Jump to content

Loving/The City Discussion Thread


dm.

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I was two episodes away from the end of Loving.

Please register in order to view this content

 

I never watched the show when it was on and honestly didn't have the highest opinion of it—and I am no fan of Esensten and Brown's writing—but I had always been somewhat fascinated by the idea that a soap deliberately killed off its core family on the way out the door, so I wanted to check this out.  At first it was easier for me to keep watching to see how they pulled it off than it probably would have been on a show I actually cared about, and it's not like I'm going out much these days, so I kept watching.  But I admittedly got hooked.

 

Christine Tudor Newman (and others) made it work and actually made me care—cynical and Loving-averse though I may be, I have to admit I got tears watching Gwyneth's final scene.  ("It hurts so much more when there's hope!")  However, I can't quite agree that the story holds up—psychologically, among other things.  And I struggle with the fact that some of the same problematic elements of he B-plots, like Laura Wright's character falsely accusing Ted King's of rape, and that always seemed to be a part of E&B's repertoire were baked into the murder mystery as well.

 

Beyond the fact that I would be horrified if this story had happened on a soap I had watched with cast members/characters I was invested in, I still found myself wondering—even if I accepted what the network and writers were trying to do and their assumptions about the audience they were clearly seeking—what they were thinking.

 

They obviously wanted a younger demographic for the new/revamped show, whom they assumed would want to watch a cast closer to their age, so why did they think that prospective audience would care about all the olds being killed off?  Why waste all that airtime (during summer vacation) and all the money on those stylized promos, etc.?  And even if the serial killer story had actually boosted ratings (with any demographic), would they really have stuck around?  I definitely checked out The City a few times to see what all the publicity was about, and from what I recall it was so different tonally from Loving at the end that it's hard to imagine someone who only got drawn in at the end continuing.

 

It also seemed like the characters who would go on to be featured on The City were at best supporting players in the murder mystery—if I'm not mistaken, the only one to make the transition to The City whose character was particularly affected by the murders was Amelia Heinle, and if memory serves she didn't even stay long.  (I know LW's character was almost a victim of the serial killer, but that was like the same week of the aforementioned rape allegation and her child being stuck in a cave and almost dying, so she didn't seem particularly fazed by it.)  From a business perspective, why not just leave the Aldens in Corinth with a few happy endings that didn't take up a great deal of airtime and use those last months to focus solely on the characters who would be featured on the new show?

 

Not to mention, from what I remember the stories on The City, especially at the beginning, were so flimsy that it seems like it would have been a letdown for audiences of any age after what was at least an umbrella story that was planned months in advance and had such high stakes.  Although that was certainly true for most soaps circa 1996.

 

I was waiting to post this until I finished the show's run and possibly even watched the first few episodes of The City because I'm admittedly ignorant, and I really don't mean to seem like I'm sh!tt!ng on show(s) I never really watched in a forum meant for their fans.  Did I miss the point?  Could this setup for revamping Loving into The City possibly have paid off, at least the way TPTB intended?  It's also mind-boggling that they went to all this trouble and pulled the plug less than a year later, but that was also a problem for more and more of these shows heading into the late '90s...and of course it only got worse.

Edited by DeliaIrisFan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 3.7k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

 

Thanks. When I first got into "Guiding Light" around 1998, I found a website that had saved the old usenet posts for "Loving" episodes. I was surprised to see that there was so little available for "Loving" given that it had aired so recently (as of 1998). My first "glimpse" of "Loving" was those old usenet posts from June 1992 until the show's end. I've spent years reading anything I can find on "Loving" and within the last three years or so have been able to obtain a substantial set of the show's later run. 

 

I'm not overly fond of the post-Marland period until Jacqueline Babbin arrives as EP in 1990, but I really wasn't all that interested in 1991 until I saw it so things can always change. I really struggle trying to follow the show in the 1986-1988 years because its just so representative of the outrageous excess of camp and adventure that the soaps seem to embrace in the 1980s especially when it was conceived in order to combat that. I realize there are people that don't like the business plots, but I think Dane Hamond's quest to takeover AE between 1984 and 1985 was a very interesting Marland-style tale with a bunch of threads that impacted various areas of the canvas and created a lot of strong interpersonal conflicts between the characters. Nixon and Marland are very different writers, which is why I think the show struggled. The first six months or so are mostly based on Nixon's original projection for the show with some Marland additions, but after the Lily story ends and the Roger - Merrill affair is resolved the show becomes very different. I imagine it was either more collaborative or Marland had more of a say over what was going on. I think 1984 - 1985 plays very well in those old SOD synopses, but by the summer of 1985 you have things like Ava running around with a gun threatening to kill Stacey, Jonathan Maitland impersonating his brother, crazy Zona Beecham arriving, and Keith hiding out in a brothel with a hooker named Dolly. In my opinion, Nixon's 1993-1994 run is much better than the short period between Marland and Bill Levinson. 

 

 

I've only seen a little of Cece and, as I explained above, I'm not fond of her period so I don't always remember details about certain characters. I believe Cece was introduced in 1985 after Marland left or towards the end. I know Trisha and Steve originally had another obstacle, rich boy Rick Elkins, who had some feelings for Trisha. This was playing out in the summer of 1985 synopses I read, but I don't remember if Cece was already there to take advantage of the tension between Trisha and Steve. In the 1986 episodes online, Steve is serving time because he slept with Cece, who was underage. What's interesting is that I don't think Trisha was of age either. I'm curious how that storyline would be perceived by a modern audience.  

 

My understanding is that originally she was just a thorn in Trisha and Steve's side and most viewed as troublemaker during Alice Haining and Rebecca Staab's run. 

 

Colleen Dion had the longest run taking over around June 1986 and leaving in Decemeber 1987 around the time Steve was written out. I think Colleen Dion seems very interesting in the material that has appeared from 1987 and Cece definitely seems to be a precursor to Dinahlee. It seems like Ralph Ellis gives the character more dimension when he has Cece get pregnant by Steve in the spring of 1987 and then uses the baby to try to manipulate her way back into Steve's life to the chagrin of Trisha. While it was basically a replay of the Stacey/Jack/Ava situation of two years earlier, I'm intrigued by the fact that Ellis paired up Ava and Cece as friends and had Ava as Cece's confidante when she lost the baby and was planning on lying to keep Steve away from Trisha. I know Ava was afraid her part in the lie would affect her relationship with Clay, but I wonder if there was any reflection on the fact that Ava had just done this. 

 

As much as I have come to enjoy Jessica Collins as Dinahlee, I can't help but wonder what could have been if it was Cece Thompson who came back to town in 1991 working as a nanny while secretly working on Shana's payroll. Ava certainly could have used a friend with all that was going on with Paul, Carly, and Flynn. 

 

 

It was neat hearing how Millee Taggart slipped in the Kate story. That is one of the few stories from that period I'm interested in. 

 

Hearing the Laura Wright story from James Harmon Brown was interesting. I know Millee Taggart introduced Ally and that they cast Eric Goodall before Laura Wright (then Sisk). There's also a SOD article towards the beginning of the thread that says Laura tested with Ally alongside Jessica Collins and that LW thought Collins was being brought in as an Ally recast and was rude to Collins. I wonder if the contest was a chance to audition for "Loving" rather than actually getting a role on "Loving." There was also the national casting search the next year for the college set. 

 

 

There isn't much of Horan's Clay available. He certainly seems fine as Clay and plays the material well. I think Parlato gets more praise because he was good in what he was given. Honestly, the only Clay I'm not thrilled with is Larkin Malloy, but that had as much to do with the writing as it did with Malloy. 

 

Chris Marcantel mentioned they were thinking about doing an all Curtis reunion. I'm sure he must have had a way of contacting Albers. During Chip Albers run, I believe he was close to most of the male cast members to the point that they goofed around together. I'm wondering if the "Men of Loving" isn't just a rebranded version of the friends of Randy Mantooth reunion that Marcantel mentioned was coming up. Mantooth would have worked with most of the actors on the panel accept for maybe Christopher Cass. Cass is a bit of an oddity on that panel because he only worked with James Horan from what I recall. Then again, Christopher Cass has commented on Lauren Marie Taylor's posts so maybe there is more contact. Honestly, I was sort of hoping for some combination of James Kilberd, Tom Lignon, and/or Ron Nummi as they all seemed to be connected to Marcantel on social media. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another pop in video or last minute jump in from Bryan Cranston. 

 

 

I have similar feelings about the storyline. Christine Tudor Newman is spectacular in those final scenes and I'm not necessarily sure the entire storyline would be as well remembered. When Gwyn finally is forced the realization that she, not Trisha is the killer, I am absolutely heartbroken. Gwyn begging Steffi to end her pain the way Gwyn has ended everyone else is incredibly compelling. After seeing how Curtis was treated when they thought he was the killer, I was pleased to see that there was certainly a level of sympathy given to Gwyn. I'm not really sure what happened with Gwyn. I don't believe it is DID, but I do think there seems to be a level of disassociation. She is insistent that Trisha is the killer and even after realizing she killed everyone. during her clearest most broken moments, she claims she truly believed that Trisha had been doing it. I find the line from Alex about "never truly knowing what went wrong" psychologically with Gwyn rather cheap given what the audience was asked to sit through. 

 

This all happens in 1995. I believe this was around the time that most shows were starting to see a steady decline in viewership. The only show that was seeing massive growth was "Days of our Lives" which I believe hit some highs in early 1995 with the possession storyline. I think network execs saw an opportunity there but didn't truly understand that it wasn't just the possession alone that kept the ratings high. The outlandishness of possession storyline drew viewers in but there were a lot of other storylines building (Bo / Billie, Sami / Austin / Carrie / Lucas, Jack / Jennifer / Peter) that could keep the audience tuning in afterwards. I think having Gwyn (who is now in the mental health field like Marlena) going nuts was meant to goose the ratings to  deliver healthy numbers for the start of "Loving." The Angie / Charles / Lorraine / Jacob story is particularly strong and had that continued over immediately, maybe "The City" would have had a stronger start. There is no conflict with Jacob and Angie just arriving in the City and building their careers. The start of the Kayla story with her holding a gun on Angie seems such a poor choice meant to mimic the shocking stories told on the nighttime shows on FOX. While not nearly as extreme, NBC hired Jill Faren Phelps to overhaul "Another World" in a similar manner (primetime elements / serial killer storyline) and CBS did a much milder version with "As the World Turns" hiring Stephen Black and Henry Stern who flooded the canvas with much younger characters. 

 

The opening episodes of "The City" seemed rather tame. I suspect that the dead body that was found in the carpet during the move in was suppose to let the audience know that things would still be happening, but I don't think that really happened in the early episodes. With that said, the last few months are well remembered. I wonder what would have happened had "The City" survived until the arrival of "The Sopranos."

 

I believe Amelia Heinle was relatively popular on "Loving" and I believe Steffi and Cooper had developed a pretty decent following among those who were watching the show. My guess is that they were hoping to convince Heinle to stick around or at the very least to utilize her popularity to keep people watching. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Anybrowser? I loved that site, it was always my go to there 1996-2000ish especially for the huge GL section Cari had. Unfortunately I think most of the daily recaps have completely disappeared off the web for good as time has gone but it still is a valuable site 20+ years later that I hope we never lose especially for GL and Loving. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I wondered about the timing, not only in relation to Deidre Hall's story, but also (one of?) Erika Slezak's most definitive personality stories.  Gwyneth was clearly Loving's counterpart to Viki.  How long before this story did Gwyn become a "psychologist" (her training/credentialing seemed vague)?  At times, it seemed like Loving was emulating both of those stories at once.


For that matter, had Gwyn's paternity been a plot point before this that they decided to tie up at the end?   Gwyn being confronted by her long-lost father just after reuniting with her long-lost, amnesiac daughter was a bit much.  I had no idea Larry Haines played such a pivotal role in Loving's last episodes, but he too was very moving in these episodes.  Given the multiple assisted suicide plot threads, I was expecting/hoping for a scene with Neil and Steffi before the end.  Maybe that happened...I was still two episodes from the end?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I always wondered what the story was behind Marland losing 'created by" credit after he departed when his contract was up. Aggie must have insisted in their initial contract with him that his name be removed upon departure.  it doesn't seem like a successful collaboration. Marland never collaborated well with anyone really.  He was always sole head writer and wrote breakdowns. On GL he wrote all the breakdowns and had 2 or 3 script writers for most of his 3.5 years. In the early ATWT years he kept 2 or 3 break down writers and boasted in articles about how he wrote outlines and was the script editor. Control freak but I understand it. The best shows were the ones written by a creative force who maintained control.  Henry Slesar is a great example (on Edge at least). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I understand people's issues with the LM or the trajectory of the show overall. I can stipulate some of it. As to one point though, I personally think the Gwyneth reveal is consistent. I don't believe she had DID or didn't really know; it's clear on some level she consciously does while trying to delude herself. She can't keep herself and "Trisha" straight while talking to Steffi, and her first bonechilling line when she's found out and Steffi asks her if she's "Trisha" is "sometimes I am." That's not DID, where Viki on OLTL had no conscious agency or awareness of what Niki, etc. did. They were not intertwined in that same way. Gwyneth knows she is Gwyneth, and Trisha is just some sort of cognitive device. To me, moments like when Gwyn tells Clay outright "Curtis didn't kill Stacey," with a very dark look on her face, or the fascinating scene near the climax where she visits Neal in prison and begins to disassociate, saying she sent "Trisha" away but she's also decided to go away and 'get some help, make some sense of all this' are quite pointed. Or when she tells the real Trisha herself not to use the candles that killed Cabot and Isabelle (a huge tell to the audience - how does she know?). Or when she keeps insisting people read her psych evaluation of the killer, or demanding the killer kill her next. On some level she knows and wants people to know her pain. I think her lucidity and understanding comes and goes, but I don't think it was DID and I think she often knew. I wish we could hear Tudor's thoughts on it, but I don't feel it was a copout in the writing - I feel it was keenly pitched, but ambiguous without being lazy. YMMV.

Edited by Vee
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I just caught up on all the posts and a shout out to everyone here...this group is amazing. Some various questions/thoughts:

 

1) @AdelaideCate007 - you are a godsend for your uploads. Do you have any more episodes? You have literally SAVED LIVES in the Quarantine!

2) @EricMontreal22 - were you able to find the LOVING bible? I'd honestly paypal/venmo you money to see a copy!

3) Can someone explain ownership of Alden Enterprises to me? Is it publicly traded? Privately owned with Cabot and various family members having differing percentages of ownership? Along those lines, anyone who can trace the running of Alden from 1983-1995 gets good karma

4) When/How did Gwyn become a police psychologist?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Will have to watch that later. 

 

The Loving murder episodes are going back up on Youtube.

 

pannoni has also reuploaded this, I think for the second or third time.

 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My personal take on the Gwyn as a DID murderer is that it doesn't really make sense in the context of the history of the show: rewatching the episodes knowing she'd end up murdering many of those people is a jarring experience.

The reason I accepted it was because it was out of the door, it was quite a shocking (in a good way) reveal and boy did CT sold it with everything she had. And it was so good that I appreciated it very much - as an end to the show and the character. If this had been a plot during the course of the show, I would have reviled it as a plot contrivance that ruined a good character.


Also, I think the reason the Loving murders are so fondly remembered was because, of all the soaps that went off the air and I include primetime soap, this is undeniably the most coherent long story arc that has been written to wrap a soap. It was an incredibly bold choice and it was a story from beginning to end that did provide a proper end to the characters the show wanted to drop before the reboot.

Was it always well-written? No. But Loving was a low-rated cheap show. That it allowed itself to be creatively ambitious and memorable for its end is something to celebrate and considering how it often did during its run, this was actually a step up.
Thinking how so many other soaps ended a rushed damp noodle, I still think the Loving murders hold up fine.
The City, however, was a good concept on paper (changing the stilted look of a soap would certainly be at the top of what I'd try if I were to create one today) and had some ballsy ideas for the times (trans character for instance) but was ultimately, well, not very good. But the fact the spotlight on Loving at the end was on closure for the characters that would not make it over makes sense to me; as a fan I would have resented if they had used the end of Loving more as a springboard for the City. They actually made the end of Loving about Loving and, for that too, I give them credit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Well I can't argue with that.   Actually, as thrilled as I was that the Loving murders returned to YouTube so I could get to see those last couple of episodes that I hadn't gotten to when they disappeared, the finale was a bit underwhelming compared to the murder story.  And reading your post right after I watched them was timely, because "rushed damp noodle" perfectly described the swan songs several of the surviving characters who did not move over to The City got.  Angie/Jacob/Lorraine/Charles were the only really interesting part, and of course Angie and Jacob were the last two to leave town for The City.  In a way I would have rather seen Kate and/or Debra snap and kill their progeny (who were effectively abandoning them) than the contrived closure they got.

 

I do want to emphasize I wasn't suggesting the network/writers/producers should have used the last months of Loving to backdoor-pilot The City.  I was just surprised they invested so much energy (and promotion) into a story that was the opposite of that, for all its flaws.  I agree it would be a delicate balance not to alienate Loving fans, but I'm not sure TPTB were expecting those viewers to keep watching...or cared if they did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Yeah the downside of the Loving murders is that folks who were not involved in the umbrella story or could not be shoehorned into it got shafted a bit.
I mean, Ava's exit earlier was so nonsensical. It could have been because LP chose not to stay until the end but as a fan of the character it was just a letdown.

So I hear you.
One great story does not erase the fact Loving was often very sloppy with its characters and follow-through.
In the end though the wrap-up wasn't perfect but at least there was an effort made when other showrunners just gave up once their show was cancelled and went through the motions.

 

 

It would seem weird for TPTB to create The City explicitly as a spinoff of Loving, despite the fact it was completely different in tone, look  and story, if they didn't hope some of the audience would carry over.
As a matter of fact, I would argue The City would actually have worked better as a completely independent show and, this is where we join, I can't imagine the "younger audience" of Loving to have been significant enough for them to think they could use that to boost The City.
But that must have been part of the plan, dumb as it may seem to us now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Generally speaking, yes, though it wasn't a huge boost. Loving was hit terribly by OJ. Before OJ, Loving hovered around a 2.8 or 2.9 in households. By November of 1994 the ratings had hit an all-time low of 2.0. Granted, that was also as the horrible Jeremy/Gilbert storyline was in high gear, but most likely the dropoff was OJ's fault.

 

Loving dawdled along with those awful numbers, rising and falling between 2.0 and 2.4 that spring and through the beginning of the murders. As the Murders storyline progressed and it got more attention, the numbers rose to 2.6, I believe, perhaps even slightly higher, in spite of the OJ trial wrapping up around the same time—I'd have to go back and check to give you specific weekly ratings, or perhaps someone else here has that data.

 

That number held steady for the first week of The City, after which the ratings fell back down to 2.3, and then steadily lower to what Loving had been getting prior to the murders.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

In regards to The City, I posted one of the episodes I saved a few days ago. The City was just starting to find its footing after such a rocky start. It was still really wobbly—they didn't really know what to do with Lorraine and went the stereotypical soap route at first, for example—but I found the show to get better the further away they got from Loving and Corinth.

 

Please register in order to view this content

Edited by Ken R
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • How did I never notice how tall Colton was?

      Please register in order to view this content

    • They didn't need to have some slutty gay dude as their representation. Just a 'normal' guy getting involved with another guy or two (or three). Just like the straight characters. Thinking about it, they missed the boat by not having a few other single charcters at the beginning. Maybe Naomi or Ashley could be shown meeting Derek/Jacob and  we could follow their romance. Too many characters were coupled up at the start. As a tattoo hater I was surprised to see Tomas so inked. Don't find it attractive or sexy. I'm surprised an actor would do that as it's definitely a statement and may not be appropriate for some roles. Suppose they can cover if necessary. I didn't buy Kat being all girly and then paying off Darius to get into Eva's room. Way too cliche. She should have just come along when the housekeeping was leaving and breezed in saying it was her room. And her smug looks in the hotel room and 'Now I've got you!!' talks to herself at Orphey Gene's...no.  
    • Omg I was so annoyed. Like girl calm down. Coming on way too strong. Omg I forgot about this

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I thought it got stale before Jocks death lol. His death picked things back up for me.
    • 1976 Pt 5 Tony is summoned to the reading of the will in the Llanfair library,as he’s a principal in the will. He tells Joe there’s not a chance of coming to terms with Dorian, as he is sure she brought about Victor’s death by torturing him emotionally when he was her helpless prisoner after his stroke. Ironically, Chapin hand delivers to Viki a letter her father wrote before his stroke, praising Dorian and asking Viki to befriend and support his widow when he was no longer there. Viki feels a responsibility to her father’s wishes and vows to try with Dorian. Victor’s will leaves the expected amounts to members of his family and staff, with the lion’s share of his stock and property going to Dorian. Victor’s will explains that his son Tony expressed the desire that he not be “bought from the grave,” and, in keeping with his son’s wishes, the only bequest to him is the knowledge of his father’s love and respect. Tony is deeply moved. Dorian’s first attempt to use her new power is the recommendation of Peter as head of the Merideth Lord Wolek hospital wing, claiming that naming Larry would be virtual nepotism. Peter, who has devoted considerable time and effort to helping Jenny get over Tim’s death with gentle, affectionate support, is happy at this suggestion, but Jenny points out Dorian is merely using him to hurt Larry. Viki disregards Dorian’s ingenuous assurances that she’s not trying to wield her new power but is merely putting Peter up for consideration for a future opportunity, if not this one, and tells her she won’t be able to fulfill her father’s desire that they be friends unless Dorian stops interfering. Larry, fully understanding Dorian’s personal motives, warns her he’s going to fight for the appointment no matter what. Realizing that she has made a tactical error, Dorian announces that she won’t even attend the board meeting but will give her proxy to Jim. She admits to Matt McAllister, still her confidant, that this was humiliating, but it was a necessary protective tactic. Dorian manages to win her next round at Joe’s office when, after he praises her decision to yield on appointing Peter, she expresses concern for Viki “at a time like this.” Joe, of course, jumps on her words, and Dorian, pretending great distress at having mentioned something she shouldn’t have, is “forced” to explain that she knew about the congenital heart condition Megan had and that any child of Joe’s is likely to inherit it. She overheard the doctors discussing it at the time of the accident, she continues, and naturally assumed that Joe already knew.  Joe arranges a meeting at home with Viki and asks her how she could live a lie like this; how she could go through their lives as if everything were fine while every moment was a lie. He is further upset when, in trying to explain that it was out of her love for him that she kept the truth from him, she mentions that Jim and Larry also know but Cathy still hasn’t been told. Viki tells Joe that Dorian deliberately told him this way to hurt their marriage, and she is very upset when he starts toward the door, pleading that they have always talked things out in the past. Joe coolly points out that she didn’t do that when she learned about Megan and continues out the door.  A tearful Viki is shaken and when Joe later returns, having spent several hours in a bar drinking only soft drinks,she breaks down, crying that she was convinced he’d left her. Joe assures her they can get through this despite everything, because their relation is based on love and mutual respect. 
    • If you think about it, DALLAS and DYNASTY grew stale right about the same time, even if the ratings were slow to reflect that.  FC and KL, on the other hand, tried to stay fresh, but KL was way more successful at it, I think, than FC.  (That [!@#$%^&*] with The Thirteen does not hold up well, lol).
    • GH 1976 Pt 8 Heather takes advantage of the situation by asking Jeff to come and look at Tommy. She uses sympathy, compassion, and her own feminine wiles, together with his misery and his pills, to lure him into bed. Later, sober, he apologizes. Learning from Pearson that Monica has seen a divorce lawyer, Jeff confronts her, and she insists it’s a lie. Avoiding his attempts to kiss her, she musses her hair and tears her blouse, then rushes to Rick’s, claiming that she can’t stay with that maniac any longer. They wind up in Rick’s bed, and after making love he confesses he always loved her. Rick replies to her question of whether he wants to marry her by saying he has to talk to Jeff. Monica insists that Jeff not bear any pressure from their problems. As she leaves, Rick gives her a key to his apartment. Jeff, having spent the night drinking, misses his surgical assignment, and Steve, informing him that his personal life can’t interfere with his profession, puts him on suspension. Rick can’t persuade Steve to reverse his decision, but Mark, sensing what’s at the heart of Jeff’s problem, convinces Steve to lift Jeff’s suspension and transfer him to Mark’s service. Rick asks for his key back, telling Monica they can’t do anything as long as she’s under Jeff’s roof. So she has a duplicate made and moves into intern’s quarters, explaining that Jeff’s violence drove her out. She tells Jeff she needs privacy to work things out, and tells Rick Jeff wanted her out. Thinking that this is the preliminary to a divorce, Rick tells her she can come to his place. In New York, Leslie’s abortion is delayed by a mix-up in scheduling, and she calls Terri to commiserate. Rick overhears Terri’s conversation and forces the whole story from her. He flies to New York to stop Leslie, feeling responsible for pointing out how evil Cam was, and arrives to find that she has decided she can’t deny her child the right to live. Monica, meanwhile, expecting that Rick will be home, uses her key to let herself into his apartment and is shocked to find Mark there; knowing that Mark was uncomfortable at the hotel, Rick offered Mark use of the apartment in his absence. Monica is upset to learn that Rick is in New York with Leslie, and Mark doesn’t know why. Mark does advise Monica to play fair with Jeff, but she resents his interference. The next day, while covering for Leslie at the clinic, Monica discovers Leslie’s lab test report and jumps to the conclusion that the baby is Rick’s. When Rick and Leslie return, Monica wastes no time in accusing him. He is dismayed to see that she is still as suspicious and possessive as she was before he went to Africa, and points out that her making a duplicate  key proves she hasn’t changed. Terri encourages Leslie to see Rick in a romantic light and then suggests to Rick that Leslie is interested in him. Rick likes this idea and tells Mark he’s growing ‘unwilling to cope with Monica’s unreasonable demands. But Monica immediately recognizes the threat Leslie represents and decides to attack. She goes to Leslie and tells her flatly that she and Rick are having an affair and he’s her exclusive property. Leslie, who realizes she has been falling in love with Rick, is hurt, and Rick is mystified when he feels Leslie pulling away from him. Monica’s big moment comes when she brings Rick a housewarming gift and seduces him into letting her stay overnight. She is in the bedroom when Leslie stops by to apologize for refusing his dates, and makes a dramatic entrance into the living room draped in Rick’s bathrobe. Leslie turns and runs out. Rick later informs her he’s disappointed in her, because she prejudged Monica and him rather than giving him the benefit of the doubt. Heather tries to arrange another tryst with Jeff, but he replies that he still loves his wife. Heather decides there’s only one way to get Jeff to be pregnant with his child. She manages to overhear Monica putting Jeff down by telling him he no longer turns her on and should look for someone he does. Heather goes to Jeff and tells him that she heard Monica and that she is the one he’s looking for. She manages to get him into bed again, and sweetly assures him this is right. She then sets the stage for future meetings. Steve, meanwhile, offers to help Monica and Jeff work out their problems. Jeff is willing, but Monica turns the idea down. Instead, she presses Terri to convince Jeff to end the marriage. Terri now knows that Monica isn’t a good wife for Jeff and promises to try. But Jeff makes it clear to Monica that he still loves her and won’t let her go. She is bitter and upset, as she has already implied to Rick that she will soon be free. Audrey is upset to find that Florence Andrews has been inquiring about Tommy and herself. She goes to Florence’s home and finds she’s away now. Florence has gone down to Mexico to sign a sworn statement that she purchased a false death certificate for Tom, to protect his son after his wrongful conviction. Tom, learning from her that Steve and Audrey are to be married and Steve is planning to adopt Tommy, tells  Florence not to do anything, as there’s still no assurance that he’ll ever get out. But the judge does accept the statement, and, ironically, on the day that Steve  and Audrey are married, Tom is released from prison.
    • 1976 Pt 12 Final part Laurie agrees with Stuart that Peggy is rushing into marriage to prove that the rape didn’t ruin her life.  She points out that the only way Peg can be sure is to make love with Jack before the wedding. Stuart admits she’s right but points out that he can’t suggest that to Peggy. As the wedding approaches, Peg seems happy that Jack’s become close to the family. However, her happiness is shattered by a nightmare in which her loving bridegroom turns into a leering Ron Becker, forcing her to cancel the wedding. Jack reassures her he’ll wait as long as it takes, and Chris confides that she and Snapper didn’t consummate their marriage on their wedding night because of her own rape experience, but Peggy tells Chris she might never be ready.  Despite her desire to keep Karen as her own daughter, Chris helps a police artist create a sketch of Nancy so it can be printed in the newspaper as part of a search for her. When the attempt proves fruitless, however, Chris asks Greg to file application for permanent custody of the child. Greg points out that adoption is the only way to prevent Ron from returning and claiming the child, and that it will take quite a while. Meanwhile, a nurse in the psychiatric ward sees a resemblance  between the newspaper drawing and her autistic patient, Mrs. Jackson, but since “Fran” doesn’t respond to the name Nancy and no one else sees the similarity, she fears she’s mistaken. Jill is horrified to overhear Kay, when brihging baby Phillip a Christmas gift, telling the child she remembers the night he was conceived. Kay has to then admit to Jill she saw her with Phillip in the bunkhouse that night. Jill is aghast to realize that Kay new the truth all along and put her through such agony in spite of it, denying her baby his father’s name. Lance tells Laurie they’ll marry on Valentine’s Day. He laughs that it’s corny but agrees, secretly wishing it were sooner, as Vanessa has vowed to prevent it. Indeed, Vanessa makes an unprecedented venture out of the house to visit Brad, telling him to rebuff any advance Leslie might make to him, as she’s reaching out to him only from a sense of duty. But Laurie then makes a concerted effort to reach Vanessa. Without being sure why she’s trying so hard, she tries to assure the woman she’s not losing Lance and she, Laurie, will help her find a plastic surgeon somewhere who can help her. Grudgingly, Vanessa seems to be reconsidering her view of Laurie, and Laurie is delighted when Lance offers her a choice between two diamond necklaces, explaining that her preference will be Vanessa’s Christmas gift. Learning from Les about Brad’s blindness, Stuart tells Brad he could have turned Leslie away only out of great love. Knowing that Les is going to see Brad again, Laurie warns him not to bring the baby into their discussion, as Leslie will come back only she’s convinced he loves her, not for the babies sake. Leslie finds Brad disheveled and sloppy, and proceeds to straighten the apartment, stating that she can't respect him if he lets himself go. Realizing that neither Brad nor Les will make the first move, Laurie hurries things along by refusing to help Brad with his grooming, saying he should ask his wife. Then, having learned  that Brad offered Les the use of their piano, Laurie untunes the Brooks' piano forcing Leslie to accept his offer. By refusing to cater to his  blindness, Les manages to get Brad to stop wallowing in pity, and by the time Leslie’s Christmas braille message of her love and her need for him arrives, they are husband and wife again Lance takes Laurie on a business trip on New Year's Eve, and tells her, on board his plane, she won't be  won't be able to call him “Mr. All Talk and No action” after tonight. When Laurie protests that waited this long and will continue to wait until married, Lance delights her by instructing his pilot to land in Las Vegas, where they are married immediately.
    • Yeah, not sure why Jack and Jen didn’t rush to Marlena - or even Carrie - to offer their condolences. A few flashbacks would've been a nice touch too. Instead, we got a whole episode of them talking about Chad and Abby? Come on. On the bright side, I loved Anna’s scenes with Marlena and Carrie - sweet and heartfelt, felt like a real 80s throwback.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy