One Life to Live storylines (1980–1989)
Encyclopedia
One Life to Live
is an American soap opera
that has been broadcast on the ABC
network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines (1968–1979)
. The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines (1980–1989). The plot in the next decade is outlined in One Life to Live storylines (1990–1999)
and the story continues in One Life to Live storylines (2000–Present)
.
. The Wolek sisters were the spotlight characters of the show as the new decade began. The major storyline on OLTL in 1979 was Viki’s trial for the murder of Marco Dane (Gerald Anthony). But Anthony was so popular with fans that he quickly returned (a quick rewrite revealed Marco's heretofore unknown twin brother Mario was killed instead; Marco impersonated him for several years). Karen discovered Marco’s secret, but realized he was genuinely trying to rehabilitate, so she didn’t expose him. Meanwhile, Jenny was treated badly by her husband Brad who then manipulated her into taking him back over and over again. Brad also rape
d Karen. Jenny was in a high-risk pregnancy at the time, and the news of the rape sent her into early labor. When the baby died in the nursery, Karen forced Marco to switch the child with fellow hooker
Katrina Karr's child. Jenny finally left Brad for good and married Dr. Peter Janssen, who was later killed in a car accident. It would be several years before she found out the truth about ‘her’ baby and in a heartbreaking sequence, gave her daughter back to Katrina.
Joe Riley succumbed to a brain tumor
and died in the fall of 1979, only weeks before Viki delivered their second son (whom she named Joseph in his memory). Viki buried herself in work as publisher of the Banner, and in looking after Tina, who was perpetually involved with one bad-news boyfriend after another. Although she deliberately avoided a new relationship, she attracted two prospective love interests. One was Ted Clayton, Tina’s father (actually stepfather, though she didn’t know it at the time) who was more interested in Viki’s wealth than her. The other was Clint Buchanan (Clint Ritchie), who took over Joe’s position as chief editor of the Llanview Banner. Viki and Clint clashed both professionally and personally – Clint was a no-nonsense cowboy who initially saw Viki as a pampered primadonna
. Eventually though true love won out and, despite numerous schemes by Ted, Viki and Clint were married. Ted was finally gunned down, prompting a devastated Tina to leave Llanview for a while.
Quickly following Clint to Llanview were his brother Bo Buchanan (Robert S. Woods), and father Asa Buchanan (Phil Carey). Asa was a Texas oil baron
millionaire
who had a love-hate relationship with his sons, and practically everyone he knew. The Buchanan clan was an obvious attempt to imitate the then wildly popular prime-time soap Dallas, but the Buchanans proved to be such big hits that they soon dominated the entire show. Most of the Wolek and Lord family members who anchored OLTL since it’s inception were written out, or (in the case of Viki) married into the Buchanan family. (Ironically the Buchanan family has remained a popular fixture on the daytime soap to this day, outlasting their inspirations on Dallas by more than a decade.) Asa was as much a scoundrel as J.R. Ewing
in his business dealings but he was also an irrepressible ladies' man. Almost immediately after arriving in Llanview, Asa wooed Brad Vernon's sister Samantha, who was decades younger than he was. What no one knew was that Asa's first wife Olympia (mother of Clint and Bo) was still alive, still legally Asa's wife, and being held prisoner by him. Throughout the 1980s, Asa took one young bride after another - including Delilah Ralston, Becky Lee Abbott and Pamela Stuart, and locked horns with his sons, particularly Bo, who had his own romantic interest in both Delilah and Becky Lee.
The role of Dorian was recast with Robin Strasser
, who arguably became the definitive portrait of the character. While continuing to be a thorn in Viki’s side (she briefly ‘romanced’ Clint when he and Viki were on the outs), her character was fleshed out a little more. She married Herb Callison, the district attorney
who prosecuted Viki for murder. Although she expected to be able to control him, Herb proved to be more than a match for her, and their marriage was a tempestuous affair, although surprisingly long-lasting for two soap opera characters. Also complicating Dorian’s life was the abrupt arrival of Cassie Howard, the illegitimate daughter whom Dorian had given up years earlier. Dorian at first resisted becoming a mother to Cassie, but eventually she accepted the girl into her home.
Karen’s "housewife hooker" storyline was rehashed in 1981 by having Karen go undercover, posing as a prostitute
while investigating the murder of her cousin Vinnie Wolek. Much like every soap in the early 1980s, OLTL aped the wild success of General Hospital
’s “Luke & Laura” story by having Karen & Marco framed for murder and having to go on the run from the mob. The reality-based tales took a turn towards the absurd in the early 80s, as Karen and Larry had control chips implanted in their brains by the evil Dr. Ivan Kipling (Jack Betts) and Larry had to save Karen from Kipling's jungle hideaway.
Weekly Summaries
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 4, 1983
Lucinda schemed to take Asa away from Becky. Mrs. Livingston was livid that Brad and Gary rigged "ghost voices" for her seance at the Inn, thwarting her attempt to communicate with the Inn's ghost, Gabriel. Brad, Gary and Cassie found a secret passage way in a room at the Inn. Tony attempted to get Alec hooked on pain pills after he was injured in a Cougers game. Delila pulled her disappearing act again, but left a trail to Atlantic City. David was upset to learn that Jenny put her nursing career on hold. Brad quizzed Lucinda about David, whom she admitted she had met in Europe. Herb surprised Dorian by arriving in Washington while she secretly met with Mr. Gilligan. Delila warned Glenda to stay away from Bo. Danny said that he and Shelley can only be friends.
NOVEMBER 21-25, 1983
David was suspicious of Simon, another San Carlos refugee whom David's cohert Charles asked him to harbor. Simon was smitten by Cassie after seeing her in a restaurant. Alec refused Marco's offer to become a TV sports announcer. Asa quizzed a former San Carlos preist, Father Stefano, who insisted he knew nothing about a mysterious note from San Carlos that he had delivered to Asa. Danny was enthused about his new job as a copy editor at the Banner. David realized that Scott had bugged Ava's hotel room and foiled Scott's attempt to blackmail her. Brad was surprised to see that Delila is a dancer at Tony's Wildlife Club. Becky was jealous that Tony's girlfriend, Laurel Chapin, came on to Asa at the club. Tony's henchman Gus showed Alec fake proof that Alec was paid to throw the Cougers' last game.
DECEMBER 5-9, 1983
David was accused of shooting Scott, who was murdered while talking to David. Simon told the court he saw a man dressed as a security guard leave the murder scene. Viki printed her and Danny's interview with the ex-wife of the murdered San Carlos president. The president's son, Michael, insisted the article will mark him and his mother for death. Gilligan insisted to a doubtful Dorian that David killed Scott because Scott threatened to reveal Cassie's parentage. Cassie freaked to see Dorian in David's arms. Brad was jealous that Jenny sided with David. Simon insisted that he didn't steal David's gun, which was used to kill Scott. San Carlos finance manager Senor Morales told Bo he doesn't have the San Carlos treasury money. Herb took on David's case. Clint won Brad's $10,000 hotel opening treasure hunt. Asa offered Alec a job after he learned that Alec can never play football again.
Steve Piermont (Robert Desiderio
, Light's real-life husband.) In spite of Larry urging her to remain in Llanview, she decided she would rather go on the run with a man who needed her than stay with her old demons.
Karen’s sister Jenny fell in love with David Rinaldi (Michael Zaslow
), a concert pianist, who had fathered Dorian’s daughter Cassie. Although married to Herb, Dorian was at turns furiously bitter towards, and jealously possessive of David. She sought to drive a wedge between David and Jenny, going as far as seducing him. Her schemes ultimately backfired; not only was she unsuccessful at breaking up David and Jenny, Herb found out about her fling and divorced her. David and Jenny were then embroiled in an absurd and confusing spy storyline that drove viewers away. Like Karen, Jenny nd David were shipped out of town in 1986.
Thanksgiving 1983, Asa held a lavish costume ball in honor of his young wife Samantha. During the festivities, Olympia escaped captivity, revealed to Bo that she was still alive, and that Asa wasn’t really his father (the last bit turned out not to be true.) Olympia tried coaxing Bo into shooting Asa, but he couldn’t pull the trigger. When Olympia herself tried to kill her husband, Samantha lunged to save Asa and knocked Olympia and herself out a window. Only Samantha survived the fall. When she was informed that Asa was a liar and a bigamist
, she dumped him then and there. Perhaps the most spectacular part of this storyline was its length. While it was all supposed to occur in the space of one night, it took up an entire month's worth of episodes, with five, hour-long episodes being aired for four whole weeks. These episodes took up approximately 20 hours of airtime and were all dedicated to the events of one single evening.
Asa and Bo promptly went on fighting – mainly over women. Bo fell in love with Delila Ralston, but Asa deliberately led them both to believe that they were half-siblings (Bo had been told by Olympia that his real father had been Yancey Ralston – Delila’s father). Asa let them know that they weren’t actually related only after he married Delila. Soon afterward, Asa faked his death to test Delila’s fidelity – she wasted no time marrying Bo! Later, aspiring country-western
singer Becky Lee Abbott became pregnant with Bo’s son Drew, but married Asa instead. Later still, Bo fell in love with and married Didi O’Neill, whose father Harry O’Neill [Frank Converse] was a blue-collar workingman fighting Asa’s plans to ‘gentrify’ east Llanview. In 1986, it was revealed that throughout all the convoluted events of the past several years, Asa had been bigamously married to another woman, Pamela Stuart. Pamela was never involved with Bo in any way.
Viki was on the back burner for a few years, but in 1985 returned to the spotlight in one of the show’s landmark storylines – the return of Niki Smith. It all started when Tina returned to Llanview and dug up proof that she was Victor Lord’s illegitimate daughter. Viki angrily refused to believe Tina’s claims, until the discovery of a secret room in Llanfair (the Lord family mansion) that Victor had used as an illicit sex den. Shocked to discover this side of her father’s persona, Viki began having ‘Niki Smith’ episodes once again. Tina hooked up with sleazy con man
Mitch Laurence [Roscoe Born], who concocted a plan to turn Viki into Niki permanently, which (thanks to a clause in Victor Lord’s will) would leave Tina in control of the vast Lord fortune. But when Tina discovered Mitch wanted to kill ‘Niki,’ she turned against him. ‘Niki’ remained in control for months, causing misery for Clint. Tina rebounded from her uncharacteristic bout of selflessness in order to seduce Clint. ‘Niki’ was able to imitate Viki’s mannerisms well enough to fool people into thinking she was really Viki. She then used Clint’s transgression with Tina as grounds to divorce him. There was a happy end to the madness though; Clint was eventually able to shock Viki back to her senses. With ‘Niki’ banished once more, Viki happily re-married Clint. On their wedding day, she broke the news to him that she was pregnant with his child. Almost nine months later, Viki delivered daughter Jessica.
The wildly popular Niki Smith storyline re-energized OLTL. Perhaps unfortunately, it inspired executive producer Paul Rauch
to go all-out with progressively ludicrous, over-the-top storylines. As the '80s progressed, the show originally known for startling realism became a camp-fest. It was during the Paul Rauch Era when One Life to Live would maintain consistently high ratings, placing it in the top three of daytime soap operas throughout the late 1980's.
OLTL also found success with the enormously popular supercouple
pairing of trampy Tina with good-hearted cowboy Cordero ‘Cord’ Roberts (John Loprieno
). Tina fell madly in love with Cord the moment they met, but was intent on marrying a rich husband. Then she discovered that Cord was the illegitimate son of Clint (and potential heir to Buchanan mega-millions). She wasted no time marrying him! Cord however would soon become disgusted by Tina’s conniving ways. Complicating matters was Cord’s mother Maria Roberts (Barbara Luna
), who despised Tina and sought to undermine her at every turn. Maria was also still in love with Clint, and wanted to break up Clint and Viki in order to win him back. Maria even went as far as tracking down the late Joe’s heretofore unknown long-lost twin brother Tom Dennison (like Joe, played by Lee Patterson) and bringing him to Llanview in hopes that Viki would leave Clint for him.
Mitch Laurence also returned to town to menace both Tina and Viki. In the guise of a fundamentalist minister, Mitch began leading a religious cult
composed mainly of young women he seduced. He tried to rape Cassie, but was (presumably) killed in self-defense by Dorian. Dorian was wrongly found guilty of premeditated murder and sent to jail for a while. (Actress Robin Strasser left the show in 1987 after a very public feud with executive producer Rauch, and Dorian was written out of the series after her 'Dorian in prison' storyline.)
but were told in a way that viewers could understand and they seemed to enjoy the change that was made as they became more and more bizarre from the Maria Roberts Saga to Viki going to Heaven
, Eterna and the Crown Jewels to Mendorra.
Following the ‘Niki Smith’ saga, Allison Perkins (one of the ‘late’ Mitch Laurence’s cult disciples) kidnapped Viki’s baby Jessica for a while. This was a plot point that would have major ramifications in later years. Then in 1987, Viki underwent a brain operation to remove an aneurysm
. During the operation, Viki had an out-of-body experience
in which she visited Heaven and was reunited with many deceased characters, such as Victor, Merrie and Vinnie. Many past cast members came back, and Lee Patterson (who was appearing as new character Tom Dennison) even resurrected his original character, Joe Riley. Viki returned to her body and woke up, and it remained unclear whether Viki had actually been to Heaven or simply dreamed it. (Though later storyline developments have made it clear that Viki was only dreaming.)
went on strike. Several scab
writers rewrote the storyline so that Viki also went back in time to rescue Clint (who was on the verge of marrying her ancestor Ginny Fletcher at the time). Thus the time travel story was definitely established as a ‘real’ event in the history of OLTL.
As for Tina and Cord: Cord took an interest in scientist Kate Sanders (Marcia Cross
), so Tina fled to Argentina with bad boy Max Holden (James DePavia), even though she was pregnant by Cord at the time. After running afoul of drug dealers, Tina went over the Iguazu Falls
in a raft and was presumed dead. (Actress Andrea Evans
had it written into her contract that she get eight weeks off per year.) Meanwhile Tina was alive and well and being kept alive in the jungle. Cord rebounded by proposing to Kate, but Tina crashed the wedding ceremony
carrying a baby she claimed was Cord’s son though it wasn’t. Baby ‘Al’ had actually been Max’s son by Gabrielle Medina (Fiona Hutchinson). Tina then got into a scuffle with Cord’s mother Maria and accidentally killed her. Because she tried to cover up her accidental involvement, Tina was wrongfully found guilty of deliberately murdering her, and sent to jail for several months. After getting out of jail, Tina learned she had not miscarried Cord’s son after her plunge over the falls, but that a ring of baby-sellers had stolen the child. Tina and Max tracked down the baby, and Max had to storm a castle ramparts to rescue both Tina and the baby (named Clint Jr. or C.J. Roberts in honor of Clint, who was thought dead at the time.) Tina almost married Max, but while saying her vows, she said Cord's name by accident. This caused Max to abruptly leave her at the altar.
Max and Gabrielle became popular characters in their own right and were spun off into their own storyline. Another popular new character at the time was Renee Divine (played mainly by Patricia Elliot) as the new love of Asa’s life. For years, Asa had typically favored trophy wives, much younger women whom he could control (or attempt to control). However, Renee was his peer, and a former Texas madam. She was worldly and strong-willed enough to stand up to Asa, whom she often called an old coot.
during the time he was blind.
in 1988 when several characters became involved with the production of a fictional soap opera called "Fraternity Row". The backstage antics at the soap became a central storyline for OLTL for several years. The star of the soap was Sarah’s sister Megan Gordon [Jessica Tuck], a petty diva. Megan got involved with Max, who took her down a peg or two. But Megan would have a major impact in the life of central heroine Viki. The soap was slowly phased out in the early 1990s and was last mentioned in 2008, when Snoop Dogg came to Llanview and it was revealed that Bo hired Snoop to work on FR in the late 80s!
Much to her surprise, Viki learned that she had become Niki Smith while still a teenager (much earlier than anyone knew) and that her father Victor had a hypnotist erase her memory of the incident. Even more shocking was the revelation that Viki/Niki had given birth to a daughter! (Adding insult to injury, Viki’s longtime best friend Larry Wolek had delivered the baby and helped Victor cover the incident up.) Eventually, Viki would learn that the baby she’d given birth to was Megan. But there were plenty of bizarre twists and turns to unravel before mother and daughter were reunited…
in early 1989 as, through Michael Grande's machinations, Viki and several others (including Tina, Cord, Gabrielle and several others) were trapped in the underground city of Eterna. Alone with Viki in the underground city, Roger Gordon finally confessed his long-buried secret: He was raised in Eterna, but had found a way to escape. He met Viki when she was in high school. They made love. One day, Viki watched in horror as the entrance to Eterna exploded. Believing that Roger was dead, she turned into Niki Smith. Viki/Niki gave birth to his daughter, Megan. She had carried the baby as Niki, then later turned back to Viki during childbirth, but Victor had her hypnotized to forget the birth. He then paid Roger to take the baby and leave town. Viki was amazed to learn that Megan, who had been her adversary, was actually her flesh and blood. While in Eterna, Viki and Roger's old feelings for each other began to resurface. Led by Clint, the authorities located and rescued everyone trapped inside just before Eterna collapsed.
Viki enjoyed an uneasy "reunion" with her reluctant daughter, Megan. In time, Viki and Megan mended their fences and came to respect, admire and love each other. Megan became the center of attention on OLTL, and had several comical adventures with Marco Dane (who returned to the show after a five-year absence).
. Austin framed Bo for the car crash that killed Alicia, and her baby and injured Gabrielle and Audrey. Austin eventually confessed to the crime, but wanted Sarah to make love to him. She tried to put him off, but he became angry and brutally raped her. After the rape, Sarah shot Austin. To protect her, Cord and Asa buried Austin's body. However, the evil Buchanan cousin was not dead after all! He crawled out of his shallow grave, and sought revenge on Sarah. Austin's reign of terror quickly came to an end. After taking Viki and Megan hostage, Clint found them and shot Austin. Felled by Clint's bullet, Austin plunged out a high-rise window to his death, but not before shooting Viki.
As the decade drew to a close, OLTL began canibalizing
itself. It featured a weak rehash of the classic Karen/Jenny baby-switch storyline. This time, Gabrielle (aided by Austin) switched Michael’s and the late Alicia’s baby (who died shortly after being born) with that of Brenda Grande’s baby. At the same time, Megan went into a fugue state
in which she believed she was her Fraternity Row character Ruby Bright, an obvious riff on her mother Viki’s Niki Smith escapades.
, Bo was attacked, Audrey was nearly strangled,Bo saved Sarah from a bomb
, an explosion destroyed the lab and many other death plots. Bo soon discovered that anyone who seemed to put Mari-Lynn Dennison down died! Jon Russell, Melinda Cramer, Mari-Lynn, Sarah Gordon and Bo himself all teamed up to catch the killer. Prime suspects were Casey an autistic
stagehand
and Neil another stagehand with a deep love for Mari-Lynn! The killer then tried to kill off Sarah again by pushing a stone gargoyle
from a church rooftop where they were filming location scenes. Bo rescued her and while filming location scenes at Duke University
, Sarah realized Neil was indeed the killer so Neil stopped Sarah from escaping and chloroform
ed her as she cried out for Bo. He then dragged her to the University clock tower where he held Sarah captive. Mari-Lynn, Wade and Bo located Neil and Sarah and burst into the tower to rescue Sarah. Neil had an axe to defend himself with and pushed Wade over a railing as Mari-Lynn hovered over Neil in tears. Bo fell down a flight of stairs as Neil headed over to kill Sarah, Wade and Bo until Bo battled Neil one last time before the cops arrived.
window trying to save Tina in 1988. After the trial in which Tina escaped death row
, Jamie and Elizabeth planned to flee the Arena on a helicopter and Leave Tina and Cord to die when the arena blew up. But Titan and Ursula dragged Tina and Cord away from their cells and strapped Tina to Ursula's homemade electric chair
where Ursula fried Tina. However, the cops invade the Arena and the convicts are captured and Cord is reunited with an alive and well Tina.
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
is an American soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
that has been broadcast on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines (1968–1979)
One Life to Live storylines (1968–1979)
One Life to Live is an American soap opera that has been broadcast on the ABC network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines . The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines...
. The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines (1980–1989). The plot in the next decade is outlined in One Life to Live storylines (1990–1999)
One Life to Live storylines (1990–1999)
One Life to Live is an American soap opera that has been broadcast on the ABC network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines . The plot continues in 'One Life to Live storylines...
and the story continues in One Life to Live storylines (2000–Present)
One Life to Live storylines (2000–Present)
One Life to Live is an American soap opera that has been broadcast on the ABC network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines . The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines...
.
1980 - 1983
The early 1980s were a time of big changes for One Life to LiveOne Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
. The Wolek sisters were the spotlight characters of the show as the new decade began. The major storyline on OLTL in 1979 was Viki’s trial for the murder of Marco Dane (Gerald Anthony). But Anthony was so popular with fans that he quickly returned (a quick rewrite revealed Marco's heretofore unknown twin brother Mario was killed instead; Marco impersonated him for several years). Karen discovered Marco’s secret, but realized he was genuinely trying to rehabilitate, so she didn’t expose him. Meanwhile, Jenny was treated badly by her husband Brad who then manipulated her into taking him back over and over again. Brad also rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d Karen. Jenny was in a high-risk pregnancy at the time, and the news of the rape sent her into early labor. When the baby died in the nursery, Karen forced Marco to switch the child with fellow hooker
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
Katrina Karr's child. Jenny finally left Brad for good and married Dr. Peter Janssen, who was later killed in a car accident. It would be several years before she found out the truth about ‘her’ baby and in a heartbreaking sequence, gave her daughter back to Katrina.
Joe Riley succumbed to a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
and died in the fall of 1979, only weeks before Viki delivered their second son (whom she named Joseph in his memory). Viki buried herself in work as publisher of the Banner, and in looking after Tina, who was perpetually involved with one bad-news boyfriend after another. Although she deliberately avoided a new relationship, she attracted two prospective love interests. One was Ted Clayton, Tina’s father (actually stepfather, though she didn’t know it at the time) who was more interested in Viki’s wealth than her. The other was Clint Buchanan (Clint Ritchie), who took over Joe’s position as chief editor of the Llanview Banner. Viki and Clint clashed both professionally and personally – Clint was a no-nonsense cowboy who initially saw Viki as a pampered primadonna
Prima donna
Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
. Eventually though true love won out and, despite numerous schemes by Ted, Viki and Clint were married. Ted was finally gunned down, prompting a devastated Tina to leave Llanview for a while.
Quickly following Clint to Llanview were his brother Bo Buchanan (Robert S. Woods), and father Asa Buchanan (Phil Carey). Asa was a Texas oil baron
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
who had a love-hate relationship with his sons, and practically everyone he knew. The Buchanan clan was an obvious attempt to imitate the then wildly popular prime-time soap Dallas, but the Buchanans proved to be such big hits that they soon dominated the entire show. Most of the Wolek and Lord family members who anchored OLTL since it’s inception were written out, or (in the case of Viki) married into the Buchanan family. (Ironically the Buchanan family has remained a popular fixture on the daytime soap to this day, outlasting their inspirations on Dallas by more than a decade.) Asa was as much a scoundrel as J.R. Ewing
J.R. Ewing
John Ross Ewing, Jr., more commonly known as J. R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was a central, nefarious figure on the hit CBS television series Dallas . J. R...
in his business dealings but he was also an irrepressible ladies' man. Almost immediately after arriving in Llanview, Asa wooed Brad Vernon's sister Samantha, who was decades younger than he was. What no one knew was that Asa's first wife Olympia (mother of Clint and Bo) was still alive, still legally Asa's wife, and being held prisoner by him. Throughout the 1980s, Asa took one young bride after another - including Delilah Ralston, Becky Lee Abbott and Pamela Stuart, and locked horns with his sons, particularly Bo, who had his own romantic interest in both Delilah and Becky Lee.
The role of Dorian was recast with Robin Strasser
Robin Strasser
Robin Strasser is an American actress.Strasser is best known for her Daytime Emmy Award-winning portrayal of Dr. Dorian Lord on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. Strasser stepped into the role in March 1979, first appearing Friday, April 13, 1979 and left in 1987, returning from...
, who arguably became the definitive portrait of the character. While continuing to be a thorn in Viki’s side (she briefly ‘romanced’ Clint when he and Viki were on the outs), her character was fleshed out a little more. She married Herb Callison, the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
who prosecuted Viki for murder. Although she expected to be able to control him, Herb proved to be more than a match for her, and their marriage was a tempestuous affair, although surprisingly long-lasting for two soap opera characters. Also complicating Dorian’s life was the abrupt arrival of Cassie Howard, the illegitimate daughter whom Dorian had given up years earlier. Dorian at first resisted becoming a mother to Cassie, but eventually she accepted the girl into her home.
Karen’s "housewife hooker" storyline was rehashed in 1981 by having Karen go undercover, posing as a prostitute
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
while investigating the murder of her cousin Vinnie Wolek. Much like every soap in the early 1980s, OLTL aped the wild success of General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
’s “Luke & Laura” story by having Karen & Marco framed for murder and having to go on the run from the mob. The reality-based tales took a turn towards the absurd in the early 80s, as Karen and Larry had control chips implanted in their brains by the evil Dr. Ivan Kipling (Jack Betts) and Larry had to save Karen from Kipling's jungle hideaway.
Weekly Summaries
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 4, 1983
Lucinda schemed to take Asa away from Becky. Mrs. Livingston was livid that Brad and Gary rigged "ghost voices" for her seance at the Inn, thwarting her attempt to communicate with the Inn's ghost, Gabriel. Brad, Gary and Cassie found a secret passage way in a room at the Inn. Tony attempted to get Alec hooked on pain pills after he was injured in a Cougers game. Delila pulled her disappearing act again, but left a trail to Atlantic City. David was upset to learn that Jenny put her nursing career on hold. Brad quizzed Lucinda about David, whom she admitted she had met in Europe. Herb surprised Dorian by arriving in Washington while she secretly met with Mr. Gilligan. Delila warned Glenda to stay away from Bo. Danny said that he and Shelley can only be friends.
NOVEMBER 21-25, 1983
David was suspicious of Simon, another San Carlos refugee whom David's cohert Charles asked him to harbor. Simon was smitten by Cassie after seeing her in a restaurant. Alec refused Marco's offer to become a TV sports announcer. Asa quizzed a former San Carlos preist, Father Stefano, who insisted he knew nothing about a mysterious note from San Carlos that he had delivered to Asa. Danny was enthused about his new job as a copy editor at the Banner. David realized that Scott had bugged Ava's hotel room and foiled Scott's attempt to blackmail her. Brad was surprised to see that Delila is a dancer at Tony's Wildlife Club. Becky was jealous that Tony's girlfriend, Laurel Chapin, came on to Asa at the club. Tony's henchman Gus showed Alec fake proof that Alec was paid to throw the Cougers' last game.
DECEMBER 5-9, 1983
David was accused of shooting Scott, who was murdered while talking to David. Simon told the court he saw a man dressed as a security guard leave the murder scene. Viki printed her and Danny's interview with the ex-wife of the murdered San Carlos president. The president's son, Michael, insisted the article will mark him and his mother for death. Gilligan insisted to a doubtful Dorian that David killed Scott because Scott threatened to reveal Cassie's parentage. Cassie freaked to see Dorian in David's arms. Brad was jealous that Jenny sided with David. Simon insisted that he didn't steal David's gun, which was used to kill Scott. San Carlos finance manager Senor Morales told Bo he doesn't have the San Carlos treasury money. Herb took on David's case. Clint won Brad's $10,000 hotel opening treasure hunt. Asa offered Alec a job after he learned that Alec can never play football again.
1983 - 1986
In 1983 Karen fell in love with fugitiveFugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
Steve Piermont (Robert Desiderio
Robert Desiderio
Robert Desiderio is an American actor best known for his television roles.Desiderio was born in New York City, New York, the son of Mary and Anthony J. Desiderio. He first came to prominence in soap opera, with parts in daytime dramas such as Search for Tomorrow, Ryan's Hope and One Life to Live...
, Light's real-life husband.) In spite of Larry urging her to remain in Llanview, she decided she would rather go on the run with a man who needed her than stay with her old demons.
Karen’s sister Jenny fell in love with David Rinaldi (Michael Zaslow
Michael Zaslow
Michael Joel Zaslow was an American actor. He was best known for his role as villain Roger Thorpe on CBS's Guiding Light, a role he played from 1971 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1997.-Life and career:...
), a concert pianist, who had fathered Dorian’s daughter Cassie. Although married to Herb, Dorian was at turns furiously bitter towards, and jealously possessive of David. She sought to drive a wedge between David and Jenny, going as far as seducing him. Her schemes ultimately backfired; not only was she unsuccessful at breaking up David and Jenny, Herb found out about her fling and divorced her. David and Jenny were then embroiled in an absurd and confusing spy storyline that drove viewers away. Like Karen, Jenny nd David were shipped out of town in 1986.
Thanksgiving 1983, Asa held a lavish costume ball in honor of his young wife Samantha. During the festivities, Olympia escaped captivity, revealed to Bo that she was still alive, and that Asa wasn’t really his father (the last bit turned out not to be true.) Olympia tried coaxing Bo into shooting Asa, but he couldn’t pull the trigger. When Olympia herself tried to kill her husband, Samantha lunged to save Asa and knocked Olympia and herself out a window. Only Samantha survived the fall. When she was informed that Asa was a liar and a bigamist
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
, she dumped him then and there. Perhaps the most spectacular part of this storyline was its length. While it was all supposed to occur in the space of one night, it took up an entire month's worth of episodes, with five, hour-long episodes being aired for four whole weeks. These episodes took up approximately 20 hours of airtime and were all dedicated to the events of one single evening.
Asa and Bo promptly went on fighting – mainly over women. Bo fell in love with Delila Ralston, but Asa deliberately led them both to believe that they were half-siblings (Bo had been told by Olympia that his real father had been Yancey Ralston – Delila’s father). Asa let them know that they weren’t actually related only after he married Delila. Soon afterward, Asa faked his death to test Delila’s fidelity – she wasted no time marrying Bo! Later, aspiring country-western
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Becky Lee Abbott became pregnant with Bo’s son Drew, but married Asa instead. Later still, Bo fell in love with and married Didi O’Neill, whose father Harry O’Neill [Frank Converse] was a blue-collar workingman fighting Asa’s plans to ‘gentrify’ east Llanview. In 1986, it was revealed that throughout all the convoluted events of the past several years, Asa had been bigamously married to another woman, Pamela Stuart. Pamela was never involved with Bo in any way.
Viki was on the back burner for a few years, but in 1985 returned to the spotlight in one of the show’s landmark storylines – the return of Niki Smith. It all started when Tina returned to Llanview and dug up proof that she was Victor Lord’s illegitimate daughter. Viki angrily refused to believe Tina’s claims, until the discovery of a secret room in Llanfair (the Lord family mansion) that Victor had used as an illicit sex den. Shocked to discover this side of her father’s persona, Viki began having ‘Niki Smith’ episodes once again. Tina hooked up with sleazy con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
Mitch Laurence [Roscoe Born], who concocted a plan to turn Viki into Niki permanently, which (thanks to a clause in Victor Lord’s will) would leave Tina in control of the vast Lord fortune. But when Tina discovered Mitch wanted to kill ‘Niki,’ she turned against him. ‘Niki’ remained in control for months, causing misery for Clint. Tina rebounded from her uncharacteristic bout of selflessness in order to seduce Clint. ‘Niki’ was able to imitate Viki’s mannerisms well enough to fool people into thinking she was really Viki. She then used Clint’s transgression with Tina as grounds to divorce him. There was a happy end to the madness though; Clint was eventually able to shock Viki back to her senses. With ‘Niki’ banished once more, Viki happily re-married Clint. On their wedding day, she broke the news to him that she was pregnant with his child. Almost nine months later, Viki delivered daughter Jessica.
The wildly popular Niki Smith storyline re-energized OLTL. Perhaps unfortunately, it inspired executive producer Paul Rauch
Paul Rauch
- Another World :Rauch is best known for his work on Another World, which he produced from 1971 to 1984. For much of that time, he worked in conjunction with Head Writer Harding Lemay, and the team garnered the show critical acclaim and strong ratings....
to go all-out with progressively ludicrous, over-the-top storylines. As the '80s progressed, the show originally known for startling realism became a camp-fest. It was during the Paul Rauch Era when One Life to Live would maintain consistently high ratings, placing it in the top three of daytime soap operas throughout the late 1980's.
OLTL also found success with the enormously popular supercouple
Supercouple
A supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...
pairing of trampy Tina with good-hearted cowboy Cordero ‘Cord’ Roberts (John Loprieno
John Loprieno
John A. Loprieno is an American actor and writer.With appearances on the soap operas Search for Tomorrow and As the World Turns, he is best known for his role as Cord Roberts on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live....
). Tina fell madly in love with Cord the moment they met, but was intent on marrying a rich husband. Then she discovered that Cord was the illegitimate son of Clint (and potential heir to Buchanan mega-millions). She wasted no time marrying him! Cord however would soon become disgusted by Tina’s conniving ways. Complicating matters was Cord’s mother Maria Roberts (Barbara Luna
Barbara Luna
BarBara Ann Luna is an American actress with an extensive list of roles in film, television, and shows. Notable roles included Five Weeks in a Balloon and Lt. Marlena Moreau in the classic Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror"...
), who despised Tina and sought to undermine her at every turn. Maria was also still in love with Clint, and wanted to break up Clint and Viki in order to win him back. Maria even went as far as tracking down the late Joe’s heretofore unknown long-lost twin brother Tom Dennison (like Joe, played by Lee Patterson) and bringing him to Llanview in hopes that Viki would leave Clint for him.
Mitch Laurence also returned to town to menace both Tina and Viki. In the guise of a fundamentalist minister, Mitch began leading a religious cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
composed mainly of young women he seduced. He tried to rape Cassie, but was (presumably) killed in self-defense by Dorian. Dorian was wrongly found guilty of premeditated murder and sent to jail for a while. (Actress Robin Strasser left the show in 1987 after a very public feud with executive producer Rauch, and Dorian was written out of the series after her 'Dorian in prison' storyline.)
1987 - 1989
In the late 1980s, usually either Viki and Clint, or Tina and Cord were at the center of the major storylines. Viki and Clint were the show’s exemplary married couple; their love was strong enough to weather any crisis (no matter how bizarre.) Tina and Cord on the other hand broke up and reconciled (including marrying and divorcing) at a head-spinning rate. Tina genuinely tried to change her selfish ways to please Cord, but her greedy nature always got the better of her and she would alienate Cord’s affections time and again. Also at this time storylines became extremely campyCamp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
but were told in a way that viewers could understand and they seemed to enjoy the change that was made as they became more and more bizarre from the Maria Roberts Saga to Viki going to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, Eterna and the Crown Jewels to Mendorra.
Following the ‘Niki Smith’ saga, Allison Perkins (one of the ‘late’ Mitch Laurence’s cult disciples) kidnapped Viki’s baby Jessica for a while. This was a plot point that would have major ramifications in later years. Then in 1987, Viki underwent a brain operation to remove an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
. During the operation, Viki had an out-of-body experience
Out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and, in some cases, perceiving one's physical body from a place outside one's body ....
in which she visited Heaven and was reunited with many deceased characters, such as Victor, Merrie and Vinnie. Many past cast members came back, and Lee Patterson (who was appearing as new character Tom Dennison) even resurrected his original character, Joe Riley. Viki returned to her body and woke up, and it remained unclear whether Viki had actually been to Heaven or simply dreamed it. (Though later storyline developments have made it clear that Viki was only dreaming.)
OLTL Does Time Travel
The following year, 1988, Clint was blinded by a gunshot wound to the head. After a riding accident in the Arizona desert, he regained his sight but found himself transported back in time to 1888, and the old west town ‘Buchanan City.’ While there, Clint met the lookalike ancestors of Asa, Cord and Viki (played by Carey, Loprieno & Slezak respectively.) Like ‘Heaven’, this storyline was intended to have a vague ending – after its resolution, Clint would reappear in the present and not be able to determine if he was actually there, or had an extended hallucination. Before the storyline was finished though, the Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
went on strike. Several scab
Scab
Scab can refer to the following:* Scab, a hard coating on the skin formed during the wound healing reconstruction phase* Derogatory term for a strikebreaker, a person who works despite strike action or against the will of other employees...
writers rewrote the storyline so that Viki also went back in time to rescue Clint (who was on the verge of marrying her ancestor Ginny Fletcher at the time). Thus the time travel story was definitely established as a ‘real’ event in the history of OLTL.
As for Tina and Cord: Cord took an interest in scientist Kate Sanders (Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
), so Tina fled to Argentina with bad boy Max Holden (James DePavia), even though she was pregnant by Cord at the time. After running afoul of drug dealers, Tina went over the Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian State of Paraná and the Argentine Province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River originates near the city of Curitiba. It flows...
in a raft and was presumed dead. (Actress Andrea Evans
Andrea Evans
Andrea Lynn Evans is an American Emmy-nominated actress. Evans is most recognized for her portrayal of Tina Lord on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, a role she played from 1978 to 1981 and 1985 to 1990, returning from June 11, 2008 to November 25, 2008., and finally on September 27, 2011 to...
had it written into her contract that she get eight weeks off per year.) Meanwhile Tina was alive and well and being kept alive in the jungle. Cord rebounded by proposing to Kate, but Tina crashed the wedding ceremony
Wedding crashing
Wedding crashing is the act of coming to a wedding without an invitation.-In real life:Some of the most common reasons for crashing a wedding in real life are:...
carrying a baby she claimed was Cord’s son though it wasn’t. Baby ‘Al’ had actually been Max’s son by Gabrielle Medina (Fiona Hutchinson). Tina then got into a scuffle with Cord’s mother Maria and accidentally killed her. Because she tried to cover up her accidental involvement, Tina was wrongfully found guilty of deliberately murdering her, and sent to jail for several months. After getting out of jail, Tina learned she had not miscarried Cord’s son after her plunge over the falls, but that a ring of baby-sellers had stolen the child. Tina and Max tracked down the baby, and Max had to storm a castle ramparts to rescue both Tina and the baby (named Clint Jr. or C.J. Roberts in honor of Clint, who was thought dead at the time.) Tina almost married Max, but while saying her vows, she said Cord's name by accident. This caused Max to abruptly leave her at the altar.
Max and Gabrielle became popular characters in their own right and were spun off into their own storyline. Another popular new character at the time was Renee Divine (played mainly by Patricia Elliot) as the new love of Asa’s life. For years, Asa had typically favored trophy wives, much younger women whom he could control (or attempt to control). However, Renee was his peer, and a former Texas madam. She was worldly and strong-willed enough to stand up to Asa, whom she often called an old coot.
Patrick London impersonates Bo Buchanan
Bo returned to Llanview (actor Bob Woods had left the series for two years), and took center-stage for a while in 1988. When he came back to town, he was mysteriously divorced from his wife Didi, and acted quite strangely. Several months after his return, it was revealed that this was not the real Bo but an impostor (nicknamed Faux Bo) who was part of an elaborate scheme to stage a hostile takeover of Buchanan Industries. The real Bo, his wife Didi, and even his ex-wife Delila, were being held prisoner in a bunker. The real Bo, who escaped imprisonment and had a showdown with his impostor, thwarted the hostile takeover scheme. Alas, Didi was killed, but Bo eventually found happiness again with Sarah Gordon, who had been Clint’s therapistTherapy
This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...
during the time he was blind.
Soap within a soap Fraternity Row
OLTL engaged in some meta-humorMeta-joke
Meta-joke refers to several somewhat different, but related categories: self-referential jokes, jokes about jokes , and joke templates.-Self-referential jokes:...
in 1988 when several characters became involved with the production of a fictional soap opera called "Fraternity Row". The backstage antics at the soap became a central storyline for OLTL for several years. The star of the soap was Sarah’s sister Megan Gordon [Jessica Tuck], a petty diva. Megan got involved with Max, who took her down a peg or two. But Megan would have a major impact in the life of central heroine Viki. The soap was slowly phased out in the early 1990s and was last mentioned in 2008, when Snoop Dogg came to Llanview and it was revealed that Bo hired Snoop to work on FR in the late 80s!
Much to her surprise, Viki learned that she had become Niki Smith while still a teenager (much earlier than anyone knew) and that her father Victor had a hypnotist erase her memory of the incident. Even more shocking was the revelation that Viki/Niki had given birth to a daughter! (Adding insult to injury, Viki’s longtime best friend Larry Wolek had delivered the baby and helped Victor cover the incident up.) Eventually, Viki would learn that the baby she’d given birth to was Megan. But there were plenty of bizarre twists and turns to unravel before mother and daughter were reunited…
The Lost Underground City of Eterna
OLTL took a turn towards science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
in early 1989 as, through Michael Grande's machinations, Viki and several others (including Tina, Cord, Gabrielle and several others) were trapped in the underground city of Eterna. Alone with Viki in the underground city, Roger Gordon finally confessed his long-buried secret: He was raised in Eterna, but had found a way to escape. He met Viki when she was in high school. They made love. One day, Viki watched in horror as the entrance to Eterna exploded. Believing that Roger was dead, she turned into Niki Smith. Viki/Niki gave birth to his daughter, Megan. She had carried the baby as Niki, then later turned back to Viki during childbirth, but Victor had her hypnotized to forget the birth. He then paid Roger to take the baby and leave town. Viki was amazed to learn that Megan, who had been her adversary, was actually her flesh and blood. While in Eterna, Viki and Roger's old feelings for each other began to resurface. Led by Clint, the authorities located and rescued everyone trapped inside just before Eterna collapsed.
Viki enjoyed an uneasy "reunion" with her reluctant daughter, Megan. In time, Viki and Megan mended their fences and came to respect, admire and love each other. Megan became the center of attention on OLTL, and had several comical adventures with Marco Dane (who returned to the show after a five-year absence).
Austin terrorizes Llanview
Austin Buchanan, son of Asa's brother, Pike, arrived in town and became obsessed with Sarah Gordon. He set out to steal her from Bo. Austin knew that Bo and Michael Grande were mortal enemies, so he rigged the brakes on Michael's car to fail. The accident killed Alicia and her baby, and injured Gabrielle instead! Audrey Ames (Pia Porter), also on the road that night, was hit by the car driven by Gabrielle, putting her in a wheelchairWheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
. Austin framed Bo for the car crash that killed Alicia, and her baby and injured Gabrielle and Audrey. Austin eventually confessed to the crime, but wanted Sarah to make love to him. She tried to put him off, but he became angry and brutally raped her. After the rape, Sarah shot Austin. To protect her, Cord and Asa buried Austin's body. However, the evil Buchanan cousin was not dead after all! He crawled out of his shallow grave, and sought revenge on Sarah. Austin's reign of terror quickly came to an end. After taking Viki and Megan hostage, Clint found them and shot Austin. Felled by Clint's bullet, Austin plunged out a high-rise window to his death, but not before shooting Viki.
As the decade drew to a close, OLTL began canibalizing
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
itself. It featured a weak rehash of the classic Karen/Jenny baby-switch storyline. This time, Gabrielle (aided by Austin) switched Michael’s and the late Alicia’s baby (who died shortly after being born) with that of Brenda Grande’s baby. At the same time, Megan went into a fugue state
Fugue state
A fugue state, formally dissociative fugue or psychogenic fugue , is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality and other identifying characteristics of individuality...
in which she believed she was her Fraternity Row character Ruby Bright, an obvious riff on her mother Viki’s Niki Smith escapades.
The Fraternity Row Stalker
Another infamous story saw the soap, Fraternity Row being stalked from January to March 1989 as numerous past death scenes were recreated and used to kill the cast and crew as producer Randy was killed by a falling chandelierChandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
, Bo was attacked, Audrey was nearly strangled,Bo saved Sarah from a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
, an explosion destroyed the lab and many other death plots. Bo soon discovered that anyone who seemed to put Mari-Lynn Dennison down died! Jon Russell, Melinda Cramer, Mari-Lynn, Sarah Gordon and Bo himself all teamed up to catch the killer. Prime suspects were Casey an autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
stagehand
Stagehand
A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their duties include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production.-Types of stagehand:...
and Neil another stagehand with a deep love for Mari-Lynn! The killer then tried to kill off Sarah again by pushing a stone gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
from a church rooftop where they were filming location scenes. Bo rescued her and while filming location scenes at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Sarah realized Neil was indeed the killer so Neil stopped Sarah from escaping and chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
ed her as she cried out for Bo. He then dragged her to the University clock tower where he held Sarah captive. Mari-Lynn, Wade and Bo located Neil and Sarah and burst into the tower to rescue Sarah. Neil had an axe to defend himself with and pushed Wade over a railing as Mari-Lynn hovered over Neil in tears. Bo fell down a flight of stairs as Neil headed over to kill Sarah, Wade and Bo until Bo battled Neil one last time before the cops arrived.
The Infamous Crown Jewels of Mendorra
Tina Lord Roberts set out to pursue the lost Crown Jewels of Mendorra for Michael Grande throughout the summer despite her family's dismay. But what she did not know was that many of her past enemies were also after the jewels among them being Jamie and Elizabeth Sanders and Ursula Blackwell. To escape prison, Ursula set off a bomb that allowed numerous convicts to escape and they fled to the rundown Seaside Arena in Atlantic City where Tina and Cord were captured and held prisoner. They were forced into doing many wacky things including Cord wrestling the Titan in a wrestling ring and Tina and Ursula wrestling! Then Tina was put on a "murder trial" in the ring for killing Ursula's father Cornelius who fell out of a lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
window trying to save Tina in 1988. After the trial in which Tina escaped death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
, Jamie and Elizabeth planned to flee the Arena on a helicopter and Leave Tina and Cord to die when the arena blew up. But Titan and Ursula dragged Tina and Cord away from their cells and strapped Tina to Ursula's homemade electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
where Ursula fried Tina. However, the cops invade the Arena and the convicts are captured and Cord is reunited with an alive and well Tina.
1979-1980 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
9.9 - 2. All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
9.2 - 3. The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
8.8 - 4. One Life to LiveOne Life to LiveOne Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
8.7 - 5. Guiding LightGuiding LightGuiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
8.3 - 6. As the World TurnsAs the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
7.9 - 7. Search for TomorrowSearch for TomorrowSearch for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
7.6 - 8. Another WorldAnother World (TV series)Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
7.1 - 9. Ryan's HopeRyan's HopeRyan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
7.0 - 10. Days of our LivesDays of our LivesDays of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
6.6 - 11. The Doctors 6.1
- 12. The Edge of NightThe Edge of NightThe Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
5.3 - 13. Love of LifeLove of LifeLove of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
3.5 - 14. TexasTexas (TV series)Texas is an American daytime soap opera which aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982. Created by John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington, and Paul Rauch, the show was a spinoff of Another World...
(Debut)
1981-1982 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. General Hospital 11.2
- 2. All My Children 9.4
- 3. One Life to Live 9.3
- 4. Guiding Light 8.0
- 5. The Young and the Restless 7.4
1982-1983 Season
- 1. General Hospital 9.8
- 2. All My Children 9.4
- 3. One Life to Live 8.1
- 4. The Young and the Restless 8.0
- 5. As the World Turns 7.6
1983-1984 Season
- 1. General Hospital 10.0
- 2. All My Children 9.1
- 3. The Young and the Restless 8.8
- 4. One Life to Live 8.2
- 5. Guiding Light 8.1
1984-1985 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. General Hospital 9.1
- 2. All My Children 8.2
- 3. The Young and the Restless 8.1
- 4. Guiding Light 7.5
- 5. One Life to Live 7.3
1985-1986 Season
- 1. General Hospital 9.2
- 2. The Young and the Restless 8.3
- 3. All My Children 8.0
- 4. One Life to Live 7.8
- 5. Days of our Lives 7.2
1986-1987 Season
- 1. General Hospital 8.3
- 2. The Young and the Restless 8.0
- 3. One Life to Live 7.2
- 4. All My Children 7.0
- 4. Days of our Lives 7.0
1987-1988 Season
- 1. General Hospital 8.1 (#1 in viewers)
- 2. The Young and the Restless 8.1 (#2 in viewers)
- 3. One Life to Live 7.7
- 3. All My Children 7.7
- 5. Days of our Lives 7.1
1988-1989 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.1
- 2. General Hospital 7.5
- 3. One Life to Live 7.1
- 4. All My Children 6.7
- 5. Days of our Lives 6.5
See also
- Storylines: 1968–1979One Life to Live storylines (1968–1979)One Life to Live is an American soap opera that has been broadcast on the ABC network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines . The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines...
- Storylines: 1990–1999One Life to Live storylines (1990–1999)One Life to Live is an American soap opera that has been broadcast on the ABC network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines . The plot continues in 'One Life to Live storylines...
- Storylines: 2000–2010One Life to Live storylines (2000–Present)One Life to Live is an American soap opera that has been broadcast on the ABC network since 1968. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines . The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines...