Paul Raven

I think a reboot of GL that is based on the original radio concept could be viable . A minister and his daughter (Rev Rutledge and Mary) the idealistic young man (Ned Holden) the embittered artist with mysterious past (Eliis) , the striving immigrant family (the Kranskys) etc. Update those characters with different ethnicities and give the stories a modern twist and away you go. A more realistic and issues based soap to contrast/ complement the more glitzy shows.

If there is an illegitimate child in the offing it would be good if Vernon knew about him all along , rather than the usual soap plot of discovering him as an adult. Maybe Anita could know as well and kept the secret. Real Mom could be in on it as well. And hell, why not have the son be aware also.

Shooting till 8pm I'm sure would be overtime and there's no way Days would be paying a cent more than the minimum. Would be interesting to know how a typical shooting day is arranged. Are they taping according to what sets are available or what actors are there that day? The logistics must be horrendous and it must heavily influence how the writers plot out the week - if they are still mapping out a week at a time in the traditional way.

The empty bar trolley?

Well Tom's long lost Asian daughter didn't get much of a look in after her first go round either. Irna tried that story twice-on Love Is A Many Splendored Thing the character lasted a few months and then when she went back to ATWT. The minute she was fired Amy was out of Oakdale.

How come the Dani/Bill wedding photos (supposedly 30 years ago) have the character looking like they do today? Dani went straight for that golf club w/o a sideways glance. Does Bill always leave it there?

It must be so freeing (and maybe a little daunting) for MVJ to have a blank canvas to work with. No Sonny, Victor etc who have done everything but still have to seen 3 times a week. Or having no room on the canvas to introduce new characters,. I wonder how far ahead the show has been plotted? Obviously things change when the actual writing takes place. But I'm sure she is smart enough to have a lot of possibilities waiting to be brought into play. Mainstream reviews I have read are favorable. Let's hope the initial numbers are strong.

I think we might be more interested in Ashley if there was some hospital drama depicted rather than her just chatting at the Nurses station (with the empty shelf) There was all this talk of her beginning this long anticipated career so some encounters with difficult patients or maybe disappointment that she was assigned admin stuff? Again maybe something is coming...

The Damian/Nate story is interesting because it is something FRESH. Seeing Sharon kidnapped again, Victor going after Jack, Adam/Chelsea etc is just variations on what has occurred over decades with these characters. It's hard to come up with new angles for vet characters but Josh makes no effort. If it worked in 85, 95, 05 and 2015 it'll work again! now seems to be his mantra.

Or have a whole day pass in an episode? Show a weekend? Or make clear that several days have passed b/w episodes?

So many interesting comments from everyone. The hospital scene with Mom and the two women showing up was awkward, especially the 'I've only known you for a few months, but you're fulfilling your destiny spiel' from the daughter. I still don't know their names or how they are connected to the nurse. Are the two older women friends? Day 1- Dani punches someone out Day 2 Dani destroys the desk Day 3 ??? She bulldozes Bill and Hayley's new home??? I don't want to see DID,a murder, or any of those soap cliches so soon. Let the characters provide the drama, not an evil twin etc I though Nicole's house looked a little sterile, although maybe that was intentional to reflect her more reserved personality. Some pattern, texture and color please. I wonder how long this day will go for? I want to see Tamara out of that silver space suit!

Episode 2 was a better watch for me. Of course because it was the 2nd ep and some stuff had been established. I thought Clifton came across better this time. Need to give the actors time to settle in. Karla was giving more depth and Daphnee continued to shine. Still a few too many characters telling each other how wonderful they are and having conversations to explain relationships. I'm glad Bill isn't a complete villian-gives the character greater longevity. We still are not sure why he ditched Danni this time after other affairs. Maybe she just got too old. The new supporting characters-the other nurse and Nicole's older assistant were fine. Do the Duprees have a housekeeper? So far , no. Hello husband/hello husband -cringe. The gays were not allowed a kiss? They didn't seem a good match first time around. Saddling them with teen kids?

Reminds me of BITD when ABC premiered A World Apart up against Search for Tomorrow. The Friday before SFT had Joanne in a car accident cliffhanger. Irna Phillips (creator of AWA) sent a message to SFT congratulating them on their strategy.

After a second watch. Standouts for me were Daphnee and Timon. They came across natural and gave us a good sense of their characters. Tamara is fine but was stuck with a lot of unnatural dialogue. Karla needs to reign it in. A character like that needs finesse. Not a fan of Dani resorting to violence. I think a better choice would have been for her to slay her rival with some well chosen words. I didn't think Clifton showed the gravitas needed for the patriarch role. He seemed way too meek and gentle and a little hesitant. It was too soon to really judge the others but yes,the Derek character and Dani's daughter and her cousin seemed very raw. There was too much expository dialogue .Plenty of time for backstories and history to be revealed w/o overloading the first ep. The white couple seemed out of place but I guess they felt they needed to be included in Ep #1 so viewers would know it was not a totally black cast.

I wonder if GH will make some gesture ? Would be a classy and positive thing to do.

Todays DOOL was probably taped before Beyond The Gates was even announced.

I enjoyed it. Pretty much delivered what was on the tin. Would have liked at least one more location scene to provide some variety. That scene at the end with all of the Duprees rooted to the spot during the confrontation needed better staging, maybe some individual close ups? And then them all filing past with dagger looks... The white hospital set was a miss. Lighting could be softened a touch to give the sets more moodiness. Love the posters referring to 'the white couple'-in years past it would have been 'the black couple' And the male cast, down to the extras -yowsah! The costuming/styling was great. Y&R needs to up their game several notches.

I have pointed this out before From Here to Eternity NBC begin 2-14-1979 From Here to Eternity NBC end 2-28-1979 This is the mini series.The actual follow up weekly series did not premiere until March 1980 Cliffhangers NBC begin 2-27-1979 This was not a soap. Facts...

I don't want to see BTG crossovers with B&B and Y&R or old P&G characters turning up.

Jon Michael Reed comments on Search-this was the time Henry Slesar was headwriter. Just before 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. Andthere 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 Millee 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?

Found this tidbit in a 1970 newspaper report on soaps. When heart transplants were in the headlines, "Guiding Light" quickly had one of its characters undergo a successful operation. It was found that the subject was painful and gimmicky and the completely recovered character was unrealistic. He was quickly dispatched by having his plane disappear on an overseas flight: accidents are great conveniences in serials. When Bill Bauer returned I'm sure the heart transplant was forgotten. Although, it could have been used as a reason for Bill faking his death. He could have believed he was dying anyway so when the opportunity arose he took it. I have read that a lot of those early recipients had issues after the transplant and difficulty mentally. That could have been used for Bill to explain his motives eg not thinking clearly/depressed. Also he could have claimed to have access to new drugs and other treatments while missing that prolonged his life.

Jon Michael Reed Oct 18 1981 A triumvirate of network executives is responsible for overseeing and managing the fortunes of CBS's daytime serial schedule Michael Ogiens is vice president of all daytime programming at CBS. Directly under him are Jean Remick and Brian Frons. Ogiens and Renick are based in Los Angeles, while Frons operates from New York "Basically", says Frons," I'm involved with all the New York produced serials, 'As the World Turns," 'Guiding Light, and 'Search For Tomorrow.' Since those shows are owned and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions for the net- work, I work closely on 'quarterly long-term story projections and l have some input into casting‘ For nearly 20 years, CBS (and, by extension, P & G) was the kingpin of daytime television. In the past five years, CBS has found itself playing second fiddle to ABC's overpowering ratings champs of programs. And concern is evident. "I think there is a perception," says Frons, "that our serials are old-fashioned and conservative. We're just as progressive as the competition, but our image has been tarnished, perhaps by the fact that we made changes gradually, imperceptibly, and usually avoided short-term, attention-grabbing gimmicks. And we haven't forgotten our basic audience. True, serials today must appeal to a broad spectrum from teens to grandparents. But as desirable as the youth market is, we can't neglect the needs of the older audience. 'GL' and 'ATWT,' for example, are especially strong in the 40-plus age group. We are in the process of holding onto that particular audience while building, branching out, if you will, from our core. The same js true of the ideal structure of an individual serial. The best soaps build on the core characters, the Hugheses and the Stewarts of 'ATWT and the Bauers of'GL', for example. The spoke of the wheel should revolve first around them and then the next, the succeeding generations." There have been problems, concedes Frons.."'On ATWT we've discovered that we've gotten too far afield of our 'tentpole' character groups. We're working to concentrate the focus back on familiar folks and their families. Bill Bell headwriter of 'The Young and The Restless,' has done an exemplary job of building interest in new families which interconnect with the show's core groups. Doug Marland who writes GL,also has integrated old and new elements while strengthening familiar relation ships. 'ATWT" has the history and tradition behind it. The basic building blocks are there, and we're hope that new writers will rectify the problem. "On 'Search' the transition from the old to the new has turned around nicely, I think. Writer Don Chastain has a finger on the frustrations and fantasies of the audience, and the qualities of the actors on the show are unique. We still need to focus more on the center of the show, which got lost through the past half-dozen years or so." Still, the most pressing problem for CBS is to alter its image as the granddaddy of network daytime. Frons was talking through his anus as usual. This was at the time when Nancy Hughes was written off, Chris was recurring, a bunch of GL vets were dropped etc. Don Chastain was a disaster for SFT.

It's interesting that the Dobsons introduced characters with surnames-Wexler (Lucille,Amanda) and Scott (Jackie, Emmett) that had been used the decade before. They were questioned as to whether the 70's Scotts had any relationship to the first family but were unaware of Maggie,Ben and that Peggy was Peggy's maiden name. Demonstrates how new writers are sometimes unaware/not interested much in the past.

Thanks so much @VelekaCarruthers @Reverend Ruthledge for your posts. Getting a much clearer idea of how stories played out. That mention of Sara moving back to Chicago might have been due to Jill Andre leaving ? Dates we have say that Patricia Roe took over in 67 but that might not have been the case. The only reason I can think of for killing off Bill is Ed Bryce wanted to leave. There seemed to be enough drama going on w/o killing off a character who represented the core family. It would be like killing off Stu Bergman or Chris Hughes. Maybe they were planning to recast and have Bill return a few months later, but it never happened? When was Tracey exposed as a fraud? Hope we can keep the TGL 60's discussion happening!

@dc11786 thanks as always. A question. Could AL played on network daytime or were the production values/storylines etc an issue? For a Christian soap the stories seem quite contemporary. Did they have a minister or preacher as a regular at any time? Were services/sermons showed? I would think that would be an obvious choice as a means of incorporating the Christian values into the plots.