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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.

Regarding 2005, the paycuts hurt, but the show was already running on fumes by January. When the show failed to secure Peter Simon, and refused to recast Ed, the Santa Domingo revisit immediately collapsed with a very unsatsifying conclusion (didn't Tony give Sebastian the serum provided to him offscreen by Ed). This, in turn, also took some of the wind out of the sail of having Beth and Rick have an affair which also was aborted around the same time when Mel confronted Rick and Beth about their feelings and then all three faded into obscurity for a bit. Bill and Olivia didn't have much story. Harley was slowly start to eat the show. Lizzie and Coop had no energy. Sandy, Tammy, and Jonathan had potential, but it was all so poorly executed that nothing could have saved it. If the show really wanted Driscoll, they should have just fired Bailey and put Driscoll in the role and I say this as someone who enjoyed Bailey, and who is appearing in an Infiniti ad on this page as I type, but acknowledged his range was limited. By January, there was no more arguing that David Kriezman was going to go full steam ahead with Tammy and Jonathan without ever really redeeming Jonathan and making sure that everyone looked like trash along the way. The original seduction/deflowering revenge story was twisted and had potential, but going the route of starcrossed lovers wasn't going to work given the backstory. Danny and Marina were boring, but I thought Danny and Blake had potential. Tony and Michelle were fine as a distraction, but Tony never had overstayed his welcome even before the recast. It was frustrating to see Danny and Michelle replaced by Harley and Gus not because I was a Manny fan, but because I found Harley and Gus equally annoying. Linda Dano should have been a back from the dead Elizabeth Spaulding who was protecting Phillip while he recovered from a psychotic break. There were still glimpses of what could be (the Spaulding/Lewis business feud that was building was interesting), but Wheeler and Kriezman couldn't figure out how to successfully produce a show on the budget they had. I often wonder if the show could have survived if it had adopted a "Days of our Lives" 2008-2010 model where they just focused on telling long term stories with beats, emotions, and payoff instead of trying to recreate Doug Marland's "As the World Turns" with the budget of "Valiant Lady."

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I think part of the issue the show faced was it changed studios after 13 weeks when the show shifted from Maljardin to Desmond Hall. As a result, I believe some of the early markets who had bought the show would have run out of first-run episodes mid-December 1969 when the new studio didn't even open until January 1970. I haven't given it a good watch in many years, but the show can be fun at times. The early week (the first nine or so) are wildly uneven. All credited to Ian Martin, but clearly there were people ghostwriting as well because some scripts were marvelously witty and well constructed while others floundered. Some of the religious and medical discussions are interesting surrounding death. I know Martin was involved in early episodes of "The Doctors" so I imagine some of that tone came from there. The show also had abandoned most of its early projections (for the first 13 weeks) pretty late in the game as the projections for the unproduced episodes made their way into local papers. The show's past lives storyline set in the 17th century was originally intended to play out longer and would have seen Paisley Maxwell assume the dual role of the witch that she reminded Jacques Eloi des Mondes of. The show is pretty crazy during the sequence with everyone getting offed in the final 3 or 4 weeks of the first cycle before the whole place ends up torched. The reboot helmed by Ron Sproat, like most periods on this show, also had some interesting story elements that were never completely developed. I liked the early iteration of Ada Thaxton as this battered and beaten woman who was desperately holding onto the past (clearly Elizabeth Stoddard) with Jack Creeley's flamboyant villain Lazlo Thaxton plotting with the village witch Irene Hatter (the underused Pat Moffatt). The local coven plotting against the wealthy Desmond clan had some potential, but alas nothing really came of that either. The final run by Harding Lemay is as uneven as anything, but also a lot of fun, but I think that isn't a popular opinion among most of the show's fans. His past lives story was intriguing with Jacques and his bastard half-brother Phillipe and the Desmond curse. Of course, the revelation that devoted housekeeper Raxl was the source of all the family's woes was as left field as anything else the show produced. I'm glad it got a rerun a decade or so ago.

I'm watching the early months of 1993. Riche has been there for a year and Bill Levinson is head writing. I find the show mostly enjoyable, and fairly strong. The only story that I have absolutely no interest in is the Bill/Holly/Richard Halifax art theft triangle. Prior to starting January 1993, I watched a couple of strings of episodes from 1991-1992 and Bill Eckert is such a hot mess of a character that his story being the weakest in 1993 is not the biggest surprise. It is disappointing to see Emma Samms wasted in such a nothing plot considering I found her quite charming and delightful in the March 1992 episodes I watched where Holly had almost no actual plot, but was just living with Mac and Robin while they all await news about the fate of Robert and Anna (Riche had tried to get Rogers and Hughes to return right after they resigned when Monty was still in charge). The biggest issue with the story is it so disconnected from the rest of the canvas. The rest of the show is fun. The Ryan Chamberlain stuff isn't necessarily my favorite, but Lindstrom is engaging as the Ted Bundy-esque Ryan and Kristina Wagner has such energy as Felicia. York and Wagner are very cute together and play the adventure angle well, and the overall plot impacts the canvas much more than the Bill and Holly adventure. I was very surprised to see a dark haired Woody Brown as the rapey orderly Jimmy Montogomery. Lorna Scott (who I recognized from "Sordid Lives") plays Felicia's friend as the institution. There's a bit too much liberty in the story (Ryan's involvement with the mental hospital is a strech and testifying in Felicia's hearing seems wildly unethical). I do appreciate though that as batshit crazy as Ryan working at the psychiatric facility is, it gives Steve Hardy an excuse to finally give it to Ryan aftetrying to give him the benefit of the doubt. In where I am at now, Felicia and Mac have just escaped so I'm curious to see where it goes. I like the intersections with the custody of Lucas, which is a really engaging plot. In the first episodes I received, Lucas has had a severe diabetic episode which is picked up on by Bobbie, who rushes him to General Hospital in effect saving his life. I like that Tiffany and Bobbie are able to put aside their differences and just be there for Lucas before resuming their animosity. The escalating tension between the two women is interesting, but it seems to have a Bill Levinson trademark that I struggle to get past. There is always a sleazy misogynist angle to so many of the stories. Of course, Tiffany makes sure the social worker learns that Bobbie used to be a hooker, which Tiffany's lawyer John Harmon is sure to bring up in court. Bobbie, since it is now open war, has hired Marco Dane to dig up dirt and discovers Tiffany, during her early acting days, starred in the "Debbie Does Dallas" inspired "Trixie Does Tennessee" or something to that effect. I appreciate the exploration of Tiffany's acting days, but it just seems to be another chance to exploit women. The overall arc though is strong, and the desire on Bobbie's part to be friends is important. Were people upset at the way Tiffany was presented? Her desperation is a lot, but creates a great trajectory for the next few months as Tiffany and Sean's marriage spirals out of control. The emotional stories are really the best. Dominique's tumor is heartbreaking. There are so many beats that are just very sweet. The Dominique/Lucy relationship that develops is probably the biggest surprise in terms of what was going on at the time. It is a little jarring at first (I knew it was coming but it really comes out of no where with Lucy accusing Dominique of trapping Scotty with a (nonexistent) pregnancy. Lucy's humanity has been a nice arc to see. Dominique and Scotty's Valentine's Day wedding is really lovely complete with Lucy again playing savior, Michael Lynch returning to sing a brief refrain from "Someone to Watch Over Me," and beautiful vows. I really liked the way Lee was incorporated into the ceremony and I appreciated the little moments at the reception with Lee and Gail and Steve and Audrey talking about marriage. I'll have to continue to gush about Karen and Jagger another time and try to figure out how I feel about Jenny Eckert and the Jack Kensington saga. I am happy A.J. is back because the Quartermaines were in limbo wihtout him. And I am not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but early Brenda Barrett is one of the most unlikeable characters I've encountered. I've never gotten so much pleasure out of a character's unhappiness. And when you got me cheering for Jenny Eckert, we got a problem.

Someone shared some things with me a while back. Unfortunately, from my memory, the main things I recall were the three main stories were outlined: (1) the Kelly / Joe romance with Joe clearing his name, (2) Gina's search to gain access to her son via relationships with both C.C. and Mason, and (3) the youth summer story in Los Angles. The L.A. storyline was intended to cash in on the summer Olympics which I believe were to be hosted in Los Angeles that year. Also, the Hollywood story gave the network the opportunity to cross promote (if they so chose) with primetime by having Danny and Ted get stunt jobs on a NBC series like "Hill Street Blues." The main things I recall were mostly about missing parts or serious deviations in the story. Sophia's return was not a part of the original story. Lionel isn't mentioned much. There seemed to be a strange connection between Augusta and C.C. that was never completely clarified. C.C.'s motive for pushing Peter and Kelly together was not just to keep Kelly away from Joe, but because C.C. had found her at least on one occasion on the verge of a nervous breakdown after Joe was arrested and was afraid she would completely go over the edge. Santana was suppose to learn that Gina had custody of her son while Gina was living out of town. Gina would have infilitrated the DeMott household posing as the maid and befriending her son. Mason would discover her and threaten to reveal Santana's true identity which would have lead to a relationship between Santana and Mason by necessity. I was mostly surprised, and not surprised, to see that of the Perkins and Andrade families, only Santana and Joe were fleshed out and given significant story. I don't think Amy was mentioned at all. Nor were any of the other Andrade children. There was a footnote at one point that John Perkins at some point could become in a corrupt trade union in a story resembling "On the Waterfront." The biggest surprise was the reveal that Warren was Channing's killer and that it was all based on the gold coins story. There was no mention of Channing being Lionel's son either, but, since neither Lionel or Sophia were mentioned, this should be no surprise. I believe I may have only seen part of the "Santa Barbara" bible. I think there was a second part outlining characters which I didn't get a chance to look at. I don't have it anymore unfortunately, so this is all form memory.

Part of the issues with characters like Jade and Laken were so much of the foundational storytelling and characterization of other characters (and Jade) seemed to shift between the story bible and what appeared on air in the first few months. From what I've seen, Jade is initially suppose to be a vixen, or at the very least a rebel, not a heroine. I believe casting Melissa (Brennan) Reeves was a mistake as it wasn't really a role that suited her. In the early weeks, Jade used her sexuality to get what she wanted from the boys her own age and even was able to win over her own father with doting words and affection. It was an interesting contrast to Marissa and Joe's relationship where Marissa was so desperate to keep Joe away from Kelly that it caused strain in her own relationship with John. This all seemed to fall away though pretty quick. What is interesting to me is Ted was not originally the sort of goofy All American kid that Todd McKee played. He was a bit of a darker character and casting McKee, like Brennan, seemed to change the direction of the character a bit. This is why Ted was suppose to become involved with the Jackie Baldwin character, who I think had a different name or no name in the bible. Motherless Ted going after an older woman played into some of those intimacy issues he had due to the absence of his mother from his life. The one thing I noticed about McKee's Ted is there seemed to be very little impact in terms of Channing's death on who he was as a person. With that said, the original outcome of Channing's murder would have definitely impacted Jade and Laken's dynamic and not in a way that could be replicated with Kelly, who was originally much more of a neurotic in the bible. Once Eden, original more of a bitch, and Warren were married, it was to come out that Warren had in fact killed Channing Capwell, Jr. before Warren himself ended up dead. Laken's brother being the reason that Jade's brother went to jail surely would have had reprocussions for both women and Ted if they were all involved together. Laken definitely lacked dreams and desires, but I'm not sure if anyone really worked in the Lockridge family. Lionel was off on excursions, Augusta pampered herself, and Warren was a lifeguard so he could go shirtless all the time. Maybe if Laken had been interested in financials and became interested in that world it would have been something.

I believe Teri Keane’s original run was through either January or June 1984. I feel like they shipped Pat and Rose Donovan to Florida in January but that Keene as Rose appeared a few times as Rose afterwards. Keane returns as Rose Donovan at some point in 1990 around the time Jackie Babbin arrives, I suspect. She appears in recurring bits through November 1991. For Christmas 1991, Stacey says her parents are visiting Doug in California.

I love late 1991. I think the quieter show that was more about characters relationships and the fall out was very engaging. By comparison, I think the structure to the plots in 1993 may have been stronger, but there were often tonal issues that I struggled with. For example, Shana and Leo were an intersting couple. The Mason-Julia baby contract redux was intriguing as was Ava as the third wheel, but so much of the day to day material was hammy. There were a lot of dream sequences, which, while funny at times, took away some of the dramatic weight of the story. Taggert might have had a thing about Elvis. She was also at the helm when Todd Jones as going to be an Elvis serial killer. I don't like the train sequences. Before I read your comments, I hadn't been able to put my finger on why. Guza and Taggert attempted to make "Loving" sexier, but at times it was just sleazier. I think Jean LeClerc and Lisa Peluso have chemistry, but Jeremy and Ava don't work. I feel like Jean LeClerc was originally intended to be in a quad with Stacey, Trisha, and Trucker, but Noelle Beck's decision to depart the show jettisoned those plans. Jeremy's best pairing was Gwyn, but it was such a B-story at best. Ava evolves a lot over the different performers and writers. Ryan Munisteri played Ava as almost a Delia Reid type where she could be very nasty and lash out, while also being sympathetic at the same time. Walsh saw Ava as a more desperate, lonely character who was afraid of being alone after Paul left her so she immediately got into a relationship with Leo even though there wasn't much story to tell between them. Taggert and Guza made Ava a screwball schemer as if she was being played by Lucille Ball. Nixon's Ava felt more grounded. Her Ava just wanted to live a peaceful life without all the schemes and the complications that came from the way she was and the way things would be if she returned to Alex. I am curious where Ava would have gone if Nixon had stayed and Ava took control of AE stock based on her grandfather's role in the development of Lady Alden Soap.

@Keri Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've mostly been watching random episodes I've acquired on DVD over the last several years, but I did catch some clips on YouTube of Cruz and Eden from (I think) 1990 where Robert has been shot and Cruz is frustrated at Eden's need to be at Robert's bedside. They have a rather frank conversation where Cruz pontificates that Eden is two people: (1) the loving wife and mother who wants security and (2) a woman who deplores the monotony of domestic life and desires a need for adventure. I know that the previous writers had set up the split personality plot. I assumed that was there original philosophy. I've only seen small bits of Suzanne, but now it makes sense why A Martinez is doing the Grant Alexander I'm looking for my contact routine earlier in the episode where Cruz stumbles upon Suzanne/Eden. @j swift I find your thoughts on Mason intriguing. I have very little of 1990, but in most of the material I do have from late 1990 Mason (and Julia) are dealing with the environmental group, the Blue Sky Brigade, and the group's protest against the development of the Oasis as it was land they felt needed to be protected. Terry Lester's Mason has a rather nice scene where he tells Julia he has for the first time in his life gotten things together and he still wants her by his side. I know Julia, in what I have, joins the Blue Sky Brigade and then later, in stuff I don't, is raped by Dash Nichols. Lester's Mason still seemed like a character who was trying to work past his daddy issues without actively loathing C.C. I know I've heard people complain about how Mason and C.C. were getting along at that point, but wasn't Mason's animosity with his father crucial to his character? Similar to how fans struggle when Sami Brady isn't actively flailing about her mother and John Black. I would also argue that some of the Mason/Dobsons issues stemmed from the fact that Mason was a doppleganger for Bridget Hursley Dobson who had a very antagonistic relationship with her own parents. I'd be curious if the story of C.C.'s two wives had anything to do with how Frank Hursley left his own family by his first wife to build another with Doris. I think Pamela's return as the catalyst for the animosity returning between C.C. and Mason makes sense, but maybe the big 'revelation' that C.C. knowing Pamela was released should have been knowledge to Mason before the return to form. Mason, privately, acknowledges to C.C. after the dinner party that they had gone some time where they had gotten along, but, in the end, Mason's perception of C.C.'s omnipotence is what kept them at odds. The final straw seems to be that C.C. not only helped Pamela get released, but made it contigent that she not speak to Mason as a stipulation of that release. I believe in the weeks leading up to the Dobsons arrival C.C. had voiced objections to Mason seeing Cassandra, which may have also been a part of Mason's state of mind during the dinner party. It would seem to me that C.C. was meddling a bit, but maybe not to the point to explain Mason's behavior prior to the party rather than afterwards. An underlying piece of the dinner party that often is overlooked is the story about Rosa and Ruben's land. I believe it is later revealed that the land in question is part of the Oasis, which was Mason's shining achievement that not only revitalized his belief in himself, but was a major source of pride for C.C. The Andrades coming into some of the profits of the Oasis is a very intriguing idea given the plans to bring back Santana and pair her with C.C. If Santana had come back and part of C.C.'s motivation to reconnect with Santana had to do with the land, I think that is something that would have strengthened C.C.'s point of view regarding his decision to rekindle a romance with Santana. It would have also been interesting to see if Rosa would have agreed with the Blue Sky and wanted the land protected. Finally, I would have loved to seen Ruben return to unsettle whatever deals were made between Santana, Rosa, and C.C.

Thougths regarding Eden's multiple personality storyline... I'm watching various points of the Dobsons' 1991 return which I know most people don't like. I find it fascinating in the way there was such a strong attempt to reincorporate elements of the show that had been abandoned for so long. I rewatched the Capwell dinner party episodes written by Patrick Mulcahey in the first month of the Dobsons return. There is a certain brilliance of having Eden completely losing it while C.C., Sophia, and Kelly deride Pamela for her mental health issues. Marcy Walker plays it all as very heart breaking. While watching this sequence, there are times that one of Eden's personalities is speaking to her about Sophia lying. We are suppose to assume this is Lisa, but, based on later points, I am curious if it isn't both Lisa and Channing, Jr. talking to Eden during various points of the dinner party. Also, regarding mental health, Mason Capwell is not a mentally stable character, but I appreciate that he isn't treated like a psychopath. He is a black sheep and a bit of a pariah at different points, but the fact that he is mentally unwell is treated with much more respect than I think I've seen bestowed to many other characters. The potential fear, is it even addressed on air?, that Mason may end up like Pamela is definitely a thread that I see playing out. The sequence where Eden as Channing decides to shoot Sophia is wild. I can only imagine what people thought watching this for the first time unspoiled. The crossdressing is definitely a call back to Sophia's own little stint as Dominic. The trigger being Eden watching Sophia "drown" was interesting. I think Eden returning after shooting Sophia to call for help was a nice way to wrap that part of the story, but I can see why fans of Eden and Cruz would be upset that this is how the story comes to a conclusion.

I'm not sure if this will work, but this is a clip from "The Road of Life" from the late 1940s when the show shifted to a spy plot that involved the death of Carol Brent and the arrival of an imposter Carol, who's real name was Beth Lambert. The spy ring that Beth was involved with was trying to take the government project that Dr. Jim Brent had been working on. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9510964/st-cloud-times-saint-xloud-mn-dec-2/

@te. is right. Carrie Fairchild is not only the highest paid columnist at "Communique" by a wide margin, but she has a ridiculous expense account. Stephanie was known for being a by-the-numbers editor who was able to rearrange the budget to get the most out of the resources. Stephanie is unaware that she is coming into a family squabble. In the pilot, Allen Rush makes Stephanie an ultimatum: Carrie loses her job or Stephanie loses hers. Regarding Carrie's column, it is basically an excuse for her to go to the Zinc Bar ("the place run by drag queens" as Gil informs us) and write off her drinking as a business expense. Carrie isn't a writer. Allen just refuse to pay her to do nothing. Carrie could go work at the Globe with Alex, but there is no way she could maintain the lifestyle she was accustomed to. Though, something I hadn't considered, that @j swiftmade me consider, is that Carrie's position as Senator Fairchild's daughter should get her some sort of status that would make her marketable even if she wasn't very good as a writer. It might have been interesting to see Carrie have to actually work at a real magazine (maybe run by Adam Brock) where she was forced to acknowledge her inadequacies. Carrie and Peter both received trust funds from their late father, the Senator, but Carrie admits that she blew through hers years ago while Peter has managed his better. Allen has been funding her lifestyle through the job, but Carrie really only cares about her job at Communique because it is how she keeps her allowance. On the other hand, Rachel Dennis arrives in New York and immediately is jockeying for Stephanie's job. Rachel needs money. She knows Carrie from boarding school where she was on scholarship. Carrie informs Stephanie bluntly that Rachel screwed over her predecessor in her previous jobs to get ahead. Rachel's purpose for going after Stephanie is to be the next editor at Communique. The more I watch, I think Rachel would have been the next Mrs. Allen Rush as Allen had a history of sleeping with his editors. The office politics stuff is probably what I remember missing most when the show transitions from "Central Park West" to "CPW."