One Life To Live
Storyline Histories
1990
Tina and Cord divorce again; Tina leaves town.
All of Tina's scheming and underhanded plots had taken their toll on her marriage to Cord. Now, as he became oddly infatuated with Gabrielle's sister Debra, Tina became very jealous. Setting Debra up for a humiliating situation, Tina hoped to win her husband back. But Cord discovered her plan and exploded. He could no longer remain married to her, he said: he wanted a divorce. Heartbroken, Tina left town for California (and actress Andrea Evans went with her).

Gabrielle and Max's romance; the convent; the tragic accident
Love was definitely more passionate the second time around for Max Holden and Gabrielle Medina. After her release from the halfway house, Gabrielle refused to succomb to her feelings for Max and instead decided to join a convent, where she would receive the discipline she needed to truly reform her wicked ways. But Max, healing from his gunshot wound, was finally willing to admit his feelings for her, after Megan told him it was over. Rushing to the convent the night before Gabrielle took her vow to the sisterhood, Max scaled the wall to her window and begged her to leave with him. Gabrielle told him she couldn't but he insisted and lured her down to the ground, where they made their escape across the convent lawn.

Max told her it was a decent thing for Gabrielle to want to give her life to God, but that it wasn't the right thing for her to do. Planting a passionate kiss on her lips, they sunk to the ground and made love. Max asked Gabrielle to marry him and she joyfully agreed, abandoning her efforts to join the convent. The night before they were to be married, however, tragedy struck. Driving home, Max suddenly lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. Gabrielle was thrown from the vehicle and knocked unconscious, while Max's face was seriously disfigured. He was found by a young woman named Lily Beecham, whose husband was a plastic surgeon. Taking the injured Max to her clinic, she nursed him back to health.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle and the rest of Llanview mourned Max's death, believing his body had been burnt to ashes in the explosion of the car. Gabrielle found it nearly impossible to move on with her life after she'd lost Max, so soon before they were to be married. She was comforted by Father Tony Vallone (John Viscardi), of the local Catholic church.

At the clinic, Max's face continued to heal under Lily's care. At one point, he was nearly discovered by Cord and Debra, who stopped by the clinic to ask for directions. When the surgical wraps came off, Max had a brand-new face (and a brand new persona: Max was now played by Nicholas Walker). Max thanked Lily and her husband and returned to Llanview and the world of the living. He didn't want to upset Gabrielle by telling her the truth at once: instead, he wanted to ease the information into her. He called himself Matt Kingston and tried to pick up with Gabrielle where they had left off. But Gabrielle was now quickly falling for Tony Vallone...

Michael tries to escape with Steven
Reeling from the news that his son was really dead and that "Rick" was actually Brenda McGillis's Steven, Michael Grande tried to escape the country, making a quick stop at the Buchanan old- west theme park that Clint was rebuilding. He was followed by a desperate Brenda, her brother Ty (Jeff Bankert), Megan Gordon and her new friend Raymond Hohenstein, and Max who was trying to win back Megan's favor. At the park, everyone converged on the saloon (!), where Michael and Max fought it out on the balcony. They crashed over a balcony and tumbled to the ground, somehow igniting a fire that soon swept through the building. Max and Michael escaped unharmed, while Raymond saved Megan from a falling beam. In the process, however, Raymond was knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital. Brenda, understanding Michael's pain, did not press charges against him for kidnapping Steven, but took her son back with glee. Michael began a plan to win him back.

Mendorra: Megan and Raymond, Bo and Sarah
While Raymond lay in the hospital, Megan stood watch by his bedside, thanking him for saving her life. When Max tried one last time to win her back, Megan exploded and told him it was over. Max left Arizona and returned to Llanview, while Viki and Clint arrived to assess the damage done to the park. Suddenly, Raymond took a serious turn for the worse and a blood transfusion was needed urgently. Megan was tested and proved a match, but Raymond insisted the transfusion could not take place. Hesitantly, he revealed that he was a prince: Prince of Mendorra, a small country outside Germany. It was against royal decree to accept the blood of anyone who was not a member of the royal family. Megan chided him for his ridiculous tradition in such urgent times and he underwent the transfusion.

But when Raymond awoke, he was horrified to discover he was blind. Megan, feeling that his blindness was all her fault, followed him back to Mendorra. Bo and Sarah went along for the ride. [The Mendorra scenes were filmed in Salzburg, Austria]

Arriving in Mendorra, the crowd was shocked to run into a couple familiar faces: Dorian (now played by Elaine Princi), who was ambassador to the country, and her daughter Cassie Callison (briefly played by returning actress Ava Haddad). The situation quickly turned serious, however, when a nefarious plot was revealed. Prince Raymond had an evil brother, Prince Roland. Raymond was next-in-line to inherit the throne of Mendorra, but Roland wanted the crown all to himself and was willing to use Raymond's sudden blindness as leverage to get there. He incited the people of Mendorra to put he in the throne, not a blind fool like his brother. When that didn't work, he had to take serious action.

Roland decided that, short of killing his brother, there was only one way to ascend to the throne: if Raymond married a commoner, he would be forced to abdicate his position. Megan seemed like the perfect choice, but Roland decided instead to go with Sarah. Kidnapping the sisters, he imprisoned them in a tower and outlined his plan to them: Sarah would marry Raymond and then he, Roland, would become king. Meanwhile, a frantic Raymond and Bo sought after their missing loves, to no avail: they sent Dorian home to Llanview to appeal to the government for help.

Megan and Sarah made several unsuccessful attempts to escape their prison, but Roland released Sarah in good time. He then told Raymond that he had to go through with the marriage to Sarah, or else Megan would die. Raymond's love for Megan prompted him to go ahead with the plot. But Bo would not stand idly by and watch - he wanted to marry Sarah and would do so at all costs. As Raymond prepared for his wedding (slowly regaining his vision at last), Cassie assisted in a swap: Bo dressed up as Raymond and went ahead with the ceremony, which was held in an ancient gothic cathedral (the same church where the Sound of Music was filmed). Sarah didn't even realize it was Bo until they had been pronounced man and wife. The people of Mendorra were shocked at the sudden turn of events.

But Roland soon discovered the truth and decided the time had come to kill his brother. Making a quick escape, Bo and Sarah rushed from the church, where they were met by Raymond and Megan (either she escaped or was released, can't remember which) and the foursome donned skis. Wedding attire and all, they took off down the mountainside, with Roland in fast pursuit. In a stunning chase scene, they soared and swerved down a sparkling wooded mountainside and came to a sudden halt at a barbed wire fence that signified the border of Mendorra. Bo and Raymond helped Megan and Sarah over the side, but Roland caught up before too long. He was about to kill his brother when a fight ensued and Raymond shot Roland in self-defense killing him.

Raymond was restored to the throne and he shared a bittersweet goodbye with Megan, who returned to Llanview with Bo and Sarah. Once there, the couple married again (for real, this time) with family and friends present at Llanfair.

Michael Grande's last stand
Michael had a busy time after kidnapping Steven. He decided to marry Brenda and thereby make Steven his son again. He wined and dined Brenda but found Dan Wolek to be a constant pain in his side. Dan still had strong feelings for Brenda, even though she proclaimed she wanted nothing to do with him. In the end, Michael found it necessary to drug Brenda in order to keep her in line. He did so by means of a small medicated patch which he attached to the back of her ear. Brenda immediately became groggy and disoriented and allowed Michael to do anything he wanted.

Michael also continued his illegal business dealings. He hired two ex-cons by the name of Jake Harrison (he originally went by the name Jake Webb) and Lucky Lippman (Joe Lando, Brian Tarrantina) to do his dirty work. Jake instantly became infatuated with Megan, but realized that she would never love him as long as he was under Michael's payroll. Michael had Jake and Lucky embezzle money and then set up his other nemesis, Megan's father Roger, for a fall. Michael planted a bomb in a briefcase and lured Roger to a warehouse, where it detonated. Roger was rushed to the hospital, barely clinging to life as Megan watched on helplessly.

At the same time, Sarah was beginning to have flashbacks of her rape. In a parking garage one day, she saw a man approaching her that looked suspiciously like Austin Buchanan. In terror, Sarah put the pedal to the metal. Unfortunately, she was not in reverse and plowed right into the man, killing him. That man happened to be one of Michael's henchmen, who had been sent by Michael to terrify Sarah. But now that he was dead, Michael decided to exact his further revenge against the Gordons by tipping the police off about Sarah's hit-and-run. As a result, Sarah was arrested and shipped off to jail, awaiting trial.

It was clear that Michael had plenty of people who wanted him dead. When Jake tried to break free of Michael, he threatened to send Jake back to jail and tell Megan all about his past. Then little Steven fell ill and was rushed to the hospital. Dan and Larry were shocked to discover the little boy had been drugged. Dan, recalling Brenda's odd behavior of late, surmised that Steven may have touched a medicated patch if it had been located on Brenda's body. He rushed to Grandview (Michael's mansion) and found Brenda unconscious in the foyer. Michael, in the meantime, was anxiously awaiting Steven's release from the hospital. He was leaving the country for good and taking Brenda's baby with him.

But Michael never made it. He was stopped first by Megan, who was hysterical over her father's injury and sister's arrest. She pulled a gun on Michael and ordered him to write a confession to his crimes. Laughing, Michael played games with her, but she furiously ordered him to shut up and start writing. Several moments later, a shot resounded through the hospital. Larry and Viki barged in the lounge to find Michael dead of a bullet wound to the chest. Suspects abounded everywhere: Megan, was the prime suspect of course, but there was groggy Brenda who was also in the hospital, after having been brought in by Dan, there was Dan himself, and Jake, and Lucky, and Gabrielle ...

But it was Megan who went to jail for the crime, though she proclaimed her innocence. The police began a massive investigation into who the culprit was. In the process, Jake's past and his connection to Michael was revealed, breaking Megan's heart. Yet the two joined forces, along with Jake's buddy Lucky, to find the true murderer. The truth, when it was revealed, was shocking: the murderer was none other than Roger Gordon.

He'd somehow managed to pull himself out of his hospital bed and hobble into the lounge, where Megan had just dropped her gun after having been unable to pull the trigger on Michael. As Michael laughed off his near-death, Roger barged in and picked up the gun. Michael began to harass him, laughing at his sorry state. He told Roger that he was responsible for Sarah's imprisonment and that he would see to it she was in jail for the rest of her life. He told Roger that he would press charges against Megan too, and he told him that he was responsible for the bomb in the warehouse. Then he moved to attack Roger, and Roger shot. He didn't go to jail for the crime, because it was chalked up to self-defense, not to mention that Roger was hardly well at the time of the shooting.

Jake and Megan embarked on a tentative relationship, as Sarah was released from prison after Roger told the police about Michael's confession. Brenda was finally free with her son, and told Dan goodbye.

Cord, Tina and Johnny; Max, Gabrielle and Tony; Carlo.
Gabrielle was playing with fire, as usual. As she continued to see Father Tony, she was becoming increasingly attracted to "Matt Kingston," who pursued her constantly. She placed a call to California and asked Tina (now played by Karen Witter) to return to town; she hinted that Cord might be willing to consider reconciliation, but that Debra was still coming on to him. As impetuous as ever, Tina packed her bags and breezed back into Llanview, shaking up Cord's life.

Meanwhile, Mayor Viki was encountering serious difficulty from local mobster Carlo Hesser (Thom Christopher), who was operating a covert drug-trafficking ring in Llanview. Roger and Clint teamed up to ensure that Viki didn't fall in over her head, but she refused both their efforts to help. Dorian, in the meantime, began to pursue Roger, knowing how much it would make Viki jealous.

Overcoming his initial shock, Cord reiterated to Tina that there was no chance of their ever reuniting. Heartbroken, Tina was easily won over by charming Johnny Dee (Anthony Crivello), who asked Tina to accompany him to the remote island of Badderly on vacation. Realizing that she'd lost her last chance with Cord, Tina accepted Johnny's invitation.

Matt at last revealed himself to Gabrielle. She was shocked to realize he was none other that Max. Unable to resist her love, they sank to the floor of the diner and made love. Later, a videotape of their lovemaking somehow found its way into Gabrielle's VCR, where Tony accidentally played it. He was outraged at what he saw and broke it off with Gabrielle instantly.

Badderly
Bo and Sarah needed a honeymoon: and a relaxing one at that, after the trauma of the last several months. They chose Badderly as the natural place to go and Bo, as executive producer of Fraternity Row, decided to take the cast along on a location shoot. Along for the ride were Cord, Megan and her rival Spring Skye (again played by Sharon Schlarth). Arriving at the tropical paradise of Badderly, they were in for a big surprise: the island was teeming with mobsters, headed by none other than Carlo Hesser. Without an easy way of escape, the group of Llanviewans quickly formulated a plan: they would pretend to be a gaggle of confused tourists who were oblivious to the name Carlo Hesser. (Carlo was not well integrated into the show yet, so he wouldn't recognize people like Bo and Sarah). Cord, meanwhile, was shocked to find Tina on the island as well, and angry to find her there with Johnny Dee.

Back in Llanview, Jake was lonely without Megan. But when he discovered the truth about Badderly and that Carlo Hesser was on the island, he and Lucky took off in a sailboat to reach them. Unfortunately, the boat sank before they reached shore and Jake and Lucky had to swim the rest of the way back. Megan and Jake met on the beach, falling into each other's arms.

Cord and Tina bickered and battled, but before long they found themselves together in bed again. Tina felt intense guilt that she'd slept with Johnny and decided instantly to break it off with him. However Johnny wouldn't take `no' for an answer. Meanwhile, things were getting ugly between the mosters as they continued conducting business. It was revealed that one of the mobsters was actually Marco Dane (Gerald Anthony) in disguise, up to one of his famous plots. When he saw Megan, Marco instantly vowed to protect her should anything go wrong.

The rest of the Llanview party decided that something had to be done to get off the island quickly. Enlisting the help of beautiful native, Gloria Mundy (Anna Garduno), they attmpted to build a raft and later to signal for help. One day, wandering throu gh the underbrush, Sarah found herself sinking rapidly into quicksand! Megan and Bo managed to pull her out. Later, Megan nearly drowned in the undertow surrounding Badderly, but Marco saved her. Megan and Jake also encountered a formidable foe to thei r budding romance: Carlo's daughter Charlotte (Audrey Landers), who took an immediate fancy to Jake and did her best to win him over. With time running out and the mobsters suddenly wondering if their American guests were really who they claimed to be, h elp came. Bo and Sarah, Megan and Jake, Cord and Tina, Lucky and Gloria and Spring Skye returned to Llanview breathless, while Carlo, Johnny and Charlotte were not far behind. Marco, realizing that Jake and Megan were happy with each other, decided not to interfere further and rode off into the sunset.

Viki's stroke, Tina's pregnant!, Johnny's murder
Tragedy struck close to home for the Buchanan family when Viki suddenly suffered a major stroke that left her paralyzed, unable to communicate verbally and relegated to a wheelchair. The family pulled together to help her recover, but it was a slow and p ainful process for Viki, who was so used to being in control of her life. Seeing her reflection in a silver platter one day, Viki was horrified to find the face of Niki Smith (her alternate personality) leering back at her. Since Viki was incapacitated , said Niki, it was time for her to emerge and take control. Viki suppressed her first attempt to emerge, but Niki persisted with a vengeance.

At the same time, Tina was shocked to discover she was pregnant. The question on her mind, however, was not "boy or girl?" but "who's the father?" It was quite likely that the child had been conceived on Badderly - so that meant it was the son or daught er of Cord ... or Johnny Dee. Tina consulted, as always, the bastion of good advice, Gabrielle, who told her it was important to raise the child as Cord's. Tina did so, but Gabrielle had loose lips and somehow Johnny found out about Tina's baby, resulti ng in a faceoff between Johnny and Cord, both of whom claimed to be the father. A blood test later proved that it was a little girl, and that it was Cord's. Tina was ecstatic and relieved. But Johnny was no so.

One day, he barged into Llanfair and stormed right past Viki in her wheelchair, upstairs to Tina's bedroom, where she was trying on a dress. Johnny again declared that her child was his and when she ordered him out, he knocked/strangled her unconscious. A cassette player, which Tina had left recording on her nightstand, was taping the entire scene. But when Johnny was found dead hours later, the tape mysteriously vanished.

Who had shot Johnny Dee? The only thing that was positive was that Carlo Hesser was ripping mad (the origin of the really violent tension between Carlo and the Buchanans) Tina was the prime suspect, naturally, but she was unconscious and didn't remember much at all. Viki, still immobile, was unable to tell what she knew, which wasn't very much. But when the truth came out, it was a real shocker.

The killer had been none other than Viki herself! Apparently the sight of Johnny in Llanfair and the idea that he was going to hurt Tina had been enough trauma for Niki Smith, Viki's alter, to emerge. While Viki was still incapacitated, Niki herself was perfectly fine and mounted the stairs to Tina's bedroom. When she found Johnny leaning over an unconscious Tina, Niki killed him and later reverted to Viki, who as expected, had no recollection of the incident. Viki was not accused of the crime, of cou rse, and shortly thereafter, Tina and Cord were married. She gave birth to little Sarah in early 1991 in Sweetwater, Texas. Cord delivered the baby.

Meanwhile, Viki's stroke still had one more terrible effect.

Carlo's revenge; Alex's arrival; Sarah's "death"
Carlo was not about to let his son's death slide. He decided to kill two birds with one stone: he would get revenge on Mayor Viki by kidnapping Megan and revenge on the Buchanans by kidnapping Sarah. That's exactly what he did, by staging an incident a t the hospital and luring the sisters into his clutches. They were taken to Amish country where they were held by two comic captors, who were nevertheless determined to keep them in line. While their family worried, Megan and Sarah kept up their antics in an attempt to escape. Finally, through cutting a hole in the basement of the cottage, they were able to slip out to freedom. They located a phone and that is where the sisters split up; Megan to go find help, while Sarah tried to get through to Llanfair and summon help. Sarah did get through to the mansion, but it was Viki who answered. Screaming into the phone, Sarah called for help, but Viki couldn't respond. Sarah was captured once more, while Viki struggled to tell others about her phone call. Eventually, it was her physical therapist Sheila Price (Valarie Pettiford) that finally decoded what she was trying to say. Of course, by then, it was too late.

Megan did make it home safely, into Jake's arms, but she and Bo led the search for her sister. They were aided by FAB agent Alex Olanov (Tonja Walker), who had taken the case at the suggestion of her boss, Fred Porter. Alex and Bo did catch up with Sar ah one last time, but were unable to save her. The long road came to an end as they discovered Sarah and her captors were boarding a private plane at a runway in North Carolina. Bo and Megan rushed to the airport but the plane took off into a deadly thu nderstorm before they arrived. From the traffic control tower, Bo managed to contact the plane, where he heard Sarah's voice through increasing static interference. She screamed that the plane had been hit by lightning and was going down... Then - nothing. Several days later the burn ed wreckage of the plane was found off the North Carolina coast. Bo began to mourn, while Alex decided to stay in town to comfort him.

One more arrival
To complicate Megan's life further, her ex-flame, director Hunter Guthrie (Leonard Stabb) arrived in town to win her back. Now, the couple had serious problems. Charlotte was feigning blindness to lure Jake to her, while Hunter was doing his best to woo Megan.