dc11786

I recently acquired a script from 'Loving.' The original airdate was around September 30, 1994, but it's noted on the script this was tentative. At the time it was written, the O.J. trial was going on and 'Loving' was heavily preempted. Nixon is still credited as headwriter, which I found a bit of a surprise as I've read fall previews Laurie McCarthy and Addie Walsh gave SOD, but Walsh and McCarthy were probably commenting on what was to come as new headwriters. Anyway, the script featured three character groupings: (A) Steffi and Cooper ( Charles, Frankie, Angie, and a bit of Curtis © Ava and Jeremy/Gilbert. Steffi and Coop's story was the one I was most interested in, but their storyline hits an emotional climax. Coop confronts Steffi over her bulimia and Steffi confesses she is ill. The material is fairly well written with Steffi giving a detailed history of the events leading her to her bulimia. I think this was a rather important scene for the couple as months earlier Steffi got Coop to confess he had been molested by Selina, his nanny. I believe the bulimia storyline had played out for some time and was beign revisited. Anyway, I think I would have liked Steffi and Coop from what little I've seen. Heinle seemed to work as Steffi unlike some of her later roles. The Jeremy/ Gilbert stuff isn't my cup of tea and a bit of a retread of Agnes' favorite Jonathan/Keith plot. In this episode, Gilbert is impersonating Jeremy during an evening with Ava. The whole two Jeremy angles bothers me, but I suspect Agnes planned on utilizing Alex's past as Clay to figure out there were two Jeremys. Anyway, most of its rather rudimentary, but there is a rather interesting angle. Gilbert doesn't believe Ava loves him so he ends up hanging over the ledge of a balcony to test Ava. He is genuinely surprised when Ava responds to his call for help. In the third segment, Angie is recovering from her bone marrow transplant she received from the late Janie Sinclair. Charles is desperately trying to get workaholic Angie to settle down. When Curtis comes over with questions, Angie talks to him. Curtis is wondering about brain tumors and such. The subtext suggests Curtis has caught on to the two Jeremys story and is trying to get to the bottom of the strange behavior. Anyway, Curtis leaves and Frankie and Charles arrange for Angie to go stay with Pat in Washington, D.C. Angie asks Charles to look after Curtis, who seems to have gone over the edge again.

Thanks. I didn't mean to imply Beth / Rick hit the sheets in 2004 / 2005. It was pretty clear this was where it was all heading, but it never really went anywhere. I hated all of the sudden revelations that would pop up. Didn't they later reveal Beth and Coop had been sleeping together for months at the time of the reveal?

For the life of me, I don't remember what horrible thing Beth did the night of Phillip's murder. In my defense, January 2005 was pretty much the end of 'Guiding Light' for me. I think I stopped taping in April because it was clear the show had no clue who killed Phillip and after teasing Jammy they went all out. Jammy devoured my affection for 'Guiding Light.' Does anyone remember what Beth did? Didn't they reveal Phillip asked her to run off with him and the kids? Or something equally 'horrible.' All I remember of Beth from this time was the non-climax to her non-affair with Rick. Mel called Beth out on her feelings for Rick at the kids' preschool event and then the whole thing was dropped. I think Beth started flirting with motorcycle riding Sebastian next.

Yes, Carl, that is the actress. I cannot get a good view of her face in this clip. I've seen people complain about begin with the scenes from 'Tomorrow's Another Day.' I think it's a valid concern. I do like how the title not only reflects 'Search for Tomorrow,' but 'Days of our Lives' and 'Another World.' I think the Lacey / Vic plot is a reflection of the Hugh / Mary plot back in Chicago. I believe Mary Gardner poisoned her brother Hugh, the father of Jessica (Lacey), in order to get her hands on Hugh's money. Of course, the will stipulated the money go to Jessica's estranged son, who Jessica tracked down in order to make amends with and get her hands on her father's money. I've liked what I've seen of the beginning and the end of 'Generations.' I haven't seen enough of the middle to make a fair assessment.

I am aware I'm asking questions that rely on the memory of events occuring nearly four decades ago. Because of this , I appreciate you sharing what you do remember about the program since there seems to be only be a handful of people online with actual memories of this program. Characters from the early 1970s seem to be forgotten even though they would be part of the final years of the series. Thanks again for your comments about Keefer and Kitty. It sounds like a classic soap setup. If you have any memories about Kiser's role I wouldn't mind reading them.

I don't know who the actress playing the mistress character, Jade Collins, is. The wife character, Lacey Reynolds, is being played by the fictional Jessica Gardner. Her father, Hugh Gardner (Jack Betts), is the guy dying in bed. I haven't rewatched the premier again, but I think there is an early television appearnace by a fairly well known actress playing Hugh's nurse. Anyway, Jessica Gardner is being played by Barbara Rhoades, more recently of OLTL fame as the not so dead Irene Manning. Rhoades was replaced by Linda Gibboney.

Do you happen to remember how Kitty fit into the story? I've read she was involved with Alan while Susan was married to Frank. Was this the case? Thanks for your description of Kitty. She sounds like a fascinating character.

Landers appeared in the final weeks as Cheryl, a young woman who was hired to work at the disco Ray Slater ran. Cheryl was set to work with Wes Osbourne, Mia's brother who had deflowered Gina, Ray's sister, the previous summer. When Ray first hired Wes, there was tension due to the Gina / Wes situation and this may have been revisited when Wes became involved with Cheryl and Kelly Wilson, the sister of Lianne Wilson who arrived to attend Rosehill College around the same time Cheryl came looking for work. Wes had visions problems so I suspect a blindness story was heading his way. The show seemed to have a fairly well developed canvas, but I'm surprised how large the cast had gotten.

I'm to lazy to figure out how to post this within the thread. On e-bay, there is a copy of the final cast of 'Love of Life.' I think this was taken at Sarah and Timothy's wedding in December 1979, which means Judy Landers and Julia Kelly hadnt joined the series yet. The only actors I cannot identify are the two males on the left in the back row and the actor behind Audrey Peters. I assume the actors are Paul Craggs, Christopher Wyatt, and Gary Giem. http://www.ebay.com/...252757557025870

Thanks for this. I wish the magazine went into more detail, but I'm thankful for what they wrote. I'm surprised how long Elsa / Danny Lockwood were involved in the story considering I've read little about them before other than a mention of a 'Lockwood' character bio in James Young's script collection catelog. By November 1955, Miles Nelson was dead.

Rio Domeq was from some fictional foreign nation, San Felipe?, and I believe he and Rocky married so he could stay in the country. They marrieahld in a dual ceremony with Louie and Kate Slavinki. Rocky was a med student, which I believe was inspired by her childhood illness. You are aware her real name was Amelia. Trucker called her Rocky because she fought her illness like the boxer in the films. I believe she got into a med program outside of Corinth which is why she and Rio left Corinth. Rocky was on the show for almost 2 years. Dinah Lee survived out because everyone else left. Dinah Lee originally was J.J. and Heather's nanny and tried to seduce Jack, but when that failed she slept with Trucker during Trisha's pregnancy. Trisha gave birth in February 1992. In January 1992, Larkin Malloy assumed the role of Clay Alden after Clay had spent several months off screen. Since Trisha and Trucker were so popular, the show paired Clay and Dinah Lee because of the obvious conflict that would errupt from Trucker's mistress becoming involved with Trisha's father. Add in the arrival of Hannah Mayberry in March 1992 and you give Dinah Lee some more substance. By the time Dinah Lee / Clay fell apart in September 1992, In February 1993, Dinah Lee was paired with newly returned Curtis Alden, Trisha's brother, but by this time it was known Trisha was leaving so Curtis / Dinah Lee went from endgame to Curtis being an interloper in the Dinah Lee / Trucker story. I think Dinah Lee survived because of her importance to Trucker / Trisha. If she had been involved with just Jack, she would have been dumped. I thought it would have been interesting if instead of introducing Dinah Lee they had Cece return to Corinth and play out the story. Stan Albers played Curtis for a little while in the late 1980s / early 1990s. Albers played Curtis after Lottie's death and Curtis became involved with Rocky, while he fought Todd Jones and Rio Domeq for her affection. Curtis left Corinth in 1990/1991 for the Persian Gulf. Patrick Johnson and Michael Lord played Curtis in 1993 before Christopher Marcantel returned. Johnson appeared from February until May / June 1993. Lord played Curtis from June until September 1993. Curtis torched Pins in September and left town. When Dante's pet Curtis first appeared in December 1993, Christopher Marcantel was in the role. I suspect Dinah Lee was going to be more a gray character under Addie Walsh with the pairing of Clay / Dinah Lee and Cooper / Hannah. Dinah Lee and Trucker's affair clearly would have been used as an obstacle in both relationships. Dinah Lee's friendship with Ava helped secure her position in Corinth. I don't remember when the Ava / Dinah Lee relationship started, though. I think it may have been in February 1993, but it may have been earlier. I've never seen the Sasha / Jonathan picture before. Sasha looks a little like Roya Megnot.

I find the comments about Cindy Grover sweet, but it is rather sad since they talk about her parents' divorce in another article in the same issue. I'm not sure how I feel about including all this personal information in a magazine considering the personal nature of soap opera. The Candy - Dan - Kate - Rick sounds like an intriguing story. It surprises me how long Rick Latimer managed to stay on the canvas and how his position evolved. The beginning of Vanessa and Caroline as penned by Labine and Mayer. What an exciting time that must have been. I don't think I ever noticed the actor on left in that photo before. Isn't he a rather well known character actor?

The party article was a neat read. I was surprised they glanced over Lee Grant's stint on 'Search for Tomorrow.' Robert and Tim were seen on the show. They both appear at Tyger and Chase's wedding. Ava introduces the couple to Niko at the wedding reception as friends. Robert quickly corrected her; they were lovers. Robert quipped Ava couldn't believe a gay could play football. Niko commented that in Greece a man may have a wife, a mistress, and a lover. I thought that was a rather shocking statement to make in 1983, but maybe it was considerd okay because Niko was European. The comment also helped to set up Niko's sexual philosophy since he had no trouble sleeping with Ava and Bobbi interchangeably.

Off the top of my head, wasn't he on 'The Secret Storm' as Susan's second husband Frank Carver.

Potter's comments about the car accident stood out. He talked about how on other soaps a car accident would have pulled Chris and Larry together, but on 'How to Survive a Marriage,' it only highlighted how far apart Chris and Larry were. Saynotoursoap talked about Dave Bachman's death in similar terms. Bachman had a heart attack and knew he wouldn't survive unlike other soaps where Dave would have pulled through. The show did broaden its focus as time went on by introducing the McGhee family and Max Cooper / Susan Pritchard. Who actually left the show? Monica got divorced for a third or fourth time, didn't she, when Terry Courtland left? Dave Bachman died. Julie and Tony left town. Did anyone else go?

The characters are celebrating the fourth of July in the clip so its July 1979. I'm sure saynotoursoap can explain it better, and probably has somewhere in this thread, but I don't think the prison rape storyline played out as many were led to believe. When Christopher Reeves assumed the role of Ben, Ben was a cad who drove his mother Meg up the wall. In order to ground him, Meg offered him a small fortune to settle down and marry Betsy Crawford. Little did Meg know that Ben was all ready married to Arlene Lovett, a piano player at the Victoria Club. Arlene and Ben planned to run off with the money, but things slowly changed along the way. Ben fell for Betsy and Arlene became entangled with David Hart. The bigamy story was a labryinth tale that involved a series of characters and complications as people learned Ben and Arlene's secret and they fought to keep it that way. Eventually, it was revealed Ben had committed bigamy and it looked like Betsy might be punished as well. I believe Ben owned up to his lies and was sentenced to prison as a result. Reeves departed the show when Ben was shipped off to prison. I believe this was May 1976. In October 1976, Ben began sending letters to Betsy and Chandler Harben Hill assumed the role. In November, there was a prison riot and in the course of the events it looked like Ben might be raped, however I don't believe he was. The insinuation was Ben would be raped had the riot continued or if the attacker hadn't been stopped. I'm not sure how it was received, but this is a time period that doesn't usually read too well based on weekly summaries and SOD synopses. The stories involved a love triangle between Eddie Aleata / Felicia Lamont / Charles Lamont and Meg / Cal / Rick.

The first few episodes were rather scattered. It took a while to figure out who the A characters were and who the B characters were. The last two episodes I read (hours 4 and 5) were rather solid other than parts of the ‘Who Murdered Chase?’ plotline. They’ve eliminated the sexual situations for Tyger and had her focused on ‘Ma Femme,’ the fragrance she is desperately trying to launch in supermarkets across America. Unfortunately, the fragrance’s sales are poor and a survey shows the market distrusts the fragrance because it isn’t attached to a cosmetics line. Now, Tyger is trying to launch an entire cosmetics line while her in-law Ava Marshall plots her demise. Ava’s business plot involved aligning Tyger with another cosmetics company, one who was producing organic products. The problem was the organic products had a short shell life and would spoil in the stores. Ava figured Tyger wouldn’t learn about this until it was too late and the company would be ruined. Barbara Fisher, Jamie Lynn Bauer’s character, knew of the shell life problem and is an ally of Tyger’s, but is also sleeping with Marcus, Ava’s son. When Barbara confronted Ava, Ava informed Barbara of Ava’s ability to ruin Barbara and Marcus’ affair. Barbara remained to keep mum. Eventually, the truth about the products came to light before any damage could be done. In Ava’s more sinister plot, she has been paying a Frenchman to torment Tyger claiming Chase had been murdered. Whether or not Chase has been murdered hasn’t been revealed. In a minor plot, Ava arranged for Tim Lemming, the football player lover of Robert Spencer, to be sent to California. Tim and Robert, along with Barbara, are among Tyger’s few friends in the city. In Hour Five, Tim and Robert leave for California with the plans to return in the spring, but who knows if that actually happens. They are replaced by Kathy, a young Californian who was in classes with Tyger and had a yen for Marcus Marshall. How this places out has yet to be revealed. Ava truly is the most fascinating character. In episode four, she learns she is pregnant with Niko’s child and plots to use the child to get Niko to marry her and control the Marshall empire. When Niko dismisses her, Ava tricks Hadden into thinking they have slept together and is now playing the waiting game to drop the bomb that she is ‘pregnant’ with his child. This little detail would seem cliché, but I suspect it will be used to exploit the animosity between Niko / Hadden as well as play into Hadden’s past. Chase, Hadden’s son, was actually raised the son of Hugh Marshall, Hadden’s elder son, and his first wife, the woman who came before Ava. The quasi-incest of the Marshall clan has been mentioned before and I’m sure this will cause further heartache for Hadden. One of the few plot points I don’t care for is the revelation matronly Margaret Marshall had an illegitimate child, Sean Benedict. Sean’s purpose is clear; he’s a threat to Marcus’ position and a potential love for Tyger. I feel the backstory is rather weak and could use some development. No one seems to have asked any questions surrounding the circumstances, which I find a bit irritating. The Niko / Lady Bobbi story is still rather strong. Ava’s pregnancy is a looming threat to their happiness as is Alan, Niko’s assistant who is carrying a torch for Bobbi. Niko has arranged for a yachting trip where he has proposed to Bobbi, but Bobbi turns him down. Bobbi isn’t pleased that Niko has plotted to ruin Sean Benedict. On happier fronts, mother-daughter Bobbi and Tyger seem to be on the road to reconciliation. This strand is one of the ones I’m most surprised by as it isn’t directly related to the cosmetics story, but is given a fair amount of air time. I want Bobbi and Tyger to bond, but I know they have a rocky road ahead of them.

This was an interesting read. I'm surprised it was told in first person from Van's POV. Thanks for this.

Hmmm... I wonder why this piece was written. Maybe to explain the characters backstory to new audience members? It just seems a bit bizarre given the timing.

I received an early Christmas present the other day – all twelve scripts of NBC’s “Bare Essence.” I’ve finished the first three episodes. It is nice to see what the characters are talking about / doing in those German dubs. I’m surprised by a multitude of things. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I am. The first couple episodes are penned by Robert Hamilton and set the groundwork. After their crazy romance in the miniseries, Chase and Tyger marry in the premier only for Chase to end up dead in the opening moments of the second episode. It all happens rather quickly and, while this was suppose to be Genie Francis’ big post-GH series, I’m a bit surprised by Tyger’s sudden marriage and widowhood. In the early installments, Tyger is left to grieve for Chase while Ava Marshall schemes to run Tyger out of Manhattan. Ava is a master manipulator who’s main purpose in life is to position her son Marcus as the heir to the Marshall throne. In order to do so, she has maneuvered a relationship between Marcus and his wife, Muffin. Candidly, Ava informs Muffin that she (Ava) was the mastermind behind Marcus and Muffin’s marriage and proceeds to groom Muffin so Muffin can guide Marcus’ future in the direction Ava has always planned for him. In order to achieve this goal, Ava must eliminate Tyger, who she views as a threat to the fortune. Not only does Hadden have a fondness for his late son’s widow, but Aunt Margaret has informed Ava of her plans to leave Tyger Margaret’s shares of the family business. Ava’s relationship with Muffin is interesting. There is a certain servant-master nature to it, but the script notes Ava admires Muffin when she starts to catch on. There is a really intriguing scene set in a salon where Muffin picks up a tube of lipstick and asks Ava if it’s her shade. There is an implication that Muffin is ready to assume Ava’s role in guiding Marcus’ life. Considering later developments, I find this all really neat, while also a bit jarring given certain revelations. Always on her A-game, Ava is aware there is more to Niko Theophilus’ presence than meets the eye when she learns he has visited Hadden on Chase and Tyger’s wedding day. While Niko is immediately smitten with Lady Bobbi Rowan (Tyger’s mother), Ava sets out to snare Niko or herself if only to learn what he is planning with Kellerco, the Marshall family company. While never stated directly, it’s safe to assume Ava wants to align herself with Niko in order to assure Marcus’ birthright. Niko’s relationship with Bobbi is also rather complicated. It is love at first sight on Niko’s end, which initially a bit cheesy considering his relationship with Ava. Not only has he bedded manipulative Ava, but there is a rather interesting scene with his former paramour Natasha, a ballerina. Natasha arrives at Niko’s room in Monte Carlo looking to reconcile and Niko dismisses her. Considering Natasha’s insignificance, the scene seems extraneous until Natasha talks about how Niko seduced her and how he reeled her in. Natasha ends saying Niko will bore with Bobbi eventually and drop her too. The scene does call into question Niko’s concern for Bobbi since by the end of episode three he has also shared a kiss with a vulnerable, and drunk, Tyger. At times, I find things move to fast. In three episodes, Chase and Tyger marry, Chase dies, Tyger meets up with Armand (who has carried a torch for her), and shared a kiss with Niko. Margaret Marshall has a sudden heart attack in the same episode her nephew dies and the episode ends with Sean Benedict revealing he is Margaret’s son. Overall, I find ‘Bare Essence’ a fun read with more depth than I expected. I will continue to comment as I make my way through the scripts.

Is this from 1949 or is this a typo? I only ask because Connie's story predates the other article from 1946 as Connie is already in the thick of things. As I mention above, there was an article from December 1944 discussing the story involving the Wakefields and Hollywood. I would suspect this story is the one being outlined above in the Radio Timesale article. In the story, I imagine Carolyn moved to Westwood, met Connie, and Connie began to reveal to her story to Carolyn as Susan, Connie, and Alex are all mentioned in the article. I would assume the show was set in the present with Connie back in Westwood with the possibility of Alex Devalans returning to cause complications. I had never heard Westwood used as the location, but its nice to know where the show was set. Thanks for this. It was a very interesting read.

The clip is from the time Gilbert was impersonating Jeremy. I cannot remember how Curtis ended up in Dunellyn. This would be after he led Trucker to believe Trisha was alive (she was, but Curtis didn't really know this) and caused the plane crash that killed Janie and caused Dinahlee to lose the baby she was carrying. Laurie McCarthy / Addie Walsh would be writing and I believe Jo Ann Emmerich was producing or however it was who was there before Jean Daddario Burke.

Curtis' involvement with porn happened prior to his return to Corinth during the show's first weeks in July 1983. When Curtis came home, Cabot alluded to him getting in trouble, but not specifically stating what he had done. Before Clayton Alden's family spent all that time in Maine, they were originally living in overseas. When Gwyneth returned, there was some mystery involving one of her lovers, Jacques, who had been murdered or had supposedly killed Clay for her. I never really understood the who backstory, but anyway the Aldens lived in Europe. When the show began to switch gears in 1984, Burnell's department store, a property belonging to the Aldens and AE, was at the center of the business conflict. Shana and Ann fought over whether or not to sell off this division. Rita Mae Bristow's niece, Colby Cantrell, arrived in Corinth to work as a buyer for Burnell's and fell in love with Curtis Alden. Lorna Forbes hoped to catapult her modelling career as becoming the spokesperson for Burnell's, but she lost that position to Sasha Hale. Sasha was tied to several characters. When she was in Europe, she had been in a pornographic film, which had been financed by Curtis Alden. I think Curtis was a bit mislead about the nature of the film, but he felt guilty anyway and didn't want Colby to find out about his involvement with Sasha and the film. Also, while in Europe, Sasha had known one of the victims of Jonathan Maitlane, the serial killer husband of Edy Donovan. Sasha could identify Jonathan as the murderer and Jonathan tried to kill her, but she escaped. Eventually, Sasha faded from the story as the show began to shift its business intrigue from Burnell's to Amourelle. Sasha was probably around from September until late November / early December 1984. Replacing Hannah with Steffi was a smart move in the long haul and, despite the contrivance, the conception of Tyler would allow for the show to continue to keep these characters interacting with one another for the show's final years. Dante was part of the backstory Guza / Taggert created for Curtis / Tess / Buck for when the characters were introduced in the spring of 1993. While living in Kuwait, Tess had been married to a bad man and Curtis had managed to help her escape from her bad marriage with the help of Buck, a pilot. There was some mention of one of the two men having killed the husband and both seemed romantically interested in Tess. When Dante arrived, I believe Nixon was writing as it was announced in a November SOD she had taken over from Millee Taggert. Originally, it was announced there were no plans to recast Curtis when Michael Lord was fired. Curtis torched Pins and left town. Later, it was revealed he was captured by Dante.

Thanks, Carl. So this was the set up for the Diandra / Mike situation. This international espionage plot sounds bad, but it was the in-thing at the time. I think the show should have geared itself more towards the primetime audience with the business intrigue and family in-fighting. Bernhardt is such an odd character. I've never gotten a real sense of how old he is suppose to be. The Christina / Patrick dynamic is interesting and I can see how this would have evolved into an affair. I'm still not clear how everyone is related since it is clear Brady tries to set up Noel / Jeff without there being any mention of Sara and Christina being related. Taylor's comment regarding sleeping with her husbands was a bit humorous. I believe the textile developed for the government is the Chalon project that dominates a good portion of the business action in the series.

I guess the Averys weren't there very long if Variety is reporting Ettlinger and Hardy by June.