Paul Raven

Pretty much yes! Worked with one at one time and was unamused by their antics. Check out the Proposed Soaps thread for details on Manhattan Lives.

‘Falcon Crest’ writers call Palm Springs home Desert Sun Dec 19 2013 By Xochitl Peña; It may be surprising to know that two of the writers behind some of the most theatrical nighttime soap operas of the 1980s are anything but melodramatic. There are no angry slaps or throwing of cocktails between Steve Black and Henry Stern — just a lot of laughing. “We laugh all the time. We wake up and we start doing shtick. When we’re making the bed we are laughing and talking,” said Black. The Palm Springs couple have logged more than 600 hours of primetime and daytime television between the two over their approximately 27 years as writing partners. The two are known for their long run as writers and producers of “Falcon Crest” — the nighttime soap that ran from 1981 to 1990 and featured the late Jane Wyman as the matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery. But throughout the years they also wrote episodes for “Flamingo Road,” “Paper Dolls,” “Matlock,” “Knots Landing,” “Silk Stalkings,” “Dynasty,” “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman” and “As the World Turns.” Their first paid gig was a script for “The Love Boat.” “The thing we love to do best is tell stories and the best genre for that is an ongoing serial drama whether it is daytime or nighttime and we found that we had a great affinity for it and we took to that,” said Stern, 67. “It was Black and Stern all the way through,” said Black, 71. The two also wrote television movies with the biggest thrill coming when they got to write a movie for Audrey Hepburn. “It was the only thing she did for American television and it was because she read another script we had done. Because she loved our script, she agreed to do one with us,” said Stern. The movie was called “Love Among Thieves” and came out in 1987. The two recall how the script originally called for Hepburn to be hiding in a refrigerated meat car. The thought of getting up close and personal with meat carcass, though, did not appeal to Hepburn. So they changed the scene to a refrigerated car full of flowers. That was her only change to the script, they said. “We lived and breathed television. It became our lives,” said Black. Early inspiration What drove their long and prosperous success was a love for the genre and not being pigeonholed as just comedy or drama writers. They tried everything, said Stern. Before they met and started working together, Stern was producing shows on Broadway and Black was a promotion writer for Look Magazine and wrote plays. They were both in their 20s when they met at a New York bar that had just opened in March 1969 — just months before the Stonewall riots that led to the gay liberation movement. “I kept asking him to dance and he declined,” said Black. “I went back and he finally agreed to meet me for lunch.” That persistence paid off because the two quickly became a couple, committed to each other months later on June 10 of that same year. “When you know, you know,” said Stern. Black remembers having to push apart their twin beds during the day just in case folks from work stopped by. Though they were never closeted, being gay wasn’t as accepted early in their lives as it is today, said Stern. “The sense of belonging and not having that stigma of just ‘oh well we’re tolerated’ really came about as gay rights became more and more available to peoples,” said Black. “We were in that transitional generation. We appreciate much more what we have today because of the experiences we had to go through,” said Stern. he two were at the kitchen counter when the Supreme Court in June cleared the way for same-sex marriage. “It was a very emotionally draining moment,” said Black. “That was the day we knew we would be getting married very soon,” said Stern. When they could finally apply for a marriage license, they were third in line in Indio. The two were married on July 1 at Palm Springs City Hall by Mayor Steve Pougnet after 44 years together. “We are fortunate to live in this wonderful community where it’s accepted as part of the fabric,” said Black. Sitting side-by side on their couch, it’s evident by the gentle touch of a hand or gaze, the love between the two is still burning bright — even after all these years. “We’ve had a wonderful ride,” said Black. “I loved being able to work with Steve. That was a wonderful part of it that we got to experience this together. The relationships were symbiotic. The personal enhanced the work, the work enhanced the personal,” said Stern. As for how they were able to come up with so many dramatic story lines: “Everyone has imagination,” said Black. “The trick is to take what could happen in real life and to exaggerate it into something dramatic that will be interesting to watch because you don’t want to watch real life,” said Stern. What are your favorite shows? Both agree for dramas it’s “Homeland” and “Scandal.” For comedy, it is “Modern Family.” What actor did you most enjoy working with? Audrey Hepburn. “Probably the most generous, most respectful actor we ever worked for,” said Black. “She was everything in person that you expected her to be. So lovely and easy to work with,” said Stern. What is key to working together? Trust. “The element you can’t manufacture in a partnership is trust,” said Black. Also, added Stern, if they had an argument at home, they didn’t bring it work and vice versa. What was your toughest gig? They became head writers on “As the World Turns” and moved to New York. “As a head writer you are responsible for every single piece of material that goes on five-hours a week, no break, 52 weeks a year. We got there and were working seven days a week, 12 to14 hours a day,” said Stern. What is the biggest difference between dramas today compared to when you were writing? The amount of expletives that are allowed and how fast paced they move. “Today everything has to move very quickly and it’s much more visual. The attention span of the audience is much smaller,” said Stern. Said Black: “It’s a texting mentality. Everything is short and sweet.”

Jon Michael only seemed to be voicing what everyone was thinking. Why couldn't Rauch/P&G/NBC see it? Corinne Jacker should have been paired with a more experienced soap writer. Austin American-Statesman Oct 3 1982 The soapy decline of 'Another World' By JON-MICHAEL REED Special to the American-Statesman NEW YORK The decline in eminence of "Another World" during the past eight years could provide a classic study of how not to run a soap opera. The most recent fiasco involves the abandonment of an admittedly horrible storyline of a "movie-within-a-soap." All of the performers connected with the filming of Jamie Frame's "Peyton-Place'like novel have been axed, including Ben Masters (Vic) and Tracy Brooks Swope (Chris), two of the more interesting and accomplished performers to surface on soaps in quite a while. Other "AW" cast members given the boot include Linda Borgeson (Alice), Ann Rose Brooks (Diana), and Chris Marcantel (Pete). But "AW's" problems go deeper than the axing of performers. The show doesnt seem to have a sense of what it' about. The frequent addition and deletion of characters and plots over recent years is a symptom of badly-focused and desperate story emphasis. Frequent turnovers in writers haven't helped consolidate a coherent interesting and attractive theme. "Another World" has generally enjoyed superior dialogue. Under current headwriter Corinne Jacker, individual scenes frequently have a pungent reality. The words that spew forth from characters' mouths are often dry, witty, clever. But these are isolated from the whole script which tends to meander. Obviously, the main problem is that Jacker is a superb playwright accustomed to telling one prime story at a time. But in soaps, a writer must be versatile enough to keep interest high on a multitude of story fronts. And there hasn't been a major story on "AW" in a long time that gets "the juices boiling," that makes a viewer shake his head in disbelief or annoyance or any emotional response that will goad the viewer into talking about the story situation with friends as though they were gossiping about the awful events in a neighbor's life..

That Cameron story really worked well for Sharon.

As soon as I read that anyone was a 'prankster' on the set...😡

Floyd was already there. Marland could have done a quick rewrite that Floyd already knew Nola. he had hardly been frontburner under the Dobsons so stuff could have been happening that we didn't see. And Kelly could have been Billy Fletcher,Peggy's son. An immediate and legit connection to the Bauers and he was Roger's stepson.

The week Y&R went to #1 When Jody told Tom she's pregnant, he advised her to get an abortion or place the child up for adoption. Chris received a court order for Karen's custody case and suspected Ron's actions towards Nancy. Liz told Jill to face the fact that Jill likes Derek, not David. Lorie was miffed that Lance refused to consider Vanessa's decision to move out. AMC at #1 Nick terminated his relationship with Erica after she told Mark about being Mark's half-sister. Erica retaliated by deciding to keep her affair with Nick a secret. Brooke was jealous after Devon changed her mind about Pine Valley after meeting Danny. Kitty's condition deteriorated. Frank assured Caroline he loved her although Nancy accepted a job in town. Little Phil turned to Chuck after Phil argued with the child. Chuck proposed to Donna. Phoebe threatened Charles with a countersuit naming Mona as co-respondent. Re Days. So Ann Marcus did bring up the ratings over Summer with Days at #4 and #3. Interesting to see how that goes in the second half of the year. GH slumping.

We had a recast thread for many years but the focus here is recasts who in appearance and characterization seemed like a different character. Sometimes it was deliberate when many years had passed so the change could be explained away by things that happened in that period. But for others it was just a change that happened with the recast. Exhibit A Amanda Guiding Light Came back years younger and went from neurotic uptight to ex Madam.

Re Mark Arnold as Buck... first of all -why that name? Was he planned as a short term character? For a character like that did Betty Rea's assistant make the decision-how thorough was the casting process ? So Arnold is cast-was there talk of expanding the role or was it put down to a missed opportunity and then he was suggested for EON.

Just occurred to me that Peter and Kristen were Blakes. Was their adoption and connection to Stefano ever properly explained? And earlier Jessica had been a Blake and she was also adopted. I think the Blake mom and pop need to be investigated...

Thanks @DRW50 I wonder if ANDIE tapes still exist?

The other matter to consider is that Marland had actor guarantees to fill and put Charita into the scene to take care of that. That set was available etc. But of course the dialogue could have been handled better.

Password replaced another game show 'Face the Facts' which debuted March 13 1961 replacng the short lived Full Circle all at 2pm. However, everything I have read has Password debuting Oct 2 1961. CBS tried a number of shows there with little success, considering that As The World Turns was a huge success and would have provided a good lead in. It was until Password that they found a hit. The opposition at that time were Jan Murray Show on NBC and Day in Court on ABC.

As The World Turns Ralph Mitchell March - May 77 ? - Dec 79 199? Keith Charles businessman/real estate agent .Old friend of Val who arrived when she was making a play for Bob. Left with wife Sally to reconcile but returned months later alone. Went to work for Natalie and bought her agency, interested in Mary but John interferes and he takes up with Joyce Hughes again resulting in a pregnancy. Planned to tell Don the truth so Joyce planned to shoot him but shot Don instead. Involved with Mary but realizes she and Don are better suited and left town. Dated Lisa and Ellen when he returned years later. Sandy Wilson McGuire Hughes Kane Garrison Thompson Barbara Rucker ? 1975- July 79 Joyce _____ Colman Hughes Barbara Rodell April 74 - July 79; Dec 79 - 81 ex-wife of Grant Colman, Lisa's many-time rival Amy Lin Hughes adopted by Penny and Anton; real grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Parsons Irene Yaah-Ling Sun April 73- ? 73 Una Kim 1986;1988 Grant Colman Attorney Konrad Matthaei Aug 1973-74 James Douglas 1974-81; 1988-89; 1993; 1994-95

This has been discussed before but with 800 pages to wade through... Marland at ATWT seems to be a short term caretaking position. There was no big official announcement, unlike when he joined GL and in his stint there he kept everything in place. There were no major changes in story direction or new characters. Jane and Doug wanted another year, Carrie would have had treatment but (according to Marland) would her new integrated persona still be in love with Ross? Looks like at the end of year 2 Carrie would leave Springfield unable to fully commit to Ross.

Wow! in just over 3 months Y&R moves from 6th to 1 st. Any theories ? ATWT dethroned from #1 after how long?

Rose's first appearance was part of a teen runaway story in involving Chris Brooks. Somehow she escaped that rap and resurfaced for the Nikki story.

It was Feb 4 1980...

In the March 1980 episode posted on the GL thread we have Roger disguised as an elderly professor and hiding out at the Reardon boarding house. As a disguise it looks quite good. The only problem is that with a flowing beard and long grey hair Roger looks quite distinctive, which kinda defeats the purpose of trying to lay low and go unnoticed.

Show/Number of markets/rating/share/ coverage as % November 86 1. Wheel of Fortune 199 19.3 33 99.6 2. Jeopardy 189 12.3 26 98.4 3. PM Magazine 45 9.7 18 36.6 4. New Newlywed Game 181 8.9 17 96.5 5. M`A`S`H 159 8.7 19 90.6 #1 in late night in 65 markets 6. People's Court 181 8.2 21 95.3 7. Three's Company 143 7.9 18 84.7 8. Oprah Winfrey Show 131 7.7 31 89.3 #1 daytime talk show 9. Southwest Conference Football ... . 19 7.7 25 7.4 10. Phil Donahue Show 181 7.6 29 97.9 11. National Geographic 47 7.6 15 27.4 12. Entertainment Tonight 140 7.5 15 87.6 13. Best of National Geographic 59 7.5 14 44.7 14. Hollywood Squares 134 7.2 17 86.1 15. ACC Football 18 7.1 24 10.0 16. Hee Haw 165 7.1 18 77.8 17. Big Spin 9 6.9 12 10.7 18. Card Sharks 35 6.6 16 35.0 19. Facts of Life 104 6.5 13 76.4 #1 off network sitcom new to syndication 20. Magnum PI 116 6.4 16 77.5 #1 off network drama 21. Gimme a Break 103 6.2 13 81.0 22. Small Wonder 111 6.2 13 82.7 #1 first run sitcom 23. Benson 108 6.0 13 71.0 24. Diff'rent Strokes 127 6.0 14 83.2 25. Divorce Court 137 5.9 18 85.7 26. Jeffersons 96 5.6 13 63.7 27. God's Good News 5 5.4 17 2.2 28. Silver Spoons 29 5.4 11 29.4 29. Ellery Queen 6 5.3 14 9.1 30. $100,000 Pyramid 40 5.2 11 40.4 31. Too Close for Comfort 84 5.2 11 55.5 32. Fight Back 27 5.1 13 38.6 33. Dating Game 142 5.1 15 84.1 34. 9 to 5 63 5.0 10 60.9 35. Hour Magazine 126 4.8 18 82.1 36. WKRP in Cincinnati 102 4.8 12 63.2 37. Barney Miller 92 4.7 14 56.4 38. Mama's Family 138 4.6 10 85.2 39. Superior Court 109 4.6 15 73 40. Throb 133 4.6 9 88.4 And... Superior Court 109 markets 4.6/15 The Judge 67 markets 3.9/15 Siskel and Ebert 138 markets 2.6/10 At the Movies 88 markets 2.0/7 Cross Wits 29 markets 2.1/9 Strike It Rich 57 markets 1.8/8 Nightlife w/ David Brenner 96 markets 1.9/11 First run sitcoms What's Happening Now 85 markets 4.2/10 Ted Knight Show 98 markets 4.1/9 It's a Living 138 markets 3.9/9 What A Country 85 markets 3.8/8 That's My Mama 12 markets 3.6/8 One Big Family 135 markets 3.4/7 Gidget 113 markets 2.6/7 Check It Out 86 markets 1.7/6 New to syndication 60 min Fall Guy 67 markets 3.1/8 Falcon Crest 110 markets 1.1/5

Would viewers have been happy to watch a story unfold that they had already seen? I think Rodney was replaced within a few weeks as the actor must have been poor., Then Bettye Ackerman was replaced as Constance, Kathy Glass left and Lynn Loring was brought in as Betty. So really not much more than any new soap. As for whether that show exists there is a possibility that as a 20th Century Fox production it might be sitting in a warehouse somewhere. The question always remains as to what happened to overseas copies ? RTTPP played in Australia. Were the tapes destroyed or returned?

Will add more if you like from what I can locate This is Nov 85. The four numbers represent 1.Show 2. rating 3. share 4.coverage 5.number of markets So as you can see, something like Fight Back, a consumer rights show, ranks 9th but is only shown in 27 markets. This is before the boom in talk shows.I'll try and find something from later in the decade when Oprah, Sally, Geraldo etc take hold. 1.Wheel of Fortune 18.5 32 99.1 192 2. Jeopardy 11.2 24 94.5 169 3. M'A'S'H . . 9.2 20 91.6 165 4. New Newlywed Game 8.9 19 90.7 156 5. PM Magazine 8.8 15 56.0 53 6. Southwest Conference Football 8.7 28 7.5 20 7. Three's Company 8.6 19 85.9 154 8. Entertainment Tonight 8.4 17 89.9 141 9. Fight Back 8.0 17 34.3 27 10. People's Court 7.8 20 94.1 162 11. Price is Right 7.8 15 67.0 112 12. Honeymooners Season 7.5 14 25.2 36 13. Small Wonder 7.4 15 67.6 60 14. Diff'rent Strokes 7.3 16 84.0 126 15. Hee Haw 7.2 18 79.8 170 16. Barbara Mandrell 7.1 19 1.4 6 17. Benson 7.0 15 71.6 108 18. Serendipity Singers 7.0 27 1.4 5 19. Too Close for Comfort 6.9 14 74.0 85 20. Country Comes Alive 6.8 12 2.0 5 21. Gimme a Break 6.6 13 48.4 55 22. Jeffersons 6.5 15 76.1 118 23. Fame 6.3 13 89.7 141 24. ACC Football 6.2 24 10.3 17 25. Phil Donahue Show 6.2 28 97.5 178 26. Sale of the Century 6.2 16 20.9 13 27. $100,000 Pyramid 6.2 11 34.5 42 28. Forrest Gregg 6.0 18 2.0 6 29. Archie Bunkers Place 5.7 11 19.9 13 30. What's Happening 5.6 13 44.1 37 31. WKRP in Cincinnati 5.6 14 66.2 119 32. Barney Miller 5.4 14 66.8 99 33. Big Ten Football 5.2 18 18.1 25 34. Smurf-Magic Flute 5.2 8 5.3 6 35. Taxi 5.2 12 56.8 83 36. What's Happening Now 5.1 11 74.1 82 37. Agronski and Company 5.0 14 6.6 6 38. Dance Fever 5.0 12 79.7 104 39. Hour Magazine 4.9 21 78.4 114 40. SFM Holiday Entertainment 4.9 13 17.9 28 41. Star Search 4.9 12 90.7 159 42. Happy Days 4.8 14 51.4 94 Lower in the rankings Hour Magazine 4.9 21 74 110 Comedy Break with Mack and Jamie 1.7 6 48.1 40 Comedy Tonight 1.0 6 59.7 71 Dick Clark Nitetime 2.3 10 72.8 83 Dallas 3.4 10 51.7 92 Dynasty 3.4 10 48.7 47 Knots Landing 3.3 10 12.5 20

My memory is that GF refused to sit next to Gail Fisher (Mannix) at an Australian TV awards ceremony where they were special guests. There may have been other instances.

Came across this list of possibilities for the role of Hutch played by Joseph Campanella. Looks like an initial wish list. Chuck Connors Ben Johnson James Whitmore Cameron Mitchell Leif Erickson Cameron Mitchell George Kennedy Glenn Ford James Arness note said he was very tall Stewart Granger Rod Taylor note stated he was younger Rip Torn note stated that he was younger Richard Widmark Joel McCrea (A note said he was absolutely not interested) Randolph Scott

SFT Janet-both Dan Walton and Wade Collins died. I think her first husband Bud Gardner died also or did he just run off? Y&R Ashley - Steven Lassiter and Blade Bladeson.