1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

SFT viewers, like all soap viewers, tend to prefer seeing beloved characters at the core of the action. When a show becomes a sea of newbies floating around, it's harder to maintain interest. Fans wanted to see "our" Jo, but when she was shoved onto the backburner yet again, we turned off the SFT stove.

 

I heard one of the smart things the show did in 1986 was put the focus back on Jo.  I was surprised even with the heavy Mccleary focus and the attempt to unsurp Jo by bringing on Maeve McGuire..that the focus was heavy on Jo and Stu up through the end.

 

I had no idea that Ann Flood played a villainess in the final weeks of the show, quite a nice departure from Nancy on EON.  And I liked that Stu was heavily focused on finding his best friend Jo during that period.

 

And I think having the final scene be between stu and Jo was the best way to close out a 35 year show.  And having the cast waving good bye in the closing credits was a nice touch with Jo giving the final send off.  It was a great way to send off a beloved show.  Pam long and Addie Walsh closed out the show well (if it had to be closed out, this was the best way).

12 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

 

I heard one of the smart things the show did in 1986 was put the focus back on Jo.  I was surprised even with the heavy Mccleary focus and the attempt to unsurp Jo by bringing on Maeve McGuire..that the focus was heavy on Jo and Stu up through the end.

 

I had no idea that Ann Flood played a villainess in the final weeks of the show, quite a nice departure from Nancy on EON.  And I liked that Stu was heavily focused on finding his best friend Jo during that period.

 

And I think having the final scene be between stu and Jo was the best way to close out a 35 year show.  And having the cast waving good bye in the closing credits was a nice touch with Jo giving the final send off.  It was a great way to send off a beloved show.  Pam long and Addie Walsh closed out the show well (if it had to be closed out, this was the best way).

 

Maybe I was being too hard on SFT, but I never felt they used Jo enough, or effectively enough, towards the end. I was tired of all the strangers parading through Henderson. Even Patti was a stranger (and half her actual age too!) when she returned.

 

As you say, the best, indeed the ONLY acceptable way of ending the show was a quiet moment between Jo and Stu, the only two characters on the show who still made SFT feel like home. If Christopher Goutman and, say, James Reilly had been in charge, we would have gotten a final scene of the McCleary brothers doing a group strip tease to Village People music, and being chased around by an inflamed, love-starved gorilla. ((Roll eyes))

 

The final scene we got was appropriate, poignant, and lovely.

2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I had no idea that Ann Flood played a villainess in the final weeks of the show, quite a nice departure from Nancy on EON.  And I liked that Stu was heavily focused on finding his best friend Jo during that period.

 

Flood played Ella Hobbs on SFT.  I believe this is how the story played out. Suzy was killed by Ella.  Ella wanted revenge against the McCleary family after a payroll robbery that Ella orchestrated with her lover, Judge Jeremiah Henderson (William Prince), years earlier with Suzi's husband's father-in-law Malcolm McCleary (Patrick Tovatt).  Malcolm turned up alive and fled to Ireland.  Malcolm's twin brother was the one that was killed in the payroll robbery, not him. Ella held Jo hostage in the elevator shaft at Liberty House and she fell to her death as she attempted to kill Jo. 

 

After this, Flood immediately turned up on AW Rose Livingstone.  Rose worked in the accounting department at Cory Publishing.  She dated and flirted with Mac for a few months when his marriage to Rachel was strained as Mitch returned to Bay City.  Flood appeared on AW the day SFT left the airwaves as Mac's date when the North Woods Inn caught on fire.

 

 

Edited August 26, 20187 yr by watson71

Killing off Suzy: another inexplicable, bone-headed move that further decimated Jo's family and ultimately led nowhere.

Edited December 6, 20186 yr by vetsoapfan

6 hours ago, JarrodMFiresofLove said:

 

His wife Marcia McCabe played Sunny from 1977 up to the very last episode in 1986. She would definitely have a lot of insider knowledge. Both of them should write a book about the soap industry, with a focus on Procter & Gamble.

 

 

 

 

Make that ex-wife. She dumped him. A friend who used to work in the industry said Goutman treated her like crap, just as he did with many personnel at the shows he worked at.

2 hours ago, watson71 said:

 

Flood played Ella Hobbs on SFT.  I believe this is how the story played out. Suzy was killed by Ella.  Ella wanted revenge against the McCleary family after a payroll robbery that Ella orchestrated with her lover, Judge Jeremiah Henderson (William Prince), years earlier with Suzi's husband's father-in-law Malcolm McCleary (Patrick Tovatt).  Malcolm turned up alive and fled to Ireland.  Malcolm's twin brother was the one that was killed in the payroll robbery, not him. Ella held Jo hostage in the elevator shaft at Liberty House and she fell to her death as she attempted to kill Jo. 

 

After this, Flood immediately turned up on AW Rose Livingstone.  Rose worked in the accounting department at Cory Publishing.  She dated and flirted with Mac for a few months when his marriage to Rachel was strained as Mitch returned to Bay City.  Flood appeared on AW the day SFT left the airwaves as Mac's date when the North Woods Inn caught on fire.

 

 

 

Malcolm was the one who died. The one who was actually still alive (and had been away in Ireland) was Matt McCleary, the estranged husband of Kate McCleary and the father of the three McCleary brothers. They had all thought Matt died and their uncle Malcolm was in Ireland. The ending of the story felt a little rushed, probably because Long and Walsh wanted to facilitate a reunion between the two parents and give all the McClearys a happy ending.

8 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

 

Make that ex-wife. She dumped him. A friend who used to work in the industry said Goutman treated her like crap, just as he did with many personnel at the shows he worked at.

 

Didn't realize they divorced. I see on his wiki page it says their marriage ended in 2016. They were together for over 30 years.

1 hour ago, JarrodMFiresofLove said:

Didn't realize they divorced. I see on his wiki page it says their marriage ended in 2016. They were together for over 30 years.

 

My friend had told me about the divorce a few years ago. Like I said, he used to work in the industry. He was always good for interesting behind-the-scenes stories. Back in 2013, he had filled me in on the trouble behind the scenes with the AMC and OLTL revivals well before the Prospect Park issues made headlines. He said morale was terribly low way back in March 2013. I also recall him saying that AMC had planned a cutting storyline for Miranda on AMC.

Well, if it's true that Marcia McCabe finally dumped that s.o.b. she called a husband, then I say good for her.  I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Marcia (and for Sunny), and I believe she could do so much better.

 

Now, if someone could get her to return to acting full-time....

13 hours ago, robbwolff said:

 

My friend had told me about the divorce a few years ago. Like I said, he used to work in the industry. He was always good for interesting behind-the-scenes stories. Back in 2013, he had filled me in on the trouble behind the scenes with the AMC and OLTL revivals well before the Prospect Park issues made headlines. He said morale was terribly low way back in March 2013. I also recall him saying that AMC had planned a cutting storyline for Miranda on AMC.

 

Yes, someone could (and should) write a book about the failed revivals of AMC and OLTL. That's a whole subject by itself!

14 hours ago, Khan said:

Well, if it's true that Marcia McCabe finally dumped that s.o.b. she called a husband, then I say good for her.  I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Marcia (and for Sunny), and I believe she could do so much better.

 

Now, if someone could get her to return to acting full-time....

She popped up on my Facebook feed recently (a friend of a Facebook friend). If you're on FB, just search for her name. She still looks the same with her long blonde hair. There are pix of her with her new beau. 

I'm sure this has been posted but here is a behind the scenes look at the 80s live episode (the first clip is from Entertainment Tonight, featuring the recently departed Robin Leach).

 

 

It is exceptionally boring. Hearing the interactions in the control room was more exciting than the entire thing. There wasn't one gripping moment in the whole episode. I wonder why Jo wasn't in the show, you'd think they'd feature their leading lady even if they had to shoehorn her in.

 

I’ve been watching the episodes from the NBC run on YouTube. As they were looping, I saw a January 1984 and December 1986 episode back to back. Watching Sunny go from scenes with Timothy Patrick Murphy to Lee Godart was awkward. Does anyone else see a physical resemblance between the two actors? It was a bit unsettling to think this was the man that Sunny was settling down and having a child with. 

 

Also, were both Steve Kendall and Jack Benton both at the TV station concurrently? Or did Jack replace Steve? I thought Jack might be the replacement, but Steve seems to stick around longer than I expected. 

 

On on the other hand, I’d love to know the circumstances in which Phillip Brown left the show. Steve is a critical piece of the Sentell-Kendall rivalry that Gary Tomlin is building in those 1983 episodes. I don’t remember Brown being listed in mass exodus that occurred in December 1983/January 1984. When is Steve’s final episode? 

 

The Vargas kidnapping story is super effective. I do wish they had tied Vargas to Kate, Mary Stuart’s dual role from the late 1970s. Kate had been a madam that had been Martin’s lover. I think it would have added an interesting layer to the Martin/Billy dynamic. The showdown in the warehouse is really strong. I love that the show continued the Brian/Jo dynamic. I saw a really nice scene with Gene Pietragallo and Mary Stuart where Jo tells Brian she cares about him even after he breaks Suzi’s heart by knocking up Kristen.

 

I don’t like Rhonda Sue, Ringo, or their story. It’s amazing that Ringo lasts nearly two years on a show with constant turnover.

 

Going back to Steve, the scene between Martin and Steve in the hospital highlighted how nicely constructed the shows adult set was. The Martin / Lloyd feud is fueled by Kendall’s father’s suicide (shades of Mike Marshall on TEXAS). Lloyd has a flirtatious business relationship with Stephanie, Martin’s ex-fling and his own “son” Steve’s one-time fiancée. Steve now has two fathers: Lloyd, the man who gave him his name and raised him, and Martin, a stranger he shared a biological connection with. When Steve asks Martin why his marriage to Jo ended, we seemed prime to highlight the rifts in all these dynamics. I imagine we never get there though because Steve must depart soon. 

 

Warren Carter remains fascinating and the Wendy / Warren/ Suzie story has legs to go on for years with Wendy’s miscarriage, Suzi’s inheritance, and Suzi’s pregnancy. I also love Mandy, the amibitioys hostess who has her eyes on television. I really enjoy what has popped up.

SAY WHAT? Mary Stuart played Jo and Kate the ex-madam?! Gosh, I hope those two characters had scenes together.

I think Kate only appeared in New Orleans with Martin. I think the character was a madam or a prostitute. Does anyone else have any details?