RavenWhitney

Bettie Wysor has written a few scripts for The Doctors in the 1979 episodes currently airing. She as an employee at Benton & Bowles in NYC which is how she got the job writing for The Doctors. Here's her obit. She was out as a lesbian and wrote The Lesbian Myth. https://www.easthamptonstar.com/archive/bettie-b-wysor

It's interesting to watch the shows after they fired the actors playing Paige and Brian. I think P&G forced Slesar to dump the characters because of the implied incest angle. It's unfortunate. The show needed that age group. And they fired Margaret Colin! Dummies.

This post prompted me to go onto youtube and rewatch December 1979. Wow. So good. So fleshed out. Great dialog for the most part. Everyone was interconnected. It's easy to forget with the hacks that have been writing soaps since the early 2000s how many creative writers were employed on the soaps. Henry was tops. He had some down moments too but they never lasted long. I remember hating the main story once Draper was an amnesiac and we had all those long scenes with Emily. But in rewatching the lead up in December I'm blown away by how detailed and pointed every plot turn or line of dialog was. Not even the exchange of Xmas presents was gratuitous. Henry had a story bible and worked through it. I loved the pace of the episodes around Deborah's kidnapping, the police station scenes. Nancy's First Amendment storyline. P&G were idiots for firing Henry. The show needed new sets, maybe some fresh directing and a new script writer or two; but they didn't need hack Lee Sheldon. Thanks for posting. I'm up to 12/26/79 episode. The acting was so stellar.

In Billy news: https://ew.com/tv/2019/12/06/aladdin-spinoff-billy-magnussen-disney-plus/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=07DFC48E-188A-11EA-B353-70914744363C&utm_content=link&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_ew

The Youtube November 1988 credits show that for about three weeks the writers listed were (Barbara Hagstrom, Chris Whitesell, Michael Zazlow and Susan Hufford (breakdowns) and Carolyn Culliton, Peggy Schibi, Roger, Newman, Fran Newman, David Cherrill (script writers). I think Swajeski's shows started in early December just before snowflake ball. Speaking of Donna, here's a link to an article about where Donna is now: http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/February-2018/Meet-the-Grand-Dame-of-Delaware-Avenue/

Was the Thanksgiving 1988 episode a Swajeski or Lemay episode?

What was Tom Petitjean's soap pyseudonym ?

Interesting: just saw a credit crawl for the show in 81 when Lawrence Konner and his wife were head writers. They had five script writers who never wrote for daytime again. One (Mark Rosenthal) went on to great writer success in hollywood alongside Konner..

CBS insisted on bringing in a co-head writer. Long didn't want to work with James Reilly.

You are free to think that a 20 something age difference between them is morally repugnant but that doesn't absolve Ricky. He's also an adult and is responsible for his actions. Pray Tell's problem is that he's not thinking clearly and seeing Ricky for what he is: a ho', a playa, an irresponsible young adult who's risking others' lives so he can seduce and get is rocks off. Poor Pray Tell. '

Marland did not improve TD. DePriest was the last head writer who made the show interesting. Marland's hiring started its down fall. DePriest was progressive and character driven. Some stories didn't work but it was far more watchable than Doug's year. Wow, Rona was so right about AW! My grandmother watched and I remember watching with her and thinking how shitty the scripts were and I was young! Repetitive dialog for sure. Dumb scenes. LeMay was sooo overrated, particularly once the show went to an hour. And yet viewers tuned in.

Ernie Pyshner aka Ernie Townsend who played Cliff Nelson on EON became a teacher/principal! https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernest-pysher-64485a20/

Ricky's the playa', ho'bag, cheat, liar, who exposed Damon to HIV and is praying on vulnerable Pray Tell!

Stick with it. Season 2 found it's footing with Episode 8, a nearly flawless show from the actors and especially Steve Canals, one of the EPs who wrote and directed. It was soap, poignant, unexpected and fiercely acted. Loveeed it. Other episodes have their issues this season but not this one.

Here's a link to a summary of the Xmas Eve 1982 SFT episode archived at Paley. Interesting list of cast and crew. https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=jay&p=87&item=T:45227 And Ralph Ellis left a bunch of scripts from his HW tenure in 1970s; here's the link. He and wife, Eugenie Hunt wrote for the show for at least three years up through 1974 and return for time in early 80s. https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/e/ellis_search_for_tom.htm And here's a link to WGA list of writers by season: https://directories.wga.org/project/196412/search-for-tomorrow/

Wondering if Paul Rader was a pen name for someone behind the scenes who wanted to be anonymous?

There's one reason 1999 to 2010 sucked (basically) and his name is Chris Goutman, Executive Producer, who P&G loved and refused to hold accountable for the slide in ratings and quality. From Spring 2000 to Spring 2005, Hogan Sheffer controlled the writer's room until his nervous breakdown. Hogan had some bright spots but didn't know what he was doing either. Before and after Hogan, Goutman recycled the same P&G writers that had failed on other (Passanante/Laiman/Culliton). At least with Hogan, they went outside the box and tried to cultivate new talent. Goutman should have left Broderick in place in 1999 and worked on long term stories and good casting. Instead, he installed Laiman and Passanante whose final stories on AW were pretty horrid.

Here's several scenes with opening credits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIyN0ANUDsQ

Here's another summary at this link: http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/spinoffs.html March 30, 1970 - December 31, 1976 Creators: Irna Phillips and Robert Cenedella Executive Producer: Lyle B Hill. Producer: Sid Sirulnik Headwriters: Robert Cenedella, March 1970 - December 1970. Henry Slesar, January 1971 - March 1972. Henry Slesar and Jane Lyon, April 1972 - May 1973. Roy Winsor and Robert J. Shaw, May 1973 - April 1974. Robert J. Shaw and Winifred Wolfe, April 1974 - March 1975. Don Appell, Doris Frankel, and Frank Salisbury, March 1975 - December 1975. A.J. Russell and Frank Salisbury, January 1976 - May 1976. Russell Kubeck, June 1976 - December 1976. Associate Writers: Elspeth Eric and Robert Newman (1970-1972).

Sorry, I meant Dale. I loved that plot. I was a kid and watched it live. Kubek was the one who ruined the show by focusing only on the mob plot. He was fired and the final head writer was AJ Russell again, I believe, who brought in Toni and Gene Bua.

Here's a great summary of Somerset's history although it doesn't accurately reflect all the head writer tenures. I believe Doris Frankel was briefly HW after Shaw and I think AJ Russell was brought back after Kubek. https://web.archive.org/web/20130814031622/http://awinsomerset.com/

That period was very progressive from my childhood memory. Ellen having an affair with David. Didn't they start the murder plot where Dale was accused but it turned out to be the son of the old man in the cottage? I think Doris Frankel was head writer and she introduced the senior plot with the veteran actors?

Robert Dwyer was also a script writer during Marland's time the TD and he left to go work with him on GH I think. Dwyer definitely was part of Marland's GL writing team.

I see Ethel and Mel Brez brought in two new script writers when Nancy Franklin leaves to go work with Marland on GH. Lin Cole Frederick Feirstein, a playwright and psychoanalyst in NY. https://www.frederickfeirstein.com/about

Kevin Conroy (Chase) on Twitter today, wishing everyone Happy Holidays. He's 63.