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Doug Marland was still headwriter. He plotted the serial from June 1983 until June / July 1985. After his two year contract expired, he left the serial. The first interview, April 1984, is still from the time Marland was credited as head writer. I think Genovese’ review is interesting, but, in retrospect, it only highlights the squandered potential. Regarding the MPD storyline, “Days of our Lives” did the story with Trish Clayton in the 1970s, and it was told a bit more accurately than Lily on “Loving.” Not only was the cause sexual abuse at the hands of a parental figure, her stepfather Jack, but she had more than one other alter. I agree about the endless retools / cast purges. The show needed a core group of characters, but the show never chose a group of characters or developed the relationships between the characters they kept. I’m not sure where Roger and Merrill’s story was supposed to go. I suspect Cabot Alden would have eventually intervened as the heavy holding both of their careers in his hands. Roger would probably have remained with Ann in order to pursue his political career, and Merrill’s relationship with Clem Margolies, the Alden family lawyer, may have become more prominent. I could see Cabot attempting to keep Merrill and Roger’s affair secret by pushing Merrill to marry Clem in order to provide every one with a happy ending. With Shana working at Alden Enterprises, maybe she would have become friendly with Merrill Vochek and pushed Merrill to pursue Roger under the guise of going after what’s her while secretly sticking it to Cabot. The Merrill / Shana friendship would have added conflict to Shana / Mike (Merrill did devastate Doug) and Shana / Ann (Ann wouldn’t have liked Shana pushing Merrill to sleep with Ann’s husband). The Lily story seemed to be the groundwork for a Curtis / Jack rivalry which should have gone on for years. Lily probably would have sought treatment from Dr. Ron Turner, the campus psychiatrist, and eventually integrated herself back into Corinthian society and going back to Curtis. While I suspect Jack / Stacey still would have happened, Jack would always have a soft spot for Lily and support her when things went bad with Curtis. At first, Stacey would be okay with Jack and Lily, but, as time went on, she would be furious and find an ally in Curtis. Assuming Lily would have struggled with sexual sitautions, the introduction of Sasha Hale, the young model who had starred in the pornographic films Curtis financed in Europe, would have complicated Lily / Curtis’ relationship. Roya came in October 1984. Marland was still credited as headwriter for another nine months or so. Granger was there from May 1992 until late 1993. There was a bit of cast turnover when she was there and some poorly defined characters who stuck with the show too long (Buck, Tess). Debbi Morgan and Jean LeClerc were both brought over from ‘All My Children.’ Not only was she behind the Universal remote, but the Carter Jones crossover. I think she was given a good amount of time. If she ran off Addie Walsh like rumored, than she was mistaken. I would rather have seen what Walsh did with the college set than what Guza and Taggert did. With that said, I do think Guza and Taggert should be commended for the work with Steffi / Cooper / Ally / Casey.

I believe Billie Allen is an African American actress. I would suspect her character was confidante to Linda Driscoll, who went off to New York to pursue her theatrical ambitions.

In 2001/2002, there was this GL sanctioned parody called MisGuiding Light. It was sort of a 'Delerious'-esque story with a wannabe writer ending up in Springfield. I remember Paul Raunch was in one of the episodes. A quick search of youtube shows all the installments are online. I watched a little of the final (part 13) which has a humorous reference to the Tory Granger storyline being a copy cat of Annie Dutton / Sonni Carrera.

Carl, I'm not sure if your last question was a generalization or related to the plot relayed in the synopsis you posted. I'm not sure what happened after Ginny's trial was resolved. From what I've gathered, motherhood mellowed Carolyn the way it does to some spoiled, self involved young women. After being accused of murdering Bill and having Dwight's child in prison, Carolyn seemed to be torn between Dwight and Dr. Dick Campbell. This triangle seemed to play out for a good part of the 1940s with Carolyn and Dick getting married, Dwight returning from the dead, Carolyn and Dwight resuming their marriage, the introductions of Ginny Carson and Susan Wakefield (both women vying for the affection of Caroyln’s men), and the failure of Dwight and Carolyn’s marriage. After Ginny’s death, Dwight marries Susan, but I suspect there was more Dick / Carolyn interplay. Dick seems like a decent man, while Carolyn married complicated men to keep the story going. I assume Dick / Carolyn angst played out in the months that followed this article while Carolyn became more and more connected to Miles Nelson, the man who prosecuted her during the Ginny Carson Campbell trial. I suspect Dick was phased out of the story around this time as he doesn’t seem to have a strong purpose with the introduction of Miles Nelson. Anyway, Miles and Carolyn marry and Miles’ political career dominates the early 1950s with Miles being institutionalized. As Skip came of age, he was involved with some youth gang; I believe they were exploiting the idea of Skip coming from a ‘broken home’ because Dwight and Carolyn had divorced even though Miles and Carolyn provide a stable environment, by soap opera standards. There was an underlying criminal element that tied into the political plotline, but this seems to be true of the early Roy Windsor television serials of the 1950s. “Love of Life” had Meg involved with gangsters and the mafia infilitrated the motor lodge on “Search for Tomorrow.” Towards the end, Carolyn was involved in a relationship with Craig Chalmers after the death of Miles Nelson, but Debbie Nelson, Carolyn’s sister-in-law, loved Craig too. Craig and Debbie eventually married, and, at the wedding, Carolyn met Lee MacDonald, the man investigating the criminal element involved in Miles’ murder. Carolyn and Lee eventually married while Carolyn fretted about Skip’s involvement with working class Grace as Carolyn was the former boarding school princess who’s final two husbands were lawyers. The final plotline involved a hit and run involving Alex Thorne, a scientist. Sharon Graham, the owner of a large corporation who employed Lee MacDonald, was accused of running over the man, but in turned out Dick Braden, a friend of Skip’s, was the true culprit. The Braden family was featured in the storyline and Dick’s mother complained about working in the home and yearned for a career. Carolyn gave her blessing to Grace and Skip’s wedding plans and found happiness in her marriage with Lee.

This is all very interesting. Thank you, Carl. Charita Bauer put in a good run on 'The Right to Happiness.' She eventually narried Dwight Kramer and is Carolyn's ally during the custody battle for little Skippy in the 1950 Daytime Diary summaries. I have a brief news blurb from December 1944 talking about how the show was going to tell some stories set in Hollywood around the Warner Brothers, which would involve Constance and Susan Wakefield, Carolyn Kramer, and Alex Devalans (voiced by Staats Cotsworth). I suspect this involved Constance's career based on the above article. Anyway, Bauer was on 'Right to Happiness' from at least 1944 to 1950. Speaking of the Wakefield family, it seems that they were sort of a secondary lot fashioned off of Carolyn and Doris. Doris was a woman with her own career with a strained relationship with her daughter. Constance was married to Arnold Kirk, a lawyer, which probably kept them in the thick of things as Miles Nelson, Carolyn's paramour / husband of the period the Wakefields were present, was a lawyer turned politician. I wonder if entering nursing was Susan's turning point or if she continued to cause drama. The Ginny Campbell story is rather shocking. I knew Carolyn was charged with Ginny's murder, but I didn't know any of the details. It appears Ginny committed suicide because she believed Richard, Ginny's husband, was in love with Carolyn, his one-time wife. I suspect Susan tried to reunite Dick and Carolyn in order to get Dwight, Carolyn's on-again / off-again husband, for herself. Thanks, Carl. 'Right to Happiness' fascinates me. Here is an article I found about Richard and Carolyn's marriage.

The Coster / Rowland article is nice. I think this was really the show's last big push to revive the Ames clan. I think Peter's death was meant to open up Valerie's story potential and bringing Amy and Paul back into the story was smart since they were such a dynamic couple. If the show had continued, I wonder if Paul would have reentered the story and fought Kevin Kincaid for Amy's affection. Myra's story is fascinating, but I wish they were more specific in their details. I think the analysis of the storyline is rather intriguing and I wonder how much of this was actual subtext. The idea Susan hated Myra because she thought of her replacing her not only as Peter's wife, but because Myra viewed Peter as a father figure is intriguing. I really wish more of this serial was available, but I am grateful for has made its way online. Thanks again, Carl.

I don't know if it was referenced on air, but Lydia Hirsch once mentioned Karen and Gillian were cousins of the McCandless brood in her Q & A section. Someone had asked about one of the missing McCandless kids (maybe Thomas, who was briefly written out during the headwriter roundelay in the first year or two). Hirsch contacted TPTB and they mentioned Karen was a correspondent working overseas if I remember correctly.

I believe someone mentioned in this thread Mathis left in June or July. So she wasn't on much longer after this clip. From what I've gathered, the intention seemed to lean towards Lloyd / Liza with T.R. being the origin of their bond. Later, Estelle would come between them when she returned to Henderson. I haven't seen all of the episode, but I'm assuming it was Ryder, the son of circus performers who was T.R.'s other love interest. From the episodes I saw on AOL, the teen story seemed weak. Susan Carey (Courtney, AL) replaced Page Hannah in the role of Adair McCleary, Quinn's sister. This is probably unpopular, but I really like what I've seen of the Avila Mayer / Braxton period. The Hogan / Liza aiffair and Wendy / Quinn / Sarah triangle always engaged me. Wendy was sort of a gray character, wasn't she? Clearly she was Stephanie's daughter and not against underhanded methods, but she seemed rather grounded for the most part.

The Joan Crawford episode was wonderful. The last 'Storm' episode saynotoursoap posted was from January / February 1967. Since then, Peter Ames has died, Paul and Amy Britton left and returned to Woodbridge, Robin died setting in motion to Amy / Belle feud, and a series of new characters have arrived in town. I loved the opening exchanged between Charlie and Belle. Listening to this, I realized how soaps rarely do this anymore. Charlie and Belle aren't directly involved in the blackmail scheme, but they are reacting to it. They aren't just recapping, but we get the chance to see how they feel about it. Charlie is appauled and Belle certainly has no love loss for the Ames clan. Then we see the Ames family dealing with the crisis. The Nick / Valerie relationship is interesting as Charlie notes he is a younger man. I wonder how the audience reacted to Nick and Valerie. I wonder where this would have gone. When the dust settled, would Joan have remained in the Ames orbit as an adversary like Belle or was the hope that the audience would accept Nick and Valerie and want them to find happiness together. Jerry is very brusque in these scenes. This wasn't the man I imagined Jerry to be, but it was interesting to hear the final take on Jerry since he was the first of the siblings to vanish from the canvas. Grace Tyrell was much stronger than I had imagined, but this sort of falls in line with Brent's recounts about the encounters between Pauline and Grace. I assume Pauline had vanished by this point, but I could see how a Pauline / Valerie rivalry could have brewed ala Van / Meg despite the fact Valerie wasn't really Grace's daughter. Joan seems to be a pot stirrer and I would love to learn more about this libel situation she seems to have concocted with the help of the Petersons. I wonder if someone was helping her like Nick suggested. Could Belle have been her secret benefactor as she was no friend of the Ames'? 'Storm' continues to intrigue me with each segment that finds its way online.

I recently bid on, but lost, a story projection for 'Peyton Place 1982.' I'm curious if this was related to the the television movie which happened a few years later or a completely different attempt to revive PP.

This sounds like an intriguing story since Carolyn did serve time in prison while on trial for the murder of Bill Walker. There was an episode available from this storyline (the Bill Walker story) which was rather interesting. I wish more of this was available. I still think this all plays out like early television serials. It's a shame Young's work on 'From These Roots' wasn't as strong as his predecessor's. I wonder how he would have done on 'Edge of Night.' I appreciate this Carl.

The lead up to the big murder mystery was fairly well done. I have to agree with Charlene Keel's assessment of those episodes. They sound very exciting, but, with soap opera, I don't think they would be able to maintain the momentum. There was going to be lulls. I think that is where they were going to have trouble luring the 'Dallas' / 'Dynasty' crowd. I think trying to tell a more corporate story in daytime might have worked, but it's too much to ask an American audience to invest in a daily serial against primetime programming. I wish the MyNetworkTv novelas had aired at 7 or 11 in order to build an audience. It's been wonderful to learn more about characters like Clay, Marissa, and Nancy. thanks carl.

I had heard about the book, but I hadn't heard the additional details. Thank you for all this additional information. It's a shame there isn't more material available. Hess actually wrote 'The Secret Storm' after 'The Young Marrieds.' The Darmouth library records list the outlines for 'Storm' for around 1967-1968.

It's interesting to see that these pictures of the Hathaway clan appear as early as March 1970. I wonder if these were from the show's opening episodes with Allison's return. There is something about the look of the show which is so interesting. It looks very upper middle class, but yet lived in if that makes any sense.

The 'I Love Lucy' stuff was also early on and it was mentioned in the first or second set of synopses. I was just saying that a later writer continued it because the clips on youtube are from later in the show's run.

Jones is featured with Brooks, Hamilton, and I think Sharon Farrell in the scene when Koty wakes up from the wedding sequence. Vozoff played Sara Gallagher. The Gallaghers owned a motel / bar that Sara is working in. She is featured in a Koty / Mike scene asking about Lacey's return. I was referring to the Lacey / Koty reveal when Lacey learns Koty is the mother of Mike's child. Koty later tells Mike that Lacey told her she should have an abortion, but that wasn't featured in the clips. I wonder if that scene played out. Carl, I think these clips are all from the show's last few months on the air. The Katie story started in April 1985. So the 'I Love Lucy' references would have been from later in the shows run. They are probably from Raymond Goldstone's time with the show, but maybe it was later.

Someone had asked earlier in the thread who had played Mr. Sebastian, but yes Stratton is featured in your promo on youtube. I'm not sure most of us put two and two together. I've wondered if the original plan was to reveal Penny was Althea's mysterious patient who was whispering her name in the hospital instead of the Robin / Mr. Sebastian storyline. I had dismissed this idea because I assumed Robin was younger, but seeing the actress in the promo, it seems probably that Robin may have been Penny.

The material with Fran / Johnny sounds interesting. I can almost picture the two of them sitting alone in a quiet house discussing those little things that some people would label mundane, but are so important. In the story, I believe the McGhee family purchased the Kirby home after Larry and Chris decided to divorce. Monica Courtlandt sounds a little like Mona Aldrich from what I've read. Copeland was well received as Andrea, wasn't she? Dave's death sounds heartbreaking. I believe the clip on youtube is from April 1974. FrenchFan posted Bryna Laub's newsletter for that month several years ago and it mentions Chris going on a date with a man named Harry Forrester, someone she met at Peter's office, which led to champagne. I don't think it was a serious romance, but probably Chris' first attempt to date anyone after the divorce. It's been nice hearing saynotoursoap's recollections about the show because the storyline provided in the article about the counterfeit bills and Johnny's arrest for the murder of some syndicate man seem so different from what the show was about. Max Cooper's 'is he married? is he single?' story doesn't sound very exciting either, but the show seems to have strong dynamics between the characters which can carry a show when the storyline is weak.

The Cranston episode is Marland / Nixon together. I believe they were credited as co-head-writers, if not onscreen, then in the press at the time of the episode. I think the cough syrup storyline is urban legend. 'Generations' did two separate storylines involving cough syrup in 1990. Football star Eric Royal ran down a vagrant with his car and stood trial where Chantal Marshall prosecuted the case. Chantal built the case around Eric being durnk at the time of the accident, while Eric claimed he had not been drinking at the time of the incident. It was Randy Brooks' entrance story. During the trial, Chantal learned Eric had actually drunk cough syrup, which explained his blood alcohol content. He still served prison time with Kyle Masters' brother, Sean, who was there on a separate charge. Earlier in the year, it was revealed Helen Mullens' daughter had died because Helen had given her an over the counter cough syrup that was defective. Somehow this all tied into Richard Roundtree' Dr. Daniel Reubens plot. I think his wife was killed trying to expose the truth about the dangerous cough syrup or something. It all seemed very convoluted to be honest.

Mike is incredibly flaky, but I give Shriner credit for trying to make the character work. I've thought Shriner acted the same as Scotty as he did as Keith on ATWT and Harrison on Y&R. It was nice to see Shriner play something that was a complete departure from that. Sampler's Lacey is made out to be the baddie, but I don't understand how she could stay with Mike. I'll give Sampler credit because I think she was trying to play Lacey as overwhelmed during the Koty / Mike stuff rather than as a complete bitch as the writing seemed to suggest. Sharon's Cherry does seem to add something considering this all plays out during the era of C.J. vs. Carter and their fight for everyone and everything in Wingfield. The Lanes and the Washingtons represent the 'havenots' better than the Gallaghers. Renee Jones' hair in that clip is so 80s! The head in the lap was a bit surprising in a good way, but I still think the set up for all that was just too much. 'I'm dying so let me give you a baby.' Really? I think doing both was just too much, but, then again, why would Koty really want to give them a baby. It just seems like one bad idea after another. I do wonder if there was more to the Lacey / Koty reveal. I would like to see how Sampler would have played the rest of that. It was nice to see some of the other players in these clips. Andrea Moar seems a bit green, but there is something about her that makes me see how she could be the show's young ingenue. Lindstrum didn't seem as bad as I thought he would be playing the heir to the fortune. Lorrine Vozoff was surprisingly strong given her brief appearance having little to do with the story at hand. She reminded me of Constance Towers and I could see how they would want to keep her at the center of the story even though her family was pretty much a flop. Mary Beth Evans was very good, and I've never thought very highly of her. I've known she's a competent performer, but she never really wowed me. She is very aware of the character as you said, Carl, but I never got this sense from the little I saw of her second stint on 'Days' or her work on 'ATWT.' Maybe I just missed some of her stronger performances.

It's nice to see this. All those early 1970s characters who I've heard about, but never really seen (Kate Swanson, Dr. Dan Phillips, Jamie's wife Sally). It was nice to see them. Joanna Roos looks so matronly I thought she was the actress who played Vivian Carlson. I think I'm confusing Roos with Jane Rose It does seem a bit much given the show's storyline, but I miss this sort of pageantry that soaps have given up on. I wish soaps would financially manage themselves better so they could occassionaly do a story climax justice.

Yes, Arthur seems a bit weak, but I think that works in terms of the story. Arthur's weakness allows him to provide the drama in the relationship, while Jo stands by her man as the noble wife and mother. Her later pairing with Sam Reynolds seems to be more on an even playing field with his ex-wife Andrea acting as the major catalyst for drama. It's a shame Andrea never came back into the story as Len was married to Patti. I guess Andrea was replaced by Stephanie in terms of female antagonist who acts as Jo's foil.

Shriner was leaving 'Rituals.' He decided not to renew his one-year contract before the show was cancelled. I got the insinuation that the Koty / Mike story was an attempt to sway Shriner to stay on the serial. The Koty story sounds awful, though. Brain tumor + surrogacy as a segue to adultery doesn't seem like the most appealing plotline. Anyway, everything was too up in the air for Mike to suddenly disappear.Diandra's baby had just been born and Koty was still pregnant with his child. Even if he suddenly drove off, Mike would eventually have to be dealt with. In the long run, Mike should have been written out. The show should have slowly written out Diandra / Lacey / Mike / Tom. Tom was dying of radiation poisoning, which would have caused problems between C.J. / Sara. This would have opened up Christina / C.J. and given Christina a taste of what is was like to be with C.J. before it was ultimately revealed Carter. not C.J., was behind the leak that would lead to Tom's demise. Diandra could have left to raise her daughter after Tom's death and Lacey could have been offered a university position elsewhere. I don't understand saddling Koty with a child. Granted, Cherry was around to watch the kid so Koty could engaging in more exciting stories, but the whole drama seems a bit inane. I don't think anyone really thought Koty was going to die. Maybe Tom wouldn't have either, but you never know.

If this is July 1979, it is Ann Marcus' run. She would have only been around for two months at this point. The scene between Ben / Betsy seems a bit odd, but maybe I just don't fully understand the nature of the characters. I thought that was Veleka Gray in the clip, but its not. That's Maryanne Johnson (?) the actress who played Lianne. Andrew refers to her as Lianne in the clip and Lianne was a doctor, which made sense considering how the scene played out. Marcus played a Lianne / Andrew as friendly professionals with Andrew having a bit of an attraction to Lianne. If the show had continued, Lianne / Andrew would have probably have found their way towards one another during Meg's marriage to Tom Crawford. Complicating the situation between Andrew / Lianne would have been complicated by the Wes / Kelly / Cheryl triangle as Andrew / Wes had a fairly good relationship and Wes' attraction seemed to be with Cheryl moreso than Kelly. There was potential when the show ended, but it would have all amounted to the execution. I know Tim was involved in a lot of the legal matters so I assume Sarah got some play during Marcus' time.

I didn't realize the Averys had been subwriters under Irna Phillips. In the 1960s, the Averys were mentioned in the Palm Beach social column whenever they were visiting Jane's mother, Helen. Before writing soaps, they had written some books about travel and eating around the world. Later, they transitioned into television and wrote 'The Secret Storm' for several years. Jane had been a model at one point in her life, and I got the sense the Averys lived a very affluent lifestyle and would have been at home with the residents of Woodbridge. While Jane's mother lived in Florida, the Averys lived in Fairfield County with their two daughters. Both girls got married in the late 1960s / early 1970s, and I've found little reference to the Averys after that.