Paul Raven

Always interesting to see when a show is cancelled, which actors pick up another gig quickly and which don't. Of course, some may have chosen not to do another soap. Audrey and Ron were so identified with the show that they probably had no offers and being older didn't help at that time when shows were going younger. In 1980/81 Margo McKenna (Bestsy) went to EON as Emily. Chandler Hill Harben (Ben) to Texas as Max Ann McCarthy (Bambi) to Texas as Samantha Ted La Plat (Eliot) to GL as Andy Veleka Grey (Mia) to ATWT as Lyla Ron Harper (Andrew) to AW as Taylor Dana Delany (Amy) to AYWT as Hayley Tudi Wiggins (Meg) to AMC as Pamela Peg Murray (Carrie) to AMC as Olga Birgitta Tolskdorf was offered a role on Y&R but turned it down. Interesting that none of those roles lasted. Have I missed anyone?

A thought- when LOL was cancelled SFT could have hired Ann Marcus, who had written for the show before and surely would have done a better job than Grover/Porterfield. I wonder if AM would have been interested?

St Elsewhere survived due to critical acclaim, upscale demos, steady but not spectacular ratings and ideal counterprogramming to glitzy ABC offerings.

I recall at one point it was ruled that cast lists had to run at least once a week. Not sure when that took hold. Maybe the 70's sometime? Credits did include castmembers sometimes in the early days but usually only actors appearing in that episode. At GH, John Beradino and Emily MacLaughlin fought for and obtained billing in every episode around 1965 I think.

@dc11786 I completely agree with your assessment. I don't object to new families per se but rather them taking centerstage and overshadowing. TPTB need to take a step back to ensure vet characters/families are also being highlighted. As simple as making sure that each episode includes familiar characters, tying new characters to the vets etc. Also with the Kendalls, there were so many family members, recasts and change in emphasis. Lloyd, Estelle, Michael, Steve, Chase, Alec, Adair, TR -most of them weren't even on at the same time. Too many writers want to make changes, not necessarily improvements.

I think the Fosters had a kitchen as well. The sets were fine for the times. I found Pierre's to be a bit basic, but the Brooks house was appropriate for an upper middle class family. Of course Conboy's moody lighting added its own dimension. Am I right in saying that the zig zag wallpaper adorning the Brook's staircase area wasn't there initially?

OK so a Valentine's ep. Could be just fantasy sequences. Thanks for posting those pics.

Six headwriters in 2 years! Search changed writers quite a bit throughout the 70's but the continuity pretty much was there throughout. But with new writers constantly bringing in new characters and changing storylines, without an opportunity to see things through was a recipe for disaster. Such drastic changes pretty much guarantee a good number of faithful viewers will drop away and grabbing new viewers isn't that easy. Search had a good structure waiting to be explored with Stu's family and Jo's grandkids as well as the Sentells but they seemed to think the Kendalls and McClearys were the answer. And they did weird things like bringing in Sarah, a never mentioned adopted grandkid for Jo instead of her natural grandaughter Tracey and discarding Danny Walton for various Kendalls.

There should have been a warning before that Billy/Phyllis pic loaded. Putting her in a pretty floral dress isn't fooling anyone. Those roses are a deadly variety. Hate Nick with the greasy hair/unkempt stubble. Lily/Damian? Not her type. Holden more likely.

With the return of the Newman ranch, which is much bigger than their previous set and the addition of Billy's house, which seems quite spacious,I wonder if there has been some changes in the way these things are done. And the previous Newman set is now being used for Adam/Chelsea. Are there now fewer sets in use overall to make room for these?

Nancy was in a scene with Pa.

Peter Allen appeared July 16 1982

Dukes finished #30 in 82/83 but CBS persisted. And the opposition failed to exploit that weakness. In 83/84 ABC had middling success with Webster but NBC had bombs like Mr Smith, Jennifer Slept Here, The Master and Legmen 84/85 CBS finally gave up on Dukes but Detective in the House didn't score . Meanwhile Dallas was still #2. Webster was winning the time slot but was no world beater and NBC failed again with V and Codename Foxfire. 85/86 CBS tried Twilight Zone and then Charlie &Co/Leo & Liz, NBC Knight Rider,Misfits of Science and Riptide. ABC weren't benefitting as Webster/Mr Belvedere dropped also. Looked like viewers were not bothering to tune in Fri @8. Nothing worked there until Full House in 89.

Ken will come out and explain he took a call on the golf course, and reception wasn't great, so he thought that Deidre's Body and Soul soap from the 90's had finally been picked up- but for budget reasons Days cast members had to play the roles. But now that its all over he's promising fans are going to get the Days they deserve. He's looked at the scripts and he has to say that they are fantastic and show is going back to classic Days-it's going to be a roller coaster of romance, mystery and thrills. You won't want to miss an episode!!

The blood drained from my body when Billy decided to set up...A NEW COMPANY!!! Abbott Communications will do it all,he enthused-news, entertainment, podcasts, self help... Jack pulled millions out of a hat to finance his dead beat brother's latest fancy. So now there will be hiring/firing, nail biting competition with rival companies , lots of discussions in restaurants etc Shoot me now.

Eric is far too savvy to be honest about some of the crap stories Victor has been given. To me he always comes over better as himself than his character.

Yes I like that set. Glad they've moved away from the generic and cheap looking furniture/decor. One thing that bothers me is that you don't get a sense of where that room sits in the floor plan in relation to other rooms/front door etc. I wonder how other actors who don't have home set feel when Billy is gifted with a new home while they are forever destined to wander b/w Society/CL/GCAC or share a GCAC room with other characters?

Dark Shadows 2hr Pt 1 ranked 30th 14.6/23 Pt 2 2hr ranked 28th 13.1/21 First hour long ep #61 7.5/14

Has Bryton gone recurring? Hard to tell as Y&R seems to have most actors on a 1 appearance per week guarantee. Maybe he will be seen more in coming months. Is Holden there for Lily? She needs a new romance. But who will Damian be linked with ? Phyllis?

The Kennicotts were Mary, Dan,Betsy, Katie. Each succeeding sibling arrived after the previous one departed. Or did Dan and Betsy overlap? If not, none of the siblings appeared at the same time. Is that the only soap family where that happened?

Spelling had a guarantee at one point -maybe 75-85? -from ABC that at least one of his shows would be scheduled each season, and as we can see that was mutually beneficial for both sides for a long time. But there were flops along the way in those hit years San Pedro Beach Bums 1977 Friends 1979 BAD Cats 1980 Strike Force 1981 Aloha Paradise 1981

Looking back at the Corrington's stint, I think their lack of experience writing soaps shows through. They came in like gangbusters with the Sentells, the Adamson sisters etc. This proposal must have excited the execs and sure enough it played out well onscreen. But once their initial stories played out after the first year or so, what came next seemed uninspired. They didn't seem to have long term plans in place.

It was also the beginning of the end of Aaron Spellings ABC 'Dynasty' Love Boat, Dynasty and Hotel began to falter and his new offerings like The Colbys, Hollywood Beat, Life with Lucy were all duds. The halcyon days of Charlie's Angels, Vegas, Hart to Hart, Fantasy Island etc were but a dim memory.

i'm hoping those extra 20 characters will be servants, secretaries, co- workers etc to give the feel of a real community/universe. and some of them can step up to more important roles if need be, as things progress. Seeing that foyer in the Dupree house, compared to the tiny spaces we see in other soap 'mansions', puts them to shame. Everything looks so promising at this stage. Let's hope they hit the ground running.

Before shite went down, Doug Davidson could have been a Jeff recast.