Any Capitol Fans Here?

[Paul Raven]

@dc11786 Thanks for the link to a fascinating article.

[DRW50]

Maybe they were going for more Hollywood names who hadn't been on soaps (Cypher had been on ATWT a few years earlier). He would have been a good choice.

Thank you. This is a worthy read. Having all the anecdotes from cast and crew adds a touch of genuine historical coverage.

@Vee The mention Tonja Walker gives about Carolyn Jones teaching her how to do "eye acting" makes me realize that some of the big/crazy eyes Tonja could do as Alex Olanov does remind me of Carolyn. 

Do fans feel the Sloan and Ali story was a mistake? Did they break Trey and Sloan up for that story or had they already split?

On the one hand, it is far-fetched (although the mid '80s was the peak of vague Middle Eastern adventures in TV and movies intertwined with DC...Goldie Hawn and Buck Henry even made a movie about it), but I do think Farantino and the guy who played Ali have good chemistry and there are some compelling dramatic moments. She's certainly selling it for all she can.

I do wonder why they went through such a spinning wheel with characters like Kelly and Trey - I am not sure why the show split them up.

Peggy Sloane is a better writer than Lipton, although she was mostly a "just there" type of writer, especially at OLTL. Her most praised work was probably at AW.

I'm sure it's already been answered, but did Conboy ever say what plans he might have had for the characters if the show had been given a reprieve? I'd say Sloan would have lived, but if Farantino was leaving the show, maybe not.

[Vee]

She sure does look like Carolyn Jones when she goes for it, which makes sense! Thanks.

[te.]

A small error there, but Jessica Klein didn't co-create Beverly Hills 90210. 

[Soaplovers]

I think Capital would have been less crazy/plot driven if Sloan had managed to take over as headwriter since her writing stint on AW was a lot more social issue base and less over the top/gimmicky.

It's a shame the show didn't think to keep Slesar on since he managed to balance the more political/mystery element with romantic soap opera plots quite effectively.  Much better then Lipton ever did.. imho.

Now that you all mention it, Tonja did have a Carolyn Jones element to her acting. 

I often wonder how Myrna would have evolved had Jones not fallen ill/passed away from cancer.  Her Myrna had this intensity that you just knew would be used to strike at her enemy when least expected so I imagine later stories involving her character would have gone differently.

[VelekaCarruthers]

A March 1985 episode on Youtube although the announcer says 1984...

The episode shows that Conboy couldn't cast high quality performers consistently across the canvass.  He hired many pretty (especially) male hair models making the show less than. He was no Paul Rauch in the casting dept.

Please register in order to view this content

 

[Khan]

I agree.  Slesar's writing shouldn't be held responsible for CAPITOL's falling ratings.  If anything, his work came closest to the kind of drama that the Karpfs had set out to do in the beginning.  IMO, John Conboy was the problem.  Aside from the older actors and a few of the younger ones, the cast was dreadful; and it seemed like Conboy thought all he had to do was turn down the lights and build a few, lush-looking sets and he'd have a show.

[DRW50]

Who would you say the good younger actors were? 

It seems like Conboy repeated many of his mistakes at GL (I haven't seen enough of his Santa Barbara to know if he did there too). Tells you how much Bill Bell must have had a strong voice at Y&R.

Do you think things would have been better if the Karpfs had stayed?

[VelekaCarruthers]

I watched all of Henry's run as head writer (as I was a die hard EON/Henry fan from when the show switched to ABC) and it was boring at times but made sense and had some good elements. It was a bit old fashioned; but agree with others the issue was desperate Conboy who knew Bill Bell was in the wings. Conboy's first mistake was collaborating with the Karpfs who knew nothing about daytime soaps, then hiring the Corringtons who failed at everything daytime except the first year on SFT.  O'Shea had the most promise and I wonder why OLTL was able to snag her back.  Conboy's other (repeated) mistake was hiring the men he deemed hot. Most couldn't act.  Remember Dane Witherspoon...one of the worst.  Lipton was their worst head writer though.  Awful. 

[Khan]

Well, Catherine Hickland and Jess Walton go without saying.  But I also liked Debrah Farentino and Nicholas Walker.  (He was terrible as a Max Holden recast on OLTL, but very good on CAPITOL).  And Bill Beyers had a nice, sweet quality, too.  He might not have been much of an actor; nevertheless, I found him to be quite likeable.

That's a good question.  To be honest, I'm not so sure that things would've been better had the Karpfs stayed, if their work on the miniseries "Captains and the Kings" is any indication.  (Of course, Taylor Caldwell's novel was nothing to write home about either, lol).  It's like what happened with Sally Sussman and GENERATIONS: some fantastic ideas, compromised by lackluster, day-to-day writing.

(I do know, though, that the reason why the Karpfs left so soon was because Conboy was impossible to work with and kept [!@#$%^&*] with their material.  Or so someone very close to them has told me).

Edited March 18 by Khan

[DRW50]

Thanks. I'd agree. I think Michael Catlin and Todd Curtis were decent too (even if Curtis didn't remind me of any of the other Cleggs to the point where a switched at birth story wouldn't have surprised me). 

It's a shame Tyler and Brenda were never really properly cast (I know Leslie Graves had some problems).

Conboy just seemed to be yet another producer who was incapable of working with a writer he couldn't steamroll. I guess Bill Bell left him with scars.

[gimmetoo]

Capitol definitely had winners in the mix:  Nicholas Walker, Debrah Farentino, Jess Walton of course, but also Todd Curtis, Michael Catlin, Bill Byers and I did adore the energy Leslie Graves brought.  

And let's not forget Capitol / Conboy brought Marj Dusay to daytime.  For that we should all be grateful.

[DRW50]

Yes. I don't know if Marj ever really found another part so suited to her, although she was good on AMC.

 

[VelekaCarruthers]

Interesting about Peggy Sloane. I believe she left capital months before cancellation, possibly July 86, and by December 86 she was under contract at AMC as an outline writer. Slesar was head writer from Nov 84 to Jan 86. Lipton head writer Jan 86 to cancellation, March 87 so longer than a year and Sloane left 6 or 7 months into Lipton's tenure.  

[Khan]

Ironically, it was Marj Dusay's work as Myrna Clegg that convinced both me and my mom that she would be perfect to succeed Beverlee McKinsey as Alexandra Spaulding on GL.  Of course, that was while GL was still in reasonably good shape.  MD just had the misfortune of joining GL right as it was beginning its' long, downhill slide.