Soap Opera Digest
Presents: Click HERE to see images from this article Since its premiere on July 7, 1975, RYAN'S HOPE always emphasized family relationships. The show centered around the Ryan family of New York, and focused on the age-old dilemmas between parents and children, men and women, and the traditional family in modern society. The original Ryan clan consisted of Johnny and Maeve, and their children, Frank, Cathleen, Mary, Pat, and Siobhan. Although RYAN'S HOPE was plagued by low ratings, it consistently garnered critical acclaim for its writing and acting. RH was canceled on January 13, 1989. However, we felt it should be included in this section of current shows since its demise was so recent. Frank Ryan's Fall Frank Ryan was found at the bottom of a flight of stairs at Riverside Hospital. Barely able to speak, he mumbled only two words - "Delia" (his wife) and "pushed." When Frank recovered from his fall, it came to light that his wife, Delia, had indeed pushed him. She had done so in a rage when Frank asked for a divorce so he could marry Jill Coleridge. The idea of divorce was so repugnant to Frank's staunchly Catholic parents, Johnny and Maeve, that he and Jill broke up and he returned to Delia. Mary Falls in Love with Jack Mary Ryan, headstrong and intelligent, met reporter Jack Fenelli when he was investigating her brother Frank. The two were very attracted to each other and began sleeping together, much to the shock of Johnny and Maeve. The elder Ryans informed their daughter that they did not approve of their daughter's actions. Angry, Mary moved out of her parents' home and into Jack's, further polarizing the situation. However, it soon became apparent to Mary that she herself wanted the sanction of marriage. For his part, Jack felt uncomfortable making such a permanent commitment. After much fighting, Mary moved back in with her parents. Nonetheless, Jack's love for Mary endured, and he finally realized that he needed her. Jack proposed, Mary accepted, and they tied the knot in a traditional Catholic ceremony. Seneca Is Accused of Murder Dr. Seneca Beaulac came to Riverside to track down his estranged wife, Nell, who was in the hospital. When a brain aneurism burst, Nell suffered severe brain damage, which left her in a vegetable state. Seneca, hating to see his wife so helpless, pulled the plug on her life support system and she passed away. Because he acted without permission from the hospital, Seneca was tried for murder. Jill Coleridge defended him. His future looked bleak, indeed, until letters of Nell's were discovered which declared that if she were ever ill, she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means. In light of this new evidence, Seneca was sentenced to a token week in jail. Roger Bags Delia Remember Delia Ryan? Although she was back with Frank, she was having an affair with snaky Roger Coleridge. When Frank found out, he divorced Delia in a rage. Never one to let grass grow under her feet, Delia went to bed with Frank's brother, Pat. When she became pregnant, Delia told Maeve that Pat was the father. Naturally, Maeve prevailed on her son to do the right thing - break his engagement to Faith - and marry Delia. Meanwhile, Roger had his own hunches. Through the handy use of a blood test, Roger ascertained that he, and not Pat, had fathered Delia's baby. He put the kaibosh on Delia's trick and married her. The Death of Mary Ryan Mary Ryan Fenelli was working as a TV reporter uncovering illegal underworld activities. She discovered that Joe Novak (with whom her sister, Siobhan, was in love), was implicated in dope smuggling. When Joe's Uncle Tiso, a powerful mobster, realized that Mary was on to his nefarious dealings, he fixed Mary's car to go out of control. When it crashed, Mary died a terrible death in Jack's arms. Rae, Kim, Michael, and the Gun Newspaper tycoon Rae Woodard was having an affair with Michael Pavel, a reporter with mob connections. Rae's daughter, Kim, came to town, and not realizing her mother's connection to Michael, also began heating up the sheets with Pavel. When Kim discovered that she and her mother were sharing the same man, she impulsively accepted a marriage proposal from Seneca Beaulac. But lust proves a powerful tug, and Kim resumed her affair with Michael despite her marriage. Never one to stay in the dark too long, Rae heard about the affair and found Kim and Michael in a compromising position. Someone pulled a gun and killed Michael. Rae took the rap to shield her daughter. It was later revealed that the true perpetrator was Sal Brooks, a mobster who had fatally shot Michael over mob infighting. Ryan and Rick Try to Fight the Odds Sixteen-year-old Ryan Fenelli, daughter of Mary and Jack, ran away from boarding school one winter to the safety and security of Ryan's Bar. A huge blizzard had begun, and Ryan found herself snowed in with handsome Rick Hyde, a twenty-two-year-old police officer. The two fell madly in love, despite Jack's rather vocal objection. What Ryan wanted, Ryan got, and she and Rick crossed state lines to get married, because of her age. The marriage eventually broke : up because Rick wanted to have ' children, and Ryan wasn't ready. John, Lizzie, and Marriage Interruptus John Ryan and Lizzie Ransome had been married and produced a son, Owen. Lizzie's father, Harlan, was beating his daughter because he wanted her to get custody of the child to sell him on the black market. Lizzie killed her father in self-defense. Her defiant act endeared her to John and they reunited. In an attempt to chasten herself, Lizzie told John she wanted to wait to make love until after their wedding. A man has his needs, though, and John's were pressing - so he slept with Dr. Concetta D'Angelo. Meanwhile, Ben Shelby was quite smitten with Lizzie - so, on her wedding day, Ben dragged Lizzie from the church, declared his love for her, and spilled the beans about John and the sexy doctor. John and Lizzie ended up together anyway. Delia Faces Facts Maggie Shelby decided to snag wealthy Roger Coleridge. She was successful, and the two were enjoying married life (Maggie was pregnant, in fact) when Delia returned to Riverside and decided she wanted Roger back. Delia concocted various schemes to win Roger and, believe it or not, it worked. Roger moved out of his quarters with Maggie and into Delia's. However, Roger started to have second thoughts, and a worried Delia cooked up a new scheme. She had Maggie kidnapped during a huge snowstorm. Delia then felt guilty and went after Maggie, who hod gone into labor. With no other choice, Delia delivered Maggie's baby. Thus, long-standing enemies became friends, and Roger and Maggie reconciled. Their new child was named Olivia. The Scheming Nancy Don Matters among John, Lizzie, and Ben were anything but settled., John and Lizzie had married, but when Ben was in a motorcycle accident, Lizzie rushed to his side - much to the chagrin of Nancy Don Lewis. Ben recovered, and unaware that Lizzie still cared for him,. started seeing Nancy Don. However, Lizzie continued to work with Ben, and in time they were bedding down again. When Nancy Don got wind of this latest turn of events, she decided the best way to hold on to Ben was by getting pregnant. The only problem was that Ben was temporarily sterile. Nancy Don enlisted Dakota's aid to father a child. He complied. When Ben tried to break up with Nancy Don, she told him she was pregnant with his child; even though, in truth, she had miscarried. When Ben learned that he couldn't have fathered a child, he told Nancy Don that the romance was off. She had no choice but to admit her deception. However, John had heard about the affair by this time, and he and Lizzie decided to put the past behind them and start once more. Click HERE to see images from this article © 1989 Network Publishing Corporation [Soap Opera Digest Presents, Volume 2, Number 3 - March 28, 1989] |