Peyton Place Ideas for a remake.

[Ked]

Oh yes, and I forgot to mention another change: at first, I was going to have Selena Cross be the unfortunate victim of the Carnival Accident who loses her arm. After reading "Return to Peyton Place" and going over what I'd like to have happen in the later seasons, I realized Selena would need to have *both* arms still. So I decided it'd be poor Lisa Yoowing who loses her right arm.

This does put a dent in her plans to become an actress, although that same season, she ends up finding out about a travelling group of actors who're putting on a show of "Peter Pan." Lisa auditions for two parts: Captain Hook, and Mrs. Darling, which she lands. She has a genuine hook-hand, after all.

Not only that, but when Leslie Harrington is found murdered, some suspicious eyes look in the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Yoowing, as they had previously sued Mr. Harrington over their daughter losing her arm in his park, only to be given less than half of what they wanted.

[Yes, the "Yoowings" sue Mr. "Harrington." ]

Of course, it would revealed it was someone else who killed Leslie... I just haven't decided who yet.

 

[Ked]

@Willie Oleson I also came up with an idea for the final season: in the 6th Season Finale, Constance receives a call from Allison's agent/publisher Bradley (with whom Allison has an affair with) that "Samuel's Castle" is going to be published.

So the 7th and final season is focused on the book being advertised, published, sold in Peyton Place for all the residents to read... and get *deeply* offended by it, before Bradley calls Allison again with the news that he's sold the book to Hollywood. And then, for Episodes 15-20, a movie-making production team comes out to Peyton Place to film certain outdoor scenes. At first, the town feels very put upon that their quiet little lives have been intruded upon...

...that is, until the movie-makers start asking actual citizens to be in the movie as extras. That softens the town.


But in Episode 15, it starts off in Constance's kitchen as she's preparing breakfast for her husband and daughter. Mike comes down, they share a kiss and some cuddles before sitting down at the table, and begin a discussion about a TV show they saw last night:

"I still can't believe they recast her."
"Well, they didn't have much choice. The actress wanted out, but the character was too important to kill off."
"I know, but still, it kind've ruins the whole experience. We've spent so many years with the same person, and now they feel like a stranger."

Just then, a young woman whom we've never seen before casually walks in, saying, "Good morning, Mother. Hey, Mike." before going over to the fridge and pouring herself some orange juice.

"Morning, Allison," Constance and Mike say in unison, sipping at their coffee.

Then the abruptly lower their cups, exchange looks before turning to stare at the young woman, who calmly takes a seat at table, helping herself to some breakfast.

"Who the hell are you?!" demands Constance.

The young woman gives Connie a stare. "You just said. I'm Allison."

"...No, you're not."

"What are you- oh wait, its the hair, isn't it? Yes, I suspect you've all gotten used it to being short, eh? Well I decided to let it grow out, but I've been wearing it in a bun this whole time, so you probably never noticed." She says all this with a straight face.

Constance and Mike are at a loss... until a laughing Allison comes in, revealing that the young woman is actually the actress who's going to play her (or rather, "Rachel Welles") in the movie. Dr. and Mrs. Rossi give out relieved laughs as well, and commend the actress for keeping in-character.



We also get to meet the actress who'll be playing Constance in "Samuel's Castle." I decided that it should be Rita Moore, a fictional actress who appeared in the book "Return to Peyton Place." In it, she wasn't going to be in the movie version of Allison's book, which I thought was a bit of a shame, so I'm changing that for this remake. Rita actually had quite a developed background and personality, and surprisingly so, considering she only appeared in two scenes (three if you count the part early in the novel where she walks right by Allison in New York).

Rita Moore was described as such: "Her soft, silver-blond hair caught the light and shimmered like a jewel. She had high cheekbones that made a diagonal of shadow in her cheeks, like smudges made by her thumbs. Her eyes were sea green and her dress was a deep green embroidered in gold. It clung to her body like a second skin, and where her breasts swelled out of the top her flesh was like heavy cream."

Despite this pleasant description, Rita Moore says of herself, "I used to have a body... When I see myself in old movies on the telly, it breaks my ever-beating heart."

Of course, that didn't stop Allison from admiring her beauty. Heck, Mike Rossi obviously fancied Ms. Moore, and acted a bit like a smitten schoolboy around her. Fortunately, Constance wasn't the jealous type and chose to make a joke out of it.

It stays that way in the remake, since I don't want there to be any stupid love-triangle between Rita, Mike and Constance. Rita does end up hanging around Constance, in order to figure out the best way to play her. Constance is a bit torn between being supremely flattered that an actress like Rita Moore is playing her... and not wanting to look too far back into the past as Rita asks her questions.

In Episode 20, the final episode the movie-makers appear in town, we get the car crash scene with Marion Partridge, who drives right into the white gazebo. You remember your idea of having the other driver be the model whose photo used to sit on the mantel in the MacKenzie home? I decided he's one of the actors for the movie. The reason neither Allison or Constance notice him until now is because they've both been avoiding scenes that have a lot of people, although they have taken peeks at scenes with fewer characters. But Marion's car crash attracts the attention of pretty much everybody in town, so there was no avoiding things this time!

Episode 26 is when Rita Moore returns to Peyton Place because she heard the news that Allison was involved in a car crash with Lewis Jackman, which resulted in his death (Ep23). She manages to give Allison a bit of a pep talk... and I'm thinking that *maybe* she comes to the rescue of Constance while she's being molested by Joe Rossi. Maybe.

Episode 29 is when "Samuel's Castle - the Movie" premieres, and it does so in Peyton Place itself. The movie serves as a bit of a recap for the series as a whole; while it mainly focuses on events that happened in the earlier seasons, particularly the first, it also touches upon moments that are still relevant in the later ones.

 

[Ked]

I recently decided to have the Webber family be black. So that would result in a total of 11 black main characters for the show:

Dr. Harry Miles, neurosurgeon at the Peyton Place Hospital, and great pals with Dr. Rossi and Matthew Swain

Alma Miles, housewife, school board member, and Constance's best friend

Lew Miles, bisexual teen in Allison's year; on-again-off-again lovers with both Joanne and Norman; he ends up joining the police force in S4

Sgt. William Walker, the most prominent cop in Peyton Place, a widower and protective father; he becomes Chief of Police in S4

Joanne Walker, aspiring teen biochemist; recurring character from S3 onward til S7, when she returns to join Dr. Rossi's research team

Nurse Mary Kelley, nurse at Peyton Place Hospital, depended on by both Dr. Rossi and Dr. Miles; Joanne sets her up with William in a later season

Vickie Fletcher, scheming vixen teen from the neighboring town of White River; tries to blackmail Lew into marrying her

Lee Webber, hotheaded biker and former mill-worker; he gets hired by Rodney to work in the latter's garage in S3

Sandy Webber, adulterous wife and waitress, unafraid to go after younger men like Rodney and Lew

Chris Webber, blind musician who ends up falling for Allison in S4, though things turn sour after Ann's "death"

Stephanie Wallace, Allison's New York bisexual fashion model roommate; she kisses Allison once, and her and has a brief romantic subplot with Matt Swain

 

[Ked]

@Willie Oleson If you thought I had run out of ideas for Peyton Place, you were wrong.


Season 2

Ep01 - Selenea goes through 2 churches before she gets her mother, Nellie, buried. This is because Nellie's church, a Catholic one, refused to bury a woman who committed suicide. The second church, a Protestant one, smirked at the Catholics for being so callous. But then Reverend Fitzgerald, who resided over the Protestant church, also refused to bury Nellie for the same reason. Now the Catholics were the ones who smirked. The whole Protestant church crowded around the Fitzgerald household, demanding that he bury Nellie, but he continued to refuse. Not long after that, Fitzgerald's wife left him, and he left Peyton Place as well. It was a third church, a "new" one, that agreed to bury Nellie.

Ep02 - Reverend Jerry Bedford returns to become the new minister of the Protestant church. He is warmly received, as he was once a resident now returned to share his learned knowledge with the town. Meanwhile, Child Services come for Selena and Joey, but they hide in the basement of Constance MacKenzie, who goes to Matthew Swain and Charles Partridge for help. Arrangements are made for the Cross children to live with Constance until Selena turns 18, during which time Matthew Swain will pay to renovate the Cross shack into a proper home. The town gets another new resident: Elliot Carson, who gets a job at the newspaper.

Ep03 - "Curiosity Killed the Cat" - Norman, who has been forbidden by both his mother and by Constance to visit Allison in the hospital, feels despondent and lonely. He ends up sneaking into the backyard of Mrs. Goodale, an old woman whom Norman has feared since he was a child. He snuck into her yard in order to satisfy his curiosity about what Mrs. Goodale could see through the hole in bush-wall that separated her yard from the yard of the Card household. He beholds the pregnant Mrs. Card sitting on her back porch. Norman is about to leave when Mrs. Goodale comes out, forcing Norman to hide just below the porch - still within view of Mrs. Card. Seconds later, Mr. Card comes home from work... and begins to give oral sex to his wife. Norman is forced to lie still and watch, horrified and disgusted, until he can take it no longer and bolts out of there. But Mrs. Goodale doesn't seem to notice him... and later on that same day, after investigating the screams of Mrs. Goodale's cat, Norman discovers why: the old woman has died, stuck staring through the hole where the Cards were. Mrs. Goodale's tomcat, tied by rope for a leash, is desperately trying to escape the dead body, screaming its head off. Norman tells the cat to stop... and strangles it to make it quiet.

This is also the episode where Elliot goes into Constance's bookshop. Since its been roughly 17 years since she's seen him, I'm not sure if she'd recognize him right away. But he recognizes her, and tells her now they can be together. Horrified, Constance tells Elliot no, what they had was over long ago, and he must leave Peyton Place right away, and stay away from Allison forever. But Elliot makes it clear he's staying... and he doesn't care how long it'll take for Connie to realize that she and Allison belong to him, and him alone...

Ep04 - Allison finally checks out of the hospital... but she moves in with Uncle Matt, not wanting to live with her mother anymore. This results in an argument between her and Selena, who remains ignorant of Connie telling her daughter that she was a bastard. Allison is unwilling to tell her friend that, so that the two girls end up not speaking to each other. However, Allison soon makes a new friend when she resumes her part-time job at the newspaper: Elliot Carson.

Ep05 - Allison sneaks over to Norman's to ask him why he never visited her in the hospital, but he can't face her, viewing himself to be a monster for killing Mrs. Goodale's cat (when the old woman was found, everybody assumed it was she who strangled the cat, though nobody knew how she did it without getting any scratches on her). Norman is also starting to have a recurring nightmare: one where he and Allison are in the place of Mr. and Mrs. Card, while Norman's mother, dressed up in Mrs. Goodale's 50-year-old clothes, watches them through the hole in the fence; then Allison's abdomen bursts out with maggots and try to consume Norman, who races for his mother. Sometimes he doesn't make it... and other times he does, and awakens to a strong sense of relief that his mother has saved him from a terrible fate.

Ep06 - Allison reconnects with the Schusters, and Elliot decides he hates David Schuster, and doesn't want Allison hanging around him.

Ep07 - Elliot writes a scathing article about David Schuster, angering Allison.

Ep08 - Norman saves one of Mrs. Card's kittens from a tree, and becomes overcome with love for it. Mrs. Card kindly allows Norman to keep the kitten. Norman vows to it that he'll keep them safe and loved all their life.

Ep09 - Elliot makes up with Allison, but frames David in order to "prove" himself right all along.

Ep10 - Rodney, sick of school and deciding to drop out, opens a garage and hires Lee Webber.

Ep11 - Rodney breaks up with Betty again, despite Martin's threats.

Ep12 - Elliot sees Constance and Principal Tomas Kyros kiss. Allison and Rodney end up having a good talk, and become friends again.

Ep13 - Rev. Bedford reveals in a conversation with someone (not sure who yet) that he believes homosexuality shouldn't be illegal. "I'm not saying it isn't sinful. I just don't think it should be illegal. I have seen too many families broken up because one of the spouses was forced to live a lie, all because they were expected to."

Ep14 - Evelyn Page, jealous over the love and attention her son, Norman, gives his pet kitten, poisons it... and allows Norman to blame himself, completely unsuspecting of his mother.

Ep15 - Allison goes to the Christmas Dance with Uncle Matt ("The handsomest man in the whole wide world!" she calls him) as her escort. Its here that Elliot corners Principal Tomas Kyros... and murders him.

[winter break]

Ep16 - Amid the fuss over who killed Principal Kyros, Allison hears about Norman's kitten dying, and immediately goes to see him. She is able to comfort Norman, and the two reconnect.

Ep17 - Elliot and Evelyn conspire to drive Allison and Norman apart again.

Ep18 - David Schuster confesses his feelings for Allison, but she rejects him.

Ep19 - Martin Peyton gives Sgt. William Walker a great deal of money to pay for his daughter's (Joanne) education to become a biochemist. Sgt Walker is suspicious, and Martin admits that he will ask Walker for a favor down the line in return. Walker knows its a bad idea to owe favors to Martin Peyton... except the idea of being able to send his beloved daughter to the best schools is too much, and he accepts.

Ep20 - Rodney and Allison go sailing... and make love for the first time... and a second time.

Ep21 - Ellot tries to run Rodney over with his car, but Rodney survives.

Ep22 - Selena and Joey move back into their remodeled house.

Ep23 - Rev Bedford asks Betty out for a date, causing a bit of a scandal: the Protestant minister asking out the town tart?

Ep24 - Selena and Betty catfight at the dress shop (and I have no idea why ).

Ep25 - Allison finds out that Elliot Carson is her father. At first she is thunderstruck... but then pleased: she likes Elliot. In fact, he's not too different from the princely figure she always imagined her father to be.

Ep26 - Allison wants Constance to marry Elliot, but Constance refuses... and is unable to give a clear answer why. Naturally, Allison is upset.

Ep27 - Elliot sees Dr. Michael Rossi hugging Constance. Meanwhile, Joanne Walker leaves Peyton Place for college.

Ep28 - Constance finally tells Allison the truth about Elliot: that he was sent to prison for murdering his wife so he could get with the young, pregnant Constance... and he may also be the one who murdered Principal Kyros... as well as the same person who tried to kill Rodney. Allison is once again thunderstruck, and refuses to believe any of it... at first.

Ep29 - Constance realizes Elliot has gone to Dr. Rossi's beach house to kill him. She rushes over to save Michael, resulting in a violent confrontation between the three. Allison shows up, desperate for answers, and witnesses her father beating her mother. In the panic, Allison grabs a butcher knife and runs it straight into Elliot, killing him. Allison goes into a deep shock, just like she did in the last season finale.

Ep30 - Allison is once again back in the hospital, where she tricks Nurse Mary Kelley into giving her a pair of scissors ("I want to cut out some coupons from this newspaper.") and uses them to cut her hair. After showering and putting on some new clothes, Allison leaves the hospital, takes a farewell stroll around town before walking down the highway, without saying goodbye to anyone...

 

[Ked]

@Willie Oleson Some details I forgot to add:


In Ep16, Norman tells Allison that not only his mother, but Allison's own mother forbade him from visiting her in the hospital. Allison flies into a rage at Constance, and tells her, "As soon as I graduate, I'm leaving Peyton Place! I don't ever want to see you or this town again!"

Constance pleads with her daughter, but Allison is unmoved. "I'm going to New York. I've always wanted to go there, its a great place for writers!"

"What will you do for money? How will you get there?!"

"I've got enough saved up from my job, and Uncle Matt said he'd help out."

"You already spoke to Matt about this?!"

"Of course. I trust him, remember? And he'll give me a recommendation so I can find a job."

"...Supposing you can't find a job?"

"...Then I'll live off some man the way YOU did."

~~~

In Ep29, Constance tells the police that it was she was killed Elliot, and gets Michael to go along with it. Later she reasons, "The whole town will look at Allison differently! Its bad enough that she knows she's a bastard, I can't have anybody know she's killed her own father!" Of course, nobody knows that Elliot Carson was Allison's father, but that's just how Constance wants it. She wants nobody to associate the two together.

~~~

In Ep30, I decided its Selena who provides Allison with her new clothes. Its her own way of trying to comfort her friend, buying her a new outfit (including not only a dress, but shoes and a purse). Allison doesn't react to it much, other than saying the yellow dress with the flower pattern looks "happy."

 

[Ked]

Season 3

Ep01 - The town searches for Allison, with no luck. Accusations and hysteria arise.

Ep02 - Ann Howard arrives in Peyton Place, transferred from another hospital. Her first scene is like that in the original series, where she's standing on the bluffs looking down. She's spotted by Dr. Rossi in his beach-house, but she runs off before he gets a good look at her, causing him to wonder if it was Allison. He realizes the truth when he meets her at the hospital the next day.

Ep03 - Selena receives a letter from Allison. It says that she, Allison, is alright, and that she apologizes for leaving without saying goodbye; she only wanted to leave while she still had the will to and was afraid somebody would try to convince her to stay. The envelope contains letters addressed to Norman, Rodney and Matthew, but no letter for a broken-hearted Constance. Although the letter to Selena asks her to watch out for Constance ("You were always a better daughter to her than I was").

Ep04 - Norman Page and Lew Miles enlist for Vietnam. Leslie Harrington, however, pulls some strings to make it so that Rodney can't enlist or be drafted.

Ep05 - Elsie Thorton is announced as the new high school principal. Marion makes a callous remark about that, resulting in Constance attacking her in Doris Schuster's dress shop in front of nearly all the main female characters.

Ep06 - Betty and Steven Cord become engaged.

Ep07 - Leslie Harrington asks Constance out on a date, to which Rodney objects... but Constance, looking for something to help her move on from Allison, seriously considers it.

Ep08 - Matthew, who once lost a fiance to Leslie, tells him to stay away from Constance.

Ep09 - Michael and Leslie get into a fistfight over Constance, who rejects them both.

Ep10 - Norman and Lew return home, wounded... or at least Lew is wounded. Norman is only faking - but only on his mother's orders: while in 'Nam, Norman went "psycho-neurotic" under fire (but was saved by Lew - and that's how he got wounded), and was later deemed mentally unfit to be a soldier. Both young men were discharged at about the same time, so that Evelyn accompanied the Miles when they went to fetch their respective sons. Evelyn, however, was terrified Norman would be labeled "crazy" or "a coward" and begged the Miles family not to tell the real reason for Norman's discharge; to say that Norman had been wounded just like Lew. At first, Harry and Alma didn't want to go along with the plan, but Lew convinced them otherwise. Harry even gave Norman some tips on how to "properly limp." Upon returning to Peyton Place, both boys are regaled as war heroes; a ceremony is held in their honor, and each of them gives a speech. Norman ends up having his nightmare again where he and Allison are making love while being watched by Evelyn... only the dream changes: when Norman flees Allison, he finds himself trying to get to Lew...

Ep11 - Rev. Bedford marries Betty to Steven, despite still being in love with her. At the wedding reception, Lew gets Norman alone... and kisses him.

Ep12 - Constance tucks herself away in her house, all alone... because she intends to throw a quasi-birthday party for Allison (recall in Season 1, Allison's birthday happened in the 12th episode), even though her daughter isn't in Peyton Place anymore. However, all of Constance and Allison's friends show up on her doorstep, remembering what day this is, and they all have themselves a party in Allison's honor.

Ep13 - Constance sees Michael with Ann Howard... and gets jealous. [note: up until now, Constance has been the only major blonde woman in the series. Now with Ann Howard in town, that's no longer the case]

Ep14 - Matthew encourages Norman and Lew to go to Peyton Place College, once their wounds are better. Michael and Ann kiss.

Ep15 - [Christmas] Constance arrives at Michael's beach-house in a red dress. She finally reveals the whole truth about Elliot Carson to him. Michael takes her in his arms, saying he'll always be ready to help her. Meanwhile, Lucas Cross returns to Peyton Place, drunk and violent as usual... as well as lecherous. When he tries to rape Selena again, she kills him with the fireplace tongs. She and Joey end up burying his body in the sheep-pen.

[winter break]

Ep16 - Norman and Lew attend Peyton Place College for an English class, and meet their professor, Paul Hanley.

Ep17 - Lee Webber finally recognizes Ann Howard and confronts her.

Ep18 - Ann confides in Michael about her past: how when she was 12 years old, she was accused of pushing 10-year-old Chris Webber off the bluffs, resulting in his blindness. Ann insists that she didn't do it, yet all fingers continue to point at her.

Ep19 - Lisa Yoowing starts to befriend Norman after he publishes a favorable review of a play she's in.

Ep20 - Steven Cord finds out that Ann Howard is actually Ann Colby, but keeps that bit of news under his hat for the moment.

Ep21 - Norman confides in Paul what really happened in Vietnam, that he wasn't really wounded. Paul doesn't judge Norman in the least bit... resulting in a kiss.

Ep22 - Norman tells Lew about the kiss, leaving the latter feeling betrayed. Lew ends up having a one-night stand with Vickie Fletcher.

Ep23 - Lew accidentally hits someone with his car; he panics and drives off.

Ep24 - Vickie blackmails Lew into marrying her, claiming to be pregnant with his child.

Ep25 - [Easter] After being questioned by naval officers, Selena breaks down and confesses to Constance about Lucas. Unfortunately, Marion Partridge overhears everything and alerts both the police and her husband.

Ep26 - Selena is arrested... and her fiance, Ted Carter, abandons her.

Ep27 - Joey gets in a fight at school over his sister's innocence. Lew confides in Norman the real reason why he's marrying Vickie.

Ep28 - Joanne Walker returns from school on vacation. Lew is upfront and confesses everything to her. After some initial shock, Joanne decides to help Lew, and enlists the aide of her father, Sgt. William Walker.

Ep29 - Sgt Walker runs Vickie out of town, though he tells Joanne she can do much better than Lew, despite not knowing the whole story about him. The town is suddenly met with another surprise: Allison has returned home!

Ep30 - Selena's trial: she is acquitted when Michael Rossi, Harry Miles and Matthew Swain testify that Lucas was sexually abusing her. The only one not happy with this outcome is Marion Partridge, who jumped to the conclusion that Selena slept with Marion's husband in order to get him to be her lawyer. Marion vows to make Selena pay...

 

[Ked]

Season 4

Ep01 - Two girls leave Peyton Place: Joanne Walker returns to college, while Allison MacKenzie returns to New York. Flashbacks reveal what she's been up to this past year: she's been living in New York, sharing a 2-bedroom apartment with a young bisexual black woman named Stephanie "Steve" Wallace, who is trying to make it as an actress/model (and finding better success as a model). Allison discovered Stephanie's ad for a roommate on her very first day in New York ("Lucky, too, otherwise I'd have to walk the streets!") and offered up a month's worth of rent money in advance (thanks to the cash she saved up from Uncle Matt). Stephanie decided then and there Allison was the roommate for her, and the two have grown rather friendly over the year... even to the point of Allison allowing Stephanie to kiss her once - "Just to see how it is." Though that's as far as it went. Allison also found work writing short stories for a magazine, although that was after a couple of months of struggling job-hunting. Once again, it was luck that helped Allison out: Stephanie just so happened to have a friend, David Noyes, in the writing business. He helped her find and secure a job. He also ended up introducing her to Bradley Holmes, a publisher whom Allison ended up falling head over heels for. Right before she found out about Selena's trial, Allison spent a weekend with Bradley... and only afterwards discovered he was married ("I thought you knew! Everybody knows."). This threw Allison for a loop, and the second she spotted a Peyton Place newspaper talking about Selena's upcoming trial, Allison bolted home. Upon returning to New York, Allison realizes she has a desperate need to reconnect and reconcile with her hometown, particularly her mother. She says good-bye to Stephanie and David Noyes (who was planning on telling Allison he loves her) and makes yet another trip back to Peyton Place.

Ep02 - Allison waltzes into her mother's house, asking if she can come back to live there again. A startled but delighted Constance welcomes her daughter back, though Michael (who happens to be present) notes that the two should play things out more dramatically, like Hollywood. Meanwhile, Lew Miles, still feeling guilty over his hit-and-run, makes a rather wild decision: he's going to join the police force. He even asks Sgt. Walker to take him under his wing. At first Walker balks at the idea... but later gives in.

Ep03 - Allison meets and befriends Ann Howard. Hannah Cord discovers who Ann really is.

Ep04 - Allison meets Chris Webber when she goes to The Shore and listens to him playing the piano.

Ep05 - Hannah destroys Catherine Peyton's portrait.

Ep06 - Allison and Betty catfight at Whitehall Inn.

Ep07 - Joey Cross gets into another fight at school; Lew teaches him boxing.

Ep08 - Steven and Ann discover they are twin siblings.

Ep09 - Ann confronts Hannah.

Ep10 - [The 100th episode] Allison, searching for Chris on the beach, discovers Ann's "dead" body. She accuses Lee, whom she had seen riding on his motorcycle nearby, to the police.

Ep11 - Chris, furious over Allison accusing his brother, tells her she's incapable of love. This hits Allison pretty hard, though Constance and Selena reassure her otherwise. Meanwhile, Sgt. Walker becomes Chief of Police.

Ep12 - Allison sleepwalks and witnesses Jack Chandler murdering his wife. He realizes she's sleepwalking and doesn't harm her, though he does follow Allison back to her house to see where she lives. Later on the next day, he comes back to inquire if the "young lady" was feeling alright. After realizing what's happened, Constance puts her foot down: Allison is going to see a therapist whether she wants to or not.

Ep13 - Lisa Yoowing tells off Evelyn Page in the main square of town, giving her a complete dressing down for how she's treated Norman all his life. Evelyn, however, refuses to see anything wrong in her actions, and tells Lisa to be on her way. But Lisa refuses, telling Evelyn to go HER own way. Not wanting to create an even bigger scene, Evelyn slithers away, while a few townsfolk commend Lisa for finally telling Mrs. Page what was what.

Ep14 - Lee Webber, in an act of cruel pettiness, outs Paul Hanley, who gets killed in a hate crime.

Ep15 - [Christmas] Selena and Joey have panic attacks, as they begin to recall what happened last year around this time. They are rescued by Constance, Allison, Michael and Matthew, and taken to the MacKenzie house. Meanwhile, over at the Page house, Norman is devastated over Paul's murder, not to mention outraged that few of the cops are willing to do anything about it ("One less queer off the streets!"). The final straw is when Evelyn serenely tells Norman that Paul deserved to die. Norman completely loses it and murders his mother. But he blacks out what happened and doesn't remember it. He doesn't even remember walking all the way over to the Miles house, where he meets Lew, who figures everything out - but provides Norman with an alibi: "Don't you remember, Norman? You were here all evening! You weren't home when your mother was murdered!"

[winter break]

Ep16 - Lee Webber's trial. Steven gets Hannah to reveal that he and Ann were Catherine Peyton's bastard children.

Ep17 - Lee is acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence. Meanwhile, Allison puts the moves on her therapist, but he rebuffs her.

Ep18 - Carolyn and Charlotte Page, the spinster half-sisters of Norman, move in on their much younger half-brother. They pretend to be kind and supportive during this sad time of his mother's murder, even though what they're really after is the money their father left Evelyn and Norman before he died.

Ep19 - Hannah accidentally sets Peyton Castle on fire when she yanks down the other portrait of Catherine Peyton and shoves it into the fireplace. Martin Peyton almost goes up in flames along with the place, but he's rescued by Steven (who gets him out) and Betty (who, thanks to her N.A.-training, resuscitates him).

Ep20 - Lying in his hospital bed, Martin reveals to Betty that he wants her to have a baby by Steven... but then to divorce him, and get married to Rodney Harrington. That way, the Peyton bloodline may continue, but they'll also absorb the Harrington wealth. Betty is so upset over Martin's plan that she ends up turning to Allison of all people. Allison (who isn't told of Martin's plan) offers to contact Stephanie Wallace so Betty can get away for a while. Betty agrees.

Ep21 - Betty goes to New York to be a temporary roommate to Stephanie, only to find that she's already got another roommate: Sharon Purcell, another actress/model, only she's blonde. Betty doesn't mind crashing on the couch, though, as she plans on only being there for a few weeks (and what follows for Betty is a plotline based off of "Valley of the Dolls").

Ep22 - Charlotte and Carolyn begin to gaslight Norman after gaining his trust. Betty attends a photo-shoot with Stephanie and Sharon. There was supposed to be a third model, but she had to cancel. Noticing Betty's beauty, the photographer asks her to fill in. At first hesitant, Betty agrees, and one trip to the makeup chair later, she's with her roommates, posing for the camera. Later on, Betty is told she'd be perfect for a cosmetics line.

Ep23 - Lew uses his police position/knowledge/connections to frame Jack Chandler, who's been stalking Allison, for the murder of Evelyn Page. Jack is arrested, but he makes a break for it.

Ep24 - Carolyn begins to feel real affection for Norman. Meanwhile, Jack Chandler dies in a police shoot-out, closing the case on Evelyn Page's death.

Ep25 - Carolyn tells Charlotte she won't go through with things ("Let's leave the boy alone. He's already suffered enough!"). Charlotte pretends to agree, only to device another plan. Betty attends a party with Stephanie and Sharon; the latter encourages Betty to get things on with a rich, older gentlemen. Betty ends up sleeping with him, deciding "No one will ever know!" Except she doesn't realize that Martin Peyton has been keeping an eye on her...

Ep26 - Charlotte kills Carolyn and tries to frame Norman, but he's rescued by Lew, Allison and Lisa Yoowing.

Ep27 - Allison finishes the novel she's been working on since the beginning of Season 3: "Samuel's Castle." She sends it to her publisher, Bradley Holmes. Meanwhile, Sharon Purcell ends up dying thanks to an overdose. Betty and Stephanie try to save her, but its too late.

Ep28 - Betty returns to Peyton Place, glad for once to be there. What she doesn't realize is that Steven has been made aware that she was unfaithful to him in New York.

Ep29 - Steven publicly humiliates Betty at a party held at the newly refurbished Peyton Castle. He orders Matthew Swain to print all the information about Betty's misadventures in New York, but Matthew takes the envelope and throws it into the fireplace. Rodney keeps Steven from punching Matthew. Furious and hurt, Betty tells Martin she'll go along with his plan after all: she'll get pregnant by Steven, then divorce him, before marrying Rodney. Meanwhile, Allison receives a call from Bradley Holmes, who tells her he won't be able to punish her book... its just no good.

Ep30 - After feeling defeated, Allison picks herself up and starts reworking "Samuel's Castle." She isn't able to get too far before her friends and family drag her out to attend the Harrington Carnival. There, Allison runs into Chris Webber. She decides the two of them should reconcile and be friends; they end up spending the rest of the day together. All fun and games come to an end when the Ferris Wheel breaks and falls... When the dust clears, all that can be seen is wreckage. A scream rips its way out of Constance MacKenzie's throat as she scrambles to find her daughter, boyfriend, cousin and friends...

 

[Ked]

Season 5

Ep01 - The Carnival Aftermath: so far I've got 4 characters who can die from this: Chris Webber (he dies right after he tells Allison, who is lying beside him under the rubble, "I can see you."); Kenny Stearns, the local handyman (who, during a drunken stupor way back in Season 1, predicted that this accident would happen); Ginny Stearns, Kenny's infamously unfaithful wife; and Nurse Choate.

If anyone can think of any other character eligible for the chopping block, please offer your ideas. I'd like for there to be at least 6 deaths resulting from this. 8 would perhaps be the most ideal. Perhaps David Schuster would be a worthy candidate? I definitely want to keep Kim and Doris around, and having David die would offer up some interesting potential drama for them, especially since by now, Kim will be 14 years old (I decided that she, like Joey Cross, would be 10 years old at the start of the series).

Of course, there are also several characters who are injured during this: most famously, Lisa Yoowing has lost her right arm; Allison's legs are broken and she must be in a wheelchair; Rodney has a broken arm and a broken leg, and must be in a wheelchair too; Norman loses an eye and must wear an eyepatch. The rest all have bruises and cuts.

Ep02 - Lee Webber tells his wife, Sandy, that he blames Allison for Chris's death. "If he hadn't gone off with her, he never would have been crushed by that damn wheel!"

Ep03 - The Yoowings take Leslie Harrington to court over their daughter, Lisa, losing an arm. He pays them a handsome sum.

Ep04 - Lisa gets a hook-hand/arm. Leslie confides in Rodney that he thinks Martin Peyton had the Ferris wheel sabotaged, just to make trouble.

Ep05 - Allison, in order to perk up all her friends, decides to throw a party at Dr. Rossi's beach-house. Lee and Sandy Webber gatecrash, but are welcomed nonetheless. Lee brings out some LSD and gets everyone to try some (well, everyone except Sandy and Norman, who only pretend to take it). While mostly everyone is off hallucinating, Lee wheels Allison out towards the bluffs, intending to push her off. But Norman and Sandy go after him, and a fight breaks out. More by luck than by skill, Norman manages to push Lee right off the bluffs... only he doesn't die, but winds up in a coma.

Ep06 - Betty goes to Dr. Rossi, complaining that she and Steven have been trying to have a child for a few months now, with no results. Dr. Rossi examines her, and brings back some slightly disheartening news: though he tells her its not impossible, from the look of things, Betty may have trouble conceiving. All she and her husband can do right now is "keep trying." Naturally, Betty doesn't say a word of this to Steven.

Ep07 - Joey Cross begins high school. Meanwhile, Sandy Webber becomes Leslie Harrington's new secretary, thanks to some cajoling from Rodney.

Ep08 - Ted Carter, who hasn't been seen since the end of Season 3, makes a return. He shows up at Selena's house to announce his engagement to Boston blue-blood Jennifer Burbank. Selena is not impressed, and orders her ex-fiance from her house.

Ep09 - Norman, tired of always sitting around and feeling sorry for himself, gets a job as a combination bookkeeper and circulation manager for the Peyton Place Newspaper. Lee Webber awakens from his coma... only to find Leslie Harrington in his room with an offer...

Ep10 - Reverend Jerry Bedford weds Miss Susan Winter. Betty does not approve, proclaiming that Jerry can do better. Pretty much everybody points out to her, "He could do better than you, yet he still wanted you! And you were too stupid to take him when you had the chance! So who are you to talk?"

Ep11 - Leslie sends the crippled Lee Webber up to kill Martin Peyton, believing him to be responsible for the Ferris wheel incident. The deal was for, once Lee had done away with Martin, Leslie would get Lee out of town and somewhere far away where he could live in relative luxury for the rest of his life. Unfortunately for Lee, that would never happen: he is stopped in his mission by Steven Cord. During the struggle, the gun goes off and Lee dies. Martin tells Steven he has avenged his sister's death, even though Steven doesn't really think so.

Ep12 - ???

Ep13 - ???

Ep14 - Ted Carter brings his new wife, Jennifer, to town. His mother, Roberta, wants them to take the room next to hers and Harmons', though Jennifer refuses, saying she'd much prefer to sleep in Ted's old room way down the hall. Roberta takes offense, and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Jennifer is talking about her behind her back. So Roberta does the only sensible thing: every night, she tiptoes down the hall into the little storage room next to Ted's and eavesdrops on them through the air-vent. Roberta discovers that Jennifer hardly ever talks about her mother-in-law, but that doesn't satisfy Roberta at all. She continues to listen to them every night, taking in every conversation they ever have... and yet not once does she ever hear them make love. But Roberta doesn't mind that; she approves that her daughter-in-law is, apparently, frigid.

Ep15 - [Christmas] Stephanie Wallace and David Noyes come to Peyton Place on Allison's invitation. They meets and become friendly with Allison's friends and family, much to her relief. Stephanie and Matthew Swain, however, end up having a one-night stand that they choose to be discreet about. Later on... Leslie Harrington is found dead, poisoned.

[winter break]

Ep16 - Julie Anderson returns to Peyton Place for Leslie's funeral. She confronts Martin Peyton, believing he had something to do with it. He gives nothing away, aside from a smug smile.

Ep17 - Roberta Carter finally hears her son having sex with his wife... and is horrified to learn that Jennifer is a sadomasochist, teasing Ted until he goes into a frenzy, demanding that he whip her with his belt, etc. Even when Ted has fallen asleep, crying with shame at what he's done to his wife, Jennifer continues to slide up and down the sheets to make the welts on her body sting, all because she enjoys it. Roberta is pale and shaking from listening to all of that... and goes to listen again the very next night.

Ep18 - Rodney quits mourning in order to start work as the new head of the Harrington Mills. He re-hires Julie Anderson as his secretary, though he keeps on Sandy Webber. "I'll need all the help I can get in running this show!"

Ep19 - ???

Ep20 - ???

Ep21 - ???

Ep22 - ???

Ep23 - ???

Ep24 - Steven finds out Betty may not be able to conceive, leading to a violent confrontation where he begins to beat her.

Ep25 - Lisa Yoowing hears about a travelling acting troupe putting on a play of Peter Pan, and goes to audition for the part of Captain Hook ("What's the use of having an actual hook-hand if I can't play THAT part?!") and gets it. Meanwhile, Rodney has discovered what Steven has done to Betty, and confronts him, leading to yet another violent confrontation, with Rodney beating the hell out of Steven.

Ep26 - Matthew Swain decides to run an article on the acting troupe, and interviews some of the actors, which includes handsome 30-year-old former-child-star Tim Randlett, who's been trying to make a comeback since his early 20s. Matthew and Tim end up meeting in the diner for their interview, but Selena is there as well. She and Tim take one look at each other, and its like sparks and flint.

Ep27 - Stephanie Wallace makes another visit to Peyton Place. She crosses paths with Tim Randlett, and warns Selena against becoming serious with him, calling him a "phony" and a "royal pain." But Selena only listens with half an ear; its been a childhood dream of hers' to date a handsome movie star... even though Tim hasn't technically been a movie star since he was a kid. Stephanie also crosses paths with Jennifer Carter. On Stephanie's part, there's an instant dislike. On Jennifer's part, there's an instant attraction. Jennifer tries to seduce Stephanie, but the latter rejects her. And Jennifer Burbank Carter doesn't take kindly to rejection...

Ep28 - Jennifer drugs Stephanie and tries to rape her - but is stopped just in time by Allison, Joanne Walker and Lisa Yoowing.

Ep29 - Betty discovers that she's finally pregnant, and happily "reconciles" with Steven, only planning on staying with him till the baby is born. Meanwhile, Tim Randlett finds out from one of the actresses about Lucas Cross...

Ep30 - Leslie's murderer is revealed: Martin Peyton convinced/tricked Sandy Webber into poisoning Leslie. Believing that she won't be able to prove her innocence, and with both Lee and Chris gone, Sandy kills herself - but leaves behind a letter with everything revealed, hoping that she'll be able to take down Martin Peyton from beyond the grave. Unfortunately, Martin discovers the letter before anyone else can, and rips/burns the part that incriminates him. Rodney, stunned over this revelation, decides to leave town and attend college for a while. Allison encourages him, saying that doing a similar thing a few years back helped her. Tim Randlett takes Selena to a cottage where he reveals he knows about Lucas Cross, and gets Selena to realize that he's not Lucas; the two have sex for the first time.

 

[Ked]

Season 6

Ep01 - Paul Cross, the half-brother of Selena, returns to Peyton Place, having left town in the series premiere. Tim Randlett proposes to Selena, who says yes. Constance proposes to Michael, who says yes.

Ep02 - Michael publicly proposes to Constance at Whitehall Inn. She says yes, though later she asks him why he did that. He confesses he did it out of pride; he was embarrassed that it was her who proposed first when it should have been him. Constance understands, though she tells him not to let his pride get the better of him like that again. While Constance and Michael have a healthy relationship, the one between Selena and Tim is quickly becoming abusive...

Ep03 - Paul Cross meets a young woman named Gladys in White River. [In the book, he met her when he left home and married her. But things are a little different this time around, of course.]

Ep04 - Roberta Carter, during one of the nights of listening in on her son and his wife, is shocked and disgusted when Jennifer teases Ted with the notion of her cheating on him with high school boys. Roberta decides then and there that she must kill Jennifer. "She's crazy!" Roberta starts planning by reading murder mysteries.

Ep05 - ???

Ep06 - Tim Randlett gets Selena to talk about Lucas Cross, something he's been pestering her about for a while. Selena can't take it anymore and viciously tells her fiance everything... which results in Tim getting the *very* misguided idea that she *wants* to be raped, and cheerfully tries to do so. However, Joey was eavesdropping on the whole scene, and runs out and kills Tim. [In the book, Selena hits Tim on the shoulder with the fire tongs, and freaks out that she almost killed him the same way she killed her stepfather. After that, Tim just leaves the story. I decided he needs to die, because he deserves it.]

Ep07 - Joey turns himself in, not wanting a repeat of the Lucas incident. Selena loses it and starts drinking.

Ep08 - I'm thinking that maybe, Allison and Matthew were also witnesses, and so are able to get Joey acquitted right away.

Ep09 - ???

Ep10 - Paul Cross is tracked down by people he owes money to; he's only able to pay half, so they'll be back.

Ep11 - Selena starts to recover from her excessive drinking when Peter Drake, one of the lawyers who represented her back in Season 3, and with whom she's been dating off and on since then, stages an intervention with all her friends and family. Meanwhile, Jennifer Carter discovers her mother-in-law's plan to murder her while she, Jennifer, is snooping around the house (Jennifer loves sticking her nose in other people's business).

Ep12 - [Thanksgiving] Jennifer outsmarts Roberta, and pushes her down the stairs, killing her.

Ep13 - Ted and Jennifer leave town after Roberta's funeral.

Ep14 - Selena and Peter have sex for the first time. Paul Cross' people tell him they want interest; he must get more money, and soon.

Ep15 - Constance and Michael have a winter wedding. They are wed by Rev. Jerry Bedford in the white gazebo. Later on, after the bride and groom leave for their honeymoon, Matthew Swain returns home... where he is accidentally killed by Paul Cross, who was looking for money. Paul flees, unaware that he's killed Matthew.

[winter break]

Ep16 - Matthew Swain's funeral is held. Towards the end, Allison stands up in front of everyone and announces she intends to kill his murderer.

Ep17 - Allison starts work as the new head of the Peyton Place Newspaper (Uncle Matt had left it, along with all his money and even his house, to her).

Ep18 - Betty gives birth to her and Steven's son in The China Dragon restaurant. She names the baby "George Rodney Peyton." When Steven objects, Betty calmly informs him that their marriage is over.

Ep19 - Betty begins divorce proceedings, while Steven declares he'll take their son from her.

Ep20 - Constance, Allison and Michael finally go through Matthew's house to sort all his things.

Ep21 - Harmon Carter and Julie Anderson secretly start seeing each other.

Ep22 - ???

Ep23 - Harmon and Julie are discovered. Ted and Betty are NOT happy.

Ep24 - Paul confesses to Selena that he killed Matthew Swain. "Every member of this damn family is a murderer! You killed Matthew Swain, Joey killed Tim, Mama killed herself, I killed Lucas, Lucas... well, what do you know? The worst member of our family is the only one who never committed murder. Though there are those who say rape is just as bad as murder..."

Ep25 - Peter Drake asks Selena to marry him. Because she's been so rattled by Paul's confession, Selena can't bring herself to say yes. Peter says he'll wait.

Ep26 - Harmon and Julie announce their engagement.

Ep27 - Jennifer comes over to Selena's house to ask her to become Ted's mistress ("I imagine that'll cheer him up after his father marrying that Anderson woman!"). Selena is disgusted and orders Jennifer out. Except Jennifer decides to sneak back and listen in when she realizes Paul seems like he wants to talk about something. And that's how she learns who killed Matthew Swain.

Ep28 - Allison finally finishes re-writing her book and sends it in to Bradley Holmes. She is then approached by Jennifer Carter, who tells her about Paul Cross murdering Uncle Matt.

Ep29 - Allison gets her hands on a gun and corners Paul, ready to shoot him... except she can't do it. He thanks her, but she tells him this doesn't mean she forgives him.

Ep30 - Paul and Gladys leave town together. Selena goes up to Peter Drake, who's seated gloomily on a bench in the town square. She tells him "Yes" and he happily springs up, taking her in his arms. Allison watches them from afar and smiles. She turns around... and sees Rodney drive up. He gets out, they embrace, and he tells her he's sorry, he only just found out about Matthew's death. Meanwhile, Bradley Holmes calls Constance and tells her Allison's book is going to be published.

 

[Ked]

Season 7

Ep01 - Allison goes to New York and meets her new publisher, Lewis Jackman.

Ep02 - Joanne Walker returns to Peyton Place and joins Dr. Rossi's research team.

Ep03 - Betty seduces Rodney. Meanwhile in New York, Allison sleeps with Lewis Jackman.

Ep04 - Allison is interviewed on TV, with her new agent getting her to pretend to be 19 (by this time she's 22; in the book she was 23 when this happened). Harmon Carter and Julie Anderson marry, creating a link between Jennifer and Betty, who already don't like each other.

Ep05 - "Samuel's Castle" is published and brought to Peyton Place... and raises quite a few hackles.

Ep06 - Marion Partridge gets Principal Elsie Thorton fired for supporting Allison's book.

Ep07 - Steven has an affair with Susan Winter, the still-wife of Rev. Jerry Bedford.

Ep08 - Bradley Holmes calls Allison to tell her he sold her book to Hollywood.

Ep09 - Selena and Peter Drake marry. Lew Miles proposes to Joanne Walker during the reception; she says yes.

Ep10 - Martin Peyton dies. Constance tells Michael that she's pregnant.

Ep11 - Martin's funeral. Hannah Cord confronts Betty for "taking over."

Ep12 - Allison goes to Hollywood.

Ep13 - Rev. Bedford and Susan Winter divorce. Meanwhile, Allison, still in Hollywood, meets the actress Rita Moore, who'll be playing "Constance" for the movie.

Ep14 - Hannah, in an attempt to get Betty to stop pursuing Rodney, produces a letter claiming that Rodney is Matthew Swain's son.

Ep15 - Hollywood comes to Peyton Place to film certain outdoor scenes. Several townsfolk are put off, but are later placated when offered to be extras. A letter is found behind Betty's portrait in Peyton Castle when Steven takes it down. The letter reveals that Ann Colby is alive.

[note: Episodes 15-20 are all when the Hollywood team is filming the outdoor scenes.]

[winter break]

Ep16 - Ann is located and returned to Peyton Place.

Ep17 - Its discovered that Chief William Walker, back when he was Sgt. Walker, was involved in staging Ann's "death." That's how he mysteriously became chief so fast, thanks to Martin Peyton pulling a few strings. Chief Walker is stripped of his title and job, and arrested.

Ep18 - Harry Miles bails William out. William gives his blessing to Joanne and Lew before leaving town.

Ep19 - Allison meets Mrs. Lewis Jackman, and discovers she's just as neurotic and cruel as Lewis said she was.

Ep20 - [The 200th episode] Marion Partridge dies crashing her car into the white gazebo. She had swerved to avoid hitting another car, which so happened to be driven by the very same actor/model whose picture had been used to hang on Constance MacKenzie's mantelpiece, substituting as Allison's father.

Ep21 - Joe Rossi, younger brother of Michael Rossi, and his girlfriend, Jill Smith, arrive in town. Elsie Thorton is given her position as principal back.

Ep22 - Lew Miles and Joanne Walker marry. Harry sneaks in William so he can watch.

Ep23 - Allison and Lewis car crash at Road's End; Lewis dies.

Ep24 - Mrs. Jackman comes to meet with Allison, with the intention of killing her. However, Allison unknowingly saves her own life when she lies to Mrs. Jackman, telling her that Lewis had broken it off with her, that he was going to reconcile with his wife. Mrs. Jackman changes her mind about shooting Allison and leaves peacefully, never to be seen again.

Ep25 - 23-year-old Jennifer Carter tries to seduce 16-year-old Joey Cross. For this reason, Selena beats the sh*t out of Jennifer. I imagine the fight styled after this:

Ep26 - Rita Moore visits Allison to help cheer her up. Later on, Joe Rossi molests pregnant Constance.

Ep27 - Joe Rossi is found dead in his car... and Michael Rossi is the prime suspect.

Ep28 - Betty takes her son, George, to visit her father, George, in the sanitarium. Steven finds out and is enraged. "How DARE you take my son to a place like that?!"

Ep29 - "Samuel's Castle", the movie version, premieres in Peyton Place, and receives favorable reviews. Kim Schuster and Joey Cross kiss.

Ep30 - Dr. Rossi's trial. It ends with him in a jail cell, awaiting his fate, though he reassures Constance everything's going to be fine.

Meanwhile, Betty, dressed all in white (white dress, white shoes, white stockings, white gloves, white hat), arrives in Peyton Castle and finds a half-drunk Hannah, dressed all in red (red negligee, red silk robe, heavy red lipstick, heavy rogue, her red hair down from its usual bun, holding a large cup of red wine in her hand), at the top of the stairs. This is obviously meant to symbolize the White Queen/Red Queen battle they've had all these years. Made even more apparent by the fact that the floor is black-and-white tiled, like a chessboard.

After Hannah goes on a drunken tirade, Betty smugly reveals that she's pregnant with Rodney's child; now he'll have no choice but to marry her now. She'll get both fortunes from both the Peytons and the Harringtons. Enraged and frustrated, Hannah lunges forward and slaps Betty - but the momentum causes her to fall down the stairs, landing in a huddle on the black-and-white tiled floor. Betty slowly goes down to check on her... and realizes Hannah is dead.

The final scene is Allison and Rodney walking throughout the town, hand-in-hand, not saying a word. They wind up at the train station, where they watch as people get on or step off. As the train leaves the station, the camera goes with it. We hear Allison's voice-over say, "Thank you for visiting Peyton Place. Good-bye."

 

[Ked]

@Willie Oleson THERE! I have finally finished the gist of how I'd do the entire 7 seasons! ...Well, most of it, anyway. Obviously there were a few episodes where I just couldn't think what to put in them, but hey, we have a large cast, and I only covered the gist of what happens. There's plenty more to add later on.

But in the meantime, how does it all sound?

 

[Ked]

@Willie Oleson If you thought you were free of my ideas, I've come to darken your doorstep yet again. Bwahahaaa!

Okay, so I know in an earlier post I talked about extending the amount of black characters for the new show. Well, I extended the number again, and this time, I have visuals:



These first six are the characters who actually appeared on the original show. Only this time they appear in the first season (aside from Vickie, who doesn't appear till Season 3) and stay with the series till the end.

The following are all characters who were once white, but I think they could be re-written to be black without changing anything essential about them.




Mary Kelley is one of the more senior nurses at the Peyton Place hospital (after Head Nurse Choate dies in the carnival accident, Mary takes over). She's a kind and fair lady, and becomes involved in quite a few important characters/plots: she helps Betty out when the younger woman is training to become a nurse's assistant; she assists in Selena Cross' abortion; she witnesses a kiss between Harry Miles and Stella Chernak, and tells Alma about it; etc.

At one point, I already had plans on making the Chernaks black... but then I got the notion they were Jews in the original show and decided to keep it that way... but then I randomly decided to go back to my original choice. Their storyline and personalities are all still pretty much the same, only with a few key differences, such as the ages of Joe and Stella (they're both younger, albeit for different reasons) and who each of the siblings is involved with:

-Joe is 19, so that he's out of high school, but his family had no money to send him off to college; and he's not finding much work despite his mother pleading with him to go to the mills. Plus, I figured he should be this age in order to explain why 16-year-old Joanne Walker would go around with him.

-Stella is 26, in order to make her more believable as Joe's older sister. Plus, she's fresh off of just earning her biochemist degree: she graduated high school at 17, and spent the next 8 years studying on a partial scholarship; during the latter part she became involved with Richard Jensen, with whom she stole fabricated documents. Richard was caught and sent to jail while Stella got off scot-free and managed to finish her schooling. She spent some time in California before either losing her job or because she received a call/letter from her mother, begging her to come back home and help out with Joe's behavior. And instead of working with Dr. Rossi, Stella becomes the assistant of Dr. Miles, with whom she begins to have an emotional affair with. They never have sex, although they do kiss (as noted above, was witnessed by Mary Kelley).

Their story plays out much like how it did in the original, with Joe and Gus dying, Richard getting arrested and sent to jail again, and Stella and Anna leaving town (with some financial help from Harry Miles). However, the two women do make appear again in Season 7, when Harry goes to New York for a doctor's convention and runs into Stella. They exchange pleasantries and catch up on each other's lives before parting ways.



The Webbers also have pretty much the same story as before, again with some significant changes: Sandy first meets Rodney in Season 2 and has an affair with him, during which she encourages him to run his own life. Which leads to him opening his own garage and hiring Lee... and then finding out Lee and Sandy are married ("Of course you didn't know," Sandy says, "You were always too busy running around with your high school buddies to notice anybody else in town.").

Chris doesn't appear until Season 3, although I'm not sure how big of a role he gets. Ann Colby also appears in S3, but I'm thinking she wants to keep her past quiet, as she didn't choose to come back to Peyton Place, having been re-assigned by her old hospital.

The Ellsworth family were never in the TV series or the movie, but did appear in the book. For this remake, they move to town in Season 2, and Lucy ends up confiding in Mary Kelley that she intends to leave her husband - but not for the reasons you might think. John Ellsworth is not abusive or unfaithful. He is simply flighty, always uprooting his family and never sticking to a job, so that Lucy has always been the family breadwinner. The only reason she's stuck with John for so long was for the sake of their daughter, Kathy. But once Kathy is old enough to understand, Lucy will leave John... except she never gets the chance to. For Lucy Ellsworth ends up becoming one of the victims in the S4 Carnival Accident.

Ironically, its losing Lucy that causes John to finally settle down, just so he can be there for his daughter.

There is a storyline in Season 2 between both the Webbers and the Ellsworths, where Lee ends up beating Sandy when he suspects her affair with Rodney. Sandy runs next door to Lucy and John's, where they patch her up. John rounds up Harry Miles and William Walker, and three of them go over to Lee's house where they corner him and "educate" him about not abusing one's own wife. Lee later goes over and begs Sandy to come back to him, and she does. When Lucy asks to know why, Sandy confesses she really did have an affair, and that's why she "owes" Lee.

Also, Kathy Ellsworth ends up becoming friends with Kim Schuster for the remainder of the series.



Yup, I decided to make Paul Hanley black... in fact, I also went ahead and decided to make Ricky Jacks (yes, a male version of Rita Jacks, because I decided Norman should remain gay in this version) black as well. Ironically, I had originally intended to keep both men white, but then I got the idea to make Ada Jacks a "sassy black woman", and the idea rather appealed to me. Plus, Lew Miles had no other young male black friends, so making Ricky one seemed a good idea. But then I remembered how Norman was supposed to have once been involved with Lew, and decided to just go ahead and have it so that Norman Page "has a type."

Paul was also schoolmates with Lee Webber, Steven Cord, Jerry Bedford and Stella Chernak. Which makes Lee's outing Paul a triple betrayal, in a way. ^^

I know I've already talked about Stephanie Wallace, so I won't go into her too much.

Ricky Jacks doesn't appear in the series till Season 4, where he's in his Senior year in high school. And even then he's mostly just a minor character, and doesn't gain much prominence until Season 5, which is also when we meet his mother, Ada, who still runs a tavern. Her son helps out after school. It is also in this season where Ricky and Norman meet and become friendly, eventually growing close until finally they realize they have something rather particular in common. At first they're afraid and hesitant, but they receive support from Ada, who ends up becoming a second mother to Norman.

Eventually, Norman and Ricky become a couple, albeit discreetly. They let only their closest friends know (Allison, Lew, Joanne, Lisa and Rachel Welles - more on her later), and all of them are okay with it.

In Season 6, Ada's estranged husband, Eddie, comes back to town and tries reconnecting with his son. Things, of course, don't go smoothly, especially when Eddie ends up injuring Norman when the two have an argument. Eventually, Eddie realizes he's causing more harm than good, and leaves by the end of the season.



In Season 4, we meet Jack and Lucy Chandler, who obviously are not happily married. Early on in the season, Alma finds Lucy crying, but the latter explains its because her sister and brother-in-law died in a fire, and now she must take in her niece and nephew, Rachel and Lewis.

Fun fact: Lewis Welles was a character in the book, and was the boyfriend of Kathy Ellsworth. Since he had the same surname as Rachel, I got the idea of making them siblings. And since I already had Kathy as black, I decided to make Lewis black... and from there Rachel and her uncle/aunt followed suit.

Alma gives her condolences and offers to help with the kids, but then Lucy reveals something else: the fire was caused by Rachel.

Of course, it was an accident, but this matters not to Lucy, who emotionally and psychologically tortures her niece everyday. Lewis stands up for his sister, only to be beaten down by Jack. Needless to say, the Chandler household is not a happy place.

Since Rachel is a high school Senior, she gets a part-time job at Constance MacKenzie's bookshop in order to get away from her aunt. Rachel ends up confiding in her employer that as soon as she turns 18, she's going to take Lewis (who is 13) and move out. She's not sure where, but that's the second reason she took the job, in order to save up.

Then comes the night where Lucy pushes Rachel too far, showing off the newspaper headlines about the Welles' deaths. Rachel wrestles with Lucy to get the papers away, which causes Lucy to get knocked out. Rachel didn't notice, however, as she threw the newspaper into the fireplace and ran out. Lewis was staying the night over at Joey Cross' house (the two had become buddies), and Jack had been out at Ada Jacks' bar... only he arrived home just in time to witness Rachel running out.

Jack went inside to find Lucy groaning on the floor... and realized he could finally be rid of his wife. He finished her off, and then set the house on fire, figuring he could blame it all on Rachel...

...except a sleepwalking Allison MacKenzie had witnessed the whole thing through the window.

Of course, because she was sleepwalking, Allison had no memory of what she saw that night... and yet the blame of what happened ends up falling on her. Fortunately, she's able to get off due to lack of evidence, but Jack Chandler begins keeping a close eye on Allison to make certain she never remembers anything.

In the meantime, he also puts on the act of a grieving husband. The Miles family steps forward offers Jack, Rachel and Lewis a place to stay until they can afford a new house. Jack declines - though mostly because he's nervous at the thought of sharing a place with a cop - Lew Miles, who had joined the force earlier that year. However, Jack also realizes that he's still saddled with two kids, and that it would look suspicious if he were to abandon them right now, so he ends up accepting.

Already, Lew Miles has been part of the investigation for the murder of Evelyn Page, and he finds out that Jack Chandler had done some handywork for her... which caused his wife, Lucy, to accuse of him of infidelity. Later on, Lew makes another discovery: he overhears Jack taunting Rachel about accusing her to the police for being the one who killed Lucy, threatening to have her sent to the crazy-house and sending Lewis to an orphanage. Rachel voices her belief that it was Jack who did it, but he points out she's the one with the tarnished reputation, not him.

Lew realizing that Jack is a murderer, decides to frame him for Evelyn Page's murder as well.

This all culminates when Allison, having gone to therapy and now remembers what happened that night, tells Lew, who asks her to keep it quiet until he can prove Jack also killed Evelyn... but Jack abducts Allison by driving her to a remote cabin, where he tries to stage her "suicide"... but Lewis Welles managed to hide in the back of Jack's car. So he lures Jack away by making noise outside, before sneaking in and finding a drugged Allison. He calls the police, but gets cornered by Jack.

Thankfully, Lewis was able to give the exact directions the police needed to get there quickly, and he's able to ward off his uncle long enough. Jack ends up dying in the resulting shoot out, and he's labeled the murderer of Lucy Chandler and Evelyn Page.

Harry and Alma Miles end up adopting Rachel and Lewis, who now finally have a happy home... although Rachel ends up confiding in Alma and Constance that she never was the one who started the first fire that killed her parents... it was Lewis. However, Lewis hadn't realized that it was his fault, and Rachel took the blame so that her little brother wouldn't have to live with the guilt all his life.


Also of note, Rachel had become friends with Ricky Jacks, although they never became romantic. In Season 5, when Allison holds a beach party to raise all her friends' spirits, Rachel had also been invited, and she brought Ricky along as her plus one. That was how Ricky and Norman first meet, and hit it off.

Another thing that happens in Season 5 for Rachel is that she starts doing volunteer work at the hospital, and then in Season 6, starts training to become a nurse's assistant.

 

[Ked]

I ended up coming up with more black characters:



I re-watched some episodes and discovered that the Mileses had *two* sons. They had an older son, Cliff, who was off in Vietnam. I'd keep that in, and have Cliff return home in Season 5 (Lew would still go to 'Nam himself in Season 3, but quickly gets discharged after he's wounded; thus he never gets the chance to reunite with his brother). He might be suffering from a mild case of PTSD and goes on a journey to recover. He ends up having a little romance with Vickie Fletcher, the very same girl who tried to blackmail his younger brother into marrying her back in Season 2 (originally 3, but now I'm thinking it should happen a little sooner). I'm also considering having Cliff also become involved with Rachel Welles, thus getting him into a little love-triangle, except I'm more sold on Rachel remaining single.

We also have the Card couple, who appeared only in the book. They're in their mid 30s, have been married for 10 years, and only sometime in the middle of Season 1 are they expecting their first child (which has caused a lot of people to say "It's about time!" but Mr. Card laughs and takes it in stride, being an easy-going type). Albert has been described as "a real go-getter", and he and his wife are well-liked in town. They live next door to 70-something-year-old Hester Goodale, who has a reputation for being the town loony.

They also live right across from Norman Page's house. Mrs. Card calls Norman "Normie", and invites him over for lemonade and cookies. She treats him as if he were the same age as he were, blatantly talking about what it's like to be pregnant and whatnot. She also owns a cat, which becomes pregnant itself, and she promises Norman first pick of the kittens.

For the most part, the Cards are only minor characters in the first season, but in the beginning of Season 2, they play a much bigger role: Norman, while sneaking around Mrs. Goodale's backyard, accidentally witnesses Albert giving oral sex to the pregnant Mary. And Norman is forced to watch when he has to hide from Mrs. Goodale... who also watches the couple.

Norman eventually escapes, only to find out later than Mrs. Goodale died in her chair... still looking in the direction of where the Cards had been. And what's more, Mrs. Goodale's cat had been on a leash tied to her chair, and now the cat was screaming as it tried to escape. Norman, already traumatized by his experience, has a mental breakdown and strangles the cat to death. When Mrs. Goodale and her cat are later discovered by Albert Card, he assumes that it was the old lady who strangled the cat... although he couldn't figure out how Mrs. Goodale didn't have any scratches on her.

Norman rushes home, explains the scars away by saying he got into a fight, and then vomits over the toilet. His mother holds his head, and then says, "Your little tummy is all upset. I'll give you an enema and put you to bed."

"Yes, please," says Norman.


Later on in the season, Norman winds up in yet another wildly uncomfortable position with the Cards: he's forced to assist Mrs. Card when she goes into labor. Fortunately, Dr. Rossi is able to arrive on time to take over, although Norman is still made to help clean the baby when it comes out. Norman is shocked and sickened by the whole thing, but seeing the newborn in its mother's arms fills him with a new feeling that he doesn't know how to register.

I'm not sure what else the Card family does for the rest of the series. I do know that they get to be one of the few "normal, happy" families in town. They have a good marriage and love their newborn, and have a pretty steady income. Maybe Mrs. Card surprises everyone by saying she wants Norman to be the child's godfather.