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Since schools have closed, I've spent most of my evenings watching "Loving." Within the past week, I was watching episodes from March 1994 when Buck broke things off with Stacey to protect her and the kids from the loan shark that was after him. As I was watching, I was actually thinking I wasn't sure how I would react to seeing Stacey killed as I had come to really like Stacey and Buck after not being too impressed initially. I really like Stacey and Buck. It was really hard watching Buck finding Stacey's body. On a related note, the montage Buck has of his relationship with Stacey in those July 1995 episodes was also featured in the March 1994 episodes set to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." I think there were only a few switches (the clips with Stacey in the orange shirt replaced clips specifically related to Buck and Stacey's breakup). It's a good montage. The 1995 episodes are such a tonal shift from anything prior to it. A lot of these new crop of characters are rather harsh. Danny Roberts seems really sleazy and gross. Richard is unscrupulous. Jocelyn is aligned with self-centered Tess and seems to be willing to do anything for a case. I think Lorraine the sloppy mess is the nicest of the lot. I don't think Brianna is intended to be as hard as she comes across to me. I like Jacob's relationship with Buck but he seems a little self righteous at times as do so many on the current canvas. Maybe If I saw the transition to this crop, I wouldn't mind them as much. The mystery is neat. I cannot deny that. I even really like some of the small moments in these episodes. Angie and Charles coming home to get the message from Stacey nearly broke me even though I felt it became a bit much with Stacey explaining everything in detail. I thought Ava turning Stacey's death into a "woe is me" moment and being self aware was a very honest moment. I know there was an actual scene between Stacey and Ava where they made amends after Dinahlee left Corinth. I thought Clay's monologue about being a fraud is beautifully in character. The conflict between Clay and Curtis over sending Curtis to Dunellyn was very strong even though I hate what is happening with Curtis. I initially hated that virtual reality sequence with the "Muskrat" stuff, but it became very poignant towards the end when Trisha and Curtis turn on their parents. Is that Joseph Cross as young Curtis? While I think Harmon Brown and Essensten have made the deconstruction of "Loving" entertaining, I don't think the build of "The City" is strong. Maybe its too early, but what exactly is the viewer suppose to turn into "The City" to see storywise? The show focuses so much on the serial killer that there is nothing else to focus on when the show ends. I had a similar complaint about the Salem Serial Killer. When a story takes over a show, it makes it hard to build off the conclusion. Given what I've heard about the early days of "The City" I assume things didn't improve.

I agree the show never really had a strong theme. I think there were ideas and concepts that they tried to use, but they never were used consistently. I wonder what pieces came from Agnes Nixon, which from Doug Marland, and if there was anything left from the collaboration with Dan Wakefield. Marland joined Nixon around the time he was finishing his Showtime project, "A New Day in Eden." In the scripts I have, there are definitely some elements that Marland reused. The layout of the town of Eden is similar to Corinth, a college town with a major family operated company providing major job opportunities for the citizens of their respected cities. In the Marland years of "Loving, " the Aldens operated a factory among their other businesses. Mike Donovan had to handle some of the labor issues. Also, there was a poorer section of town known of Milltown where Ava and Dane Hammond came from. I don't think this was referenced much after Marland left, but I believe he recycled the name on "As the World Turns." A lot of these elements seems to be abandoned pretty quickly. In the 1990s, Fran Sears revived the Alden University concept, but it was pretty much abandoned by Millee Taggert and Robert Guza. Nixon had Casey and Steffi quit school. Cooper may have quit as well. Nixon, however, did revive the Alden plant with a thread involving Frankie blackmailing Cooper into helping him with Ned Delaney, who worked at the Alden plant. Though, none of this seems to ever come together to give a stronger sense of location. @Soaplovers You pose an interesting question about the pilot movie. I'm wondering if the role of distribution had anything to do with it. I know that the pilot was sold internationally as a separate entity, and I don't believe the pilot was packaged with the series episodes. I could be wrong. On the other hand, I think the nighttime premier of "Capitol" is sold with the episodes internationally. If this is the case, maybe the narrative was kept closed for that reason. With that said, it is rather clunky as a stand alone telefilm. Based on your thoughts, I do think there were ways to leave some elements more open.I wouldn't have killed off Johnny Forbes. I think I would have had Amelia shoot Patrick Donovan, who was a retired cop instead. I think killing off the Donovan patriarch would have opened more story for the Donovan clan. Also, I would have had Amelia manage to evade the police and attempt to get Johnny to run off with her. When he wouldn't, Amelia would call Cabot Alden and use something she had on him to get out of Corinth. With this, it would close the film, but still allow you the opportunities to explore story within the series. @DRW50 The chauffeur is Arthur Davis, played by Keith Grummet. Grummet stayed on as Arthur in a recurring capacity through most of 1992 and into 1993. I think he sort of stops appearing around the time Trisha dies. He pops up again in 1994. I was just watching an episode the other day and he was featured in a scene at the ad agency. I agree about Larkin Malloy. I don't think he is bad, but this version of Clay doesn't work for me. He's not bad, and the writing isn't miserable, but I don't find much use for this. Dinahlee started in August 1991. When Addie Walsh takes over as headwriter in January 1992, Dinahlee is less of a scrappy schemer and more of a victim of her own doing. I don't think this is the most interesting version of Dinahlee. I like the stuff from early on when she was harsher and not having any time for women like Stacey or Trisha. I do like her during the triangle with Curtis and Trucker. I really like Lauren Marie Taylor. She is a highlight in the Tides storyline. I like that the writers usually let her maintain grudges despite being the one the audience was rooting for. She has no use for Dinahlee for most of the next few years which I find delightful and like Dinahlee. I just watched an episode recently where Curtis told Stacey he was the one who was leaving Trucker gifts from Trisha while he is sitting at the bar. Stacey shoves him off the bar stool and onto the ground. I laughed. During the Tides storyline, Jack is trying to keep a hold of Alden Enterprises. When Clay returned in January, Isabelle was trying to find a place for him within the company despite what he had done in the previous year before leaving town (he was involved in the faulty manufacturing of airplane parts and blamed Trucker). Jack has aligned himself with Shana and they have invested AE funds in Take Off! a diet scam that is being marketed by con artist Larry Lamont. When Larry leaves town in April, Stacey and Trucker's mystery starts to peter out. This is Flynn's exit story. He dies of the wounds he sustains when he is hit by that car. Ally's mother, Bonnie, is played by Lisby Larson. Her best known role is probably Paige Marshall on "Texas." I think her most recent role was Eve McBain on "One Life to Live." Bonnie returns to Corinth in February 1992 and stays through March. I think we meet her boyfriend. Bonnie loses the baby. The woman going after Stacey and Trucker is someone that Isabelle has paid. The secret of the attic room is Isabelle was carrying on a fling with Tim Sullivan, a stable hand, before her marriage to Cabot and that Clay is Tim, not Cabot's son. Tim dies during the summer. Clay learns of his paternity after Tim's death. I believe the poster said they will be releasing episodes all week. That last episode (March 30) I believe is right before the debut of the sorority/fraternity storyline.

Vincz was also Patricia Hampton, Masons date in 1984, on “Santa Barbara.” Her voice is pretty distinct.

The warehouse episode is on YouTube. This was climax of Jo’s kidnapping in October 1983. Jonna Lee, the executive producer, was out shortly after. Maybe she wasn’t handling the budget well?

@DRW50 The clips you've posted are from November 1992, September 1993, and October 1993. The clip from the September 1993 episode is a few episodes before the storm episode a few pages back. That episode is credited to Agnes Nixon so the Taggart & Guza / Nixon switch happened in September 1993. Interesting, years ago, I read an SOD article stating Taggart alone had left because of illness. I thought this meant she had a brief solo period as she did in 1991. I guess not. It's interesting seeing those November 1987 episodes when the show still took itself mostly serious. In recent years, I see why Ralph Ellis continued to get work as a headwriter. I think there are some interesting things going on in these episodes. I wish the Cece / Rick relationship lasted longer. The Alden family reacting to the wedding is nice. Harry seems much more interesting than I ever gave him credit for. I've started watching some fall 1993 episodes and its a little hard to get into. I know the later part of Nixon's run is very good, but this early material is a mixed bag. I've been watching stuff from when Thom Christopher first appears as Dante masquerading as Joe Young, a man living above the bowling ally. Part of the issue is I know what's going on so a lot of the mystery isn't as appealing as it must have been when it first aired. With that said, I appreciate that the clues make it pretty obvious what's going on. We see flashbacks of Tess and Dante's wedding so we know its Dante. We know that Dante's prisoner is Dinahlee's husband, which means that Curtis is coming back even if we only see his hands. I didn't really like Faison, and I don't really like Dante. They are both these sort of over the top villains which I don't really think work in Corinth. With that said, the impact of Dante is powerful. Because he has been menacing the Aldens, Alex has been heading the police investigation which allows Ava to call him out for becoming too involved in the Alden clan, again. It's nice seeing Peluso playing the straight, emotionally restrained character to Randolph Mantooth's more emotional Alex. When Curtis does appear, in the form of original Christopher Marcantel, the story is a bit more interesting. Marcantel is the third actor in under a year to play Curtis, but it seems pretty clear he is the strongest of the three. With very little dialogue, he is able to tell a lot of Curtis' story. I don't think Johnson or Lord would have been able to do that. Charles and Angie's story isn't very interesting. Neither is Stacey and Buck's. While I like how Ava has evolved under Nixon, I don't like what she has done with Buck. Guza/Taggart wrote Buck as brooding and detached where as Nixon is playing him more of a yokel type who Trucker has to look after. Honestly, Buck could leave town and I wouldn't be upset, but, if he's staying, I'd rather have the original characterization. Nixon must like Catherine Hickland because she really has tried to integrate Tess into the plot more by pairing her up with Steffi in the modeling story. I cannot remember if Nixon paired Tess / Jeremy. I could see where that could be a story. Steffi has continued to be very strong under Nixon. It seems like this is the early stages of her eating disorder. Tess comments how skinny she is and Steffi devours a cupcake after learning Casey is going to go to Vermont for Thanksgiving. We are also back to Dinahlee the victim again as she falls for Dante's Joe Young shtick. Taggert / Guza started the story with baby Patti having developmental issues, but it was part of the bigger story (Leo agreeing to provide Shana with a child in exchange for Shana to loan Leo the money to bail out Burnell's). From what I've seen, Nixon has shifted the story to mostly Leo's fear of baby Patti and his inability to truly embrace who she (might) be. This is an interesting characterization, but it has narrowed the story. There is a rather intense moment at Thanksgiving when Leo and Shana arrive at Stacey's for Thanksgiving where Heather comments on baby Patti's eyes leading to Leo freaking out. I feel like this story would work better if it still was broader with Shana and Leo trying to balance their work/family life with Leo using work as an excuse not to deal with his feelings about Patti. There are a lot of little moments I enjoy. Steffi making cupcakes for Casey while talking to her mother on the phone. Curtis in the cage thinking of Dinahlee while Dinahlee is listening to their wedding song below in the bowling alley. Steffi and Tess visiting Jeremy about Steffi's modeling career and Jeremy reaction alluding to his break up with Ava. Ally and Cooper worrying about Tyler when he is kidnapped by Dante. Stacey talking to the kids and Buck about Jack's Christmas traditions. Clay blaming himself for Tyler's kidnapping. Dinahlee telling Trucker that he was "the one that got away." I just think the bigger storylines need some work.

Jeff's Rome return is interesting. When Shana and Leo are leaving in June, they run into Jeff in Rome. Back in Corinth, it has just been revealed that Curtis has been lying about Trisha being in alive. He was leaving signs for Trucker to find to think Trisha has returned to keep Trucker from Curtis' own wife, Dinahlee. This was during the final months of Nixon's return and things seem to start to switch gears. It looks like they were going to write out Dinahlee in the plane crash in August, 1994, when Jessica Collins' contract was up. I wonder if they were seriously considering bringing Trisha back at that point. Otherwise, Jeff's return mostly seems to be an Easter egg/red herring for fans to remind them that Trisha was alive. Lisa Peluso is a trooper. I've been switching between 1980s "Search for Tomorrow" and 1990s "Loving" and its great to see her change. I like Ava with Paul. The stuff I've seen of Leo and Ava is mixed. Ava being Leo's school crush is a bit silly, but Leo and Ava scheming has a lot of untapped potential. The triangle with Shana is some of the best work I've seen from Susan Keith because Shana's seems to spend a good chunk of the 1990s being the town lawyer. I have no use for Jeremy and Ava. Jessica Collins' Dinahlee reminds me of Arianne Zucker's Nicole Walker in many ways. She plays a sort of scheming character who is softened and has few good stories. The initial Dinahlee / Trucker affair is great. Dinahlee and Clay eat the show alive in 1992. Dinahlee / Curtis are iffy. Patrick Johnson's Curtis is such a different iteration of the character. Curtis the war hero rarely comes across that way, which is strange as Millee Taggert wrote him out in 1991 and brought him back in 1993. Michael Lord's Curtis is very theatrical and begins to play the unhinged version of Curtis that continues until the end of the show. Dinahlee / Michael Lord's Curtis/ Dennis Parlato's Clay is an interesting short-lived grouping. Lauren Marie Taylor's Stacey is a great character, but the story is rarely there to suit her. I like the little we see of Stacey from the early fall of 1991 after Taylor returned from maternity leave and Stacey is dealing with the Dinahlee seduction. The show spends a good part of 1992 setting up the Trucker / Stacey romance, but abandons the idea after actually going through with it. Stacey and Clay is such a bad idea with some very interesting moments. The gaslighting is such a trainwreck that I cannot look away. The ending with Jeremy, Stacey, and Dinahlee turning the tables on Clay is very good. I do think Buck and Stacey have a lighthearted quality, but I don't see that having legs longterm. I am fascinated by the potential Curtis / Stacey pairing that Harmon Brown and Essensten used to write out Stacey. I think Jack returning to Stacey and Curtis married would have been interesting. I've seen a lot of the 1992-1993 Casey / Ally / Cooper material. Once they switch out Hannah for Steffy, that entire grouping is killer. You've covered most of the significant Cooper / Ally / Casey material. In the previous summer, Ally is going hard to get Cooper. She and Cooper end up in a car accident and she fakes headaches in order to stay at the Alden mansion. Ava calls her out on her scheming. Meanwhile, Casey develops a crush on Ava, but ends up making out with Ally. Cooper is all about Hannah until Taggart and Guza arrive. Cooper is completely for Casey and Ally raising the baby until he manages to get a DUI and Clay convinces him that having a child will change Cooper's life. I think Isabelle Alden initially pays down on her luck Steffy to seduce Casey. I really like Steffy and Casey as a bump in the road.

Thanks for clarifying. I definitely agree that early on the show just feels like a typical daytime drama set in Texas. Some of the 1981 episodes I've seen have a more "Dallas" feel to them in a very superficial sense with the talk of World Oil vs. Marshall Oil and Max Dekker and his well. I was surprised to see in the 1980s ratings thread that "Texas" actually beat "Another World" on occasion in 1980.

Did P&G use the original "Texas" logo when they were running the credits in June/July 1980 in the weeks leading up to the premier? I think they credited the "Texas" cast differently in those episodes than they did the "Another World" cast. A few months back, I jumped around various places in the "Texas" episodes available online. I think the early episodes are interesting, but they struggle to concrete on a solid long story. Alex and Iris' reunion and the paternity secret that threatens to destroy Dennis is all right, but doesn't really have the impact it could until Eliot arrives in "Texas." From the beginning, Lisby Larson's Paige is fascinating manipulating her way into the Top of the World club and spitefully flirting with Dennis to upset baby sister Dawn. I think having Paige realize the paternity secret right away was a good move and made the story a bit more interesting. I think Iris and Rena's friendship is refreshing, though I wonder what people thought of that dynamic based on Iris' previous interactions on "Another World." From how she's been described, Iris doesn't seem to be the type to have friendships with women. It did give Iris a reason to be crashing with Rena while she was in Texas. Vicky Bellman is also a thousand more times interesting to me in the beginning than she is in anything I've seen her in later on. I love this boozy, married news station owner who pines for Alex even though she can't have him. I love that Rena is siding with Iris over her own mother. This also has the possibility to be a lot of fun. Not all of the material from those early episodes are online, but I would like to see more of Sam Walker. I think Ann McCarthy is better than I expected her to be in the role and I thought she had a nice chemistry with Jerry Lanning. If anything, I wanted to see Rena steal Justin away from her cousin. Rena and Justin are fire! "The Bet" is a brilliant set of scenes. I can see why people would want them together. I cannot understand Rena and Grant, but I know May and Borelli married in real life so I imagine they must have had some chemistry. Justin / Ashley / Rena is a nice set up, but I don't think that plays out too long. For Writer's Strike material, Max's death is relatively well done. I think some of it is over the top at times, but I think the fall out with Rena vs. Justin is pretty good. I'm also curious what the original plan was for Grant Wheeler. He arrives as they are killing off Alex so his position in World Oil makes sense, but they don't really try to pair him off with anyone. He seems to be a talk to for Iris, at times, and he is Lacey's dad. Maybe if Lacey had taken off the plan was to keep him more involved in her story? I'm impressed with Tina Johnson in a lot of her early scenes, where the Harpers have just come into some money and Lurlene talks about how men might start paying attention to her. I can see why people were drawn to the character even though this doesn't seem to be a huge point for the character later on. It's a shame they quickly dropped Maggie Dekker when Diane Neal came on as Ruby Wright. Maggie coming at Ruby and throwing the water in her face is a great scene. I love Ruby crying because someone called her trash. I haven't seen a lot of the final months, and I know Long's material is well regarded, but so many of the fun characters seemed to be declawed by the end. They seem much sharper and much more active in those earlier episodes.

Jorn Winter is credited for making the show enjoyable. The show certainly turns the tide when he arrives in the fall of 1989. From what I've seen, the fall of 1989 through the spring of 1990 is pretty great. This episode is pretty bad. Kyle's declaration is probably the strongest piece in that episode, but I couldn't watch the entire thing. Sam's concern about Kyle's career was a running conflict in their relationship. Brad and Christy were fun when they were first introduced and Pat Tallman was still playing the role of Christy. When Stacey Nelkins is introduced, Christy moves from a recurring part to a contract role. The show didn't need Christy when they already had Jordan. One of the biggest problems "Generations" had was they would find the character while writing so you'd see vast swings in characterization until they found what they liked. It often worked in the end, but it wasn't always pretty in the process. Debbi Morgan is a talented actress, but this trial story does nothing for me. Morgan and Brooks have decent chemistry, but they seem to be better at the end of the show when Lela Rochon's Brandy is introduced. I get why TPTB would do an art scam storyline. It allows Jordan to be the criminal mastermind, Kyle to play hero, Sam can be caught between the two, and Monique and Jason can play the supporting role in a world that is uniquely theirs. I think I would have had the scam involving Hugh Gardner's estate, which would allow Monique and Jason to be involved as well as Rob, Jessica, and Aunt Mary. Reginald has to be one of the most useless additions on the show up there with Butch Hartman's Sean Masters. The ending episodes with the return of Peter Whitmore are stronger, but not as good as the show was during the racism storyline, the start of the Jordan/Sam/Kyle triangle, and the Daniel Reuben's quest to prove his innocence.

I think I've seen this before. This time something stood out. Doris Hursley died around the time "Santa Barbara" was beginning and there was all this animosity between the first family and the second family of Frank Hursley, a lot of it with Bridget Dobson at the center. Also, Frank dies in 1989, which I believe was during the big fight NBC over control of the series. I wonder how this effected the writing. I know Mason, the product of the first marriage, is treated very well by the Dobsons and that Bridget had half-siblings from both her mother and her father. I am curious how much of this drama bled itself into the show's writing. On a different note, I noticed Eric James (the actor best known for playing Jimmy Boswell on "Bright Promise") commented on the article. The Boswell family also seems to be a complicated. In the episode descriptions I've seen, Jimmy was also in love with Ann Boyd, the woman his father Tom was seeing. The daughter Marion sounds a little bit like a daddy's girl who seemed to capitalized on Jimmy's attraction to Ann in order to separate Tom and Ann. James has been vocal about his criticism of the series as the cast was promised it would be very relevant to then modern society, but it seems after some initial modern situations the show focused on complicated romantic and family entanglements.

It's unfortunate to hear Flora Plumb has passed away. I loved reading those old SOD summaries of "Lovers and Friends" where she was determined to rise above her lot in life, but wasn't really seducing a wealthy man to do it. George was a lawyer so he wasn't hurting for money, but he doesn't seem to be the type of old money that the Cushings, the Brewsters, and the Hamiltons represented. During the 1977 run, Ellie was getting chummy with Edith Cushing in hopes that Edith would help introduce her to society. Edith seemed to only care about using Ellie to keep Megan and Rhett apart. Ellie ended up miscarrying her child because she intervened in Rhett and Megan's romance on Edith's behalf. The miscarriage created friction in Ellie and George's marriage leading George to seek comfort in the arms of Barbara Manners. I don't think Barbara and George slept together, but it was clear where this would end up going. Edith would most likely manipulate George and Barbara into a relationship, sacrificing George and Ellie's marriage, in order to save her marriage to Richard in order to maintain social standing. I wonder what Lemay would have had Ellie react to Edith's deception. From the summaries of "For Richer, For Poorer," none of the Ellie/George/Barbara/Edith story continued. It seems like the show did a C-story love triangle between widowed Edith Cushing, desperate Viola Brewster, and Edith's first love, Roger Hamilton. This only gets some brief references in the summaries of SOD and the columns at the time. I imagine it didn't get much airtime before being abandoned. Ellie and George had some issues with fertility. Ellie was obsessed with Billy, Connie and Bill's son, and then George learned he was the source of the fertility problems. This seems less interesting than the potential manipulation of Edith Cushing into the lives of all those around her. The 1978 clip is nice to see. It seems to be a very low energy show, but I find Tom King's "Another World" similar. I don't hate it, but I can see why it didn't catch the world on fire. I do think the Laurie Hamilton material is intriguing. Everyone seems to have their own mixed motivations here. Does Laurie really want to spare Megan, her childhood friend, of heart ache or is she just jealous that Megan landed Jason? Viola similarly seems to have some layers here. I'm pretty sure Viola hired Chester Higgins, the PI who took the photos, so she isn't as innocent in her declarations either. Laurie and Desmond are planning to buy back the Brewster home, the one briefly owned by the Saxton family. If Desmond and Laurie split, Viola loses her chance to return to her home. The Lee / Lester scenes are very bland. I don't hate the idea of Lee Ferguson, the sort of minor underworld figure with ties to the Saxton clan. I just don't care for the bulk of Tessa / Lee angst. There are some interesting layers, Lee being Amy's former lover, which should have allowed the show to explore some of Amy's darker sides, but mostly its Tessa and Lee against the (under)world.

I like Paul Avila Mayer and Stephanie Braxton's work. The circus story is too much, but, if you look past the circus trappings, the story is solid. The scene where Stu gives Danny some tough love and calls him on his antics would never happen today. In a genre that has become obsessed with love triangles, it has really ignored this version (two friends who love the same person with no true villain). The Ryder / T.R. scene where Ryder admits he's jealous that T.R. has feelings for Ryder was very honest. Adam Storke, Jane Krakowski, and John Loprieno are all very strong. It's a shame that the main story isn't that good. I know I'm alone, but I do like the Hogan / Liza story. Liza clearly doesn't care for Hogan as much as he cares for her. I've been watching episodes from December, 1983, and Hogan has just arrived. He and Sunny are doing their flirty banter thing. It is work. I can see why Sunny / Hogan were well liked in their time, however, I still think this is a good story. Hogan isn't acting out of character and acknowledging his dual nature, he can be both arrogant and passionate, is such a powerful moment. I wonder how this would have progressed had Mathis and Braxton/Avila Mayer stayed. I think it was a mistake to get rid of Caldwell House so quickly. I love that set. I love Stu and Sarah out in the garden just talking. This version of Sarah is interesting to me. She is one of the innocent ingenues that soaps have foregone, mostly because they were treated as paragons of virtue. The Sarah / Quinn dynamic is my favorite. I only got halfway through the three episodes so I'm hoping there is some interaction there with them. The television station stuff isn't that bad. Having seen more of Maree Cheatham's Stephanie, I get why people don't like Louise Shaffer's version. She is clearly a workhorse, while Cheatham's Stephanie was shady as anything. In the December 1983 episode, Liza Sentell has decided to work at the station (Travis inherited his father's share of the station) and Stephanie is doing everything she can to ignore Liza. It's a fun little rivalry that I don't think really goes anywhere. I thought Stephanie promoting Wendy and not Quinn was very Stephanie and I like that Stephanie seems to allude to Quinn being like Warren. Peluso does really well with Meek and Shaffer. It's a shame she didn't make it to the end, but I don't completely blame her for bailing on a sinking ship. Hope more episodes appear from this period.

These appeared before, but haven't been around in several years July 1984 November 1984:

It's interesting to jump between time periods on "Loving." In the 1989 episode, the scene I found most effective was Rick interacting with Curtis because it didn't guide the plot. Also, there was no other Rick scene in the episode. It was nice to see a lot of that simple relationship stuff. I find the Alex / Clay imposter story infuriating (mostly because I haven't seen all of it) and fascinating (because of the potential to it). Watching Taggart and King play the Curtis / Rick dynamic, I'm curious what the relationships between Rick and Clay and Rick and Alex were like. From what I recall, Rick arrived in town when Alex was playing Clay, which was why Rick was initially dismissed as an imposter because Clay's (Alex) and Gwyn's blood types didn't match up with Rick's. I think having Rick drawn to Clay and Curtis to Alex could have produce some interesting twists in the stories. Anyway, maybe more "Loving" will appear. I finally watched a bit of the Stacey / Jack clips from around the time that Stacey / Jack / Lilly has all come out. These would be probably from spring/summer 1988 when either Ralph Ellis or the scab writers were writing the show. I find them compelling in a completely generic sort of way. I do like the potential conflict between Anne and Stacey over Anne's knowledge of the affair. I guess it was more engrossing if you knew and loved the characters, but I don't think this style of drama is really the forte of either Perry Stephens or Lauren Marie Taylor. With that said, it's nice to see Lauren Marie Taylor front and center. Back to the 1993 episode, the JJ / Buck dynamic was interesting. I have one episode where Buck comes over to the Forbes house and Stacey ends up going out (either by herself or with Jeremy Hunter). I think that dynamic is also interesting, and that would have been where the real conflict would have been in a Stacey / Buck / Jack triangle when the show smartened up and brought back Jack. Sometimes I misread things, but Tess had been around for several months by the time that 1993 episode aired. I imagine it was Nixon resetting the character, who easily could have been written out. When Tess initially arrived, she was Christopher's nanny and deadset on getting her hands on the money Trucker was due to inherit once Trisha's will had been probated. At the same time, she was also the source of conflict between Curtis and Buck as they had been involved in the death of her husband in Kuwait. Tess seemed like an attempt to create a Dinahlee-esque character as she was in her original form. I think it's entirely possible that Dinahlee may have even been a Taggart creation. Anyway, Tess worked mostly as a scheming con artist. By the end of Taggart / Guza's run, they had clearly given up on Curtis and were shifting Buck into Stacey's orbit and Tess into Clay's. @DRW50 your point about Susan Keith is interesting. From what I've seen, Mary Ryan Munisteri had little material for her to play and Isabelle, upon returning to Corinth, was planning to ship Shana off to Hong Kong. Addie Walsh gave her that brief affair with Larry Lamont during the diet scam, but if that lasted a full contract cycle I would be shocked. Taggart and Guza seemed to have the best angle for Shana with the triangle involving Ava and Leo, but a lot of this was just a retread of Julia and Mason from "Santa Barbara." At times, Guza and Taggart try too hard with that triangle and some of the comedy and dream sequences are off. I will say, there is a pretty funny scene from August 1993 where a pregnant Shana has been arrested for messing with Ava and has to deal with cops and judge who hate her because she has defended people they feel should be in jail. It is Nixon who writes Shana and Leo out after having them deal with Patti's developmental issues. I think there was definitely story to play involving Shana and Leo. Given the issues with Patti's development and Leo's past, an old flame could have easily come to town with a child, whether it be Leo's or not, and presented itself with a situation. I also think that Shana and Leo would have been torn by the revelation that the Rescotts were the real recipients of the Alden fortune in the same way Alex and Ava should have been torn up by this situation and loyalties would be divided.

I think it is between these two weeks: March 27 – 31, 1989: While Alex undergoes surgery, the camp is bombed. Surviving, he is plagued by dreams that Ava leaves him. He begs the doctor to release him, but the doctor says it is physically impossible, and the government man tells Alex that, as of now, Alex Masters is dead. Although he is in great pain, Alex slips away from the camp. Ava is upset when she responds to Clay’s kiss. Harry realizes the damage he has caused when Ava pleads with him to stay out of her life. Jeff is shocked when he learns Clay has given Trucker and Trisha his blessing. Rick learns that Stacey is pregnant. Cabot and Clay wonder why Alex didn’t steal money. Ava is puzzled when Clay appears to care about what happens to her and Alex. Rocky loves to hear Todd talk about owning his own restaurant. Todd is not pleased about the attraction between Rocky and Curtis. Jack learns that Stacey is pregnant. April 3 – 7, 1989: Jeff can’t stand Trucker and Trisha’s continued romance. Ava is confused by her attraction to Clay. Curtis, Todd, and Rocky are locked in the restaurant. Rocky finds it hard to believe that Curtis was once a spoiled snob. Alex makes his way to Corinth. Jack is infuriated at the news that Stacey is pregnant by Rick, but Rick is thrilled with the idea of becoming a father. When Todd, Rocky, and Curtis are released by the overzealous guard who had locked them in the restaurant, Trucker doesn’t buy Rocky’s story and forbids her to see Todd. In trying to locate the timing of the episode, I stumbled upon a few details I either didn't know or had forgotten. When Jack Forbes locates Alex Masters in South America, he has gone down to locate his own presumed dead father, Roger Forbes. It's interesting that, in 1989, Roger Forbes was still used to generate some story. I wonder if there were actual plans to bring him back or this was simple a way of using history to move the story. In other synopses from this year, there are references to Harry Sowolsky still being in love with Ann Alden Forbes and Curtis using Forbes Construction for the restaurant project. There was also a reference to Rocky and Trucker having a wicked stepfather. I've been watching the Mac Huston story in 1993. Millee Taggart is writing at this time as well. There were references to Rocky and Trucker's mother being heartbroken, but I have very little use for Mac. There are few scenes, from what I've watched, between Mac and Buck. Mac is clearly just there to get the inheritance, which seems overkill as you already have Tess Wilder circling like a vulture. I don't think it was a bad idea to bring on Trucker and Buck's absent father, but the writing is pretty weak. The 1993 episode that @DRW50 posted is from late September 1993. Agnes Nixon is credited as the headwriter. I imagine this is pretty early in her last run. The tornado works to provide some interesting setups. I think those Dinahlee/Alex scenes are pretty strong. I love Alex realizing that Dinahlee is talking about his one time son Curtis and his adversary Clay. The Clay / Alex story can be a bit wonky at times, but it is probably one of the longest running, and most developed, stories "Loving" tells. The Tess / Shana scenes at least provide something different, but I'm not sure if they actually go anywhere in terms of character dynamic. Seeing Buck and Stacey, I don't hate them as much as I do reading about them, but I just don't see much potential for conflict. With that said, it did, briefly, create a nice rivalry between Gwyn and Stacey. The 1989 episode has some nice moments. I like the thread they seem to be building around Rick about the trust fund. He clearly has not been provided money despite being the eldest Alden heir. Even Sandy, per this episode, has a trust. In reading the synopses, I wonder if Rick was hoping to access the money that would be set aside for Stacey's baby. I also enjoy the conflict between Ava and Clay over the tape. True to Ava, she struggles to tell the truth. I thought the moment between Cabot and Ava was nice, but I would like to know if anyone question whether Ava was in on the deception. Clay clearly does, but he also has proof. I would love to see a scene with bitchy Stacey telling Trisha that Ava was in on it the entire time citing Ava's history of lies as her only evidence. I really don't have much use for Rocky / Todd / Curtis. The dance number worked thematically, but I don't really care for anyone involved.

The Loving credit is also off. She was credited head writer from January 1992 until January 1993. Granted that was the on air credits. Millee Taggart was announced in November 1992. I think Riviera aired in 1991 though the material was probably written earlier. I imagine Walsh genuinely forgot or was trying to create the sense of consistent employment.

Curtis seems to have potential during Christopher Marcantel’s first run. Like you said, spoiled heir who was threatened by his adopted cousin. I love some of the more sexual elements they explored with Curtis; he fell in love with LiIy’s alter, he was involved with the production of pornographic films, and he seduced Rita Mae while pretending to be Jack. think moving Curtis out of Jack’s orbit was a mistake. Pairing Curtis with Ava seems like an easy way to continue the Jack-Curtis rivalry especially since I don’t believe Johnny’s parentage had been revealed. It was Linden Ashby’s Curtis that married Ava and in the few scenes he appears in from around the time of his marriage to Ava he seems more than serviceable. With Burke Moses, we get a more romantic lead it seems. He falls for poor illiterate Lotty and has to deal with her con man husband Eban Japes. It might have been more appealing if Eban offered Curtis some seedy business opportunity and Lotty saw that other side. Or maybe just had Curtis pop in to Diane Winston’s bordello. Instead, the show pursues Rick Stewart as the bad Alden son. I think Rick and Lotty might have worked better with Gwynn meddling in that relationship. When Stan Albers arrives the character is shifted into a younger set of characters. None of the Curtis / Todd / Rocky nor the Curtis / Rio / Rocky material is overly compelling. Albers handles the comedy well, but his Curtis is more the brunt of the joke rather than a smart aleck. Albers is very good in Alden family scenes, but all the other romantic stuff seems super generic. i don’t mind Michael Lord. I do think the source of the madness seems to be rooted in Curtis’ feelings of inferiority to Clay. The Clay / Curtis dynamic should be more compelling. In his own way, Clay was repeating history, in his own way, by undermining Curtis’ confidence. Gwynn seems to push Curtis out of town to save him, which is compelling. I do wish the show had invested more in that (Gwynn/Clay). Also, Curtis and Cooper could have been compelling as well if it was fleshed out more. Cooper was the type of golden boy that Curtis hated. As Cooper and clay grew closer, this could have been pursued further. I do wish that the show had kept Elise Neal’s Janie Sinclair around. I think her manipulating Curtis into marriage could have been a way to really connect the fractured canvas.

The headwriters credits for early NBC SFT: Ralph Ellis and Eugenia Hunt c. December 1981 - December 1982 C. David Colson December 1982 - May 1983 Gary Tonkin May 1983 - February/March 1984 Ellis and Hunt introduce the Carters and Keith McNeill in the summer of 1982. When they leave in December, Brian marries Kristen, who is claiming she is still pregnant even though she miscarried in December. The setup for the Brian / Suzy / Warren / Kristen quad is very good. Colson takes over in December and plays with the quad. Brian becomes a cop and he and Kristen struggle as young newlyweds. Warren marries Suzy and becomes involved with Rusty Sentell’s bank plans after already running guns for him. Suzy is pretty back burnered during Colson’s time. Colson lightens the mood in the Keith / Wendy story by allowing Stephanie to have temporary custody of Andre, Keith’s adopted sister. The story is a send up of “Little Orphan Annie” with Stephanie as Mommy Warbucks and the introduction of a mutt named Scratcher. This is when Andre is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and is revealed to be Jenny’s daughter. Keith leaves in May, 1983, and Wendy is immediately thrown at Warren Carter. It’s a nice story that builds while Wendy emerges as a young vixen after previously being much more docile in nature. By August, Tomlin has Wendy get pregnant just as Ringo learns Suzy is behind the SMW trust which owns significant property that Warren wants to invest in. Rhonda Sue was introduced by Colson in May. I don’t know how soon Ringo and Rhonda Sue get together. Colson’s run is tonal different than Ellis / Hunt. Colson is what I expect from an 1980s NBC soap. Ellis / Hunt seems more P&G. It’s like watching 1980/1981 Another World abd then 1984/1985 Another World. Tomlin moves the story nicely and there is a lot of it. The canvas is very big and there are some duds (Angela / Danny’s Greek romance) but the good is very good (Suzy / Warren / Wendy, Jos kidnapping). It’s a nice mix of comedy and drama. I think Tomlin does a nice job with Liza and Travis. They have story but they don’t dominate the way they previously did. Ellis / Hunt go the route of the back from the dead dad and the nerdy third wheel live interest. Had Hunt / Ellis stayed, I suspect Liza would have eventually hooked up with Dane Taylor. Colson gives Travis / Liza the surprise pregnancy, the mistaken fidelity (singer Tony Burton and Liza in New York), and the murder mystery. Tomlin builds the Kendall / Sentell rivalry and really sets up Travis to be a major player by having him take in TR. Rhonda Sue is dumped when Joanna Lee leaves in December 1983. Ellen Barrett says the plans were already in place to purge the cast (the Morenos, Ringo, Danny Walton, and Tom Bergman also left). Phillip Brown may have left too I don’t know. I think Andie leaves earlier when Michael Kendall and Jenny Deacon marry. Andie was a character and I loved her and Rose, Stephanie’s maid.

I don't know what they wrote in the 1970s, but they returned as headwriters from December 1981 until December 1982. They were there when the show transitioned from CBS to NBC. They inherited and continued the Operation Sunburst story which involved Travis Sentell developing an alternative energy source through his work at Tourneur Instruments. There were evil people who wanted to take control of the project including his own father, Rusty Sentell, who returned from the dead to get a hold of the money that would come from selling the project. This is how Dane Taylor, the musical spy, was introduced. Dane was paired with Sunny Adamson. Ellis and Hunt were the ones to introduce several younger characters including Keith McNeill, Kristen Carter, and Warren Carter. They paired Keith and Wendy and created the Warren / Suzy / Brian / Kristen quad. In their final days, they had Kristen reveal she was pregnant with Brian's child leading to Brian and Kristen's wedding. They also wrote the plane crash that stranded Brian, Suzy, and Warren in the jungle in the weeks before Kristen told Brian about their child. They also introduced Jenny Deacon and had her search for her long lost daughter, Danielle. They seemed to be creating a triangle between Jenny, lawyer Tom Bergman, and Tom's father Stu. They also introduced the Riverboat, the establishment that Jo and Stu ran. They were there when a lot of the older characters were written out (Janet, Ted) or deemphasized (Jo, Stephanie, and Martin). Not sure how much of this was network interference.

I don't like Larkin Malloy's Clay, but, to be fair, it has more to do with the writing than Malloy's ability to act. When Malloy arrives on the scene in January, 1992, Clay is a failed Hollywood producer looking to reconnect with his family and redefine himself. Walsh and Ryder come on with the plans of playing with Clay's paternity, which is a bizarre decision based on the character's history. Clay already felt like an outsider due to the acceptance of Alex Masters as faux Clay. I don't know why there was a need to make Clay Tim Sullivan's son especially since they ended up killing off Tim Sullivan after a couple of months. My biggest issue with Malloy's Clay was he was written as a romantic lead, which didn't make much sense given the character's previous position. Clay and Dinahlee were appealing; Jessica Collins had chemistry with both Malloy and Parlato. I think the bigger issue is that the show needed a strong villain now that a lot of the show's previous heavies were either written out or tamed. With that said, Walsh and crew swing to far in the other direction with Clay once Parlato steps in. Parlato plays Clay for the back of the house, initially. I don't blame him. Clay gaslighting Stacey into marriage was a truly awful storyline that, in modern times, the character would have been raked over the coals for, deservingly. Within the span of two to three weeks, Taggart and Guza end the storyline and move on. Instead, Clay stays in the darkness, but is more menacing than criminal. The outline for Clay under Taggart and Guza works better, Clay fighting his own son for Dinahlee's love and taking Cooper under his wing. The problem is the show never develops Curtis in any meaningful way to interact with Clay. Patrick Johnson's Curtis is a hero-type with only hints of a backstory sprinkled here and there. There's little depth given to his Curtis. Michael Lord fairs a little better once they decide that Curtis is more psychologically damaged by everything he has experienced. Curtis' descent under Michael Lord is more subtle than Richard Cox's Giff. This isn't a comment on Cox, who was super talented, but rather to how bad the writing was in 1992. Back to Parlato, I think this scene here shows how the character works at his best. Clay rejects love and acceptance because they are things he is completely unfamiliar with and, instead, he hurts the ones around him. These scenes are from the spring of 1994 during Ava's coma. If you watch the rest of the clip you will also see the returns of Carly and Sheri Rescott as well as Edie Falco as Ava's nurse. The Clay / Alex scene starts at the 43 minute mark.

I don't know when Pat Crowley last appeared, but I'm pretty sure it was in November, 1989. I believe the character was last seen around the time of Monique and Jason's non-wedding. I'm pretty sure Rebecca was said to be out of town for Christmas 1989. Crowley and Andrew Massett were dropped around the same time. I think Massett's initial exit was in January, 1990, after Monique and Jason survived Aunt Mary's attempt to kill them with the poisoned English trifle ( @chrisml this was what your aunt was speaking about). Massett was brought back in March to bring closure to Trevor's character. It was revealed he was sleeping with a colleague leading to Laura and Trevor's divorce. The cast revamp was more around early 1990. Massett and Crowley were dumped in January. In March, the show dumped Pat Tallman, Sharon Brown, and George Shannon and brought on Stacey Nelkin, Debbi Morgan, and Robert Gentry in contract roles. To be fair, the show constantly seemed to be in flux. Dorothy Lyman was brought back for the Peter Whitmore storyline. Not only was Rebecca recast, the plans were to recast JD and feature Gail Ramsay's Laura a bit more. Around the same time, Anthony Addabo was dropped to recurring so I'm not sure what the longterm plans were for Monique and Jason. Maybe the plan was to pair Monique with Butch Hartman's Sean Masters. I like what I've seen of "Generations." It wasn't always perfect and was rarely consistent, but when it was good, it was very good. The Marshalls moving into the old Whitmore estate was a very unique story that blended social issues and character history. The Sam, Kyle, and Jordan triangle was very interesting. Adam and Doreen's affair was fun. There were a lot of really good couples (Adam / Maya, Sam / Kyle, Rob / Jessica, Doreen / Daniel) and some great character dynamics (Helen / Maya, Ruth / Doreen, Rob / Daniel, Sam / Adam / Monique). I think it could have worked if it had more time. Happy anniversary!

I received another batch and have jumping around from October 1992 and June 1993 so I've just watched Trisha's exit storyline. When I've read about it, I wasn't impressed, but, after seeing the storyline play out, I have to admit there were some really nice moments to all of it. In what I've seen, Noelle Beck is given little to do in her final months after carrying the show for most of the past two years (except for the times she has been on maternity leave). Seeing her in less heavy material, Beck is quite charming and has a nice rapport with the cast. I can see why Trisha was loved. Taggart does have Trisha resume her art position at the university and plays a B-story where Arthur, Trucker's geeky assistant at the bike shop, has a crush on her, but it isn't anything big. Her last days are a nice tribute to the couple. Trisha and Trucker spend the morning in bed together, they hang out with Shana and learn she is pregnant, they plan a trip to the cabin, and, in general, just seem to be in love. Things only start to become complicated when Trisha finds a picture of Buck Huston, her mysterious houseguest, and her newly returned brother Curtis Alden. Trisha questions Buck indirectly about it, and, when he isn't honest, she makes plans to confront Curtis. She stops at a pay phone to talk to Curtis, who is at the Forest Inn with Dinahlee, only to carjacked. I wonder how people would react today to what happens in the aftermath of Trisha's death. After the car explodes, a rather big focal point is the picture of Buck and Curtis burning. It's an important point as the picture is only proof of Buck and Curtis' connection, but I'm not sure how people would feel as we are suppose to believe in that moment Trisha has perished. The funeral is nicely done. It's a true event. There is a big reveal (Dinahlee realizes she has been seeing Curtis Alden) and almost everyone is there (including rarely used players like Armando and Dr. Ron Turner). The choice of song, Amazing Grace, seems to work well for Trucker's trajectory, but it's odd that they don't announce who the singer is, I believe its Roberta Flack. Anyway, looking over the Alden clan its hard to commit to their grief as so many of them have been around for under a year. During the funeral, they finally reveal that Trisha is alive and she slips off to another town where she is befriended by a kind woman, Margie, who takes her in. They build a nice little side story here with Margie believing Trisha is a battered wife and having a daughter who ran away. When Jeff Hartman arrives freshly released from Dunellyn, Margie tells him about Trucker beating Trisha and you can almost buy what they are doing. Trisha and Jeff dance to Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," a song "Loving" has used several times, and Trisha asks Jeff if he would need a secretary in Rome. It nicely sets up what should be Trisha's return, in love and happy with Jeff but then remembering Trucker and her son Christopher. I think the story requires a lot of leaps of logic, but if you accept them its kind of a nice exit. Overall, Millee Taggart and Robert Guza's run seems to be very strong after a year of chaos under Addie Walsh and Haidee Granger. Walsh, by the way, is credited as headwriter until January 1993. The Ava / Leo / Shana triangle is very strong. Under Guza and Taggart, Leo Burnell is more of egotistical, arrogant, and a bit of a chauvinist. Shana and Leo have a combative back and forth, while the push and pull between Shana and Leo brings out the worst in Ava, which is best for the audience. At times, there is too much humor in the storyline. Some of Shana's fantasies aren't my cup of tea and some of Ava's schemes seem like they were rejected by the writers of "I Love Lucy." Overall, it's a really nice story. Shana not wanting to love Leo, Leo torn between what both women offer him, and Ava not willing to let another man walk out of her life. While Ally's pregnancy may be nothing new, the way Guza and Taggart present the material seems different. In the transition period between Walsh and the new writers, all of the lying and deceit comes out. Ally tells Casey she is pregnant. Casey confronts Cooper, which leads to Hannah learning about the baby. Then Ally goes to visit Hannah only for Hannah to confront Ally. When Cooper arrives, Hannah calls off their engagement, while Casey turns around and says he's going to support Ally despite the hurt. Most of this is strong, but there doesn't seem to be much effort put into giving Hannah much of a perspective. Gayheart was certainly green, as are so many first time soap actors, but more effort needed to be point into Hannah's point of view. In contrast, the other characters have been strengthened. As much as I hate Giff's death, it is clearly an event that defines who Casey is and guides him in nearly everything he does. Hannah arrived in Corinth from a small town very naïve. This should be her defining event, and, in a way, it is. Hannah hangs around the younger set a bit while longer, but then Guza and Taggart isolate her and have her lusting after Jeremy Hunter. The Hannah / Jeremy story is one of the weakest ones. Laura Sisk Wright has completely settled into the role of Ally and she has sort of gone with the tough girl with softer edges who doesn't want to play games anymore. The character has gone through such an evolution in the past year, but Taggart, who I believe introduced the character, seems to have given her the strongest sense of self. Ally's impending motherhood seems to be directly impacted by her parents' divorce. Cooper also has changed. While Ally embraces motherhood, Cooper completely rejects the idea of being a father. He starts drinking a bit, landing himself in jail for a DUI, and then puts on quite a show at Burnell's in the Arabian Nights window display. It is only after Trisha dies and Cooper has a moment of reflection with Clay that Cooper becomes more interested in fatherhood. While it's not revolutionary, the Cooper / Ally / Casey triangle works because all of the characters have stakes and all of them seem to be operating based on their own individual experiences. Also, none of the trio are perfect. Cooper is easily manipulated by people like Clay and Stephanie Brewster and was pretty quick to abandon the baby before the change of heart. Ally is wishy washy at times about whether or not to accept Cooper's role in the baby's life, while Casey tends to be jealous of the connection that Ally and Cooper will always share because of the child. What's nice is the story is all about little moments like Coop showing up at the Lamaze class when Casey is already there as her partner and Ally worrying about how she is going to be able to pay her medical bills. In the long run, Stephanie replaces Hannah, but, initially, she seems to replace Mia, an Alden University student who Cooper is fooling around with for a bit. Mia is first seen Jeremy Hunter's art class before she ends up hooking up with Cooper and is last seen breaking up the fight between Coop and Casey when Casey learns that Coop is the father of Ally's child. Mia has similarly dark features like Stephanie, but Stephanie certainly has more personality. From the moment she's introduced, Stephanie is a troublemaker; Casey catches her stealing a scarf at Burnell's. She is established as a long time Corinth resident, Isabelle has known her family for years, and she has been attending classes at AU with the rest of the younger set. She's a fun addition. Louie's prostate cancer story is probably the last nice thing done in the final days credited to Walsh. Probably my favorite scene from 1992 is Dinahlee talking to Louie at Pins the night before his surgery. She's worried about him, but he says guys aren't suppose to talk about these things with pretty young ladies. Louie is trying to reassure Dinahlee, but it's Dinahlee who has the best little moment. Dinahlee goes off on a little monologue about how she's never known her father who abandoned her when she was four years old. She talks about how she always imagined what he was like, and, now, she hopes that he would be like Louie. Under Guza and Taggart, Louie's impotence continues and there are some really nice moments between Louie and Kate. Louie avoids Kate when it's time to go to bed, first staying late at the bowling alley and then coming home to do a crossword puzzle. It's such a real conflict that you'd never see play out today with a couple at that age. When Kate is talking to Ava, Kate makes it clear that she and Louie have had an active sex life, which shocks Ava. I can see why it was well liked, and I wish it was featured a bit more. On the down side, nothing seems to really work about Curtis Alden. Patrick Johnson is given very little direction and struggles to find any depth in Curtis. The writing isn't helping. The show pushes Curtis / Dinahlee hard with the silly "Ronnie / Betty" story, which is mostly ridiculous but does lead to some nice tension for Clay and Ava individually as they realize that Curtis and Dinahlee are in love with the other before they do. The reveal of Dinahlee and Curtis' true identities after Trisha's funeral is a nice climax to the story and the possibility of a Clay / Curtis / Dinahlee triangle is intriguing, but no one has a sense of who Curtis is. It doesn't help that they've also saddled Curtis with some mysterious backstory involving Buck and their time in Kuwait. The show needed to really figure out who Curtis was. I feel like Taggart had similar issues with Curtis during her first stint. The other issue is the father/son dynamic between Clay / Curtis doesn't generate the interest that the Clay / Cooper relationship offers. After Cooper gets in trouble with Steffie for nearly having sex in a window display at Burnells', Clay offers to mentor Cooper in the art of being a calculated, vindictive Alden. Some of it is over the top as anything, but it's an intriguing proposition. I've only seen a little bit of Tess, and she works as a con artist/grifter type, but I cannot see how she could work long term.

1992. He treated Trucker in the aftermath of being shot by Giff Bowman and falling from the belfry. Reynolds was later the doctor who diagnosed Louie with prostate cancer. Peg Murray's "Loving" role, Mary Lou, was from 1992. She was Tim Sullivan's neighbor in Atlanta who let Trucker and Stacey into Tim's home during their investigation.

This seems to be from very early in the Brittons return. From the dialogue, it sounds like this is Susan and Amy's first meeting since Amy's return to Woodbridge and the house hunting would suggest that the couple hasn't been home long. BTW, it doesn't sound like Stephen Bolster's Jerry has been in town for very long either. Bolster isn't listed in the press release among those arriving / returning in April, 1968, but it seems like he did. The Brittons returned in April 18, 1968. My guess would be this episode would be from late April.

John Young still was writing for the series.