SoapDope

The mid 90's was also when they introduced Leigh J. McCloskey's Kurt Costner to pair with Shattuck's Ashley....that character turned out to be a nothing burger. They also had Grant Cramer come back as a new character Adam Hunter to pair with her and he disappeared after about 3 episodes. 

1 hour ago, All My Shadows said:

Whether one would include it in this conversation or not, Mary Hartman was basically built around exploring and lampooning various 70s fads. Flashing, talking to plants, self-help gurus, faith healers, countrypolitan music, trucker culture, etc. And that's all just in the first half of the series.

The interlocking ring opening looks like it may have been done using some sort of spirograph. Then they filmed it in some sort of a stop animation sequence or maybe a type of rotoscope animation. That's just my guess. The ABC Movie Of The Week opening was explained on youtube by the son of the guy who created it. He said his father projected the ABC logo graphics on the wall and put a camera on a tracking dolly and rolled the camera at a quick pace toward the front to get the illusion of moving graphics.

I wonder if any of the soap characters were into 70's trends like of macramé ? I can picture SFT Mary Stuart as Jo uttering " If you will all excuse me, I'm off to my macramé class". I could also picture her making terrariums and talking to her plants. 

There were also mood rings, pet rocks, and those self help group sessions. Did any character sign up for primal scream therapy ?

Lamaze classes started becoming trendy in the 70's. 

1 hour ago, Khan said:

Chances are, if you were a female, and you were hired to do a guest spot on "CHiPs," you were pretty much just another cutie for Ponch and Jon to quibble over.

After Erik Estrada became a break out star and teen idol he became full of himself. The writers started turning it into the "Ponch Show" pushing poor Larry Wilcox into the background. Then most of the women wound up with Ponch. They wrote Ponch into all those ridiculous storylines having him featured doing some sort of cheesy 70's activity playing racquetball, riding motorcycles, riding skateboards, roller disco, disco dancing, singing etc...Wilcox finally got fed up and left the show before the final season. Then Estrada didn't like his replacement either and eventually had him pushed into the background after that actor got busted for cocaine. I also read Estrada was jealous of Brianne Leary (Sindy) who joined the show in 1978 when she started getting popular. He threatened to walk if they didn't fire her. They did. The shows producers were also spoiling him by buying him all these expensive toys like Corvettes, jet skis etc...

16 hours ago, JAS0N47 said:

Thanks for letting me know! I checked the cast charts, and this is his U/5 role from 10/11/77.

Thanks for those 70's Days scenes. Actress Jenny Sherman looked familiar and I was trying to place where I had seen her. It dawned on me, it was on Chips. When the show first started in 1977 there was an episode where she played a neighbor of Ponch who he was attracted to. While he is inside, Jon is polishing his motorcycle waiting on him and she walks up in short tennis shorts and gives him a glass of lemonade and chats a bit about how hot it is. She glances at his badge. Later on Ponch finds out she has been calling all day at the station leaving messages for Jon to call her and is incensed. 

 Janice Lynde & William Gray Espy make their second week long appearances on Tattletales (1975). They mention they won the last time they were on. Espy is completely different than what I expected. He seems to have a great sense of humor and laughs a lot. The dropping the book question in the first episode was hilarious.

37 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

OLTL had the Health Club. Are there more examples?

 

Was Doug and Julie's 'The Look of Love'? What were some others?

More of a 60's trend I guess but the end of live broadcasts when ATWT and EON went to tape in 75.

Richard Simmons started doing fitness classes on GH. Y&R showed Paul, Snapper, and Greg working out at a health club.

Guiding Light had a lot of the characters swimming over at Ed & Rita's. Lainie Marler was shown working out with Ed etc...

Several characters on the soaps talked about playing tennis and racquetball and were seen wearing tennis shorts and fitness wear. Miles on EON was often in tennis shorts. On primetime shows like Family and Dallas they showed the guys playing quite often. Knots Landing showed Richard and Kenny in jogging/tennis attire...

As for Love themes for couples...On Y&R "If" by Bread was played for Brad & Leslie and "Bless The Beast & Children" by The Carpenters was often played during scenes with Chris & Snapper. 

The fitness craze started in the 70's and several soaps started to jump on board. Richard Simmons started appearing on GH in 1979.

Many of the soaps had characters talking about playing tennis and racquetball which had exploded in popularity during this time, especially after the 1973 Battle Of The Sexes with Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs.  

Super couples started having their own theme songs. 

I thought that Suzanne Pleshette should have been cast on a prime time soap during the 80's. Maybe as Frankie or better yet a first ex wife of J.R. on Dallas pre-Sue Ellen.

Jason: Dean Jones, Rod Taylor, William Holden (If he had lived).

Frankie: Lynn Redgrave

Bliss: Amanda Wyss

Production values started to go up after the 1973 premiere of The Young & The Restless. Soaps started redoing their sets and dropping the organ music in favor if lush background themes.

Soaps all did Disco in some fashion during the second part of the decade.

Social issues such as rape, abortion, child abuse, breast cancer etc...became hot button storyline topics.

Soaps became more steamy and graphic with bedroom scenes, shower scenes etc...

Super couples started becoming a big thing AW: Steve & Alice, Days: Doug & Julie, Y&R: Chris & Snapper etc...

More shooting on location.

The beginnings of prime time soaps/dramas Family (1976), Executive Suite (1977), Dallas (1978) Married The First Year (1979), Knots Landing (1979).

For fun we need to do a thread on 1970's trends. 

19 minutes ago, te. said:

To be fair, it would be the other way around probably - Karen would have her doubt about having the baby, while Mack would've pissed about that.

Sid played that out when she was pregnant in season 1. If Karen did give birth to Mack's baby, she would probably go into labor on Val's kitchen floor or Val would load her into the car and drive like a maniac to the hospital. Karen would be screaming in pain clawing at the car roof. 

2 hours ago, Khan said:

I dunno, I think Mack and Karen coping with a "change of life" pregnancy and the risks that would pose to them might have made for a nice change of pace, lol.

Michelle Lee would have really cranked up the drama with that. " My GOD Mack, it's our child growing inside me ! How can you sit there and tell me you think it's a mistake to go through with this pregnancy?"

Kevin Dobson could play out his usual pissy anger.

7 hours ago, te. said:

Honestly, the Meg situation is just bizarre more than engaging. Greg loses Laura and is unable to cope properly so neglects daughter (so far quite normal), so Karen convinces him to let them adopt her (?!) and she and Mack are the good guys? I think the writers wanted to have Mack and Karen have a kid but realistically, Karen was too old (and maybe Michele Lee would've put her foot down, lol) and then they had to write Laura out so...

It was bizarre. Every thing revolved around that child for years. Michelle loved to chew scenery when going on about some crisis involving her. 

LOL at Karen getting pregnant. Kate Lawrence did on Family way into her post menopausal 50's. Someone on youtube said they could have sworn Kate had the baby and gave birth to it trapped in a department store after hours when she accidentally got locked in.

A big trend in the 80's were lavish dinner parties. Anytime a character was planning a party, you knew something was going to go down. Like a huge confrontation, a shooting, a murder, falling down the stairs, getting thrown through a plate glass window etc...then again that often happened on Hart to Hart too.

Coffee houses and trendy bars became all the rage to hang out in the 90's on soaps.

1 hour ago, Khan said:

"My olfactory nerve was destroyed years ago.  That's why all my men wear English Leather.  Because they can smell lousy and get away with it."

Meg Bennett for English Leather at 6:14

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

Abby was my favorite character, but there wasn’t much left for her with what they were offering storywise. I get why she was ready to leave. I think it would have been more interesting for Abby to not marry Greg  and instead have them run against each other in politics. They made such good sparring partners, and it would give her something new to do, especially if they found a way to make it ultimately important to her instead of just a status like it always was with Greg.

I get people not liking Paige but I enjoyed her stories more than the ones given to some of the others during those last few years. I liked Anne as well, especially when they leaned into her more sarcastic and cutting line delivery.

I think the Sumner Group characters breathed new life into the show, and I enjoyed all the machinations and maneuvering there. The sad thing is that I think Laura would have fit right in there, even if Greg had an affair with Paige. I can easily see Laura holding her own with Paige, Linda, and Claudia.

The biggest issue with those last few years for me in hindsight is Meg. Too much wrangling over Meg and none of it was interesting. It could have been, it just wasn’t.

And another missed opportunity was Valene’s book about Greg. That could have been amazing for both of them.

The drama with Meg got OLD fast. They even used that plot again in the 97 reunion film. 

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

It was a pattern across all three CBS primetime soaps in the off the rails plus budget mode years: Salary dump the long-time female cast members and bring on sweet young things hired on the cheap.

I guess she was a cheap sweet young thing.

41 minutes ago, te. said:

More like there was no need for the reunion. It had only been four years and it left on no cliffhanger (unlike Dynasty and Dallas). The fans might've enjoyed seeing them together again, but everyone else had moved on. 

I agree. It was too soon. If they insisted on doing it, David Jacobs should have written it himself. Joan's another new face was also a distraction. The Ewing home did look good though.

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

The Williams family was a real lost opportunity too. I found all of them engaging, and it was great to have a family back on the cul-de-sac.

I liked Paige, she didn’t bother me as a lead.  What bothers me more in those last few years are the stupid antics created to keep Gary and Val from reuniting and being happy, including Val seemingly having a lobotomy. It was pretty clear Gary and Val were going to end up together again, they should have just done it instead of dragging it out. And this is coming from someone that preferred Abby/Gary and Ben/Val.

The Danny Waleska storyline was unnecessary filler. Penny Peyser really stank as Amanda. The writers were clearly hinting at a Gary/Pat affair, but pulled back quickly. Val did get more stupid as time went on. You can tell they writers hated Joan and made a fool out of her.

37 minutes ago, kalbir said:

@SoapDope Nicollette Sheridan became a main cast member in season 10 and she practically ate the show for the rest of its run. Donna Mills left at the end of season 10 and she was smart to walk away when she did.

IMO Knots Landing went off the rails in season 9 after Laura's departure and was effectively over at the end of season 10 when Abby left. 1988-1993 was a chore to get through.

I agree. I pretty much fast forward all her scenes. Killing off Laura was a cost saving measure. I guess they needed to free up money to give to Sheridan. When the 1997 reunion bombed in the ratings, they claimed it was because Sheridan only did a cameo and was not part of the main storyline 

I wonder how many viewers defected during those last seasons ? I don't want even get started again on the hiring of Stacy Galina. David Jacobs seemed to think she was the next big thing. 

I was looking at some season 9 and 10 episodes and it pretty much became the Nicollette Sheridan show. I would scan through and the other characters would only have a few quick scenes and it was back to Paige again. I guess that sealed the deal with Donna Mills leaving. I seem to recall Michelle Lee complaining about being sidelined most of the time. 

The writers also didn't invest in the Williams family too much after the witness protection storyline. There were stretches of episodes where you didn't even see Pat or Julie. Lynne Moody complained in the press about her lack of story and they killed Pat off. 

2 hours ago, Khan said:

At this point, I'd settle for episodes uploaded from somebody's old Betamax tapes.

Last year someone on youtube had all 14 seasons available. After about a month they were pulled. Haven't seen anything but clips since then. 

One thing I always thought was odd. Several people have uploaded several 1978 CBS promos for the premiere of Dallas, but I have never seen a promo show up for the premiere of Knots in 1979. 

Another World: Robin Strasser VS Victoria Wyndham

                           George Reinholt VS David Canary

                           Jacqueline Courtney VS All the other actresses.

Y&R: Janice Lynde VS Victoria Mallory

         William Gray Espy VS David Hasselhoff

         Trish Stewart VS Lynn Topping

         Brenda Dickson VS Bond Gideon VS Deborah Adair VS Jess Walton

GL: Cindy Pickett VS Carrie Mowery

       Lynne Adams VS Barbara Rodell

       Lynn Deerfield VS Maureen Garrett