The Doctors Discussion Thread

[robbwolff]

I'd love to see the original set for the hospital. I believe there was a staircase in the set.

[vetsoapfan]

 

The hospital is pretty small and cramped, particularly outside of Matt's office. In the version of it we see, there would be no room for a staircase. Other soaps of the era like Dark Shadows had some HUGE sets.

[Paul Raven]

I see in the credits for the Nov eps a character named Beatrice Lansing.

 

As mentioned before, Marland always included a character named Beatrice in his shows as that was his mother's name.

 

he also used the surname Lansing a few times so maybe he had a connection to that also.

 

I was quite impressed by Mona's living room set as it looked quite detailed and spacious. Opposite the entry to that room is a door which I thought was a closet or entry to another room until the doorbell rang and I realized it was the front door to this mansion,just a few steps away - hardly the grand foyer you would expect such a house to have,.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

The Beatrice Lansing character first appeared in the final week of Margaret DePriest's episodes, back in early September. But some of us on another board felt Marland rewrote some of the scenes, though DePriest was still credited. Probably the Beatrice Lansing character was in the script as "board member" but Marland gave her a name and is giving her substantial screen time while Matt's resignation story plays out.

[Chris B]

I’m in August 1971 and by this point I have a good enough feel for the Pollocks to form an opinion. They’re not bad, but the show is very plot driven and can be slow until they reach the next big point in the story. I find a more character driven show moves faster because you become more invested in the characters. 

 

My dear Karen is back in full swing, but the writing for her isn’t as complex as before. I still remember that Steve wasn’t Introduced as the upstanding man he is now. Granted she was wrong to try to steal Matt, but Steve had no right to rape her and force her into that marriage. She has good reason to keep Steve away from Enrich but it isn’t verbalized. Everybody simply views Karen as a problem, which I’m sure will only increase once it’s her turn to be the main villain. 

 

The Dan Allison story is wrapping up as well. He’s hit Carolee and now is in the hospital after a heart attack. The shift in writing for Dan was so jarring that it took some getting used to, but now that I have it’s fine. I’m just glad this will be ending hopefully soon. 

 

One thing I recall y’all saying is how out of character it is for Mike to become a police officer later in the series. Based on what I’m watching now I wish they’d done that sooner. He doesn’t have the maturity of temperament to be a doctor based on what we’re seeing right now. He’s just taken a drug from the lab and almost jumped off the roof after hallucinating on it. Now that he’s better everybody seems to have moved on so quickly. I wish they had moved Mike in a different direction here. I do love him with Toni so I’m hoping his crazy days are behind him. 

 

Im curious where the show will go once the Dan story is wrapped up. Maggie is only a talk to and Althea and John are pretty much on the back burner post marriage. I enjoy Kathy but I do wish Nick had a more age appropriate love interest, Karen perhaps. 

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

The main problem with making Mike a police officer later is that this show is called The Doctors, not The Police Officers. If it was about a family of cops, instead of a family of medics, then that would be fine. But turning Mike into an officer went against the main theme, not to mention how rushed it was for him to switch professions at the blink of an eye. It was one of the show's worst decisions.

Edited November 2, 2018 by JarrodMFiresofLove

[jam6242]

Liz Hubbard was pregnant at this time (I think the baby was born in September) so that’s the reason John and Althea’s story is sort of on hold.

[Chris B]

Ooooh makes sense with Althea! Thanks @jam6242

[NothinButAttitude]

 

^

This.

 

One episode he had an epiphany and the next he was a cop. Given that Armand Assante's Mike didn't have much to do after they reunited him and Toni (and wrote off Alan), it would've been nice to see go through a semi-mid life crisis which led him to the police force--going through the academy step by step, and Toni having issue with Mike being in such a dangerous career. 

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

Assante's a great actor. But he was already miscast as Mike Powers (he should've been cast as Rico). Making him a police officer, a type of role that didn't suit him, made him seem even more miscast. I don't know what the producer and headwriters were thinking. Spoiler...I believe he returns to the medical profession in 1977 or 1978 with another actor taking over, after Assante leaves.

[cassadine1991]

Has anyone kept up to date on when regimes changed on this show (EPs/HWs)

[j swift]

I watched an episode on Retro on Saturday and they mentioned that it was 1969. I thought they were up to 1976?  Do they replay older episodes on the weekends?

[RavenWhitney]

During Marland's early tenure he has one script writer, Elizabeth David.  I'm wondering if this is Elizabeth Levin (married to David Cherrill). Both Elizabeth and David wrote for the Doctors; she had two stints as  head writer.  

 

 

[~bl~]

Yes on the weekend they show older episodes. 

[Paul Raven]

Rita Lakin was hw when the Retro showings began Dec 67.

Rick Edelstein was co hw June 68- June 69

Rick Edelstein  June - Nov 69

Ira Avery  Nov 69 - April 70

Ira Avery/Stanley Silverman April - Sept 70

Eileen & Robert Pollock Sept 70 - Aug 75

Robert Cendenella Aug 75 -  Feb 76

Margaret DePriest Feb 76 - Sept 76

Douglas Marland Sept 76 -

 

EP's

Allen Potter 67- Sept 73

Joseph Stuart - Sept 73 - Aug 75

Jeff Young Aug 75 -