Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[Sallyinlondon]

Hello!  I have recently discovered (and become obsessed with) Ryan's Hope, I don't know if there are any UK fans around?

Im currently in 1976/M&J wedding, I find IK's portrayal fascinating and heartbreaking, a really unusual performance and one you don't often see.

I love KM's Mary, very nuanced and layered, she has buckets of charisma.  Her relationship with Jack is fascinating and compelling, it's sort of firecrackingly exciting but also about a thousand red flags

I like NA, and am saddened to hear of her early death.

I LOVE the Nell story and find it so poignant, the actress is brilliant and I Love the way she is played with dignity.

I accidentally saw some episodes with Andrew Robinson as Frank and whilst he is a better actor I Think the first Frank is more believable as the character, even his wooden acting fits with Who frank is.

Generally I find it a fascinating insight into what life and relationships were like in those days.

[althea-davis]

Hello, there. I'm not from the UK but I love RH. I remember seeing a little bit of it when it aired on the old cable channel Soapnet years ago, but that was about my sum total of exposure to the series until very recently when I started watching it on Youtube on a whim. It feels like a classic soap & yet it has a modern appeal to it. The creators Labine & Avila Mayer were ahead of their time. I watch a couple of episodes of RH every night now.

I initially really, really did not like Faith Catlin as Faith at all, but she's grown on me & I think I'm going to miss her a bit when I get to the recast episodes. I do like Catherine Hicks though, of course.

I love Delia! IK made her into one of the most unique & original soap characters there ever was IMO. It's a shame GH writers got their hands on her (during that random crossover where they made her Ava Jerome's mother) and tried to make her into a poor woman's Roxy Balsom. As if she would ever act like that!

I love Bucky. A young Justin Deas. Be still my heart. He & Pat (MG) are so fun together.

Maeve & Johnny are great & believable anchors for the show.

The Nell actress is great. It took me a while to get into the character because she seemed so snooty at first but the actress really tugs at your heartstrings.

I do not like the Frank/Jill pairing at all. I guess they are one of the show's signature couples but I just don't like Frank no matter who plays him & I see zero chemistry there lol However, I realize he is a big part of the show, of course.

 

[Chris 2]

The problem with Andrew Robinson as Frank is that Frank was meant to be the leading man of the show, and Andrew Robinson is not a leading man type. He didn’t have the looks or screen presence to pull off Frank - he is a character actor. Daniel Hugh Kelly, the third Frank, fit the role much better.

[althea-davis]

I actually have seen some clips of Daniel Hugh Kelly in the role. He seemed to fit the part best & I think he lasted a while too. Why were there so many recasts on Ryan's Hope? Was it a creative decision? 

[Chris 2]

In the case of Frank, it was a combination of miscasting (Michael Hawkins, Andrew Robinson) and the later casting of ambitious actors who went on to prime time and movies (Daniel Hugh Kelly, Geoff Pierson).

With Mary: there was really only one, and that’s Kate Mulgrew. And it was clear early on that she’d be going on to bigger and better things. The other Mary actors were forced onto the creators by ABC, who initially refused to let them kill off Mary. Mary #2 could have grown into the role but was forced out by ABC (not glamorous enough); Mary #3 was possibly the most incompetent soap opera actor I’ve ever seen; and Mary #4 was just dull.

The first Siobhan, Sarah Felder, was great and unique. ABC forced the creators to get rid of her (the glamor thing again). Marg Helgenberger, Siobhan III, was good but went on to primetime. The second and fourth actors in the role didn’t work.

The first Patrick, Malcolm Groome, left after three years (there was a lot of turnover as the original cast’s three-year contracts expired). None of the three recasts worked, and eventually he came back.

The reality is, Ryan’s Hope was about the Ryan family. And if they were going to keep the show about the Ryan family, then recasting the parts of the family became necessary. And the recasts were hit and miss - perhaps more so than is normal.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Chris 2

[safe]

Someone put 2 of the  Soapnet episodes up that were missing on YouTube

#23

#24

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by safe

[safe]

 

Patrick James Clarke might have been working as Pat #4. Labine & Mayer were the ones that wanted Malcolm Groome back when they rejoined the show. Though glad to have Malcolm Groome back, magazines were sorry to seem Jimmy Clarke go. On the Soapnet board, for those who started watching after 1979 and before 1983, Jimmy Clarke was their first Pat and they really liked him.

The recasting let up a bit as the show went on. While they recast Frank and Siobhan, they brought Roscoe Born back for a short stint, to kill off Joe instead of recasting the character,  after Walt Willey. If it is true the network saw Pat as a secondary character, that could be why they didn't recast after Malcolm Groome left for the second time.  The show didn't recast characters like Rick (Grank Show) or Maggie (Cali Timmons). I wonder if they would have eventually given in and recast Jill.  Shortly before the show was cancelled, a newspaper article said the show asked Nancy Addison to return and she declined. Jill was gone for a year and some decision had to be made about keeping Jill  and baby Mary separated from Frank for so long. 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by safe

[DRW50]

@safe @slick jones @Paul Raven @victoria foxton 

Partial episode. This has full cast credits. I do not know if this episode is already available the way many 1987 episodes are as I haven't watched a ton of them. If it is, my apologies.

 

[safe]

Thank you! I'm not that familiar with those episodes, either. This is news to me that Ryan's Hope ever did a live broadcast! Wonder what the circumstances were that led to them going live. Can't wait to give a look when I get the chance.

[DRW50]

The uploader seems to have put live just to indicate these are recordings from the original airings, rather than a live episode.

Edited May 6, 2023 by DRW50

[gimmetoo]

Jimmy Wlcek and Catherine Larson were romantically involved off-camera as well.

[safe]

Okay! Thanks!

He was also involved with his other RH  co-star Maria Pitillo (Nancy Don) 

[althea-davis]

Why does Jumbo Mariano call Jack "Giovanni Batista" at 15:10? I am sure there's an easy answer to this, but humor me please & thank you

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[safe]

Another Ryan’s Hope reunion live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 17th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. This reunion salutes the 1980 – 81 years featuring Rose Alaio (private eye Rose Pearse), Richard Backus (the two-timing Barry Ryan), Gordon Thomson (Egyptologist Aristotle Benedict-White) and Karen Morris Gowdy (Dr. Faith Coleridge).
 

 

[gimmetoo]

Gordon Thomson deserves his own episode.  Ryan's Hope was his start but his roles on Dynasty and Santa Barbara were his most famous.  Certainly enough to fill an entire hour alone.