Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[savonclassique]

You pretty much summarized all of 1984 on RH in a nutshell!! 1983 was a pivotal year for RH, in my opinion. It had a transition of four headwriters (Mary Munistieri, Claire Labine/Paul Avila Mayer and Pat Falken Smith and saw shifting towards (Labine/Mayer) and away from (Munistieri/Smith) the Ryan's twice.

Maggie's boyfriend back home at the trailer park was Dusty. He reminded me of a character on RH the year before, Ox Knowles (Will Patton), in terms of his voice and appearance. From what I recall, he didn't die but spilled the beans to Jill about Bess/Betsy being her mother. The deterioration of Roger was brilliant. Roger rebuffed Maggie's romantic advances while at the same time scheming with her to prevent Jill from knowing where her mother was. I didn't like what Maggie did to Faith, though (setting up a trap that Faith accidentally got caught in, making her wear a cast on her ankle or leg or something). Then came Roger's obsession with Maggie that gradually developed into total paranoia and rage. That, along with the fantasy scenes of Frank and Maggie kissing each other, just made it all more juicy.

I agree with you about Smith being a master of bitchy dialogue; she did that very well with Jacqueline Dubujak and especially when Maggie and Jill had their showdown after Jill returned from France with Max. This all occured in the first half of 1984. The one big blemish on Smith's writing with RH was the recasting of Robin Mattson as Delia. I'll be honest in saying that even though Mattson gave the character her own style and apporach, what she did to her new husband, Matthew Crane, was deplorable--accidentally forgetting to give him his heart medicine while sneaking off to a rendezvous with her "other man"; Matthew then goes into cardiac arrest or something. I didn't like her "other man", who was played by Frank Luz (can't remember the character's name he played). Thankfully both were written out at the end of 1984.

Then there was the cringe-inducing Katie Thompson (when it was played by its originator, Lauren O'Bryan). When she was recasted in late 1984 by Julia Campbell, it was one of the best recasting jobs I had ever seen. Campbell was great in the role and her feud with Maggie throughout 1985, culminating in her falling down the stairwell in the Greenberg's loft, was great. I was never that crazy about Dave Greenberg or his deli, and yes, the focus throughout 1984 was on the deli and Maggie as a heroine just didn't work. Maggie was best when being devious, scheming and just plain bad!!

[saynotoursoap]

Yes, you are correct. Dusty did not die, but rather languished in a coma for a while. Bess was being charged with attempted murder, but I thought it was a wonderful situation. PFS did not drag it out either. I believe the story initiated and wrapped within six weeks, which created just the right tension for the audience. All of those scenes of domestic drama in the Coleridge household were terrific.

I liked Julia Campbell, too. Katie's fall, which Maggie engineered for herself with good old Rog's assistance, occurred on the 10th anniversary episode. A nice bit of synchronicity as the series opened a decade earlier with Frank tumbling down the stairs.

Robin Mattson was stunt casting to boost the ratings and failed epically. Ilene's return was so welcomed. I recall the ABC promos booming "She's baaaaaack!". Watching Maggie and Dee attempting to out-scheme one another for Roger's affections as they developed a rivalry was deliciously fun, and for me, one of the few times that I did not completely side with one character. I loved Dee and Maggie and found my loyalties continually divided amongst them.

[saynotoursoap]

Some of Pat Falken Smith's better work at Ryan's Hope.

Roger confesses to Jill (December 1983)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhF6PkLNNAs

Roger's obsession for Maggie takes a dark turn. (May 1984)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tVEMtDqD1I

Edited April 14, 2013 by saynotoursoap

[saynotoursoap]

I do not know, CarlD. I remember the promos. This actress did the same promo on the same set for game shows Showoffs and Rhyme and Reason, which premiered in the same two week period on ABC in the summer of 1975. At the time I thought it strange that actual clips of the new RH were not televised as had been the practice in the past.

[Bright Eyes]

Tichina Arnold briefly talks about her time on the show. Skip to the 13 minute mark:

[DRW50]

Thanks. I'm glad she has happy memories of the show.

[savonclassique]

Thank you for posting the clips of RH when Pat Falken Smith was headwriting, saynotoursoap. I've always felt that Smith got a bum rap during her tenure as headwriter; granted, her writing style was very different than Claire Labine/Paul Avila Mayer, but I thought her espionage/adventure storylines worked well with a show whose setting is in a place ripe for such activity (New York City). The one period of RH I found very difficult to watch, or accept, was in the summer of 1986 when Millee Taggart/Tom King were headwriting. The only storyline that saved me from completely tuning out was the Vinnie Vincent storyline with Rick. Every other storyline was lackluster; what really sticks out for me was the recasting of Siobhan (Carrell Myers replacing Marg Helgenberger)--one of the worst recasting jobs I've ever seen. I don't think it was Myers' fault so much; the writers made her look like she had never set foot in Riverside before, as if she was some stranger who just happened to be related to the Ryans. The writers also made her an annoying, obnoxious bitch, completely lacking the balance of strength/passivity Helgenberger brought to the role. The writers at that time also didn't know how to write male characters with any shred of resilience or substance; they were all depicted as callous, uncaring, milquetoasty, pigheaded or just plain into outer space. This writing team did have a streak of brilliance when they transformed Jillian into Sara Jane and gave her a side we never saw before, but by the summer of 1986 she had no storyline; her relationship with Dakota was in the air and she was just "there"...

[safe]

Recent photo of Randall Edwards (Delia #3) with her daughter Madison DeRonde at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks, California in April 2013.

http://www.thelighthousenews.com/photos/2013/apr/14/271982/?enlarge=0

[DRW50]

She looks a little like Lynn Herring, but there's still some Randall too.

Is that her daughter?

[safe]

Yes, her daughter Madison. She was born in December of 1993. I found this in Variety.

http://variety.com/1994/scene/people-news/births-120-117259/

Randall also has a son, Jake De Ronde, who was born a few years later.

[DRW50]

1988 promo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-msb6902f4

[DRW50]

Another promo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgQM5kOHXjo

[Paul Raven]

[sands]

A new Ana Alicia interview. She talks some about Ryan's Hope.

http://hillplace.blogspot.com/2013/07/universal-appeal-ana-alicia.html

[safe]

I never knew anything about Megan McCraken's (Nancy #2) family -- it turns out that her parents -- Ellen Humphrey (now Siewers) and Richard McCracken-- were actors and writers. Her mother wrote for one of the first television soap operas, A Woman to Remember.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2013/jun/20/super-seniors-recall-fascinating-adventures/?print=1