Revisiting the 'Rockland County' Radio Soap Opera

In early 2005, I was working at a busy tech day job and producing radio soap opera Scripts & Scruples in my spare time. Always looking for new challenges, I decided to created a spin-off series, Rockland County. The show revolved around the Ramos, Morgan and Givens families living in Rockland County, just outside the S&S New York City setting.

In the premiere episode ("Challenges") on March 23, 2005, Arden Morgan's (Abby Wathen) car broke down on the interstate in Rockland County and she was rescued by handsome strangers Dante Ramos (Stephen Seidel) and Damien Givens (Guiding Light's Gavin Houston). When Arden couldn't reach her brother for help, she ended up staying overnight at the Ramos family guest house. Dante's fath3er, Paul Ramos (Nick Sullivan), met with Gretchen Styles and Charlie Dean (S&S crossover guest stars Caroline Hay and Gregori J. Martin) about the sale of late his cousin's home. Later, Barbara Whitman (As the World Turns' Anne Sayre) caught Paul rummaging through files in his study. Dr. Angela Givens (former TV Guide soap reporter Delaina Dixon) chatted online with her new pal, BurnDoctor212, and wondered if they would meet in person soon. Manny Ramos (Rick Ojeda) returned to town and his first stop was the Rockland Psych Center looking for Angela.

Listen below:

Today in Soap Opera History (November 28)

On this date in...

1966: On DARK SHADOWS, Matthew (Thayer David) began to strangle Vicki (Alexandra Moltke) when Liz (Joan Bennett) burst into the cottage.

1975: The final CBS episode of THE EDGE OF NIGHT aired. AS THE WORLD TURNS aired its last 30-minute episode expanding to an hour on Monday with EDGE out of the CBS lineup. GUIDING LIGHT aired in the 2:00 p.m. timeslot for the final time. EDGE would move to ABC the following Monday with a 90-minute premiere. The second half hour of ATWT would not maintain the ratings of the first half hour and eventually the show dropped from the top of the Nielsen ratings. GUIDING LIGHT moved to 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

1979: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Brian and Page (Margaret Colin) were married.

Today in Soap Opera History (August 30)

On this date in...

1968: On DARK SHADOWS, Barnabas and Willie went to the crypt where Jennings kept his coffin, but when Barnabas opened the coffin, it was empty. Jennings arrived and tried to bite him.

1972: On ANOTHER WORLD, Pat wondered if Robert was interested in Lenore.

1979: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Steve and Paige faced gunshots.

Today in Soap Opera History (June 16)

On this date in...

1930: CLARA, LU AND EM, radio's first network daytime soap opera, premiered on WGN-AM in Chicago.

Today in Soap Opera History (February 15)

On this date in...

1966: On ANOTHER WORLD, Missy changed the subject when Bill commented she doesn't resemble her parents.

1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Derek realized Miles was overdosing on amphetamines.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 10)

On this date in...

1957: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Willy informed Mike that Ed was the staff member who talked to Dalton.

1991: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Lauren seduced Paul.

Today in Soap Opera History (November 28)

On this date in...

1975: The last CBS episode of THE EDGE OF NIGHT aired. AS THE WORLD TURNS aired its final 30-minute episode expanding to an hour on Monday with EDGE out of the CBS lineup. GUIDING LIGHT aired in the 2:00 p.m. timeslot for the final time. EDGE would move to ABC the following Monday with a 90-minute premiere. The second half hour of ATWT would not maintain the ratings of the first half hour and eventually the show dropped from the top of the Nielsens. GUIDING LIGHT would move to 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

1983: Kim Zimmer debuted as Reva Shayne on GUIDING LIGHT. She would win four Emmy Awards while playing the role.

Today in Soap Opera History (August 30)

On this date in...

1972: On ANOTHER WORLD, Pat wondered if Robert was interested in Lenore.

1989: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Craig had to break up a fight between Caleb and Holden.

Today in Soap Opera History

On this date in...

1930: CLARA, LU AND EM, radio's first network daytime soap opera, premiered on WGN-AM in Chicago.

1975: GUIDING LIGHT aired its first one-hour episode which dropped the "THE" from the title.

1989: ANOTHER WORLD aired Mac's funeral, six weeks after his portrayer, the legendary Douglass Watson, passed away in real life.



2001: ALL MY CHILDREN's Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcomed their second child, Lola Grace Consuelos.

Celebrating a birthday today are:Kale Browne (ex-Miles, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Alan, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES; ex-Newscaster, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Frank, ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Sam, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Micheal, ANOTHER WORLD) - 61
Ian Buchanan (ex-Greg, ALLMY CHILDREN; ex-Joshua, PORT CHARLES; ex-James, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Duke, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 54
James Patrick Stuart (ex-Will, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 43
Eddie Cibrian (ex-Cole, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Matt, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 38

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Kurt McKinney (Daniel, STEAMBOAT; Liam, GOTHAM; ex-Matt, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Benny, ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Ned, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 49
Kelley Menighan-Hensley (ex-Emily, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 45
Ashley Lyn Cafagna (ex-Kimberly, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 28
Bonnie Dennison (ex-Daisy, GUIDING LIGHT) - 22

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Gloria Loring (ex-Liz, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 64
John J. York (Mac, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 52
Nia Peeples (Pam, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS; ex-Karen, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Carla, GENERAL HOPSITAL; ex-Mallory, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 49
Gavin Houston (Tony, THE BAY; ex-Remy, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Damien, ROCKLAND COUNTY) - 33

Today's Soap World Birthdays

James Karen (ex-Linc, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Dr. Burke, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 87
Jeffery Byron (ex-Jeff, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Richard, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Mark, PORT CHARLES; ex-Chuck, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Vincent, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 55
Gina Tognoni (Sami, VENICE; Kelly, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Dinah, GUIDING LIGHT) - 37
Don Money (ex-Brian, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES/ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Rob, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 31
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (ex-Jessica, PASSIONS) - 26

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Elizabeth Ashley (ex-Emma, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Madge, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 71
Peggy Lipton (ex-Norma, TWIN PEAKS) - 64
Michael Michele (ex-Nikki, CENTRAL PARK WEST) - 44
Anne Sayre (Tina, GOTHAM; ex-Mitzi, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Pam, ANOTHER WORLD; Teri, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES; ex-Barbara, ROCKLAND COUNTY)
Colleen Broomall (ex-Dani, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 27

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Kale Browne (ex-Alan, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES; ex-Miles, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Frank, ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Sam, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Micheal, ANOTHER WORLD) - 60
Ian Buchanan (ex-Greg, ALLMY CHILDREN; ex-Joshua, PORT CHARLES; ex-James, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Duke, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 53
Eddie Cibrian (ex-Cole, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Matt, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 37

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Kurt McKinney (Liam, GOTHAM; ex-Matt, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Benny, ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Ned, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 48
Kelley Menighan-Hensley (Emily, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 43
Ashley Lyn Cafagna (ex-Kimberly, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 27
Bonnie Dennison (ex-Daisy, GUIDING LIGHT) - 21

Today's Soap World Birthdays

John J. York (Mac, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 51
Jaime Garrett (ex-Hannah, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES) - 32
Gavin Houston (ex-Remy, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Damien, ROCKLAND COUNTY) - 32

Kurt McKinney Has Joined The GOTHAM Cast

Kurt McKinney is latest soap vet to join the cast of Martha Byrne's GOTHAM. McKinney is best known for his roles as Matt Reardon on GUIDING LIGHT and Ned Ashton on GENERAL HOSPITAL. He won the Soap Opera Digest Award as "Outstanding Male Newcomer" in 1990 for the role of Ned.

McKinney also played Benny Blaylock on my radio soap ROCKLAND COUNTY a few years ago. You can listen to an episode here where his devious Benny visit Kale Browne's Frank in prison. Benny was the ex-lover of GOTHAM star Anne Sayre's character, Barbara.

McKinney will be playing Liam Kelly on GOTHAM. He joins the recently announced Lisa Peluso (Veronica Manning) and Kin Shriner (Jon Prescott) in the star-studded cast. The next episode of the indie soap will premiere Monday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Today's Soap World Birthdays

James Karen (ex-Linc, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Dr. Burke, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 86
Jeffery Byron (ex-Jeff, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Richard, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Mark, PORT CHARLES; ex-Chuck, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Vincent, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 54
Gina Tognoni (Sami, VENICE; Kelly, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Dinah, GUIDING LIGHT) - 36
Don Money (ex-Brian, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES/ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Rob, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 30
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (ex-Jessica, PASSIONS) - 25

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Anne Sayre (Teri, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES; ex-Barbara, ROCKLAND COUNTY; ex-Mitzi, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Pam, ANOTHER WORLD)

Today's Soap World Birthdays

DeLane Matthews (ex-Janine, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Amber, GUIDING LIGHT) - 48
Sydney Penny (ex-Julia, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Samantha, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Meg, SUNSET BEACH; ex-BJ, SANTA BARBARA) - 38
Na'Vell Lee ("BuzzWorthy Radio"; Emmett, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES; Damien, ROCKLAND COUNTY) - 24