Paul Raven

The tack house set is back on Monday!

So it looks like Mariah/Tessa will be featured for a few weeks,at least.

In her book Mary discusses that she always got that special credit. She says she didn't request it, it wasn't part of her contract, it was just understood.

But when the Hursleys arrived, their 'written by' credit took precedence as they had it in their contract for it to be first in the credits. She was now just top of the cast list.

I wonder if from then on, she had it in her contract?

9 hours ago, kalbir said:

 Fans of supercouple era Days that I know split that era into the Bo/Hope years (1983-1987) and the Steve/Kayla years (1987-1990). We know Steve/Kayla 1988 wedding got Days to #1 over Y&R. It will be interesting to see where Bo/Hope 1985 wedding ranks.

Shane and Kimberley were in the mix also so it will be interesting to see the numbers for their 87 wedding.

I think it was unprecedented for a network O&O station to preempt programming as WCBS did with Guiding Light.

Did they stick with GL at 10am till the end?

What programming did they offer at 3pm over the years?

Edit-did some research

`Day & Date' move

CBS O &O WCBS -TV New York, facing too many early fringe shows for too few time slots, likely will seek permission from the network to air network soap The Guiding Light, currently scheduled at 3 p.m., out of pattern and probably in early daytime, said a source. That would allow the station to run CBS /Group W's new magazine strip Day & Date at 3 p.m., following the other soaps, Geraldo at 4 and news at 5. If the network allows the move, other O &Os that have added Day & Date to their schedules could follow suit

Day & Date was not a success but GL was not returned to 3pm.

More on the Mary Worth pilot, from the March 1972 Daytime TV.

Filmed in New York on November 29 and 30. Starring, as already mentioned, Nancy Wickwire and Rita McLaughlin, as well as Larry Kert, who had never done a soap but was on Broadway (Company) and a lot of TV, and Noel Craig, a stage actor who was Herbie Vail on Secret Storm in 1967.

Variety Nov 24th 1971

Production of 'Mary Worth' skedded to start in late November in preparation for a January availability. Roger Ailes, former producer of the "Mike Douglas Show," will be exec producer, with Vincent Scarza signed to direct.

Variety June 27th 1973

A syndicated soap opera is in the offing, according to Roger Ailes & Associates, which reports, its "Mary Worth" series has been sold in 20 markets

They needed way more than 20 stations to get the show off the ground.

April 1972 Daytime TV

Sam Hall (Grayson Hall's husband), who co-wrote the Dark Shadows series and movies, wrote the script for the projected daytime serial based on the comic strip, Mary Worth, The cast of the serial pilot film consists of Larry Kert, Nancy Wickwire, Rita McLaughlin, Shane Nickerson, Robert Pickering, Noel Craig. Nancy Wickwire will play Mary Worth

Gh held up in the ratings throughout 73

Daytime TV two weeks ending March 25 1973

1. As the World Turns 10.5 44%

2. Days of Our Lives 9.5 31%

3. Another World 9.3 31%

4. General Hospital 9.2 31%

5. The Doctors 8.7 31%

6. The Guiding Light 8.3 28%

7. Search for Tomorrow 8.3 30%

8. One Life to Live 8.1 27%

9. All My Children 8.0 27%

10. The Edge of Night 8.0 28%

The 4 pm timeslot was too valuable for affiliates to give up I think. They could make much more with syndicated programming as they got all the ad time whereas the networks only gave them a certain number of commercials in the time period.

Search for Tomorrow

Warren Carter...Michael Corbett...July 82-85.

Det. John Carver Colton...Tom Wright...Jan 83-84

Rhonda Sue Huckaby...Tina Johnson...April 83-84..

Joshua Moreno...Josh Freund...April 28 83

Lee Sentell...Doug Stevenson...79- Nov 82

So we have Lesley's maiden name as Peters. Was that her birth name or adopted name. Where does Sullivan fit in?

Interesting that Peters was Susan's surname on Days when she married Greg Peters.

6 hours ago, DM James Fairbanks said:

Finally, NBC stood for No Body Cares at that point (in prime-time Different Strokes was the highest rated show at #30).

Little House on the Prairie?

6 hours ago, DM James Fairbanks said:

How did "Full Circle", that ran for nine months, from 1960 to 1961, and followed ATWT that was getting a 10.4, only got a 1.4 rating.

That 2pm timeslot following ATWT was a problem for CBS for years. Beat the Clock, Jimmy Dean, for Better or Worse all had a run w/o success. Even though that slot was bookended by ATWT and Art Linkletter-two very successful shows. And there was no competition. Affiliates must have been very resistant to giving up that slot.

Then CBS schedules Password and it ran successfully for years.

@DM James Fairbanks Have you checked out the Ratings from the 60's thread?

7 hours ago, ranger1rg said:

"Desolate and poverty-stricken"? Huh??? Y&R  has problems, including set problems, but the show does not look like there's no budget. I completely disagree with that.

Maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but Y&R is looking pretty basic to me.

Limited number of sets used repeatedly. Characters are always at Society,GCAC, Jazz lounge and Crimson Lights, especially awkward when they are discussing mergers and other business plans. Often they'll be seen at several of these venues in the one work day.

Set decoration...look at the artwork and decoration and furniture at the penthouse and Chancellor estate as examples.

The shrinking of the Chancellor set where if there are more than 2 characters there , they are all crowded in.

No homes or offices for a lot of characters.

Using an identical room at GCAC for different characters w/o bothering to redress it.

A few extras only so places look empty.

Lack of U/5 and day players so Jabot and Newman for example,don't present as at all realistic as workplaces.

No staff or assistants for supposedly wealthy characters. We hear about events eg meetings with doctors/adoption agents etc rather than seeing them.

Characters clothing is generic and cheap looking.

Just some  impressions ...

@dc11786 Thanks for compiling that list. Obviously sometimes there are circumstances beyond anyone's control that lead to a change and some of those writers were interim or additional but most of those shows listed certainly didn't benefit from all of the changes.

Some of those writers barely got a chance to implement their ideas.

Finding a writer with the right vision that meshes with EP and network mandates must be very difficult.

It would be great if some writers spoke about all the BTS stuff that goes on and how decisions are made.

It's my understanding that Denise Alexander was quickly hired by ABC when she was out of contract at Days.

So the writers had to quickly insert Lesley into the show, which must have meant some juggling of other stories?

NBC must have been pissed about losing Denise as they ran an ad in Variety in April 73 making an announcement that Bennye Gatteys had taken over the role if Susan (Denise's role) That was unprecedented as soaps in those days flew under the radar.

@dc11786 thanks for supplying that. 3 headwriters in a year is still a lot. I wonder if any other soap managed that?

 For anyone that watched, was there a major shift in tone and story direction with the changes?

If an actor landed a national commercial that played for a decent period of time they could pocket a tidy sum.

How many  headwriters did Rituals go through in a year? 

I think they set a record in that regard.

Looking at Season 1 ratings and scheduling the show crept back into the top 30 for the last couple episodes.

So NBC plays the final 2 episodes as a Thursday movie and the ratings drop down to #33

Kind of an odd move...

Well it wasn't just daytime actors of course.

I've been reading through old TV Guides and Raymond Burr's fantasy backstory is dredged up again - the dead wives and child.

Paul Lynde talks about the girl that got away. Poor Cesar Romero was jilted and that turned him off marriage. And Dick Sargent is interviewed at his house about his bachelor pad that apparently he was sharing with his partner at the time

Thanks @DRW50 Seems like everyone else could see the problems with The Doctors except those who could actually do something about it.

At that time Katherine on Y&R and Phoebe on AMC were very popular characters with younger viewers  and Meg Mundy was a powerhouse so of course put her on the chopping block...

Noticing that Eileen/Ashley is pretty much back full time.

In 2021 she made 25 appearances and in 2022 38. So far this year,as of July she has 58.

So Eileen has agreed to pretty much return as a regular, but not on contract.

I wonder why the change of heart ? Guess she felt like she was ready for more work and Josh had a story she liked?

On 7/23/2015 at 8:17 PM, Paul Raven said:

In it's second week on air Loving dropped from a 4.9/18 share to a 3.9/10

So the Primetime exposure helped get some eyeballs but viewers didn't hang around.

That 11.30 am timeslot was no help.

Loving hovered around 3.5-3.8 over the following months.

I think Jason would have made a better Adam.

The writing doesn't help one bit but Billy comes off as so dull. None of the light heartedness Billy Miller brought to the role.The mental health/podcast stuff was unbearable.

Variety reported in Oct 1970 that Gerald Gordon flew to LA to test for a role in The Godfather.

Can't blame Gerry for aiming high....

Variety review from July 17 lists Gillian Spencer in the cast.

I wonder why there was such a big jump in numbers week of 21st May?

GL - 7.9 to 8.7

GH - 7.4 to 8.4

Days -6.0 to 7.1

etc