The Doctors

[Susan Hunter]

I'm finally caught up after the holidays and this show is still flawless.

One thing that I find very interesting is that we're currently in the summer storylines and the adults are still front and center. No kids driving story. There is Penny (whom I call Sally Draper), but she's just extra color to the Nick and Althea storyline. This is still very much an adult show. So it makes me wonder when soaps began pushing teens in the summer. It must have been the 80s.

After each Doctors episode, I go over to the Another World Homepage to read the synopsis of that day's episode of Another World-in color. Lots of good stuff happening over in Bay City. I wish there was a Days equivalent.

[robbwolff]

I was telling my husband about how riveting The Doctors is. As you said, it's very much an adult show. And it's a show based in reality. It's also very fast paced. I find the stories move quickly with most episodes covering one day of time in the characters' lives.

[Paul Raven]

Was it AMC and Y&R's success in the mid 70's that began the push to more youthful stories?

Also the expansion to 60 min meant there was room for them in the older shows.

DOOL aged Mike and David,ATWT did the same with Annie & Dee,AW with Mike and Marianne etc

DRS being set in a hospital probably found it more difficult to incorporate younger kids in major stories.

[saynotoursoap]

Who recognized Natalie Ross as the patient counseled by Maggie in today's episode? Natalie is best remembered as the snobbish Enid Nelson on All My Children.

[DRW50]

I can't wait to see that! I loved her as Enid. I wonder if this was her first soap role.

[slick jones]

Hector Elizondo was the Spanish speaking patient in the same episode...

[slick jones]

Did Natalie Ross appear on any other soaps besides AMC and TD?

[amybrickwallace]

I love the Penny/Sally Draper comparison - especially after a friend of mine said that Gerald Gordon circa 1968 looks like he just came from Mad Men!! One of my favorite shows of all-time is Bewitched - and there are aspects of Althea and Nick which remind me of Samantha and Darrin Stephens, too.

Edited February 1, 2015 by amybrickwallace

[Dave_01]

Hi,

I've been a lurker for a few months and felt this would be the best thread in which to make my first post. I'd heard of The Doctors but had never seen it until it came to Retro. I was only 8 years old when the show originally ended, and even back then my relatives all preferred the ABC daytime lineup. But, since I'm already a fan of the 2 older half-hour series I've gotten to see in recent years (Dark Shadows via VHS and now DVD, and Ryan's Hope via Soapnet), I wanted to try The Doctors when I first read it was going to be rerun. Of course I don't have Retro. Nobody I know has even heard of it. So in searching for ways to watch it, I found this thread and this board.

I may not get to post much about current episodes, since right now I usually only have time to watch a few episodes each weekend, but I did want to at least start posting here and maybe in a few other threads. Though I'm doing my best to avoid posts with current episode talk before I see those shows, I'm enjoying going back through the earlier pages of this thread and reading about some of the storylines that Retro won't get to for a few years. In some ways, it sounds like a different show later on compared to what we're seeing in these late-60s episodes, but it's good to see that characters like Matt, Maggie and - minus a few breaks - Althea are here for the long haul. I see that many of the articles in the thread have been contributed by poster DRW50, so thank you for sharing so much. As much as I've read so far, there's still so much you've posted that I look forward to reading in the future. You must have an amazing collection of old magazines.

I'll admit to being surprised Retro has continued airing the show even this many months so far. Some "oldies" channels seem to change their lineups in some way every month. I hope that's a good sign that they'll continue through the end of the series and then start over with the earlier episodes. (Assuming Retro will even survive that long, of course.) I'd especially like to see the Rita Lakin-written episodes prior to the December 1967 shows Retro used as its starting point.

Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to join and for this great thread.

[slick jones]

Welcome aboard!

[DRW50]

Hi. I love your icon! One of my favorite soap scenes of all time.

I still have more I want to post. I barely do these days. I guess I have more inspiration now.

[amybrickwallace]

Welcome, Dave!!

I too hope that someday we get to see any pre-December 1967 episodes that may be out there. I've gotten hooked, too, from the approximately 8 1/2 months of episodes that Retro TV has run thus far.

Also, thanks again to Carl and others who have tirelessly posted so many great articles and interviews.

[slick jones]

Excellent performances all around on today's downloads. Ahem...Ron....watch this before your next horrendous stories....

[amybrickwallace]

I laughed out loud when the bellboy called Maggie "the little lady". Yes, I know he meant the phrase in the context of "wife", but when she was standing right next to him - TOWERING over him...There's something about Lydia Bruce that reminds me of Barbara Billingsley. Both were tall, slim blondes with similar mannerisms.

[robbwolff]

Slick, I was thinking the same thing. Carlivati and other soap writers need to watch The Doctors to see what soaps are all about.