The Edge of Night

Edge of Night was awesome...I use to run home after-school and watch the last twenty minutes of General Hospital (got out at three each day) and then watch the day's episode of Edge of Night before starting on my homework...Must have been around twelve or thirteen at the time but even back then I knew that the actors were awesome. I was crushed when they announced that the show was going off the air, because it was the only show other than General Hospital that had interesting teenagers and sexy young looking older people on it...I loved RAVEN...she was my favorite and when her husband revealed that he was living a lie the whole time and she remained his wife well they had me at hello... this was one of the shows that could keep people watching with only a half an hour of programming when TRUE serials (I use to call them Cereals...because I didn't know any better at the time) were an hour long. the others were Search for Tomorrow (another fave), Ryan's hope and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (Yeah that is OLD SCHOOL) Hoping the series comes to Soap Net...I'd so watch...

I remember watching this show when I got home from school in the late 70's and early 80's. What stands out most in my mind was a storyline involving the character April Scott. If I recall correctly, she was pregnant and having hallucinations for weeks involving the sound of a train whistle and a shadowy man. When her hallucinations finally ended, there was a really spooky finale scene where Satan (sinister laughter, horns, and all!!!!!) appeared in a cloud of smoke on the balcony of the apartment she shared with Draper. I was terrified for days! You weren't sure whether it meant that Satan had caused her hallucinations, or was just following her around for Halloween, or what, but the fact that a soap opera would use horror movie imagery like this will always make The Edge Of Night something I look back on REALLY fondly! :-)

"The Edge of Night" was the consequential daytime drama that totally different from the norm. This was a daytime serial that ran its course for an impressive 28 years from 1956 until 1984,producing a total of 7,420 episodes and it ran on two major television networks,CBS and later on ABC. It's staying power on CBS ran for 19 years ending in 1975 and later ended its run on ABC for nine seasons when it went off the air for good in the summer of 1984. Produced for Proctor & Gamble Productions. "The Edge of Night" was totally different from the regular basically melodrama of daytime soap operas,and it had a premise that kept its audiences tuned in to see what happens next. This was a show that was a mixture of daytime drama, mystery, police detection, courtroom drama,dealings with the supernatural, murders,and beyond. And what kept the show going was that the wonderfully written scripts about mysteries and suspense that in fact were written by some of the best writers of its day. And it shows in the number of Emmys the show received for the remainder of its run. It kept you on the edge of your seat.

A grand murder mystery serial. A brilliant whodunit leading to the causes of the scenes and the stark reality of the culprit who committed the unthinkable. And the innerworkings of both the police and the courtroom which fought on the side of the law. The show was so great it really boosted a strong alumni that went through its door including Dixie Carter,Larry Hagman,Richard Dreyfuss,Jon Voight,and even John Travolta played a delivery man in one episode. Not to mention Julianne Moore,Richard Thomas and even Hector Elizondo were part of the cast. It was just that brilliant.

"The Edge of Night"-The CBS Years from 1956-1975. The Black and White episodes: 1956-1967. The Color Episodes: 1967-1984.

"The Edge of Night"-The ABC Years from 1975-1984. *When ABC cancelled this brilliant show in May of 1984,the network replaced it with the greatest travesty of the worst kind..The Gary Collins Show.

I was fortunate enough to get a double serving of EON during summer break. When EON moved to ABC, the Baltimore affiliate aired the show at 4:00p.m. directly following GH. However, my hometown of Washington, DC would broadcast the same episode the next morning at 10:30 a.m. The quality of the Baltimore channel was clear when it was cloudy but otherwise snowy at best.

Murder mysteries were EON's forte and the one effect they did better than any other daytime drama was the quick fade to black. There was no slow resolve to black. The music would swell, then suddenly the screen goes black. I loved it!!!!!!

The character names were straight out of period pieces

Just to name a few: Adam Drake, Nicole Travis (Drake), April Cavanaugh, Preacher Emerson, Miles Cavanaugh, Margo Huntington Dorn, Elliot Dorn, and two of my favorites villains Molly Sherwood and Winter Austin.

My favorite Friday cliffhanger occurred at the WMON studios. Winter had reached wits end and decided to confront Nicole in the news studio. The mad chase lead to the catwalk and the overhead in the studio. They both wore a white button-up blouse and blue jeans. There hair were a similar honey hue. When the railing broke, one of the two flipped over the railing and fell face first onto the floor below.

It was awesome, but the kicker was, they waited until Tuesday to pick up the story. They sure don't make'em like they used to.

This show was amazing...the compelling mystery/crime stories that hit over the years like Nicole's PoisonedMakeup Murder (1983), Jinx Avery's Murder (1981), Calvin Stoner's shooting (80s), Claude holding Nicole prisoner (1977), Stephanie's poisoned chocolates, dead spiders Shakespeare notes and riddles of cryptic warnings to Nicole (1970s), and Elly Jo's fatal leap out of a speeding car, and the spy story in 1967 that brought on star Donald May (Adam Drake) and then countless murders and kidnappings brought this unusual soap to the daytime soaps core... The best actors in this whole show were Maeve McGuire (Nicole), Donald May (Adam), Holland Taylor (Denise Cavanaugh, this villainies spooked me to no end), Irving Allen Lee (Calvin), Mariann Alda (Didi), and the wonderful Larkin Malloy (Sky) and Sharon Gabet (Raven), and their story lines proved what a super couple they were, i loved Raven's final scenes in the telecasted final episode when the bloody sword was sent to her, that was so timeless and classic.... I also heard even Larry Hagman (future JR Ewing) had a role on EON as a Ed Gibson, thats so cool, and also Ellen Burstyn was on here too.... EON 4eva rules