Paul Raven

Andrew Potter was the first Tad. Once Marland decided to expand the character Larry Pine took over. The Dobsons did not create Dusty. That was Caroline Franz/John Saffron.

Lorie came back for Thanksgiving I think. Either that or Xmas. Katherine /Kay debuted in Jan 74 as a client at the salon where Jill worked.

I wonder how some of the veteran actors felt about the changes in the early 80's? Losing long time castmates might have made them sad, angry or scared. I guess Henderson, Patricia and Larry would have been pleased as they got meaty material but Don Hastings and Eileen may have felt they were being sidelined.

Yes, surely all parties involved would be realistic about the show needing to settle in, what sort of numbers/demos they need in broadcast and streaming and what sort of profit margin they can operate at. I guess improving on The Talk would be the first goal.

Puzzled as to why CBS kept Dukes of Hazzard as its Friday lead in in the 84-85 season. It was already dropping and there was no reason to think there would be some kind of rebound. Friday had been a powerhouse for CBS throughout the 80's and Dukes weakening gave the competition the opportunity to take over 8-9 and build from there if Dallas showed signs of weakening. Fortunately for CBS the opposition didn't do that. ABC won with Benson/Webster but they weren't major hits as Dukes had been. Surely a CBS priority would have been developing a new light action show to replace Dukes. Wk 1 1984/85 season Friday CBS Dallas #1 @9 Falcon Crest # 2 @10, Dukes of Hazzard #42 @8 ABC Benson #27 Webster #24 Hawaiian Heat #61 @9 Matt Houston @10 # 59

The Dobsons were headwriting. This was their second stint. As for the Mr Big storyline, maybe they were given more autonomy upon their return. It was aforerunner to their wacky santa Barbara stories. ATWT was trying to shake off their stodgy 1970's image. God knows what long time viewers thought. Perhaps a lot enjoyed the change of pace. Re the Mr Big character played by a little person. It was supposed to be campy and amusing. Attitudes have changed in 40 years.

So Sharon, a woman with a history of mental illness, who has been drugged and hallucinating a man who tormented her has had all charges dropped just like that and is now bopping around the Newman compound playing Gladys Kravitz? Maybe she can go back to running her 'business' from a table at Crimson Lights...

Don't know how you could measure that. He's been around for years so there is the familiarity factor and he was introduced through Dru which gave him some cache. But there were years where he was hardly on and there wasn't a big outcry. Hooking up with Hilary seemed to work but that was more down to Mishael. Bryton might be the world's nicest guy and a competent actor, but Devon is dull. Making him Katherine's grandson and a billionaire did him no favors. Now marrying him off to Abby seems like they have given up. Especially with Nate,Damian and Holden getting more airtime.

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?