Broadcast period: March 26, 1990–March 22, 1991
Number of episodes: 251, from episode #4322 through #4572, inclusive. (imdb.com)
The surviving cast information is substantial but does not amount to a verified credit list for all 251 episodes. The alphabetical list below includes the identifiable principal and recurring characters, including children. An April 1990 Soap Opera Digest cast list is especially useful for the beginning of the season. (Soap Opera Network Community)
Characters and actors
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| John Abbott | portrayed by Jerry Douglas |
| Jack Abbott | portrayed by Peter Bergman |
| Ashley Abbott | portrayed by Brenda Epperson |
| Traci Abbott | portrayed by Beth Maitland |
| Douglas Austin | portrayed by Michael Evans |
| Michael Baldwin | Not yet introduced this season |
| Lillie Belle Barber | portrayed by Norma Donaldson |
| Olivia Barber | portrayed by Tonya Lee Williams |
| Drucilla Barber | portrayed by Victoria Rowell |
| Walter Barber | portrayed by Henry Sanders |
| Lynne Bassett | portrayed by Laura Bryan Birn |
| Chase Benson | portrayed by Stephen Gregory |
| Christine “Cricket” Blair | portrayed by Lauralee Bell |
| Brad Carlton | portrayed by Don Diamont |
| Molly Carter | portrayed by Marilyn Alex |
| Sheila Carter | portrayed by Kimberlin Brown |
| Katherine Chancellor and Marge Cotroke | portrayed by Jeanne Cooper |
| Michael Crawford | portrayed by Colby Chester |
| Carol Robbins Evans | portrayed by Christopher Templeton |
| Skip Evans | portrayed by Todd Curtis |
| Lauren Fenmore Grainger | portrayed by Tracey E. Bregman |
| Bert Fowler | portrayed by Tom Palmer |
| Dr. James “Jim” Grainger | portrayed by John O’Hurley |
| Dr. Scott Grainger | portrayed by Peter Barton |
| Scott “Scotty” Grainger Jr. | portrayed by infant performers I could not reliably identify |
| Dylan Fenmore | portrayed by Nathan Griesbach; later Austin Recht (the precise changeover date is unverified) |
| Robert Haskell | portrayed by Ryan MacDonald |
| Shirley Haskell | portrayed by Ruth Silveira |
| Nathan Hastings | portrayed by Nathan Purdee |
| Adrian Hunter | portrayed by Mark Derwin |
| Mamie Johnson | portrayed by Marguerite Ray; Veronica Redd from May 1990 |
| Diane Jenkins | portrayed by Alex Donnelley |
| David Kimble | portrayed by Michael Corbett |
| Leanna Love | portrayed by Barbara Crampton |
| Dina Mergeron | portrayed by Marla Adams |
| Nicholas Newman | portrayed by Griffin Ledner |
| Victor Newman | portrayed by Eric Braeden |
| Victoria Newman | portrayed by Ashley Nicole Millan; Heather Tom from December 1990 |
| Nikki Newman Abbott | portrayed by Melody Thomas Scott |
| Clint Radison | portrayed by James Michael Gregary |
| Cassandra Rawlins | portrayed by Nina Arvesen |
| Brock Reynolds | portrayed by Beau Kazer |
| Miguel Rodriguez | portrayed by Anthony Peña |
| Danny Romalotti | portrayed by Michael Damian |
| Gina Roma | portrayed by Patty Weaver |
| John Silva | portrayed by John Castellanos |
| Mitchell Sherman | portrayed by William Wintersole |
| Rex Sterling | portrayed by Quinn Redeker |
| Esther Valentine | portrayed by Kate Linder |
| Katherine “Kate” Tina Valentine (later Chloe Mitchell) | portrayed by Darla and Sandra Greer |
| Mary Williams | portrayed by Carolyn Conwell |
| Carl Williams | portrayed by Brett Hadley |
| Paul Williams | portrayed by Doug Davidson |
| Nina Webster | portrayed by Tricia Cast |
| Salena Wiley | portrayed by Fay Hauser |
Two corrections to my season 17 guide: Clint Radison was played by James Michael Gregary, whereas Morey Amsterdam played Morey. I also gave the wrong broadcast date for Danny and Cricket’s wedding: the wedding episode aired November 16, 1990, in season 18. I had confused it with a differently dated Paley archive record. (Soap Opera Network Community)
Main storylines
- Katherine and Marge: Clint passes Marge off as Katherine, while the real Katherine and Esther are held captive. The deception threatens Katherine’s fortune and makes Rex’s relationship with Jill still more tangled.
- Jack, Nikki, Victor and Ashley: Jack and Nikki marry amid the struggle over Jabot. Victor and Ashley also marry. Nikki’s pregnancy and miscarriage are followed by increasing dependence on painkillers and alcohol.
- Sheila, Lauren and Scott: Nurse Sheila pursues Scott, and both she and Lauren become pregnant. After Sheila loses her baby, she obtains another infant and switches him with Lauren and Scott’s newborn son. By the season finale, Lauren is questioning why the baby she believes is hers has lost his birthmark.
- Drucilla and Olivia: Drucilla arrives in Genoa City, reconnects uneasily with her sister Olivia and grows close to Nathan. Their parents’ arrival brings the Barber family history into the story.
- Nina and David: Nina marries David Kimble, unaware of his murderous past. Diane’s discoveries, and Danny and Cricket’s suspicions, begin to expose him.
- Paul and Cassandra: Paul’s investigation into George Rawlins’ death continues. Cassandra later manipulates Brad into marrying her; her death creates a dispute over her estate.
- Danny and Cricket: The couple marry in Hawaii in November 1990. (Jackson Dynasty)
Births
| Child | Date and circumstances |
|---|---|
| Katherine “Kate” Tina Valentine | July 27, 1990. Esther’s daughter is born on screen; she later becomes known as Chloe Mitchell. |
| Scott “Scotty” Grainger Jr. | March 8, 1991, according to character records. He is Lauren and Scott’s biological son, taken by Sheila in the baby switch. |
| Sheila and Scott’s child | Stillborn in early 1991. I could not verify the exact broadcast date. |
| Dylan Fenmore | An infant obtained through a baby broker, whom Lauren unknowingly raises after Sheila’s switch. His biological birth date is not established. |
Recasts and SORAS
- Mamie Johnson: Marguerite Ray was replaced by Veronica Redd, whose debut is recorded as May 16, 1990.
- Victoria Newman — major SORAS: Child actress Ashley Nicole Millan gave way to teenage Victoria, played by Heather Tom. December 12, 1990 is reported as Tom’s debut, although some cast chronologies instead date her arrival to early 1991. The SORAS itself clearly falls within season 18.
- The babies: Darla and Sandra Greer played Kate Valentine. Nathan Griesbach and Austin Recht are credited with Dylan Fenmore, but I could not securely place their handover within the season. Griffin Ledner played young Nicholas Newman; his replacement of the infant twins had already occurred around the start of 1990, before season 18. (kiwix.scoggi.net)
New characters, departures and returns
| Category | Season 18 |
|---|---|
| New characters | Drucilla Barber (May 7, 1990); Sheila Carter (May 16, 1990); Olivia Barber (June 15, 1990); Kate Valentine (July 27, 1990); Lillie Belle Barber (December 5, 1990); Walter Barber (December 14, 1990); Molly Carter (March 7, 1991); and the two infants involved in Sheila’s March 1991 switch. |
| Departures | Clint’s impersonation scheme ends; Skip Evans’ performer Todd Curtis is recorded through June 7, 1990. The adult Victoria is a recast and return of the character, rather than a new character. |
| Returns | Brock Reynolds returns during Katherine’s ordeal. Traci Abbott returns to Genoa City, and Dina Mergeron returns for Traci and Brad’s wedding. Danny returns and reunites with Cricket. |
Ryan McNeil, Neil Winters and Michael Baldwin should be left out of season 18: their major arrivals occur after its March 22, 1991 endpoint. Several calendar-year summaries mix them into a general “1991” account. (kiwix.drnathanhutchins.com)
Marriages
| Couple | Date |
|---|---|
| Jack Abbott and Nikki Newman | Late March 1990; a March 30 episode already discusses their wedding. |
| Victor Newman and Ashley Abbott | 1990; exact broadcast date unverified. |
| Nina Webster and David Kimble | 1990; exact broadcast date unverified. |
| Danny Romalotti and Christine “Cricket” Blair | November 16, 1990, in Hawaii. |
| Traci Abbott and Brad Carlton | January 11, 1991. |
| Brad Carlton and Cassandra Rawlins | Early 1991; Cassandra engineers the Las Vegas ceremony after drugging Brad. |
| Sheila Carter and Scott Grainger | March 1991; the wedding follows the baby switch, but I could not verify an exact airdate within this season. |
(IMDbPro)
Deaths
- Sheila and Scott’s baby is stillborn in early 1991.
- Cassandra Rawlins is fatally struck by a truck in March 1991; the season finale addresses the unexpected consequences for her estate.
- Vivian, who knows about David Kimble’s past, is murdered during the 1990 portion of the storyline.
- Nikki miscarries in 1990. This is the loss of a pregnancy, rather than the death of a character previously born on screen.
David Kimble’s death in the trash compactor and Dylan Fenmore’s death from meningitis happen later in 1991 and 1992, respectively; neither belongs to season 18. (Jackson Dynasty)
Y&R / B&B Crossovers
| Direction | Season 18 finding |
|---|---|
| Y&R characters appearing on B&B | No character crossover verified between March 26, 1990 and March 22, 1991. Sheila is introduced on Y&R this season, but her move to B&B occurs on May 21, 1992. Lauren’s documented visits to B&B also begin later, in September 1992. |
| B&B characters appearing on Y&R | No character crossover verified during season 18. |
An actor appearing in both soaps in different roles would not count as a character crossover. Nor does a later crossover place that character on both programmes in 1990–91. (en.wikipedia.org)
In 1990, Jack Abbot decided to get revenge against Victor Newman for buying Jabot by marring Victor’s ex-wife, Nikki. Jack’s first order of business was to take Nikki’s mind off of her current boyfriend, Jim Grainger, and put it on himself. He accomplished his mission by romancing Nikki with lavish dinners and gifts. When Jack discovered that Victor was planning to propose again to Nikki, Jack launched an all-out campaign for Nikki. Beating Victor to the punch, Jack took Nikki on a getaway vacation, via his private jet. When they returned from their holiday, Jack and Nikki were married.
Victor, who was suspicious of Jack’s motives for marrying Nikki, offered to return control of Jabot to the Abbotts if Jack agreed to divorce Nikki. Although Jack had fallen deeply in love with Nikki, he reluctantly agreed to the deal out of loyalty to his father, John. But a crafty Victor took advantage of a carefully worded loophole in the contract that voided the deal.
When Nikki discovered that Jack favored Jabot over her, she made plans to divorce him. Jack fell back into Nikki’s good graces when he rescued her daughter, Victoria, from drowning. Nevertheless, Nikki still wanted to divorce Jack because she had realized that her heart still belonged to Victor. Nikki’s hopes for a reconciliation for Victor were dashed after she discovered that she was pregnant with Jack’s baby. The pressure of living in an unhappy marriage eventually prompted Nikki to turn to alcohol to number her pain.
Brad Carlton’s love life moved into a surprising new direction when he began pursuing his ex-wife Traci’s sister, Ashley Abbott. A romance quickly developed and Brad proposed marriage. But right before Ashley was about to give him an answer, Traci returned to Genoa City, hell-bent on winning Brad back. Torn between her love for Brad, and her sisterly feelings for Traci, a confused Ashley left town for a brief stay at her remote cabin. To Ashley’s surprise, Victor, who was still hurting over Nikki’s marriage to Jack, also visited the cabin. Away from their troubles back home, Victor and Ashley convinced themselves that they were still in love and impulsively they got married. The announcement of their marriage had a ripple effect on their friends and family. Cassandra, Brad’s former girlfriend, decided to seek revenge against Brad for rejecting her, Jack was aghast that Victor was now his brother in-law, and Nikki was heartbroken that she had no longer had any chance of remarrying her ex-husband. Soon after, Nikki miscarried. When Nikki developed a chronic back problem, she turned to painkillers for relief and quickly became drug dependent.
Gina’s shifty new husband, Clint Radison, coached Marge, a diner waitress, on how to impersonate the wealthy Katherine Chancellor. Once Marge mastered her impersonation, Clint kidnapped Katherine and her maid, Esther, and held them hostage in a remote cabin. Marge’s first order of business as “Katherine” was to sell several valuable Chancellor properties, an act that surprised Katherine’s friends and family. Meanwhile, Katherine’s husband, Rex, found himself increasingly baffled by his wife’s unusual behavior. No longer able to tolerate her new eccentricities, and boorish behavior, Rex moved out and took up residence with Jill, who persuaded Rex to divorce Katherine and marry her.
Marge and her cohorts were on the verge of becoming wealthy by selling off the Chancellor estate when Katherine’s son, Brock, made a surprise visit. Brock immediately surmised that a stranger was passing herself off as Katherine and demanded to know his mom’s whereabouts. Marge finally broke down and confessed, which led to Katherine’s and Esther’s rescue. And Clint was arrested for his role in the scheme.
Katherine was devastated to learn that during her absence Rex had married Jill. With her lawyer’s help, however, Katherine pointed out that the marriage wasn’t legal because Marge–not Katherine–had signed the divorce papers. Katherine agreed to accept Rex’s marriage to Jill, provided that they wait six months before legally remarrying. During the waiting period, Jill began seeing her ex-husband, John Abbott. Complicating matters more was Rex’s unusual romance with Leanna Love, whom he pursued while posing as a man named Roger. Katherine decided to blow everyone’s cover by arranging a party where she took delight in watching Jill and Rex’s love lives explode.
Paul Williams, who was believed dead, was actually working closely with his father, Carl, to expose Cassandra and her lover Adrian as the murders of her husband, George Rawlins. Paul and Carl followed Cassandra and Adrian to Bermuda, where they tormented Cassandra with visions of Paul as a ghost. Horrified, Cassandra quickly returned home. Soon after, Cassandra confessed that on the night when George was murdered, she was knocked unconscious. When she awoke, there was a gun in her hand and her husband was dead. With Cassandra’s help, Paul and Carl succeeded in exposing Adrian as George’s killer.
Although Lauren Fenmore still had feelings for Paul, she agreed to marry Scott Grainger. Soon after the marriage, Lauren miscarried, which troubled Scott because he didn’t even know that she had been pregnant! Meanwhile, Sheila Carter, a nurse who worked with Scott at the hospital and was attracted to him, tried to further undermine his marriage by suggesting that Lauren still loved Paul. As the troubles in Lauren’s and Scott’s marriage continued to escalate, they agreed to a temporary separation. Eventually, they agreed to give their marriage another chance. By that time, Sheila had announced to Scott that she was pregnant with his baby. To Scott’s surprise, Lauren was also pregnant.
Skip and Carol arranged to adopt a baby from a troubled, unwed mom named Nan, who didn’t know if her child had been fathered by her boyfriend, Jeff, or a man who had raped her. Soon after her baby was born and in Skip’s and Carol’s loving home, Nan discovered that Jeff was the father. Nan succeeded in winning back custody of her baby, but she quickly had second thoughts about motherhood when she and Jeff learned how much responsibility was involved. Eventually, they returned the baby to a delighted Skip and Carol.
Nathan had his pocket picked by a cunning young woman who turned out to be Drucilla Barber, the niece of Abbott maid, Mamie Johnson. Nathan recognized that Dru was troubled, and his attitude toward her softened when he learned that she was illiterate. With Paul’s help, Dru moved in with Nathan and he tutored her. Dru fell in love with Nathan, but he was already dating Dru’s sister, Olivia, who was a doctor. The two sisters had been separated for five years. When Olivia and Dru finally came face-to-face, Dru–who was bitter that Olivia was the woman in Nathan’s life–rejected her older sister’s attempt at a reconciliation. Dru was now studying ballet and became even more determined to steal Nathan away from Olivia.
Jill convinced her secretary, David Kimball, to romance Nina so that Jill would have more time to visit her grandson, Phillip. Eventually, David and Nina shocked everyone by eloping. Nina set up David in business, and he began an affair with Diane, his secretary. It was Diane who came across a newspaper clipping about heiress Rebecca Harper, who had been murdered by her husband, Tom. Oddly enough, the photograph of Tom looked remarkably like David. Shortly after, a woman named Vivian arrived in Genoa City, with the intent of exposing David. However, he electrocuted her in her bath before she was able to contact Nina. David also set a trap to hurt Nina’s friends, Danny and Chris, because they didn’t approve of her marriage to Kimball. David arranged to make it look as if Danny was a cocaine user and had him arrested. Eventually, the charges against Danny were dropped. Soon after, Danny and Chris married.
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