Paul Raven

An article about the behind the scenes strife of The Survivors.It only makes me want to see it more! Lana Turner knew only too well that she was the model for the lurid 1962 novel Where Love Has Gone, and stopped talking to its author, Harold Robbins (The Carpetbaggers). But by two years ago, she had made peace and signed to star in Robbins' The Survivors, an ABC television series about the jet set he concocted for the forth coming season. That, it turns out, may be grounds to break off relations permanently with Robbins — and just possibly is the worst decision of Lana's 45-movie, seven-husband career. The Survivors has so far proved to be the most overpriced and troubled TV series ever. In the ten months since shooting began, the show has run through three producers. Also down the chute went one director, the costume designer, the executive story editor — and the original Robbins story line itself. Says Lana, one of the few charter members of the company left on the set last week: "If we were to film what really has happened behind the cameras, no one would believe it." The narrative is, so to speak, pure Robbins. He conceived The Survivors for a couple of reasons. Though he has sold more than 40 million books, Robbins has long lusted for a larger audience: he figures that "even if the show is a failure, more people will view it in one night than all the people who have ever read or seen The Carpetbaggers." Secondly, he has always felt that two-hour movie adaptations of his novels were too truncated and that 100 hours were really needed. Sophisticated Saga. So Robbins went to the production brass of ABC, and spieled out a scenario. There is this banking family, he winged — Morgan or Rothschild types, with the second generation vying among themselves for command after the death of the patriarch. The saga would unfold in novel form, not with self-contained weekly story segments but chapter by chapter. The Survivors would also be more sophisticated than conventional television — "A story," as Robbins put it, "of today's morals. If people go to bed together, they'll go to bed together on the show. We are not bowing down to TV in any way." ABC was sold, with nary a script or a pilot, and commissioned Universal to produce it. Robbins would get a percentage of any profits, plus $10,000 a show. Furthermore, he says, he was guaranteed a full 26 weeks the first year instead of the customary 15 or 17, and payment for a second season of 26 shows "whether it bombs or not." For that unprecedented, sweet contract, Robbins gave ABC only a nine-page "treatment," conferred a few times with Universal, and then took off for his Riviera home. Journeymen Hollywood scriptwriters would hack out the weekly chapters from the Robbins outline and flesh out such supporting characters as Louis Armond St. Verre, described in the scenario only as "the debauched scion of an old French family whose main claim to fame is that he has made love to 3,000 women and has had gonorrhea 26 times. The first producer, William Frye, was allocated the highest series budget in the history of TV—nearly $8,000,000 for the 1969-70 season. That bought not only Lana but also George Hamilton, who seemingly has given up his escort service for serious acting ("Commitment," he proclaimed last week, "is 90% of life"). Some $200,000 was spent on the set—four times the TV average —and another $100,000 on wardrobes, $50,000 of it for Lana. But that didn't stop her from quarreling with Producer Frye over the jewelry provided. Frye couldn't be bothered, he said, and got a slap across the face. He slapped back —on both cheeks—and she told the producer he was through. Thus, after two months of shooting (most of it on location on the Riviera) and $1,000,000 of expenses, Universal still had to get its first usable episode. After another producer passed briefly through the chaos, old TV Hand Walter Doniger (Maverick) was called in and wrote a 40-page, single-spaced critique of what was wrong with Robbins' nine-page outline and the scripts to date. He became the third producer. Harmonious Sex Life. In Doniger's view, a fight over a banking empire run by a family patriarch (Ralph Bellamy) would not keep TV viewers tuned in for very long. So he decided instead "to deal not with the abstracts of wealth but rather with the emotional problems of rich people. Our stories will be about human beings faced with all kinds of swirling emotional forces, told against an enormous backdrop, but with the same kind of problems as you and I." Translation: kink it up. Out went eight different story outlines, three finished scripts and five more in the works. In the original, for example, Lana and her husband (Kevin McCarthy) hymned their harmonious sex life with lines like "It's only good with you." Now it's bad, bad, bad, and in fact their 19-year-old son turns out to have been sired by a Greek named Krakos, who was at the time a poverty-stricken tourist guide but has since become richer than Onassis. Naturally, the son has some S.D.S.-type campus friends. Also hastily written in is a South American revolutionary conservatively patterned not after Guevara or Castro but Simon Bolivar. Despite all the frantic script doctoring and transplants, Universal claims that shooting is about on schedule. Lana and the old sweater-girl figure are holding up pretty well for her years (49). She is getting along swimmingly with Producer du jour Doniger, who himself professes to be having "desperate fun" with the cast and show. "It is like having a cocktail party on the wing of an airplane." Lana does make her daily 5:45 a.m. calls, and has difficulty only in getting a fix on her unraveling character. "There have been so many story versions that I am still trying to figure out what kind of woman I am," she complains. Last week, for instance, Lana had to shoot the sixth chapter, though the third chapter still lacks a final script. Treat or a Treatment. One of the principals of the cast—who signed on in hopes that the show "might convey the real emptiness of our life and become an American L'Avventura"—now fears that it is degenerating into high-priced prime-time soap opera. Producer Doniger vehemently disputes the charge, though he just as determinedly denies that his last show was soap. It was Peyton Place. That series, at least, made ABC a lot of money, and the real cliffhanging question in The Survivors melodrama is whether Robbins has given the network a treat or a treatment. With his two-year guarantee, he has less to lose than the network if the show doesn't survive the second season. No matter what happens, Robbins will continue to be as rich as Krakos.

I wonder why they didn't go to 1 hour weekly.maybe that would have saved the show from the axe.It certainly worked in the 80's.

Thought I might include The Survivors here.I would love to see it,surely it couldn't be as bad as claimed. The cast was impressive -Lana Turner,Kevin McCarthy,Jan-Michael Vincent,Ralph Bellamy,George Hamilton,Diana Muldaur,Louis Hayward,Louise Sorel,Rossano Brazzi,Natalie Schafer.

An excerpt from a 1965 report,Barbara Parkins speaking... "...at any rate,Barbara suffered so well that her name was added to the co-star creditsafter the 56th episode and her studio and network began thinking of a whole new eries for her,tentavely titled 'The Girl from Peyton Place'around the Betty Anderson chracter, They called me up to Mr Self's office(William Self director of TV activities for 20th Centurt Fox)and I'd done something wrong. Then he told me when I was scared of the responsibility I suppose.But a couple of weeks later,when they called me in to say they were putting the idea on the shelf,for now,I cried.However,Peyton Place will expand from two to three shows next season,and barbara will be an important part of the show.' Sorry for the typos,computer is playing up.

No,Girl from PP was definitely scheduled as a spin off in 65,as ABC was trying to milk the success of the original.Maybe the idea was revived after the cancellation.

I would love to watch PP on DVD,but the time commitment is too much for me at the moment. Truth be told,I remember some of it first time around! There was an episode on YouTube some time back.Betty was in New York going for a job and back in PP,I remember the Harringtons gathered in their living room.Someone was leaving townAallison was in this ep also and Dr Rossi had just arrived,I hope I'm not mixing things up. Eric,could you tell me which ep it was? I do remember how soapy it was,longish scenes with lots of'meaningful'conversations.I mean that in a good way, as the dialogue was not straightforward and there was an undercurrent of things bubbling beneath the surface. Visually,I recall the Harrington scene was also daytime like-it was directed in a 3 camera live/tape mode. The Ferros were the writers.They wrote General Hospital in the first few months.I think the Dobsons had to finish at Search For Tomorrow(a contractual thing?)and the Ferros were 'caretakers' of the show for that time.maybe some other posters know more. Eric,are you familiar with the proposed spinoff 'The Girl from Peyton Place'?It was to debut in Summer of 65 as a once a week entry,before going to twice a week in the fall.It dealt with Betty in NY and would air Mon and Fri 9.30-10.00.Days after the announcement,plans were changed claiming there wasn't enough time to put together the whole show.Barbara Parkins was dismayed.

Who were the first Love of Life actors to move to another soap? i would say Margo McKenna(Betsy)who went to EON as Emily and Chandler Hill Harben who was the first Max on Texas. And Velekka Grey who turned up on ATWT as the first Lyla. Any more you can think of?

Prisoner was big on Aussie TV at the time.Carol Burns as Frankie was a sensation but she didn't get caught up in the hype and left when her contract was up.The network spliced all her scenes together and screened as a TV movie called 'The Frankie Doyle Story". They also did a 60 min variety special with different cast members in production numbers.

Lisa Hartman did a soapy mini series 'Roses are for the Rich' which aired May 87 on CBS..Like so many of these the cast is interesting-Bruce Dern,betty Buckley,Sharon Wyatt,Kate Mulgrew,Howard Duff and Joe Penny.

Bringing this thread back to life. Hollywood Wives-The New Generation starring Farrah Fawcett,Melissa Gilbert,Robin Givens and Jack Scalia.I don't think this one faired to well in the ratings.The days of the big rating mini series seemed to be over.

Joe Stuart interview from 87 How do sweeps affect storylines? JS I can't speak for other shows,but you really have to plan your thinking and direct it to the overall continuous strength of the show.Sometimes you do peak a story,or have scenes which are worked out during a sweeps period,but we wouldn't take a story and truncate it just because it was sweeps week. What about long-term planning?Do you consider sweeps then? JS Well we have projections for up to about a year ahead,maybe more like nine months. These are very sketchy,and they indicate where certain characters will end up,along with a rough idea of the incidents that will happen to take them there.But of course,everything can change.This business is organic.We all know when sweeps are around and if we forget,the network will remind us,so we do work with an awareness of them. Why would you change a projected storyline? JS Well.sometimes a story just doesn't work out.It can be a lack of chemistry between the performers that no one knows about or perceives until it gets on the screen.It can be the audience's perception of the story.Or something might just turn out to be wrong for Loving.Then we have to drive forward with a story that we feel is starting to work. Who decides something isn't working? JS Usually producers can see it first because they are in on the taping of the show,and the writers and the network hasn't yet seen all the shows the producers have seen. Would you then do a rewrite? JS Yes,but rewrites almost never happen in the studio,unless we run short.The rewrites we are talking about would occur in the long term projections and the outlines. What changes might occur in the story? JS Sometimes the material can be played a number of different ways,and we might decide that an actor works better in one way than another.So,we may go against our original plan and emphasize a different aspect of the material. Who OKs the long term stories? JS The network has an overview because they attend a writers meeting every Wednesday.At that meeting,the writers,the producer and the network go over the outlines which are the basis of the scriptswhich will air roughly five weeks from the day of the meeting.we read them,and we critique them,and we approve them.Sometimes we decide to change things.So the network knows where the show is going,and it is very much a mutual thing. Does the network pressure you about ratings? JS Everyone wants better ratings,but it is like we are all in this together.and speaking for myself,i don't need anyone else pressuring me.i pressure myself enough.what anyone else could do,it mowhere near the pressure i put on myself.in looking at Loving,Loving is better than its ratings.Of course,once you say that,you still have to say that the ratings are what they are. What do you think the problem is? JS One of the problems we've had since the beginning of the show is the time period.The decision was made,against our wishes,to put it on initially at 11.30 when it had been shown that soaps were not doing well against game shows.also,we had no lead in.The lead in strategy is to put a new show on in between established shows where an audience already exists.Now we have a lead in(Ryan's Hope) but we are up against Y&R.It's labor in the vineyards.i suppose this sounds like a cop-out,but those are the facts,and they do affect us. Do you feel optimistic about Loving? JS yes,I do.you can't let low ratings or rumors infuence your work.People who work in this business have to have endurance.That's in addition to talent,sensitivity and an understanding of what the audience wants to look at.Without it,you can't function.Besides,Loving is in the wonderful position of being renewed on a yearly basis.So,you're going to have Loving on until next June,and probably,in my mind,a lot longer than that. Joe Stuart had been producer on The Doctors and OLTL when both were doing well in the ratings.It must have been difficult for him trying to get the numbers up.Who replaced him at Loving?Was it long after this interview? I wonder why he never did anymore soaps after this?Maybe the frustration of Loving was enough for him.

From SOD July 1990 Who Killed Rick Alden? Loving plots a chilling murder mystery with 7 hot suspects. After seven years on the air,ABC's low rated serial Loving is hoping 4 words-Who killed Rick Alden?-will finally be the key to ratings success.So far,the show has tried all kinds of story gimmicks-from spoiled priests to spy-fi-without making a dent in the ratings. However,the shows new top gun,Exec Producer Jackie Babbin,thinks a good old fashioned corpse might just be what's needed to get the ailing soap on its feet. On July 9,resident sleazeball Rick Alden(Brian Fitzpatrick)bit the dust,leaving a juicy trail of suspects in his wake. His ex-lover Stacey will now stand trial for murder,and even her own relatives will seriously doubt her innocence. After all,Rick had recently kidnapped Stacey's daughter Heather and was doing everything possible to make stacey's life a misery.(Heather had been conceived during Stacey's brief affair with Rick. However Babbin assures us there are major surprises in store. "Keep in mind,there are several other characters with equally strong motives",she told us,adding the trial will last about three weeks. The real murderer-who may or may not be Stacey-won't be revealed until the end of the month. Aside from Stacey,six other suspects also had compelling reasons to put Rick on their personal hit list: Jack Forbes(Perry Stephens) As Stacey's husband,Jack definitely wanted Rick out of the way forever. Rick's presence was a constant reminder that Stacey had once been unfaithful. Dane Hammond(Anthony Herrera) Jack's natural father is willing to do anything to help his son. An unscrupulous businessman,he's sabotaged more than one opponent in the past.Was murder on his agenda this time? Robert (Will Osborne) Dane's all-too-efficient sidekick has only one mission in life-to follow his bosses orders. Paul Slavinsky (Joseph Breen) a man with serious mob connections,he was Rick's loan shark. Stevie(Yohanna Yonas) Paul's statuesque assistant could turn out to be a cold blooded killer. Norma (Ilene Kristen) As Denny's pal,she was involved up to her eyeball's in the kidnapping scheme.Did she kill Rick to avenge Danny's murder-or to get the payoff money herself?(More importantly,Ilene Kristen doesn't have a long term contract with the show,and that makes her an extremely prime suspect.Ditto,for Osborne and Yonas) While other producers opt for the three l's in storytelling-love,lies and lust-Babbin's forte is murder.In real life she's something of an Agatha Christie,having penned three paperback whodunits in her own right(Bloody Soap,Bloody Special and Bloody Network).What does she find so fascinating about guns and gore?"I think people love a good puzzle whether it's a crossword or murder puzzle...besides I lov eto kill people and this is the only way to do it". Babbin,who was producer of AMC in the early 1980's,admits that ABC had to work hard to lur her back to the sopa worls now. She's agreed to stay for one year only,and knows she has a tough challenge ahead of her.Does she have a secret gameplan for turning Loving into a hit?"Telling a good story",she says,"My yardstick is if I'm bored,then the audience is too". So,who did murder Rick???

The only constant in Loving was change.So even from the start there wasn't much stability in stories and character,so I guess that's where the 'generic'tag came from. Even viewers who hooked on from the start would have not recognized the show after a few years.There was no real feeling to encourage loyalty in viewers.

As regards the Matthews,that family was not really nurtured and positioned correctly to carry on into the 80's. Firstly,Mary was killed off(rightly or wrongly)leaving Jim a widower.He never remarried,so the opportunity for stepchildren/grandchildren (from his new wife)never materialised. Russ was married 4 times,yet never had children(Josie didn't come along to the late 80's.)Tracy could have had a child before her death,leaving Russ to raise the child alone(this child could have been sorased in the late 80's and filled the role of Josie. Alternatively,the 'Josie' character could have arrived in the early 80's from a relationship Russ had earlier(a one night stand)This would have bolstered the Matthews at a time when they needed to be. Alice was unable to conceive and her adopted daughter Sally,was given a lot of story in the early 80's.however the decision to cast Taylor Miller was,I think a mistake as it was more stunt casting than a desire to write for the character.Anyway,Sally was killed off and that was that.Her son Kevin was never brought back. Alice was recast too many times after JC left and Linda Borgeson was terrible,When they got Jacquie back,she was backburner.Alice should have been the new matriach and perhaps married and had stepchildren. Pat hung on through the Lemay years but was foolishly written out,never to return.Again Pat could have remarried and had stepchildren.Mike and Marianne were aged too quickly and written out,never to return,despite the fact they had a lot of story potential. Liz was given an adoptive grandaughter Julia ,who was killed off after a few years,while her other'grandchild'Ricky,never came to Bay City. Another way of continuing the family would have been to bring in a child of Janet Matthews(another character who was completely ignored) Like so many other shows,the core families were left to wither.

Funnily enough,Sandy Dennis did have a role on Guiding Light(Alice Holden)in 1956 but was dropped after a few weeks in the role.

From SOW July 96 The ABC affiliate in Dallas has moved the The City to a late night timeslot.As of June 10th,The City airs at 12.35 am,on a same day delay. ABC suggested the change,says WFAA Program Director David Walther. "Some days it actually performs better than it did in the earlier time period.It's not doing any worse.We've either maintained audience or gained some". Before the switch,WFAA aired only a half hour of the now defunct Mike & Maty show,from 10.00-10.30 am,then The City from 10.30-11.00am.However,Walther adds,'the network asked us to consider carrying the full hour of Caryl & Marilyn,and to accommodate that,their next suggestion was that we consider moving The City to what we call 'late fringe' area replacing a rebroadcast of the 10pm newscast." Dallas is the nation's 8th largest TV market. Kansas City KMBC has also moved The City to 2.05 am to make way for the full hour of Caryl & Marilyn.The City's ratings have benefited from the change.When it aired at 11.30 am it averaged a 1.4/5-at 2.05 am it averages 2.6/30. KMBC is No 30 in market size.

That was The Manions of America which starred Kate Mulgrew and Pierce Brosnan. To the best of my recollection it aired just before Fall Premiere week,up against repeats and some premieres and did OK in the ratings.

Has the Loving premiere movie aired as a rerun in the states? I know it has overseas as a standa alone title through the distribution company Fremantle.

Re the incest story.I read that ABC was premiering the TV movie Something About Amelia starring Ted Danson,which was being touted as a breakthrough in dealing with this topic. ABC daytime got the word to drop the story as primetime wanted the movie to be hailed as a landmark and not some low rated daytime soap.

Ann had played Eunice for 10 years,in which time she had been through 2 marriages and a lot of story,so I could understand the decision to get rid of the character as the show was only 30 mins and casts were kept quite small in those days. Budget wise it was probably a good move also,as it allowed for newer,younger and cheaper characters to be introduced. However,long term I question the wisdom of writing off the character as she was Jo's only sibling.Patti was dropped not long after and it made it harder to keep Jo in the story. It might have been interesting had Jo and Eunice been involved in a triangle.Maybe she divorced John and he turned to Jo.Or one of Jo's later romances turned into a triangle with Eunice. As for the serial killer story,I think Sarah,Jo's never before mentioned grandaughter was a victim also.Louise Shaffer had not been well received as Stephanie,and like Eunice before her had been around for a decade and an older vet character was probably seen as expendable. Serial killer stories were done to death in the 80's.Who was the Henderson killer?

From The Soap Opera Book (The scenes of Jennifer shooting eunice are on YouTube,courtesy of Ann William's children.) Eunice and John Wyatt's marriage was going through some bad times as a result of Eunice's sexual problems. John turned to Jennifer Pace, a beautiful younger woman, for comfort. He and Jennifer had an affair, which Eunice eventually discovered. John was determined to save his marriage and broke off his relationship with Jennifer. But Jennifer, an extremely insecure and clinging young woman, wouldn't let go. She was constantly visiting John's office, begging him to come back. Eunice usually walked in when they were together and no amount of explaining could convince her that the affair had ended. Finally, Jennifer called John, told him that someone had tried to rape her in her apartment and begged him to come over and protect her. John consequently spent the night on her couch. Eunice found out about it and didn't believe his version of the story. John moved out. Eunice soon realized that she was wrong and was going to try for a reconciliation—until she found out that John had moved in with Jennifer. Eunice filed for divorce, even though she still loved John. John, meanwhile, found out that Jennifer had lied, and that no one had attacked her on that fateful night. Again he packed his bags. He and Eunice patched up their marriage and were back to being like newlyweds. Jennifer attempted suicide; she survived, but as a result went slightly crazy. She kept hearing John talking to her, telling her he loved her, and that he wanted her to kill Eunice so they could marry. All in Jennifer's head, of course. Still Jennifer stole a gun and shot and killed Eunice! Viewer sympathy lies with Eunice, in the grave.

Trouble was that writers following the Corringtons relied on Travis and Liza at the expense of everything else. They were constantly put in jeopardy in plot driven stories,relying on action and locations for interest.The worst was the incomprehensible Operation Sunburst story. There was talk of the show going to an hour around 78/79 when the Sentells and Tourneurs were introduced but CBS wanted Y&R to expand also and there simply wasn't room on the schedule.

Jennifer Gatti played Angela Moreno,daughter of Barbara Moreno(Olympia Dukakis) I think they were brought on in the Joanna Lee era.Lee wanted the show to be more reality based and to get away from the action/adventure stuff. Unfortunately,the producers/writers never stayed around long enough to fully implement their vision.There were way too many story and cast changes. The show should have focused on Jo,Patti and her two kids Chris and Tracey,along with Stu,his son Tom and grandkids Liza,Garry and Danny. But all the writers in the 80's wanted to ignore the history for no good reason.

Jack Parrish,who played Brad Garrick in 1980, passed away in October at age 56.

<h1 id="fir"> </h1> "The Eerie Truth Behind Search’s Occult Phenomenon!" by Diana Whitley Rona Barrett’s Daytimers August 1979 Search For Tomorrow has introduced the world of the occult to daytime viewers. Dark Shadows came close but in a highly stylized, Gothic manner complete with vampires and eerie effects. However, Search is treating it in a realistic manner, devoid of anything sensational or "gimmicky." The writers and producers painstakingly researched their material, and have a psychic, Alexander Murray, to advise them. "The intent is to realistically show the kinds of things that do happen, and to work them out in a story in a metaphysically correct way," Alex explained. Alex is a gentle, cheerful young man with a good sense of humor. Nonetheless. He is one of New York’s foremost people in the field, and his credentials include over 30 trance sessions at the United Nations, an extensive international clientele, and a busy schedule as a lecturer, teacher, and seminar reader. He has also been the subject of research projects for the American Society for Psychical Research, successfully demonstrating clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences, psychokinesis, and the banishing of poltergeist phenomenon. Finding Mr. Murray was production coordinator Bonnie Bogand’s job. She was to locate someone who was well versed in all aspects of the occult to be a consultant on the staff. "I started at the occult bookstores. I went to the two biggest ones in New York, and spent a couple of hours at each. I was so intrigued by all the reading material there is on the subject I surrounded myself on the floor with books and read them until the manager finally came over and said I couldn’t read them there! "The big problem was to find someone that was serious," she continued. "There are rip offs in every field, and the occult is certainly no exception. We wanted to treat this very seriously, and not as a gimmick to get more viewers, so we didn’t want any sensationalism," she explained. "The second problem was to find someone articulate, possibly with a flair for drama, who could relate well to the writers, directors, and actors, because this person was going to be involved every step of the way. He would help with the specifics, such as the technique that a psychic would use in reading tarot cards or giving a séance—gestures, incantations, whether or not her eyes would be closed. He would be involved in anything to do with the physicality of what happens, such as lighting or costuming. "He would also have a series of meetings with the writers, going over the story line, telling them whether or not they were being far-fetched, exploring the possibilities of voodoo. When we decided to have a fire caused by lightning, we did it in a way that the audience could decide for themselves whether or not Tante Helene started the fire, but we determined that there is a basis in occult truth for a power to do this." …After Bonnie secured a directory listing everyone in the country who is involved in the occult, she called organizations like Foundation Faith, the Parapsychology Institute of America, and the American Society for Psychical Research. It is illegal for these institutions to recommend anyone, but if she gave them names, they would indicate their opinion. The only problem was that none of them seem to agree on any one person. Like most other fields, the occult tends to have specialists, and Search needed someone who was well versed in all aspects from séances to tarot, so many people were immediately eliminated. Finally, it was narrowed down to Alexander Murray, so Bonnie made an appointment for a séance, without telling him who she was or why she was interested. "I didn’t want to go alone, so my boyfriend went with me. It wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought it would be pitch black, with special effects like a fan blowing the curtains and a black cat. It was just a group of people sitting around the room in chairs-not even holding hands around a table. Alex conducted the session, opening it with some incantations and prayers. Then his mind left his body and he became about seven different people, with different accents and sometimes even different languages. He basically spoke about love and a philosophy of life. There was nothing ugly or scary. "One thing happened that was very exciting. He has a spirit guide, who allows the other spirits to some and go out of his body without becoming possessed by an evil spirit. She (his spirit guide is a woman) went around the room and told everyone something about their vibrations and auras. When she came to me she said she saw someone in my aura, and that it was an aunt named Helen. I told everyone at the office and they were all really excited." After the séance, Mary Ellis Bunim, the producer, also went to see Alex, and she was unequivocably chosen as the show’s consultant. One of the things Alex has done is to give Jane White, the actress who plays the central occult figure "Tante Helene," a shibboleth to protect herself and the rest of the staff from evil visitations. "A shibboleth is a protection that you may do in the form of a mantra. Even when you play act, you are touching upon the real thing. There is a tradition that every time the play Macbeth is done there is a curse on it and something goes wrong. There are a lot of magical incantations in that play, and the actors may not know it, but every time they say them they can release a lot of energy. "I explained to Jane that even though she is only acting, there is power in words, and she should make a clear distinction between herself and "Tante Helene," so I gave her something to protect herself and the cast, so that the spirit world would understand it was just a play. We didn’t want any weird happenings, like tapes being erased or flats falling over, and that kind of thing has been known to happen." In a similar vein, Alex explained that the other characters in Henderson are going to be affected by their contact with the occult world, even though they may not believe in it or be aware of it. "They come into contact with ‘Tante Helene’ on a casual basis, but once they make the contact it is like opening Pandora’s box. They’re involved whether they know it or not. Once exposed, it is like radiation, and the outcome will be worked out in the story."