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Slide one is labelled Wendy Barry on eBay. I think this is accurate. People's Magazine has there back issues available for download and Barry is featured in the cast shot along with Steve Carlson, Ann Wilkinson, Jim McMullan, Maggie Sullivan, and Jack Wagner. Barry had dark hair and similar facial features to the actress in the shot. This appears to be the same actress and actor pictured in the March Showtime promo Carl posted in the March 1983 cable article thread. I assume this means the pair is Grant Wilson and Wendy Barry. IMDb states Barry played Shelley Novack and Wilson played Biff Lewis. I'm pretty sure Grant Wilson is the blonde even though we cannot see his face. However, since information is so scarce and the People's picture doesn't give a good look of Wendy Barry's face, I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't Biff and Francie since Francie / Biff were a couple. IMDb lists Dana Halstad as playing Francie. In the second slide, eBay says it is Jane Elliott and Wendy Barry. I think this is wrong. I suspect this set is Cronies, the bar where the younger characters hung out. Based on the article you posted, I would say Ann Wilkinson is the blonde. This is labelled Nov 1982, which is when it premiered on Showtime. I think this might be Anne Lockhart. I've tried to find pictures of her from this period and there is a bit of a resemblance. If that's the case, the first slide was used to preview the first set of episodes as Lockhart was quickly killed off.

FrenchFan, do you have a headwriters / ep list for Loving? That's another one that's shaky.

Regarding Levin, she was definitely there in the fall of 1981 after the strike ended. Several episodes appeared on WoST from this period and I know at least one was credited to her. I thought, however, that Konners returned from the strike, but I think I'm wrong. Also, there is an article from 1984 talking about Elizabeth Levin's play 'The Female Entertainer,' in which she says she left 'The Doctors' abruptly over a script. I think this si the second time because the Christmas 1981 episode is credited to Aaron Scott and Ann Marie Barlow. I suspect Scott & Barlow kept the show going between Levin's abrupt departure and Lemay's first episodes. This would explain why Levin is listed as the new writer in an issue giving previews for the new year. Lemay may not have been hired in time. I think it looks like this: Lawrence & Ronnie Wencker-Konner (Jan. 81 - May 81) No writers credited (June - Aug. 1981) Elizabeth Levin (Sept. 81 - Dec. 81) Aaron Scott & Anne-Marie Barlow (Dec. 1981) Harding Lemay (Dec. 81 - June 82)

I've seen McMillan listed in LaGuardia's Soap World as Jim Crawford. McMillan later appeared on 'Ryan's Hope' as Charlie Ferris, one of the party leaders who supported Frank.

On Steve Frame's board, I believe Paul Raven posted an SOD article from August 1982 stating Barbara Morgenroth and Robert Cendella were replacing Harding Lemay on 'The Doctors.' Paul, do you happen to still have this? Also, during the summer of 1981 there was a Writer's Strike, so I think it's unlikely that Levin took over in July mid way through the strike or that the Barlows would be credited as writing the episodes. She may have been hired in July, but I don't think her material would air until the fall. What's the source of this information? I hope this doesn't come off as rude as it is not intended to be that way. I may be wrong as well.

Wow! Catherine Hickland was in this. I thought someone had told me that once, but I had dismissed it because I never saw it listed anywhere else. My apologies. I wonder who she played. Regarding the nudity, I know some of the actors had problems with it. In an interview about Battlestar Galatica, Anne Lockhart talked about why she left the show. She was in the pilot and producers wanted her to have a continuing role in the serial, but Lockhart was uncomfortable about the nudity. So Anne's character was offed by the serial killer in the show's early episodes. I always thought this was bizarre because you'd think going into the soap the actors knew there was going to be racier material, but maybe they didn't. Maggie Sullivan said in the People's Magazine article on 'Eden' that it took some time to get adjusted to it. Concerning the audience, I'm not sure whether or not they would be turned off by it. I think the bigger issue was 'Eden' was initially airing at 10 PM opposite network programming like 'Hart to Hart', 'St. Elsewhere,' and 'Hill Street Blues.' While 'Eden' could be considered interesting counterprogramming, I'm not sure if it was really going to be able to compete. Then again, I think it shows Showtime was invested in the series enough to place it against this type of programming. Rereading the final script again, a couple of things stuck out. I'm wondering when the audience learned Laurel and Greg were siblings. Throughout the final episode, Biff keeps leering at Laurel even though they've all but said Laurel is Bryan's daughter. At first, this is used to get Betty to make her confession. Kevin Wallace, the professor who raped Betty, calls Betty to taunt her about the incident earlier that night and mentions how Laurel is with one of the Lewis boys. This continues though throughout the episode. I understand Greg and Laurel truly love one another, but Biff's fascination with his unknown half-sister seems worse for some reason. Pals Greg and Clint resolving their issues was a nice conclusion, but I suspect had the show continued there would have been issues. Clint was hiding something about Pam, presumably her affair with Miranda, from Greg and the insinuation was Laurel knew Clint's secret as well. Once this came out, I'm sure more drama would have ensued. There is mention in the script of the Claybournes having a sauna and a personal gym. Biff Lewis, the playboy son, mentions the possibility of getting high and using the sauna. I assume the sauna was used in earlier episodes for a steamy encounter (no pun intended). It's a shame no episodes have popped up because I can only imagine this being a very dark series especially with the serial killer plot. Bryan Lewis references the town being in a state of terror since Susan Walsh died and each part ended with Francie in peril. On two occassions, Logan Claybourne refers to the family home as a tomb or maseoleum and the references to the lighting in the articles seems to add to this darkness. Unfortunately, I'm probably reading too much into this.

Levin returned in the fall of 1981, which was why it was in the Jan. 1982 SOD. They were still behind. I believe the pre-strike writers returned in September 1981, but Levin briefly replaced them. Then Lemay came in December, but the Christmas 1981 episode (which was posted on WoST and youtube) was credited to Scott and Ann Barlow (I think that was there names). Lemay wrote the NYE's episode which was posted on WoST. Lemay was replaced by Leonard Kantor and Robert Cendella and later Kantor and Barbara Korgenroth

I don't think much of this panned out. Trucker learned Trisha was alive and went to see her. Offscreen, Trisha told Trucker she was enjoying her life as Crystal Hartman and didn't want to return. I believe Trucker left Christopher in Dinahlee's care and then he left town. Eventually, Dinahlee learned she was pregnant by Trucker, for the second time within in a year, and told Ava and Stacey. Stacey convinced Dinahlee to return to Trucker and tell him the truth. Dinahlee left town and Ava chewed Stacey out for convincing Dinahlee to leave. Dinahlee / Ava had been friends and Ava didn't like losing Dinahlee. Ava and Stacey actually made amends after years of fighting because all of their other friends had left town. I can only speculate, but I wonder if Buck was going to help Dinahlee raise Stacey's baby. Buck had been the product of broken home, I believe his dad had maintained two families: one with his mother and another with Trucker/Rocky's mother. Gwyn had lost his baby in October 1993, then he learned he had a daughter in June 1994 only to lose her in September 1994. Most of Buck's story revolved around his father / his being a father so I could see where Buck might agree to raise Trucker's baby. I wonder if E & B planned to bring Trucker back into the story eventually. In the show's dying days (literally), Stacey and Curtis had a brief flirtation. I wonder if E & B had planned to use Curtis in the Buck / Stacey / Dinahlee story? However, Amelia Heinle also got pregnant around this time. Maybe they scrapped the Dinahlee plot because they were going to have Steffi pregnant in pretty much a similar situation? Why did Cooper leave? I thought he just went to Paris to run the European branch of AE? I didn't think it was heroic, but that he was looking to advance his career. If the show hadn't been revamped, 1996 would have been a rought year. Neither Paul Anthony Stewart nor Ameila Heinle renewed their contract so all of the show's strong twenty something set was gone barring Ally. Wesley Addy would pass away. It would have been a very different show even if it hadn't moved to New York.

I liked E.J., but I thought she was poorly conceived at times. I liked the idea of a Ryan reporter going to work under Rae, Rae taking the girl under her wings, and having to fight off the predators like Wes Leonard. I’ve never given much thought to the Roger-EJ relationship, but it didn’t bother me. With that said, I did wonder if the show was trying to capitalize on Garrett’s success on GL by pairing her character with another Roger. I wonder what L & M would have done had they not been fired. Would Delia have worked with EJ’s ex to ruin the couple? I think eventually Rae would have had to chose between Roger and EJ, but, hopefully, not in a romantic situation. I thought the stuff with ‘The Proud and the Passionate’ was fun, but I wasn’t sure how they could have kept that stuff going without the paralysis plot, which I found amusing. Those September episodes are a mess though because so much changes early on in the Barbara Wilde plot. Initially, they hinted Barbara had money problems and that would be her motivation for seeing Seneca, and later suing Roger. I didn’t find the stock scam as nearly as degrading as Delia – Joe and the hidden camera. Delia learns Jack has put a camera in Joe’s office, tries to blackmail Joe, and Joe dismisses the whole situation and outsmarts Delia. Really! What BS! Delia was never book smart, but she was cunning and street smart. What was done to Dee throughout the series was often cruel and unmotivated. And depending on who was playing who, I often couldn’t stand their high and mighty treatment of Delia. I’m trying to remember where Roger – Dee were prior to the stock situation. Roger was involved with that dayplayer bartender during the summer and was involved in the tug of war blackmail with Rae where they kept trying to one-up one another in order to maintain their silence. I thought that should have been a break point for Rae – Roger because Rae’s lack of trust really should have ruined their friendship. Anyway, what did you think of Frank dismissing his suit against Rae regarding the senate stuff because he felt sorry for her? I thought that was a crock Regarding Bob-Faith, I do believe they were trying to rewrite it so Bob had loved Faith since childhood, which went against established history. Bob’s feelings were still valid, but the rewrite (which I believe happened before Faith-Frank) was unnecessary. I understand what you are saying now regarding Faith’s inconsistent characterization. The Writers’ Strike started right after Frank told Faith they were splitting and its never been clear to me how much L & M had planned for Faith. I thought the stuff with Craig, the teen alcoholic, was something that should have been explored further. I thought Jim Speed was suppose to be a Frank substitute in her life since he was Bob and Frank’s old pal from the force. I thought Speed was interesting as he had his own family issues, but none of that was really explored.

From the September 5, 1969, edition of the Schenectady Gazette: From the December 29, 1969, edition of the same publication:

Thank you so much Carl! These are amazing. In the past, I've read recollection from radio soap fans, but it is hard to sense how the story plays out on a day-to-day basis over the years. It's interesting. In the 'Golden Windows' thread, I mentioned John Young wrote for 'Right to Happiness' and there seems to be a strong sense of justice on the show, which is interesting considering Carolyn's less than innocent roots. The description of Annette Thorpe sounds like the one provided in the newspaper summaries for Sharon Graham a few years later. I wonder if the audience got bored of having Carolyn's husbands tempted by single women? The 1956 summaries are interesting as you can see how the show moved out of the political orbit while still telling Carolyn's story. Miles kicks the bucket after several years of marriage and Carolyn's concerns revolve around her son and new beau Jack Townsend. Jack was trying to steal the money Carolyn had inherited from Sherry Wayne and was looking to steal from the youth center, which probably tied Carolyn / Skip to Jack. One of the episodes available online features this story. I really like 'Right to Happiness' and wish it made the transition to TV since it seemed to play like a television serial.

I don't know about Robyn Milan. I just know Diana Walker was there until the end. The Village Voice did some articles on soaps and they loved 'Where the Heart Is.' They recounted the Liz Rainey affair, which occured during Mary and Julian's marriage.

THe picture of Lori March and Terry O'Sullivan is great. Does anyone know if the show paired Valerie with Sam Stevens after Peter's death? I know she later married Ian Northcoate, but I wonder if Sam / Valerie was attempted before Valerie got with Ian.

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.