Paul Raven

Esther should be living at the Chancellor estate as should Jill when she visits. Billy and Chance also.

One of Doug Marland's trademarks would be the large working class family with various siblings not on the canvas at the one time headed by a down to earth matriach. He may have been influenced by the Frame family when he worked under Harding Lemay on AW. When he branched out on his own he extended the Dancy family an incorporated those elements. On GH Luke,Bobbie and Ruby spencer represented that thrust and I believe he planned to introduce Pat but departed. On GL it was the Reardons, ATWT the Snyders. Was the Rescott family on Loving a Marland creation? And of course Agnes was known for the scheming daughter/put upon mother trope represented by Rachel/Ada, Erica/Mona and Ava/Kate. However, I don't believe she used that at GL or OLTL in her stints there.

Another problem for CBS that plagued them for years was trying to find successful 8pm shows Tues, Wed and Sat. They tried and tried again with youth oriented shows that repeatedly fizzled. Younger viewers and CBS were poles apart. Remember these shows? TV 101, Dolphin Cove, Houston Knights, High Mountain Rangers, The Wizard, Downtown, Outlaws, Stir Crazy, Hometown, Otherworld, Whiz Kids, Wizards and Warriors... just a few of the shows tried in those slots.

Looking at CBS in the 80's one of their problems was the reliance on 70's sitcoms and the failure to come up with new sitcom hits. In the early mid 70's there was a slew of long running sitcoms introduced and very few misses. AITF, Maude, MTM, Mash, Bob Newhart, Jeffersons, Good Times, Rhoda, One Day at a Time, Alice. The problems started when MTM, Bob Newhart and Rhoda departed. Saturday night fell apart as Tony Randall and We've Got Each Other failed to take off. Betty White was a flop. But going into the 80's CBS still had a strong sitcom lineup But after 76 the only bright spots were WKRP and House Calls, but neither were super hits. So when the 70's shows finally departed in the mid 80's the cupboard was pretty much bare.

Judith Barcroft had originated the role of Lenore and may have returned if asked, but I guess as she hadn't played Lenore when Robert was on, they felt there was no need. All the return characters, I think, were from the Lemay era, which makes sense as he was writer for a significant amount of time and when the show was most popular. With Robert back, they could have brought back Clarice and used it as an opportunity to bring his son Cory on, now a teen. But there never seemed to be much interest in looking to the past, except when Lemay returned and set some things up that Donna Swajeski followed through. Did Beverly Penberthy return in 89?

Was there an Irna show that didn't deal with illegitimate children/adoption? This goes back to TGL's radio days when Rose Kransky gave up her child and it was adopted by the biological father and his new wife. Then you had Meta Bauer giving up her son and the drama that followed. ATWT had Ellen Lowell and later Sara Fuller/Amanda Holmes along with the Peter Burton story in the early 70's and Amy Hughes also. AW had Missy as the illegitimate child. Bill Bell stole the formula with Julie on Days.

Program compatility and audience flow seems to be an inexact science, although I'm sure the networks invested zillions of dollars in research. The conventional wisdom at the time seems to be that light action/adventure leading into soap was the way to go, probably based on nothing more than it worked for Dukes/Dallas. CBS tried again with Freebie and the Bean/Secrets of Midland Heights and NBC had BJ and the Bear/Flamingo Road. I guess if the action shows had cute guys the woman would be interested and the soaps had plenty of pretty girls so the reverse was true. That kind of sexist stereotype holds true today. There have been plenty of odd scheduling moves over the years. Remember CBS launched All in the Family following Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Hee Haw!

John Conboy's trademark as a producer were lush visuals with detailed sets, specific lighting, fancy gatherings etc but not such a good grip on story. It worked with Bill Bell as writer on Y&R but his stints on Cap, SB and GL showed he needed to be paired with a strong writer.

Knots was moved twice out of the 10pm slot and both times failed as a 9pm show. CBS moved it back to 10pm both times. 1st time was in 81/82 up against Barney Miller on ABC and Diff'rent Strokes on NBC. It looked like good counter programming against an ageing sitcom (Barney) and a kid oriented sitcom (Strokes) and following a hit (Magnum). But the 10 pm show Jessica Novak was up against 20/20 and Hill St Blues and flopped. CBS stuck with it all season but it was back at 10 the next year. Then again in 86/87 with Kay O'Brien as the 10 pm show. CBS were quicker to move it back this time -mid season.

CBS first mistake was not replacing Dukes of Hazzard with a stronger show. I know hindsight is 20/20 but they owned that timeslot with Dukes and even with flop replacements, nothing on ABC/NBC took off so the opportunity was there. They launched The Mississippi with Ralph Waite in the Falcon Crest timeslot and it finished in the Top 10. So maybe instead of moving it to Tuesday at 8 where they hadn't had a hit in years and it flopped, Mississippi should have been moved up to 8pm for the 83/84 season and Dukes used as a Saturday at 8pm lead in. The other issue was holding on to Falcon Crest for too long. It should have been moved to another 10pm slot-say Monday, instead of Emerald Point and something new be launched at 10 to benefit from the Dallas lead in and refresh the night. At some point Dallas could be moved back to 10pm with a strong new show placed at 9pm. All wishful thinking as coming up with hit shows isn't easy. And CBS had many other timeslots to worry about, so left Dallas and Falcon Crest where they were.

It's so sad that CBS #1 soap is treated this way. Few sets and the ones shown are either dated, or tiny and cheaply decorated. No extras or day players, poorly told stories of so called big business, unflattering and cheap looking clothing. Awful music etc Even Bill Bell might struggle under those restrictions.

Secret Storm Pauline Tyrell Harris Fuller Rysdale...Haila Stoddard...54-61 62-70

Wasn't the Kevin/Nikki drunken sex a quick rewrite because Melody got pregnant IRL?

Agree, especially in contrast to Victoria/Heather Tom. Victoria was an entitled daddy's girl, who could be manipulative but at the same time vulnerable. a complicated character who could be unpredictable - a writer's dream. Maybe they wanted a contrast with Nick's character but neither the writing or JM's portrayal ever presented any hidden depths. Bill Bell often had a problem with the 'nice guys' eg Greg,Scott,Cole etc-they always came off as bland.

Maybe Jeremy and Diane are in this together. But he could double cross her and split with the money. So Diane uses that to her advantage and plays the innocent, growing closer to Jack. But then an associate of Jeremy's turns up threatening to expose her forcing Diane to try and come up with blackmail money.

By the time the 80's rolled round you could be pretty sure that a dead or missing spouse was mentioned, they were going to turn up at some point. i'm sure the only reason Althea never showed up is that the network didn't want a new female character over 40.

Tom Brennan Search for Tomorrow

Yes, noted. Who's the Boss and Moonlighting were waiting in the wings and ABC quickly took back dominance. Had those two shows been around a season earlier, NBC may have struggled more.

Y&R Phillip Chancellor On less than 2 years but his character had impact that resonated for decades after.

It's interesting to see how networks can dominate a night, but then have it slip away by not being able to update the schedule. That juggling of the schedule, knowing when to make moves and finding the right shows ... ABC dominated Tuesdays throughout the late 70's and into the 80's. Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley/3's Company/Taxi then Hart to Hart They moved L&S in the 79/80 season but failed to find a hit to replace it. The propsed show 'Hart in San Francisco' never made it to the schedule in fall and Angie was used as a fill in. L&S flopped elsewhere and was brought back to 8.30 At 9.30 Taxi was moved and Too Close for Comfort successfully filled the 9.30 slot In 81/82 all those shows were Top 20 Joanie Loves Chachi was hit at 8.30 in a tryout but was moved to Thurs the following season as was Too Close. Both were cancelled soon after. In 82/83 The A Team came along and Happy/Laverne were crushed down to #25/#28 3's Company #6/9to5 #15/Hart to Hart #17 were hanging on. 83/84 Laverne was gone and ABC tried Just Our Luck as 8pm leadin in with Happy Days moved to 8.30.They flopped up against A Team 3's Company/Oh Madeline/Hart to Hart were now on their last legs as they were ageing and didn't have a strong lead in. NBC took over 9-10 with Riptide . So they all were cancelled By 84/85 Foul Ups/3's a Crowd/Paper/Dolls/Jessie all flopped. ABC failed to refresh along the way, relying on Happy Days and 3's Company for too long. But what should they have done? Maybe nurtured Joanie Loves Chachi and Too Close for Comfort to take over at 8/9 pm? Moved Hart to Hart to establish a new 10 pm show?

Supercouples Steve and Betsy, early Tom and Margo Action/adventure Tom/Margo and Mr Big Dallas/Dynasty-dysfunctional wealthy family-The McColls.

Love of Life (more precise dates) Vanessa Dale Raven Sterling Sterling... Bonnie Bartlett...1955-59 ...Peggy McKay...1951-55 ...Audrey Peters...April 27th 1959-80 Johnny Prentiss...Oren Jay -71 ...Raymond Cass 71-72 ...Trip Randall...Sept 1972-78 Dr. Joe Carelli(Corelli) ...Tony LoBianco Sept 6 1972-73 +Tess ...David Little...temp ...Paul Michael Glaser...1971-72 Bill Prentiss... son of Charles Lamont; loved Tess; diagnosed with and succumbed to a fatal blood disease Gene Bua...1967-Jan 28 72 ..Phil Clark...1970 (temporary) Jason Ferris...Robert Alda...Aug 30 1966-67 Sharon's husband; worked

Search for Tomorrow Andrea Whiting Reynolds...Virginia Gilmore...65-Aug 67...ex wife,Sam, mother of Len and Jamie (dec) Miss Gilmore left to take up a position teaching at Yale School of Drama ...Lesley Woods...Aug 67... ...Nancy Marchand(temp)...71 ...Joan Copeland...Feb 68-72 Bruce Carson...Steve Nisbett..74-75...ward, Jo , +Amy +Jennifer ...Robby Benson...71-73... possibly 72-73 ...Michael Maitland...73 Nov 71 he was 15 at the time ...Gary Tomlin...73-74 ...Joel Higgins...75-78 Tom Bergman...Peter Broderick...68-71 son, Stu...lawyer ...Ray Bellaran...73-77 Dec 71 12 years old ...Richard Kim Milford...71 ...John James...77-78... ...Mitch Litrofsky...81-83.. ...Robert LuPone...83.. Sam Reynolds...Robert Mandan ...65-70 +Jo Father of Len and Jamie (dec) ex husband to Andrea. Missing presumed dead. Returned mentally unstable .Kidnapped Jo and died . ...George Gaynes...Dec 71 ...Roy Shuman...71-72 possibly only 72

Secret Storm Wendy Porter .teenage daughter,Tony ...Rita MacLaughlin...66.. ...Julie Mannix..Nov.66-69 Erik Fulda...George Reinholt...Nov 67-68 affair, Mary Lou Mary Lou Glenway Carver...Joanna Miles...Nov 67-68..ex wife, Frank Amy Ames Rysdale Britton Kincaed. .Beverly Lunsford...58-60 ...June Carter...60 ...Lynne Adams...71-73 ...Jada Rowland 54-74 (54-58; 60 or 61-67;April 68-71; 73-74)

One Life to Live Peter Allen Peter Allen July 1982 performed at Llanview West