RYAN'S BAR ONLINE 
THE UNOFFICIAL FAN
PAGE FOR RYAN'S HOPELast Updated March 25, 2007
NEWS: SoapNet is apparently going to be making major changes to its lineup as of April 6th, and Ryans Hope will apparently be scaled down to one airing per week. The changes do not bode well for classic soaps in general: Another World will evidently be removed from the schedule altogether. If you object, please sign a petition that has been started, and call SoapNet at 818-569-3333 to tell them you want Ryans Hope to stay on the air on a daily basis. While you're at it, sign the petition to keep Another World as well if you are in favor of SoapNet sticking to its original focus: soap operas, not primetime dramas that have already been syndicated on a multitude of other cable channels.
June 23, 2002: Sadly, Nancy Addison Altman (Jill) has passed away, after a long and dreadful battle with cancer. I doubt anyone who saw her perform will forget her anytime soon. The character of Jill could make me furious at times, but Nancy played her with gusto and Ryan's Hope certainly would not have been the same without her. Nancy was an original castmember of Ryan's Hope, and she was with the show for almost the entire run, earning two Emmy nominations (and she should have won, especially the year of the Edmund storyline). She was very vocal about how she relished playing an attorney and struggled to make the role an example that women could do the same jobs as men at a time when this concept was not being depicted very much on television. When she wasn't acting, she volunteered a considerable amount of her time to helping children with HIV/AIDS here. Nancy left this world all too soon, but she clearly did so much with the short time that she did have.
Welcome to Ryan's Bar Online. We're open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Kevin is pouring drinks. Johnny is blustering and picking a fight with someone (probably Jack). Maeve is shooting Siobhan a look of stern reproof for failing to be as perfect as her favorite daughter, Mary. Bob is sitting by himself at the bar, lonely but still being a true friend to all. Delia is upset that they are all too preoccupied with their own aforementioned problems to sufficiently notice her and is concocting a scheme to become the center of attention. Faith realizes what Delia is up to and is turning up her nose at her for it (while knocking back a few). Patrick is telling his Irish stories. Jill is about ready to go off on a tirade, and is looking around for someone who has failed to live up to her allegedly high moral standards to be the recipient thereof. And Frank, whatever he's doing, whomever he's doing it with, all you need to know (and all you want to know, take my word for it) is that somehow - say it with me now - it's all Delia's fault! Meanwhile, Roger is nonchalantly watching all and listening to what everybody is saying, hoping to overhear something he can use for blackmail. So, have a glass of Irish whiskey and join the fun.This is/was the world of Ryan's Hope, which aired from July 7, 1975 until January 13, 1989, and which lives on here at Ryan's Bar Online. By almost all accounts, Ryan's Hope raised the benchmark for quality in daytime television considerably. Highly acclaimed by critics, it won two Emmys for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, a record six Emmys for Outstanding Writing in a Daytime Drama Series (the first four of which were consecutive, awarded for the show's first four full seasons on the air), and twelve Writers Guild Awards for Best Written Daytime Serial. Some of the most well-known and long-standing actors in daytime (Roscoe Born, Ilene Kristen, Justin Deas, Sam Behrens, and Julia Barr, to name a few) and a number of now-famous actors in primetime and movies (Christian Slater, Marg Helgenberger, Kate Mulgrew, and Corbin Bernsen, for start) alike began on Ryan's Hope. Perhaps the most compelling testament to the show's greatness and lasting impact, however, is the fact that eleven years after it went off the air, ABC has made the unprecedented and unparalleled decision to air Ryan's Hope in reruns on their new SoapNet cable channel.
That is the venue in which I have become acquainted with Ryan's Hope, in spite of the fact that I was not born in time for its premiere and had most likely not even heard of it at the time of its curtain call. I say acquainted, but the truth of the matter is I absolutely love this show. It may be twenty-five years old, but the characters are so realistic and three-dimensional that they seem timeless, somehow. It was/is a really wonderful production, and that is why I wanted to do this website, because there does not seem to be that much about Ryan's Hope in cyberspace, and it deserves all the recognition it can get.
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Ryan's Hope is the property of ABC, Disney, and Labine-Mayer Productions. Ryan's Bar Online is in no way affiliated with any of those corporations. It is merely a fan tribute to the show, and it is not my intention to encroach on any copyrights. Previously published materials are copyrighted by their original owners and are reproduced herein for informational and non-commercial purposes only.
