Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[Sean]

That would have been rich given Seneca's involvement with Barbara Wilde - it's fun to imagine what kind of chaos Kim could have wreaked behind the scenes. Given her propensity for drama, she strikes me as more the type to aspire to being a soap diva than an off-Broadway starlet.

 

He's definitely one of the show's more distinctive and under-appreciated characters in my book, and one of the personalities that's hardest to pin down. I loved the glee with which he observed and commented upon the various moral shortcomings of the morally superior Ryans (with the caveat that he could be so frustratingly sanctimonious with Delia during their first marriage). I loved seeing the more sincere side of him as well, which tended to come out with Faith and Jill as well as in his friendship with Rae. In the 1979 episodes I've been rewatching, he's been a great sounding board for Rae as she anticipates the impending implosion of her engagement to Frank - as he puts it, what does a wealthy, intelligent, mega-successful woman like Rae need with an unreliable man like Frank Ryan?

 

One of the more unforgivable aspects of the show circa 1984-85 was how both Pat Falken Smith and later Taggart/King decimated his character - first with the near-rape of Maggie and his attempted bludgeoning of Frank with a two-by-four, and later with his complicity in nearly wiping Katie Thompson's memories as an accessory to one of Maggie's schemes. Thankfully they course-corrected in later years and gave us the great Maggie/Roger/Delia triangle as well as his flirtation with Diana van der Vlis's Sherry Rowan.

[amybrickwallace]

 

I saw both of those scenes on YT - very disturbing. Ron Hale deserved better.

[Soaplovers]

Actually the way he blackmailed Delia into sleeping with him in the mid 70s...his actions in 1984 and 1985 weren't jarring.

 

I didn't like Delia ending up back with roger..it seemed like a step backwards.  By late 1988, she had a business that was doing well, a young boy toy and seemed happy.  Her ttalk with Joe where he guilted her..showed how it would have been better for Delia if she cut off contact with the Ryan's 

[amybrickwallace]

Good points. Do you think Roger should have gotten back together with Maggie at the end instead?

[DRW50]

I always had a hard time with Roger's redemption, in that by 1979 he moves away from being a matured scoundrel into being a self-righteous ass, and this just increases more and more (it doesn't help that he and Randall Edwards had no real chemistry, and the show made the bad mistake of assuming viewers would only care about his relationship with EJ if they saw Delia as a heavy). The nadir for me was that story where Faith and Roger left Delia penniless over a mine left to Faith, or something. Yes, Delia schemed, and she got what she deserved, but it was impossible for me to sit back and enjoy Roger and Faith smugging it up, especially given their history. 

 

Roger really lost any layers and I found him just about unwatchable for the last few years of the Soapnet run.

[amybrickwallace]

I give Ron Hale a lot of credit for never phoning in a performance. Even when the writing let him down, he gave every performance his all. 

[Forever8]

Please register in order to view this content

 

[amybrickwallace]

I'm still surprised that with most of the former soaps getting the virtual reunion treatment, RH hasn't gotten one yet. I could see Ilene Kristen doing one, for sure.

[Soapsuds]

Alan should've had James on the ATWT reunion with Allyson Rice and Judson Mills

Please register in order to view this content

 

[victoria foxton]

James is looking good. Really liked him as Ben. 

[Sean]

Looks like you made it happen, @amybrickwallace!

 

Ah, very much looking forward to this! The SoapNet reunions tended to emphasize the early years of the show (understandably), so it will be interesting hearing from some of the actors from the later years. I don’t think I’ve heard much from Geoff Pierson about his time on RH (aside from a brief SOD interview back in 2003) so I’m looking forward to that especially. I believe he’s still married to Cali Timmins so I wonder if there’s any chance she’ll make an appearance.

 

Ash Adams seems to have a lot of positive memories from his time on the show and would occasionally post reminiscences on his Instagram. Ilene Kristen recently posted a photo of herself with Ash in NYC on Facebook. I enjoyed their mother/son chemistry on the show, and it's nice to see they've stayed in touch over the years.

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Sean

[Faulkner]

James Wlcek is and always has been gorgeous.

Helen Gallagher is still with us at 94. I wonder how she’s doing these days.

 

[Sean]

The show definitely seemed to enjoy showing off his attributes. 

Please register in order to view this content

 

[gimmetoo]

So thrilled with the reunion !  But wishing it was a smaller group...  

This mix could have easily been split into two groups.  Alan should know by now that larger groups often run into technical difficulties and too much overtalking (The Doctors reunion being a prime example).  We get much more substance when its kept to 2-3 guests.  Ilene w/ Malcolm and Geoffrey alone could have had their own 3-hour reunion.  Ash and James never even worked w/ Geoffrey.

 

Hopefully Alan will do more w/ RH.  Would love to see Cali Timmons and Michael Levin after all these years ! And reuniting Michael Corbett, Kelli Maroney and Louise Schaffer would be a gas.   

 

I would also love to hear Helen's recollections, but I know she would have zero tolerance for Alan's "do you remember your first day ?" silliness...

 

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by gimmetoo

[adrnyc]

 

Helen is doing quite well and still teaching in NYC. From my talks with her, I don't know that she'd be up for a reunion like this. Ryan's Hope was a job that is well behind her and she's more focused on her teaching these days. She's still exactly what you'd expect of her. Professional, has no patience for BS or laziness, and expects hard work from those whom she coaches.