Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[AdelaideCate007]

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[AdelaideCate007]

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[Khan]

Sometimes I forget that Maureen Garrett was also on RH.

[j swift]

there are only two that I don't recognize:

 

the lady in red shooting a rifle

 

and is that Chaz in the black & white shot in the tux?  Who are the ladies surrounding him?

 

Also, how does their version of King Tut's tomb look worse in photos than it did on tv?

[safe]

 

 

The lady in red is Cynthia Dozier (Emily Hall)

 

The women with Brian McGovern are listed simply as beauty queens 

[Chris 2]

I’ve enjoyed reading this thread over the past few weeks.

 

I loved RH, but I think its very premise limited its run. It was about a family rather than a locale. How many times could Pat, Siobhan, Frank, etc. get married or divorced. I do think the run was shortened by bad creative decisions, plus moving the show to noon to make room for that awful Loving.

 

Some other random thoughts:

 

• I wouldn’t have killed off Mary. Once you start killing off core family members on a show about a family (rather than a locale), it limits you. I would have sent her off screen for a while. And I think Margaret Colin would have made a good recast. I do think they should have stuck with Mary Carney a while longer - I think she could have grown into the role.
• Sarah Felder was so good and unique as Siobhan. They really blew it by letting her go - she could have been the show’s younger leading lady for years. Though - this may be unpopular - I thought Ann Gillespie was decent. Not nearly as good or unique as Felder, but decent. I remember liking Barbara Blackburn a lot, but she didn’t have much time to shine.
• Karen Morris’ Faith was so unlikable. A poster on another board claimed she continued the same type of character that Cathy Hicks played. Not at all! I wouldn’t have objected to her being locked in a sarcophagus during the merit Kara story.
• I haven’t seen much of Geoff Pierson’s Frank, but I didn’t like him. I thought the actor was good, but the character seemed uptight. I liked John Sanderford a lot but the show was in decline by then.
• I liked the 1983 “back-to-basics” promo a few pages back. I thought that it was interesting that they had the same or similar scenes to the show’s intro (Siobhan giving Maeve a plant; the Ryan kids jogging; the soccer ball scene), but on videotape rather than on film (as in the intro). I guess they had two crews shooting those scenes. Strange that they would go to that expense.
• I liked both Ilene and Randall as Delia. But I found it ridiculous that the family would still put up with her after some of the things she did. That said, I hated how mean some of these sanctimonious people were too her. She was a very troubled person. They were like the popular kids picking on the outcast who was desperate to be accepted and took the abuse.
• I never could stand Roger. And for a while, he had the worst haircut on the show.
• They missed the boat by not developing Bucky and Clem more.

[DRW50]

 

I aggressively hated the material they gave her character. I just couldn't stop myself. They immediately made two huge mistakes:

 

- involving her with Roger, who by that time had become the most unwatchable character on the show for me 

- yet again degrading Delia for her benefit, as Randall Edwards was very adept at making that punishing material work in her favor 

 

I can't even be objective enough to go back and re-watch. It's a shame as Maureen Garrett should have been a real coup for the show.

 

I agree with most of this, especially the part about Bucky, Clem, and Faith.

[John]

Yeah i cant believe someone thought Kathleen Tolan was a good replacement for Mary Carney. Your right, she should have been at least a year

 

I did like Nicollette as Mary. I wonder why they fired her. Did ABC wanna make Siobhan the main focus?

[Chris 2]

The cynic in me thinks that the brief recasts for Faith and Delia (Nancy Barrett, Robyn Millan) were deliberate. “Hey, let’s cast somebody so wildly inappropriate or bizarre that the audience will be relieved when someone normal shows up.”  Going by this strategy, they should have gone with Kathleen Tolan as Kate Mulgrew’s immediate successor. Niki Goulet looked good by comparison, but I thought she was still pretty weak.

 

I still have to laugh at Nancy Barrett showing up as Faith, who had been a socially-maladjusted, emotional basket case just a month or two earlier. Suddenly, Faith is this glamorous, vivacious blonde, and she flounces into her first scene with Jill chirping, “All better now!”

Edited June 1, 2019 by Chris 2

[DRW50]

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[John]

Nancy is a good actress but too old for Faith. Totally miscast

[Chris 2]

I’m sure Luke and Holly managed to escape the bad guys by getting on that rollercoaster. Because that’s where I’d go if I were trying to outrun someone.

[safe]

February 25, 1979

"Ryan's Hope" has finally found a replacement for Ilene Kristen in the coveted role of spoiled sex goddess Delia Ryan. After months of auditioning talent around the country and an open call in the trade papers, Randall Edwards, debuts as Delia next week. Randall is a California actress with credits in theater, movies, nighttime TV, and bit roles on "The Young and the Restless" and "General Hospital." She's a singer and dancer with a degree from the California Institute of Arts. She plays the flute,is a pool hustler, and blackjack whiz, and is a swift manueverer in the martial arts. The producers report that they're ecstatic with Randall. "She truly is the embodiment of Delia,” they claim.

March 1979

"Ryan's Hope" producers were so pleased with the work of Randall Edwards, the newest Delia, they decided to reshoot two programs taped with Robyn Milan playing Delia.


 

[DRW50]

For once the hype was right. Randall was pretty much on point from the start and, other than a bit too much wailing, was great all the way through. One of the strongest soap recasts of all time. 

[John]

What were they thinking with Robyn Milan????