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Paul Raven

By Paul Raven
in DTS: Cancelled Soaps

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Khan Grand Master

Khan

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Well, when you put it THAT way, lol.

I dunno.  TPTB obviously thought those kinds of stunts would boost the ratings, but I always feel like the energy TPTB put into quick fixes is the same energy that could be put into writing, producing and directing worthwhile, quality drama that will go much further with the audience in the long run.

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dc11786 Experienced

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Regarding the appearance of wrestlers, it seems typical of the time period. It's a bit more extrmeme than usual, but I wonder if it wasn't meant to be some sort of deal between P&G and USA. Wrestling was airing on USA at the time and "Edge of Night" reruns started airing in August 1985. Timing might be coincidental, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't. I'll take wrestlers appearing as themselves than Olympic swimmers playing pivotal roles like Steve Kendall. 

When Sherry Mathis is in the role, I don't mind Hogan and Liza. I suspect Liza / Hogan was an attempt to keep Sherry Mathis on the show given her contract was up for renewal. In hindsight, Marcia McCabe was criminally underused or misused by most regimes during the NBC run. Sunny's rape and her (initial) romance with Hogan were the highlights of a lot of lame duck stories or untapped potential. Some of the couple writing for Liza and Hogan was very strong, in my opinion, but the writing for Sunny was pretty weak and, at times, offensive. I'm curious to see how my opinion on that changes as I watch more of that period. 

The circus stuff is Paul Avila Mayer's creative excess at its most extreme (matching the Meritkhara and Prince Albert stories on "Ryan's Hope" in the early 1980s). While I find the trappings annoying, the characterization and relationships between Ryder, TR, and Danny are strong. I appreciate Adam Storke and find his Ryder (pre-circus at least) soulful. He seems like the kind of actor that would have been hired a few years earlier to play Brian Emerson. Bringing back Stu's grandson gave Larry Haines more to do just as the introduction of Michelle Joyce's Sarah Whiting gave Mary Stuart more. 

As I rewatch bits and pieces from YouTube of the Avila Mayer / Braxton period, I'm remembering that I am often liking the idea of scenes are stories rather than the actual stories as they are executed. The scripts often lacking the eloquence that Avila Mayer was able to produce with Claire Labine at "Ryan's Hope" and they have some solid script writers (Nancy Williams was a P&G staple for years before working for James E. Reilly, I believe). The plotting isn't always as tight as it would be with a different co-headwriter. 

With all that said, I think this is one of the few periods where I feel the writing for families and friends is stronger than usual for the NBC years, but will acknowledge those relationships may not play out the way people would like them to. This is also one of the few periods I find Suzi and Cagney compelling as a couple on their own. 

In terms of canvas building, I think the circus stuff was a mistake, but I think it was easy to rectify. I think introducing Caldwell House was a smart move to recenter Jo and Stu in a central set piece where they could interact with people in a way that they had historcially. I think rebuilding the families was important. Off the top of my head, I think Jeanne Glynn only really added to the McCleary and Kendall families during the year or so she was wriitng the show with various writers. 

I don't think Gary Walton returning would have saved the show without a solid story in place. With that said, if Gary had returned, it would have been interesting to me to see Gary involved with work at the clinic and a possible romance with Selina McCulla. Then, eventually you bring on Laine Adamson with plans to redevelop that part of Henderson which would threaten the existence of the clinic. 

I think Lee Sentell would have worked better in a triangle with Liza and Sunny even if it required a recast. 

Also, I wish that more time had been spent setting up Liza and Hogan. Instead of Liza's midlife crisis, I would have used the loose thread of the prototype to result in TI loosing the government contract because they failed to deliver the prototype on schedule. This would have  resulted in a huge financial loss for TI which would have pushed an older, conservative (as well as misogynistic) board member to push for her to be removed from her role as president of TI. Lloyd would step in as a co-president to keep the vultures at bay, which would infuriate Liza. On the otherhand, Sunny, who has had no social life, would be winning journalism awards left and right and would be at the peak of her career. As a result, when a jaded Hogan returned to Henderson, he and Liza would find themselves in a similar positions. Once Sunny takes a job away from Henderson (some morning show position in a major market with the potential advance to a network anchor role), Liza and Hogan would get together only for Sunny to return to Henderson after deciding her dreams involve being with Hogan. Lloyd could have even lured her back to town because he wanted Sunny to keep Hogan away from Liza, though Sunny would be unaware of that. 

What we got instead was deeply problematic. The decision to have Hogan act the way he did from the start was a terrible decision and sets the tone for a lot of the problems down the road. 

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