Dark Shadows was produced by Dan Curtis Productions, so it was completely up to them if they wanted to erase the episodes or not (thank god they didn't!). Similarly, Ryan's Hope was initially produced by Labine-Mayer Productions, and they chose not to erase RH. When they sold the show to ABC (to produce), ABC had already been saving their in-house-produced soaps.

I remember there being a blurb about how when Soap Net initially rebroadcast the old Ryan's Hope episodes, some of the earlier were lost due to the tapes being destroyed in some warehouse flood. You'd be directed to go on to Soap Net's website and read the actual breakdown of the missing episode that preceded the one they were airing.

I remember that too R. Following RH on SoapNet has been no dice for me. I got SN late, they've restarted it, what, three/four times now (?), the crazy scheduling, don't have SN anymore... now there's a show they need to quit playing with and just take the hulu route.

As far as I know, most of the early RH is still around. A guy who used to post here and that I used to talk to a lot is a big, big RH fan, and I don't remember him ever telling me about lost episodes or anything. But it's possible, I guess.

There's a lost DS episode, though. They made a recap of it with production stills and Lara Parker narration for the reruns and the DVD/VHS sets. And I think there's another one where the color master is lost, but a B/W kinescope is still around.

Edited February 27, 201015 yr by All My Shadows

As far as I know, most of the early RH is still around. A guy who used to post here and that I used to talk to a lot is a big, big RH fan, and I don't remember him ever telling me about lost episodes or anything. But it's possible, I guess.

Well, I didn't pull it out of my ass.

CLAIRE [LABINE]: Those are the scripts of the missing episodes, from the first 200 shows, and here we go.

Here's the Source

I still want sources from AGnes Nixon's ass--or at least All Her Children

I still want sources from AGnes Nixon's ass--or at least All Her Children

Sorry... I found my copy

I still want sources from AGnes Nixon's ass--or at least All Her Children

Sorry... I found my copy

I was going to say, I have two copies, actually I might even have a paperback edition too, so you can have one.

My saviour

Well, I didn't pull it out of my ass.

CLAIRE [LABINE]: Those are the scripts of the missing episodes, from the first 200 shows, and here we go.

Here's the Source

Well, [!@#$%^&*], sorry. I didn't know. I didn't say it was impossible/wrong either.

Though this is pretty amusing:

ILENE [KRISTEN]: I had letters from guys in prison. Yeah. The strangest one was he wanted to drink my dirty bath water, cause that's how good I was, and that he would be my human nail clipper. (grins) I think that's pretty romantic.

It's up there with Agnes' recent confession that some lady thougth she was putting sperm in her food... (I blame Maria Bell...)

Edited February 28, 201015 yr by EricMontreal22

So how many RH episodes are lost in all? It doesn't seem like a lot.

I love that they showed Claire and Paul going around and looking for missing tapes. I'm glad they at least found most of them. I wish they could do that for the other soaps...or Doctor Who.