watson71

The link below is for a March 2018 interview with Harding Lemay.  It is an interesting read, and it seems that he has mellowed with age.  At age 96, he is probably one, if not the last, headwriter still living from the golden age of soaps.

http://daytimeindulgence.blogspot.com/2018/03/exclusive-harding-lemay-interview.html?m=1

6 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Thanks. A changing of the guard - with writers AND producers at the same time - explains a lot!! 😨

I also forgot to add that when Jill Farren Phelps became executive producer and Tom King and Craig Carlson were the headwriters, Harding Lemay was hired as a "consultant" and his name appears in the December 5th credits, so Lemay was there through much of Justine story.  I'm just not sure how much input he had into the story, but I cannot see him approving of all of this plot- driven writing. 🤔😝🤔

2 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

I wasn't watching the show yet, but it does sound awfully twisted. Who was writing at this point?

There was a producer and writer change in the story- that is part of the reason it was so convoluted.  When the story began John Valente was the executive producer and Carolyn Culliton was the headwriter. In June, Jill Farren Phelps became the executive producer and Tom King and Craig Carlson the headwriters.  King was the headwriter of AW right after Harding Lemay left the show who penned most of the Janice Frame story in 1979-80.

The Harrisons were from Boston.  When the Justine story began, the show went to great length to show flashbacks with different "younger" actors playing Spencer, Justine, and Carl to explain the backstory of Ryan's birth.  

You can can see the flashbacks in the clip below at the 40 minute mark:

Carl had made mention that Rachel resembled Justine when he was revealed to be Ryan's father.  After Grant shot himself to frame Vicky, the Harrison mansion that was purchased when they moved from Boston burned down in February 1995.  At the time, Justine was living in France and viewers only saw  her in shadows.  Viewers did not Victoria Wyndham as Justine until April.  Justine kidnapped Rachel and placed her in a hospital out of the country. Justine then assumed Rachel's identity.  Later in the Summer of 1995, Justine purchased another mansion where she kidnapped Vicky and bricked her up behind a wall in the basement.  Rachel and Justine did not come face to face until their altercation at the train trestle where Grant shot Ryan.  After he was shot, Ryan fell into Justine and pushed her off the trestle where she was hit by a train.  

The show should have left Justine dead at this point. However, Justine did not  die.  She popped up a few months later in December at the grand opening of  the Ryan Harrison wing at the hospital.  Justine planted a bomb in the hospital that Grant deactivated.  Justine broke into the Cory mansion was finally killed by Carl who faked a heart attack, then he stabbed Justine to death.

A convoluted story to say the least, but you could see that NBC was pressuring AW to be more like DAYS in its storytelling. 🤔

9 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

I think he was writing both shows at the same time. Then P&G told him to concentrate on the spinoff and he was replaced at AW by Harding Lemay. He was let go shortly thereafter at Somerset. Wasn't he replaced by Henry Slesar?

Somerset Headwriters:

: Robert Cenedella, March 1970 - December 1970.
Henry Slesar, January 1971 - March 1972.
Henry Slesar and Jane Lyon, April 1972 - May 1973.
Roy Winsor and Robert J. Shaw, May 1973 - April 1974.
Robert J. Shaw and Winifred Wolfe, April 1974 - March 1975.
Don Appell, Doris Frankel, and Frank Salisbury, March 1975 - December 1975.
A.J. Russell and Frank Salisbury, January 1976 - May 1976.
Russell Kubeck, June 1976 - December 1976.

18 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Wasn't he also the creator of Somerset?

Someone at  NBC liked him- Cenedella wrote AW from 1969-71- created and wrote Somerset in 1970- wrote The Doctors in 1975- and returned to AW in 1982 as a writer under Corrine Jacker.

4 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

Really? I hadn't noticed. Cool!! 😊

 

There is absolutely no rooting for anyone in the Mike/Toni/Alan triangle. Armand and Anna look more like brother and sister than spouses. If I had been casting the show, I would have had Armand (genuine Italian that he is) play Rico and Chandler Harben play Mike. 

I agree about the Mike and Toni looking like siblings, and Rico and Mike being miscast.  On the current episodes currently being uploaded to YouTube,  there is no producer listed for the show.   Makes you wonder who was making behind the scenes decisions after Joseph Stuart left the show.  Shortly, Jeff Young will become producer of The Doctors after having recently produced  the cancelled NBC soap How to Survive a Marriage.  This is the beginning of the revolving door of producers and writers on The Doctors- virtually every NBC soaps suffered from a revolving door of producers and writers- Another World, Days of our Lives, Texas, Search for Tomorrow, Santa Barbara, and Sunset Beach.

You could also put Linda Dano on the list of soap hoppers:

1978-1980- One Life to Live- Gretel Cummings

1981-1982- As the World Turns- Cynthia Haines

1983-1999- Another World- Felicia Gallant

1999-2004- One Life to Live- Gretel "Rae" Cummings

1999-2001- All My Children-  Gretel "Rae" Cummings

1999-2001- General Hospital-  Gretel "Rae" Cummings

1999-2001- Port Charles- Gretel "Rae" Cummings

2005- Guiding Light- Lena Kendall

Here are copies of those 1968 episodes- the original broadcast would have been in color.   These episodes were the introductory episodes of Steve Frame.

I suspect the scene with Grant in Tanquir was filmed around the time Grant was murdered and TPTB saved it to be edited into the last episode if AW was cancelled.  Mark Pinter left in March and the show cancelled in April.

1 hour ago, amybrickwallace said:

How about Survivor: Tanquir? 😉😂

In the last episode of AW, when we found out Grant was alive in Tanquir, it would have been so awesome if he was plotting his revenge against the citizens of Bay City with Cecile- just one last cameo by Nancy Frangione.

43 years ago- on Valentine's Day 1975- Mackenzie Cory (Douglass Watson) married Rachel Davis Matthews Clark Frame (Victoria Wyndham) at Mac's New York City townhouse.  The justice of the peace was played by Wyndham's real life father- Ralph Camargo.

Wish a copy of this episode was available on the internet...

32 years ago- on Valentine's Day 1986-  Zane Lindquist (Patrick Tovatt) and Felicia Gallant (Linda Dano) were married.  This episode featured guest star Liberace.

All the P & G shows could also find a home on stations like Antenna TV or MeTV- many episodes are already digitized from when they were on the AOL platform.  Amazon Prime is now home to many of the Goodson/Todman game shows from the 70s.  That could be a viable option as well.  

I would hope that P & G has these episodes in storage right now and did not have them destroyed so that they don't have to pay storage fees.

7 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

I know Ada never remarried, but did she ever have another love interest before passing away?

Ada flirted with Captain Sean Delaney played by Alan North.  Delaney was a recurring character from 1984-1988.  She also dated Sidney Sugarman played by Larry Haines who played Stu Bergman on SFT.  He was on the show in 1989.  Sidney dated Ada during WWII and in 1989.  Ada and Sidney's backstory  was featured in the 1989 Valentine to Singles episodes, including a flashback to when Ada graduated from the LB Honeywell Beautician School in the 1940s with younger actors playing Ada "Bubbles" and Sidney "Sharkey"

Lin Bolen the NBC executive who made NBC Daytime #1 in the 1970s, expanded AW and DAYS to one hour, and introduced Wheel of Fortune has passed away.  She was truly a program innovator who was willing to take risks.   Had she stayed at NBC, I wonder if the daytime schedule would have collapsed in the late 70s- early 80s?!?

http://deadline.com/2018/01/lin-bolen-dies-first-female-vp-of-programming-at-a-network-was-76-1202272021/

14 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

He was long gone from NBC and had nothing to do with Passions. I think Susan Lee was in charge when Passions was launched.

Yes- Susan Lee was in charge at NBC when Passions was launched.  She gave several interviews justifying why NBC cancelled AW at the time instead of Sunset Beach which got cancelled 6 months later.

On 1/27/2018 at 1:01 PM, cassadine1991 said:

Wheeler should not have been hired as EP

When the show moved to the new production model, GL should have hired an EP with plenty of experience to oversee the new production model as it was something never done on daytime before.  Wheeler was inexperienced, but TPTB probably kept her because her salary as EP was probably low as  compared to Paul Rauch or John Conboy.

John Whitsell orchestrated the flood episodes in February 1986- by late March/ early April, he would be transferred to Another World as executive producer.  Did the soap press ever cover the sudden change at SFT?

Also, Brian Frons was the CBS executive who cancelled SFT, went to NBC where he cancelled SFT, before going to ABC daytime and dismantled their daytime lineup.  Why did he continue to be employed?!?

18 hours ago, robbwolff said:

 

Good question. I think she could have passed as his mother. Viewers bought Ellen Wheeler as her daughter and Ellen was only a few years younger than Hank. Viewers bought Stephen Yates as Rachel's son Jamie and there was only a three-year age difference between them!

Yes, I believe he could have passed as Donna as his mother.  The writers did make a point to keep saying that Reginald and Mary were his parents by adoption when Scott arrived.   

Then, when Barbara Van Arkdale (Carla Borelli) came to Bay City as a rival fashion designer of Nicole Love, it was hinted that she could have had a child with Michael Hudson, possibly Scott , but the character of Barbara was quickly dropped from the show.

If you have not done so, watch Season 2 of One Day at a Time on Netflix- the second season improves on the first and the episode "Not Yet" should earn Rita Moreno and Justina Machado Emmy nominations if there is any justice in the world!  The writing and acting in this episode is top notch- it will make you laugh and cry at the same time.

https://hiddenremote.com/2018/01/27/drop-what-youre-doing-and-watch-one-day-at-a-time-on-netflix/

2 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

Was Anna Stuart back as Donna at that point?

Anna Stuart returned in February 1989- the exact episode was the episode where Jason Frame is murdered.

Soap star Jensen Buchanan back in jail after allegedly violating probation; no bail set

http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/soap-star-jensen-buchanan-back-in-jail-after-allegedly-violating/article_55a49334-ee7e-5d79-bd4b-357c43563a51.html

Hopefully Buchanan gets the help she needs, and she finds inner peace 🙏🏼

I take all soap timelines with a grain of salt-

Matthew Cory was born right before Christmas in 1980 onscreen; however, when Rachel gives her speech during the 25th Anniversary episodes, there is a Mac and Rachel flashback to Matthew's birth and the cover of Brava shown was from 1971 dealing with the Vietnam War- indicating this was the year Matthew was born.

Here is a brief background on Jason Frame:  

In the late 1960s, Jason Frame was a horse trainer for the Love family.  He was in love with Elizabeth Love.  When Reginald found out about the affair, Reginald murdered Elizabeth, then Reginald faked his death in Egypt with the assistance of Andrew Hutchins, Carl's father.  Jason left Bay City and joined the Navy. Jason claimed to be in the Navy for over 20 years; however, it was revealed that he was dishonorably discharged on suspicion of treason for selling arms to the Viet Cong.

48 minutes ago, j swift said:

Can we discuss the Jason Frame murder for a second?  In my opinion, it was another great idea that was poorly executed.

 

This is all from memory so please feel free to fill in the gaps.  However, the murder in the hall of mirrors feels like a GL ripoff.  The introduction of a Michael/Iris backstory is an unnecessary red herring.  Finally, the Nicole reveal comes out of nowhere.  As an audience, I recall that we knew that Nicole was guilty a few days before the reveal but there was no prior groundwork that would have marked Nicole as the culprit.  I love a surprise reveal but I think it has to be earned and in this case it felt random.

 

Nicole Love is a missed opportunity of a character.  In her first iteration as a drug addicted model she could have been an excellent counterpart for Vicky Hudson; old money promiscuity vs new money hussy.  I would have liked to see the Reginald/Mary reveal through Nicole's eyes as she was the youngest Love sibling.  Philece Sampler may have also been a better Nicole than a Donna recast.   

I liked the Jason Frame murder because it was a big umbrella story that built up for months before it happened and involved the entire cast. Jason knew Iris was The Chief.  Jason knew that Evan was Janice's son.  Jason knew that Steven could be Jake's baby.  Jason knew Sharlene's prostitute past. Jason was remodeling Felicia's apartment and gave Felicia a gun to protect herself from Derrick who was stalking her.  Viewers already knew that Jason would be killed and Felicia would be blamed because she had his gun.    

All these secrets that Jason had on everyone were exposed during Felicia's murder trial.  We found out that Iris was The Chief- this created great scenes between Mac and Iris shortly before Mac's death.  Derrick was revealed to be a foster child that grew up in the Grady household, and he accidentally murdered Fanny/Felicia's abusive father, etc.  This served as a springboard for introducing Lucas and Felicia finding her daughter, etc.

At first, we did not know if Nicole was the killer because she was wearing Vicky's earrings the night of the murder.  The character of Nicole was sacrificed so that Cass could be paired with Frankie.   Nicole was never heard from again.  She was forgotten by the show, just like Donna's brother Peter was.