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| Lori March as Valerie Ames with Jada Rowland as Amy Ames. |
The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 1 January 1979
by John Genovese
(continued from Part 6)
Casting replacements abounded during this period. Susan and Pauline reappeared from story limbo; storylines were abruptly wrapped up to give way to new ones; the budget was increased to allow for a rash of sumptuous new sets--Woodbridge was hopping, and the Ames family had a new lease on television life. But the glories were all too brief, as evidenced by the storyline digression over the last five years of The Secret Storm.
Grace Tyrell took ill but thankfully remained her lovable, feisty old self. Amy decided to turn the tables on Belle and realized that Paul still loved her, so the former Mr. and Mrs. Britton arranged to meet at a hotel. When Paul was picked up for speeding and could not arrive to meet her at the hotel, Amy considered it a rejection and began to lose her mind. She locked herself in her room and played with dolls. Valerie knew that her stepdaughter was not playing with a full deck and committed Amy to an institution run by the handsome Dr. Ian Northcote. Susan and Pauline didn't trust Ian's obvious "sexiness" at first, until they realized that Amy was making progress. Belle, Amy's victorious archrival, was left with the care of Paul's daughter, Lisa, but saddled her newly-arrived aunt, the sharp and down-to-earth Aggie Parsons, with babysitting chores. Paul took a job with an elderly publisher, Kingsley Collins, and halted Belle's jet-setting plans.