ANOTHER LIFE

[DRW50]

Thanks @dc11786 really enjoying your recaps/reviews. I didn't realize this Dave was on for this long. And I see we're getting into Miriam's downward spiral. Sounds like it's a bit rushed but I guess they realized they were writing her into a corner.

Edited March 23 by DRW50

[dc11786]

Dave is very much a supporting character in Jeff's story at this point. Dave has been popping in the bookstore to convince Jeff to start selling the Bible, which leads Jeff to start being overly aggressive in trying to convert customers to Jesus rather than convincing them to buy product. There is a very specific approach to capitalism on this show as being a detriment to the soul which is quite fascinating. On secular soaps, it is the equivalent of show's that valued the community over the individual. 

Dave has also deduced that Jeff is interested in the ministry. I think that is a smart move for the character, but I'm not sure if that's where the story is going.

Miriam is definitely going down. The Miriam / Charles / Nancy triangle is fascinating with Miriam standing in as the jilted wife while Charles shacks up with Nancy in Nora's house. Charles is such a nasty piece of work. I'd say he's one note, but given some of current world figures, maybe the heartless industrialist isn't that far off.  

Now up to episode #195. 

Several new characters have shown up. Jill Hansen just showed up and collapsed at Jeff's bookstore after stealing a book while Dave is chatting up Jeff. Jill is a runaway from Indiana who I know will become involved with several sets of characters. A couple episodes earlier Gary Taylor, Peter's buddy from the job site appeared, and he I think is involved wiht Peter and Jill for a bit. Carla Redlon has returned to Kingsley after achieving some success as a singer looking to reunite with her son and ex-husband. 

Peter's arc has built nicely. In the last month or so, Vicki Lang has been introduced as Gene's new assistant. Peter trying to become the man of the house is nice layer to some of his material. He is in the thick of things (offscreen) at Prescott Development. There was a nice scene where there is a minor construction accidnet that leads to people being rushed to the hosptial and Terry fearing that she is replaying the loss of her family further. I'm not always sold on the actor; he comes off as a bit like he's from a sitcom. I do think he has a fun presence and he seems like a real teenager. 

One of the best developments was in Nancy's lawsuit when Miriam, hurt over Nancy and Charles' fling, decides to run off and tell Terry that she knows all things that Nancy has concocted and will say so in court. Its a nice twist on the Miriam-Davidsons relationship. Meanwhle, Miriam is still pill popping a bunch, which hasn't gone unnoticed by 

Terry's stalker was a story I had heard almost nothing about. It is well done. There were some interesting sequences with Dennis Frazier, the man who killed Nora and Scott, remembering the accident before going to the Davidson house and knocking on the door. The lighting, the music, the filming, and Mary Jean Feton's performance are incredibly effective. 

I find the quad between Ben / Lori / Russ / Becky very interesting, especially in counterpoint to where Susan Scannell will end up at the end of 1982 on "Search for Tomorrow." Becky's story is very similar to Kristin Carter's becoming involved with Brian while he is trying to reunite with Suzi. By default, I would think that Warren / Suzi / Brian / Kristen should be more effective given the angle of Warren being more devious than Ben and Kristen's miscarriage being a secret. In what I've seen though, I find the AL version more effective. Russ as the equivalent of Warren is just as jealous and hot headed, but not as openly a criminal. Warren's connection to Rusty is a bit like Russ' connection to Vince, but Vince is more effective as the grey villain in the overall story than Rusty ever was. There's a lot of interesting dynamics at play. I think it helps that Russ has Vince and Carrie, which keeps that end of the quad very interesting. Carrie is more of a low rent Stephanie, but with more emphasis on their animosity than I remember seeing in the Stephanie / Kristen material. I have no use for the Summer Wind angle though I find the actor playing Phil attractive. I am curious if there is any crossover with Carla Redlon becasue I think a Becky / Carla friendship could be intiguing. 

Ben and Lori are now heavily involved in Ben's pursuit of a clinic in Chesterfield, the part of town that Ione Redlon is looking to move back to. Lori's point of view is very negative about the area, which Alex Greely explains away as representing her sense of instability in the past year with the car accident with Russ, marrying Ben, Nora and Scott dying, the fire, etc. It was smart to justify her POV, but I think Lori's a bit spoiled. I can't see a modern audience being overly sympathetic to Lori in this situation. 

I appreciate Jill's story. The actress is young and its only been like two or three episodes, but it is clearly a social issue story. Jill has left because her mother's boyfriend made a move on her and the mother, Mrs. Eubanks, didn't believe her. Now, because she just turned eighteen, she is no longer viewed as a runaway but rather homeless. Jeff and Liz taking her in seems like the kind of thing the new Jeff would do. I'll be curious if I still enjoy the story as it progresses. 

The Hollister Mall plot is a bit stalled. The investigation into the fire has continued. Insurance payments have been released, but now Charles and Webster cannot secure insurance which threatens the whole project. 

George Slaymaker was recast just as George was seen committing adultery by making out with his mistress in the office. I think it's one of the new George's first scenes. I have to wonder if that had any element of it or if I'm just stuck thinking about Joann Pflug's quick exit from Rituals two years later. The first George, Charles Kahlenberg, will pop up two years later on "The Catlins" as Warden Evans, who ended being behind a drug ring in the local prison as well as being behind the murder of Eleanor Catlin Quinn. 

I'm mostly just having it play in the background so I'm not sure if I missed anything or misheard something. 

[DRW50]

@dc11786 I hadn't even thought of connecting Becky's story and Kristin's.

I wonder if Kahlenberg was the only actor who appeared on both those soaps. 

The actress who played Jill posted here briefly about 15 years ago.

I guess we must not be far off the end for the Cummings family.

[Soaplovers]

The Cummings were basically boxed in/islanded off from where the show would go in the 2nd year and beyond so it made sense to write them off.

[DRW50]

I think they still could have worked in story for them, as they lived near Terry and Liz was friends with her, but for tighter story and budget reasons I guess I get it. I do wonder if the claims of them possibly getting a spinoff were true.

[dc11786]

I recognized Kahlenberg's name from "The Catlins." Because the cast information for "The Catlins" is mostly incomplete, it would be hard to say. Seeing more of "Another Life," my interest is again peaked by the other major off network soap in the 1980s to run for several years. What's worth noting is both "Another Life" and "The Catlins" found some stability with sub-writers from "The Edge of Night." Jason Vinley was Irving Vendig's and Steve Lehrman was one of Henry Sleasar's.

I am still about 65 episodes from year 2 and about 110 from Jason Vinley starting. I may jump back and bridge the gap by watching the first 40 or so available episodes I skipped to see when I first see the show to display that initial promise. You are right though, the show does seem to slump but finds moments that I can find enjoyable. 

I think the makeup of the Cummings would probably be more complicated, but I think they could have made the Cummings work if they had explored Jeff as a minister and community leader. I haven't listen to all that I acquired, but I purchased some episodes of "Sounds of the City," an African American radio soap from the 1970s. There is a criminal element much like "Another Life" and one of the major forces fighting the element is a reverend. I think Jeff would have been a good character to position into that element especially given his own past. Personally, I would probably have Jeff's fight for the soul of the community cost him his connection to his wife and daughter.  

I'm just entering the Jill episodes, but I've seen a bit of the ends of episodes from doing the writing credits. I think the Jill story has some interesting bits, but I am not sure the characters were strong enough on their own to carry a show. I think Tom McGowan is earnest enough for the direction they are taking Jeff. Carolyn Lenz can be a bit underwhelming, but I think she has some natural charm in some scenes. I wonder what format the spinoff would be. Another daytime drama? A weekly drama? Sitcom?

[DRW50]

@dc11786 I'd never heard of that radio soap. I'll have to look for it. 

An anthology show, like Promised Land (the Touched by an Angel spinoff with Gerald Macraney and family in an RV) might have worked. 

Liz finally having everything she wanted in a husband only for her to then lose her husband to that world would have been great writing.

[dc11786]

I watched to episode 200 and jumped back. 

The stand out for me in episodes 196-200 is the nearly insane ending to the Dennis Fraser story. Dennis was the drunk driver who hit Scott and Nora on New Year's Eve leading to their demises. For set of episodes, Dennis was calling Terry terrorizing her because he couldn't handle his own guilt. We see a bit of his home life, we see the investigation by Sgt. Brubaker to locate him, and we see an intense sequence (which I believe I wrote about last time) where Dennis shows up at the door of the Davidson home with Terry against the door on the otherside. 

Someone once brought up the question of the influence of "Dallas" on soaps in the 1980s and how they assumed "Another Life" would rejct this type of character. Capitalists and business are more of a threat to the community in Ravenswood/Kingsley than the mob is. There seems to be a suggestion that Fraser's drunken state brought on by an office holiday party may in fact again shine line on the  dangers of relying on the wrong type of people in teh business world. 

In the climatic final sequence, Dennis Fraser sits in his insurance office ready to take his own life with a pistol when Saint Terry arrives to absolve him of his sin. I thought this was a brilliant sequence at first. Terry's recognition of Dennis' pain, the fallibility of man, and the power of forgiiveness gives shape to something remarkable and profound. Terry convinces Dennis to give himself to the Lord and he finds peace. I don't mind this, to an extent, but the born again salvation that acts as a near deus ex machina will grow old (we did this a few weeks earlier with Dave Phillips and a few weeks before that with Jeff Cummings). 

I would love to see what could have been if this had played out in Winsor's vision of a secular story about a family of faith. There are elements that could really be powerful if they were allowed to explore all angles. In some ways, I still find all of this wildly appealing, but more in a sense of what could be more so than often what is. 

There were some other stories starting in the leading up to episode 200. Carla Redlon is back. I'm not super interested in her but I like both Elain Graham and Eddie Hailey. I think the conflict is very basic, but I think both actors could easily do more if given the material. I'd love to see Carla's story intesect with Becky's as she is rising in the music world. 

After 200, I went back to 70 and watched through 90. I can't say I'm in love with what Robert Aaron and Roy Winsor are doing, but I can appreciate it a bit more now that I know the characters a bit better. 

Jeff Cummings is a fairly vile character. Every time I think he's reached his breaking point of being the worst (hitting his daughter when he was drunk, believing he has run down Lori and Russ while trying to cover it up) he manages to top himself by revealling to Nick Trench that Scott Davidson was involved in the raid on the drug shipments setting him up for the potential to be murdered. McGowan really is impressive to manage to salvage the character after being through the ringer. 

A while back, @DRW50 asked about how Mandy Bolen exits. I think her final episode may be episode 83 or 84. She is at a restaurant with Jeff and basically calls off their affair. It feels like a low key goodbye and I could see why Lois Robbins may have felt blind sided. Mandy felt like a character that would have been on "Somerset" or one of those other 1970s shows with hints of women's liberation and sexual themes. I can also see why Nick Trench is dumped. You don't need him and Vince Cardello.

I also didn't realize, or maybe just didn't remember, that the show was originally taking place in several citiies in Virginia. The hospital was in Ravenswood. The college was in Kingsley. There are mentions of Roanoke and Richmond. There is a comment that the Barnes were the ones to solidify the setting. 

The end of the Russ / Lori relationship is rather trite. Everyone just starts to sense that Becky and Russ like each other and then Ben Martin arrives as Dr. Greely's assistant and its all over. It's interesting that Russ ended up drawn to the mob because he is an idiot. He insisted on the surgeon, who arrives and says that this was a simple procedure. I like where Russ goes. I like that Russ was trying to believe for Lori's sake, but it isn't really working. 

One of the most shocking scenes in the dying days of Winsor is the revelation that Terry and Scott were not Christians when they were in college. They found the Lord later. Terry reveals to Lori, in very sensitive terms, that Terry and Scott had sex before they were married, and before they knew what love was, and that they thought that it would bring them together, but it didn't. It's a really well done scene that pushes an agenda, but I thought made it in more realistic terms though there was mention of " it was a sin." It was a nice contrast to Lori wailing earlier about how she should have slept with Russ because she might be paralyzed. 

I think the revelation taht Terry was born again made the Lindsay family background more practical. It was a smart move because it would explain events like Alf's drinking and philandeering and Nancy's backstory without seeming in such stark contrast to the Davidson uniit of 1981. Nora stating she ran a restaurant prior to retirement was another shock. I have to wonder if Nora wasn't shaped after some of the older characters Roy Winsor introduced on "Somerset" or maybe that was a later writer.

Paul Mason is an odd character. I am not surprised he was dumped. I didn't realize he actually cared for Lori in a romantic sense. I thought it was all a lie. 

I don't understand how old Norm Elliot is. He is a college student, he is dating Miriam, and he's a Vietnam veteran. It's a bit all over the place. 

I'm not sure if there is any character I like more under Winsor than I do once he leaves. Jeff is tkaen to an exteme and there's something intriguing about him and Mandy, but it just continues to go too far. Even passive Liz seems to have a bit more agency. Otherwise, everyone seems to be better served in the later episodes. 

[DRW50]

@dc11786  Thanks for your rundown, as always, especially as I still haven't gotten to those. I am glad Mandy had at least some type of exit, even if it was under such offensive circumstances. 

Hearing that Terri and Scott spoke about when they found Christ is fascinating because it makes me think of the article posted here where Winsor and Straub (I think) objected to the initial attempts at getting faith across, which were very preachy scenes of Terri and Scott talking about when they became born again. I wonder if those scenes were rewritten and used here.

[dc11786]

@DRW50 I don't know if they were reframed scenes. I thought it was well done. And I consider myself a recovering Catholic. 

I think I have one episode left before I jump back into the 200s. I cannot say I miss Winsor or Aaron. The Barnes arrive for about 2 weeks and add a nice dose of comedy that seems more noticeable than I remember. Ending the drug storyline was smart which meant dumping Nick Trench and Norm Eliott. Trench, like Mandy, gets a quiet exit with Miriam walking in on him on the phone with another woman and he leaves. On the same note, Paul Mason has a conversation with Lori about Russ and Ben and he decides he's accepting a teaching post in England he had been wavering over. I can't say anyone will be missed.

Jeff's cancer is a much shorter story than I realize. I don't think there are any mentions of it until episode 97 and I am pretty sure he is saved by the light around 110-115 range. I thought the angle of Liz trying to have Jeff declared incompetent so she could secure his treatment was interesting. tHere are moments where it feels like a serious legal /medical drama. Jeff is still misery. 

Ben and Lori move VERY QUICK. They've only know each other a few weeks, much of which Lori is still with Russ, before Lori and Ben date and wihtin a month or so they are married. Larson and Williams have such a nice chemisty, much like Roland and Scannell. This quad is a smart central story. I get the sense that whoever was guiding the show between the Barnes brief fall stint and their winter stint was going to go the angle that Lori (like Jeff later) was believing too much and rushing without thinking. There's so much to play within this story and I think it was smart to build separate orbits that allowed each couple to have a story but also to interact. 

I also didn't realize Gene and Scott were laid off. There's some snarky comment about New York guys which makes me wonder if this wasn't a comment about the recently departed Bob Aaron and Roy Winsor. I didn't realize how short Samantha Marshall's run on the show was. It seems worth noting that Sam is introduced (I believe) after the Barnes' have done their two week run so it would seem that she was an interim writer creation. Sam is dumped very early when the Barnes' return in favor of Carla, when a true triangle woudl have been more interesting. 

The Hollister Square story is slowly building up to replace the drug story. This was a smart move though I have to wonder if it is coincedence that the story about a wealthy woman Helen giving her husband Charles land in a poor neighborhood that results in drama also was occuring on "Flamingo Road" around the same time. Charles' worming his way back into Helen's life is interesting, and, in the nature of FR, I cannot help but wonder if they shouldn't have pursued Mitch Dunbar and Helen Carpenter more seriously. Ray Owens is serviceable as Mitch, and it would have been nice to see him play a different beat. Ben has also lined up his practice in the building so its  all building nicely. 

Scott out of work is a nice situation for domestic drama. I think around episode 105 I am pretty much getting to the place that I enjoyed during the November, 1981, episodes I started with.