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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.

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.