Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread

[FrenchFan]

I will get some scripts of SFT from early-mid 1965 soon so it will help.

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[Matt]

Oh, I absolutely love these episode synopses because they're the closest possible to streaming since the episodes themselves no longer exist.  I was reading the individual ep synopses for The Young Marrieds on IMDB and was highly engrossed.

[DRW50]

 

[VelekaCarruthers]

This clip is actually from Xmas show 1981 not 1982 but I believe Ellis/Hunt came in during December 1981 and left in December 1982, replaced by outline writer David Cherrill.  I was surprised to see "Jackson Chase" listed as head writer in these 1981 credits. I believe it was Cherrill's pseudonym.  Does anyone know for sure? I know David, Courtney Simon and Millie Taggart all used fake names in the early years of their soap writing career. Courtney and Millie both confirmed this on Locher Room broadcast that they used fake names when writing under Ellils/Hunt on the Doctors.  I believe Millie used KC Collier on ATWT when she first started writing that show with Tom King. I also thought Ellis/Hunt did very good work in 1982 and should not have been let go. They needed a new EP (Fred B was old guard who needed to go) but the casting was great with the exception of David Gale who was a great actor but not sexy and miscast for Stephanie and The Sentell plots. I loved early Warren, Brian, Linda G in her role.  Sad that P&G and NBC kept ruining the show with writer producer switches.  Sets were great, music, directing was amazing with Dunlap and Schwarz.  

 

 

[Khan]

It's stupid how actors like Cherrill, Simon and Taggart had to use pseudonyms when starting out as writers.  I mean, what were the networks and sponsors afraid of?

[Mona Kane Croft]

Wow, Dr Bob Rogers is back.  Was this Carl Lowe's final appearance?  

[Sapounopera]

I remember his name appearing in the credits of an 1983 or 1984 episode. When I watched, I had no idea that the doctor was someone we were supposed to know.

[Paul Raven]

I am always puzzled by random stuff like that.

Search seemed pretty uninterested in the past, yet here is Dr Bob, who really had no connection to the current show.

Maybe it was a favor to Carl Low by someone at P&G or CBS that liked him?

[dc11786]

When it was announced Don Chastain was fired, originally two writers were announced taking over: Millee Taggart and John Burnett. Until recently, most of us thought they never wrote anything on air, but it seems they were credited for several weeks at the end of 1981 under pseudonyms. The papers stated that Chastain was out as writer and as an actor. Taper leaves town around Thanksgiving. 

From what I've seen of 1982, I agree that the new additions (Warren, Kristen, Keith, Jenny) were strong. Ellis/Hunt end up doing what Addie Walsh was credited for on "Loving" a decade later by bringing in a stronger younger set. I find some of their writing for these characters to be mixed. The emotional material (the angst between Brian and Suzi, the pseudo-gaslighting of Liza by Rusty) was strong, but some of the heavier plot stuff (the intricate and unnecessary complicated backstory of Rusty and Jenny, both separate and togehter, and the jungle plane crash) left a lot to be desired. With that said, some of the strongest SFT I've seen in the 1980s is Brian and Suzi learning Kristen is pregnant. Ellis and Hunt's final days set up Cherrill well. 

I had never considered that the EP was the problem. It certainly got better with Joanna Lee. In an industry that recycles behind the scenes staff as much as they do, it's a shame Lee wasn't given another stab at a daytime show. I think she might have helped given Loving a sense of identity. 

I think because they were often actors on the shows they were working on, or had been actors. I feel like Millee Taggart said in an interview they were afraid that more actors would want to have input on their characters and such so the network/production company encouraged pseudonyms.

Wasn't Bob good friends with Jo from when she worked or volunteered at the hospital? I believe in his later years he was the town doctor role. 

David Cherrill brings Bob back in February, 1983, to consult during Liza's pregnancy. Under Tomlin, Dr. Rogers is the one to perform surgery inutero on baby Tourneur when there were issues discovered during testing. The last time I remember seeing him is at Jo's funerla in October, 1983. Though, the episodes from mid-to-late 1983 can be spotty. I don't think Bob was involved with Sunny's rape, though he might have been.

Given that Chastain's doctor role recently departed, I wonder if Bob was brought back in that role or simply as a holiday guest. 

[Khan]

Who was John Burnett?

[Mona Kane Croft]

Did Dr Bob Rogers ever have a storyline?  Or was he just a friend of Jo's and a doctor (when a doctor was needed)??

[Paul Raven]

Bob had a daughter Emily who was around in the 60's and early 70's, so Bob would have had more to do then. 

[Mitch64]

Taggert was Collier..that was one of the worst periods of ATWT ever..post Dobson/pre-Dobson return...when it was very easy to turn the show around, they tanked it even further. She did indeed get better!

[DRW50]

I see that the 9/22/1981 episode on Shawn Stevens' channel was already posted a few years ago; not sure if this other clip of him singing was or not.