Franko

Plus Curt and Leora Sanders on AMC in 1981 and that one couple with Craig Wasson as the husband on OLTL in 1991.

Even though I like the theme, you've hit several nails on the head.

Yup, they were clearly ready to move. I posted the cancellation announcement article on the NBC Daytime thread. It seems the network was intending to move further into the news and infotainment field. Yup, to the best of my knowledge, there was no significant new syndicated talk show in 1990-91. As it turns out, there was actually a fifth debut in fall 1991: Chuck Woolery also had his own show.

Los Angeles Times, Thursday, Nov. 22, 1990 NBC has axed “Generations,” the first daytime soap opera to feature a black family on an ongoing basis, and CBS has canceled “The Hogan Family,” a long-running comedy series that until this season had been seen on NBC. Those announcements were among a list of mid-season changes revealed Wednesday by the two networks. They included the unveiling of a daytime news program anchored by Faith Daniels for NBC and a new Nell Carter sitcom for CBS. NBC said that “Generations,” the story of two affluent Chicago families, one black and one white, will have its last broadcast Jan. 25. The soap opera, which began in 1989, won critical acclaim for featuring black performers in dramatic roles, but has suffered low ratings. The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People immediately urged NBC to keep the show on the air. “We’re very saddened; ‘Generations’ was a breakthrough show,” Sandra Evers-Manly, president of the NAACP’s Beverly Hills-Hollywood chapter, said through a spokeswoman. She urged “Generations” viewers to write NBC asking that the decision be rescinded. In Los Angeles, as in many other cities, the half-hour “Generations” aired against the second half of CBS’ popular “The Young and the Restless.” So far this season, “Generations” is attracting only 8% of the available viewers, compared with “Y&R;’s” 31%. NBC ranks third behind CBS and ABC in overall daytime ratings. Sally Sussman, the creator, executive producer and head writer of “Generations,” said that the difficult time slot and lack of support from NBC’s affiliated stations ensured the show’s demise. “To be perfectly honest, as soon as the show went on the air, they were talking about canceling it,” she said in an interview. Although the show has been canceled, Sussman said, 300 episodes have already been sold into syndication in France, and TV stations here and abroad have expressed interest in continuing it. “You don’t have to be on the network to be successful,” she said. Brandon Tartikoff, chairman of the NBC Entertainment Group, said in a prepared statement that NBC Productions is exploring the viability of continuing to produce “Generations” for syndication. Jorn Winther, senior executive producer of “Generations,” said that the show’s poor ratings performance will make the networks wary of new soaps featuring black core characters. “I can’t imagine it (a show like ‘Generations’) will happen again in my lifetime--I’m 57,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to see an integrated show again.” As the daytime audience dwindles, NBC hopes to bring viewers back to daytime by introducing four new information series, and has another two in development. The first is “A Closer Look,” a “woman-oriented” mid-day half-hour anchored by Daniels, to debut Jan. 28. Also to be introduced in the “near future,” NBC said, are “A.M. Assignment,” featuring an all-female news team assigned to “in-depth feature stories”; “Women’s Diaries,” a “real-life soap” about ordinary people and their problems, and “Trialwatch,” a “magazine” show using actual footage from courtroom trials. Trialwatch made it to air. To the best of my knowledge, unless they had trial runs, A.M. Assignment and Women's Diaries never made it to air.

Jumping ahead a little, NBC announced Generations' cancellation on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 1990.

According to the Daytime Royalty summaries ... Friday, Oct. 12, 1990, included Patch being caught in the explosion meant for Bo (and knowing that it was arranged by Lawrence). The week of Oct. 15-19 was dominated by whether or not Patch would die. Stephen Nichols' last episode of his original run was Tuesday, Oct. 23.

Interesting. I wonder if the writers kept that idea in mind when they had Anne attempt to avoid her own (albeit brief) poverty experience.

That would be my guess. Bear in mind, NBC's official lineup included Classic Concentration reruns from 1991-93. That seems like such a waste to me -- either keep the show running, or use its space for an original program.

Thank you, Jason! I'm guessing that Win, Lose or Draw was filler until Marsha Warfield's show debuted in March. I'm wondering if it was reruns of the network run, or if WNBC was briefly airing the syndicated version. For the 1990-91 season, WNBC's 3 p.m. timeslot went to The Joan Rivers Show, which previously aired at 9 a.m. on WCBS. Joan was the lead-in to Donahue. Also of note, WNBC, WCBS and WABC came to play at 4 p.m. in those days, with Donahue vs. Geraldo vs. Oprah. Geraldo lost -- by spring 1991, WCBS was airing Matlock reruns in that timeslot.

Question -- When in 1990 did WNBC in New York change the soap lineup to Generations at 11:30, Santa Barbara at 12 and Days of Our Lives and Another World in pattern? I ask because I see that it had already happened by mid-May. https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/retro-new-york-city-wednesday-may-16-1990.749281/

I promise I won't get too far into fanfiction, but I wish there would have been a 25th reunion in 2006 rather than the '91 reunion. In my version, Dex (having spent 17 years recovering from paralysis) returns to Denver to get to know his and Sable's son. The boy (anyone got a name in mind?) is in a love triangle with Amanda Carrington (credit where it's due, I'm taking this point from the legendary JamesFromLondon) and Lauren Colby (or if we must, Krystina Carrington, for the sisters fighting over a man of it all).

Would it be too much if the Loving resolution on General Hospital also included psychiatrist Dr. Heather Forbes and her fiance, Sandy Masters? (Credit where it's due, I'm expanding on an idea Kane had. "What a shame the show didn’t last long enough for (a new) teen scene to come to fruition and the inevitable fireworks of Stacey’s daughter dating Ava’s son.")

According to On This Day, Nov. 18, 1991, was a Monday. Events included "Muslim Shi'ites release hostages Terry Waite & Thomas Sutherland." (I initially assumed the newsbreak had something to do with the dissolving Soviet Union.)

Let's go with Charity's posession. She wasn't a marquee heroine like Marlena, but it was fun to see the cloying Little Miss Sunshine cut loose.

Steven absolutely should have been bi, but that obviously wasn't going to fly on 1980s TV. I feel like the closest we would have gotten was a winking joke about Fallon's up for anything period before marrying Jeff, something along the lines of her hooking up with the players and a cheerleader or two of Blake's football team. It was the Magnum episode with Special Guest Star Frank Sinatra.

Thanks for the final rundown, @Kane. And I wholeheartedly agree with @j swift about how especially excellent the most recent posts have been. I can't wait for your commentary on late 1991-1992.

And six years for Sally on the whole, ~five in national syndication. At least, that's how I'm interpreting a May 1985 article that said her show had been on the air for a year after its promising start in St. Louis. At that point, Sally was on 60 stations nationally.

Notes about the start of September 1989 ... After the Vicki Lawrence version of Win, Lose or Draw ended its run on Sept. 1, daytime is down to five game shows: Scrabble and Classic Concentration on NBC and Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune and The Price Is Right on CBS. Also, The Joan Rivers Show started its run in syndication on Sept. 5.

I just put myself in the perspective of the people of Denver and how they must be bored to tears by the endless business rivalry between Blake & Alexis. I just want someone to say, "Look, you've been divorced for 20 years, move the hell on!" On Fire sounds like a real downer. I think there was also the aspect that John's character didn't have much retirement money saved. Say what you will about Linda, but it seems like she at least tried to not just do the same old, same old with her side projects. (Slightly off topic, and it helped that she didn't have a weekly series at the time, but I think that Farrah Fawcett was the champ at this in the '80s.)

I was originally going to object and bring up Jennifer, but she and Jack were more (for lack of a better description) "domestic" than the Big Four couples of the '80s.

I can agree with that. Not to mention Christopher's dad turning out to not be J.R. That actually did happen with King Galen. Or maybe he was just faking it completely. Again, why couldn't this be happening with people we cared about?

I love the desperation in the tagline ABC used in early '86. "It's not just drama, it's Dynasty." CBS used something similar circa 1989: "When was the last time you visited Dallas?" Not to keep comparing Dynasty and Dallas, but it would be like if it turned out J.R. wasn't actually shot, he just had a perfectly-timed stomach cramp right as that gun went off. (See also, J.R. apparently shooting his mirror, not himself in 1991.)

I wonder, though, if Y&R's momentum could have been hindered if ABC dared to place AMC directly against it one more time? Imagine, if you will ... ABC -- AMC at 12:30, LOV at 1:30, OLTL at 2, GH at 3, EON at 4. CBS -- Y&R at 12:30, ATWT at 1:30, CAP at 2:30, GL at 3 NBC -- SFT at 12:30, DOOL at 1, AW at 2

No, this was several years later. I want to say that both Henry Simmons and the guy who played Sergei were in it.

Speaking of AW promos, I keep hoping the clip (from 1999?) of the male cast getting down will return. It's too much of a hoot not to cherish. Also, I feel like the "NBC Daytime Update" campaign, which was apparently exclusive to AW, didn't do the show any favors. It might have worked for an always-something-going-on kind of show, like that era of GH or DOOL.