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Faison was involved in the Universal Studios plot. When Agnes Nixon took over in the fall of 1993, SOD said Millee Taggert was sick, which was why she was abandoning the writing post. I assumed that Guza left at some point, but I don't know when. I guess it's possible that Guza was still there. I don't think the AMC crossovers helped the show. Jean Leclerc had chemistry with different actresses, but I don't think Jeremy fit well in Corinth. I think it took a while to figure out what to do with Angie. Frankie seemed better integrated into the younger set, but he seemed mainly in a secondary role. I think lily white "Loving" needed more diversity, but I cannot help but wonder if Morgan and Ballard would have fared better had the show created characters for them rather then trying to make Angie and Frankie work in Corinth.

Thanks. That all sounds vaguely familiar now.

Ron Raines is the bald guy in the blue shirt. I didn't recognize him until I saw Robert Newman label everyone. I believe Bruce is Bruce S. Barry, a longtime director. A quick google search would suggest Locke is Locke Wallace, the show's stage manager. I was never a huge Santos fan or Michelle / Danny fan, but I did love the warehouse bombing and how Danny started to become a bit of a pariah in Springfield after his image as the mayor was tarnished. The show had a chemistry test with Danny and Blake, when Dinah returned and Roger had died, and I liked the potential in that pairing, but the show pursued Danny and Marina instead.

Sorry. I did write it as if Louie died in the fire. He lives, but, given what was going on (BB had died), it left a bad taste in some viewers that this was one of the last moments Louie was seen on the show. Louie died later in his sleep. I'm interested in the episodes from a research perspective. Addie Walsh was there in February at the latest. The news of her hiring was announced in January, and a December 1991 episode is credited to Mary Ryan Munisteri. When Walsh was hired, Munisteri had only been there 3 months, but it seems Walsh was using her team (Labine definitely and possibly Tolan). So Taggert was barely gone a year before they brought her back, which is interesting to me. The February 1992 material was alright. I'm not a big Trisha / Trucker fan. I think Noelle Beck does well with the material, but there is nothing that makes the material stand out to me. Malloy and the writing hint at some of Clay's shortcomings, but Nixon does it better in the full episode from 1993 (October 1993) when Ava questions Alex about the pictures of the Alden family. The dynamic between Clay and Alex is different; the Aldens preferred Alex the imposter over their true son, father, and husband. That tension could have been played for years. I thought Gwyn's speech about the divided Alden clan was interesting, but also highlighted the structural issues with LOVING. Over the years, the show had wittled itself down to just the Aldens, and, at this point, the Aldens aren't working for me. It's hard to get interested in the Carly/Michael/Paul stuff because I know its about to end. I don't blame LOVING for that; I blame watching DAYS in recent years with its delay between the announcement of a purge and the characters and stories leaving. I did like Ava stating she wanted Michael and Sandy to grow up together. That was a very real and honest moment. The first 1993 episode (the partial from September) was stronger than I expected. I think the cast does well with the material. Jessica Collins plays the stuff with Randolph Mantooth really well, and I think an Alex/Dinahlee friendship would have upset the establishment (mainly Ava) enough to cause tension. I thought they integrated Frankie well into the younger set without a dominant story, but I would like to see them do more with him as he acts mainly as a spoiler for his mother's romances except for the brief period Elise Neal appears as Janie. The second 1993 (the full one from 1993) is a mix for me. Some strong material with Alex and Ava dealing with Alex's lies. It was nice to Sandy, who was off the show for several years before Alex returned. Peluso also did a good job playing those scenes. It would have been easy to go over the top, but Ava seemed more hurt, and more dangerous, by playing it straight. The Coop/Casey scenes were strong. The Ally/Steffi scenes were very emotional and well developed. I felt genuinely sorry for both young women, which is rarely the case in modern soap. The Buck/Gwyn stuff is of little interest to me. Buck isn't the type of man I picture with Gwyn with other than for a roll in the hay. Also, the pregnancy element was a bit much for me. Nixon tries her best, but it doesn't work for me. I imagine it didn't work for her either as I'm pretty sure Gwyn and Buck were done shortly after this. The show was definitely losing something with Weatherly and Stewart's departures. With that said, I would haven't have killed off Casey. I would have had Casey fake his death as part of the sting (with Ally knowing the truth) and then bringing in a recast Coop for the funeral to comfort Ally. Then, when the truth comes out, I would have sent Casey to rehab to detox and brought back Casey just as Coop and Ally were getting close and Steffi realized she was pregnant from a one-night stand with Coop. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Gwyn blamed Stacey for Rick going off the deep end. I think the kids went to Florida to live with the Donovans. Ava and Dinahlee were friends. They had a couple of capers together. One involved a dead body in the trunk of a car. I think Elizabeth Mitchell's final scenes as Dinahlee were with Ava, telling her she was pregnant (again) with Trucker's baby. Curtis pursued Stacey for a hot minute in the summer of 1983 or thought about it, but that was prior to Jack and Stacey. Given the Jack/Curtis/ Lily history, a Stacey/Curtis pairing would have been a good place to start when they brought Jack back from the dead. I think that Curtis might have claimed he had cared for her in the past during his confession of feelings, but I think that was just the writers writing something right that happened to have a historical basis despite a lack of actual knowledge if it was true or not.

The partial episode is from September 1993, Alex just got back to town in September. This is one of his first episodes back. I think they played with a Dinahlee / Alex flirtation briefly, which was probably dropped by Nixon. The second episode is definitely October 1993. Buck and Gwyn don't marry, and Gwyn loses the baby in the next couple of episodes. Clay comforted her during the miscarriage. I would really like to see that set of scenes. I really liked Casey's loft. I had forgotten that they toyed with Steffi and Frankie, which is funny given the turn of events on AMC with Frankie and Heinle's character. The younger set was strong and seemed to get consistently strong writing, but the storyline itself seems to be shifting in motivations. I have to wonder how that came across to the audience. The initial Hannah/Cooper pairing was a bust, but Casey/Ally seemed to work from day one. Ally scheming to get Cooper was the story until the pregnancy, and it was only after they introduced Steffi that they seem to shift Cooper's motives. I think Ally and Cooper married around the time the baby was born for insurance purposes. After seeing the 1993 episodes, I think Cooper might have used the insurance situation to trap Ally, but I could be wrong. From other clips, Steffi and Casey had good chemistry and shared destructive backgrounds. As a quad, all the actors had good chemistry with one another, which is a rarity now. Buck and Stacey were involved, but they had also brought back Christopher Marcantel to play as a romantic spoiler to the Buck/Stacey romance. That is why Curtis was initially a suspect and sent to Dunellyn. In reality, it was Gwyn who sent her own son to the mental hospital where she killed him because he didn't want to be trapped there anymore. There was also a bit of a history of rivalry between Gwyn/Stacey because of Rick. In a fall 1993 episode, Gwyn watches J.J. and Heather during one of Buck and Stacey's dates. When Buck arrives, Stacey cuts the romantic tension between Buck and Gwyn by reminding Heather to call Gwyn "Grandma" in order to emphasis her age. There are some small scenes from 1995 I would like to see, like Curtis and Stacey reconnecting and Stacey and Ava burying the hatchet because all of their friends (Trisha, Shana, and Dinahlee) had left Corinth. Overall, I don't have much passion to see much of 1995. Cooper and Ally had Tyler. In November 1992, Cooper and Hannah were together. Hannah went to NYC to audition and stayed with her music teacher. Coop and Ally followed, Coop thought Hannah slept with the teacher, and Ally and Coop slept together. Then, Ally learned she was pregnant and gave birth during the summer. Casey died in May 1995. These episodes are fall 1993. Casey and Ally married at some point in 1994. Casey struggled supporting the family and that's when he turned to drugs (again?). Cooper left in March/April 1995 to head the Europe offices of Alden Enterprises.

I'm pretty sure Horan's Clay left for California before Dinahlee appeared, but I may be wrong. When Clay returned from California in January 1992, it was Larkin Malloy, and he was almost immediately paired with Dinahlee. The Dinahlee / Trucker affair was over and Trisha was heavily pregnant, as you can see in the February 1992 clip. In the spring, Dinahlee and Clay were involved with Hannah, Dinahlee's kid sister. I think Dinahlee had told Hannah she was engaged or something along those lines to cover up her indiscretions. Clay played along, I believe, but the truth eventually came out. Then, Clay learned their was a provision in Cabot's will about remarrying Gwyn to inherit money or the company. They ended up missing the deadline as well as learning Tim Sullivan was his real father. At that point, Clay sulked and disappeared. I'm almost positive he was gone either shortly after or shortly before they wrote out Jack disappearing during his honeymoon because the long story was clearly Clay had kidnapped Jack to get a hold of the company. This was all June/July 1992 when Walsh exited and Granger decided to go solo until the fall when Taggert and Guza arrived. In the fall, Clay returned during Dinahlee's downfall. She received a letter saying she had slept with someone who tested positive for and STD. Then, she ended up naked at the opening of 35 Maple Drive, where I believe you see Ally picking up those papers in the 1993 episode. In October, Dennis Parlato temps for Larkin Malloy. When Malloy is set to return in November, Malloy is fired and Parlato assumes the role permanently. Storywise, Clay then targeted Stacey to get the company, they brought on Jeremy to be Stacey's savior, and Clay and Stacey divorced in January 1993. In February, Curtis returns and meets Dinahlee, but both of them use alias and share a passion for 1950s nostalgia. By June/July 1993, Dinahlee and Curtis are married. They wrote out the second Curtis 1993 edition in August when he torched PINS! the bowling alley accidentally leaving Louie Slavinski to die. These were either Bernie Barrows last episodes or the last episodes for the temp replacement. That was Matt Ford, the young man dating Ally. Matt was written out around this time when they shipped the character off to college out of state. I had forgotten that Paul, Carly and Flynn were still around. From what I recall, Flynn was Paul's physical therapist as well as the fourth member of the quad with Carly, Paul, and Ava. Flynn, Carly, Michael, and Paul are all written out within the next couple months. Before leaving, Carly and Paul marry, but I think the wedding takes place offscreen.

So Katy and Bill are still around. This episode worked a bit better for me. While I didn't like the musical cue, I thought the opening with the Carousel Building was an effective shot and more than we would get today in a world where the camera doesn't seem to move much. Edward Mallory was a bit over the top in some of those scenes and the actress playing Katy appears very mature for the young ingénue role. The Katy/Bill scenes do seem to clear up the very messy first episode we see. The show was definitely leading the audience into a mystery regarding whether it was Grace or Stan who was poisoning Dana. I guess the back and forth in that episode was intended to be suspenseful.

The Marlers definitely had untapped potential, but the Marler children were still young and Holly and Blake were both off contract for a good part of the final years. If they could have gotten to a point with the Marler kids as teens in stories and they used Holly and Blake in more functional roles, I'd agree. Prior to Phillip's death, I felt the Spauldings were in fairly good shape up until the early days of Wheeler and Kriezman. The loss of Phillip really hurt the Spaulding family. Neither Gus nor Alan-Michael seemed to be able to fill the hole that Phillip left, IMO. Jenna had caught Holly in the act doing one of her Nursery Rhyme Stalker crimes. At some point, Jeffrey shows up. Jenna pleads with Holly; she (Jenna) says she doesn't care what Holly has done, but she needs Holly to stay with her. Jeffrey throws Holly out and then kidnaps Jenna. I don't recall Holly telling anyone about Jeffrey and Jenna. It seemed in bad taste to have Holly allow Jenna to go off with Jeffrey when she saw how scared Jenna was of the man.

I can see why people liked Kyle and Sam. The early stages of their romance is very well done. Rutherford grew so much as an actress in such a short period of time. I think the writers did a good job fleshing out Kyle. I think the show also did a good job giving Sam significant reason to be attracted to both men: Kyle is strong, charismatic, and loves her because she of her passion for life while Jordan is suave, rich, and has lived a life of loneliness that Sam can relate to. George Shannon does a good job to avoid coming off as too creepy. I truly believe that Jordan's interest in her is not just sexual, but maybe I'm a fool. It was nice to see Robert Wilson (ex-Channing, Jr, SB and ex-Chase, SFT) and Pat Tallman (who previous appeared as one of Jason's lingerie models during the Leather and Lace storyline) as Brad and Christy Russell. It's a shame that the show recasts Christy and goes in a completely different direction with those characters. There's also a lot of nice overlap in terms of story. The introduction of Hale hotel has taken a lot of random story threads and given them a place to bump into each other. I didn't care for George Deloy as the put upon professor, but I do like him in this brief clips where he defends and empathizes with Dr. Daniel Reubens (who I think has just begun to appear, these clips are from January 1990). The Jessica-Sam rivalry gives both women are strong sparring partner. The insinuations about Jessica being one of Jordan's abandoned flames was interesting. The Hale Hotel uniforms must have kept the cost of costumes down. I think my favorite bit is Kyle and Sam reuniting to "Here and Now." I've only shipped a few couples in my soap viewing, but I could see why the (few) viewers watching loved Kyle and Sam. It's funny to hear people talking about Sally Sussman Morina's work on Y&R because this material is so strong, but the earlier stuff has a lot of trademarks of the complaints I'm hearing now. Did SSM return to Y&R after GENERATIONS was cancelled? When she was trying to write a Chicago version of Y&R, it didn't work. This faster paced, more comical, more romantic storytelling is definitely more in line with what NBC was looking for during that time period.

1. Regarding Michelle, I don't think Wheeler would have hired anyone with any background in soap opera. I didn't hate Nancy St. Alban the way some did, but, if you were to have the Bauers as a major dramatic force, another actress would have been needed. If I had to choose someone, I would have wanted someone like Robyn Griggs (ex-Maggie, AW). 3. Typical of the Wheeler era, needing characters to make a story have dramatic impact, but not casting someone. Again, I liked Driscoll, but I wonder what it would have been like if they had cast him as Jonathan rather than allowing Pelphrey to sign on for only two years. 4. I just didn't see the dramatic potential in Olivia / Frank. Your point is noted, but I can't see Olivia being satisfied with Frank. To a lesser extent, Olivia had that with Bill, a genuinely good guy who put her first, . Frank was more blue-collar than her typical guy, but Olivia was drawn to power. I think I would have less problems with Olivia and Natalia if Olivia had fallen for some powerful businesswoman who was looking to take on Olivia in the boardroom and the bedroom. 5. I think Manny had run its course, but I would have liked to see them work together as a divorced couple to raise their children. I thought the potential of an affair between Blake and Danny was fascinating and would have reinvigorated someone like Blake. I really liked Tony and Michelle as an obstacle for Danny and Michelle, but I would have liked to see the writers try other things with both characters before reuniting them as a couple. 6. Keeping Reva and Josh front and center without Marah, Shayne, Jonathan, and Sandy was foolish. Instead, the show decided it needed to be the Jonathan show. 7. I'm aware of DAYS' budget, but I think the shows used their money differently in terms of contractual guarantees and recurring cast members. Brown was on DAYS during a period where very few recurring players were used and contractual guarantees were low (Matt Ashford, anyone?) The show couldn't afford to keep Jerry ver Dorn under contract, but they really had the money for Sarah Brown? Also, when Brown agreed to do DAYS, only four soaps were left (well AMC and OLTL were cancelled but hadn't aired their final episodes yet). 8. I liked Edmund and Cassie because of what he had done to Cassie. I think these two damaged people trying to overcome what Edmund had done to Cassie specifically was fascinating. I think juxtaposing Cassie / Edmund and Jonathan / Tammy would have enhanced both stories because of Edmund's role in Jonathan's abandonment and the death of Cassie and Richard's child. I felt the Lara angle was an attempt to reestablish Edmund as the heavy in the story, but it lacked impacted because no one knew Lara.

I think this is the episode. The first one is a bizarre episode. To me, it was similar to the "Never Too Young" one from the same time period where Joy is nearly raped and spends the entire episode playing cards. I imagine this was a big 'reveal' episode in that, before this, the audience wasn't sure what was going on with Dana Manning. The problem is there are still too many questions (mainly who are any of these characters) for a show that featured three characters for an entire half-hour. The Eric / Jan / Stan stuff in the second episode reminds me not only of the PB story with Duke Spaulding and Rosita Martinez, but of the episode of "A Time for Us" where Steve Reynolds seeks his father's advice regarding Jane Driscoll's pregnancy. Eric's cavalier playboy attitude is the complete opposite of sensitive, responsible Steve who just wants to do the right thing even though he doesn't know what that is. I did notice all the Katy references. In the first episode, she and Bill are at the door (unseen). So it sounds like Katy and Bill are still around, still have story, but seem to be working together to solve the Dana Manning mystery rather than dealing with romantic complications of their own. The Jan / Eric stuff plays out until the show's last episode. In the final weeks, Eric leaves for the Army and Jan learns she is pregnant. In the finale, Jan decides she is going to raise the baby.

By the time Hurst arrived, it didn't really matter. The show had already transitioned to the Peapack model. When Grant Alexander returned and Coop died, I tried to watch the show, and the show was horribly produced. Not only did it look bad, but I remember they were playing some overly upbeat melody as Buzz snotted all of over Coop's dead body. And Coop and Beth's affair? WTF? When Hurst was promoted, the show at least had some sense of plotting. I don't remember Kriezman including much plot into his stories. I agree that the Coopers were my least favorite family, but they were the only whole family around for most of the final decade without needing to build them up. I think Kriezman tried early on to make the Bauers work with continuing the Michelle amnesia angle, having Beth and Rick fall into an affair, and attempting to bring back Ed Bauer for the Sebastian/Santa Domingo plot. Wheeler needed to support him more by hiring an actor to play, recasting Michelle with a stronger dramatic actress, and finding someone age appropriate for Paul Anthony Stewart. I came in on the tail end of Jenna and Buzz when Holly was terrorizing the mothers of Springfield and Jeffrey had returned. People blamed Lillian for Mo's death, but Holly was downright liable for Jenna's. Driscoll was a nice actor, but I never cared for Coop. I thought the romance with Lizzie was a waste of time. Frank was fine until they decided that Olivia should share Frank and Buzz. To go from men like Bill and Josh Lewis and Alan and Phillip Spaulding to Frank and Buzz Cooper. Yikes! GusH was as bad as Manny, if not worse. What they put Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer through those last couple of years was criminal. Reva and Jeffrey, Josh the priest, Josh and Cassie. So many bad ideas, one after another, after another. But someone needed to be an ongoing nemesis in the Jonathan and Tammy saga. Who better than Tammy's own mother? GL couldn't afford Sarah Brown unless she agreed to be paid in Bible scriptures. I think plopping Nola down without either build up would have been equally disastrous. I think there would need to have been build up of the Bauers first or bringing in Bridget via either Dylan or Peter would have been necessary. Otherwise, Stacey's main ties would be to Nancy St. Alban's Michelle (if she was even still around) or Company. I liked Edmund when he was given darker material to play. I actually liked Edmund and Cassie as a couple, but I think they would have eventually run their course and I would have then dumped Edmund. I thought make him the heavy in the Shayne / Marina / Mallet / Dinah Lee story was more convenient than well thought out.

I believe WoST ran an episode from the same time period. In circulation, there are five concurrent episodes. This episode and the WoST one, which was different, are from this set. In the other episode, Jan Elliott is talking to her boyfriend about the War and Grace Allison (or whoever the maid character is) has a lengthy monologue about wanting to be Mrs. Stan Manning once his wife is dead. "Morning Star" was a Ted Corday show so sharing cues with "Days" is not surprising. Regarding radio, I just noticed Betty Lou Gerson, a Chicago radio actress, was in the cast. Around this time, the show dumped the original headwriters and installed James Lipton, but NBC axed both this and "Paradise Bay" fairly quickly into the new writers runs. These episodes should be from the final weeks of the original writers. I wonder if Lipton considered this a dry run for "The Best of Everything." With that said, I know Lipton isn't well liked, for various legitimate and status quo reasons, but I'd still be curous to see some of the later run. Or maybe this is Lipton's work. I think, but never have completely confirmed, that the show dumped Elizabeth Perry's Katy Elliott around this time. Keith Andes quit "Paradise Bay" in March, 1966, and last aired in April because of the proposed changes (more 'melodrama' and less 'social relevance.') I've read Nina Roman's character, Liz, took center stage. It'll be curious to see if the poster uploads more "Morning Star" and if there is any additional reference to Katy.

I have been slowly making my way through "Generations" episodes that I've gotten. I don't think Barbara Rhoades is as 'dramatic' as she is in that commercial, but there are issues with Jessica in those early episodes that go beyond Rhoades interpretation. As most know, Jessica' father, Hugh, died in the opening episode leading to an inheritance plot that goes nowhere until about August 1989. This is a recurring issue in the early episodes of "Generations"; something will be introduced, but only be discussed for episodes on end (Ruth talks about buying the Whitmore house in episode 2 or 3, but she doesn't purchase it until November and there is little conflict in between.) Anyway, Jessica, fresh from rehab, arrives in Chicago to deal with the funeral and to learn her son, Hugh Gardner II, has inherited the family fortune. Again, this plot point is discussed every now and again, but no real effort is made to find him for several weeks. Rhoades' Jessica fits in well in a very well intention story structure. As a houseguest of Trevor and Laura McCallum, Jessica is in contact with Laura (her childhood friend), JD (Laura's down on his luck rock star brother), and Trevor (Laura's successful husband). Each relationship is well developed and its clear the early plan was an affair between Jessica and Trevor, which would force Laura to divorce Trevor and see how Laura handle the circumstances that her mother was dealt with when Peter Whitmore ran off on her. The problem is nothing really pops. Jessica and Laura revisiting their childhood friendship is a nice layer, but its hard to see Rhoades' Jessica pursuing Massett's Trevor while on the wagon. Maybe the plan was for Jessica to fall off again and, for Trevor, while attempting to play savior, to fall into a passionate affair with Jessica. If that was the case, none of that played out. Instead, the show plays Jessica's alcoholism as a secret (it could ruin her career!) and allow Trevor in on only to have Jessica have a surprise hook up with fellow addict Rob Donnelly. I believe I'm missing the episode where Rob and Jessica first meet, but it comes out of almost nowhere. Rhoades spends a lot of her time with Gerard Prendergast's JD Whitmore, Laura's rock star brother. JD is trying to reunite his band, Men of Essence, but needs the money to finance their new album. Enter Jessica- the 'heiress' who JD grew up pining for. JD and Jessica have some sweet moments: JD provides Jessica with a picture of her EP to through darts at, but there is little build. JD is given little to do outside of his relationship with Jessica, which doesn't progress very far. JD and Jessica split when Trevor realizes JD wants Jessica to finance his new album even though JD admits to Laura he has very real feelings for Jessica. Most of the time, though, Jessica is waiting to learn whether or not she will return to her role on "Tomorrow is Another Day." So Rhoades is only occasionally given significant beats to play, but when she does, she does well. One smaller moment that stood out was Jessica and Laura chatting about the graduation party thrown for the younger set at the fancy upscale Le Charmare (sp?). Jessica notes the interaction between Laura and Ruth Marshall and Jessica states that Ruth has avoided the typical pitfalls of the nouveau riche by patterning herself off of Laura, which by itself is an interesting comparison. I think Rhoades worked better when Jessica was in a world that intended to be more drawing room drama than crazy aunts jumping out of airplanes.

It's posted on IMDb, but I know people can edit that. This article mentions him, but it appears that the source is IMDb, also. Southern BG Casting claims to be handling the casting of extras for the pilot of Dynasty. The dates coincide with the dates of the filming Dynasty. In a post dated March 8 on their Facebook page, it says: Looking for: Male Caucasian stand in height 5'11 weight 160-180 ages 25-45 brunette for actor James Mackay. Please look him up before submitting. Need like type. Must have open availability between March 21- April 3rd. Rate 140/12 Subject: Steven I'm sorry if people I was misleading.

I believe it has been relocated to Atlanta, where they will be filming. Alan Dale has been cast as Anders according to Deadline. James Mackay has been cast as Steven Carrington. I haven't seen a formal announcement, but the casting company working on the show states they are looking yo cast a fill-in for James Mackay in the role of Steven.

Dinah Lee traveled to Pine Valley in September/October 1992. Earlier in 1992, Dinah Lee had been involved with Clay Alden, but he learned his father was the hired hand and not Cabot Alden so he skipped town. When Clay did return in the fall, he wanted nothing to do with her. Dinah Lee went on a downward spiral. She received a letter saying she had previously slept with someone who has an STD, got drunk and naked at the opening of the Maple Street complex (the home of the ghost story), and pretty much bottomed out. I think she left Corinth to settle down and stay at Myrtle's, where she ran into Carter Jones, an old friend. In Corinth, Carter meet up with Ally Rescott, another beautiful blonde, and agreed to take her to the dance being held at AU. Trevor chased Carter down, but ended up pulling over Shana along the way. They bantered about being happy they weren't married to the other. I believe Ally was kidnapped by Carter (was she also held captive in the belfry?) and possibly saved by Casey. I believe Jeremy Hunter also came to help on the case and was then offered a position at AU. The previous year, Jeremy and Ceara had visited Kate at the boarding house and became involved with Matt, the young man Ally was dating who was accused of rape. In 1993, when Dinah Lee married Curtis, I believe Myrtle showed up for the wedding.

October 1992.

Interesting possibility, especially since (avoiding the racial element) that is what Nixon did with the Rescotts and the Aldens. Cabot's father had cheated the Sowolsky family out of some product that the Alden family used to make their fortune (it had something to do with canned foods I believe). Anyway, when Cabot came back from the dead, he felt sorry for what his family had done and turned the company over to Ava. This was an interesting development because I imagine it was intended to cause major conflict in Ava and Alex's marriage with Ava claiming her birthright and Alex's sympathies lying with his other family, the Aldens. Laurie McCarthy and Addie Walsh quickly wrapped the story up and had Ava give back the company, if I recall correctly. Some other (final) random notes I don’t think Janie knew Buck was her father. They did bond before she died, and I think she wished he had been a father figure to her. Janie’s mother, Pam Dawson, did appear after Janie’s death. There use to be clips online. Trisha’s September 1995 return was precipitated by a phone call from Jeff Hartman. He phoned to announce that Trisha has suffered a miscarriage which caused her to break with the Crystal Hartman identity and search for her past. Trisha left in March/April 1993. Trisha and Trucker had just remarried the previous November and the show brought on Buck Huston, Trucker’s half-brother by his father’s other family, to Corinth. Buck was a pilot who had done some shady deals in the Middle East and had been caught in a triangle with Tess Wilder Partou and Curtis Alden. When Curtis and Tess left the Middle East, Buck had been the one to fly them out. Anyway, Trisha was carjacked and presumed dead, but stumbled into a diner, used the name Crystal, and took work as a waitress. At the same time, Jeff Hartman was released from the mental hospital. Jeff stumbled into the diner, found Trisha and tried to get her to go to the Aldens. When he phoned the Aldens, no one answered; everyone was attending Trisha’s funeral. Jeff told Trisha of his plans to go to Rome and Trisha/Crystal went with him. I think Jack was a more complicated character than written, or maybe portrayed. Jack wasn’t a biological Alden, but he was still the golden boy compared to others in his generation (Curtis and Lorna). I wonder if that insider/outsider element was played in the Rick/Jack rivalry, Rick an Alden by birth raised by adopted parents and Jack adopted by the Aldens. A Rick / Curtis rivalry could have been interesting too with one brother who practically raised himself and another raised without ever wanting for anything. As a side note, Gwyn gave up Rick because her father (later reconned to stepfather) was a minister and Rick was conceived out of wedlock. Rick proved a delightful moment in the Alex/Clay story. Rick claimed Gwyn and Clay/Alex were his parents, but the blood test showed it wasn’t possible. I like that Jack didn’t stay with Ava just because she had his child. That was a nice twist given the fact that the baby wasn’t Jack’s. I thought the Alex / Jack vs. Clay set up for the cosmetics company was also good. Overall, I just don’t think they ever really did enough digging with Jack’s psychological makeup to make him a compelling. Similarly, I think Stacey might have had similar issues. One of the EPs in the 1990s was honest and said Perry Stephens was boring and replaced him with Christopher Cass. I don’t think this was the right move. The ties to the original story were so weak as it was, but eliminating Stephens was a mistake especially since Cass certainly wasn’t more compelling. All Cass as Jack did was some business stories (maybe the face cream that burned Isabelle?) and Dinahlee’s seduction of Jack, which failed. In July 1992, Jack disappeared while boating with Stacey. Clay had just learned he was not Cabot Alden’s son, but Tim Sullivan’s. He planned on ruining the Alden family. When he returned in the fall, Clay set out to takeover AE, which meant marrying Stacey for her AE stock. To trick Clay into marriage, Clay used holograms of Stacey to drive her insane. Once Stacey was in Dunellyn (I think that was the name of the psychiatric hospital), Stacey and Clay married. Eventually, Jeremy was able to prove that Clay was behind the holograms. Stacey and Jeremy both grieved the loss of their spouses. In the summer of 1994, Deborah blackmailed Clay into marriage with evidence of the Cradle Foundation, a group that was paying to take care of someone who was believed to be dead. Cooper was certain it was Jack and ran to Stacey and told her Jack was alive. Of course, it turned out to be Cabot Alden, but I believe others may have been alive as well. This should sound familiar to modern AMC fans. Anyway, the show always seemed to toy with the idea Jack was alive, but Loving had a bad history of only having characters presumed dead in order to potentially reactivate story later starting with Roger Forbes. That ghost story was filler. It was the product of the period where Haidee Granger was flying solo without a headwriter. Staige Prince (Eden Atwood) was the head of the sorority that Ally pledged. She also dated Kent Winslow (Roger Howarth). After Howarth departed, Staige stuck around as a part of the younger set in a supporting capacity. Her bitchy character was mellowed. At one point, I believe Staige lost her money. She was dropped before Steffi arrived.

Regarding Minnie Madden, Carla and Sadie, and Janie Sinclaire. I think there are some elements of the story we should consider. I think Vee is right that Nixon intended to have Sadie in the Rescott family circle. I heard from someone years ago that the original intention was to reveal that Ava was the product of an affair Kate Rescott had with a black man, and that Ava would learn that she was in fact biracial. I imagine Nixon wanted to tie Carla Hall into that story as it would have been a powerful continuation of Carla’s own narrative to have Carla help another ambitious young woman come to terms with her race. Pure fan wank, but, by placing Carla in Corinth circa 1986, the show could have gone a different route with Lorna / Zach Conway story by involving Zach and Carla or even reshaping the Rob Carpenter character into a ward of Carla’s. Also, Janie Sinclaire seems to be a chance to tell a bit of the original Ava Rescott narrative in the sense she seemed to be intended to be an African American social climber. Janie was initially involved with a criminal who kidnapped Angie Hubbard when she was sick and needed a transplant. Angie was held hostage and bonded with Janie, who she could tell had been abused in the past. When the situation was over, Janie followed Angie back to Corinth. In Corinth, Janie immediately became involved in a couple of different stories: she pretended to be Clay Alden’s lover/secret daughter in order to extort money from Cooper (who wanted to know the secret Deborah had used to blackmail Clay into marriage); when Janie was exposed, she had some tense moments with Frankie Hubbard; and Janie became involved with Buck Huston who was beginning to look for his daughter. Janie showed real potential to be an African American Erica Kane, but the show disposed of her in a plane crash. I believe the original plan was to kill off a pregnant Dinahlee, but, at last minute, they decided to go with Janie. This fulfilled Uncle Harry’s prediction from the “Ava Goes to Heaven” story earlier in the year. Jumping back to Curtis for a bit. Ava did run Burnell’s in the 90s. Originally, Burnells was a part of Alden Enterprises as far back as 1984. In 1992, Addie Walsh revived the store and built a mystery around Ava and her secret boss. Around the start of the story, Walsh was dumped and EP Haidee Granger dictated story until Robert Guza and Millee Taggert arrived in the fall. Granger created Leo Burnell, an old high school pal of Ava’s who wanted to romance her. Based on history and story potential, Curtis Alden was originally intended to return in 1992 as the mystery boss who would seduce Ava. Curtis did return under Guza and Taggert in February, 1993, and was paired with Dinahlee, when she was on the outs with Curtis’ father Clay. Initially, the couple was drawn to the 1950s culture, which is why Curtis suggest they watch “Roman Holiday” in 1994 episodes. The problem was Noelle Beck left in March, 1993, neither actor hired during Taggert’s run was successful as Curtis. The show dumped Curtis in August, 1993, by having the character torch PINS! (the bowling alley that Dinahlee operated) leaving Louie Slavinksi trapped inside in one of Bernard Barrows final performances. In December, Nixon returned and we learned that Dante Partou (Tess’ Middle Eastern ex-husband) was keeping Curtis trapped in a cage. Nixon plotted the Dinahlee/Curtis/Trucker storyline with some interesting strokes. To keep Trucker and Dinahlee apart, Curtis began leaving little signs around the Tides, Trucker and Trisha’s home, to indicate that Trisha was alive. Of course, the truth was Trisha was alive, but Curtis was unaware of this. When the truth came out in June, 1994, Curtis has a huge fight with Gwyn, who was tired of Curtis’ games. For the rest of Curtis’ time on Loving, he was fighting with mental demons. They were exacerbated by the presence of the two Jeremys and later Curtis was the initial suspect in the Loving murders because he and Stacey were suppose to have a date the night Stacey was murdered. Jessica Collins left as Dinahlee in August/September 1994. Elizabeth Mitchell appeared right away in September dealing with Dinahlee’s miscarriage. In January, 1995, Trucker has Trisha’s grave exhumed and then goes to Rome to learn the truth (which I believe happens offscreen). Dinahlee delivers the news about Trisha wanting to stay in Rome and Trucker not returning (February/March 1995). Dinahlee sticks around a little longer to reveal that she is pregnant again and going to track down Trucker. I believe they did a nice send off between Dinahlee and Ava. I believe there was even a moment where Ava and Stacey bonded because neither had their best friend in town anymore. Looking over DRW50’s Curtis synopsis, I’m reminded of a few things. I believe Buck was suppose to fly the plane solo to wherever its destination was. Curtis had rigged it so it wouldn’t fly, but it did, and Buck took Janie and Dinahlee with him. When Marcantel’s year was up, they did drop him to recurring, which didn’t make people happy. I’m not sure when he returned to contract or if he was off contract when her was murdered.

The May 1994 episodes were great. I’m glad they made it online. The real treat is watching Nancy Addison Altman’s Deborah Brewster make her way all over the canvas. DRW50, Deborah wasn’t new to Corinth in May, Nixon had brought her to town in December, 1993, but she had been bumped to contract when these episodes appeared. I loved Deb trying to land a job as Christopher’s nanny and then revealing that she had been born on the wrong side of town. In a fan fiction I toyed around with, Deborah was going to reveal that Steffi’s father was actually Dane Hammond, and I think this piece of history would have worked well in that story. Also intriguing about the 1994 episodes was Wendell and Elizabeth Barnes, minor characters that Nixon introduced to create a sense of class conflict. Elizabeth’s appearance at Burnell’s (what a wonderful set!) was a nice treat. I didn’t expect her to pop up at the Alden mansion in the next episode. I think Wendell may have been on the board at Alden or held a position at the bank, or possibly both. Nixon did a much better job integrating the cast. Steffi’s involvement with Clay was nice, and hopefully more episodes pop up because the summer becomes a real treat as Deborah’s attache is the start of the Cradle Foundation storyline which leads to a series of complications that should have driven at least a year’s worth of drama, but which was mishandled because Laurie McCarthy and Addie Walsh didn’t play some of the more obvious elements. The June 1988 episode is definitely a strike episode, but there were some nice moments. I really enjoyed this interpretation of Jeff Hartman, business focused rather than psychotic. I know Trucker and Trisha were a big couple for this show, but I can’t help but wonder what this show could have done if it stepped outside the box. Trucker and Trisha was safe because the show had done it already with Steve and Trisha. If Trucker had been a con man who played on Trisha’s memories of Steve, I think that might have been a more engaging story especially given his background as Clay Alden’s chauffeur when the family lived in Maine. Also, the show needed another set of rich characters to interact with and Jeff and his brothers would have filled that role well. In contrast, the November 1989 episode focuses on the Trisha / Trucker / Jeff stuff which is dramatic and well-produced, but was kind of the opposite of what Loving was suppose to be. I think the Alex / Clay dynamic was layered and complex, and the conversation between Clay and Alex were Clay says he wants to be a better father to Trisha is poignant, but complicated given what he’ll do to her when it comes to baby Tommy. Also a running thread in both shows was Jack and Stacey’s crumbling, on-again, off-again marriage. It’s a shame they didn’t keep Curtis around because he would have fit much neater in the story given the history between Curtis, Jack, and Lilly, which again could have been used again in 1987-1988 story. I did like Rick and Clay’s moment where Rick admitted his feelings for Stacey. I had forgotten that Stacey went from romance writer to mystery writer. Lauren Marie Taylor has a nice presence, but Stacey needed a stronger identity. Even Trisha is involved in the production of Image. I think the writing is an attempt to do that, but it still feels a little off. Though, I do think it might have been more effective in the 1990s when they had her teach writing at the university. The Egypt/Alex cliffhanger was brilliant. I can’t believe that they had been apart for 20 years and Egypt was still going after him. That was a bit much. I’m never really clear on the Clay / Alex switch since originally Clay was still in Paris with Trisha and Gwyn until December, 1984. I assume that when Alex arrives in town as Clay in 1987 it’s the first time he has been Clay. So, I guess he spent the years between Clay’s jungle years and Alex’s years as Clay working for the government.

Regarding the revamp, it was spring 1992. On March 31, Eden Atwood debuted as Staige Prince, the sorority queen that Ally Rescott admired. During the same week, Cooper Alden arrived in town to stay with Aunt Isabelle. Hannah Mayberry had already been around for a bit caught up in the Dinah Lee / Clay / Gwyn triangle. The 1994 episodes are definitely Nixon.

The highest rating "Ryan's Hope" received was during the week Kim got drunk and gave birth on the houseboat during August, 1981. This was because of what was going on "General Hospital." I believe it was the week they nearly froze the world. I believe Kim was considered important to ABC because she appeared heavily during that week. This would be why Labine and Mayer dumped Maroney in September, 1981, and reappeared in March, 1981. Personally, I found Kim's antics entertaining. I wanted to see Kim suffer for her scheming and plotting. My favorite was when Jill Coleridge revealed she had faked the pregnancy during Kim and Seneca's aborted wedding. I loved how Rae and Roger had one-upped Kim by creating their own counterattack at Lem's using the shell curtain. And even though it was a brilliant scheme, Kimberly didn't buy it and still sold Rae out to the feds about her role in Frank Ryan's political undoing. I was disappointed that Seneca never learned about Kim's abortion, but I think it would have been revealed had the show pitted Seneca and Rae against Kim for custody and paired Seneca and Rae in a marriage of convenience. In court, Rae could have dropped Kim's bomb; she had an abortion and then had run into the Riverside ER claiming she had just miscarried the baby. The problem with Kim / Seneca / Rae / Michael was the story played in its own bubble often not affected by the other stories going on. It was stronger when it did (Michael's involvement with Amy Morris, insane baby sitter, and Kim taking sanctuary with the Ryans after Arley's birth). The Kim storyline was ultimately replaced with the Barbara Wilde story which at least involved a Ryan by marriage (Maureen Garrett's Elizabeth Jane, Barry Ryan's stepsister). E.J. and Rae had a nice mentor/mentee relationship, Roger and E.J. were a new couple, and The Proud and the Passionate side plots were amusing.

Funny how things come together... I recently got some copies of "Savannah" that I've been working my way through. As I'm watching a season two episode, I suddenly hear a familiar voice. I look up and see "Doc." Sure enough, it is a much older Charles Lawlor. So the "Doc" character from April, 1984 was Dr. Earnest Snackley, which should have surprised me because the boxes in the scenes did look like it had Snackley written on the boxes. And it was Charles, not John, like you had written.

It’s now April 13, 1984. A little over a month has passed, but some of the stories still carry over from our last installment. Several story threads revolve around the drug trafficking story. From the police angle, we meet Babe Chalifoux, a cop working to break the drug ring that has infiltrated Atlanta, who is working with her boss Gary Hopkins. Gary is an older gentleman, and a bit more gray than he was in the July, 1983 preview from youtube. Initially, we only hear Gary’s voice, but eventually we see him at the drug laboratory with Babe and another cop. Gary and Babe are very excited that they have found the drugs that have been sold in the community and claim it’s “the biggest bust ever.” Gary and Babe agree to call Jonathan Catlin, a member of the drug commission, to help with the bust. Our drug traffickers are also featured. Cullen Quinn is excited to sell the product and make money so he can lord it over his brother Seth. Truck Larsen, Cullen’s right hand man, talks about going to Tahiti and getting himself a little lady in a grass skirt. More reserved is Doc, our chemist, who fears that he isn’t going to get his money. I recognize the actor playing Doc, but cannot place him. Anyway, Doc spots the cops in the lab and reports back to Cullen and Truck, who are back at Cullen’s apartment. The other continuing story follows the sale of the Catlin saw mill. Woody Thorpe (played by TEXAS alum Charles Hill) has purchased the mill from the Catlins. He arrives at Maggie’s office to pick up the deed. Maggie, upset for unknown reasons, turns to Woody for support. Woody clearly cares for Maggie, but Maggie remains mum. Once Dirk enters, it’s clear Dirk is the reason Maggie is crying. There is definitely tension and they are definitely playing a Dirk / Maggie / Woody triangle with Dirk, the slick, cunning executive, and Woody, the good ole boy hayseed. Ridley is very good at handling the material, Ranier is smooth as Dirk, and Hill is solid as Woody. In one of our new stories, Jennifer Catlin has returned from Paris and has just returned from a night out with an old beau, Carter. Jennifer is now being played by Jennifer Anglin, and she seems new to the show. There is a lot of talk about this being “a new Jennifer.” This is probably one of the more effective sequences is a pretty strong episode. Jennifer discusses her night out with her mother (played by very Southern Muriel Moore) and how she has changed since being in Paris. There is a lot of talk about changing values, and Jennifer snaps at Annabelle when she asks about a private call (Jennifer’s Parisan beau, Lexi) that Jennifer has received. Instead of playing Annabelle as nosy or Jennifer as spoiled, the scenes end with Annabelle saying that she hopes that she and Jennifer can always be close no matter what is going on. It was a really well played moment by Muriel Moore. In the final story, Jonathan Catlin is speaking to Regina, a member of his senatorial campaign staff. Jonathan is contemplating quitting the drug commission and the senate race. There is a lot of exposition about Eleanor’s trial (apparently Warden Evans [Eleanor’s murderer] held Lauren hostage a gunpoint in the court room. It was Jonathan who managed to free Lauren. District attorney Darryl Chambers botched the murder trial before deciding to continue his run for senate). Regina is an interesting addition, and appears to have been around for a while. Prior to joining Jonathan’s campaign, she worked in the corporate suite at Catlin Enterprises. Regina seems ambitious and wants Jonathan to succeed. While I don’t’ think they a couple, it’s clear they are laying the groundwork for a future romantic development. Her dark hair and features remind me a bit of Marilyn Martin, who played Jonathan’s wife Eleanor. Some interesting side notes… Jonathan mentioned he’s being harassed by Stacey Manning, so she is already on the scene. Daryl Chambers, the district attorney from Jennifer’s trial in the summer of 1983, has been brought back for another run as Jonathan’s rival in the senate campaign. Dan Albright is out of the credits, but Christina Reguli is still listed as Lauren. In the previews, a blonde (possibly Memphis Morgan) is telling Beau he needs to forget about Lauren. BTW, Beau is being played by Peter Boynton in the clip for the next episode. Most notably, P&G is now being credited as the production company. I would suspect the takeover occurred around the first anniversary, which would have happened between the last episode I wrote about and this one.