The Doctors

[DRW50]

December 1980 Daytime TV

[DRW50]

Some old TV Picture Life articles.

[DRW50]

[DRW50]

From a TV by Day Yearbook

[saynotoursoap]

Thank you for the articles. I miss Lydia Bruce. She was such an underrated actress. Her performances as Maggie were always so multi-layered. I found her an absolutely fascinating performer.

Edited September 15, 2013 by saynotoursoap

[DRW50]

I've loved the little I've seen of her work. I keep hoping the episodes of the show that were bought by whoever will be shown someday.

[Paul Raven]

Going back to the Jack/Ashley/Claudia story,I think one of the problems was that all the characters in the story were new to the canvas so viewers didn't have any great interest or attachment.

I guess in a way this was intentional as the show was trying to get away from Matt/Maggie and Steve and Carolee to bring freshness but maybe if a core character had been a part of it - if Jack were Mike Powers or something like that it would have blended old and new.

Anyway,all those characters were soon gone.

[DRW50]

It reads as a little OTT and away from the show's main theme.

[dc11786]

It has been a while since I’ve looked at “The Doctors” synopses, but I think Mike Powers was still around when they introduced Jack Garner. Though, I think Mike seemed to come and go during that time period. After Mike’s marriage to Sara ended with her death, I think they paired him with M.J. Match and I think they toyed with a flirtation between Mike and Nola, but then Mike left town. Then, Mike returned in the fall of 1981 and they did the Katy Whitney storyline.

From the weekly synopses, I think Jack was one of the better integrated characters. The stuff with Ashley Bennett was rather melodramatic, but that was only a portion of Jack’s story. While the show featured the young interns Darcy, Alan, and Brad, an additional intern named Jeff was a part of the same program. Jeff struggled with his internship and Matt was very critical of the young man. Tension developed between Matt and Jack over Matt’s treatment. At the same time, Jack was involved with Greta Powers. Towards the end of Jack’s run, Jack was involved in a triangle with Greta and the newly returned Billy Aldrich.

I have to wonder what people thought of the introduction of the Jack, the Bennetts, and the interns. While they were all new characters, it did sort of re-center the show around the hospital after Marland introduced the Dancys and expanded the Aldriches. I do realize that a lot of these characters were well liked, but some of those characters had only marginal ties to the hospital.

[Paul Raven]

The writing was on the wall for 'The Doctors' for several years.

The ratings were dropping and then the show was moved out of its longtime timeslot. All of NBC daytime was tanking so it would have taken a top notch writing/producing team to make any headway.

I remember an Afternoon TV critique of the show saying that Marlands stories moved away from the hospital and that the show was no longer reflective of its title.

[saynotoursoap]

Douglas Marland did not introduce the Dancy family. They were created by Maggie DePriest. He expanded the family, but they were not his creation. I also agree that Marland was not a good fit for The Doctors. It was a smaller, more intimate series. All of his expansive business stories and aggravatingly expository dialogue did not fit the series. He was wonderful at General Hospital, which ironically was my favorite stint of his, but he did not help TD as far as I'm concerned.

Jack, Darcy, the Bennetts, etc were not particularly well-received by the audience, and it was further complicated by NBC and the time-slot change. Producer Doris Quinlan loathed the writers. She wanted to replace them with Ann Marcus, but NBC was dead-set against Marcus following her passion for the Vietnam story on Days. Colgate Palmolive began to side with Quinlan, so NBC bought the series and fired her. It was an unfortunate situation. Linda Grover and David Cherrill should have remained the writers. They were wonderful, but in this era, it was essential to compete with General Hospital. The stakes were so high. Unfortunately good soaps were lost in the shuffle. I watched The Doctors for so many years. I miss Pritchett, Bruce, Rowland, and O'Brien. How sad it all had to change, and for what? So that GH could stay on the air as the inane debacle it is now? God, this makes me furious.

[DRW50]

I just wish I could see some of Valerie's work on the show. I've really enjoyed her primetime and indie work.

[DRW50]

So Quinlan was the main one who wanted to focus on OLTL vets like Belack and Pinkerton? Did she bring them in?

I wonder what some of her other story plans would have been.

Edited September 16, 2013 by DRW50

[beebs]

It's so funny to me how one show's success by doing something different has meant that every show must ape that show's style. It's been this way for years now, and it's a big part of what's killing soaps. GH is a hit, let's make all shows have OTT high-octane adventures and location shoots with bombs and guns! Y&R is a hit, let's make all our shows have incredibly dim lighting and sexy young people! DAYS is a hit, let's all make our storylines so unbelievable they border on self-parody! I get that this happens in primetime as well and all, but the lengths to which daytime has gone to make every show "like the #1 show that did things differently" has really ruined it for everyone. And The Doctors is one of the really truly sad victims of this. What a waste.

NBC didn't have Rita Lakin, Agnes Nixon, and Bill Bell write their soaps because they wanted three shows exactly the same, nor were they the runaway successes they were for that reason. They worked because they were different, but complimented each other beautifully. If only execs now (or in the 80s, 90s, and 00s) would see things that way.

Edited September 16, 2013 by beebs

[Paul Raven]

For the 79/80 sesaon the daytime Emmy's had an outstanding cameo category. Among the nominees was Kathryn Harrow as Pat Ryerson on The Doctors.

Can anyone shed any light on the story for this character?