It's the Summer of '83 in Llanview, Pennsylvania ...

While Viki is in New York interviewing prospective conductors for Llanview's orchestra, Clint has Echo (played by Kim Zimmer) come to Llanfair to take more photos of the boys.  Clint tries to avoid Echo but she shows up earlier than expected and she asks him to stay for the pictures.  Sneaking up behind Clint, as he turns to see who it is, Echo kisses him lightly and then seemingly surprised by her action, backs away.  Quickly, she apologizes, and answering Clint's question, says that she never does that to mere acquaintances. "But I can't help feeling that you are much more than an acquaintance.  Do you mind?"  Clint does not mind.

After the session, Echo invites Clint to her studio for dinner while he looks at the proofs. On the spot, Clint decides that he just has to see his wife and makes plans to surprise her in New York.

Viki's disturbed by a handsome young man who keeps staring at her. Delighted by Clint's visit, Viki and her husband spend a romantic night out on the town.  It just happens, however, that the man who keeps staring at her is playing the piano in the restaurant where the two go to dinner.  Slightly annoyed by this man's continued attention to his wife, Clint offers him twenty dollars to play a certain song and then whisks his wife onto the dance floor.

The next day, after Clint has returned to Llanview, Viki is shocked when she opens the door to interview David Renaldi for the conductor's position and sees the piano player.   Taking his actions as some sort of rude joke, Viki informs him that she's not pleased by his sense of humor.  Offended, David stalks off, saying that if their humor is out of sync, everything else will be also.  Realizing that she's overreacting, Viki calls him back and proceeds with the interview.

David's passion and feel for music impress Viki and the two part friends with David extending an invitation to attend a concert he's giving that night.  After some hesitation Viki decides to go, and since she didn't bring an evening gown, buys a new one.  She gets her hair done, goes to the auditorium and is puzzled to find that she is the audience.

Enthralled by David's magnificent playing, Viki applauds with gusto. The performance was all for her, David gallantly tells Viki as they stand under the spotlight in the darkened auditorium.  Taking her hand, David kisses it.  Their eyes meet and David impulsively kisses her tenderly on the lips.  Stepping back as if in a dream, Viki backs out, speechless.

Echo manuevers Clint into stopping by her studio to look at proofs she conveniently forgot to bring to his office.  Alone, the two have a good time as Clint loosens up and talks about his past.  When Echo makes a toast to "us", Clint repeats her words.  Knowing that she's won, Echo holds back lest she scare him off.  Later, Clint is once more upset when he fantasizes about kissing and holding Echo.

David's manager, Scott (played by Erika Slezak's husband, Brian Davies), can't figure out why, when his client has bent over backwards to meet with the other board members, he refuses to see Dorian Callison.  Dodging all questions on this matter, David says only that he will get the position without courting Dorian Cramer.   "Cramer," puzzles Scott, "I thought her name was Callison."   Momentarily caught off guard, David quickly recovers and says that he inadvertently used Dorian's maiden name which he found out while checking up on her background.

.......... David goes to extreme lengths to avoid Dorian even to the point of hiring an opera singer to impersonate him at the meeting with Dorian and Herb.  The singer makes drastic errors when talking about music and Dorian crosses him off her list.   But the rest of the board members are all for David, and Dorian, though questioning their judgment, goes along with the majority. 

Dorian's all set to meet David at a luncheon hosted by Viki when news of Cassie's behavior in Europe sends her into a tizzy.  Muffy, coming home early, tells her mother, who tells Dorian, that Cassie and Ariel are living at the Ritz in Paris.  Herb persuades Dorian to go to Llanfair, assuring her that he'll call as soon as he's able to reach Cassie.  Arriving very late, Dorian's frustrated to learn that once again, she's missed David.  Later, Herb and Dorian squabble because Dorian's sent money to Cassie to continue living at the Ritz.  Herb's argument that it is wrong to indulge Cassie is cut short by a comment Dorian makes.  Referring to Drew, Dorian reminds her husband of just how fleeting life really is.

.......... After working herself into a frenzy over David's continued evasiveness, Dorian takes stock of her actions and decides to drop the matter.  She just doesn't understand why she let him get to her so, she tells Herb.  While Renaldi signs his contract at Viki's, Dorian plans a cocktail party in his honor, even though David had asked to meet with her alone.

When Dorian finally comes face to face with David at the party, she is in a rage.   "You! How dare you?!!!  I won't have it, get out of my house!" she screams.  Before David's able to leave, Herb comes to his side and draws him into the party.  Dorian stares daggers at David all evening, until he's forced to leave early.   Herb just can't figure out what's gotten into his wife.

Finally, after another aborted attempt, Dorian meets with David alone.  "It's not over yet, David Reynolds," she fumes.   "I cannot allow you to stay here.  I will not let you ruin my life --- or our daughter's," Dorian screams.  Through all of Dorian's ranting and raving, David remains calm.  "Nothing productive can be gained by going back 16 years," David says cooly.  He's in Llanview to conduct the orchestra and that's it, he claims.  But Dorian's not buying that line.  She's certain he's there to destroy her life the way he tried to when he took their child and disappeared all those years ago.  "I tried to find you -- got nowhere -- until I really began to think I'd made you both up in my mind.   Until I truly thought I was going insane."  "That's interesting", quips David.  "Distraught to the edge of psychosis and yet still able to go through medical school with the finest grades."

When Dorian pleads with him to tell her why he left her, he replies coldly, "I thought it best for Cassie.  Seeing you, I don't doubt my decision."   Telling her that it's time he practiced, David asks Dorian to leave.

Going out into the hallway, Dorian listens to music David once titled "The Dorian Interlude" but has since renamed.  After awhile, she pulls herself together and goes back in to see her former lover and Cassie's father.  Distraught, Dorian wants him to swear that when Cassie returns from Europe, he won't tell her his identity.  But David is noncommittal.  He's not swearing anything to her.

Dorian's struck by David's nonchalant attitude toward their daughter, but reasons it's understandable since he did abandon her to be raised by his mother.  Though David pretends not to care about Cassie, whenever her name is mentioned, he listens intently.

   Dorian's Plan Backfires!
     (click for transcript of this scene)

Determined to run him out of town, Dorian, in cahoots with the concert master, has a petition circulated among the musicians to have David removed as conductor.  Though Dorian doesn't want to be identified with this scheme, Herb spots a copy of the petition at the duplex and is instantly outraged by his wife's behavior.  If she doesn't back off, Herb warns, he'll let it be known who is behind the power play.  Undaunted, Dorian goes full steam ahead.

When David learns what is happening, he makes an impassioned plea to the orchestra.   "I want you to understand that I know your potential --- and that you will be unable to hide out from me.  Together we will soar.  With me, this orchestra will become one of the most dynamic in the country!"  David wins.  Instead of having a petition given to him, he's handed a statement of affirmation signed by the entire orchestra.  Upon hearing the good news, Viki, who is there with David and Pat, flings her arms around David and embraces him.  However, she hugs him a tad too long and pulls back, embarrassed.

..........Dorian's scheme to get rid of David backfires when he outsmarts her. After offering him $100,000 plus other benefits to settle elsewhere, Dorian leaves behind a check for $10,000 for incentive.  The next morning, Dorian's all smiles as she arrives at a press conference which David has called.  She thinks David is about to proclaim his resignation.  With Pat's cameras rolling, David, however, announces Dorian's generous $10,000 donation to the orchestra and Dorian is completely frustrated.

Dorian is disturbed by two fantasies she has of her and David arguing hotly and then ending up in each other's arms kissing passionately.  This is something she will not tolerate, she insists to herself!

Trying to make amends, David gives Dorian a photo album detailing Cassie's growth.  As Dorian collapses in tears, David, for the first time, is able to comprehend her anguish and to admit to his own.  Just when it seems that things are settling down between them, Lee Higgins, a mutual college chum, pops up in Llanview for business purposes and sends Dorian into a tizzy.  Spotting a picture of David in the paper, Lee wonders why Herb doesn't know who David is.  Explaining that she prefers to keep things quiet for appearance sake, Dorian asks Lee to keep her secret.   Later, Lee proves himself to be a true friend when, upon seeing David at Llanfair, she pretends to know him from a chance meeting in Paris.

.......... Though Dorian and David deny that they have any feelings for each other, an angry encounter stirs up all the old passions.  Dorian acknowledges the resurgence of past emotions, but David rejects her claim.   

At Summer's End, Cassie Returns To Llanview ...

Drawn to David despite herself, Dorian makes an appointment to meet with him late at night at Le Petit Oiseau while Herb is out on business.  At the restaurant, Herb, who has gone there with his client, is disturbed to see that Dorian and David are together and that his wife is showing him pictures of Cassie she sent from Greece.  Noticing the expression on Herb's face, David later tells Dorian that she's jeopardizing her marriage by being with him. Also, he wonders, why, if she can't stand the sight of him, does she tend to be constantly in his line of vision? Disturbed by where all this is going, Dorian abruptly puts an end to the evening.   But before David goes, she explains that she thought he'd truly enjoy seeing pictures of Cassie.  That's the only reason she sought him out.  Not so they could insult and humiliate each other.  Touched by Dorian's sincerity, David thanks her for the gesture.

When Herb returns home, he is indeed dismayed by Dorian's meeting with David --- even though she says it was just for the philharmonic.  Trying to cool her husband's flames, Dorian, pushing him toward the bedroom, suggests they discuss the topic tomorrow.

After hassling with Dorian over whether or not she can air a special tribute to Ed in commemoration of his years on the police force, Pat considers resigning from the station.  The decision is made much easier when Dorian accuses Pat of eavesdropping on a conversation she was having with David.  Outraged by the unfair accusation, and tired of years of battling with Dorian, Pat, much to her friends' surprise and regret, says she's leaving Llanview to accept an anchor position at a Chicago station.

All of Llanview is stunned by Cassie on her return from Greece.  She went away a teenager and came back a woman.  Brad, Gary and Dan all agree she's a looker, but Cassie's oblivious to Llanview's men.  Her heart belongs to Nikos, the passionate Greek she fell in love with.

Poor Dorian can't stand the strain.  Besides her daughter's stunning looks, Cassie's also become quite independent.  Dorian almost suffers cardiac arrest when Cassie informs her mother that she's not to question her about her sex life.  Dorian barely has time to get over that little shocker when Cassie tells her that she will not be attending Agatha Burwell in the fall. Instead, she'll finish up her senior year at Llanview High.

Admitting to Scott that Cassie is his daughter, David says that the best thing he can do for her is to keep his identity a secret.  Anxious to know all about her, however, David goes to see "Blood Moon".  Cassie is there also and to avoid coming into contact with her, David leaves before the film's end.   Afterward, Scott is amused by his friend's parental attitude, as David swears he never would have let his daughter play such a role in such an awful movie.  

.......... It's Cassie's birthday, but the festivities at Le Petit Oiseau are dampened by Dorian's negative attitude toward Nikos' (Cassie's boyfriend in Greece) gift:  a nude statue of two lovers entwined that Cassie had admired. Upset because Dorian is prying into her romance with Nikos, Cassie informs her mother that she hopes she will respect her relationship as one between two adults.  Furious, Dorian informs Cassie that just because she's seventeen does not mean that Dorian has stopped worrying about her or does not have a right to know what she is up to, especially since she is paying for Cassie's entire support.  Near tears, Cassie apologizes to her father for the ruined evening, gets up, flees the table, and runs right into David, who is entering with Viki.   

Father and Daughter Meet
(click for transcript of this scene)

David's heart leaps to his throat after meeting his daughter for the first time since she was an infant, but he doesn't reveal his identity.  Acting like a concerned adult, he suggests that she return to her parents' table.  Dorian loves her a lot, he tells Cassie, and she's always praising her daughter.

Fascinated by David and inspired to learn more about music, Cassie applies for an internship at the Philharmonic.  Querying David, he tells her the position has been filled, but Viki assures her otherwise.  Excited, Cassie drops by the garage apartment, interrupting David's practice.  When Cassie starts asking a lot of complicated questions about music, David loses his patience and is abrupt with her.   Hurt and angered by his brusqueness, Cassie leaves hastily.

Cassie Confronts David
(click for transcript of this scene)

Later, Cassie is distraught when she learns that she didn't get the internship.   Wondering whether Mr. Renaldi had something to do with it, Cassie, egged on by Herb, confronts David.  Moved by Cassie's passion for music and determination, David relents.  The position has yet to be filled, he says, and he will recommend her for the post.  Thrilled, Cassie flings her arm around her father.

.......... At the Rib Cage, David happens by Cassie and Dan sitting morosely together at a table.  Though Dan's efforts to find out what is bothering his friend are fruitlessl, David is successful.  Informing David that she never knew her real father, Cassie admits she was very hurt that she never heard from him when her grandmother (her father's mother) died.  At the same time, her stepcousin, in order to soothe Cassie's pain, lied to her and said that Cassie's father had answered a cablegram saying he was traveling around the world and he didn't get the notice until a long time later.  Now, however, blinking back tears, Cassie reads from her cousin's letter, which states that the family never heard from her father.  The letter concludes that it's pointless  wondering about him, because "he's not worth it." 

After hearing the story, Dan agrees and Cassie decides that her father is just not worth crying about.  Jumping in to defend himself, David suggests that maybe the cablegram never caught up with her father and that could explain the man's seeming lack of interest in his daughter who was then alone in the world.  Comforted by this plausible explanation, Cassie plants a kiss on David's cheek.

.......... Kat, Ina, Sam and Jenny are all furious at Brad for reneging on his promise to lease Kat and Ina prime space in his new hotel for a restaurant.  Trusting the "new" Brad, Kat and Ina sold the Pure Pearl in order to raise capital for their investment before the contracts had been signed.   Now, with Lucinda dangling a carrot dripping with money in front of Brad's face, Brad tells the ladies that it was unfortunate and unwise of them to act until everything was legally settled.

After Kat and Ina leave in a huff, Jenny turns on Brad.  "Do you realize what a selfish, ruthless thing you have done?"  Feebly, Brad explains that he's just trying to make a go of the place.  "At what cost?"  Jenny rages. "Is it worth it to lose your friends --- to lose me?"

* Storyline summaries  from Soap Opera Digest, July 19 thru October 25, 1983 (at least a month behind episode airdates).

Copyright © 1999 by Michael Zaslow's ZazAngels. All rights reserved.
02/15/06 10:27:28 PM