Forever8

I too wish they would've mentioned Jessica and how her death impacted Cricket, not to mention her brother and the fact that Lauren was there and no mention of Scott. But then she was like, "You've been like an "aunt" to Fen, and I was like, she's the actual aunt of your eldest son, Lauren.

Not to mention how her rape inspired her to become a lawyer and how she worked for legal aid, but of course this is a set-up of Cricket, Danny, and Phyllis 30 years later, which hardly anyone wants to see.

I said on Twitter that Doug is going to get his 50 cents of residual soon enough.

I spotted an episode of Capitol from 1983 had been uploaded. 

Some additional soap music cues from Another World and Days of Our Lives. 

Sorry for the iffy sound quality. 

 

Came across an episode of Generations from 1989. Don't know if anyone had seen them online yet. 

On 10/1/2023 at 10:14 PM, dc11786 said:

There has been a history of attempts to develop a Canadian soap opera, but they haven't produced long term results. The ones I can think of off the top of my head:

Scarlet Hill: around 1963-1964, this show was launched initially as an anthology series featuring week long stories and some recurring players. I think this format went on for about 26 weeks. Around the summer of 1964, the show shifted to a single continuing story format set in the boarding house run by Kate Russell, with her daughter Ginny, her brother Harry MacClane, and the tenants at Kate's boarding house. I have a week's worth of scripts from this version of the show. The show maintained the practice of having a single write a week's worht of episodes. I haven't viewed the scripts in a while, but I believe the main thrust was on some female character (possibly Ginny) having recently miscarried her baby and the impact it was having on her engagement to one of the tenants, who wasn't the child's father, but had agreed to raise the child as his own. The new format may have run slightly longer than the first, but I don't think so.  

Moment of Truth: In 1965, this show was produced in Canada and aired both on NBC and I believe the CBC or some other station in Canada. The show was about a college town where Douglas Watson played the central lead. He was a psychiatrist, I believe, and his friends, family, colleagues, and patients made up a bulk of the story. This show ran for under a year.

House of Pride: this was developed as a twice a week, thirteen week serial that was suppose to premier in the fall of 1974, before being shifted to January, 1975, before premiering in September, 1974, in a once-a-week format despite being produced as a twice-a-week show. This ran for at least one season of 26 episodes and a second season. I've been doing some research today because of this thread, and this was very intriguing. The storyline followed the expansive Pride family who had branches living throughout Canada. Each branch filmed their story in their respective regional television center and then teh show was edited together. The opening storyline saw the patriarch, Old Dan Pride, passing away and the ensuing fight for the family's ancestral property, the House of Pride of the center. One of the brothers, Ross Pride, a politician, was looking to sell it to land developers. The show had some initial positive reviews despite fears that it would end up like another Canada drama series, "The Whiteoaks of Jalna."

What is interesting about my research, in regards to this thread, is the point is made how Canadian television has historically struggled to develop dramas in general. Also, there was a big push for regional television production in each province, which meant that resources were split around the country. This may have been one of the reasons that there were problems with developing a homegrown show. 

High Hopes: Most people are aware of this one. I think about six months of episodes between April and September 1978 were produced and part of a syndication deal in the United States. The storyline featured a lot of mini-stories with the patients that Dr. Neal Chapman (Bruce Gray) treated including Dorothy Malone playing a mother of a woman who struggled with Malone's remarriage. The more interesting tale involved Neal's daughter, who was actually the illegitimate daughter of the girl's "Aunt" Paula. Paula was looking to reconnect with her former lover, Michael Stewart. Michael was Jessie Chapman's biological father and a well to do businessman. His neurotic wife Norma Stewart was a patient of Neal's after losing her daughter within the past few years. A friendship was developing between Jessie and the Stewart family unaware of the connection. 

In some of the articles about High Hopes, there is mention how the production facilities weren't really in place for a soap opera in Canada and that they had made one of the characters, Neal's love interest Trudy Bowen, a talk show host with the high hopes of repurposing the set for an actual talk show to justify the costs of the production studio. 

Country Joy: This obscure entry was on for about two seasons. Different articles suggest that the show was anywhere from 8 to 17 episodes in its first season. Also, I think it may have only played in part of the country in its first run and it aired once a week at night. The second season aired daily between November 17, 1979, and January 4, 1980, or something like that. The thrust of the story was on the second marriage of Dick Brugencate to Joy and the reaction from his mother and two children from his previous marriage. 

33 Brompton Place: The next two entries are more steamy. This entry, from 1981 or 1982, was billed as a miniseries when it aired in Canada, though there seems to be hope they could have made it a contiuing series. There were about 5 or 6 episodes and the show was aire din the United States on Showtime under their adult anthology Romance which was a precursor to A New Day in Eden and the next entry...

Loving Friends, Perfect Couples: This Lorimar series was produced in Canada and aired on Showtime. I believe there were about 130 episodes, but I don´t know if they all aired in the States or Canada for that matter. This premiered on Showtime in January, 1983, and I think aired similarly in Canada.

Mount Royal: In the mid-1980s, this attempt at a Canadian Dallas or Dynasty aired for a single season. it was about a wealthy family headed by Patrick Bauchau and Domini Blythe. The show's only season was more self-contained episodes, but I imagine the show would have been serialized had there been a second season. 

Foreign Affairs: This was a co-production with the Netherlands and partially filmed in South American. Set in a Canadian embassy in Buenos Aires, the political and sexual intrigue among the staff and their family played out for about 100 or so episodes. This aired around 1991 or so. It was also aired in the States on the Nostalgia channel. 

Family Passions: Another co-production with a German company, "Family Passions" featured a mix of Canadian, American, and I believe German actors. The show was developed by Jorn Winter and had Roscoe Born, Kin Shriner, and Roberta Biseau among its cast members. It is most notable for having a lesbian storyline and being an early (if not first) acting appearance for Hayden Christianson. The storyline involved with the wealthy Haller family who ran an automobile company with corporate offices in Canada and Germany. I don't know how long this one last but I feel like it was six to nine months. 

Riverdale: This show aired for about three season in the mid-to-late 90s.  I think it was an attempt at a "Coronation Street" style show. It aired two to three times a week. It was set in a surburban community. I believe a single episode is available on YouTube. 

Paradise Falls: Another steamy nighttime soap. This one was well known for including LGBTQIA+ characers. I think the grandson of the mayor was involved in an affair with another man and he remained a major character for most of the show's run. 

Metropia: This showed aired on Omni in the early 2000s. It was initially a daily show that aired for 65 episodes in its first season. It was set in a large urban environment (it may have been Toronto). The storylines were also heavy into the sexual conquests of the show's main characters. Most noteable to me was the affair between a South East Asian man and the brother of the woman he was suppose to marry in an arranged marriage. A second season was produced of something like 13 episodes before entering into a rerun cycle and never returning. 

I'm sure I have forgotten some, but I figured this is a good jumping off point. 

 

This episode of Riverdale has been online for years. Wish it was more of the episodes out there. 

Riverdale was created by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn, best known, of course, for creating and producing the Degrassi franchise.

I instantly recognize Melissa DiMarco, who will go on to play Principal Hatziklakos for many years on Degrassi. And one of the older women played Aunt Agatha on the Canadian children's TV show Noddy, which I used to watch on TVOKids in Michigan growing up.

I know this doesn't qualify as a primetime soap; however, it did star Daytime alums Kim Delaney and the late Dixie Carter.

It's the unaired pilot of Sudbury, a.k.a. "Practical Magic," the 1998 movie that starred Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. The latter was an executive producer on it. I read it would've aired on CBS.

On 9/24/2023 at 4:29 AM, DRW50 said:

Never seen this before. 

@Ben @Forever8

 

I've never seen this either. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. 

I also believe Amelia Marshall (Gilly Grant later Speakes) was an under five I believe on Guiding Light until they decided to do more with her. 

Some unaired pilots I came across which starred Regina King, Paige Turco, Kelli WIlliams, Garcelle Beauvais, Reba McEntire, Eric Roberts, Debbie Allen, Lucy Lawless, Gabrielle Union, etc., 

Jennifer Ashe is going to be on Alan's show on September 1st, at 3PM ET. 

Jennifer Ashe is going to be on Alan's show on September 1st, at 3PM ET. 

On 8/19/2023 at 3:25 PM, DramatistDreamer said:

She’ll probably tell them to talk to Devon, does he still wear a cochlear implant? Devon will probably reassure them that even if the baby ends up hearing impaired they’ll live a full rich life. The story will be over in two weeks.

This is pretty much my sentiment on this upcoming Mariah and Tessa story.

At this point, I'll go with Summer and Chance because Sharon deserves better than bland Chance, which is sad due to his lineage of Nina, Jill, Katherine, Phillip, and Ryan. And this would be the third cop Sharon has fallen for in a decade.

Where are the next generation? I'm hoping with Lucy staying on canvas throughout the summer. This show would decide to keep her long-term and eventually bring back Johnny and Connor aged up so they can build a teen scene around them. 

And don't get me started on these convoluted company mergers which we have no idea what these companies even do anymore. This show is sadly circling the drain with characters and stories too. 

15 hours ago, 1974mdp said:

Having a teen version of one of Victoria's kids, maybe Katie, on the show at this point would really help flesh the character out. Katie could disapprove of the relationship with Nate throwing another obstacle along Nate's path.

Katie should be a hot mess like Victoria was at her age when in Heather Tom was in the role. 

I also think that Johnny and Connor should be aged up to 15 at this point. And throw in Lucy and you can have the next generation. But will this show in budget mode and in creativity crisis allow it? 

Paul Robinson - Neighbours 

Wives

Charity Dingle Tate Sharma Macey Boyd - Emmerdale 

Husbands 

• Chris Tate (2001–2003)
• Jai Sharma (2012–2014)
• Declan Macey (2014–2015)
• Mackenzie Boyd (2023–present)

I was having that problem too. 

On 8/14/2023 at 5:52 AM, Sapounopera said:

Y&R is lucky enough to end up with women like Hilary, Imani and Audra, but they have no idea what to do with them because they are obsessed with a small group of characters. They end wasting them because Victoria, Phyllis, Abby and the rest of the gang.

I want to know more about Audra's past. Is that even her real name? Or did she make up a brand new persona to erase her blue-collar past? She could be a new Jill (going after Ashley's Tucker?) and bring some relatives to Genoa City. The show could use some not-80s filthy rich characters. 

Something tells me Audra created an identity to be suitable for corporate America. I could see her thinking perhaps her real surname is "too ethnic," and she was having a hard time getting hired until she decided to change it, and that's when Tucker came through. Maybe she tried to send money home to her working-class family but feeling she had turned her back on not only them but their culture, they told her to stop sending it if it meant she continued with this facade.

I wouldn't mind if eventually they brought on a younger brother or sister and perhaps a salt of the earth mother who has no problem reminding Audra where she comes from.

Does anyone have a current link for the classic episodes? 

9 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Looking on Twitter I see that there was a strike-mandated montage today to the Carly and Olivia friendship. I didn't even know they were friends. Then again, I've watched about a dozen scenes over the last dozen years.

I also saw someone saying if they want to have Portia object to Sprina, they should have her object because of Nik and Gia. I guess Gia just doesn't exist anymore?

Well, she still exists. I think they said she was a lawyer in Texas (Amarillo?) doing immigration law.

But I do wish Taggert would mention "Aunt Gia" to Trina in relation to her relationship with Spencer more.

But you would think that in all those years that Portia and Taggert were together, he would mention his little sister being engaged to an heir of a Russian-Greco-Maglamaniac royal family. And Portia being like, I don't think so, and going from there, but of course now it's because she thinks Spencer is a bad example, and now the fact that Curtis was shot with the bullet possibly meant for his uncle Sonny instead.

Even though Trina's best friend was Sonny's stepdaughter for years and her mother was best friends with his hitman. She wasn't in any danger during those times they were hanging out. 

10 hours ago, chrisml said:

She's the one! What a mess of a character. 

Wasn't it supposed to turn out she was supposed to be Stacey Chamberlain, but TPTB couldn't get Lisa Brown and Michael Tylo back? 

5 minutes ago, Vee said:

The brownstone is technically back, it just only houses Liz's family now. But yes, the big plan in the FV/RC era to remodel and repopulate it with people never happened, just like the big mooted Laura/Lucy Deception revamp.

I never got that impression that Liz was living in the brownstone, but then again, what do I know? 

And we also never found out about what secret Rosalie was keeping (although we know the rumor) and who was Kevin visiting in Seattle when he and Lucy had returned? I heard it was either supposed to be Ryan or Christina? But who really knows? 

5 hours ago, titan1978 said:

This show has dropped stories during FV’s tenure when all the major players were not recasts. Many times. It was still early enough they could have rested this with the last recast, and moved Kristina into something else.

You know, like Holly’s story being moved a full year due to her health, and not mentioned most of that whole time. Or Spencer’s tampering causing Laura to win the election. Or the Deception Spa. All had many scenes devoted to them then just dropped.  There are many more examples, those were just the top of my head.

And let's not forget they were supposed to bring back the brownstones and have that AJ Quartermaine clinic that ultimately never came to fruition too. 

On 7/11/2023 at 2:52 PM, DramatistDreamer said:

Something that has been bothering me about how business stories are being written in recent years is that it seems all abstract, lacking in specific details and even visible representations of the actual products. I don’t care about Omega Sphere but it might actually seem like a real product had there been genuine product testing, focus groups and software people writing codes, dealing with bugs and fixes, maybe a malware crisis, here and there…all taking place onscreen. Instead, we hear babble about numbers down, numbers up and the games’ supposed popularity gain after sluggish downloads.  Just as dry as can be. Ironically, this would have been a good story to have a character like Ravi who specialized in software and technology.
Remember when businesses like Jabot spoke of actual products, showed someone (usually Ashley formulating products, meetings and discussions on specific products? They’d even discuss packaging and prototypes for how bottles would look? As much as viewers might have railed about Cricket’s onscreen time, at least  as a model, viewers could see her holding products in her hands (up to her face) in photo shoots. Dru went bald from the effects of a poorly formulated (or was it sabotaged?) under-tested hair product that she had been highly excited about. Jill’s men’s line set off years of power struggles between her and her former step kids over ownership and the direction of the line of products. We saw the actual products in action, onscreen- something we don’t get to see now. It gives the impression that these companies don’t actually create anything besides concepts and abstract ideas.

EDT: I wish the ability to edit were on a timer. Sometimes I catch something, (autocorrect gone awry) a second after I submit and have to wait until the error is published and then have to click the Edit option and get that “Edited just now by…” which annoys me. It just annoys me, lol.

This!

The TPTB (The Powers That Be) thinks if they say certain buzzwords such as podcasts, media, etc., it's going to be enough for the avid viewer. However, those viewers who have been watching for the most part have been watching for years and recall how Jabot and Newman would delve not only into the business machinations but the products as well, i.e., Tuvia, Safra, Brash and Sassy, etc. This week they even had Billy mention that Jabot should do a teen fragrant line, which I said to the screen, "You mean like Glo By Jabot?" imagining correlating that with the young adults on screen. Then you remember that this show doesn't value characters under 30.

4 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

It also makes no sense that Sally wouldn’t have discussed some advanced medical directive and even appointed someone to ensure that her wishes were followed, considering the fact that she and her OB-GYN both knew her pregnancy was high risk. 

Even though Sally was admitted to the clinic, Elena would have called the office of Sally’s OB-GYN and found out what her advanced directives were. I am having a hard time believing this turn of events. 

Something tells me Josh didn't know where to go with Sally's pregnancy and just arrived to this conclusion with any forethought. 

39 minutes ago, Ponds said:

Does Sally really think that Adam should have let her die?  The baby would have had the least chance of survival as she couldn't have been more than 20 weeks into her pregnancy, but I'm sure the writer's didn't bother with that fact.  

She was at least 24 weeks since she was pregnant back in January. 

7 minutes ago, ~bl~ said:

Once David Caruso wanted out, it wouldn’t have made much sense to keep Sherry on. So she probably saw that and wanted to go…

Yep!

56 minutes ago, bboy875 said:

The interview Beverlee did with Michael Logan she said she told Jill that she was overworking the cast and she didn't like her story. Jill told her that she had a contract and had to play what she was given, but she wasn't aware that Bev had an out clause in her contract (under Robert Calhoun) and she left. I think she told Logan that the Nick/Mindy story was good, but it was time to move on to something else. She was right, looking back at episodes, Alex was too obsessed with splitting them up and she was becoming one note. I think Alex should have told them that she found Lujack and only had about 2 yrs with him before he died, and now she has a son she did not know about, and wants to get to know him and have a relationship with him. She'd tell them she would not work to break them up, but knows that 1 day Mindy will mess up, Nick will dump her, and Mindy couldn't blame Alex for it lol. I just don't know what they would've done with Nick from there because for me, he was boring without them, and the later recasts of Mindy and Alex showed how much that story should've ended earlier.

I never heard anything about Sherry leaving other than she wanted to pursue other interests. Too long ago to remember but I don't think she was gone too long before landing NYPD Blue. The trio of exits I always blame on Jill which helped ruin the show were Beverlee, Kimberley and Ellen Parker

I remember watching Steven Bochco's TV Legends interview, and he was asked about Sherry Stringfield. And he was like he didn't want to focus too much on her because she lied to him that she was unhappy and wanted to either stop acting or move back to NYC, but months later she had landed ER.

To be fair Sherry's character was pretty much lacking screen time and development due to her being the ADA and not directly involved with the 15th precinct characters other than David Caruso's John Kelly.