Khan

I agree. O'Shea, Sam Hall and Gordon Russell all knew how to write stuff that was off-beat or risky, but not so risky that it would have alienated the more conservative viewers, or so dumb that it would've insulted the average viewer's intelligence.

I agree.

Mia Farrow and Farrah Fawcett are both strong choices, @Franko . Maybe they weren't among the hottest names in '95, but they certainly were hotter than Morgan Fairchild, lol. I think I would've approached Jaclyn Smith or (if she had not been stuck on the prairie, amputating people's body parts for no good reason) Jane Seymour.

That all reminds me of what John Whitesell told the press when he was named EP at SFT in '85 (or so). Specifically, he said that half-hour shows like SFT shouldn't try to compete with the hour-long ones by breaking up each act into a bunch of shorter scenes. Instead, he said, he wanted fewer scenes per episode, with maybe one long scene per act. (Unfortunately, Whitesell, who did some marvelous directing at GL, wouldn't last long at SFT. P&G promptly moved him to the hour-long AW).

I agree: "Masquerade" was just a nothing-burger of a mystery. I, too, wonder if Agnes Nixon/Dramatic Creations played a part in ABCD's decision to make TC a continuation (of sorts) of LOVING. Like you've said, @EricMontreal22 , the network might've been bound contractually to launch the new show with characters from the old. (If that's the case, then maybe they were better off bringing back "Mike & Maty," lol).

Every time I watch the moments leading up to Victoria Principal's exit, I just shake my head and laugh. And if you were to ask me to sum up the Jeff Freilich era of FC in one image, it'd have to be that car plunging into the waters, lol.

If Ackroyd had been available for KL, then it's possible the show would've remained very middle-class, as I can't see his Gary getting mixed up in things like Wolfbridge or Empire Valley.

I agree. I, myself, might've casted maybe 2 or 3 actors from LOVING to work on TC, but not to play their characters on the former show. Otherwise, TC needed to distance itself from LOVING entirely, if it had any chance at all of survival.

I see what you mean, lol. Yeah, in retrospect, courting MF like that doesn't make too much sense. (Maybe they were going after people who still remembered FLAMINGO ROAD and PAPER DOLLS fondly?) On the other hand, I'm at a loss as to naming someone who still was a big name in '95 AND who would've been willing to (relocate to NYC and) headline a brand-new soap. Susan Lucci might've gotten people at least to sample the show, but no way was ABCD gonna let her leave AMC, lol.

Frankly, it never made sense to me that ABCD would launch a brand-new soap (and one that promised to turn many soap conventions on their proverbial heads) with characters from one that never gained any traction in the ratings. Why not spin off characters from AMC, OLTL or GH instead?

LOL!! I mean, Michael Laibson and Donna Swajeski had to do something to grab viewers' attention, right, lol? Plus, as I've mentioned before, I feel like standalones like "A Valentine for Singles" might've been a ploy to garner some Emmy love, since SaBa was winning awards left and right for doing the same thing. Unfortunately, two things worked against AW: Swajeski's writing, which was journeyman most of the time; and the show's painfully anemic budget. AW looked so cheap, you'd think they had taped at Universal Studios (IYKYK).

I thought it was okay in the beginning, before Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King took control and turned the show into some Cinderella fantasy that didn't jibe at all with the series' original intentions.

I agree. I felt about CPW the same way I felt about "Friends": don't throw a bunch of young, white people with too much cash and not enough life experience at me and expect me to care. It won't end well for you.

ICAM!!

Believe it or not, I remember her more for her appearances on "Three's Company," where she always played one of Jack Tripper's many gfs (except that one where she played the loan officer at the bank where Jack's attempting to get a loan for his bistro).