dc11786

Friday, May 18, 1984 We've seen part of this episode before (the gambling scenes). It's nice to see it in it's full content. This must be very early in Alice Mitchell's run. Another mention of the unseen Valerie Krystopolis. The decision to focus on only two stories was an interesting choice. Not necessarily one I would have made, but I think the writers were trying to mirror Beau's minor windfall with the decline of the Catlin fortune. This is a very P&G group of actors both past and present at the time of this episode. Michael Forest had only been playing T.J. for less than three months when this was filmed. Forest just fits very comfortably into the role. Then tension between Jonathan and Dirk is interesting and had the potential to be capitalized upon. I believe the Catlins boat was seized because of the drug shipments Dirk Stack had been running through the Catlin freighters while he was in cahoots with Cullen Quinn. Jonathan's drug commission may have been the ones to take down the Catlin ships. Then again, I may be adding subtext that really wasn't suppose to be there. The gambling stuff is a kick off to a summer storyline involving horse racing. In the July 1984 episode, Jacqui can be seen sitting at the track drinking a coke while Maggie Catlin walks by. There ends up being a bit of a triangle with Jacqui, Beau, and Woody as Woody had lost out on a chance with Maggie when she choose Dirk. By the fall, Woody and Jacqui are living together. In December, it comes out that Jacqui and Dr. Peter Crane, Vanessa's ex-husband and Jennifer Catlin's love interest, knew each other in Europe where Peter had treated Jacqui for a brain tumor that may or may not be operable. Shortly thereafter, Jacqui becomes pregnant and she and Woody make plans to marry with the tumor forgotten (it may have been resolved, I've seen only a handful of episodes) but now threatened by the potential of Maggie Catlin returning one day to Atlanta from Washington, D.C. Whether Maggie actually came back, it is unknown. Like Valerie, Maggie is mentioned a lot in the episodes I've seen but rarely seen.

I believe P&G played a role in “The Catlins” from the beginning, but it was more informal. P&G’s vanity card didn’t appear until March/April 1984 around the show’s first anniversary. Despite this, I do believe C.T. McIntyre tried to sell the company on the show before it’s premier but I think P&G waited to see how things went. The cast changes began fairly early in the show’s run. Julie Ridley was in the role of Maggie no later than July, 1983. Prior to acting, Ridley had been in a production role. The rest of the changes occurred when Steve Lehrman, a former “Edge of Night” script writer, was tapped to head write the show in the summer/fall of 1983. By that point, it was a mix of hiring local talent and New York talent for the contract roles. I believe J. Don Ferguson and Muriel Moore were let go because the show wanted T.J. and Annabelle to be the mature romantic leads so they went younger with Michael Forest and Pamela Burrell. A lot of the early press stated P&G was involved in the production. One said it was bankrolling the show so it does appear they had a major stake from the beginning.

@DRW50 Thanks! I'll comment more later, but something I wanted to point out was from the Dawn Young video. I knew Young had appeared fairly early in the show's run (circa November 1983-January 1984). When Jennifer Anglin arrived in April 1984, Jennifer had returned from Paris where she was spending time with Young's character Valerie Kristopolis, the Greek shipping heiress her father had an affair with. I haven't seen Valerie in any of the videos that have appeared online. Young's video confirmed the timeline with her appearing in photos with J. Don Ferguson, who was released from the part of T.J. Catlin prior to March 1984. What I hadn't realized was that Dawn Young returned as Valerie Kristapolis in the show's final months. During the video, it is very clear she is part of the Casablanca story. Not only are the outfits and sets similar, Young clearly is in shots with Robert Sacchi and John Archie. Also Archie is wearing the same scarf in both videos. Also, as bad as the younger drug storyline looks, I'm still impressed that this show seemed to be teasing a romance between the white troublemaker Roxy Granger and African American teen MG O'Neil. MG was the son of James O'Neil, who's mother worked for the Catlins and had been raised alongside the Catlin brood as a surrogate 6th child. Also, I had thought Roxy looked familiar, but never in a million years would I have guessed it Tracy Griffith (Melanie Griffith's half-sister and Ruby Monroe from "The Monroes").

Thanks @Paul Raven for the “Mary Marlin” article. I hadn’t been that interested in that show until reading Anthony Heilbut’s book “The Fan Who Knows Too Much” and have since been fascinated. He describes some the shows occult elements which is pretty wild for the time period. Lots of people carrying on conversations with ghosts (I don’t think the ghosts responded) and Joe, in Russia, hearing Mary’s prayers for him from Washington, D.C. I think there may even bye a sequence where Jane Cruisenberry, the writer, wrote a scene from the perspective of a bird.

Casting under Ellen Wheeler was tough. No one may have been truly horrible, but no one stood out other than Pelphrey (at least initially). To be fair, it may have been the lack of rehearsal or direction but so many new hires from that era were just wallpaper (Michelle Ray Smith, Mandy Bruno, Jessica Leccia, Bonnie Dennison, Kane Manera, etc.) I don’t think the writing helped much. So many times the show between 2005 and 2008 tried to pass off static storytelling as character driven when it was simple plotless. I know the budget was a mess and Zimmer’s refusal to take a cut hurt the show. As someone who enjoyed Reva at the time, I felt her character was still in the thick of things. I also felt her stance of demanding her contract be upheld wasn’t irrational. With all that said, I think a different EP would have just let Zimmer go and I don’t think that would have been the end of the world. For the last decade or so, I’ve wondered if “Guiding Light” could have pulled off a “Days of our Lives” style revamp (2008-2009) where they were basically the walking dead, dump a ton of the top salary actors, and managed to stay on the air. For example, could the show have dumped a significant portion of the remaining San Cristobal and mob contingent and told quieter stories with a mix of newer characters and some mid tier people? Instead, Wheeler/Kriezman tried writing a show without consideration of budget and trying to have recurring characters carry story. I always felt that the “Days of our Lives” of 2008-2011 had the texture of a P&G story while the plotting could skew more to the over the top. Also, given the demographics changed during Conboy and Weston, it might not have hurt to just tell good long story with a consistent cast and playing the beats along the way.

@Soaplovers It does seem like Barbara, and to an extent Bruce’s former mother-in-law Vivian Carlson. I’ve read newspaper articles where Tudi Wiggins announced she wasn’t going to renew her contract in 1980 had the show continued. Ann Marcus seemed to be setting up Dana Russell’s Amy Russell. Despite the obvious Bruce connection, I think Marcus would have paired up Amy and Steve Harbach, the former cell mate of Ben’s who decided to study law upon his release from prison. Steve had developed a crush on the older Vanessa. In December, 1979, Amy and Steve attended Timothy Caufield’s wedding to Sarah Dale. If a romance developed, I imagine Steve’s attraction to Vanessa would have escalated the tension once it was revealed Amy believed Bruce was her father. I think the Amy / Vanessa dynamic would have been very interesting to see play out. I wonder what Marcus’ plans were for doctors Tom Crawford and Lianne Wilson once Meg was gone. Dr. Andrew Marriott seemed to be looming with a romantic interest in Lianne even though I suspect they could have eventually played Meg and Andrew more seriously. I wonder if Barbara Sterling would have assumed that role. I believe @saynotoursoap said Barbara was set to return at some point in this thread.

Online, I’ve only seen the clip you have posted. The Paley Center in New York has the premier episode of “For Richer, For Poorer.” Amy and Austin are seen towards the end welcoming Rachel Cory for a visit.

Regarding “Woman in White,” I believe the main characters ended up on “Road of Life.” This was the one Karen Adams, correct? I don’t know how long they were on the other series, but their story didn’t end immediately.

The 1962/1963 projection was from the book “From Ma Perkins to Mary Hartman” it can be found on page 7 of this thread. Meg’s return is briefly set up at the end of the projection. It looks like it was a Don Ettlinger story. I think Ettlinger may have left around this time so it may be a case of a new writer scrapping it. The 1968/1969 plot was from “Writing for Television.” Sarah Dale is described as a judgmental zealot who’s presence in the Sterling household after she sold her house in Barrowsville and without warning moved in with her daughter and son-in-law caused tension in Bruce and Van’s marriage. This tension lead to Bruce becoming involved with a character who was never introduced but I believe the character became Marsha Mason’s Judith Cole.

I think we know of at least two attempts to bring back Meg in the 1960s. The first was around 1963-1964 when the Phillip Holden / Kay Logan were characters. Meg was suppose to return as the head of real estate office I believe. This was in some soap opera history book that had monthly summaries based on projections. The second attempt was later around 1968/1969 around the time Roy Winsor had taken control of the writing room. Meg was suppose to return when Sarah Dale was on her death bed and then was to stick around to go after money from the sale of the family home if I recall correctly. At some point in the 1960s, Winsor felt that his shows needed to extend beyond the small circle of characters that had previously dominated his shows. This was around the time the Ames family started to fade out on “Secret Storm.” I wonder if this had any impact on Meg’s return earlier in the decade. Obviously, by the end of the decade, this course seemed to be reversed and the Ames came back to SS and Meg was slated for a return.

To me, the Jordan story stood out because it was a glaring weak thread on a strong show. Little things started to unravel, but the show was mostly watchable until about spring 2014. I seem to remember several characters being introduced in February 2014 and that felt like a rebuilding period. I know Paige arrived on the scene around this time and Ben #1 was also brought in. I want to say Drake Hogestyn returned after one of his absences during this period. Both of those stories (Ben/Abby and JJ/Paige) took time to develop and really weren’t interesting until third parties were introduced (Chad and Eve). When it became clear that Nicole and Eric were no longer endgame, I lost interest. I enjoyed elements of the Percy Ruffles story and Abigail and EJ’s affair. The introduction of Paul Narita was great. Even at its worst, the worst being the elephant statue plot, there were some strong story elements that I felt could have salvaged things. Even in 2015, there were things I thought were things to enjoy like the death of Meredith Jennings, the Abigail / Ben / Chad triangle, and the hint that Eric and Nicole might find a way back to each other after Xander nearly killed them. I really wish we had gotten to see Eve gaslight Jennifer into thinking she was mentally ill. Going back to Jordan, I wonder if the initial plan was to bring back Chelsea Brady. Kate secretly paying her granddaughters salary to take care of Kate’s younger lover seems a very Kate thing to do. I remember them finally revealing Kate was paying Jordan’s salary and it felt so uneventful. When Chelsea had left in 2009, she has gone to help Billie recover from a car accident. I know that the show tried to bring back Darin Brooks in 2013 so I don’t think it would have been a stretch to bring back Chelsea especially since Casey Deidrick was leaving and Nathan Owens wasn’t setting the world on fire as Cameron. To be fair to Owens, Cameron was underdeveloped under both actors. I could see them pairing Max and Abigail again. I’ve also wondered if they were going to tie Jordan to Vargas, who was quickly dumped in August 2013 after testing the waters with him and Hope. I remember them making a big deal that Vargas was married as he put his wedding ring on after getting out of prison while Nick and Gabi married for real. I liked Vargas and was disappointed when they sent him back to prison. The Clyde stuff was odd. I can remember the big reveal that Jordan had killed her mother and baby brother in a car accident and Clyde raped Jordan as result. So bizarre considering Jordan left only weeks later. Then we had Clyde in therapy sessions with Marlena. Eventually, they played Clyde as Victor’s sparring partner I believe. I recall a scene with Maggie and Clyde and thinking that friendship would have been interesting, but truthfully Clyde’s baggage was hard to overlook. I liked Clyde pushing Ben towards Abigail to raise the Weston social standing.

I saw clips from a film with actress Elizabeth Roberts. She looked very familiar, but I couldn’t place her until I checked IMDB. She had played Marge Bernardi, the widow of the officer Sani had killed. I remember that story was one of the last times daytime shocked me. I remember Stefano summoning Bernardi to meet with him. Stefano had just learned that Kate had been carrying on with Rafe. In the story, I believe Rafe had been in a coma after a struggle with the criminal who had raped Nick in prison and had held a pregnant Gabi captive. I remember thinking Stefano was going to order a hit on Rafe but instead he told Bernardi to “to cut it off.” I remember loving that twist because I could wait for EJ to learn that Sami actually killed Bernardi because he was going to cut off Rafe’s junk. Obviously, Sami didn’t know Bernardi’s actual intention, but I wanted EJ to stew over that. Unfortunately, that never transpired. I remember feeling that story was wrapped up quick. Some never seen nurse had actually killed Bernardi. It was clear that there was another angle they were going to explore because they had a random scene of a woman cutting up in the square while Sami chased Bernardi around. Originally, the casting call was for a juggler. I suspect that video was suppose to come into play at some point, but it never did. I wonder hoW much Joe Mascolo’s health played in those 2013 storylines. Stefano, I believe, was the only one who knew about Bernardi’s original intentions. I also remember the nurse reveal was very quick compared to usual big reveals of the time. Around the same time, I remember speculating that the Jordan storyline was originally suppose to be a Kate / Stefano story where Stefano was going to conspire with Kate to keep Rafe / Jordan apart before Kate decided she preferred Stefano as the Jordan story was incredibly thin. Also, the casting call for Clyde was originally for a character on a six month contract. Clyde felt like a Stefano placeholder. Granted, I think Blake Berris received a similar contract before it was renewed. I think Jordan and Nick might have been an interesting pair. I definitely felt there is a bit of current story to mine from that plot. I remember thinking that one day Bernardi’s son would return to Salem to get revenge against Sami and become involved with Allie. Not that would happen now, but that’s what I remember thinking when the story was originally playing out.

Things like this are why I struggle with the idea that MarDar was this trailblazing team who had corporate interference ruin their stories. This stuff with Johnny was from November sweeps basically month 2 that they were working off their own story. The problem was Johnny missing was a catalyst for Sami and EJ to have sex so that Will could catch them and we can replay all of that story from the 1990s. Will catching them was all that mattered. That’s why the follow to the actual shooting/Johnny being missing didn’t matter. It was just sloppy storytelling. Also, we never learned who shot up the pub. You knew it would have been a disgruntled cop but playing the beat of this person being caught was something that would have resolved some issues. in my opinion, MarDar’s struggle came from a failure to understand how to play story beats in order to flesh out something from a situation to a story. Then may have known how to start and end, but the day to day stuff was painful even from the beginning. I blame this from years of working with Reilly who could stretch a moment to no end. Also, they underwrote a lot of things. After spending nearly 3 years no longer being the show that overused flashbacks, there were constant flashbacks again. People can criticize Tomlin and Whitsell, but they knew how to tell a story that played beats, utilize emotion, and had payoff. It didn’t hurt that the script team had a very P&G feel. I think the first year or so of their return was amazing because there was an investment in outcomes and the show had a ripple effect. There were definite misfires (Jordan Ridgeway, the Elephant statue), but the strong was strong ( Nicole/Eric, Kristen/Brady, Sonny/Will/Gabi/Nick).

I’m nearly positive the Ian McAllister stuff being Santo’s son was revealed in late August after MarDar had left the building. Ian had survived the explosion, but was devastated that Madison was not as lucky. I remember Ian revealed his mother was the Dimera family maid and that he believed Sanyo was his father. I think they had realized Ian was Stefano’s killer and tracked him down. This was during his final showdown with I believe E.J. during the same set of scenes where he revealed Stefano was alive and being held captive. Was there more to this prior? Also, wasn’t there some sort of Twitter drama with some soap blogger type (maybe Janey Giddins) where the person stated MarDar’s stories were still continuing (referring to the after effect of the explosion) and McPhearson threatened legal action or something else extreme. I feel like this all played out on Twitter. If I remember correctly, Mascolo quickly departed again in August/September, but that I might be misremembering. Also, I sorta recall them trying to put Ian into a bunch of little situations. I believe he invested in Common Grounds with Sonny. Also, and this I may be completely misremembering, but wasn’t Ian looking to use the waterfront for his business interests reviving manufacturing in Salem which had been one of E.J.’s campaign promises.

I was a lapsed viewer who had come back in the fall of 2008 when they started the baby switch. Watching day to day, the show didn’t feel dark at the time in 2011 because it had been (to varying degrees of success) tried to move away from the camp it had come to be known for in the past decade. In hindsight, I can see now 2011 was a dark year. Chloe’s stint as a prostitute had come after a bout of post partum depression mixed with an ongoing custody battle with (an offscreen) Phillip regarding custody of Parker. Chloe, as I recall, stumbled into prostitution. She went to bed with Quinn and he paid her. When she realized the money she could make, Chloe made the choice to enter. During the Parker paternity secret, Nathan Horton alluded to the fact that he thought Chloe could possibly be addicted to sex. The affair with Daniel during her relationship with Lucas was purely physical in the beginning. I didn’t mind the prostitution story because the trajectory Chloe had been on, but I don’t think it was as well plotted as it could have. Add in the addition of teenage Kinsey thinking prostitution would be a fun way to make some cash and a serial killer offing prostitutes and it only got bleaker. Similarly, Carly’s drug addiction seemed to be a continuation of the road that Carly had been on for the past year and a half. Her marriage to Lawrence had been at the very least emotionally abusive and, if they hadn’t already, Bo and Carly were ending their relationship because Bo had rekindled his feelings for Hope when he helped her escape from prison. Also, it was clear from early on in Carly’s return that her better match was Daniel, her child’s father, who was now interested in Carly’s friend Jennifer. Carly’s personal life wasn’t in a good place. If I remember correctly, the breaking point for Carly was dealing with the death of a young male patient and then dealing with the revelation that Vivian was in contact with her son, Nicholas, who proceeded to hang up with her when she tried to talk to him. My issue with the addiction stuff was it didn’t really go anywhere. Abigail learned her secret early on, but Carly was able to keep her quiet. There seemed to be some setup for Carly’s negligence to lead to serious injury with Brady after he had been conked on the head, but that seemed to be hinted at but never followed through. The problem with Marlene McPhearson and Darrell Ray Thomas was they dumped everything. Core cast and story, but also significant shift in sets and the elimination of supporting characters. Java Cafe and Cheatin’ Heart were both dumped in favor of Common Grounds. The hospital seemed to be used less. Lots of scene were in the square. Also, Higley and Whitsell had a group of recurring characters (Tad, Kinsey, Fr. Matt, Maxine, Justin, Adrienne) who were barely used or not used at all. It was too much of a shift. The week of the Horton Town Square was the week of the returns as well as the week after “All My Children” had concluded. Viewers who tuned in were treated to returning faces but basically no stories. The only major thread that was carried over was Daniel and Jennifer’s relationship. Everything else as I recall was just starting which made things very slow. Quinn came back for a single cycle and left in February 2012 to be with Taylor. I don’t remember if it was ever made clear what the purpose of his return was. I know he operated the spa in the square which was suppose to act as a retail space for the cosmetic wars, but I don’t remember if they chemistry tested him with anyone. Part of the problem is “Days” was able survive the cast purge of 2008-2009 because the stories were relatively stable. Major characters were being written out, but, for the most part, their stories had already been minimized so the impact wasn’t as big. The people who were really front burner during the purge were Marlena and John and there were enough other stories going that the loss didn’t feel as glaring in terms of story canvas as it would have in 2011 when basically every single front burner story was concluded without some sort of natural progression that shifted characters in directions based on the immediate aftermath of the previous stories. By comparison, when Tomlin and Whitsell came back as headwriters, the new stories were more built out of the old ones. Nicole’s pregnancy with her relationship with Daniel while Rafe claimed to be the father led to Jennifer, still grieving Jack, to worry about Nicole taking advantage of Daniel leading to Nicole’s fall in the Horton Town Center, which led to Nicole going to work at the church with Eric. Gabi’s scheme involving Andrew her fake stalker led to Chad going to Melanie and Gabi sleeping with Will before connecting with Nick while they both worked at Brady pub. There was still some sloppiness (Kristen’s initial reintroduction was haphazard) but the stories gelled by December.

Johnny Forbes was always set to die. In Nixon's bible for "Loving," the telelfilm is mentioned, but the story is not outlined. The story synopsis picks up with the daytime episodes. With that said, characters are described discussing some of the events of the film. Originally, Johnny was set to commit suicide after it was discovered that he was the one behind the prostitution ring. The scandal surrounding Johnny's demise was briefly addressed by Roger on a newsbroadcast and then it seemed to fade into the background. Marland did the incest storyline opposite the serial killer storyline on "New Day in Eden" around the same time. It creates a very dark story landscape. I don't think that really worked for what the early tone of "Loving." With that said, it makes an interesting point; the story of the telefilm doesn't really fit the general narrative of the daytime show. I would have liked to see the conflict between Merrill the reporter and Mike the cop continue. I think there was a way to do that by leaving Amelia's story a bit more open. If instead she had been arrested, this would have given Mike and Merrill something to spar over if Merrill launched an investigation into Amelia's disappearance while Mike was also investigating the incident. Personally, I would have killed off Patrick Donovan instead of Johnny Forbes, which would have given the Donovans something more intense to play in those opening episodes. Also, if Johnny was alive, I would allow the characters to believe that Johnny helped Amelia escape on his boat, but it would turn out Cabot Alden was the one to help Amelia flee prosecution. This would have left the writers with several stories to begin with: the Donovan family's grief regarding the death of their patriarch, Mike's investigation into both Amelia and Johnny, Merrill and Roger's pursuit of Amelia in order to clear Johnny, Johnny's life as a pariah, and the secret regarding why Cabot Alden was so willing to help Amelia escape town. Instead, there is almost no story at the start. With that said, in this scenario, both Johnny and Amelia would have to be recast.

All this talk of "Second Chances" and "Hotel Malibu" inspired me to revisit the show. I first saw the show when it was first released on DVD several years ago. From what I recall, the show was very dull in the beginning. I didn't recall Justin Lazard's Kevin Cook having much story with Jennifer Lopez's Melinda Lopez after the initial broken engagement story. Watching this again, I think the show made a mistake not marrying the characters off in those early episodes. The culture class between the snobby, blue blood Cooks and the proud, working class Lopezes would have provided the show with some light, character driven domestic drama which would help to balance some of the heaviness of all the broken relationships, the murder mystery, and the return of ex-con Mike Chulak. I don't think Matt Salinger and Connie Selleca were a good pairing. I think the show agreed as I felt they had been preparing to write out Mike midseason. I seemed to remember the show did pick up steam towards the end when they interested John Schneider's character who became both Dianne's business partner and potential love interest. There was some mystery that was introduced in the last couple episodes involving some connection between him and some hometown beauty queen who came into town for the local beauty pageant. I also liked the story involving Megan Follows' Kate falling for Robert Duncan McNeill's character who was tied to an older lady played by Ellen Albertini Dow. McNeill and Dow were relatives of Ray Wise's judge. I think Kate arranged a dog birthday party for Ellen Dow's character who then suddenly disappeared. McNeill's character and Kate had to track the aunt down. I believe Wise had stashed her in a nursing home. What I remember about "Hotel Malibu" was that it was very boring. I was surprised that they resolved Dianne Benedict's story in the premier episode and carried over Kelli McCarthy (Beth from "Passions") character to give Lopez's Melinda a reason to take the job at Hotel Malibu. I don't remember if they even showed Melinda's younger brothers on "Hotel Malibu." When they proceeded to move onto the drama of the Mayfield family, I don't remember much of the story picking up. I don't remember any of the characters or actors gelling. John Dye was miscast as the swarmy villain. Romy Wathall was the only real actress who seemed to spark in the story, which wasn't great. I do remember like Pepe Serna and Joanna Cassidy together, but I don't remember much of their pairing outside of Ellie either having a scare or being diagnosed with cancer.

I did like the initial transformation of Isabelle when Celeste Holms took over the role. The shift was deliberate. Holmes and Mary Ryan Munisteri definitely crafted a more cunning Isabelle who was interested in protecting her family and their legacy now that Cabot wasn't there to do it himself. I found the transition to Addie Walsh particularly jarring when Addie Walsh takes over. The final appearance of Wesley Addy featured a complete about face and had Cabot accusing Isabelle of keeping a secret, something that had not been alluded to at all in any of the other ghostly visits. With that said, even Munisteri was building a little mystery about Isabelle and her hatred of "the Bog," Isabelle's nickname for the Tides. I think if they kept Isabelle as a sort of take charge force of nature who wasn't going to allow anyone or anything hurt her family, I would have been fine with it. By the point, Isabelle is using Gwyn to convince Clay and the whole Tim Sullivan story develops, I don't care anymore. I'm not a huge fan of Pat Barry as Isabelle, but on subsequent rewatches I don't think she is as bad as I once thought. She plays what is written like @Kanesays. Regarding Cabot's death, I believe Jacqueline Babbin purposely deconstructed the Aldens because she wanted a more diverse canvas. Upon arrival, Babbin stated she felt that the show had almost no sense of self and that it was still attempting to imitate "Dynasty." I think Cabot's death was suppose to be an attempt to remove that element. Babbin implied that she and Millee Taggart/Tom King were not always on the same page. King and Taggart were under the impression taht Babbin was planning to replace them and Babbin never seemed incredibly happy with the writing. From what I've seen of 1991, I really enjoy much more so than 1992 or the little of 1990 that has found its way online. Regarding Clay, I've wondered what story was pitched by Walsh in her initial 1992 story bible involving Trisha, Clay, Dinahlee, and Trucker. I suspect whatever was suggested did not account for Beck's maternity leave. Jessica Collins was great, but she constantly got terrible stories. I think the show should have played out Curtis / Clay / Dinahlee longer. @Kane, what I like about your timeline is it would have allowed for the show to play Ava as a spoiler in the Curtis / Dinahlee story. I would have loved to have seen the eye rolls from Trisha and Stacey when realizing that Curtis was involved with both of those women. In terms of Graham, I assume someone in casting liked the actor and kept bringing him back for the cop role until they finally deciding on making Graham a recurring character. I thought Charles Harrison felt very last minute. Even his introduction seemed like they decided to just hire Geoffrey Ewing last minute and make him Angie's new love interest.

Thanks for this. I think the scene from "Search for Tomorrow" is between Laurie and Ida Weston (Vera Allen). It sounds like someone may come in at the end ("Can I get the bags?") and that may be Eunice. I believe Lauri married another man after Scott and died in an automobile accident. Ralph Haywood was Erich's biological father and he appeared in the mid 1970s looking to get custody of Erich. I don't know what happened to Magda Leshinsky, Lauri's mother.

@Kane Very cool blog. It was very interesting to look over. I was glad to see you had Det. Graham's original name (I don't remember if I recalled the other first name being used, but I remember Pat Hingle playing another detective character). I believe I read an article from 1991 about the first AMC/Loving crossover where LeClerc stated he had enjoyed working on "Loving" because of the quicker schedule compared to an hour. He also stated something that made me thing that the "Loving" set was much calmer than the "All My Children" set. Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if moving Jeremy to Corinth wasn't a decision made by Haidee Granger, the EP, who took over from Fran Sears. Sears had instigated the Alden U revival over the previous year. It should be noted that Jeremy arrives in October 1992 during a time where Addie Walsh is still credited as headwriter, but it has been suggested that Walsh may in fact have departed much earlier (circa June 1992). Jeremy had only been on a few months when Millee Taggert and Robert Guza arrived. Jeremy had lingered in the initial months post- Carter Jones. There was the unresolved thread involving Ceara. Ceara dies in Corinth in December, and the new writers arrive in January. I think they Guza and Taggert were trying to integrate Jeremy while also testing the waters so he was a little bit of everywhere. I still wonder if Jeremy wasn't originally brought on as a love interest for Trisha as the show had spent a better part of 1992 trying to build a Trucker / Stacey storyline. The only other time Jean LeClerc lead much story was in the early part of Laurie McCarthy and Addie Walsh's run, but that was when LeClerc was playing Gilbert. The end of the Gilbert story is a guilty pleasure of mine. By no means a good story, but the sequences with Ava, Gilbert, and Sandy in the church leading to Alex shooting Gilbert are pretty dramatic and emotionally gripping. On another note... December 1991 episodes have made there way online I really enjoy this period. I wish Mary Ryan Munisteri and Fran Sears had been given a full year.

@Darn Thanks for sharing that video. I think the segments with Stickney are imitating “Generations.”

I believe the cake says the show is celebrating its 25th anniversary so it should be April, 1981.

Could the blonde Judith Hoag with her hair flattened? Burke Moses' Curtis is in the grooms party so I'm wondering if Lotty was in the bridal party. I wonder if the other bridesmaid could be Trisha's school friend who appeared during the "Women of Loving" reunion? I briefly thought it might have been a recast Sherie with a recast Tug in the grooms party, but I don't think that's the case. Thanks @victoria foxton . I didn't realize that Teri Keane was back as Rose at this point. I didn't think she appeared again until late 1990 when her and Ed Bryce's Patrick Donovan were brought in for the holidays. Also, I didn't realize that Jeff's mother was still alive. I just assumed she was dead. I did really enjoy the lengthy Stacey and Jack scenes on the train. I forgot how reunions used to be a big deal and there was build to them. It's a shame that the show struggled to find story for them. The secret of Jeff / Gwyn sleeping together was played for a long time. I wonder if the show ever considered actually pairing Jeff and Gwyn. At least it would have given Gwyn something to do.

I hadn't heard much about this show, but it has recently been revisited by some digital channel over in the UK and was released on DVD. I purchase the DVD set that has both of the show's two seasons included except for two episodes that are considered missing. Set in an apartment building run by a housing association, the series has a eclectic mix of older and younger characters. I'm nine episodes into the first season and the show has already broached the issues of abortion, suicide, and homosexuality among some more light hearted moments. In the premier episode, the audience follows Derek Harding, a retiree who had sold his home, arrived at Rutherford Court with the assistance of his daughter and son-in-law. Harding is the initial access point for the viewer. An older gentleman feeling lonely and isolated, Derek decides he is going to end his life, as well as that of his dog, rather than be a burden to people. Harding chooses to live, but not before feeding his dog sleeping pills leading to the show's initial dramatic moments. After the situation is resolved, Harding starts to fall off, and, in the latest episode, it looks like they are setting up his departure. I enjoyed Harding's romance with Daphne Porter, a retired nurse, who helps him when one of his neighbors reports that he was mistreating the dog. One of the most interesting dynamics is between Marion Finch, a retired shop clerk, and her younger divorcee sister, Sarah Cunningham. Sarah's divorce was preceded by a stint in the mental hospital, which is revealed rather dramatically in a fight between the sisters in the canteen in the common room of the facility. When one of their neighbors goes off the deep end and starts stealing as a cry for help, Sarah decides she is going to live her life and begins spending nights out, which worries Marion. Marion is an overprotective sister acting more as Sarah's mother than her sister. If this was an American soap, I'd expect them to reveal Marion was actually Sarah's mother. The most surprising storyline was the introduction of Trevor Wallace, an attractive single man who lives in Rutherford Court. His pal Mike Gowers is trying to get him to go out on a double date with him, which leads to Trevor asking Tricia Webber, the beautician daughter of the husband and wife who run the complex, to be his escape plan. Trevor and Tricia ended up going to a production of "Annie" and their date ends with Tricia confused about Trevor's feelings. This is only further escalated by the fact that Trevor gently kisses Tricia on her forehead. In the following episodes, we meet Trevor's friend Peter, a hospital porter, who's picture is later discovered in Trevor's wallet by Mike. Mike has made hints about outing Trevor, but nothing has really been brought out into the open yet. Daphne Porter, the crusty former nurse, is one of my favorite characters. She very no-nonsense, but also has a softer side. She is very proud of her work in the nursing field. This is utilized when Julie Dunn, the newly married housewife, has discovered she's pregnant shortly after she and her law clerk husband Richard move into the complex. Rutherford Court has a "no children" policy and the expectation is that the Dunns would either have to move out or Julie will have to terminate the pregnancy. Daphne was very much against abortion shaping her opinion mostly by the fact that she would watch women recovering from abortions next to women trying to conceive. Richard seems to initially be for the abortion before telling Julie its her decision. As of right now, the story is still in process. Most of the other stories are short and light hearted. The group wins some money in some sort of lotto system, but their payout is very very low. Sarah briefly gets back together with her ex-husband, but then she starts a romance with a fellow divorcee Leslie Shepherd. Shepherd's divorce is big news because his future ex-wife will be marrying a local celebrity football player. Mike tends to get into some money making schemes, while Harry and Dora Klein argue over Dora's decision to take a position as a cleaner at the building. In the past, I have struggled with the pacing British soap operas as I found the storytelling moves very quickly, but I've come to appreciate the more frank discussions that this series has to offer. I do think this faster pace works in this more seasonly soaps though I'm aware the long running shows are also popular for a reason. Has anyone else watched this show?

I'm continuing to jump around. *** December 1984 *** I made it to the Murder with Merriment party. I appreciate the set up with Stephanie and Liza. I wish they had stayed in this lane with these two feuding over the television station. Shaffer does well in this material. Both she and Mathis seem to be having fun especially when the gun refuses to go off. I also like the little bit where Lloyd shows up at Stephanie's Christmas party looking for Liza and Stephanie is like "She can have you every other day, but today you're mine." It's a shame that story wasn't played longer. The strongest story I see is Lloyd's realization that TR is his long lost daughter, Rebecca. I really like the build. TR knowing the truth and rejecting Lloyd before Lloyd knows. TR idolizing Chase and Alec, but afraid to tell them the truth because it will involve Lloyd. TR's adoption going through right before the truth comes out so TR feels like she is in the clear when she is in fact not. I am still not sure I got to the point where Lloyd has told Liza and TR, but the scenes with Alec and Chase learning the truth were very strong. Wendy pretending Alec was her secret boyfriend was a nice setup for story once Warren was dead. I think there was potential in that pairing (Alec/Wendy), but I do adore Wendy / Quinn. I did like the bits with Liza and Kentucky trying to find the pilot for the plane. The heart attack stuff wasn't as noteworthy to me because it played opposite the stuff with Lloyd learning that TR was his daughter, which, too me, was more emotionally compelling. Cagney and Suzi planning their wedding is a non-story. The fact that the payroll stuff is just sort of dropped is unfortunate. I did appreciate that ocassionally some construction worker would come to Bigelowe's and treat Cagney like trash. Overall, I found it pretty run of the mill, but I will say that the actual Murder with Merriment party was a stand out. *** September 1985 *** Unintentionally, I ended up watching the last episodes of Paul Avila Mayer and Stephanie Braxton's run. It ended September 26, 1985. Gary Tomlin was credited on Septmeber 27, 1985. I'll be curious to see when things come together. In the batch I watched, mid September til the end of September, I felt the show was very strong. I'm not sure if Tomlin was tweaking the last few weeks or simply Avila Mayer and Braxton got the show together. I have a feeling it may have been a bit of both. There were a lot of great surprises. I found Danny, TR, and Ryder really engaging in their post-circus story where they seem to return to high school and are planning for life after graduation. One thing I noticed is that there was an emphasis on dreams during this time period, which I think was a way to build on the theme of "searching for tomorrow" and what that brings. All the actors have decent chemistry. There is a great bit where TR suspects Ryder is interested in Mrs. Webster, his guidance counselor, and she and Danny play out the scenario of how TR imagines the meeting between Webster and Ryder would play out. It allows Jane Krakowski to play a much more flirtatious part which I found interesting and Loprieno is hilarious imitating Adam Storke's tendency to use his hands. It's just fun. It's not super dramatic, but I feel having some light hearted material balances some of the other storylines to create a more cohesive canvas. With that said, I do wonder if the plans were for Webster and Ryder to have a fling becasue even Lloyd comments on the attractive guidance counselor. I imagine this story gets dropped, but maybe it doesn't. I had seen some of these episodes before because I enjoy the interactions with Kate and Suzi where Kate is a low key meddling mother-in-law. Suzi's horror at Kate cutting Jonah's hair was great. I had forgotten that sequence. I think the situation was tense wihtout being melodramatic and I appreciated that. Part of me wishes that Cagney and Suzi had stayed there a bit longer, but I am suspecting that Jo Henderson has been written out around the time Tomlin takes over. Again, I could be wrong. The stuff at Caldwell House with Dave Wilkes and Mel Hibbard is a nice subplot. I love Stu offering Dave the room because it'll anger Hibbard. The stuff with the bank has been set up back in April so I'm impressed with that piece. I think Caldwell House was just a smart move and I am sorry that it goes away. Dragging Adair into it with a fliration with Dave was intriguing. I forget that Adair and Chase aren't really a couple they just tend to have a bunch of scenes together. Robert Brian Wilson's Chase is more cunning and manipulative than I remember Kevin Conroy's Chase being. I do like the rivalry between Chase and Quinn and Wilson plays Chase more like a Curtis Alden type which I don't hate. It's just a very different version of the lovesick character Conroy played, but the writing supports what Wilson is doing. The Wendy / Quinn / Sarah triangle continues to play out. There are times I find Sarah so out of touch with reality, which I believe is suppose to be part of her character. There are times though that its just sooo extreme. I like the idea of an old fashioned, conservative young woman who isn't sure whether to join the nursing program or to be a folk singer. Quinn determined to make her the star based on her style doesn't work for me. Lisa Peluso plays Wendy's frustration well. Sarah is an introverted young woman who would need a knight in shining armor like Quinn. The sequence with Sarah and Quinn at the motel during the flood was nice. Agnes Carrouthers, the multiple divorcee motel owner, was a nice comical character. I like that "Search" during this time creates a lot of conflict from clashing values, which brings us to... The Hogan / Liza / Sunny story is a bit improved from the last set of episodes I watched. I find the idea that eveyone is up in arms about Liza and Hogan because she is an unmarried female business executive involved in an affair a bit of a stretch. With that said, I appreciate an attempt to ground that with Larry Weber's Thomas Collins, the board member determined to see Liza out and Lloyd in. This is basically the story I was suggesting back in those spring episodes. Also, I appreciate that Lloyd claimed he was pushing for the publication of Hogan latest novel "The Passionate Fool" as a book club alternate because Hogan wouldn't be happy in a relationship with a woman who was more successful than him. I find Lloyd very interesting. In 1983, I remember Lloyd being more like this version of the character, but more business oriented rather than as a romantic obstacle. I would be curious to see how any of this would play out with Mathis and Haskell still in the roles. With that said, I wonder how much tweaking is going on because by the end of Tomlin's first episode he seems to be rewriting Sunny's suicide attempt by suggesting that it was staged rather than an actual attempt. Or had this been alluded to since the start? *** February/March 1986 *** The flood. I'm not sure I had seen this long stretch before (I think it was about 8 episodes) involving the flood and the aftermath. It was interesting to see this before I had watched the 1985 episodes that also involved a flood (with Wendy, Sarah, and Quinn). This was definitely exciting. I am not sure though if there was enough fall out from it. Ryder's death was hard to watch. Pinning him during the flood after he had gotten TR to safety was heartbreaking. Watching the kid suffer for several scenes wasn't fun. The final goodbye scene with Ryder and TR was tough to take. I realize there needed to be casualties. The story wouldn't have stakes, but I am curious how this played out. TR seemed to become very clingy to Lloyd and Estelle and there were hints that Danny might develop a drinking problem, but I am not sure how much any of this developed. The setup of Lloyd moving into the penthouse post-flood has the potential to produce a lot of interesting character driven drama, but I am not sure it does. From what I gather, Liza had a tough February sweeps. She learns she is pregnant, then she is held hostage by Riveria, and then she is involved in the flood in a period of two weeks it sounds like. I didn't realize the Women to Watch stuff ended right at the start of the flood. Hogan's reaction to the pregnancy seems pretty on brand for Hogan at this point. I liked that Jo was concerned about Patty and Hogan's relationship. I don't care for Evie very much. I think Colleen Dion is fine, but the character isn't super compelling. I thought the party after the flood was a nice touch. There needed to be that balance and that celebration that they had survived. The montage to the Beatles song was nice. I also liked the origin story for Liberty House with the candles to help light the way as people searched for shelter. The revelation that the secret owner of Liberty House wanted Jo to run it was intriguing. I wonder what Tomlin had planned as I don't think that was ever really developed. I wish more of the spring / early summer was available in the show's final year. At what point did the USA reruns stop? I believe they started with October 1982, but I cannot remember if they made it to the end. I seem to recall they only went into 1984 or 1985.