The Doctors Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

Fair enough. FWIW, I'm not convinced that Clarie Labine & Bill Bell & Agnes were right & the half hour is the best native time frame for the show for creative purposes & also for reasons of cost. Soaps used to be so reasonable to produce. How much easier was it for daytime to get more & more expensive with 90% of it an hour long! To say that I'm ambivalent about the shows going to an hour is an understatement! And, you see, Pete Lemay who is my #1 fave writer did not find the hour show got him what he had wanted out of it. His were creative wants of course. Disappointed. 

[robbwolff]

I'm not sure if The Doctors was always in the same studio, but the show did add a bunch of new sets in anticipation of the possible 1970 spinoff. Carolee got her own office. There was a large student lounge and student dorm rooms. After the spinoff wasn't picked up and the story ended, the dorm and student lounge were dropped. So the studio was able to accommodate additional sets albeit for a short time.

 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Could be that Colgate-Palmolive was prepared to pay extra rent for extra space for something that seemed worth it to them! I would think a spin-off would be a time to reach into your pockets! 

[Chris B]

This Margaret DePriest stint is fantastic! Whenever I've heard her name it's always mentioned negatively, but she knew what she was doing here. I like the nuances she's added to characters like Matt and Ann. They're different, but I find it believable and I think she wrote it in a way that you can see how they've changed. Paul Summers is also a great new character. Fantastic actor, charming and very devious. I'm loving Nick's return and Althea has stabilized and isn't as pathetic as she'd become. Nola's introduction was also very memorable, I can tell she's going to be fun and I see why she became so important. I also like that they've mentioned the remaining members of the Dancy family and I know they all end up coming on. Many times when soaps start mentioning off screen family members, people's name change or people removed/forgotten, so it's nice to see they stuck to their plan here.

I feel like her stint keeps getting better and better, but I know she's almost gone which I find very strange. 

[Chris B]

I’m in August of 1976 which is the last full month for DePriest. Nick just made his exit which was incredibly sad because the writing for both him and Althea was better than it had been in YEARS. I’m also loving the fallout of Stacey pulling the plug on Joan Dancy. I had assumed her brother would do it, but this was a nice soapy development. 
 

I know Marland continues most of these stories, but I don’t know how it went wrong because these stories are working. It seems like the perfect point to take over. I also love this actress playing Nola. I’m only familiar with Kathleen Turner and Kim Zimmer from their other roles, so I expected her to look more like them. That doesn’t really matter though, she’s a great addition and has hit the ground running. 
 

Another person I’ve been loving is Billy. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but he’s the first person to hold Steve accountable for anything. I’ve been waiting years to see that and it has made me like Steve more. It was so tiring to watch him be a jerk for years but be portrayed as this upstanding good guy. 
 

As much as I’m enjoying what I’m seeing now, I am dreading the exits of Althea, Toni and Penny and I know Billy is recast soon which I’m not looking forward to. I’m keeping my fingers crossed I can stomach Carolee’s return. For one, it’s a major recast and I know it takes them around 6 months for her to reunite with her family. 

[robbwolff]

February 1971 TV Radio Show interview with David O'Brien:

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February 1971 TV Radio Show interview with Carolee Campbell:

[j swift]

The coded text when soap magazines wrote about gay actors in the 60s and 70s never ceases to amuse me.  David O'Brien was private about his social life, Michael Corbett was too busy to date, and Dack Rambo had a European lover that broke his heart. 

And if the actor was lesbian, they were always photographed in their West Village apartment playing a musical instrument.

Edited March 5, 2023 by j swift

[robbwolff]

The 1974 issue of Daytime TV Stars I found in Provincetown has a story about single soap stars, including David O'Brien and Palmer Deane. It actually references Forrest Compton from The Edge of Night stating that people will think an actor is "gay" if he isn't married after a certain age (gay was in quotes in the article). And then went on to emphasize that Forrest was a ladies man.

[Jdee43]

I just finished watching October 1968. It was probably one of the strongest months the show ever had. Everything was working; no character or story was unwatchable.

Matt and Maggie are back to normal. Lydia Bruce has settled right in, fitting in seamlessly at this point, looking great in a much more flattering hair style. Althea and Nick are top notch. Steve and Karen are good and miserable. 

The month is complete on the website; the episodes are just mislabeled. The Doctors was preempted 5 times in October because of the 1968 World Series, on 10/2, 10/3, 10/7, 10/9, and 10/10. The website has these preemptions as occurring on 10/14, 10/15, 10/16, 10/29, and 10/30. 

There's an episode on the site that was never rerun on Retro TV during its first rotation through the Doctors back in 2015, 10/31/68. It features just Nick, Althea, and Penny, and ends with Nick deciding to go through with a big wedding after Penny tells him that she changed all the arrangements to try and give her mother something nice to remember after the death of Buddy.

Nick and Althea really got some great, character based writing at this point. Their conflict is simple and believable, over the size of the wedding; and the resolution is a call back to their history. Very nicely done. 

There's also a blooper at the end of the episode labeled 10/23/68 (it really should be labeled 10/25/68). As everybody is yelling "surprise" at Althea for her bridal shower, James Pritchett accidently drops a paper ornament on top of Elizabeth Hubbard's head! He mouths "I'm sorry!" Elizabeth Hubbard, pro that she is, just continues on as if nothing happened, never acknowledging it!

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Jdee43

[Chris B]

I’m enjoying Douglas Marland’s tenure. I see why people didn’t like it, but at least in the first couple months it’s not bad. Yes, it’s a lot slower, but since I enjoy the storylines it doesn’t bother me. I know I’ll likely feel differently as time goes on because I looked ahead and it looks like there’s very little movement to these stories months later. 
 

I think the scripts are better and he’s doing a good job of defining the new characters and he’s doing a good job with the vets as well. The biggest misstep is the misuse of Penny and Althea. Both appeared maybe once his first month and their roles have been dramatically scaled back. 
 

I’ve been enjoying James Pritchett’s performances as Matt’s life falls apart. I also think the Dancy family is one of the most successful I’ve seen. I know there are many recasts layer, but so far every role is cast well and the characters are well defined. Usually with a new family there is something that doesn’t work, but I haven’t seen that here. I hope the recasts of the kids are good because I love all of them so far. 
 

I’ve also been enjoying Jason Aldrich. I always hear about him, so it’s nice to see him back as a regular character with his signature actor. They’ve aired some new flashbacks with Jada Rowland and it highlights how different she is from Carolee Campbell. Campbell was a unique talent so I didn’t expect them to top that. Rowland is more of a traditional soap heroine which is fine, but the character doesn’t stand out like before. I’m curious how she’ll be when she’s in the thick of things. 

[Soapsuds]

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[Paul Raven]

Rita Lakin headwriter for TD from 67-69 has died aged 93.

She also wrote for Peyton Place, Flamingo Road, Executive Suite and many other primetime shows.

https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2023/03/rita-lakin-rip.html

[DRW50]

Sorry to hear this, but what a legacy. I'm glad we finally got to see some of her work on The Doctors, which certainly wasn't perfect, but was head and shoulders above anything else I saw on the show afterward - very warm and witty alongside the expected melodrama.

[jam6242]

Sad to hear the news about Rita Lakin.  One of my favorites.

[Chris B]

Sorry to hear Rita Lakin passed. I know many view The Pollocks tenure as the golden period but I found her writing to be the best I’ve seen on this show. It felt very adult and she knew how to balance hospital stuff with the character drama and her pacing was better. I’ve loved pretty much everything I’ve seen that she wrote.