Paul Raven

Yes, rather than shoehorning everyone into business stories that seem to consist of mergers, takeovers and job swapping. Whatever happened to the Newman Media podcasts that were going to shake up the industry? Chance as a PI would give him more flexibility and logic to be sitting around cafes and restaurants (as the possibility of him having an office or staff would be nil) It worked for Paul as he had the office, Lynne, Nathan etc and his job could be utilized where necessary-otherwise he was involved in cases we didn't need to see onscreen.

A sighting is all we need. it would have been nice of them to invite Esther. she's probably stuck at home (where does she live?) minding the kids. The Baldwins @ Society of course.

Nice photo. That set has improved since the redo. But the sofa is too small. Again everyone except Abby in dark drab shades. When is it going to get through that no one looks good in brown? #Daniel.

That's crazy. I thought it was Soap 101 to follow through on a Friday cliffhanger on Monday's show. That story is getting the most attention Y&R has had in years. So to tune in and see Jill and Nina at Crimson Lights isn't enough. BTW Love Tricia but that drab dyed hair does nothing for her. And I hate seeing Jill in those dull outfits. Jill needs to be glam at all times.

I'm sure Bryton is a lovely guy and a good actor but I agree Devon is a snooze. Y&R should have bitten the bullet in the years Devon was backburner and recast with a more charismatic actor.

I was puzzled when I read that, but I think he means at first the audience didn't like Roman. They were used to Don and Marlena and saw all the plot complications as a means to eventually re-uniting D&M. The Don/Marlena fans may have been very vocal (lots of mail/phone calls) and Rabin recalls that reaction...which quickly subsided.

Probably the whole thing is short term. Maybe if Colleen/Jordan is well received she might hang around? That of course doesn't guarantee a contract.

They must have blown the budget with those leaves swirling around the GCAC.

4 March 1994 This surely would have strong soap elements and continuing stories if not strictly a serial. Elizabeth Taylor may be bringing her big-screen movie glamour to television as star of a new series, "Daughters of Eve." Paramount Television Group is negotiating with Taylor to make her first continuing primetime TV role in the dramatic series now under development, said a company spokesman. In the series, Taylor would play a wealthy woman with a past whose three daughters are now creating their own splash in New York, London and Paris society. Taylor, who did a brief acting stint in 1981 on the daytime serial "General Hospital," would be paid close to $125,000 per episode, the trade paper Daily Variety reported Thursday.

Press-Tribune (Roseville) 20 November 1981 Although it may bring to mind movie plots of the "understudy saving the show," it was very real when "Search for Tomorrow" was off on location last month taping scenes in romantic, mysterious Hong Kong (for airing within regular episodes of the serial continuing through December.) An Oriental actor, scheduled to tape a few scenes with series stars Sherry Mathis and Rod Arrants (as Liza and Travis Sentell), was unable to appear at the last minute, and a replacement was needed immediately. Series producer Robert Getz stepped in and played the role, appearing as calligraphy expert Mr. Wu. Slick Jones had Peter Yoshida in the role so I wonder if they retaped?

San Bernardino Sun 27 July 1983 "The Hamptons," on ABC at 9 p.m. today, sounds like the result of a class theme project at an Eastern boarding school on "What my parents did this summer." This new series is a five-part, prime-time sudser under the steerage of executive producer Gloria Monty, the woman who added zip and zest to daytime soap "General Hospital." It aspires to be an East Coast answer to "Dynasty," but lacks the style and production budget of that hit serial Set in East Hampton, Long Island's answer to Palm Beach, the action revolves around the passions and intrigues of a pair of supposedly oldline Eastern Establishment families. In reality, the production gives us what yearround residents of the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard and even the Jersey shore will instantly recognize as summer people. They're the chic, aspiring, self-anointed beautiful people who save courtesy and consideration for their own kind. "The Hamptons" echoes this same self-absorption and unspoken disdain for the common run of prime-time television fare while being much more presumptious and shallow than the average series. TV soap queen, Monty, is force behind series. She is one of the most important people in television, a source of great financial pleasure for ABC. But many people have never seen or heard of her. This is Gloria Monty, one of ABC's soap-opera bosses. Monty is the producer of "General Hospital," the most-watched show on daytime TV. She's the producer of "The Hamptons," which begins an experimental summer-time run tonight. In 1978, Monty was chosen to revamp "General Hospital," which was doing poorly. She changed its style, throwing in action. She tightened the pace. And she aimed younger. "Our stories became more upbeat. There's a lot of youthful optimism." The result was a No. 1 daytime hit. So Gloria Monty has become an important figure In network TV. She has a fresh three-year contract and a chance to try a summertime experiment. What we end up with is standard serial fare characters and situations that could be plunked down anywhere, be it the Hamptons or Fire Island, and nobody will notice the difference or care. In fact, both the production and audience might be more comfortable if it did take place on Fire Island. As it stands, "The Hamptons" is a strange hybrid. It is faster paced, somewhat less talky than daytime soaps. It also is not as glossy or smooth as prime-time serials. Ambition, greed and lust which, on this show, may end up all being the same thing are the motivators trotted out for tonight's premiere of the Chadway and the Duncan-Mortimer families, the dynastic owners of a prestigious department store chain. Michael Goodwin plays Peter Chadway, the somewhat egalitarian managing director of the store. Leigh Taylor-Young is his sensuous wife Lee. Bibi Bersch is Adrienne Duncan-Mortimer, sole heir to the Duncan half of the empire. John Riley is her younger, social-climbing husband Jay, who has manuevered himself into presidency of the store. The episode's dramatic catalyst is the hospitalization after a serious stroke of Goodwin's father, co"The Hamptons" has a budget that's not primetime "I'd say it's quite a bit less," Monty says frankly but is above daytime levels. It has a couple of modestly known stars (Leigh Taylor-Young and Bibi Besch) and was filmed on location, not in a studio. The attraction, Monty says, will be the mood of the Hamptons and the intrigue of business and romance. There also will be sex, of course. Appropriately, Monty says it will be in the newer style. "We have younger people in the cast, so we have a different kind of sex. It's more eager, friskier."

thanks @j swift Another 80's trend was the use of guest stars, either playing themselves or one off roles. eg Zsa Zsa Gabor on ATWT, Imogene Coca on ATWT/OLTL,Milton Berle on GH etc Usually past their prime movie and TV stars. I'm sure we can offer up many more examples. They did guarantee a certain amount of publicity.

Producer of ‘Days of Our Lives reflects on his 11 years with show By JERRY BUCK AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) - Al Rabin stood in the rear of the control room, one eye on the director talk - ing the actors through a scene by microphone, the other on a bank of monitors showing the results from the nearby sound stage. “Cue music,” said director Susan Simon. The music came up and actors Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso, rummaging through an attic set looking for family mementos, appeared on a half dozen screens. They were taping the NBC daytime soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” which will present its 5,000 th show Friday. On Nov. 6, the serial will celebrate 20 years on the air. Miss Simon, one of the show’s four directors, stopped the action. She leafed through the script and said, “Let’s go, page 46.” They tried again and Reckell flubbed his line. Before she could start the scene again, producer Rabin interrupted. “Can you convey to them to play the scene with more joy and mirth’’” Miss Simon relayed the message. Earlier, in his second-floor office, overlooking a narrow studio street, Rabin had talked about how “Days of Our Lives” had changed since its debut in 1965. “The show started as a half hour and then expanded to an hour,” said Rabin, whose full beard is turning gray He joined the serial 11 years ago as a director and producer. As he talked a TV set with the volume turned down displayed a feed from the sound stage. "Things moved a lot slower in those days. They walked into the kitchen and sat and had tea and talked about what was happening with the family. When we first went to an hour we had seven actors and did about 11 scenes. That was nice, but it wouldn’t work today Now we have about 25 actors and do up to 30 scenes The pace is much faster and it has the look of an action-adventure show. “Before, it was talk, talk, talk The doorbell rings. It’s someone’s lover. The scene ends. Then a new scene and more talk, talk talk. Now, we’d switch back and forth between scenes. Keep it moving. We always have five or six stories going at once. The audience may like one story and not another, but they will get a few stories every day that they like. “One thing has never changed,” Rabin said. “To me, what makes every show work is that there’s always a love story. Generally, a couple trying to get together, and the appeal of that couple and how they relate to the audience. The intensity they have with the show is to me directly relatable to the success of the show. How you make it work is at least 50 percent luck." Rabin walked over to the TV set and pointed to the screen. “That’s the Horton couple,” he said. “Frances Reid is now a matriarch. She’s been with the show from the beginning. So have Macdonald Carey (who plays her husband) and John Clarke (who plays their son).” Besides those actors, director Joe Behar and cameraman George Meyers have been with the show 20 years. Another couple appeared “That’s Bo and Hope, played by Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso,” Rabin said. “They’re just back from London, where they got married. They’re a hot young couple. We try to keep the feeling of family and romance and a love story. . . . “We’ve been lucky,” he continued. “We’ve had four or five hot love stories. Charles Shaughnessy came on as a day player. We saw something when he played with Patsy Pease. If you have ability, it’s to find that little moment. We showed the tape to the writers and they changed him from a bad guy to an undercover agent. They’ve been a huge success. Now our job is to keep them apart. “John de Lancie came on as a psychopathic killer 3 years ago. He was only supposed to be on a few weeks. Now he’s an eccentric love interest who thinks he’s a psychopathic killer He’s comedy relief. This is the first soap I’ve been involved in that has a comic love story.” One of the show’s hottest love stories was between Diedre Hall and Wayne Northrop, but Northrup left last year. Rabin said the audience refused to accept him. “Wayne was her second love on the show,” he said, “and it was a real struggle to get the audience to believe she could fall in love with a second guy.

Guiding Light’ writer looks for fresh ideas Desert Sun 22 December 1983 By TOM JORY Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) - “Guiding Light” has been a daytime companion for millions since 1937, starting on radio and switching to TV after 15 years. Can anything new, really new, ever happen to the Bauers or the Reardons or any of the other folks in Springfield? “I get really upset,” says Pamela Long Hammer, principal writer for the CBS soap opera since March, “because I’ll come up with this neat scenario and someone will say, ‘That’s like “Strangers on a Train.’” “I think, ‘They keep stealing my material.’ “The way I figure it,” she says, “there are only so many stories in the world. It’s the characters who keep the show new and exciting. All of our stories come from them: I don’t come up with a plot, and then work a character into it.” Continuity is important. Someone out there surely knows all that’s happened, to everyone on the show, in 46 years. How about Miss Long Hammer? "Nope. I care about what our core families have been doing,” she says. “I’m always interested in what happened to Bert Bauer (played since 1950 by Charita Bauer) 20 years ago, but as far as going back and reading scripts, no. “Others on the show keep track,” she says. “I’ll suggest something, and be told, ‘You don’t remember, but five years ago, they had this terrible fight. They would never speak to one another now.”’ Miss Long Hammer, a former Miss Alabama who came to New York as an aspiring actress in 1980, began writing for daytime television while playing Ashley on NBC’s “Texas.” She eventually wrote herself out of the story. Her staff for “Guiding Light” includes nine writers, among them her husband, Charles Jay Hammer, whom she met while both worked on “Texas.” NBC dropped “Texas” after two seasons, and episodes from the serial currently are being rerun on the Turner Broadcasting System’s cable-TV SuperStation, WTBS. Gail Kobe, who was executive producer of “Texas,” now has the same job on “Guiding Light.” And Beverlee McKinsey, who played Iris Carrington in “Another World” on NBC, and later in "Texas,” will join the Light” cast of the CBS soap in February. Miss Long Hammer is reponsible for the long-term story, which can mean looking ahead 18 months or more. Staff writers deal with specifics, including the scripts for individual episodes. She says she draws on “imagination and instinct” for the “Guiding Light” story. Often, that involves inventing new characters. “‘I look at Vanessa (Maeve Kinkead), one of our leading ladies,” Miss Long Hammer says. "What could make the audience care more about her? “Then I think, ‘Why can’t she find a man she can love, who will also love her?’ Voila, here comes Billy Lewis (Jordan Clarke). “Another example,” she says, “is Alan Spaulding (Christopher Bernau). All of a sudden, he’s got a sister no one ever knew about. “They come complete,” says Miss Long Hammer of the serial’s characters, including the new ones. “We know who they are and where they came from long before the viewer gets all that information. That’s one of the most interesting things about daytime, the complexities of the characters.” The writers make a big effort to keep the show contemporary, and four of the leading players are in their late teens or early 20s Judi Evans, who plays Beth Raines, Kristi Tasreau (Mindy Lewis), Grant Alcksander (Philip Spaulding) and Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer). “Guiding Light,” longevity notwithstanding, is a moderate success by that ultimate yardstick of the industry; ratings. The show is behind only “General Hospital,” “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” all on ABC, and CBS’ “The Young and the Restless,” among soaps. And Miss Long Hammer says she’s convinced writing is the key to even greater achievement. “When I say I love the characters, it’s not a light thing,” she says. “I think what the audience senses is an enthusiasm and an energy among the people who do the show.”

Guiding Light Bertie Higgins Bertie Higgins 1982 singer performed at Wired for Sound Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka 1982 Musical Performance at Wired for Sound Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News 1982 band performed at Wired for sound

Desert Sun, 5 June 1981 NBC hunting for daytime viewers By TOM JOHY Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) With ratings on the tumble and affiliates threatening to jump ship, NBC canceled that bold experiment in daytime TV, “The David Letterman Show,” last Oct. 20, and began a steady climb toward respectability. NBC’s share of the audience has increased since ‘Letterman’ left the air from 16 percent of the folks watching TV during the day to 20 percent. ABC, in the meantime, has lost three points, from 31 percent of the audience to 28, while CBS’ share has dipped from 28 to 26. No one blames Letterman himself for NBC's near-disaster. The talented comic recently won an Emmy as outstanding host of a daytime variety series “Obviously, there’s been some sort of mixup,” Letterman quipped as he accepted the award and remains under contract to the network. “The pressure the stations put the network under was enormous," said Irv Wilson, an NBC vice president responsible for daytime programming “If we hadn’t canceled the show, the stations might have canceled out on us.” It was the kind of headache NBC’s president, Fred Silverman, didn’t need. Silverman has had his hands full since taking the job in the summer of ’7B, trying to lift the network from the prime-time cellar. But that’s another story. “I think it was a terrific idea to do that kind of show,” Wilson said in reflection “I just don’t think Letterman’s appeal was to the morning audience. But you don’t know until you try.” NBC tossed a couple of new game shows, “Las Vegas Gambit” and “Blockbusters,” into the Letterman’ void, and the two have been at least moderately successful. In the meantime, Wilson and the people who work for him were determined to upgrade the remainder of the daytime schedule. “We hit a low point when Letterman’ was canceled,” Wilson said. “The two games that we put in there are sound, interesting programs and seem to be doing well. "We felt that the best thing the network could do was let the schedule settle in, then try to make the shows better improve the writing, improve the production.” Among other things, NBC dumped Bill and Joyce Corrington as head writers for “Texas,” the daytime serial introduced with fanfare last August opposite the ABC supersoap, “General Hospital.” “Texas” recently has shown some sign of vitality, though “General Hospital” remains tops in the afternoon field with 37 percent of the audience in the 3-4 p m. slot to 15 percent for the NBC soap “Days of Our Lives,” 1-2 p.m., is NBC’s highest-rated afternoon show, with nearly a quarter of the audience in its time period. “I think what we have is better today,” Wilson said, “and I think the ratings show that the tactic is beginning to pay some dividends.” Now, with momentum clearly a factor, NBC will test something new, a program called “Wedding Day,” in which couples will exchange marriage vows and share other events like the bridal shower, bachelor party and reception with the TV audience. “Wedding Day” will be broadcast in the “Password Plus" timeslot, 11:30 a.m.-noon EDT, June 8-12. “I think the show plays exactly to the audience we are looking for,” Wilson said, “and it’s going to be an interesting trial.”

Desert Sun, 6 June 1986 Soap opera writer pens comedies in his spare time LOS ANGELES (AP) As a soap opera writer, Frank Salisbury earns his living putting words in other people’s mouths. Salisbury, who writes the dialogue for two episodes a week of the NBC daytime serial “Santa Barbara,” has been writing soap opera dialogue for the past 15 years. His credits include “The Guiding Light,” which brought him an Emmy award, “General Hospital,” which won him an Emmy nomination, “As the World Turns” and ABC’s prime-time serial “Dynasty.” In his spare time, Salisbury turns out yet more dialogue in the form of stage plays. But for contrast he writes comedies rather than the angst and suffering of the soaps. His play “The Seagulls of 1933” won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. He has another play, “Shooting in Scotland,” which he hopes to have produced on Broadway. Soap operas consume so much material most are now an hour long that they require a platoon of specialized writers. “Santa Barbara” has three head writers, a script editor, three breakdown writers and four dialogue writers. ABC’s “General Hospital” has 15 writers, making the credits look like those of “Star Wars.” Salisbury said he’s always pleased when an actor follows his dialogue precisely, but he’s also resigned to the fact that most actors merely use the script as a blueprint and change the words.

Unlike other shows that would have a murder mystery every year or some new villian, Bill Bell probably felt it was more effective to space those kind of stories out and rely on the more'mundane' type plots, laying the groundwork for something more explosive to come.

I'm sure Bill had Kevin's mother named Victoria, fully knowing she would be revealed as Victor's at some point. To ignore the MS is quite irresponsible. It should never have happened in the first place, but it did so should be referenced quite regularly.

How did the idea of Iris being adopted come through at the time? It seemed a bit out of the blue-one of those major plot points that had never been mentioned before eg I forgot to mention that i had been married before until my ex turns up.

The move from live tape to editing had taken hold by the 80's and therefore the style of storytelling changed. It was more restrictive for live tape as scenes by necessity had to be longer-it was too difficult to change sets/scenes. But tape became more cost effective and easier to use, so we had quicker scenes and more 'mini cliffhangers' as scenes that would have previously been say of 6 minute duration got broken up into 3 2 minute scenes. This was also a general trend in TV-watch some 70's shows and scenes feel overlong. Did Hill St Blues have an influence here with multiple characters and stories cutting back and forth?

They were all based on Mary Higgins Clark novels.

Have they learned nothing from saddling Nikki and Paul with Dylan? Giving Victoria a grown daughter doesn't work for me. She already ignores her other children. And there is going to have to be a lot of explaining as to why it's taken this many years for it all to be revealed. Having Cole return would have been enough. Reading the transcript where Victoria chooses the name Eve after Cole's mother-a psycho who tried to murder her dad-so sweet!

Apart from a short lived romance with Tom Hughes I don't think original Barbara had much story.Maybe she was opposed to her mom getting involved with Bob. But really I have never even seen any mention of her apart from stating she was Jennifer's daughter. So I can't imagine what Colleen's Barbara would have to apologize for.

I would hardly expect the NBC affiliate to tell their viewers to turn to another channel If they were loyal fans, surely it wouldn't be that hard to find out the show was airing in their city?