Jdee43

Allen M. Potter was AW's last good executive producer. Ironically, he was its first ep in 1964! He was also executive producer on The Doctors from 1967-1973 and Guiding Light from 1976-1982, strong eras on both shows. AW from 1983 through 1984, when he rejoined the show, was really good! It's too bad he retired in 1985 and didn't stick around a few more years. If he had, AW would definitely have been in a better place in the late 80s!

From the article, I thought it was silly for Rauch to make a point of saying that "there will be 'no archetypical villain' modeled after J.R." So they're doing Dallas, but taking out the most fun part? Were they aware of what made Dallas work? The ABC network exec at the end of the article had Texas pegged right, all scenery but no interesting plot. And after a few weeks, there wasn't even scenery. Texas ended up being shot mostly in a studio in Brooklyn. Rauch's original idea of a soap set in the south, with a woman returning home after the Civil War, sounded much more interesting. I guess it would have been too controversial to modernize though. A woman returning to a southern city after all the upheavals of the 1960s I doubt would have gotten on the air. Interesting that NBC would allow Rauch to executive produce the new show, after failing badly with another AW spin-off a few years earlier, Lovers and Friends, which became For Richer, For Poorer. AW itself was not in very good creative shape either by 1980. But no doubt they were looking at the bottom line, $$$. I thought it was really interesting that AW was bringing in more profits per episode than the Tonight Show, $28,000 worth! Both were 90 minute shows in 1979-1980.

For Another World, killing off Bill Matthews off screen in 1970, to free up his wife Missy for adventures on the AW spin-off Somerset. Missy wasn't even on Somerset that long; both characters were lost forever to Another World; and Aunt Liz had her son taken away, weakening her character, giving her less to do. Killing off Bill started the dismantling of the Matthews family. And another early dumb one for AW was killing off John Randolph's daughter Lee in 1969. Both the characters of Bill and Lee had been on since 1964, and had lots of potential left.

How is Days of our Lives even still on, producing new episodes? Are there really a lot of people out there watching it, a new streamed show every weekday? Do they ever pick up brand new viewers, who've never seen it before?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/03/the-soaps/168439d7-c212-4a7f-8151-d2408ff455fc/ The Soaps -- 'Texas': A New Soap Opera That Wants To Be The 'Dallas' of Daytime By Joel Swerdlow August 2, 1980 THE WORLD will have to wait for the fall to discover who shot J.R. Ewing. But starting this week, viewers have another way to get deep in the turbulent heart of Texas. Tomorrow afternoon at 3, "Texas," a new soap opera set in Houston, premieres on NBC. "It'll be the 'Dallas' of daytime," brags NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff. "If it sounds like a daytime version of 'Dallas'," says Daytime TV magazine, "Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." And there's more to come: NBC's afternoon round-up is only the beginning of what looks like a network trail drive into the Lone Star State: Big-spending Texas couple Bo and Asa Buchanan were created for ABC's "One Life to Live" last January; more and more Texan characters appear on prime-time programs; and ABC is preparing the series called "Oil!" as a likely mid-season replacement for the fall. Although "Texas" Executive Producer Paul Rauch denies the "Dallas" connection, his heart is deep in Dixie. "Back in 1978 I worked with two writers, one from Houston and the other from Shreveport on developing a daytime show called 'Reunion' about a girl who spent the Civil War in England and then returned home. It didn't get on the air, but last summer NBC asked if we would develop a contemporary show." Many of the "Texas" characters are still undefined, but Rauch emphasizes that there will be "no archetypical villain" modeled after J.R. However, there will be "lust, sentiment and men and women bigger than life thrust into each other's lives," says Jason Bonderoff, editor of Daylight TV. The new soap was created in one of the most elaborate spin-off plans in TV history. Last May, fans of NBC's "Another World" (for which Rauch is also executive director) began to see new characters. Disillusioned by love, young Dennis Carrington moved from midwestern Bay City to Houston. His nasty mother, Iris, accompanied by her cranky maid Vivian, followed him. Iris loves to manipulate Dennis, her only son. And besides, she had become friendly with Reena Cooke, a former Texas belle married to Dr. Kevin Cooke. Reena got Kevin to move to Houston, and, of course, invited Iris. Last June, they jumped into a private jet, and since then half of "Another World" has transpired in Houston. The best is yet to come: In her youth, Iris had a love affair with Alex Wheeler, now head of Houston-based World Oil (and more powerful than the entire Ewing family put together). Alex never married because for a quarter century he's nursed a love for Iris. The two meet again in Houston and flames flicker, but then Iris finds out about Vicki, with whom Alex has been having an affair for 15 years. In the last episode of "Another World," broadcast last Friday, Iris boarded a plan and flew away from Houston and Alex forever. But Alex, like J.R. before him, likes to call the shots. Tomorrow, in the first "Texas" episode, he has Iris' plane called back, hustles her into a chauffeured limousine, and holds her captive on his luxurious yacht. Viewers fearing for the safety and virtue of Iris must stay tuned. Despite its close clone-like similarity to super-hit "Dallas," the new soap faces a tough challenge. "Another World" has attempted two previous spinoffs -- "Somerset" and "Lovers & Friends" -- both of which failed. "Lovers and Friends" eventually became "For Richer, For Poorer," which disappeared several years ago, and was NBC's last attempt at innovation in the field. Nonetheless, conditions may be favorable for a new daytime drama. Nielsen figures show a slight increase in the audience for soaps, even though the percentage of women in the work force is also increasing. Experts believe the explanation lies in the new youth-oriented plots and sexuality injected into the shows, especially by ABC. "They've been the hottest network for over 10 years," says a broadcast executive. "They do the most and they set the trends." One reason for ABC's lead is that Procter & Gamble -- virtually the only soap company still in the soap-opera business -- owns only one of four ABC shows. "P&G ownership makes a big difference," says Bonderoff. "They keep a close watch on their shows, and they're very conservative." A P&G "memorandum on broadcast policies," quoted by media historian Erik Barnouw, in "The Sponsors" says: "There will be no material that may give offense to any commercial organization of any sort." But NBC daytime programming chief Linda Line says Texas would be a breakthrough program for P&G. "They are sensitive to trends in public taste." Line claims to feel under little constraint. "I would do anything that would work as a good story," she says. The stakes are high because soaps generate extraordinary profits. Internal NBC documents obtained by Variety recently reveal that for 11 months spanning 1979 and 1980, the 90-minute "Another World" (which finished third in its time-slot) took in $230,000 per broadcast in net revenues, cost $71,000 per episode, and consequently earned a profit of $159,000 per broadcast. By comparison, "The Tonight Show" earned net revenues of $190,000 and a $131,000 profit per broadcast. With such figures, it's not surprising that NBC President Fred Silverman showed up at a cowboy-style barbecue at Rockefeller Center last week to celebrate the start of "Texas." Silverman served as the CBS daytime programmer from 1962 to 1970. "He had a poor record," says Bonderoff. "He decided that soaps weren't viable and replaced them with game shows" But "Fred is very close to this area and feels very excited about "Texas'," says NBC's Line. "He and I decided together to put it on the air." NBC's flashy, provocative promo ads for the new show have been running throughout the prime-time and daytime schedules. "It's the most ambitious campaign ever launched for the debut of a daytime program," says Line. Ultimately, NBC need not worry about losing money. A recent Federal Communications Commission staff report -- based on examination of available network records spanning several decades -- concludes that " a daytime program series usually returns a profit from initial network exhibition, even if it is canceled after a brief run." But NBC is after more than a profit. "We hope to set the standard for quality programming," says Line. "We want to say that characters can no longer sit around the coffee table and discuss their neighbors. We'll have more sophisticated plot devices and an upgraded production that will look like prime time." Executive producer Rauch claims "Texas" "will revolutionize daytime television." He cites the extensive exterior shooting (soaps have been going outdoors more often since about 1978), the use of cinematic filters to achieve a softer look and brighter colors, and the full development of an identifiable city. The other networks are sitting back in the saddle and waiting to see what happens before they, too, ride into Texas. "It's an interesting experiment. I'm glad to see it," says Jeanne Renick, CBS' east coast director for daytime programs. CBS, according to Renick, has no present plans for Texas-style spin-offs. ABC's Jacqueline Smith says her network is working on "General Hospital," it will remain in the East. She is reserving judgement on "Texas": "All the scenery in the world won't help a show that doesn't have the necessary plot interest. Scenery is still scenery," she says.

It was sad seeing Scorpio the other day. He's not looking too good..😞

So it wasn't the writers who decided to break up Scott and Liesl, but the actors? As in there was some BTS drama?

I'm watching the December 1968 episodes. There's a blooper in the episode labeled Dec 17, 1968 at 4:14. Pamela Toll's Liz, locked in a room against her will, desperately tries the door again for what seems like the 100th time. Only this time when she pulls on it, the door actually opens!! Toll quickly closes it and leans against an adjacent wall, crying! I guess she knows she's supposed to be stuck in that room for some time! Too bad no one told the door that 🤣

Is there any BTS info as to why Taggart isn't used?

It's ridiculous what counts as news nowadays. The Post also reports on anything out of the ordinary that occurs on episodes of Wheel of Fortune.

Brooke Kerr is excellent! If her screen partner thinks acting with her is beneath him, then he's a fool. They should bring back Taggert!

Full of potential, but written poorly, and in the end wasted -- a typical GH character.

Doing research, probably one of the reasons Impert was gone so quickly was the change in executive producers. Paul Rauch stared as ep in December 1971. Apparently he came on just after Impert was hired by his predecessor. Raunch no doubt wanted to put his own stamp on the character. Interesting how, from Strasser to Impert to Wyndham, Rachel got less working class and ethnic looking.

It's too bad the Dobsons didn't stick with their original vision. They changed things pretty quickly. I'd say by week 5, with the coming of Lionel, a lot of the potential of the first few weeks was gone, especially with Augusta. Watching the first 5 months of the show, John Allen Nelson's Warren has grown on me. He definitely has some of the mannerisms and looks of Nicholas Coster. Nelson should have been kept on the show its entire run. Julie Ronnie as Laken has done the opposite for me. She's terrible and seems to get worse. Episodes 103 and 104 are examples; she's so hyper and shrill, and is mispronouncing words like "circumstantial." What was she on? It's so embarrassing. It's hard to believe Ronnie outlasted Ava Lazar and Melissa Reeves on this show.

It's unfortunate that a lost of these visionary efforts have been lost to time. Some of Matinee Theater has survived though. There are some episodes on youtube. Apparently some of the later years were shot on color film and syndicated under different titles. It just seems like an incredible undertaking. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-matinee-theater/19147159/

It's interesting to read that ABC tried to have a salary cap on their actors in 1991, however modest; actors could get no more that a 5% raise. I wonder if that really did cause anyone to bolt to other networks.

I guess Geary really is done. If he's not coming back for this, he's not coming back I guess the death of Luke and the funeral they had for him in January 2022 is all real; it's the true end of his character. I wonder if the network played a role in this. His character is pretty reprehensible. Maybe they just wanted to put a definite end to it and move on, as well as preclude any return possibilities.

Too bad they couldn't do the funeral on the prime time special. Maybe then they could have afforded having more actors there, past and present, along with more flashbacks.

I remember watching Santa Barbara on and off from 1987-1993. I've been doing a rewatch since the summer of 2021. I'm only up to episode 105. The show is boring, I can barely watch more than one episode at a time. The best way to watch it is to have it on as you do something else. It's good background noise.

Surprised Scorpio wasn't there.

I just watched an episode of the TV series Cannon from 1975 called "The Iceman." Having 4 scenes in it was Margie Impert. Impert was on Another World as Rachel from December 27, 1971 to February 15, 1972, according to the AW Home Page. Reading online, apparently she was intended to be the new permanent recast for Robin Strasser, but it didn't work out. The producers then brought back the original Rachel for four and a half months, from February 17 to June 29. Victoria Wyndham permanently took the role on July 21, 1972. 1972 was the year of 3 Rachels. Was Impert really intended to be permanent and not temporary? If so, I wonder what went wrong. Whatever it was, it happened quickly; she wasn't even there two months. Watching her on Cannon, I could definitely see her as a 1972 Rachel, a mix of being innocent, manipulative, and nasty. From a first impression, it seems like Impert would have been a nice recast.

www.nytimes.com/1991/06/23/archives/television-will-all-my-children-search-for-tomorrow.html TELEVISION: Will All My Children Search For Tomorrow? By Connie Passalacqua June 23, 1991 Are soap operas getting respectable? The question is a perennial. This year, at least, they are getting a little respect. On Thursday night at 9 on CBS, the Daytime Emmy Awards will be presented for the first time in their 18-year history during prime time. The current movie "Soapdish," which pokes daytime programming in the ribs, is a hit at the box office. Today's soap audience -- the 80 million Americans who tune in to the 11 network soaps every week -- is more diverse than ever, thanks to the VCR. The news is not entirely good. For the first time in their nearly 40-year history, soaps are feeling the pinch of the changing economics of the television business. But over those years, and especially in the last decade, audiences changed. "It sure isn't just housewives in curlers ironing in front of a TV anymore," says Mimi Torchin, editor of Soap Opera Weekly, a leading magazine for soap fans. One continuing phenomenon: group viewing in college dormitories, which started in 1980 when a couple named Luke and Laura on ABC's "General Hospital" caught the national fancy. VCR's make soaps available to full-time workers. According to research conducted by ABC, 11 percent of its soap viewers have jobs outside the home. And according to A. C. Neilsen, soaps are recorded more than any other genre, with ABC's "All My Children" and CBS's "Young and the Restless" placing third and fifth, respectively, on the list of most taped shows. As always, people watch for a variety of reasons. Len Berkman, a theater professor at Smith College, says soaps are "just as valid a form of theater as any you're going to see. There are areas of internal and interpersonal character exploration that are remarkable. Like Shakespeare, soaps must appeal to a spectrum of audiences from the intelligent to the least intelligent." Testifies the novelist Gail Parent, now a writer for NBC's "Golden Girls": "I think the plots are just as good as any on night-time TV. And I'd rather be nervous about the characters than myself." The novelist and historian Shelby Foote, who became something of a celebrity for his role as commentator in the public television series "The Civil War," has been watching the CBS soap "As the World Turns" since its premiere in 1956. "What makes me watch the soap is that it is highly humorous," he says. "Whether they mean to be is another question. But a novelist can learn something from the way they handle multiple plots." Their audiences may be more diverse, but soaps are still "geared to the fantasies of women and they're never going to be anything but," says Freeman Gunter, a managing editor of Soap Opera Weekly. "To me, soaps are about a bunch of gorgeous men who pay way too much attention to a bunch of dreadful, manipulative women that real men would have sent packing." The prime example may be Erica Kane Montgomery, played by Susan Lucci on "All My Children": 21 years, 5 husbands and countless beaux later, soap opera's premiere vixen is still searching for love. While the basic soap story has stayed the same, the externals have changed dramatically, especially in the past decade. "General Hospital" introduced shorter scenes, extensive outdoor locations and action-adventure stories, and others quickly followed suit. Soap characters played out their romances in Vienna, Venice and Hong Kong, on every island in the Caribbean. Soap towns were threatened by floods and earthquakes, and soap characters even went on "Raiders of the Lost Ark" treks. But by the end of the 80's, viewers seemed to prefer the basics of home and hearth in their plots. Coincidentally, soaps fell on economic hard times. "One Life to Live," the ABC soap that filmed a wedding on skis in Salzburg in 1989, recently taped the wedding of the original bride's sister on location in New Vernon, N.J. Soap audiences don't necessarily crave originality, says Mr. Gunter. "Look what happened to 'Twin Peaks.' " He summarizes the basic fail-safe plot: "Couples meet, there's the tension, they get along, they don't get along, finally they get together but they really can't be happy because then there's no conflict, and they separate." Soaps have been their most creative when they've done socially relevant story lines. This year CBS's glitzy "Bold and the Beautiful" staged a father-son incest story and sent an amnesiac matron to live with the homeless. "As the World Turns" had a right-to-die story line and a father-daughter incest plot. "You have to give viewers something new and different along with the stock ingredients," says Douglass Marland, its head writer. Says Bill Bell, executive producer and head writer of "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," both CBS shows: "Issues work in daytime because it's a way to show characters exist in today's world. They're not off in some never-never land." Made-for-television movies also cover these areas, "but daytime is the only place where we have the time to most fully explore these problems," says Agnes Nixon, head writer for "All My Children." She began doing issue stories on "Guiding Light" in the early 60's, she says, "because I was angry that soaps got no respect." Like everything in soaps, socially relevant storylines tend to be copied. "No sooner do you see an incest story on one show than it pops up on two others like a virus," says Mr. Gunter. Repetitiveness is indigenous to the highly incestuous world of soaps, where writers and actors frequently hop from show to show. "To make the soaps new, creative and original, we're trying to bring in new blood," says Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, senior president for daytime programming at ABC; she just hired Linda Gottlieb, producer of the film "Dirty Dancing," to produce "One Life to Live." "Soaps have always been the cash cows of networks, funding prime time, and they've been that way since the dawn of time," says Jacqueline Babbin, executive producer of ABC's "Loving." Their main advantage is that they have always been much cheaper to make than prime-time shows. It costs roughly as much to make one episode of a prime-time show as it does a week's worth of episodes of a daytime soap. At the height of the popularity of "General Hospital," in 1981, the soap was earning $1 million a week for ABC. "But this isn't 1981," says Dennis Swanson, ABC president of daytime, sports and children's programming. "We weren't sharing the screen then with other viewing alternatives as we do now, like cable. And network daytime's share of the total television audience has eroded just as much as night-time, weekend and sports." The three network soap slates had 81 percent of the total television audience in 1981. Today they have 61 percent, with a corresponding loss of advertising revenue. Mr. Swanson, who took over daytime programming this year, has begun to cut costs at ABC. His first measure, imposing a five percent cap on the salaries of actors who are renegotiating contracts, has shaken up the industry. Several actors have already left their shows, including Fiona Hutchinson from "One Life to Live" and Jack Wagner, who left "General Hospital" for NBC's "Santa Barbara." Ms. Dwyer-Dobbin says that soaps on her network may soon have fewer characters and that episodes will be shot on location less frequently. While the cutbacks may make economic sense to the financially strapped networks, they could ultimately have an adverse effect on viewership. The cap on actors' salaries is "very foolish," says Mimi Torchin of Soap Opera Weekly. "Soap fans are more loyal to their actors than any other on TV because they come into their living rooms five days a week. When they disappear, so may the fans. When you cut the steak from the bone, you lose the juice." Will soaps survive? In 1981, there were 12 hours of soaps broadcast each day. Now there are 10. Only NBC has a new soap in development. Soap producers are fearful that the extra hours will be filled with even cheaper-to-make reality programming. NBC recently replaced "Generations," about the relationships between two families, one black and one white, with "A Closer Look," a news/interview show. "Game show and reality shows are cheaper but soap operas are the only form of daytime programming that have legs," says Ms. Dwyer-Dobbin. The soaps of the 90's may be leaner and more down to earth, but they will probably prevail. "As long as women have romantic fantasies, there will always be soap operas," says Mr. Gunter.

Was there any reason why the Dobsons chose to begin Santa Barbara with a murder mystery? Were they fans of Henry Slesar or the Edge of Night or something? Watching the mystery drag on over the show's first year, I'm not sure if that kind of thing was really their forte. It's interesting, for their own show, they chose to go with stuff that they weren't as strong writing, teen hijinks and murder mysteries/ crime. If those elements were toned down, perhaps the show might have been better, especially in the beginning.

I would say for GH 1996 and DAYS 1994. AW 1993.

I've been trying to finish the 1968 episodes. Pamela Toll has been a highlight! She definitely was an appealing performer! It's unfortunate that they never really found a proper story for her. She's either involved with characters that are way too old for her, like Nick, Althea, Steve, and Carolee, or being stalked by weirdos. To be honest, I'm not sure her character ever really fit in to the show. I guess she was on to serve the youth quota, but they never really treated her like a normal youth. They never gave her any youthful stories or friends her age, which in 1968 was 20. Maybe had she turned out to be Matt or Maggie's daughter, or Maggie's niece, it would have felt more like she belonged. Instead, she feels like one of the show's short-term characters who should be, or should have been, written out when their arc is done.