Oxnard Star Free Press from Ventura, California • 60

Soap Report Headline News daytime interestrecently talking endings. had been Two long-term dramas reached ing conclusions but we're not about story-line For weeks, it had rumored that NBC was about to cancel "Another World." Two new soaps had been rumored to be contenders for time slot: the infamous "Days of Our Lives" spinoff, "Manhattan and Bill Bell Jr. 's teen soap, "Coming of Although it hasn't been announced at the network level, it was implied at a recent news conference that "AW" will live on. Said Meg Beliveau, a supervising producer of "We're very pleased to be continuing with NBC." She mentioned her confidence in head writer Peggy Sloane thanked all the fans of show who had been vocal in their support. What a great way to brate 29th anniversary, which was May Meanwhile, over "Guiding Light," the of Mindy Lewis was Ann Hamilton, who played Mindy since cember to poor critical and fan response let go, and Barbara Crampton was hired to place her.

Most recently, Crampton played the ly popular Leanna Love "The Young and the less." Crampton is a wonder at comedy and has kind of ditziness right for fashion-designer queen Mindy. But Hamilton really given fair chance? After all, stepped into a very cult position. Last mer, Kimberly Simms, who had been playing role for a few years (Krista Tesreau originated it in 1983), elected not to sign a new contract. Simms was linked very much in the public's mind with her character, since her real-life romance with Vincent Irizarry (who continues to play Mindy's love, Nick) had been heavily publicized. Although they had the same blond coloring, Hamilton's Mindy was much more assertive and tough than that of her predecessor.

Hamilton's chemistry with Irizarry also was entirely different Four faces of Mindy: (clockwise, from top 1.) Krista Tesreau, Kimberly Simms, Ann Hamilton, Barbara Crampton (and, some say, off). A large part of the soap community questioned Hamilton's talents, but by the time she was dismissed, her portrayal had begun to grow on viewers. Although Crampton is a great addition to "GL," the Hamilton affair shows just how tough it is for a soap to recast a character who has become indelible in the public's eye. More Casting Coming to "Loving" is a very familiar face to longtime soap viewers: Catherine Hickland, who was last seen as heroine Julie Clegg on "Capitol." She'll play Tess Wilder, whom Trucker (played by Robert Tyler) meets when he goes to Maine to mourn the recent "death" of Trisha (played by Noelle Beck). Hickland is married to recently returned "All My Children" star (or, to judge from the ratings his return created, maybe we should say megastar) Michael Knight (who plays Tad).

Knight and Hickland had been living in California, and ABC had long courted the Daytime Emmywinning stars to return. Joining "Loving" these days is not the sentence to limbo it used to be. As the show approaches its 10th anniversary, it has become vastly improved. The hot and spicy ShanaLeo-Ava (played by Susan Keith, James Carroll and Lisa Peluso, respectively) love triangle has perked the usually vanilla show up considerably. And since he had a few of those brain cells rearranged in a recent accident, hunky lunk Trucker has become almost as communicative as a real, live human being.

Who- ever thought that "Loving" would become the hot show to watch? In Memoriam The recent memorial service held for "As the World legendary and beloved head writer Douglas Marland (who died March 6 at age 58) in a Broadway theater was both beautiful and moving. Many of the close friends who spoke at the service were faces familiar to daytime viewers: Dixie Carter (now of "Designing she once played Brandy on "The Edge of Lisa Brown (who plays Iva on and Susan Brown (who plays Gail on "General Tamara Tunie (who plays Jessica on wonderfully sang Marland's favorite song, "Someone to Watch Over Me." Marland's longtime writing associate Gene Palumbo played songs from a nevermusical he and Marland had written based on the 1940 Vivien Leigh-Robert Taylor movie "Waterloo When someone dies, it is customary to praise him. But everyone loved Marland just as much during his lifetime and we think he knew that. BY CONNIE PASSALACQUA Inside Story Two series say goodbye to '80s WO shows that have long been fixtures in many viewers' lives are leaving the air this week. ABC's "The Wonder Years" airs its final original Savage: Wonderkind episode on Wednesday, May 12, and the following night, CBS devotes its prime-time schedule to sending off "Knots Land- ing," beginning with the reminiscence special "Knots Landing Block Party," and concluding with the two-hour season finale.

On the surface (and, truthfully, on several layers below it), there could be no two more dissimilar series. In poignant episode after poignant episode of "The Wonder Years," young Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) learned that growing up is hard to do, as he tried and often failed to negotiate the tricky rites of friendship, family and romance in the late '60s and early '70s. "Knots Landing," set in the go-go, I-me-mine '80s, couldn't be bothered with all that poignancy falderal. "Poignant" isn't the word that comes to mind when one thinks of the hubby- WEEK OF MAY MAY 15 1993 United Media 200 Park Avenue. New York.

New York 10166. 212-692-3700 poaching Abby (Donna Mills) or shrewd Paige and Greg (Nicollette Sheridan and William Devane) or long-suffering Val (Joan Van Ark) or even-keeled Karen (Michele Lee). But both "The Wonder Years" (which premiered after the 1988 Super Bowl) and "Knots Landing" (which set up housekeeping in December 1979) were set in prosperous suburbs during prosperous times. And both were reflections, in very different ways, of the '80s. "Knots Landing" was never marked by the outright greed that made "Dallas" (the series from which it was spun off) so symbolic of the decade.

Instead, it focused on the '80s preoccupation with problems, problems, problems: Would Gary stay off the booze? Would Richard's restaurant succeed? Would Val succumb to those sleeping pills Jill made her take? "The Wonder Years," which featured a narrator in his 30s taking a detached look back at the agonies of his youth, captured a parallel absorption of '80s adults with everything and anything connected with their pasts. And although "The Wonder Years" was theoretically set way back when, Kevin spent the bulk of his time worrying about those '80s-Relationship Obsessive Questions: Would he ever sort out his relationship with Winnie? Was he growing distant from Paul? Would he reach adulthood without killing or being killed by Wayne? Critics always liked "The Wonder Years" more than "Knots Landing," but that may be (slightly) unjust. In its own way, "The Wonder Years" was every bit as escapist as "Knots Landing." But for at a good part of its run, each was the best show of its kind on the air. And you can't do much better than that. BY KIRK NICEWONGER and the so cele- at role recast.

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