Ryan's Hope/Trivia

• Dawson Casting: The first year of the show establishes that Maeve and Johnny Ryan have been married for 30 years, implying that Frank Ryan is around 28 years old. His (first) actor, Michael Hawkins, was 40 years old (just 10 years younger than the actors playing his parents) and looks every bit his age. Explained by the fact that, originally, the Frank character was to be killed off after the first 13 weeks, so the choice of actors was less consequential since the character would be unconscious in bed for the duration of the role.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes:
  • Averted in that episodes from the first 6 years of the show (1975 through 1981) were aired on Soap Net several times since 2000.
  • However, Soap Net has never shown any episodes past December 1981, repeatedly rewinding the show back to the 1975 episodes and beginning the run again. In particular, episodes from 1982 seem extremely rare. A good number of post-1983 episodes are posted on video sharing sites.
  • Looks to be true after September 2011, as Soap Net has plans to remove the show from its line-up.
• Missing Episode: Mostly averted; although some episodes are lost due to tape damage, the show is one of the few pre-1980 soaps with its entire run intact.
• The Other Darrin: As with all Soap Operas, multiple parts were recast over the years, particularly in the case of the Ryan children - Frank (5 actors), Pat (4 actors), Mary (3 actresses + one temporary actress), and Siobahn (5 actresses).
• Screwed by the Network: After introducing Loving a year earlier, ABC gave Loving the 12:30pm time slot in 1984 that Ryan's Hope had occupied since 1977. Ryan's Hope was moved to the noon slot, forcing affiliates to choose between this show and local news. Many chose news, and ratings for Ryan's Hope tanked.
• Typecasting: Andrew Robinson was cast as Frank Ryan after the original actor, Michael Hawkins, was fired in 1976. At that time, Robinson was best known for playing the Scorpio killer in Dirty Harry. ABC, arguing that viewers could not accept Robinson as a noble lawyer and councilman, demanded that the role be recast just 2 years later.