Paul Raven

I don't think the Jean Stapleton version would have had the same appeal. Jean lacked that combination of elegance, warmth and intelligence that Angela brought to the role. Maybe Jean was just too associated with Edith Bunker. I never saw her later TV movie or Baghdad Cafe. Was she able to create a completely different character?

Street Hawk never aired Monday. ABC aired Call to Glory so Street Hawk became a back up show, eventually airing Fri @ 9. ABCs schedule needed a complete revamp. Way too many soapy formats.

And Kelly Harmon briefly appeared on Y&R as Dr Jane Lewis.

Mark Harmon had 2 short lived series before FR - Sam and 240 Robert. And having Cristina Raines in a role played by Joan Crawford...

Thanks for reminding me re those recasts. In Monty's 2nd go round, like the first they were actors she hadn't cast. And the Anna recast was some bts drama I can't recall. Overall her no recast policy was firm. Whereas Y&R had a recast Patty, Jill, Ashley, Jack. ATWT recast Lily, Tom, Margo, Dee etc

Knots struggled in S3 hitting the Top 20 just once all season. That was Jan 14 1982 'The Rose and the Briar' It ranked 18th. Knots moving to 9pm caused a dip in the ratings. The final 7 eps of the season were back at 10pm and ratings improved.

Facts speak for themselves. Apart from Rick and Heather I don't believe there was a recast during Monty's time on the show. They either died or left town. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I noticed Kale Browne played Paul Fairgate in S2. Was he Sid's brother/nephew? We also had Mrs Cunningham (Abby's mother in law) and Sid' ex wife. All had potential to return at some point but seemed to be forgotten. And Ginger had 2 sisters?

Knots highest rated episode of S2 was episode #13 'The Loudest Word' ranking 13th with a 22.3/ 37. 'Moment of Truth' the home invasion episode aired the following week and also did well ranking 14th 21.5/35. Lowest rated episode that season was episode #2 'Hitch-hike Pt 2' ranking #47 16.5/30. That was Thanksgiving night so numbers were down.

I know La Dano had some unique decor ideas but no way is that anything but a restaurant.

Also re E/R as I stated it never moved timeslots. NBC were never tempted to use it to boost another night and place a new show Thurs @ 10. A rare moment of restraint.

AMC falling from #1 to #6. Wonder what was behind that? Meanwhile OLTL looking shakey at the bottom of the pack. The competition was too strong. The second half of AW and Tattletales on CBS. Up until July OLTL was up against Match Game and I suspect Tattletales wasn't as strong, thus giving OLTL some room to improve.

Gary surely would have had some relationships during that time. A woman from his past claiming he was the father of her child, which could turn out to be false, even if the woman truly believed it (or not) Or a quickie marriage when he was drunk. Or some incident from the past that Gary has forgotten or has kept hidden. A lot of possibilities.

E/R was quite a phenomenon. Debuting at # 2 and staying Top 10 for years. The only comparable series might be Bonanza but it took 3 seasons and a timeslot change to hit the Top 10. E/R was one of a select few shows that never changed timeslots.

Have any of these petitions ever worked? Seems like a waste of time and energy.

There was a lot of earlier stuff they could have used later on, but chose not to, for whatever reason. Abby's ex for a start. Sid's daughter/Abby's niece could have been recast and taken in a lot of directions. What happened to Laura's son Jason? Was he seen occasionally or shipped off?

Was Claire Labine's start a little rocky upon her arrival or was the transition a smooth one? I'm thinking in terms of her being the last writer who was into a more character based show-something PM seemed to be attempting.

Search for Tomorrow Ernest... Philip Polito Astor 1980's

Interesting that Bill Bell get's talked about for gambling on revamping Y&R but Agnes did her own restructuring much more seamlessly. The core characters from the 70's were pretty much dropped. Phil Tara, Anne, Linc, Kelly, Jeff, etc But they still had enough around that the balance was good. I recall reading that the week of 1 hour shows was a nightmare to tape. Understandable when you think of what was involved. I think it took 9 days for 5 shows.

Stafford on 6 episodes. What is there left for Phyllis? They don't seem interested in revisiting her relationships with Jack, Nick or Billy. Thank goodness. There's no one else available and no interest in bringing someone on for her. What does she even do now for work? At least owning the Green Phallus gave her some presence. So now she just seems to slither around giving bad advice to her kids.

It all came down to canny scheduling and lots of luck. If you had a winning night, inevitably the shows would get tired and the opposition would jump in. Look at ABC Tuesday. At the beginning of the decade they were unstoppable. Happy Days, Laverne& Shirley, 3's Company, Taxi, Hart to Hart. But apart from successfully inserting 2 Close for Comfort they left things as they were. NBC pounced with the A Team and took over 8pm. ABC were still OK 9-11 but those shows were weakening. Then NBC took over with Riptide and Remington Steele. The new sitcoms ABC introduced like 9to 5 and Joanie Loves Chachi were moved to prop up other nights and ABC was on the defensive. But they rebuilt thanks to Who's the Boss and Moonlighting and regained the lead on that night. But NBC wisely counterprogrammed with Matlock and In the Heat of the Night and stayed competitive. CBS lost Friday by complacency and ABc allowed Saturday to slip away due to over reliance on Love Boat.

NBC 3 soaps at the top and 2 at the bottom.

I nominate ABC Fall 84. Paper Dolls and Glitter as 9pm tentpole shows. Hawaiian Heat, Finder of Lost Loves, Jessie. Foul Ups and People Do the Craziest Things. Three's A Crowd was misguided. Luckily they salvaged Who's The Boss.

Don Murray leaving was a blessing. Has Sid remained they would have had trouble coming up with stories for the Fairgates as I imagine they were going to be the solid couple who never strayed. And the self contained episodes showed the difficulty in coming up with a weekly story for that type of show. Had that format continued there would have been the inevitable 'comedy' episode and one of those 'fantasy/ what if' episodes Eg under anaesthetic Val imagines everyone as a different character or writing her next novel Val casts her friends as characters.

Yes John appeared. Laurence Hugo played him at one point. John had been in prison but claimed to be innocent. Chris' preoccupation in finding John and helping him caused conflict with Nancy who felt her husband should be concerned with his own children. John returned for Grandpa's 70 th in 1963.