Paul Raven

Ummm...it's the end of the month. The 35th anniversary has come and gone...so where is this twist?

Blade and Ashley was a non event. This is when Bill Bell's 'try things out onscreen approach' failed dismally. And why marry Ashley and Blade? It made no sense at the time and longterm just gave Ashley another marriage on her resume that made her look foolish and fickle. The whole story could have played the same with them as a couple. Play up Ashley's reluctance to commit based on her track record. Same with Cole- a relationship if we must but not a marriage.

Bobby's absence was seen as the reason for the ratings drop, not the actual content of that season. With all the hype, people tuned back in to see Bobby's return. But once Bobby was back, ratings continued to drop. That was an inbuilt limitation of the primetime soaps. They had an hour a week and a template to follow. JR had to be front and center so everyone else took a back seat. Daytime soaps have much more flexibility to make changes.

That second cast photo really illustrates that the cast had grown way too much. But chopping the likes of Lynne, Gina, Mary, Miguel etc was a bad move in my opinion. These characters represented stability in GC. They never really had stories so didn't have the crazy character histories of the main characters. But again looking at the photo it's difficult to decide who to drop. My first choice would be Brittany but I can see the reasoning for keeping her. She was a new character with no baggage in the right age group who like Nikki before could blossom into a lead. They realized that you shouldn't rely solely on the same characters year after year. They get so entrenched that viewers expect to see them and new characters aren't warmly received if they backburner the longterm characters. It's a tricky road to navigate.

CBS just failed to regenerate their lineup. They had been winning Thursday with Magnum/Simom &Simon/Knots Landing but Cosby came along and destroyed that. Magnum moved to Wed and the best CBS could now offer was Tour of Duty and Wiseguy. Meanwhile Friday saw Dallas and Falcon Crest losing viewers each season but CBS left them there. The Monday comedy lineup Newhart/Designing Women was aging. Frank's Place at 8 was too niche to lead off the night. Tues/Wed and Sat had always been a struggle for CBS with those other nights including Sunday holding them up. But with the formerly strong nights failing they were in trouble,

Maurice is giving me Bela Lugosi. I've dipped into his podcast guess he's doing some good but he's so intense that I couldn't stay with it.

Sharon searching for her dad could be interesting. She could discover he had a mental illness, which would help explain her own traumas and maybe she could find a half sibling out there. Rey and Sharon could search together and we could see them happy and being a team. However, let's say Sharon's half brother is a bit of a loser with a criminal record and Rey dislikes him but Sharon wants to believe she can redeem him. Conflict for those two which the brother exploits.

Top 10 daytime among blacks (Jan.-Feb. 1988) 1. Young & Restless (CSS) 18.3 2. All My Children (ABC) 17.8 3. One Life to Live (ABC) 16.2 4. As the World Turns 14.2 (C8S) 4. General Hospital 14.2 (ABC)(Tle) 6. Guiding Light (CBS) 13.1 7. Bold & the Beautiful 13.0 (CBS) 8. Price Is Right (CBS) 12.8 9. Loving (ABC) 10.6 10. Santa Barbara (NBC) 8.6 No sign of Days...

Especially as she is supposed to be dead. The explanation will be as stupid as the idea. Isn't faking your death a crime? Except Kyle isn't on the show anymore. So now he needs to come back. It's all quite convuluted and unnecessary. Bringing on Allie was enough.

What characters do you think should have hung around longer or returned at some point? I think Terry and Lorraine could have had more airtime.

And didn't he also say he was too embarassed to tell family members. Wouldn't they wonder what happened? I can't imagine Traci not being concerned that Keemo was no longer a part of the family?

Bobby didn't do it for me so you are not alone. But I can't think of one Dallas actor who was attractive to me. As far as the hair goes, it was more the style of the time. Even today, I see guys with thick wavy hear that I'd love to take some shears to and style into something more flattering.

Agree. This mindset goes back to Cassie being killed in the first place. Here was a beloved character that had grown up in real time and who naturally would become the next generation without the crazy SORASING. But Camryn wasn't the stock pretty teen so she was seen as dispensable.

I really don't think it is that hard to keep Ken Corday on side. So long as you seem confident in what you are doing, Ken will back you. Then head to the golf course.

OK let's break down Y&R's latest story. After being ignored by several regimes over the years, the decision is made to reference Keemo. For most viewers he would be an unknown quantity, especially when Jack has not mentioned him in specific discussions about family and fatherhood. So good storytelling would be to mention him prior to the story beginning eg at Xmas. Didn't happen. Y&R then decide to establish that up until recently Jack and Keemo had a solid relationship, which contradicts everything played onscreen. Keemo never appeared or was mentioned during family crises and celebrations-highly unlikely under those circumstances. Surely it would be more appropriate for Jack to state that he and Keemo had been estranged for years to the point they had lost contact. Not unreasonable for an adult son to have difficulty bonding with a newfound family, especially as Keemo was quite a prickly character. Moving on - the decision was made to kill off Keemo. OK, an adult son for Jack may not be the best fit story wise whereas a young female relative has more story potential. So the stage is set to have Jack to attempt to get close to this new character who brings some diversity to the canvas. Lot's of potential there. But within a week or so we get the Diane reveal. So in addition to the long lost relative they pile on Back from the Dead. A character who we saw die onscreen who has nothing to do with the other story. So now we have to swallow some ridiculous story about a fake death. In bringing back Diane we know have to deal with Kyle, her son. But Kyle had already been written into a corner by unwisely marrying him off (for the 3rd time) and giving him a kid. Now if Kyle returns long term they have to deal with Summer and Harrison. Will be interesting to see this play out onscreen.

Those weird looks from David Selby, Bob Newhart and Patrick Duffy... Tom Poston was one of the biggest hunks of the time.

Empty Nest was pretty much a timeslot hit and NBC seemed to acknowledge that. It ran behind Golden girls for several seasons and when it finally moved up to 9pm both it and GG (moved to 8pm) were no longer ratings powerhouses. Prior to Empty Nest NBC launched 227 and Amen behind GG and both were soon moved to earlier slots to bolster the 8-9 time periods but Empty Nest didn't follow that pattern.

Peggy Allenby My True Story Mary 12/26/55 Light of the World Leah 1950 King Solomon's wife Naamah

Nate's skill set includes looking handsome, feigning concern for others, being offered (and accepting) multiple jobs, living in phantom properties, engaging in a non romance with a bland woman and generally being a waste of space. Sure is pretty though...

I'd include Michelle Stafford in that.

Thanks guys for your comments. 🙂 And I don't have have it anymore. I have boxes of stuff-soap related and not - and when I come across something I post it. If anyone is interested, great. If not..

Y&R are showing restraint in dressing Diane - not one shot yet of her in a one shoulder outfit... but the time will come. I hope this story doesn't degenerate into a Phyllis v Diane shriekfest.

I took a photocopy from the actual issue BITD. I guess the only way to get access now would be a subscription to the archive which is mega expensive.

Pilot/Proposals Blood Ties 1991 Fox network pilot for a suspense soap. Kim Ulrich Amy Lorne Harley Venton Harry Martin Robert Burr Dragomir Philip Moon Jury Foreman

It was from Variety.