Paul Raven

Yes and just a nice nod to the origins of the show and to a time when it was a creative and ratings success.

Have we seen Nicole or Ted interact with ex bro in law Bill? Anita have a one on one with her ex son in law or grandchildren? Martin/Smitty and the twins with any of their relatives? Over a month in and these relationships should have been addressed, even briefly. Rather than wasting time on the documentary that was announced one day and up and running the next... Maybe they should have held back on introducing some characters eg Andre arriving now and getting involved with Dani and Ashley(if we must) That would have allowed for time to focus on those above mentioned relationships and not have asked viewers to try and keep track of so many characters at the beginning. Also, there would be more stuff happening at this time with new arrivals and plots.

Street of Dreams aired as a CBS Friday movie special in Wk 3 of the season. Because of the strike, the networks were filling timeslots with repeats, TV Movies and specials. Dallas/Falcon Crest weren't available so CBS pulled this movie out of it's inventory. Was it a pilot? Anyway it ranked 40th 9.5/17. The opposition was an NBC movie that ranked which was 25th 14.5/26 and ABC Baseball playoffs 27th 12.5/23.

OK that's interesting. But still an inconsistency in that Ordway is still in contract list bit Floyd isn't. Maybe it's a courtesy to longer running actors ?

Maybe Martin was responsible for the death of Andre's parents (Ted's brother and wife?) He could have been with an older lover(closeted gay) and Bill helped cover the whole thing up.

It seems that Camryn Grimes could be recurring also. Odd that they made announcements that Melissa Ordway and Connor Floyd were going recurring but there's secrecy about the others. It all started when Doug Davidson revealed he had been made recurring with no announcement and no change in billing.

At some point will there be a reset like Santa Barbara did with the earthquake, Texas when the Corringtons were dropped and Sunset Beach when they had a week off to retool? We've already had a wedding and a recast so when will see- The first pregnancy? First onscreen divorce? First death? First murder? First new contract player? First original character written out? First new regular set?

Please no fake 'outdoor' sets. I would hope to see them set up a terrace at the Country Club to be used over Summer. Surely there is some way of creating that at the studio. I think for some viewers the initial excitement is wearing off. The pace and attention grabbing scenes have slowed down, we now know all the characters and decided who we do and don't like and the sets have become familiar and maybe repetitive. If you're not a hard core soap viewer the boredom factor might be seeping in. Also, not having a stirrer like Leslie onscreen so far this week is a misfire.

A TV Movie thread should be fun. From the beginnings in the 60's through to their hey day in the 80's and eventual decline in the 2000's.

Harem 4hr 2 part ABC mini series aired Feb 86. Anyone see or remember it? A two-part minseries about a beautiful woman who, at the turn of the century, is kidnapped and sold into a Turkish harem. Starring Nancy Travis, Sarah Miles, Art Malik, Omar Sharif and Ava Gardner. Pt 1 ranked 28th for the week-Sun 9-11 Competition was final 2hrs of NBC 3hr movie Under Siege which was 27th overall and on CBS TV Movie Child's Cry which was 7th. Part 2 on Monday did worse ranking 32nd. NBC premiered An Officer and a Gentleman which was 16 th but CBS was the winner with Kate & Allie 11th Newhart 12th and Cagney and Lacey 18th.

This is something we see often IRL. The number of ordinary looking men deemed 'hot' and desirable by women. Lindstrom, wrinkled kinda dishevelled but that's OK . Lauren B, wrinkle free (botoxed), groomed. Plays into the different expectations/standards demanded of men and women. That's what otherwise makes BTG stand out-the men are pretty much as attractive as the women.

Or even Naomi taking them to a meeting room- an entry door, some prints on a wall, plant in the corner, a whiteboard perhaps, large table with chairs around and a tray with pitcher and glasses etc Something basic they could redress for different purposes.

The screenshot shows Melissa Ordway in the contract cast and she was officially made recurring so it is all a bit confusing.

It's odd that in planning out the early stories they decided on Naomi v Bill and didn't include an office set for her. Wish there were some outdoor scenes sprinkled in as in Wk 1. Provides variety and realism. That odd raised platform in Ashley's apartment - first order of business-some sort of screen or curtain.

Having a black performer on a soap was pretty groundbreaking for SFT in 52. I don't know of anyone else until the 60's. I guess other shows may have had servants or deliverymen etc similar to Search, but this is the first evidence we have. Jo's mother being mentioned so early. I wonder if she continued to be referred to and if Eunice was ever mentioned in the 50's ? Jo's dad came in late 50's. Was that as a result of her mom's death or had Mrs Gardner died earlier? So many little details to find out. Loiuse wasn't much of an Aunt to Patti. Wonder if she was ever referenced after leaving in 52?

The bedroom has a bathroom attached I guess,so Jacob solo coming out of the shower will suffice for now. I do find myself rewriting eg when Kat had the fantasy scene, I think it would have flowed better had she received Tomas' message first and that would have spurred the fantasy(which should have been presented more clearly as her imagining)

I had the same thought re Ava/Abbott watching the ep. Plenty of time for Shanice to blossom-right now she's saving the hospital scenes. Andre/Jacob -equally tasty. Danni and a podcast-no thanks. Seeing her interviewing people or a monologue would not be interesting to me, no matter how juicy. She's been happily in the background for decades, so any move to express her independence would be fine. Maybe she would be all in on, say, a boutique and then realize it's too much like hard work and doesn't get her enough attention. Not sure what would be a good fit. Vanessa saying she has a team of thousands working for her is overkill, when we have yet to see an associate or an office. Jacob/Naomi need a house and more family interaction. Right now the meeting places are the Country Club, Orphey Gene's and that green nightime bar. I get that Orphey's is a traditional venue that hasn't changed since the year dot and people love it for that, but it does seem a little downmarket to be the go to meeting place. Maybe something a little more upmarket but not quite Country club is needed as an option.

I think the pecking order was Sid and Karen - both Don and Michelle were well known and respected performers and getting them for a series was seen as an asset. Then Gary and Val withe Dallas Connection. Richard/ Laura and Kenny/ Ginger were on a par 4 pretty much unknowns. But Richard/ Laura were more interesting characters played by dynamic actors and they fitted in better age wise with the others. Ginger/ Kenny were more outsiders and therefore dispensable. Did Don Murray have a shorter contract than the others that allowed him to leave? Or was it a mutual thing that he was restless and the producers saw the advantages to Sid exiting?

The in initial promotion seems to have been very thorough. What are they doing now? Are there primetime promos? They really need to have a 'phase 2' strategy to keep up the interest and awareness.

Tomas and the Sword of Damocles reference...

You should have kidnapped her and locked her in a secret room. Demand she spill on future stories and not release her till she drops Derek and recasts Tomas. She's a soap writer-she will understand. And you will get off scott free to continue to roam Gelson's.

I think this report was Universal trying to squeeze some $$$ out of CBS as there is no way they would let MSW go to another network. Broadcasting Jan 89 interview with Brandon Stoddard of ABC. Stoddard also confirmed there had been "some discussions" that CBS's Murder, She Wrote would become the fourth spoke in the Monday Night Mystery wheel. Stoddard quickly added, however, that CBS "would be very anxious to keep Murder, She Wrote in any shape or form, including slides, if they could." It is perceived that Universal, which produces Murder, She Wrote and the three movies in the mystery wheel, would benefit from having the highly rated CBS series join the wheel, possibly insuring the survival of the entire movie rotation. The other three parts of the wheel are movies starring Burt Reynolds, Peter Falk (reprising his Columbo role), and Louis Gossett Jr.

Kat v Eva sees Eva coming out in front. I find Kat annoying-the dopey outfits and her acting. Mind you she looked like Meryl Streep in the scenes with Tomas. I do feel for some of the actors who need more rehearsal and direction, but it seems there's no time. And the dialogue needs work-when Tomas told Bill he had the Sword of Damocles hanging over him I was like ..what?? Pros like DD can make it work but some of the others... And on my bigscreen TV the lighting is too bright. And things look stagy. You can hear the actor's footsteps. Y&R doesn't look like this me.

The first episode was fine. John Goodman seemed to be more vital than last season. Still too many characters to deal with. Harris wasn't even on. Wonder if Michael Fishman and Estelle Parsons will get one last appearance. They could really spin off some of the characters eg Becky starting a new life in another city. Harris and Mark living together.

This article discusses CBS' ratings woes in the late 80's. Some weeks only 60 Minutes, MSW and the Sunday Movie made the top 30. CBS fine -tunes its prime The network wastes no time in rearranging schedule; gone are 'Miranda,' 'Van Dyke,' 'McGuire,' 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Simon and Simon' CBS pulled the plug on two shows (Raising Miranda, The Van Dyke Show) and put three others on hiatus (Annie McGuire, Dirty Dancing, Simon and Simon) last week in a reorganization of its prime time schedule. Four of the five -Dirty Dancing, Annie McGuire, The Van Dyke Show and Raising Miranda -were half hour comedies and new to the schedule this season, while the fifth, the one hour adventure Simon and Simon, was in its seventh season. Last May, when CBS announced its fall schedule, Kim LeMasters, president, CBS Entertainment, said the new schedule would address three major objectives: improving the "critical" 8 -9 p.m. time period, increasing the network's half hour comedies, and broadening CBS's appeal. Much of the burden of achieving those goals fell on the shoulders of CBS's new half hour comedies, namely Raising Miranda, Annie McGuire, The Van Dyke Show and Dirty Dancing. Judging by their ratings performance, and the restructuring, the shows time picture failed to accomplish any of those goals. "I think in CBS's case," said Jeffrey Logsdon, media analyst, Crowell Weedon, "they probably didn't realize just how far or fast they were sliding. It's like you only have so many fingers to stick in the dike, and when you run out of fingers, you have to accept the fact there's going to be some leakage, and that's what we're seeing now. It's not like they have at least one new show that's doing well -they're all struggling." Despite the failed new shows and continued downward slide, it appears that affiliates continue to support LeMasters and the network's efforts. "Kim [LeMasters] and his advisers are going through the same anguish and harassment that we affiliates are going through," said Neil Kuvin, general manager, WHAS -TV Louisville, Ky. "Some of the problems we're experiencing now," he said, "are the effects of decisions made before Kim took over." A mistake that Kuvin said has been made this year and in the past is scheduling 10 p.m. shows in the 8 p.m. slot. "I still don't think that 8 p.m. is being paid enough attention to," he said, adding, "Van Dyke was not an 8 p.m. show." Regarding The Van Dyke Show and Annie McGuire, Kuvin said: "When you want to make some noise, you don't do it with bland, vanilla programing." The inability to program effectively at 8 o'clock has put a strain on CBS's shows later in the schedule. Without a strong lead in, many of the traditionally strong shows such as Dallas, Knots Landing and Falcon Crest, which have shown signs of aging, have experienced further ratings slides. "I used to think my late news would always have an impregnable 10 p.m. lead -in," said Kuvin. "Now I'm not so sure that I can count on that." The problems at 8 p.m. have caused "a crumbling at both ends [8 and 10 p.m.]," he said. One of the difficulties for CBS in developing successful programing at any time stems from a perception among the production community that going to the third place network will land their show in an unattractive time slot, against stiff competition from NBC and ABC programing. In an effort to assuage some of the concerns that producers have, CBS brought in Barbara Corday as the number two programing executive behind LeMasters. Before coming to CBS, Corday had been president of Columbia - Embassy Television before the merger of that unit with Tri -Star Television last fall. Corday was pegged to improve relations between the network and the Hollywood community, with hopes of higher quality programing coming to CBS. However, Corday's appointment at CBS has sparked some speculation that the number two designation is merely temporary and LeMasters's stay is only slightly more permanent than some of the shows he introduced to the schedule in the fall. "It seems to be very clear they have hired her as the heir apparent," said a network programing analyst. "She has a standing in the creative community that the other fellow [ LeMasters) does not have." He suggested that most producers these days are taking most of their shows to NBC and ABC first. A high level source at CBS, however, discounted any sense of urgency among CBS brass and dismissed the speculation that LeMasters's days were numbered. "We know we're in third place," he said. "We don't expect magic and we're not going to hang anybody. We've got a long road ahead of us and it's one we've got to go on with care and patience." Development next year, he said, "will be more focused than it was this year. We can't expect to make a run at the top with another Dick Van Dyke show leading the way." With the season's race seemingly set for a repeat of last season (NBC first, ABC second and CBS last), CBS is making the following changes in an attempt to keep from falling deeper into third place than it was last year. Raising Miranda, airing on Saturday, 8:30 -9, will have its final broadcast on Dec. 31, and will not return to the schedule. The Van Dyke Show (Wed. 8 -8:30) had its final broadcast on Dec. 7. Raising Miranda, which premiered on Nov. 5 and will have aired seven episodes before it disappears, ranked last among regular programing, averaging a 6 rating and an 11 share. The Van Dyke Show premiered on Oct. 26 and averaged a 7.3/12 for its six episodes, placing it 74th out of 78 shows. Dirty Dancing, airing on Saturday, 8- 8:30, will move to the 9:30 -10 slot on Saturday, for two broadcasts on Jan. 7 and 14. It is expected that the show's performance on those dates will determine its future. The CBS Saturday Movie will precede Dirty Dancing on Jan. 7 and 14 at 8 -9:30. Annie McGuire, starring Mary Tyler Moore, will have its final broadcast in its current Wednesday 8:30 -9 slot on Dec. 28. The series, which will have aired eight episodes, then goes on hiatus and has not been given another time slot. The show ranked 73rd, averaging a 7.5/12 through Dec. II. Simon & Simon, like Annie McGuire, has not been given another time slot, and will have its final broadcast on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 9 -10. The show has additional episodes available, and the network has not made a final determination on the show's future, making it, once again, a candidate for mid -season replacement status. TV 101, highly acclaimed but low rated, moves to Wednesday, 8 -9, beginning Jan. 4. The show has been airing on Tuesday at 8 -9, against ABC's Who's the Boss? and Roseanne, the latter being the highest -rated new show of the fall. TV 101, produced by Grant Tinker's GTG Entertainment, has averaged a 6.6/10 in its two episodes. To fill the gaps, CBS is premiering Dolphin Cove and Tour of Duty, in addition to bringing back The Smothers Brothers for a limited run. Dolphin Cove, conceived during the writers' strike, stars Frank Converse as an American dolphin researcher who moves to Australia with his two children. The show premieres on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 8 -9. Tour of Duty, a moderate success for CBS last year, will make its second season premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 8 -9, against ABC's one -two punch of Who's the Boss? and Roseanne, as well as NBC's Matlock. Tour of Duty's tour may be brief in that time slot, as it becomes increasingly difficult to find an audience for a show the later it premieres in the season, especially in such a competitive time period. The Smothers Brothers, used sporadically earlier this season, returns to CBS for four broadcasts, beginning Saturday, Jan. 28, through Feb. 18, at 9 -10. The good news for CBS is that it has decided to pick up the back nine episodes of Paradise (Thursday, 9 -10), Murphy Brown (Monday, 9 -9:30) and Wiseguy (Wednesday, 10 -11). Murphy Broum, a new half hour comedy, has performed the best of the three thus far, ranking 39th and averaging a 14.0/21. Wiseguy is ranked 47th with a 12.4/22, and Paradise, also new, is 61st with a 10.7/17.