"Days of Christmas Past": 1970
Macdonald
Carey
Frances
Reid
John
Clarke
(Tom) (Alice)
(Mickey)
Denise
Alexander Edward
Mallory
Susan
Flannery
(Susan) (Bill)
(Laura)
Susan
Seaforth
Bill
Hayes
Margaret
Mason
(Julie)
(Doug)
(Linda)
John
Howard
Alan
Decker
(Cliff)
(Michael)
Episode #
1293
Air Date: December 23, 1970
PROLOGUE
Bill and
Linda are on the phone. They discuss meeting for lunch and Linda helping Bill
look for his mother Alice’s Christmas present.
In the
Horton Living Room, Laura asks Bill to play Santa Claus for the children at the
hospital. Bill doesn’t want to and suggests that Doug do it.
Doug
and Julie are flirting on the phone getting ready to meet. Doug wonders to
himself if it’s too early in the day for martinis.
ACT
ONE
Bill and
Linda meet for lunch and discuss shopping for Alice’s present. Linda says she
misses her own mother (Claire, who committed suicide) and that her father,
Cliff, will be coming for a visit. She asks Bill about his feelings towards
Laura, and he states that she is Mickey’s wife.
ACT
TWO
As Doug
is getting ready for Julie’s arrival, Laura shows up and asks him to try and
convince Bill to play Santa. Doug agrees to try his best.
ACT
THREE
Back in the Horton Living Room, Bill tells Alice he had a good time
with Linda at lunch. She tells him that she approves of her. Alice talks about
planning a surprise party for Mickey and Laura on New Year’s Eve since it is
their anniversary. The doorbell
rings and it’s a special delivery from Paris, addressed to Tom and Alice. It’s a Christmas card with a handwritten
note from Addie and Steven: “Dear Mom and Everyone, Just
a hasty note to say that I won’t be able to surprise you by getting home for
Christmas after all. But I want you to know of my decision to return to Salem,
perhaps sometime in January or February. I’ll keep in touch. I hope all of you
have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Love, Addie…” Alice comments that Addie hasn’t been the same since Ben died. Bill
disagrees. He says that she’s detached herself from her family and kids, calls
Addie vain and thinks that she’s jealous of Julie’s beauty. He thinks Julie’s “messy life” is cause
by Addie’s attitude towards her.
Meanwhile, Julie
arrives at Doug’s with a small gift in her hand.
ACT FOUR
Doug and Julie are
toasting to Christmas. Doug opens his gift and it’s a watch with the inscription
“To my secret love..” He loves it and Julie puts it on him. Julie opens her gift
to see a “very sexy jump suit, maybe in leather, but something easy to slip
into.” She goes to the bathroom to try it on. They worry about their
presents because people will ask where they got the gifts. She talks about
having no tree stand and David stepping on a box or ornaments and the tree
lights not working. She says that David wanted to see Santa but she made up some
story about Santa having an emergency in the North Pole. Julie comes out of the
bathroom with her sexy outfit. She says it is really low cut in front and Doug
comments that’s why he bought it. Doug whistles at her. He takes her in and
kisses her.
Episode #
1294
Air Date: December 24, 1970
PROLOGUE
Laura calls Doug, waking him up and
asking him about getting Bill to play Santa. Doug then calls the Horton house
and reaches Tom, who then hands the phone to Bill. Doug insists that Bill stop
by his place to run over some music. As they hang up, the camera pans to a Santa
costume at Doug’s.
ACT ONE
Tom and Laura are at the Children’s Ward
admiring the decorations. He tells her that she did a good job. She tells Tom of
her worries about Doug not bringing Bill to play Santa. Tom tells her that he
doesn’t believe Bill will let her down.
Bill is not happy having to go to
Doug’s. He complains about Sergio requesting new music and Doug tells him to get
to work. Doug pretends to look for the music he lost. He tells Bill to look
inside the box and Bill opens it to see the Santa suit. Bill is not in the mood
for a joke. Doug locks his door and tells him that he’s going to convince him to
say yes!
ACT TWO
Bill tells Doug that he is ashamed
because he had his medical license suspended for a year and does not want the
others at the hospital to rub his nose in it. Doug tells him that no one will
recognize him in the Santa suit. He talks about doing it for the kids who are
stuck in the hospital. Doug hands him the costume and Bill starts undressing and
putting the costume on. Doug helps him stuff pillows and tells him how he melts
for his nephew, little Mike. Bill starts lighting up and takes another pillow
and jokingly hits Doug with it.
ACT THREE
Mickey and Linda are in his office. He
locks the door and flirts with her. He tells her that he has two gifts for her
and asks her to open them. She opens the first box to find a robe (which Laura
had unknowingly picked out) and the second box contains a necklace. Linda’s
excited because next year the three of them (Mickey, Linda, and the upcoming
baby) can spend Christmas around the tree. Linda hands him a present: a gold
locket, which Linda tells him is a family heirloom. It used to be that the men
in her family would wear it with their watch chain but now they can use it to
put a picture and a lock of their baby’s hair when he/she is born. They gently
kiss.
In the hospital corridor, a worried Laura sees Doug and a dressed
up Bill walking towards her.
ACT FOUR
The scene opens in progress in the
children’s ward of the hospital as Doug and Bill do their act with the children.
The kids are of every race, with at least one in a wheelchair. A few kids are
heavily bandaged, a couple are bed patients, perhaps one is in an oxygen tent.
Tom and Laura watch the scene in the background as Doug opens the party with a
charming line of patter. Bill as Santa is offscreen at the moment. There is a
piano in the ward, and Doug sits down to play a few bars of “Santa Claus is
Comin' to Town.” Doug tells the kids since they’ve been super good, that Santa
is not waiting for them to be asleep in their beds, but coming here to the
hospital right now to give them their presents. Doug breaks out into “Jingle
Bells,” as Bill makes his entrance, a bag of toys slung over his shoulders,
playing the role to the hilt. Take the reactions of the kids as they clap and
squeal. Take Tom and Laura as they look at each other, all smiles. And Doug asks
the kids to sing with him. They are getting their gifts. He tells the kids that
the doctor over there (pointing at Laura) is the one that made this party and
gets her to pass out the stockings full of candy. Then he sees Tom and gets him
to join in singing and passing out balloons. Doug wants everyone to wake the
hospital so they sing louder. Laura meets up with Bill and thanks him. She
tells him that he’s beautiful and he says the same to her. They both say Merry
Christmas to each other as the camera pans to the party, kids singing, and the
scene fades to black.
Episode # 1295
Air Date: December 25,
1970
PROLOGUE
Mickey enters the den to see a mountain
of presents, mostly for Mike, under the tree. Mickey reflects about Laura
and Mike coming downstairs, while he has Linda, across town, pregnant with their
child. He comments that each day that he’s married to Laura, he feels more alive
and has reservations about what to do.
Over at Linda’s Apartment, Linda
is staring at a little plastic tree. She thinks about Christmas being lonely,
but that next year she’ll have a family with Mickey and their child. Mickey
calls and wishes her a Merry Christmas. Linda compares his family life to the
life they will have next year- as a family. He lies and tells Linda that he
hears Mike coming down the stairs and hangs up. Off in the distance, he hears
Laura telling Mike to wake up and find “Daddy.”
ACT ONE
Alice walks into the Horton Living Room
to see the tree. Tom approaches her and put his hands over her eyes, kissing
her. Bill enters the room and wishes them a Merry Christmas. They all talk about
the meaning of Christmas. Tom and Alice leave and Bill calls Linda and wishes
her a Merry Christmas. He thinks about calling the person that’s been on his
mind but doesn’t and goes into the kitchen.
Laura and Mike are in the
den. Mike is staring at the tree and presents, telling Mickey he’s sorry he’s
late but his mom made him get dressed. Mike starts opening the presents. Mickey
and Laura are looking at each other, smiling, while Mickey is thinking about his
dilemma.
ACT TWO
Mike is opening his presents. He gets a
sled and a hockey stick. Mike opens his present from Alice, a big game, and asks
Mickey to teach him how to play it. Laura then gives Mike a special present from
his godfather: a Cubs baseball uniform. Laura gives Mickey a cashmere
sports coat, and he gives her a fur coat. She asks if it’s real and he jokes.
Their lips meet and Mike sees them.
ACT THREE
Susan’s Apartment is decorated with
some little trees and a couple of presents. As Susan is looking out the window
at the snow, someone unexpected arrives at the door: Bill. He gives her a
present of perfume. He says he’ll visit her at Christmas every year- like a
tradition. They speak about the time when he was just a resident and she was
trying to find the time to spend with Scott and David. Bill feels bad for
bringing up Julie. He tries to change the subject by accusing her of forgetting
his gift, but she shows him a box and he guesses it’s a tie. Bill tells her that
he feels bad he can’t invited her to his family’s Christmas dinner because Julie
will be there. She asks if Linda will be there and he says that she’s going to
be with her father. She tells him that Linda would be good for him. Pg. 35: At
Linda’s, she hurries to the door to open it and see her father, Cliff, smiling
at her.
ACT FOUR
Linda and her dad, Cliff, sit down and
she offers him a drink. She tells him it’s good to see him. They talk about it
being a long time since they’ve seen other. She makes excuses about her school
work and he jokes about her being a psychology major who’s now a legal
secretary. She’s glad that she’s in Salem. He talks about her letters and how
her boss and her job have taken a lot of time and he worries about her
dating. She talks about how’s she growing up, she’s now a woman. Cliff
talks about his job in insurance and that he will be retiring soon. He asks her
to come visit him this summer and she says that she can’t. He tells he that he
can send her the money if that’s the problem. She tries to change the subject
and offers him another glass of sherry. He suspects something is up, that she’s
covering something, but he accepts the sherry and makes a toast to Salem and
their “golden streets.”
Episode # 1296
Air Date: December 28,
1970
PROLOGUE
As Mickey is about to leave for the
office, Laura tells him that this has been the happiest Christmas ever. Mickey
talks about Mike and how he really had two Christmases: here and at Grandma’s.
Laura talks about Tom and Alice wanting to know their plans for New Year’s Eve.
He reminds her about it being their anniversary and he’ll do whatever she wants
to do. She wants to have a quiet evening with his folks. Mickey agrees. She goes
on about being so happy. All Mickey can do to ease his conscience is to
kiss her on the head. She questions why Mickey has to be at the office so early.
He tells her that Linda’s not going to be there to open the office because of
her father being here to visit, so it’s up to him to open up. She thinks it’s a
good idea to invite them to dinner and he deflects by telling her that she might
want to spend some alone time with him. She trusts his judgment on Linda and
whether to invite her for dinner.
ACT ONE
Linda and Cliff are eating breakfast. He
tells her that she’s a great cook and will make a great wife someday. She talks
about having a family someday and Cliff notices that she sounds like she already
has found the man. She questions why he said that and he tells her usually
someone changes because they have met someone special. He notices she has an
“inner glow.” She covers and tells him that she finds her job very satisfying
and praises Mickey. They talk about how she misses her mother. She tells him
that she felt desperate until she came here to Salem. They both talk about
asking themselves why “mother did it?” She tells him to stop blaming himself for
her suicide-that they’ll never know why she did it.
ACT TWO
Mickey’s at his desk working as Linda
peeks in and they flirt and embrace. He asks about her breakfast and if she
discussed their situation with her father. She says of course not, but was
tempted because this would be a happy event for them. She tells him that she
asked him to come by the office and Mickey, feeling trapped, says he’s looking
forward to it. Mickey’s feeling guilty because she tells him about coming home
next summer. He tells her that he complicated her life. She tells him that she
doesn’t mind because she knows they’ll be happy and her father will be happy the
day she tells him about their baby and starting a family. She tells him that her
father’s been very lonely without her mother but this time next year, he’ll have
something to be happy about.
ACT THREE
In the Horton Living Room, Tom and
Bill look over at their presents. Tom finds it funny with all the ties he’s
gotten this year. They start making fun of the ties the patients have given to
him. Bill answers the phone and it’s Laura. He tells her of the tie Mike gave
him: a bright red tie. She tells him that he picked it out all by himself. Bill
intends to wear it. Laura tells Bill she is accepting Alice’s New Year’s Eve
invitation. She again thanks him for playing Santa this year. They hang up. He
tells Tom that Mickey and Laura have accepted invitation. Bill tells him that he
thought it was a party. Tom tells him they had to lie in order to surprise them.
He starts talking about Bill taking Linda to the party. Bill talks about his job
at Sergio’s with Doug but they should have time to join the party. Bill asks if
Tom likes Linda as much as Alice? Tom tells him that she’s a lovely girl. They
talk about having her and her father over for dinner. Bill talks about trying to
start over and make a better life for himself, perhaps with Linda: that may be
his New Year’s resolution. Tom asks if he has others? He tells him that he’s
going to stop feeling sorry for himself.
Linda is busy typing as her
father walks into the office. He likes the look of the office and she tells him
to wait until he meets her boss.
ACT FOUR
Mickey and Cliff are shaking hand as
Linda is beaming with pride. Mickey and Linda compliment each other as a good
team at work. She excuses herself as she needs to finish her typing. The men
start talking about Linda being great. Cliff tells him that he was surprised
about her taking this job because of her major in college. He thought that she
was going to go into teaching close to home, in Hartford, but then her mother
died. Cliff tells her of the letters she wrote about Mickey and how he has a
lovely family. Cliff tells him that Linda may be independent but underneath
she’s very sensitive and vulnerable. Cliff starts talking about Linda living a
sheltered life but that he’s very proud of how she turned out. He asks Mickey
for a favor: to keep an eye on her and see that she meets a good man.