dc11786

Thanks for sharing. I think we had reached the primetime soap peak by that point so I am not surprised it didn't move on. Additionally, I think setting a show in the tech industry was going to cost a bit of money with the focus on robotics and AI. I don't think the American TV industry was quite there yet unless they were looking at a more serious soap focused on family and romantic conflicts that happened to be set in the world of high tech. I received the six episode scripts. I have only made it through one so far but I liked the first episode more than the pilot telefilm script. The show sorta downplays the drama in the pilot film with Drew Hammond on the mend, but still hospitalized, as the series opens. His near death experience has encouraged him to make some decisions: (a) a strong attempt to reunite with his ex-wife Molly and (b) a decision to split his workload with his son, Franklin, who has been handling the businesss while Drew was recovering. Franklin is becoming more aware of the growing romantic tension between his bride to be Sarah Corey and Drew's one-time protege now rival, Josh Landau. In the meantime, Sarah is still being blackmailed by an offscreen entity, but scheming Mitzi Kawamoto has also caught on and is having Mitzi followed. Mitzi is also caught by Lillian Hammond who has decided to start bugging her boss George Carew's office. Lillian now knows that Mitzi and George are in cahoots. Lillian doesn't really like Sarah so I imagine (Lillian and Josh were once involved when they were teens) so I imagine Mitzi will eventually supply the information to Lillian as a sorta get out of jail card. Lillian seems more savvy and more centered in the episode which helps. The final thread that helps to build a little suspense is the ongoing investigation into the mysterious break in at Lantern Computers where an unknown man has died. Josh is determined to learn who it is while his security chief is determined to hide his own connection to the man; they appear to have been good friends and government agents at one point. Josh is meeting dead ends until a fired secretary from the corner's office states that the man's eyes were missing from the corpse (an ocular scan is used as a security measure at Lantern) just as the episode ends. The first episode has a better balance where I felt the scheming in the pilot was more about maneuvering rather than the emotional impact of such actions. There is a little moment at a boardmeeting for Hammond where Franklin sets up one of the VPs to end up trash talking the plan Franklin has to the person who created it which is humorous. Even this seems to be rooted in Franklin's desire to prove himself. Pitting Mitzi and Lillian against each other is intersting and using Mitzi's textile emporium as the scene of some of those revelations (Mitzi is designing Sarah Corey's wedding dress) is effective. It's still hard to imagine Robert Stack as the older roamntic lead though.

I am 27 episodes into the Radio Playhouse episodes. It's a very neat concept I wish had lasted for several years. I'm listening to all four segments and can appreciate the diversity between the four shows from comedy (The Little Things in Life) to serialized novel (Author's Theatre presents Vanity Fair) to soap opera (The Faces of Love and To Have and To Hold.) The fifteen minute format is effective. I know there has been a fan effort to try radio soaps in recent years, but I be very interested in seeing something in the vein of a daily short form serial like these. Of the four, Author's Theatre is the least interesting. Vanity Fair is a period piece which aren't really my favorite. Becky Sharpe is also not the most rootable character. I often skip this segment or just let it run without much attention. Not surprising to me, at least one station chose not carry Author's Theatre despite carrying the other three segments. I am surprised that I find The Little Things in Life enjoyable about a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, and their daily travails. Most of the episodes are one-offs but the last few segments have dealt with the fallout of a visit from some unexpected houseguests. In general, it is a nice little slice of life story. I had known that there were daily comedies, but I couldn't understand their appeal. With Little Things, I am starting to understand why they drew in an audience. There is something very homey about the series. Light weight, while not feeling too sacharine. There is a sort of timeless quality to it all that makes it enjoyable. The Faces of Love was the series I was hoping to find and it is a little disappointing at times. The original story is set in the small town of Bellhaven and focuses on a young widow, Kate Higgins Wakefield, who has found new freedom after the sudden demise of her beloved, but controlling, father-in-law Arthur Wakefield. In the wake of Wakefield's death, Kate has decided to close up shop and has taken a job with Al Ross (voice actor Ernie Francis, not Larry Haines Like I thought) at his real estate office in the city. Al is buddies with Tony Cushing, the neer do well playboy who thinks that Kate is going to be his next conquest. Kate's new direction has many different reactions. Her sister Joy wants her to settle down and marry and have a family like she has with her husband, Jim. Joy would prefer that the husband be David Sloane, the newspaper editor who has deep feelings for Kate. Joy's daughter, Nancy, wants Kate to live in the city because she plans to drop out of school and live with Kate in her new urban environment. David would prefer her close, but knows he has no control. Tony wants her in the city closer to him. Her aunt by marriage, Isabelle Wakefield (Joan Copeland, I believe), encourages Kate to live her life on her own terms. Pregnant office secretary Pat thinks that Kate should also pursue whatever her heart desires. Newspaper publisher Henry Slater wants her in Bellhaven because trouble seems to be on the horizon with the return of disbarred attorney, Stephen Wolf, inquiring into the Wakefield clan. Wolf had previously defended the late Tom Wakefield, Kate's husband, on drug related charges. Henry mentions being involved in a coverup involving Tom and how the late Arthur suspected that his son Tom had been manipulated into the drug world by those who were Arthur's enemies. The show can be entertaining when emphasizing the small town concept (there's a nice sequence where Kate drags Tony through the woods) and some of the more modern dilemmas involving a woman's choice to be a wife or live her own life. Overall though, I waver between feeling it is dated (even by 1975) and thinking its what I imagine mid 1970s Love of Life felt like, which I am not sure whether to consider that a compliment or not. I think there's potential and I like the characters, but I find myself wondering if someone else wrote it, what would happen. I cannot praise To Have and To Hold enough. It's a joy. From Richard and Suzanne Holland, the story of the Carter and Foster families drives the drama with one central storyline involving the mysterious illness of Emily Fairchild Carter, wife, mother, and graduate student, causing her to hear noises that aren't there and to have terrible headaches. Set outside Chicago in the community of Lakeside (I think), the central story is split between the hospital, Jefferson or University Hospital, and the homes of the families including Robert Carter's estate, River Run. In the latest episodes, Emily is in the hospital for a series of tests, appears to be on the mend, but her doctor Marshall Foster suspects that she might have a brain tumor. Marshall has a growing fondness for Emily's sister, Angela, who has taken up residence in the Carter home while Emily is in hospital. This has given Marsh an excuse to visit Angela. The friendship between the teenage daughters of both families, Susie Carter and Betsy Foster, has created additional tension between their mothers Emily and Ginger Foster (Charita Bauer). Marsh and Ginger' Foster's volatile marriage is a ongoing subplot as it is unclear whether Ginger's neuroses over Marsh and Angela's friendship is unfounded or based on Marshall's previous extra martial interests. Susie's story has involved her relationship with both her mother, and now her aunt. Emily, in one of her fits, slapped Susie in public leading to animosity from Susie towards her mother. Now, things have settled as Susie's brother Bobby has returned from summer camp and plans to head off soon to Harvard, though Emily's illness may keep him around longer. Susie and Emily have had very tense standoffs that were very good. It really ground Emily's illness in emotions. Additionally, now that Emily is away, Susie has some issues with her new mother figure Angela, partially stemming from the perception that Angela may be carrying on with Marshall Foster, her best friend's father. By comparison, this all feels more modern to me than The Faces of Love. Add in a compelling score, the swell of the opening theme gives such a lush quality I am drawn in even before the start. In the B story, Lynn Carter (Emily's sister-in-law) has been depressed since her marriage to William Sloan, an attorney, ended in an annulment when William wouldn't have children with her. Lynn has become smitten with ski instructor, Kurt Rogers, while she and her stepmother Caroline Carter are vacationing in Switzerland. Lynn makes it clear she wants to be a mother and has plans to quickly remarry. Her father, Robert Carter, is less convinced and has paid an associate over in Switzerland to investigate Kurt. In one segment, we have heard Kurt carrying on with a married woman and has mentioned he has been avoiding returning home to Vermont. Bill has popped up needing to speak to Lynn about joint property they need to settle and there are so many references to Ann, Caroline's daughter, that I can only imagine she will pop up sooner rather than later. In the latest, Robert has informed Lynn of the investigation, which upsets her. This second story is more fitting of the show's coda: the story of the traditional vows and modern morality and the people who struggle between them or something along those lines. I believe some of this was later reused by the Hollands on General Hospital with a lawyer (Lee / Robert in THATH) marrying a Caroline with a child from a previous marriage (Bobby / Ann). I'd be curious how the Hollands work was received on GH since I find the medical aspect on To Have and To Hold a good mix of work place and family drama.

Did you end up watching "Hotel Malibu" as well? Not that I would highly recommend it, but I would be curious to hear your thoughts if you did. I felt of all three iterations ("Second Chances" Story 1 [eps 1-7], Story 2 [8-10], and "Hotel Malibu") the middle version was the most interesting. Given that Mike Chulak and Dianne Benedict's relationship seemed to be the second chance of the title, Matt Salinger's casting really did seem to bring down the pairing. I think there was a little bit of charm, but he wasn't really romantic lead material. Maybe if Dianne and Mike were the B-story it would have worked, but it is hard. I thought Dianne and Pete Dyson (John Schneider) had much better chemistry and I was happy to see that's where the story seemed to be heading. Add in Brenda Bakke's mysterious former beauty queen Lara Peterson and Dianne's sudden pregnancy (to accomodate Selleca's pregnancy) meant the story had some steam finally. I thought Megan Follows' quirky Kate Benedict was definitely the show's true lead, in my opinion. Her showing up in full cat makeup is one of the highlights of the entire show. I thought she and Richard McGill (Robert Duncan McNeill) were great and Justin Lazard's Kevin Cook worked better as the loser in love in that triangle than pining after Melinda Lopez (Jennifer Lopez). The Emily Howells mystery worked really well for me. I am just not sure if you could have kept Kate in the junior Jessica Fletcher role in a natural manner, but I wish we did find out. If they needed another revamp, I would have brought in Joanna Russell as Kate Benedict's mother (it might have been harder to pass Russell off as Selleca's mother, but possibly as a stepmother). You could still tell the Joanna Cassidy/Pepe Serna romance but I would have made Joanna a more gray character possibly as a real estate developer involved with some shady figures who would put her involvement with Pete and Dianne's business some tension on both a family front as well as both of DIanne's careers (both construction and law). I also would have introduced Romy Walthall as a grifter who was claiming to be an heiress to move in on Justin Lazard's Kevin Cook and win over the Cooks to get their money. I'd give her a partner in crime (let's use John Dye though I'd prefer someone more adept at playing two faced) who she initially claimed was her brother, but was her lover. You could then have them try and fake a kidnapping or plot a murder only for Walthall loving Kevin and wanting her second chance killing Dye. For Melinda, I would have had her work in Joanna Cassidy's real estate office and slowly become more involved with the son of one of the shady figures Joanna worked with. The son would believe his father was innocent, but there would be some crime that Kate would investigate that would prove he was guilty causing tension between Melinda / Kate in the process. Of course, not all of this could happen at once so I would probably weave characters in and out. The elder Cooks would probably be written out pretty quick only coming back when needed possibly recast. Ray Walston would probably briefly play out as the third wheel in the Joanna Cassidy / Pepe Serna story threatening the happiness of Joanna Cassidy until the mysterious business figures she associated with had Walston run off the road and left in a coma. I thought the original murder mystery story was a flop. I think both Ramy Zada's detective and Michelle Phillips' secretary were in on the murder. I thought things improved immensely once they left.

In regards to Jo, I think it's important to remember even though they were divorced by 1982, Jo and Martin were played as endgame until Martin left the first time in 1984. Quite frankly, they would even hint at it through as late as 1985 when Estelle Kendall arrived. In that context, Jo had some more weight in regards to the Kendall family. It is often stated that Kendalls essentially replaced the Tourneurs/Sentells. While this is partially true, Tomlin introduced the Kendalls as a rival to the Tourneur/Sentell clan. Lloyd and Martin's sordid history stemming from a business deal years earlier in which Lloyd's father committed suicide due to faulty parts that the General had managed to scrape through by. Additionally, Steve's paternity added further fuel to the fire. I imagine that Stu would have been further tied to the T.R. storyline has Barbara Moreno had stayed. As a social worker, I imagine Barbara would have been recruited to help witht the young woman. Personally, I would have played Jo and Lloyd, at first as a revenge scheme on Lloyd's part, before eventually really developing feelings for her with Jo reminded of the late Sam Reynolds in some of Lloyd's personality. After Barbara and Stu went kaput, I felt like there was a brief attempt to pair Jo Henderson's Kate and Stu when Kate was first brought on. I think Stu as stepfather to the McCleary boys might have given him more to cluck over. Sarah I think was suppose to be younger. She mentioned her sister Tracey was in college and Chris was in the military in one episode. Casting much younger actors in their late twenties/early thirties to adult children wasn't uncommon in the 1980s. Not a great practice by any stretch of the imagination, but not unique to Patti.

Corbett was hired by Freddie Bartholomew around July, 1982 when the show went to NBC and the directive seemed to go younger. Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt created him. Warren was similar to how Michael Pavel ended up on the show. I think Corbett returned under Ellen Barrett. Haskell was hired under Joanna Lee. Gary Tomlin created the character. David Cherrill had created Michael Kennedy and Steve Kendall in June, 1983. Tomlin made the two characters brothers in one of his first episodes in late May and brought on Lloyd in June. Barrett did hire Louise Shaffer. She may have introduced Bigelowe's Bar, the Irish pub that the characters hung out in from late 1983 until early 1986 (I assume it was destroyed in the flood). If she introduced Bigelowe's, she also probably hired Malachy McCourt (Kevin, RH) as Big Bigelowe, the properitor. Barrett hired Jenny Dweir (Ryan) to play Wendy's neighbor who played a significant role in the end of the Warren caper. Paul Avila Mayer and Ellen Barrett's tenures don't overlap, if I recall. Erwin Nicholson takes over in early March, 1985, when Jeanne Glynn is still credited. Then Paul Avila Mayer and Stephanie Braxton are credited in mid- or late March, 1985. Paul Avila Mayer and Stephanie Braxton brought on Quinn McCleary as the roguish brother and tightened (in my opinion) the family dynamics of the McCleary clan. I enjoyed a lot of what Avila Mayer and Braxton did, but also disliked elements as well.

I liked what I watched of "The Yellow Rose" in the early episodes. It drops the serialization around episode 13 or so (I don't remember exactly what episode) and it becomes a bit less interesting in my opinon. I probably should revisit at some point. Thank you for sharing about "Rich Man, Poor Man II." I was curious because there was some talk in the proposed soap thread about "Midas Valley" which was written by Ann Beckett, who penned some of Book II. I concur that "Second Chances" was rough. I thought they were making some good strides in the last 3 episodes when they launched the post-murder mystery stories. The mystery of the missing Aunt Emily, the romance between Kate and Robert Duncan McNeill's character, and the intruction of John Schneider as Dianne's new business partner in her husband's construction company was great. Phasing out a couple characters was smart, but it had a ways to go from becoming must see TV. John Dye and Cheryl Pollack are miscast in "Hotel Malibu" and everything starts to fall apart from there. I really tried to enjoy it, but it is a hard watch. If there were edits available of Romy Wathall's charcter, she was a gem.

In the bible, Warren killed Channing. I don't remember if the reason was explained as I feel it was written as bit of an end note at the end of the plot section. He would later marry Eden and die shortly afterwards. It didn't say how he died, but I remember getting the sense he was going to be murdered.

Your comment led me to dig a little deeper. I also had assumed the show was inconsideration for the 1985-1986 year, however Midas Valley was in contention as a mid-season replacement for the 1984-1985 season. The pilot was filmed in March, 1984. The script for "episode 1" was written in September, 1984. The pilot was fairly expensive. In February, the papers were saying that ABC had put $1 million into it. By August, the reports were saying the pilot had cost $2.5 million. The newspapers listed Midas Valley along with Berrengers as the possible midseason replacement serials. So given the immense cost, assuming that the show would get a pick up seems more reasonable. @Sapounopera Thanks for posting the promo. I don't think Midas Valley has made it to YouTube as other primetime soap pilot films have over the years. I have the pilot script and its very plot heavy, which would be intriguing if the characters were better drawn. There's lots of scheming involving the acquistion of Markov Robotics. Josh Landau has secured a government contract which has led to an attempted security breach. George Carew, the villain of the older set, seems to be in cahoots with foreign entities to try and steal Landau's latest creation, an early form of artificial intelligence. Scattered in between are some romantic complications: Drew and Molly Hammond navigating their relationship as loving exes, Sarah Corey and Josh Landau's slow burning forbidden romance, Lillian Hammond's one night stand with Brad Turner, George's affair with a diplomat's wife Mitzi Kawamata, and Betsy Weiler's attempt to seduce Josh. The episode ends with a huge plane crash spurred by Drew's heart attack mid flight and Seth Weiler and Josh Landau's efforts to remove Drew from the wreckage. Besides the plane crash, I imagine a bit of the expense comes from the sets which are described as having the latest state of the art technology (the producers of Salem's Children would probably be envious). Lillian Hammond's place alone is described as having some sort of electronic dumbwaiter system. Also, there were at least three different robots described (one being an engagement gift for Franklin Hammond and Dr. Sarah Corey in addition to a security robot and janitorial robot at Lantern). Latern later became Candle when the show was filmed though it loses its meaning (Landau + Turner). @DRW50 With the new knowledge that this was proposed for the 1984-1985 season, I would suspect that soapy Glitter flopping fairly early in the season and Paper Dolls gaining some traction among critics, but not audiences, probably made ABC think twice. Also, its possible that the failure of Berrengers also prevented the show from moving forward, but I think that might be a long shot.

Now that you mention it, I think I recall Paul Raunch telling Michael Logan that they had purchased the Time Travel storyline from a consultant, I want to say a novelist, but I may be very off and thinking of some other story from that period. There was one moment during the Time Travel story I really enjoyed. During the Civil War, Shayne's doppleganger went off to fight and was killed. Zimmer mourning the loss of Billy Kay felt very real even if Kay's character wasn't her child, just a doppleganger. I agree that Raunch was recycling a lot of story elements from his OLTL stint. I would add San Cristobal and Mendorra to your comparison list.

There is a fairly substantial time gap between Dylan's death in May, 1986, and Jeffrey Conrad's arrival in December, 1986. The Hartleys were specifically who I was referring to when I made my comment about actors who might have been sidelined by Wright's other projects. Even if Page Mosely's Dylan was set to be killed off, the obvious conflict would have been between Nick and Kelly trying to process the role Kelly played in the accident that caused Dylan to die. Nick doesn't disappear until November, 1986, so Nick does suffer due to this situation. @DRW50 I don't remember all the details, but Ted seemed more impacted by Channing's death in the bible than he did on the series. I want to say he was just more morose overall and that his initial summer romance with Laken was supposed to fade out, but it has been a while since I had glanced at the bible. I do remember the affair with the teacher and the implication that Ted had issues stemming from Sophia's death. Given that Sophia's return wasn't described in the plot section of the bible, I imagine things changed when Sophia returned.

I first watched during the SoapNet reruns and found 1979 hard to watch at times. Edmund's death was brutal as was Jill's addiction to painkillers. The mob stuff could be incredibly tension filled with scenes like Anna Pavel interrupting the dinner to accuse Tiso of doing something to her husband while the Ryans look on in horror. The Poppy/ Terry the Tumor story wasn't my favorite. I felt the show was pretty dark by the time Mary dies as I feel like the lightest story was Roger complaining that Delia didn't refill the ice trays. Was that Roger and Seneca scene with the two of them drinking wine by the fire? I remember thinking that they were about to kiss. Maybe this was when the show was considering revealing that Seneca was gay? Kim as Jack's daughter is interesting, but let's go even farther and disrupt another couple as well. It probably would have been a stretch of the timeline, but let's make Jill her mother since we know that Jack and Jill had a previously relationship. In her grief over losing Edmund (and possibly strung out), Jill confesses to Faith that she had a child years earlier that she gave away when she was an undergraduate. She refuses to name the father. Meanwhile, Wes Leonard is doing a story on young people on the verge of aging out of the foster system and interview Kim for the profile. Rae is struck by the article because she is reminded of her only lonely existence in Kansas. She doesn't think much more of it until Kim decidesto show up at Rae's penthouse and rage at the wage she was presented in the article. Kim, wowed by Rae's wealthy lifestyle, seems Rae as an easy mark and worms her way into Rae's life so that Rae will play Mommy Warbucks. Kim soon finds herself living the good life while Rae searches out information about her biological parents while Kim plots to have Rae and Seneca marry and adopt her. When Kim gets in trouble in school and tries to get out of it by using Rae's name and power, Rae decides she needs to teach Kim the value of hard work and asks Maeve and Johnny if Kim can be a dishwasher at the bar. Kim's clearly mortified, but also finds the Ryan family warmth very appealing, while still prefer the financial security that comes from being Rae's ward. Rae's lawyer tracks down Kim's original birth certificate days before the adoption and is mortified to learn that Kim is Jill's daughter. Separately, Jill has also been working to find her child, which she is keeping a secret from Frank. Frank begins to suspect that Jill is carrying on behind his back with the investigator until he realizes it is much older Matt Pearce. Frank is able to figure out that Matt is investigating an adoption case and suspects that Jill is looking into her own past, and decides to drop it. Jill and Matt reach a dead end when they cannot locate the birth record, which Rae has had misfiled, leading to Jill confessing the truth to Frank. When Frank wonders who the father is, Jill remains mum. Pampered Kim and stoic Jill have some run ins at the bar and Kim finds Jill haughty and Jill finds Kim very confrontational. It's at Ryan's Bar that she also meets Jack, who she finds witty and charming. Jack and Mary even offer to let Kim babysit Ryan while they have an evening out. Once the adoption is finalized Kim feels safe for the first time in a long time. Roger begins to wonder why Rae has "dropped" her investigation into Kim's parents and decides to take a look in her safe and discovers Jill's her mother. Rae begs Roger to keep quiet, but Roger refuses even when Rae tries to blackmail him over his involvement in Tom's death. At Frank and Jill's rehearsal dinner, Roger tells Jill that Kim is her daughter leading to a grand confrontation between Jill and Rae and the startling revelation on the part of Jack that he needs to have answered. Privately, Jack asks Jill if he is Kim's father. Jill tearfully confirms it in only the way that Nancy Addison Altman could leading to the next round of chaos. I remember really enjoying 1980 into 1981 during its first run on SoapNet, but the first few months may have been clunky. I don't want to spoil too much, but I remember really liking Faith's story (I think I was in the minority) as well as Delia's post-Albert story (there is a dinner party to die for at one point that may be one of Labine and Mayer's more underrated moments) and Jack's new romantic pairing, but finding Jill's story a bit of a trudge to get through even though it has a delightfully campy ending. Have you gotten to Kim and the Brownies yet? That was another fun time in my opinion. I also think the direction that Kim / Seneca go once they deemphasize the romantic aspect and focus on Kim's scheming is much more intriguing as well as Rae taking on a new business associate.

Another oddity... I think we've talked about the proposed ABC nighttime soap Midas Valley in 1985 which was set in Silicon Valley. ABC burned off the pilot as a TV movie that ended with Robert Stack's character fate left up in the air after I think a car accident. I have found that 6 episodes of the show were written, but obviously never produced. I am not sure why they were written whether ABC asked for some scripts to see what it would be like or if someone thought they could shop it around or if the production company assumed it was a go and went ahead and had the scripts written. Very weird.

This is the first time I am seeing this episode as my collection has fairly big gap in mid-January, 1990. This is a really powerful episode featuring the racism storyline. The ending is pretty effective. I had never heard Ruth speak about her desire to buy the house because of all the hard work her mother had done making the house a home. In this light, it puts a spin on Ruth's pursuit of the Whitmore, now Marshall, estate. I could see how Ruth would want own the house because of her mother more so than because she wanted to one up Laura McCallum although I feel some of that is still at play. It is highlighted by the interaction with Helen Mullens. Helen's story at this point has been a little bumpy, but this episode really brings together some things for me. In December, Helen is clearly uncomfortable with Ruth's plans to purchase the home and then we learn a little while later (during the spray paint incident) that Helen is also mortified by the actions. A short while later, we see Helen with a black eye. I don't think the domestic violence angle within the Mullens marriage is ever really discussed much on the boards, but it was another way of integrating some topical issues into the narrative. When Helen is defying Charles here, there is a bit more at stake that I wish was alluded to. The moment where Vivian arrives at the Whitmore home and finds Ruth placing a picture of the two of them on the mantle while Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech plays is Generations at its best. Jonelle Allen rightfully gets recognized for her work, but Joan Pringle is equally strong in creating a strong, self-determined and at times selfish woman incredibly human and provoking sympathy for her from the audience. I wish both women had found more success on another daytime series. I was unaware that Vivian briefly lived with Sam and Adam after Monique and Jason married. I wish there was a bit more of that online. I also really enjoy George Shannon as Jordan Hale. He manages to balance the stern authoritarian with a dash of charisma in a way that I could see how fatherless Sam would be drawn to him. There is just a bit of a twinkle in his eye that I really enjoy. I know Robert Gentry is a bigger name and was considered a get, but I would have been interested in seeing Shannon play out the mobster stuff. I don't know if Shannon would have handled that as well, but I think he would have been interesting opposite Ron Harper. I often forgot how stunning Vivica A. Fox is as Maya. The Daniel Ruebens/life on the run story is another story from this period that is just really strong. I hope more of mid-January shows up because I have seen some edits of Sam and Kyle stuff from those weeks that I would love to see in context of the entire episodes.

There was an important trade show, the NATPE bazaar, later that month where the producers were pitching the show so I believe this was to build up some interest for the show before the eating. Once the meeting occured, the show lost most of it's buzz and was considered dead in the water. Stations supposedly weren't interested in it because it was geared towards women being billed as a "cross between Dark Shadows and Dynasty." In late February, Taft and Group W weresaying they would reconsider their marketing strategy andstory again. I can't find much after that.

I feel the art work in the Broadcasting ad is compelling, but the vague story summary and the screenshots do little for me. I'd still love to see this pop up somewhere, but I think that's unlikely. I am also a fan of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" so the allusion to that with Hawthorne's family history (his grandfather was one of the judges in the Salem witch trials) makes me smile. There were several attempts to try out a "Dark Shadows" like serial in primetime. There was Covenant with Jane Badler and Dark Mansions with Linda Purl. Those syndication numbers for DS must have been really impressive. I thought I read once this was created by Stephen and Elinore Karpf, but I couldn't find anything to back it up.

The Woman Inside was created by Rita Lakin. It looks like Jackie Smith, who was working at Warner Brothers in charge of special developments, was overseeing it after working in CBS daytime earlier. The show was centered around a group of six women in a therapy group. The initial story would focus on two of the women: Barbara Brooks and Lacey Andrews. Lacey was a reporter for "The New Woman" magazine and was involved with a married politician, who's wife had a terminal disease. I should have more information soon.

@DeliaIrisFan It's interesting to consider the makeup of the central family in terms of marriage. The second generation is single with Sara and Joseph divorced and no partner mentioned for Jessica. While Joseph and Elizabeth are together, I'll be curious if they will stay together. There will probably be others in the 20/30 something group though I imagine we are approaching the cap when one considers that David, Daniel, and Cheryl may also be contract as well as Stacy's husband and Sam's wife. I'd be more concerned about Marcus / Daniel and Jillian / David if both couples didn't have career combos that will produce tension in their relationship. "Loving" started with over half their cast married and it was a recipe for disaster, but I don't think the dynamics were as rich as these are even working within the realm of the basic archetypes we've been provided. Something I noticed is there is no central business which will be refreshing. Though I do suspect there may be some sort of talent agency given the references to modelling and singing. The political/legal landscape seems to be the central focus and the hospital, which is very old school.

An ad for Salem's Children from the January 5, 1987, edition of "Broadcasting" magazine: Here's the original link: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1987/BC-1987-01-05.pdf

From the 1980s proposed soap Salem's Children: @slick jones Cast listed for Salem's Children: Jeff Lester as Dr. Warren Deed David Byrd as Goodman Ruth de Sosa as Becca Cromley Janice Lynde as Sybil Crombley Gary Calrke as Ned Burroughs Brett Halsey as Jonathan Deed

It's interesting that Robin Wright was upset about the change in Kelly because it's made pretty clear in the Bible for the show that Kelly is a neurotic who had severe psychological issues that C.C. was working hard to keep underwraps. After Joe had been sent to prison, Kelly was found hovering in the corner of the room semi catatonic. I am curious if this wasn't mentioned in the casting breakdown or if Wright just assumed that she could put her own mark on the character, which is fair since the character of Ted underwent major changes with Todd McKee in the role. Or maybe the Dobsons planned Kelly's psychological issues to be a surprise. Either way, the intention was always to make Kelly disturbed.

Jean Bruce Scott said she only had a partial of the episode so I suspect she just had the scenes she was in, but even uploading all of that would be appreciated. In the bit I found online, Adam West speaks about playing Rodney Harrington stating he was still married to Betty (not yet cast at the time) and running Peyton Industries. Additionally, I believe Morgan Stevens character was named Jamie Harrington. Jamie and Spring were half-siblings and in love. This last bit comes from some old postings I saved from danfling's message board from years ago so take it with what you will. The poster who shared that info may even be here and able to elaborate. The script isn't available online, but I believe you can request a copy of it for a cost. I don't think you need to go there to get it. Some libraries have a cap, but I doubt that a single script would exceed the cap.

The plan was for the show to be nightly so I imagine that's why it was on videotape. The hope was to have a syndicated block of series that would air from 11pm - 2am. Adam West was Rodney. The script also seems to be available in Sy Salkowitz's papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society citing Don Wallace as the writer of the pilot.

Jean Bruce Scott has a very brief clip of it on her Facebook page. Also featured in the clip are Mark Pinter as David and the actress playing Allison McKenzie. There are other screenshots as well: https://www.facebook.com/JeanBruceScottArchive/videos/600566348861085

I think Peyton Place '79 was supposed to be part of a late night syndication package with another soap called Hollywood Boulevard or something along those lines. The concept was again tried a couple of years later. There was once on eBay a proposal for Peyton Place '81 or some other year early in the 1970s. Unfortunately, I didn't win it and I've never seen it mentioned since.

I think that type (the slightly ambitious morally corrupt male) was ever evolving on Santa Barbara. In some ways, I think that Jack Lee replaces that archetype later followed by Kirk Cranston and eventually Keith Timmons. Granted, each of those characters had different shadings to them I feel they are sorta similar, though I'd be open to discussion on why I am wrong lol Someone who once worked in the industry suggested that Mr. Bottoms' name was innuendo, which given the twisted sense of humor that Dobsons had I wouldn't be surprised. In the Bible, Ted was a more morose character and it was proposed that he would have an affair with his teacher (I am not sure if she was named or not) with the suggestion that Ted's interest in the teacher was a bit of an Oedipus complex due to the death of Sophia, as I don't think the original plan was for Sophia to come back from the dead. This is how I feel about the subject. She didn't have to take the role. She made a choice. Twenty years later, an actress her age would have been signed automatically to a four year contract on a soap. Additionally, I feel more sorry for her colleagues (especially her romantic interests) who's stories may have stalled because she was off filming.