Paul Raven

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.

Everything Josh Griffith had to say about 2024 and 2025 left me cold. The show is unwatchable with him at the helm.

That's why moving Simon in tandem with Magnum might have been a smart move. There was precedence for this at CBS. In 1975 CBS moved Hawaii 5-0 /Barnaby Jones from Tues 9-11 to Fri 9-11 and the following season to Thurs 9-11 where they flourished for several more seasons. Then in 1977 the 9-11 line up of Mash/One day at a Time/Lou Grant was under threat from ABC (Three's Company/Soap) so at mid season they moved those shows to Mon 9-11 where they once again became hits.

@FrenchFan next to viewing the actual episodes (which will never happen) this is the closest we have to getting an idea of the stories and how they played out daily. Thank you so much in your kindness in sharing.

I guess Bill didn't want to drop the family after only 5 years and face the prospect of having the audience accept another family. He'd already risked that when the Fosters and Brooks went by the wayside. And the Williams family has also been devalued with Paul the only main character. Jabot was as much apart of things as the Abbotts themselves so it would have been a lot to shift focus. That being said, he dropped Dina, split up John and Jill, had to recast Jack and Ashley and lost interest in Traci. So the Abbotts were also devalued.

When Cosby took off ,Magnum suffered but CBS thought the show still had some potential and the move to Wed was a wise one - Magnum did better numbers than the previous season on Thurs and improved the Wed timeslot as well over last season. They saw Dynasty was fading and Gimme A Break was no blockbuster. Magnum was usually a close 2nd in that timeslot. Maybe they should have transplanted Simon & Simon (rather than letting it die on Thurs) as well and made Wed either Simon& Simon/Magnum/Equalizer or Magnum/Simon & Simon/Equalizer. Move Scarecrow & Mrs King to Thurs @8?

When Brenda left, Ashley should have been written out for an extended time, at least a year. The character needed a break and this was the time. Wait until Eileen came back or a stronger recast, had that not occurred. Long running characters need to be treated carefully and the marriage to Cole during that time was unnecessary and pointless.

Cole was married to Ashley at one point in the Shari Shattuck years. When Eileen returned, I think they quickly dumped that. Currently Ashley/Cole had one scene I think. The original was a bit of a dud story, but it did happen and could be used to provide some story, if Cole and Ashley hooked up again in some capacity. Maybe the old 'the divorce was never finalized' trope . It could lead to a revival of the Victoria/Ashley rivalry. And there would be Ashley/Cole flashbacks that could be used.

Both SFT and TGL were still 15 minutes at this time , so very tightly written. The half hour of ATWT and SS allowed for just that little bit more story and extra characters w/o getting too unwieldy. Probably the perfect format. Although the hour is fine, it coincided pretty much with the 80's and a new direction in storytelling that veered from the core themes of the shows.

Jon-Michael Reed Dec 13 1980 NEW YORK - Fans of "Days of Our Lives" have become accustomed to many changes in the show during the past year. Now, there's a "new" Mary Anderson Marshall to contend with. Although several actresses have portrayed the role, Barbara Stanger gained strong audience favor as Mary during the past few years. She was an adequate performer who generally projected a "soft" quality. The show's writers, however, plan to take Mary out of the homespun mold and into a more fiery conflict with her ex-beau Chris and his new lady love, Leslie. The actress chosen to in- terpret Mary as a more flamboyant creature is soap newcomer Susan Keller. So far, she's making the grade snappily. It didn't help Stanger's cause that Josh Taylor, who portrays Chris, made it no secret that he was "uncomfortable" working with Stanger. Their on-screen passion was never quite convincing and Taylor is considered a more valuable property to "Days'" than Stanger. So, there wasn't a display of executive eager ness to renew Stanger's contract when it expired The potential Mary-Chris- Leslie triangle was recently put on hold, however, when Taylor took a leave of absence from the serial. He's filming the title role of ''Riker," a CBS nighttime series which debuts later in the TV season. If that show's a success, Taylor insists he'll work on both shows simultaneously, or "until I drop, which isn't likely, since it would be a first to star on daytime and nighttime at the same time." And a double income isn't a shabby enticement, either. To my mind Stanger's Mary always came across as quite serious and harsh, not at all 'soft'. Ryker was a flop. Keller was only on a few weeks in November. Mary returned in Jan 81 recast with Melinda Fee.

Who approved those curtains for the Horton House? They look like leftover tablecloths. Alice would not approve!

I wondered about that, but assumed that as Dallas was fully into the serial format, it would have been hard to pull off. So how did it work? Were viewers tuning in to see this week's developments presented with an alternate universe where all the current stories are pushed aside to focus on Gary and Val? Can anyone detail how that episode played out ?

52 Fifth Avenue Proposed series of a weekly half-hour soap opera. Action follows Irish immigrant Maggie Gregory and the Vandervelt Family of Fifth Ave., where she becomes a housemaid. Land Where My Fathers Died AKA American Story AKA Pilgrims’ Pride AKA The Brandons of Birch Hill AKA Haven on the Hill Unsold pilot for a proposed weekly half-hour serial drama. Action follows the Emery (Brandon in early draft) family in post WWII Ashurst New England, in the family home, Birch Hill. Concept may have been re-worked for the 1958 short lived serial From These Roots by Pickard and Provo.

Knots was locked into premiering that week due to Dallas airing the spinoff episode 'Return Engagement' It was a 10pm show and the available slots were limited. So they decided Thurs @10 where Barnaby Jones had been doing OK up against 20/20 on ABC and Kate Loves a Mystery on NBC. Barnaby got moved forward an hour replacing the ailing Hawaii Five O and Knots got the 10pm slot. The other option might have been Sat @10. Luckily that didn't happen.

Basically, what I got from that article was that the programmers have no idea what they're doing and will jump at anything that looks good at the time. Hype it to the heavens beforehand and then be wise after the fact about why something did or did not work.

The Phoenix, 11 September 1986 Brooklyn, Inc At Brooklyn’s NBC Studios, Business Is ‘Another World’ BY TRACY GARRITY It’s raining in Bay City. Sheets of water wash down the windows of the Cory House with a soft hiss. Rachel and Mitch argue tersely over their son Matthew until Felicia and Quinn are shown into the room. “Is it raining out?” asks Rachel, as several sets of fingers point to the rain-flecked window. “No, I mean in real life.” No one knows the answer because this is not real life. This is “Another World” and Bay City — the sprawling Chicago suburb that is home to the Corys, the Loves, the McKinnons, and millions of daytime television viewers — has been built into an airy room on the first floor of the NBC studio in Midwood, Brooklyn. In fact, Brooklyn is basking in crisp fall sunshine as the rain falls inside the studio. It was damp and cloudy on Tuesday when most of the actors arrived at 7am to run lines for the day’s taping, foreshadowing the Bay City weather, and some of them won’t get out before dark to enjoy the “real life” weather. Bay City is their work-a-day world, controlled by a veritable army of technicians, producers and directors who keep the studio humming from take to cut, creating a realistic fantasy from roughhewn boards, well-used furniture, and a cast of characters who run into more mishaps than Job. “The show has changed a lot over the years,” says producer Karen Stevens. “We are trying to reach out for a different audience, but still keep our old audience happy.” Stevens has worked on “Another World” in several capacities for roughly a decade and is now responsible for the day-to-day production of the daytime drama. “I think all soaps have changed,” she says. “When I started here, the stories took a lot longer to finish. Our audience is influenced by the nighttime dramas where the action moves quickly. They want the same from us.” One thing hasn’t changed, however. “They still want romance. They want to know who is in love with whom and who’s cheating. You can have a shootout every week, but nothing will ever take the place of romance.” CHEATING HEART DEPARTMENT The romance department on the show — or more appropriately the cheating heart department — has been roguishly handled by Steve Schnetzer, who now plays the reformed cad, Cass Winthrop. When Schnetzer joined the show four and a half years ago, Cass was a womanizer, the sort of man women long to write about in their memoirs, but someone who never stays around long enough to finish the chapter. Cass’s libido has been calmed down over the past year as the story line has linked him to Kathleen McKinnon (Julie Osborn), a bring-home-to-mother-type character. “Love has ruined Cass,” he sighs, sitting in his dressing room and waiting for a call to the set that probably won’t come until early afternoon. “He’s easier to play this way,” says Schnetzer, “because I really had to act to come on to the number of women the script called for. But good characters have a short life on these shows. It’s easier now because I’m really not a cad.” Although Schnetzer does have some input into what happens to Cass, his ultimate future is up to the writing staff, currently headed by Maggie DePriest. She is the ninth head writer since Schnetzer joined the show in what is a high turnover business — especially when you’re reaching for a new and different audience. BEST COMBINATION WE’VE HAD “I’m hoping they’ll bring an edge back to him,” says Schnetzer of Cass. “I think the new writers and the new executive producer are the best combination we’ve had since I’ve been here. People aren’t all good or bad, and I think they realize that.” The fact is that on most soaps characters are defined as good or bad, and “Another World” has had its share of nasties. According to Stevens, the writers are now looking to add some spice to female characters’ personalities. “We have developed some • ( very strong male characters,” she says. “And now we are going to start working on the women again.” Rachel Cory, in fact, was something of a Queen Bitch when she started on the show, but has reformed to become one of the Queen Bees. “We’ve had other characters with an edge,” says Stevens. “And there will be more soon enough." While the cast relaxes upstairs in dressing rooms, or in make-up chairs as they are transformed into their characters, the real life-blood of the studio is occurring several floors beneath them on the set. A small handful of actors pace around the Cory drawing room waiting for the director to signal them. A short line and blocking rehearsal is followed by a taping, and usually another taping, but the action moves quickly. Unlike weekly shows or movies, the actors must get the show in the can quickly so that tomorrow’s shooting can begin. There is still time, however, for small conferences to get the characterizations down pat. “Do I have the body language right here?” asks Bill Espy (Mitch) draping a protective arm around Daniel Dale who plays Matthew Cory. “He’s just met me. Would I act like this?” In the next take, Espry holds off a little on the affection, and the scene works. “Make-up,” calls Victoria Wyndom (Rachel Cory), and a make-UD artist rushes over to powder her nose and re-apply lipstick for the next scene. She pushes up the sleeve of her blouse only to have it fall down again. “What is this?” she points to the offending sleeve. “I think it has a life of its own. It must be raining,” she adds. “That’s why we are going so slow.Several of the actors, both those on the set and those waiting in the dressing rooms and make-up rooms upstairs, observe that the taping this day is taking longer than usual. But there is no time to discuss it because the stage manager is calling for quiet and the tape begins to roll. Meanwhile, upstairs Patricia Hodges is being made up to play Maisie Watkins, a truck stop waitress who now owns the diner. “I came here as just a day player,” she says as her eyes are smudged with brown and yellow hues. She lives in Cobble Hill, but takes on a Southern accent when she hits the set. When I started here I was just a waitress, and I wondered what I could do with it, you know, to stand out. I tried the southern ac­cent and it worked.” Many a plan has been hatched and many a hand held held in Maisie’s Diner. “I’m the sort of character that can keep things going. People come in and keep me up to date, and that way we can keep the audience up to date.” Keeping the audience up to date is impor­tant in soaps, especially with plots that now change quickly. “We used to do just 15 to 17 pieces per show,” says Stevens of the number of scene changes. “Now on several occasions we’ve gone over 30. We’re trying to stay in the 25 range to keep it from get­ ting too confused.” The increased number of pieces makes editing essential to the quality of the show, as the scenes are not taped in sequence. Each segment is timed down to the se­cond, and pieced together again by the editors under the watchful eye of the pro­ ducer and directors. “Another World” has several different directors and producers who all work together at different times. Continuity comes from the script, the story line and the ability of the creators to understand one another’s creative soul. “You have to remember the limitations of the medium,” says Marge Dougherty, production coor­dinator, who spent this morning as our tour guide. “Everyone realizes that, and if you follow the story line and the script, the con­tinuity remains with different directors and producers.” MUSIC ENHANCES THE MOOD After the tape is edited together, the sound is edited on. An entire wall next to the editing room is devoted to sound effects and music. Music, especially in daytime dramas, enhances the mood the actors have created. When all the pieces come together, the trysts and turmoil in Bay City make it to the small screen — usually less than two weeks after the episode is taped. “We’re working about eight days ahead now,” says Dougherty. “Which is a little behind, but we do take some days off.” Time is confused in the Brooklyn studio as actors play parts a week in advance, but know the story line several weeks in advance. Lines are memorized only days (even hours) before they are repeated for the camera. It is a frantic laziness focussed on the action in front and behind the camera, but languishing in the dressing rooms — waiting for the call. Daytime drama is fantasy culled from reality creating timeless problems and joys, but occasionally, the reality spills into the set from fantasy. Take Rhonda Lewin, for instance, just signed to play Victoria Love. “I was here for a modeling booking,” she says. “Actually on vacation from California. I came here, auditioned for the part, and got it. I started yesterday.” She says working on the soap is so far an exhilirating experience. “It’s been a great vacation.” But for the hundreds of people who work at the Brooklyn studio breathing life into Bay City, the action is a job. And right now that job is to keep the rain falling in Bay City, while the rest of the workforce enjoys the Brooklyn sunshine

'World Turns On Ballet Points' by Jon-Michael Reed May 13 1979 NEW YORK -- Remember last year's movie, 'The Turning Point," which revolved around the ballet world? Well, "As the World Turns" recently turned on its toe points by featuring a segment with members of New York City's Joffrey Ballet Company. In the soap story, Bob Hughes' current lady friend, Dana MacFarland, had a flash back to the days when she was a prima ballerina with an internationally famous ballet company. She chucked her career because of conflicts with her musician husband. But while attending a dancing class with Bob's daughter Frannie, Dana remembered her past accomplishments. Featured in the . sequence were Start Danias, Dennis Poole and six adolescent students of the Joffrey Ballet. Interestingly, the story was concocted by Eugenie Hunt, who was once a dance student with Robert Joffrey. Hunt and her husband, Ralph Ellis, are now head' writers for "World Turns."

Did MSW ever do Xmas themed episodes?