The Doctors

[SFK]

The announcer introduces Paulette Sinclair who steps into the role of Dawn Eddington today.

[SFK]

So Greta is Maggie's daughter from a previous marriage or is she Matt's?  Mike is Matt's from a previous marriage, he isn't Maggie's biological son, right?  And Toni affectionately refers to Matt as dad because he was her father in law?

[MichaelGL]

Yes to all three questions.

[amybrickwallace]

Matt was a widower when the show began. His wife, Grace (who committed suicide), was Mike's mother. Greta was Maggie's daughter with the evil Kurt Van Alen, who was Maggie's second husband. After he was killed, Matt and Maggie were married and he adopted the little girl. 

 

Toni started calling Matt "Dad" after she endured a rough pregnancy and emergency C-section. He helped her through it all in Mike's absence, from offering medical advice to being a sympathic ear. 

[SFK]

Thank you both for affirming my deductive reasoning! LOL

 

"Kurt Van Alen" certainly explains where they got the name "Greta" which I've always found curious.  Hard to imagine Maggie being married to an evil dude.

 

On another note, I must say, the opening and closing beauty shots on this show are used to great effect.

[amybrickwallace]

You're welcome! Greta's Van Alen roots were rediscovered in 1980 after Gracie Harrison took over the role (Jennifer Houlton left the show in order to be a full-time student at Cornell). That was also Alec Baldwin's first storyline on TD.

 

The original Maggie, Ann Williams, became pregnant at the end of 1964 so her condition was written into the storyline. Greta's first name is actually Margreta. Matt and Maggie appear to have married sometime in 1966. Bethel Leslie was playing Maggie at that time.

[~bl~]

Greta is a form of Margaret, and she was named after her mother. This was actually discussed on the show when Greta and Toni were speaking about baby names. 

 

I actually love Carolee and Steve, and well it helps to know that Carolee Campbell had major issues with the writing for three years before she left. They are as they say a "problematic fave"...

 

Perhaps the show got prompters because of some issues they had with actors not knowing lines, the cue cards being in the wrong place and the like. I wonder if they were taking care of mechanical teleprompter machines or functioned more like prompters that work in the theater (who are there at rehearsal and assist with lines.) 

 

 

[Paul Raven]

Would the 'prompters' just be the people holding cue cards off set?

 

I know over the years, different shows had various policies on the use of cue cards.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Paul Raven

[amybrickwallace]

 

Still, Nurse Carolee was the most evolved character we've seen in 7+ years worth of episodes. When we first "met" Carolee Simpson in late 1967, she was single, childless and looking for love. We've seen her promoted from desk nurse to head of student nurses. We've seen her go from sharing an apartment with her best friend Liz to temporarily moving back in with her mother before agreeing to marry a man she didn't love (Dan) because of a misunderstanding with the man she truly loved (Steve).

 

Now in early 1975, she's married to the man of her dreams but they had to go through major hurdles (Dan, Mona and now Karen) to get there. She's also a wonderful mother of three, even though only one of them is biologically hers. 

 

Having said all that, I can see why Carolee Campbell would have become burned out. She had a lot of heavy material to play, and there was little to no humor to balance it out. From what little I've seen of Jada Rowland in clips online, she did an admirable job in the role. Her Carolee confronted Mona (Meg Mundy) in a terrific scene from 1978.

Edited December 15, 2017 by amybrickwallace

[soapfave06]

I was watching the show up to 1969 before giving up as the characters became extremely unlikeable. Not sure if anyone would agree with that but is there any other period I should pick back up on that featured goof stories and the characters decent? 

[amybrickwallace]

The characters aren't quite as likable again as they were under the pen of Rita Lakin. Still, the performers always gave it their all.

[jam6242]

The Pollocks have made almost all the adult characters unlikeable for me.  I do still like Carolee, although she has changed.  Little Erich is currently my favorite male character. 

[amybrickwallace]

Keith Blanchard was an adorable little boy who was a fine actor as well. You didn't see him staring off camera for cues, and he didn’t come off as overly precocious. His Erich was just a normal kid.

[SFK]

When did Bethel Leslie exit?  I was trying to find a clip of her, no luck, but I'm sure it'll be easier to search with dates.

 

I only know her from OLTL and a teleplay production of Long Day's Journey.  She was pretty icy in both roles, I'm curious to see what her Maggie was like.

[~bl~]

That's the question, was it someone holding the cue cards, or were they operators of the prompting machines (which weren't computerized yet).

 

Disclaimer: Like I said before I love Steve and Carolee. The Aldriches are my favorite part of The Doctors, actually they are my favorite thing on any soap opera currently airing anywhere that I view (and I keep up with the four US soaps, Hollyoaks and Neighbours.) That said even with that passion, I compartmentalize due to some issues like Steve and Karen's past, which back in 68 would not have been a crime, and now would be a he said/she said scenario and depending on who one believes would be a crime or not. Also the whole rewrite of Steve at 21 eloping with 17 year old Ann, which seems disturbing to me, but probably less bothersome to people back in those days. The one time, where Steve actually blamed himself for Karen and Ann's issues (along with Kathy Riker) made me really happy and shocked. 

 

I can't disagree with anything you said about Carolee's development as a character amybrickwallace.

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 On paper the character is stronger than the writing. Also I feel like more than once the show wrote for them because they had to so to speak, and not because they liked them as individual characters or a couple. If you want to hear a rant, get me started on their lack of a real engagement scene, their wedding ceremony, one night honeymoon or how they were married close to a year and knew each other for much longer until we finally saw them in bed. Carolee had that with Dan (though the agreeing to marry him episode got lost/damaged).

 

My issue at times with Steve and Carolee is how dismissive he is of her, and the audience knows Carolee is correct. When Steve finds out Carolee was right, we don't have Steve tell her that I should have listened to you, and that acknowledgment would help. Of course, this is a function of the writing, not the acting. At least after Steve left their bedroom due to Mona, and then told her he was sorry, he did apologize for his behavior, BUT that happened during a writing strike.