Paul Raven

Top Television Shows for the 1980-1981 Season 1 Dallas 3 The Dukes of Hazzard 4 The Love Boat 5 Private Benjamin 6 M*A*S*H 7 House Calls 8 The Jeffersons 9 (Tie) The Two of Us 9 (Tie) Little House on the Prairie 10 Alice 11 Real People 12 (Tie) One Day at a Time 12 (Tie) The Greatest American Hero 13 Three's Company 14 Magnum, P.I. 15 (Tie) Too Close for Comfort 15 (Tie) ABC Sunday Movie 16 Diff'rent Strokes 17 Archie Bunker's Place

From SOD Bill Bell interview re working with Lee. "We don't write together per se. We talk a lot",Bill Bell explained when asked how he and wife Lee collaborate. "Lee is a pipeline and a source for good story material-especially when it comes to social issues-but we don't sit down and write out projected storylines in the formal sense.We just sort of make it up as we go along.Lee is very pivotal to a lot of story and character ideas,but I am the thrust of the show.I do all the daily blocking on B&B,that is I do the outlines for the scriptwriters.I block both shows in the long term sense.And you have to sort of streamline the operation if you're going to be doing the amount of work that we're doing.But there are really no shortcuts in the terms if the thought process.You have to work on something until it feels right.At least I do.I go on my instincts. "A storyline is really a process of trial and error. I've always said that everyone that I work with that there is no such thing as a bad idea,because any idea can be a catalyst to a better idea,it may open the door to something else.so,there aren't disagreements in that sense of tension.Tension stifles people and that is the last thing you want when you are working as a group to create something.Lee and I tend to mesh.Lee plugs into my psyche and we have developed some very memorable stories together.We read each other well.And I think we understand that the key to a partnership,is that,ultimately one person must prevail.it's never the kind of thing where we are at opposite ends of the spectrum and then I prevail.It's usually that I know I am going to be developing the story and I know what feels comfortable and what doesn't. If it doesn't feel comfortable to me,then I don't do it.I can't do it.I would say that I think there should be a separation of responsibility if you want to keep compatibility.If we're both working on the same words or on the same scene on the same scripts,sooner or later you're going to have a difference of opinion.You're bound to.In a working relationship,those differences co-exist. "One exciting aspect of working on a new show-and Y&R-is that my whole family is here.The kids are learning so much about the business(Lauralee plays Cricket on Y&R,Bradley is on B&B's writing team,while Bill Jr is involved in production.)Frankly that is one of the reasons B&B exists.CBS had been after me for ten years to do another show and I felt I had my hands full with Y&R.But I wanted them to see the excitement,to see everything that goes into the making of a serial.so,we're all in it together.People ask me what we do to get away from it.The answer is nothing.We don't want to get away from it.We thrive on it."

Apart from Malcolm and Katherine , all the clips represented current characters. They showed vintage Jack/Phyllis, Nick/Sharon, Lauren/Michael. The first two are obviously thought of as 'destiny' couples. Phyllis got 2 clips... Maybe this is one of several clips. I'm sure that 40 yr character Paul will be absent.

Good topic for us scheduling nerds. I'll start with 'Flo', the Alice spinoff. In it's initial tryout in March 1980 following MASH , it debuted at #1 and stayed strong for the rest of it's 6 episode run, finishing # 7 for the season. CBS believed they had a new comedy hit and moved it to 8pm Monday to lead off the night next season, counterprogramming That's Incredible on ABC and Little House on NBC. It was strike season so debuts were staggered, with Flo debuting in November. It debuted at #13,That's Incredible was #14 and Little House #18. The following week Little House was #11,That's Incredible was #20 and Flo was out of the Top 20, never to return It was shunted off to Saturday night against Love Boat to replace the flop 'Freebie and the Bean' and that was it for Flo

I have been a faithful watcher of most of the international editions but had to give up on Down Under Season 2 as the production was atrocious and the queens rough and not entertaining. France i gave up after about 3 eps and didn't even bother with Canada. Hopefully UK Season 4 will be an improvement.

Poor Mishael. Amanda is a nothing character.Cut her loose from Grandpa Devon for starters

As soon as you see words like fearless and unapologetic you know what you're in for.

Poor misguided fool. Everytime a new character or return is announced, there's that faint hope that a decent story might be taking shape, but it never happens.

Surely not. Robert Newman would have made a better Tucker. As awful as that character was, he does have a place on the canvas, but not as a 50 yr old.

Don't know why at that point they were hurriedly marrying off core characters like Kim, Carol and Bob to unsuitable spouses(Nick, Steve and Miranda). None of those pairings were particularly popular and didn't provide much story. In Carol's case she was a very moral, upright woman and for her to have 3 marriages under her belt so young seemed wrong. Within a few years all those marriages were over, Nick was dead, Miranda disappeared and Steve was re-invented.

i just watched todays ep and fantastic is not the word I would use for that set. Try horrible, ugly and cheap for starters...] i don't see the point of it. And we'll have a staff member walking around , 2 people dancing and that's it as far as extras. But a background tape that is supposed to indicate a huge crowd.

How can you say that a show is not a timeslot hit when it never changed timeslots for most of its run and whern it finally did the ratings plummeted?

Don't know anything about the WTHI role. It just seems odd to me that Gallison would take on a 'nothing' part when he was an in demand actor as witnessed by being cast in the important role on RTPP.

The singer is Shawn Stevens as Zack. He was also on Days as Oliver , one of those teen idols the mags pushed, who didn't really have much success. Yes Cynthis Gibb as Suzi. Not sure about Stu and the club-was that the terrace at Hartford House? Not sure about Liza's reaction. It was all part of the story that involved the location trip on the QE11.

Susan Sarandon SEARCH FOR TOMORROW Sarah Fairbanks 1972-73 Pretty sure her SFT stint was a short term one - she and her brother(?) kidnapped Jo , so maybe only a few weeks in 72. I'm sure someone can verify.

If he he is sticking around, will Lucy follow? Maybe bring back Reed and have Phyllis' grandaughter and Victoria's son as an item. Daniel can come between Billy and Victoria. There is potential there but Griffith always seems to fluck it up.

Queen B doesn't write notes, she has them printed for her.

Peggy, another major character tossed aside. I am sure Fran Myers would have continued, at least in a recurring capacity throughout the 80's. She was considered an honorary member of the Bauer family. Why not SORAS her son Johnny as they did with TJ Werner and have him involved with Morgan etc rather than inventing Kelly Nelson.

Family Ties - The Art of Being Nick a pilot featuring the Nick character played by Scott Valentine The Tortellis the first spin-off of Cheers, starring Dan Hedaya and Jean Kasem. It aired on NBC from January 22 to May 12, 1987. After it was cancelled Nick and Loretta Tortelli returned for appearances on Cheers

For a moment I thought it might be Daniel Goddard. This is a brief return, surely.

True Story April 1960 April 2 ? by Theodore Case Cast Hugh Reilly Mary K Wells Stephen Eliot Selma Helpern April 9 ? Cast Carl Harns Nina Hansen Donald Hotton Robert Jacquin April 16 ? by Michele cousin Cast Nancy McCarthy Ford Rainey Carolyn Court Melville Ruick April 23 ? by Barry Lake Cast Tim O'connor Patricia Jenkins Ann Wedgeworth Jean Stapleton April 30 ? by John Andrew West Cast Margaret De Priest Arny Freeman Paul Stevens Barbara Louis

That looks great. Interesting to see who's missing. Maybe some people were unavailable in the time frame or just didn't want to contribute.

They were big shoes to fill. It seems Phoebe Dorin was eased in for viewers to get used to her. But she was written out sometime in 1971. I wonder when exactly?

Yes sorry I meant 1972

A question regarding Joe Gallison. He joined Where The Heart Is in March 73, a month before RTPP debuted. So was Steven Cord not part of the original cast? When did Joe/Steven come on? Joe was a 'big name' in soaps having been very popular as Bill Matthews on AW and playing Tom Edwards on OLTL. So what was the deal with Joe joining WTHI and leaving soon after? Did any of the mags at the time make mention of this?