The Doctors

[vetsoapfan]

 

I just recently began watching TD, starting from the earliest available eps of December, 1967. Along with Rita Lakin as HW, Rick Edelstein was credited as "Story Editor" at that time.  The "story editor" credit has since disappeared however, along with Edelstein's name. I noticed RE's name was missing around the time Liz Wilson and Nick Bellini broke up and Liz was held captive in a seedy hotel room by that weirdo from across the hall. I'm now in early 1968, and RL's is the only writer ever listed, although as Paul Raven has pointed out, Edelstein should be back working on the show in a few months.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

In an interview that Lakin gave she said she was only hired to write the show for a few months. Mostly to help turn it around because in 1967 NBC was not happy with the way things were going and the network was about to cancel it. The sponsor convinced NBC to keep it on the air if they could get a primetime television writer to take over for awhile.

 

Lakin was a primetime writer who took the job. She quickly brought it up in the ratings. She said she went to New York to do The Doctors, so her kids could spend time with their grandparents, since Lakin's parents lived in New York. But because the ratings had gone up, NBC was now willing to keep the show on the air indefinitely if she stayed. Her contract was renewed, which she said her kids didn't like because they had wanted to go back to California, probably because that's where their old school and their friends were.

 

Also in the same interview she says she was stuck in a hotel room turning out five scripts a week. She wrote them all and was burning herself out. She told Edelstein she couldn't handle the grind anymore and was about to quit, so he offered to help write half the scripts. She said he was a producer (but maybe he was also credited as a story editor).

 

She went on to say that they got to a point where she'd do several weeks worth of episodes, then take a week or two off and Edelstein would write the whole show, so she could go off with her kids and parents. Then she'd come back and take over again. So even though her name is on all those episodes as head writer and her ideas were being used, she did not write all the scripts because Edelstein was working solo while she would take breaks to regain her sanity. It sounded like she finally had enough and went back to writing for primetime.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Edelstein certainly was versatile. He was also credited as a director during the earliest episodes I watched from the end of 1967. His name is "now" (February 1968)  nowhere to be seen, and he's not credited as a story editor, producer, or director. Fortunately, we know he returns.

 

Personally, I think the Lakin/Edelstein material is the best of The Doctors' run. I know the Pollocks brought the show its highest ratings, but it is so adult, nuanced and character-driven under Lakin and Edelstein, I am going to miss those aspects once the more plot-driven Pollacks take the reigns.

 

Both Lakin and Edelstein did great work for primetime television, but I wish they had stuck around around daytime longer.

 

 

[Paul Raven]

When Edelstein was officially named co-headwriter, (mid 68) Variety reported they were sharing the $100,000 paycheck and each having 16 weeks off. Maybe this was the formalization of something that had already been happening.

[vetsoapfan]

 

They certainly worked well together, having similar styles. I enjoyed Lakin's work on Peyton Place, The Mod Squad and The Rookies in particular. Edelstein's brief run as How to Survive a Marriage's second head writer was phenomenal!

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

Here's the interview Lakin did last year. There's a tab for the full interview, or you can click on the tab called 'Highlights' and go to where she discusses her work on The Doctors. She seems like a very interesting lady.

 

https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/rita-lakin

[vetsoapfan]

 

Thank you for the link. That was a great interview. My only quibble: Lakin claimed that The Doctors "was number one" when she left the series, which simply was not true.

In the 1966-67 season, the series ranked 8/13 soaps, with a rating of 7.6. After she took over, the 1967-68 period saw TD climb to 5/12, with a rating of 9.7. That was a fast and impressive rise, but the show was not number one. In 1968-69, it was 6/14 and 9.3. While I personally adored the time Lakin spent writing for Hope Memorial, there were always other series with higher ratings.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

You're welcome. Yes, Another World had higher ratings during this time, and so did As the World Turns.

 

A more accurate statement would be that The Doctors achieved its highest ratings ever under Lakin, when it hit 9.7. The Pollocks also had strong years (their best season was a 9.5).

[vetsoapfan]

 

Right. Lakin's run was impressive, and she helped increase the ratings significantly, but TD never reached number one under her pen.

[Paul Raven]

Haven't watched the interview yet, but was Lakin perhaps referring to being #1 in the timeslot?

Edited November 6, 2018 by Paul Raven

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

Not sure. That's possible. I think she was exaggerating and really meant that she'd helped turn the show into a hit, saving it from the axe.

[vetsoapfan]

 

She just said that by the time she left the show was number one. She did not specify time slot, so it came across as if she meant that TD had become the number one soap.

[robbwolff]

As soon as Lakin left in 1969, there was an immediate shift in the writing style. I found it very noticeable. There was an intelligence in the writing when Lakin was there that disappeared when Edelstein took over. What didn't help was the overacting of James Shannon in the role of Paul Bennett. The Doctors truly lost something magical when Lakin departed.

[Chris B]

Where did they find Anna Stuart and how could they let her go?! This goes for the other soaps she appeared on as well. My goodness, she’s only been on a few months where I’m at but she is truly flawless. It’s rare you see a young actor so gifted who hits the ground running with no grace period. She is stunningly beautiful and has imbued Toni with so many layers in such a short period of time. You can say what you want about the writing here and there, but this cast is amazing and full of unsung Daytime should-be legends. 

[robbwolff]

 

A lot of us speculate that Anna burned her bridges in 1976 with her remarks to the press about the writing and direction the show had taken with Toni and Mike (including a head-scratching career change for Mike). She was written out very abruptly around September 1976, seemingly before her contract had expired. So it's very possible that her criticism of the show led to her departure.