Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

1988 Ryan's Hope ad at about :27.

Edited July 16, 2011 by CarlD2

[dc11786]

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.

[DRW50]

I agree that the teen alcoholic should have continued as a story. They seemed to drop him right after they decided to write Kim out. It was a waste, as he was something the story probably needed - an outsider (and not the mobbed up kind).

You're right about the cruel treatment of Delia by Joe. I was much more upset by the early 1981 material where he initiates the supplier strike - I could barely watch that once and have always skipped on repeat viewings. I think that the chemistry between RB and RE helps make their scenes a little more palatable for me.

Roger's relationship with Delia in the months before the mine scam was him taking her out for drives and talking to her about her problems and how she needs to break out of "patterns" and how the Ryan family are her "pattern". I always hate this psycho-analysis stuff between them. Anyway, Roger was becoming closer to her again and then she used him for the stock scam and that's when he realized what a wicked woman she was and he moved on from her.

[EricMontreal22]

I have a friend who is going to try watching Ryan's Hope on Soapnet (sadly I still can't get Soapnet here in Canada). Could someone tell me roughly what year they're showing currently?

[DRW50]

They're around very late 1976/very early 1977.

[EricMontreal22]

Oh good, so when the show was still fairly young and strong. Thanks!

[safe]

Kathleen's oldest daughter, Deirdre, is played by Andrew Robinson's daughter Rachel.

She is currently a singer/songwriter in Portland Oregon.

Her website

Rachel Starshine Robinson

Her music video

[DRW50]

Wow. I had no idea. Great work. I wonder if she has any memories of her time on the show.

[safe]

Nancy Reardon (Kathleen) is currently the store manager of The Drama Book Store in New York City. She is also an acting coach.

Nancy with playwright A.R. Gurney in March, 2011.

Another photo of Nancy.

Edited July 24, 2011 by safe

[DRW50]

Thanks for that. It's definitely her! Has she ever been interviewed? I'd love to know why they never brought her back after her 1980 appearance. She added such realism to the family.

[safe]

I haven't read anything about Nancy Reardon. I don't know why they didn't use her, either, when Katie was on the show in the mid 80's.

Gregory Abels (Art) is a director and acting coach. He runs GATE (Gregeory Abels Training Ensemble). He is also a Zen teacher and poet.

[DeliaIrisFan]

This is really cool. I've definitely been to DBS. Nancy Reardon was perfect for the role and I should have known that any bit part of such significance on RH at that time would have been cast with someone with interesting ties to the NY theater scene. I wonder what other acting work NR has done. It was good to see her make an appearance in this week's episodes. I forgot that Kathleen was in town when Delia's sailing-off-with-Roger scheme came to a head. I did remember that sequence of Jack spying on Delia spying on Pat and Frank and Maeve arguing about whether they should try to stop Delia from running off (one of my favorite scenes from this show, ever), but Kathleen's presence added yet another dynamic in the already crowded Ryan homestead and provided a nice contrast to her siblings' drama.

As far as Kathleen never returning again after 1980, I'm sure when ABC bought the show, they saw no use for such a character. It would have been nice if she had made a cameo at the end of the show, at least - all of Maeve and Johnny's (living) children together again, one last time.

[DRW50]

I think Greg Abels was on Where the Heart Is, wasn't he? I didn't know he played Art. I guess Labine/Mayer tried to look out for their friends from that show.

[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDUbaJEUc3w

[DRW50]

July 1983 Digest article.

By NERISSA RADEL

In 1974, while they were still writing for Love of Life, Paul Avila Mayer and Claire Labine began work on another soap opera. Ryan's Hope, as it was called, was different right from the very start. In 1975, when the show premiered on ABC, most soap operas were situated in fictional American cities. Ryan's Hope, however, was one of a kind. The Irish Catholic Ryan family, headed by Maeve and Johnny Ryan (expertly played by Helen Gallagher and Bernard Barrow) ran a neighborhood bar - not in everyone's town - but in New York City! Maeve and Johnny didn't own a house or have a luxurious apartment. They lived right upstairs from their bar with their four children, whom they unabashedly loved. In fact, Ryan's Hope was all about that love and the various forms it took within that close family. Sound simple? Well, it was...

From 1975 to 1980, Paul and Claire produced, packaged and wrote their show very successfully for ABC. But in 1980, for financial reasons, Claire and Paul sold Ryan's Hope to the network. During that time, the series had won 11 Daytime Emmys, including two awards for Best Show and four awards for Best Writing. "We were probably the lowest paid writers in daytime when we were winning all those awards" Paul smiles. "In fact, I know we were. We paid ourselves the absolute minimum so all the money could go back into the show. As soon as there was extra money, the actors got it. We were constantly overbudget."

Once ABC owned the show, "Ryan's Hope" began to change. "There was a difference in opinion as to which direction the show should take," Paul reflects. "The network wanted a new family on the show," Claire says. "And I have to say this in all justice - philosophically, it was a viable decision. We had worked the veins of the Ryans at that point! ABC had breathed new life into 'One Life to Live' by bringing a new family in. But the problem here was that Paul and I had been doing this show for seven years and we were making up a new family on demand. We didn't feel the need for it."

Nevertheless, because they had relinquished creative control by selling the show, Paul and Claire created the Kirklands, a wealthy, power-monger family. Hollis Kirkland was played by veteran star Peter Haskell. Hollis fairly burst onto the Ryan's Hopestage and his plotline, which linked him to the show's other reigning power-monger, Rae Woodard, soon consumed the entire serial. It was the end of "Ryanness," as a new emphasis on glitz, intrigue and heavy plotting took over. Viewers who had known and loved Ryan's Hope for its down-to-earth storylines didn't know what to make of it, and the ratings dropped to an all-time low.

"We got a little off the track," says Michael Levin who, as Jack Fenelli, has intrigued fans for eight years with his role as a crusading newspaper columnist. "When we were good, we really did good work and it wasn't about millionaires and gangsters and mystery and adventure." (Once ABC owned the show, the plots began to focus on way-out storylines a l a General Hospital.) "The good work was just about human beings trying to love one another or not to love one another. The whole idea of 'Ryan's Hope' is that it's a hope for love and for trust...and that's not easy," he adds.

Yet, despite their commitment to "Ryan's Hope," Paul and Claire left the show fifteen months after they sold it to ABC."We were fired," Claire says matter-of-factly. "I went back to work in February of 1982 without Paul to find that there were various changes in personnel."

"We'd gotten into trouble when the scenes the network wanted written weren't the kind of scenes Claire wanted to write or were written for performers who couldn't fill them," adds Paul. "The result was, the scenes didn't work. When we wrote for the Ryans, the scenes worked."

So several months later, Claire left the show again. But in January of 1983, ABC approached both Paul and Claire about returning. Needless to say, there was some major overhauling to be done. Some of these "steps" included rather drastic moves, such as the releasing of nine characters from the show (including the entire Kirkland family). Plots were dropped right in the middle of their actionlines. Several primary roles were recast. Says Paul, "It wasn't the performers' fault, but if you look at those other characters, they were all nasty people grubbing for money. We write a very sentimental show, about love and sex, things we're interested in. We wanted to go back and build the stories around the family which meant we had to lose some of the Kirklands."

There were other compromises both the writers and the network reached. "We came back to the show with the understanding that we could get our original casting director, Shirley Rich, back," Claire explains. "Shirley had found all our other wonderful original cast members, and we wanted another Frank Ryan for the show. (Daniel Hugh-Kelly, who was the last actor to play the part, left in 1981.) We also wanted to have Malcolm Groome, the original Pat Ryan, come back because he's great and because his presence on the set brings such joy to everyone who works with him. There was a perfectly lovely actor, James Clark, who was playing the role," Claire admits,";but he wasn't Malcolm. In order for us to come back, we wanted Malcolm back, too."

Malcolm Groome, who'd left the serial in 1978, is thrilled to be back in New York and on the show. ";'Ryan's Hope' is a great working situation," he exclaims. "The fact that I'm back and that the whole show is going back to its original thrust should make a difference. The Ryans and the Coleridges were getting to be strangers on their own show...Paul and Claire's return will make a big difference, and we're already starting to see that. We're all very excited."

For Malcolm, the reclaiming of his role as Pat Ryan was a natural process."As an actor, you bring part of yourself to a part. When I decided to come back, I thought through Pat as I had felt him, how he would have grown since then, etc. Actually, I came right in at the peak of Jimmy Clark's storyline. I literally jumped in and brought my understanding of Pat as I had always known him to that situation."

Ilene Kristen, another Ryan's Hope original, had left her role as Delia Reed Ryan Coleridge after three and a half ears of creating a character who alternatively amused and infuriated audiences. As Delia, Ilene stopped at nothing, including a fake bout of blindness, to get what she wanted - usually attention from a man. When Randall Edwards - who'd been playing the role of Delia - decided to leave the show, ABC approached Ilene about coming back.

Although Claire and Paul have established their interest in keeping as much of the original cast as possible, Randall Edwards' Delia was someone they could write for. "When Ilene left the show in 1979, it was hard to replace her," Claire sums up. "But what Randall did was astonishing. She managed to continue the line of the character, to be her own Delia, and still be a Delia Paul and I enjoyed writing for."

Unlike Groome, Ilene had a harder time resuming her role after another actress had played the part. "It was totally different," Ilene says of Randall's characterization. "As Dee, I suddenly had this restaurant with which I didn't know what to do. I had to dress up in elegant clothes. Dee is a real streetfighter in a way, and the story had become very opulent - so had the show. I kept wondering what happened to those simple souls. I mean, they'd gone Hollywood!"

Nancy Addison, another original cast member, had several problems with her character during the Kirkland reign. "I like Jill," Nancy says of her character, Jill Coleridge, one of daytime's first liberated women. "The year and a half while we were waiting to find another Frank Ryan for me was excruciating! The focus went to an entirely different thing and none of the old people were being used. Viewers were used to these good family people who owned a bar and their good friends, the Coleridges, who had money. They were used to the love, the conflict, the children. All of a sudden we were trying to be something we weren't, and we couldn't make it there. I was feeling down about the show for a while," Nancy admits.

Now that Paul and Claire have returned to Ryan's Hope, the show seems to be headed right back where it belongs. Needless to say, there will be various problems to overcome - not the least of which is a heavy, rich past to contend with. "One of the problems with re-focusing on the Ryan family is that there have been so many inter-relationships," Claire comments."We have to avoid playing what we've already done."

For example, one of the hottest stories in the late 70's was the love triangle between Jill-Frank-Dee. For a while, it seemed as though this same situation was brewing. Comments Paul, "The outlines were ten days ahead of taping, and we really thought that in all honesty Dee, who'd had everything taken away from her, would go after Frank when he came home again. Having written this for eight years, we used up a lot of our fantasies. It's sometimes hard to find things that are fresh."

Of particular interest over the years have been the romances between the Coleridge sisters (Jill and Faith), and the Ryan brothers, Frank and Pat. ";I'd like to see Jill and Frank get married," says Claire - no doubt speaking for the hundreds of viewers who agree with her -"and have the most loving, the most trying relationship in the world of soap opera marriages. That's what we've promised the audience." As for the Pat and Faith romance, which seems to be headed for a triangle-type twist not unlike the Dee-Pat-Faith story of the late 70's: "This is where we're in danger of being on worn ground," Claire admits. "But there's a difference between Amanda (the third part of the triangle) and Dee. Pat's response to both of them will be clearly drawn - Amanda is mad, curably mad. What is fun to play is Pat and Faith trying to be responsible to one another and then to this person, Amanda, who's in this emotional mess."

Another compelling storyline will be the tempestuous romance between Jack Fenelli and Leigh Kirkland (played by Felicity LaFortune). Viewers who remember the emotional relationship between Jack Fenelli and his first wife, Mary Ryan (originally played by the incomparable Kate Mulgrew), will watch as Jack once again puts aside his fear of being love and once again makes himself vulnerable to a woman. "We're going to do this in a very challenging way," smiles Michael Levin. "I hope the audience is ready for Jack to fall in love again."

Yes, Ryan's Hope is back where it belongs. "I hated to see it battered and and bloodied," Claire says. "We have the best dialogue writers in daytime: Nancy Ford, Judith Pinsker and Mary Munisteri. One of the most touching things anyone's ever said about the show is something Mary said once - 'I would rather be a part of a contributing popular myth than Proust," Paul adds. "Contributing is the operative word here. In order to do this, we have to invest a certain passion and caring. We know 'Ryan's Hope' is going to work again."

Edited August 24, 2011 by CarlD2