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Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)


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RIP Ann. We are losing our legends left and right, but the older we get, the more we'll keep losing them. It causes me to think about the soap world, shows I watched and didn't, those gone before I was born, actors, actresses, behind the scenes writers/ producers/etc, characters and stories. I'm so happy to have been introduced to soaps and throw myself into this world. I'm sad when they pass, but so happy that I got to know them and their work.

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What I learned from this episode:  

Today's soaps have no imaginations.  They claim their budget cuts prevent them from having multiple sets, so everyone now congregates in empty restaurants.  

At the 8:30 mark, we see an apartment for Mady Kaplan's (recurring) character.  The "set" is created with a table, a lamp, a telephone, a chair, and a backdrop of a window.  Total cost -- about $2.  

At 8:40, we see Chris Goutman's (recurring) character calling from a supply room at the Rexford Clinic.  That set consists of a bulletin board and a white medical coat hanging from a metal locker.  Total cost -- about $2.  

I find it difficult to believe today's shows can't slap together a workable set like this for a quick interaction or a phone call.  

"The Edge of Night" had probably the lowest budget in daytime, but they created sets that worked, using minimal materials.  

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And the writing was so strong from day to day that viewers hardly paid attention to the sets; however, once hack Lee Sheldon took over, the show as flat and ugly. It was painful to get through an episode. It's all in the writing and directing, acting, costumes etc.  But....P&G and ABC could have freed up a few dollars in 1981 to support EON getting updated sets (especially when GH was at its peak viewership/Nov 81).  

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I'm always amazed at what EDGE accomplished on so little.  If they needed a one-off diner set, they set up a counter, two stools, a cash register, and a coffee pot.  Instant diner. 

The next scene might be set in some exclusive French restaurant that we'd never see again, and it was just a booth against a wall with a blue light shining on it. 

A dead body might pop up in an alley that was nothing more than a garbage can and a brick wall. 

As mentioned above, the dialogue was tight, the camera angles were tight, and there was generally a quick cut-to-black, so it didn't matter much about the surroundings.   

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