saynotoursoap

She could definitely play the ice queen when the script called for it. I also liked her return in the last few episodes of RH in 1989, but was shocked that Maeve, with that finely tuned maternal antenna, didn't realize that Faith's young daughter was also Pat's (though Faith never came right out and said it when Pat asked her straight out, the look on her face told the whole story).

The last month of the series is online at YouTube under the title HopeNet. You should rewatch because Maeve most certainly did realize that Grace was Pat's child. In the scene in which Faith is first shown to return, Maeve watches Pat holding Grace, and it is then that the penny drops. For once, she had enough sense to keep her realization to herself instead of upsetting Pat and Concetta, though Pat later comes to the same realization and confronts Faith in final scene of the series.

I agree with you, amybrickwallace. I liked KMG, too, even though I can understand why her detractors found her annoying. Personally I felt that much of the problem was down to the writing of the character. The writers never seemed to have a clear vision of Faith with the exception of the period in which Catherine Hicks played her. And as much as I enjoyed the performances of all those involved, Faith and Jill often came across as a pair of sanctmonious hypocrites to me, which in a small way soured what otherwise would have been fantastic characters. Claire Labne seemed to write all of the characters with more depth in her third stint. The last few years of RH were glorious to me. I wish we could have seen them on SoapNet.

Peter Simon went to As the World Turns soon after he left SFT (which I think was in 1979). And he should be turning up on GL soon (assuming the clips continue).

Peter Simon left Search a little earlier, in 1977. He was replaced for a year by Peter Ratray, which was an interesting situation because Ratray was starring concurrently in the soft core porn film Young Lady Chatterly, a ubiquitous pay-TV offering in the early 80s.

I'm fairly certain that soap mags at the time hinted to her allegedly being fired.

Another poster who claimed to know Geraldine Court personally stated that Geraldine was concerned with Kristen's lack of professionalism or something like that. And I think the same problem followed her to OLTL.

When I interviewed Allen Potter, he stated that Vigard was indeed terminated due to unprofessional behavior, though CBS strongly opposed the release due to her popularity with the audience. According to Potter, the situation was similar to George Reinholt at Another World in that GL's cast were complaining so vociferoulsly about Vigard's behavior, especially when she held up tapings, that he he had no choice but to terminate her. Unfortunately, Jennifer Cooke never attained the audience support that came so easily to Vigard, so GL lost either way.

I wonder if Robert W. Colbert had composed the music for the show since it began in 1963

I have wondered that, as well. I have been unable to find the copyright for the theme in the ASCAP and BMI databases with definitive dates. Many of the music cues are recycled from The Young Marrieds or variations on ones he composed for Dark Shadows. Also, I found an interesting article online, though I cannot attest to its accuracy.

A Little Strange Music: Score Productions and the Music of Maljardin

by Curt Ladnier

Anyone who has ever watched STRANGE PARADISE is unlikely to mistake its distinctive title theme for anything else. With its primitive jungle drums and its eerie woodwinds, the piece is unique and memorable, setting the tone for an offbeat production. In fact, all of the series’ original music is heavily responsible for evoking the proper mood for the show, but little credit has been given to its creators. STRANGE PARADISE could have been quite a different production if not for the musical efforts of Score Productions.

A $260 transaction and a musician’s vision launched Score Productions in the early 1960s, and by the time the outfit was recruited to provide the music for STRANGE PARADISE in 1969, it was already an established name in the entertainment industry. Under the leadership of its founder, Bob Israel, Score continues to thrive in the 21st century, and is known for the ability to create a theme which viewers quickly identify with a specific program. Score’s compositions punctuate numerous well-known shows, past and present, such as THE PRICE IS RIGHT, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, CNN News, ANOTHER WORLD, FAMILY FEUD, all of ABC’s news programming, and many, many more.

Robert Arnold (Bob) Israel had quite a successful career even before establishing Score. A native of New York, he displayed a love of music from an early age, studying piano and performing in recitals by the time he was five. As he matured, Israel went on to hone his talents in classes at Julliard and Columbia Graduate School, studying under French conductor Pierre Monteux.

As a young man just striking out on his own in post-World War II New York, Israel developed an interest in the city’s jazz scene and the impact of its music. Soon he landed his first job in the recording industry, serving as a production assistant to the Musicraft record label. His ambitions did not allow him to languish in this position for long though, and at the age of 21 he formed his own label, Heritage Records. This venture proved a success, and the company released over 250 albums before Israel ultimately sold his interest in the label in the late 1950s.

After leaving Heritage, Israel spent a brief tenure at MGM Records before going to work for the Society of European Songwriters and Composers as a producer. It was his experiences with the SESAC which taught him the business of the recording industry and “how you made income in music.” During his time with the Society, he produced more than 50 albums under its auspices.

Early in the 1960s, Israel went to work for Talent Associates Ltd, a company run by David Susskind and Alfred Levy which produced high-profile tv movies and series. Working as an assistant to Levy, he received an on-the-job crash course in television production. Then, drawing on his musical background, he proceeded to convince Levy of the advantages of establishing an in-house unit for the production of original music.

In 1963, Israel wanted to spread his wings farther, and saw an opportunity when NBC approached him with a $260 budget to create the music for a pilot in development titled HOUSE OF HOPE. The network soon took the project to full series, with Israel’s music, and it became the long-running daytime serial THE DOCTORS. This success was Israel’s springboard to forming his own company, Score Productions, and he left Talent Associates only to retain them as one of Score’s earliest clients.

Interestingly, it may have been this initial project that eventually led to Score’s involvement with STRANGE PARADISE. Jerry Layton was a producer for THE DOCTORS in 1963, and it is probable that his familiarity with Score’s work on that project was a major factor in his bringing them onboard when he was set to produce STRANGE PARADISE later in the decade.

Over the years, Score Productions has turned out a remarkable body of work, drawing on the talents of a stable of composers which has included Bob Israel himself, Edd Kalehoff, Sheila Cole Israel, Lee Ringuette, and Susan Otto, among others. The company has developed a reputation of producing quality music for television, while remaining within the constraints of a budget. Reflecting on his efforts with Score Productions, Bob Israel once remarked, “I wanted to bring excellence to television music. I’ve tried pretty damned hard and, even if the subject matter was less than inspiring at times, for the most part I’ve succeeded.”

Certainly, if success can be judged from the company’s volume of output, then Score has had it in spades. At the dawn of the new millennium, it was estimated that their music is featured in over 445 separate television broadcasts each week. Not to be limited strictly to music, Score has also opened its own production division, Score Media Productions, for the development of its own television and feature projects. With 45 years of experience behind them, and a fresh century ahead, Score Productions continues to blaze a trail in the entertainment industry.

One final note regarding their compositions for STRANGE PARADISE – shortly after the series left the air in 1970, Score Productions recycled much of the show’s incidental music in the shortlived Canadian science fiction series THE STARLOST. Subsequently, anecdotal comments from fans have reported that much of THE STARLOST’s music later turned up in the television series SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. So it appears that strains of STRANGE PARADISE have been heard in two totally unrelated productions, in deep space and on another island paradise.

I'm stumped on that one saynotoursoap. Did you see her when this originally aired? It's fun to see these actors pop up unexpectedly.

Body Heat. 1981. Lanna appeared opposite three actors from The Doctors, Kathleen Turner (Nola Dancy #2), Kim Zimmer (Nola Dancy #3), and Ted Danson (Mitch Pierson). Michael Ryan, who played John Randolph on Another World, appeared in a memorable scene with Lanna, Ted, and Kathleen. Another World followed The Doctors on NBC for much of its run. To make it even more NBCentric, J.A. Preston co-starred, as well. He was Richard Matthews on Santa Barbara.

Alan Feinstein also did a terrific job as a villain in a Charlie's Angels episode called "The Sandcastle Murders". Ironically, the same episode featured another guest star who would make her name on soaps - Melody Thomas (pre-Scott).

This was a soap loaded episode. In addition to the performers amybrickwallace mentioned, Hunter von Leer (Larry Joe, GH), Bibi Osterwald (Stella, Where the Heart Is), and Melissa Converse also appear. In case you do not recognize the name, Melissa Converse was better known by her first married name, Melissa Murphy. She was the beautiful blonde who played Jo's daughter Patti on Search for Tomorrow in 1966 and 1967.

Did you all recognize Lanna Saunders (Marie Horton on Days) playing Polly's niece? I had no idea she was ever on The Doctors.

Yes, and for any prize on the top shelf, what is Lanna's other connection to The Doctors and how? No fair Googling.

I know Audrey Peters went on to play Sarah Shayne on GL, but did Ron Tomme ever do another soap?

He was also Rose McLaren's father on Guiding Light.

Thank you. I've read both 1971 and 1972 as Mona's debut, so I wanted to check. Was Steve a mama's boy or did he know how to stand up to her?

Mona arrives in the autumn of 1972. I know she is there in December beacuse the first Christmas with the family she deviously gives a gift knowing that Carolee's reaction will undermine her in Steve's eyes. Mona was a delicious piece of work.

I'm at a confusing OCD quandary. Ever since the first episode on Retro, I've been keeping track of both episode number and original airdate. Thanks to the screencap of the slate for that first episode that Retro posted, we know the first episode was #1305 with an airdate of December 4, 1967. The only pre-emption that I'm aware of is for January 1, 1968 (based on Jason47's DAYS pre-emption list, since I feel it's safe to assume that if DAYS is pre-empted, then The Doctors will be, too, since it immediately follows). By my calculations, Friday's 2 episodes should be #1363 (2/23/68, Friday) & #1364 (2/26/68, Monday). HOWEVER, I have a script for The Doctors in my collection (which I believe I transcribed once in this thread some many pages back) that gives a Production #1365, but an AIR date of 2/23/68 (Friday). Something isn't lining up and it's annoying the crap out of me. The script concerns the board hearing with Matt & Althea's testimony (a very strongly scripted monologue by Matt). I'm just not quite sure what to make of the conflicting info.

Oh, and according to the script's cover page, the episode that was to air on 2/23/68 was taped on 2/21/68 - only TWO days before.

Do not stress over it, Matt. I believe The Doctors followed a procedure practiced by several soaps at that time. In order to keep the episode numbers ending in a 5 or a 0 on Fridays, an episode shortly after pre-emption would receive multiple production numbers in order to set the numbers back to running 1-5, Monday through Friday. Sometimes soaps would also not assign a number to an episode the day of, or following, a pre-emption. From what I have seen of scripts from The Doctors, they always seem to run in that manner regardless of the number of pre-emptions, so I imagine this is the explanation for the discrepancy.

It was not all the Dobsons. A good deal of "the core" being shoved aside came from P&G and the producers. The Dobsons did a fantastic job of focusing on the Bauers on GL. In fact, the Dobsons gave the Bauers front burner stories, whereas Marland made them supporting players. The Dobsons were not monsters out to destroy the Hughes family. Remember, Helen Wagner quit; she was not let go. Also, the reason she eventually left was because scenes had been written and taped with her, set to air in February 1981. At the last minute, MEB cut all of Helen's scenes. Wagner was furious when the show aired, and she was not in it. It was not the Dobsons' fault. They simply wrote what they were contracted to write. Ultimately, P&G was responsible for these changes.

LOL...no wonder the ABC soaps rolled over ATWT, they had young people who LOOKED young, and their older people had more style...well everyone had more style.

Yeah, like GH's rapist hero Luke Spencer. Tony Geary's home perm was so hip and energetic.

The ABC soaps rolled over ATWT because the writing, acting, and directing was dumbed down to the point that four year olds and cocker spaniels were watching. Viewers watching in 1981 could have easily mistaken GH for one of Krofft's live action Saturday morning shows. The whole Cassadine saga, sets to acting, looked like something left over from Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. And seriously, daytime is still paying for it thirty years later with even more dreadful writing, acting, and directing. Well, not directing because nothing is actually directed any more. Hit your mark and spew your crappy dialogue is more like it.

And personally, I would much rather watch real people from the 70s looking they have been on a bender than all of the Botoxed, big lipped, big tiitted, pathetic plastic performers of today trying so desperately to look as if they are still 28. How sad that rampant ageism in our society drives individuals to mutilate themselves in a futile attempt to meet the approval of shallow fans.

Somehow I expected better from this site in general and this thread in particular, but it seems like every thread on this board lately is filled with one ageist comment after another. I can bask in the knowledge that all those making these comments will one day be old, too. Karma's a bitch.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked Mary Ellen Stuart as Frannie! She was nice, but also had a backbone and was intelligent for the most part. If she hadn't opted to leave the show right before Marland died, do you think the character of Frannie would have survived well into the 90s?

According to Laurie Caso, Marland intended to bring Frannie back after at least a year had passed. During the remainder of Caso's run, references were made to Frannie and Sabrina. I watched selectively during the Valente and Felicia Minei Behr years, so I am not sure if references to them continued. For 2000s viewers, were Frannie and Sabrina mentioned during the Goutman years, prior to Julianne's Moore's final appearance?

I didn't care for Julianne Moore at all. I still don't like her all that much as an actress and never thought she was attractive.

I liked Teri Vandenbosch's Frannie and found Julianne Moore an adjustment, but I felt she really grew as an actress on ATWT. I will also say this, she is one of the classiest former soaps stars around. She is an Emmy award winner and has been nominated for a handful of Oscars, yet she asked to return to As the World Turns for one last time before it left the air, because she harbored such warm feelings toward it and the audience that made her star. There are damn few performers with this attitude, and some, such as Meg Ryan, would rather pretend the show never existed. I think Julianne is wonderful.

For me the Snyder family ended around 1992 or 1993. Jack had the last name and sometimes had nice scenes with Emma, but I never cared about his relationship with Holden and I thought the show did a poor job of making them all seem like a family (and Brad was a mess).

I agree. I never understood the point of bringing in a previously unmentioned cousin to play a cop when they already had the character of Caleb on ice. Why not just recast Caleb with Michael Park? The writers could have used his history when they wanted, or simply ignored it when it did not suit them -which they often did anyway.

I liked the Snyder kitchen too. To be honest I preferred their front room, which felt very much like some homes I went to for holidays and family gatherings when I was growing up, and there were some really beautiful scenes set around that area, and the even more rarely seen bedrooms, like when Emma talked to Meg about when she was a little girl and the dreams she'd have.

I thought the kitchen was homey, and felt true to the characters.

The only other set I felt like that with on ATWT was Margo and Tom's house.

The one where their living room was in their kitchen or the one with all the stone and wood and the big fireplace with the stairs leading up behind it?

I think he did create the Kasnoffs. I think there may have been an idea of them replacing the Snyders, although I'm not sure if that was his idea. By the time he passed away, Caleb and Holden and Iva were the main siblings left, and Caleb was a supporting character. (Seth was on the way out, Ellie and Meg were gone).

It was my understanding that the Kasnoffs were introduced because they were to have been related to one of the central families in Doug's new soap, the bible for which he was writing at the time of his death.

Marland did not create Sara, nor the torturous Zoe Supermodel.

I suppose I am in the minority, but I liked the Snyder kitchen. In fact, it was one of the most appealing aspects of the family for me. I supported the idea of a poor family living in a home that accurately reflected their socioeconomic status. The house looked tacky because they were somewhat poor and tacky. The kitchen reminded me of Maeve and Johnny's from Ryan's Hope, and like the former series, there were many warm and dramatic scenes there. I enjoyed seeing the family gathered around the table joking about Julie's unfortunate cooking skills or fighting with one another as real families do. It was a very down-to-earth tableau which was regrettably lacking on too many soaps then, or even now.

When Laurance Caso was the producer, he planned an epic fire that would have ravaged the farm and burnt the house to the ground. The Snyder kitchen and living room sets were being redesigned for an eventual upgrade, but someone at the production leaked the story to the press. Laurie was pissed off and canceled the story. I found it amusing that during that period, there was an actual plot point regarding the ancient Snyder ice box, which someone -perhaps Cal Stricklyn- replaced for Emma with a deluxe contemporary model. Later on, under Felicia Minei Behr, the new fridge vanished, and the beat-up old one suddenly reappeared again. The writers and producers probably did not have a clue at to why Emma Snyder had an expensive refrigerator in her shabby old kitchen.

I liked Pam, too. Robin Morse was a good actress and a very non-soapy type. She and Neil Maffin who played Beau were quite unusual. I recall being disappointed when Pam graduated nursing school and left Oakdale. I would have much preferred her and Andy instead of Courtney, whose "perkiness" worked my last nerve.

Speaking of the Greece remote (the Kim/Nick one), I read that they made the actors fly business class. Geez.

The Greece remote was as horrid as the Andropolous family. P&G decided to film the location scenes rather than record them on tape. Studio bound interiors with filmed exterior sequences were once the standard in British dramas, but I always thought it looked odd and incongruous -particularly for an American soap. Due to budget constraints, the production crew were unable to include audio engineers, so the scenes were shot without sound. The dialogue was later dubbed over in the studio. Unfortunately, the lip movements and sound were often out of synch, so the show looked like a cheesy Godzilla movie from the 60s. The less said about all of that, the better.

Regarding Dan's funeral, remember that the Stewarts were WASPs and so it wouldn't be unusual that they would be stoic in public.

Excellent point, jam6242, and right on the money.

I remember when they had Holden's last fake funeral and it was looked so sparse and empty.

You made me LOL, Carl, with the "last fake funeral" comment. However, it is also a very incisive statement. The producers knew he was not dead. The audience knew he was not dead, It was the second time in less than ten years that the same story had been done with the same character. The producers probably thought "why bother with a significant funeral?" It was pointless, yet another problem for far too many contemporary soaps.

Out of context, it does look odd by contemporary standards, but consider this. No one knew about Dan's terminal illness. He was a beloved character to many. One day he was there; the next he was gone. Perhaps one reason for the solemnness and coldness of the ceremony was to convey the shock the community felt. The community was stunned. Not enough time had passed for other characters to register the types of emotions more commonly seen when death is not quite so unexpected.

Character reactions were the domain of the director, and I can imagine the lack of intimacy was intentional. He wanted the audience to feel unnerved, to experience in a small way the trauma Oakdale citizens felt. In those days, it was about character more so than plot. I also feel this is a reason for Betsy and Kim being separated. Betsy had only learned a short time earlier that Dan was her father, not her uncle. Having lost both of her fathers in the exact same manner was too much for her to bear emotionally. This is evidenced in the scene in which Kate attempts to cheer her up with the offer of cake, and Betsy pulls away, adamant that no one else knows what she is feeling.

Yes, it was a different approach than many soaps would have taken, over the top with emotion and tears, but it seems right in the context of this soap, its characters, and stories.

Douglas Marland did not introduce the Dancy family. They were created by Maggie DePriest. He expanded the family, but they were not his creation. I also agree that Marland was not a good fit for The Doctors. It was a smaller, more intimate series. All of his expansive business stories and aggravatingly expository dialogue did not fit the series. He was wonderful at General Hospital, which ironically was my favorite stint of his, but he did not help TD as far as I'm concerned.

Jack, Darcy, the Bennetts, etc were not particularly well-received by the audience, and it was further complicated by NBC and the time-slot change. Producer Doris Quinlan loathed the writers. She wanted to replace them with Ann Marcus, but NBC was dead-set against Marcus following her passion for the Vietnam story on Days. Colgate Palmolive began to side with Quinlan, so NBC bought the series and fired her. It was an unfortunate situation. Linda Grover and David Cherrill should have remained the writers. They were wonderful, but in this era, it was essential to compete with General Hospital. The stakes were so high. Unfortunately good soaps were lost in the shuffle. I watched The Doctors for so many years. I miss Pritchett, Bruce, Rowland, and O'Brien. How sad it all had to change, and for what? So that GH could stay on the air as the inane debacle it is now? God, this makes me furious.

Fernwood 2-Nite was actually a summer replacement series. MH2 was produced in thirteen week cycles. After the first two cycles of 130 episodes in 1976, there was a break. The 130 episodes were re-edited, and during the summer of 1976, reruns of Mary Hartman were shown until the next cycle began in October. Mary Hartman ended in July 1977, and Fernwood 2-Nite was produced as a filler until Forever Fernwood would be ready for syndication in October 1977. After Forever Fernwood was cancelled at the end of its first two cycles, in March 1978, Fernwood 2-Nite was brought back again to fill the remainder of the slot until July, though it had been renamed America 2-Nite and no longer originated from Fernwood (apparently due to the end of the Mary Hartman franchise).