Any Capitol Fans Here?

[CT_Helena_Fan]

I'm so glad I could help. Fortunately, I've seen a lot of Capitol recently, so the storylines are fresh in my mind. It's so much fun to have people to discuss Capitol with.

Paula avoided jail time for Clarissa's shooting because she had some brain tumor (common soap opera plot device) that made her emotionally unstable. Of course, Paula was unstable even without the brain tumor. lol Then there was her killing of her psychiatrist, Dr. Parker. She ran the poor guy down with her car, but nobody suspected her because of her "agoraphobia" There was a scene shortly after Mark was shot where the cops were going over Paula's rap sheet, thinking maybe she could have shot Mark in a jealous rage.

Mark was looking for an apartment with Clarissa at one time (sometime in 1984), but I don't know exactly what happened with that. Then, when they were planning their wedding the first time around, before Mark got shot, they had found a house and, had the wedding happened, they would have moved so they could start a new life together in their own home.

[SFK]

CT, have you been able to acquire early episodes with Carolyn Jones as Myrna? I've only seen a handful and I'd love to see more. She had a harder, colder energy than Marj. I'm sure you've seen this already, but in case you haven't:

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[SFK]

I never knew that about Paula having a brain tumor! And didn't she accidentally kill her maid too?? What a loon. Julie Adams was good, she would have been fun on another soap. As nutty as Paula was, she would have been another good choice for Pamela Capwell on SB. Her softly devious delivery is similar to that of Shirley Ann Field as Pamela, and of course Marj is Marj.

[CT_Helena_Fan]

Yes, I did see the Biography on Carolyn Jones. Constance had some wonderful things to say about her. I have the premiere episode in English, but pretty much every other episode I have with Carolyn in it is in Italian. I wish I could have seen more of the early episodes in English, but since people were just starting to get VCRs at the time, those are much harder to find on the trading circuit than the later ones. That's why I'm hoping against hope that someday the series will be released on DVD. It's not too likely, given the relatively small fanbase, but you never know...

[CT_Helena_Fan]

Julie Adams did a great job as Paula. Yes, I think Paula had something to do with the maid's death also. Myrna and Paula had an interesting relationship on the show. They were kind of like "frenemies" lol. Their scene in the courtroom in Mark and Paula's divorce hearing, after Myrna had found out about Paula's "novel" about the Cleggs, was hilarious.

One thing that confused me on Capitol was Baxter and Clarissa getting remarried. Weren't they already married, or was their marriage null and void when Baxter was declared legally dead? They had to sign a marriage license, so it wasn't just a renewal of vows. Had Jarrett/Baxter left for Columbe the night before Mark's wedding, and had Mark not been shot and the wedding between him and Clarissa taken place, things could have gotten very interesting if Clarissa had found out (say, from Thomas) that Jarrett was Baxter after she was married to Mark.

[SFK]

Yeah, it would be great if John Conboy started a website like Agnes Nixon and uploaded episodes. Even if he licensed his own dvds I would buy them in a heart beat!

Like you said, most of the Carolyn stuff I've seen has been in Italian (provided by Claudio at his Capitol Megasite when he was still uploading... they were so lucky to get several runs of the show over there, and they even did a reunion with interviews of the cast and the voice over actors who did the Italian dubbing).

In one episode, Myrna mentioned that she and Paula used to babysit together when they were teens, I thought that was a cute piece of history. So I assume Clarissa knew nutty Paula back then too. I'm assuming Baxter was declared legally dead. So, was he disfigured and his face reconstructed, or did they simply not recognize him after all those years?

Edited February 18, 2011 by SFK

[CT_Helena_Fan]

I would buy them too! Claudio gave me the Italian episodes and, while I can pick out a few words, I would sure like to know what they're saying. Some of those scenes, especially when Paula is all hysterical, are a riot in Italian.

Baxter was disfigured in the crash and he went facial and vocal reconstruction surgeries, so they couldn't recognize his voice either. Ah, the wonders of soap opera plastic surgery!

[DRW50]

I thought the wonderful Constance fans here would want to know I'm posting a 1971 interview with her in the Love is A Many Splendored Thing thread. I will type up the text in a bit.

[CT_Helena_Fan]

Thanks, Carl I have the magazine that interview came from. In fact, I have another one from a different mag (Daytime TV, I think it was November 1971) I can post on that thread if you don't have it.

[DRW50]

That's great. I'd love to see it. So many legends passed through that show.

I wonder how many LIAMST actors Conboy used on Capitol. Or Y&R actors. It didn't seem like that many.

[SFK]

Yeah, I think Constance was the only one. It seemed like he was focused on old Hollywood film and primetime types for the senior cast members and pretty newcomers for everyone else.

[CT_Helena_Fan]

"Capitol" had a very good-looking cast, both the younger members and the veterans. The veterans were not pushed aside like in some of today's soaps (like, say, GH); they had a good balance of in terms of cast interaction and storylines for characters in all age groups. The veteran actors were respected, as they should be.

[DRW50]

It's jumpy video, but there's a Capitol ad at about 9:35.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8HnsPPd6aY

[DRW50]

From the February 1983 Daytime TV.

[DRW50]