Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[Sean]

 

My impression from interviews with Claire Labine is that the Dirty Harry factor was really just a hangup among the higher ups at ABC and that they eventually won that battle, perhaps because he wasn't resonating as much with the audience as they would have liked.

[applcin]

Andrew got an Emmy nom during his brief tenure. Ironic, not in the sense of skill because he's a talented actor but because he was let go for other reasons. DId any of the other Franks get Emmy noms?
 

Another thing I thought was kind of funny was that Frank was basically supposed to be, I think, in the mold of JFK and Andrew later played JFK in a tv show.
 

[Chris 2]

I also never bought the “Dirty Harry” reason for Robinson’s departure. It’s not that he’s a bad actor (as Hawkins was). It’s just that he was miscast as RH’s younger leading man. He’s more of a character actor. He didn’t have the looks or the right presence to play Frank.

 

Robinson’s acting was actually better than DHK’s initially. DHK was pretty stiff in his first few months, but then he settled into the role.

 

Good point about Pierson’s Frank as the only one believable as this driven political animal.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Chris 2

[Forever8]

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[BetterForgotten]

It was a beautiful and fitting finale. My only gripe is I wished they had aired the full end credits on its final episode instead of the abbreviated end credits. I feel that way about all finales, just list everyone who worked on the show one last time...

[victoria foxton]

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A Batch of episodes from 83-86.

Edited June 2, 2020 by victoria foxton

[amybrickwallace]

 

Agreed. The Doctors did the same thing.

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[John]

when did Robin Mattson start as Delia?

[victoria foxton]

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[Sean]

 

Strangely enough, if the episodes posted on YouTube are any indication, they didn't run the full credits at all the final week the show was on the air - Claire Labine must have been really squeezing every second out of the airtime ABC allocated them.

 

 

She debuted on June 15, 1984, and stayed with the show through early December. Here's two promos for her debut:
 

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There are three episodes featuring her on YouTube, from July 27, November 21, and November 22. The episodes posted by the freeflyur, shessoweet88, and MHTV PCNYSTATE accounts originated from a set of 80s RH tapes collected and distributed by a SoapNet poster named Wanda back around 2005, and that set actually included a bunch of episodes with RM as Delia from June and July 1984 (including her debut), but for whatever reason those have never made it to YouTube (perhaps the quality made them difficult to digitize). I used to have a set of them on VHS, but I'm pretty sure my parents junked them at some point--unfortunate as I would've tried to post them to YT myself otherwise. 

 

Not that this is saying anything new, but it's remarkable how divorced RM's Delia felt from what either Ilene Kristen or Randall Edwards brought to the role.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Sean

[gimmetoo]

Agreed Robin Mattson wasn't quite the right fit for Delia -- it's about the only role she didn't quite gel with during her long soap career.  I LOVED Randall Edwards.  Randall's Delia felt more vulnerable and sympathetic.  You really rooted for her.

 

In later years, Maggie felt like Delia 2.0.  Vulnerable, manipulative, spoiled...but you rooted for her.  

 

Both Randall and Cali Timmons deserved bigger roles after RH.  Cali could have easily fit in on GL or Y&R.  And Randall's comedy chops deserved a bigger audience.  

[John]

Randall's stint on ATWT after RH was that always as a fill in?

 

Did people like Robin Mattson better than Robyn Millian's take on Dee?

[Sean]

 

Definitely agree with this, and I think it's one of the elements that made the Maggie/Roger/Delia triangle work so well. Both Delia and Maggie were trying to bring down a version of themselves before ultimately forging an uneasy peace.

 

And while I love Ilene Kristen, I started watching the SoapNet reruns during Randall's time in the role, and I'll always have a major soft spot for her even if I acknowledge Ilene is the definitive actress in the part.

  

 

According to the soap columns at the time, Randall Edwards was brought in as a temporary fill-in for Julie Ridley (either due to pregnancy or illness?). When Ridley chose not to return, they asked Edwards to remain in the role, but she declined (presumably for the same reason she left RH).

 

To me it's hard to compare Robyn Millan to the others since she was around for such a short time (5 episodes). However, she did have the advantage that the writing for Delia was consistent in that period. The issue with Robin Mattson wasn't just that she was not the right fit as a performer, but the writing for the character also felt off-kilter during that period. Her Delia was disconnected from the character's history, and it didn't help that most of her story was with two actors who were also new to the show (Franz Luz and Harve Presnell, both of whom were jettisoned when Mattson opted not to renew her contract).

[John]

Thanks

I wonder  if Robin never did RH, If Santa Barbara would have cast her as Gina from the beginning?

[amybrickwallace]

 

I assume that's when Vicky Dawson was brought in as Dee, after RE declined their offer. How was Franc Luz on RH? I've enjoyed his work on TD in the Retro TV reruns, as well as in various primetime episodics and films.