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I just found an article detailing the first week of "Bright Promise." I'll try to get it up soon. All of those characters popped up, but there were name changes. Nancy Boyd became Ann Boyd. Miles Ferguson beame Bill Ferguson. Susan Matthews became Jennifer Matthews.

Carl, in regards to Paul Lukather's leave from "Bright Promise," it lasted four and half months. Up the thread, I had mentioned he had been off the show and returned May 18th. I didn't put two and two together until now. I don't know if I mentioned this already, but Mark Miller took time off from the show to do or a movie or something. This was in the summer of 1971. Also, Pamela Murphy was on maternity leave when the show was cancelled.

Thanks, Carl. 1987 sounds bad. I think Nixon wrote through the summer, and then Ralph Ellis took over during the fall Nixon previewed the Marty / Jim story in the papers and then returned to "All My Children" in the summer of 1987. I don't think I knew Cece had been pregnant with Steve's child. It's a shame the child didn't live as custody of the child after Steve's death could have been messy. Reading the Curtis / Lotty story summarized, it seems to confirm my thoughts that this was Nixon's take on the Jonathan / Edy story. Neither story seems strong enough to carry the show. April the teen hooker is another clunky story. I think it would have worked better had they set it among the college set. Why couldn't April been hooking to pay to attend Alden U? Alan should have been tied to the Alden clan. His parents should have been friends of the family and this could have been used to explore the family's backstory. The December 1984 synopsis highlights how dense and complicated the Jonathan Maitland murder mystery was. So many names and so much backstory. Yikes. The other stories in this synopsis sound fine. Maybe a bit run of the mill, but I think the show seemed fairly good overall. I love that Isabelle didn't want Shana's identity revealed. In the Feburary 1984 synopsis, I didn't know Clem / Roger knew Shana. It only adds to my belief that Marland would have paired Roger / Shana when Roger returned to Corinth. The Shana / Ann rivalry would have escalated once that happened. Mike / Noreen's divorce is a bit sad. Mike was so damaged. I guess Nixon liked them enough to reunite them before tossing Mike. 1984 in review was nice. I don't think I knew I knew Noreen / Warren went to New England or Lily / June went to Oregon. Tony / Lorna seemed to be rushed; it's a bit of a precursor to modern soap.

As always, thank you, for clarifying. At times, I let my imagination go a little wild. Did Martha go on trial for someone else's murder or was Regina Gleason still playing Sylvia in flashbacks?

Soaplovers, I think the college setting is interesting, but I don't know how writers made it work.I know other soaps did it successfully ('Secret Storm' and 'Where the Heart Is' come to mind). If Roger / Garth were going to fight for power at the university, I could see where the story could have worked. I think a college campus does allow a writer to work with class conflict and diversity, but I'm not clear if those were utilized. Elsa, I've only read about "Loving" so I appreciate all your comments In the 1990s, I think Gwyn / Clay worked better when Dennis Parlato took over the role and the couple was more mature and looked back and realized all the mistakes they'd made in their lives. Yet, Roger / Ann were probably on the same path. I thought Art Hindman's son was named Dave. I've seen him listed as Dave in summaries. He was involved in the April / Ned / Kristen teenage set. I didn't realize Tally was Art's daughter. I figured she was the mother. Thanks for this information. Gwyn / Trisha had a non-traditional relationship. Mommy usually bedded Trisha's men before Trisha got to them. Gwyn slept with Jeff Hartman before Trisha did. I think Gwyn and Trucker might have bedded down offscreen. Gwyn also slept with Giff Bowman before Trisha set up house with him. I believe Steve was killed off during November 1987 sweeps. Trucker was introduced a year later. There were new writers, and I believe a new EP by that time. I think Steve left because his contract was up. Steve was introduced in December 1984. Three year contracts were the norm then, right? Linc Beecham helped finance Dane Hammond's takeover of Alden Enterprises in 1985, but also was sleeping with Lorna Forbes. Obviously, when Dane / Linc's connection was revealed, Lorna was furious as she did love her grandfather. It was a nice romantic complication to the corporate storyline. Linc's brother Judd was also involved in financing the takeover, but didn't have much story when he appeared in 1985. Linc arrived in January 1985 and Judd might have been recurring around the same time. In the summer or fall, Rebekah Beecham, Link's mama, was introduced. Rebekah knew about Linc's marriage to Zona Beecham, which Linc had kept secret from Lorna. Zona stalked Lorna before she was seen. Zona arrived and faked a pregnancy. Zona was looney and her insanity was fueled by Rebekah, who was looking to get her hands or had gotten her hands on Zona's land holdings. Zona killed herself, but Lorna was accused of murder. Rebekah had in her possession Zona's diary, which would exonerate Lorna. During the trial in the spring of 1986, Zach Conway was introduced. Zach was the lawyer who represented Lorna during the trial and fell in love with her. Linc faded during the trial and so did Rebekah, but Judd Beecham returned to be Ava's latest catch. Ava had recently divorced Curtis and was hoping Judd would be her next meal ticket, but he only wanted a sexual relationship. He didn't last long. This stuff Paul posted directly precedes the 1987 youtube episode. Steve and Trisha weren't married long. Trisha married Steve in August 1987 and Steve died in December 1987. I'm not sure if Nixon had big plans for the Beecham family, but Linc was written out quickly when Zach ws introduced. I'm surprised the show didn't try Linc / Ava first. Kelly's pal was Rob Carpenter. The German dubs on youtube feature Rob / Kelly. Carl, the woman in the kitchen from the beauty shot is Lauren Marie Taylor, Stacey.Forbes. This would be from the Lily / Jack / Stacey days. In February 1988, Lily would be just about to reveal the truth.

Trisha and Trucker were one of the show's bigger couples, but they were a big couple on a small show. I'd argue "Loving" was too safe, which was one of the reasons it never really got past the 'generic' soap label. What did Trucker bring to the show that Steve haven't? He was a working class guy who fell in love with Trisha and ran an auto garage. I think Trisha and Steve's wedding in the 1980s was almost as big as Trucker and Trisha's in the 1990s. "Loving" should have done something more bold. If Jeff / Charles had been kept around and integrated into the canvas, the show would have had another wealthy family unit to play off of for a few years. Instead, Jeff became a generic baddie. Charles Hartman was introduced in July 1988 during the Writer's Strike. Millee Taggart / Tom King arrived in September 1988. Charles was in a car accident in November 1988 and died in December. I think it was clearly a case of a change in TPTB. The Clay / Alex imposter story was in full swing. It was clear Clay Alden had to return to the show to complete the story. Maybe they felt Charles was unnecessary with Clay on the canvas. Rita Lloyd played Millicent Whitehead. I didn't realize Millicent's nephew, Henley, was married to Linda Henderson, Jack's biological mother. This fleshes that story out a little. Penny O'Rourke was played by Emily Langworthy. She appeared as early as September 1983. Harry was Harry Sowolsky. He was the first of the family to appear as Dane's henchman. Harry's niece Ava and sister Kate appeared next. There was a key in the doll which was somehow tied into the Jonathan Maitland / San Francisco serial murder mystery. It was clearly a Marland mystery plot, but it wasn't very good. Too many day players offed to keep Edy / Doug in the spotlight. Dane didn't really reform, but he was never really an out and out villain. He was more a poor boy who was trying to make it, but was always being kept down by the wealthy. He was a have-not trying to make a name for himself. At times, I think he was sympathetic having Jack taken from him and genuinely loving Ann. He left town in February 1986 to work for Rebekah Beecham or after swindling her money. Dane's marriage to Ann ended badly, but Dane was a bit of ambigious villain. His problems with the Aldens were legitmate. I believe he was fired because Curtis stole money and framed him or something along those lines. He brought Shana to Corinth to ruin Cabot only to get more entangled with the Aldens through Jack. He returned for some time around 1990-1991. His story was mainly tied to Shana and then he left town.

I'm not sure about the California episodes. Tony and Stacey left in September 1985. Jack joined them in October with Stacey and Jack reuniting and raising Johnny in California. They returned to Corinth around the holidays and stayed. Tony didn't follow. Peter Radon and Richard McWilliams played the role. McWilliams played the role longer. I think he is the one featured in the 1984 episode on youtube. The character departed in the fall of 1985. I don't think anyone else played June Slater. I wonder if she simply made a phone call, but it sounds like she was there in person. The 1989 scan is interesting. I'm not the biggest Trisha / Trucker / Jeff triangle fan. Trisha / Trucker seemed to comfortable. It was a Steve / Trisha redux. When you were asking about 1988 strike stories, I looked into the 1988 summaries some more. Jeff was introduced during the strike, but Ralph Ellis had to create him. He was introduced early in the scab days. In the beginning, Jeff wasn't a psycho as Millee Taggert / Tom King sold him. Jeff was an arrogant playboy who had money and was determined to make a name for himself in television. He slept with Gwyneth Alden and wanted to be the producer of "Images," the new television program AE was producing. Trisha, now widowed, wanted to work on the program for Jeff, but didn't want Jeff to know that she was Clay's daughter. Jeff / Trisha were slowly falling for one another, while Gwyneth was also attracted to Jeff and actively worked to sabotage the relationship. Jeff wasn't a saint, by any means, but he seemed an interesting contrast to rather straight as an arrow Trisha. Trisha seemed to soften him, while Gwyn brought out the bad boy in him. It seemed like an interesting situation. Throw in Jeff's father, Charles, a wealthy businessman who had Gwyn's number, and the situation seemed rather interesting. I don't know where anyone was going with all of it, but I think the show may have used Gwyn as a catalyst in two separate triangles (Trisha / Jeff / Gwyn and Charles / Gwyn / Ann). Ann was getting more airtime in the Jack / Stacey / Rick storyline. Plus the Ann / Gwyn rivalry was ripe with the Rick / Jack conflict. There is no real onscreen hint of Ann / Charles so I may be off. King / Taggert offed Charles Hartman and that was the end of that. I, too, was watching those scenes on youtube last night. They were interesting. I was reminded of the old horror soaps when watching those scenes. They were very atmospheric. The storm was an effective. Nada Rowland was a very warm presence. There are some beautiful scenes on youtube with Kate / Casey at Belden Pond when Cooper / Ally are together. Kate is very supportive of Casey, while not undermining her feelings for Ally and her happiness.

Thanks, Paul, for the summary.This summary seems to pick up exactly where the 1984 youtube episode leaves off. It's nice to see some of this fleshed out a bit more from the summaries I had read. I knew Jack got a letter from Lily Slater regarding her condition, but I didn't realize June Slater had appeared to tell Jack to move on. I guess June was around a bit longer than I thought. The Curtis / Stacey situation should have been explored more. I know Curtis initially showed interest in Stacey after returning home in 1983, but that never went anywhere. Curtis spent fall 1983 bedding a waitress named Penny. I don't know if Nixon was involved with casting Perry. I still haven't gotten a clear sense of when Nixon left and Ellis took over. I did find an article from around June 1987 on the subject of 'Loving's' fourth anniversary. They were critical about her promises from the show's start about dealing with contemporary issues. She says 'Loving' still was doing so. She had Ned tell April she was risking exposing herself to AIDS by prostituting herself and had a summer alcoholism storyline planned. The alcoholism story involved April's cousin, Marty, who was looking after the girl. Jim Vochek was determined to help the woman get her life together, while Marty became a bit smitten with Jim. My point, overall, is Nixon seemed to be there as late as summer 1987. Pure speculation on my part, but I think Nixon was involved in the college revamp. I know Addie Walsh was the headwriter and Fran Sears was the executive producer, but I think Nixon was involved with the story. The Cooper Alden plot had shades of Lily Slater to it. Hannah Mayberry was the quintessential Nixonian heroine. I was watching some clips a Rebecca Gayheart fan put up on youtube. In one episode, Grayson McCouch appeared as an Alden U student who harassed Casey upon learning Giff was Casey's father. Giff was an Alden U professor who had lost his mind and kidnapped Trisha before falling to his death from the AU belfry. Lorna and Jack were Roger and Ann's children. Jack was adopted. His biological parents were Dane Hammond and Linda Henderson. Linda died in childbirth and her parents, Ada and Haddon, gave the baby to the Forbes to raise and told Dane the child had died. Tony Perilli was an old friend of Jack Forbes. I don't know how they knew each other. I was once told they were in the orphanage together, but that doesn't make any sense given subsequent information I've been given. Then, I was told they were in boarding school together, but Tony seems too middle class to be at some posh prep school. I suspect they new each other from when Jack was attending school in New Orleans, prior to the start of the series. Tony hung around for quite some time. Stacey fell for him the minute he hit town, but then Lorna succeeded in getting pregnant and marrying him. The marriage didn't last long at all. Lorna had an abortion, Tony got pissed, and divorce quickly followed. Jack became obsessed with learning about his parentage and turned away from Stacey. Stacey turned to Tony, who was a willing shoulder for her to cry on. Stacey and Tony became engaged, while Jack slept with Ava, who he worked with at Forbes Construction. So, twice in one year, Stacey dealt with a manipulative vixen getting pregnant by her man. Poor Stacey! On Stacey and Tony's wedding day, Stacey said "I do, Jack." Tony was furious and left her at the altar. He hooked up with Rita Mae Bristow, who was worried about their age difference. Tony didn't care, but eventually Tony and Rita Mae split. By this time, Ava was using Stacey / Jack's affair to wrangle custody of baby Johnny away from Jack so Stacey backed away and took up with Tony so Jack could maintain custody. Tony and Stacey got back together and moved to California together, I think. Eventually, Jack won custody of the baby and married Stacey.

Nixon brought Doug Donovan back as a spoiler for the Shana / Jim romance. By the fall of 1985, Noreen and Mike had practically reconcilled. Jim / Shana need another obstacle once the Jonathan Maitland story ended. Doug basically replaced his brother in the Shana / Jim / Mike triangle, but with less importance. Mike / Jim were friends and the deception seems more potent than Shana with the other Donovan brother. Writing out Doug in December 1984 seemed like a practical decision; the show really revamped itself during that month. Keith Lane came to town, Steve Solowsky was brought into the picture, Trisha and Gwyn returned home from Europe, and a lot of the old guard was written out (Edy / Doug / Jonathan / Billy). Other than Stacey, the Donovan presence in town was weak. Doug's departure was probably internal since the show was going in a direction where Doug wasn't necessary. Placing blame seems unnecessary as it's entirely possible Mulcahey and Marland didn't know how to flesh out Nixon's weak prostitution story and its subplots. I think the consensus seems to be Merrill / Roger was doomed for failure even if the audience enjoyed the pairing because a certain section of the population would never be able to get past the fact Merrill was a homewrecking hussy. To an extent, Marland and Nixon were too different for Nixon to continue Marland stories or Marland to continue Nixon stories. Nixon's strength lies in characters whereas Marland seems to be in elaborate plots. It should have been a beautiful marriage, but ultimately, neither seemed to be able to make their strengths shine. Marland's final months (December 1984-May 1985) was his best work, while Nixon's 1994 run was her best work on 'Loving.' Ultimately, Nixon and Marland ended up having the same problem though. They didn't know what the show was about. Nixon tried to deemphasize the corporate element of the class conflict and instead focus more on a romanticized class conflict, but ultimately the results were mixed. Steve's statuatory rape love affair with Cece Thompson thwarting the Steve / Trisha romance seems fairly well remembered, while Keith's romance with reformed hooker Dolly Jones is barely mentioned. In what I suspect were her final months, Nixon tried to make the show about young people again with auto mechanic Ned Bates, teen hooker April Hathaway, and bitchy Kristen (Teri Polo's 'Loving' character).

I didn't copy the quotes. I just sort of replied to what I felt like. I hope this doesn't come across as too random. Would it be shocking by 1980s standards that Roger was willing to leave his homemaker wife, a bit cold fish, but not an outright bitch, for a younger successful career woman? Roger and Merrill were cheating on their respective partners and the audience was suppose to root for them. Carl, you make a valid point regarding the Forbes clan, but I don't think this was the intention. Roger Forbes was killed off fairly early on (March / April 1983), but I think the intention was to bring him back. Roger perished in a plane crash; no body was recovered. When the family mourned, it was at a memorial service because there was nothing to bury. Roger's death allowed Dane Hammond to hone in on Ann Alden Forbes. Plus, Roger's return would have been a great upset to the Dane / Ann marriage and Dane's plans for Alden Enterprises. If Roger returned, I wonder if he would have become involved with Shana Sloane. They shared legal backgrounds and Shana was Ann's sister. I feel that whole situation would have been ripe for conflict. I think Merrill was written out in March 1984 taking a job at a television station in D.C. She had brief romantic pairings with both the Alden family lawyer Clem Margolies and Corinth district attorney Warren Hodges, who would later become Noreen's love interest post-Mike. Tom Lignon's Billy Bristow left in Decemer 1984 or January 1985. He and Rita Mae were on the outs at the time and he took a job at a Southern university coaching football. When Rita Mae went to reconcile, she found a half-naked co-ed at the door. Rita Mae was heartbroken and later learned Billy married the girl. Pamela Blair's Rita Mae lasted a little longer. After Billy, she had an affair with a younger man, Tony Perilli. Rita Mae left in the summer of 1985. Nixon didn't seem to have any story in mind for her and dumped her. Early on, Rita Mae tended to have a bit more romantic stories as Billy was tied up with the college. In the opening week, Rita Mae made a play for Jim Vochek. I suspect this was used to reveal Jim's profession: Catholic priest. Obviously, Rita Mae's seduction failed. By August, Rita Mae fooled around with Curtis Alden, thinking he was Jack Forbes. Rita Mae felt foolish by Curtis' deception. In the fall, Rita Mae became involved in the Faculty Follies show with Doug Donovan. There seemed to be a bit of flirtation there, but nothing came of it. In 1984, Billy and Rita Mae tried to conceive a child. First, Rita Mae was diagnosed with fertility problems, and later Billy had them as well. This story was praised in a soap book from around that time, but it sounded rather contrived to me. No pregnancy resulted from this story. Rita Mae did have an additional connection to the canvas. In July 1984, her niece Colby Cantrell arrived in Corinth. She was a buyer for Burnell's department store. Curtis was smitten with her and a romance developed. In the fall, it was revealed Curtis had financed pornographic films during his European days, he returned home the first week of 'Loving.' Some of those films starred Sasha Hale, the spokesmodel for Burnell's. Colby was devastated and turned to Keith Lane, Jonathan Maitland's twin brother. The Donovan father, Patrick, was the head of security at Alden University. Patrick's heart problems led him to step down and Mike assumed his father's duties. Mike was eventually fired. The AIDS research was talked about in July 1983, but it seems to be mentioned as yet another thing Noreen and Mike fight about. Regarding the cast situation, one book said Shearin was out after three months and Peter Brown came in. John Cunningham also would have been out in 1983 as Garth was murdered in November. Eubanks was out by the time Brown left because Callan White appeared in the Washington, D.C. remote during Roger's funeral. Doug was gone in December 1984, but Victor Bevine didn't arrive until September 1985. He was playing Peter Crane on "The Catlins" when Cranston left "Loving." June and Lily Slater left town in late January 1984. Merill left in March. Doug was around until the end of the year. When Merrill and Roger split, Doug and Merrill didn't reconcile. I suspect someone didn't like Merrill and saw her as a homewrecker. By the end of 1983, Roger and Ann were going to make a go of their marriage and Roger took over a seat in Congress. Merrill floundered before she was written out and she was the serial's lead heroine. I think she was tainted by the infidelity. Doug spent 1984 involved in a byzantine Doug Marland murder mystery plot involving Edy Lester Donovan, his sudden wife, and Jonathan Maitland, her not-so-former husband. I think Edy and Doug had known each other once before, remet, and suddenly married. Edy was a woman with a past and Doug had been hired to pen some television series in California. Edy's past arrived in the form of Jonathan Maitland, a shady man who she claimed was her brother, but really he was her husband. In California, Edy had been a private nurse for some very upscale people who died under mysterious circumstances. It looked like Edy had offed her wealthy patients for their money, but really it was Jonathan who had been doing it. While Doug investigated, Jonathan went around killing off all the witness and remaining patients. It was a rather bizarre story as it seems to be told in its own sphere with limited interaction. Doug Donovan also had a writing partner, Stephanie Smith, who I suspect was intended as the person Doug would turn to when Edy / Jonathan's past was revealed. Nothing came of it though. Jonathan and Edy both died at the end of the story and Doug left town to grieve for his wife. I think Susan Walters left "Loving" during the murder trial. The Italian youtube clips take Lorna up to right around the time of the murder. O'Hara Parker would have played all the post-trial stuff: falling for Zach, befriending Lotty, and becoming a free woman again.

Nixon was the headwriter when Shana and Leo left town. The cast was getting quite large at the time when Shana and Leo were written out. On the other hand, the show was just about to bring Cabot back. Why not keep Shana around? I think there would have been more drama had Shana discovered Cabot and agreed to keep his secret pitting her against the family. If Nixon had stayed, I suspect Ava would have been given complete control of Alden Enterprises, not just Burnells'. Shana would have certainly fought for the company and most likely had Alex on her side. Alex was close to the Aldens from his years as Clay. Shana's departure was premature. When Jeremy arrived in Corinth, it was clear he was intended for Stacey. Jeremy was working at the University where Stacey was teaching a writing course. Stacey was being drugged by Clay Alden into marriage and Clay later had her thrown into a mental hospital. Clay was looking to get his hands on the inheritance he was promised. Jeremy had psychic abilities which I believe came into play during the storyline. After Clay's plot was unveiled, I think Stacey / Jeremy were still friendly. Hannah Mayberry, who was ditched from the core younger set when Stephanie Brewster arrived, briefly had a thing for Jeremy and then later accused him of sexual harassment. I believe Stacey worked with Jeremy to help clear him. By this point, Jeremy was moving into Ava's orbit and Stacey went back onto the backburner. Buck Huston arrived in March 1993 just as Trisha was being written out of the story. Buck was part of Curtis Alden's return plot. Buck and Curtis had served together in the Gulf War. Buck was a pilot who had helped Curtis save Tess Wilder Partou, a beautiful woman married to a dangerous man. A Curtis / Tess / Buck triangle had played out during the War, but neither man had ended up with her. Despite this complicated backstory, Curtis was paired with Dinahlee, Buck with Gwyn, and Tess seem to sleep with any Alden man she could get her hands on at the moment. I think Stacey / Buck were couple around September 1993. In August, Buck / Gwyn had been involved in an airplane crash. By the fall, Stacey was fighting her former mother-in-law for Buck and Gwyn announced she was pregnant. Gwyn lost the baby as Buck / Gwyn planned to elope. Clay convinced Gwyn not to go through with it. "The City" wanted to distance itself from "Loving." I don't think they would have ever really considered taking any of them along with them. I wonder if they would have played things differently if Michael Weatherly, Amelia Heinle, and Paul Anthony Stewart had decided to stay with the show. Eric, the Ava in Heaven plot was fairly well liked by the online audience of the time. Plus, wasn't it just Ava / Harry in heaven playing cards with Ava learning a couple of spoilers which were meant to entice the audience to keep them around. The problem was Nixon left and a lot of that stuff got dropped (re: Dinahlee dying and Ava inheriting the Alden fortune). From what I've read, I agree that Jeremy never really fit on the show. They tried Stacey / Jeremy, Ava / Jeremy, and Gwyn / Jeremy to limited success. Did they try Tess / Jeremy or were they simply business associates?

Jim and Shana were one of the show's big couples, but, most likely, had exhausted their story possibilities together. Babbin wanted to move Shana out of the business world and get her working with social issues, in particular victims' rights. Shana was big on looking into the faulty airplane parts that caused Jim and Jimmy's death. I beleive this story was later repeated on "All My Children" with Maria Santos Grey. I think moving Shana out of the corporate world isolated her. If Babbin tied Shana's work to the lower class, maybe there could have been more interaction between Shana and Kate and the rest of Kate's extended family The homeless shelter story involved an abusive husband. The woman's name was Mei Ling and her son's name was Timmy. Jim Vochek was involved as was Lily. Lily also helped a child by playing the piano. Whether or not there were plans for Lily post-psycho stalker affair is unclear to me. The strike happened just as the Jack / Lily affair was being exposed. Rick / Stacey were still to come and played out over the summer. One would think Lily would stick around to keep the Rick / Stacey / Jack / Lily quad going. Leo / Shana were a rather comical couple. Leo Burnell was introduced as Ava's mystery boss at Burnells'. He was seen watching her from the store cameras and making one-sided phone conversations with his assistant Basil. Addie Walsh was headwriter at the time and Haidee Granger had just been brought on to EP. Granger / Walsh clashed and Walsh left the show. I think Walsh intended to reintroduce Curtis Alden as Ava's mystery boss. As you can tell from the summary you posted, Burnells' had been around since the 1980s and was an Alden property. Leo Burnell claimed he had founded the store in order to win over Ava. Granger acted as interim headwriter in the summer of 1992 until Robert Guza / Millee Taggert were brought on to write the show in September. Leo was introduced in late July during Granger's stint as EP / HW. I think Granger didn't know what to do with Curtis or a Curtis / Ava pairing. Instead, Leo entered as a man with expensive tastes who was wooing Ava around the world. I don't understand why this character couldn't have been Curtis. It would have made sense given the hints that Leo / Clay may have been behind Jack's disappearance. In terms of Leo / Shana's story function, they were mainly a comical / stable couple. Shana decided she wanted a baby and considered artifical insemination. I believe Leo agreed to donate his specimen, but Ava (his girlfriend) didn't like the idea and messed with it. Eventually, Leo and Shana slept together and conceived a baby the old fashioned way. Ava was determined to hold onto Leo so she claimed she was pregnant. Around this time, the idea of a Stacey / Jeremy pairing was dropped and Jeremy acted as Ava's conscience while she faked the pregnancy. Later, Ava / Jeremy hooked up while Leo / Shana dealt with a complicated pregnancy. Angie Hubbard's first story involved treating a pregnant Shana. Once baby Patti was born, I don't think Leo / Shana had much story. They were the town's requisite happy couple. Ava and Alex had similar banter, I assume. Ava / Alex got a bit more story when Ava slept with Jeremy's twin brother Gilbert who was masquerading as Jeremy. Gilbert kidnapped Ava and was killed. I read they introduced Gilbert because Lisa Peluso / Jean LeClerc had awesome chemistry but Ava / Jeremy were a mismatch.

Regarding "Loving" and the Writer's Strike, the only thing I remember off the top of my head was some weird story about Lilly Slater (post-psycho stalker stage) ending up helping some young homeless woman and her son who were living at a shelter. I don't think it was a particularly strong time for the show. Tom King / Millee Taggert took over right afterwards replacing Ralph Ellis who had written for the show before the strike. I love the Episodes article if for the pictures alone. I hadn't seen Christopher Cass / Lauren Marie Taylor together before. It seems so odd to think there was another Jack Forbes. Shana was initially brought on to be paired with Jim Vochek to replace Merrill / Roger as the show's lead romantic couple. Jim / Shana shared a past in Rome and Shana romanced Jim's pal Mike Donovan. Mike had been married to Jim's sister Noreen, who would later return to town when Mike / Shana became engaged. Noreen revealed she and Mike weren't divorced and Mike ended up back with Noreen. Shana and Jim were torn by his commitment to the church and then Shana's involvement with Doug Donovan, Mike's brother. In the 1990s, Jacqueline Babbin brought Shana back and was pairing her with Dane Hammond. When Shana first arrived in Corinth in the 1980s, Dane had brought her as a part of a revenge scheme against the Aldens. Dane romanced Shana when she lost her memory after Jim and Jimmy's deaths. Dane and Shana eventually split and Shana lingered. I think "Loving" struggled with women of a certain age. Gwyn, Ann, and Shana all sort of struggled through the years to maintain story. The Merrill / Roger story is very bizarre. It dominates the first few months and then peters out. Someone realized it wasn't going to work and scrapped it, but not before trying to make them work. Merrill dated the Alden family lawyer for a brief time and Roger / Ann were going to make a go of their marriage. When Roger was written off, it was ambigious. His body was never found. I'm sure somewhere down the line Dane & Ann's marriage would have been ruined by the return of Roger Forbes. I really don't think Kalember was fired for a hair cut. "Ryan' s Hope" even did a joke about this a few years earlier with Liz Kemp's Diana Buckman during "The Proud and the Passionate" storyline. I truly think its urban legend. If Lily had stayed, I suspect a Jack / Lily / Curtis triangle would have continued to play out for several years with Lily's personalities causing conflict in both her relationships with Jack and Curtis. Before Ava set her eyes on Curtis, Curtis had a brief dalliance with Colby Cantrell. Colby was Rita Mae's niece and she worked for Burnell's department store in some capacity. Colby and Curtis split when it was revealed Curtis was involved in financing pornography during his days gallvanting around Europe. Sasha Hale, a model for one of the Alden companies, had been the star of some of those films. Stacey was also paired with Tony Perilli, a scholarship student who had attended school with Jack. Stacey was smitten with Tony before Lorna bedded and wedded the man. If Lily had stayed, I suspect Stacey / Tony / Lorna would have played out longer and may even overlapped with Jack / Lily / Curtis. I think I read in one of the summaries that Curtis briefly flirted with Stacey. I think a Curtis / Jack rivalry would have been inevitable had things not been so turbulent behind the scenes. Also, a Curtis / Jack rivalry would have fueled stories for some time. Cabot was written out in February 1991. I think Babbin was still in charge along with King / Taggert. Cabot had been having heart troubles and knew Clay had signed off on the faulty airplane parts scheme that resulted in the death of Jim and Jimmy Vochek. At the time, Trucker McKenzie was believed to be behind the shady deal, but Cabot agreed to exonerate Trucker. Before he could make good, Cabot croaked and Clay plotted to get his hands on the family fortune. I'm pretty sure Celeste Holm was playing Isabelle at the time because Holm was upset because she had taken the role to work with her husband. Part of the problem with Ann was no one knew what to do with her. I think the plan was to bring Roger back eventually and have Roger / Ann allign themselves with Cabot in the battle against Dane in control for the company which would have eventually spilled over into a fight over control of Jack and eventually lead a triangle where Ann would fight her feelings for Roger and Dane. When Roger didn't return, Agnes Nixon took Ann down the victim route with Dane seducing Gwyn and trying to gaslight Ann. I think Dane / Gwyn still could have happened as there was story to play there but not without Roger and eventually Clay in the picture. I believe Gwyn was also one of those from Milltown, the 'wrong' part of Coritnh. From reading, the one thing I liked about Rick was he came to town when Alex was impersonating Clay so everyone thought Rick was an imposter. When Rick came in, Curtis had been softened. He was a racecar driver who fell in love with country bumpkin Lottie Bates. I suspect Rick was suppose to be a pot stirrer, but nothing really came of him. Cabot returned to town in July / August 1994. In May, Deborah Brewster had learned a nasty secret Clay Alden had been hiding and blackmailed him into marrying her. The secret involved the Cradle Foundation, a company who was caring for somebody who was suppose to be dead. Steffi, Clay's former girlfriend and Deborah's daughter, worked with Cooper Alden, her former boyfriend and an Alden cousin, to learn the secret. Cooper and Steffi tracked down Cabot to a local diner where he was working as a chef named Buddy. Cabot was living a separate life because of the shame of the Alden family building their fortune after stealing from the Solowsky family.

I find the opinion piece a bit odd. I believe in the summaries it mentioned Lester was promoted at the plant. He was now management and the suggestion was the management job would have pay for things. Everyone has the right to their opinion and the general consensus is there wasn't much plot in the traditional sense. Most soap books tend to take a neutral stance simply stating Lemay chose to give the audience massive amounts of backstory rather than revealing the details when it was more appropriate in terms of the story. I don't get the references to the interaction seeming forced, but not having seen this all play out maybe I didn't see it. Casting seems to be a serious issue, but there were people who could have done the heavy lifting. I think it may have been a bad idea of having both Desmond / Megan and Rhett / Connie engaged unless the show planned on highlighting how each family reacted differently to the engagement. I think status consciencous Ellie should have been more concerned about what Mrs. Cushing might think of the idea of Rhett / Connie possibly living in sin and how that would reflect on Ellie and her behavior. At times, I think the Saxton family was too large and question why Amy was a cousin rather than a sibling. It might have been more fascinating to see Amy enter a relationship with an alcoholic Austin having grown up with the dysfunction that came out of Lester's own drinking. Or maybe that was the point. Amy was close to the family, but didn't grow up in the household seeing how it could cause destruction. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the problems I saw with the Lester / Josie marriage. Lester was a drunk who would chose booze over his wife and children. Wasn't this similar to Bill Bauer? Bert still managed to maintain the role as the head of her family. I wonder if Josie could have found a similar I'm rambling, but I don't think the show was poorly structured. It was new and going through its growing pains. Most soaps go through it and "Lovers & Friends" just needed to find its groove.

Shocked by the Michael Nader / Ellen Barber connection. I didn't realize they were once involved. My major Ellen Barber exposure is from her brief stint as the bitchy soap rival of Barbara Wilde's on "Ryan's Hope." Barber was good as the meddling instigator type. Joanna was more of a sympathetic role, no? If the show had continued, I wonder if Joanna would have been more in the mold of her mother-figure, Belle. Was Barber the first or second actress to play the role?

Miles was killed during the investigation into Sherry Wayne's murder. I believe the killer was, or was at least involved, with Jack Townsend. Jack appeared in one of the episodes on archive.org. Jack romanced Carolyn after Miles' death, but he was a baddie.

Ma Perkins, Young Doctor Malone, The Right to Happiness, and The Second Mrs. Burton were all ended on the same day in December 1960.

Actually, it was another article I read about Jennifer Leak and hot pants. She sure talked enough about that subject. In the article I read, Leak specifically mentioned being told by Jerry Layton, her producer, that she was not allowed to wear them onscreen. I wonder if TPTB were trying to lure viewers in thinking Jennifer might actually show some leg. I don't know. It's bizarre that this seems to be mentioned in several different articles. Thank you, Carl. It was nice to see a picture of Leak from her "Bright Promise" days. It is so different from the picture Eddie Drueding has of her on his "Another World" site from her days as Olive.

I don't think Lee MacDonald was pumped with illegal drugs, but rather sedatives. When Lee first came to town, he was working for a prosecutor investigating some shady figures. When Lee got to close to the story, they locked him in a convalesence home and kept him drugged so he couldn't reveal the truth. I've read Lee first appeared in the summer of 1957 during Debby Nelson's wedding to Craig Chalmers. Debby was the sister of the late Miles Nelson, Carolyn's third husband, and Craig one of the many men who fell in love with Carolyn over the years. The final storylines were a bit similar to "Rosemary." Sharon Graham tried to seduce a scientist, Alex Thorpe. Alex was run down in a hit and run and Sharon was accused of the crime. Carolyn believed in Sharon's innonence and was determined to learn who the real culprit was. Dick Braden, a friend of Skip's, had actually been driving the car. This was why he mentioned being on parole in the final episode. I was reminded of Lonny and Monica and their hit an run when I was rereading information on "Right to Happiness."

The St. Petersburg Times covered "The Right to Happiness" on occassion in their Radio Highlights. October 9, 1957 Helen Mason, nurse attending Lee MacDonald, reports overhearing a racketeer's confession of drugging her patient, rushes information to the legal authorities and breaks the defense of a fraudulent insurance claim case. Ruth Newton is featured as the nurse in the series starring Claudia Morgan. December 18, 1958 As plans progress for the wedding of teenaged Skip Nelson and Grace Driscoll, his mother [Carolyn MacDonald]fights her misgivings about the girl's honesty. Grace's parents offer no help with the reception or furnishing of an apartment. NOTE: Grace and Skip didn't marry and hadn't married by the show's conclusion. March 3, 1959 Though widowed Carolyn Nelson resents her teenage son Skip's love for Grace Driscoll, she admires the young girl's heoric effort to save her ne'er do well father from tragedy. By her kindness to Grace at this moment Carolyn regains her son [skip's] confidence. NOTE: It appears between March and May Carolyn has married her final husband, Lee MacDonald. May 7, 1959 Carolyn MacDonald hears her husband [Lee MacDonald] counsel a client on techniques for avoiding direct answers to questions of the opposing attorney under cross examination. Later, he applies a different set of standards when a neighbor asks advice on a martial problem. The MacDonalds come close to their first quarrel over his lack of consistency. June 25 1959 To Carolyn, his bride of only a few months, Lee MacDonald justifies the unusual amount of time he spends with his widowed client, the beautiful Sharon Graham. Through Sharon's retaining him to protect her interst in a large business corporation, he hopes to build prestige and recognition in legal circles he explains. July 28 1959 Over the objections of his wife [Carolyn], Lee MacDonald chooses to remain as independent legal cousnel of wealthy Sharon Graham, rather than accepting a flattering offer to join a distinguished law firm. Carolyn is astonished by his candid explanation. September 17 1959 Carolyn McDonald, bride of less than year, hides the painful knowledge that her lawyer husband [Lee MacDonald] places her wishes second to those of his beautiful widowed client, Sharon. His sudden business trip to New York brings the situation into clear focus.

Years ago, Matt Smith posted them on a site. I would love to read them again if you get a chance. I think you have two of them already up. “Lovers & Friends” is a good read. I know Lemay said he didn’t write much of “For Richer, For Poorer,” but I get the feeling he worked on the concept for FRFP. Characters like Ira Ferguson, Viola Brewster, and Roger Hamilton were introduced, but given little to do (barring Viola). The presence of the brokerage firm is important in the first month or so and then abandoned again quickly. Roger Hamilton was Edith’s true love. I cannot imagine how someone would bring him on and not make a decent go of it between Edith and Roger. Richard was dead and this was Edith’s true shot at happiness. The presence of Viola Brewster seems to fulfill that rich b*tch role Edith had in the beginning, but I think a Viola / Richard / Edith triangle could have been fascinating. Viola was a member of their circle and was desperate to maintain her image. Why not marry Roger? I wonder if “Lovers & Friends” would have worked better if Lester and Josie were brother and sister rather than husband and wife. Sort of Sam and Ada of the “Lovers & Friends” set. Lester could have been Amy’s father who ran his wife away with his drinking. Lester could still be a surrogate father figure to the Saxton kids while opening Josie up for a relationship with an honest man who could stabilize her role as the mother figure for her clan. I don’t know why “Lovers & Friends” was pulled. Rhett Saxton was such a critical role. One of the only things I remember Lemay mentioning in his book about L&F is how early on they knew the original actor wasn’t going to work out. Without strong actors to pull off the central romance, the show was doomed from the start. A lot of complaints were leveled at the show for delving too much into characterization without constructing much plot. From what I saw, it seemed fair, only if you leveled the opposite at “For Richer, For Poorer.” Sometimes the plot seemed to forsake the characterization. I cannot imagine the Austin of “Lovers & Friends” being happy with life as president of Cushing & Sons or Lester falling off the wagon so easily. In terms of fixing L&F, I think “Lovers & Friends” should have been allowed to run its course. I wouldn’t have placed so much emphasis on Rhett/Bill and Megan and slowly built up the stronger parts of the canvas. Ellie could have caused drama for years as could have Jason. If they had held out long enough, Vicky Dawson would have been a strong ingénue. She was well liked later on as Eileen Perrini on AW. I think Abbott might have worked too. After everything else was working, I would have written Rhett/Bill out by killing him off or shipping him out of town. Megan could mourn and move on, while everything else was in place to keep the story moving

I've never seen anything specifically stated about Marchand, but I assume she asked to leave. In the fall of 1977, "Lou Grant" premiered and she was a part of the cast. The show filmed on the West Coast so I would think it would be impossible for her to do both. It looks like she made the right choice. A while back, I saw the premier of "For Richer, For Poorer" at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York as well as an early episode of "Lovers & Friends." "Lovers & Friends" was more fascinating despite the lack of action. In the episode of L&F, the Cushings were hosting an engagement party for Megan and Desmond. Megan was uncomfortable and dashed out to see the new neighbors. Megan and Rhett looked into each others eyes while Jason, Bentley, and Connie looked on. Josie and Sophia chatted in the Cushing kitchen. Edith tried to maintain her cool while Barbara, her husband's mistress, attended the festivities. Before leaving for the Saxtons, Megan found Austin drunk in an upstairs bedroom. Austin had a nice monologue about growing up in the Cushing home. The premier of "For Richer, For Poorer" began with a fake out. The first scene opened with Megan and Rhett reciting their vows. It was only their rehersal. James E. Reilly would have been proud. Connie sat in her middle class abode with her dad, Ira, talking about how she had something that would change everything as she rubbed her stomach. Lester went on a job interview and his drinking was brought up. When he didn't get the job, Lester decided to get drunk. Amy and Austin were preparing to go to the wedding when Rachel Cory arrived and all three left to attend the wedding. There was a scene between Ellie and Josie as well, but it was mainly filler. The dialogue wasn't as rich as it was in L&F. I think the problem with L&F was Harding Lemay presented a very cold vision. Neither Richard and Edith nor Josie and Lester had a marriage the characters would envy. Sophie admitted hers was a farce. Edith's ambitions were crushing her marriage to George. Rhett and Megan were to drawn to each other, but both were engaged to marry others. Megan's relationship with Desmond made sense; her parents were pressuring her to marry Desmond. With Rhett, Connie was sort of innocent about everything. She was getting punished for someone else's crimes. With that said, I think the lack of clear vision also hurt. Megan was involved with Desmond, Jason, and Rhett. Laurie was involved with Jason, Desmond, and Austin. Jason was involved with Laurie and Megan, but also scheming with Connie which could have turned into something more. In their early days, soaps struggle to find their footing. Lemay and Backus talked about the trouble with casting Rhett which meant having story switch from Rhett to Jason. Even with the revamp, it's clear the Desmond / Laurie / Jason story seems to have gained much more prominence than it had in "Lovers and Friends." Despite this, I'm fascinated when I read the synopses. I find Ellie's quest for prominence particularly engaging. You can see where Lemay was taking this story. George and Barbara would eventually engage in an affair. Edith would learn of the situation and keep mum in order to protect her own intersts; if Barbara was with George, she couldn't involve herself with Richard. A child might come into play since George lost his. Richard would eventually learn of the situation and reveal the truth out of jealousy. Ellie would be furious with Barbara and then equally furious with Edith for keeping her secret. Ellie would be forced to see the price of her social climbing and make an honest play for George or move on. Maybe Ellie would have become involved with Barbara's ex-husband, the one she spoke to George about in one of her previous situations. Yet, in For Richer, For Poorer, Ellie and George were the couple struggling to conceive. The twist that George was responsibile for their infertility was neat, but to negate the situation Lemay set up seems criminal. Ellie's fascination with Billy (Connie and Bill's son) worked, but didn't develop into anything. Similarly, Edith seemed defanged as she was hosting Megan and Bill's wedding in the opening episode having gotten over her class issues from the previous series. Barbara was still around, but not as prominent. I always thought the show could have been a hit if it premiered a couple years later during the big business era of Dallas and Dynasty. All the inner workings of Cushing & Sons seems ripe for an 80s audience. Jason seemed very J.R.-esque.

Irna Phillips created "The Right to Happiness" as a spinoff of "The Guiding Light." Philips transplanted Rose Kransky to the new serial with her mother and her brother. They were only the focus for a few months before they were sent back to "The Guiding Light." "Happiness" focused on the story of Carolyn, a young woman who spent nearly twenty years, and four husbands, looking for her 'right to happiness.' When the show moved from Chicago to New York, Phillips left the show and John M. Young took over as headwriter. Young assumed the writing duties in December 1942 as his script collection is available at Cornell's library. He penned the show until it was cancelled. He also wrote the final months of "From These Roots", wrote a few episodes of "Days of our Lives," and created "Golden Windows." After Miles left office, he was involved with Sherry Wayne. Sherry was a wealthy woman who suspected someone was trying to murder her. Wayne did end up dead and Miles did investigate. When he got close to the truth, he ended up dead. What I like about these Radio Times synopses is it gives a sense of pacing and when things occurred. Once Radio Times was discontinued, it is hard to find information about the soaps.

Haila Stoddard died Monday at the age of 97. I know it was posted in the Discuss the Soaps section, but I figured I'd continue the conversation here. Does anyone know when Stoddard left the program? The obituaries have different dates and the soap books tend to be unreliable at times. On a side note, I was just reading an article from December 1967 about daytime actors appearing in plays. Stoddard was listed as co-producing "The Birthday Party." George Reinholdt was appearing in Cabaret as well as playing Eric Fulda on "Storm." Actor Noel Craig was recently hired to play Herbie Vail on "The Secret Storm" and was appearing in "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead." Apparently, before appearing as Dan Kincaid, Bernard Barrows played Henry McGill, the president of the local university.

Thanks Carl for "The Right to Happiness" synopsis. It's a shame this show never transitioned to television. I wonder how long Carolyn's story could have continued in the television medium and if she would accumulate any more husbands. In terms of the story, I don't know how far behind the Radio Times is in their summaries. The previous summer, Carolyn Nelson had been locked away in a mental hospital. Carolyn and Miles had toured the facility and Carolyn had caught on to some of the facilities shadier operating practices. The people behind the facility had locked her away and planned to kill her. Carolyn was saved by Dwight Kramer, her former husband. During Carolyn's stay in the institution, Annette Thorpe claimed Carolyn knew she and Miles weren't meant to be and had left town. I don't think Annette knew about the hospital scheme, but its possible she did. However, this summary seems to be from Carolyn's homecoming when it was clear Annette was meddling to come between the Nelsons. There are a couple of episodes at the Internet Archive, including the show's final episode. Unforunately, the final episode seems to be missing the last few minutes. The final scene was between Carolyn and her latest husband, Lee, talking about 'the right to happiness.' When it was uploaded on another site, this scene was included. I don't know what happened. Final Episode: http://www.archive.org/download/RightToHappinessRadioPrograms/Rtoh-TheresAnInfiniteTenderness.mp3