Members j swift Posted April 5 Members Share Posted April 5 This is the development story that I wanted. AW had been through three failed expansions/spin-offs: Somerset, For Richer, for Poorer, and the 90-minute expansion. So, why was it chosen, once again, as the source material? I wanted to know more context about the culture of daytime TV. There's a fun detail that the opening party was unusually sumptuous. So, it might have been fun to hear about the PR roll out. Why did NBC decide to use another soap rather than a talk show or a game show? There's no reason given why Texas was put into development. I wonder if we are capricious? Did too many people complain that the Ryan's Hope book didn't contain enough story synopsis? And now we are saying there was too much in this book? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrisml Posted April 5 Members Share Posted April 5 Are the people that would have known the backstage and network stuff still alive and willing to talk? Who would be able to discuss these things? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members j swift Posted April 5 Members Share Posted April 5 Excellent point @chrisml, well stated 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Maxim Posted April 5 Members Share Posted April 5 Great question. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrisml Posted April 5 Members Share Posted April 5 A quick look: Gail Kobe, Paul Rauch, Harding Lemay, John Corrington, Judy Lewis, Robert Calhoun, and Beverlee McKinsey have died. From the Texas standpoint, Joyce Corrington is alive, but is she willing/able to talk and does she have memory of all of this considering she's 88? Pamela Long is the only one alive at this point and she has spoken about her time on the show. She also wouldn't know about the creation aspect stuff so we may never know about how the show came to be unless there are people on the AW side who are still alive. And who would they be? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Xanthe Posted April 6 Members Share Posted April 6 I think Carolyn Culliton was around in those days, wasn't she? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Contessa Donatella Posted April 6 Members Share Posted April 6 If you haven't caught her Canadian CITY LIGHTS interview, you need to! So candid & her sense of humor on view. Until last year I'd never seen even one episode of it but my mother was a huge fan & she could not stop laughing at that storyline. She laughed until she cried. And, this was a veteran of NBC soaps & not at all her usual reaction. I've just barely made a dent in the book but I'm still excited. I waited for the kindle & I think I might have bought the first one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dc11786 Posted April 6 Members Share Posted April 6 Patrick Mulcahey wrote for "Texas" in the beginning and had also worked for the Corringtons at "Search for Tomorrow." He might have a bit of insight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted April 6 Members Share Posted April 6 NBC daytime was in freefall following Lin Bolen's departure in Feb 76l Madeleine David lasted a year as VP before Michael Brockman took over in 77. Lovers and Friends seemed like a sure thing but was a disaster. The decision to take it off the air after 13 weeks and retool branded For Richer For Poorer as a dud from the get go. Days and The Doctors were struggling. The Pollocks departing TD and Bill Bell no longer involved at Days seemed to have an affect. America Alive was a disaster. There was a series of flop gameshows. Whatever they had in development(if anything) was probably dropped when Brockman arrived. AW was their only top rating soap at that time but expanding and trying a spin off only damaged it. Had AW stayed at 3pm that timeslot would have been safe and they could have tried a 30 min show at 2pm or 2.30 adjunct to TD with the option of expanding it if it worked or if TD seemed terminal. Or Days could have moved to 1pm when L&F came along and L&F placed at 2 or 2.30. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TEdgeofNight Posted April 6 Members Share Posted April 6 I’m done reading the Texas book and ready to pass it on for free, if anyone wants it. It was good. I enjoyed reading it because I watched the show. Like others have said, I wish it had gotten more in depth of the problems that made the show fail. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tisy-Lish Posted April 7 Members Share Posted April 7 Would the fate of Texas have been different, had Donald May been cast as Alex Wheeler from day-one (rather than as Alex's brother later in the series)? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Efulton Posted April 7 Members Share Posted April 7 I think it would have. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted April 7 Members Share Posted April 7 Couldn't have hurt. Alex and Iris was supposed to be a sweeping love story but Bert Kramer didn't gel with BM. Of course the decision to try and turn Iris into a heroine was also a fail. Donald May was a popular soap star and maybe as Alex the chemistry with Beverlee would have been better, But Texas had so many issues... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted April 7 Members Share Posted April 7 I'd agree that that was TEXAS' number-one issue, along with premiering at sixty minutes (too much padding!) and trying too hard to be daytime's answer to DALLAS. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted April 7 Members Share Posted April 7 (edited) If anyone (who isn't named Megan McTavish) ever needed to write a memoir about their career writing for daytime dramas, it's Patrick Mulcahey. Edited April 7 by Khan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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