Paul Raven

Chris was offscreen from 31 Jan till Feb 26 . Earl last seen on the 12th Stephanies last day Feb 15th Cathy and Terry last seen Feb 19th Mimi exited Feb 21st Marlena gave birth on Feb 25th but Samantha got to see her nephew as her last day was the 27th.

I get what you are saying and agree that sometimes longer scenes are necessary to dig deeper into character and motivation. However, sometimes those longer scenes were underwritten and a throwback to the live/live on tape days when scenes had to be a certain length regardless. Once VCRs were available the temptation to fast forward took hold. Nowadays scenes are often of the blink and miss 'em category which is quite annoying. I think a balance between the two is ideal.

To Have and To Hold from Ruth Brooks Flippen and John Haggert. No date or details available.

If that clip is any indication, one reason for Days doldrums is those overlong scenes. By now GH was now using editing for shorter scenes, giving the illusion of more pace while Days would have seemed draggy in comparison. When did other shows begin to follow GH's lead and begin tape editing?

Bob dying could have been the spearhead for new drama for the Andersons with Stephanies identity revealed, and battles b/w her and Mary. Add Linda,Alex and Chris into the mix and possibilities are endless. The Sam kidney story got a Daytime Emmy award for Hugh McPhillllips as Hugh Pearson in the guest performance category, beating out (amongst others) Joan Fontaine and Sammy Davis Jnr.

Betty Garde By Kathleen Norris 'Woman in Love' Mrs Wiley Young Widder Brown 1947 David Harum 1943 and 1948 Front Page Farrell 1948 Perry Mason Peg Neeley (not Greerly?) Anne Seymour Buck Private and his Girl Wheatena Playhouse'Till we Meet Again' 1941 Strange Romance of Evelyn winters 1947 Portia Faces Life Portia Manning 3 month stint beginning Feb after Lucille Wall was injured 1948 KT Stevens Pepper Young's Family Molly O'Hara Erin O'Brien Moore Aunt Jenny Terry O'Sullivan Today's Children 1947

I think Sam was brought back just as a complication for the Craigs in their newly married phase. Andrea Hall was only ever recurring and did short stints. The whole kidney transplant thing keeps getting played but goes nowhere. Harrower only has a short time left so just about everything gets modified or tossed aside.

Peter Lazar Five Star Matinee 'Night of the Execution' 1956

Requests George McDaniel Michelle Joyner Ken Griffin Ma Perkins Jeffrey Powell 1946 Robert 'Bobby' Ellis Masquerade 'newsboy' 1946

Lucas was introduced Nov 77.

Concerning Miss Marlowe Ralph Marquez Donald Buka

Larry, Linda, Lance,Lorie, Leslie, Lucas....

You do realize that Ed Mallory met and married Suzanne Zenor at Days? Art imitating life if that story played out! Of course, like many other real life couples the chemistry may not have been there onscreen Is that based on the upcoming Don/Maggie story?

Yes it seemed like Greg/Linda was in the offing but Bill lost interest. I recall Linda was on repeat about how unfullfilled she was as just a wife and mother and Larry wasn't very supportive. I guess Bill was trying to reflect what was happening in the country at that time as young women became aware of what they may have been missing by devoting themselves to a domestic role. Perhaps there was feedback that women at home watching didn't want to see someone onscreen a) venting frustrations they may have been facing, which would increase their negative feelings b) presenting an alternative point of view that threatened their status as wife and mother Maybe the feeling was that the soaps should either feed fantasies eg women as glamorous novelists and concert pianists jetting off around the globe or reinforce status as happy homemakers .

The Bill/Mike/Margo story would have needed incredible finesse in the writing to have worked but is an intriguing idea... What about Bill/Mickey/Maggie? Maggie could feel sorry for a lonely Bill and become a second mother to Jennifer. Mickey could be immediately resentful at was is at first completely innocent which would only fuel the fire. Thinking long term, now would have been the time for Tommy to resurface and be involved with Linda, who needs support as her marriage crumbles. Trying to get pregnant,Linda sleeps with Tommy, But as happened onscreen Linda is exposed and leaves town. But is she pregnant with a future Horton? Or perfect time for Kate to resurface. Bill turns to her and this time they consummate their affair. Bill is immediately contrite and Kate understands, But as she leaves Salem,she discovers she's pregnant. There didn't seem to be much interest in the Robert/Dougie situation, which was loaded with potential conflict. The show was in need of a revamp as Harrower's stories meandered, but what came next was way too drastic, as we shall see.

My problem with Alex is that he was put into too many stories at once. The Magnis/Anderson business, Phyllis lover, Marie's ex lover with a shady past, involved with the hospital, came on to Maggie, involved with Cathy etc Maybe if those angles came into play over months it would have been more effective. Also Alex/Quinn was another over 40 male. Let's see- there was Tom. Bill, Mickey, Bob, Doug, Robert, Neil and Tommy lurking around. Maybe Alex should have been younger- a boy toy for Phyllis. Of course that wouldn't have worked with Marie. To get to a Doug/Julie/Lee triangle there was a lot of plot and character manipulation. Doug was made to look foolish which put the burden on Lee to be the total heavy. I think it would have been better to see more of Byron and Lee before he died and giving Lee a daughter may have given her extra motivation also.

re Michael Romano. I never knew till now that he and Jay Novello were one and the same. I'm guessing he changed his name when he left Chicago for the West Coast and perhaps didn't want to be known as a soap actor? Guiding Light Peter Manno Ann Thomas Career Girl Arnie Keller Girl Alone Dr George Richards aka 'Top Hat' Right to Happiness 1941 Arnold Grimm's Daughter 1940 Thunder Over Paradise Durango Backstage Wife 1945 Ma Perkins Ferguson (lawyer)1946 Houseboat Hannah Joe Mosey Lil Abner Scoodles Shaw Lonely Women 1943 Road of Life Allen Hayes

@beebs Just want to add my thanks for the write ups. I love discussing past soap storylines and the choices writers faced and decisions made. The tone of the show changed very much by 83 with a whole bunch of plots that would never have been utilised earlier. It gave the writers freedom to do stuff that never would have been entertained in the years prior to create dram/conflict. eg murders, psychos, super villians, doppelgangers etc. All to the detriment of the genre IMO. Back to the era under discussion. Days was facing the fact that the original characters were aging and played out yet were still popular and warranted airtime. Hence the Marcus and Harrower stories. By Harrower's time the decision was made to drop Laura and back burn Bill, make Mickey and Maggie supporting and break up Doug and Julie to basically replay their love story again. The next generation David/Mike were aged up to step into the spotlight but weren't given stories of the same magnitude as their parents. David/Val had that potential to be star crossed for years but the interracial aspect caused problems and it was short circuited. Meanwhile Mike was basically married off in a dead end story to a terminally ill woman. Not much to work with there. The show really failed to bring in young relevant characters. Chris was really the only popular new character of that time that had lasting power. The show wasted Steve and stubbornly refused to bring back Sandy. Donna operated in a vacuum- there was no new peer group for her. Janice perhaps should have been an older character in the first place and then return in 79 as a teen and become friend/frenemies with Donna. Give Lee a teen daughter that she had to support who charms Doug etc.

Ann Thomas We Love and Learn Dixie Blake Barbara Weeks was a castmate, not a character.

Vivian Smolen David Harum Myra Kathryn Card Story of Mary Marlin Della Worthington

Barbara Weeks Right to Happiness Carolyn (6 week replacement for Claudia Morgan) 1948 Jeanne Juvelier Story of Mary Marlin Marie Angelina Woman in White Linda Houseboat Hannah Maria The Guiding Light Mama Felzer/ Anjelina Pasquale Romance of Helen Trent Mme Frances Kitty Keene Mrs Levy Her Arnold Grimm character was proprietor of an exclusive dress shop.

Elaine Rost Just Plain Bill Leila Young 1945 Our Gal Sunday Front Page Farrell 1947 Rosemary Patti Road of Life Isobel Daly Elizabeth Reller Manhattan Mother Leona

Julian Noa Story of Bess Johnson 'college professor' Cameron Prud'Homme Backstage Wife Bryant Second Husband 1943

When Marie returned as a nun Bill Bell wanted to do a story about her being tempted to forgo her vows but it never came to pass. Bill was struggling to tell current stories in the half hour and I guess the controversial aspect put a lid on that development.

Inge Adams Her Light of the World segment was 'Queen of Sheba' Perry Mason Liz Wren Big Sister Wendy Tom Tully Hearts in Harmony Uncle Si Big Sister Editor McGregor