Paul Raven

Interesting. i don't think CBS/P&G or Gail Kobe had much investment in older legacy characters. They were expensive, had a lot of story baggage and worst of all, over 40. They were interested in the here and now, hot new couples. But it was a short sighted policy in that there was no solid structure. Each new set of writers dropped some characters, introduced their new pets and a lot of young actors chose to leave. So we had fragmented families and constant turnover. If the writing and characters were interesting and appealing as happened with Pam Long then viewers were there for it. And a lot of her new characters were tied into established families eg Bauer, Spaulding, Reardons. But as time went on there were only a few characters that had been there more than a few years. Not a good thing for viewer loyalty IMO.

CBS wishing it was 1985.

Simon Gilbey was 1971. Jerry Lacy moved onto Love of Life by 1972. Lisa was seeing Don in 72 . Wally arrived late in 72. So Simon and Wally were dating Lisa at different times.

I don't know how far they went with Tom and Carols'ecology' story as there are no synopses available for that time. Amy Hughes came on in 73 also and it seemed that her grandparents coincidentally lived in Oakdale or nearby. Not sure how that story was resolved. Wally was the natural father of Peter Burton, a friend of Tom and Carol. It seems they reunited and left Oakdale. There was a writers' strike of around 3 months in mid 73 so that would have derailed some of Irna's plans. I think she returned for a short time after but then was fired.

The pregnancy was 1972 when she was involved with Don. Wally Matthews was 1973.

Among other issues,the 90 min AW started a half hour earlier, changing the timeslot AW had held since its debut. So viewers again had to make a choice if they had previously watched CBS or ABC at 2.30 to stick with that or now switch over to AW. I'm sure a lot of viewers just tuned in at 3, figuring they could catch up over the next hour. It really was bone headed move on so many levels.

And the fact that Joe is Karen's brother immediately ties her to his relationships and storylines. that can be useful in terms of keeping characters involved.

1978/79 Series rankings. I. Laverne and Shirley (ABC) 30.8 48 2. Threes Company (ABC) 30.2 45 3. Happy Days (ABC) 29.1 48 4. Mork & Mindy (ABC) 28.5 48 5. Angie (ABC) 27.1 42 6. Ropers (ABC) 25.6 42 7. M'A'S'H (CBS) 25.4 37 8. 60 Minutes (CBS) 25.4 41 9. All in the Family (CBS) 25.2 38 10. Charlie's Angels (ABC) 25.0 38 11. Taxi (ABC) 24.9 38 12. Eight is Enough (ABC) 24.9 39 13. Alice (CBS) 23.8 36 14. Little House on the Prairie (NBC) 23.3 35 15. Barney Miller (ABC) 22.8 36 16. ABC Sunday Night Movie 22.7 36 17. Love Boat (ABC) 22.1 38 18. One Day at a Time (CBS) 21.6 32 19. Soap (ABC) 21.6 34 20. Dukes of Hazzard (CBS) 21.1 35 21. NBC Monday Night Movies 21.0 32 22. Fantasy Island (ABC) 20.8 38 23. Vegas (ABC) 20.7 35 24. CBS Sunday Night Movie 20.7 34 25. Stockard Channing & Friends (CBS) 20.7 32 26. Barnaby Jones ICBS) 20.5 36 27. 13 Queens Blvd. (ABC) 20.5 36 28. Centennial (NBC) 20.3 30 29. CHiPs (NBC) 20.1 36 30. What's Happening (ABC) 20.1 33 31. NFL Monday Night Football (ABC) 20.0 33 32. Dif'rent Strokes (NBC) 20.0 34 33. Lou Grant (CBS) 19.6 31 34. Battlestar: Galaclica (ABC) 19.6 30 35. WKRP in Cincinnati (CBS) 19.5 29 36. Starsky and Hutch (ABC) 19.0 32 37. Waltons (CBS) 19.0 30 38. ABC Friday Night Movie 19.0 33 39. Sunday Big Event (NBC) 18.9 29 40. Dallas (CBS) 18.4 32 41. Bad News Bears (CBS) 18.4 34 42. MacKenzies- Paradise Cove (ABC) 18.2 30 43. White Shadow (CBS) 181 28 44. Hawaii Five -O (CBS) 18.0 29 45. Incredible Hulk (CBS) 18.0 30 46. Dear Detective (CBS) 18.0 30 47. How the West Was Won (ABC) 17.9 27 48. Salvage 1 (ABC) 17.7 26 49. Jeffersons (CBS) 17.4 28 50. Quincy (NBC) 17.4 27 51. CBS Tuesday Night Movies 17.3 27 52. Family (CBS) 17.1 30 53. Kaz (CBS) 17.0 28 54. Mary Tyler Moore Hour (CBS) 17.0 29 55. Wonderful World of Disney (NBC) 16.9 27 56. People (CBS) 16.8 25 57. B.J. and the Bear (NBC) 16.8 29 58. Rockford Files (NBC) 16.6 29 59. Wednesday Movie of the Week (NBC) 16.5 26 60. Wonder Woman (CBS) 16.5 28 61. Tuesday Big Event 16.3 26 62. Donny and Marie (ABC) 16.3 28. 63. CBS Saturday Night Movie 16.2 28 64. Mary (CBS) 65. Eddie Capra Mysteries (NBC) 16.1 16.0 25 AP 28 66. CBS Wednesday Night Movie 15.8 25 67. Joe & Valerie (NBC) 15.7 24 68. Hello, Larry (NBC) 15.7 26 69. Supertrain (NBC) 15.7 25 70. Carter Country (ABC) 15.6 27 71. NBC Saturday Night Movies 15.3 29 72. Dick Clark's Live Wednesday (NBC) 15.3 24 73. Flatbush (CBS) 15.2 22 74. In the Beginning (CBS) 15.1 24 75. Flying High (CBS) 15.1 27 76. Billy (CBS) 15.0 24 77. Miss Winslow & Son (CBS) 14.9 24 78. Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC) 148 26 79. Delta House (ABC) 14.8 26 80. Osmond Family Show (ABC) 14.5 23 81. NBC Novels for Television 14.4 24 82. Mrs. Colombo (NBC) 14.4 26 83. CBS Friday Night Movie 14.3 23 84. Duke (NBC) 14.3 25 85. ABC Monday Night Movie 14.2 24 86. Doctors Private Lives (ABC) 14.1 26 87. Grandpa Goes to Washington (NBC) 13.8 22 88. Operation Petticoat (ABC) 13.7 22 89. Turnabout (NBC) 13.3 22 90. Sword of Justice (NBC) 13.2 25 91. Good Times (CBS) 13.0 23 92. Hardy Boys Mysteries (ABC) 13.0 21 93. Brothers and Sisters (NBC) 13.0 22 94. Cliffhangers (NBC) 12.8 20 95. Rhoda (CBS) 12.7 24 96. Lifeline (NBC) 12.6 22 97. Friends (ABC) 12.5 22 98. Paper Chase (CBS) 12.4 20 99. David Cassidy -Undercover (NBC) 12.1 21 100. Married: The First Year (CBS) 12.0 19 101. Waverly Wonders (NBC) 11.9 23 102. Whoa Watching the Kids (NBC) 11.9 21 103. Lucan (ABC) 11.9 18 104. Makin It (ABC) 11.9 20 105. Apple Pie (ABC) 11.6 22 106. Project U.F.O. (NBC) 11.4 18 107. American Girls (CBS) 11.0 20 108. Sweepstakes (NBC) 11.0 19 109. W.E.B. (NBC) 10.1 18 110. Weekend (NBC) 10.0 17 111. Whodunnit (NBC) 10.0 18 112. Highcliffe Manor (NBC) 9.5 17 113. Little Women (NBC) 8.9 13 114. Harris and Company (NBC) 7.6 12 The specials Rank Rating/Share 1. Ali - Spinks fight (ABC) 37.2 61 2. Rocky (CBS) 36.9 52 3. World Series Game Six (NBC) 35.9 54 4. Academy Awards (ABC) 34.6 63 5. World Series Game Í (NBC) 33.1 51 6. World Series Game Ill (NBC) ' 32.9 54 7. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 32.7 50 ¡ 8. World Series Game II (NBC) 32.2 50 C. 9. Roofs: Next Generations (ABC) 31.8 48 10. Super Bowl XIII Post (NBC) 31.7 47 11. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 31.7 48 12. Threes Company (ABC) 30.9 49 13. Rescue from Gilligans Island (NBC) 30.2 52 14. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 29.5 41 15. Pearl (ABC) 29.4 47 16. MacKenzies -Paradise Cove (ABC) 29.4 47 17. Bob Hope -Salute/World Series (NBC) 29.1 42 18. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 28.9 47 19. Gone With the Wind Part II (CBS) 28.8 40 20. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 28.6 40 21. Delta House (ABC) 28.3 41 22. Threes Company Special (ABC) 28.2 40 23. Circus of the Stars (CBS) 28.0 42

Expanding The Doctors would have been a better idea. Just recently GH had done just that and immediately improved ratings. Soaps are always imitating so why not follow ABC's lead? Maybe one of the problems was finding studio space in New York. The Doctors was squeezed into a tiny studio at Rockefeller Center and it would be physically impossible to accomodate extra sets etc.

Y&R started employing extras! Maybe Doug Davidson returning. Heather Tom returns as Victoria. Eric Braeden retires.

They need to move on and recast Daniel. I don't know that nice is nice right word. At this point MS plays Phyllis so broad...

From Wesley Eure's WLS interview I was doing other things at the time, but it came out later that I got fired because I was gay. The make-up people would call and say, "Wesley, you know the real reason they let you go is because everyone's talking about it." At the time one of the heads of NBC was Earl Greenburg, and I knew Earl and his partner, who died of AIDS. When I moved to Palm Springs, Earl Greenburg had now formed the Desert AIDS Project and he had the Rick Weiss Awards which was named after his partner, and had done a complete turnaround. He passed on last year. I raise a lot of money for AIDS, and the first thing he said to me when I saw him at a big fundraiser was, "Didn't I fire you?" And I said, "You [!@#$%^&*]." The word on the street was "you were gay and they wanted someone else." Can I prove it? No. Was it legend? Yes.

When Texas got underway still within AW didn't they break the show into 2 45 min chunks with the Texas characters in the second half? How did that work in practice? Was the second half strictly Texas characters? Anyway tTexas was a text book example of how NOT to do a spin off. At one point NBC announced a proposed line up of all soaps beginning with The Doctors at 11.30 am and including a new soap in the line up. AW would continue at 90 min. I think they planned to run David Letterman from 10-11.30. Of course Letterman tanked as did AW so those plans were scuttled. I posted that article somewhere back in time-will try to find it.

If Dina Abbott had been returned as the vital businesswoman and force of nature she always was (and the actress is) maybe (again with good writing) Dina could have filled a matriarchal role, mentoring and advising the Abbotts and others she came into contact with through business and family ties. Traci kind of functions in that role...

Some articles dealing with the Days drama at that time March 13 1980 Big changes over at "Days of Our Lives" include a new head writer. Nina Laemmle has taken over for Elizabeth Har-rower. Ms. Harrower, mother of Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie, "Days of Our Lives"), might Just return to "Young and the Restless" where she got her soap opera writing start. With Harrower's departure will come the usual exit of stars. Eileen Barrett (Stephanie) has already left, and it looks like Margaret Mason (Linda) may be the next casualty. Of course, many storylines will suddenly come to a halt and new ones will begin. April 20 1980 Days fans feel cheated as plots fizzle out NEW YORK — Things are getting worse every day on the set of "Days of Our Lives” Folks on the show don’t know from one day to the next whether they’ll still have a job at the end of the week The venerable and once-Nielsen-ratlngs queen of the soaps has fallen on dire times and desperate measures continue to be taken. The move to “alter” the cast and character lineup on the show began last month when a new headwriter Nina Laemmle was hired. But within a six-week time period more people have left the show at one time than in any other period in the show’s history. Half of the current cast has been given walking papers or they’ve been informed that their characters will be “in and out tem-' poraries” “Days” is beginning to resemble a graveyard. Already “killed off’ have been Mark Tapscott (Bob Anderson) Eileen Barnett (Stephanie Woodruff) and Suzanne Zenor (Margo Horton). Leaving towners include Dan Barton (Earle Carnes) Robert Clary (Robert LeClare) Corinne Conley (Phyllis Curtis) Cindy Daly (Cathy Breton) Thomas Havens (Stan Kositcheck) Gail Johnson (Mimi) Debbie Lytton (Melissa Phillips) Mikey Martin (Dougie LeClare) Margaret Mason (Linda Anderson) Steve Schnetzer (Steve Olsen) John Stevenson (Terry Gilbert) and Ed Mallory and Rosemary Forsyth (Bill and Laura Horton). Wesley Eure (Mike Horton) Tracy Bregman (Donna Craig) and Andrea Hall-Lovell (Samantha Evans) are among those who may “pop up” periodically in the story but for the time being will be put in limbo '

Don Stewart lasted a few years longer than Mart, into the Gail Kobe/Pam Long era. I think Don Stewart chose to leave, but it's quite possible he was offered a contract for less money/fewer appearances and he could see the writing on the wall.

A lot of interesting perspectives. Add to the fact that some of the characters that may have evolved into matriachs were written off as they aged as soaps lost interest in generational storytelling. So female characters approaching 50 and beyond were either dropped or given the same stories they had in their 20's. eg Phyllis didn't mellow,happily marry Jack and become a talk to and advice giver. And characters like Nikki don't really function as traditional matriachs because of their checkered pasts.

Requests Leigh Lassen Dorothy Bryce Jered Holmes Robertson Deen

Who was around at the time that Days could have hired as headwriter? After PFS and Ann Marcus, 2 big soap names, they went with Elizabeth Harrowere who had never been a headwriter. I guess it was good they tried to bring in new blood and maybe Harrower's ideas sounded good on paper? Anyway, I would suggest Robert J Shaw, who had been at various soaps over the years. Maybe Richard and Suzanne Holland? Can anyone think of other writers who might have been suitable? Maybe Rita Lakin should have been offered a sweet deal to take on Days for a period of time. She might have been tempted to return to daytime.

Silverman came to NBC with huge fanfare and expectations. He knew he couldn't just makeover the network as an ABC clone so was trying a lot of different things in primetime. We know NBC had some daytime stuff in development but I'm sure Silverman's ego and his evaluation of the projects meant they had to start from scratch. Silverman had worked for years at CBS daytime so he did have expertise in that area. I'm sure it would have probably have been a better move to expand The Doctors to an hour from 2-3. AW would have retained the 3pm slot and not been weakened by the 90 min format. The Doctors would have gotten a much needed shot in the arm with new characters,sets and stories.

Married at one time to Ginger Rogers. Dr Kildare in a very popular series of movies for MGM. Conscientious objector in WW2. It's a shame the nighttime soaps got little attention from the Emmys. Some excellent performances were ignored. Really enjoying the episode breakdowns and discussions. Keep 'em coming!

Bonita Kay Backstage Wife Anne Hawley

Elaine Rost Mary Foster Editors Daughter Gerri Dalton Right To Happiness 1945 James Monks Portia Faces Life Paul Ingersoll Lou Krugman Woman in White Dan Roberts 1946

The casting of Jessica was a problem. Jean Bruce Scott came across as dowdy and depressed-more like the lead ingenue's sensible best friend. And she didn't have ingenue long flowing hair!! And I found Stephen Brooks too old and dour. He should have been more of a troubled teen/early 20's. In fact when you look at Nina Leammle's characters Joshua/Liz/Kellam/Maxwell/Tod/Leslie -they were mainly over 30-not really ideal when you are trying to jazz up a show that was already crowded with characters in that age group. Maxwell could have been way younger-an ambitious right hand man to Kellam. Joshua could have also been younger. Tod and Cassie didn't get much of a look in anyway. And the two younger Horton's who were popular - David and Mike - were immediately marginalized. Different casting would have had an effect on how the stories played out and how the audience responded.

In terms of a finale, it would have been nice to have some returning characters. Janet Bergman Walton (I'm sure Millie Taggart would have agreed) along with Gary Walton (hopefully Rick Lohman) and Danny Walton. Tom Bergman should also appear -not sure who would be best to play him as there were a few recasts. Ted and Laine Adamson. Jo's old friend Dr Bob Rogers. I mentioned in another post an idea to have Lynn Loring appear in a scene as Patti. It would have been jarring as Patti had been de-aged, but it was the final ep so WTH! I imagined a scene where Hogan and Patti (Jacquie Shultz) have a happy final scene and then Jo tells Stu how happy she is for her daughter. A flashback to 1950's scenes of Jo and Patti and then Lynn Loring appears to embrace Mary Stuart. Mary sings a song as current cast members say their goodbyes.