The Doctors

[Soaplovers]

I liked today's set of episodes.. where Penny and Mike came face to face.  Both bonded over having difficult relationships with their parents.. and you could see a kinship there.  I think the Pollocks were pretty good.. but I do agree they did like to drag out a story.. but soaps in the 70s generally did drag out stories with huge payoffs.  We all have to remember what we are watching is from the 70s, not 2010s.

 

After seeing Andy/Stacy in their brief scene... I'm rooting for Penny to break them up... is that bad? LOL

[Khan]

 

True.  And I'm not saying that I mind the glacial and repetitive nature of the Pollocks' storytelling (although I'm certain that other writers from that period -- Bell, Nixon, Lemay, etc. -- did a much finer job of making scenes FEEL not so repetitive) or that the Pollocks didn't know how to pay off any of their stories.  It just seems as if the Pollocks knew how to tell only one KIND of story, and that they had no idea how to write for any character who wasn't crazy, mean-spirited, or annoying.

[amybrickwallace]

 

No, but I don't think Andy is worth it. 😂Later in 1975, Penny and Stacy will vie for the affections of another guy who is not yet on the canvas but will be soon.

[Soaplovers]

 

Anyone would be a notch above Andy... all outer looks and nothing inside.

[jam6242]

The Pollocks have made almost every character unlikeable.  I also didn’t enjoy their obsession with the character of Nick, which still isn’t over, six months after Gerald Gordon left.  Nick could do no wrong in their eyes, no matter how violent, uncaring, and/or misogynistic his behavior. 

[Khan]

 

Unlikeable and, IMO, non-relatable.  Nothing that any of these characters is doing makes any sense to me whatsoever.  I just feel like the Pollocks see them as little more than chess pieces.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Khan

[amybrickwallace]

The Pollocks were good at creating characters, but not at making them multifaceted. The endless flashbacks and fantasy sequences didn't help.

[Paul Raven]

Well, either Cenedella or DePriest had the smarts to bring back Mona.

 

MJ should be turning up soon - the Pollocks final new character.

 

How long was it before they went to GH? Were their GH stories similar to TD?

[DRW50]

 

They brought in Rick, Monica and Jeff Webber and had the Rick/Monica affair while Jeff went nuts. They also did the story with Terri Webber, Joe Dante, and his crazy wife Mary Ellen. I'm not sure what else they worked on. I haven't seen most of that but just going by Schemering's book it was a mess. 

[Soaplovers]

 

Bringing Mona back helped make the show less about the Doctors/nurses long term.  She was a one note character..imho.

 

[amybrickwallace]

From what I've heard, Mona does finagle her way onto the hospital board. 😨😨😨😨😨

[Khan]

 

See what I mean?  Two stories, with a crazy person in both.  The Pollocks really didn't know how to write any other kind of story.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Then they went to Dynasty, where there were endless crazy characters. That show was right in their wheelhouse.

[SoapDope]

I find myself bored with the current 1975 episodes. I fast forward most of it. You can see how Ann's personality has seemed to change overnight and she has started to scheme and cause conflict. She started a confrontation with Althea almost out of the blue. Mike is just off the wall and Toni and Alan are zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. They should have kept Margo on the show. The Steve/Carolee/Karen thing is getting old. 

 

I must have blinked and missed, but whatever happened to that practice that Steve had with Cliff and Ann ? Cliff just disappeared. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by SoapDope

[amybrickwallace]

Cliff is never seen but sometimes is referred to. Steve and Ann still have their private offices but they are hardly ever there. He seems to be at the hospital more often than not delivering babies, and she's there either pulling clinic duty or consulting on other cases. I have no idea what the point is of keeping them in private practice. 

 

I don't think it lasts, because what little I've seen of the later episodes has him in his own office in the hospital. That happens sometime between 1975 and 1978.