Khan

That sounds like an interesting read! So much of that abysmal period in AW history ties in with NBC's general woes during the Fred Silverman era, when it seemed like everything the network even THOUGHT about doing failed and failed hard.

True, lol. Same goes, I guess, for DALLAS and KL, too. CBS was such a mess. In fact, it's still a mess, IMO, even though they rebounded eventually with all those Bruckheimer shows.

In a way, his comments speak to why we care so much about soaps, even if those who produce them stopped caring a long time ago. We - meaning, of course, the hardcore, dedicated, loyal fans - count on those shows and those actors being there for us - day after day, week after week, month after month, year after gotdamn year - because the world is too insane to cope without them. Like Nancy Curlee once said, there's a part of us that needs to know that all we have to do is run up those back porch steps, open the screen door and there will stand someone like Bert Bauer or Kate Martin, greeting us with some cookies, some lemonade and some much-needed, sage advice.

IIRC, Robert Foxworth left, because his then-partner, Elizabeth Montgomery, was sick with cancer. Melissa and Maggie, however, were killed off, simply to save cash (although, as @te. has pointed out, they killed off Melissa without realizing they still had to pay Ana-Alicia for the entire season). Personally, I think CBS would've been better off cancelling FC after S5 or 6. The show was in obvious decline - both from a ratings standpoint, and in terms of quality - and too much of the expensive cast was too crucial to show's structure to lose.

Like they say on MST3k: "Jim Henson's General Hospital Babies."

Actually, it was Yvonne DeCarlo who performed that number in the original production. Stritch is known for "The Ladies Who Lunch" from "Company."

IIRC, David Jacobs remarked in his Television Academy interview that "Paradise" was the most fun he'd ever had as a producer and show runner.

As angry as Viki could be with Dorian or even Echo, I don't think anyone provoked her to such blind rage as did Maria Roberts. There were times when it looked as if Viki could have strangled Maria with her bare hands, and she wouldn't have needed any of her alters to help her either, lol. Of course, this is all conjecture on my part, but I've wondered whether his animosity toward her had anything at all to do with her eventual fate. Granted, Maria was written as cray from day one, but there does come a point in her run when you feel like TPTB have abandoned all pretense of her being a complex woman and long-term antagonist to Clint and Viki and just decide to make her full-tilt crazy so they can write her off the show.

Even better (or worse), after him comes ART Evans, which begs the question: "Were they related?," lol. Poor Sally Struthers. One day, you're on one of the most groundbreaking sitcoms ever; and the next, you're the butt of comedians' jokes, as you spend your days shilling for a "correspondence school" and begging people to feed starving orphans in Africa.

I'm sure "9 to 5" needed work, but it seems like Komack's changes-just-for-the-sake-of-changes made everything worse. Why change the company setting? Why dump Roz, your series' chief antagonist (next to Mr. Hart)? Why replace Valerie Curtin/Judy Bernly with someone younger (and not a comedienne)? What would a younger secretary have contributed to the show? And was George Deloy's character REALLY necessary?

Like @marceline always says: "Republicans always tank the economy. Always."

Ned was once a rock-and-roll-playing bigamist, Alan rigged a roof to kill his wife AND her lover, and we ALL know about the time Tracy withheld Edward's meds to keep him from signing his new will. Yet, the Q's are up in arms over poor Michael's "Pretty Woman" fetish? I don't think so, GH.

"Mother-in-law from hell" is almost too nice of a description for Maria, lol.

I agree. James Coburn would have been fantastic, exactly for the reasons you've described, @titan1978 .

The more things change, right, lol?

Eat your heart out, Nathaniel Hawthorne!

That would have been an incredible story to tell. Do you have anyone in mind who could've played Tim Spencer?

Man, even Chuck Norris died in the Age of Trump. RIP.

Why such an uncharacteristically (for '70's DAYS) action-packed exit for Brooke?

The only series I want to see rebooted/revived at this point would be "Silk Stalkings." A low-budget, pastel-wrapped piece of excrement that bordered on soft-core, but I still miss it so much, lol.

Thanks for the tag, @DRW50 !!

I'm with the producer: who writes Dian's dialogue, 'cuz there's some soaps out here that need some help, lol!

Oy.

I'll say this much about BTG (since we're already waaaaaaay OT): I think it's on its' way toward becoming a great soap, but there are times when I watch it, and I feel like I've accidentally tuned into this instead:

I should add, however, that I appreciate that they're not presenting Hobie as this well-chiseled hunk with abs you could grate cheese on. Amell's in good shape, but not to the point where he looks like some over-the-hill Ken doll.