20 hours ago, EricMontreal22 said:

I loved your description of Malone's recurring themes (tropes?) and I think you're spot on, but I admit I hadn't thought about them nearly as much as I've thought about Nixon's over the years, so the comparison is something I just eat up.

At some point, maybe midway through or after clearing '92 (since 1991-92 are my major zones of interest where I wasn't watching Malone I as a kid) I may explore this further by digging into Malone's cursed Another World run. I am admittedly a AW neophyte - I watched some of the final year live, I've seen a bit of Malone's run and have watched the share of available Lemay episodes in the '70s and '80s - but I'd like to compare and contrast to Malone's other work and themes. I know a lot of his Bourbon Street bible apparently carried over, but other elements that may have been in that show's plans seem like they date back to OLTL as well: Cindy Harrison the jewel thief or whatever, obsessed with ancient treasure, is right out of the Alex Olanov character model and story from OLTL '92. (And "the Fall of the House of Cory" was a good idea on paper but as I've noted before and I know @DRW50 has commented on, it didn't seem to actually make sense for any of the characters involved.) Malone also returned to characters vying for treasure and cursed jewels in disastrous fashion on OLTL in 2003, when Dorian, Blair, David and Mitch all went after Victor Lord's all-powerful "Bahdra diamond". Oy.

Anyway, if people have any interest in that exploration given my relative lack of experience with AW, I'll consider it down the road.

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by Vee

2 hours ago, Vee said:

At some point, maybe midway through or after clearing '92 (since 1991-92 are my major zones of interest where I wasn't watching Malone I as a kid) I may explore this further by digging into Malone's cursed Another World run. I am admittedly a AW neophyte - I watched some of the final year live, I've seen a bit of Malone's run and have watched the share of available Lemay episodes in the '70s and '80s - but I'd like to compare and contrast to Malone's other work and themes. I know a lot of his Bourbon Street bible apparently carried over, but other elements that may have been in that show's plans seem like they date back to OLTL as well: Cindy Harrison the jewel thief or whatever, obsessed with ancient treasure, is right out of the Alex Olanov character model and story from OLTL '92. (And "the Fall of the House of Cory" was a good idea on paper but as I've noted before and I know @DRW50 has commented on, it didn't seem to actually make sense for any of the characters involved.) Malone also returned to characters vying for treasure and cursed jewels in disastrous fashion on OLTL in 2003, when Dorian, Blair, David and Mitch all went after Victor Lord's all-powerful "Bahdra diamond". Oy.

Anyway, if people have any interest in that exploration given my relative lack of experience with AW, I'll consider it down the road.

Cindy, like Alex, was also unhinged (and unlike Alex was always intended that way). Malone also re-used the sex game motif for Carlo/Alex with Cindy and her husband, Grant.

You are right that the Fall of the House of Cory made no sense with the characters involved, although that's off topic, I realize.

Malone also redid the rape trial story, to much lesser effect, although the story did not try to redeem the rapist - it was more about the town divided. I know he redid the rape story again with "Todd" and Blair when he returned to OLTL.

~-BUFFALO COURIEREXPRESS, Sunday, November 22, 1981 Jon Michael Reed

A NEW YORK masquerade ball is being taped for "One Life to Live" that will "unveil" at least one long-kept plot secret and introduce a couple of new or returning characters to the Llandview scene. The episodes are scheduled to air at the end of this month. Joining the soap at that time will be actress, beauty book author and cosmetics spokeswoman Arlene Dahl, as Mimi King's cocktail singer-pianist mother, Lucinda.

"OLTL' producer Joe Stuart says, "Arlene Dahl will portray a character whose primary goal is to see her daughter married to a wealthy Buchanan. We spent several months casting the role and are delighted to have someone of Ms. Dahl's experience and stunning good looks join the show."" Stuart also crowed that his show is firmly entrenched as the No. 2 daytime serial and in recent weeks came close to toppling "General Hospital" from the No 1 spot.

The masquerade ball will take place on an elaborate new set that represents Asa and Samantha's home. Nearly $20,000 was spent on costumes for the special party sequences.

Also at the end of this month, the character of Tony Lord, Pat Ashley's one-time lord and master, will resurface after a two-year absence. Tony will be played by Chip Lucia, since the original Tony, George Reinholt, wasn't available or, for that matter, wanted. (Reinholt's Peck's bad boy reputation among daytime circles hasn't won him a tender spot in the hearts of soap producers.)

Ilene Kristen, the original Delia on "Ryan's Hope," will portray Georgina, Tony's auto mechanic sidekick.

Andrea Evans-Massey has been informed that her character of Tina Clayton will be shipped off to college in December. Andrea became a 'hyphenate"" when she married her costar, Wayne Massey (Johnny Drummond), last year. Under any name, Andrea's Miss Goody-Two Shoes interpretation of Tina was at cross purposes with the writers' intentions for the character. Tina progressed from a teen tease to a young adult vamp, but Evans-Massey never quite matured into a believable temptress. *Wayne and his character of Johnny, meanwhile, will become further involved with the character of Becky Abbott, played by Mary Murray, following Mary's temporary leave-of-absence from the soap to star in the Broadway revival of the Neil Stmon musical, "Little Me.

*Well Andrea got a second chance and proved them wrong.

6 hours ago, Vee said:

Malone also returned to characters vying for treasure and cursed jewels in disastrous fashion on OLTL in 2003, when Dorian, Blair, David and Mitch all went after Victor Lord's all-powerful "Bahdra diamond". Oy.

Anyway, if people have any interest in that exploration given my relative lack of experience with AW, I'll consider it down the road.

Did Malone do the AW story with the fertility statue with glowing eyes or something? When Malone joined AW I did start watching, but I didn't stick around long (not only because I didn't have any pre-existing ties to AW so it was hard to invest, but more importantly that would have been when I finally got busy with theatre at school and a social life so keeping up with AMC and OLTL was already hard enough :P ) But he was only around for 9 months I guess? Of course I'd love to hear your thoughts about his era (I assume most of it must be online--I've yet to investigate. My connection with AW is mostly the same as yours--watching as much of Lemay stuff as I can, those two Agnes Nixon episodes we have, and a vague knowledge of the rest.)

And right, we've talked about all the weird Gothic stuff (and adventure stuff) on Malone/Griffith's OLTL return which ALSO seems cribbed in part from 13 Bourbon Street ideas...

6 hours ago, EricMontreal22 said:

Did Malone do the AW story with the fertility statue with glowing eyes or something?

And right, we've talked about all the weird Gothic stuff (and adventure stuff) on Malone/Griffith's OLTL return which ALSO seems cribbed in part from 13 Bourbon Street ideas...

The treasures, statue, etc. stuff that I think had to do with Cindy and Grant all goes back to his early success and comic exploits with Alex (and Alex/Carlo) for me, but I assume some of it was also on Bourbon Street.

The gothic/quasi-supernatural elements I think were always there on Malone's OLTL even in the first run. I can't speak to Bourbon Street or much of what happened on AW but I do think Malone II just turned it all up to well past 11 lol. I will never forget Victor's secret Indiana Jones trap rooms under Llanfair, or his Lion's Heart Manor in the enchanted Lenape forest! Beware the haunted fog, Antonio!

The whole AW storyline he did where Amanda Cory poses as her stepfather's fake "mistress" in a Party City wig or whatever to frame him, then begins to lose herself in the role as a sort of quasi-DID experience and go 'am I Hadley? is Hadley real?!' was truly ridiculous. Ironically I actually don't think Malone ever would've revisited DID on OLTL after 1995 (and he's the only post-'90s writer to not do so during the network run, to his credit) but whatever that Amanda story was supposed to be was hilarious to glimpse.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Vee

I remember reading about Malone joining AW and I was ecstatic.

It would be great to read someone's analysis on his work there.