[dmarex]

"Loving," a soap opera created by Agnes Nixon & Douglas Marland in 1983, aired for 12 long years on ABC,
but never was a success on daytime. The show premiered as a TV movie on primetime, and during it's early years,
it centered around the blue-collar Donovans and the blue-blood Aldens. The stories revolved around alcoholism,
post-traumatic stress syndrome, murders, and all storylines known to the world of soap operas.

In 1995, ABC no longer wanted to keep "Loving" on it's schedule. The ratings kept falling. Yet, ABC didn't want to
just make it disappear, so they asked the head writers to write a storyline which could allow some of the character
to return in a spin-off called "The City." Relocated from the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania to the trendy SoHo
neighborhood of New York, the residents all lived and worked together in a single building. This building became the
new setting for the series and housed a bar, a medical clinic, an ad agency, several residential lofts and a penthouse.

Unfortunately, none of these changes were enough to ensure the success of the series. After initial viewer curiosity wore off,
the show began to post lower ratings than its predecessor Loving. Then, in October 1996, the series star Morgan Fairchild
departed the show after her one-year contract expired. In a last ditch effort to keep the show alive, the show transplanted the
popular General Hospital character, Tracy Quartermaine to replace Fairchild as the show's lead villainess. However, ratings
did not improve and the show was canceled after less than a year and a half.

[CarlD2]

Why was there such a long gap between the time Ceara died and the time Laura returned to GH? And when did Genie leave AMC? Did she just sit on the ABC payroll for a year waiting to work again?

I often felt like her heart wasn't quite in her GH work when she returned. Was she better as Ceara?

[Amello]

Genie Francis has admitted she hated that she was forced back to GH. She loved playing Ceara and if it was up to her would have continued to do so.

[EricMontreal22]

CarlD2, on 05 October 2009 - 12:49 AM, said:

Why was there such a long gap between the time Ceara died and the time Laura returned to GH? And when did Genie leave AMC? Did she just sit on the ABC payroll for a year waiting to work again?

I often felt like her heart wasn't quite in her GH work when she returned. Was she better as Ceara?

It was much better--her incest story was front burner when I started watching, and although I was young she became quickly a fave of mine.

Agnes Nixon's website has some original advertising for Loving--butI can't make the picture big enough to clearly read! Can anyone help? http://www.agnesnixo.../loving-two.php

http://www.agnesnixon.com/about/ also mentions Agnes being very proud of her supernatural storyline with the guy sellling his soul to the devil on Loving

This post has been edited by EricMontreal22: 06 October 2009 - 07:05 AM

[CarlD2]

That's interesting, that the devil story was one of her favorites. I'd heard some didn't care for it.

Is this one of the ads?

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=tCrrpfSlQDo

[EricMontreal22]

No but I love that:D thanks

[SFK]

CarlD2, on 06 October 2009 - 08:20 PM, said:

That's interesting, that the devil story was one of her favorites. I'd heard some didn't care for it.

Is this one of the ads?

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=tCrrpfSlQDo

I love that Ernie Anderson is doing the v.o., this obviously aired in primetime. I used to love to hear him say "Dynasty" and "The Colbys", his voice just takes me back.

[EricMontreal22]

A full episode and a bit more were posted a while back, but I just found them now, on youtube from the 1994 era when Agnes Nixon briefly returned as HW (which at the time I really loved).

(Part 1 of 6 parts I think)

This post has been edited by EricMontreal22: 08 December 2009 - 09:45 AM

[CarlD2]

In that first clip, was that Rob Bogue (the last Mallet on GL) as the bartender? How random.

[Cat]

Episode 14 February, 1986 -- Jack and Stacy's Rehearsal Dinner (parts 1-6).



Ava attempts to disrupt Stacy's big day after Gwyneth gets in her face.

Maybe I'm in the minority here -- but this is some good soap!

[EricMontreal22]

Well then I'm in that minority with you I have the Loving pilot TV movie and 2 90s eps and one 80s one on .rm media somewhere--I'll try to find it and maybe get it on youtube if I can figure it out...

This post has been edited by EricMontreal22: 08 December 2009 - 09:47 AM

[LeClerc]

Okay so everyone else probably knew this but I didn't know that ABC let Lisa Peluso go with the transformation to The City. I only just learned that from reading Branco's recent interview with Peluso. I didn't keep up with the behind-the-scenes goings-on back then and I always just assumed that she had left of her own choice. It never crossed my mind that TPTB would be dumb enough to have ditched Peluso.

[EricMontreal22]

I hate reading his interviews (especially as he mentioned in the past that he NEVER watched Loving, and now is acting liek a huge fan lol) but I gotta read--I assumed she left on her own too. In hindsight IMHo it was a mistake but maybe with diva Morgan fairchild coming on and the desire to really shake up the cast (none of the really core Corinth family members made the move) they thought to drop her

[cityfan01]

it was such a bad move. Ava would have fit in perfectly in NYC.

[CarlD2]

At the time I did figure she'd been fired, just because she had stayed for so many years and I couldn't see why she would have left of her own accord as they were launching a new version of the show.

I think they wanted to make Alex more hip or sexy or whatever, and pairing him with Danny's sister (who was given the "mental illness makes her a prostitute" story so we could see how hot she was) was apparently supposed to do that. Alex/Jocelyn never did much for me.

This post has been edited by CarlD2: 09 December 2009 - 01:28 AM

[EricMontreal22]

Out of boredome was trolling youtube for more Loving clips (it can be hard to find something as genericlly named as Loving lol) and got all excited to find all the ones this guy posted, only to find out they're not in English. Not sure what era they're from (late 80s early 90s?) Early 90s I think cuz it seems to be Jack and Stacey the first time around

[SFK]

Raidue, those Eye-talians and their 30 min. U.S. soap operas.

The word "fired" never crossed my mind either, though I sensed it was more of a mutual decision, like Lisa wanted to take a break as well. Two years later, she was playing Lila on AW (which looked even more fun for her than Ava). I like Lisa, but in my heart I'll always think of that exotic beauty, the late Roya Megnot as Ava, she was like Erica and Tina rolled into one. Gone fart oo young. I guess whoever edited this clip wasn't that much of a fan as he/she seems to have edited her scenes out.

[dc11786]

EricMontreal22, on 10 December 2009 - 09:23 PM, said:

Out of boredome was trolling youtube for more Loving clips (it can be hard to find something as genericlly named as Loving lol) and got all excited to find all the ones this guy posted, only to find out they're not in English. Not sure what era they're from (late 80s early 90s?) Early 90s I think cuz it seems to be Jack and Stacey the first time around

The clips are from 1985 and 1986. The clip you've posted is probably the Monday episode directly following the full English episode in which Ava announces her marriage to Curtis.

[cityfan01]

SFK, on 10 December 2009 - 10:02 PM, said:

Raidue, those Eye-talians and their 30 min. U.S. soap operas.

The word "fired" never crossed my mind either, though I sensed it was more of a mutual decision, like Lisa wanted to take a break as well. Two years later, she was playing Lila on AW (which looked even more fun for her than Ava). I like Lisa, but in my heart I'll always think of that exotic beauty, the late Roya Megnot as Ava, she was like Erica and Tina rolled into one. Gone fart oo young. I guess whoever edited this clip wasn't that much of a fan as he/she seems to have edited her scenes out.

well towards the end of CITY's run, there was a lot of talk about Sandy (alex and ava's) son moving to NYC. I always felt that Ava was going to come along and cause problems for Alex and Jocelyn since they had hit a point in their relationship where they were "happy". Then the cancellation came and no Sandy, no Ava, and Alex was left with the hooker.

[EricMontreal22]

dc11786, on 10 December 2009 - 11:41 PM, said:

The clips are from 1985 and 1986. The clip you've posted is probably the Monday episode directly following the full English episode in which Ava announces her marriage to Curtis.

HAH I didn't even notice that--it does seem to be pretty close!

Awww all the stories that The City coulda gone on with

[SFK]

The show would have gotten pretty diva heavy (like Another World, Rachel, Felicia, Donna, Iris) with Ava there too, they seemed more interested in making Tess Sydney's foil, and as someone else said, freeing Alex up for Jocelyn.