Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)

[Sapounopera]

Yes to all of this.

[RavenWhitney]

Everyone on that EON soundstage knew to execute what Henry had written on the page; every detail mattered and when it wasn't on the page, if it was suggested by a director, producer, or actor you can be sure Henry received a phone call. I'm sure Sharkey's gum chewing was either in the script or Henry-approved.  It was about the story and plot.  Sheldon's drivel inspired no one in front or behind the camera.  Sad. But these episodes are classic.

[Broderick]

There's never anything unplanned in a Slesar script.  Chris Goutman's gum-smacking and Mady Kaplan's sarcasm and cigarettes made those two characters (even though their roles were fairly small) an instant part of the show's film noir fabric. 

And their dialogue is crisp & clever.

Sharkey:  "Maybe one of these days, I'll DROP BY and make you REAL HAPPY." 

Bobbie:  "The only way you could make me REAL HAPPY is by DROPPING dead."    

Even the segue into the next scene provides a clue about an upcoming plot point.  Bobbie tells Sharkey, "No, there have been no REPORTERS around, okay?", and immediately Mike Karr opens the front door of his house and says, "April!  Come in!"  .... It wasn't a REPORTER who'd been coming to the diner, asking about Sharkey -- it was April.  And Slesar is clever enough here to remind us of April's interest, while at the same time previewing to us that April, masquerading as "June", and Draper, masquerading as "Richie", will soon be infiltrating the Rexford Clinic. 

Slesar always seemed to know exactly where he was going with his stories, and how he planned to arrive there. 

Henry Slesar mastered the format of serialized mystery-drama in a way no one else has ever duplicated.  

[Sapounopera]

Can you name some similarities between Slesar's work on EON and other soaps like OLTL and Capitol?

[RavenWhitney]

I watched Slesar's entire Capitol run (about 16 months). It was dull as dishwater and not particularly better than Peggy O'Shea's tenure which was decent.  He should have been a natural fit but Conboy ran the show; it was produced in Hollywood with some hair model actors and Henry was forced to have a larger writing staff which he noted in an interview.  He was required to have 2 break down writers and 2 full-time script writers. He wrote two or three break downs and an occasional script.  The show had very little of his personality or brilliance.  I didn't watch OLTL but he lasted six months I believe and he was Sam Hall's co-head. The show was lively at the time but there's no way to know what stories/characters he contributed.  Sam and Henry should have been a natural fit and OLTL could have been a good home but it didn't last.  Henry revealed years later that P&G hired him to consult on AW but his name never appeared in credits. It had to be in 1987 or after.  The magic of his EON was unique. (Note: he also head wrote Somerset for a year which was its best year, and SFT for six months which was forgettable). 

Edited October 26, 2022 by RavenWhitney

[victoria foxton]

On Capitol Mark Dennings accidental shooting by Julie's lookalike Jenny was probably Slesar's best story. Everything else was really boring. Over on OLTL the Echo DiSavoy story was his story. I've only seen brief clips and read about it. But it sounds interesting. With many of Mr. Slesar hallmarks, Like Echo having a usual name.

Edited October 26, 2022 by victoria foxton

[Broderick]

He wasn't remotely invested in typical soap opera stories.  He was a mystery writer, and a VERY talented one at that.  (I have several of his short stories.)  In his world, a marriage, a divorce, a custody suit -- those events were merely the "mechanics" of establishing various motives for a crime.  And he presented his motives in the most subtle ways.  I'm sure all of us who watched in 1980 will never forget the scene in which Cliff Nelson took a sandwich off a tray at a luncheon gathering and boasted "I know who killed Eliot Dorn, and I'm going to prove it" while standing next to the wrong person.  A few episodes later, Cliff Nelson was stabbed, and we all had our ideas of who stabbed him, but probably no one suspected the person standing next to him at the sandwich tray, as she barely knew him.  

He really perfected the "niche genre" of serialized crime.  But I can't imagine that he truly cared about writing a traditional daytime soap.  

[Sapounopera]

 

Thank you for your answers. Boring and dull... wow. EON was a very unique show and I guess the circumstances weren't the same on the other soaps he worked. Late 70s OLTL -prior to the Buchanan invasion- (or even GH after Marland?) might have been more his style and worked out better. 

[RavenWhitney]

Edge of Night mastered many storytelling structures. Henry was doing short, medium and long arcs interspersed with one another way before ABC did it with Port Chuck.  Henry started on the show in 1968 and the show remained 30 min. Cast turnover was huge all the time but Henry masterfully built tentpole characters while killing off or writing out others as part of his amazing plot lines. He had more limitations with Capitol's DC locale and two family structure.

[danfling]

I have long felt that ABC should have made or transitioned its serial Port Charles into a mystery/drama.   The network had not wanted Procter and Gamble to cancel Edge of Night in 1984.

[TEdgeofNight]

Henry Slesar was amazing on Edge. His subsequent shows were blah. Nick Nicholson left him alone and trusted him at Edge. Maybe Henry had a hard time adjusting to an hour format because his OLTL stint was awful and Capitol wasn't much better even though Capitol was half hour. Conboy probably interfered too much. Henry's Edge was masterful.

[RavenWhitney]

This just posted episode is a superior example of Henry's brilliance combined with the best actors in daytime and spartan production values burnished by fantastic directing.  And the most effective use of flashbacks to build the stories, refresh audience and increase the suspense.  And Sharon Gabot. What a treasure. Not to mention Henry's spot on characterization of stoic (straight while male) Mike processing fear and grief. Sky's exchange with Gunther...stunning.  Wow. What an episode.

 

[MichaelGL]

I'm enthralled with these recent uploads from the Nancy kidnapping storyline. Honestly other than a non-US soap that I frequently watch, these EDGE uploads are the only US soap I'm watching these days. 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by MichaelGL

[Broderick]

I've gotten a big kick out of these "lost episodes" from 1981.  Back in 1981, I watched several episodes per week after school, but somehow I'd never seen the episodes in which Nancy Karr inadvertently barges in on Dr. Bryson's consultation with Ira Gideon (which leads to Nancy's incarceration at Rexford Clinic) or the scenes in which Beth Bryson masquerades as Nancy Karr in San Francisco.

I'd also never  seen the breaking of Gavin Wylie's leg by Gunther & Company in the Halloween costumes.  

Also, I didn't remember Raven Swift immediately running to Gavin and telling him that Schuyler Whitney was responsible for the leg-breaking.  

And I damn sure never saw April Scott and Bobbie Gerard in the "Roller Disco".  

[RavenWhitney]

On Sharon Rose Gabet Facebook page (where our dear Raven posts these episodes) she often comments and reveals great tidbits.  For the March 11-13 episodes she wondered why Henry built the shows around so many flashbacks.  I know that the 81 writers' strike was looming (started April and ended July).  I'm sure Henry was getting ready for his absence as head writer, a period in which the show was written by Lois Kibbee (who Henry hired months after the strike) and Laurie Durbrow (P&G supervising producer at the time). I also believe Henry/Nick were aware of actors' pending sabbaticals/departures.  In my opinion, the show got off track during the strike, then the decision to kill Jeff Brown (even though location scenes were dramatic) was a huge letdown and left Sharon with nothing interesting to do for months, then Larkin's accident in July 1982 coupled with hands down Henry's worst plot of the ABC era (next to Elliot's cult), the Eden plot.