Paul Raven

As The World Turns

Thomas "Tom" Hughes

  C. David Colson (David Cherrill)   73- April 78     

Barbara Ryan Stenbeck Stenbeck Munson Dixon Munson Montgomery Stenbeck Coleman 

 Donna Wandrey  December  1971-73

Colleen Zenk   September  1978- September 2010      

The Thurs @9 timeslot was a killer. The Colby's had already flopped there and there was no reason to think that Dynasty, at that stage, would do any better.

But there was really nowhere else to place it. Tues had thirtysomething, Wed China Beach which replaced Dynasty and was much more of the type of show ABC now wanted, Thurs @10 would have put it up against Knots Landing, Fr 20/20 and Sat was a no starter.

2 hours ago, P.J. said:

I'm not sure how big an age difference there was supposed to be between Nick and Steve. IIRC, part of the reason Nick was killed off was negative viewer reaction to his romance with Kim.

Yes, I don't think viewers were enthralled with Lady Kim getting involved with a macho man, especially when she hit the sack with him before marriage.

There didn't seem to be any long range plans for this couple. They met, married and Kim was widowed in the space of less than 3 years.

Considering this was Kim's 4th marriage I think they should have taken a little more time and care to protect the character.

Marland always like to incorporate the 'have nots' usually a large family striving for personal and social success eg The Reardons/GL, The Syders ATWT, The Donovans,LOV, The Spencers GH.

Also a young love couple eg Morgan/Kelly GL, Holden/Lily ATWT, Jack/Stacey LOV, Scotty/Laura GH

How would that fit with RH at that time?

Press Democrat 27 June 1991

 New producer, new life for 'General Hospital'by Jerry Buck

 Gloria Monty, whose Innovations sent "General Hospital" to the top of the daytime ratings a decade ago. Now she is back at ABC for another try at resuscitating the slumping soap opera. In her first reign as executive producer, from 1978 to 1987. Monty began with daytime's  usual fare of amour, animosity and angst and then gave the program a new twist. She filled "General Hospital" with larger-than-life characters and outrageous situations that seemed right out of James Bond.

The once-placid town of Port Charles seethed with underworld Intrigue, spies, weird Inventions and impossible romances. At the time of her departure, the heat was gone from the show, and although it was still in first place, it was being overtaken by "The Young and the Restless" on CBS. During her absence, the CBS show took firm possession of first place as "General Hospital" lost some of its luster. At one point the show had fallen to fifth place. It's now back up to second place among soap operas and third overall In the daytime ratings, behind "The Young and the Restless" and "The Price Is Right." "ABC wanted me back to see if I could infuse new life Into the show," says Monty, who returned last fall. "Gradually. It's been going downhill, as has all of daytime. We've had to make some drastic changes. I had the unfortunate duty of letting the writers and some of the actors go. "Their contracts were up for renewal, so either we continued In the same vein for another six months or we made a fresh start. We're bringing in new people to see how It works."

"General Hospital" reached the highest ratings in the history of daytime television In November 1981, with the wedding of Luke and Laura, played by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis. The ratings were 12.7. The show, still second behind "The Young and the Restless," had a rating of 7.0 the first quarter of this year. The current rating Is down to 5.5, which Monty and ARC say Is due to all the changes taking place in the show. Monty's housecleaning added to her reputation for being tough and has inspired a lot of rumors. She dismisses the rumors as a smear campaign. "We're doing everything we planned to do," she says. "We're getting rid of everything that we feel doesn't work. I think we know quicker than the audience what's working. We brought In a new family, but they didn't catch on. I think the audience was afraid we were going to get rid of all the old people."

The show centers on four families, the Spencers, Scorpios, Quartermaines and the Hardys. The Hardys, once the main family, are playing a smaller role because of the aging of some of the players.

This time she's drawing on writers from prime time. Except for her sister, Norma Monty, all of the writers previously worked on such shows as "Dallas," "Trapper John, M.D.," "Nightingales," "The Colbys" and "Dynasty." "These writers from prime time will give us new blood and new sophistication," she says. "1 wanted to do as I did before break the mold. It didn't take them long to catch on to working a serial. . . We're putting in more humor. "I didn't want the writers who go from show to show and haven't learned anything new. That's why I wanted writers from outside daytime. Monty says one thing she's had to drill into the writers is the soap opera doesn't have the budget or the time of a prime-time show. That means the production rarely goes outside for location work, although they did go to the harbor for a sequence involving a ship.

After she left "General Hospital" in 1987, Monty went to 20th Century Fox to develop prime-time series. Monty says the secret of getting an audience to accept stories that have elements of fantasy is to do them realistically. "You use realistic actors who play very real people who are caught in these larger-than-life situations," she says. "Our stories have some fantasy in them, but they're not that different from some of the movies. We have a style of playing that's like Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn."

I don't want to clutter up this thread so I am posting an article about Gloria Monty's 1991 return to GH in the classic GH thread.

Rare to come across a review of a soap from the time. And afairly positive one at that.

Oakland Tribune 19 September 1967

How Many Splendors Exactly?

Love is a Many Splendored Thlng had its first episode yesterday, an I wouldn't have missed it for anything. The new daytime serial hopes to wring our hearts and  jerk our tears with the same success as the best selling novel and the successful movie. And you remember what they were like. The soaper picks up the tale 20 years later as- Mia the pretty offspring of the novels chief characters - comes to San Francisco from Hong Kong in search of love and  a career in medicine.

CBS is going to make it warm for her. Already pawing the turf are a handsome young soldier (from Oakland yet), a handsome young architect, a handsome young doctor and a handsome young widower of unspecified profession.

If you have a good memory for heartwarming stories, you'll recall the movie ended with the death of the Eurasian girl, and faded out as William Holden wandered bleakly around a hillside to violin accompaniment.

The serial has altered the story somewhat to account for the appearance of Mia (Nancy Hsueh). It is her father who is deceased; her mother is a doctor in Hong Kong. Yesterday found her aboard ship bound for San Francisco. She met the handsome young soldier, to whom she spilled her life story in 10 seconds flat "I've never met my father," she said, "but I know him. I even know his voice. Do you think I am strange?" He didn't think so, and it looks as though he'll be putting out a lot of bridge tolls in the coming months.

Mia is going to join her father's family, where trouble is already brewing. Uncle Phil Elliot is a kindly soul with a handsome young architect son, Mark. But Aunt Helen, who has lost a child, already thinks of Mia as an intruder. (Soap operas have certain codes and traditions; women who have lost children are always bitter.)

Then there are the neighbors, the Donnelys. There is Tom, the handsome young widower with an eight year-old son. There is his sister Iris, a naughty swinger who says things like "Let's have some action." Iris puffs and smoulders with the Elliott boy, but it's obvious they're not really suited; he wants to make beautiful buildings while she only wants to make whoopee.

Tom's other sister is Laura, a fragile beauty who is presently a novice in a convent. But she is troubled. We listened in on a conversation with the Deity, in which Laura confessed a longing for the outside world. Do you suppose she is really meant for the convent life? Tom's father is good-hearted Dr. Will, who worries about Iris's loose ways. "I'm afraid she's on a collision course," he told Tom. "Well," said Tom, "I'm afraid we'll just have to let her collide, and hope she pulls out of it."

Wait, there's more. Dr. Will's associate is handsome young Dr. Jim Abbott. Since Mia is going to pursue a medical career, she is pretty sure to come in close contact with Dr. Jim. Will Iris hate Mia for stealing Mark's affections? Will Aunt Helen hate Mia for intruding into the family's life? Will Mia have one heck of a miserable time right from the beginning? You bet your sweet tear ducts they will, or there ain't gonna be no story. Mia could save herself a lot of trouble by renting a nice bachelor apartment somewhere. But that would spoil all the fun.

Great article and a nice tribute. 54 is so young. 

 

 

 

 

Doug Marland, looking to the future gave Don Hughes a daughter Christina in 1986.By the 2000's she would have been available to step up to the plate to continue the Hughes legacy, but TPTB were more interested in creating new characters.

The same thing occurred earlier when Don's stepson Teddy'Ryder' Hughes was brought on but then dropped and forgotten when new writers/producers took over.

Meanwhile the Stewart family had Annie's  quads waiting in the wings but they never appeared.

San Bernardino Sun 13 October 1993

 New 'Loving' feeling

Haidee Granger executive producer of ABC's daytime soap "Loving" since May '92 has been replaced. Beginning Nov. 1, Jo Ann Emmerich, one-time senior vice president of ABC Daytime,, takes over the reins. Pat Fili-Krushel, president of ABC Daytime says, "By selecting Jozie, who has a brilliant flair for the daytime medium, we feel secure in our longterm commitment to "Loving," and I know she will take it to new heights in the ratings." 

Days-Roman(Wayne Northrup) goes undercover as Mr Snow

@P.J. Thanks for that.

2 hours ago, althea-davis said:

Am I the only one who is rather underwhelmed by Amelia Heinle's performances in this storyline so far? I really hope she steps it up for whatever is to come.

She's been underwhelming from Day#1

And we come full circle!

1 hour ago, j swift said:

But, these are examples of the thesis.

The Lichtenstein Dilemma proposes that few female characters aged without being saddled with some version of a child, either of the substitute, foster, adopted, step, or long-lost variety.

Agree, but why not give them children of their own when they were young enough and in stable loving marriages? Odd decision when it was pretty standard in those days for young soap women to get saddled with at least one child.

eg Lisa ATWT, Sara EON, Laura/Julie/Susan Days Audrey GH, Leslie GL, Susan/Amy SS etc

Well casting Christopher Lawford as Charlie didn't help. He was way too old.

Y&R is leading the pack here.

Reed Hellstrom, Scott Grainger, Fen Baldwin, Moses Winters, Charlie & Mattie Ashby, Noah Newman, Faith Newman, Allie Nguyen have all been SORASED to represent the next generation of core characters and all were written off.

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

It's unclear from my brief persual of the book when Steve became aware that he had a different father, before or after Nick's death.

Pretty sure it was after.

Nick's dying wish that Steve and Betsy not get involved -what was that about? Odd thing to think about when you're dying and even odder that it would be acted upon.

What was the background to that?

5 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I'd argue Hill St. Blues, LA Law, and St. Elsewhere, although most involved with them would probably have retched if you called them soaps.

Those shows had soapy elements but we all know they were not soaps.

To fit NBCs brand I guess  their soap should have been urban,maybe  a little gritty and daring.

Sisters was a relative success.Did it fit the NBC brand?

On 11/25/2023 at 3:19 AM, Khan said:

Similarly, TEXAS and SaBa never should have premiered at sixty minutes each.  (Same goes for SuBe and PASSIONS). 

Only NBC ever tried to debut a 60 min soap and each of the 4 attempts failed.

However, launching a 30 min show was no guarantee of success either see Loving, Pt Charles, The City , Generations etc

Only B&B survived.

The whole premise of Texas was flawed. The setting gave it a poor man's Dallas feel and anyone tempted to watch would be major dissapointed if they were expecting any of the flavor of Dallas.

Taking away Iris from an already flailing AW and then changing the character was also a bad move for both shows.

Seeing how the Corringtons were New Orleans based and had already incorporated that flavor into SFT, why not launch a new 30 min soap 'Orleans' based there?

Thanks for reviving this topic. i just whiled away half an hour revisiting.

Soaps first wedding of black characters OLTL Ed & Carla 1973

Brian and Claudia

Very prim and proper.The Lauren of today would be showing a lot more skin and glitter.

One (of many!) nit pick I have is the character's name. 

What 70 yr old woman would be named Jordan? It just seems odd to me-it was not a female name back in the 50's.

Don't think it took off the 80's.

A divorcee living in the KL cul de sac would have been interesting and timely. Constance McCashin would have nailed it with John Pleshette as her ex who always wanted to get back together. A lot of story to explore there.

Laura making forays into the dating world, getting a job etc

Also  have Richard as a friend of Sid's working at Knots Landing motors to keep him in the story.

And also to add extra spice, have Kenny and Ginger living together rather than married.The first ep could show them deciding to co-habitate .But  Kenny and Ginger's motives would be different,and that could be explored.

That would have been a bit out there for 1979. 

On AMC,didn't Erica grow close to Myrtle after Mona died? I guess literally and figuratively, Myrtle became the stable mother figure Erica turned to.

On SFT, Jo fostered a teen boy Bruce who grew into adulthood throughout the 70's. In a sense he took the place of Jo's son Duncan who was killed off as an infant in the 50's and would have been that age by the 70's.

B&B

I recall Sally Spectra dressed as a man to infiltrate Forrester? Can't find a pic.

Y&R

Christine disguised herself as Kelly something at one point. I wasn't watching at that point. What was the story?

2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

At the same time, KL in season 1 wasn't sustainable and had to evolve.  It was given ample amounts of time until it found its groove.

Nowadays the show would have been canceled a few episodes into the first season.

Agree that having 4 married couples was limiting.

And the self contained episodes were eating up too much story. Karen's possible affair, Laura's rape etc could have gone on several episodes.

However, I don't agree that the the show would be cancelled. Knots ratings were inconsistent. Ep #1 was 23rd for the week,then 14th, 36th, 30th,14th , 38th and so on.

Not great but not cancellation worthy, neither then or now.