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I don't think Diana Walker was gone; I just think she wasn't featured in the article for whatever reason. I remember the 'Bright Promise' Serial of the Month feature didn't seem to include everyone. The Walker / Abels picture is so angsty.

I apologize about the Sue refernence. I know she had a last name, but I can't find the article.

I agree with some of your points Carl. Maroney didn’t make Kim a sympathetic character. There wasn’t a natural warmth there that worked. She worked for me as a schemer and I liked watching her suffer and making Rae suffer because Rae would always give it right back to her. I probably white washed a lot of the Kim praise because I thought the Rae-Kim conflict was enjoyable. The age gap between Maroney and Gabriel was rough. I thought the dynamic was icky, but I was willing to overlook that to watch all the drama play out because I knew Seneca and Kim weren’t meant to be end game. Eventually, one or the other would have to concede to defeat. If they were going to focus on the Arley custody situation, Seneca should have married Rae in order to try and raise Arley. That would have been a wonderfully volatile marriage. Not to be argumentative, but to understand where you are coming from. Carl, what do you think Rae should have been involved with if it wasn’t her daughter? I thought Labine & Mayer dumped Kim again when they returned in 1983. Maroney later went to OLTL so I don’t think she was against continuing in daytime. I agree Faith was a poorly defined character which is why I enjoyed sloppy Faith from 1980-1981. I thought KMG was dull with Tom, but I thought she was good during the alcohol storyline. I remember Faith coming over and giving Little John the penicillin which he was allergic to. I thought Faith owned up to her mistakes, while still being embraced by the Ryans. I’ll talk about the treatment of Delia later. I don’t agree with Faith was stupid to fall for Frank. Frank was charming, and lured her on. Jill had cheated on Frank with Ken and Frank was insistent he was over Jill. Given the timing, maybe Faith should have been more suspicious, but Frank kept guaranteeing her he was over Jill. Every time Faith questioned Frank he promised her he was over Jill. Faith didn’t love Frank blindly, but he kept telling her over and over again that he was over Jill. What reason did she have to not trust the word of the man she loved? Ugh. Yes. I do remember Faith’s backtracking, at times, saying Frank was a victim in this all. I remember Faith’s accusations that Judith Coleridge loved Jill more than Faith, which certainly clashes with Jill’s early monologue to Ed about how Judith hated Jill because she was the baby Ed brought home for Judith to raise. I didn’t see it as a rewrite but rather another interpretation of the past. I think siblings often think their siblings are the ones that are more loved. I don’t remember Jill agreeing with Faith’s assessment. For me, Faith worked as a trainwreck and I enjoyed KMG’s performance in the role. I guess we will have to agree to disagree. After the break up, I thought they were trying to make Faith a bitch to justify the break up, but I just loved someone saying the things I wanted to say to some of the characters. I liked EJ and never felt the smugness in regards to Delia. Nicolette Goulet’s Mary was smug and so was Catherine Hicks’ Faith. Joe shouldn’t have come back. Joe / Siobhan’s true love was as sacrilegious as Faith / Pat’s true love. I get your point regarding the type of writing and the connection between the past and present is valid, but I don’t agree with every single example you’ve given. However, it is an interesting point that I will give more thought to.

I believe the Italian clip at top is from the first daytime episode of Loving. The NYT review of ‘Loving’ mentions the Jack / Lily scene and the Roger / Merrill / Lorna scene. Regarding the bizarre Italian clip, I initially thought it was a bloopers reel for some reason, but translating some of the titles it seems to be done as a joke. In the Soap Opera Encyclopedia, Waggett claimed Loving was very popular in Italy. Yes, that is Tony with Stacey. That looks like Roya Megnot’s Ava with Jack at the beginning of the clip. Patty Lotz must have been out by early October.

I unapologetically love 1980-1981. I loved Rae and Roger trying to destroy Kim, while Kim tended to get the upperhand. This wasn’t the kind of stuff the Ryans could do to one another. Siobhan and Mary or Pat and Frank could have a row but they could never blackmail one another with elaborate schemes like Rae’s Chinese lunch where she got Kimberly to confess her scheme on one side of the partition, while Jill and Roger were listening on the other side. Then, Kim and Seneca’s wedding day rolls around and Jill announces to Seneca Kim isn’t carrying his child after spending most of the episode wondering whether or not she was going to blab or let Seneca be happy. I enjoyed this over some of the previous stuff like Delia and the stockbroker, the Poppy Lincoln storyline, and some of the other fiascos from the late 1980s. Also, Labine & Mayer were foolish to eliminate Kim so quickly. ABC’s ratings swelled the week Luke and Laura saved the world; “Ryan’s Hope” had their highest ratings ever. What was happening this week? Kim gave birth on the houseboat. There’s a reason Labine & Mayer were out and Kelli Maroney was brought back. She was important to the public image of “Ryan’s Hope.” I don’t think a Kim / Pat / Amanda triangle was a bad idea, but it would have needed to be nurtured over time. I thought Faith / Frank was a great game changer, but the departure of Daniel Hugh Kelly never allowed the story to play out completely. Frank was an *ss. He kept promising Faith, a recovering alcoholic, that he didn’t love Jill and that he wanted to be with her. When he and Jill finally reconnected, I felt like I was finally allowed to hate Frank Ryan for the selfish, womanizing, entitled Ryan son he was. I *loved* Faith ripping into Maeve about how she had molded him into the man he was. It was nice to see the Ryans ripped a new one by one of their inner circle. Also, how could you not love little John (Delia, Jr.) plotting to reunite Jill and his father to dismay of his mother. I love when Little John told Delia he wanted Faith and Frank to break up so he could be with Jill. Then, Little John runs off because he remembers Frank and Jill found him the last time Delia lost him in the park. When they don’t catch on soon enough, he gets huffy and calls the bar wondering why no one has found him yet. The only real problem spot, for me, was Joe / Siobhan’s eternal love. When Joe ‘died,’ Siobhan told Jack while they were in Witness Protection that she never really loved Joe. If Joe was going to return, I think Siobhan should have stayed with him out of loyalty, while not so secretly harboring feelings for her late sister’s husband, Jack. Jack and Siobhan may never have gotten together, but, if Joe was going to stay around, he should have been made a complete outsider since he was never going to be a part of the inner circle. If they didn’t want to continue the mob stories, I would love to have seen Joe weasel his way into Woodard Publications. That orbit could have used an additional player with ties to the Ryans. I felt the stories were less rigid in 1980-1981. The overall plot may not have overwhelmed me, but the beats were absolutely beautiful. I think Amy Morris was a wonderful short term character and I thought Kay deLancey was great when she believed Maeve Ryan was Anna Pavel and proved to Anna / Maeve what a good mother she was to Michael’s baby / Ryan. Helen Gallagher was great during those scenes. Years ago, someone posted the weekly summaries for 1982 and I didn’t think they were bad as the Kirkland’s Hope label implied. If Mary Ryan Munisteri had continued, 1983 might have been a rough year as her final months were Kirkland heavy once Catsy arrived. I still think they should have been kept around. Kirk had history with Rae and Leigh became a major player. There were stories they could have done. Catsy could have fueled a Kirk / Rae / Roger story for at least a little while. Overall, I would like to see what Labine & Mayer could have done with them if they kept them around.

Tom Happer replaced him. Arrants played alcoholic Austin opposite Christine Jones' Amy. Jones and Arrants played their roles on both series AND on 'Another World.'

Thanks, Carl. I was surprised to learn Ramsay was married to Robin Mary Parris. She was one of the substitutes for Kate Mulgrew on "Ryan's Hope." Curious about his three week stint on "Love of Life." I wonder if he was one of the young men involved in the prison storyline, however this is complete speculation without any basis in fact.

The picture of Hazel/Sue is fascinating. She has such a distinct look. I believe her surname was Knowles. I recall reading the name in a newspaper article on soaps in prison from the 1950s, but I cannot locate the article at the moment.

Berrett Arcaya is the actress with Conrad Fowkes. Arcaya played Linda opposite Fowkes' Paul Davis. Linda dated Paul Davis due to his ties to the theatre and her desires to be an actress. Due to this plot point, I'd assumed Linda was the less sympathetic sister, but, after watching the episode saynotoursoap posted, my opinion seems to have changed. Jane seems like someone the audience wouldn't root for with the suggestion she may let Dave Simon take responsibility for this child. It seems a bit too calculating for the show's leading ingenue. Was Linda the nice sister or were they painted with shades of gray? "A Time for Us" has always fascinated me along with 'Where the Heart Is' and 'From These Roots.' I think its the multigenerational aspects of these stories which seem to have inspired such interest. In an article of Beverly Hayes and Gordon Gray, it is said that Jane was Steve's secretary at his grandfather's publishing company. This seems a bit different than Steve's construction work, which I've seen mentioned elsewhere. I wonder if Steve took the job with Al Driscoll after marrying Jane.

I appreciate seeing the final episode. I had been told that the final episode had involved the end of DOMI plot, which obviously it didn't. It does seem to have a very nice ending though I do wonder about the Courtney / Vaughn relationship. Initially, Courtney / Peter, Terry's son, had been the couple to root for or so I had been led to believe. I believe Vaughn had lied about being able to have children and Vaughn and Courtney married anyway. How was Peter going to win in this Christian soap? Divorce was a no-no. I assume an annulment would have been an option since Vaughn was withholding information from her when they entered the union, but would that be enough? Or would Vaughn have to die in order for Courtney and Peter to find their happiness? The underlying message of the DOMI plot is interesting. Weren't self help / spiritual groups sort of a fad of this time period? I seem to recall "The Golden Girls" doing an episode where Rose and Dorothy became involved in one? The DOMI plot seems to suggest these groups are evil, literally, and are being used to lure people away from God and religion. I might being reading a little bit too much into it, but I seemed to get the sense that AL was putting down these groups for taking away from Christianity. Jill was a teen runaway. Her biological mother was Beth Slaymaker, a local judge. I believe Beth had cared more about her career than her child and gave her away. Jill and Beth had a tough time forging a mother / daughter bond, but they did in the end. TV Tome use to have some good summaries for Another Life. I believe the site is now called TV.com There are episodes from 1982. They are in English, but there is foreign subtitles on the bottom. The period covers Lori Martin's attack at the school and Nancy Carpenter faking her paralysis as Charles Carpenter falls back in love with his first wife Helen.

Did anyone watch the episode from 1983 which has ended up on youtube? I know it plays like run of the mill soap opera, but I really enjoy the episode. When watching, I thought Dan Albright was a rather untraditional lead given his age and his looks. I know C.T. McIntyre said he wanted to focus on older characters in interviews and I didn't mind Albright. I though his ex-wife Crissy Catlin was delightful. Her snark with Lauren Woodland was delightful and I'm sort of disappointed the character was disposed of so quickly into the show's run. The whole set up there could have been played out for some time with Lauren / Crissy / Matt / Beau. I was surprised that Jonathan and Eleanor weren't young lovers, but a comfortable married couple. I had assumed based on the family animosity that theirs was a new love, not an established relationship. I guess that allows some different dynamics to play out. Anyway, I hope more episodes manage to find their way online.

Kitty Foyle aired on NBC in the late 1950s. Was Sigourney Weaver's father still the president of NBC daytime then? On a radio soap board, it was insinuated Weaver wasn't interested in soaps and would drop them in favor of other programming rather quickly. Also, the novel and movie Kitty Foyle is based on is fairly racy. Kitty becomes pregnant by a married man. In the movie, I believe she miscarries, but in the book she has an abortion. I think Kitt Foyle might have been to controversial for a conservative daytime viewer even if the soap didn't follow the book's storylines. I believe a similar sentiment was expressed about Mona Kent's proposed serial in the Proposed Soaps thread.

Has anyone taken the time to watch the episodes from the final month on youtube? It is a mix of fairly entertaining to weak and generic. I didn't care much for Sam / Kyle reuniting after the death of Jordan Hale. Maybe if I had been watching the entire arc it would be more entertaining, but the whole story involving Kyle and his brother Sean seems a bit unnecesary, as does Butch Hartman's mullet. I thought the return of Peter Whitmore (Ron Hale once again playing an absent father) was a brilliant story and would have loved to seen that story reach its climax. Doreen seemed close to getting the whole story and she would have loved lording that over Ruth.

Off the top of my head, I believe Tracy Harris was a recovering drug addict who was helping Kelly Harper when she became addicted to cocaine. I think Tracy died of an overdose which facilitated Kelly's decision to quit. Anyway, I know Tracey was a recurring character involved in Kelly's addiction plotline. KMan, from what I've read, the period where Henry Sleasar wrote seemed to be the strongest. When I read the weekly synopses for his period (1985) the story was fairly strong with the return of Baxter McCandless, the Trey/Sloane dynamic, and the baby Allison plot with Julie / Tyler.

From left to right ??????? Colleen Gray (Ann Boyd #1) David Lewis (Henry Pierce #2) Dana Andrews (Tom Boswell) Peter Ratray (Stuart Pierce) Susannah Darrow (Sandy Jones #1) Marian Brash (Marion Connelly) Susan Brown (Martha Ferguson) Paul Lukather (Bill Ferguson) This picture is from the show's first six months as Coleen Gray wasn't on much longer than that. This does help to pinpoint when Peter Ratray first appeared on the serial.

Carl, the professor stuff didn’t bother me when reading it. The show’s storylines delved into a lot of dark themes. Professor Wallace was at Cronies’ flirting with a co-ed extra, while the younger set looked on with a sense that Wallace was skeevy. He has a brief exchange with Tim Lockhart, the chief of police, who admits he is closing in on the Campus Strangler. Wallace is painted as rapist, but nothing is revealed in the script. In Wallace’s final scene, he has tracked down an alone Laurel Franklin to her mother’s kitchen where the camera would focus on the newspaper headline: “Strangler Claims His Fourth Victim.” I was told an additional scene was filmed and aired when it was clear the show wasn’t returning. I’ve been told Frank Richardson, Francie Richardson’s wheelchair bound father, admitted to his daughter he was the Campus Strangler. Jane Elliott’s Madge didn’t seem to get a whole lot of story. She was engaged to Bryan Lewis, the older male lead, but Bryan loved Betty Franklin. When Bryan and party returned from celebrating his engagement, Bryan was surprised at his home by Betty. Madge excused herself so Bryan could speak to Betty. It was clear from Bryan and Betty’s conversation that they were the couple to be rooting for. In the course of the conversation, Bryan revealed he had told Madge there was someone else who he still had feelings for. Madge was listening in the doorway when Bryan confessed to having never stopped loving Betty despite his plans to marry Madge. Things didn’t look too bright for Madge’s future. In her few scenes, Madge appeared to be a kind-hearted person, but on a show like “A New Day in Eden” this may have meant she was hiding an ulterior motive. If there had been a second season, Madge could have fled Eden to recover from her broken engagement or stayed around, gone in full bitch mode, and fought Betty for Bryan’s affection. Anyway, I’ve finished reading the script. Linda and Gary Hammer wrote the episode and it was filmed on December 15, 1982. There were three major story threads in the final episodes: (1) Francie Richardson returned to her cousin Hud’s home. At the end of part one, Francie heard noises coming from within the house and went into her Aunt Ida’s room. Francie was shocked because her Aunt Ida had been dead for years and it was kept as it was when she was alive. In the cliffhanger of part one, Francie pulled back the sheets on the bed to reveal something shocking. In part two, it was revealed there was a mannequin in the bed looking like Aunt Ida. Hud came in and begged Francie to remain quiet about it. Hud said it made him feel good knowing his mother was still in her bed. Later, Francie overheard Hud talking about needing to keep Francie quiet to keep him from going back to the hospital. The indication was Hud was insane and was going to kill Francie. Francie fled the house. (2) The investigation into the Campus Strangler continued. Biff Lewis was considered a suspect at the time. At Hud’s place, Francie had a fantasy where Biff forces himself on her. Later, Captain Lockhart told Biff they had tracked down his alibi, who had confirmed Biff’s story. Biff was free. Kevin Wallace terrorized Betty and stalked Laurel until the final moments. In his comments after his chat with Lockhart, Kevin seemed to suggest his only fear was Betty Franklin so I think he was simply a red herring despite the major cliffhanger. Hud’s delusions seem to suggest he was also a possible suspect. (3) Greg Lewis and Laurel Franklin were planning to tell their parents about their relationship. At the Franklin home, Betty read her daughter’s short story which recounted a young woman’s first sexual experience in a barn during a storm. This incident is recounted (without names) in “Soap Opera History.” Betty realizes G.L. is Greg Lewis and is horrified. After placing a phone call, Betty rushes over to the Lewis household to prevent the couple from continuing their relationship. At Cronies’, both Greg and Laurel decided to go to their respective homes to tell their parents. At the Lewis home, Betty tearfully told Bryan Lewis he was Laurel’s father. It turns out the young lovers were brother and sister. Greg Lewis walked into the Lewis living room after the confession. It’s unclear if Greg heard Betty’s confession. To clarify some earlier statements, Pam was not a member of the Lewis family. Early in the series’ run, Pam had been involved with Greg Lewis before Greg had fallen in love with Laurel. Pam became attracted to Greg’s best friend Clint Masterson, which caused a rift between pals Greg and Clint. This conflict escalated because Biff Lewis, Greg’s brother, told Greg that Pam and Clint had hooked up when Pam and Greg were still together. In the final episode, Clint clarified the situation and the friends reunited. Pam was not present; Clint made it clear their relationship was over for reasons Clint didn’t feel comfortable sharing with his pal. It is possible Clint is referring to Pam and Miranda’s kiss in the Lewis swimming pool. Also, Logan and Cynthia were Emmett Claybourne’s children. Logan took advantage of his father’s disappearance and had the younger crowd over to the house. After the gang left, Lockhart called the house to inform the children their father had been spotted. If they saw him, they were to tell him the police were looking for him. Logan went to find some diaries, what importance they held is unclear, and was shot by an unseen assailant with his sister Cynthia at his side. In terms of the ‘adult’ matter, there was use of explicit language. Francie had two separate sexual fantasies: the aforementioned rough sexual encounter with Biff and a more tender encounter with Biff where he promised to marry her. Laurel’s short story wasn’t racy in terms of specific language, but a young woman’s first sexual encounter might be considered taboo material for network television. The most effective use of the adult material was the encounter between Josh Collier and Miranda Stevens in their final scene. After the disastrous dinner, Miranda and Josh returned with Madge and Bryan to the Lewis home. A fight erupted and Miranda maliciously revealed she knew about Josh’s first wife, Corrine Hamilton, who had died under mysterious circumstances. After Bryan called her out, Miranda decided to go for swim. Since this was cable, Miranda was going to do this in the nude. I guess she didn’t care if Bryan or Madge walked in on her. Instead of Bryan or Madge, Josh came upon her, called her a bitch, and kissed her passionately. I suspect the nudity added a layer of vulnerability to the usually cold Miranda, which worked well to contrast the powerful attack from the typically mild mannered Josh. In general, it seems like an interesting story. Susan Flannery said TPTB wanted more episodes, but Jaffe didn’t want to deal with the headache. I’ve read articles before the show aired where Jaffe said he would make money on the project no matter what because they had kept production costs low. Something must have happened somewhere because Marland made a couple of comments in the press about backstage drama. A couple of years ago, Patrick Mulcachy stated he had written scripts for the show and that it was a horrible experience.

LoyaltytoAMC, do you remember who James Horan played? Grant Wilson played Biff Lewis. Currently, there are two slides from the series available on eBay. I believe Wilson is featured in the one labeled Wendy Barry. People's Magazine did an article on the soap in early February 1983. I've looked at it several times at their online archives. Several members of the cast are featured in bed together. Romance was Showtime's first effort at a soap, but it was of a romantic anthology. A story would be told over the course of 5 installments. Like "Eden" later on, Romance would air episodes twice a week and then once the story concluded would air all five installments in the course of a week. This show ran until around November/December 1982. For all intents and purposes, "Loving Friends and Perfect Couple" replaced it. "Eden" and "Romance initially aired in a block from 10 to 11 on Tuesday and Thursday nights. When "Romance" was booted, "Eden" and "Loving Friends" aired together between 11 and 12. The first story featured involved the Malone family who was involved in the movie making business. The son's fiancee had died and he had decided to enter the seminary. The father wasn't really happy with this idea and hired a hooker to seduce his son. Of course, the son and the hooker fall in love and the father isn't pleased. The second one was an import called '33 Brompton Place' or something along those lines. I believe Roberta Weiss (SB) was in that one. It was privately produced as its own serial, but aired under the 'Romance' banner at Showtime. The third story, or I think it was the third story, featured a widower who painted erotic portraits while a man raped and killed women in a beachside community. The sheriff investigating the matter was the man's former father-in-law and believed the man had killed the sheriff's daughter/artist's wife. Paul Klein was the major force behind these from what I understand. He later would go work for PlayboyTV. The breif TV descriptions I had mentioned Pam and Clint and Miranda and Biff, but I was under the assumption Pam and Biff had been involved. In one of the scenes in the script, Biff does mention it seems like a nice little family reunion, and then points out that Pam is absent. I assume Pam is Bryan's daughter? Miranda is referenced as Bryan's sister-in-law so I'm not so sure how it all pieces together. Maybe when I get a chance to finish reading the script it will all become more clear. Anyway, I was mistaken about the script; it's the final two episodes (parts 65 an 66). The script is actually broken down into two parts. Kevin Wallace appears to be a major player. In the second scene, Betty Franklin enters her darkened kitchen upon hearing a noise. She suspects it's her daughter Laurel, who she has just had an argument with. It turns out no one is there, but Laurel looks at a copy of a short story Laurel wrote for Kevin Wallace's writing course. Betty flashes back to the previous episode where Wallace and Betty discuss the story. Wallace tells Betty her daughter has been writing highly sexualized stories and suggest they aren't purely fiction. Then, Wallace rapes Betty. This puts the first scene in a different light. I'm going to have to reread it to see if the suggestion is Kevin was pursuing Francie Richardson. I assumed it was a cop out. In another scene, Josh Collier, Miranda Stevens, Bryan Lewis, and Madge Sinclair have gathered to celebrate Bryan and Madge's engagement. I believe Madge is Jane Elliott's character. Bryan and Madge seem genuinely happy while Miranda's poor attitude nearly spoils the celebration. Josh feels he's to blame as Miranda hasn't cared for Josh since he arrived in Eden. Hud and Francie arrive at the Franklin home after Betty places a call to Dr. Hammond, who is in surgery. On a side note, I immediately thought of Dane Hammond from Loving. Hud asks Betty if Francie can stay and describe their encounter with Kevin Wallace. Betty is obviously disturbed by this. Hud plans to go see his Uncle Frank, who needs to be looked after. Another online poster told me Frank was confined to a wheelchair. There were two scenes with the younger set at Cronies, which appears to be a bar / nightclub. I assume this is the set featured in the slides available on eBay featuring the two young ladies. Featured in the scene are a brother-sister duo Cynthia and Logan. Logan seems to be a late addition to the series as Cynthia introduces Logan to Clint when he arrives. Logan and Cynthia's father is mentioned and it's said he recently left town. I'm wondering if Emmett Clayborn is their father since he is mentioned as having fled Eden in part 50 (episode 25). There seems to be some tension between Biff and those featured (Greg / Laurel / Clint), but the subtext isn't very clear. Something has been brewing, but I'm not sure what. I'll make more comments as I make my way through it.

Does anyone remember this early cable experiment in soap opera? Showtime aired the two half-hour episodes twice a week from November 1982 until August 1983. Sixty-six installments were produced. From November until May, Showtime would spend one week a month rerunning the previous month's worth of episodes on a nightly basis like a daily soap opera. The television section of the newspapers would provide breif descriptions of the episodes. Some are more revealing than others. One states "Shelley raped," while another states "Sweet honey." I don't know how sweet honey was suppose to entice someone unless Honey was the name of a character. Most soap books refer to the story revolving around the Lewis family. The patriarch Bryan Lewis ran a successful electronics company, a company which rejuvenated the sleepy hamlet of Eden. Bryan's sons were Greg (the good one) and Biff (the bad one). Bryan's sister-in-law Miranda Stevens was involved with Josh Collier, the man who arrived in Eden to measure Eden's urban renewal. A rapist stalked the young co-eds on the campus and murdered his victims. Youtube has a Showtime promo from December 1982, which features an advertisement for "A New Day in Eden." I assume what is featured is the title card, but really it's nothing to get too excited about. Today, I received a script from episode #33 of "A New Day in Eden." This would be half way through the show's run. I've only read through the first scene, but it's all very enlightening on a rather obscure show. The episode begins with one of the female leads, Francie Richardson, apparently being stalked by the Campus Strangler, the man attacking the co-eds. In reality, Francie is saved by her cousin, Hud, who I think works for campus security. Francie's stalker is Kevin Wallace, a professor who was working late on campus. Another poster on this board had mentioned the Richardson family. Besides her cousin, Francie had a father named Frank who was mentioned in the story. Frank had called Francie a 'whore' for sleeping with Biff Lewis. I'll post future updates as I make my way through the script. Anyone have anything to add?

Are you talking about Joyce Hyser from "Just One of the Guys?"

Victor Bevine's Doug Donovan gave the speech. He was involved with Shana Sloane at the time, which is why he is staring at Jim and Shana when they are reminiscing. I believe Rebecca Staab was the other actress who played Cece, but that's off the top of my head.

There is/was an Ilene Kristen fan site that recapped a good portion of her run on "Loving" with screen caps. Yes, Elizabeth Savage was playing the role at the time of Gwyn Alden. I think Christine Tudor Newman returned in the spring around the time Norma left. I've never seen written how Norma was written out, but I think she just faded into the background. I don't think Kristen was a contract player. It was dumb to name two character Rick in this period, but, similarly, Cec's / Ava's Tony of 1987 isn't the Tony of 1983-1985. The Tony in the 1987 synopses worked at the casino, was a former doctor, and had lost a fiancee to the mob. Yes, this makes things very confusing. Marland was gone in late spring 1985. I don't think Ann's alcoholism had started at that point. I know Nixon wanted to revisit the alcoholism story with Marty. Don't get me started on the Dolly storyline. I've been complaining about it for a long time. Kelly's exit was mentioned in the synopses you posted. I think she left in May 1987. I'm not sure when Lorna and Zach left, but I don't think it was much earlier. Kelly was a part of the younger crowd with Rob, April, Ned, Kristen, and Dave. I guess they decided to cut their losses. I was shocked it Tug and Sherrie so long to get the baby. No, Johnny is not J.J. Stacey gives birth to J.J. in 1986, I think. No, Carl, the problem isn't the order. It's just the show sounds so dull during this period.

To an extent, I agree the "Dark Shadows" clone label is thrown around too freely, but it is accurate at times. The original premise was original with the doppleganger plot on a Caribbean island gave the show a flavor distinctively different from "Dark Shadows," while still falling into the sub category of gothic soap opera. I wish the original plans had been executed as some have finally made there way online. There were a lot more romantic stories intended in those early episodes with much more backstory intended to play out over time. Unfortunately, I think the show was geared towards children rather than fans of gothic romance, no pun intended, as it should have been. Overall, I enjoy the show despite its flaws. My favorite portion of the series is hated by the majority of the fans: the final weeks surrounding the origins of the family curse. An entity claiming to be Julien Desmond returns to the family homestead determine to unmask 'loyal' family servant as the source of the family's misery. While this contradicts the entire original plot, Cosette Lee is delightful as the over the top villainess of the piece, while Colin Fox plays a rather demure version of his typically more colorful Jacques character. Looking at "High Hopes," I have more appreciation for this series and the problems is probably faced being a soap opera produced in an area that probably wasn't prepared to produce a stripped drama series.

I find the 1987 synopses so bizarre. The April storyline has never impressed me. I feel like it was a retelling of the Dolly Jones storyline with younger characters who had absolutely no connection to the canvas. I think it would have been a better idea to make them all college students and tie the stories to the university campus. This could have amplified the fight between Shana and Jim if Cabot Alden was giving Dave Hindman fancy cars in order to keep him on the football team. I think the Alan Howard story should have played out onscreen. It might have been a bit dark, but I think if we actually saw his rich family and tied them to the Aldens maybe the story would have had more roots. Carl asked if there were plans for Cecilia. At one point, it seems to be suggested Cece would hook up with Tony, Ava’s former flame. Tony was a doctor so he could have been tied back into the Clay Alden story with all the paternity tests that would have needed to be done. Tony’s renewed status as a doctor may have made him attracted to Ava again, which would have left Cece free to pursue Ava’s beau Clay. Imagine the fireworks between Cece / Trisha if Trisha had to call Cece ‘Mommy.’ Instead, it seems like they flirted with Cece / Rick, which would also seem to have some roots. Zach / Lorna’s story seemed weak and I would like to have seen Linc / Lorna explored more. I’m just not sure where the show could have taken them with all the changes in direction. In general, I’m finding the 1985-1987 period very hard to read as it tends to be very disjointed with no clear direction, characters coming and going, and rather run of the mill story telling. I do find it interesting reading about prominent characters like Marty, Dolly, Tony, Judd, Kristen Larsen and others who most of the soap books skip over, but I can see why. I find it very hard to believe the show gained viewers during this period. Maybe the day to day execution was stronger than the long term storytelling. Sears was there under a year. She left in the spring of 1992. She and Addie Walsh were behind the college push which led to the introduction of Hannah, Staige, Kent, Cooper, and Casey. It was Haidee Granger though who handled most of their stories during the summer of 1992 as EP and interim head-writer. Granger was there when the Leo / Shana romance played out. Leo was introduced during the summer of 1992 by Granger. I suspect Addie Walsh’s original plans were for the Leo character to be Curtis Alden. Also, Jacqueline Babbin was EP when Norma and Gwyn were going at it. Babbin was big on reshaping the show through the use of minor characters. Norma had been introduced during Heather’s kidnapping and stuck around with her romance with Wally and became frienemies with Gwyn.

I, too, was curious about the letter. This is purely speculative, but I think Ann might have been up for a promotion. Colleen Gray, the original Ann, was gone by the spring of 1970. I found an article with Colleen Gray from April 1970 talking about her work, and I found an interview with Gail Kobe from June 1970 talking about her work on the show & her work at a real university. Ann Boyd was Tom's love interest. I can see how Ann and Tom worked as the non-traditional matriarch / patriarch the way Jessie / Steve did on "General Hopsital." In an interview, Dana Andrews mentioned Ann was cheating on him with another man. I wonder if this was Howard Jones since Ann would later marry him, and cheat on him with John Considine's Dr. Brian Walsh. Andrews also mentioned his son, Jimmy, was smoking marijuana. On Facebook, Eric James said he was disappointed with the scripts; he claimed Dana agreed with his thoughts. I found articles with Anne Jeffreys and Tony Geary about the show. Not a huge surprise, Tony Geary was introduced around the same time as the Bancroft family. Anne Jeffreys mentions Dana Andrews in the present tense. When did Andrews leave the series?

Bright Promise Series Stars Dana Andrews September 27 1969 The controversy created by an English professor who endorses an anti-curfew crusade by women college students highlights the premiere of the NBC Television Network's new weekday dramatic serial, "Bright Promise," Sept. 29-Oct. 3 (in color, 3:30-4). *** Dana Andrews stars as Bancroft College President President Tommy Boswell, in the the contemporary series, which centers on Bancroft's administration, faculty and students and their reactions to the rapidly changing and increasingly permissive present-day society. Colleen Gray costars as Dean Ann Boyd. Premier week storylines follow: Monday, Sept. 29- English professor Bill Ferguson publicly endorses a crusade against women's dormitory curfew regulations. Undergraduate Sandy Jones is called to Dean Ann Boyd's office to explain some recent misconduct. Tuesday, Sept. 30- Martha Feruson tells Ann some feelings she has about her marraige to Bill. Alumni president Red Wilson presses Tom to stand firm on Bancroft's past regulations and to fire Bill Ferguson. Wednesday, Oct. 1- Alice and Albert Porter learn that their son Mike has not been enrolled at Bancroft. Sandy explains her serious personal problem to Bill. Tom tells Ann about a mysterious letter he is to give her. Thursday, Oct. 2- Jennifer, who works in Ann's office, reveales her worries about the financial aspects of her marriage to Chet, a medical student. Bill asks to see Sandy about her theme. Friday, Oct. 3- Chet and Jennifer discuss their mounting problem. Sandy is pleased at what Bill has to say about her. Ann receives the letter Tom had mentioned to her. Featured in the cast are Paul Lukather as Professor William Ferguson, Susan Brown as Ferguson's wife, Martha, Tod Andrews as Martha's father Dean Henry Pierce, Susannah Darrow as Sandra Jones, Gary Pillar as Chet Matthews, Nany Jane Stevens as Chet's wife, Jennifer, Richard Eastham as Red Wilson, Nigal McKeard as George Townley, Peter Hobbs as Albert Porter, Sydney Scott as Mrs. Porter, Darryl Young as the Porters' son, Mike, David Pritchard as Don Martin, Kimetha Laurie as Fay Kendall, and Terry Guerrin as Jimmy Boswell.