Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread

[antmunoz]

He would definitely be the one to arrange one, given his ongoing relationships with Marcia, Jane, and more.  He was also very close with Louan Gideon before she died. 

[amybrickwallace]

I've been rewatching some of the episodes, and I have a few questions:

 

- Who played "Sam Ratcliffe" (named after a soap writer) in the finale? It's obviously not Rod Arrants, despite the guy supposedly looking like Travis.

 

- Why did Sunny use the last name McClure when she first came to town?

 

- What was the name of the local pub/hangout that looked like a ripoff, ahem, duplicate of Ryan's Bar, right down to the bartender? If the name was mentioned, I obviously missed it.

 

- What was the story behind TR being separated from her birth family, years before she went to live with Liza and Travis?

 

Thanks! Someone upthread was curious to know about how Mary Stuart's castmates felt about her. This article from 2013 gives a few answers:

 

https://www.welovesoaps.net/2013/07/mary-stuart-birthday.html?m=1

[Paul Raven]

I can only answer a couple of those questions

I believe the bar was Bigelowe's.

And Sunny used the name McClure (her mother's maiden name?) to dissociate herself from her father with whom she had a tenuous relationship. And she wanted to make it 'on her own' as a reporter.

[GLATWT88]

I also have some questions:

 

After hearing about the live episode and the fact that SFT was struggling in the ratings, my first thought was that the live episode was actually a plan to boost ratings and interest in the show. I don't believe the tapes actually were lost, but instead this story was used to gain media attention. Somehow the tapes were gone and now this soap would have to do a live episode which hasn't been done in decades by this time. I also saw that someone posted the live show with the control room audio (not sure of the validity of this) but the video also confirms the fact that this was a ploy to draw interest. Does anyone know whether this has been confirmed in some way before?

 

Also, I read on the early pages that by the end of its run SFT felt old fashioned compared to the other soaps on the air. How did it feel old fashion? 

[robbwolff]

 

I don't believe it had been decades since soaps had aired live. According to the Edge of Night homepage, Edge stopped its live shows in September 1975. As for the live Search episode, you can find it on YouTube. The show's video operator shared the episode a few years ago. He pretty much confirms it was a publicity stunt by executive producer Joanna Lee and says that the tape hadn't been lost. He says that he knew it was a historic professional moment for him so he asked the engineering department to do the control room audio.

[GLATWT88]

Thank you. I assumed it was a stunt but I wasn't sure if it had been confirmed by anyone (officially). I did see the video on YouTube but didn't know whether it was real. 

[Khan]

I wish the show had just done away with the whole "Oops! We lost the tape!" story (which smacked of "Tootsie," anyway) and simply announced they were doing a live episode for the first time in however many years.

 

I also wish they had used the occasion to do something eye-catching -- a murder, a wedding, a birth, a revelation of some kind, SOMEthing -- that might've convinced the audience to keep watching, because, from what I remember, the actual episode was pretty ordinary.

[Paul Raven]

I agree.

Maybe a live week (as OLTL did later) heavily promoted with  some major happenings - maybe some sort of celebration where some old cast could return  and, as you say, some major event as a hook.

 

As a ratings tool it paid off  - " Search for Tomorrow, which was receiving much publicity because it was forced to go live for a day, received a 13 share—its highest in 14 months."

If there had have been a live week they could really have consolidated those gains.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Let's not forget Philip English (Dr. Colin Wakefield, TD), who also began his soap role in 1978. However, he predated Arrants, Geary AND Chris Rich (Sandy, AW) - his first airdate on TD was in January. 

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[Mona Kane Croft]

 

 

Good point.  But English was naturally curly, I believe. And I don't think he set the trend, but who knows?  The other three were perms.  

 

[amybrickwallace]

 

Yes, those curls were natural. Even today, his hair is pretty wavy, given the recent headshots of him I found online. 

 

Getting back to SFT, does anyone know why David Forsyth left for a few months in 1984? Supposedly, auditions were held to recast Hogan (Lane Davies and David Haskell were among the actors up for the part) but Forsyth eventually decided to return to the show. 

[OzFrog]

 

I was watching some 1984-5 episodes recently, and the music cues in those episodes were very clearly old-school (60s/70s). You compare that to something like Y&R or GH at that time, and it was obvious they were very current and even way ahead of their game.

[Paul Raven]

 

[Forever8]

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Edited June 5, 2020 by Forever8

[victoria foxton]

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Liza in labor.