All:30 Years Ago-What Was Happening?

[Paul Raven]

I came across a Soap Opera digest from (mid?)79 (the cover is missing,so I can't give an exact date)and thought fellow SONers might be interested in the happenings all those years ago.

I'll type up a summary,rather than word for word,because the synopses in those days were quite lengthy,and my typing isn't up to it.

I'll start with Y&R,and add more in the next few days.Please post what you would like to read,including cancelled shows and I'll type them per requests.

Hope they might spark some discussions and questions.

The Young and the Restless.

Jill nervously awaits Stuart's return.She hope's he'll not call her bluff about leaving the Brooks home.Stuart tells Jill he will not have her parading around town,flaunting her pregnancy.She will stay in the house until she gives birth.After that,she can do as she pleases.

Jill,in return,reminds Stuart she is a young woman with needs,and he needs to fulfill his obligations in the bedroom.Stuarts response is to leave the room ,and his wife, without comment.He truly hates this manipulative witch.

Jill is panicking ,as she forced Stuart into marriage by claiming she is pregnant.She comes across an article on artificial insemination and sees an answer to her problem.She books a flight to New York to visit the clinic.

Leslie has given birth to Brooks Lucas,Lance's son.As Leslie and Lucas share an embrace(she was telling him she does care for him)Vanessa slithers into view.She explains she came to Switzerland to be with Leslie for the birth,but it seems she's too late.Vanessa states that her suspicion that Lance is the father of her grandchild has been confirmed,but not to worry-she'll keep silent.

Leslie,however,is worried and confides in the Maestro that Vanessa is a vindictive woman who'll do anything to hurt Lorie.Maestro responds that he'll divert Vanessa's attention with a little wining and dining.Meanwhile,Vanessa realises that Lance and Lorie will soon be arriving and Lance will discover the truth.

Snapper and Chris become involved with a patient at the free clinic.Nell Remley is an elderly woman who has been mugged and lives in poverty.She tells Chris she has a son in Chicago.Chris tells Peggy of the woman's plight and Peggy suggests they contact George Remley.

Kay and Suzanne settle down to lunch when Kay begins to scream and shake.Suzanne is all sympathy as Kay tells her a large spider is crawling on her.Suzanne says there's nothing there.Kay rushes into her dear friend's arms and begs for help with these horrible spells.She begs Suzanne not to tell Derek.

Suzanne is delighted Kay is trusting her.The tasteless drug she is adding to Kay's food is doing the trick.Before long,Kay will be committed,Derek will take control of her fortune and she will be there to help him spend it.

Casey decides she has to trust her father.Her memories of him molesting her as a child must be imagined.There is nothing about the man today to indicate such depraved behaviour and he has adamantly denied it.Nick is delighted by Casey's decision.Now he,Casey and Nikki can become a real family and he can be the father she should have had.

Liz and Stuart are mending fences.She can't begin to understand why he married her daughter and senses he is unhappy,but he will not answer her questions on the subject.Stuart will not reveal to his former love that he impregnated her daughter.

Greg,however,puts the pieces together and realizes the only reason Stu would suddenly marry Jill would be a pregnancy.He confronts Stu,who admits the truth.Stu is relieved to be able to share his frustrations.Discussing the subject with Greg leads Stu to the conclusion that Jill is heading to NY for an abortion.Jill must have realised the hopelessness of the situation for all concerned and is taking steps to rectify thre situation.

Vanessa's plan has been foiled.Lance tells Lorie that it was in fact Vanessa's idea that they travel to Switzerland.Thinking quickly,Lorie tells Lance that now may not be a good time,with Leslie about to give birth.So many visitors could be a strain.Lance agrees and cancels the trip.

Leslie and Lucas have agreed to give this marriage a chance.They will now be sharing a bed.

Vanessa is delighted when Lucas agrees to her proposal that he take over Prentiss Industries from Lance.She knew he'd accept due to his lingering jealousy towards his brother.

Jill's plans go awry when the doctor informs her he'll only inseminate her husband's sperm.She then picks up a guy in a bar in the hope of falling pregnant.

When she arrives home,Stu and Jill get into a heated argument,when she denies any ideas of having an abortion and ending the marriage.Attempting to slap Stu,Jill loses her balance and tumbles down the stairs.She is rushed to hospital...

[Chris B]

So who was playing Jill when all of this stuff was happening? That was definitely a great read. It depresses me to think of how interesting all of this sounds. Did Jill marry Stuart before or after John?

[FrenchFan]

Before, she married Stuart in 1978 or early 1979, I'm not sure. She wanted money protection for her and little Phillip. She pretended to be pregnant by Stuart to force him into marriage. Of course, he learned the truth and after a bitter divorce, he'd marry Liz Foster. Jill only married John Abbott for the first time in October 1982.

BTW, thanks a lot Paul. In my collection, I have a hole in monthly summaries from early 1978 to August 1979.

[Paul Raven]

Brenda Dickson was playing Jill during this story.

[Paul Raven]

The cast at that time...

Jaime Lyn Bauer...Lorie Brooks Prentiss

Karl Bruck...Maestro Fauch

Robert Colbert...Stuart Brooks

Jeanne Cooper...Kay Thurston

Brenda Dickson...Jill Foster Brooks

Patricia Everly...Peggy Brooks

David Hasselhoff...Snapper Foster

Wings Hauser...Greg Foster

Erica Hope...Nikki Reed

Beau Kayzer...Brock Reynolds

Joe LaDue...Derek Thurston

Roberta Leighton...Casey Reed

Tom Ligon...Lucas Prentiss

Victoria Mallory...Leslie Brooks Prentiss

Julianna McCarthy...Liz Foster

John McCook...Lance Prentiss

Quinn Redeker...Nick Reed

KT Stevens...Vanessa Prentiss

Lynne Topping...Chris Foster Brooks

Ellen Weston...Suzanne Lynch

[MarkH]

Oh, how I loved this story. Eventually, Kay got institutionalized. Suzanne continued to feed her drugs. There, another "inmate" took her jewelry, then burned down the sanitarium (this was, as I recall, June 1979). Kay escaped, but the inmate with the jewelry was identified as "Kay", and Kay was assumed dead.

Kay escaped to Liz's house, detoxed, and eventually made a triumphant return. First, she drove Suzanne crazy with haunting, and finally revealed herself on Jill's wedding night (to Kay's husband, Derek). It was a triumphant thing! One of my all-time favorite stories.

Of course, Casey's instincts were right. Nick eventually turned his attentions to Nikki...and as he was about to rape her, Nikki killed him in self defense.

This squared well, years later, with the idea that Nick kept weapons, and that Nikki found one and accidentally discharged it to kill young Joshua Casein. It also squared well with the idea that deceiver Nick would have concealed young Joshua's body.

I did like Quinn Redeker in the role of Nick, and had little difficulty accepting him (after his DOOL stint as Alex Marshall) as Rex Sterling.

I'm trying to remember if Stuart choked on a chicken bone before or after this? I think before. He was fighting with Jill while eating a drumstick. He choked. Jill called Snapper on the phone and got talked through a tracheotomy with a kitchen knife. Seriously, she slit open Stuart's throat so he would have an airway...all this via phone.

And yes, Brenda Dickson played it too.

Jill was becoming quite the villainess at this point, but she was nowhere near the camp goddess she became in the 80s.

[FrenchFan]

Please post more Paul

[kalbir]

Bill Bell used elements of the Liz/Stuart/Jill story 11 years later on B&B with Beth/Eric/Brooke. Funny that John McCook was on Y&R during the original story.

Based on the cast list this summary is from early 1979, as Melody Thomas Scott took over the role of Nikki in March of that year.

[SteveFrame]

Oh man I loved that scene.

This was Jill's best period to me. I remember the Brooks sisters walking in on her doing the trach and thought she was trying to kill Stuart.

I can remember the Stuart choking on the chicken was a Friday cliffhanger and I couldn't wait until MOnday to see if he lived or died.

Jill hit rock bottom when Stuart divorced her. I can remember not too long after that Dickson left and Bond Gideon (who was awful) started playing her. I remember we had gotten used to Jill in designer duds while married to STuart and there she was at the Fosters and Liz was making her clean the stair case. It was hilarious.

[MarkH]

Bond Gideon. To say I was overjoyed when Deborah Adair replaced her is an understatement. D.A. remains my favorite Jill...even though I fully admit she wasn't really Jill...she was a more sophisticated replacement. See my avatar of the moment .

So interesting...as a Canadian, Stuart's choking must have been a THURSDAY show for me at the time. So it was a huge cliffhanger...but I didn't have to wait all weekend.

[Bright Eyes]

Ooh another Canadian. But I don't think we had day ahead's back then ... not that I was alive to 100% know. Um, who is that in your avatar?

[Pine Charles]

Can you post AMC next, please ?

[MarkH]

Yes, we had day-aheads on CHCH TV 11 from Hamilton (I was a Toronto boy). In fact, that was how the day-aheads started (see this blog).

Avatar is Deborah Adair as Jill Foster Abbott.

[Paul Raven]

All My Children

Devon is close to giving up her baby.Wally is trying to get her to change her mind or allow him to raise her.Caroline lets her own personal issues get in the way and advises Devon to keep the baby.Seeing her baby and nursing it is making things hard for Devon,more so when Christina tells her they are having trouble finding a suitable formula so legal proceedings will be delayed.

Ellen believes Wally wants the baby as a way of getting Devon to marry him and so advises her daughter not to tell him about the problems with the formula.

With Paul ,and everyone else discouraging him,Wally decides to take action.He takes the baby from the hospital.

Erica is aghast at her mother's affair with Charles and how it reflects on her and her business.Mona is ready to back out of her trip to Rome but Linc encourages her to go and enjoy every moment .

Estelle heads to Haiti for a divorce,infuriating Billy Clyde,who threatens Benny if Estelle does not come back to him.Billy Clyde's memories of a neglective abusive mother haunt him.

Ellen cannot bring herself to tell Mark that his mother threatened to disown him if their marriage went ahead.Paul advises her to give Mark the chance to make his own decisions.ellen is feeling more insecure about the age difference,now she is a grandmother.

Chuck,brokenhearted,tells Charlie that although he considers him a son,perhaps he should call Phil'Dad" from now on.Phil thanks him for this and Chuck says it is small repayment for his life.Donna suggests to Chuck they renew their vows just as Phil and Tara have done but he refuses.Donna hopes the birth of their child may make a difference to their marriage.

Kelly is devastated that Myrtle is sick and wants to stay by her side,but Eddie insists she perform at the Chateau,and uses her pill addiction as a weapon.Linc suspects Eddie has some hold over Kelly,who knows she must beat her habit.

Christina is thrilled with a San Francisco job offer and tell Jeff she's going with or without him.After much arguing,Christina leaves without him.Jeff wonders how she could do this if she really loved him.

Ellen is aware that Brooke has set her sights on Mark.Mark tells Brooke he's not interested,but she is not deterred.

Devon and Ellen now realise they have been shutting Wally out.Wally and baby Bonnie are heading home to St Louis.His mother Harriet berates him over the phone about his actions,so he hangs up before learning of his daughter's allergy.wally decides to stay in a hotel for a few days and hopes to find a drug store formula for Bonnie.

Benny is thrilled to hear from Estelle that she got the divorce,despite Donna's warning that Estelle could be committing bigamy as the divorce might not be legal in the U.S.Benny is unconcerned,saying Billy Clyde will not know this.

Benny leaves the divorce papers for Billy Clyde,who flies into a rage and with armed with a gun,threatens Donna,who tells him that Benny has taken Estelle to the Tylers.Fortunately,Phil arrives before Billy Clyde can cause harm and he is arrested.Phil is decorated for bravery and promoted to Segeant.Best of all,Charlie is proud of his Dad.

Saying Myrtle would understand,Kelly pops a pill.

Pheobe encourages Edna to fight for Benny.

In Rome,the cocierge tries to protect Charles by stalling Pheobe.In the cocktail bar she runs into an ols friend,Bob,who gives her Charles' room number.Pheobe comes across Charles and Mona(in a negligee) and dramatically collapses.Bob is called to examine her and prescribes a tranquilizer,which Pheobe dumps in a vase of flowers.She's delighted to overhear Mona telling Charles she's embarassed and is heading home.

Joe persudes Jeff to call Christina.He does and Hadley,her former fiance answers the phone.Jeff assumes the worst,although Hadley and Chris' meeting is quite innocent.Joe reasons with his son and he calls again.They meet and talk,with Jeff agreeing to leave Pine Valley.

Wally calls his mom for advice about the baby.She advises him to get to the hospital.when told Bonnie needs mother's milk ,he phones Devon asking for forgiveness and promising to return.

Kelly heads to a church,vowing to quit pills in return for Myrtle's full recovery.Myrtle gets a feeling that God tapped on the shoulder and told her everything will be fine.

Kelly's performance is a disaster and Eddie taunts her with pills,laughing at herr vow to go'cold turkey'.

Pheobe decides to get her life in order-by joining Charles in Rome!

[applcin]

^^ This brings back memories. This was the time I first watched AMC. LOL, I saw Warren Burton in two soaps after that but still always thought of him as Eddie Dorrance. And I remember trying to tell the difference between Susan Lucci's Erica and Robin Strasser's Christina, they looked like twins.