The Doctors

[DRW50]

 

I'm still in April 1969. I watch it with my mother so that takes longer...that and that time period, especially the Penny stuff, doesn't really make me want to rush to watch.

 

Most of the discussion is at Daytime Royalty.

Edited February 14, 2016 by DRW50

[robbwolff]

I think the conversation tapered off after that SON upgrade last year. People migrated to other forums, like Daytime Royalty and Facebook.

We're now into November 1970. The Pollocks' work just started airing a few weeks ago. May to October 1970 was pretty outstanding with one of the standouts being Eileen Kearney as Greta Powers. Carol Pfander is currently playing Cathy Ryker, the role that Nancy Barrett would play.

[robbwolff]

Catching up on this week's episodes. We get our first glimpse of Dr. Hank Iverson and Dr. John Morrison, plus mention of lab technician Toni Ferra (played by Anna Stuart). I had no idea that Toni was Dan Allison's niece. 

[soapfave06]

So I got way behind on the show around 1969. Can anyone catch me up on what happened to Liz and Anna? And after picking back up with Liz Hubbard's return I guess Jody Lee (was that his name? ) is gone too?

[robbwolff]

Jody Lee departed in 1969 when Rick Edelstein was head writer. He just stopped appearing. I recall that at one point he was mentioned to be visiting his family back home.

 

Liz departed in April/May 1970. She didn't have much to do after she was kidnapped by Phillip Townsend. Toward the end of her stint, she returned to work with Nick in the lab. She then got an emergency message about her mother, I believe, and left town. It was very abrupt.

 

As for Anna, she had some kind of health crisis in the spring of 1970. Then, around October 1970, after the Pollocks assumed writing the show, Anna mentioned a job offer in New York City. She quickly accepted the job and departed. Recently, Carolee received a postcard from Anna that hinted that she and Ed Stark had reconciled.

Edited February 24, 2016 by robbwolff

[robbwolff]

A big shocker about Billy Allison was revealed on Friday's episodes. Any reactions?

[DRW50]

Thanks for answering those questions above. I'd wondered whatever happened to Anna. I'm glad she stayed as long as she did - I wish they'd kept her around even longer, as Zaida Coles was so talented and distinctive.

 

Jody Lee must have been fairly popular so it's odd he just vanished.

[robbwolff]

I was so disappointed when Anna left. Zaida Coles was such a wonderful actress. I loved her friendship with Carolee and thought the character had so much potential. It's interesting that soap history has said that Anna and Simon Harris had a romance. Clearly, that never happened. 

 

Jody Lee was very prominent when Rita Lakin was still writing. Once Rick Edelstein was solo head writer, Jody Lee faded from sight. I recall a double date with Steve and Carolee and Jody Lee and Liz in the park and after that Jody Lee just stopped appearing. I think I read that C.C. Courtney had a role on Broadway or off Broadway around the time Jody Lee stopped appearing.

[DRW50]

October 1970 Daytime TV

 

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[DRW50]

Is this Zaida Coles in the Jif ad? I can't decide.

 

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[robbwolff]

Great find! I think that is Zaida.

[Paul Raven]

Interview with Ted Danson where he discusses TD. I think someone's memory is a ittle fuzzy

Somerset (1975-1976)—“Tom Conway”
The Doctors (1977-1982)—“Mitch Pierson”

AVC: Barring commercials, it looks like your first real TV job was on the soap opera Somerset.

TD: [Laughs.] Yes. Yes, it was. The scariest, hardest job I’ve ever had.

AVC: Actually, there’s a clip of you on Late Night With David Lettermanwhere—almost 15 years after you did Somerset—you said that you still broke into a sweat whenever you heard the “five, four, three, two, one” countdown.

TD: Oh, lord, yes. I don’t know if I was 24 or 25, but I’d been doing a little off-Broadway, and it was basically my first time in front of a camera. And I had your basic 24-year-old nervous-breakdown anxiety attack, because I had been hired to do two soap operas the same day, and I took both of them… and they were bothreally mad at me! I guess it’s always hard on you when you step out into the world, but for me there was this terrifying moment of, “Oh, dear lord, here I go.”

At, like, 11 p.m. at night, I actually called… You know, I almost remember his name, but he was this psychologist down in the village, and most of my buddies from Carnegie Mellon who had come to New York to make their way ended up seeing this guy. So I called him and said, “!@#$%^&*] it, I’m not going to go.” And he said, “Whoa, whoa, slow down. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. Take a Valium and chill out and go. You don’t want to not go.” Well, I didn’t realize that me and Valium didn’t get along real well. [Laughs.]

So I take my Valium at 3:30 in the morning and I get a couple of hours sleep, and I show up, and... I think the first show of the day was The Doctors. Yeah, I think I was on The Doctors in the morning, and I was playing this doctor who had to tell these parents that their daughter had cancer. I was supposed to be the reassuring, calming doctor, and they were supposed to be the nervous bad parents. But they’d been on the show forever, and I was just pouring out Broadcast News sheets of sweat. [Laughs.] I wasn’t perspiring: I was literally a waterfall, I was so nervous. The reassuring doctor was just a mess!

And then I went off to do Somerset, where I was supposed to be the town cocksman. I was coming onto every woman in the village. And the scene I had was with an actress who had been there for a year or so, who was relaxed and calm and good, and I had the waterfall going. And the producer looked at me and went, “Okay, forget the leading-man part. We’ll make him the town sleaze who’s turning all his friends in to the Mafia!”

AVC: You must’ve gotten at least a little better on The Doctors if they gave you another role a few years later.

TD: Yeah, but it’s still true: If I hear “five, four, three, two, one” and someone points at me, I just start sweating!

Firstly they have Mitch Pierson as 77-82.

I think the first role they discuss must have been a day player thing.As for the lead characters whose daughter had cancer,I can't place that.

The Mitch Pierson role was after Somerset. Not sure how long he was on.

[robbwolff]

I've seen those 77-82 dates for Danson before though it's clearly inaccurate information. According to an interview with NPR, Danson played Mitch for 2 episodes in 1977.

[Dave_01]

I see that Retro has just started airing 1971 episodes. I'm not there yet in my personal viewing, but I'm glad that so far there still seems to be no end in sight.

[Paul Raven]

Jonathan Frakes talks TD

The Doctors (1977-1978)—“Tom Carroll” 
Jonathan Frakes: Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be: You’ve done your research! In that case, let me go turn the music off. [Laughs, then vanishes for several seconds.] Tom Carroll: Vietnam vet, child beater, bank teller.

The A.V. Club: That’s a hell of a nutshell summary.

JF: And when he had flashbacks, there was, like, a ’50s sci-fi spinning graphic that looked like it had come out of his ass. [Laughs.] That was, what, the mid-1970s?That was my first big gig!