Remembering Ryan's Hope
Soap Center, September 1, 2000
Hosted By Brooke Alexander and David Forsyth(This aired on Soap Center, a weekly news show on SoapNet, the cable channel on which Ryan's Hope now airs in reruns.)
Part 1: The Cast and the Characters
BROOKE ALEXANDER (BA): Millions of soap fans have joined the SoapNet family in the past couple of months, and we've been getting some letters.
DAVID FORSYTH (DF): Fans are thrilled to, once again, enjoy the classic soap opera, Ryan's Hope. But, they missed the opportunity to see it from the beginning.
BA: So, starting Monday, September 4th, at 10 AM Eastern time (7 AM Pacific time), SoapNet is featuring a Ryan's Hope marathon every day, from ten in the morning til 7 o'clock at night, right through Friday September 8th.
DF: Additional key episodes will be rebroadcast that weekend as well. Go to SoapNet.com for a complete schedule.
BA: And just to whet your apetites a little, here's a look at some of the people and moments that made Ryan's Hope one of our all-time favorites. From its very first episode on ABC Daytime on July 7, 1975, Ryan's Hope was different.
(They show a clip of Johnny answering the phone in the bar.)
JOHNNY: Hello, Ryan's.
(Ron Hale is shown speaking.)
RON: It took place in a real city - New York - and dealt with an Irish-Catholic middle class family who owned a local bar; a neighborhood bar.
(They cut to a clip of Mary arriving at the bar in the first episode carrying campaign posters for Frank.)
BA: That bar, of course, was Ryan's, owned by Irish immigrants Johnny and Maeve Ryan.
(Helen Gallagher is shown speaking.)
HELEN: My daughter, Mary, was my favorite of the family, with Kate Mulgrew, and we had wonderful scenes together. And Bernie Barrow played my husband.
(They show a clip of Mary and Maeve hugging in the kitchen, then Maeve and Johnny hugging in the bar.)
HELEN: And, I mean, it was just a great cast.
(Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer are shown speaking.)
PAUL: We knew we were dicey when we first began, and we kept telling the company that we have to do the very best we can if we were gonna stay on the air.
CLAIRE: And they did.
PAUL: They killed themselves.
CLAIRE: They really did.
PAUL: And they were wonderful.
BA: The result? Memorable characters, such as Mary and Frank Ryan, (they show a clip of Mary and Bob wheeling Frank into Ryan's after he got out of the hospital after his fall) Roger and Jillian Coleridge, (they show a clip of Roger and Jill) Jack Fenelli...
BA: ...and the devious yet lovable Delia.
(They show a clip of Delia taunting Jill.)
DELIA: Poor, poor Jill! All that hard work, and it's all gonna go right down the drain.
(Ilene Kristen is shown speaking.)
ILENE: It was a villain that everyone loved. You know, very rarely would someone go, "You know, you're the most disgusting, loathsome bitch in the world!" They'd usually understand why Delia did what she did.
Part 1: The Cast and the Characters
Part 2: The Couples and the Social Issues
Part 3: The Core Family and the Creators
