Paul Raven

I'd always assumed that killing off Robin was Irna's doing when she came back, but this was all before her return.

I guess Gillian Spencer wanted to leave as she never stayed beyond her original contracts - see OLTL and ATWT. Same with AMC but she did return, something she couldn't do at the other shows.

So perhaps they decided yet another recast was unwise and they had got 10 years out of the character-she had no relatives and a death would be dramatic, so goodbye Robin.

Re Sara and the engagement to Paul, about 10 years later Justin turned up with a similar backstory of a romance with Sara back in the day. She did well on the never mentioned past romance retcons.

@FrenchFan thank you so much for continuing to share these gems.

The Paul/Sara engagement from the 50's was a retcon by the Ferro's I think. Pretty sure Paul was established as a loner who never had time for women when he was introduced. That changed when he met Anne.

From the Jan 89 Affilliate meeting

In a meeting with representatives of affiliated stations, NBC executives pushed the network's upcoming Generations serial drama and spoke extensively about other programing in 1989. Among the announcements were that the network plans a March test of a daytime talk show starring Rona Barrett, and that it is developing, for a summer debut, a magazine show to be supervised by the news division that would probably include "dramatic re- creations." Additionally, NBC -TV Network President Pier Mapes reviewed the network's continued strong ratings performance, but he balanced his positive appraisal against inroads made by broadcast and cable competitors into the three major networks' share. Mapes also announced what he said would be a first step in improved communications between the network and its affiliates, the videocassette distribution of a speech made by NBC President Bob Wright.

Generations, the half -hour daytime drama debuting March 27, was the major subject of programing at the meeting. Mapes, who started the meeting with a warning that competitors to the three major networks "are nibbling away at us," told the affiliates: "We have to have clearances on Generations." Vice president, daytime programs, Brian Frons presented the show, which features black and white "core" families, as a way for the network to gain a bigger black audience in daytime, which he said represents a disproportionately large segment of that daypart's audience. If NBC had "parity" with the other networks in black audience, he said, NBC would win the daytime daypart. If Generations performs well, Frons said, it is possible the show will be expanded from its half -hour length (double fed at noon and 12:30 pm) to one hour. However, he said, NBC has no "foreseeable" plans to recapture the half hour in daytime that affiliates are scheduled to gain when the program premieres. To help launch the show, Frons said, NBC has budgeted $1 million for print promotion. To promote the show at NATPE, the show's creator, Sally Sussman, made an appearance, along with four of the show's stars.

Another daytime show appearing in March will be a test run of a half -hour strip featuring Rona Barrett chatting with three guests a day over a morning meal at her home. Scheduled to preempt Sale of the Century for the weeks of March 6 and March 13, the show will be brought back in the third quarter of 1989. if successful, Frons said. In another move to improve NBC's daytime performance, Frons said the company is adding $1 million to the annual casting budget of Santa Barbara.

*the show titled 'At Rona's' was a flop and never came back.

Boston Globe Sun 29 March 1981

She's Good at Being Bad  Robin Strasser has more fun as a villain on the soaps

  By Terry Ann Knopf Globe Correspondent

Bitches will be bitches, after all. As the notorious Rachel on "Another World." she had countless victims in Bay City.Indeed, the Rachel-Alice-Steven Frame triangle stands as one of the most gripping storylines In soap opera history. Who can forget the time when Rachel used the occasion of Steven and Alice's engagement party to announce that the dashing young man was actually the father of the baby she was carrying?

Now, as the notorious millionaire Dorian Lord on "One Life to Live," she has simply taken her show on the road to Llanvlew. When Pat Ashley, a talk-show host (at a TV station owned by guess who?) became involved with the rich and handsome Clint Buchanan. Dorian broke up the relationship by going to bed with Clint.

And when Dorian decided she wanted to become the first lady of Pennsylvania, she simply struck a deal with Herb Callison, the candidate for governor. The price was a large wedding In return for a large campaign contribution !

Clearly, Robin Strasser. the 35-year-old actress who was the original Rachel for more than five years and the current Dorian for the last 2 years, has carved out a career largely by playing soap opera villains. (In between Rachel and Dorian, she was Dr. Christina Karras Martin, a mentally ill doctor on "All My Children" a character she disdainfully dismisses as "a wimp, but not a goody-goody.") .

In an Interview following an appearance on Ch.5's "Good Day" show recently, Strasser readily acknowledged the similarities In her two best-known characters. "Dorian Is simply Rachel older and richer." she said, expressing sympathy for the devils, "If you told Rachel she was doing something wrong, you would hurt her feelings. I knew that character well. Dorian knows she has problems. She has been In therapy.

Yet at the height of her crimes, she's unreachable. She honestly thinks she's doing the right thing." . Strasser gravitates naturally to villains who definitely have more fun. Alter all, villains are the initiators, the catalysts, the focal points for action: The villain robs the poor, elderly woman, forecloses the farm or ties the heroine to the railroad 'tracks."You are never passive as the villain. You never sit around drinking coffee or listening to other people's problems.When ABC asked me about playing Dorian. I told them 'I don't mind being mean or hateful I do mind being boring."

But aside from the obvious dramatic advantages of playing a villain, a larger question arises as to whether certain actors by virtue of physical and personal character traits are better suited to this kind of role. To be sure, daytime villains (with some notable exceptions such as Lisa on "As the World Turns" and Irts on Texas) have been on the dark side an outgrowth of our own cultural bias which equates blackness with evil. ""In America, we think of fairer people as good. A few years ago you couldn't do a soap product commercial unless you were a blonde or redhead." said Strasser. adding proudly: "I'm the prototype for dark-haired, dark-eyed villains. I'm something indefinably ethnic."

Interestingly enough, there seem to be some distinct similarities between Rachel/Dorian and Robin. "You can't cast against an actor's instrument.-' Strasser herself said. "I will always have this body, this face, this voice.

And a certain mindset, a certain background. "All actors are the sum of their parts. And the only thing you an draw upon as an actor is your treasure-chest of memories. If you've lived through a lot.

It's possible to have a lot to call upon as a performer. My feelings have always been right there to dig into." Strasser's own real-life story would probably be rejected by a soap opera writer as much too farfetched. Born and raised in New York City. Strasser's parents were divorced when she was a baby. Her mother later was remarried to a black photographer when Robin was only three.

But In a bizarre sequence of events, the youngster became a pawn in a protracted custody battle between her own mother and maternal grandmother who disapproved of the marriage filing a court suit on the dubious grounds that the little girl was being deprived of her Jewish heritage. Grandma won the first trial, whereupon Robin was hidden by a community of anarchists In New Jersey. While Strasser's mother ultimately won the case, the couple was subsequently divorced when Robin was 11 years old.

"All of my formative years were In a state of upheaval. I'm still putting my childhoood in perspective through therapy." she said. In all likelihood, the anger and conflict from the past, are what give Robin Strasser the necessary edge to play villains so effectively. Returning to the subject of her current character, Strasser complained that Dorian hasn't been on ."One Life to Live" all that much lately.

"I just told the producer that since I'm working so little. I'm working up a little strip-tease act. I was only kidding, of course. Just a little guilt trip, you know." she said, breaking Into that diabolical laugh and sounding very much in character..

NBC had a 227 spin off in the works where Jackee's character went to NY to work in a health club.

That pilot aired in May 89 (?) b/w Cosby and Cheers and ranked #5 for the week. Despite those ratings it didn't proceed. Guess they realized that the timeslot was the main reason for it's success.

Top rated miniseries (6 hours or more)

1. Roots ABC 44.9/66

2. The Thorn Birds ABC 41.9/59

3. Winds of War ABC 38.6/53

4. Shogun NBC 32.6/51

5. How the West was Won ABC 32.5/50

6. Holocaust NBC 31.1/49

7. Roots The Next Generation ABC 30.2/45

8. Pearl ABC 28.6/45

9. Rich Man, Poor Man ABC 27.0/43

10. 79 Park Avenue NBC 26.7/40

11. Master of the Game CBS 26.7/40

12. Masada ABC 26.5/41

13. Scruples CBS 26.3/40

14. Lonesome Dove CBS 26.1/39

15. North & South ABC 26.0/38

This list is as of 1988 but I don't think anything came along after  to change those rankings.

CBS was late to the game, not showing any mini series till the 79/80 season I believe. Whereas 8 of the Top 10 were before that.

Life Goes On - Glenwood

Twin Peaks - Northwest Passage

The Young riders - The Kid

Have to feel a bit sorry for these young actors with little experience or training who are handed poorly written scripts and have to try and bring it without much direction or rehearsal.

It's always been an issue for soap actors but it's probably worse than ever. Some actors are lucky to be able to adapt due to inherent talent and /or charisma but for others it's all there onscreen.

I think that w/o making major changes immediately and adopting a more measured approach, it can take a good 6 months for new writers to get a show back into shape.

Same holds true for a new show-it can take that long for things to fall into place- there might need to be recasts or actors having to adjust to playing a role as the writers see it, or conversely, writers reshaping a character to suit the actor etc

I do worry about the show being centered around wealthy characters-that can be limiting in terms of budget -I don't want to see rich characters living in tiny houses with no staff, and being wealthy takes away some story options as well.

Also, Y&R pretty much settled on a new course whereas GL continued to drop characters...all of the Bauers save Ed/Rick, all of the Reardons save Maureen, and various other newer characters.

And Ed was Richard Van Vleet, Phillip was John Bolger

Only Ross, Vanessa were around from a few years before.

Do you think  the move to NY and the criminology professorship was a mandate made to give the show a more (perceived) urban.youthful appeal?

So much to speculate on.

Will the show follow the traditional soap format eg x number of sets and performers per ep and being told in 'real time' or will they go for a faster pace?

will we have some primetime 'names' in there or unknowns or a mix?

The other names mentioned

 Sheila Ducksworth, producer of Ambitions, The Baxters, and various TV Movies

Leon Russell -couldn't fond anything on quick Google search

Derrick Johnson - lawyer and humanitarian. He serves as the 19th President and CEO of the NAACP

Kimberly Doebereiner -  Group Vice President, Future of Advertising and Head of P&G Studios at Procter & Gamble.

The article also noted that MSW younger demos were affected by Family Ties moving into that tuimeslot.

Some more promo ads

Pam Long's first tenure worked because there were a lot of new characters but still some presence of the old and as stated the stories were fast moving and interesting. The problems arose when long term characters started disappearing eg Hope, Mike, Hilary, Justin etc and suddenly everyone onscreen was a newbie. 

There was no foundation left.

Schedule-wise, I could put it at 8 p.m. Saturday, with Once a Hero in the 9 p.m. Sunday slot.

@Franko Sorry can't see Once a Hero Sun @9. The show was kid oriented and was a disaster Sat night.

Maybe - Dolly/Buck James/Hotel on Sat night? And back to a 2hr Disney Movie 7-9 Sun followed by a Sunday night movie.

ABC wasted their movies on Thurs night that season.

@Khan Re Dolly Fri @9. Risky as Dallas/Vice were still battling it out, although I could see Dolly making some noise there. Do you have an idea for Dolly's Sunday @ 9 slot?

7 minutes ago, BoldRestless said:

What, didn't you see Claire and Ashley's dreams!?

Some interesting demos from Variety Nov 87 tracking the ratings from the sart of that season.

MSW ranked 10th in households but was 47th in Women 18-34, 33rd in W 18-49, 49th in Men 18-34 and 33rd M18-49

Whereas Family Ties its 8pm opposition was 12th in households but 8th in W19-34, 8th in W 18-49, 3rd in M18-34 and 4th in M18-49.

So MSW definitely skewed a lot older. NBC was probably getting more advertising $$.

Budget is definitely( and sadly )a big influence on the show,  but I wish they could be more creative on the production side.

3 hours ago, FrenchFan said:

From what I gather, Mike and Robin’s marriage turned short lived as Mike felt guilty about Karl’s death but Robin showed little compassion. Bert didn’t like Robin’s antics and encouraged older gallery owner Alex Bowden’s interest in Robin. Mike and Robin got an annulment and Robin married Alex. She felt very insecure about Alex’s 1st wife, Doris’, presence. The insecurities were fulled by Anne as we can see in the summaries. Robin and Alex would divorce during Paul’s trial for murdering his wife ans Robin would get closer to Paul. 

thanks @FrenchFan Robin never seemed a very stable character. She was very much a forerunner of later soap ladies who had several short lived marriages in the space of a few years eg Erica, Carly,Mindy...

@Franko thirtysomething Sun @9? can't see that working well. It was a very niche show.

Variety shows have traditionally aired at 8pm Sonny & Cher, Ed Sullivan, Donny & Marie or 10 pm Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, Jackie Gleason

So maybe Dolly could have aired Fri @8 up against Rags to Riches and Beauty &the Beast or Sat @8 up against Facts of Life and My Sister Sam.

I could see it doing better there, although it was costly and I can't see them putting it on Sat (even though that's where it ended up.)

There just weren't many timeslots available that suited that show.

1986-87 Season Mini Series Ratings

1. The Last Frontier CBS (Linda Evans)

2. The Two Mrs Grenvilles NBC (Ann-Margaret, Claudette Colbert)

3. At Mother's Request CBS

4. I'll Take Manhattan CBS

5. Anastasia : The Mystery of Anna NBC

6. Murder Ordained CBS

7. Amerika ABC

8, Roses Are For The Rich CBS (Lisa Hartman)

9. A Year in the Life NBC

10. Deceptions (R)

11. Hands of a Stranger NBC

12. Rage of Angels : The Story Continues NBC (Jaclyn Smith)

13. Fresno CBS (carol Burnett)

14. Jesus of Nazareth (R) NBC

15. Out on A Limb ABC (Shirley McLaine)

16. The Long Hot Summer (R) NBC

17. Monte Carlo CBS (Joan Collins)

18. Queenie ABC

19. Doubletake (R)

20. Nutcracker :Money, Madness, Murder NBC

21. A Year in the Life (R)NBC

22. George Washington CBS

23. Lace (R) ABC

24. Winds of War (R) ABC

25. Deadly Intentions (R)ABC

26. Master of the Game (R) CBS

27. Space (R) CBS

Some of those successes like Murder Ordained and At Mother's request did not make much of an impression. They were more like extended TV Movies,

ABC had the fewest mini series and they did not fare well, Amerika was a flop considering the cost and the hype.

CBS missed out with George Washington, Fresno and Monte Carlo.

The trend was towards 4 hr 2 part shows. They cost less and wouldn't affect ratings too much if they bombed unlike 6 or more hours that could really damage the ratings.

They were also easier to repeat.

Longies like Space, Winds of War etc were repeated over Summer and did poorly.

3 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

why not keep milestones like anniversaries vague? Why give a number at all? 

Precisely. It's like when Ashley,for example, might say 'I have been married a few times, but it hasn't worked out for me' rather than specify 6 or 7 which would bring attention to it.

Dolly Parton's  1987 variety show seemed sabotaged from the get go.

Putting it Sun @9 seemed misguided. Having a terrible lead in with Spencer for Hire and knowing it would battle the strongest theatrical and TV movies on the opposition placed it on the back foot from Day 1. And having an unknown lead out with Buck James didn't help either.

Wk 1

8pm

CBS Murder She wrote #12
NBC Family Ties #11/ My Two Dads #19
ABC Spenser For Hire #60

9pm - 11pm

CBS Movie The Law and Harry McGraw #48
NBC Movie  The Terminator #30
ABC Dolly #5 Buck James # 27

Wk 2

8pm

CBS MSW #9
NBC Family Ties # 10/My 2 dads # 16
ABC Spenser #55

9-11

CBS Movie #20
NBC Movie #17
ABC Dolly # 21 Buck James # 55

And from then on Dolly continued to slip. ABC shipped it off to Sat night to quietly expire.

Perhaps Dolly should have aired Sun @8 with a movie @9? Although the 8pm competition was fierce.

My other thought was the 2hr Disney movie Sun 7-9, Dolly @ 9 and Hotel @ 10. Slightly stronger leadin/lead out.

Where else would you have placed Dolly on the schedule?

Deidre looking amazing in that photo-looks closer in age to Martha than the other ladies.

Martha is 46,Deidre is 76, Gloria is 77, Suzanne 80, Maree 83