The Doctors Discussion Thread

[Khan]

The preservation of vintage TV shows, specials and movies has been piss-poor compared to that of classic films.

[amybrickwallace]

That I am not surprised to hear at all. So sad. Ever since I was a little girl, I've had a fascination with the Presidents and First Ladies, which is another reason why I want to see these so much. The Jackson marriage, especially, was an incredible love story. Seeing paintings and such of the 7th President, it is no wonder Gerald Gordon was cast to play him. There's a definite resemblance.

[danfling]

I am sure that the First Ladies specials must exist somewhere. I imagine that the afternoon school specials also exist.

ABC ran ninety-minute drama specials, and I would love to see those.

[Classicsoap]

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Yeah the After School specials had been released on DVD in Box sets, but I don't think they are in print. some have been posted to youtube

[amybrickwallace]

I wonder if the FLD specials were released to schools and such for educational purposes. Of course, back then they probably were on film reels and shown on projectors...I wonder who would be the person/company to ask if they are still in existence.

Anyway, here is a review of the first of the three FLD specials - the one about the Jacksons that won Gerald Gordon an Emmy as the 7th President. TD is also represented by David O'Brien and Armand Assante. There's a photo of GG and Fran Brill in character:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1982&dat=19750412&id=z7pGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9TMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3585,2169765

The photo is a bit clearer here:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19750418&id=IeAbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2lEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2619,4213227

[Paul Raven]

First Ladies Diaries was directed by Ira Cirker,who directed AW.The writer was Jerome Alden a playwright who wrote a couple of things about presidents past. I assume it was on videotape.I wonder if it was like a taped play with few sets etc and no location work?

Liz Hubbard was Edith Wilson in another of the series.

[Paul Raven]

July 1977

-Mike was devastated to learn Toni wasn't among the survivors of a plane crash.

- Wendy sought the counsel of Ted Kingston in her fight against Luke

-Eleanor bought Luke a supper club

-MJ informed Carolee that Dr Brandt's note had disappeared

[jam6242]

Florence Williams, who has been playing Althea's mother in the recent episodes, was a radio actress in her younger days. This is from 1943.

Edited March 21, 2015 by jam6242

[DRW50]

That's a great find!

I'm in early August now, and those weird huge disembodied heads they use for the Matt/Maggie angst scenes are so odd and came out of nowhere. I almost wonder if this was the Dark Shadows effect on other soaps (although Dark Shadows didn't use them all that much), or what.

It's really interesting to me to contrast Lydia Bruce and Bethel Leslie. There's a certain earthiness to Lydia that means she has scenes I can't really imagine with Bethel, like laying on the bed in a black slip (with white stockings and heels, no less - maybe a director had a fetish).

It's also interesting seeing just how much Liz changes with every man she's involved with. She tried to be mature with Nick. She was a kid with Steve. Now she's trying to be a quasi-hippie with Jody Lee, complete with a gradually changing "natural" hairstyle, and clothes that look like a Girl Scout troupe in San Francisco. It's too bad Pamela Toll left, as Liz is a really fascinating supporting character.

I also have to laugh at how often characters use Matt's office now. When I started watching I always assumed everyone stayed out of there out of respect, unless he called them, but ever since Steve started using it to horse around in, it's been some type of fair game. Seeing Jody Lee and Liz have an extended conversation in there and Jody not giving a care if he was caught by Matt sitting in the chair or looking around was odd.

[jam6242]

I also couldn't imagine Bethel doing the scenes you described. And I definitely can't see her doing the scenes in which Maggie was thinking to herself that she was old and ugly. She just doesn't have that vulnerability.

[DRW50]

That scene was so searing. It felt like it went on and on, but it reminded me of a play, almost - that was the way Lydia interpreted it. Like some drama of a woman's psyche. If this were most soaps, the onus would be on screwed-up Maggie needing to get over herself, and Matt would go sleep with someone and it would be her fault and blah blah blah, but here, they allowed us to understand her and to see that Matt's affections for Karen and Karen's callous behavior toward her for months had seriously undercut her self-respect and self-worth.

[SoapDope]

Does anyone else have trouble with the Dailymotion site ? Sometimes it takes a while for the shows to load and the web page acts all freaky at times like it's continuously loading crap in the background ?

[Paul Raven]

I get a lot of interruptions and have to watch 30 sec commercials.

Bethel Leslie was nominated for a primetime Emmy in 64 for her work on The Richard Boone Show.

[saynotoursoap]

In general, I do not. However, on two occasions this previous week, I had constant commercial interruptions. And even when my video played, the dialogue was drowned by audio promos for ABC Family and one of the other networks.

[DRW50]

The other thing I meant to ask - the episode where Jody Lee and Liz sat for Greta, did anyone else get creeped out by that voice (the "Greta" voice) that came from upstairs and sounded like an evil Twilight Zone doll? When Jody went upstairs I expected to hear screams.

I know we'll be seeing more of Greta soon enough, but it kind of makes me laugh that the only time I've seen her from December 1967 to August 1968 (so far) was one episode when Kathleen Murray was temping as Maggie. It's like she hides from permanent recasts.