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@DRW50 I don't know if they were reframed scenes. I thought it was well done. And I consider myself a recovering Catholic. I think I have one episode left before I jump back into the 200s. I cannot say I miss Winsor or Aaron. The Barnes arrive for about 2 weeks and add a nice dose of comedy that seems more noticeable than I remember. Ending the drug storyline was smart which meant dumping Nick Trench and Norm Eliott. Trench, like Mandy, gets a quiet exit with Miriam walking in on him on the phone with another woman and he leaves. On the same note, Paul Mason has a conversation with Lori about Russ and Ben and he decides he's accepting a teaching post in England he had been wavering over. I can't say anyone will be missed. Jeff's cancer is a much shorter story than I realize. I don't think there are any mentions of it until episode 97 and I am pretty sure he is saved by the light around 110-115 range. I thought the angle of Liz trying to have Jeff declared incompetent so she could secure his treatment was interesting. tHere are moments where it feels like a serious legal /medical drama. Jeff is still misery. Ben and Lori move VERY QUICK. They've only know each other a few weeks, much of which Lori is still with Russ, before Lori and Ben date and wihtin a month or so they are married. Larson and Williams have such a nice chemisty, much like Roland and Scannell. This quad is a smart central story. I get the sense that whoever was guiding the show between the Barnes brief fall stint and their winter stint was going to go the angle that Lori (like Jeff later) was believing too much and rushing without thinking. There's so much to play within this story and I think it was smart to build separate orbits that allowed each couple to have a story but also to interact. I also didn't realize Gene and Scott were laid off. There's some snarky comment about New York guys which makes me wonder if this wasn't a comment about the recently departed Bob Aaron and Roy Winsor. I didn't realize how short Samantha Marshall's run on the show was. It seems worth noting that Sam is introduced (I believe) after the Barnes' have done their two week run so it would seem that she was an interim writer creation. Sam is dumped very early when the Barnes' return in favor of Carla, when a true triangle woudl have been more interesting. The Hollister Square story is slowly building up to replace the drug story. This was a smart move though I have to wonder if it is coincedence that the story about a wealthy woman Helen giving her husband Charles land in a poor neighborhood that results in drama also was occuring on "Flamingo Road" around the same time. Charles' worming his way back into Helen's life is interesting, and, in the nature of FR, I cannot help but wonder if they shouldn't have pursued Mitch Dunbar and Helen Carpenter more seriously. Ray Owens is serviceable as Mitch, and it would have been nice to see him play a different beat. Ben has also lined up his practice in the building so its all building nicely. Scott out of work is a nice situation for domestic drama. I think around episode 105 I am pretty much getting to the place that I enjoyed during the November, 1981, episodes I started with.

Kim Valentine's Stacey is the most intriguing character. It's a shame she didn't last longer as Dawn Winthrop, but GH's loss was Tribes gain. I thought the destruction of the parents marriage was typical soap fodder, but allowing the emotional fallout to be mostly about how the two daughters reacted was such an interesting point of view. Stacey's descent from decent young woman to emotionally fragile and self destructive was one of the better done character arcs. Frankie felt like a replacement for Tina, Jojo's original girlfriend. Similar style and similar function in the story. I don't think the two friends fighting over the same girl story is always the strongest, but it's a trope I really like. Scott Garrison was good at brooding, Greg Watkins had charm despite being green, and Lisa Lawrence often lacked presence. I felt Lawrence did better with Garrison. The Carol / Chris story is odd for a number of reasons. I suspect the original plan was for Lorriane to be Carol's daughter, as they had the same last name. Lorraine was the most isolated of the younger contract set so I see why she was dumped. There also seemed to be a bt of build in the Chris / Pamela relationship that made me think that this also may have been an original direction. I think that Ryan Munisteri and Jones might have been testing the waters for a gay storyline because of the "Tea and Sympathy" elements. I appreciated that they expanded Pete's family toward the end. I have to wonder what the plans were for Dinah as she was on contract. I think there had to be more going on than just the trial.

In terms of a foundation, I think the show's original storylines had some interesting elements. Judge Hathaway's death sprung forth some family drama with the return of wayward sister Allison and her husband, Roy, who had been involved with Allison's sister Kate years earlier. Kate was pursued by Steve Prescott because she had inherited land that he was interested in that was tied to mobster Arthur Saxton. Michael Hathaway pined for his young stepmother Mary, who's husband Julian talked about some deep seated isues with his father. It is my understanding the day to day wasn't always the most appealing and the mob element was well received. Lou Scofield's material for "The Secret Storm" prior to this wasn't super appealing after some of John Hess' work. In general, I think Pat Falken Smith's work and Labine and Mayer's work was considered much stronger.

I think shifting "Ryan's Hope" and "Loving" was foolsih, in the long run. There was no major bump for "Loving." RH had been stronger than it was when it moved in 1984, but it creatively rebounds in the mid-to-late 1980s in a way that "Loving" doesn't in the same period of time. I think all the daytime personalities behind the scenes are much more complex characters themselves than we often given them credit for with their insecurities and eccentricities. Patrick Mulcahey's "school marm" comment about Nixon seems to shed some light on that, as does the film Labine's grandchildren made about stealing the ashes of a late family pet. Could Nixon and Labine have been enemies? Possibly. In trying to add something new to the old why "Loving" failed debate, I will add network interference in the creative process. Nixon's soaps launched with a layer of provocative realism set in the very modern worlds. The "Loving" bible hints at that sort of edge with Merrill's romantic outlook, Mike's PTSD, Billy's impotency, the incest, and Lorna's social issue-less interracial marriage to Ron Turner's son. Most of this was either openly scuttled by the network (Merrill, the incest), most likely overruled (the impotency and interracial marriage), or watered down (the PTSD story). Mike's story was suppose to be relatively dark with Patrick's death during a campus drug raid that resulted in his heart attack with Mike blaming himself followed by a twisted sexual relationship with Rita Mae that led him to beating Rita Mae's younger lover Curtis, who Mike suspected was involved in the drug ring. If ABC Daytime was truly afraid of losing Nixon, maybe they should have given her a little more leeway. I'm curious if the rumored Ava is biracial story was more than just a myth. The only real provocative long story Nixon is able to get through is Shana's involvement with Jim, the priest. I don't think that was enough because Jim's family ties were so stripped down that the impact of him leaving the church is diluted. Maybe if they played up the Donovan family ties to Jim, it could have had a bit more meat. I don't think the Jonathan is demonic story worked as well as others did. @DRW50 I watched a bit of that episode before you mentioned the Ava / Sheri scenes. Those scenes did stand out, but I'm never 100% sure that Taggart understood that Ava was pregnant, miscarried, and then bought the baby. In 1993, Stacey brings up the baby story when Ava pretends she's pregnant to keep Leo from runnning off to Shana, and Stacey thinking Ava lied the whole time made sense given that Stacey hated Dinahlee for years for ALMOST sleeping with her husband. But Sheri knew the truth. I didn't watch it all, but I will probably go back at some point.

Looking back through this thread, I am surprised I didn't post anything post week 6. I know I wrote stuff, but I must not have posted it. Or I posted parts in the "Loving" thread in comparison to Mary Ryan Muniteri's run whihc was about a year after "Tribes." One of the big shockers for me in the post-week 6 episodes was a "Tea and Sympathy" plot where Big Bill Pressfield, local entrepeneur with a younger trophy wife, suspects his artsy son Chris might be gay. It features a hilariously bad episode teaser where Billy overreacts (on purpose) to the news that his brother is gay. It all leads to Chris bedding down with Carol Delaney (Janice Heiden, weeks before she'd pop up on GH as the spa owner who blackmailed Monica over the affair with Ned). In the available online episodes, there is no connection made between the Delaney clan and Lorraine Delaney. I believe Lorraine leaves just as the other Delaneys are introduced or just before. THis all happens around week 14 when they start to make the major adjustments. With the missing episodes, I don't know the fate of Pamela Pressfield. She just seems to disappear around episode 65 or shortly before. I think she was originally tapped to be the Carol Delaney part as there was lots of Pamela / Chris material. Kerry Remsen was the daughter of the casting director so I think when it was clear she was a nepo hire, they dumped the character. Stacey Cox's story remains the most impressive with her lying about Mr. Stevens, the friendly science teacher, sleeping wtih her before admitting to someone (I think her sister Melinda) that she was lying. This results in Stacey becoming a pariah and being targeted by Pete, who rapes her in the Cox's living room. The rape story is powerful. Stacey starts calling Darryl at the hotline and attempts suicide before they run off together. Pete seems to genuinely believe that Stacey wanted to sleep with him, which is a bit off putting but also slightly intriguing. Pete's story is very layered. It turns out he has been lying about his identity to fit in with the more elite kids. His father is a scummy con. The rape case brings his father and sister into the story. Earl's reaction to the rape allegation is he was surprised that Pete was even interested in women. There are moments where this could have been very compelling. The Melinda / Billy / Matt story was angsty. I didn't like the stretch where Jojo locked Matt and Melinda in a boiler room. That was dumb. Also, the addition of Frankie, Michelle Stafford's runaway character, seems like a Tina replacement. The band story was light and fluffy, but Scott Garrison has a decent enough voice for a daytime show that his singing wasn't distracting. I like that Bobbie was back, but I just think there was a missed moment by not having Bobbie back for more of Anny's pregnancy. Jojo and Laura were an intriguing possibility, but I didn't think they could carry the show for long.

The brief period where Wheeler was EPing from the material credited to Weston had some very nice material for ver Dorn. I remember Joey Lupo commenting directly to Ross during the election story (probably late March/early April, 2004) how well he was handling or had handled Marah's murder charges when she was accused of killing Maryanne Carrouthers. Ver Dorn had Ross reflect on the power of his role in the community and the potential loss that would come if he were mayor. In the end, Ross won (after losing, of course, because it was rigged). When Kriezman came on, I felt the Ross / Blake tension felt forced even though the nature of the conflict was natural (Dinah's return after being on the run for years after killing Blake's half-brother Hart). At times, Kriezman's work felt so stripped down that even character moments felt like they were pure plot. I loved Olivia, but by this point in time, early 2006, the best days of Olivia were over. Cosgrove was gone. Alexander was gone and had no interest in returning. If it could have spared viewers the Olivia / Frank / Buzz triangle and the Olivia / Jeffrey and was there also Olivia / Gus, I would have been ok. From when I started watching, I felt Chamberlain did her best work in those non-contract years where she could focus on how optimistic Beth struggled to be after being harmed for many years by the harsh realities of living. I didn't miss the Paul Raunch Beth Raines years, that's for sure. Wow. I had completely forgot about Gloria Irizarry's warmer Maria. She definitely provided an interesting dynamic. Based on the Soap Central summaries, Maria became harder under Irizarry, but I can't remember if her Maria was cold and calculating or was it just Miriam Colon's. I think the setup for late 2004 / early 2005 for Danny / Michelle was interesting when it looked like that they might go with Danny / Blake on the eve of Ed's return while Beth and Rick were also growing closer and Michelle was still running around with Sebastian. I thought having Ed's son involved with Lillian's daughter in an extra marital affair, while his son-in-law was involved with Holly's daughter who he believed to be his at one time, while his daughter was growing closer to Roger's son could have produced a lot of powerful material.

I don't think Matt / Paul remarried Van. For many years, there was very little research out on that period of "Love of Life." I think Matt Corby arrived on the scene as someone's defense lawyer, maybe Bill and Tess when they were accused of killing John Randolph, Tess' husband. Then, it was revealed he was Paul. At that point, they introduced the Southern ex-wife, Evelyn, and their daughter, Stacey (or maybe she was just Evelyn's daughter). I think Van and Matt reunited, but I don't know if the intention was for usurpment of Van and Bruce, though. Bruce wasn't perfect at this point either. I think he was involved with Judith Cole, Marsha Mason's reporter character. Thinking about all of this, I have to wonder if Paul Raven's return was a substitute for the aborted return story for Meg which would have been in about the same time period.

@Soaplovers Interesting to hear about a possible additional week. The Chicago Tribune lists "Tribes" airing at 5pm until Friday, July 6, on Channel 32. On Monday, July 9, "Mr. Belvedere" has taken over that spot. The Los Angeles Times states the show's last episode would be on July 13 on their local Channel 11, but the newspaper listings for that station drop Tribes in mid-June. It's also possible the final 5 aired in even less markets. I am not sure. I know "The Catlins" is listed as airing a week longer than it is listed in the soap books than it does in the newspaper TV listings.

I don't know if it was ever said why the show wanted to get rid of Danny and Michelle, but I imagine part of it was that they were creatively stifling. The Manny crew wouldn't let anyone or anything come between them. I remember SOD reporting, or maybe it was just gossip on another board like GLBuzz or Spaulding Mansion (maybe those were the same forum, I cannot recall) that they were extending Nancy St. Alban's maternity leave. I think Alban's first episode back (or one of the first) was Michelle's September, 2005, car crash where Edmund stole Michelle's baby and gave it to Cassie. This also was the first episode of the GL podcast that they were posting online. Does anyone remember how long they did the podcast episodes for? During Wheeler's time, I believe Danny and Michelle were mostly apart. Wheeler arrived around March Madness and the mayor story was about to climax in April, which shifted Danny back into the mob circle for "one last time." In May, Danny was involved in setting up the warehouse bombing that was going to "kill" Eden so that she could go into Witness Protection, but Michelle trailed Danny and was caught up on the explosion. As a result, Michelle had amnesia and embraced a wilder side, which mostly meant she would say what she wanted and acted like she was a teenager. ScrambledMichelle ended up with Tony until Tony died on the cliff in February or March, 2005. Then, Michelle was pregnant and something must have happened that caused her to go on the run in August (Bill helped her, as I recall) and then there was the baby kidnapping. I tend to not hate Conboy as much as others do, but the Bradley Cole situation showed he was out of touch with the modern soap audience. I remember Conboy stating in an interview how he didn't know why Cole had been fired when he was getting tons of mail asking for him back. He seemed unaware of the modern internet soap fanbased who mobilized to mislead production into thinking their couple was the key to the show's success. The fact that none of the NYC soaps picked him up afterwards should have been a hint. AMC gave him a dayplayer role as someone involved in the cosmetics storyline and I think the Rassies even tried to get him hired permanently over there and possibly paired with Erica Kane.

"Our Family Honor" was rerun on a small New York cable channel Metro TV in the late 1990s or early 2000s. I think it aired as a New Year's Eve marathon and then was shown in their regular line up for a bit. The show had a strong cast, but the story wasn't really all that memorable. The one thing I remember was a mob murder occuring while "Send in the Clowns" was playing. I think it might have been John Callahan's sleazy lover who was offed while Augie and his wife celebrated their child's birthday.

Patrick Mulcahey wrote for "Texas" in the beginning and had also worked for the Corringtons at "Search for Tomorrow." He might have a bit of insight.

I believe Paul/Matt Corby was murdered by his ex-wife, Evelyn. This was why Bruce and Van ended up raising Stacey Corby for a bit afterwards. I think he got the Sam Reynolds recast personality adjustment as well. @FrenchFan might have more details as I think this was Loring Mandel's scripts and I can't remember if those are in his collection.

Maureen Garrett, Liz Kiefer, Yvonna Kopacz, and Beth Chamberlain were all dropped under John Conboy about August, 2003. Garrett was the least used of the lot as I recall, but Kopacz had her baby so Mel may have appeared even less. After August, I think Garrett appeared twice (Ross and Blake's Christmas 2003 wedding and February, 2004, in a scene with Ed telling him she'd be there for him if he needed her to be). If I remember correctly, Chamberlain was offered a contract again under Wheeler (possibly more than once), but she elected to stay off contract because she made more money per episode and she wanted to be able to accept another NY soap job. I think she was interested in the Paige Miller recast on "One Life to Live" that ultimately went to Diane Neil. I believe Valenti was more interested in trying to swipe Crystal Chappell for the role, but Wheeler wouldn't let Chappell out of her contract. Garrett returned under Wheeler in September, 2004, on a more regular recurring basis for Roger's demise and Sebastian's arrival. She was used with some consistency until May, 2005, when the budget crunch came in. Her final scenes were part of a set up of a Spaulding takeover storyline where Blake, Sebastian, and Josh were teaming up to infilitrate Spaulding at the moment Holly agreed to sell a piece (or all) of the Journal to Alan in exchange for some of Spaulding Enterprises. Jerry ver Dorn, Marj Dusay, and Michael O'Leary were all dropped to recurring under Wheeler in September, 2005, along with the complete dismissal of Paul Anthony Stewart, Nancy St. Alban, and David Andrew MacDonald after St. Alban returned from her maternity leave, which the show had extended. Laura Wright and Daniel Cosgrove both jumped ship at that point with Wright immediately joining "General Hospital" as Carly. Zimmer is a bit audacious to complain about Wheeler though because this was when she refused to take a pay cut. Zimmer's point was valid; reopening a contract was a dangerous precedent to set at any show. As a result though, some of those people left, I believe. Wheeler should have dumped Bradley Cole the minute his contract was up. It was rumored Conboy had brought him back with clause that required the show to pay out his contract if they terminated him before it's natural end.

I watched to episode 200 and jumped back. The stand out for me in episodes 196-200 is the nearly insane ending to the Dennis Fraser story. Dennis was the drunk driver who hit Scott and Nora on New Year's Eve leading to their demises. For set of episodes, Dennis was calling Terry terrorizing her because he couldn't handle his own guilt. We see a bit of his home life, we see the investigation by Sgt. Brubaker to locate him, and we see an intense sequence (which I believe I wrote about last time) where Dennis shows up at the door of the Davidson home with Terry against the door on the otherside. Someone once brought up the question of the influence of "Dallas" on soaps in the 1980s and how they assumed "Another Life" would rejct this type of character. Capitalists and business are more of a threat to the community in Ravenswood/Kingsley than the mob is. There seems to be a suggestion that Fraser's drunken state brought on by an office holiday party may in fact again shine line on the dangers of relying on the wrong type of people in teh business world. In the climatic final sequence, Dennis Fraser sits in his insurance office ready to take his own life with a pistol when Saint Terry arrives to absolve him of his sin. I thought this was a brilliant sequence at first. Terry's recognition of Dennis' pain, the fallibility of man, and the power of forgiiveness gives shape to something remarkable and profound. Terry convinces Dennis to give himself to the Lord and he finds peace. I don't mind this, to an extent, but the born again salvation that acts as a near deus ex machina will grow old (we did this a few weeks earlier with Dave Phillips and a few weeks before that with Jeff Cummings). I would love to see what could have been if this had played out in Winsor's vision of a secular story about a family of faith. There are elements that could really be powerful if they were allowed to explore all angles. In some ways, I still find all of this wildly appealing, but more in a sense of what could be more so than often what is. There were some other stories starting in the leading up to episode 200. Carla Redlon is back. I'm not super interested in her but I like both Elain Graham and Eddie Hailey. I think the conflict is very basic, but I think both actors could easily do more if given the material. I'd love to see Carla's story intesect with Becky's as she is rising in the music world. After 200, I went back to 70 and watched through 90. I can't say I'm in love with what Robert Aaron and Roy Winsor are doing, but I can appreciate it a bit more now that I know the characters a bit better. Jeff Cummings is a fairly vile character. Every time I think he's reached his breaking point of being the worst (hitting his daughter when he was drunk, believing he has run down Lori and Russ while trying to cover it up) he manages to top himself by revealling to Nick Trench that Scott Davidson was involved in the raid on the drug shipments setting him up for the potential to be murdered. McGowan really is impressive to manage to salvage the character after being through the ringer. A while back, @DRW50 asked about how Mandy Bolen exits. I think her final episode may be episode 83 or 84. She is at a restaurant with Jeff and basically calls off their affair. It feels like a low key goodbye and I could see why Lois Robbins may have felt blind sided. Mandy felt like a character that would have been on "Somerset" or one of those other 1970s shows with hints of women's liberation and sexual themes. I can also see why Nick Trench is dumped. You don't need him and Vince Cardello. I also didn't realize, or maybe just didn't remember, that the show was originally taking place in several citiies in Virginia. The hospital was in Ravenswood. The college was in Kingsley. There are mentions of Roanoke and Richmond. There is a comment that the Barnes were the ones to solidify the setting. The end of the Russ / Lori relationship is rather trite. Everyone just starts to sense that Becky and Russ like each other and then Ben Martin arrives as Dr. Greely's assistant and its all over. It's interesting that Russ ended up drawn to the mob because he is an idiot. He insisted on the surgeon, who arrives and says that this was a simple procedure. I like where Russ goes. I like that Russ was trying to believe for Lori's sake, but it isn't really working. One of the most shocking scenes in the dying days of Winsor is the revelation that Terry and Scott were not Christians when they were in college. They found the Lord later. Terry reveals to Lori, in very sensitive terms, that Terry and Scott had sex before they were married, and before they knew what love was, and that they thought that it would bring them together, but it didn't. It's a really well done scene that pushes an agenda, but I thought made it in more realistic terms though there was mention of " it was a sin." It was a nice contrast to Lori wailing earlier about how she should have slept with Russ because she might be paralyzed. I think the revelation taht Terry was born again made the Lindsay family background more practical. It was a smart move because it would explain events like Alf's drinking and philandeering and Nancy's backstory without seeming in such stark contrast to the Davidson uniit of 1981. Nora stating she ran a restaurant prior to retirement was another shock. I have to wonder if Nora wasn't shaped after some of the older characters Roy Winsor introduced on "Somerset" or maybe that was a later writer. Paul Mason is an odd character. I am not surprised he was dumped. I didn't realize he actually cared for Lori in a romantic sense. I thought it was all a lie. I don't understand how old Norm Elliot is. He is a college student, he is dating Miriam, and he's a Vietnam veteran. It's a bit all over the place. I'm not sure if there is any character I like more under Winsor than I do once he leaves. Jeff is tkaen to an exteme and there's something intriguing about him and Mandy, but it just continues to go too far. Even passive Liz seems to have a bit more agency. Otherwise, everyone seems to be better served in the later episodes.

Funny, I was thinking she might have made a nice Ann. Callan White grew a bit in the first year or two, but when they stopped writing for her, I don't think the verve and personality she developed in what I saw during her marriage to Dane was maintained. Not that I want to see Ann Alden the madam. I think the April story is another story best to be forgotten. A story element I have floated around in my head the last few years was the possibility that maybe Amelia Whitley (Geraldine Page) should have been Shana's mother. Under those circumstances, I think there would have been a cnatural way to connect Diane and Shana through Amelia.

I recognized Kahlenberg's name from "The Catlins." Because the cast information for "The Catlins" is mostly incomplete, it would be hard to say. Seeing more of "Another Life," my interest is again peaked by the other major off network soap in the 1980s to run for several years. What's worth noting is both "Another Life" and "The Catlins" found some stability with sub-writers from "The Edge of Night." Jason Vinley was Irving Vendig's and Steve Lehrman was one of Henry Sleasar's. I am still about 65 episodes from year 2 and about 110 from Jason Vinley starting. I may jump back and bridge the gap by watching the first 40 or so available episodes I skipped to see when I first see the show to display that initial promise. You are right though, the show does seem to slump but finds moments that I can find enjoyable. I think the makeup of the Cummings would probably be more complicated, but I think they could have made the Cummings work if they had explored Jeff as a minister and community leader. I haven't listen to all that I acquired, but I purchased some episodes of "Sounds of the City," an African American radio soap from the 1970s. There is a criminal element much like "Another Life" and one of the major forces fighting the element is a reverend. I think Jeff would have been a good character to position into that element especially given his own past. Personally, I would probably have Jeff's fight for the soul of the community cost him his connection to his wife and daughter. I'm just entering the Jill episodes, but I've seen a bit of the ends of episodes from doing the writing credits. I think the Jill story has some interesting bits, but I am not sure the characters were strong enough on their own to carry a show. I think Tom McGowan is earnest enough for the direction they are taking Jeff. Carolyn Lenz can be a bit underwhelming, but I think she has some natural charm in some scenes. I wonder what format the spinoff would be. Another daytime drama? A weekly drama? Sitcom?

Dave is very much a supporting character in Jeff's story at this point. Dave has been popping in the bookstore to convince Jeff to start selling the Bible, which leads Jeff to start being overly aggressive in trying to convert customers to Jesus rather than convincing them to buy product. There is a very specific approach to capitalism on this show as being a detriment to the soul which is quite fascinating. On secular soaps, it is the equivalent of show's that valued the community over the individual. Dave has also deduced that Jeff is interested in the ministry. I think that is a smart move for the character, but I'm not sure if that's where the story is going. Miriam is definitely going down. The Miriam / Charles / Nancy triangle is fascinating with Miriam standing in as the jilted wife while Charles shacks up with Nancy in Nora's house. Charles is such a nasty piece of work. I'd say he's one note, but given some of current world figures, maybe the heartless industrialist isn't that far off. Now up to episode #195. Several new characters have shown up. Jill Hansen just showed up and collapsed at Jeff's bookstore after stealing a book while Dave is chatting up Jeff. Jill is a runaway from Indiana who I know will become involved with several sets of characters. A couple episodes earlier Gary Taylor, Peter's buddy from the job site appeared, and he I think is involved wiht Peter and Jill for a bit. Carla Redlon has returned to Kingsley after achieving some success as a singer looking to reunite with her son and ex-husband. Peter's arc has built nicely. In the last month or so, Vicki Lang has been introduced as Gene's new assistant. Peter trying to become the man of the house is nice layer to some of his material. He is in the thick of things (offscreen) at Prescott Development. There was a nice scene where there is a minor construction accidnet that leads to people being rushed to the hosptial and Terry fearing that she is replaying the loss of her family further. I'm not always sold on the actor; he comes off as a bit like he's from a sitcom. I do think he has a fun presence and he seems like a real teenager. One of the best developments was in Nancy's lawsuit when Miriam, hurt over Nancy and Charles' fling, decides to run off and tell Terry that she knows all things that Nancy has concocted and will say so in court. Its a nice twist on the Miriam-Davidsons relationship. Meanwhle, Miriam is still pill popping a bunch, which hasn't gone unnoticed by Terry's stalker was a story I had heard almost nothing about. It is well done. There were some interesting sequences with Dennis Frazier, the man who killed Nora and Scott, remembering the accident before going to the Davidson house and knocking on the door. The lighting, the music, the filming, and Mary Jean Feton's performance are incredibly effective. I find the quad between Ben / Lori / Russ / Becky very interesting, especially in counterpoint to where Susan Scannell will end up at the end of 1982 on "Search for Tomorrow." Becky's story is very similar to Kristin Carter's becoming involved with Brian while he is trying to reunite with Suzi. By default, I would think that Warren / Suzi / Brian / Kristen should be more effective given the angle of Warren being more devious than Ben and Kristen's miscarriage being a secret. In what I've seen though, I find the AL version more effective. Russ as the equivalent of Warren is just as jealous and hot headed, but not as openly a criminal. Warren's connection to Rusty is a bit like Russ' connection to Vince, but Vince is more effective as the grey villain in the overall story than Rusty ever was. There's a lot of interesting dynamics at play. I think it helps that Russ has Vince and Carrie, which keeps that end of the quad very interesting. Carrie is more of a low rent Stephanie, but with more emphasis on their animosity than I remember seeing in the Stephanie / Kristen material. I have no use for the Summer Wind angle though I find the actor playing Phil attractive. I am curious if there is any crossover with Carla Redlon becasue I think a Becky / Carla friendship could be intiguing. Ben and Lori are now heavily involved in Ben's pursuit of a clinic in Chesterfield, the part of town that Ione Redlon is looking to move back to. Lori's point of view is very negative about the area, which Alex Greely explains away as representing her sense of instability in the past year with the car accident with Russ, marrying Ben, Nora and Scott dying, the fire, etc. It was smart to justify her POV, but I think Lori's a bit spoiled. I can't see a modern audience being overly sympathetic to Lori in this situation. I appreciate Jill's story. The actress is young and its only been like two or three episodes, but it is clearly a social issue story. Jill has left because her mother's boyfriend made a move on her and the mother, Mrs. Eubanks, didn't believe her. Now, because she just turned eighteen, she is no longer viewed as a runaway but rather homeless. Jeff and Liz taking her in seems like the kind of thing the new Jeff would do. I'll be curious if I still enjoy the story as it progresses. The Hollister Mall plot is a bit stalled. The investigation into the fire has continued. Insurance payments have been released, but now Charles and Webster cannot secure insurance which threatens the whole project. George Slaymaker was recast just as George was seen committing adultery by making out with his mistress in the office. I think it's one of the new George's first scenes. I have to wonder if that had any element of it or if I'm just stuck thinking about Joann Pflug's quick exit from Rituals two years later. The first George, Charles Kahlenberg, will pop up two years later on "The Catlins" as Warden Evans, who ended being behind a drug ring in the local prison as well as being behind the murder of Eleanor Catlin Quinn. I'm mostly just having it play in the background so I'm not sure if I missed anything or misheard something.

On "Loving," Ryder and Walsh were hired under Fran Sears who was looking to bring the college back in focus. In fall of 1991, Mary Ryan Munisteri introduced Giff Bowman, an art professor, and the art studio. Trisha began to handle the Alden art collection which I believe was tied to the University. Ceara Connor crossed over to work at the University in the public relations role, I believe. In December, I believe Ally Rescott agreed to go to Alden University. Ryder and Walsh arrived in January and launched phase 2 of the college in late March by launching all the fraternity / sorotity stories that last about one contract cycle. I want to say Granger arrived in May or June, 1992. Supposedly, she and Walsh clashed over story and according to Paul Anthony Stewart in a press article, there was no headwriter in the summer of 1992, but, as you stated, the writers were credited through the end of the contract. I suspect they probably came back at some point. The story I think Granger and Ryder fought over was Cooper's past sexual abuse history. The show was leading to a conclusion where Cooper had been abused by his childhood nanny Selina. When we met Selina, Cooper and Selina revealed that twelve or thirteen year old Cooper had seduced his nanny Selina. When Walsh returned to headwriter in 1994 with Laurie McCarthy, there was a scene less than two months into Walsh's return where Cooper claimed that he had been sexually abused by Selina to Steffi when they were in the barn. I don't think Granger was well liked by some of the cast. Christopher Cass made a comment about her during the "Men of Loving" interview that was quickly scrubbed referring to her as "the South African" when referring to how things were going during the 1990s vs the 1980s.

I'm now up to 180, which I believe brings me into February, 1980. A lot of the storytelling tends to be plot heavy without much emphasis on the emotional fallout or lacking a level of nuance. Up until about 175. the Nancy / Terry fight over the house descended into very black and white tropes. Then, Terry shows up at Nora's house while Nancy is rummaging through things and makes a peace offering acknowledging the pain Nancy has felt over the way she was treated and how she (Terry) isn't going to seek vengeance. It's nice scene that sets the story on the path I think works best for Terry. Nancy remains toxic as anything, but at least Terry is acting like Terry and has acknowledged that her grief made her lose sight of things. Mitch Dunbar has dug into the vital records and discovered that Nancy isn't Nora's daughter and that Nora never legally adopted Nancy, which is suppose to hurt Nancy's case. I want to like Nancy and Charles Carpenter's romance, but the meat of the story, Nancy vs. Miriam, isn't given the right amount of energy. I do love Miriam descending into booze and pills as her father shifts her into the role of defacto housewife who also works in his office as a secretary. I wish they had played up Nancy and Miriam's friendship and Nancy and Charles were sneaking around. It would work better for me. A new Terry story has started in the last few episodes involving mysterious phone calls. In doing the data for the writers, I know where this is going and I like it. It is a nice little bit of suspense. Gene / Ione's search for a home doesn't get as much time as I would hope and the dialogue isn't as sharp as it was earlier in the story. Leon has taken over the apartment that his sister Sam was occupying, but I don't think it was mentioned in the dialogue. The Slaymakers are such a bizarre edition. George is the heir to a banking fortune and is in cahoots with Webster and Carpenter in their schemes. Vince Cardello knows that George is having an affair and skirts around how this would be a problem if George ends up running for office as he tends to do. George's marriage marriage to Bethany/Beth is loveless. Beth has sacrificed personal happiness for professional ambition by marrying George for his family's name and power, though I beleive it was said her own father was a prominent attorney or judge. Mitch Dunbar spends a lot of time with Beth trying to help his clients (he gets Beth to slap Terry with a warning rather than a fine when she trespasses and enters Nora's home to try to broker peace between Nancy and herself). They are intriguing becasue they are new, but I suspect that elements of these characters will be introduced in other stories more effectively later in the show's run. Michael Ryan manages to embed a certain grace and strength to Vince, while also appearing to be bitter. Vince's relationship with his daughter-in-law, Becky, is one of his redeeming features. In this set of episodes, Becky has miscarried. It's a fairly emotional story point for a story that has mostly been about Russ' jealousy over Becky working with Phil and Becky's ambition to see her name in bright lights. The Summer Wind stuff isn't my favorite, but I enjoy Chris Auer's Francis Miller, a predecessor to Loving's Arthur Davies. I don't want Francis to have story of his own, but he gives texture to the canvas, which is fairly rich without him but better served with him. The miscarriage evokes a lot of nice moments among the tragedy. Becky snaps at Lori about how she couldn't know anything about loss which leads to Lori talking about the loss of her father and grandmother. Lori and Becky's relationship is special because usually in this situation, a Becky type would be actively undermining Lori. Instead, Becky tries to be the friend Lori deserves while falling hopelessly short more often than not. And Lori forgives Becky because Becky's intentions are pure. I can't think of another relationship of this type. It's fascinating. Though, I'll be curious to see what happens as there seems to be hints (or maybe just from doing the episode credits) that there will be some Russ/Lori stuff coming up. Terry and Ben were very gently with Russ in the midst of the crisis and Russ lashes out, which was on brand. I thought it was a smart way to keep Terry in the thick of things. Becky's miscarriage leads to a phone call between Russ and his mother, Carrie, who is back in Chicago. Carrie is (of course) delighted to learn of the miscarriage and it's a fairly nasty scene that's on brand for the character. Maybe because there isn't a connection between Carrie and Becky the way there is between Nancy and Terry, I find these scenes more powerful than off putting. The Hollister Square/Mall plot is heavily focused. Charles and Webster work with Norm Eliot to secure an arsonist to torch Ben's office. Norm, who is seeing Miriam and working as an aide to George Slaymaker, is initially tasked with the job, but refuses only to turn around offer to secure a man for the job with a finder's fee. Sometimes, I find the villains on this show seem to go farther than they would on network shows, but I am adjusting and appreciaitng it. The office is torched and an old man (Laskey) dies. Carpenter has no guilt over the old man's death. It's pretty wild. There's a fire inspector going around trying to put the pieces together. Because Ben has received a substantial insurance check, I won't be surprised if they blame him for a minute. Ben's crisis of faith regarding work intrigues me. His pursuit against the Carpenters to maintain his work has riffled feathers in his marriage. Some of the conflict lacks depth in the dialogue. Lori's fight against Ben's quest for justice is missing Lori's acknowledgement of how the Carpenters nearly destroyed her life the previous year. Such writing turnover does that, but it would elevate the domestic drama slightly by acknowledging Lori's desire to move past the last year and not be stuck in it. Ben's father pops in again to offer money for the clinic. I'll be curious to see if he comes back at all after this. Very little time is given to the Cummings and the bookstore. Jeff is visited again by Dave Phillps, who admits he was a surgeon and abortionist in his past life. Cardoza is still in the role. I'll be curious to see if this is actually the same character as Tom Ulrich's or if its pure coincedence. I don't think Ulrich arrives until fall of 1982 (November?) so I'll be curious. There is another scene where Jeff tries preaching and converting in the book store. I think they should have just made Jeff a preacher and let that play out. The show seems to go in waves of being interesting. I'll see what the next few weeks bring.

Did anyone read Mike Poirer's article on Marlena Delacroix's site about Capitol's history? The most interesting nugget was that James Lipton wasn't planning on staying much longer had the show continued and Samuel Ratcliffe and Peggy Sloane were set to take over as headwriters. https://marlenadelacroix.com/2025/02/looking-back-on-a-capitol-idea-that-did-not-survive/

Those outlines from 1992 are very early in Addie Walsh's run. She started in early January. The team is comprised of Mary Ryan Munisteri's crew. A good number of those writers are out over the next month or two. I don't have any tangible proof, but I think early Walsh is running off of the projections that Munisteri left. The Michael heart storyline is very stripped down Labine because of the way Walsh approaches it, but I imagine it would have been more meanignful had Munisteri stayed. The band romance between Ally and Matt's bandmate was recycled from "Tribes" as was Ally's breif claim that Giff had gotten her pregnant. Granger doesn't start until May. I am pretty sure Sears is there through the launch of the college reset in late March, early April. *** The Devil stuff isn't for me. Recently saw the Russ goes to Hell sequence from "Another Life" and it gives the same hokey vibe. I get what Nixon was going for, but it doesn't work for me. I'm sure others will feel differently. It was nice to see the 1984 murder storyline. I still think Stephanie Payne was originally intended to be a Merrill recast. The turnover is crazy everyone on "Loving" in the 1980s. In March, 1987, I'm pretty sure Ralph Ellis takes over the writing team. He quickly brings the Nick Dinatos murder to end revealing Cabot killed him. I doubt that was the original plan, but who knows. Anyway, Kelly is Kelly Conway, Zach's daughter and Lorna's stepdaughter. Kelly was left with her new stepgrandparents while her parents went off on a honeymoon never to return. They build that brief teen scene around her with Teri Polo's rich bitch Kirsten (I think was her name), the punk Rob Carpenter with the mohawk and the alcoholic mom, Lotty's kid brother Ned Bates, and maybe Dave Hindmann (Art's son who can't read and plays basketball). Kelly is replaced by April Hathway, teen prostitute. They are all pretty much forgotten. Ava's beaus post Curtis are both unmemorable, Tony #2 and Judd Beacham.

It's a real shame. I'll be curious to see if there is any shift again when I get to the episodes Cheryl Chisholm is credited as production writer. Chisholm starts as a production assistant and starts writing scripts in the interim period. She became a playwright (or was one when the show premiered). There is a near stage quality (albeit local stage) to the scripts in November-early December, 1981. I think my thoughts are Nancy are very misguided. The Lindsey family is quiet toxic during the interim period with Alf Lindsey having revealed the truth about Nancy's paternity drunkenly during her sixteenth birthday. Nora confessing she had accepted the affair because she didn't want one mistake to ruin their entire marraige. Nora's inability to love her husband's love child. An unloved Nancy racking up to ex-husbands and an abortion before she turns 33. It's a very stark vision of a core family. Delightfully delicious in the dynamics, but Terry is nearly saint qualtiy in this period while not coming off as a Pollyanna. It's a briliiant combo of wriitng and Mary Jean Feton's warmth and presence. I think I am suppose to hate Nancy because she was marked from birth by her illegitimacy and her nasty demeanor, but working with troubled youth, Nancy has the trademarks of someone who just wasn't cared for. By her thirties, Nancy should have progressed a little but some of those heated exchanges between Nora and Nancy are so brutal on each side and Nancy very frankly points out that Nora hated Nancy because she couldn't hate Alf. Nancy's flirtation with Scott, and later with his boss, screamed of needs of a father figure who would love and care about her, but if she couldn't get love, she'd get security from money. Under the Barnes, she is absolutely vile. Squatting in Nora's house isn't bad as I knew that was happening, but going after Scott's estate was devious even by Nancy's standards. I wish there were some more layers to Nancy as she showed a moment of remorse after showing up after midnight of NYE and learning Scott and Nora were dead. The only other character that fascinates me, in a very different way but becasue of their story, is Jeff Cummings, who is also losing a bit of his edge with the Barnes around. After experiencing "the miracle," I found Jeff's hapless devotion to God without making any real efforts to think for himself fascinating as it was presented as a false way to celebrate religion. Jeff's acquisition of the bookstore was smart, but the bizarre segue into the introduction of Dr. Dave Phillips is borderline campy madness. Dave, played by Cardoza, is a reformed alcoholic cell mate of Jeff's who has now revelaed he is a former abortionist who feels he has been saved by Jeff. I really wish they had considered having Jeff join the ministry as I think that would have been such an interesting arc for him. The former sinner now trying to lead a flock while also being tempted. The Barnes aren't writing very layered scripts at this point (150-165). Everything is black and white for the most part. Vince Cardello's moment of chatisizing Charles Carpenter is a rare moment of conflicting values where the mob takes the moral high ground (Guza would love this scene; AL's equivalent of Sonny telling off Edward Quartermaine). I'm glad to hear the last year is good. From the fan interview posted with headwriter Jason Vinley, I think he lost the plot a bit in the final year. He really enjoyed the Daar Salaam bible story, which I think was endemic of the 1980s sci-fi trends. He described it as "Raiders of the Lost Ark." I'll be curious to see how I feel when I get there. Susan Carey Lamm has impressed me in both roles (AL and SFT), but I think she should have replaced fellow AL actor Susan Scannell as Kristen in 1985. Kristen could have been involved in the custody battle of Jonah and filled the void of villain now that her brother was dead. Adair was a dead end with the decision to eliminate Alec Kendall. You are probably right about AL being what Loving wanted to be and couldn't manage. I have to wonder what impact the shift in cast had. I know that when the cable soap "The Catlins" was cancelled in early 1985, it had experienced decent ratings in January, but it wasn't enough. I got the sense that the production costs continued to grow as they procured more coastal talent. I wonder what role that played on "Another Life." Also, given the departures in the last year of the show of several major cast members (the Carpenters, Peter, Russ?) I have to wonder if there wasn't some money issues at play. Maybe I'm wrong thoguh.

Script writers for episode counts #201 - #260 under Dallas and Joanne Barnes: Cheryl Chisholm (34 episodes) - as production writer Libby Rodes (9 episodes), Chris Auer (8 episodes). Linda Culpepper (7 episodes), Steve Sylvester (5 episodes), Cheryl Chisholm (4 episodes), Ted O'Hara (4 episodes), Susan McBride (4 episodes), Edna (C.) Brown (2 episodes) It's not clear what the "production writer" role is. Cheryl Chisholm is credited in each episode with credits in the role after 209 except for the 3 episodes Chisholm wrote the scripts. I am assuming its a breakdown writer or maybe script editor. This takes us to the end of the first year. I'm about 100 episodes away from the end of year 1 (I'm at 165). The Barnes have been credited for about 3 weeks. Lots of characters have been written out. Helen Carpenter is gone in the last week of December having taken everything and left. No goodbye scene, just Charles and Miriam coming home to a barren home. Marty McGraw gets a goodbye scene a few days later as Carrie Weaver decides to return home. Doug Hughes and the other Hollister Square people are slowly saying their goodbyes to Ben Martin. Nora and Scott are dead at the end of the first week. Samantha Marshall is offered a job in D.C. and leaves shortly after the funeral. Nancy, seeing dollar signs in Nora's death, quickly dumps her tv station owner boyfriend in a brutal scene where she says he more than likely bored his late wife to death. Nancy is a nasty piece of work. The story started to lose steam mid-December. The crisper, shocking scripts have faded, which is disappointing. The scripts are rather plot heavy without the mix of domestic drama and social relevance that had been sprinkled in. There are still some good moments here and there and some crappy ones. I don't know if this is the result of John Cardoza's departure and David M. Hummel taking over or the impending lull with the Barnes assuming the reigns. The nastiness between Nora and Nancy doesn't even come to an end in death. Nora completely disowns Nancy claiming Terry as her only daughter. I realize Nancy isn't blood, but Nora raised the woman. It's just a nasty move to make. Nancy, of course, has stolen the will and is now in cahoots with Harold Webster, the Carpenters shady attornney. It's fun, but it is still ugly. Nancy is also going after Scott's estate claiming Scott's reckless driving was the cause of Nora's death. Nancy is heartless, but she is someone who has been hurt for her entire life. I find myself sympathizing with her more than I should. In one particular moment, Terry learns of the will and declares Nancy isn't even Nora's daughter. It's a low blow for Terry to pull even in the heat of the moment. In Nancy's early sequences, Terry defends her to the death. This shift, while intriguing, is a bit disappointing without Terry delivering some speech about how she has seen the light. Sam's out and now the Slaymakers are becoming major roles in the story. I think there has even been reference to Jason Prescott (originally Dan) who has employed Peter. There is definitely a new day dawning in "Another Life." I sorta miss the old one. One of the more shocking scenes in this sequence was mobster Vince Cardello calling out Charles Carpenter as Charles' toast to Scott Davidson's death. Even Vince is disgusted and makes a point of stating how morally bankrupt Charles is. Michael Ryan is fun as the mobster taking the moral high ground.

In thinking about the Corringtons and Tom King, I also looked back to the AWHP to see more details about Eliot Carrington's death, which occured in June, 1979. News of Eliot death was relayed by Frank Lansing, a reporter for the Associated Press who ends up working for Mac. Lansing informs Iris that Eliot was shot in the head in his hotel room while investigating the conflict in Cambodia. I get the value of wanting to play the conflict of Dennis' two fathers as well as the potential of building a Eliot / Iris / Alex / Victoria quad with Victoria luring Eliot into staying in "Texas" by offering Eliot the position. I have to wonder though if they could have gone another anglee and still maximized the story. I also don't think the show even really takes advantage of the possibility of Victoria / Eliot because they start to declaw Victoria shortly after Eliot's arrival, which, to me, was a mistake. I wonder if they could have had recast Frank Lansing instead and had him around for some of the Tanquir storyline. While Frank wasn't a father figure to Dennis, he had significant ties to Eliot and could have possibly played a diferent angle rather than having both Eliot and Barrett both suffering from internment in a prison camp. Even if it wasn't Frank, I think a foreign correspondent with ties to Eliot and Iris could have effectively made some of the story work and integrated into other aspects of the canvas. If positioned as a possible romantic rival for Iris' affection the individual could have also caused Ryan grief by helping Ginny pursue a line of inquiry about the missing Barrett. Also, this person endearing themselves to the Marshalls would have created some conflict if Justin did go through with his initial revenge plot which included seducing Iris away from Alex.

Before writing for "Search for Tomorrow," the Corringtons were trained by Paul Raunch doing spec story projections/scripts for "Another World." This was probably early to mid 1978 because the Corringtons ended up at SFT in August, 1978. This discussion all remains very interesting to me, but does lead me to wonder again if the Bellmans were simply a creation of Tom King for "Another World" or if Paul Raunch was already laying the groundwork himself on the mothership.