Another Life

[MontyB]

Where did you get that info? The show definitely repeated at 7 or 7:30 pm weeknights during the early 80's. I was high school at the time and I'd watch it every evening after school. It definitely wasn't at 4:00 because The Edge of Night came on that 4 and they was no way I was missing that.

[saynotoursoap]

I get it from my memory, but if you insist upon proof, I can dig up an old newspaper or TV Guide. I watched Another Life regularly beginning in January 1983. This is the CBN schedule AL was on at that time, and I'm fairly certain it remained that way through the end. It may have been different in 1981 and 1982. I did not watch the series much at first. Yes, AL did broadcast opposite Edge at one [point. I remember a very smug Pat Robertson talking about it on The 700 Club when he had one of the soap's producers as a guest. Robertson boasted about how Another Life had beaten Edge in one of the local markets. Robertson also predicted the cancelation of Edge within a year, and he was very nearly correct.

[MontyB]

Ok, we are both correct. I just did a search to see what time the show aired and I know I wasn't losing my mind. I found this comment on YouTube

"

I agree, the show was addictive & the only soap that would be broadcast four times a day... 5:30am, 11:30am, 7:30pm (later switched to 4pm) & 11:30pm.

Many times I watched every showing (couldn't always catch the 11:30am) due to school, but I'd always catch it after supper time at 7:30 & my mom let me watch it usually before bed at its 11:30pm showing if she were still up. In fact, she wasn't watching at first, then I soon got her into it :-)

LOLFanme 1 year ago"

I always watched it at 7:30 then I would record it late night after I went to college. I never realized it came at 4, plus The Edge of Night was #1 in my book. On that note, I can't believe AL beat Edge of Night. Just doesn't seem possible, but whatever Pat Robertson said.

[DRW50]

Did anyone save the early episodes that were taken off Youtube? If not, and you watched them, could you tell me what you thought some of the highlights were?

[DRW50]

Just wanted to let people know there are quite a few episodes on Youtube now from the show's first year. If you want to know more just PM me.

How random...I think this is Ione.

http://stopthecap.com/2011/11/01/the-consumers-guide-to-universal-service-fund-reform-you-pay-more-and-get-inadequate-dsl/

[DRW50]

This is from the March 12, 1985 SOD. This talks about Dynasty too but since it's one of the few articles I've seen which talks about Another Life, I decided to post it here.

[DRW50]

Another Susan Scannell interview, with some talk about Another Life.

[JillHanson]

Hey everyone...

Thought I would introduce myself. As the user name suggests, I did work on the show. A nice guy named Carl told me about this forum and it has been fun to read. For those who do watch these old shows...I do want to let you know it was my first big job on camera and yes, even I watch and cringe now and then. I had so much to learn and my stage habits just looked 'huge' to camera. But...I learned so much and the people I worked with there were some of the nicest folks you ever want to work with. It made showing up at the crack of dawn a good thing!

I don't know much about the show after I left but I was there for a while and might be able to answer one or two questions.

Jill

[DRW50]

Thank you for posting. There are a few Another Life fans here, although there aren't too many posts. I am glad you were able to get in.

A lot of the episodes you're in are tougher to find on Youtube. I'm not sure if I can post them here but if anyone wants to see them then PM me.

What was the auditioning process like?

What did you think of the actors who played your guardians on the show, and their little daughter? I often feel like they are isolated from the rest of the cast, which is why I really enjoy the scenes you have with Peter and Terry Davison. I wish they'd kept your character around, perhaps as an adopted daughter, especially to contrast with their saintly daughter, Lori?

Did you get the sense the show was going through any transition when you were there?

[JillHanson]

The audition process was kind of funny to me at the time but in hindsight I get it!

I went in to read for a 30 year old and they said I was too young. 6 months later they had me read for a 25 year old and still, too young. Then 6 months later the character of Jill was added and I had hope. I went to read with them at the studio and when I was done they asked me to stick around. I was not sure why but I watched one actress after another go in and out and leave. When they were done they took me to the main offices and introduced me around then took me to set. On set I saw Tom (who played my guardian and I shot my first commercial with) and Sue/Becky (who I had done a stage show with). They greeted me with open arms and I felt a lot more at peace once I saw them. Until that moment I felt like an outsider looking in.

I left with hope but not expectations. Then one day about a week later my agent called the movie theatre I worked at. Normally our boss would not let us take calls so I was surprised when he came to the counter and told me to take a call. When my agent told me....I jumped all over the place. My boss was very happy for me.

In hindsight it dawned on me they wanted to hire me from the moment I auditioned but needed to see everyone just in case. But they picked me!!! Still tickles me to no end.

Tom, I think was a much stronger actor than they gave him credit or lines for. Carolyn who played his wife, she and I often got frustrated because our characters had the same arguments so often we would get lines mixed up from previous scenes. But when you are on a soap...the writers stick to a 'bible' and don't make changes quickly. So, you take the lines they give you and try your best. Amy who played their daughter was so much fun to work with. We got along considering the age difference and she was such a sweet kid. On Tom...while we were on the show a short film he was in won the Oscar. He had chops, but seldom got to show them.

When I left the show I did see changes and some were good and others seemed bad. But it was industry wide and not something that Another Life was the only one doing. There became a trend of hiring models to play the roles instead of actors. Sure, one or two could act but plenty could not. It was all about the looks and not the ability to act and it was happening on tv shows and in feature films all over the country at that time. It died down for years...then started again.

So..those changes were not something I would have blamed on the shows makers, but on the industry as a whole at the time. It was very hard to be an actor who started doing stage young and focused only on being an actor to lose parts to people who looked good but never took an acting class and could have cared less about working on their craft. But again...that was NOT the show...that was industry standard at the time.

If it means anything, I wished they had kept me around too. I was one of the only 'gray' characters on the show. Most were painted black and white, good or evil...my character was probably one of the more human characters in that she was a bad kid because of a hard life who started to turn things around slowly like most people do. Sure, now and then a person will find their way and do a complete 180 but most people change a lot slower. I really felt like Jill was very human...

[DRW50]

I agree, the guy who played him did seem to be a decent actor, and I always wonder why they didn't use the character in a larger role, especially since they had no other men on the show in that age range (they wouldn't until Dave Phillips later in 1982).

Did all of your family unit leave the show at the same time? I read there was talk of a spinoff for the Cummings family but that didn't happen.

When you watch the episodes of that time, some of the new actors brought in are kind of poor - just comparing Susan Scannell's very nuanced and vibrant work or the solid work from the guy who plays Russ, and then some of the other younger leads who were brought in, many of them were very wooden and it took a long time for them to improve, if they did. I think that's why your work stood out for me, as it was a little green, but had real talent and potential.

There was a very nice scene where Jill talked to Peter about her father and her lonely life - it was a poignant little moment, done just right. I also liked the scene where Jill was bluffing to Peter about the SATs. I think Jill brought something very different to the show.

[JillHanson]

I heard rumor of the spin off myself but not from a source on the inside so I don't know if that was true. The Cummings family stayed a bit longer than me but I think my character was mentioned long after I left the show. I remember seeing one episode where Peter said I just dropped him off and that was 2-3 months after I left the show.

Russ, by the way...was Susan's husband in real life at that time!

The scene with Peter had more meaning for me because my real Dad had only died a year and a half before I got the part. The SAT seen...I was really bluffing my way through it so it came off like I meant to bluff! ha! I was having problems with the lines that day but it worked out!

And agreed...Jill did add something. I really did think she brought shades of gray to things. Most topics and characters on the show were good or evil and I often felt in between!

[DRW50]

That must have been difficult, just losing your father. Maybe the acting it out helped.

Apparently the man who played Russ is a big TV producer in South Africa now.

I never knew if the Cummings family just left town or if they were dropped without mention.

[JillHanson]

Christopher is a producer now? Very cool. I know Matt Williams has done some huge projects since.

I just found out there is a Facebook page for the show and I never knew! I guess the link is within guidelines...

http://www.facebook.com/groups/46017930860/

If not and admin delete it...I will understand.

[DRW50]

I think it's within guidelines.

I am one of the few who don't have Facebook...

I never know what most of the actors do after the show ends.

Did you ever meet any of the writers or producers of the show?