Return to Peyton Place
The nighttime series, Peyton Place, was a successful, but not
long-lived, attempt at bringing soap opera to primetime. So popular the
concept, it was resuscitated, revived and expanded for a daytime version.
Premiering on April 3rd, 1972, it treated us to a magnificent insight of the
“rest of the story.” Return to Peyton Place allegedly took up where the
nighttime version left off. There were some of the same faces, some new faces
and most of the same characters. Sadly, it ended in January of 1974. Gail
Kobe, an accomplished actress in her own right, was an associate producer.
Some of the characters were aged, some were raised from the dead and
others were just as they’d been before. This caused more than a little
confusion at first, for those that had watched, and loved the night version.
But the cast was a terrific ensemble, one that had vast soap experience.
Constance and Elliot Carson still held their respective careers; she
the owner/operator of the Book Gallery, he the publisher of the town paper,
The Clarion. Their son, Matthew was aged to a school-aged lad and Eli Carson
was the mainstay of free advice and a listening ear.
Constance McKenzie
Carson had given birth to a daughter, Allison, out of wedlock some twenty-plus
years before. Learning that Elliot was her father was a blow to Allison that
caused her act impulsively and irrationally at times. She had left Peyton
Place before the end of the night series and had come home, to daytime, some
years later. She’d had a terrific crush on Rodney Harrington, the son of
Leslie Harrington. But he was married to Betty now and living in a neighboring
town. Betty had been the rival to Allison for Rodney’s affections in high
school. Allison, the chaste, proper, almost waif-like teenager was no match
for the ‘fast’ and glamorous Betty. Rodney’s brother, Norman, was still
married to Rita Jacks, daughter of Ada, the town tavern owner.
Dr. Michael Rossi, who had had a real longing for Constance, was
single for a long time. When his nurse, Selena Cross, manipulated him into
marriage, it was only because Constance was still married to Elliot. What Dr.
Mike didn’t know was that the Carson marriage wasn’t all that stable. After a
time, Mike and Connie became better friends, mostly because of their unhappy
home life. Sigh, if only Dr. Mike and Connie had felt more open for
communication, they could have been happy, together. But, he knew he was
settling for second best when he married Selena.
Betty was
disenchanted with her married life and entered into an affair with her former
husband, Steven Cord. Steven was the illegitimate son of the town magnate,
Martin Peyton and Hannah, Peyton’s housekeeper. Steven was running Peyton
Industries, as his father, although deceased in the night version, was very
much alive and living in the Bahamas in the day version! Betty and Steven had
been married once before. When Rodney had vacillated between Allison and
Betty, Betty had spitefully married Steven, who was smitten with her. But
because Betty never loved Steven the way she thought she loved Rodney, that
marriage went on the rocks. However, once her union with Rodney became
routine, Steven was suddenly infinitely more attractive. Of course, being the
Peyton heir probably had nothing whatsoever to do with Betty’s change of
heart! Even though Betty and Rodney reconciled, again, they eventually broke
up when Rodney discovered that Betty’s child was not his, but Steven’s. Steven
was more than happy to take Betty back and raise his son.
Allison, who
Dr. Mike realized was addicted to drugs, went through rehab and went to work
with her father at The Clarion. She was instrumental in getting her parents to
see a marriage counselor, but in the end, it didn’t work out for Eliot and
Connie. Eliot, dejected and unhappy, left town for a job in Baltimore. Connie
was left to cry on the shoulder of Dr. Mike, who although still married to
Selena, was very sympathetic.
[ As the World Turns ]
[ Bright Promise ]
[ General Hospital ]
[ Port Charles]
[ Return to Peyton Place ]
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[ The Young Marrieds ]
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