Striking Writers Speak Out

[DeeeDee]

Y&R was already in transition so the strike wasn't so bad.

There were some definite WTF moments though (Ashley/Steven, Scott/Cricket, Lisa) & George Rawlins went on FOREVER.

[Khan]

Wasn't there also some wacky story about Nikki and some guy who tried to kill her w/ a bomb?

[EricMontreal22]

Great read--I had no idea McTavish was an associate headwriter for AMC in '88...

[MichaelGL]

Was Harding Lemay writing AW at the time of the strike, or was that after the strike that he returned? I seem to vaguely recall that the strike was what led Another World to hire Donna Swajeski, instead of bringing Lemay back, and the rest is history.

If I recall, that story played out during the strike in the early 80s.

[soapfan770]

Those comments came from a post-strike interview circa 1989 or 1990 I remember reading a long, long time ago. Can't remember all of the details, but I just remember him saying it was a story he definitely didn't like and wouldn't have wrote and that there no plans to even bring Craig back from the dead.

I wonder if that new character was Angel. Alice Haining joined in '88 didn't she, and I've often heard she was one of his personal favorites.

Yeah, for much of the strike AW was all over the place judging from the SoapNet reruns I saw, the ghost story with Cass and Nicole was weird.

Did Scott and Cricket work as a couple on Y&R before the reveal that they were siblings? As for B&B during the strike, the only significant story I know of occurring that year was when Thorne found out Ridge was sleeping with Caroline so in some "angry sleepwalking" state Thorne shot Ridge and then Stephanie took the blame for it. In the late 90s I remember SOD heavily criticizing the story, but I don't know if it happened during the strike either.

[DeeeDee]

No.

But it didn't matter since every man in Genoa City (literally) LOVED Cricket.

[alphanguy74]

It wasn't wacky, it was GOOD (1981). that was the Crazy Edward storyline, and Melody says it's her favorite of any she's ever done. He was her introverted next door neighbor who kept his mother's ashes on his mantle and talked to them. Nikki offered the poor sap a bowl of strawberries (you know how she was always eating strawberries) and he thought she was in love with him. Eventually, when she was over in his apartment, he tried to rape her, but she rebuffed him by taking the urn and throwing mommy's ashes all over him, then she ran out of the apartment and ran away (from the building) I don't remember it being a bomb.. I remember him burning the building down after he freaked out having mommy's ashes all over himself.

[DeeeDee]

It was a bomb.

[DRW50]

That's interesting -- I never knew Craig was supposed to stay dead. I thought he had a very obvious soapy death to make up for when Scott Bryce might want to return.

Angel makes sense as the character he introduced.

As for Swajeski and the strike -- I'd forgotten about that, that she got her job during the strike, supposedly. It's odd because not a lot of that time seems like her, aside from Sharlene's intro, and perhaps Lisa/Vicky/Jamie.