9 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

I was so disappointed in how the soaps were being decimated in the 1980s (asinine sci-fi/fantasy garbage, discarding of vets, an emphasis on gimmicks and gloss over humanity and identifiable human drama), that I wanted to go back to cornerstone basics of the genre.

I've actually created a few soaps in my lifetime. The first was during my early high school years; a mystery saga along the lines of The Edge of Night.  It didn't really click well, for whatever reason (I was no Henry Slesar), but I figured I'd get better at writing with practice.

The second one was at the end of my high school experience. The writing came much easier for me by then, and the words just flowed from my hands as if the stories were writing themselves. I ended up producing 306 episodes of that serial, until real life (school, work, family responsibilities) pulled me away from it. I brought that "world" to a conclusion with a wedding of two principle characters and then said goodbye to it. Occasionally, I must admit, I still daydream about that community today.🙃

The soap I devised when I went back to university in the 1980s was based on people I knew and the issues they had had/were having in their lives. It was predicated on interpersonal relationships mainly. I included some characters who were aspiring to succeed in the entertainment industry. My professor wrote that I had imbued the show with a somewhat idealized depiction of the main family. He described it as being the type of family everybody wishes they had, but so few people ever get. He called it comforting wish fulfilment. That had been my goal!

I wrote descriptions and histories of all the main characters, along with projected storylines for the first six months, and then the opening scripts. It took me ages to complete, but it was a joyous experience for me.

It was like conceiving and birthing 20 children all at once, ROTF!🤣

Sounds fascinating. And with your love for soaps at their best, I am sure it was wonderful.
Everytime I need to get away from reality, I pretend that I was assigned to save GL in early 2007 (a horrible time for the show) and I am trying to keep the show alive up to today. Everytime I mess things up, I start again lol. 

Speaking of ATWT history..does anyone know anything about the housekeeper the Ellen killed? I know it had to be an accident, but she went to jail for it. What an interesting piece of history to go back to..I wonder why Marland didnt?  Ellen was such a sad sack in the late 70s and then she was a sweet and perky mom/grandma...no one ever mentioned it. I would have had the womans son or grandson come back for revenge..dating Betsy or one of the Stewart girls to get in before springing his revenge.

3 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

Sounds fascinating. And with your love for soaps at their best, I am sure it was wonderful.
Everytime I need to get away from reality, I pretend that I was assigned to save GL in early 2007 (a horrible time for the show) and I am trying to keep the show alive up to today. Everytime I mess things up, I start again lol. 

I think many dedicated soap fans daydream about how they could salvage and rejuvenate once-stellar, now decimated, shows. And I'll bet many of those fans could do a better job than the often-incompetent PTB who actually get hired to ruin...er RUN...daytime dramas.

Daydreaming keeps us all from going insane over the horrendous state of our cherished soaps.

54 minutes ago, Mitch64 said:

Speaking of ATWT history..does anyone know anything about the housekeeper the Ellen killed? I know it had to be an accident, but she went to jail for it. What an interesting piece of history to go back to..I wonder why Marland didnt?  Ellen was such a sad sack in the late 70s and then she was a sweet and perky mom/grandma...no one ever mentioned it. I would have had the womans son or grandson come back for revenge..dating Betsy or one of the Stewart girls to get in before springing his revenge.

It was an "accident" only in that Ellen didn't mean to kill her, just stop her from telling Dan that Ellen was his biological mother (which Franny, the housekeeper, had just threatened to do). It was a spontaneous act on Ellen's part. Not premeditated murder. Which is why she was released from prison. Franny was leaving the room to go tell Dan and Ellen grabbed a small statue on the desk and bashed her over the head to stop her. Franny didn't have any children of her own. She considered Paul and Dan her own children. That was part of the problem. She was possessive of them and hated Ellen because she was their new mother after David married her (or was about to marry her. I can't remember the chronology). 

Two 1988 and 1989 episodes were uploaded a few days ago. If they were up before they aren't at present, unless I missed them. Thanks to @Maxim as I first saw the channel link again in their AMC thread post.

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Edited June 14, 2025Jun 14 by DRW50

Just now, DRW50 said:

Two 1988 and 1989 episodes were uploaded a few days ago. If they were up before they aren't at present, unless I missed them

Omg, thank you so much! I know what I will be watching tonight!!!!

Much appreciated, @DRW50. The 1989 one aired on my first birthday.

11 minutes ago, Franko said:

Much appreciated, @DRW50. The 1989 one aired on my first birthday.

Happy early birthday.

Thanks for the tag @DRW50!!  I'm going to enjoy watching them.

I didn't know LC was already EP by Nov 2 of 88.

Thank you!

Thanks @DRW50!!!

Thanks @DRW50. That channel has some good content.

ATWT was one of the few soaps which didn't sink into camp hell in the 1980s. Thanks, @DRW50.

The 1989 episode had Julie pre-Caleb being a thorn in the sides of John Dixon and the Hughes family while I finally got my answer as to the origins of Barbara's dislike of Emily ...and it looked to be near the end of Martha's first stint of Lily.

I do wonder if Lily actually had feelings/love for Derek.. or if he was just someone that was available because Holden and Dusty were both not available nor in town.

Thanks, @DRW50!!