Paul Raven

NBC's axing of Bret Maverick was puzzling, By no means a smash hit , but in light of what they had, there was some potential for growth, maybe in another timeslot. But I guess it skewed old and expensive-James Garner would not have come cheap. In 81-82 NBC relied upon on older stars-Garner, James Arness, Mickey Rooney, Tony Randall. Angie Dickinson etc. The following season they went with younger skewing shows/stars David Hasselhoff, Pierce Brosnan, Ted Danson etc On that 62nd ranking Flamingo Road deserved the chop, but it actually was doing better in the second half of the season when it moved to 9pm Tues and improved it's numbers. Again, no world beater but might have improved in Season 3. It would have been worth a try as NBC's next attempt at a soap was Bare Eseence, which bombed.

Zilch. Typical Josh storytelling.

Andre's Patty was kind of like the Keith Robertson's Ted on BTG. She came in right in the middle of a major story and just didn't present in the same way as Lillibet. To me, she just came across as kind of dull. The fragility and vulnerability of Lillibet's Patty wasn't there in Andrea's portrayal.

So what is going to air in repeat week? Wk 2? A random week or different episodes? If these repeat weeks are going to work they need better planning. Some sort of themed episodes eg Chelsea's story leading up to the kidnap, Leslie/Dana's hi jinks etc.

They need to stop with bringing in 'name' actors in the hope they will boost poor writing. The cast is full of 50 plus actors. Talk about reverse ageism.

There might have been resistance from Colgate-Palmolive, the owners of the show. They might not have been willing to invest the $$ needed for the expansion. They sold the show to NBC in 1980? or 81? By that time it was too late. Another issue is that TD would have needed a bigger studio and there might not have been anything suitable in NY.

AS THE WORLD TURNS Burke Donovan David Forsyth March - Sept 1983 raised Dusty = his deceased wife Nicole had an affair with Gunnar, thus making Dusty the true Stenbeck heir. Sara Ruth____ Bennett Ernestine Jackson 97 mother, Camille Lonette McKee 97-00 Saundra McClain 98; May 99 Kirk McColl Christian J. LeBlanc May 1983 - July 1985 Lt. Frank Andropolous...Jacques Perrault cousin of Steve, Nick married Maggie and dated her sister Lyla Dec 83-85

Yes, unfortunately the ratings are steady and the show works within the miniscule budget so nothing will change. In light of the Tristan Rogers tribute, it would have been nice had Beau Kayzer been recognised in some way after his death. Oh well, too late now.

I'm pretty sure Marland wrote the birth of Christina anticipating down the line with SORAS she would be available to replenish the Hughes family. Marland created Chris Hughes, brought in an adult Emily, wrote stories for Frannie, created Sabrina and Scott Eldridge etc all to keep the Hughes and Stewarts present on the canvas as well as creating the Snyders to pit a fresh family in the mix. Subsequent writers were pretty random about using characters from history.

That's nice that they added the Jess tribute. For a lot of viewers that might be the only way they would find out about his death. Also Jess was on the Jabot set, so I guess that means we will see Jill in GC again soon.

We are only imagining and as I stated previously, there was no need to introduce them at the same time. One of the assets of soaps is the long term association and memory of viewing-that builds loyalty. Replenishing of core families should have been a priority for TPTB along with other new characters. A balance. But instead they seem to think that new characters were the way to go. That and revolving head writers meant there were too many changes. Actually ATWT suffered less than GL or AW in that regard. But why Frannie, Andy etc never returned is a mystery. As a viewer you wondered what Kim and Bob had done to deserve children they seldom saw. The show is supposed to be about family.

I think we have to expect certain stories in a modern day soap and the kidnapping psycho is one of them. I hope they don't go to that well too often. As we've talked about , those kind of stories -the evil twin, baby swaps, back from the dead are pretty much the go to for the older soaps who have to keep coming up with something for their played out characters-Hello Josh Griffith- BTG doesn't need to go there at this point. If there's amurder, kidnapping etc every few months, it soon loses it's shock value. Hopefully they will deal with the aftermath a little bit. Not having Chelsea acting as though nothing happened 2 weeks later.

The quads wouldn't have all had to be introduced at the same time. Maybe one by one over several months. Or 2 at first and then the others later. Their names were Lowell Gregory Maria and Nancy. Lowell I get as it is a family name. Nancy was named for Nancy Hughes? But she wasn't on the show at the time, so maybe not. As for Maria and Greg maybe they were someone in Jeff's family? I would have named them Lowell, Claire (after Annie's grandmother) and picked 2 more 'trendy' names for the Ward side of the family. Maria, Nancy and Greg all seem a bit old fashioned had they turned up in the 2000's.

No we have never seen staff at the Duprees. Rowena has been mentioned. I will fault them in that we have seen Mona and Laura working for Nicole and they seem to be able to have under 5's eg Maitre D last week that welcomed Leslie at the Country Club and nurses, doctors, delivery people etc We would only have to see Rowena occasionally but it would add to the 'realism'

Totally agree. You would imagine that at least 2 years of story was mapped out before anything was written (subject to tweaks as things went along) Some of the decisions made like the ages of characters, occupations chosen, no sets for certain characters etc were made from the get go and seem poorly thought out. A firefighter? Politician who doesn't seem to work? No staff for rich characters?

Have Ted or Nicole had any involvement in the June story? Chelsea in the Hayley miscarriage? Has Dani had any mom/daughter talks about Madison? Those kind of connections seem to be ignored to the detriment of the story. I sometimes forget that some characters are related as they seldom share scenes.

The thing with Eddie/ Georgia is they had little connection to the Hughes, Stewart's or Snyder's. When Christina Hughes, the Ward quads etc off-screen for no reason.

I get the idea of fast paced stories for the young ones, some of whom have zilch attention span. But jumping to a reveal is not the way to do it. If you have suspenseful beats along the way, people will watch and the payoff is even better. My issue is the follow through- Hayley has been in absentia since the 'miscarriage'. We still are not clear on the point of that story. The Randy connection was a twist-but zero follow through. After weeks of teasing us about June, in a matter of days, the truth comes out and then we don't see her. And what's left? Either the kids accept June or they don't. Is there going to be anything more to the Martin story? They need to keep stories bubbling, rather than ignoring them in favor of another plot.

Jon Michael Reed. August 78. He's commenting on Henry Slesar's stories. Right at that point, the Corringtons took over. ANOTHER show that is recently undergoing a ratings-hungry period is "Search For Tomorrow," which usually rates high in the polls. At no other period in the last half dozen years has "Search" enthralled this writer more than recently. The cast, which already boasts one of the finest actors in the business, has the added sparkle of exciting newcomers. And there have been a number of lushly photographed location shootings that have added to the "hookability" of superior plots. "Search" is an apparent candidate for ratings supremacy, yet its competitor in most markets, "Ryan's Hope," runs away with the ball game. "Ryan's" has always been an exemplary serial, but the last few months have witnessed stalled or repetitive story patterns. The viewers' choice is difficult to make between "Search" and "Ryan's but "Search" should not be so blatantly 'underlooked'. THAT CONSUMMATE actress Milles Taggart, who has been dealt dud storylines for most of the past half dozen years, has been given the opportunity to display her range as Janet Collins. The lady's romantically entangled with a charming but deadly manipulator, Chance Halliday, wonderfully portrayed by George Shannon. The unfolding mystery of Chance, his sister Kylie, and his ex-wife Donna has been enticingly well-paced. And Lisa Buck, as mentally disturbed Kylie, and Leslie Ann Ray, as alcoholic Donna, are two of the most accomplished actresses on television. It's all a joy to watch, but why aren't more folks tuning in? LESLIE, incidentally, endured a real-life scare while undergoing "reel" action. When Donna attempted suicide, Leslie was hooked up to a defibrillator by an intern who was called in on the story emergency. What neither the intern nor Leslie realized was that the machine still retained a low voltage charge from previous When the machine was turned on, the electric current sent Leslie flying toward the ceiling. She retained several chest burns to prove that a serial actress' life isn't all fun and games.

Leslie could have told Eva she's applying for a Country Club membership and they have given her a complimentary I day pass. And Vanessa could have informed the Duprees that Leslie is looking for a property in Fairmont Crest, not buying the house across the street. 2 easy work arounds of those issues. And anyway, Leslie will not be purchasing the mansion across from Vernita. Unless there is budget for another set. They had a maitre d' welcoming Leslie at the CC but won't give the Duprees a housekeeper.

Thanks @DRW50 Must have been a surprise for viewers to see Nancy after a few years as though she'd never been away. And then vanish again.

Courier Express 18 January 1981 It's hush-hush right now, but very soon it's probable that another famous one will bite the dust in soapland. And it's another case of moving out the "old" to make way for the "new." Helen Wagner has portrayed Nancy Hughes on ''As the World Turns" since the original pilot was made and the series debuted April 2, 1956. Wagner met recently with the producers and writers of the show to renegotiate her contract. After being one of the character spokes on "ATWT" for nearly 25 years, financial considerations weren't a major negotiation factor. The actress pulls a hefty salary, as befits her long-running status on the show. However,she was concerned that the character has been progressively shoved in the story background and has, on occasion, been required to "act silly and out of character," according to an observer. Wagner reportedly asked for assurance that her character would become more prominent in the story, and the writers dismissed her request. In retaliation, Wagner announced she won't be re-signing her contract, which expires in several weeks. Wagner was born in Lubbock, Tex., and trained to be a singer. Early in her career, she appeared with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, as well as in Oscar Hammerstein's musicals, "Sunny River'", and "Oklahoma." She also toured in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, playing the mezzo leads. Despite occasional tours in plays such as "Streetcar Named Desire" with Lee Marvin and "A Lion In Winter," Wagner has devoted her career to the soap opera business. It is, therefore, a sad comment on the current state of the soap opera business that ATWT" would callously allow one of its guiding forces to take a hike. The old folks on soaps are dispensable when the focus shines on younger characters. In turn, it's economically necessary to build a new and younger audience. But in the process, all too often, viewers who have invested decades in a soap must sit by and watch their loved ones get the short end of the stick in story preferences. Wagner still has a few weeks left in her current contract and there's a possibility that she still may swallow her pride. But at this point it appears that Wagner and Nancy Hughes won't be around on the daytime tube, which also leaves in question the fate of Nancy's husband, Chris, played by the only other remaining original cast member of - "ATWT," Don MacLaughlin. In another report it was stated that Nancy did not appear at all in Jan 81.Probably the first time that had happened and Helen saw the writing on the wall. Although I wonder how that happened. ? If she was on a 2 a week contract was the plan to have her appear more often later to make up her guarantee? Or were they just paying her anyway? Looks like Helen was offered fewer appearances in the new contract. Don accepted recurring at some point and was hardly seen. Somehow she turned up for the location shoot of Tom and Margo's wedding in 1983. Maybe they were taping nearby her home and someone approached her to attend? Very odd. Did she have any lines? Then she returned in 85.

I think that will be Chelsea and the kidnapper in a creepy mock ceremony. The kidnapper could be Craig, Allison's husband.

Mmmm...this whole Leslie trust fund thing. She has enough to buy a house opposite the Duprees? And agree about the CC thing. Would be more interesting to see Leslie have to make an application and an interview, feeling inadequate up against a snooty committee. And maybe she resorts to some scheming to get accepted. eg seduces a 'respectable' board member. It's like they want her in the midst of things and tore through story to do it. I was hoping that as a new show BTG wouldn't have to resort to these type of contrivances to move plot.

I think Tom and Margo married in 83, but yes they hold the record. Kim and Bob married in 85 and were still together at the end. Matt and Maggie on The Doctors married in 1965 and divorced in 1982? Mike and Nancy on EON married in 1962 and were still together in 85.