Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)

[Broderick]

It's extremely well-written in the late 1970s and very early 1980s.  What always impressed me is there's very few "throwaway" scenes.  If someone is discussing an event with another character, you better believe the other character will soon be a player in the storyline.  And no one is EVER anywhere by accident.  Henry Slesar places them all exactly where he needs them to be.  

[Maxim]

I agree with your analysis and it makes me think...

What I like so far : The writing - sharp, intelligent dialogue. Not too much melodrama or repeating. Straight to the point, forward, fast-pace. I don't think a modern soap even in 2024 is going in this pace. You really can't miss an episode! Amazingly correct and coherent plot - hints and seeds of things to come are put months in advance. Atmosphere and directing - angles and sets reminiscent to film noir and old Hollywood suspense thrillers. There are moments I find myself searching for Bette Davis to come out of one door.   Acting - very, very powerful cast. So far I haven't seen one cringe worthy performance.  Raven.  Nola aka Norman Bates and Baby Jane Hudson's spawn.

Things I don't like. Paige Madison - I don't know if it's just my own perception but I find her bland compared to the other characters. Her acting is also very underwhelming. When Kim Hunter is against her, she just sinks hard. She just irks me and I don't find anything exciting about her. Basic.

 

Now I'm just at the point where Nola will come back in disguise. I am really giddy with excitement. Sunset Boulevard/Hitchcock level of psycho.

 

[daysgoby]

Thanks for letting me know. Hope it gets resolved.

[Maxim]

When I was a kid I used to have a deep fear and phobia from older witch-looking women. Fear that... made me wake up screaming, because I used to dream of one following me around.

Nola disguised as the old grandma is soooooo CREEPY to me. Even if the makeup is 70s level, I am still getting scared watching her. AND I love it. So much fun. I am scared if I will have nightmares later!

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[FrenchFan]

That's awful !

[Broderick]

Paige Madison MIGHT have been the victim of a cobbled-together storyline that just didn't work 100% right.  

The previous year, Henry Slesar had attempted to tell a story about a dangerous religious-type cult called "Children of the Earth".  Unfortunately, 900 real Americans ended up dying in a cult just as the Edge Of Night storyline was getting underway, and you could sense Henry Slesar pulled the plug (prematurely) on whatever conclusion he'd originally planned out of sensitivity toward the victims' families. 

In hindsight, I believe he "salvaged" some of the unaired material, altered it a bit, and slapped it on Paige Madison.  Paige's storyline also seemed loosely based on Patricia Hearst, a millionaire college girl who was kidnapped from San Francisco in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army.  Hearst  became an "accomplice" of the SLA, either by force, by brainwashing, or just because she decided she liked them.  Opinions vary on what led to her joining them.  

A  hodge-podge of material (from the real-life Patricia Hearst story and from the aborted Children of the Earth story) seemed to get slapped on Paige Madison, and it ultimately became sort of comical (and stupid) how many times Paige's life was placed in danger by Tobias & Company.

I liked the actress (Margaret Colin) just fine, but I was glad when Paige moved on.    

[Maxim]

Thank you for this explanation and backstory. I didn't know any of this, my first episode watching Edge was 6051.

And I completely agree that once Paige was gone, the show fully took a breath of fresh air. Her storyline was dragging. And that's why I was not sure at the beginning that the show was for me. The first episodes I watched were heavy Paige and Tobias and it was not... Bad... But just confusing to me. And Paige had this voice that irked me. Just the tone of it. Once this storyline cleared up and Nola's craziness started... I was hooked as hell.

The actress that played Paige... I am sure has improved since then. I just found couple moments flat and... in my opinion as fellow actor - failed attempts of expressing emotion.

But again... Thank you for the backstory. I am putting the pieces together thanks to all the sites and people like you. And  I am slowly becoming obsessed with Edge of night.

I already watched more than 100 episodes in just 8 days. Didn't sleep much at night just to watch. I was at the Edge of night. Addicted. No other show has done this to me.

[Paul Raven]

@Maxim 100 eps in 8 days! Slow down and savor the experience or it will be over too soon. Hope you are reading over the 136 pages of this thread as I'm sure you will learn a lot. And the cast list in that thread also.

Enjoy!

[Maxim]

Haha, thank you for this reasonable and healthy advice. You are right. But... it's my sickness... I am a binge watcher. If I try to watch slowly I will get so stressed I will stop watching just because it's stressing me out not knowing what will happen next.

But I plan to have a break as soon as the Nola drama ends. I will breathe and just have a little pause and then get right back into it for Raven's return. I hope I can stop myself.

A crazy part of me wants to start and rewatch the Mansion of the damned stuff again. I just loved it so much and laughed so much.

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I managed to find pretty much complete 1980-1984 so I have 5 more years to go! I think one year misses 2 months and the others are more complete. I hope to read resumes for the missing episodes and manage.

 

[slick jones]

Spoke to Mark today. The page is currently lost to him, sadly.

He will be keeping an eye to see whether his years of hard work turn up in someone else's name. He said the backdoor to the old versions is available, but so much more had been added. He hopes everyone will be able to learn from the older versions.

The fact that certain folks out there were so quick to make the old backdoor Fortune City account available does make one wonder whether those may have been involved in the hack. Guilty consciences and all was mentioned, but , as he said, there's nothing else to do about it at this time.   He hopes no one gets hacked through the old versions, so be cautious in the old site.

 

@vetsoapfan @DRW50 @daysgoby @Paul Raven @jam6242 @FrenchFan

[DRW50]

Thanks @slick jones . Heartbreaking to hear, but he did what he could. I will avoid the site from now on.

[VelekaCarruthers]

Many things impacted Slesar's story around the Paige plot.  Sharon Gabet agreed to return to the show after five months and as we all know who watched it spun over a year of story.  The Paige story wasn't working for whatever reason but probably because Henry saddled the plot with an incest love story between Paige and her non bio brother. It was out of place, didn't work. Plus, the actor who played Brian had no chemistry with anyone on the show.  When Henry aborted the Paige plot after six or so months, he asked Kim Hunter to stay beyond Mansion of the Damned and put her with a leading man on the which led to a huge plot development and months more of story through summer of 1981.  But even Henry's clunker stories were gold compared to today's soaps.  He had at least one other big clunker before he was fired (EDEN plot, nuff said). Again, casting was an issue with Chad.  The casting was 95% spot on but when they missed, they really missed.  Not only Brian, Chad (later), Kelly no. 1 (later) and a few others.  But overall, the show under Henry is classic and unique. No other daytime writer could match his brilliance with story, character, dialog and climaxes.

Edited May 9, 2024 by VelekaCarruthers

[vetsoapfan]

Thanks for the update, @slick jones.

Didn't Mark also lose a Somerset-themed site years ago, or was that someone else?

It's a tragedy to the community that all his hard work is just...lost.

He must be devastated and very, very vexed.

[jam6242]

Thanks for the update @slick jones.  So sorry this happened.

[Paul Raven]

Yes I remember a very detailed Somerset site also. @slick jones Hope Mark knows how much we enjoyed and learned from the sites.