1 hour ago, VelekaCarruthers said:

Letting Paul Rauch drive the creation was the big mistake. If I'm remembering correctly didn't the Corringtons set the original bible in New Orleans where they lived and worked? P&G and some of the other soaps (OLTL/Buchanans) were desperate to copy Dallas. What a shame. The Corringtons were never successful HWs on another show; they should have been left to continue developing SFT which never recovered in the ratings after they departed. So, the show really was doomed from the start if the Bible was reworked to not fit the Corrington's talent and vision. In addition, why would Iris fans want to see her in NOLA or Houston? Made no sense. And of course, network brass always fired the writing team when ratings were not good. Finally, the time slot was a killer. But casting was top notch almost all around.

I believe the original concept was set in the antebellum period.

33 minutes ago, Efulton said:

I believe the original concept was set in the antebellum period.

It was. IIRC, the show was to be called "Reunion." But I don't blame NBC or P&G for passing on the idea, as I think a "costume soap opera" would be expensive to produce everyday, especially if the ratings stay flat.

If the idea was to spin off Iris, then I think it would've been more intriguing to see her pull up stakes and relocate to Manhattan, where she'd rub elbows with everyone from wealthy families to struggling artists and everything in between.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by Khan

The whole Texas concept was misguided from the start.

First using elements of the Reunion proposal. Then the story that Pat and Kevin (and others) would spin off to a show based in Boston and finally using Bev for Texas.

It seemed like it was made up along the way.

55 minutes ago, Khan said:

If the idea was to spin off Iris, then I think it would've been more intriguing to see her pull up stakes and relocate to Manhattan, where she'd rub elbows with everyone from wealthy families to struggling artists and everything in between.

Ooh-ooh! And then it can be NBC firing shots at three of ABC's soaps: GH (in terms of the timeslot), RH (in terms of the setting), and AMC (in terms of the hit character making a new life for herself; would Iris have beaten Erica to the idea of "taking Manhattan"?).

1 hour ago, Khan said:

If the idea was to spin off Iris, then I think it would've been more intriguing to see her pull up stakes and relocate to Manhattan, where she'd rub elbows with everyone from wealthy families to struggling artists and everything in between.

Well, don't forget -- Iris was raised in Manhattan (aside from the time she spent in boarding schools in Europe). Mac's family was from Manhattan, and that is where Cory Publishing's original headquarters was located. So if Iris had relocated to Manhattan in 1980 she would not have been new in town -- she would have been returning home. That might have been a good concept for a believable new soap opera. I think it might have been successful if it were a 30-minute soap.

Luckily, I just finished reading Tom Lisanti’s book not too long ago

And according to the book, the Corringtons did originally pitch a soap set in the Antebellum South. But around that time, NBC aired a period piece miniseries and it bombed badly. And that caused Fred Silverman to reject the Corringtons’ idea.

And luckily, the book also revealed that he was also the one who made the extremely boneheaded decision to have the Texas storylines begin on AW

26 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

And according to the book, the Corringtons did originally pitch a soap set in the Antebellum South. But around that time, NBC aired a period piece miniseries and it bombed badly. And that caused Fred Silverman to reject the Corringtons’ idea.

Mmmm...not sure what that would be. I think whoever told that story might have been off base.

5 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Mmmm...not sure what that would be. I think whoever told that story might have been off base.

Could be this, although maybe not.

Freedom Road - Wikipedia

28 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Mmmm...not sure what that would be. I think whoever told that story might have been off base.

22 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Could be this, although maybe not.

Freedom Road - Wikipedia

It was based on the Barbara Cartland novel, The Flame is Love.

That was a direct quote from Joyce Corrington, but I guess it's possible she could be mistaken.