Jump to content

The Doctors


Recommended Posts

  • Members

Thanks Steve Frame for your recap. I loved The Doctors. I remember Geraldine Court as Ann Larimer and think she had something to do with Nick? I liked Doris Quinlan's tenure. I remember David Canary as the leader of a cult -- Far Wind. Thanks for the memories that I had forgotten.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 4.9k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

"The Doctors" is one of the soaps that I've read a lot about and I've seen several full episodes from the late 70s and early 80s (YouTube and WoST).

Several years ago, someone on the old WoST message boards typed up a year-by-year summary of the show (from the very beginning to the very end) and sent it to me. I lost it ages ago, but I wish I still had it!

I've been hearing stuff like this for a while now. A long time ago, Hallmark supposedly bought the rights to the SFM Entertainment library, and some soap historians have actually claimed that because the show had been produced by Colgate/Palmolive, it started saving its episodes before most other soaps (as early as 1972-1973). For years, there was no new information, but a couple of months ago, someone posted that they'd emailed SFM and the response implied that Hallmark would be airing it soon and that there'd also be DVD releases in the works.

I'm really wondering about all of that, though. I don't see any company having that much confidence in a long-canceled soap to put it on DVD (unless it's "Dark Shadows"), but putting it in reruns wouldn't be so strange.

Edited by All My Shadows
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks for all your replies-I am learning new stuff,as deatails on TD are sketchy.

In an earlier post I referred to the Matt/Mj romance not Mike/MJ.I agree that Mike/MJ was viablr but not Matt/MJ.

Ann Larimer tried to break up Steve and Carolee,by stashing Carolee in a sanitarium.

Why was Carolee institutionalised?Did this occur at the time Carolee Campbell left the show?

I think Ann may also have been involved with Nick at some time.

Jerry Dancy was portrayed by Jonathan Hogan and not Jerry Lacy(he was playing Rick on LOL at the time)

This is a SOD summary from around April 76

After Mike's stormy session with Mike, he has all the symptoms of a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital by the trauma unit. Fortunately, he is found to be suffering only from stress. Maggie is relieved, but Nick still wants to examine Matt thoroughly and Hank urges Matt to stay home for a few days.

Martha's friend, Ernie, had been suggesting to Mike that he consider working in the police lab, when Maggie called to tell Mike that Matt was in the hospital. She insisted that under no circumstances should Mike join her, but has kept her previous promise to keep him posted on Matt's condition.

When Mike relays the stress diagnosis to Martha, she suggests that perhaps Matt is going through male menopause.

Eleanor is continuing to have her problems. No matter what womanly wiles she tries on Scott, he will have no part of her, sexually. She complains to Althea that both Wendy and Scott are merely doing their duty with absolutely no love involved. Althea rages at Eleanor for burdening her with her problems. Althea has also advised Eleanor to forget the past and go on with the future. Scott shows up at the height of Althea's outburst and takes Eleanor away as Althea apologizes for behaving rudely.

Dr. McIntyre had run into Eleanor as she was on her way to visit Althea. McIntyre is at the hospital for an interview with Matt. The meeting goes very well and Matt tells McIntyre a decision will be reached in a few days. Matt showed up at the hospital in spite of Hank's advice to the contrary, as Hank knew he would.

M.J. tries to talk Steve into calling in the police again to find Carolee. Mona, at Ann's contrivance, interrupts M.J.'s meeting with Steve.

Mona asks Steve to come home and help prepare for Erich's birthday party. Ann takes it upon herself to call a booking office and hire an entertainer for the party, but wishes to do so anonymously.

Jerry has told Penny an unbelievable story about his mother. After saying his mother dreams of someday having a five room apartment, he tries to locate her in Switzerland where she's skiing.

Erich's birthday party ends in disaster. The only thing Erich really wanted was Carolee's return. He's convinced himself she's on her way. Erich even implored Billy to check flight arrivals of planes from New York.

Jeremy, the clown, arrives and for awhile manages to bring some brightness to the party, but gloom descends when Jeremy admits that Dr. Ann Lorimer hired and sent him to entertain. Erich is deeply hurt and Billy races off to have it out with Ann. His anger has been heightened by Mona's taking Ann's side and telling everyone how grateful they should be that Ann sent Jeremy.

Billy Warns Ann

At Ann's office, Billy explodes, will accept none of her explanations, and rushes out after threatening to keep an eye on Ann and make certain that she will never worm her way into Steve's household.

Eleanor might just as well not be in Scott's household, either. Scott treats her so perfunctorily correct, while ignoring her sexually, that Eleanor is beside herself. Wendy suggests Eleanor take one day at a time. Eleanor is curious to learn if Scott is interested in another woman, but is afraid to find out.

Wendy has told Penny that Scott is becoming ragged around the edges and thinks Althea should see and be with Scott. Penny, coming down with something, says Althea is too moral to see Scott while Eleanor is in the picture.

Scott has visited Althea earlier to plead his own case, only to find Althea having dizzy spells. Nick comes to look her over, can find nothing wrong, but insists that Althea have a full time nurse. Until she does, Nick will stay with her.

Earlier, Penny had refused to move back home after Althea turned down Penny's request for a loan. Penny had hoped to use the money to transfer to another school for the summer.

Dr. McIntyre is getting settled in when Stacy enters looking for Dr. Wilson and mistakes Dr. McIntyre for a cleaning man. He offers his services to Stacy after he introduces himself, but Stacy says she's crazy and no one can help her.

No one can help Joan Dancy, either, but her mother reads about her in the paper and books a flight home.

Mrs. Dancy tries desperately to awaken Joan. She refuses to believe her daughter cannot be saved. She berates Jerry for not having told her the truth about Joan's drug addiction. Jerry shows his mother a plane ticket he bought for Joan two years ago. He'd begged Joan to use it, fly to New York and enter a rehabilitation center. Jerry insists that no one could have saved Joan; that all he would have accomplished by telling Mrs. Dancy the truth would have been his mother's death as well as his sister's.

Matt runs into Mike and Toni in the hospital cafeteria. Matt and Mike each make an effort to break through the barrier that separates them.

Matt is Mending Fences

in several directions. He's calmer now and is even agreeable to taking a vacation. Maggie is ecstatic. Matt amuses her further by his sudden compassion for the love between Greta and Billy, though he does admit his concern over where that love might lead.

Billy has turned to Greta for comfort after delivering an ultimatum to Steve. Billy, upset at finding Ann again in the house with Mona, has demanded that Steve must choose between An and the kids.

Now Billy, aware that he's only a foster child, feels he may have gone too far. He fears that by forcing Ann out of the house, he may have achieved getting himself pushed out, instead.

Ann is determined to change Billy's mind about her. She is also determined to help Steve finish an uncompleted manuscript. Steve wasn't even aware that Mona had given his rough draft to Ann.

Rico, unhappy in his relationship with Stacy, has turned to Penny for consolation. Penny is recuperating from a minor illness at Matt and Maggie's. She's refused to stay in the hospital as she now refuses to be a substitute for Stacy. Penny does agree to consider future dates with Rico.

Nick finds it necessary to baby sit with Althea in order to keep her at home. He verbally paddles her for having driven alone to the hospital.

Stacy Moves In

Stacy is moving in with her grandmother and Uncle Steve. As she unpacks, Mona sees a sculpture Stacy has done. She is ecstatic as she places the piece on the mantle. She thinks the piece is absolutely marvelous! Stacy begins to look at it again. She approaches it with an almost breathless awe, as if seeing it for the first time. "It's nice," she says. The words seem like such an understatement.

Althea is concerned that she has recurring headaches and blurred vision. She looks at her x-rays with Dr. Iverson and they both concur: the x-rays show nothing. Why then, the blurred vision? Althea decides to talk with Dr. McIntyre.

Maggie is very worried about Matt. He's obviously in a weakened condition.

Steve Confronts Ann

Billy's ultimatum has struck home. Steve tells Ann that they can no longer see each other. Ann, a true diehard, agrees to stay away from the house, but not from Steve.

Toni, unaware that Steve has gone to Ann, goes to Steve to tell him that she intends to keep a close eye on his actions towards Billy.

Penny goes to Althea to apologize for her past behavior and declare a truce. While there, she encounters Scott. Scott had arrived a few minutes before to declare his love for Althea and ask her if she would marry him. Althea had admitted that she would, but reminded him that he has a wife at home.

Mrs. Dancy has been told by the doctors that even in Joanie were to regain consciousness, chances are she would be little more than a vegetable. Mrs. Dancy, however, has put all her faith in God, and continues to fervently pray for a miracle. The doctors agree that nothing short of a miracle would bring about Joanie's recovery.

Penny and Althea are on the way to a hamburger lunch when Althea abruptly stops the car. She admits to Penny that, for minute, she didn't see the car in front of her. Is her vision problem a physical one or is it, as Dr. McIntyre suggested, her way of blocking out an agony she doesn't want to see??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

A few questions...

What happened to Doreen Aldrich, and was she ever given a maiden name?

Other than M.J., was there any other people introduced as Carolee's family?

So Mona's marriage & probably divorce to Winston Croft happened off screen?

So was it ever revealed as to who was Steve and Jason's father?

Who were Mike Power's kid(s)?

In his teenage/adult years Billy had always been portrayed as an villian?

And did Toni actually die?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Doreen Aldrich's father was in town around late 1977 or early 1978. SOD Online use to have this really neat section called "20 years ago" around 1997 where they posted SOD synopses from the late 1970s. In those, Doreen's father popped up trying to convince Doreen to reunite with her husband.

Three actors played Winston Croft I don't remember their names off the top of my head. Speaking of inlaws, wasn't Stacy Wells, married to Dr. Paul summers, the step daughter of Jason or Steve aldrich. I alwasy mix them up.

I believe Ann Larimer was pregnant when she was written off. Steve, or was she married to Jason, went to see her to end their marriage and their were major hitns she was pregnant.

Mike just had the one son with Toni Ferra I believe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think some of these are already answered by the poster above. I will attempt the rest.

1) Doreen was given a maiden name as mentioned above, but it was after she had been on awhile. I just cannot remember it at all.

2) Katherine Squire portrayed her mother Emma Simpson. Then the cousin Betsy Match who was M.J.'s sister along with Betsy's son.

3) I do not remember what happened to Winston Croft at all.

4) I do not remember any mention of Jason & Steve's father.

5) Mike only had the one child: Michael Paul Powers with Toni

6) When Shawn Campbell portrayed Billy when he impregnated Greta - Billy was just played as a confused teenager. He just wanted to have sex with Greta and didn't want to be involved with her.

7) Yes Toni did die. Mike & Toni went away on a trip. An accident happened while they were out of town and to the best of my memory and my sources Toni's body was never found. I think they planned to bring Toni back at some point. Anna Stuart had left The Doctors to join General Hospital.

***********************

As to the questions in the last thread. Stacy was tied to the Aldrich's somehow I think too. she was not Doreen's daughter though. She may have just been a cousin but I cannot remember right now.

**************************

When Steve visited Anne Larimer, it was implicated that Anne was pregnant, but it was never mentioned again.

***************************

As to the mention above that Anne is the one who hid Carolee away - for some reason I am remembering that it was a collaboration between Anne and Mona. And yes it did happen when Carolee Campbell left. There were no plans to ever bring Carolee back at that point. When The Secret Storm was cancelled, Jada Rowland became a hot commodity. Labine & Mayer wanted her for Ryan's Hope to portray Faith Coleridge, but they ended up either being forced to go younger with the role or just went a different route. Rowland became available and The Doctors sought her out to be the new Carolee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Re Doreen Aldrich

Jennifer Wood originated the role and Pamela Lincoln took over.

I read ages ago,somewhere,that Pam Lincoln was the wife of an exec who was friends with The Doctors producer(Chuck Weiss?)

When she finished at Love of Life,her hubby requested a job on TD and presto,she was th new Doreen.

Whether that was true or not.....

Anyway,Doreen ended up having Carolee kidnapped.I guess he developed an obsession with Steve.Mel,Carolee's abductor raped her.

Mel was played by Robert Burton,who was in several shows around that time but never stayed long.

Doreen thought she was dying(not so)which may have accounted for her going off the deep end.

She was shot and rushed to hopital.SOD says Mona contacted her father to come to Maidson,but that was the last mention of her.

The writer at the time was Linda Grover.

Incidentally Kathy Glass was playing MJ at the time and this was before Doris Quinlan joined the show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Pamela Lincoln was/is married to Darryl Hickman who was also producer for 'Love of Life' (after being a network exec) while she was on the show as Felicia Flemming Lamont. Darryl is also the brother of actor Dwyane Hickman, better known as Dobie Gillis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks Matt.

I read that Steve actually married Ann,before divorcing her and remarrying Carolee and that Ann had his child in Brazil.

Was Steve aware of this child,and if so,did he make any attempt to trace Ann and his child?

As regards Winston Croft,I am wondering wether Mona had already married and divorced him before she arrived on the show.

Winston did appear,played by Philip Sterling,Daniel Keyes and Richard Whiting.

Stacey Wells was Jason's stepdaughter.Was Doreen her mother,or had Jason had another wife?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Steve went to see Ann in Brazil. I'm not sure if it was to settle the divorce or to confirm whether or not she was pregnant. Anyway, Steve left Brazil believing his marriage to Ann was over and there were no ramifications lingering. Ann definitiely made it clear that she was indeed pregnant with Steve's child. I should be heading home within the next couple weeks and I'll see if I can locate the old SOD articles I have on The Doctors. I had the ones on Love of Life on a computer that I believe has been trashed since then unfortunately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I forgot to mention in my posts earlier that Steve & Carolee became so popular around 1970 that NBC toyed with the idea of moving David O'Brien and Carolee Campbell into their own program. It almost happened in 1971, but for some reason they backed out. The title of the new series was to be The World of Hope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy