Paul Raven

Regarding Somerset, I really wonder how that show came to be. AW was doing well and surely the focus should have been on keeping that show in top shape, rather than potentially weakening it by moving actors/personnel to a new show. There had never been a soap spin off before, so that was arisk and not directly following the original show on the schedule seemed unwise. NBC was already running 4 soaps and in the previous year dropped Hidden Faces, which had been disaster and introduced Bright Promise which was struggling. Having Somerset follow anew low rated soap seemed foolhardy. A new gameshow @4 might have been a better move. It would have been an alternative to a sitcom rerun (Gomer Pyle) and Dark Shadows. Had Somerset been introduced in 69 following AW, instead of Bright Promise, it might have done better. P&G's insistence that none of it's shows compete limited it's chances. They eventually had to drop that policy. Hidden Faces was another example of NBC's shortsightedness. Placing it at 1.30 up against ATWT was suicidal. They should have placed it at 4pm .Like EON, it suited a late afternoon timeslot, where the format could attract men and students. Put a game show up against ATWT. Unlike ABC or CBS, NBC never ran sitcom reruns in daytime, because they never had successful sitcoms. Jeannie and Julia were exceptions. They could have worked at 4pm.

Where The Heart Is was CBS' 12pm soap 68-73 and never drew a large enough following (hence cancellation) I'm sure over that time a number of affiliates dropped that show for local or syndicated product, so Y&R had an uphill battle to get them on board. Only when it showed strength in other markets, were those affiliates prepared to take it on. Would it also be the case that local stations may have had some contractual obligations to fill before the could take on Y&R?

And he has the audacity to refer to Hitchcock when describing his illogical, poorly plotted 'suspense' stories. At this point I'd take any writer over him for Y&R.

Boy, a long line of forgotten gameshows. And Don Ho? In some ways Y&R had an easy ride with no real competition.

Not to derail the thread, but i must ask if you have any verification for that statement? It's possible that NBC asked their affiliate board for some input, but i don't believe they would hand over programming decisions to local stations. Just seeking clarity.

Y&R was up against Jeopardy and Password for all of 73. In Jan 74 NBC moved Jeopardy to 10.30 and replaced it with Jackpot. That may have helped Y& R gain some viewers as Jeopardy had been on at midday for years, and viewers had long term habits disrupted. Maybe try that new story on CBS? That's how things stayed until June 75 when ABC dropped Password for a new game show Showoffs. Then in July NBC dropped Jackpot for Magnificent Marble Machine. So again Y&R went from facing a long running game show to being up against 2 untried (and ultimately unsuccessful)game formats. By August things had changed ABCs new 12 noon Showoffs game, which in the second week of July hit a 6.4 rating and 25 share, better than the show it replaced (Password) but still third in the time period, behind CBS's highly successful contemporary serial, The Young and the Restless (8.5 rating, 33 share), and NBC's new Magnificent Marble Machine game (which hit a 7.7 rating and 30 share its first week on the air).

Re Tanner/Molly. Days made the mistake of centering the show around 2 newbies who had no ties to the history of the show. Had Tanner been, say Spencer Olsen or Molly been Sarah Horton there would be an immediate connection to history and established characters.

The `Sunset' also hopes to rise August 97 The sun has been slow to rise on Sunset Beach. NBC's freshman soap opera has yet to establish itself as a formidable player in the daytime wars. Shoring up the writing staff remains a top priority, although the NBC Studios show has yet to hire a replacement for former head writer Bob Guza, who officially left the show on Labor Day to take his old job as head writer at ABC's General Hospital. Guza, who was pulled from his ABC post in June, was expected to leave Sunset. He will retain his Sunset co- creator credit, with Charles Pratt and Josh Griffith. An infusion of new energy certainly wouldn't hurt the show. The daytime drama has averaged a 1.2 rating with women 18 -49 since its debut Jan. 6. For the week of Aug. 18, the latest national Nielsen Media Research ratings available, Sunset Beach averaged a 1.8/7 in households and a 1.1 in the key women's demo. ABC, in the meantime, is trumpeting the return of Guza, who earned an Emmy nomination for his work on General Hospital.

SOD May 20 2014 Dixie's infamous 2007 death by poisoned pancakes scripted by Head Writer Megan McTavish, went down in soap history as one of daytime’s biggest blunders (and was reversed with the character’s eventual resurrection).McClain traces her firing back to a tense phone call she had with McTavish. “I really didn’t think that one small, simple faux pas would have such a huge effect,” she muses. “I guess I just miscalculated how people were feeling on that set at that time. I think they were feeling very sensitive and under a lot of pressure.” The conversation in question, McClain recalls, occurred after Tad buried evil Dr. Greg Madden alive, which led to his demise. “I basically asked her if she could write a scene where Dixie and Tad could sit down with the boys [JR and Jamie] and say, ‘What Dad did was wrong. He might not be going to jail, but we do not morally condone what he did.’ They kept writing these scenes where I told Tad, ‘It is okay you captured this guy alive and tortured him for two weeks because you saved our baby.’ I caught her on a bad day and she thought that I was saying she was a bad writer. Maybe I didn’t phrase it right. I wasn’t attacking. It was not a scream fest, it was a very civil conversation. People like to overdramatize what that was. I had great respect for Megan and what she had written up to that point. We just got off on the wrong foot on that phone call.” That said, McClain chuckles, “The pancakes they killed me with were absolutely delicious. I had never had peanut butter and banana pancakes and I truly enjoyed them. Who knew?” The actress hasn’t spoken to McTavish since Dixie “died,” but harbors no hard feelings toward her. “I wish her well, I really do,” McClain says. “She did what she thought she needed to do. I can’t hold on to it or it would make me a bitter person. But it was not pleasant at all. It did feel like a betrayal.”

Night by night Mon Gunsmoke taking the 7.30 slot over Jeannie on NBC before Laugh In takes 8-9 but Here's Lucy competitive at 8.30. Then CBS sweeps the night with Mayberry, Family Affair and Carol Burnett. NBC holds up with the Monday movie. ABC completely out of the race with Avengers, Peyton Place, Outcasts and Big Valley. Tues Mod Squad beats Lancer as lead in but after 8.30 ABC loses momentum. It Takes a Thief, NYPD and That's Life are nowhere to be seen. Jerry Lewis flops for NBC .At 8.30 Red Skelton and Julia are competitive but Doris Day beats the Tuesday movie which has the advantage of CBS news as it's 10pm competition. Wed The Virginian takes the first 90 mins over Daktari/Good Guys and Here Comes the Brides/Peyton Place. CBS takes the next hour Beverly Hillbillies/Green Acres. Kraft Music Hall is 2nd in the timeslot but no network makes the Top 40 at 10pm. Jonathan Winters,The Outsider and the last hour of ABC's movie fail to impress. Thurs Strong for NBC . Daniel Boone/Ironside/Dragnet/Dean Martin take every timeslot except 8.30 where Bewitched stands alone for ABC. Lead-ins Ugliest Girl in Town/Flying Nun and lead outs That Girl/Journey to the Unknown flop. CBS first half hour is also a disaster Blondie provides a poor lead in to Hawaii Five O but the Thursday movie manages a Top 40 placement. Fri Gomer Pyle at #2 helping Friday Movie hit Top 40 but lead in Wild Wild West out of Top 40. Neither ABC- Operation Entertainment/Felony Squad/Don Rickles/Will Sonnett/Judd for the Defense or NBC Tarzan/Name of the Game/Star Trek were competitive. Sat Jackie Gleason takes the first hour over Adam 12/Get Smart and Newlywed/Dating Game. At 8.30 My Three Sons, Ghost and Mrs Muir and Lawrence Welk are all close in the ratings. NBC takes 9-11 with a movie but CBS hangs in there with Hogan's Heroes/Petticoat Junction. Hollywood Palace and Mannix fall out of top 40. Sun Land of the Giants, Lassie/Gentle Ben and Huckleberry Finn/Disney in the lead in hour. ABC beats Ed Sullivan and Disney/Mothers in Law before Bonanza takes over at 9 defeating Smothers Brothers and ABC movie. At 10 Mission Impossible leads over High Chapparal and the final hour of the movie.

Sorry, but I take that story with a grain of salt. Perhaps Bill in a moment of pique announced that the show should be cancelled, but I doubt there was ever any serious consideration. This was his baby, the first chance he had to create and nurture a show. He was in it for the long term. Bill had been through this before with ATWT which had a slow start in 56 and 57 before finally taking off and with Days which was low rated when he took over and took years to really become a ratings hit. It's one of those showbiz stories like: 'we didn't intend to even record that song and then it went to #1' From June 74 in an article about daytime ratings At noon, NBC has established itself with a relatively new game show called Jackpot, which is getting an 8.1 rating and 31 share. ABC's long- running Password game continues fairly steadily with a 6.7 rating and 25 share, and although CBS is running third in the time period with its contemporary drama, The Young and the Restless (a 6.2 rating and 24 share), Mr. Grant says it does better than its competitors in that most desirable of demographic categories, women 18 to 49. The reason for the show's low total -audience rating, he continues, is that only about 186 or so affiliates carry it (compared to the 200 or so that pick up most of CBS's daytime schedule), for a humble clearance rate of 90 %. So CBS saw the potential as younger demos were what they were after and slowly more affiliates took notice began clearing the show which saw the ratings begin to rise.

that episode spoke volumes about how GL had been destroyed in just a few years. All those people standing around , some who barely knew Bert. A recast Ed, no Mike or Hope . Hilary dead.No visit from Peggy, Meta, Steve Jackson etc. It should have been a wake up call to TPTB that constant change is quite damaging.

Kin Shriner was one of daytime's hottest actors when he signed up for Texas. But Jeb wasn't a popular character, even in the Texas universe.

re Y&R opening sequence. Do we know when the first changes were made? I would guess in 74 to accommodate Kay and Lorie (and Philip?) and the departure of Sally. Was Pierre included in the original sketches? Peggy? I guess the next time an update was needed when Snapper and Leslie were recast. Did Greg#2 ever make it to the opening? What characters in the 70's never appeared in the opening?

Ridiculous retcon to give Victoria another child. Kill off Matt Miller and have his daughter come to live with the Newmans as a surrogate daughter if they wanted younger members of the family.

Wisdom...

I just hope 'the messy things' are rooted in character and it's not going to rely on 'shocking twists' to move the story.

There is stuff out there-witness Ariane Munker posting 70's AW. I'm sure many other actors/directors etc have tapes. I would love to see the final week of 77 GH and Gloria Monty's first week to see how the changes looked onscreen. At least one episode of Where The Heart Is, How To Survive A Marriage, Bright Promise and Return to Peyton Place.

So Ned did appear on the new version. Was it still Ed Prentiss? With the new setting of LA how was it explained that Jonathan and Clare were no longer in Five Points? In the original it seemed by around1944 all the earlier characters and stories were dispensed with. How was that handled? Ned and Mary seemed to be around but with no story. When did rose, the Kranskys, Ellis, Torchy etc disappear? Were they given send offs or just stop appearing? Who were the new main characters and how were they introduced?

I think the Andersons had run their course by the 80's. They were a secondary family and sometimes characters have to be dropped to allow for new blood. Bringing back Linda in the 80's when Melissa was a new young lead was a smart move on paper- using history, providing parental complications esp with Linda being a 'darker' character. But the execution was horrible. recasting OK I get it, but Elaine Princi's Linda, (MadameX) apart from having no physical similarities was written as a completely different character. It really pointed out the differences (and not in a good way) b/w 70's and 80's Days. Linda was now just a cardboard villian.

Everything I see of Jean McBride's Meg is gold. That 75 episode with Tudi Wiggins as Meg has her channeling the same character traits. Over the top but believable and always entertaining to watch.

Haven't checked Soap Central for some time, but years ago there were Guiding Light character profiles from the 60's that included a whole bunch of information that was completely false. Just someone's fantasy stories (actually some of them were quite interesting). Guess at that point there was no way of verifying that info but as scripts and articles from that time come to light, lies have been exposed!! Re TGL. we always tend to think radio and early TV soaps were without these kinds of story changes and contradictions but obviously not.

@slick jones understand your decision . It's a pity that the decision was made re editing because certain posters were abusing it. In a way a victory for them and everyone else suffers. Hopefully you might have a change of heart, but in the meantime , thanks so much for your hard work and dedication in putting together this invaluable resource. Glad to have been a part of it.

Even with DOOL #1, Doctors #2 and AW #4 as lead ins How To Survive A Marriage lost 3 rating points. OK it was early days, and it will be interesting to see if there is any upward movement. Seems like NBC viewers refused to stick around after AW finished. Bright Promise and Return to Peyton Place both failed in that timeslot. NBC must have been hoping for 3rd time lucky. Was HTSAM just not appealing? Viewers switched to March Game and One Life to Live.

Killing off Eunice was a mistake-short term drama for no long term benefit. Eunice could have been shot by Jennifer, with all the angst that goes with it. Traumatized, she leaves Henderson for rehab, divorces John who falls into Stephanies clutches. Jo could be left caring for Suzi. Later Jo takes Suzi to a recovered Eunice. Then at some later date Eunice could return , maybe with a new beau who is attracted to Jo. Or to fight for John when he's wed to Stephanie. Any number of possibilites. Ann Williams would probably agreed to return at some point or make occasional appearances. Jo had too much death/tragedy in her life.