Jump to content

Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread


Recommended Posts

  • Members

I was always bummed when SoapNet would start the show over.  I never got to see the end of the Barbara Wilde story and never saw any of the Charlotte Greer story.  There's also a big murder mystery in 1985 that I do remember watching back in the day and would have loved to see again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2.7k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

I do agree Roger and IK had better chemistry.. but I thought Delia ending up with Roger was a disappointment because he was just as toxic for her as the Ryan clan was.

 

Oddly, even when the show tried to undo all the progress Delia made when IK wasn't paying her... the replacement refused to make Delia pathetic in her acting choices.  I think the reason the show didn't properly write Delia in 1983 was because IK wasn't convincing running the Crystal Palace or playing anything other then the neurotic nut. 

 

If I were a writer, I would have fired IK earlier then late 1983 because she was unwilling to change and adapt to the changes the character went through during her 3 years away. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

One of the worst decisions the show made was in having Roger become such a sanctimonious prick, blathering away to Delia about her many problems and feeling morally superior to her. He became an awful, unwatchable character. He and his loathsome sister Faith smugging it up about taking all of Delia's money made my blood boil. The self-righteousness of these two, especially after Roger killed a patient through negligence and Faith nearly killed a child through boozing it up, made me sick.

 

Randall Edwards and Ron Hale had no chemistry, but the writing was the big culprit. 

 

Randall Edwards brought something special to Delia, and as you suggested, I do think it went against the lazy writing that the character was often subjected to. We got regression, regression, regression, and of course endless prop duty for the Ryans, Faith, Roger. Even Barry looking down on her - a con artist and a bigamist. Yet Randall (even if all the screeching she did tended to get on my nerves) still gave Delia vulnerability and dignity. 

 

When I tried to watch the scraps of 1983 Delia on Youtube, it just didn't register. Scheming to get Frank yet again. Broken and lost. 

 

If RH had allowed its characters to grow, I wonder if they might have lasted longer.

Edited by DRW50
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

There was an article in SOD from late 1987 which said that both Nancy and Cali Timmins (Maggie) had decided to leave the show. Thus, Jill and Maggie headed to Australia (???) to care for their sick mother. Their last episodes aired at the beginning of 1988, and they weren't seen again until they returned for the show's final week a year later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Their self-righteousness bothers me as well (as well as that of the Ryan clan); however, both of the things you mentioned were accidents - tragic accidents that, in one case, caused the death of someone; however, Delia PURPOSEFULLY TRIED TO RUN SOME DOWN WITH HER CAR!!! (Sorry for shouting)  There is a major difference there. Negligence/booze/calculated, purposeful, attempted murder. Attempted murder! The fact that nothing happens to Delia for that...I just will never be able to get over that and I can't see how other people weren't as outraged by it.

 

I'm absolutely loving Nancy Addison in this show. She's one of my very favorites. Jill, too. I had some issues with her during the KGJ affair but Nancy always finds a way to pull me back on to Jill's side. It's my understanding that she was a very well respected actress here in NYC. Her death was mourned by many in the NYC theater community. She only did one broadway show that I know of, but she must've done Off-Broadway or something because when I bring up her name, she is fondly remembered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

The main reason nothing happened to Delia is because they kept her around to make us root for the "good" characters.

 

The problem was that so many of the "good" characters were so unlikeable that the contrast never worked as well as it should have. Ilene Kristen was once asked (I think) about fan reaction toward Delia, and she said rather than abuse, she mostly had people who felt sorry for her or understood her. I think that is why the character worked as well as she did, even with years and years of poor, regressive, Groundhog Day writing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I often wonder what Jill's fate would have been without Nancy in the role - Jill was such a challenging character, especially early on, but Nancy always gave her so much heart and sweetness along with the iciness and the harder-edged. Her performance when Edmund died and Jill got hooked on pills was superb and deserved more recognition (I can't remember who won the Emmy that year). It may have been too much for voters, I don't know. Nancy also played the romance and vulnerability so well when she had the right screen partners. I've always thought her work in the Ken George Jones saga was phenomenally good. On paper Jill's behavior should have been a narcissistic betrayal like few others, but Nancy sold the conflicts between Frank (safe because they were finally together, but a mess of a relationship) and Ken ("safe" because she knew how it would end, but she also knew it would break her heart and also if it came out would destroy her relationship with Frank) so well, and she had so much chemistry with Trent Jones as well as her usual rock-solid chemistry with Daniel Hugh Kelly. That story was a high point for me in the last few Soapnet years, and she is a big reason why. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy