SoapDope78

Thanks. After I posted I found the detailed 1976 summaries in this thread. I kept thinking Spence Jeffers sounded familiar to me for some reason and quickly realized he was the one who hit Leslie with his car and she later died. I remember reading about her death years ago (probably way back in the 1990's). It's interesting they kept Ann around for so long. She never got her son back. It would have been nice if they had done more with her character. After her initial story she just kind of hung around for years till she faded. I don't think she was around after about 1982. Re: 1976 I think it's interesting that Ben bought Leslie's car and his brother used it in a robbery. I wonder if it was the same one that he was driving when he and Amanda were stuck in the mud.....LOL I am fascinated with 1970's GL (and 70's soaps in general)...My Mom was watching back then and I wasn't born till 1978. I started remembering/watching the show at about age 3 in 1981 along with the entire CBS lineup.

What is the backstory on Ann Jeffers and when did she first arrive on the show? I read one place 1972 and that she and Mike dated and another source lists Maureen Mooney being cast in the role in 1975. I read she had an alcoholic husband Spence Jeffers who she later divorced, and he kidnapped/hid their son. I think I read he committed suicide in prison? Did the son ever appear on the show?

I wonder if one of the 1976 episodes is the one with this scene of Roger confessing to Peggy he is the father of Holly's child?

Was JoBeth let go from GL because she appeared nude in Kramer vs Kramer? I seem to recall reading that somewhere. As a side note, Dustin Hoffman wanted Kate Jackson for the film, but Aaron Spelling would not let her have time off from Charlie's Angels. Meryl Streep was cast instead (and won an Academy Award). Kate was furious and began to act out. She and Spelling parted ways at the end of Season 3.

Re: 1979 GL. That Diane/Ann scene does have heavy flirtation going on. It's like something pre Skinemax. I love this time period of GL. Not only the writing/characters, but the cinematography, the sets, the late 70's time period. I even liked seeing the 70's car that Ben and Amanda are in. I wish we could see the entire Dobson run, but most of it has probably been wiped.

After Lilimae left they could have had Lucy come to live with Val and help with the twins. She would have filled the role as a babysitter/talk to that Aunt Ginny did. It's not like they had to write major storylines for Lucy. Heck they never really did on Dallas. They could have nice little scenes with Lucy/Gary at the ranch riding horses etc...and the process of mending/developing a father/daughter relationship.

Re: Val as a writer. I think it would have made more sense if she had written her book about her life and the Ewing's down toward the end of the series. They did it too early and the storyline was kind of a nothing burger (J.R. even laughed about it). She could have spent years keeping journals etc....compiling material for her tell all. I would have also liked to have seen a final showdown with J.R.

Brooke should have stuck to situation comedy. She has that high histrionic voice that is better suited for a 3 camera live audience sitcom.

They could tape them "Live" like they did back in the day. It would up the game for actors to know their lines and hit their marks. Pre-recorded shows let a lot of actors get lazy and they rely on cue cards and phone in a performance. It would also help weed out bad actors who don't respect the genre. A lot of viewers would tune in just to see if there were any flubs/mishaps.

I agree. They should go back to 30 minutes and add some game shows. I'm tired of the daytime schedule cluttered up with morning shows, talk shows, and court shows. Those morning shows running hours on end just rehashing headlines etc... Heck even well written 15-minute soaps (rebooted ATWT, GL OLTL etc...) back-to-back in a 30-minute time slot might work. People have short attention spans now days anyway. I think spoilers should be eliminated, if possible, to keep people tuning in to see what is happening in real time.

All that crap with Meg got old fast. Even in the 1997 Back To The Cul-de-sac reunion they dredged that up again as the Mac/Karen story. Lee & Dobson chewed scenery as usual.

I wonder how Glynnis O'Connor would have fared in the role of Heather? She was very popular during the 70's and could play innocent and bitchy with a hidden agenda. She was a bust as Margo on ATWT in the 90's.

I went back and watched at those late 60's GH episodes today. Phil Brewer (Martin West) was in the episode where Jessie is on trial for murder. I remember reading that they later killed him off in the mid 70's in a big murder mystery and Jessie was found holding his body. How many times did Jessie get accused of murder during her run? Later her character was pretty much wallpaper in the background after Monty took over. Martin West looked similar to Kevin Tighe (from Emergency). Tighe could have been a recast at some point if Phil had been brought back from the dead.

This guy "ObsoleteVideo" probably has a ton of rare soap material, but as you said he only reuploads the same stuff over and over and whines about needing money/donations He also mainly make videos of what old equipment he uses or what has been donated. If he wants to make real money, he needs to get off his butt and have a website where he makes it available to view and charge a reasonable fee. At this point he is smoke and mirrors.

Thanks.

The first season was completed during the summer of 1979 after filming the pilot in February. Ted Shackelford said he actually met Patrick, Larry, and Charlene on the KL set. When they got word that KL was going to be picked up as a mid-season replacement, he and Joan shot the remarriage episode of Dallas which was his first time on the Dallas set. If you notice he and Joan look a bit different in this appearance compared to the pilot/first season episodes. Ted's hair has been cut shorter on the Dallas episode and Joan looks like she has a bit more weight and a bit more tan. I recall Richard making the quip that he planned on running for President in 1980. Speaking of Richard, he was all about keeping up with the Joneses, why did he let Laura drive around in that dented station wagon? Even Gary and Val had a nice car after just having moved there. Of course, Gary worked at the dealership with Sid and probably got a good deal, Sid could have done the same for Laura.

Shirley Jones who had a Broadway and film career in the 50's and 60's starred in The Partridge Family (1970-1974). She then attempted another series in 1979 with Shirley that was cancelled after 13 episodes. After that she mainly done guest appearances and TV movies with a big feature thrown in here and there. She did meet her rich husband producer E. Duke Vincent by doing Matt Houston so I guess it worked out for the best. Lee Horsley attempted several series before falling into obscurity. A lot of people saw him as a poor man's Tom Selleck. Tom Selleck started acting in the late 60's and was a contract player at Universal in the 70's. He was on Y&R 1974-1975 and Bill Bell would never sign him to a contract because he felt he wasn't leading man material with his high voice. With a series of commercials, guest appearances, recurring roles, and many failed pilots, He hit it big in 1980 with Magnum P.I. He then became a superstar. The public couldn't get enough of him. Women saw him as their ideal fantasy man and men wanted to look like him growing mustaches, wearing Hawaiian shirts and short shorts. He continues to work.

🤣 That theme was really long and unnecessary. Poor Patty Duke always looked middle aged. The beard suits Richard Crenna. Seeing Tony Thomas as one of the executive producers made me think why didn't his sister Marlo ever do another regular series after That Girl? I know she made guest appearances on Friends etc...and many TV movies. I remember Marlo doing an interview in recent years where a lot of people have approached her about doing a revival off TG where the granddaughter was the focus with Marlo as Grandmother Anne would be around to offer advice etc...Marlo said "Ick! that sounds horrible". She said since she owns the rights to her series she can veto anything surrounding it. She said Ann Marie was a "That Girl" of her era (1960's/early 70's) and she should remain there.

Re: Lucy as a Daytime soap producer. She could have been loosely based on Gloria Monty. Real soap actors could have guest starred. I can picture Lucy taking a drag off a cigarette and telling a guesting Susan Lucci " Just say the lines as written" then the two later come to blows with Lucci smashing a cake in Lucy's face and Lucy rubs Lucci's nose in a plate of spaghetti during the filming of a dinner scene that goes awry. The possibilities would be endless.

I'm surprised they didn't have Lucy owning an apartment building with wacky tenants like 227 or maybe Lucy owns an ad agency with wacky employees and clients or Lucy as a producer of a daytime soap with wacky actors and plot lines. Anything was better than the dreck they had her doing on Life With Lucy.

Dena Deitrich was one of those great actresses that brightened up everything she appeared in but never had a long running series. Her longest role was as Mother Nature in the Chiffon margarine commercials in the 70's. She would have been an excellent sidekick to Lucy. Bob Crane (who's messy private life was exposed after his 1978 murder) never had another long running series after Hogan's Hero's (1965-1971) ended. Prior to that he had a co-starring role on The Donna Reed Show (1963-65). In the early 70's he did the Disney film " Super Dad" (1973) with Kurt Russell he thought would re-ignite his career. It didn't. He tried another series in 1975 with "The Bob Crane Show" that ended after 14 episodes. He spent the rest of his career before his death doing guest appearances.

Yes, she did bring back her old writing team out of moth balls, and they were out of touch with the times. They were stuck in the 1960's and probably thought since it was "Lucy" that the audience would buy her in anything (even if she was reading the phonebook). Aaron Spelling produced this mess, and I think she wasn't even told it had been cancelled till she showed up to work. Her second husband Gary Morton also let her sign on to projects that were not up to her talent. Her daughter Lucie Arnaz said that if Desi hadn't been too ill he would have told her " What the hell are you doing still trying to perform physical comedy at your age". Lucie said she agreed with the audience that Lucy might break a hip or something doing those crazy stunts.

Lucille Ball was the TV queen for 3 decades. I Love Lucy (1951-1957) The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-1960) The Lucy Show (1962-1968) Here's Lucy (1968-1974). Life With Lucy (1986) her last sitcom was considered one of the worst shows and was cancelled after 13 episodes. The audience felt that Lucy and Gale Gordon still doing pratfalls at their age was an accident waiting to happen. Lucy felt she was rejected by America and never got over it.

The slow-motion aspect would make sense. The scene as it appears in the promo comes across as cheap and cheesy with the obvious fake prop glass that looks milky compared to the clear glass before the crash. I haven't seen much of Peter Simon's SFT work, but he just comes across as wooden, bland, and boring as he did on ATWT and GL.

Danny Thomas was never able to duplicate another long running series after Make Room for Daddy/aka...The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964). He followed up with: The Danny Thomas Hour (1967) Make Room for Grandaddy (1970-1971) The Practice (1976-1977) I'm A Big Girl Now (1980-1981) One Big Family (1986-1987) Make Room for Grandaddy is now available on youtube and Tubi. As with the old series it relied too much on Guest Star of the week plots (as Here's Lucy did during this time). 26 year old Diana Ross even played a teen in an episode which was cringy. There were also too many plots of Danny trying to be hip and with it for the 1970's. Probably the best episode was Linda (Angela Cartwright) learning to drive. Of course, Danny had the latest model land yacht convertible in the garage.