Paul Raven

Lora Lawton is pretty much forgotten but it did run for several years, from 1943-1950 Nobody knows the pitfalls of Washington life better than Lora Lawton. Ever since she first came to the nation's capital to act as housekeeper for shipbuilder Peter Carver, the former Middle Western housewife has been caught up in a series of dizzying intrigues. And each one has meant another adventure for Lora. In fact, there are listeners who find the serial heroine's daily life much too breathtaking to bear any resemblance to humdrum reality. Cynical observers have been known to doubt whether conflict and turmoil on the banks of the Potomac-even in wartime-ever reach the lurid dramatic heights so often chronicled in the chapters of -Lora Lawton." But, be that as it may, fans of the daytime drama have no trouble thinking of arguments to marshal in its defense. Many a .housewife welcomes the refreshing change of spending her mornings in intimate companionship with career diplomats, elegant countesses and business tycoons. They're a lot more interesting than the well-known "average American couple" soap operas revolve. And as for the action - well, kidnappings and murders certainly make for livelier programs than domestic squabbles do. Members of the cast are all in favor of swift action, too, enjoy the stimulation and excitement of meeting newsituations in each day's script. The main characters have all been played by the same actors since the serial first hit the air in May, 1943. Carrying the title role is grey eyed, blonde Joan Tompkins, who made her first hid for fame on the legitimate stage.Joan has created quite a furor in radio circles by freely admitting to reporters that she's 28 years old-instead of stagnating permanently at 21, as is the fashion. Reason for the lack of accent on youth in this case is simple -for nearly a decade of her career Joan was "typed" as a 17 -year -old ingenue, never had a chance to play an intelligent, mature woman till "Lora Lawton" came along. And the ambitious actress is taking no chances on being pushed back into adolescent roles again. Male lead in the serial (Peter Carver) is handled by James Meighan, nephew of the late movie star Thomas Meighan. In spite of his film connections, Jim has never been interested in Hollywood, carved out his own theatrical career through stock company and Broadway parts. A visit to a broadcasting studio in 1931 gave rise to radio aspirations and since then the Meighan name has been connected with innumerable network dramatic events. Radio regulars, too, are Charita Bauer (Gail Carver), Ethel Wilson (secretary May Case) and Walter Greaza (villain Russell Gilman). All of them are veterans, bringing years of experience to their present melodramatic roles.

I can understand the writers going in the direction they did, especially in a half hour show where they wanted to keep the cast roughly the same size. And there wasn't the burden/obligation to hang on to characters as they were beloved vets (a problem that haunts today's Y&R) The overall push in the 80's was towards wealthier characters. The Forrestors had taken the spotlight and unless they could find a way to integrate the Logans, they became islanded, whereas the Spectra clan were directly involved.

One of the things I hope someone can explain, is the chain of command in primetime soaps i.e who actually decides the storylines for the season. There seems to be so many producers and other titles involved unlike daytime where the headwriter and EP seem to be the main decision makers for plots. Hope someone can shed some light.

Something about Ann Marcus from various snippets I've seen, she always spilling tea about the devious people she's encountered and how she was wronged. No doubt a lot of it is true but I would like to hear some other takes eg the walking out of the restaurant story she presents a little bit of mischief but I'm sure if she had someone walk out on her she would present that as very unprofessional and totally out of line.

Y&R When Paul faked his death during the Cassandra story, he revealed to Lauren that he was alive. She then went off and married Scott. IMO it would have been better for Lauren to believe that Paul was dead, thus deciding she needed to move on with Scott. So that when Paul is revealed to be alive, there is immediate conflict as Scott would wonder if Lauren now regrets the marriage and Lauren herself second guessing her choice now that Paul is available. When Leslie Brooks attended the Tuscan wedding, there should have been some discussion with Jack about their connection through Theo.

Another World Philece Sampler would have been better as Nicole Love than Donna. Laurence Lau gives me more of a Dennis Carrington/Wheeler vibe than Jamie Frame. Days For the umpteenth time Deidre Hall as Sandy Horton Richard Guthrie as Steve Olsen

Certainly the UK sitcoms and their US equivalents were quite different and some translated better than others. The whole class system that is the basis of George and Mildred doesn't really have an equivalent in the US and Yootha Joyce's Mildred is a world away from Helen Roper. Rhoda slimming down and finding happiness did change the character and making her the Mary to Brenda's Rhoda did dilute the concept. Again the constant changing of timeslots can't have helped. It was launched behind Maude, giving it a protected slot to grow, which it did and ranked 6th In season 2 it was moved up to 8pm Monday, with Phyllis folllowing, giving CBS a strong start to the evening. Rhoda was 7th and Phyllis 6th. Season 3 started on Mon then CBS switched to Sunday at 8 and ratings fell. Season 4 was Sunday at 8 Rhoda was 25th. Season 5 Rhoda was moved to Sat where it died. Maybe Mon at 8 was the ideal slot, but CBS was moving its sitcoms all over the place.

The week of the 'Who Shot JR? reveal. Nov 1980 1. Dallas CBS 53.3/76 2. Dukes of Hazzard 32.0/48 2 3. 60 Minutes 29.8/45 4. Three's Company 26.3/39 5. Alice 26.1/36 6. Jefferson 26.1/36 7. One Day at a Time 25.7/36 8. Happy Days 25.4/37 9. Too Close for Comfort 25.1/37 10. Love Boat 25.0/39 24.7/36 11. Archie Bunker's Plan 24.7/36 12. Laverne & Shirley 24.7/36 13. MASH 23.8/33 14. Little House on the Prairie 23.8/33 15. The Enforcer (movie)23.4/34 16. Skyward (movie) 22.0/34 17. Trapper John MD. (Premiere) 21.8133 18. Hart to Hart 21.7/34 21.5/33 ABC 21.3/35 19. Kenny Rogers Special 21.5/33 ABC 21.3/35 20. NFL Monday Night Football(Raiders v. Seahawks) 21.3/35

The Ropers lack of success is interesting in that the equivalent UK spin off 'George and Mildred' was a hit and TR followed that template just as Three's Company did from 'Man About the House' Just shows how tricky it can be. Any insights Khan(or others)? An interesting spinoff was Benson from Soap. Soap was an adult satirical comedy and Benson a fairly standard sitcom. There was no relationship apart from Benson and even that character was softened.

Falcon Crest was on its last legs so the decision was made to revamp and try to lure some new viewers. The opening episode ranked 57th behind Dallas 49th. The only saving grace is that ABC and NBC were also were not providing much competition. FC lost the 10pm Friday slot, being moved to Thurs at 9 to burn off the last episodes. Dallas went back to 10pm. Really FC should have been cancelled earlier.

i get what you're saying but Melisa Morgan physically didn't work as Ashley for me - maybe with blonde hair? How about Nina Areveson as Ashley and Brenda as Cassandra? Another thought I had was Lauren Koslow as Jill. She did replace Deb Adair on Days and I could see her as Jill.

Adelaide Klein Lorenzo Jones 1939 By Kathleen Norris 'Mystery House' Rose the maid Pepper Young's Family Mrs Martino Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters Mrs Wadsworth 1947 Wendy Warren Ingrid 1949 Myrt & Marge Society Girl My Son and I

I remember CBS exec saying at one time 'Never move a hit, only a show that is struggling' Of course, that was never followed but in ABC's case that was sage advice. Mork, Laverne, Angie,The Ropers were moved and probably should have stayed put. ABC also moved Fantasy Island that season to Fri at 8 where it flopped and was quickly returned to Sat at 10 and the ratings rebounded.

In looking at ratings for the 80's thread, I saw that Flo,the Alice spinoff finished in the Top 10 after a six episode run following MASH. So CBS moved it to 8pm Monday where it floundered and got shunted to Sat and that was it. I remember watching the first episode and it was good but the writing seemed to taper off. With most of these unsuccessful spinoffs, the characters never return to the main show. You would think that the actors would have it in their contracts to return, but that doesn't seem to be standard practice. Polly Holiday for instance, would instantly lose the yearly salary from Alice, while the rest of the cast keep those checks rolling in.

I know it's just one clip, but the tone of that interview kinda sums up the whole Life with Lucy experience. The hope that Lucy can recapture the magic, but with an underlying sadness that her time had passed. Even Lucy's appearance withe heavy makeup and bright wig looks almost like a parody.

The 79/80 season was the beginning of ABC losing it's grip on 1st place. It was a tight race but CBS just slipped ahead. ABC had the top six shows in 78/79 1. Laverne & Shirley dropped to 42nd in 79/80 ABC moved it from Tues 8.30 after Happy Days to Thurs @8 replacing Mork & Mindy. When Mork faltered it was moved back to its old slot and Laverne was moved to Mon @8 where it bombed before returning to Tues @8.30. 2. Three's Company. Held that spot in 79/80 3. Happy Days dropped to 17th in 79/80. Sheriff Lobo on NBC provided some competition but overall viewers just seemed to lose interest. 4. Mork & Mindy dropped to 27th. ABC moved it to Sunday @ 8 up against Archie Bunker. archie began winning regurlarly so ABC returned it to Thurs but the ratings weren't as high as before. 5. Angie dropped to 39th. Scheduled after Mork the previous season it was a late season hit but then moved to follow Happy days before being exiled to Saturday night . 6. The Ropers. Earned that position in a limited run following 3's Company and Taxi. For 79/80 it was sent to Sat to lead off the night and failed. Meanwhile CBS shows improved their standing. 7. MASH moved to 4th 8. 60 Minutes move up to #1 13. Alice moved up to # 5 18. One Day at a Time moved up to #10 20. Dukes of Hazzard moved up to #9 40. Dallas moved up to #6 49. Jeffersons moved up to #8

A place to discuss all things to do with spin off series. Which were your favorites? Which worked and which failed and why? Spin offs you would like to have seen. Proposed spin offs that never made it . I guess one of the most successful spin off that comes to mind is The Jeffersons.

With a couple of cast members returning for the 35th I think Brad is planning a 5 man gangbang for Brooke. Don't think that's ever been done before on daytime?

This I cannot see. Anna is way better suited to more dynamic characters than Tara.

The Season finale for 79-80 - JR is shot - was #1 for the week ending March 23 1 .Dallas 32.7/52 2. Dukes of Hazzard 28.6/45

Dallas hit #1 for the first time in the week ending Feb 10 1980 31.1/49 Lead in Dukes of Hazzard was #2

Donald Buka The Sparrow and the Hawk (afternoon adventure serial) Barney Mallory 'The Sparrow' Perry Mason 1950 The Doctor's Wife Fred Conrad 1955 Joseph Curtin Young Widder Brown Harry Howard

Well there were a few season premieres. How many exactly? Were the 2 hr finales? The only other 2 hr episode I recall was the Mastectomy episode which got Dallas it's highest ratings to that point

WK 1 76-77 season. ABC had it's best premiere week ever. 1. Happy Days ABC 34.7/53 2.Sunday Movie 'Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid ABC 31.9/51 3. Movie Airport 75 NBC 31.6/46 4. Bionic Woman ABC 28.1/46 5. Movie 'Earthquake Pt. 1 ' NBC 27.8/41 6. All in the Family CBS 27.3/41 7. Rich Man Poor Man Book 2 ABC 26.7/42 8. Charlie's Angels ABC 26.4/45 9. MASH CBS 23.5/43 10. Six Million Dollar Man ABC 23.2/34

Karl Weber Light of The World 1943