Paul Raven

The whole pilot process seemed an enormous waste of time, talent and money. Networks would commission 30 plus pilots each and only a handful would be bought and then most were cancelled quickly. There had to be a better way, but nobody wanted to rock the boat. Look at Fall 79 in the midst of the Fred Silverman era at NBC The shows that made it to air Lobo-a BJ & the Bear spinoff Buck Rogers - apparently it had been in the works for years Shirley -only because P&G were financing it Man Called Sloane- Silverman contacted Quinn Martin to resurrect an idea from years before. So not one of the scores of pilots NBC commissioned even made it to air.

I agree but I'd rather they spent more time on not creating absurd situations in the first place.

Is Brytni Sarpy listed anywhere as a cast member? AFAIAC she is no longer with the show just like someone such as Leigh Ann Rose.

Dorothy Green. also Beverlee McKinsey. John Lupton, Barbara Luna, Marj Dusay.

Not comparable really but I was just reading an article where Kia in Australia is promoting a new model coming in Jan 25 to coincide with the Australian Open Tennis (which they sponsor) The article showed the teaser -a quick 15 second grab with various 'characters' making the announcement. So all you need is someone in the target audience onscreen saying 'The Gates is coming to CBS daytime in January -it'll be worth the wait'

Despite Adam saving babies from burning buildings he's never forgiven for his crimes but Victor gets a free pass everytime. Couldn't Adam just start his own successful business and be done with the Newmans? Just recyling the same stories for years on end. And now Victor v Jack is being revived because Jack helped his beloved Nikki. Huh??

I'm sure the gay reveal would have been months into Michael's introduction as Lemay stated they wanted the audience to like and sympathize with the character. Audience would be given hints and assume he had some typical soap secret eg an affair with a married woman (he didn't know!) or impregnating a fellow student etc. So any hints that did make it to scripts would have been vague eg John-I'd really like to see my son married and a father-after all that's a man's job in this world. Pat - Michael has always been such a sensitive boy etc

Re Somerset. NBC/P&G must have had Lovers & Friends in the works for sometime so it was probably a foregone conclusion that Somerset would be facing the chop months before the official announcement. And after years of low ratings there was no surprise.

@DRW50 thanks for posting. Like so many pilots, an interesting idea that just doesn't come off. I wonder why the networks never went back to the more promising pilots and try to retool them into something more? Guess it's that old showbiz thing of 'once a flop...'

Let's share info and clips if you can, on pilots over the years, maybe featuring soap names (or not) always interesting to see what shows might have made but just missed the mark. Literally hundreds to choose from. To begin Almost Heaven ABC aired Dec 28 1978(after Mork & Mindy so probably rated well) Starring Robert Hays, Eva Gabor, Richard Roat (original cast member of The Doctors) also guest star Laurie Heinman (Sharlene AW) At the Heavenly Crisis and Conscience Center a team of angels must perform good deeds to earn their wings.

In what universe does this have any reason to happen? Next up, Jessica Simpson pops into Port Charles.

I wonder if these days, Josh has any sort of character bible for new additions eg Audra.Is there a sketch of her background, family, events in her life that shaped, details of how she came to work with Tucker etc, things that may or may nor be used onscreen over time. A document that the actress, directors and other writers can reference so everyone has a clear understanding of who the character is and her motivations. Somehow I doubt it...

I agree with what has been written above. To me the problems began when the character was suddenly aged with Hayley Erin in the role. She was just kind of a bland teen. Then the Naked Heiress nonsense. I really couldn't see Ashley putting up with that shlit. Under Ordway Abby is just there. I don't think she's the worst actress but she plays what's on the page-happy Abby, sad Abby etc. There's no depth to the writing because Abby has never been clearly defined. When she was aged up, there should have been a clear character analysis as to who Abby was and how being part of the Abbotts and Newmans affected her. What were her relationships like etc? Actors like ED and BM benefitted from Bill Bell's writing and to this day know their characters and pretty much able to keep the essence alive. The actor can make a huge difference. look at how Misheal was able to bring Hilary to life and Zuleyka Silver as Audra is rising above the muddled material. Heather Tom playing Victoria today would be far more interesting than AH. So it's a combination of the writing, acting and directing.

Please no more deaths of legacy characters. Just send Abby off somewhere. Of course the problem is Dominic, another unnecessary baby. Just write that Devon agrees to be a long distance dad, even if it seems illogical.

Can you post some examples of radio 'firsts'? Would be interested.

The box office success of Animal house in 1978 saw all 3 networks attempt their own version in the same season and within weeks of each other. That must be a record. First on the air was ABC's Delta House which aired Sat @ 8. It was the official spinoff, with a few of the movie cast members recreating their roles. It began Jan 18 1980. Next up NBC debuted Brothers and Sisters following Diff'rent Strokes Fri @8.30 that a week later. Last to the party was CBS with Co-Ed Fever which was slotted Mon @8. However, after a preview on Sun Feb 4 follow the premiere of Rocky, CBS dropped the series and it never aired. So all 3 bombed. One obvious problem of course was that the popularity of Animal House was due to vulgar, gross out humor and the sanitized TV versions couldn't come close, thus making the whole thing a wasted effort.

Harding Lemay set a record for short lived stints I think. He was the original writer of Lovers and Friends but after it's 13 week run, he didn't return to the revamped For Richer,For Poorer. He returned to soaps with a stint on SFT beginning March 81, but it was short lived as a Writers Strike began in April. He was fired after the strike. Don Chastain who had been writing during the strike took over, Then he was at The Doctors from Dec 81 -June 82. Finally his return stint at AW from Sept - Nov 88.

The Defenders was filmed in NY so it featured may soap actors of that era. Same with The Nurses/Doctors and the Nurses which also filmed in NY.

Perfect opportunity. The majority of viewers would be completely in the dark. Surely a teaser just stating something like 'The Gates is coming to CBS daytime Jan 25. Be there from the beginning...' Raises awareness and interest.

Sad the value put on social media where anonymous losers can post garbage and it's deemed worthy of attention and response.

Helen was off the show from 81 till 84. Suzanne also had a year away 84-85.

https://www.kqed.org/pop/25129/the-history-of-abortion-on-network-tv-and-what-it-means-for-women-today In the early 1960s, an abortion plot on The Defenders, which supported the rights of women to choose, caused an uproar at CBS. The show lost sponsors. Affiliates in many major markets refused to air the episode. Then, in 1972, there was the Bea Arthur sitcom Maude.

As I stated previously, hopefully some sort of staggered taping schedule so cast and crew won't be thrown in at the deep end having to tape a show a day. With all the budget restrictions now in place I wonder what the situation will be. Will there be location filming, extras and U/5's and a variety of sets? If so, the other CBS soaps will look even more poverty stricken.

Cashmere Mafia was ABC's version. It preceded Lipstick Jungle which actually was an NBC show.

Some other AW firsts that came to mind First character on a soap to give birth to twins on air -Pat Randolph-Mike/Marianne First show to lose all original characters-when Liz Matthews was written off in 86 there were no characters left from the beginning. First NBC soap to last more than 20 years. First show to have an ongoing black character-Peggy Nolan (Micki Grant) I wonder if a primetime show like The Defenders or The Nurses might have had an abortion story before AW?