Titus Andronicus

Americus, Georgia, was an early adopter of Cablevision. Here's the morning and early afternoon lineup from September 1970. Twelve channels total for $5.95 a month, but, being early cable, there were many repeats. Dothan was in the cable package. I'm not sure if their listings are for eastern or central time. WALB (10) was probably also running Somerset at 4, but the listing neglected to include them in that slot. (2 - WSB, Atlanta NBC) 9 a.m. - Today in Georgia 9:30 a.m. - news 10 a.m. - Dinah's Place 10:30 a.m. - Concentration 11 a.m. - Sale of the Century 11:30 a.m. - Hollywood Squares noon - News 12:30 p.m. - Mike Douglas Show 2 p.m. - Days of Our Lives 2:30 p.m. - The Doctors 3 p.m. - Another World 3:30 p.m. - Bright Promises 4 p.m. - Somerset 4:30 p.m. - Truth or Consequences (3 - WRBL Columbus, CBS/NBC) 9 a.m. Galloping Gourmet 9:30 a.m. - Gomer Pyle 10 a.m. - Lucy Show 10:30 a.m. - Beverly Hillbillies 11 a.m. - Family Affair 11:30 a.m. - Love of Life noon - Where the Heart Is 12:30 p.m. - Search for Tomorrow 1 p.m. - News 1:15 p.m. - Charles Jones Show 2 p.m. - Love is a Many Splendored Thing 2:30 p.m. - Guiding Light 3 p.m. - Secret Storm 3:30 p.m. - Edge of Night 4 p.m. - Flintstones 4:30 p.m. - Wild, Wild West (4 - WTVY Dothan, CBS/ABC Central Time) 9 a.m. - Captain Kangaroo 10 a.m. - Lucy Show 10:30 a.m. - Beverly Hillbillies 11 a.m. - Family Affair 11:30 a.m. - Love of Life noon - Where the Heart Is 12:25 p.m. - News 12:30 p.m. - Search for Tomorrow 1 p.m. - Gene Ragan Farm Show 1:20 p.m. - News 2 p.m. - Love is a Many Splendored Thing 2:30 p.m. - Guiding Light 3 p.m. - Secret Storm 3:30 p.m. - Edge of Night 4 p.m. - Gomer Pyle USMC 4:30 p.m. - General Hospital (5 - WAGA Atlanta, CBS) 9 a.m. - David Frost Show 10 a.m. - Lucy Show 10:30 a.m. - Beverly Hillbillies 11 a.m. - Family Affair 11:30 a.m. - Love of Life noon - News 12:30 p.m. - p.m. Search for Tomorrow 1 p.m. - Famous Jury Trials 2 p.m. - Love is a Many Splendored Thing 2:30 p.m. - Guiding Light 3 p.m. - Secret Storm 3:30 p.m. - Edge of Night 4 p.m. - Gilligan's Island 4:30 p.m. - Flying Nun (6 - Local weather and background music) (7 - WDCO Cochran - PBS) (8 - WCWB Macon, NBC) 9:30 a.m. - Dating Game 10 a.m. - Dinah's Place 10:30 a.m. - Concentration 11 a.m. - Sale of the Century 11:30 a.m. - Hollywood Squares noon - Jeopardy 12:30 p.m. - Who, What, When, Where Game 12:55 p.m. - News 1 p.m. - Helen Popejoy Show 1:30 p.m. - Life with Linkletter 2 p.m. - Days of Our Lives 2:30 p.m. - The Doctors 3 p.m. - Another World 3:30 p.m. - Bright Promise 4 p.m. - Somerset 4:30 p.m. - Gomer Pyle USMC (9 - WTVM Columbus ABC/NBC) 9 a.m. - Miss Patsy's Playhouse 10 a.m. - Virginia Graham Show 11 a.m. - Bewitched 11:30 a.m. - That Girl noon - Best of Everything 12:30 p.m. - News/Weather 12:40 p.m. - Midday Weather 12:45 p.m. - Bulletin Board 1 p.m. - All My Children 1:30 p.m. - Let's Make a Deal 2 p.m. - Newlywed Game 2:30 p.m. - Dating Game 3 p.m. - General Hospital 3:30 p.m. - One Life to Live 4 p.m. - Dark Shadows 4:30 p.m. - Timmy and Lassie (10 - WALB Albany, NBC/ABC) 9 a.m. - Little Theatre 9:30 a.m. - Jack LaLanne 10 a.m. - Dinah's Place 10:30 a.m. - Concentration 11 a.m. - Sale of the Century 11:30 a.m. - Hollywood Squares noon - Jeopardy 12:30 p.m. - Town and Country 12:35 p.m. - Paul Harvey Comments 12:40 p.m. - Town and Country 12:55 p.m. - News 1 p.m. - Town and Country (yes, again) 1:30 p.m. - Life with Linkletter 2 p.m. - Days of Our Lives 2:30 p.m. - The Doctors 3 p.m. - Another World 3:30 p.m. - Bright Promise 4 p.m. - ? 4:30 p.m. - Flintstones (11 - WQXI Atlanta, ABC) 9 a.m. - Romper Room 9:54 a.m. - Eyewitness News 10 a.m. - Real McCoys 10:30 a.m. - Anniversary Game 11 a.m. - To Tell the Truth 11:30 a.m. - That Girl noon - Bewitched 12:30 p.m. - Eyewitness News 1 p.m. - All My Children 1:30 p.m. - Let's Make a Deal 2 p.m. - Newlywed Game 2:30 p.m. - Dating Game 3 p.m. - General Hospital 3:30 p.m. - One Life to Live 4 p.m. - Dark Shadows 4:30 p.m. - Movie (12 - vacant) (13 - WMAZ Macon, CBS/ABC) 9 a.m. - General Hospital 9:30 a.m. - Bewitched 10 a.m. - Lucy Show 10:30 a.m. - Beverly Hillbillies 11 a.m. - Family Affair 11:30 a.m. - Love of Life noon - Where the Heart Is 12:25 p.m. - News 12:30 p.m. - Search for Tomorrow 1 p.m. - Almanac 2 p.m. - Love is a Many Splendored Thing 2:30 p.m. - Guiding Light 3 p.m. - Secret Storm 3:30 p.m. - Edge of Night 4 p.m. - Dark Shadows 4:30 p.m. - Gilligan's Island

Fans were pretty pissed off about her departure in 1983, judging by the letters sent to the soap columnists. When asked, Shelley Curtis said in 1984. "I really liked Philece's work, but it was important that somebody major on Days of Our Lives be a victim of the Salem Slasher. It was also important that it be someone not so major and involved in so many storylines that it would necessitate several other characters being killed off."

Philece rocked that scene so hard that Days tried to do it again three years later with Emma and Alex. Jane Windsor played a great bitch, but that scene paled in comparison to this one. Renee was about three different characters during her span. You could have gotten another decade out of her, easy, just feuding with Anna.

Taylor announced in January 1986 he and Bergman would marry on March 22. He was still listed as single later that year (and dating Bergman) and a 1990 profile of him also said he was single (with no mention of Bergman). Wikipedia lists them as divorced, but with no citations. I don't think they ever tied the knot.

Maxwell was kidnapped by Andre and disappeared. Megan was the only electrocution death.

I liked this one enough to save it. Early 1987.

Must've been audited.

In 1984, Tom was just as concerned when Marlena announced she was pregnant and Eugene pretended to be the father (to continue the lie that Roman faked his death) and demanded a shotgun wedding.

I want to say I heard later references to Anderson. It was possibly during Roman on the run in 1983-84. Or maybe Jennifer holed up there as a runaway. My memory may also be totally off.

Days went to "West Virginia" as part of the Pawn/John Black has Marlena and is on the run in 1986. While looking for them, Bo and Shane are held by moonshiners who assume they are the revenuers. Hope seeing they're in trouble, pretenders she's the moonshiners' cousin to get them to let the guys go. So, you have the actors doing a mix of trying to speak southern, maybe or maybe not trying to exaggerate it because they're faking it in-character. Not surprisingly, Bo's was the best of the three. Hope did more of a "Gone with the Wind" type and Shane's is ... it's really something. It's so bad you can't tell if he's sincere or not. (Within the storyline, the other two pass it off as Shane being sent to fancy schools.)

Yet Johnny is still there. Johnny really didn't have that many episodes, but it feels like he had a ton. Didn't he stick around long enough to meet Roman?

Can push the date back a bit further. John Goudas' "Soap Opera Scenes" had a piece on Kate Linder that appeared in a few papers in mid/late October 1986. Kenney was still at Y&R, but it was known he was leaving in January. His decision wasn't a surprise. From Nancy Reichardt's Tune in Tomorrow appearing in various papers the last week of August 1986:

It's like Days had the thought that, "Whoops, Gillian is irredeemable, so let's start Camilla More fresh." Except they did jack squat with Grace. I don't think Days really ever knew what to do with Gillian, either. She starts as Shane's snippy partner. Gillian's kinda villain-y, but for a brief second Days flirts with her actually being a victim. That's dropped quite quickly as they kill Emma in the exact same manner they killed Renee three years earlier, right down to a similar speech by Emma. At this point the list of Things Keeping Shane and Kimberly Apart are too overegged and Gillian is wasted for a wedding that should have been done a year earlier.

Mike Horton, just what were you doing in Israel that allowed you to be blackmailed so easily?

After I post, I remember a few more details of Hart Bennett. Bennett was the prosecuting attorney against Marlena in 1985 in her murder trial of Stefano. Late in the trial, he admitted he had no case. Bennett, who had already been disgraced and was falling off the wagon before the trial, spiraled. He'd been a friend to Kimberly years before and she was the only one to care when he returned to town and tried to help him repair his life before the trial. His spiraling caused communication problems with Shane, who was back in England - the prelude to Days going on location there. Bennett's death also had fallout with Marlena as she found herself pitying the lawyer who tried to destroy her once Kimberly told her the story. The story pretty much had zero influence long-term, but did serve as a minor catalyst for that spring and summer.

In 1991, shortly after John found out he wasn't Roman via DNA results, he contemplated suicide. It was framed as being self-destruct mode because of Stefano (as the ISA told Roman in front of Marlena) as well as being the natural reason that he'd seemingly lost everything. The scenes of John in his vehicle in the rain with gun in hand beside his head were well done. Marlena found him and talked him out of it and took him back to her/Roman's home, but I don't think I've seen any of the fallout beyond that. A dying Tony/Andre (whatever) framed John for murder in Aremid for revenge after Tony learned he was dying. I disliked a lot of Aremid, but the setup for this was actually a pretty good. Off-camera, but short-term character Hart Bennett killed himself out of shame during Marlena's murder trial in 1985. It was key for the trial and also for Kimberly's psyche as she was trying to get close to Shane (she'd been the only one who actually liked Hart). Hart really wasn't explored in detail, but had been portrayed as a tragic figure during his run.

When Pat Falken Smith came in in 1981, Tomlin and Poteet-Lisanti were given huge kudos in the press for just keeping Days steady. Jon-Michael Reed seemed to be a fan of Laemmle's. When she left, he praised how the characters were beginning to fit into the framework. A year later, he said: Nothing else named either of the duo between hiring and Falken Smith coming in.

Yeah, this seems to be a very weird coincidence. Unless Laemmle had some secrets.

How in the world did Days survive this? This is just so bad. I don't know why - in a sea of all this horrible mess - that I'm so offended by Jessica just being Cathy 2.0, but I am. Laemmle didn't even bother to wait six months before using the same storyline as her predecessor, involving the same people and even having the same job. And what's the point of having Max, Kellam and Alex? The basic character is the same for all three. I just want you to know I appreciate this.

By all accounts in the press in 1979, Ed Mallory left on his own. I'm sure he saw the writing on the wall. Charles Bateman was considered a strong hire, considering his character actor background. Too bad it looks like his character has nothing to it. By all accounts in the press in 1979, Ed Mallory left on his own. I'm sure he saw the writing on the wall. Charles Bateman was considered a strong hire, considering his character actor background. Too bad it looks like his character has nothing to it.

Kenney left in January 1980. An interview I read from a couple of weeks afterward said it was because of Ann Marcus' firing. That absolutely can't be and so I'm wondering if Harrower was already on the way out and he misspoke. Jason has Kenney with Days through the show that aired January 18. The weird thing about Laemmle is that she didn't seem to give any comments at all to the media during her run. Marcus loved to interview, Harrower gave comments here and there. Laemmle? Nothing. A couple of Jon-Michael Reed columns from later that year said Laemmle left because of conflict, but that's as close to any insight at all. The newspaper archive site I subscribe has no mentions of Laemmle after, beyond a question from someone watching a rerun of Marcus Welby asking if she was related to Carl Laemmle. I was curious about her writing staff and there are a couple of interesting entries. David Seidler went on to write the screenplay for The King's Speech.

Flippen's name does not appear in any contemporary newspaper articles. Laemmle was announced as taking over in late January 1980. Harrower seems to have written at least a couple more weeks after that. My theory is that Laemmle/Betty Corday/Days planned on using Flippen as a staff writer, but her illness prevented that beyond her short stint. Days had other staff writers, so I don't see why one of them couldn't have done a bit if Laemmle was delayed if Flippen wasn't intended to be part of the staff. I'd imagine that Flippen had absolutely zero power. The contemporary newspaper coverage of Laemmle's reign are angry letters that appear in soap columns. As much as Harrower's run is a bit of a mess, no newspaper soap columns were running angry letters. I'm dying of laughter here. Phyllis seems to be attracted to town pogo sticks.

I'd like to know who was really calling the shots between Laemmle being announced in January and her actually taking over in April.

What is Sam's real purpose here? Is she doing more than being a problem for Marlena and Don?

Thanks. My early Horton history is obviously quite shaky. I need to go back and read early summaries.