Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

In honor of Search debuting this week 58 years ago,I thought I'd start an official thread for this sometime neglected soap,

Search seems to have a reputation as a failed soap based on the ratings and stories of the NBC years,but during it's CBS run was amazingly successful - throughout the 50's and 60's,always placing in the top 5 shows.

Let the memories and questions begin....

[FrenchFan]

Here is the most accurate list of SFT head writers I have done:

Agnes Nixon (1951)

Irving Vendig (1951-1956)

Charles Gussman (1956-1957)

Frank & Doris Hursley (1957-1963)

Julian Funt & David Lesan (1963-1965)

Leonard Kantor & Doris Frankel (1965-1968)

Lou Scofield (1968)

Robert Soderberg & Edith Sommer (1968-1969)

Ralph Ellis & Eugenie Hunt (1969-1973)

Theodore Apstein (1973-1974)

Gabrielle Upton (1974)

Ann Marcus (1974-1975)

Peggy O’Shea (1975-1976)

Irving & Tex Elman (1976-1977)

Robert J. Shaw (1977- April 1978)

Henry Slesar (April 1978 – August 1978)

Joyce & John William Corrington (August 1978 – May 1980)

Linda Gorver & John Porterfield (May 1980 – November 1980)

Gabrielle Upton (November 1980 – April 1981)

Harding Lemay (April 1981 – July 1981)

Don Chastain (July 1981 – December 1981)

Ralph Ellis & Eugenie Hunt (December 1981 – July 1982)

C. David Colson (July 1982 – September 1982)

Gary Tomlin (September 1982 – April 1984)

Jeanne Glynn & Madeline David (April 1984 – June 1984)

Caroline Franz & Jeanne Glynn (June 1984 – March 1985)

Paul Avila Mayer & Stephanie Braxton (March 1985 – October 1985)

Gary Tomlin (October 1985 – July 1986)

Pamela K. Long & Addie Walsh (July 1986 – December 1986)

Edited September 4, 2009 by FrenchFan

[DRW50]

I never knew Pam Long wrote for this show. That makes 3 canned soaps she was at.

[FrenchFan]

Not to defend Pam Long but she did not have much time left on SFT before it was cancelled just the same situation as when she was hired on "Texas" as HW.

[Paul Raven]

Under Pam Long,the show was in much better shape,storywise than it had been in years.But it was too late.

Thanks French Fan for the list of writers.

For whatever reason,the show went through so many writers.Especially in the 70's.Despite the constant changes,the ratings stayed high until about 77,when the show dropped from the top 5.Ryan's Hope was the first show to challenge it's dominance at 12.30.

The last time the show made rating gains was under the Corringtons who introduced Travis,Sunny etc.Despite their success,they were replaced and Linda Grover destroyed all they had put in place.

I'll have to check,but I think the Corringtons left earlier than May of 1980.

[MichaelGL]

To look at that TPTB list is very saddening. I mean with the exception of the Corringtons (Were they good at the show?) Not one single writer was able to stay on the show for a year from 1980 to it's cancellation in 1986.

[FrenchFan]

You're probably right, you're always right for the Head Writers thing^^ I had tons of information written of sheets of paper and of course, I always forget to write my sources.

About SFT, I really think I would have enjoyed the late 70s'-early80s' from the introduction of Stephanie to Operation Sunburst.

[dc11786]

Great list. The only error I see is Harding Lemay being there until September 1981. Don Chastain wrote the Writer's Strike episodes which would have been during the summer of 1981. Summer of 1981 was probably uncredited.

Michael, Gary Tomlin was there for well over a year. Also, the Corringtons' "Search for Tomorrow" is considered by many to be the show's last hurrah. They introduced Travis Sentell and paired him with Liza, which became one of daytime more memorable romances. They weaved in the Sentell/Tourneur clan and the Adamsons in with the existing characters. Martin romanced Jo and later Stephanie. Ted Adamson attempted to steal Collins Corporation (I think) and then ran against Jo for town council. Laine Adamson was Gary Walton's shoulder to cry on when Gary couldn't save Steve Kaslo. The Corringtons' were able to balance the domestic and the action oriented stuff.

Paul, what was better about the final few months of "Search for Tomorrow?" I've heard people say this before, but from the weekly synopses I've read, it seems very action oriented and focused mainly on the McCleary/Henderson mystery.

[FrenchFan]

Oh right, I made a sorry when I typed it. You can't even imagine how bad my handwriting is. I can't even read myself^^

[Chris B]

I LOVED SFT when AOL was streaming the show. As much as I enjoyed Ryan's Hope, the show really suffered when Paul Avila Mayer took over. The previous headwriters did a great job and fit the mood of the show better than he did. I especially hated Jo's granddaughter getting killed off before her mother even returned! Patti was a major character for so long and that was just stupid. Why would you kill one of JO's main connections? It was dumb. They also did a poor job introducing that legacy character.

I also have a week from 1966 which was fantastic. I love everything I've seen of this show and wish we could've seen more from AOL. They should've started in the late 70s or whenever their episodes started. Why they started so close to the end is beyond me. My favorite character was Liza and I enjoyed Wendy, Justine, Suzi and of course Stu and Jo. The McCleary's were pretty dull overall.

[soapfan770]

I seem to recall reading something somewhere that Mary Stuart hated the Hursleys and felt that they always had it out for her and her character. So I was kind of surprised to see they wrote the show for six years.

[dc11786]

Paul Avila Mayer wrote with Stephanie Braxton. I really liked their work. It was much more balanced than the previous headwriters, Carolyn Franz and Jeanne Glynn. Glyn and Franz work tended to be very heavy and dark. There was the murder mystery story where Suzi shot Justine. Brett blackmailing Justine about her hooker past. Cagney being blamed for the payroll robbery. Warren escaping prison to terrorize Suzi. The climax of the Cord Tourneur storyline with his mental demons. Even young romance between Adair and Kevin Conroy's Chase was marred by Alec's presumed death. It was all really depressing

Mayer and Braxton took the show in a lighter direction, but I do think they would have pissed off modern internet fans. The McClearys, who were weak, had a stronger family bond and the dialogue between the characters was crisper and filled with fond recollections of growing up together. Some of their stuff didn't work (the circus people yikes!) New characters came and dominated the show. Sarah Whiting was the Nathan Horton of her day, completely new to the canvas with only some semblance to past events. I liked Sarah and there was a wonderful scene with Quinn, who really wanted to make something of himself. There was a third wheel there in longtime Wendy Wilkins. I liked it and really wish the storyline played out longer. Similarly, I loved the passion between Mathis and Forsythe and the drama that would ensue as Lloyd and Sunny found out. I thought this was all really good.

Tomlin wrote off Sarah and reintroduced Patti. His 1982-1984 stint was pretty well regarded by fans so I don't know what was wrong in the second stint, and there did to be something off. I still liked some of what I saw: the Women to Watch campaign, San Marcos, and Estelle Kendall.

For me, the McClearys suffered as a whole because they didn't seem like a real family most of the time. Hogan, Cagney, Adair, and Quinn were interesting on their own, but not as a unit. They were the Ryans-lite, who themselves underplayed crucial dynamics.

[Paul Raven]

Wayne Tippit,who played Ted Adamson,has died age 76.

Ted was the father of Laine and Sunny and grandfather of Gary Walton's son by Laine.

He was involved with Stephanie,Janet and married Jaime(played by Patricia Arrants,then wife of Rod Arrants(Travis)

[Eric83]

Why was this show cancelled when it was on CBS? I didn't get it, I was looking back at old soap ratings and SFT was still relatively stable. Does anyone know what sealed SFT's fate on CBS

Edited December 19, 2009 by ga68153

[DRW50]

CBS had moved the show around to different timeslots and the show had gone through many different styles and regimes. Schmering said CBS felt the show was a "dinosaur." They replaced it with Capitol, which didn't last the decade. Then B&B, which has been more successful because of Y&R than because of itself.

I wonder if CBS ever regretted cancelling the show, given some of the erosion their lineup underwent later on. And Mary Stuart lived another 20 years, Larry Haines for another 25 years (using the time of the CBS cancellation), so with a proper overhaul, with Jo still in a good role, the show could have run for a long time.