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I finally got around to watching these three episodes. The meat of the material in episodes 58-59 is Diane and Sue's 2 part confrontation in episode 58. Due to the stroke of Diane Stevens' father, which I think was featured in some of the episodes we have available, Diane has arrived in Westbury to see her long absent father, which Sue Thompson sees as an opportunity to confront her rival. I don't think the showdown is as juicy as the July, 1992, episode where Jane Richards explains to 'daughter' Louise that Jane's sister, Jackie, is her true mother, but there is something well played. It is very clear that Mike Thompson has been giving each woman a different story and it doesn't seem to be clear to me who he actually wants to be with, which is such a great shift from what I am use to. No one in this situation seems to be any good. I don't know if the audience knows by this point that Diane is keeping the secret that Andrew is Mike's son, I suspect they do, but this is definitely hinted at with Sue trying to deduce when Diane and Mike were a couple. There were a couple quieter beats to the story that I really enjoyed. Dot Downing, George Davidson's girlfriend, admitting to Diane that she has always feared having to meet Ruby, DIane's mother and George's ex-wife. The Thompson family fawning over Sue in the family living room (which is such an interesting constrast compared to the Stevens' set) while Sue recounts the encounter with Diane was nice. One of my favorite little threads is Mark Thompson, Sue's eldest son, becoming more and more unsettled by the obvious liasion going on between his mother and his uncle. When he questioned why Uncle John has to come over every night, I got a good chuckle. Then, at the garage, Mark rejecting John was a nice continuation of that with Mark acting as a stand in for Mike in a way. Martin Glyn Murray isn't given much to do, but he is doing a nice job with some of the minor work. Moreso than a lot of his counterparts. Diane discovering Sue's secret (the affair with John Thompson) was delightful, but moreso was John attempting to play hero by popping around Dot's cottage to speak with Diane only for Diane to confront him with the affair. It's all quite fun. Especially Diane going off about "English hypocrisy" to Andrew, the son who she has passed off as her late husband's. Maybe because the English stuff is so tight, the Austrailian sequences just seems to be left in the dust. Imogen Annesley is very bland as Justine, but she is expectedly to be frienemies with Tessa Humphries' Corrine. Humphries is hard to watch. I can't tell if she's trying to embody a certain attitude that was prevalent in the late 1980s/early 1990s, but Corrine is very off-putting. Ruby Davidson popping up to chatisize Justine for her housekeeping was one of the few bright spots, along with some of Anton's one-liners. The younger set overall just is very tough. I still enjoy the dissolution of the Todd marriage with Barbara meeting Geoff at the Cafe bringing him his clothes. Geoff wondering what Barbara is really expecting out of this separation, which I was also curious. Geoff and Barbara seem to have reconciled a bit by 61, but Geoff dies by the end of November, 1990, so he's only around for a handful of episodes after this period. I have to wonder if the plan was for Barbara - Don McLeod, the sleazy businessman. As we get a glimpse more of the first year, I can see why the show eventually shifted away from the Aussie storyline. Not only was it a logistical hurdle at times, it just wasn't very compelling overall. I'll be curious if things improved at all when they introduced the Williams family into that story set.

Weatherly appeared more interested in the comedy aspects, in my opinion. He seemed more lively when Cooper was cutting up than when he was handling some of his more emotional moments, though that could also be dependent on the writing. I do remember him delivering some decent work with Tyler and reacting to Steffi's bulimia. In Weatherly's defense, the show was also in a creative flux when he initially arrived with story and character changes happening frequently. His sexual abuse story was quickly aborted and he had to play some sloppily rewrites at the end of that story which would have turned me off as well. Laura Sisk Wright goes with the flow and seems to be much more in command of every version of Ally, but I think she was also surrounded by more grounded actors when she started. A lot of the Aldens Cooper dealt with were new recasts (Clay, Isabelle). I am not sure if you were referencing my comments, or just in general, but I said 1986 is boring with stuff like the Zona trial leading into Zach / Lorna / Kelly, the Hunter Belden / Dolly Lane relationship complete with Dolly being told her child had been sold to child pornographers, Ava's grand romance with Judd Beecham, and so on. I think 1987 has more energy, but I still think there are many decisions made that were ineffective leading to some really bad stories or stories that were altered that keep them from being enjoyable.

In the limited stuff that appears, Burke Moses' Curtis always feels like a very watered down version of the character, but even Linden Ashby's Curtis feels very diluted. The writing doesn't help from neither a storytelling perspective nor from the dialogue. I don't think Moses is around much after this. I am not even sure if he makes it to Trisha and Steve's wedding in August (?) as Moses leaves to perform in a play (maybe "Joseph and the Technocolor Dreamcoat?). Hoag leaves in late October/ early November when they decide to not bring Curtis back and Lotty joins him in Germany. I also just don't see much potential in Curtis / Lotty as a couple. Wilson is painful, but Luke Perry is equally so if not slightly more at times. This was not a strong younger set. One of the previous snippets with Kelly Conway and Ned weren't much better. 1987 isn't super appealing, but I don't find the stuff we've seen from 1986 much better after Dane's board meeting exit. The show is very much falling apart from mid-1985 until 1987. 1986 mostly seems boring with 1987 seeming downright awful until very late in the year. I also feel that the April Hathaway story was a terrible attempt to tell the Dolly Jones Lane story better only to make it worse. I agree they should have kept Cecilia, but I also think they shouldn't have had her miscarry. There would have been more drama had Cecilia had Steve's child, which would then have been something that Trisha could never have had. Also, they were trying to weave Cecilia into the Amourelle stuff with her vying for the modelling gig that either Lily was assigned or had abandoned. I think Cecilia as Lily's talk to would have been interesting especially if some of the details slowly got back to Ava who would see the opportunity to stick it to Stacey. I think Cecilia could have also absorbed some of the Dinahlee story as Ava's friend, Trucker's lover, etc. I mean they wouldn't have been mad too long. Trucker seems to be a poor man's Steve without the strong family ties on the canvas.

After starting it several years back, I finally finished Emerald Point, N.A.S. I think the overall premise of a family saga incorporating the soapier aspects of the military wasn't a terrible idea, but I don't think it every got where they wanted it to. The story never seems to be strong enough, but I still wonder what a second season would have been like. At the very least, I imagine the title would have been shortened to Emerald Point as they seem to be downplaying the military angle by the end of the series. Even if the story picked up, I don't think the acting would have. St. John is serviceable as Deanna, but Vaughn wasn't as Harlan. I would have accepted Patrick O'Neal back. Dennis Weaver was very bland as Tom, but when they seemed to write him more as a father and less of a military commander I felt it was slightly better. Unfortunately, the crux of a season 2 being successful would have needed a strong Tom / Harlan dynamic and I am not sure if Weaver could have risen to the challenge even if the scripts did. It was nice to see the end of event that has been mentioned for years: Harlan attacking Tom's wife, Jenny, and as a result the paternity of one of the daughters was in question. Is the paternity issue mentioned on air? I only half listened to some episodes. The mystery of the gazebo was one of the stronger sequences and some of the sequences in the psychiatrist office were better lit than usual. The filming of the flashbacks also worked to capture the film look of photographs from that era which worked well for me. Wikipedia states that it was Leslie Mallory's paternity in question. This makes sense based on Celia's age in the flashbacks. It also makes sense as Sela Ward and Doran Clark do bare a slight similiarity. In addition, Leslie being torn between her two sisters, Kay and Hilary, would have been appealing. To be honest though, none of the Mallory girls were standouts by the end. With all that said, the resolution of this story would have been of some interest to me. The show improves when they wrap up the KGB/Russian deflection stuff involving Loggia's character and Alexi. The ending of the story is brutal; Deanna rats out Leslie and Alexi to Loggia's KGB head leading to Alexi's kidnapping and Leslie being held hostage in her personal attempt to save him. Ultimately, Alexi dies and Deanna's criminal charges are dropped in order to perserve the character, err keep the fact that Loggia's character would be a double agent a secret. It was a mistake. I cannot help but wonder if the show could have made more strides if they ended it earlier or did something else. I thought the tension between Leslie and Deanna at the end was the most interesting Leslie got to be all season other than the constant low level sexual tension between Leslie and Simon. The show seems to lose Simon and Celia somewhere towards the end. I don't know if Lakin decided to downplay them because they were overexposed early on or if she had run out of ideas for them. Celia's divorce drags out all season with Jack just hanging in the wings until they make a decision very late in the run that Jack and Hilary are going to be a couple mostly to lure Glenn away from Kay. I feel like Jack would have been the easiest character to dump if there was a season 2. As a concept, a navy lawyer with romantic ties to both the Mallorys and the Addams he has some significant weight, but I never get the sense they knew what to do with him. Though, I have to wonder if Susan Dey was done as well since the season ends with Celia's breakdown and becoming catatonic. Some of what they were trying with Tom and Maggie worked. I thought some of the David Marquett / Maggie story was effective with his connection to her husband, writing a novel with Maggie as the prototype for the lead, and the sense of mystery. The kidnapping provides a nice cliffhanger, but I cannot imagine that the show wouldn't have reunited them without much fanfare. I do think Maud Adams has a nice rapport with Susan Dey and the Maggie / Celia friendship was one of the more enjoyable pieces of the final sequences. I do wonder if the decision to play Hilary and Jack wasn't an attempt to shift the Hilary / Kay rivalry to Hilary / Celia. The Hilary / Glenn / Kay material was pretty dominate in the final episodes. Some of it was pretty strong and some of it was too plot heavy. I feel like it is the reverse of Lakin's work on "Flamingo Road" several years earlier. Glenn's emergence as a business shark in training falling into gambling just as Kay discovers she is pregnant was a fun sequence especially given Glenn's comments about his father being a gambler. Hilary manipulating him further and further into debt by paying off the loan shark in order to keep Glenn spiraling was downright wicked. The plot twist that Kay wasn't pregnant due to a lab error was trite, but Kay lying about the baby was the most interesting she was the entire series. Hilary was devious as anything by arranging an accident at a horse farm so that Kay would be injured which revealed she was in fact not pregnant. It was all very messy. Hilary and Glenn's one night stand right before the finale and Glenn and Kay reuniting only for Hilary to reveal Glenn's gambling debts was nice movement for a slow show. I do think there was a missed opportunity by not letting Kay actually be pregnant. It could have been used to explore the secret of Jenny's attack with Deanna making veiled comments about Jenny. There could also have been an arc with Celia and Jack slowly reconnecting over the loss of their child while Celia and Simon not being super firm on where they see their relationship going.

I will say Alice Barrett Mitchell tends to be one of the more generous actresses who has spoken time on "The Catlins" and is very consistent in what she says. There are some interesting details shared. The poker game that she speaks about is featured online currently. The episode it was a part of was also online several years back by the gym owner Tony who had appeared on the show. I'm very sorry I was never able to get in contact with him about that. Anyway, the poker scenes were in May, 1984, around the time Alice would have first appeared as Jacqui. I believe Jacqui used a different last name at the time of her first appearance. She would later be revealed to have spent time in Paris and was treated by Dr. Peter Crane (Victor Bevine), and she had a brain tumor. This may or may not be connected. I hadn't heard that Brett Rice's Seth Quinn was involved in ownership of the horse. This brings some clarity to the departure of Seth and Beau, who left some point in late summer to mid-fall 1984 for Argentina. I imagine they were working on some sort of horse farm now. The horse storyline only played out from May until maybe October. By November, Jacqui and Woody (Charlie Hill) have settled into a domestic situation with Woody owning the old Catlin mill that was sold to Woody and James O'Neill in the spring when the Catlins started to experience financial difficulties. Woody and Jacqui were up in a cabin where there was some sort of creature. I think, maybe I'm wrong, there may have been some oil or minerals on the property that Medger Quinn was trying to takeover. By December, Jacqui has discovered she is pregnant and she is warned by Dr. Peter Crane that her pregnancy could threaten her life because of the brain tumor, but Jacqui decided to continue with the pregnancy. In February, Jacqui and Woody are still together, but there is a threat to their happiness in the form of Maggie Catlin, who was Woody's former love interest before she departed for Washington, D.C., to handle some legal matters for the family. Jacqui told Andrea Smith (Iris Roberts), Maggie's legal partner, of her fears. At the time, Andrea was dating James O'Neil, Woody's business partner and the son of the Catlin family maid. I don't think that Jacqui and Woody were seen in the April, 1985, episode that was online. I really want to know if Maggie Catlin came back because they talked about her a lot in the episodes I have seen from November 1984 - early March, 1985. Not only would she have been a threat to Woody / Jacqui but to Babe / Dirk as Dirk and Maggie had been involved, and possibly engaged, before Maggie miscarried their baby. Decaying video is definitely a concern. Watching more and more of "Another Life" and doing some work on the call sheets for "Rituals" has me yearning for material from the show. I doubt we will ever get the complete series, but it would be wonderful to get longer sets. Someone once claimed to have the last six months or so which covered Lisby Larson's run as Vanessa. I think this would be great to see, but I'd even settle for some more episodes from 1983 with Candy Howard's delightfully wicked Crissy Catlin (I suspect she wasn't present long because there was a recast) and some of Steve Lehrman's material (particularly from December 1983 with the remote on Hilton Head Island). In the interview, Barrett Mitchell mentioned the casting being done in Houston and going back to that... did she ever go back to it?

I think it's hard to see the depth of Beck when Trisha was constantly in the role of victim. When she wasn't being terrorized by madmen like Nick Diantos, Jeff Hartman, and Giff Bowman, she was constantly fighting another woman to keep her man entertained. I don't think a lot of her business stories have made it to YouTube and I would be curious to see the early stages of her romance with Steve because I don't think she was battling Cecilia for Steve's attention right away. I wish more was done to ground Trisha in a career that gave her agency on the canvas. I do feel the TV production angle was a nod to Nixon's original vision for Merrill Vochek, but I don't know if that was the right role for her. I liked her managing the Alden art collection, but I feel like it limited the scope. Having her go into Alden Enterprises (which I think they tried towards the end) might have given her some more story space outside put upon romantic heroine, but I think it would have been interesting if they had paired her up more with Kate and had her involve in 35 Maple Street and some community service work that could have helped bridge the gaps between the haves and the have nots. I will say, I appreciated Beck's work much more in her final days when she wasn't carrying the story and she was sorta just living her life as a mom and wife while paling around with Stacey and Shana. Anyone who is asked to carry as much of a show as Beck has was bound to be forced into delivering material in a certain way.

I'm at 390. Tom Ulrich has just arrived as Dave Phillips in an lengthy exposition dump with Dr. Alex Greely which both reintegrates established backstory when CBN exec John Cardoz was in the role and adds new layers. There is mentions again of the abortion clinic and the alcoholism tying the two directly together stating that Dave's life spiraled when his "civic minded" wife Kate encouraged him to open an abortion clinic that led to a devastating car crash that took the life of Kate and Dave's son, Kevin. It's a lot to handle in his first episode, but Ulrich does a decent job. I was surprised that he still seems determined to reunite with his wife. Also, they are retroactively stating that Amber and Stacey Phillips have been in Kingsley all this time. I don't remember if there was any mention of the kids before, or if there was it was general. Dave name checks Jeff Cummings and Alex informs Dave that Jeff is still studying divinity out of town. Carolyn Lenz was in a few episodes as Liz in a strange little visit a few months back about a month or so after the Cummings left town. I don't see the purpose except that Ione was very busy in story and Terry needed a talk to, though I suspect given the Hollister mall opening was occuring that the original plan was for Jason Prescott to return to resolve that dangling story thread. While Ulrich is a fairly decent recast, I am struggling with Debbie McLeod as Lori, but I suspected this. I admire that McLeod is attempting to mimick Jeannete Larson's vocal inflection while also being burdened with a heavy story from the beginning trying to reintegrate back into society after her stint in a psych ward. It reminds me of Elizabeth Mitchell having to play Dinahlee regaining her speech in her early episodes. McLeod resembles Mary Jean Feton, but there was something charming about Larson that McLeod doesn't have, yet at least. I am not sure if Larson would have handled this heavier story well though either. Another recast has also appeared, Kari Page as Carla Redlon returning from Lake Tahoe with Jimmy. I don't hate Page in the role as Carla was such an underwritten character. There was an edge to Elain Graham's performance that made her more engaging to watch. Page's Carla is sweeter so I'll be curious to see how she does if she lands any dramatic story. I admire what Vinley has done in a short time. He has managed to find ways to keep the show tight while also expanding the canvas. For example, Russ' stint as Lester Lewis' assistant ended with Weaver's termination after the threat of a hospital strike while Terry's job hung in the balance. It was a nice conclusion to a short tale about how Russ' ambition has gotten the best of him. This led to a nice little set of scenes where Marianne, always the good girlfriend, tries to bring him into Prescott Development as Gil's office work was rarely being done well or on time. In the meantime, Gil had brought in Peter Davidson, which places Peter professionally back in Vicki Lang's orbit. And Marianne's offer allows Gil and Marianne to squabble over Gil's hatred for Russ. The weaving together of stories wasn't as well done under the Barnes or Winsor so its a pleasant surprise. Other nice story crossovers has seen Vicki Lang befriending Nancy which led to a nice little scene where Nancy tried to pry information out of Peter about Terry (who was absent due to another story) and then proceeded to call her friend Vicki to taunt Peter because Nancy knows of Vicki and Peter's connection. This type of relationship work between Vicki / Nancy / Peter is interesting and creates potential angst down the road. While Nancy / Miriam were better bosum buddies, Nancy's new friendship will suffice for now. Miriam's kidnapping has been a masterpiece in many ways. The pursuit of Babs led to a Babs donning a blonde wig and spending several episodes spouting off about how Babs and Miriam could be sisters even suggesting at one point that Gene should wear a wig too so they can be triplets. The antics of Ione's house are such a welcome breath of fresh air. Positioning Ione as the show's matriarch, not just as the head of the Redlon but of all Kingsley, has been such a pleasant revelation. Something that seems to gotten lost to time is that the kidnapping is actually a mystery at first with the suggestion that Terry might have been the one who was kidnapped (she went over to the Redlons house for something) and Terry is off the entire episode after the kidnapping (this is when Nancy showed up to talk to Peter and calls Vicki). It's just very compelling and then at the end of the next episode we find, in a location shoot, that Miriam was kidnapped. The criminal syndicate has been fully fleshed out with the arrival of Ron Washington and Lance joining Blue. Lance is truly vile creature who spend a good amount of time talking to Ron about how he has hired this teen runaway, barely legal Paula James, to work as a prostitute in Ron's brothel while pumping her with drugs. Another one of the girls, Ramona, calls Babs to let her know that the mysterious Prince, the head of the syndicate, is at the Kingsley Arms where Babs discovers Harold Webster in the room in a delightful cliffhanger. Babs and Harold are great. Julie Jenney conveys a lot in a sequence where she leaves the Redlons house for parts unknown fearing that if she stays in Kingsley she will be a threat to the ones she loves. It's all very well done. The show is just doing a much better job lately at spidering stories by letting people be impacted by the major events and the conversations continue to be richer. Too often, though, really remarkable episodes do not have credits listed so I don't know who the script writers are. I do think Chris Auer managed to slip in a what I think was a fairly clever line when Lance menacingly called Babs and mentioned that he had the desire to "reach out and touch somebody," which is the line from the AT&R commericals which I believe Edye Bryde (Ione) was doing at the time. I'm curious to see how the show continues to expand with the addition of the Phillips' clan. Charles Carpenter's recovery from his heart issues has led him to consider letting Jesus into his life, but I am not sure it will stick. I think it's a nice, and realistic, approach to religion because Charles has faced death and fears what will happen next. I think that the numbering on the YouTube episodes is off slightly. Thanksgiving was on an episode that would have been a Monday episode and I had suspected that the show's episodes ending in 7 and 2 were Friday episodes for quite some time so I think this will need to be investigated a bit more. The Nancy / Harold Webster sequences in this episode are worth the peek. There are two and I set up the first:

Regarding Zimmer and the paycut, my argument remains that her point is valid; opening a contractmidway through sets a precedent. The summary implies that Zimmer's out wasn't until almost a year later so maybe she was throwing around the sentiment, but I do believe she took the cut a year later. In that climate, post-DAys serial killer plot, I don't blame Zimmer. And this was all 2005. The timing was the Daytime Emmys brunch and I seem to remember Erika Slezak and Jeanne Cooper agreeing with Zimmer. If Zimmer was that much fo a financial burden, they easily could have spent the year deemphasizing her role, which they pretty much did anyway as she played second fiddle in the Jonathan / Tammy story and then they slowly paired Nicole Forester's very fresh on the scene Cassie with Josh. Also, wasn't there supposedly an attempt to lure Grant Alexander back full-time in 2005. Where was that money coming from? There was a lot of cast turnover in 2005. Entire front burner storylines saw their entire cast dropped by choice or force (no one survived the baby switch other than Dinah). Maybe with a stronger writer, Wheeler could have weathered the storm, but not with Kriezman and Swajeski at the helm. She made some nice adjustments when she initially arrived in March, 2004, but within the year, the potential was lost as Kriezman went into overdrive with centering the show on his toxic male avatar Tom Pelphrey's unchecked Jonathan and by replacing Danmy and Michelle with Gus and Harley as the show eating couple. By the time the budget cuts hit, the show was pretty lost anyway. With or without the cuts, I think I would have left as my jump the shark moment was the onscreen reveal that Phillip was alive and being hidden by Alan after months of story around a non-existent murder mystery.

The preaching seems to end before the Barnes settle in late December, 1981. The stuff that felt overly religious (the Davidsons believing a miracle will save Lori rather than a surgeon, Jeff's miraculous recovery from a beam of light) was quickly nixed because it wasn't working. The closest thing that you get to that under the Barnes is when Dennis Fraser, the drunk driver who killed Nora and Scott, turns his life over to god. The born-again redemptions out of nowhere seem to stop fairly early into the Barnes' run. I do think Miriam's transformation was much more delicately done with her turning on her bestie Nancy because Nancy was seducing Charles, Miriam's wealthy father, so Miriam offers to testify for the Davidsons in the trial against Nancy over possession of Nora's house. In turn, Nancy repays the favor by pumping an emotionally distraught Miriam with barbituates while Miriam carries on her affair with low level thug turned political aide Norm Elliott. Miriam is used by everyone into her life and finally lands herself in the hospital becasue she has become so addicted to the pills. At the hospital, it is the friendship and kindness of the Davidsons that brings Miriam to a more peaceful place. The Davidsons ability to forgive is both appealing and, at times, dramatically limiting. In this case, the Davidsons lead Miriam to her new Mama, Ione Redlon. Now, under Vinley, Miriam is determined to reconnect with her son, Frederick, and her ex-husband, Paul. My bigger issue with the Barnes' writing is that they write the storylines with twist endings that sorta come out of nowhere. I know the resolution to the Kate Carrouthers mystery sorta plays out like that so I am curious to see how I feel about that. The biggest change throughout the writing teams has been the view of morality. Winsor had many characters who could be viewed purely through the lens of black and white, but others explored the shades of gray (often younger people). The brief head writerless period was much better at embracing an action doesn't make a person and there characters were much more gray or at least evil at a more local level (Nancy, in this period, only flirts with her brother-in-law where as later she is actively providing pills to Miriam to keep her addicted and away from her own father). The Barnes, for the most part, seem to embrace this level of political corruption that seems to permeate throughout the show making it clear that power (as well as money) is the root of evil. Even criminal Vince Cardello is presented as less evil than Charles Carpenter, though Carpenter's murder of a resident of his complex was rewritten to relieve Carpenter of any responsibility in the matter. Vinley's work seems more into exploring the why or delving deeper in general. Babs Farley, the hooker who is looking to reclaim her life, is such an intriguing character. She is given such meaningful monologues regretting her decisions and desperately trying to keep away from the hands of her former pimp, Ron Washington, who hasn't appeared yet. Monk and Fernandez seem to be wrongly accused of Lori's attack and there seems to be hints of racism that the show is looking to address. Marianne confronts Gil about his feelings towards God in relation to their mother's death years earlier. There does seem to be a layer of misogyny to Vinley's work, but it's early so I'll be curious to see how this plays out. There are a lot of attacks on women (Lori is nearly raped, Babs was beaten, Nancy is on the verge of being blackmailed for sex by Tab, and the Russ / Marianne / Gil scenario has hints of toxic masculinity. It's very early so it'll be neat to see if that is maintained. Jerry TImm lasts about a year I think (March, 1982 - March, 1983). One of the episodes on TouTube has a comment suggesting that Timm was fired by CBN because he had done something in his past that came to light. It didn't seem to be clear what that was. I like what I've seen of Timm as Gil. He has such a presence that it covers up some of his weaker acting choices. It's unfortunate that he didn't get to play as much of the Gil - Stacey - Amber triangle as his replacement does.

Up to episode 340. Jason Vinley has been at the helm for just under around a month and has quickly whipped the show into shape. He has made many smart cuts to the show's large canvas including writing out Jason Prescott, Deena Greely, the Cummings family, and phasing out Carla Redlon. Carla and Gene's failing marriage is an interesting idea, but I'm not always overjoyed by the execution. Elain Graham comes back later and another actress plays the part for a bit. I'm not really sure the angle they are going here, but it's probably one of the only decisions I am not too thrilled with. Vineley has narrowed the canvas into several stories and allowing events to spider out and impact a series of people. The stalking of Lori Martin has climaxed into the revelation that Blue Knowles, the Cinderella Rapist, has been follwoing Lori for weeks on end. The build to this with a group of different men being around Lori at the time of the incidents is very low key and allows the viewer to draw their own conclusion even though we can also see the man in the sun glasses. Lori's attack on her final night at the Monroe School is a compelling action sequence playing out parallel with a much smaller scale heist in the school by two of Lori's pupils. The end where Blue traps her in the classroom and Ben stumbles upon her lifeless body is wildly engaging for a show that has rarely been able to tell a story without having a deus ex machina style ending. The fallout is equally compelling. Ben was stabbed in the hand in a fight with Blue which leaves the ability to use his hand in jeopardy. Peter, who was suppose to pick Lori up if Ben couldn't, feels guilty because he was out with older woman Vicki Lang at the Greenbriar and later back at her place where she attempted to coerce him into bed. Placing both Davidson children in sexually suggestive situationsthat the same time was an interesting choice. With the identity of the rapist unknown to the canvas, Gil Prescott suggests to his sister Marianne that her boyfriend Russ Weaver might be the rapist, which seems both logical and calculated on Gil's part. Episode 340 is just very intense and high interest viewing from beginning to end as the story spirals in several directions for several characters. There is a really nice moment with Ione and Gene Redlon visiting Terry at the hospital that cements the ties between the two families. Gene later comments to his mother wondering how a man can become a monster. Later, Terry talks to a catatonic Lori that she is both relieved Scott isn't here and deeply missing his presence. Comparing this sequence of Lori in the hospital to the year prior when Lori was also in the hospital is night and day. The show is tight. The balance of religion and drama is perfectly balanced and comes off less as preachy and more as deeper characterization. When Gil attacks Marianne's faith after Lori's attempted rape, Marianne delves further into what trily turned Gil away from God, Corrine Prescott's painful demise at the hand of cigarette induced lung cancer. In 341, the show has changed the opening and reflects the show's new era is a nice symbolic move. I appreciate that Vinley also maintains the rich canvas of side characters (offscreen) with references to Jill, Gary, and others who have come and gone while building up what is to come with references to Ronnie Washington and Hugo Lancelot. I am looking forward to the next year or so of episodes.

I think Steve and Chase (with Adair) are dropped fairly quickly into John Whitsell's run as EP. I didn't think Tomlin wanted those characters out especially given how much effort was put into resetting Chase, a character Tomlin didn't create, and Adair by placing them at the paper, testing Adair with Ryder, and then having Chase discover Estelle was alive. Steve got an actual onscreen goodbye, but Chase and Adair later go an offscreen exit to San Francisco or somewhere else in California. They chem tested Steve Kendall and Suzi in September, 1983, just as Elizabeth Swankhammer started as Suzi. Steve saved Suzi drowning in a lake on location. I felt that Suzi / Steve was meant to be the post-Suzi/Warren story with Stephanie possibly manipulating Suzi and Warren to keep both Warren / Wendy and Steve / Suzi apart. I assumed the plan was (at some point) Stephanie / Lloyd. Or it should have been. I don't think Bela should have lasted beyond the circus story. If I had to sit through some sort of triangle, I would want to see it end with Bela dead. Even in a bad recycled plot, but ultimately I don't think Bela had any real story potential and should never have been paired with either woman. Under Mayer/Braxton, Sarah became more conservative and judgemental over the course of the last month or so of their run. I don't think Tomlin's version was as layered from what I remember. @DRW50 I think Conroy lasted a full year June, 1984 - July, 1985. I always assumed he left, but that was just speculation. Phillip Brown's Steve just seems to have disappeared. Cook played Lloyd's first wife and Steve's mother, who was named something other than Estelle, in a flashback sequence to reveal the secret that Martin was Steve's father. She had a name other than Estelle at that point. This would have been fall of 1983.

The show loses me once the crime stories are in overload. Heather and Jerry's marriage doesn't excite me. It would have been tawdry, but I think there should have been more lingering in Heather and/or Greg's feelings for the other. Or at least having someone suspect that their newfound sibling relationship was more complicated. But none of their parents were around. It just feels like they burned through too much story there too quickly. Ellen and Dale's romance definitely seems intriguing. I don't think I knew they toyed with Jill having feelings for Dale, which would have meant that Jill was once again considering going after her mother's man. That's a very interesting dynamic. With David coming home from Hong Kong, and Tom afraid of David's involvement, I think they should have given Tom and Jill a try. Tom trying to use Jill to buy respectability and maintain power at the law firm. Vicki and Tony's affair seems like fun with Vicki just seeming to see Tony as more of a sexual object and it leading to a health crisis. There was probably some space to explore that both Tony and Ginger's fathers were criminals (Tony's bio dad). I can't remember if Harry Wilson/Ike Harding died, fled town, or went to prison. If he was alive, I think he would have been worth revisiting. What fascinated me about "Somerset" in early 1976 is its a show of remnants, pieces of the show's different eras, and they seem to sorta work, not as well as more well defined canvas would. I do think a streamlining was needed, but I am not sure if the criminal angle was the best route to choose.

Thanks for finding that about the Andrade home. I think it wasn't show in the opening weeks, but I may be wrong. With Danny in Los Angeles and Santana on her own, I don't think much space was given to Rosa and Reuben. It might have been nice to see them engaged in a healthy relationship threatened by Rosa keeping Santana's recently uncovered pregnancy from Reuben or even a visit from one of their other chidlren. During the 1991 dinner, I think Rosa stated she would go home after work, which I took to me that she left the Capwell estate.

This late 1976 stuff doesn't sound as bad as it has in other versions I've read (weekly recaps from Jon-Michael Reed and SOD synopses). I am surprised that there is a variation of Ian - Meg - Arlene - Tom playing out this late in the game, but it doesn't sound half bad. Ian's involvement with Beaver Ridge and how it impacts Rick and Cal's future also intrigued me more than I expected. Even the Carrie - Betsy connection having Carrie watch Suzanne while Ben is visiting was a nice surprise. I feel like this all falls apart pretty quickly with the arrival of Mia Marriott, Michael Blake, and a slew of other half baked characters under Upton.

@NothinButAttitude thanks for sharing the rough draft. I had bought "Shadows on the Wall" from Kathryn Leigh Scott's website probably 20+ years ago. It's a fascinating read into a very different version of what the show could have been.

@Efulton That's the quote I was refering to. In the bible, at almost the beginning, Rueben and C.C. were compared as being similar as two fathers wanting everything for their children, or something along those lines. I do think the Andrades were intended to have more of a role, but they never even garnered a family set (just Santana's apartment). In 1991, they added the Capwell kitchen which seemed to be a domestic space for Rosa, but clearly not solely Rosa's. I feel like I remember Rosa confronting Santana about her feelings for C.C. being an attempt to recreate her grand fantasy with Channing, Jr. in the kitchen, but more likely that was the bedroom Santana was redecorating (C.C.'s master suite) utilizing the designsshe had envisioned for herself and Channing, Jr.

The Azure C. plot is during the early days of "The City" when it still is, quite frankly, not very good. And when it gets better, there is still such a hostile quality to material than even enjoyable material like the Gino/Tracey engagement party lacks the humanity it should. Something that I don't think is mentioned much, and I feel is noteable is that the sex scene between Azure and Bernardo is played as the climax to a long romantic build up complete with a musical montage to the Eagles' "Love Will Keep Us Alive." Bernardo's reaction is absolutely awful, but I think the reveal was meant as a stumbling block to their relationship. I'm not sure exactly where they would have gone with them, but I would have had Azure accused of being Jared Chase's murderer because he was involved in outing her (Malcolm may have as well). I would have used this to reunite Azure and Bernardo, who believed in her innocence. It may have played too closely to the trope that trans people are deviants so I would have made sure it was clearly that she was being falsely accused. For your research, Tony Cardello (an offscreen character) was the gay son of a mob boss, Vince Cardello, on the CBN serial "Another Life." He's referenced as gay in a couple episodes in early December 1981. The references are very negative. In the summer of 1982, Tony is said to be arriving soon with his mother Louise, but they never materialize as there is a change in writers.

I've always considered that Paul Avila Mayer was hired by Ellen on her way out the door, but I also wondered if NBC was trying to keep Mayer in their writers' stable after he failed to work out on "Santa Barbara." Mayer and Braxton were fined for writing during the strike. I believe there is an article mentioning it somewhere in this thread. I don't hate Mayer and Braxton's run. I found Jeanne Glynn's run very dry in what I've seen until about her final month or so when she starts to focus on the reveal that T.R. is the lost Rebecca Kendall. Mayer and Braxton didn't always have amazing stories, but I found the characterization was deeper (if not always true to who the person had been). There were some scenes I really enjoyed. The misogyny comment is interesting and is something I hadn't considered. I found the tail end of Braxton and Mayer's run interesting when the all male board at Tourneur Instruments gave Liza grief for shacking up with Hogan, which seemed to be broaching the subject in a way that showed it was wrong. I will say, however, there is a scene much earlier in their run where Liza starts to think of herself as aging because of having a teenage daughter that now makes me lean to agree with you. I thought Liza and Hogan had nice chemistry and I loved the fact that Hogan was clearly more into Liza than Liza was into Hogan. Sunny's fate in that story was awful. Sunny rarely had good stories once Hogan left the first time. Bassett played Selina McCulla, a nurse who worked at the Riverfront Clinic. Her brother was Joseph Phillips' Cruiser McCulla, who was Ryder's pal. They were introduced in early 1985 by Jeanne Glynn and written out very quickly in Braxton and Mayer's run. Cruiser got a formal write out; he was sent off to study computers out of town. Selina appeared at the clinic in some situation after Cruiser left and then was never seen or mentioned again. I want to say they sent TR off to college, but a later post says she went to Switzerland. I think Krakowski was in some play at the time. Maybe it was Starlight Express. The chemistry is still there for me in October, 1985, when Hogan and Sunny are investigating the poisoned water storyline that dovetails back into Hogan / Liza / Lloyd. I am a Gary Tomlin apologist but his second run is frenetic, not always in a good way. Evie was probably going to be revealed to be someone's daughter. Stone was her stepfather, wasn't he? I don't think introducing a younger female from the lower class was a bad idea, but I don't know if I would have gone with Evie / Quinn. I was briefly intrigued by the chemistry test between Adair and Ryder. I don't mind Jeffrey Meek, but I find him very attractive so maybe I am biased in my appreciation of his work. I definitely felt the Kendall reset in October with Chase going to the paper and the mystery of San Marcos leading to Estelle and the return of Steve. I don't like Lloyd Bautista much as an actor, but he would have been better off playing Martin Tourneur by that point but not as a crime boss. When does John Whitsell takeover? Is it November? When I watched these episodes a few years back, October, November, and December seemed like almost three different shows. November was a glaring jump from the material Tomlin started to set up in October and by December it seemed like everything from October was gone. Stephanie / Wendy / Bela is a horrid story. I thought the initial concept of the story was smart (Wendy trying to prove that Bela was a cad by luring him into bed but I couldn't see Wendy actually falling for Bela). The only direction I would have accepted was a Stephanie / Wendy / Bela story that ended with both women murdering Bela and getting away with it. I didn't know they had already set up Liza's exit. Thanks for sharing a new detail. I struggle to watch the November-December 1986 episodes when they are online. It just seems like such a different show. I don't think the decision about T.R. was that noble. I think it was clear that Jane Krakowski wasn't staying and Robert Reed as Lloyd wasn't going to work out. I think the show wanted to go full steam ahead with Evie / Cagney and Suzi was considered expendable. Tomlin was writer for both Sarah's death and Patti's arrival. I don't know if the producer change had happened yet or which producer approved those decisions. I'm pretty sure Nicholson was out in November at some point. Sarah's death is the impetus for Patti's return; she comes back to Henderson to find her daughter's murderer. I think details get lost to history. For years, Tracey's existence was never mentioned on soap opera message boards when I first started. Interesting, Sarah Whiting was also rarely mentioned and I am not sure Michelle Joyner is listed in cast lists for most of the soap books that cover the final years of "Search for Tomorrow." I cannot remember if Tracey was mentioned from the beginning. I know she is mentioned by July, 1985, when Sarah is at the McCleary family dinner. I think Kate asks Sarah about her family and she mentions her sister and brother. I think Sarah's adoption was mentioned only under Tomlin, but I might be wrong on that. I feel like it was stated by Jo in explaining to Suzi (or maybe someone else) about why Sarah had a constant need for approval. Lundquist didn't work for me as Steve, but I was disappointed how quickly Steve was dumped a second time. I have never understood why the show dropped Phillip Brown as Steve or why there wasn't an immediate recast given the importance of the character to the narrative. Clearly, it was a Ellen Barrett issue because Tomlin brings Steve back less than two months into his 1985 return. I think the shift to the twins, Chase and Alec, was probably to skew the show younger and keep Lloyd involved as there was part two of the Kendall vs. Tourneur/Sentell story to play out with Travis and Liza raising a Kendall. Originally, from what I've pieces together, it looked like Adair was the mother of Elan and one of the Kendall boys was the father. I wonder what this meant was the plan for T.R. or if she and Elan were both intended to be Kendalls, which would have been overkill. I agree that the deconstruction of the Wendy / Quinn / Sarah story was a mistake. I think Tomlin leaned into one of his favorite tropes (turning the uninspired heroine into the bad girl) and used it with Sarah, though it seemed like Mayer and Braxton may have already been heading in that direction. I didn't love the music angle of the story all that much, but I loved that it pitted Quinn against Chase and I would have enjoyed that rivalry a bit more. When did Quinn become Stephanie's assistant? Was that under Tomlin? I thought that was a smart move. I think Stephanie/Wendy/Bela is one of the worst story choices. When Stephanie called Wendy a slut, I was like we've reached a point where I no longer recognize anyone involved. The Suzi / Wendy stuff falls apart very early in Mayer / Braxton as I think Jeanne Glynn was gearing up for a longer Wendy / Suzi custody suit over Jonah as Suzi's mental health continued to collapse. I felt Braxton and Mayer even hinted that they might go with Wendy pursuing Cagney for a moment, but instead we got Wendy / Quinn / Sarah, which I really liked. I felt Sarah being the Jo's granddaughter and a manipulator against Wendy's more mature and adult complicated heroine was an interesting choice that should have been allowed to play longer. I felt that Jeanne Glynn built a lot of potential, but never really lit the match and was able to use it in stories. That may be because she didn't have enough time. I felt her last month or so was very solid and was finally going somewhere after mostly not going anywhere. Justine's departure didn't bother me. They had played a lot of Justine / Chase as well and Wendy / Alec. There was a lot of building of foundation, but the story never got anywhere. The shifts in story are remarkable and depressing to consider. Lots of the potential was intriguing, it just rarely reached a productive stage because, as you have said, a writer or a producer was always coming in and making their mark.

The original premise of "Santa Barbara" was that a Lockridge (Warren) killed a Capwell (Channing), who loved an Andrade (Santana), while a Perkins (Joe) went to jail for the crime. I think once the show started to pull away the threads by eliminating Joe and naming a new killer a lot of the show's original potential was lost. I contend, like others, that the fault lied in the uninspiring casting, which leads me to wonder if that's why the show became so keen on casting soap veterans for nearly every pivotal role. The failure of the Perkins family was definitely a casting issue followed by a lack of interest in committing to the original onscreen characterization. I was fascinated watching the early episodes and realizing that the Perkins had been financially wiped out by the trial, which was an underlying current towards John's animosity towards his son. Then, the additional complication of Marissa's nearly incestual affection for Joe that led to her cutting off John sexually was a wild moment to witness, but not as strong as it could have been with a stronger actor in the role of John Perkins. Melissa Brennan wasn't the right choice for the aspiring young vixen that Jade was intended to be. Brennan may have breathed life into Laken, but I'm not sure how Julia Ronnie would have done in the role of Jade. Despite the recorded history, Christina Robertson and Sarah Gallagher weren't sisters; they were aunt and niece. I don't think it would have hurt to make Marissa and Augusta sisters, but I think it would have made the Joe / Augusta seduction impossible unless you truly mimick "Rituals" and make Joe Sarah's stepson. I think a childhood friendship between the two women would have worked. It would have also given Augusta someone to confide in about the situation involving Peter Flint and herself as Marissa would have been aware of Peter from her work at the pre school. As childhood friends that were estranged by class differences, I think a relationship between Augusta and Joe (and later Augusta and a sexually frustrated John) would have had multiple layers to play out giving a deeper impact on Augusta's involvement in both of the men in Marissa's life. And because I have thought about this all too much, I would have Augusta and Marissa square off again when Jade, after marrying Ted while pregnant, learned that the little Capwell heir was in fact an imprisoned Warren's son only for Augusta to ultimately keep mum because with Ted married to Jade he wasn't free to pursue Laken. I imagine the Andrades would have slowly been withdrawn from the Capwell inner circle as the truth about Santana, Channing, Jr., and the baby came to light for everyone. In what I seen in the 1980s, Rosa confronts C.C. once about the baby and then seems to move on. Early in the run, the actor playing Reuben claims he and Bridget Dobson had a falling out and implied that she was racist which led to the character fading into the woodwork. I know I am like maybe one of two people who liked the 1990s run of the Dobsons, but I loved the set up for Santana / C.C. with the Andrades having owned the land that Oasis sat on years earlier posing Santana to come into money while also potentially landing a position where she could raise Gina's son with C.C. if C.C. and Santana could have secured custody of the child. With Eden gone, I would have gone back to Santana and Cruz, but if not, I think Brick should have returned to be Santana's conscience and potential love interest.

Reviewing the Barnes period, the strongest story was always the Carpenters and Nancy. Nancy dragging Miriam further and further down the path of her drug addiction was compelling and not something I think we would have seen on network at the time. Nowadays, Nancy doing this to Miriam would probably be followed up by Nancy's sins quickly being forgotten. The climax of the story has Miriam at Kingsley General detoxing while Nancy decides to bring Miriam some more barbituates in the hospital while goading Miriam into taking them by revealing that Charles wants nothing to do with her. Nancy is such a vile creature, but Nancy Mulvey keeps her compelling playing moments of pain to remind us that Nancy's upbringing deeply shaped the person she is today. Miriam's resulting overdose leads to some investigation and things seem to be closing in on Nancy as Miriam remembers the truth and Charles decides to dump Nancy having learned that Nancy has been manipulating him in regards to Miriam. Charles ejects Nancy from his home, but during the exit, Nancy takes a nasty fall down the stairs and ends up in the hospital. The story has now broken into two pieces: (a) Nancy's paralysis and (b) Miriam's new life as a Christian. Miriam's story is compelling. She has embraced friendship from the Davidsons who have supported her during her addiction crisis even while Nancy was trying to convince Charles to lock her away. There are some very nice scenes with Miriam and Lori Martin, who Miriam previously had accused of sleeping with Miriam's then husband, Paul. The Miriam-Lori friendship reminds me of Lori-Becky after the accident when everything came to light. I find Jeanette Larson very compelling as Lori. Terry's concern for Miriam helps cement her for me as one of the show's leading matriarchs. Though, the show's real matriarch seems to be emerging at this point. Through her friendship with the Davidson clan, Miriam has become associated with Ione Redlon, Gene's mother, who has recently purchased a home back in the Chesterfield neighborhood after leaving years ago. Ione's son Gene has reunited with his wife, Carla, so Gene, Carla, and their son Jimmy are moving into Nora Lindsay's house to start another life together. With so many empty rooms, Ione has offered room and board to Miriam. Miriam affectionately refers to Ione as Mama, at Ione's insistence, and Ione cares for Miriam with tough love. For Miriam, who's own mother Helen is still living in parts unknown, this relationship helps to ground her and bring her back down to reality. Miriam is now taken a position in the planning and development office and seems to have her own life starting. Nancy's paralysis may be not as serious as Nancy claims because the doctors seem to be unable to detect the major problem. Charles has taken Nancy back to his home and promises to marry her while hiring male nurse, Tab Baron, to help her recuperate. If I was paying attention close enough, Tab is the last new character introduced by the Barnes, but there seems to be some set up in these last weeks that makes me wonder if the origins weren't part of Jason Vining's first set of long story. Tab has a shady past having been accused of blackmailing female patients at one of his previous hospitals, where he worked with Terry. Terry tries to warn Nancy, but she won't listen. Terry and Nancy reconcile after the accident and its suggested that Nancy has turned over a new leaf, but it would make sense that this was a scam. In one of the last twists of fate that the Barnes loved, the house that was the centerpiece of the legal battle for several months does in fact belong, in part to Nancy, willed to her by her late father. And another round of fighting is set to begin. The end of Becky and Russ wasn't my favorite story mostly because once the story shifted to New York it lost a lot of steam. Carrie Weaver was such a nasty piece of work that I miss her meddling and did appreciate she was the one to deliver a classic Barnes deus ex machina revealing that the justice of the peace who married Becky and Russ wasn't licensed so they weren't legally married. Followed by another low level barely touched on revelation, Becky's New York manager who had been wining and dining her for months acting like a big shot was in fact just fronting and that Becky is his first and only success. There was something lost by removing Becky from the canvas even if Marianne fills a good number of the missing pieces well. I think Becky was such a richly complicated young woman in late 1981 that it is a mixed bag having her achieve success in New York by June, 1982. While I am mostly happy for her, I am not sure her sacrifices were worth it. It was really a missed opportunity not to connect any of Becky's story to Carla's. Russ and Sheila never really worked for me, but I was happy they finally revealed that Sheila was well aware that Russ was married, or "married?" I guess. Sheila seems to be a casualty of the transition into Vining's work and I am not upset at all. I know Vining commented that the Barnes' had too many minor characters so he cut back on them. I think this is why Beth Slaymaker and Jill Hanson are out with the Cummings having already announced their intended departure with Jeff taking courses to be a counselor. I think the Cavalares father-daughter duo are also out. I wouldn't be surprised if we never see Gary Taylor (Peter's buddy from the construction site) or Sharon Landers (Jason's attorney side chick) ever again. Another pleasant surprise has been Babs Farley, who was always cited as a bright spot. Others weren't wrong. Julie Jenney is great at cracking jokes as she is at engaging in dramatic moments. Babs' decision to leave behind her past as a prostitute and start over is a nice side story. Babs' recounting to Harold Webster running into an old high school classmate was a heart breaking moment. Babs has landed herself in the hospital after (offscreen) telling her pimp Ronnie she is leaving the life. Babs and Harold are like more well developed Brooke Bellamy and Sgt. Brubaker. Ione has agreed to takeit Babs which should lead to some good day to day material for Miriam, Babs and Ione. One things that bothered me a bit during the Barnes' period was the treatment of Chesterfield, the side of town that is associated with the African American community. All the coding is so negative. Lori was upset that Ben was setting up a clinic there and then Ben was upset that Lori was working there. The references to Miriam livng with Ione in Chesterfield are definitely discriminatory. I do appreciate that Lori's stalker story (which is nicely being shaped) seems to be subverting the tropes by allowing people to think its Lori's students behind it when it will turn out to be someone else.

From what I remeber reading, it seemed as if it all completely falls apart post-Labine and Mayer around a year later when Ben is sent to prison around June 1976. Ben's departure undoes one of the major story threads that had carried the show for many months. Without a catalyst of Ben's ilk in the wings, there wasn't much to carry either story for the two women (Betsy and Arlene). Arlene was briefly paired in a one-sided attraction with Ray before becoming involved with Ian Russell. I believe the Schneiders introduced Ian as a suave businessman interested in Arlene who was also considering a dalliance with Meg. That would have been delightful but Upton arrives and quickly shifts the narrative to Arlene as a kept woman / prostitute (though I only think she was sleeping with Ian, but maybe I'm wrong). I think it is Upton who transitioned Ben from complicated heel with a romantic appeal to a tortured, brooding romantic lead with a complicated past. I'm not sure that was the smartest move. Upton must have believed that Ben's near rape was his redemption arc, but I don't think it was enough. There is something deliciously wicked about Ben becoming involved with Mia after the death of Mia's stepson Jim Marriott, who had confessed his love for Mia before racing off on his motorbike and being hit by Ben's car. I could see the appeal, but I don't think it completely worked. There should have been an angle involving Betsy (who had been a reporter I think when she first appeared) investigating Jim Marriott's accident, possibly with Jamie Rolins who was I believe district attorney. Betsy and Ben growing closer as Betsy grows closer to the truth. Ben confiding in Mia as Andrew continues to make Ben his surrogate son setting in motion the same dramatic situation with Andew's second wife being in love with his son/surrogate son. I think Betsy and Jamie Rollins were together while Ben was in prison, but I don't think they had much to do. I may be wrong. Meg should have gone after custody making it seem like Jamie and/or Betsy were unfit leading to a case with social services which would have brought Diana Lamont back into the mix causing emotional angst for Diana as she works with Jamie to provide him the child she couldn't. The Felicia / Eddie / Charles stuff seems rather generic once you get to Charles' paralysis and sexual dysfunction. Felicia's pregnancy and her death seemed to bring an end to a story that really wasn't strong enough to be frontburner. The Lynn Henderson stuff always seems rather movie of the week rather than developed for an ongoing story. In the past, I agreed that it might have been possible that the story had become so disjointed that they needed to freshen up and add new story elements as Upton did but others have suggested that the elements themselves should have just been considered. For example, I'm not a huge proponent of Rick and Cal as a couple, but I do think there was some mileage of actually reintroducing Barbara into the mix trying to reconnect with Hank, carrying a torch for Rick, causing conflict in the Sterlings marriage with Bruce and Van taking sides over Barbara vs. Cal, and Barbara maneuvering her way into the Beaver Ridge Complex making her business partners with Rick and Meg, which would give her a new rival. When Ben returned, there should have been a question of how true his redemption was rather than just jumping in head first to a new role. I think the Schneiders might have been script writers for Ann Marcus on "Search for Tomorrow," but I may be wrong on that. Upton introduced the Marriotts in Janaury, 1977. Christian Marlowe's Andy Marriott seemed to be in the mold of Ben. I don't know if the story was any good, but I think Upton towards the end hinted an Andrew / Meg / Andy storyline which I thought would have been interesting. I think Upton had some interesting concepts, but from my understand, the execution was awful.

I'm up to 300. About 12 episodes left of the Barnes. The development of the Prescott family has been the big event in the last few months of episodes I've watched. Jerry Timms as Gil is a nice addition as the show's new young stud. I like when the villains start out as deeply human and just generally flawed individuals like Gil, and early Nancy. Something the show does well is the sorta low level conflict that can generate with things like Gil's carefree playboy "life of the party" lifestyle interfering in the day to day happenings of him and his family. Gil is a shameless flirt and orders a beer or three when he is on lunch from the construction site. I think the conflict between himself and his father, Jason, is compelling even if I'm not sold on Read Morgan. If Morgan was a local talent, I think I might be more generous, but Morgan had a bit of primetime credits I believe. Jason, like Gil, isn't a one woman man so the internal conflict within the Prescott clan is ripe for drama. Yet, there are definitely flaws. Gil's relationships with Sheila Carter, a recast Vicki Lang, and Deena Greely seem to unattached to the larger story that I am not invested. Donna Denton isn't bad as Deena, but she lacks a bit of presence to carry the story in Mitch Dunbar's absence; she is now Mitch's law partner. Gil's flirtation with a married Lori was interesting and appeared to be done to build conflict between Gil and Russ, who seems to be heading in Renee Crawford's Marianne Prescott's direction now that Becky is out the door. Crawford slides right into the role of Lori's friend and Russ' love interest well even if Becky was (at least in the pre-Barnes) episodes more compelling as a woman who had deeper flaws than Marianne. Marianne's inner conflict has some legs if it goes anywhere. With her mother Corrine's passing, Marianne has assumed the mantle of the woman in her father's life and defacto mother to her restless, reckless brother Gil. At present, Marianne is putting her graphic design dreams on hold to work at Prescott Development, sacrificing her own desires for the "greater good" fo the Prescott men. I feel like Marianne is the kind of girl that Carrie Weaver will love and unintentionally terrorize with her overbearing, nearly incestual love for her son, Russ. If Chris Auer hadn't jumped ship to the writing team (his scripts are strong so I'm not mad), I would have liked to seen Francis pining for Marianne to complete the assumption of Becky's role in the lives of the men Becky knew (and who loved her). The complete revision of the Vicki character with the recast and pairing her with Gil is odd. It is basically a new character. Laura Leigh Taylor's Vicki was more conservative and business focused while the new Vicki is more outgoing and lively. I don't hate the new actress but it's such a dramatic shift in characterization and I'm not clear why. I know a later character (Stacey Phillips) assumes the characterization of Taylor's Vicki Lang, but I don't think that occurs until a few months into Jason Vining's work. I also just cannot see Taylor's Vicki giving Gil the time of day when she constantly rejected Peter. The quad between newly arrived developer Jason Prescott, recently widowed Terry, Terry's old friend Dr. Alex Greely, and Jason's corporate attorney Sharon Landers is equally weak. Alex comes off as desperate. Robert Burchette is more than serviceable in the role of friend and the lovelorn colleague, but Alex's jealousy of Jason doesn't work for me. I don't get the sense the friendship has run that deep, but maybe it does for Alex. The actress playing Sharon lacks the bravado to sell Sharon as this shark who kills it in the boardroom and could tear apart the moral Terry. I like that Jason's relationships with Terry and Sharon echo Gil's own bad boy behavior that Jason constantly chatisizes Gil for, but I do wish there was some angle here to root for other than praying that Terry decides to enter the convent. As I was reflecting on the Prescotts, I can see why Vining makes some of the changes he does. Jason isn't a bad character, but Read Morgan doesn't work in the role. Recasting probably would have worked given the show's large canvas involved in the city planning of Kingsley from the political and business angles, but as the show delves deeper into the criminal underworld, I can see why Jason was just dropped. Also, it would have been more interesting if Jason's wife wasn't dead, but had divorced him ages ago and was living in abroad to pop up as a conflict down the line, which is ultimately what happened with Dave and Kate Phillips. On a side note, Dave has been offscreen for most of the tailend of the Barnes run reconciling with his either estranged or ex-wife, I cannot remember which. The Prescott Development stories are bizarre. You have the antics of Gil slowly turning Peter to the dark side (a story that would have worked better with Nancy as the devil on Peter's shoulder) which is obviously built to give conflict between Jason and Terry. Simiarly, Gil's romance of Alex's niece Deena seems to set up animosity between Jason and Alex over their child and defacto child. I just cannot invest in Terry and Jason. Not that I want Alex and Terry, but Jason is just not working for me. I get we are going for the gruff widower who works in construction with a strong belief in the Lord, but I just don't think Jason projects the image of romantic lead. It's reminiscent of Bert Kramer as Alex Wheeler for me. The story the Cavalares family is insane. Dom Cavalares is the drunk single father of teenage Donna. Donna is friends with Jill and they smoke some weed together before Donna ends up being taken into the Cummings home because when her father gets drunk he gets physically abusive. The scene of a drunk Dom breaking into the Cummings' home and attacking Donna is wild. It is a terrifying sequence where Dom comes in raging to get his daughter back with the Cummings' girls (Liz, Jenny, and Jill) and Donna present before Jeff comes in and gets knocked out by Dom. I think it ends with Donna being dragged away. I cannot imagine any show doing that in the past two decades. In some ways, I suspect that the Barnes might have dusted off Roy Winsor's projection for the Jeff Cummings story and used them as the inspiration. When Jason learns Dom is a drunk, Dom ends up going to AA, which was the original story direction before Jeff was saved by the light. The bookstore angle quickly faded before being shifted to Jill to give her something to do. The set up for the Cummings' turning their home into a halfway house was probably the spinoff idea. I don't think its terrible, but it's not working in the larger scale of the show's canvas. I appreicate the attempts to rectify the Jeff story by having Dom turn to AA (offscreen), but I would have liked it more if we actually saw some more regret from Jeff over what he had done. Beth Slaymaker's role in this story is intriguing. As the judge handling Donna and Dom's situation, it is clear that she has a bit of sympathy for Dom that she might not have had if she hadn't given up Jill when she was younger. The Jill-Peter romantic angle never developed the way I expected it to. Jill's "transformation" leading to more interest from both Gary and Peter feels dated by modern standards, but was probably a popular trope for the time. I think Jill has stopped appearing now that Beth has bought her the book store. I cannot say I am sorry to see her go because I don't think they knew what to do with her. Jill was such an abrasive character who I didn't like as a person, but who made sense. She was just exhausting in larger doses. Seidman was much more appealing as Jill's persona softened. The Redlons reunion has been odd. I don't remember if it was earlier and included in my last post, but Carla nearly runs off with Jimmy in a sequence that is very well done and tense. I don't think Carla and Gene work completely. Both actors are wonderful, but I don't like how they play the duo. Carla's career should have her being pulled in directions (which it does, at times) but I think its such an odd choice to play this story in isolation of the Russ-Becky marriage. Gene's political career isn't my favorite story, either, but that's more because I don't care for Jason. I'll do a separate post later about the Carpenters with Nancy and the end of Becky and Russ' marriage.

I think Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt were the wrong pair to bring the show to NBC. People will probably disagree, but I would have given the Corringtons (if free) antoher shot at Search for Tomorrow. The Corringtons would probably have struggled with the youth push as well, but I think some of the writing might have been slicker. Ellis and Hunt's episodes from October-early December have some energy, but its a bizarre clash of old school conversations over cups of coffee and the insane jungle adventures of the younger set. The Corringtons could also lean into the over the top so it might not have worked as well I as hope. David Cherrill feels like a good fit to transition the show to something that would be airing on NBC. Ellis and Hunt feels like the stereotypical sterile Proctor & Gamble vibe that some shows could maintain with a better degree of interest. Cherrill is more plot heavy with centering Travis and Liza with the murder of Tony, then Liza's pregnancy, Rusty's murder, Liza's trial, etc. I think there was an increasing amount of humor by the time Lee arrives in late March to work with Cherrill. Cherrill and Lee introduce a lot of the early Lee characters (Michael Kennedy/Kendall, Rhonda Sue Huckaby, Steve Kendall) and writes the Mommy Warbucks stuff with Stephanie taking in Andie and Andie running off while her diabetes acts up with the big dog. I feel like Lee / Tomlin find a nice groove though there is a lot of their run missing from the tape trade circles (from what I've experienced). I think Jo's kidnapping is strong, the triangle with Wendy / Suzi / Warren is phenomenal, Steve and Stephanie's romance, the feud between the Kendalls and the Sentells, and the introduction of Barbara Moreno all really worked for me. There were definitely weak links (Angela Moreno donning a Greek accent to seduce Danny) but overall I foudn it a joy. Barrett gets to produce some of Tomlin's strongest material with the acquaintance rape and the escalation in the growing animosity between Warren and most of the town of Henderson. I don't know why Lee was dropped, but I think she tried really hard and had some interesting ideas. I would have loved to see her original role for Sheryl Lee Ralph, which was as one of Lloyd Kendall's wives. She was really trying to build enough interest to get the show extended to an hour, but she just never got there. Between stunt casting (Michelle Phillips as Ruby Ashford, originally intended for Cher) and the Live episode along with some strong dramatic sequences, I think she easily could have kept going. It's a shame it didn't last longer. I could give or take Glynn's work until about January, 1985. I really liked the fallout of T.R. learning that Lloyd was her father and Chase being relieved of the guilt he felt over Rebecca's disappearance. The end of the Warren saga led to some great material for Teri Eoff and Lisa Peluso. T.R. and Ryder worked for me. I really enjoy a good chunk of Mayer / Braxton, but acknowledge some of their blunders were too big for most to overlook. I really liked Caldwell House and putting Jo and Stu back in a lodging situation. I really liked Wendy / Quinn / Sarah. I thought the dynamics in the McCleary household with Suzi and Kate were great domestic drama. I thought the general idea of Lloyd wanting Liza while Liza was drawn to Hogan in a mostly sexual way was interesting, but obviously the Sunny angle was awful. It's funny, I think Walsh / Long do Liza equally dirty in 1986 during the Hogan / Patti / Liza story, but that often is overlooked. Probably because Louan Gideon's Liza was so universally dismissed. The shift from Nicholson to whoever was next (Whitsell?) was hard because Tomlin had just started and there seemed to be such a huge shift in story between October and December. I have little use for most of Long and Walsh's run but maybe it would be easier to handle if more of 1986 was available.

It is Roya as Ava who is threatening to shoot Stacey with a gun. Ava had the gun, but maybe I'm embellishing she actually went up to Stacey to use it. This was July or August, 1985. Stacey and Jack decided to be together and ignore Ava despite Jack still being married to her. There was a clip of this somewhere. Maybe in a promo or in some of the material that popped up over the years. I don't think it was Joe Breen's choice to leave, but it may have been. I feel like the sorority / fraternity crew arrives in late March and by early May the Carly / Paul / Michael / Flynn crew have all departed leaving Ava in limbo until the Phantom of Burnell's story which I suspect might have been originally intended to be the set up for Curtis' return in 1992. The City crew who arrive in the months preceeding its arrival really do little for me. Danny is probably the worst of the lot, but so many of them are so vapid and self absorbed that I don't remember much about them.

One of the struggles I see in early Loving is the execution of archetypes that both writers used with their own flavor. Whether Ava is Erica Kane or Nola Reardon seems based on who is at the helm. Similarly, whether Dane Hammond is Nick Davis or one of Marland blue collar schemers falls into the same category. Out of curiousity, what would you have liked seen done with Anne in that first year? Nixon had Ava waving a gun around threatening to shoot Stacey fairly early on so I am not sure if Nixon had a grip on Ava (or maybe Ava just didn't have a grip on her sanity). Nixon and Marland are so different in style it was bound to be chaotic transferring story. Even Millee Taggert/Robert Guza to Agnes Nixon has its complications. I much prefered Taggert/Guza's Shana / Leo story to Nixon's. Elements of Stacey / Buck worked better under the prior regime than under Nixon, but I do think Nixon had a stronger long story vision for Stacey and Buck (and possibly Stacey / Curtis). Nixon does great work with Steffi Brewster with her eating disorder, introducing calculating and flighty Deborah, and pairing her with Clay and Cooper. I loved Janie Sinclair. The Cradle Foundation mystery was very good. I really liked Ava being accused of Egypt's "murder," but I know others didn't like it. The ad agency stuff was great. I just don't see the same energy in the 1985-1986 Loving material. It all seems very flat, but maybe I just haven't seen enough of it. I also think Stacey was more interesting in the late run Marland episodes from March, 1985, then from anything after in the 1980s until about Lily's return. I think Nixon, like Marland and others, defaults to many of her past storylines. Anne and Harry Sowolosky is just Anne and Nick Davis. Except I don't think Nick kidnapped and threatened to rape anyone in the Tyler clan, but AMC is not always my cup of tea. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of the money angle, which definitely should have been explored more. Nixon had that set up when she was leaving in August, 1994. Cabot had returned and there was the anniversary of Alden Enterprises and Lady Alden soap. McCarthy and Walsh execute the reveal as they had working on Nixon's team. I appreciate a lot of things that Addie Walsh and Laurie McCarthy do early in their run, but dropping that story wasn't one of them. I do think that would have been a great starting point to bring back on some Watleys especially given that contracts would be up. Not that I would want Ted Knight in the role, but I think some of Danny's story could have gone to Johnny Watley. Carly's departure (along with Paul, Michael, and Flynn) was to open up space on the canvas for the younger set that Walsh wanted to introduce (Staige, Kent, Cooper, and Casey). With the half-hour, there was only so much room. I think Marland's Trisha and Steve dealt with the complications of her involvement with Rick Elkins, another preppie boy that was in the Aldens social circle. I imagine that story may have played out a little while longer. When Trisha and Trucker's class conflict marriage tension occurs under Mary Ryan Munisteri, I do feel that there is an underlying level of elitism to what Trisha is doing. Isn't there a rather ridiculous rant in an early October 1991 episode where Trisha goes off because Trucker stole Giff downstairs to the bar of the Corinth Towers so that they can watch a basketball game or something? I think a lot of it was low level and one script writer even had Trisha write it off as pregnancy hormones, but Trisha definintely had a bit of entitlement. It was just later cloaked by her moral high ground regarding Trucker and Dinahlee's affair, which she had every right to have. I hate Giff / Trisha from about July - September 1992. I cannot watch much of it either because it is so bad. It's such a left field move to have Giff suddenly go psycho in a scene with Casey at their apartment when there was no real build before. I've seen a little of Dion as Cecilia in the November, 1987, episodes that have popped up over the years. I find Cecilia's romance with Rick had the potential to spark a lot of drama, but I think Ralph Ellis decided to place Rick further into the Jack / Stacey / Lily story by encouraging Lily as well as taking the role that Curtis should have played in that story. Steve dies later in the month or early in December and Cecilia is gone. I'm not even sure she's around long enough to see Steve off.