Texas! Discussion Thread

[chrisml]

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[Contessa Donatella]

I'm experiencing deja vu. Either that or there's an echo in here.

[chrisml]

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[jmgaw]

I just completed the Tom Lisanti book about Texas: An oral history of  Daytime TV's Answer to Dallas. I highly recommend the book. It was great read which I couldn't put down. Some great interviews and insights from Kin Shriner, Phillip Clark, Harley Jane Kozak, Andrew Weyman, Pam Long and the show's creator Joyce Corrington. 

Texas was doomed from the start. NBC putting Texas against General Hospital made no sense at all.  Paul Rauch's involvement in Texas wasn't helpful. To begin with, Rauch was overseeing the decline of Another World. At this stage, Rauch's decision making at Another World was questionable.

Casting was another issue that plagued the show. As been mentioned numerous times, Bert Kramer was a disaster as Alex Wheeler.  I think Donald May would have been great as Alex Wheeler. About a year into the show, Donald May joined the show as Grant Wheeler. 

Hiring Kin Shriner, with no defined role ,was a million dollar mistake.  I wonder if Shriner would have been a good fit for Mark Wheeler, later played effectively by Michael Woods.  At least, Shirner would have had some scenes with Beverlee McKinsey.

There is good story in the book regarding the casting of Harley Jane Kozak. At first, Kozak was to replace Lily Barnstone as Lacey Wheeler. Then, the head writer Paul Rader decided Kozak would a better fit for a character he was developing for Hitopah story. Thus, Kozak became Brette Wheeler. I guess Barnstone had been fired, but she was brought back to wrap up Lacey Wheeler and to introduce the Brette Wheeler. That had to be an awkward situation for Barnstone, who was in her first major acting role.

 

 

[j swift]

I finally got back to it and finished it last night.

I have to say, Lisenti's ability for story-telling through editing is formidable.  His choices of which quotes to put in which order, really adds a spark of humor.  It is editorial commentary through implication rather than inserting his own narrative.  My favorite joke that gets repeated book to book is someone will tell a long, involved story, and then someone else will reply with one line that doesn't agree with the recollection.  For example, an actor will tell a long casting story, followed by an executive who will say, “I don't remember it that way…”.  Because it was obviously a bigger deal to the actor than to the production as a whole.

I think that I've read all of his books at this point, and his editorial flair is definitely a high point.

Also, in the list of things that doomed Texas, never forget that it was dopey Brandon Tartikoff who was quoted during the announcement of the spin-off saying it would be 'Dallas in the daytime' which haunted them from the moment it was said aloud.

Edited April 21 by j swift

[jmgaw]

Texas had no chance from the beginning. Daytimes answer to Dallas killed the show before  the first episode. The introduction of the Texas characters in the final five weeks of the ill-fated 90 minute Another World made no sense at all and turned Another World viewers off.  

Looking back, the creation of Texas harmed Another World.  The Bellman's Reeva, Striker and Victoria would have been good fits on Another World. Beverlee McKinsey was getting ready to exit Another World in the fall of 1980. Carla Borelli would have been Another Worlds' new villainess. Lee Patterson had good chemistry with Beverley Penberthy and Carla Borelli, this made for a nice triangle.  Kin Shriner casted as Ricky Matthews provided for a better story for Shriner instead of being underused on Texas. Catherine Hickland playing Marianne Randolph and John McCafferty as Michael Randolph builds a strong connection to the core family. Caryn Richman as Blaine and Larry Ewing sister made for interesting storylines.  Just a thought.

[Tisy-Lish]

Interesting thoughts.  I agree with many of them.  

[Khan]

I agree with @jmgaw as well.  TEXAS was doomed from the start; and in the long run, it hurt AW and NBCD more than helped.

[jmgaw]

 Texas struggled to find suitable young female performers, casting inexperienced actresses Dana Kimmell, Catherine Hickland, and Lily Barnstone. Dana Kimmell's Dawn Marshall was perceived as too bratty and failed to resonate with the audience. Catherine Hickland's portrayal of Courtney Marshall was unconvincing as a young resident doctor. Lily Barnstone displayed potential as a young woman from an upper-middle-class background, but the producers seemingly did not value her role. Notably, Hickland and Barnstone are quoted prominently in Tom Listani's  book about Texas.

[TheyStartedOnSoaps]

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[Efulton]

Hopefully Alan will actually read the book beforehand.

[Soaplovers]

Hopefully Alan has learned to not interrupt or interject with pointless information while someone is in the middle of telling a story.

I almost think it would be better if Alan was a producer behind the scenes.. and he just had the actors on screen talking and asking one another questions.  Those interviews tend to work better.

[Contessa Donatella]

This is as good a time as any to point out that the 90 minute show was, what I like to call  "cockamamie idea" of Fred Silverman, head of NBC Daytime Programming. He did so well at ABC & CBS but not so NBC. We learned this from a WOST interview with Pete Lemay, 2006, can be found on YouTube, audio only.

Now, to be clear, Rauch was completely behind it. Only Lemay fought against it & eventually quit over it. 

 

[chrisml]

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[chrisml]

Has anyone watched the Texas reunion interview? I haven't gotten to it yet although it'll probably mean more to the people who watched the show at the time.