vetsoapfan

Another incisive and perceptive review. SFT had been anemic for quite a while before Ann Marcus took over as headwriter and reinvigorated the show. While I loathed her work on DAYS, to this day I consider her stint at SFT to be excellent; the best work she's ever done. Chris Delon, played by Paul Dumont, was such a snooze-fest. I don't remember if he was a creation of Marcus or of the writers who replaced her, but both the character and the actor were listless and bland, and axing him sooner rather than later was a good idea. Our Jo Vincente deserved better.

I don't think I have seen this episode before, so I cannot help you with the original air-date.

I think one of the issues is that ATWT was under frequent attack from the media throughout the '70s. The idea was that Agnes Nixon soaps, DAYS, etc. were supposed to be the ideal. It wasn't far off this point that TIME ran the Bill and Susan cover and graded each soap, giving ATWT one star and attacking it as old and tired. Maybe she wasn't being fair to Agnes or AMC, but she also clearly saw what was coming circa 1980...which was ATWT being flayed alive by P&G/CBS to try to make it more like ABC soaps. The very best thing about the soaps in their golden years was that each one was unique and had its own identity. In 1973, for example, ATWT, as a traditional, glacier-paced, character-based and conservative soap was very different than the sensual, racy, emotional melodrama that was THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, which in turn was quite different than the folksy, "topical" and often-humorous ALL MY CHILDREN. Once the networks decided all the soaps had to follow the same patterns and present the same kind of characters, material and tone, daytime dramas became interchangeable and colorless, and lost the identities that had set them apart from each other in the first place. I loved the fresh boldness and extreme emotionalism of early Y&R, but I also adored and felt comforted by the more quiet, conservative family values depicted on ATWT. When ATWT was dumbed down and "modernized" to make it "hip," with dreadful stories like the atrocious Mr. Big garbage, it was like watching a beloved, sedate-but-wise elderly relative being forced-fed LSD. It was not a pretty sight. The plummeting ratings said it all.

When PEYTON PLACE hit a rough patch, what did TPTB do? They fired Dorothy Malone and Tim O'Connor, and went for hardcore "relevance," which ended up being a disaster and annoying the audience. Whether it be on daytime or primetime, TIIC never learn their lessons. They keep making the same stupid, audience-alienating mistakes over and over again, throughout the decades. Gutting the vets and drastically changing the tone and style, on ATWT and TGL in the early 1980s severely crippled both shows.

Thank you. In the next chapter, she discusses the situation on AW, and tries to be very...politically correct. It's interesting, considering all the behind-the-scenes drama that would soon explode.

To be honest, as a staunch advocate of the traditional, family-based, character-driven, slow-moving classic soaps, even I got fed up with all the cheerleading for hip, modern, relevant (whatever any of that meant, anyway) storytelling on soaps. Nixon was bright even to weave "relevance" into traditional soap structure and storytelling, which is why she was so successful. If she had just had her characters sitting around pontificating on a woman's right to choose, or the war, or equal pay for equal work, the audience of her shows would have been as bored as the audience was for HTSAM under Bailey. "Relevance" does not equate to interesting or popular. Nor does it guarantee any quality to the scripts.

Another well-written piece by Channel, who "got" why ATWT was so beloved and had such a staunchly loyal audience...until it caved into the mindless pressure to "modernize" itself, thereby fracturing its core, throwing out its principle themes, axing beloved vets, and alienating a huge portion of its fan base.

That Daily TV Serials piece on Courtney is probably my favorite interview ever given by the actress. Thank you so much for posting it for everyone to enjoy. I hope you have the next, concluding chapter!

I remember reading this review decades ago, and still agree with its excellent and insightful points. As originally written by the dreaded Anne Howard bailey, HTSAM might have been "hip," but it was also hackneyed, lacked any depth of character, and managed to be both preachy and BORING. It was not until Bailey was replaced by the wonderful Rick Edelestein, during the time of David Bachman's death, that the quality of the writing soared. Edelstein was a genius, and so good at complex characterizations and rich, interpersonal relationship conflict, in the style of Harding Lemay. Unfortunately, when the ratings did not instantly increase, TPTB replaced Edelstein with (gag me) Margaret DePriest, and the writing fell into the toilet once more. It may sound bizarre for me to say that I hold a special place in my heart for this almost-forgotten little soap, because watching its brilliant middle section, after Bailey and before DePriest, I know what a great serial it COULD have been.

My Mom watched Y&R from the start too and she loved all the original actors especially William Gray Espy as Snapper. When I was old enough to remember the show, Dennis Cole was playing Lance. I felt sorry for Lucas because both Brooks sisters obsessed over dull Lance. His mother Vanessa also favored Lance over him. I wonder if Victoria Mallory saw or heard those comments about her portrayal of Leslie ? It was interesting that years later she became friends with Janice Lynde. I don't really recall Howard McGillin as Greg, since I was so young at that time. Did his Greg interact with Nikki ? William Gray Espy simply smoldered as Snapper Foster, and he became hugely popular with the audience. It's too bad he did not enjoy playing the role. He became noticeably disinterested as the months went on, and even busted his hand at one point, by punching a wall out of frustration. In an interview at the time, he admitted that at least his lack of emotion in the part worked well for his restrained, emotionally-distant character. It was a major shock when he was replaced by David Hasselhoff, who tried at first to emulate Espy's style, but who lacked both the smoldering sexiness and the brooding quality which Espy brought to the role. In a critique of the series, written in Daily Serials, author Jon-Michael Reed wrote of Espy (something like; I forget the exact quote), "Have you ever seen strength look so vulnerable?" Howard McGillan was the best of the replacement Gregs, IMHO. Sweet and endearing. Not bland like Brian Kerwin was at the time, and not homely and icky like Wings Hauser. Unfortunately, McGillan came and went so quickly, he really did not have much time to make the role his own. I don't recall if he played any scenes with Nikki.

so she was on the first episode? No. Brenda Dickson was hired to play Jill Foster before the show's premiere and was part of the original cast when Y&R premiered in 1973, but she did not appear in the very first episode. Neither did other original cast members like Julianna McCarthy (Liz Foster), Dorothy Green (Jennifer Brooks), James Houghton (Greg Foster) or Pamela Peters (Peggy Brooks). Dickson and the other actors whose characters were not featured in the first day's script did appear later on that week, however. You do see a gorgeous sketch (by artist Sandy Dvore) of Dickson in the premiere episode's opening credits, where she is pictured with McCarthy and Houghton who played her mother and brother. For the record, the contract actors who appeared in the first episode were Tom Hallick as Dr. Brad Eliot, Lee Crawford as Sally McGuire, William Gray Espy as Dr. William "Snapper" Foster, Janice Lynde as Leslie Brooks, Trish Stewart as Chris Brooks, Robert Clary as Pierre, and Robert Colbert as Stuart Brooks. Deidre Hall (later of DAYS OF OUR LIVES fame) also appeared briefly as Brad Eliot's ex-girlfriend Barbara Anderson. if you are interested, you can watch the complete premiere episode here: http://www.ew.com/article/2013/03/26/young-and-the-restless-first-episode-40th

I do have a question: When did Brenda Dickson debut as Jill Brenda Dickson was part of the original cast, when the show began on March 26, 1973. When she started, she was actually much more subdued and restrained in her acting than she would be later on, when she camped out in the 1980s.

Yes, Wings Hauser was totally wrong for the role of Greg Foster, on every level. I was aghast that they decided to bring HIM back, when the character returned for Liz Foster's death storyline. Egads! At the time he was originally cast, TPTB said that they wanted to recapture the similar look between the Foster brothers that had existed when William Gray Espy and James Houghton played the roles. I suppose the producers thought Hauser looked somewhat like David Hasselhoff. What an insult to the Hoff, LOL. Of all four Greg Fosters, Wings was by far the worst. Brian Kerwin was bland, but at least he wasn't actively repellent. Chris Brooks Foster, as played by Trish Stewart, is my favorite Y&R character of all time. I adored her from the very first episode, and was very impressed with her talent during her rape storyline. I was not prepared for Stewart to be replaced by ANYONE, and I already hated the idea of seeing a "fake" Chris before Topping even appeared on-screen. That being said, Topping was an acceptable actress and a lovely women. I just never warmed up to her as Chris. When the Brooks sisters all returned for Nikki's wedding to Victor in 1984, I was pleased to see Stewart reprise the role. Had Topping been cast in another part, I'm sure I would have been quite happy with her, but Trish Stewart is the only "real" Chris Brooks to me. I also never adjusted to Victoria Mallory as Leslie. Janice Lynde played Leslie Brooks as a fragile, doe-eyed heroine with deep passions raging just beneath the surface. Mallory came across as very charming, very self-possessed, but aloof, and without the depth or vulnerability that had made Leslie such a sympathetic character to begin with. Again, had she been cast in another role, I'm sure i would have found Mallory perfectly fine. She had charm to spare, and she sang like an angel. She was also gorgeous. But her interpretation of Leslie was so strikingly different than Lynde's, that I couldn't adjust to it. The editors of Rona Barret's Daytimers magazine wrote at the time that, "due to (Mallory's) colorless portrayal of the part", Leslie's importance in the story had dwindled, and the principle focus was now on Jaime Lyn Bauer's fiery Lorie. I enjoyed the Lucas/Leslie/Lance/Lorie story for the most part, although again, when Dennis Cole replaced John McCook as Lance, I hated it. Tom Ligon as Lucas was sexy as hell, and his character was such a good, supportive guy, I always thought Leslie was a moron for pining over Lance when she could have had his hunky brother. I'll bet Janice Lynde's Leslie would have been bright enough to choose Lucas, LOL!

I know some have said that period of time was very strange and mostly enlivened by stuff like the Suzanne gaslighting. I wish some was around to watch so we could see. Bell seemed to always hit these patches and then come out the other side. I am the first to acknowledge and celebrate Bell's genius and enormous contribution to the genre, but he did have some occasional dry patches as a writer; times when his material was hackneyed and cliche, and, well...pretty bad. The Suzanne Lynch story was not well written at all. I found it absurd, over-the-top, poorly acted (Ellen Weston was no great actress) and not well constructed. As I recall, Bell dropped the story quite suddenly, as if he had realized it was not working, and wanted to erase it from the canvas. To his credit, when a story was failing, Bell corrected course sooner rather than later. Wings Hauser was so creepy in the role. It was as if a degenerate drug dealer and pimp had suddenly taken over Greg Foster's body...and nobody in Genoa City dared say a word, LOL! Casey was a major focus early on. I loathed her. I hated the idea of her coming between Chris and Snapper Foster, and every time she would appear on-screen, I wished the character would just disappear. The more I think about it, the more I wonder how I sat through this time on Y&R, since it was (temporarily) marred by weak writing, and had so many actors on-screen whom I literally could not stand.

She was pretty bad. Was it John Conboy who later snarked that she could barely walk and talk at the same time, LOL? To be fair, I thought Melody Scott was woefully miscast when she was first hired, too; she hammed up the screen. Wings Hauser's icky Greg Foster was also hard to watch. Yuck! And Pamela Peters was acceptable as Peggy Brooks, although not the greatest actress in the world, but I gained new respect for her after seeing Patricia Everly play the role. What an awkward actress. Watching Erica Hope, a newbie Melody Scott, Wings Hauser, and Patricia Everly in key roles certainly made sitting through Y&R at this time a chore.

Gene Bua was sex on a stick; very hot, charismatic, intriguing, and a good actor, too. I'd nominate the pairing of Bill and Tess as one of LOL's best supercouples. They had real, solid chemistry, and killing off Bill was one of those boneheaded moves (like TGL's killing off Maureen Bauer) which greatly damaged the show.

It's always nice to see more video material with Jacqueline Courtney, who was so great as Pat Kendall. (But, um...not so convincing as Maggie Ashley, alas.)

I'm so glad you'll get to see it. Most of the fans who posted here and watched back then have left the board. I hope I didn't spoil anything for you by blathering on. Don't worry about spoilers where I am concerned. I had been watching the P&G soaps for many, many years before this stuff even aired. I loved Jane House as Liz, BTW, and was crushed when they replaced her.

That 1972 material is an awesome find; a rare treat we are all lucky to enjoy. Thank you for letting us know about it.

OMG, what a great find, even with no audio! Eddie Drueding rocks!

According to legend, Mary Matthews' death episode is out there somewhere too, being horded by traders who want to keep their stash underwrap.

Rare episodes of AW from its golden period, 1964 to 1974. Bits and pieces of this material has been on the internet before, but (to my knowledge) not in such a complete form. This is my favorite decade of my favorite show, so woohoo!

I would kill to see more of the 1973-82 Brooks and Foster period, particularly 1973-78.

Nuanced, subtle storytelling is long gone from today's daytime dramas, alas. The scenes with Jingles the Clown were often quite terrifying, and the storyline went on for an extended period. As it turned out, Zoe Cannell, Carter's sister and Julian Cannell's wife, was the one under the disguise. She was afraid that her husband Julian was falling for Andrea, and with a husband as handsome as Joel Crother's Julian, could anyone blame her for being nervous, LOL? Actress Lois Smith (of EAST OF EDEN and TRUE BLOOD fame) was mesmerizing as the deranged Zoe. This was Writer Henry Slesar at his delicious best. We were so lucky to have him pen exciting, intricate, layered mysteries on TEON, but his work on SOMERSET was also very good. I only found OLTL weak under his pen, but he was not alone at the helm of that show. The Somerset Register website (an incredible treasure trove of information about the show) says that Andrea's aunt Rowena was Jingles the Clown, not Zoe. Zoe, however, had given Rowena the clown outfit along with instructions to give Andrea meds (laced with weed killer) every night. The Somerset register is indeed a treasure trove of information, and your post has jarred and clarified my memory. Yes, you are correct: afraid of getting caught, herself, Zoe Cannell manipulated batty Aunt Rowena into "helping" give Andrea Moore her medicine (which Zoe had poisoned) by donning the Jingles the Clown costume and visiting Andrea at night. I should have written, "As it turned out, Zoe Cannell, Carter's sister and Julian Cannell's wife, was the one BEHIND THE PLOT TO KILL ANDREA MOORE. She was afraid that her husband Julian was falling for Andrea...." All of this is in my SOMERSET scrapbook, which I maintained during the show's run, and I should have referred to that for verification instead of relying on my memory. Color me embarrassed. With senior moments like this, I appear as dotty as...Aunt Rowena! Sorry about that! When it comes to technology, I am the single most clueless person on the face of the planet. I have no clue whatsoever how folks upload anything to the internet. We can talk about this more in a PM. How cool that you kept a Somerset scrapbook! I have fuzzy memories of the show that stick in my head: Zoe killing Carter, Dorothy's attempts to kill Heather, Eve's mountain car accident, Avis talking about Julian's masculine hands, Jill and Jack's necklaces. Such a great show! Yes, I kept scrapbooks for several of my favorite shows, including SOMERSET, AW, Y&R, etc. Even the short-lived HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE. What I found interesting--and frustrating--about SOMERSET is that its quality soared and plummeted at various times, depending on who was writing it. Henry Slesar and Roy Winsor were by far its best writers. I thought Greg Mercer and Steve Slade were two of the sexiest guys on daytime at the time. Jerry Kane was hot, too. I loved Jessica Delany. She was so sweet and sympathetic. I believe that with consistently good writing, the show could have lasted much longer than it did. Even at its "weakest," I would still watch SOMERSET over today's versions of Y&R, DAYS, GH, or B&B!

Nuanced, subtle storytelling is long gone from today's daytime dramas, alas. The scenes with Jingles the Clown were often quite terrifying, and the storyline went on for an extended period. As it turned out, Zoe Cannell, Carter's sister and Julian Cannell's wife, was the one under the disguise. She was afraid that her husband Julian was falling for Andrea, and with a husband as handsome as Joel Crother's Julian, could anyone blame her for being nervous, LOL? Actress Lois Smith (of EAST OF EDEN and TRUE BLOOD fame) was mesmerizing as the deranged Zoe. This was Writer Henry Slesar at his delicious best. We were so lucky to have him pen exciting, intricate, layered mysteries on TEON, but his work on SOMERSET was also very good. I only found OLTL weak under his pen, but he was not alone at the helm of that show. The Somerset Register website (an incredible treasure trove of information about the show) says that Andrea's aunt Rowena was Jingles the Clown, not Zoe. Zoe, however, had given Rowena the clown outfit along with instructions to give Andrea meds (laced with weed killer) every night. The Somerset register is indeed a treasure trove of information, and your post has jarred and clarified my memory. Yes, you are correct: afraid of getting caught, herself, Zoe Cannell manipulated batty Aunt Rowena into "helping" give Andrea Moore her medicine (which Zoe had poisoned) by donning the Jingles the Clown costume and visiting Andrea at night. I should have written, "As it turned out, Zoe Cannell, Carter's sister and Julian Cannell's wife, was the one BEHIND THE PLOT TO KILL ANDREA MOORE. She was afraid that her husband Julian was falling for Andrea...." All of this is in my SOMERSET scrapbook, which I maintained during the show's run, and I should have referred to that for verification instead of relying on my memory. Color me embarrassed. With senior moments like this, I appear as dotty as...Aunt Rowena! Sorry about that! When it comes to technology, I am the single most clueless person on the face of the planet. I have no clue whatsoever how folks upload anything to the internet. We can talk about this more in a PM.