Another World

[SoapDope]

After re-watching the 1968 episodes of Walter & Lenore's wedding, I wondered why they killed off Lee Randolph ? In the 1969 Barbara Rodell interview posted she said she was upset when that happened. Shortly after she got Secret Storm.

In the wedding episodes everyone was happy that she was going to be the next bride by marrying Ada's brother. Lenore also wanted to make sure she caught the bouquet. Lee was clearly not excited and kept saying she wanted something else ? What's the story behind all that ?

[Efulton]

Killing off Lee Randolph and Bill Matthews was very short sighted. They should have been very important long term characters.

[Efulton]

Then again many characters should never have been killed off - Mary Matthews, Steve Frame (twice!), John Randolph, Julia Shearer, Sally Frame, Quinn Harding, Ryan Harrison, Bridget Connell, Frankie Frame....

Edited July 4, 2015 by Efulton

[amybrickwallace]

Those were mistakes as was going to a 90-minute per day format. How they did it as long as they did (nearly a year and a half, I believe), I have no idea.

[watson71]

The 90 minute format was like doing an extra 10 episodes of a 60 minute program in a month. From what I have read, NBC boss Fred Silverman wanted a bigger, better AW. While he had successful runs at CBS and ABC, his time at NBC was a disaster in both primetime and daytime. The only primetime shows that were successes during his tenure were Diffrent Strokes, Chips, and Facts of Life. He was the mastermind behind Supertrain- think Love Boat on a train and to revive Sanford and Son- one of the most successful sitcoms of the 70s- without Demond Wilson as Lamont. As great a comic as Redd Foxx was, the show flopped because there was no Lamont, and Fred's foe, Aunt Esther only made occasional appearances.

NBC Daytime ratings were starting to slide because of the competition from the ABC soaps. At the 90 minute expansion, AW switched time slots to 2:30 PM, The Doctors moved to 2:00 PM, and Days settled into its 1:00 PM time slots where it remains today. Then, Harding Lemay left as headwriter, Bay City became overpopulated with new characters that no one cared about. Then, once TPTB found that 90 minute AW was not working, the idea was hatched to clone Dallas with the spin-off Texas starring one of AW's biggest stars Beverlee McKinsey. NBC purposely set the August premier of Texas because ABC would be airing the Olympics and pre-empting soaps. This did not happen because of the US boycott of the Olympics. So, Texas premiers, shifting the times of NBC soaps again. The Doctors moves to 12:30 PM, Days stays at 1 PM, AW is moved to 2 PM, and Texas is the first soap to debut at 60 minutes at 3 PM against General Hospital and Guiding Light. For Texas to succeed, it should have been sandwiched between Days and AW or placed in the 12:30 time slot, thus returning the other NBC soaps back to their pre- 90 minute AW time slots.

In 18 months, AW expanded to 90 minutes, lost a long time headwriter, changed time slots twice, then lost one of its biggest stars to the spin-off Texas. I'm sure that Victoria Wyndham was none too happy that Beverlee McKinsey received star billing on Texas- "Texas starring Beverlee McKinsey." If AW would have still been riding high in the ratings, I'm sure at some point the Bill Wolff would have been saying "Another World starring Victoria Wyndham" just to even the playing field.

[amybrickwallace]

Well, Little House was also a hit under his watch - but it began before he went to NBC so that may not count. Yes, you're right about Supertrain - and that epic smash hit, Pink Lady and Jeff, debuted when he was the big cheese of NBC (did he leave before Manimal came on?).

Even from the second 90-minute episode - the fiery demise of John Randolph - there was plenty of filler and scenes being dragged out. The actors didn't seem very comfortable. I can see why some people said that the 90-minute expansion was really the beginning of the end of AW - though it would remain on the air for another 20 years.

Edited July 4, 2015 by amybrickwallace

[SoapDope]

If you ever watch an interview with someone who has been in TV a long time as an actor, producer etc..., they will usually bring up the name Fred Silverman with mostly negative comments about him. He was the reason of the late 60's/ early 70's rural purge of CBS. He cancelled Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry RFD, Petticoat Junction, Hee Haw, and Green Acres and replaced them with Mary Tyler Moore, All In The Family, Maude. He said only squares, country hicks and old people cared about those shows and wanted a more sophisticated audience.

[DRW50]

I don't think the 90-minute format was the beginning of the end for AW - I think it was the rudderless quality and lack of leadership during and after this period. Watching the 1980 episodes after they scaled down to 60 minutes, the show still feels incredibly moribund, with (for me) a small handful of characters (Blaine, Pat, Cecile) keeping things interesting. Wide swathes of the show were dry, assembly line (the truly tedious Kit Perrini storyline) or painfully melodramatic and old fashioned (the Rachel/Mitch shooting and trial), there were few, if any new characters who ever found a foothold, and there's just no real reason to stay invested unless you were a diehard fan.

I also think the show's lack of identity did a great deal of damage. Rauch and Lemay took away most of what had been there before them, and most of what they created, sans Mac, had already pretty much gone by this point. AW didn't find its own identity again until somewhere around 1983.

As for Lee, I do think her death was a mistake (the story also sounds incredibly depressing and strange, like an educational film gone wrong), but the show was drowning in ingenues at that point in time. Between Missy and Lahoma going to Somerset, Jacquie Courtney leaving for a year or so, Susan's exit, etc. I do wonder how much they ended up regretting it.

Edited July 4, 2015 by DRW50

[Melroser]

I could imagine that trying to premiere a new show (such as Texas) at the time opposite GH and GL would have been a daunting task for anyone. It's too bad about the constant time slot shifts because people don't like change. People are creatures of habit and if they have the habit of watching a show at lunch time then they won't tend to follow it if it gets moved to a later time (say 2 or 3).

[SoapDope]

Liz's children could have driven storylines for years and years. I always thought that Carol Roux was dismissed from Somerset, but read recently she wanted out after a few months. Didn't she leave New York and settle in California ? I wonder why she didn't act after 1970 ?

She seems to be a bit eccentric. I remember hearing an interview with her several years ago on the now defunct world of soap themes. She mentioned someone at Somerset talking disrespectful to her and mentioned how she never realized just how good looking Joe Gallison was till years later looking back. She also laughed about Audra Lindley and how she was always smoking blowing it at her in scenes.

[watson71]

From 79-82, there were numerous time slot changes at NBC Daytime: AW expanded to 90 minutes and began at 2:30 instead of 3:00. Then it is moved to 2:00. The Doctors moved from 2:30 to 2:00 PM, then was moved to 12:30, then was bumped up to 12:00 when Search for Tomorrow premiered. Texas stayed in the 3:00 time slot for approximately 18 months, then was moved to the 11 AM slot against The Price is Right. During this time numerous game shows also premiered, as well as David Letterman's daytime show. At one point, NBC was using reruns of Chips as filler during the 3 PM time slot.

[SoapDope]

Is this Carol Roux playing the Nun in this 1997 video short ? It looks like her when she's wearing the habit at starting at 1:18 ?   

[DRW50]

I think someone once said no. I'm not sure.

[vetsoapfan]

Personally, I would say yes. I'm pretty sure that is her.

[SoapDope]

I think it is her too. I paused the video when they show a closeup of her in the nuns habit and pulled a 60's AW photo up and put beside it and it looks just like her.