dc11786

I remember the rabbit. The rabbit of evil. It was bad. I think the change in date may have been related to costumes. I know when they revisit the Jacques character in the Desmond Hall story I believe they place Jacques in the timeline of the French Revolution. There was a producer change around 45. Robert Costello, previously of "Dark Shadows," came on. Then Ian Martin, the show's creator and headwriter, was dismissed. I believe the rabbit of evil stuff appeared around the time of the switch. There was another storyline that was suppose to happen that was cut. Episode synopses were provided to the papers based of outlines that had another past lives plot involving a witch Tarasca and Jacques. I believe Elizabeth Marshall was the reincarnation of Tarasca. There were other storylines that I think they could have done on the island, but, for the life of me, I can't remember which ones were hinted at for Maljardin and which ones were hinted at in the next location. I like the early weeks (the first 8 or 9) before the rabbit. Then, the island stuff just becomes plot driven, but intense at times. I wish they had killed off Holly. How so many characters were killed off and she escapes boggles the mind. Is any of Lemay's stuff online? I watched his material years ago. It's good, but complicated. There were lots of references to Native American mythology (I don't know if they were real or fictional) and spirits possessing bodies and a lack of clarity on who was actually who. It's fascinating, but insane. The only thing more insane than the rabbit though are the curls they put on Raxl for a single episode of the Desmond Hall story. That should be something to look forward to.

This wasn't the first time that Delia used Little John to try to get Frank back. In January 1981, the school psychologist wrote a letter to Delia and Frank saying that she was leaving and that Little John had been doing well at school. Delia doctored the letter to try and convince Frank that Little John was maladjusted and that he needed to spend more time with both of his parents together. There was a great reaction from Bob who reads the letter and basically states that the psychobabble is poorly written catching on to Delia's scheming. In regards to Mary Ryan Munisteri, I think Labine was fond of her tenure. The majority of her tenure seems mostly like what you'd expect from "Ryan's Hope" but slightly diluted with the introduction of Hollis and Amanda. I don't think the show overloads itself with Kirkland drama until the tailend when Christine Jones is introduced as Catsy Kirkland in December 1982. I would like to see the dance hall storyline from that time where Johnny and Maeve spar because Maeve ends up spending more time with her dancing partner which makes Johnny jealous. I love the Ryans, but I feel like the desire to make them the family everyone wanted to be a part of often led to characters ignoring character flaws. Many of the Ryans came off as hypocritical because they struggled to see in themselves the problems they saw in others. I really liked Faith laying into Maeve after Frank dumped Faith, but I can now see the problem of having Faith do that while trying to position her as a heroine. I like Karen Morris Gowdy, but I don't think they ever knew how to best utilize that character in terms of character type.

Wasn't there also the philosophy that people might not be watching the shows because they were with family? So to move the story ahead didn't make much sense logistically. While the shows definitely became more plot driven, I think the Christmas episode change also highlighted that the producers stopped thinking of the viewers as people but strictly consumers. Ignoring the relationship that is built between the viewer and the show (and the viewer and people within their own families who watched the shows) really led to the place where we are now. Granted, given the ever evolving nature of media, soaps probably would have always reached a natural conclusion, but I think the complete focus on commercialization which led to the plot driven writing, in my opinion, was a contributing factor.

Thanks @victoria foxton I do hope they resume those last few years soon. I was curious to see the final years which seem pretty insane between the writer's strike and the final six months or so when the show embraces all of those "General Hospital" elements.

I'm into early November 1980. I'm sure this will be an unpopular opinion, but I think the 1980 episodes are much better than the material I've seen from 1982 when Pam Long was writing. The first episode of "Texas" I saw was from November 1982 when I visited the Paley Center years ago. I was surprised by how quickly the episode moved and the theatrics of Lori March responding to the news that Gregory was Ashley and T.J.'s son. The ending is nice, but I was surprised rewatching it in the last year that it was well written, but I struggled connecting with it. I find a lot of the writing of Pam Long seems sentimental vs. emotional. Like there is a sense of community, friendship, and connection, but I don't emotionally connect with the characters or the story. Maybe if I saw longer stretches of Long's tenure, and I don't think Long is a bad writer. I just am surprised by the praise the end of "Texas" received. I much prefer the slower paced, and theatrical monologues from characters about their feelings in the fall 1980 episodes. It's a shame that Ann McCarthy overplays every line because I think she and Carla Borelli physically look alike and I think a Sam / Reena rivalry would be interesting given the character's positions with Justin and Victoria. I do love the latest developments in this circle with Ryan Connor letting Reena know that Striker owns shares of Victory Network and that he'll need a proxy on the board with a meeting looming. I love it. Even lousy Clipper Curtis trying to secure a job at KVIK while he plots his assassination plot with Billy Joe. I still love Striker and Victoria talking about their relationship. Vicky admitting to Striker that Alex and Iris are engaged and she is losing Alex for good. Striker doesn't want to be alone. It's all so good. It's interesting see how things develop. Jeb Hampton is an interesting character. Ginny's kid brother with a cardiac condition and rock and roll past. It is nice seeing Caryn Richman play a dual role as Jeb's tragic girlfriend Suzanne, who died as a result of her drug abuse. I like that they admitted that Jeb wasn't innocent, he also engaged in some drug use. I find it interesting how "Texas" works in social issues without making them social issue storylines. I don't think they always work, but I do like it. It's clear they are already heading down the road of Courtney / Jeb. Courtney and Kevin didn't work so I don't blame the writers for changing direction though I had come to enjoy some of their scenes as time went on. I guess I just wanted to see Reena make mincemeat of Courtney. Yasmin is quickly dumped. It's interesting that Yasmin story seems to be one of the larger than life elements that the Corringtons would often incorporate into their stories. They had that Italian prince who raped Renata Corelli on "Search for Tomorrow." I found it interesting, but not surprising, that they never let Yasmin have any physical romantic gestures. There was a flirtation with Clipper as part of her scheme, but they never kissed. I don't even think she kissed her husband Ryan. I don't know how Billy Joe becomes a romantic hero. I don't hate the character, but I definitely don't think he is a character I feel much sympathy for. I do think the Corringtons have tried to make him less dark by having Nita talk about how Billy Joe's dad was abusive. I think that would have been an interesting piece to explore more as well as what exactly Billy Joe did to survive in prison. I think the Dekker / Wrights are a nice mix and represent a nice contrast to the weatlhier characters. Paige is delightful. I love her just toying with Dawn after Dennis' 25th birthday. Jim Poyner is such a typical P&G style 1980s brooding leading male. I don't hate the Alex / Iris relationship. I haven't viewed much of McKinsey as Iris on "Another World," but I think the points regarding the change in character are valid. It really is a shame they didn't pursue the angle that Iris was going to try and act like a better person to keep Alex's image of her alive even though it wasn't who she truly was. With that said, it would have been interesting to see Iris and Reena's friendship in Bay City because Reena is such a spoiled daddy's girl. Kate Marshall's comments to Max about Reena needing someone to help her grow up helped me to understand why they were going the route of Max and Reena. I do love Reena and Justin. I do hope more of the 1982 episodes make it online. I would like to see this all the way through to the end.

Has Retro returned to airing episodes from late 1979 or early 1980? I know they had paused due to their facilities being closed when the lockdowns began last spring.

It was always part of Jill’s backstory. I believe it was mentioned in the first week or two when Jill was explaining how she never felt close to the Coleridge mother because she had been the orphan that Ed had brought home from a tour of duty. Her father was originally stated to be a friend of Ed’s but this may have just been a cover. Jill’s adoption was a bigger point in 1981 after Frank broke his engagement with Faith because he was still in love with Jill. Faith would coldly remind Jill that she wasn’t her REAL sister which then led to the whole Mehrit Khara story where it came out that Ed was Jill’s father. Between 1975 and 1981 it was mentioned infrequently.

The scenes are from different episodes. I have the scene with Dennis Patrick and Delilah. That episode is January 10, 1984. I think the role was a dayplayer. Delilah goes to seduce the guy, but Brad Vernon interrupts her. Brad, who she is sleeping with, has managed to get her a role in a music video. The episodes from around this time were not too engaging. A lot of San Carlos talk between Simon Warwick and Asa's plot to retrieve his money through something called Christophore. Did anyone really enjoy this period? The cast is pretty strong, but the story isn't all that great. Sam Hall and Henry Sleasar are credited as the headwriters. I did enjoy the little romance that was blooming between Rafe and Sam. They seemed like a sweet couple. Most of the rest of the story seems pretty forgettable. The Simon Warwick stuff was the hardest to swallow (fictional South American country, plastic surgery, David Renaldi - savior of political refugees). Wasn't this all tied into Judith McConnell's Eva Vasquez. The only things I did appreciate of this nonsense were Viki treating this storyline like the trash it is and the appearance of Pamela Lincoln as Suzanne Allardyce, Simon's mother. Lincoln plays these second tier washed out divas pretty well, but this seems like such a nothing role.

Striker recounts meeting Vicky for the first time in episode 25 and refers to her as Miss Stanley. Stanley is Vicky’s maiden name. Sorry if there was confusion. Before episode 25, Striker refers to Bart and Sam as his wife’s niece and nephew. In the first week of October 1989 myself, Justin and Bart are just introduced which is crazy to me. Bart only knows Justin because his sister Sam has talked about him. At least they are consistent. Reena has just learned that Courtney is Kevin’s other woman which is delightful. Courtney is going to be kicked out of the program. I wonder if the plan was for Courtney and Bart to actually have the private practice? Western Art is failing and there’s a pretty big event happening at the gallery which I assume changes things. There are also mentions of Ginny’s brother Jeb so I guess things are already changing.

Bart and Sam are Vicky’s niece and nephew. Her maiden name is Stanley.

@Neil Johnson It's interesting how things changed from "Another World" to "Texas." I'm curious how much was really adapted from the Corringtons' period piece "Reunion" bible and how much were elements that Paul Raunch cooked up with a combination of the Corringtons and/or Tom King. I've been surprised by little details that I've learned in episodes like how Striker was a former lieutenant governor in the state of Texas. I believe the nickname was explained in story, but I remember it being pretty weak. It had something to do with Striker's rise to the top of politics if I remember correctly. Alex Wheeler seems like such a poor man's version of Jay Gatsby or a low rent Steve Frame. I know some people have said, maybe even you, that it seemed like the original story was going to be the Marshalls vs. the Bellmans. Alex seems to change all that. I think Samantha as Reena's cousin allows you to have Reena as an only child and replay the Iris / Mac relationship, but I think you are right that Samantha as her sister would have given the storylines a different dynamic and chance to play something new.

@Efulton I've also started watching "Texas" from the beginning recently. I'm a little bit farther than you are (first week of October, 1980). I really enjoy it. Mike Marshall's suicide really allows the Corringtons to use those Southern Gothic flourishes that they excel at. I think Mike's death really propelled the show, it's just a shame that it wasn't included in the first week worth of episodes. If it was up to me, I think I would have made the concluding episode of the 90-minute "Another World" reach its ending with Sheik Zeidi in surgery with the assassination plot underway and use that story to propel the story on Monday. This way, Mike Marshall's suicide could be the first Friday cliffhanger. Also, I think I would have had Monday, August 4th episode of "Another World" end with Iris getting on the plane and episode 1 of "Texas" start with Iris arriving in Houston. I think the first week is clunky at times. The Kevin / Courtney romance is flawed. I haven't decided if I love or hate the twangy theme they use for these two. I find Lee Patterson incredibly gruff, which I think is intended, but he doesn't seem to crack enough around Courtney to make Kevin seem like a viable romantic lead. I know Patterson was a big deal on "One Life to Live," but I don't think it works here. With that said, I actually think I like Kevin more than I liked the bits I've seen recently of his Tom Dennison later in the decade on "One Life to life." I do find Patterson seems a bit more at ease with Elizabeth Allen as Victoria, but I wouldn't want a romance there. I just really like the friendship between Victoria and Kevin. I think the biggest revelation to me in all of this is Robert Gerringer who seems sort of flat character as Striker, but who has such a deeper inner life than I ever could imagine. The sequences where Striker learns that his beloved Vicky has been cuckolding him for years with his good friend Alex Wheeler are mesmerizing. Allen and Gerringer are amazing together as they play those confrontation scenes. I like this version of Vicky, deeply flawed, self centered like her daughter, but in love with two men, very appealing. Later in the show's run, I feel all those layers are pulled away. Watching this, I don't see why the show didn't have Victoria go after Grant Wheeler, Alex's brother, and then have Reena pursue Grant for all the years of suffering Victoria caused Reena and Striker. Then again, the later Striker "revelations" don't seem to fall in line with anything that is going on right now. I really like the set up of Billy Joe and Nita. Nita is a woman who is coming into her own and no longer needs a man like explosive Billy Joe, yet she is drawn to a man, Rikki Dekker, who is drawn to a similar level of danger. I like Billy Joe pursuing Elena because she is Rikki's sister, but I don't see how this is going to turn into the sort of romance I have seen between the two down the line. I also was surprised that the Corringtons went into Billy Joe's damaged psyche mentioning how Billy Joe was protecting his siblings growing up, implying he also may have been abused by his daddy, and making veiled comments about what he learned form the cops in prison. Like Victoria, I'm not sure how I'll find the later version of Billy Joe more appealing. The Dekkers are very interesting. Are they suppose to be Mexican American? There are definitely hints that one or more of the Dekker kids are Marshalls. Everyone keeps talking about how close they grow up. Justin tells Max that Rikki is "our brother" and Terry squirms when Paige refers to the two of them as sisters. I would imagine the plan was to reveal that the Dekkers were somehow tied to the Marshalls through William Marshall, Mike Marshall's brother who died in the war. I don't mind the Iris / Alex story, but I wouldn't say its the one I want to see the most. I like the construct of Iris and Reena vs Victoria. I even like Victoria pining over Alex and being a thorn in the side of Alex and Iris' relationship. I just find a lot of the Iris and Alex stuff is too much. Alex is hiding that he was with Vicky for years, Iris is hiding that she had Alex's child, everyone hates Alex for the perceived part he played in Mike Marshall's suicide. It's just a lot. I also never knew that they seem to hint that Justin was going to pursue Iris in order to get at Alex. Dawn and Dennis are pretty standard fare. Kimmel is super green. Poyner appears to be playing the material just as if it was Tom King's slow, talky "Another World." I did appreciate Dennis running around in his shorts while answering the phone when Iris called. I also get the angle they are going with Dawn and Dennis, an impulsive young love like Alex and iris. I just don't care about insolent Dawn. Funny, I disagree with you on Joel Corodner and Catherine Hickland. Hickland is incredibly green, and I find Courtney to be uninspiring with Hickland's performance. I cannot disagree with others who say it hurts Courtney's character that she has no scenes with the other Marshalls. I didn't remember that initially the Marshall ranch was quite distance from Houston so I get some elements of it. Depsite this, Bart has made it out to the ranch twice to visit with Kate, while Courtney hasn't even managed a phone call home. The disconnect from the Marshall family is a serious problem especially since the show seems to be pitting Courtney vs Reena with Reena in a pretty ongoing friendship with Courtney's brother Justin. In terms of a character construct, I'm interested in Courtney. She's the brain. The smart one in the family who has never experienced life. Even in terms of her relationship with Kevin there are some intriguing angles. Kevin won't leave Reena, who he doesn't love, because she might lose Striker, her father, while Kevin's much more okay leaving Courtney, who he does love, who has actually lost her father. On the hand, I don't mind Joel Corodner's Bart Walker, the young man of privilege who wants to give back and build a clinic for people who really need services. I think Bart is the type of character you kinda need, just a good old fashioned good guy. I also like how he is the opposite of Kevin Cook, who grew up poor and married his way into money. I kinda like that Bart's a lame duck foe of Kevin's. He doesn't really like what Kevin is doing to Reena or Courtney, but he isn't the type of guy to really know what to do about it. I do like how he occassionally gets bitchy and makes snarky comments to Reena. I really want to like Sam Walker, but Ann McCarthy overplays almost every scene she is in. In a way, it might work as she is the cousin of Reena, but it often just falls flat. The construction of Sam and Justin is a bit flawed. Sam had too many connections to Justin through Reena and Bart and Courtney to not know that Justin was a well known race car driver. I like the news angle though and I like that Sam is the daughter that Aunt Vicky wish she had compared to venomous Reena. I think recasting Sam would have been a better move than dumping the character.

I’ll do my best, but, to be honest, the period where Trisha and Jeff are together is one of the periods I’ve done little research into because I’m not a big fan of Millee Taggert and Tom King’s 1988-1991 run. I think it progressively improved in the later half (1990-1991 when Jacqueline Babbin arrived as executive producer), but so much of the earlier material comes off as generic. What has appeared online of this period doesn’t fascinate me either. Trisha arrived in Corinth in December, 1984, when her mother Gwyneth arrived at the Alden mansion for Christmas. Almost immediately, Trisha would encounter Steve Sowolosky, who had also recently been introduced into the series. Steve was Ava’s mechanic cousin, the son of con man Harry Sowolosky who worked as a heavy for Dane Hammond and menaced Shana Sloane during her romance with Jim Vochek. Steve and Trisha were star crossed lovers with lots of trademark Marland elements. I remember reading somewhere that Marland had asked his niece what teenage girls wanted, and she had claimed an older man. So using this (as he had with Kelly Nelson and Morgan Richards on “Guiding Light”) Marland created older man Steve Sowolsky and not even barely legal Trisha Alden. There was also the class element, Trisha was from a blue blood family and Sowolosky was from a family who came from the wrong side of the tracks. Steve’s aunt Kate Rescott literally ran a boarding house on Railroad Street where the train could occasionally be heard passing by. Marland wasn’t around long enough to have Trisha go full Lily and move into the boarding house, but I imagine he would have if he lasted long enough. In the final months of Marland’s tenure, Trisha and Steve were trying to get together, but were mostly kept apart by the age issues and by Trisha’s status conscious mother, Gwyneth Alden. Gwyneth was a social climber who had been raised by a minister and his wife but had elevated herself through marriage into the Alden clan. At the time, Gwyn may or may not have murdered her husband, Clay, Trisha’s father, but she was sure she wouldn’t see her daughter get pulled down. In her own personal life, Gwyn was moving in on Dane Hammond, her sister-in-law Ann’s new husband. Through Dane, Gwyn became acquainted with Harry Sowolsky, Steve’s low life father, and Gwyn used Harry to keep Trisha and Steve apart. I believe Trisha was pretty much presented as a wide eyed doe type unaware of the troubles of the world. She used preppy Rich Elkins as part of a ruse to convince Gwyn that she and Steve weren’t really a thing. When Harry ended up in jail for one of his many crimes, Gwyn agreed to get him out of prison if Harry could keep Trisha and Steve apart. At some point, Cecilia Thompson, the daughter of the owner of the garage where Steve worked entered the story. She became a longterm foil for Trisha. Cecilia was also young and in love with Steve, but more seductive. When Trisha wouldn’t put out, Cecilia did, but when Steve didn’t stick around, Cecilia and her father had statutory rape charges brought against Steve. With Steve in prison, Trisha was left alone. By this point, Bill Levinson assumes control of the story after a brief solo stint from Agnes Nixon. Levinson definitely plays things on a larger scale and begins the sort of attempt to make the show a mix of “Dynasty” and “General Hospital.” In prison, Steve is taunted by Spider, who is a criminal up for parole. Spider threatens to get to Trisha when he gets out, which gets Steve all out of sorts. Spider is released and goes after Trisha. I think Steve somehow escapes prison and ends up saving Trisha from Spider’s grasp. Steve, now a fugitive, goes on the run with Trisha, and the couple ends up in Montreal where there is a final showdown with Spider before he’s either carted off to prison or is killed. Of course, Steve still escaped from prison so back he goes. I think he gets out because he agrees to marry Cecilia or something along those lines. Anyway, Steve marries Cecilia and clearly things were not going to be happily ever after. While Steve and Cecilia live out their domestic misery, a lonely dejected Trisha becomes easy prey for sleazy casino owner Nick Diantos. Nick had mob ties and had set up shop in Corinth. With Trisha involved with a lowlife, Steve became concerned, which, in turn, pissed off his already frustrated wife Cecilia. Nick gets Trisha involved in drugs to keep her complacent and Trisha briefly marries the man to get his hands on her money. After a year plus of this madness, writer Bill Levinson is shown the door and Ralph Ellis is brought on. In Levinson’s final days, he sets up a murder mystery involving Nick Diantos with a slew of suspects, including Trisha. It’s pretty quickly revealed that Cabot Alden shot Nick for what he was doing to his granddaughter without any ramifications. Ellis seemed to want to brush past the plot. Instead, he had Cecilia and Steve divorce quickly, and Trisha and Steve unite. Cecilia realized she was pregnant and used the baby to hold onto Steve even though Steve and Trisha agreed to raise the child. Cecilia eventually miscarried and confided the whole mess into her new bestie Ava Rescott, Steve’s cousin who was involved with Trisha’s father Clay after having married both Trisha’s brother Curtis and her cousin Jack. Eventually, the truth comes out and Trisha marries Steve. Meanwhile, Cecilia begins a romance with Rick Stewart, Trisha’s long lost brother. Under Ellis, Trisha and Steve would marry in a big wedding in the summer that would nearly be interrupted (or was interrupted) by country bumpkin Eban Japes, the common law husband of Trisha’s sister-in-law, Lotty. This seemed to be an omen of things to come. Trisha and Steve’s happiness was incredibly shortlived. They married in August 1987 and by November 1987 Steve was held hostage in a bank robbery with Stacey Forbes and her young son J.J. Steve agreed to stay with the robbers if they freed the others, including Stacey and J.J. During the stand off, Steve was shot and later died with Trisha by his side at the hospital. Cece was also dropped around this time. Trisha, from what I recall reading, was pretty much sidelined for the next few months until Jeff Hartman arrived in the spring of 1988. The big stories at the tailend of Ellis’ run were Lily Slater’s “Fatal Attraction” obsession over Jack Forbes, the revelation that Randolph Mantooth’s Clay Alden wasn’t the real Clay but an imposter, and I believe some spy plot involving Shana and Jim Vochek and Dan Hollister who was somehow tied to the insanity revolving around Alex taking over Clay’s life. When Jeff Hartman is first introduced, Trisha’s mother Gwyneth Alden wants to hire him for a position in the television production division of Alden Enterprises before she and Jeff become lovers. The not so merry widow Trisha takes a job in the production division as well as soon she and Jeff are falling for each other. Initially, Jeff is not a bad guy. He comes from a wealthy family who had a large media conglomerate, but Jeff struck out on his own without his family to make a name for himself. I believe this was something Trisha admired as she so without an identity. When Trisha and Jeff start dating, Jeff hides the fact that he once went to bed with Trisha’s mother. Jeff and Trisha become a thing during the summer of 1988 during the writer’s strike. Casting for Jeff becomes problematic and within short order you have three actors hired to play Jeff in less than a year. When the strike ends, Millee Taggert and Tom King are hired to write the show and they set out to put the story in a different direction. Jeff’s father, Charles Hartman, was introduced late in the strike (August 1988) and appears to be positioned as a new love interest for Gwyn as well as a potential rival to the Alden family. King and Taggert abandon this and quickly kill off Charles in a car accident in December 1988, while I believe Jeff and Gwyn hit the sheets again, get caught on film, and then continue to hide the affair from Trisha. I think “the tape” is a big story for quite some time. It’s around this point that Jeff starts to spiral out of control and Trucker is introduced in February 1989. Trucker’s backstory is convulted as f^%$. He’s the former chauffeur for Clay and Gwyn when they lived in Maine and where he bedded Gwyn. Later, Trucker went to prison for a crime that Clay committed because Clay paid him off and Trucker had medical expenses due to his ill sister Amelia “Rocky” McKenzie. Trucker and Trisha grow closer. Anyway, somewhere along the way Trisha and Jeff become engaged, there’s a big party, and the tape of Jeff banging Trisha’s mom gets played for the entire company. Trisha and Jeff split. Trisha and Trucker get together, but then there’s a car accident or something and Trisha is presumed dead. Jeff finds her and whisks her off to Rome. Trucker learns the truth and goes to save her. There’s a sword fight. I’m sure it was suppose to be exciting and Trisha and Trucker have a following, but this all seems plot heavy as anything. I do know that some of the later Taggert / King run material isn’t groundbreaking, but is well played. This all just seems amazingly bad. Also, somewhere along the way you have a past lives / flashback storyline where Robert Tyler plays an Alden family servant accused of stealing something. Not “Loving” at its finest. When Jacqueline Babbin is lured out of retirement by Nixon, Trucker and Trisha’s story seems more grounded in emotion, if not less over the top. Jeff ends up institutionalized, Trisha and Trucker marry, and life moves on. I’m not necessarily sure of the order of that, but whatever. While Trisha is involved with Trucker, Trucker’s sister Rocky is involved with Trisha’s brother Curtis in two ill fated triangles (one with Egypt’s hunky but forgettable brother Todd Jones and another with Rocky’s future husband Rio, brother of Amourelle model Abril Domeq). Under Babbin, King and Taggert develop a rather expansive tale with Trucker and Trisha at the center which had the potential to cause longterm conflict between Trisha, Trucker, and Trisha’s father Clay. Clay beds down with Abril Domeq and knocks her up. Meanwhile, Trisha and Trucker are expecting their first child, but Trisha goes into premature labor and their son, Benjamin, does not survive. Abril decides she isn’t ready for motherhood and agrees to give the baby to Trucker and Trisha. Trucker and Abril are keeping their own secrets with Abril claiming lowlife Monty is the father, while Trucker is secretly paying for the baby (I think). Trisha is completely kept in the dark because she is unemotionally unstable after losing the baby. Anyway, the story has other threads. Abril befriends Ava Rescott’s sister Carly who she works with in the Alden Enterprises daycare center. Carly has her own baby issues; she was knocked by Ava’s current beau Paul Slavinski in high school and gave the baby up. Carly marries Clay, unaware that he is the actual father of Abril’s baby, while also still carrying a torch for Paul. Monty, Abril’s faux baby daddy, develops an attraction for Rocky, which causes problems in her marriage to Abril’s brother Rio. This whole byzantine storyline has the potential to go on for sometime, but, instead, Babbin leaves after her year is up (a deal is a deal) and Fran Sears is hired as her successor. Sears quickly nixes the storyline letting go Abril, Clay, Rocky, and Rio after a brief murder mystery involving the short term villain Monty. Sears hires Mary Ryan Munisteri who takes newcomer Dinahlee Mayberry, one of Taggert’s last new creations, and sets out to have Dinahlee seduce Jack Forbes at the bequest of Shana Vochek and Clay Alden. Dinahlee fails to bed Jack, but seriously pisses off his wife Stacey Forbes, who has no problem whining about her marital unrest to her best friend Trisha. Meanwhile, Trisha and Trucker’s marriage is suffering from their different backgrounds. Trisha tries to return to the business world, but her cousin Jack Forbes rejects the idea of hiring her on the basis of neopotism alone so Trisha becomes involved in the curation of the Alden family art collection which is being housed at AU. Trucker, a mechanic by trade, and Trisha, a patron of the arts, are now at odds with each other. The tension boils over as Giff Bowman is brought to town to work as a professor at AU. Giff befriends both Trisha, Trucker, and Dinahlee, who works as a nude model in his class. Giff is commissioned to build a statue for the lobby of Alden Enterprises and hires Trucker to do the fabrication. This brings Trucker into Dinahlee Mayberry’s orbit. As Trucker and Trisha grow apart, Dinahlee and Trucker become closer. When Jeremy Hunter arrives in town, Trucker is convinced that heavily pregnant Trisha (who wasn’t suppose to get pregnant but since Noelle Beck is pregnant again, surprise Trisha’s pregnant) wants to bed Jeremy. Trucker and Dinahlee have sex in Giff Bowman’s studio where a temporarily homeless Dinahlee has been staying. Stacey Forbes, convinced that Dinahlee and Jack are going around behind her back, finds Dinahlee in bed not with her own husband but her best friend’s husband. Eventually, the truth comes out, and Trucker decides that once wasn’t enough and goes back to bed with Dinahlee again. Anyway, Trisha decides to forgive Trucker despite the fact that Gwyn’s back sniffing around trying to cause problems in Trucker and Trisha’s marriage. Gwyn has begun dating Giff, who thinks that Trucker’s just a guy who made a mistake and shouldn’t be forced to suffer for it for the rest of his life. Trisha wants to make her marriage work even though she is hurt by what Trucker has done. Dinahlee wants Trucker, but can’t have him. When Gwyn tries to pay her to leave town, Dinahlee takes the check and uses it to purchase the bowling alley, Pins, putting down roots in Corinth. In January 1992, Mary Ryan Munisteri is out and Addie Walsh is in. Walsh has the unfortunate task of writing out Noelle Beck for her second maternity leave in a little over a year’s time. Trucker and Trisha, who have mostly been happy, have a blow up when Trisha gives birth out of state while on an art buying trip with Giff, who has broken up with Gwyn because that’s what happens to Gwyn when a new writer comes on the scene. Walsh has a furious Trisha storm off into parts unknown with her baby, who I don’t think gets a name until Beck returns from maternity leave. 1992 is a cluster of a year and it’s the last full year Trisha is on the canvas. Beck films a couple of phone calls that a dispersed over several months to Richard Cox’s Giff. Initially, all the stuff with Giff and Trisha is innocent and friendly. Cox’s Giff was initially a very care free and laid back dude. He had a series of failed marriages, and a kid by each wife. When Walsh arrives, Giff now has a tragic backstory involving the death of his wife Alise in childbirth. Giff finds Trisha in the little community where his wife was buried and this is where Giff runs into his son Revel (now calling himself Casey) for the first time in some time. Trisha’s return has Trucker heated and Trucker believes that Giff has purposely been keeping Trisha and Christopher away from him. It’s not a good look for Trucker. As the year progresses, rumor has it that Walsh leaves the writing staff when new EP Haidee Granger nixes her sexual molestation story involving Michael Weatherly’s Cooper Alden, Trisha’s second cousin once removed. Anyway, Trisha and Trucker have a custody battle over Christopher, which Trisha wins. Overnight, Giff is crazy and suddenly needs to get rid of Christopher because Christopher is what is keeping Trisha in Trucker’s orbit. After Christopher’s kidnapping, Casey begins to realize his dad is bonkers. It’s too late though; Giff kidnaps Trisha and takes her to the AU belfry. Trucker and Casey manage to rescue Trisha, but not before Trucker and Giff fall from the belfry killing Giff and wounding Trucker. Suffering memory loss, Trucker believes he’s in love with Trisha’s best friend Stacey. Around this time, Noelle Beck decides she’s done with the show. She wants to pursue other opportunities, but agrees to extend her contract so that they can properly wrap up Trisha’s story. The Stacey / Trucker angle is quickly nixed. Trisha and Trucker marry in a rustic wedding in November 1992 and prepare to settle down with Christopher and Casey as an unofficial ward. In her final months, Trisha mostly acts as tertiary character in the crazy Stacey plot worrying about what might happen to her friend. When Millee Taggert and Robert Guza arrive, Trisha has two minor arcs that really go nowhere. Recurring comic relief Arthur Davis, an AU student who works at the bike shop, falls for Trisha despite her being married to his boss. Steffi Brewster encourages him to go for it and Arthur does manage to get a kiss on the cheek from Trisha. When her brother Curtis returns home, Trisha learns that her father Clay plans on dismantling Alden Enterprises, and Curtis and Trisha plan to overthrow their father. This never happens. In Trisha’s final days in Corinth, Trisha becomes entangled with mysterious Buck Huston who arranges to Trisha attacked so that he can play hero and worm his way into Trisha and Trucker’s life. Trisha and Trucker invite Buck into their home, which infuriates Curtis because he has a past with Buck in Kuwait. Trisha learns that Curtis and Buck know each other before driving off to meet Trucker at the cabin. On the way, Trisha is carjacked and shortly after the car careens off the road. Trisha, again, is presumed dead. All of Corinth mourns Trisha’s passing while Trisha wakes up, stumbles into a bakery truck, and ends up at a greasy spoon on the outskirts of Corinth. Trisha’s picture is plastered over the paper, but no one seems to notice. In need of work, Trisha gets a waitressing job just as Jeff Hartman is released from Dunellyn, the mental hospital. Jeff stops by for breakfast at the diner before his plans to depart the States for Italy. He spots Trisha, is led to believe that Trucker has been beating her, and runs off to Italy with her while her family thinks she is dead. And with that, Trisha leaves Corinth in April 1993. Trucker never really gets over Trisha completely. In late 1993, when Curtis has been kidnapped, a psychic is brought to the Alden mansion by Gwyn to find her son. The psychic, instead, picks up on vibrations about Trisha, which everyone dismisses. Later, in 1994, Trucker gets signs that Trisha is alive, which sends him on a chase to Italy when newlyweds Shana and Leo Burnell find Jeff Hartman living in Rome. Buck realizes the truth; Curtis has been leading Trucker to believe that Trisha is alive. Dinahlee rushes off to Rome to stop Trucker from confronting Jeff. Dinahlee gets to Trucker and Trucker believes it is all a coincidence. In 1995, Dinahlee wants Trucker to resolve his feelings once and for all. An exhumation reveals the body in Trisha’s grave isn’t hers (it was the carjacker’s) and Trucker goes to find Trisha. Dinahlee brings the Aldens a letter saying Trisha is alive, has no memory of the Aldens, and has no desire to look back on a life she doesn’t remember. As the show wraps up in the summer of 1995, long time cast members are killed off left and right. Trisha is suspected to be the culprit. She returns from Rome to Corinth to see if she can remember anything (I think), but it’s all a bust. Later, Trisha slinks out of town and ends up in London I think.

I know its unpopular, but I really think Mary Ryan Munisteri was underrated. The affair storyline between Trucker and Trisha is a bit messy (the source of tension should have stemmed from Trisha's inability to trust Trucker after the lies he kept during the Tommy storyline). The substory that Stacey believed Jack was cheating with Dinahlee, who had been paid by Shana to seduce Jack, was a great way to keep Stacey and Jack in the thick of things without dominating the story. Stacey catching Trucker and Dinahlee together in bed is such a great moment. Matt's storyline was great. It was great how the story intersected with Ceara and Jeremy's. I just don't see why the show felt the need to bring back Jeremy later. Jean LeClerc seemed like an expensive prop. The 1992 episode features that bizarre Stacey is crazy story. Not a favorite of mine. I do think the Ally / Cooper story is strong, but Hannah was such a dead end. I get the purpose of the sweet country girl and that she was tied to the canvas as Dinahlee's sister, but she was such an easy character to dump.

I didn't realize that hadn't been posted here. Thanks for sharing it. I believe this is from very early in the show's run (about May or June 1983). The menacing dude is Seth Quinn, the criminal son of the show's heavy Medger Quinn. This is the only bit I've seen of "The Catlins" with Brett Rice in it. Priscilla was working as a maid for Jonathan and Eleanor Catlin, Seth's brohter-in-law and sister. Priscilla was attempting to seduce Jonathan, I believe, and at one point, Seth tries to rape her. I don't think the plotline went on too long. In July, Eleanor was pregnant and any tension in the Catlin marraige seemed to go away while they prepared for their newest arrival. I know this show is a hot mess, but I still find it fascinating.

@DRW50 It's completely understandable. Joanna Lee's tenure is so well regarded and Sunny's rape was one of the last big stories that "Search for Tomorrow" told that didn't feel like a complete gimmick. I think its also one of the last stories that Gary Tomlin put into place. He would end up as headwriter at "Another World" in either March or April of 1984. What I've seen of Barrett's first few months were very good, but I think she was basically encouraging Tomlin and Glynn to take the story that was already in place and just slow it down and cut it down. There was a lot happened on Lee / Tomlin's "Search for Tomorrow." Everyone seemed to have a little bit of something. I know that most people cite Vargas' kidnapping of Jo as what boosted the ratings, but the show was just really strong in the summer and fall of 1983 as that kidnapping story was climaxing. Not only did Vargas have Jo, but Steve's paternity secret was about to come out, Stephanie and Steve had their aborted wedding, Wendy learned she was pregnant just as Warren decided to stay with Suzi because of her money, and there was a Stephanie / Liza and Lloyd / Travis rivalries brewing over business and personal issues. Lee's departure in December 1983 really hurt the momentum as it coincided with the supposedly pre-planned mass exodus of cast members around Christmas 1983 only to be followed by an influx of new characters in early 1984. The bits and pieces that have crept up from the summer of 1984 are interesting, but not as strong as 1983. I also find myself interested in not so much because it's interesting but because everything is so new and different. The fall of 1984 into early 1985 seems very very bleak and dark. I wonder what Tomline would have done if he stayed? I know Barrett seemed to do a second major cast dump in the summer of 1984. I don't think the newcomers of the second wave survived to well (the Kendall twins, Justine, Adair, Cord Touneur and his half-sister Victoria). In particular, I'm curious what Tomlin planned for Elan story. Weren't there hints at one point that she may have been Adair and Alec's or Adair and Chase's kid? I also wonder how Tomlin would have handled the Suzi / Wendy relationship once Michael Corbett left the show. I know Tomlin's second stint isn't as well regarded though I think there were a couple of producers involved during his second stint. The show's last two years sound and feel so stunt oriented. I do like the serial killer stuff which is very much a stylized stunt. I don't think it helped the show. And I don't think making Sarah a vixen was a skill in Michelle Joyner's wheelhouse. I thought Mayer Avila and Braxton created a very nice triangle there that was quickly abandoned. I am curious what the original plans were for Estelle which I think may have been sidelined by the revamp. Wasn't Estelle suppose to be a much more menacing character?

I think @DRW50meant if Joanna Lee was producer. She wasn’t. Lee’s last episodes aired in December 1983 and the rape was February 1984. The story was in its early stages as she left or right after. Ellen Barrett was producer. I think she wanted less scenes which would explain why there was the rape episode

Jack’s biological parents were Dane Hammond and Linda Henderson. Linda died in an automobile accident and her parents gave her to Roger and Ann Forbes to raise. I haven’t heard of any reference to Zack and Lorna having a child. Kelly was Zack’s daughter by his late first wife and she lived with Cabot and Isabelle after Zack and Lorna left Corinth. I don’t know if Lorna was mentioned during the Corinth murders but her flight (and Ann’s) was delayed which prevented her coming to town for Jack’s memorial. I know Steffy was planning to name her child after Casey Bowman, her friend and ex. I’ve always read the child was a girl, Casey Antonia, but that was on “the City.” Heather was Rick’s child. It wasn’t often acknowledged but Clay and Gwyn did visit Heather when it suited the story. It’s easy to forget it though as everyone referred to Jack as Heather’s father since he raised her.

Daniel Cosgrove also appeared in a shower scene with Deborah Zoe’s Eden. The glass shower was frosted but you could see he backside. This was all around February 2004 when there was the incident at the Super Bowl with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. Conboy was gored about this time.

Barry Lake may have been a writer, but I believe Paul Raven is referencing a character found in an episode teaser that were posted in some newspapers at the time. I think Barney Lake was a criminal character. Unfortunately, I don’t think I know where my “Brighter Day” episode summaries are.

Jon-Michael Reed wrote a syndicated soap column. Newspapers tended to cut up those columns. I think this is probably one of those. I might be wrong. Ben Masters player a movie director. I think Barbara Bailey also played the socialite mother of Tracey Brooke Swopes actress character. They all were jettisoned around the same time.

As @EricMontreal22 mentioned, the characters were all in Agnes Nixon's original bible for the show. It is clear which characters Marland was more interested in writing. The Donovans are much more intricate and their scenes are much richer than the scenes with the other characters. Rita Mae and Billy definitely seem more subtle than Opal, but they are still a bit much for my personal taste. Originally, Billy was suppose to potency issues which was why Rita Mae was constantly sex starved. Rita Mae was suppose to befriend Noreen Donovan during her initial fling with Curtis Alden before having a much more intense affair with Mike Donovan. Almost all of this was nixed at some point. Onscreen, Rita Mae and Curtis had an fling, but I believe it was short-lived (August-September 1983) before Rita Mae shifted her eyes to Doug Donovan and Curtis got involved with Lily. I don't think Billy was impotent, but I do know that later, when Rita Mae and Billy were trying to conceive a child, that the fertility issues seemed to lie at Billy's feet. Eventually, Billy and Rita Mae split and Rita Mae becomes involved with Tony Perilli after it becomes clear that Stacey will never stop loving Jack Forbes despite his marriage to Ava. Rita Mae gained a niece, Colby Cantrell, who bounced between Curtis and Keith before she was also written out. Ann is a thinly drawn character in Nixon's bible. She is suppose to be committed to her marriage and she was suppose to befriend Merrill. I don't know if Ann and Merrill actually became friends onscreen. I suspect Marland worked to expand the character by reconfiguring different parts of the bible. Onscreen, it was Ann, not Rita Mae, who ended up having the affair with Mike Donovan after he was fired from the police force and was hired to redecorate the Alden guest house. Also, there were only a few details about Clay and Gwyn in the bible, but one of them was that Gwyn was an alcoholic. Onscreen, Ann had the problem with alcoholism. There was no mention of Dane Hammond or Shana Sloane in Nixon's bible, but the creation of Dane as Jack's biological father (originally Jack's biological parents were the married couple who perished in the car accident) and the introduction of Shana as a rival really solidified Ann's place on the canvas. I think part of the problem in the Merrill / Roger / Ann / Doug scenario is there is no villain. Roger and Merrill's affair just hurts Doug and Ann, neither of whom deserve the heartache. Merrill was described in the bible as a radical feminist which I think may have been influenced by the women on "Ryan's Hope." On "Ryan's Hope," Jill Coleridge was having an affair with a married man, Frank Ryan, but she wasn't sleeping with Seneca until much later and the affair was mostly backstory rather than playing out in front of the audience's eyes. Also, Delia was a clear villain. I think it helped that Mary Ryan was equally independent and she was just shacking up Jack Fenelli, an older man, but not married. Merrill's fear of marriage was suppose to be rooted in her mother's death; her mother had died while giving birth to Merrill. The bible implied that Merrill would have a string of relationships (after the first year) that were intended to be based on her fear of marriage and having children. Doug was also pretty thinly drawn, but the implication was that after the first year Doug was going to be pursued by a calculated Lorna who was determined to land the older man. Roger accepts a diplomatic mission and, according to SOD, was heading to Nairobi when his plane crashed and no survivors were found. A memorial was held for Roger without a body. The plan was probably to revisit Roger Forbes later on. Right before he died, it was revealed that Roger and Shana had known each other in Washington, D.C. I suspect the show was intending to play a Roger / Shana / Ann triangle at some point. Based on the bible, Lily and Jack were the longterm couple, but the bible only outlined the first year (June 1983 - August 1984). The bible ended with the Olympic cliffhanger which was suppose to be June Slater remembering what happened the night of Garth's murder. This actually happened in January 1984. Almost the entire bible was used or abandoned by January 1984 so it's not clear what Nixon's plan would have been for Lily and Jack after the murder trial. Lily did return to the show years later, March 1987, during a transition period. It was probably one of the last things Bill Levinson did or one of the first that Ralph Ellis initiated. Anyway, Lily was released from the psychiatric facility after June Slater's death and she returned to Corinth where she reconnected with her old friends Jack and Stacey Forbes. I don't think there was much done with Lily and Curtis, but Burke Moses, who was playing Curtis at the time, was hired to appear on Broadway in early summer 1987 and Curtis was shipped to Germany's AE office in the late summer. Then Moses was fired with the intention of recasting, but, instead, they just dropped Judith Hoag and had Lotty join Curtis in Germany. By that point, Lily was working as a model at Amourelle while trying to get Jack into bed and found an ally in Rick Stewart, Gwyn and Clay's son who Gwyn had given up for adoption. Lily and Jack's affair was the bulk of Lily's 1987-1988 run, but there seems to be a bit with her working with Jim Vochek at the homeless shelter before she left town. I don't know if Alden Enterprises was mentioned specifically in the bible, but I know that the offices of AE were featured no later than November 1983 when Dane Hammond was introduced. When Fran Sears took over as EP in the summer of 1991, she decided "Loving" should bring back the college. Under Mary Ryan Munisteri, Giff Bowman was hired to teach art courses at AU and they introduced the art studio set. Down on her luck Dinahlee Mayberry modeled in the art class. When Ceara arrives in Corinth, she is working at AU in an administrative position. Jeremy comes to teach an art seminar. Slowly, they built a small college set around Ally Rescott, who at the time was dating Matt Ford. In January 1991, when Addie Walsh took over as headwriter, she introduced a group of young people who were involved with a band (drug dealer Reggie, singer Tess, brooding James) that Matt was involved with. Matt was quickly dumped in February and Ally started taking courses at AU. Ally still hung out with Tess (Daisy Fuentes' character) and has a brief flirtation with Sam (the senator's son who briefly dated Dinahlee under Mary Ryan Munisteri). By early April, the new group was introduced (Hannah, Arthur, Cooper, Kent, and Staige) were introduced. The campus only really went away in late 1993 when Nixon came on and shifted the characters away from the college campus.

Jack's biological parents were Dane Hammond and Linda Henderson. Dane grew up in Corinth in the working class section and fell for wealthy Linda. When Linda got pregnant, her parents married her off to a wealthy counterpart, Hemsley. Hemsley was aware of Linda's pregnancy and the truth about the baby's father. Shortly after they were married, Hemsley and Linda were killed in an automobile accident. Hadden and Ada Henderson, Linda's wealthy parents, asked the recently married Roger and Ann Forbes to adopt their infant grandson. After Roger Forbes dies, Jack becomes interested in looking into his paternity. At the same time, Dane began to ask questions about Linda's baby, who the Hendersons claimed had also perished in the car accident. Jack learned from Hemsley's aunt, Millicent Whitehead, that Hemsley had informed her he (Hemsley) wasn't Jack's father. Jack eventually learned that Dane was his father and, since Dane and the Aldens were enemies, conflict ensued for the time that Dane remained in Corinth (1983-1986, 1990-1991). Regarding the cast purge, the show's original two plotlines were abandoned for different reasons. I think the general consensus was that the Merrill / Roger / Anne triangle didn't work. The show didn't commit to Merrill after the affair with Roger fizzled. Merrill had some brief relationships with Warren Hodges and Clem Margolies (the Alden family attorney), but ultimately she was just shipped to Washington, D.C. after accepting a new job. I believe they even had Merrill leave town before they killed off Roger. The show may have intended to repair Doug and Merrill because it was only when Merrill left Corinth that Edy Lester arrived and quickly married Doug. Originally, there were hints of pairing Lorna and Doug. Even during the Edy / Doug storyline you have Edy's secret husband Jonathan Maitlane involved with Lorna. The claim regarding the Slater storyline the plan was to kill off Garth from the beginning. June and Lily were written out because ABC wanted to nix the incest storyline so that they could promote their telefilm "Something About Amelia" as the first time the network had dealt with the issue. @DRW50 Thanks for posting the links to these. The amount of location shooting for the garden party was impressive. I think a lot of the actors are very green, but I do think that Susan Walters really stands out. Jennifer Ashe is incredibly stronger in those later sequences posted by Ann Williams' children. I really hope that more of Lily's original storyline would show up. I'm particularly interested in the romance between Curtis and Lily's alter. It was surprising to hear Lorna state that Curtis had been chasing after Lily for a long time. It's funny. I don't have much interest in Merrill / Roger, but I thought Bryan Cranston and Shannon Eubanks were very interesting. Not necessarily as a couple, but they had a nice rapport. Lorna as the thorn in their side was very good. Mike and Noreen were much more interesting. The conflict between Noreen and Mike over having a child was nicely done. Noreen's rapport with Rose Donovan was also nice. It was interesting to see that no one had been cast yet as Patrick Donovan. Garth's manipulation of June and Lily was disturbing. It was nice, but odd watching Augusta Dabney's more grandmotherly Isabelle, after watching Pat Barry's society snob Isabelle meddling in the lives of her family in the 1990s episodes I've been watching. It was unfortunate that neither Curtis nor Stacey appeared in the episodes. Jim's introduction with Rita Mae I believe was intended to be shocking. I believe flirtatious Rita Mae makes a pass at Jim by the end of the episode before learning that Jim was a Catholic priest.

I believe the switch in locations was due to Irna Phillips' lawsuit with the show's first producer or a writer who argued that they were co-creator and should get a share of the profits. Phillips lost her suit. I believe she relaunched the show because of the suit because now she owned the new version of "The Guiding Light" outright. I could be wrong. The show goes off the air in November and I don't think returns to air until the spring. When the show was relaunched, the story opened with Ray Brandon being released from jail and attempting to rebuild his life. I do think the Claire Lawrence story continued from one version of the show to the other.

This seems mostly new to the Internet. I think some of it may have popped up some of the scattered 1992 episodes, but I don't think there has been much online. 1992 is mostly remembered for shift onto the younger set with the arrival of Cooper, Casey, Hannah, and the forgettable Staige and Kent. The actual highly touted sorority/fraternity storyline plays out for about three or so months before they simply drop that angle. I'm not a huge fan of Trucker and Trisha's storyline in 1992 because its mostly Trisha and Trucker fighting over custody of Christopher and Giff going crazy for the sake of maintaining Trucker and Trisha's true love. These clips all cover the second half of 1992 when it's unclear who really was writing what. Walsh is credited throughout 1992 and into the first half of January, 1993, but accounts from actors, Walsh departed shortly after Haidee Granger took over. Granger is the one in charge who basically dumps Richard Cox for Jean LeClerc, which, in my opinion, never ended up being worthwhile. I will say it's not until I watched the early 1993 episodes where Trisha and Trucker are happy with Christopher, living in the Tides, and dealing with a cutesy story where dweeby Arthur has a crush on Trisha that I really see the appeal of the couple. I like the 1991 storylines with losing baby Benjamin and the affair between Trucker and Dinahlee, but both stories are very heavy. Honestly, I think I would have been completely fine with Trucker and Trisha going in different directions. I've been watching spring / summer of 1994 episodes not sequentially. I really wanted to get to the end of the Cradle Foundation storyline, which was worth it. I made several interesting discoveries in the process. Nixon departs as headwriter in August, 1994. She's immediately succeeded by Addie Walsh and Laurie McCarthy, who had been the associate headwriters when Nixon was headwriter from September 1993 until August 1994. With Walsh and McCarthy as the headwriters, Nixon steps into a new title., executive storyline consultant. I have the script from September 1994 and Nixon still receives top billing on the scripts. I've never claimed to be a huge fan of Walsh. I think her work is pretty standard with nothing that stands out. She seems better at generating story than character. I know others have said she has done better at "Search for Tomorrow" with Walsh. Anyway, Walsh's run with McCarthy is slightly stronger in my opinion than the 1992 material, but she has essentially been working with the canvas for awhile so she isn't making massive cuts the way she did in 1992, but the cuts are still deep and leave scars. Either in the final Nixon episodes or the earliest Walsh/McCarthy episodes, we get the start of the undoing of Curtis. Curtis rigs the plane, the plane crashes, Janie dies, and Dinahlee barely survives, loses the baby she is carrying, and suffers a traumatic brain injur leading to cognitive issues. I don't know how Curtis is suppose to recover from that. I don't know if I can even make it to October when Curtis shoots his own mother. In her final weeks, Nixon seems to be building up a nice little relationship between Curtis and Stacey that had the potential to be really exciting, but its completely scrapped. Similarly, the revelation that the Sowolskys were behind the marketing that lead to the success of AE had the potential to completely shake up the canvas. Instead, it was a minor tremor that was quickly abandoned. Such a waste. On the brighter side, I do appreciate that Walsh tends to be a much more dramatic writer and avoids some of the more cutesy aspects that show tends to embrace. I just wish the stories were dramatically more interesting. The younger set does well. McCarthy and Walsh develop Casey's mental health concerns stemming from his relationship with Giff and his descent into cocaine use as a means of coping with all the stress. It really cultivates a nice longterm conflict between Casey and Ally and ties nicely into different parts of the character's history. Similarly, Steffi and Cooper's romance continues to develop nicely and bleeds beautifully into Clay's hit and run. These two stories create a perfect little quad for Casey, Ally. Cooper, and Steffi who have all had sordid history with one another that is used pretty well. Ally and Cooper unite when Tyler finds cocaine in Casey's camera bag, and Casey and Steffi have a drug fueled photography session to escape the pressure from their respective partners. While the dialogue tends to be cringy at times, the show is starting to develop that modern feel that I feel Harmon Brown and Essensten really take to a whole other level. On a side note, it has been interesting noticing some things play out that I know we've talked about in this thread before. When Augusta Dabney returns in August, 1994, as Isabelle, Isabelle is still that cold bitch. She immediately dismisses Deborah, which is quite wonderful. Isabelle and Clay's motives for keeping Cabot hidden away are two fold: they claim they initially wanted him to die in peace not surrounded by reporters, but Cabot makes it clear they kept him hidden in the family compound in Florida because Cabot wanted to reveal that the Sowolskys were the true source of the Aldens fortune. Deborah also is much less wacky under Walsh and McCarthy. The material during the hit and run is played mostly as a cool, calm, and collected Deborah who is upset that Clay has manipulated Steffi into thinking Deborah and Cooper are sleeping together. Earlier, under Nixon, Steffi makes references to her mother's delusions implying that they keep her from having healthy interactions in the real world. While the rest of the world sees Deborah as trouble, Steffi sees her more as troubled.