Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)

[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT8cQwRFZP0

[Paul Raven]

Wade Nichols aka Dennis Parker

[DRW50]

What would Mike Karr say.

[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS3uj2QZk44

[DRW50]

October 1962 TV Radio Mirror

Edited October 16, 2011 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

question which we will attempt to probe this month, analyzing the story's perennial appeal - and relating its developments to those you might encounter in your own life. As usual, my setting of the TV scene will be in regular type (like this) and Dr. Wolk's professional comments will be in italics (as follow):

Psychologically, a strong male personality as the leading character of a TV series has a very different effect on the woman watching than does a female lead. Instead of identifying with Mike, she fantasizes about him; he becomes the man of her dreams, a husband-substitute, a father-substitute, an all-wise, all-powerful, perfect kind of man who lets her escape from the "inferior man she married. Mike is not only virile and successful, but also gentle and full of feeling when he has to be. The fact that he's a widower makes it easier for the female viewer to admire and desire him without feeling guilty about taking him away from his wife.

His housewife fan does identify with the various women whom Mike admires. And he arouses both sympathy (for his plight) and admiration (for not compromising his masculinity while looking after his little girl). So Mike becomes a symbol of everything a woman wants in a man and his status as a widower makes him even more attractive.

But widowers are faced with very special kinds of problems that, to some extent, must be judged by the circumstances that brought about their bereavement. Mike Karr lost his wife, Sara - with whom he was blissfully happy - many months ago, through highly dramatic circumstances. Their beloved daughter, Laurie Ann, had become infected by a strange illness which affected her brain. One late afternoon, the mixed-up little girl scrambled out of bed, wandered downstairs...and walked out the front door.

Busy in the kitchen, her mother wasn't aware of Laurie Ann's disappearance until she went to her room. Finding the bed empty, Sara rushed downstairs, noticed the open door and raced outside - just in time to see a speeding car bearing down on her daughter. She managed to reach her before the car did, shoved her out of harm's way...and lost her own life.

Mike could not even pause to give way to grief, in peace, because Laurie Ann had been badly bruised and was in danger unless she receive immediate surgery. Immediately, Mike had to find the one specialist who could perform the delicate operation to save his child.

The loss of a loved one, especially under such sudden and tragic circumstances, makes a tremendous impact on the surviving spouse. If Mike had been the kind of man who was overly-dependent on his wife, the emergency he faced with his daughter might have been more than he could have coped with at such a time.

Being a widower is quite different form being deprived of one's wife's company because she may have to be absent form home for some other reason. Temporary separation, even for long periods, always keeps shining the prospect of future togetherness. But a death makes such separation final.

Mike's immediate adjustment to the situation, in terms of his coming to grips with the problem of finding medical treatment for his little girl, shows him capable of meeting the worst that life offers - with vigor and decisiveness. A less stable man might have resented Laurie Ann for "causing" his wife's death. But such resentment would have overlooked the reality of the situation and only been a cover-up for that husband's guilt - based on a deep, unconscious dislike of his wife and the hidden wish that she would die. If Mike were this sort of man, he might try to conceal his anger at the child by becoming over-protective - treating her "too good" and smothering her with love to make up for his real feelings of hostility. Such feelings lie behind the over-protectiveness many mothers show their children.

Most widowers find boys easier to raise than girls because they understand them better. And younger children, of course, find it easier to forget the mother and accept a substitute in the form of a nurse, relative or second wife. But, in order to do best by himself and his children, every widower must realize the need to get back into circulation socially, overcome his momentary feelings of helplessness and not hesitate to demonstrate his affection for his youngsters - without going overboard.

A means of escape

Sara's death was a terrible blow to Mike, for their marriage had been one of those rare near-perfect alliances. His only escape was his work. An ex-cop - a self-made man who is now a successful criminal lawyer - Mike was able to throw himself completely into his work to help overcome his loneliness.

Every man needs an escape hatch at such times, but losing oneself in one's work can be unhealthy if that becomes the only escape. The quality of one's work, one's judgment - one's attitude to the work itself - could become distorted when work alone is used to overcome the loss of a mate.

It is healthier neither to forget one's wife, nor to build a shrine to her. The widower must retain a decent respect for his wife's memory but accept the tragic situation and slowly but surely seek out other companionship, for his own good and the good of his children. He must socialize, develop new acquaintances and re-construct his life. above all, he must be careful to avoid comparing with his late wife every new female friend he meets.

Sara's last words to Mike were, "As long as you have Laurie Ann, I'll never be far away." So Mike drew closer to his little girl, who became the image of her mother whom he loved so dearly.

Mike has always been close to his in-laws, Winston and Mattie Grimsley, and even shared the chairmanship of the local Citizens Crime Committee with Mr. Grimsley, who is a highly successful businessman.

Not long after Sara's death, her folks moved into Mike's house to help him in his own emotional adjustment to his loss and to aid in the rearing of little Laurie Ann. Since Winston Grimsley himself had been a widower before marrying Sara's mother, he presumably had a special insight into what Mike was going through.

But is this the best solution for a widower? Would a nursemaid be preferable to grandparents, in raising the children? Could in-laws create new problems for both himself and his children?

The last words of Mike's wife do not play fair with him or their child; they tend to trap Mike, to make him feel disloyal if he dares to find another woman and rebuild his life. Such deathbed utterances make for effective drama but seldom take place in real life - fortunately, since they only make things more difficult for the survivor.

The trouble with having grandparents help raise the children is that the youngsters would, in effect, have two "daddies": Their real father and their grandfather. This could dilute the real father's rightful authority, to the detriment of the children.

Choosing to have the in-laws move in, or moving in with them, can serve to make the widower - or widow - guilty and uncomfortable about dating, thus making it doubly hard to "start all over" as every widower or widow must.

A nursemaid, as a temporary mother-substitute, is usually preferable but must b e extremely well-chosen. It could be very upsetting to a youngster if she stays on only long enough to attach herself to the child, then is replaced by another mother-substitute.

No widower should expect anyone to take on certain responsibilities which are his own: Raising his kids with full awareness of the facts of the situation, taking time to play with them, not subjecting them indiscriminately to one lady-friend after another.

A good marriage to someone new, at the earliest possible moment after a decent period of mourning, is the nicest thing that could happen to a motherless youngster - and to a lonely widower. Far from being disloyal, such a man is being honest, grown-up and considerate of his motherless child.

When Mike met Nancy Pollack, he was attracted to her almost at once - not simply because she was good to look at, but because she got along famously with Laurie Ann. He liked the way she spoke to his small daughter, and he respected her ideas on how to raise children.

Still, when Nancy locates a new house for Mike and he comes to inspect it, he finds himself uncomfortable in the new surroundings. Somehow he can't bring himself to break away from the old house which, to him, symbolizes his beloved Sara and represents everything he found right and bright in life.

Although he feels great affection for Nancy, Mike shrinks from the prospect of matrimony. He shows his feeling for her in other ways - offering to defend her younger brother in court against a drunken driving charge, lending emotional support to help Nancy cope with the constant problems of her teen-age sister because her mother, a college dean, is often away from home.

Nancy also stands by Mike when he decides to become a candidate for District Attorney - although her father, editor of the city's leading newspaper, is forced to abide by his publisher's decision to support Mike's opponent.

Too eager to marry?

Nancy may or may not be right for Mike. Being good to his child is not enough; she must be good to him. Sometime s a woman is so eager to marry that she pretends to be what she isn't - winning over the widower's youngsters in order to win herself a husband. That's why a man with children must re-marry cautiously, wisely, in order to be sure that the woman of his choice is completely sincere.

Mike must also consider the possibility that his fondness for Nancy might be based merely on the importance he feels at being able to help her with her own personal problems, such as those concerning her family.

The fact that her father is forced to go against him, while Nancy sides with him, places Mike in a very difficult position. Such conflicting loyalties could turn him away from her unless he is mature and clear-headed enough to realize that she is not responsible for her father's action.

The suspicion that Mike still carries a bit of immaturity within him rises from his reluctance to give up the ghost of his late wife and the possibility that he is hiding behind her memory to avoid making a new home for himself and his daughter - preferring the dream of the past to the reality of the present.

No widower should expect his second wife to be a duplicate of his first - or demand, as some widowers do, that the second wife possess qualities which the first lacked totally. He must accept her as herself, neither comparing her not idealizing her.

Losing a wife - or a husband - requires the utmost in maturity and emotional stability in order to survive such a tragedy successfully and with as little damage to one's youngsters as possible.

This is Mike Karr's problem and, of course, he copes with it in highly dramatic fashion, for this is TV's way. In real life, the losses are usually larger and the gains smaller. Few real-life attorneys become as emotionally involved with either clients or kin as does Mike. But perhaps this is a good thing for a man who's been recently bereaved...or is it too much of a good thing?

When a widower such as Mike becomes emotionally involved with so many, it may be because he is reaching out for the warmth and love that he needs so desperately. Driven by so great a need, it would make little difference whether he seeks out clients, kin, or anyone else. Professional and social contacts help to restore a man' confidence in himself and his faith in the future.

A widow has an even harder time of adjusting than does a widower. For one thing, she may have money problems. For another, she must wait to be sought out by an admirer, rather than do the pursuing herself, and must be careful that any attentions paid her aren't based purely on her sex-appeal, with no intention of marriage. Children make her problem more difficult.

Widows, even more so than widowers, are dependent on friends, relatives and co-workers to help them broaden their social contacts and meet prospective new spouses, Mike Karr's TV adventures only sketchily indicate the less dramatic but deeper aspects of widowhood: The awful loneliness, the helplessness, the despair accompanying the loss of a loved one.

You, the TV viewer, may share the trials and tribulations of Mike and Nancy and all the others in the program - but bear in mind that such dramatic license as they enjoy, in a brief episode daily, cannot be yours. You will always suffer more in the same predicament...because you must live with your sorrows twenty-four hours a day - throughout a full lifetime. But, by analyzing such TV favorites psychologically, we hope to give you some insight into your own behavior patterns so that you'll be able to handle personal problems better when they arise.

Next month, we'll look in on another popular daytime drama...deal with another area of human relations...and try to make the stories and characters meaningful in your own life.

Edited October 16, 2011 by CarlD2

[DeliaIrisFan]

I've seen very little of Edge and I never even knew that Nancy wasn't Mike's first wife (or Laurie Ann's biological mother), but I am addicted to this series. I can't wait to read what "popular daytime drama" this prig "looks in on" next, and what chauvinist, condescending medical wisdom he had to share with America! Any chance you have more? I'm surprised ABC didn't drag this guy out of the nursing home a year or two ago to explain in an interview how showing two "daddies" on OLTL raising a child together would have really confused America as far as real fathers' rightful authorities being usurped, and that was why the gay couple had to go.

Thanks, Carl, for sharing this fascinating, if disturbing time capsule.

Edited October 16, 2011 by DeliaIrisFan

[DRW50]

I wasn't paying a lot of attention while typing it out but it is pretty sad, although typical of the era (and generally typical of many years to come). The part about having grandparents help raise your child means they have two daddies is nonsensical.

I posted one in the Secret Storm thread, and there are two in the Clear Horizon and Young Doctor Malone threads. They aren't as ridiculous as some of this one, but still an interesting read.

[DeliaIrisFan]

Thanks! I remember reading the Clear Horizon one at the time you posted it because I'd never heard of the show and I do follow this EON thread because I've seen some of it on the old P&G AOL site and on YouTube, but with SS and YDM I always fall behind...I can never keep track of who was who without a visual and I tend to get the stories I've read about mixed up with similar stories on other shows.

Anyway, the part about Myra being on "the verge of spinsterhood" before she married her older husband aside, those were less offensive than this one. Still, this doctor gives me the creeps. Clearly in some areas of medicine some physicians were doing more harm than good back then (i.e. recommending one brand of cigarettes over another), and psychiatrists in particular really seemed to have cart blanche to try whatever scientifically unproven, drastic "treatments" they could think up on the mentally ill. At least this one spent (part of) his time analyzing fictitious characters, where he wasn't able to cause (direct) harm to real people. Well, I wonder if this guy ever reviewed GL or ATWT:

"Bert clearly drove Bill to drink by being a harping shrew and she may have permanently damaged her children's psyches by leaving him no choice but to abandon his family. Housewives would be wise to learn from this tragic outcome for Bert and her family and remember to be seen and not heard."

"Lisa is a loose woman and should not be allowed anywhere near her son. Although Nancy has been helpful in caring for Tom while his mother was neglecting her wifely duties and then skipped town following the divorce, it is not at all clear whether Nancy has been doing so out of genuine concern or because she resents Lisa's youth and beauty and her place in her son's life, and is seeking to usurp Lisa in the one arena in which she can. As neither maternal figure is suitable and the child is already confused enough about who his mother is without introducing yet another female influence into his life and making him think he has more 'mommies' than 'Heather,' from that obscene book, he would be better off in an institution."

Edited October 17, 2011 by DeliaIrisFan

[DRW50]

The Secret Storm one I noticed mostly because he focuses so much on Myra's problem and seems to have little interest in whether Peter actually has a problem, aside from Peter siding with his kids over his wife.

I can definitely see him saying what you said about GL and ATWT! If I find any more of these I'll be sure to let you know.

EON always seemed to have pretty strong female characters.

[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ9PglsNPMg

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The scene with Nola and the devil about midway through this is so good. Chilling stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofZHJEAjiWY&feature=autoplay&list=ULKByVtT33guk&lf=mfu_in_order&playnext=1

[DRW50]

Years ago, before I ever saw any Edge of Night, I read the Edge of Night homepage, again and agin. I was fascinated by a section in Raven's profile where she talked about how she'd named herself Raven. This episode has the scene.

Was Raven always supposed to only be gone for a short time or was this supposed to be a permanent exit? The music in the scene seems like a goodbye. Beautiful, beautiful music.

So was this Mandel Kramer's last episode? Quite a momentous episode in several ways.

Edited November 7, 2011 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

Afternoon TV June 1969

[edgeofnik]

Carl: This has always been a mystery to me as well. I've suspected that SG quit the show - based on two things: 1) her exit was pretty harsh (giving away her son) and 2) when EON moved to the new title sequence in June 80, she was not included - even though she had returned. I always thought that was so strange considering how many stories revolved around Raven. I viewed it as punishment.