Loving/The City Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

Jacquie was giving 80's soap diva vibes.

Estelle on SFT? Or a Stephanie recast? Calla on GL? So many possibilities...

[DRW50]

Oh she would have been a great Stephanie.

[Contessa Donatella]

Bringing this over from AMC A Tribute:

  2 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I will say it was a dumb idea to get Morgan for such a short contract.  Sure it may have worked for Rosemary Prinz when AMC started, but 

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 Though I thought the biggest mistake The City made early on was the Masquerader (I think??) serial killer storyline--just because Loving's ratings had improved during their storyline which had JUST finished it felt like.  But I'll save the rest for the Loving folder (I'm game for a party though--funny it both seems far more recent and somehow even longer ago that The City finished.)

This is Eric 

 

[Vee]

Jacquie Courtney has consistently been underrated by a generation of two (or more) of fans who for years only had access to her via Harding Lemay's memoir. It's nice to be able to see her in the last couple decades and for me at least, she was consistently very, very good. I'm sad she's gone and we never got to see her on a soap again in one of her old roles, or a new one.

[Paul Raven]

Was Joe Stuart still ep of Loving when JC was cast as Diane?

We're they still involved at that point or was it possibly a role gifted by Joe as a favour to Jacquie?

Was she still actively pursuing roles in the 80's? If so it's crazy that another soap didn't cast her. I know roles for 'older' actresses were drying up at that time but she had proven popularity.

SFT, GL or ATWT could have found something for her.

[VelekaCarruthers]

Yes, Stuart was EP until June 88 and I believe JC appeared as Diane in 87.

[Contessa Donatella]

According to Ellen Hlly he was part of the problem, at OLTL with specific reference to racism. Not as bad as Paul.

If you watch or remember The Tomorrow Show 1975 on Soaps. Joe was on it. Tom Snyder seems to have arranged the whole thing between him & Joe. They even taped at the studio where Joe was then EP. (The Doctors, I believe.)

[vetsoapfan]

Thanks to @EricMontreal22 or notifying the board about this, and to @DRW50 for tagging me.

I adored Jacquie Courtney and had the hots for Luke Perry, so this video is a real treat for me!

I've always thought JC was an excellent actress, and moreover, she had an indefinable "je ne sais quoi," a strong star appeal. The only time I felt she was out of her depth was playing Maggie Ashley on OLTL. The role was a caricature, and it was made worse by the gratuitous "British" accent, the fabulously fake wig, and a hideous pair of glasses which kept slipping down her nose. UGH! When the actress was given a role with depth, however, she was top-notch.

The scene on AW, when John Randolph presented Alice with her divorce papers from Steve, and the one on OLTL, with Pat visiting her son Brian's grave, were mesmerizing. IMHO, these were two of JC's finest performances.

[Franko]

Luke was rockin' those jeans and that t-shirt. They probably didn't, but I could see a scene where Diane messed with Ned's mind, saying that the brothel (read: her) was intererested in a stud.

[Contessa Donatella]

So, today is the Endiversary of the little short-lived ABC half hour soap, THE CITY, which ran from the end of LOVING to March 28th, 1997. They tried to do new & different things. They did not have traditional multigenerational families. They experimented with camera work & editing. All of them lived in SoHo in one building. They were survivors of the murders that had happened in Corinth. So to all who celebrate Sydney Chase Day I add my greetings!

Looked this up in Wesley Hyatt's Daytime Encyclopedia, the show doesn't even have its own entry. You can find it 2 places. 

In the book's Introduction, page  xviii, one sentence, paragraph 2. All it says is that when ABC affiliates were about to drop LOVING they revamped into The City but it fared no better. 

Then, in the LOVING entry that show is pages 271-274. The last 2 paragraphs finally they mention it but say as the lowest-rated soap it is canceled. 

This to me, was infuriating.

[EricMontreal22]

I've been meaning to ask, is there any footage of her as Maggie?  That was around 1979 right?

[DRW50]

I know there are the Men and Women of Loving videos (which I never got to see) but I hope we get an oral history while a number of the players are still with us. I only ever knew of the show through having the show on in summer '95 and the mentions in the soap magazines about the revamp. Other than that, until this thread, and Youtube, all I ever knew was scraps of scraps, some of which weren't even true. 

It's a shame The City didn't get more time as I do think Tracy gave the show a boost of life and there were hints on the way of more necessary changes (like Ava returning), but then, they had 14 years, which is a rarity for most soaps. 

[Vee]

I agree LOV/TC richly deserve a joint oral history. I don't remember the note about Ava returning - I thought they had just planned to add her (and Alex's?) kids. I would've welcomed her.

Edited March 29 by Vee

[DRW50]

I probably should have said we didn't know - I think there was mention here of them laying groundwork (beyond bringing the kids back) but it was never confirmed.

[Vee]

I believe there is some floating around, possibly also in Mitch S's recent uploads. I couldn't be sure of which.