Everything posted by dc11786
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The Catlins
I posted what I had for "The Catlins" from Groves' column. I don't think he covered any more. I would love to be wrong. A couple of days ago, I went looking through the Atlanta Constitution for references to "The Catlins." I found a name @slick jones asked about a few years back. Tom Even played Bunker Nelson, a Texas oilman. Slick, do you remember where you found the name? I'm assuming he was referenced in the clip that Machiste posted several years ago involving his scenes as Joseph High Otter and Medger Quinn's plot involving the mountain and some sort of mineral deposit. If so, that means Tom Even was on in 1985. Also found some solid confirmation that "The Catlins" was called "Catlin's Cove." Marti Ruffin, a Georgia businesswoman, was interviewed several times about her investment in the soap opera. Before WTBS bought the series, C.T. McIntyre secured 14 investors to put up the money for the production of the pilot, and I believe the test episodes. I don't believe the shows that aired were the same as the test episodes. Anyway, Ruffin refers to the project as "Catlin's Cove" and an early summary for the show describes the Catlins as owning a club. I don't know if they were wrong or if things evolved just as the show's title did. Ruffin, by the way, appeared as an extra on the show at least twice. She was one of the jurors on Jennifer Catlin's trial, which would have taken her into July 1983 if she appeared the entire time. She also appeared in a scene in a disco. I have several names I'll have to put together for Slick. It does seem that Charles Honce appeared in 1984 as Bryce Draper, the Quinn family attorney who earlier tried to become involved with Maggie Catlin. Also, found additionally confirmation that show ended May 24, 1985, not May 31st like most of the books state. I've never seen episode listings for the last week of May 1985 and have now seen two articles state that the show was ending on May 24th. The latest was a rebuttal from one of the writers to Lewis Grizzard for his remarks about the show in his columns throughout its run. I found another little bit of backbiting from the production team to detractors printed in the papers. Hugh Merrill, a writer for the Constitution, published a fairly lengthy piece on "The Catlins" in June or July 1983. It's tone is condescending (not surprising) but its provides a rather interesting (and detailed) glimpse into the show. The paper later published a piece from Marti Ruffin, the aforementioned backer, who said that Merrill wouldn't be invited to any of the events held by "The Catlins" team. I suspect he was heart broken. The loyalists were definitely loyal. Arlene Peck, a columnist for another paper, published bits about "The Catlins." I believe she was friends with Muriel Moore, the original Annabelle Catlin. Peck never talked down about the show, and, later, in 1985 she is in the show credits for helping arrange the travel accomodations for when the show was on location.
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The Doctors Discussion Thread
Aaron Scott and Anne Marie Barlow are listed as the writers of the Christmas 1981 episode of "The Doctors." Harding Lemay is listed as the writer of New Years Eve 1981. They may have been interim headwriters after Elizabeth Levin was fired and Lemay became available. I know someone posted an SOD interview from Levin where she outlined some of the stories she was planning for 1982 (it was very broad and I don't think there were many specific details). Levin was hired after the strike, as I recall, and I think replaced the writers who wrote before the strike who came back, Lawrence and Ronnie Wenker-Conne. Lemay, also, had been displaced by the strike having been dropped by "Search for Tomorrow" in favor of Don Chastain, an actor on the series. 1981 is an incredibly rocky year for "The Doctors." The weekly summaries for the summer of 1981 are maddening. I hope we get to that period on Retro for the sheer insanity that the show becomes. I'm still curious to see how an impotent Matt Powers impregnates his wife.
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The soap opera writers' discussion
Ettlinger and Hardy worked together on "Love of Life." I believe they were the ones who helped create Rosehill and the Sterling family, but I may be wrong about that. At the very least, they were in charge for a good chunk of the early 1960s. Ettlinger and Hardy were both at "Flame in the Wind" when it became "A Time for Us." I don't know when Ettlinger left and Gordon Russell came on. Later, Ettlinger and Hardy would end up at "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" in the spring of 1968. Don Ettlinger would replace Ira and Jane Avery and introduce the Garrison family. Ettlinger later ended up "The Secret Storm" either before or after "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."
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A New Day in Eden
I've seen one person in all my time online say they had episodes of "A New Day in Eden." They had a massive soap collection on VHS. Unfortunately, with the changes in technology, I think a lot of soap material, like this one, will be lost. I also suspect people have episodes (or at least partials) and don't realize it because they came on after a late night movie they were recording. I would have thought a "Dark Shadows" fan might have recorded it because of Lara Parker, but maybe the lack of access hurt the show. On another note, Ron Roy claims he was Clint Masterson in the pilot for "A New Day in Eden." In an article on "Eden," producer Michael Jaffe claims that both HBO and Spotlight were interested in Eden, but that Showtime snagged the rights.
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Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread
I wasn't doubting the character's popularity, but rather the ability of the show to craft meaningful story around a well liked character/actress. Ryder was interesting. I believe he was introduced at the tailend of Carolyn Franz and Jeanne Glynn's work. I believe he was introduced with the McCullas, Joseph C. Phillips' Cruiser and Angela Bassett's Selina. There was definitely suppose to be a class element to the Ryder / TR relationship, but Mayer and Braxton went for the circus story instead (only God knows why). When I started watching clips of 1984, it seemed pretty clear to me that they were going to pursue Lloyd / Liza because it would allow conflict in the dynamic between Liza and TR as well as TR and Lloyd. TR's rejection of her natural family was a natural beat to play as well as a stumbling block to Lloyd and Liza just as the dissolution of Liza and Lloyd's relationship should have been a natural conflict for TR and Liza. I don't get the sense that any of this really played out in any meaningful way mainly because, as you stated, the constant turnover is writers as well as producers. Tomlin seems to be the last one to try and make the Kendalls work, which isn't surprising since he created them. Steve is brought back, Estelle is introduced, and Lloyd and Liza are still a couple getting a lot of story. This all seems to fall apart quickly. Steve's return was probably intended to be brief, but it might have worked better if he was kept around with a stronger actor in the role. Chase is quickly dropped. Alec is off at med school. While I don't think Joe Lambie was age appropriate for Lloyd (more appropriate as a newly created younger half-brother for Lloyd vying for his empire), I cannot even imagine Robert Reed in the role. You would think the tension between TR's two mothers would have kept TR and Liza in the same orbit. I think Krakowski was in the musical "Starlight Express" or went off to college which was why she returned to the show later. I don't think she was fired, but I could be wrong. Suzi and Cagney burned through a lot of story quickly. I don't blame the writers for backburnering them, at least temporarily, but I think marrying them off so quickly was the biggest mistake. In a short time, Suzi and Cagney meet, Suzi gets pregnant with Jonah, the couple lies about the paternity, Warren goes to jail, Warren escapes jail, Justine makes a play for Cagney, Suzi shoots Justine, Warren kidnaps Suzi, Suzi kills Warren, Wendy makes a play for custody, and so on and so on. I really liked Cagney and Suzi living with Kate and Kate driving Suzi crazy with her needling about how she was raising Jonah. I thought those scenes were very real, but they didn't really drive a story. I would have liked to see Suzi played more in the story with Sarah, Quinn, and Wendy. I think having Suzi and Cagney torn between Suzi's cousin and stepsister involved with Cagney's rascal brother should have been sufficient reactionary material for the couple until a new story could have been generated for them (which could have been the return of Brian Emerson as Cagney's instructor at the academy or fellow officer on the Henderson PD). I also really liked Caldwell House and was disappointed when I realize how quickly it would be gone. I don't get Evie and Cagney, or Evie and Quinn, as a couple. Evie didn't work for me played by either actress despite both actresses being competent.
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Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread
The comment about the family structure is interesting. The show definitely eliminated that 30 / 40 something set during the early 1980s. I think bringing back Scott and Kathy would have been a step in the right direction. By 1987, Scott's stepson Erik would have been in his early 20s and would fit into that younger set. The show didn't really have a regular lawyer character so Kathy could have filled that role. I would have liked to see the show take Scott into another profession, if only temporarily, after his incarceration. Something that could have been used to generate conflict between Scott and Kathy or Scott and others in order to generate story. Bringing back Patti was a step in the right direction, but, as has been stated repeatedly, the show should have cast someone more age appropriate. Anyone have any suggestions on who'd they have liked to have seen cast based on who was available at the time (1986). They should have kept Patti as a nurse and then worked Len back into the script even as a recurring character. I would have liked to have seen a more age appropriate Patti paired with an age appropriate Lloyd Kendall (I would have brought back Peter Haskell after "Rituals" was cancelled). Then you could have Estelle Kendall going after Patti and using Len, who (in my fictional Henderson) would mentor Alec Kendall during his internship. In the show's final year, Craig Walton, Gary and Laine's son, did come to stay with Sunny for the summer, didn't he? I think I've read here (was it saynotoyoursoap?) that the plan was to pair Sunny with a Gary recast? Gary would have provided another doctor for the hospital set. Even if it was in the short term, I would have had Laine work for Lloyd Kendall handling the business end of the newspaper in order to put her at odds with Sunny. Eventually, you could bring Ted Adamson back in as a rival to Lloyd and have him go after everything that was Lloyd's. The Bergman/Walton males never fared well. Tom was played by several actors without much story. I think during his last run he was paired with Kathy. My first introduction to SFT was the SOD summaries that they post on the Remember When section of their website so I think of Tom being paired with Cindy French, the devious nurse. As mentioned, Danny was never given much to do and Gary faded after his affair with Laine produced a child. The problem with any, and all of this, is who do you eliminate in order to make the show work. The half-hour required a smaller cast. I do think the show needed an overhaul, but it would have taken a year to eighteen months to do right.
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Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread
Regarding the comparison between Warren Carter and Roger Thorpe, that makes sense. In what I've seen, Warren was definitely seen as an obstacle that Suzi and Cagney had to overcome. In terms of potential storyline down the road, I think it set up an interesting scenario for Jonah to deal with as his mother killed his father and both Suzi and Wendy had a strong attachment to Jonah. Killing off Suzi a couple months later kind of killed all of that potential (that would have been killed anyway when the show was cancelled). I didn't care for Sunny's suicide. Most people I've met don't like the Liza / Hogan / Sunny story. I liked Hogan and Liza because it did complicate the friendship between Sunny and Liza. Mathis definitely played the angst for all it was worth and I would have liked to see Liza and Sunny work their way back to being friends. To me, Bela's presence was an example that the show was creatively finished. There was no need to keep Bela around after the circus storyline. There were too many characters who were written as if they had longterm potential when they didn't (Brett Hamilton comes to mind as well). Krawkowski never seemed to get a leading many, or much of a story, that was popular other than the initial adoption plotline. I did see some scenes between Liza and TR where they were fighting after Travis died about the adoption that mentioned TR was learning to read. That's a story I hope pops up.
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ALL: Proposed Soaps Over The Years
Anything is possible. I got the information on "The Outsider" from two articles from May, 1965. One was a press release type talking about Shaw being on leave from "Peyton Place" to develop "The Outsider," a daily series, for CBS. The other was an interview with Shaw where he discussed "The Outsider" and the other potential series. I found some more information about "Masterson's Valley." The articles I found state the show was set to start in October 1965 and was to revolve around a female veterinarian in New England or upstate New York (depending on the article). This sounds more rural than the untitled Shaw project. That project may never have made it past the idea phase. From the Shaw interview: Of course, Shaw eventually would work for Roy Winsor as the head writer for "Love of Life" around 1967 - 1968. At the time he was writing "Love of Life," he was also creating a soap set in Hawaii. Do we have any information on that one?
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ALL: Proposed Soaps Over The Years
Robert J. Shaw was working with Roy Winsor Productions on "The Outsider" in 1965. It was about a Milwaukee brewing family who, despite having made it financially, were never truly accepted. Around the same time he was also developing a series (it isn't clear based on the article whether or not it was a soap) based on the teenage drinking problem in a Connecticut town. I believe he was referring to Darien, an affluent community where Ira and Jane Avery (the writers of "The Secret Storm") lived. Several parents were arrested for serving alcohol to minors at parties rather than have them cross state lines and get drunk in New York where the legal drinking age was 18.
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"Secret Storm" memories.
The final piece that the poster posted:
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"Secret Storm" memories.
- "Secret Storm" memories.
I'll paste it later tonight when I get home unless someone else accesses it first.- Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
In regards to the projected storylines on "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," the other two storylines detailed in the article involved the return of Mia Elliott and Pete Chernak's love life. (1) In the Pete Chernak storyline, Angel would hope that Pete would move on after she died with a nurse, Meg. Once Angel died, a romance between Pete and Meg would occur, but Pete wouldn't return the love that Meg had for him. (2) In the other storyline, Mia Elliott would return to town after several years away. During the time, Mia would have married and had a child. While serving as a medic during the Vietnam War, Mia believed that both her husband and her child had been killed. Later, Mia learned that her child was alive and that she was determined to locate her child. I wonder if de Velliers is referring to "The Children's Hour" storyline and misremembering how that played out or if they had intended to do another storyline with Betsy earlier on. Someone once said online that Doug Marland intended to reveal the character of Tom Carroll on "The Doctors" was gay, but it was later stated that he was a child abuser instead.- Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread
I watched a bit of "Search for Tomorrow" from the NBC years recently. The episodes came from here and there, but there were a few things I wanted to comment on. (1) During the live episode, Danny Walton returns to Henderson. I had forgotten that they introduced Danny with the sweater around his shoulders, a very preppy look which kind of clashes with the type of character I can only imagine Cain Devore and John Loprieno would play. Does anyone know if this characterization stuck? Without looking into the weekly summaries, I imagine the plan was for Danny to be paired with either Angela Moreno or TR. For a younger skewing show, NBC's SFT was never able to maintain a high school set around Jane Krakowski were they? (2) Having seen the AOL episodes, I always thought Warren was kind of a one-note villain as that is the way I felt he was portrayed in his late 1984 - early 1985 run. I was surprised by some of the material I saw with him getting the club from Martin (which he was going to have to share with Lloyd) and celebrating with Wendy. At one point, Wendy mentioned that Warren had been more upset than she had when Wendy miscarried. I wasn't expecting that, but I could see how that would be needed to necessitate the Jonah storyline. I did enjoy Warren's dying conversation with Wendy where he implicated Suzie in his murder. It was over the top as anything, but it complicated the already complicated Suzie / Wendy dynamic. It is really amazing how both women would be written off by the show cancellation in under two years time. Mind boggling. (3) It was nice to see Courtney Simon as Kathy. The show really needed more people in that age range and older. Kathy and Scott would have helped. Also, they had already built some interesting complications for Scott for his return to Henderson. When Kathy returned played by Nicolette Goulet, Scott had been imprisoned for vehicular manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol. I think trying to bring Scott back from that place had the potential to be fascinating, but I guess the writers (or producers or network) didn't see it. (4) I was also shocked when Hogan and Cagney were speaking about Sunny's rape and Hogan mentioned that Jack Benton, the man who had raped Sunny, needed psychiatric help. I don't know if I've ever seen a show play that beat other than at an attempt to justify a redemption or whitewash what the character had done. With that said, it was also sad to hear Hogan go on about how Sunny must feel having been brave enough to state what had happened, but not to have the jury believe her. It's a shame that Sunny never really gets a good story after all of this. I think the Liza / Hogan attraction (with Mathis in the role) was angsty, but Sunny doesn't fare well.- "Secret Storm" memories.
This was posted on a "Secret Storm" group several years ago. I don't think it ever made its way over here. It's a story outline from 1964 detailing the Ann / Alan story as well as the birth of Amy's baby. I don't think all of this played out exactly as stated, but it's an interesting look into Roy Winsor and the writing process of "Secret Storm" at the time. 1964 story outline Also posted was a memo from Winsor after some discussion was had about the projection:- Strange Paradise
I guess it's not surprising, maybe just a little disappointing, that little is made of the fact that Harding Lemay was Native American through his mother's line. When Lemay wrote "Strange Paradise," he created the character of Phillip Desmond, a distant cousin of the main Desmond clan who had populated the series. Phillip's grandfather had married a Native American woman and had been shunned by the Desmond clan generations earlier. When Phillip arrives, he arrives to fight the battle between good and evil that has plagued the Desmond family for decades. Phillip's connection to his people's gods is important in the main storyline. Barring the battle of good and evil aside, I wonder how much Lemay drew on his own family history when crafting Phillip's narrative. Lemay's work isn't well received by the SP fanbase, for some legitimate reasons, but I do enjoy the material he wrote for the series. He also happened to be the writer who had the longest influence on the show.- As The World Turns Discussion Thread
I couldn't access the file, but hopefully these are the right summaries: December 23-27, 1985 (Lydia Hirsch) Marsha survives strangler when Frannie and Doug walk in and seemingly scare assailant away. Marsha suggests that Jay was attacker. Pretending to care no longer for Brian romantically, Barbara gets him to stay for holiday drink. When she hangs his coat up, she hides his gloves, hoping to use them to destroy Brian and Shannon’s romance. Steve tells Betsy he’ll try not to be jealous of Craig, but he still has little tolerance for Craig. Steve plans to build Betsy’s dream house. Texas police inform Margo that a patient who was severely disfigured has escaped from one of their sanitariums. Barbara makes certain Tom thinks she and Brian are lovers. September 14-18, 1987 (Nancy Reichardt) Duncan freaked when he found an effigy of Shannon floating face down in his castle moat. Duncan and Shannon romped in the sack. Seth felt guilty after he realized that he’d mistakenly made love with Sabrina instead of Frannie. Pam was surprised when Dusty suddenly gave her a passionate kiss, but he later stomped off in a huff after accusing her of snooping into his past. Lance offered to throw a big wedding shindig for Logan and Grace. Dusty told John that he’s moving into his own pad. Rod told Betsy that he lovers her and that he’ll wait forever for her to love him back. Someone is spying on Duncan and Shannon. Lance realized that Holden is hiding his jealous feelings toward Dusty in order to prove to Lily that he can hold his quick temper in check. Betsy told Rod she’s going to Chicago to train for her job with Miller brothers. Hal told Margo that he and Tom are working to solve the Falcon case. September 21-25, 1987 (Nancy Reichardt) Devastated to learn that Seth slept with Sabrina, Frannie called off her plans to marry him. Sierra phones from Greece to say that she and Det. Hoyt are still trying to find out if Craig is alive or dead. For the premiere of her television talk show, Kim plans to interview Barbara. Tom is suspicious of police office Nick Castello, who is James’ mystery contact within the police force. Casey wrongly thinks something’s going on between Lyla and her musical arranger, Tony Waldron. Duncan was arrested and charged with the murder of his former employer, Captain Cromwell. James nixed letting Nick kill Duncan because the police will be convinced that James is the Falcon. Lucinda paid James’ big bucks blackmail demands. September 23-27, 1991 (Nancy Reichardt) After Duncan found Kira at a rap club, he urged her not to run away but to admit to the police that she lied when she said Duncan tried to rape her. Darryl told Barbara that he will do anything to make sure Frannie never finds out about his one-night stand with Barbara in Rome. Arthur phoned Bob anonymously and warned him that Frannie is in danger. A hysterical Dana insisted to Darryl and Frannie that she saw the supposedly deceased Carolyn standing on the terrace. Later, Dana, Frannie, and Darryl were stunned when Arthur came into Lisa’s club with Carolyn lookalike Vicki Scott Harper, a member of the Harper crime family, which Hal has been investigating. Larry assured Bob that he has no intention of hurting Susan. Iva got nervous when Holden suggested that he and Lily could be Aaron’s godparents. Gavin introduced Lily and Ellie to Nicole, a designer and old “friend” of Darryl’s.- "Secret Storm" memories.
The woman on the right is Judy Lewis as Susan Dunbar. I suspect you are right about it being Jill Stevens.- Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread
Michael Kendall was blind. I believe the actor appeared as Suzanne's wealthy beau on "Designing Women." Michael appeared with his brother, Steve, during the same time period as Brian. I think the other Kendall brothers (Alec and Chase) appeared just as they wrote out Brian and Kristin, who went off in different directions. Michael left earlier. I think he may have married Linda Gibboney's Jenny Deacon, but I'm not sure about that. I know the books say Spence pretended to be Stephanie's son because he also romanced his "sister" Wendy.- Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread
Without looking it up, Brian Emerson was around for a few years. I think until 1984. Several different actors played the role. I believe they paired him with Suzy Wyatt for quite a bit and brought Kristin Carter, Warren's sister played by Susan Scannell, in as a spoiler for the couple. Kristin got pregnant so Brian and Kristin married. I think Kristin miscarried and Brian became a cop with characters being written out. It's also possible I've mixed all this up.- The Catlins
I didn't copy the other soaps from Seli Groves' column. I get your point about the Quinns. The feud between the Quinns and the Catlins is a running thread throughout the series. Due to the drug shipments that Cullen Quinn is making using Catlin ships, the Catlin family lands in financial trouble and either default on a loan or are required to take money to keep the family afloat. Whatever the details, Medger Quinn ends up gaining significant power over the Catlin shipping enterprises. In the later part of the show, T.J. Catlin becomes devoted to regain control of the company with the help of Dirk Stack, his potential son-in-law and protégé. This causes more tension with T.J. and Annabelle because T.J. is choosing to save the company at a time where his marriage is in trouble. I don't know what happened to Catlin Enterprises in the end. In the final episodes I have, the show previews some scenes with T.J. being held hostage on a foreign ship alongside Kay Webber (Barbara Rucker of ATWT and TEXAS). Despite this, I don't think the show saw the Quinns as a major presence on the show. In one of the final stories, Jane Berman's Lucille Crowe ends up cozying up to Medger landing herself a job at the television station where she annoys Stacey Manning. Stacey implies that Lucille is looking to marry Medger in order to achieve some wealth and status. Overall, the Quinns hold a position not much different than the Coleridge clan on RYAN'S HOPE. They may be a significant family, but they are not the dramatic thrust of the story. For @slick jones, James was played by Marvin Scott and Cassy was played by Georgia Allen. I believe they are James O'Neil and Cassy O'Neil, but that is a pretty big spec based on what has appeared. The Groves' column did say that Cassy was James' mother and the actors name come from an Atlanta AFTRA newsletter in late 1983 talking about some of the new actors involved in the show (specifically Charles Hill's Woody in this scenario). Because James and Cassy appeared with Woody, I'd imagine James is James O'Neil. In the March 1984 episode I have, James is said to be working at the saw mill, and, in 1985, Woody and Jackie are involved in the material with Monty O'Neil, James' son, and Andrea Smith, Maggie Catlin's legal partner and James' love interest who is looking after Monty in his absence. Based on this, I think the O'Neils were introduced by Sam Smiley. The Atlanta Constitution mentions that there are no black characters on the show in the first episodes, and then James and Cassy appear fairly early on. I think Andrea Smith was introduced by Steve Lehrman, but it's possible she was introduced by another writer. Monty was definitely a late addition as the show seems to be heading towards introducing a younger crowd. Another cast member in 1983 was Dr. John Nixon, a dentist, who appeared as Isaiah Robertson, who was described as the Catlins' connection to the African American community.- The Catlins
The extent I've seen of Peter Boynton as Beau Catlin is the clips from the poker game and a non-speaking shot of him in a preview for an episode where some woman was telling him he needed to get over Lauren, his wife who had been in love with his brother Matt. Beau ended up being the loser in the triangle with Woody Thorpe and Jackie McCormack and was replaced with Dr. Peter Crane, Vanessa's husband, to a lesser extent. Given how few Catlins were left by the end, I don't understand why they wrote out him or Julie Ridley's Maggie. In terms of the title, I can only assume the show highlighted the Catlins over the Quinns because they were the protagonists while the Quinns were the antagonists. Like the Barnes family on DALLAS, I don't think the Quinns were ever going to have the dramatic weight that the Catlins had because of numbers alone. In the beginning, there was just Medger, creepy Seth, and Eleanor and Eleanor was already married and had two children by Jonathan Catlin. In the end, the show eventually did replace the Quinns with the equally wealthy and dysfunctional Mahoney clan. I've also seen a couple of people reference the pilot episode as "Catlin's Cove." I did ask Sam Smiley about that, but he didn't mention anything about a possible alternative title. The possible alternative title sounds like a parody or something one would title a web series. I'm not sure if this was the pilot that aired or something that was used to get interest from television executives as I believe there was some filming done in 1981 to get people to buy into the idea that a soap could be produced outside New York or Atlanta. It's also possible that "Catlin's Cove" was just some actor's mistaken memory of what the show was called. I've been sitting on these because there hadn't been much interest, but since there seems to be some these come mostly from Seli Groves' soap column. The first from a description of the first week in a local paper's tv section. I've added things like full names where possible in order to make things easier to follow. April 4-9, 1983: [Week 1] The first week ends with a cliffhanger- naturally – as young Jennifer Catlin learns some unpleasant truths about her about-to-be-husband, Robert Goode. It appears her brother Beau ran into Robert on the Riviera where he specialized in escorting rich old ladies. The final scene of today’s installment thrusts Jennifer and all the Catlins into a heap of trouble. April 25-29, 1983: [Week 4] Jennifer Catlin was released from jail. Chip tried to draw her out of her depression. Cassie’s son, James, became a suspect in the murder of Robert Goode. Seth Quinn tried to renew his affair with Priscilla. Sterling Frye offered TJ Catlin a deal. COMING: James’ alibi needs some checking into. Maggie Catlin suspects another woman in Roger Brown’s life. May 2-6, 1983: [Week 5] Jennifer Catlin and Powell Jackson were forced to spend the night waiting for their plane to be repaired. Bryce Draper offered Maggie Catlin a romantic dinner; meanwhile, Maggie continued to suspect Roger Brown had another woman in his life. COMING: James’ alibi takes on suspicious overtones. Lauren Woodward goes to a doctor. June 13-17, 1983: [Week 11] Powell Jackson placed Jenny Catlin under hypnosis and then gave her a post-hypnotic suggestion. He also put a bug in the Catlins’ den while the police hypnotist tried unsuccessfully to work with Jenny. COMING: Powell starts to activate his post-hypnotic control of Jenny, who begins to respond. Beau Catlin draws close to Lauren Woodward. June 20-24, 1983: [Week 12] Matt Catlin returned from Chicago with Crissy and Bobby Catlin, his ex-wife and son. Lauren Woodward became ill; Beau Catlin rushed her to the hospital. Seth Quinn tried to force himself on Priscilla, but Jonathan Catlin arrived in time to save her. COMING: Powell Jackson’s continuing post-hypnotic control over Jennifer Catlin causes an unexpected result. July 11-15, 1983: [Week 15] Megan’s [possibly Medger Quinn’s] plans for himself and Eleanor Quinn Catlin took on a more intense aspect. Marriage for Beau and Lauren Catlin opened a new area of problems they hadn’t considered. COMING: Eleanor’s pregnancy causes changed attitudes all around.- Soap Opera Cast Lists and Character Guides- Cancelled and Current
I was thinking Tommy Leighton might have been too young, but I couldn't think of any other children on that show. I use newspapers.com and I can see articles for both Lloyd Bridges and Lloyd Nolan both referring to them as appearing on the show for one episode about mental health. I've also seen a Q&A from May 1962 where a reader asks if it was Lloyd Nolan. I'm pretty sure its Nolan. I cannot find anything about Bridges connection to mental health services. Nolan's son Jay was diagnosed with autism in the 1940s and Nolan was quite open about his son's diagnosis in later years. My guess is his son's diagnosis may have endeared him to the need for mental health services. Beau Bridges appeared about the same time on "The Clear Horizon." I imagine that's where the confusion may have come in.- Soap Opera Cast Lists and Character Guides- Cancelled and Current
Tommy Leighton may have played Hank Latimer. That's just my guess. I don't think Lloyd Bridges was on "The Brighter Day," but Lloyd Nolan was. Nolan was definitely the one on for mental health issues. Maybe Bridges did appear on "The Clear Horizon" in another role?- The Catlins
There used to be more. I would like to see more pop up, but I think with the decline of VCRs a lot of the material will remain lost or deteriorate soon. I reached out to Sam Smiley, the show's original headwriter, last fall. He was willing to speak about the show, but he didn't really provide much information. It was 35 years ago so I didn't press him much. He said he still had his computer he wrote the material on and had saved episodes on VHS. I imagine others have materials as well, but, as I said above, it's just in hiding. I'm pretty sure C.T. McIntyre passed away several years ago. I would loved to have read an interview from him about the series. The Atlanta Constitution profiled him when the series started and to say he was a character was quite an understatement. They had no problem revealing his series of failed (and possibly questionable) business ventures. For its time, I'm sure the show was probably a disaster, but I adore the material I've come across. Some of it is absolutely awful and some of it is strong especially considering it is from the mid-1980s when soaps are big on Luke and Laura style romantic adventures. Don't be fooled, the show attempts this, but it also features the romantic foibles of Michael Forest and Pamela Burrell as grandparents T.J. and Annabelle Catlin as well as some strong family drama involving the Catlin clan. There are some scripts available in Atlanta. I believe Mary Nell Santracroce donated them to one of the universities. I imagine it cannot be more than 2 or 3, but who knows. - "Secret Storm" memories.
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