Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)

[vetsoapfan]

 

I'm glad you found something to enjoy about Sheldon's run as head writer. After being treated to Henry Slesar's masterful writing for so long, however, I found Sheldon and almost everything he did to be quite a letdown. HS's TEON was intricate, sophisticated, witty; filled with colorful characters and lots of genuinely surprising twists and turns. I saw LS's work as shallow, low-brow camp.

 

The only thing I appreciated about the closing run of the show was that Sheldon had the Karrs reunited with their daughter Laurie Ann. (I also liked that Nancy and Laurie had a touching conversation about past characters Winston Grimsley and Sarah Louise Capice.)

 

I wish more people on SON could have seen Slesar's mesmerizing and quite terrifying story about serial killer Jonah Lockwood. Most soaps go the adolescent, "campy" route when telling such tales, but Henry Slesar's brilliant scripts scared viewers half to death!

[Soaplovers]

 

It's why I started with Sheldon..fresh eyes looking objectively at his work without any previous influences.

 

That's why I said the last few months of the show was good was because of the new character Liz C being tied to Lauri Ann and the Karrs.  It was a good use of history and it seemed like Sheldon realized all people want is well told stories ( that and the Logan Swift murder case were pretty good).

 

I do wish I could see the Winter Austin case from the start since I'm a fan of the original actress from Day of the Dead.  And I think the twist would have worked better had she stayed till the end (I understood why she had to leave suddenly though).

[j swift]

You elicited so many great EON memories. 

 

I'll start with what you described so well as a "waterfall of interconnected mysteries".  It was excellent plotting to have each story meld into the next.  I still recall being honestly shocked by the identity of the Clown Puppet Murderer (no spoilers as per this thread's title).  Blame it on my youth, but I recall at the time thinking that this was a new plot that had nothing to do with the ongoing story, so I was delighted to see how it all evolved and culminated into the mystery surrounding Sky.  Extenuating circumstances, such as Larkin Malloy's injury, slowed the pace of the plot and may have contributed to a dip in viewer support.  All of the prior plots were told interwoven and quick, but the Sky story (as much I enjoyed it) did tend to go on and on.  I'm still a bit confused about his alter ego who also had a missing identity and how they all loved Valerie Bryson, but that's water under the bridge.

 

Agreed on Chris Egen, she brought back the police element that began to slip away a bit after Deborah and her Rookie's-like-trio (very old reference that some gen-y-er's may need to google) left town.

 

 

Loved Alicia and ISIS.  First, she was one of the only real adversaries for Raven.  Martine and Jody were no match for Raven's wit, and were certainly never a threat when it came to romantic interests.  Alicia made Raven insecure, which was not a weakness that Raven allowed herself to feel, but it demonstrated to the audience how much Sky meant to her.  Also, I loved the way that ISIS played into the pop culture of the time.  People like Mike Karr turning into literal couch potatoes, the ubiquity of cable boxes, and the privacy fears of satellites.  The disco that played subliminal messages was pure paranoid camp and it predated John Carpenter's movie They Live by a couple of years.

 

I enjoyed the Alicia/Logan pairing and again was really surprised by the outcome.  Obviously, given my username, I am an old school Swifty.

 

The Corell sisters were a low point.  A 40-year-old virgin was not the person I envisioned for Miles after Nicole's death.  But, I still associate Marcia Cross with EON not Desperate Housewives.

 

One of the worst recasts ever.  They immediately put her in the frat mystery story, she sank like log, and then she spent the rest of her time on the show on the back burner.  Her breakup with Preacher wasn't because they were poorly suited, he just got bored of her tight ass ways.

 

I need to know more about your thoughts on this matter because to this day I adore Sky & Raven.  Unlike every other soap couple, they never tried to domesticate each other, they were true partners, and as an audience member, you knew that they were very experimental in the sack (after all Sky employed a leather daddy as his butler and Raven had "European desires").  Again, I think extenuating circumstances like Sharon Gabet's pregnancy diverted some plots, (like Raven's very long kidnapping), but overall they seem like a very modern couple.

 

A couple of things that went unmentioned in your post that I loved of that period.  The female friendships between Mitzi & Jody, Raven & April, and Nicole & Nancy were refreshing.  The idea that everyone had a career and a specialty that they brought to the story, even paleontology.  The lack of kids and baby fever (with the exception of my namesake Jamey) made the town feel so mature and cosmopolitan.  The awesome sets like the Cavanaugh penthouse and the ISIS building.  And the humor of characters without being silly.

Edited October 29, 2020 by j swift

[Soaplovers]

 

Sky had an entitled 80s rich person persona while he and Raven ate up airtime in 1984.  

 

I agree about Alicia vs Raven....and I would also add Shelley and Raven was an unexplored pairing.  When the two met in 1983, the two were sizing one another up..and I thought 'this will get good'...but alas it was untapped except for a few interactions where Raven was jealous of Shelly and Geraldine's bond.

 

The character I liked and felt wasn't written for much after Standing Oak was Didi... was she featured more in the Sleasar era?

[j swift]

Didi and her police lover Calvin were always supporting characters although her performance during ISIS was memorable.

 

I'm surprised that you've neglected to mention Cliff.  Although he disappears from the canvas during the later years, he is a treat for when you revisit the Slesar period.

 

When I watched originally in the 1980's I had no idea that there had been a change in head writers.  However, at the risk of stating a controversial opinion, I think Slesar may be a bit overrated.  His long term plotting was excellent and he created many unique characters.  However, upon reflection, there was also a lot plot pilfering.  Draper on the run after a prison train wreck and hiding in an abandoned circus owes a lot to the TV version of The Fugitive.  There are obvious inspirations between the Keith Whitney story and Charles Manson. The Serena Faraday plot shares elements with Sally Field's popular tv film Sybil.   The Clown Puppet murder story seems reminiscent of the contemporaneous Anthony Hopkins' movie Magic.  And Faux Sky Whitney's stay at the Bryson Clinic for International Spies in need of Plastic Surgery may have been inspired by the Humphrey Bogart film Dark Passage.  While it could be argued that many soap writers have "borrowed" ideas from other genres, I find the prior film fingerprints all over so many of Slesar's stories devalues my opinion of some of his creativity.

Edited October 29, 2020 by j swift

[danfling]

I cannot think of a single way in which Keith Whitney/Jonah Lockwood story resembled Charles Manson.

[j swift]

Jonah was styled to look like Manson, (scruffy bread, long hair), both stories played on pop culture fears about the use of LSD, he used young women to do his bidding like Manson, and the story began at the time of the Manson trial.  So, that is at least four ways to suggest that it is not outside of the realm of possibility that Slesar was inspired by the events.

Edited October 29, 2020 by j swift

[danfling]

Didi Bannister (Marianne Alda) was placed under contract to the show while the show was being written by Mr. Slesar.    Her contract was dropped and she became recurring on the show while Mr. Sheldon was writing it.

[Soaplovers]

I have started watching some of the Sleasar era...and surprised that Draper/April were the focus..with Raven more supporting.  Raven/April seem more like foes than friends at least in the 1980 episodes I'm watching.

 

Emily Michaels seems so tragic..I know what happens to her....but seeing these early episodes, I feel sorry for her.

 

And Cliff seems more jolly and comedic than during the Slesar era (I think he and Mitzi should have left together since she was given nothing to do after he left).

 

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Soaplovers

[victoria foxton]

November 1959

[slick jones]

 

If anyone can help identify the actors playing Mrs. Hakim (Ruth's stepmother) or Harvey Zuckerman, the  La Siesta motel, please let me know!   so excited to see 1959 EON @victoria foxton!

 

[danfling]

I recognize his voice, unless I am mistaken, from commercials.    He is a very good character actor.

Why did this show state that it had been pre-recorded?   Was it not live?

[danfling]

I wonder if the actress playing Ruth is the same Anne Jones who appeared in Once upon a Matress in 1960?   If so, two of her castmates (Janes White, Will Lee, and Patti Karr) were later on The Edge of Night.

Odette Bossa, who provided the lingerie, is still making ladies' sleep ware in 2020.

 

[BuckyB12]

 

Isn't it true that most (all?) surviving episodes from the 50s and 60s are kinescopes, which were recorded in New York for same-day transmission on the West Coast (3 hours later)? So a California or Seattle broadcast wouldn't be "live."

[sudz]

In '75, once CBS had (ill-advisedly?) canceled EON, its most favorable slot (by process of elimination) at ABC would have been 11:30 AM EST opposite fading Love Of Life, which was not a P&G show.  Due to "clearance" problems, 4 pm was no longer viable on any network.  In '75 AW was very highly rated; it's hard to see EON making a real dent in AW at 3:00 or 3:30 PM EST. Historically, EON had higher ratings and a more loyal fan base than LOL.  EON surely could have held its own at 11:30 and might even have hastened LOL's demise. 11:30 was a stabler slot with more "clearances" and could have provided a home for EON at least until Loving's premiere in '83.