Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[Khan]

IMO, they took RE's Delia in a different direction almost out of necessity.  IK said it best in the chat: she (IK) was a "street kid" from Brooklyn, and that quality bled into her performance as Delia (who likely grew up in a neighborhood similar to IK's real-life one).  RE, on the other hand, seemed classier, more upscale, like an Upper East Side version of Delia, so it made sense to surround her Delia in more posh surroundings, like the Crystal Palace.

Admittedly, I didn't see much of Delia's faking blindness, because I was just getting tired of the show's claustrophobic storytelling by that point, but I know that the whole premise of that storyline sounded so preposterous to me that it must have been played for laughs, or else how could anyone involved in it get through the damn thing without collapsing into laughter or frustration (or both)?

[Soapsuds]

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[John]

 Glad Ilene will be there and that Tom knows RH's history cause Alan is not good at hosting shows on soaps he has zero history with. 

Edited October 19, 2023 by John

[TEdgeofNight]

Of course Iiene's gonna be there. She won't miss an opportunity. Not the greatest actress. 

[danfling]

I think that Ms. Kristen is a very fine actress.   She was primarily a stage actress at the time that Ryan's Hope began.   Her role in Grease as Patty Simcox was not the lead role, but my understanding is that she was excellent in the ensemble cast.

I never really liked the character of Delia Reed Ryan ..., but I thought that she did an excellent job in the role.   I also liked Randall Edwards, but she was quite different from Ms. Kristen (and another stage actress who played Delia well).

I was very disappointed with the way Robyn Millan played the role, and her bad performances were quite suprising and shocking to me.   I do remember ever seeing Robin Mattson playing the role of Delia.

 

I remember when Ms. Kristen was playing the role of Georgina on One Life to Live.   I did not care much for her then, but the role was a nothing-kind-of-role in my opinion.   I was no more happy when Nana Tucker/Nana Visitor left Ryan's Hope and replaced Ms. Kristen.

I did not see her on Another World.   I was suprised when she was first seen on One Life to Live in a second role (Roxanne Balsam).  But, the audience, I think, loved her in this role, and Ms. Kristen had some great scenes.

 

The storyline that excited me was when she divorced Max and was after Asa.   Max and Gretel Cummings were also attracted to each other.    I think that a Max-Roxanne-Gretel-Asa quadrangle was really promising, but, unfortunately, actress Linda Dano left the show saying she was tired.    (And, I could never understand how she could later appear on The Guiding Light if she had been so tired!)

 

In addition, I have seen Ms. Kristen in roles on primetime television (Law and Order and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit).    She seemed quite competent in the roles.

[chrisml]

I think Ilene Kristen is a wonderful actress. She deserved to win for her work on OLTL when she was nominated. IF others don't like her, that's their right. There are beloved actors and storylines I don't care for. Is there a way to watch the show from the beginning, or is it just random episodes that are available to watch?

[safe]

YouTube has nearly all the 1975-1981 episodes that Soapnet aired. It is pretty well covered by TheSquirrlleyGirl, 28fairplay, and shessosweet88.

 

https://www.youtube.com/@TheSquirrellyGirl/videos

28fairplay picks up with #600 

28fairplay - YouTube

shessosweet88 has from the 1270's to 1687 (the last one SN aired)

https://www.youtube.com/@shessosweet88/videos

 

 

 

[safe]

I thought there were some real and touching moments with the story but felt the Delia, Albert, and the tower --- and Delia being dropped from the tower ---felt more like make-believe.

As far as Delia faking blindness --- it stared out a case of hysterical blindness. Once she regained her sight, she pretended to still be blind because she knew the moment people found out she could see, Roger was going to tell Pat the truth about the timing of the real miscarriage and Pat would leave her.

Ilene also said she and Sarah shared a dressing room, so they probably had more contact that way than on camera. I was surprised that the issues with Sarah started that early on in her run.

[j swift]

The Prince Albert story was thankfully very short, and it was no worse than this Jaws rip-off with Joe and Siobhan from 1979

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[safe]

The book has so much more for me to look at but  a couple things, to start, after skimming through it last night---

Daniel Hugh-Kelly only has two paragraphs where he speaks for himself but others do talk about him. There is still the incorrect story that he left to do Hardcastle & McCormick ---which didn't begin until 2 years after he left.

Helen Gallagher --DHK is her favorite Frank. In her2009  blog talk radio interview she had said Geoff Pierson was her favorite.

Geoff Pierson said Frank was written in shades of gray. Although it was a bit bizarre, Charlotte Greer was his favorite storyline. Frank and Jill's wedding must have been a disappointment to the fans. Geoff  (and other cast members) didn't know, and still doesn't know, why he was suddenly replaced. What was more puzzling was that he had just recently signed a new 2 year contract extension. A number of them didn't seem to care for John Sanderford that much---thought he was too much of a Hollywood actor. 

John Blazo --- He said his take on the character  worked better opposite Karen Morris and Tom McGreevy than in the Jewish/Catholic story with Nana Tucker.  He had gone to  Claire Labine's  home and had dinner a couple times and Claire helped him find a house to buy. He was fired and still doesn't know why. 

A number of actors say they don't know why they were let go

There was not any new info on Robyn Millan and Nancy Barrett's short time on the show.

 I wish the book had an index!

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by safe

[AmandainNC28655]

Where did you find the book? Sounds like it might be an interesting read

[Soapsuds]

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[safe]

I purchased mine from Amazon

[gimmetoo]

Pre-ordered the book but still have not received it.  

Today's Locher Room offered more bread crumbs.  Lots of time spent individually with the author talking about his research, love of the show, relationship with Ilene, etc.  

Towards the end, Ilene and Chris joined.  Interestingly, Ilene's return and Chris' start on the show were under headwriters Millee Taggert and Tom King.  Millee wrote to Ilene's comedic strengths which Ilene appreciated.  When Claire Labine returned, she admitted she never would have created an illegitimate son for Johnny Ryan -- she only kept Chris on so she could turn Dakota into a villain.   

[j swift]

Pro Tip if you have the Kindle app (which is free to download) the book is much cheaper.  I downloaded it for a trip on Friday, and I'm trying to stay away from reviews and spoilers until then

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