From the Star Billing Blog: 

On September 29, 1969 Bright Promise debuted on NBC. The scene opened outside with people walking & the words Bright Promise appear big & bold on this visual field & as Dana Andrews walks into the frame & the words are replaced with "Starring Dana Andrews".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVnhhGoDkEk

 

 

On 5/19/2024 at 8:11 AM, dc11786 said:

From what's been made available in soap books, Dabney Coleman's Dr. Tracey Graham was the end run love interest of Susan Brown's Martha Ferguson. They even got married in the final episode after Martha was released from prison when it was suspected she had murdered Sylvia Bancroft, the biological mother of Martha's adopted son David Lockhart (Tony Geary). 

Thank you!

Pomona Progress Bulletin 1969 Sept 28

Bright Promise The controversy created by an English professor who endorses an anti-curfew crusade by women college students highlights the premiere week of NBC's new weekday dramatic serial, Bright Promise, Mondays thru Fridays at 2 PM. Dana Andrews stars as Bancroft College President Thomas Boswell in this contemporary series, which centers on Bancroft's administration, faculty and students and their reactions to the rapidly changing and increasingly permissive presentday society.

Featured in the cast are Paul Lukather as Bill Ferguson, Suzanne Darrow as Sandy Jones, Coleen Gray as Ann Boyd, Susan Brown as Martha Ferguson, Richard Eastham as Red Wilson, Sydna Scott as Alice Porter, Peter Hobbs as Albert Porter, Nancy Stevens as Jennifer Mathews, Gary Pillar as Chet Mathews, Ruth McDevitt as Clara Ryan, Tod Andrews as Henry Pierce, David Pritchard as David Martin, Kimentha Laurie as Fay Kendall, Nigal McKeard as George Townley and Timothy Brown as Harold

Thanks @Paul Raven . Hamtramck, now known for much uglier things than Gail Kobe...

Someone Said on Facebook:

A little known but surprising fact: “Bright Promise” still exists! Since it was independently produced by Frandor Productions (yes, Frank and Doris Hursley who created GH as well!) in association with Bing Crosby Productions the tapes for all 605 episodes were saved for posterity. CBS/Paramount now owns the Crosby catalog (including “Ben Casey” and “Hogan’s Heroes”) and “Bright Promise” is available for syndication. Hopefully like “Dark Shadows” and “The Doctors” BP will show up on a streaming service or cable.

Can someone confirm that all episodes were saved ?

3 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Someone Said on Facebook:

A little known but surprising fact: “Bright Promise” still exists! Since it was independently produced by Frandor Productions (yes, Frank and Doris Hursley who created GH as well!) in association with Bing Crosby Productions the tapes for all 605 episodes were saved for posterity. CBS/Paramount now owns the Crosby catalog (including “Ben Casey” and “Hogan’s Heroes”) and “Bright Promise” is available for syndication. Hopefully like “Dark Shadows” and “The Doctors” BP will show up on a streaming service or cable.

Can someone confirm that all episodes were saved ?

I've seen that brought up by others in the past in various social media places. Never confirmed officially. I believe someone claimed they spoke to a person who works at CBS/Paramount or whoever owned the catalogue before them and they confirmed it. I think at some point also it was listed on some official website as available for syndication, along with the other Bing Crosby Productions, but that could of been an error. Honestly, it would make sense. I feel like these smaller less known production companies were more likely to pay to preserve their programs, like Dan Curtis Productions or Colgate-Palmolive.

I would imagine though if somehow it did exist, it was probably saved on the same reels The Doctors were saved on, and from what Retro TV said it was a HUGE process to digitize those episodes for rebroadcasting. They could only do a few a day, and sadly the longer the reels sit, the more damaged they become, so it's kind of a race against time to save them. Apparently there is only one person in the whole United States who can fix any damaged reels, and again they claim that takes forever. It would be fantastic if it were true though, and they somehow were re-aired some day! Would be a great day for classic soap fans!

Would be so nice to see this pop up. By soap standards, this isn't a huge amount of episodes so it would be an easy watch as well. I would also stress, never say never. I remember we knew about The Doctors for years before it made it to syndication, so anything is possible.

The bigger shock to me is that nobody has touched Sunset Beach or Passions. One would think those would be an easy sell. We also have Agnes Nixon's family trying to get AMC streaming in the US. 2026 has potential to be a good year for soap treasures.

BUFFALO COURIER-EXPRESS, Monday,March 28, 1971

Soap Operas Roll on With Devout Audience by Jack Allen

THE WORLD of the TV "soap opera'' is one dear to the hearts of millions of America's housewives. It is scorned by most men, treated with contempt as the lowest form of tearful melodrama by critics and intellectuals; and is the last bastion of "live" drama on television. Its fans are passionately devoted to the daytime drama. and for actors it represents a steady paycheck in a time of diminishing theater.

Despite their critics, daytime series also represent a thorough training ground for young actors, and a haven for older ones , competent performers capable of meeting the severe challenges of "live" TV.

RECENT CONVERSATIONS with participants in the davtime series convinced us that the skills required are not to be scoffed at. One such person is pretty, blonde Anne Jeffreys, who stars as Sylvia Bancroft on NBC-TV's ''Bright Promise." The series was recently bounced from Ch. 2 by a reshuffling of the daytime lineup that finds The Allen Show on at 1 p.m. and David Frost's Variety show moving to 3:30 p.m. Anne Jeffreys is a charming woman, who once showed ''bright promise'' herself as a budding opera star. She was a pretty big name in Hollywood as the star of 47 motion pictures, 28 pays and musicals, and 100 TV productions.

SO WHY IS SHE, now the wife of former actor Robert Sterling and mother of three , tackling the rigors of daytime television? "Our show is done live on tape," said Anne. "This means we must memorize thoroughly, for there are no stops or repeat run-throughs if lines are flubbed. '"Everything is timed to the second, which makes this work challenging and sometimes too much for the actor. For this reason, many veteran actors like MacDonald Carey and others are best at this sort of thing because they have the benefit of many years' training and discipline in the art. For me, as a busy mother, I appreciate being able to fill my role in just two days a week.

ANNE IS BEST known to viewers as star of the long-running '"Topper'' series, still seen in syndication in many markets. "I was also in a short running item called 'Love That Jill'," said Anne. "It was a sophisticated comedy for its time, but viewers didn't take to it, The series was superior to much of the psuedo-realistic things on the air now, and more intelligent than many present series. ''The same could be said for many of the old movies. I watch a lot of them on late-night TV. In fact, some of the sorrier ones I made come back to haunt me. The other night I saw my first starring film, "Riffraff," on TV.

"'MY BOYS - Tyler, 11; Robert, 12; and 16-year-old Jeffrey - love to tease me about that one. "But back to daytime drama. These real things are, of course, 'horror-a-minute' shows. The situations are wild, and I guess you could X-rate a few of the happenings. "But, through my acquaintances and fan mail I have discovered to my amazement the intensity that women viewers relate to these things. Mist wouldn't miss their favorite soaps even if the house was burning down. I guess it's a form of therapy to hate the villains, and sympathize with the and heroine, and live a vicarious life that is more hazardous and not as dull as one's own.

ANNE ADDED, Those who knock the daytime dramas, though, should be equally disappointed with the quality of most movies and stage plays today. The emphasis is on sex in a repellent way. In my movie days, shows could be sexy and cleverly sophisticated, but today they have been replaced by cliche filth."

So anne will stick with Bright Promise, which stars another highly capable actor of many years experience, Dana Andrews. It is one of the first serials to be centered on modern college life, with Andrews as a college president, a widower with a confused and erratic son.

• Anne only lasted a few months in the role. And wasn't Dana Andrews gone by this point? I think the author just used an old press release without checking.

Thanks @Paul Raven

A very snooty article all around.

At least Anne did pop up in soaps for many years.

I wonder if Love That Jill was any good compared to those "pseudo-realistic" shows...