Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)

[Maxim]

You're welcome! I can't wait to read what your thoughts are... when and if you get into it, of course. "The Mansion Of The Damned" is amazing. It has everything - thriller, horror, crime, drama, soapy madness. Then as soon as it ends... you get Raven's return... which re-starts the whole show for me. So... I'm really happy for you! You're in for a treat.   

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[Contessa Donatella]

Sharon Rose Gabet told me on Facebook that she calls this "Baby Raven".

[Broderick]

If you begin where they suggested (#6077), it's VERY easy to follow because it's right at the beginning of a new storyline.  

Another story is winding down, but it's fairly easy to catch on.

The central characters in both stories (the one that's ending & the one that's beginning) are members of the Madison family.  The Madisons have recently moved from Hollywood to Monticello.  The father (Owen Madison) is an ex-movie producer.  The mother (Nola Patterson Madison) is a washed-up, alcoholic actress who can no longer get a part in a film.  Owen has a daughter named Paige Madison, and Nola has a son named Brian Madison.  The Madison family left Hollywood primarily because the daughter (Paige) had gotten involved with a group of "renegade" young political activists who stole some guns to furnish to South American revolutionaries.  Paige Madison is being targeted for assassination by various members of the group (known as "the Tobias gang").  As a result, Paige has a full-time body guard, a former Monticello policeman who resigned from the police force because he accidentally shot & killed a 14-year-old boy who was armed with a cap pistol. 

As the new plot (a movie called "Mansion of the Damned") takes shape,  the existing plot about Paige, the assassins, and the bodyguard comes to a conclusion. 

The other characters on the show are all playing supporting roles to these storylines, and it'll be easy to figure out who they are and how they come into play.  

[chrisml]

Thank you @Broderick. That information was so helpful. I watched the first episode of the "Mansion of the Damned" storyline. I was extremely confused by Margaret Colin's Paige and her relationship to other characters. Your post helps me understand what's happening. The rest of the show was easy to understand and I'm enjoying it. Hunter's Nola is a good character for me since I know Kim Hunter from other work. 

I must have seen clips of Edge of Night before because I remember seeing April. 

[Broderick]

April and her husband (Draper) are the "young leads" who tie all the storyline threads together.  They're normally in the center of the action.  In this particular storyline, Draper is the attorney who represents Paige Madison.  (The district attorney, Logan Swift, has given Paige Madison "temporary immunity from prosecution" if she will lead the police to the members of the Tobias Gang who stole the firearms.  But Paige mainly just ducks bullets from various gang members who pop-up to assassinate her.)    

[j swift]

Am I remembering correctly that the Madison's lived in a Spanish revival-style house?

I have a vague recollection of the fireplace looking especially Spanish in style.

It is unusual that Montecello had so many architectural styles.  Obviously, that might occur IRL.  But, look at other east coast soaps and there is a definitive style that is throughout (because it was styled by a set decorator) regardless of the income of the occupants.

[Broderick]

I don't recall that we ever saw the exterior of the Madison house.  BUT the interior is definitely Mission Revival.  It has a wrought-iron staircase, and all the doorways & corridors have archways.  I watched a few old episodes over the weekend from that period and really noticed for the first time how uniquely Mission Revival the set is.  

[j swift]

Ah! Good to hear.

Isn't it especially odd to think that house fictionally exists not far from the Karrs? 

Or, that it was designed non-fictionally by the same person who designed April's place?

[Broderick]

The storyline April and Draper are involved in during the summer/autumn of 1979 seems fairly "benign" but soon turns very serious.  April has a VERY intrusive, wealthy mother (Margo Huntington Dorn).  Margo knows that April and Draper (who've recently had a miscarriage and are theoretically never going to be able to conceive another baby) want to buy a house.  Margo hoodwinks them into buying a house they can't afford.  The house is listed at $100,000 (about $400,000 in today's dollars).  Margo pays the first $35,000 and leads Draper to believe the asking price of the house is $65,000 instead of $100,000.  If Draper finds out his meddling mother-in-law paid 1/3 of the cost of the home and tricked him, he'll be mad as hell.  

Meanwhile, Draper has received a job offer from a prestigious New York law firm.  Margo pulls some strings and has the senior partner in the firm rescind the offer, to keep April in Monticello.  If Draper finds out about THAT, he'll be even angrier with Margo than he will be about the house trickery.  All of that is "bubbling under the surface" in the fall of 1979 but will be the next major story, as everything begins to spiral out of control.  

Yep, you've got the Karrs and their very basic middle-class house, the Victorian-themed place where Miles and Nicole live, April and Draper's old craftsman house with the exposed beams, the Madisons & their Mission revival house, and Margo with her 1970s-chic penthouse.  Each of the sets is completely different.  And their budget was like zero, lol.  

[Soaplovers]

The penthouse was my favorite set... and it changed hands from Margo to Draper/April to Miles/Nicole then to just Miles... before he opted to give that beautiful place for that drab house with the even more drab Beth.  That was a jump the shark moment for me LOL

[Broderick]

Same here.  Anyone who voluntarily left Margo's penthouse set (except to go overseas or to Heaven) was immediately on my blacklist.  lol.  

[j swift]

A private elevator penthouse with a spiral staircase to the primary suite.  Sign me up!

The only deficit was that various riff-raffs seemed to have easy access to the elevator.

[chrisml]

I really like the actress who plays Margo. Don't know  her name. I'm so hesitant to google anyone because I don't want to know the length they were on the show. I've watched two episodes and I have to say that the show does not feel as dated as other shows. I tried to watch Ryan's Hope a few weeks back and some of the acting was a bit rough. EON is a lot more natural which amuses me considering it's a mystery/thriller show.

[DRW50]

Thanks. I'm glad we have some fan memories of these years as this is such a typically snide take on the genre. It's also poorly written and reminds me a great deal of the tedious "snark" recaps that became popular in the '90s. The end in particular.

The 1979/80 stuff I have seen is much more polished than a number of soaps at the time. It was very easy to watch and not too bogged down in past story. 

Margo is played by Ann Williams, who was on what seemed like every soap. I think she said Margo was her favorite role. 

These episodes aren't consecutive, but if you ever have time, they are worth a watch. They are bits and pieces from January and April of 1979 - April in and out of prison, her past calling to her via her psychic powers (and the suicide of Miles' wife Denise, who had murder framing in mind). April 1979 has the end of Winter Austen (such a fantastic soap name). 

I don't want to drop a ton of links but you can find playlists on Youtube.

[Paul Raven]

Ann Williams was the first Maggie Powers on The Doctors but left to have a baby. Maggie was successfully recast so Ann picked up the role of Eunice (Jo's sister on Search for Tomorrow) and played that role for 10 years before being killed of in 1976. That led to her role of Margo on EON.