to break things off with Janet Collins and they would later marry. I believe Jamie's big secret was that she was involved with terrorist activity. I believe this came out in early 1981 before Gabrielle Upton was shuttled off the show as headwriter. I think that Renata Sutton's death was more practical in some ways. I think the show intended to repair David with Kathy Phillips, who was the mother of his son Doug Phillips. Scott, as I recall, was said to be serving time for a vehicular manslaughter charge stemming from his drinking (this happened offscreen). While a divorce was more practical, killing Renata gave the added (temporary and longterm) drama. David raising another man's child, while Scott had raised David's son would have given David perspective when eventually Scott was released from prison and returned to Henderson looking to rebuild his life with his wife and sons (Erich had been around in 1980 and was briefly paired with Wendy). The story involving Renata's introduction and her rape by Prince Antonio were not the most beloved stories of the Corrington period. I wouldn't be surprised if the show was just looking to remove that story element.

Ann Marcus kept Bambi and maintained her relationships with Dr. Paul Graham and Tony Alphonso, a cook working at a restaurant. Tony had served in Vietnam where he had a fling with nurse Kim Soo Ling, who found her to Rosehill to reconnect with Tony and inform him that Kim had given birth to their child and put it up for adoption. This was a story that Ann Marcus had been plotting for years and had tried (unsuccessfully) to tell twice on other shows. Originally, Marcus plotted the story for Mia Elliott on "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," who was set to return to San Francisco and admit she had lost her husband and son while overseas and wanted to look for them. The series was cancelled before Marcus even got to start the story. In her assignment prior to "Love of Life," Marcus proposed telling the story again, but this time with Chris Kositchek having a child from his time in Vietnam. This story was nixed. On "Love of Life," Marcus was finally able to tell the tale. She had time to ruminate on the plot. Kim's return threatened the happiness of Bambi and Tony, who were engaged to be married. Kim wasn't sure if she should even tell Tony as she didn't want to cause problems for Tony. Eventually, it came out and they tracked down their son Tran, who had been adopted by a nice family. The adopted mother was dying, I believe, and the story wrapped in the last week with Kim leaving Rosehill. Bambi's role in it was definitely secondary. It could have been told with anyone. I wonder if the show would have put Bambi back in Ray's orbit given that he and Arlene split in the final week. I don't like the pairing of Ray and Arlene. Ray Slater seems like the precursor to Sonny Corinthos. I don't think Ray was given a whole lot to do until being paired with Arlene. He was on a couple of years before they decided elevate the role after Arlene had become a prositute, got knocked up by her john Ian Russell, and went on trial for Ian's murder. During that time, the show had kept Arlene in the orbit of Tom Crawford, the brother of her romantic rival Betsy. It was Gabrielle Upton, I believe who shifted Ray and Arlene into each other's orbit. I would hope Marcus would have split them longterm, but the setup was for Ray and Arlene to get back together given Arlene was pregnant with Ray's child, but Ray believed the child was Hal's. Marcus' run is something I wish would pop up because it's so close to the edge of when so much other material appears for other shows, but I feel like its a huge shot in the dark. I think her greatest move was to place the college at the forefront. It isn't until recently, with all the information @slick jones has shared about the casting in the 1960s, that it is clear how important the role Wingfield Prep, the private boys' school where Bruce was employed, was to the story. I think reviving that seems very fitting. Also, I believe Vanessa, prior to her newspaper work, was involved in advertising so teaching commercial art would have made sense given her history. Characters like Amy Russell and Steve Harbach seem very appealing. Woody Brown was charming as Skipper on "Flamingo Road" so I imagine he was at least functional in the role of Wes Osbourne, Mia's messy younger brother. Neither Judy Landers' Cheryl Kingsley or Julia Kelly's Kelly Wilson were on long enough to do much. I'm curious what a post-February, 1980 Rosehill would have looked like once the dust settled. Tudi Wiggins had decided to not renew her contract. Meg's absence in Rosehill would have been felt. I'm not sure Ron Harper's Andrew Marriott had the gravitas to be shifted into the heavy in the Tom Crawford/Lianne Wilson romance to keep it a viable story. Also, the rumors of Peter Reckell playing Hank Latimer is intriguing, but I'm not sure how that all would have played out.

Ten episodes of this short lived show from the early 1990s has appeared. The episodes are from the first year. The later episodes include some actors who had done longer runs on "Crossroads" (Paul Henry, Gabrielle Drake). I haven't watched much. I liked the conflict between BB and his ambitious daughter Kiran, who tries to remove a manager from the family warehouse business due to embezzlement. I also thought the pairing between doctor son Vikram and the working class teacher Nina had a nice vibe to it. Maybe it'll pick up a bit, but it definitely feels equivalent to other short lived soaps from that era.

I think this was when Gabrielle Upton was on her way out the door and Cathi Abbi was brought on board. Upton had introduced a bunch of younger characters including Andy Marriott, who seemed to be an attempt at another Ben Harper type rich playboy lothario who was sleeping with most of the younger females. There was also unremarkable characters like Michael Blake, the veteran who was interested in Cal, Mary Jane Owens, who I think was a nurse, Sheree Manning, who was one of Andy's conquests, and a few others. The period following this is the infamous "Bambi Brewster saga" era so it wasn't an immediate improvement until May, 1979, when Jean Holloway was dismissed and Ann Marcus came in and really reset the the show with Dana Delaney's Amy Russell and really emphasizing the college set.

"For Richer, For Poorer" seemed to gain a little life later in the run, but who knows how things would have panned out in the long run. I don't have much interest in mob tied Lee Ferguson chasing after blonde heroine Tessa Saxton while father Les huffs and puffs about their involvement. If they were going to be written out, that would have been preferable. Though, I think the idea of posh Edith Cushing's goddaughter Wendy Prescott hooking up with reformed street hood Paco Morales was much more intriguing. Futhermore, the battle for Cushing & Sons seemed to gain some momentum when Austin returned to the firm at his mother's request, to his wife Amy's concern, to go against Jason for the presidency. Jason and Megan's marriage was destined for failure and what a wonderful trainwreck that would hav eben to see play out. I know the show was intending to kill off Dr. Roy White in November, 1978, had the show continued. I would speculate that Connie or Bill would have been accused, but they would have pinned it on Roy's lover Nancy Snyder's Colleen Griffith or tied Roy to the mob. I also have to wonder if the show was going to pair Dr. Chris Gifford, Amy's doctor brother introduced in the final weeks, with Connie once things settled in Connie's universe. Lemay's version was still stronger, but King's version had some interesting elements.

Shringer's Jeb Hampton was an interesting construct. As Ginny's younger brother, it allowed him to come on the scene as a part of the Marshall set without the blood ties. The heart mumur allowed him to be tied to Kevin and Courtney. The military background also gave him a potential entry into the Eliot / Barrett story, but I don't think that was an angle that ever really was explored. Personally, given his backstory with the drug addicted singer Suzanne, it might have been interesting to have played him a bit more with Paige. I am curious where the Corringtons would have taken the character as I believe they were out by February, 1981. Wasn't Jeb also tested with Lacey Wheeler, too? I don't think Catherine Hickland was setting the world on fire as Courtney, and I don't think it was necessarily the writing. She was saddled with weak pairings in the beginning. Her chemistry wasn't there with Lee Patterson and Joel Colodner was fine as the perennial loser, but he lacked the gravitas that would have been required to hold his own had Courtney committed to a relationship with Bart after Reena was aware of Kevin and Courtney's relationship. I get the sense that Gulf Hospital was originally intended to play a bigger role given that originally Russ was going to be in Houston as well, but the medical group didn't last long and Courtney's lack of true connection to the Marshalls didn't help. I would have brought back Courtney in the fall of 1981 with Harley Jane Kozak in the role. I'm not sure anything could have kept Beverlee McKinsey on "Texas." I think the show was strong with her, but I don't necessarily think the show needed her to survive. I would be curious to see what the show could have been like if they had just kept Iris cunning from the beginning and was manipulating Alex into thinking she had changed, while still meddling in Dennis' life. Then again, I'd also like to see what the Corringtons could have done if they were given two years to develop the show onscreen.

Very interesting to hear. It was wild hearing Dick van Patten as Larry. I think I found the most compelling sequences to revolved around Tracey trying to grapple with her young son Jonathan's passing. The closeness between her and the family friend was also interesting.

I think there was a writer for "Love of Life" from that period (Loring Mandel/Christopher Bell) who would have more than likely come through that program. Hardy went from "Ryan's Hope" to "Loving" to "General Hospital" in the 1980s. I think his claim to fame was that he had guided some pivotal years of "Love of Life" with writer Don Ettlinger before co-creating "Flame in the Wind" and later working on "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."

It looks like John Hess was headwriter until July, 1969 after having the role since March, 1967. I believe Barbara Roddell also assumed the role of Jill Stevens in June or July of the same year almost immediately after departing "Another World."

It doesn't surprise me. I haven't had the time to devote much to "General Hospital" 1993, but I've made it to the climax of the art theft/Victoria Parker gaslighting story. I get what they are trying to do now. It's a bit of a film noir type plot about the mind games Bill and Holly are playing on Richard, with Richard turning the screw by sending Bill on a wild goose chase for Victoria and revealing to Holly that Bill loves someone else. I don't think it works, but I get it. I thought Richard's long confession about being the one behind the kidnapping and how he had loved Victoria even though she loved was very gothic. It was also interesting that despite not being an overtly gothic aesthetic, there was such an added touch by having the show down in the large, empty gallery. I still don't care what happens to anyone involved. Jagger and Karen are great. They are very angsty. Karen's desire to be a doctor was an interesting element towards keeping her in the Quartermaine orbit even as she was slowly breaking free from Jason, who was a jerk even during this period. Jason comes off as very desperate to keep Karen, even though she has no real use for him. I guess this was a first love for Jason, but it's very odd. I can't tell, but it seemed that in 1992 Robin may have had a crush on Jason. I don't see much of that playing out. It is a bit weird to me that there is so much emphasis on the teenage storyline and the one teen actress with longevity (Kimberly McCullough) is on the sidelines. Brenda also comes off as clingy, desperate, and frenetic. Some of Brenda's schemes are terrible. I think taking a picture of Karen naked and spreading it around the school is pretty messed up. Nowadays, Brenda would be in jail on distribution of underage pornography. It's probably terrible to say, but I actually smiled when Brenda read Jagger's letter to Karen and she started to get upset. The writing doesn't help Brenda as there are only a few rare moments where she comes across as vulnerable. There was a conversation at the cabin with Jagger about growing up and how Harlan loved Julia's mother more than hers and that her own mother was an alcoholic, or something like that, that was one of the only times I liked Julia. I also snickered when she tried to go after Jenny Eckert and Jenny just told her she was such a messed up litle girl. I like Rhonda. Her social climbing is intriguing and still pressing for Jason and Karen even after their relationship is over is a nice way to keep that connection together. Alan and Rhonda have just had their first conversation together, just the two of them, and theirs is a pleasant chemistry. I've seen more of that story later on and I really like it. I can also see how Alan and Monica end up there given Alan's plotting to run Nikki Langdon out of Port Charles and Nikki's abrupt wedding day departure being a looming cloud over the Quartermaine crew. A.J. has returned from rehab and is trying to make everything work while also learning the truth about Nikki. He's gotten as far as learning Alan cancelled the search for Nikki the day he hired her. Tracey has put two and two together and is hinting at the truth. It's fun. The battle for ELQ is slowly building. I like that they have tied the Kensington scandal up into the impact on ELQ as it gives the story more weight. I don't know who released the tape, and I don't want to know until it comes out, but it's a nice little mini mystery. Jenny and Paul can be very dull at times. The show has overly relied on catfights to engage in some interest for Jenny first at the opening of the Deception spa with Julia and then later with Tracey in the spa with the mud fight. Cheryl Richardson can be charming, but Jenny is mostly a push over. I appreciated when they finally gave Jenny agency during the whole Kensington revelation and had her book a room at the Port Charles Hotel so that her paparazzi problem was now Julia and Ned's problem as well. Tracey has managed to get some power at ELQ because everyone is convinced Ned is the one who released the tape which means they will no longer have political power in the form of their connection to Jack Kensington. They seem to be setting up Tom Hardy's exit. At a dinner party, Tom says he is planning to do medical work overseas. I imagine he doesn't have much time left. I think Simone will linger around. The Lucy/Scott/Dominque stuff continues to be incredibly strong. Dom pressing Scotty to be the one who will take her off life support if she needs to be taken off. Scotty desperately trying to find a miracle that will save his wife. Lucy trying her best to make Dom and Scotty's final days together as happy as they can be while maintaining her composure as she is chronically accused of hanging around to snag Scott once Dominique is dead. I don't like how they have pulled Lucy back into the art stuff, but I get why they did it. The antics of Felicia and Mac are fun. I can now see why people wanted them together. They just have such a light, playful chemistry that I don't think you could force. In a way, it's what they are trying for wiht Bill and Holly. Michelle has made her way to Port Charles while Felicia and Mac are in St. Louis talking to Michelle's mother about Gloria, who may have been a nutcase herself. I like that the love on the run piece has brought Sean and Jessica into each other's orbit. Tiffany has been pretty miserable since she lost custody, but I don't feel sympathy for her. I'm approaching the 30th anniversary week which should be fun.