watson71

The ratings from 5/83 to 6/83 show where Days of our Lives and Another World finally start to rise in the ratings after disastrous ratings in the early 80s.  Days was heavily featuring the Marlena and Roman pairing and about to introduce Hope and Bo as a future supercouple.  The ratings rose from a 5.3 to 6.8 in one month.  

After 12 years,  Another World fired long time executive producer Paul Rauch and replaced him with Guiding Light's executive producer Allen Potter.  AW was about to kick off the Alma Rudder murder mystery and was reuniting Mac and Rachel before their August double wedding with Sandy and Blaine.  The ratings rose from a 4.2 to 5.5 in one month.

10 hours ago, Efulton said:

It blows my mind that Harding Lemay could not see how talented Jaqueline Courtney was.  His talent was remarkable but his ego did long term damage to Another World.  I may be in the minority but I thought Ms. Courtney's 1984 was pretty good.  

Courtney was good in 1984-85, TPTB just didn't give her a lot to do.  Her best material was right before she left the show in 1985 when she was Rachel's doctor after she was shot and had amnesia.  Rachel wanted nothing to do with Mac when she had amnesia, even moving out of the Cory mansion.  TPTB should have revisited the Mac/Alice relationship at this time with an Alice/Mac/Rachel triangle.  Instead, they wrote Courtney off the show.  TPTB missed a tremendous opportunity.

Why was CBS so quick to get rid of Search for Tomorrow?  Based on the late 1981-82 ratings, SFT ratings were on par with its lead-in As the World Turns, sometimes even getting better ratings than ATWT.  CBS really mishandled this situation.  I can't believe that P&G was too happy having ATWT being the lowest rated soap on CBS either,  or Another World's steep decline and the expensive flop that Texas became on NBC during this same time period.

1 hour ago, Franko said:

I know Search for Tomorrow had a target on its back, but does anyone else think it could have gone the distance between ATWT and GL?

I think it would have faired better had it stayed on CBS between ATWT and GL than it did on NBC.  It probably would have lasted until B&B premiered.  If the ratings were good, there may not have been a B&B.

1 hour ago, soapfan770 said:

This is interesting, I can understand the 1994 drop in ratings as the show greatly sputtered out with BTS changes and the even further drop in ratings 1996 under McTavish but what caused the 89-90 drop? 

During this time was the Soni/Solita multiple personality storyline with Will Jeffries.  They were looking to cash in on the Lewis fortune, and Jeffries kidnapped Marah, and later married Mindy Lewis before falling off a cliff to his death.  The story was convoluted, and both Soni/Solita and Will Jeffries were suddenly gone from the show after eating up a large amount of screen time.  Rick Bauer became engaged to Fletcher's sister, Dr. Meredith Reade. Meredith had a fling with Phillip and became pregnant with his baby.  Rick was suspicious that the baby was not his, and Meredith had a miscarriage and left town.  This caused a rift in Rick and Phillip's relationship.  Also, Reva and Billy's son Dylan arrived in Springfield, got Harley pregnant.  Reva was also pregnant and after her delivery suffered from post-partum depression and drove her car off a bridge in the Florida Keys when Kim Zimmer left the show..

The combination of characters eating up storytime then leaving the show, the repetition of the pregnancy plot device, and Kim Zimmer leaving is what probably contributed to the ratings drop in 1989-90.

The following are from Another World:

Victoria Wyndham- Rachel Cory Hutchins, Justine Duvalier

Tom Eplin- Jake McKinnon, Bunny Eberhardt, Doris Pepperdine

Stephen Schnetzer- Cass Winthrop, Krystal Lake, Rex Allingham

Ellen Wheeler, Anne Heche, and Jensen Buchanan- Marley and Vicky

Joe Morton- Dr. Abel Marsh, Leo Mars

Eric Morgan Stuart- Chris Madison, The Love Lady

John Aprea- Lucas, Alexander Nikos

Lewis Arlt- David Thatcher, Ken Jordan

Doris Belack- Madge Murray, Nora Simpson

Roberts Blossom- Bert Ordway, Sven Petersen

John Bolger- Dr. Alton Spader, Gabe McNamara

Carla Borelli- Reena Bellman Cook, Barbara Van Arkdale

J. Kenneth Campbell- Yohann/Herman Ludwig, Jordan Scott

Gary Carpenter- Ray Gordon, Michael Bauer

John Considine- Reginald Love, Vic Hastings

Elizabeth Franz- Alma Rudder, Belia Pirenko

Ed Fry- Mayoral candidate Chandler Haines, Adam Cory

Sofia Landon Geier- Donna Love, Jennifer Thatcher

Robert Gentry- Detective Craig Morris, Philip Lyons

Christine Jones- Janice Frame, Amy Cushing

Robert Kelker-Kelly- Shane Roberts, Sam Fowler

David Andrew MacDonald- Jordan Stark, David Halliday

Beverlee McKinsey- Iris Wheeler, Emma Frame Ordway

Lenka Peterson- Helen D'Angelo, Marie Fenton

Peter Ratray- Christophe Boudreau, Quentin Ames

23 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

More of everything is coming. I am trying to find a decent second-hand or free scanner, which will allow me to share better-looking material, free of dark spots and smudges.

You can download the Scannable app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/evernote-scannable/id883338188  It is very easy to use and works with iPhones and iPads.  You simply take a picture of the document you want to scan and Email it to yourself.

5 hours ago, ScottyBman said:

Right now for some unexplained reason, I am watching AW in 1981.  I don't think my original viewing happened until about 1983-84.  Which by then was a far different show than what I am watching now.  What a difference a few years makes.  The pace is slower.  Cecile, played by Susan Keith is conniving, but not over the top.  She has a career.  When I started she was going after Peter Love, just for the money....  Ray Liotta is on a god bit.  We have Peter Brady, I know, Christopher Knight.  Blaine is also just going for the pot of Gold.  There are the brother and sister who come from money,  but I think their time is coming to a close.  Mac and Rachel are in full storyline at the mansion and the Complex, which I don't remember being a term when I started watching.  Liz actually works and is not just a busy body.  There is a charm in this period.  Although I am partial to seeing Donna and Vicky...Cass...Felicia...

There is a tremendous difference between 1981-82 and 1983-84.  Part of the difference was the switch in producers from Paul Rauch to Allen Potter.  By 1981-82, Rauch was beginning to outstay his welcome after making AW a success in the 70s.  In Spring 1983, Potter was transferred from GL to AW.  Potter was AW's original producer in 1964.  I think he greatly improved the show, and it was very watchable during his tenure in 1983-84.  I wish he hadn't retired at the end of 1984.  In 1985, AW would again lose its way under producer Stephen Schenckel, and we were back to 1981-82 all over again in terms of storylines.

The Flintstones are coming to MeTV on September 30th- 59 years to the day that they premiered on ABC.  The Flintstones will air at 6 PM.

https://www.tvinsider.com/803489/the-flintstones-tv-return-metv/

Loving these articles @vetsoapfan !    By chance do you have any articles on the P & G soap changes in 1980-81, where P & G got rid of veteran stars on all of their shows and revamped the themes and credits for all of their shows in an attempt to compete with the "hipper" ABC soaps that were stealing viewers from the P & G shows.  I imagine that in pre-Internet days, that longtime P & G fans were not happy with all these changes.

Interesting to note in the Publisher's Memo was that reruns of The Love Boat, The Jeffersons, and Alice were pulling in higher ratings than many of the soaps during 1980.  An early precursor of things to come later on as soaps would be canceled as fans tuned to a multitude of cable channels and the Internet for their daily entertainment.

Also, did NBC heavily promote Texas before its debut with print, radio, and nighttime TV commercials?  Did it receive as much promotion as the Editor's Note states?

How long into Texas' run did they change the show's logo?  The logo in these early episodes looks very amateurish compared to the Texas flag blowing in the wind with the gold Texas script lettering.

1 hour ago, robbwolff said:

 

Wow! That drop for Days is astounding. From 7.0 to 4.8.

From July 1980 to November 1980, Another World went from a 7.8 to a 5.6 rating.  In the December 1980 ratings, Texas bumped AW out of the top 10.  Days and AW had a total ratings collapse.  Also, I never knew that TEXAS ever beat AW in the ratings.

8 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

After losing her son Bill, Aunt Liz should have fought to keep Kevin in Bay City with her, upon Sally's death. I supposed we can imagine the child went to live with his grandmother, Alice, but viewers should not have to guess and fill in the blanks for ourselves. You are right: awful writing.

Yes, it was awful writing.   AW could have utilized  SORASED Cory and Jeanne Ewing and Kevin Thatcher along with teens Matthew and Josie in 1988.  Remember the brother and sister,  Kevin (how ironic) and Tracy Julian, who were involved in the Matthew and Josie in the teen chat line storyline.  Tracy was played by future 90210 star Gabrielle Carteris.  The show even introduced a father for Kevin and Julian named Frank.  He was played by John Spencer who would later go on to success on The West Wing.  Later in 1988, AW cast Luke Perry (90210) as Kenny a frat boy who was a border at the Frame family farm who liked Josie.  The roles of Kenny and Kevin Julian could have easily been a SORASED Kevin Thatcher or Cory Ewing.

9 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I never realized that Kevin was barely seen (or completely unseen) when Sally died and vanished afterward. What awful writing. 

The last time Kevin appeared on AW was in May 1986 at Sally's funeral.  After that the character was forgotten.... 

55 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

Who knows what they would have done if Thomas Ian Griffith had not been ready to leave anyway. But Brittany was handled terribly and ruined Catlin -- if I recall correctly he didn't keep Kevin, just handed him off to Aunt Liz.

Regarding Aunt Liz, I never understood why TPTB wrote Irene Dailey out of the show from June 1986 to November 1987.  When Dailey returned in November 1987, she was placed on recurring status,  I wonder why they didn't do this in June 1986 to keep the character in Bay City.  Her last airdate was May 4, 1994 on AW's 30th Anniversary episode.   They should have kept her around on a recurring basis until the end of the series.  JFP probably would have gotten rid of Aunt Liz during her tenure in 1995-96.  Given JFP's record at other shows, she probably would have tried to get rid of Mac (Douglass Watson) and Ada (Constance Ford) if they hadn't passed away and were still on the show in 1995-96.

2 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I think the writers just might've forgotten that Vicky unintentionally caused Perry's death. When I was watching the Swajeski era, I noticed there were a lot of mistakes/continuity errors (where Janice was buried, Iris and Cecile's friendship, etc.) And when Carl came back in 1991, they didn't even include Aunt Liz in that story, and he was indirectly responsible for Julia's murder.

Julia's death was unnecessary.  Another member of the Matthews family killed.  Within two years, both Julia and Sally would be killed off AW.   If Julia remained on the show, at least her parents Susan and Dan could have returned to Bay City giving Liz some additional airtime.

Also, at one point, didn't the writers play around with bringing back Liz's son, Bill, who died in a boating accident in California?

6 hours ago, Xanthe said:

 

I wonder if Nancy would have lasted longer if any of her boyfriends had been tied to other core families. Perry was Donna's stepson and Carl's son but Chris and Greg and Tony were all outsiders. It wasn't long after Nancy left town that they SORASed Amanda to fill that slot.

The character of Paulina was another unnecessary illegitimate child of Mac Cory.  When Cali Timmins and Judi Evans were on the show, they should have  been cast as Nancy .McGowan rather than Paulina.   Nancy always had a crush on Jake- Paulina was involved with Jake,  Nancy hated Vicky- Paulina and Vicky fought over Grant, when Joe Carlino was introduced on the show they even stated that he dated Nancy in high school- before he became involved with Paulina, and both Nancy and Paulina became addicted to drugs.   The Paulina storylines in the 90s would have worked if the character was Nancy.

Bringing up Carl's son Perry, I always wondered why the writers ignored the fact that Vicky indirectly caused Perry's death when he discovered that Vicky was a twin to Marley and he fell from the hayloft in the Love stable.  Surely a vengeful Carl would not want another son, Ryan, becoming involved with the woman who caused Perry's death.  Ironically, Ryan's death would also be tied to Vicky when he was shot by Grant on the train trestle after Justine kidnaped Kirkland.  So Vicky had ties to the deaths of both of Carl's sons.

I like the wink and nod to Another World in the For Richer, For Poorer opening with the interlocking Os in Poorer similar to AW's interlocking rings in their opening.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

Yes, Alice Hirson played Marsha Davis on Somerset. This photograph is of the actress from OLTL, where she played Eileen Riley Siegal, Joe Riley's sister.

 

I've always though Hirson's best role was that of psycho Stephanie Martin on The Edge of Night.

And she was Miss Ellie's best friend, Mavis Anderson, on Dallas.  Episodes of Dallas are available to stream on the IMDB Freedrive app.  Wish episodes of AW and the other P&G soaps would show up on a streaming service!

Thanks for the info!

Quick question- Rachel's half sister, Pammy Davis, was played by Pamela Toll on Somerset.  Was her mother, Marsha Davis, ever seen on Another World or Somerset?  If she was seen onscreen, who played the part of Marsha?

6 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I always wonder who was behind all these misfires/missed opportunities. Was it the writers and producers or was it Nbc/P&G?

There were so many missed opportunities on AW:

in 1986, Sally and Kevin should have left town with Aunt Liz to visit Alice after finding out that Catlin slept with Brittany and was the father of Brittany's baby.  Sally should have never been killed off.  Sally, a SORASED Kevin, and Alice could have returned with Liz in late 1987.

Adam was unnecessary.  Larry should have remained as Bay City's police officer who later could have played off of Ryan Harrison.  If a character had to die in the car crash that killed Sally, Clarice could have been sacrificed, or she could have been a victim of the Sin Stalker.  Making Larry a widower with two children, Cory and Jeanne, had plenty of storyline possibilities.  Larry could have then been paired with MJ.  Cory and Jeanne could have been SORASED, and technically Ada was their step-grandmother.  Two teenagers to deal with could have given Ada plenty to do, especially after Nancy left town in 1987.  A Cory/ Josie/ Matthew triangle would have caused turmoil between Ada and Rachel.

Reginald should have been a long term character.  At least the character of Carl Hutchins should have been brought back to see them interact together.

Killing Quinn was a mistake and  while she was paired with Zack it was too brief. Thomasina and Carter still had story left . Thomasina was going to med school.   As a med intern, she could have spent too much time at Bay City General, causing Carter to get involved with Zack's sister Julie Ann.

Rhonda Lewin and Lauri Landry as Vicky and Nicole were gone before they really got a storyline.  You have to wonder why they even cast them in the first place.

i also think that the Peggy Lazarus character that was introduced in late 1986 should have turned out to be Pammy Davis, Rachel's half-sister.   The show went so far as to say that Peggy Lazarus was an assumed name, but they dropped the character in 1987.  This could have brought Gerald Davis back to the show, as well.

In 1986, John Whitesell and Margaret DePriest introduced the following characters: Adam Cory, Julie Ann Edwards, Zack Edwards, Scott LaSalle, Reginald Love, Cheryl McKinnon, Mary McKinnon, and Chad Rollo

They returned the character of Mitch Blake to the show and SORASED Matthew Cory to a tween.  Cecile DePoulignac returned to AW for four months.

They recast the following characters:  Jamie Frame, Vicky Hudson, Nicole Love, M.J. McKinnon, and Vince McKinnon

The following characters left AW in 1986 while Whitesell and DePriest were  EP and headwriters: Chris Chapin, Neal Cory, Dee Evans, Clarice Ewing, Larry Ewing, Sally Frame, Marley Hudson,  Zane Lindquist, Donna Love, Lily Mason, Liz Matthews, Jake McKinnon, Kathleen McKinnon, Kevin Thatcher, Carter Todd, Thomasina Todd, and Cass Winthrop.

Catlin Ewing and Brittany Peterson would leave AW in early January 1987.

David Hedison who played Spencer Harrison on Another World from 1991-95 has passed away.  RIP Mr. Hedison

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/david-hedison-dead-voyage-bottom-sea-actor-was-92-1226038