Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread

[danfling]

John Getz (mentioned above) was an actor on Another World who had left daytime television.

 

I never knew that he had any interest in television producing or any connection with Search for Tomorrow.

[Khan]

Paul Raven meant Robert Getz.

[Paul Raven]

Yes I did, Thanks Khan

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[Paul Raven]

Not sure if I posted this before re Search cancellation

Brian Frons, vice president, daytime programs, NBC Entertainment, said the network and P &G had come to the "mutual" conclusion that Search's value as a vehicle to sell ad time had run its course. The program had been trending downward in the ratings for some time, prompting the network to bring in a new executive producer last December -David Lawrence. At that point, the show had been delivering about 8% of the viewing audience, not considered very healthy for the time period. The revamping carried out by Lawrence resulted in a temporary improvement, with the program working its way back up to a 12 share through the second quarter. But the show was still off its share mark from a year ago and Frons said at the time that Search's situation was "dicey." The show took another dive, dropping to a nine share in the third quarter and fourth quarter, making the program's third -place position untenable.

"It reached a point," said Frons, "where [P &G] could get advertising at much lower C -P -M's on other shows." He also said that P &G, which owns Search, was producing the program at a deficit, so its backing of the show became a losing proposition. "And we were losing money running the show," Frons said of NBC, because as the rating and share for the program dropped, so did the price of a 30- second spot. The station clearance level for the program was hovering at the 73%- level. Its lead -in at noon, Super Password, also has a clearance level of about 73%, but has been averaging five share points higher than Search, Frons said. A P &G spokeswoman confirmed that the decision to cancel the 35- year-old program was made mutually by the network and P &G. She declined to say how much it was costing P &G to produce the program, but acknowledged that in recent months the company had spent a lot of extra money shooting on location, hiring new cast members and writers and launching promotional and publicity campaigns aimed at both view- ers and stations. "There were a number of extraordinary efforts made to regain the au- dience," the spokeswoman said. The company produces three other soaps, including Another World on NBC and As the World Turns and the Guiding Light on CBS. The spokeswoman said P &G did not have any other development plans for soap operas in the works at this time.

[robbwolff]

Interesting but factually incorrect. David Lawrence didn't come in until around May/June 1986. John Whitesell was the executive producer who oversaw the revamp, including the flood.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

None of the actors ever talk about the end of the show (except for Mary Stuart who did some interviews later on). A lot of the cast from the 80s is still living. It would be nice if someone interviewed a few of them to get their behind-the-scenes impressions of the last year. As we know the production underwent a major overhaul in '86. I'd like to know more about what the atmosphere was like on the set. What was it like when they were told the show was being dropped by NBC, etc.

[Soaplovers]

Perhaps the show should have scaled back on location shots, not hired so many new characters/actors...and cut their budget.  It might have helped keep the show going a little longer.

[Paul Raven]

I think it was an 80's mentality to spend up in the hopes of keeping up with the competition and the razzamatazz of the 60 min shows.

[j swift]

Given his track record it would be hard to predict if a Chris Goutman memoir would be well written, but I bet he has good stories.

[dc11786]

 

I think Angela had adapted a pen name, Despina, and was writing poetry. Danny was attracted to the person writing the poetry, but wasn't aware it was Angela. For Christmas, Danny gave Angela a journal to write her poetry in. Hopefully, someone can provide more details. 

 

I don't think Elizabeth Swankhammer was on very long. She's gone by January 1984 because you can see Terri Eoff in those clips. Cynthia Gibb left to appear on "Fame." I found an article from November, 1983 stating Swankhammer had been on for three months, but sometimes those articles can be several months old. My guess is no longer than six months.

 

When Tom left in October, 1982, he stated he would be back and sent him off with Kathy back to D.C. by the end of 1983. Janet never comes back. Its been said that Tomlin planned on bringing back Gary Walton in 1986 to pair him with Sunny which is why the show sent Craig Walton, Gary and Laine's son, back to town in the final year. Neither of the two Dannys were given much to do. 

 

I've only seen Lupone as the director of "Lysistrata" when Kim appeared in it on "Ryan's Hope" and in some episodes as Michael's foster father on "Loving." I don't remember the director character's name so he couldn't be memorable. On "Loving," Lupone was a nasty piece of work, jazz man Charlie 'Nick' Nichols. Charlie ended up convincing Ruth Austen, his wife, to sell Michael back to Carly. Nick was pretty unfeeling. 

 

 

I haven't gotten a chance to watch all these yet, but I think the 1983 ones are from December 1983. David Forsythe only came on the show in November. Joanna Lee departed around December; Ellen Barrett was credited by Christmas. It's entirely possible there was a short period without an executive producer.

 

 

I once read on a message board that Gary Tomlin originally planned on making Laura Lloyd's wife of ex-wife. Not sure how accurate it is, but I thought it would be worth throwing out there.

 

 

It's interesting how we (myself included) are so use to shows just cutting the budget on these shows and trying to make things work on nothing. I think it's admirable that the network and the production company pumped money into the show even if seems a bit misguided given the end result. With all that said, I'm curious who the audience was, and who the intended audience was, for NBC's "Search for Tomorrow"? Was it mainly fans who "Followed the Search" from CBS? Was it NBC viewers who were just following out of network loyalty? Were they really cultivating a new generation of viewers? 

 

I'm intrigued by the reaction to the final year, which seems to receive praise for Walsh and Long's work, but yet seems to be the most obvious period of McCleary domination . Watching that episode from December 1986 with the climax of Matt / Malcolm McCleary is the most bizarre episode I've seen of "Search." It just seems so evident that the show has a clearer focus, but that it's not connected to anything that has come prior to the show's arrival on NBC. 

 

Can anyone even name any well remembered stories from the NBC years? I think TR is remembered by some people, the Vargas kidnapping, Hogan / Sunny, and Warren / Wendy / Suzy, but overall I think the show never really was able to find its footing. There were memorable gimmicks like the flood and the live episode, but so much of the show seems like it was forgotten. Joanna Lee made some strides, but I think she also loaded the canvas with a lot of characters which resulted in a mass exodus at the end of 1983. 

 

What would others say were the most memorable things about the NBC run?

[DRW50]

Thanks for the recap.

 

The live episode, the flood, and Sunny's rape are what I most heard about the NBC run.

[vetsoapfan]

Jo's abduction made the ratings rise a bit, as I recall. 

[Khan]

Yeah, I've read somewhere that the storyline w/ Vargas increased SFT's ratings by a half-million.  Unfortunately, many checked out, or checked out again, when the story finished.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

His wife Marcia McCabe played Sunny from 1977 up to the very last episode in 1986. She would definitely have a lot of insider knowledge. Both of them should write a book about the soap industry, with a focus on Procter & Gamble.

 

 

Yes, and I think the logic was you have to go "big" in order to attract bigger audiences. They were going all the way, pulling out all the stops to make the show must-see. I'm actually glad they did that because the last year has incredibly good production values. Whereas shows today that keep cutting back on the budget are just stalling out their demise and dying a painfully slow death.

Edited August 26, 2018 by JarrodMFiresofLove

[vetsoapfan]

 

SFT viewers, like all soap viewers, tend to prefer seeing beloved characters at the core of the action. When a show becomes a sea of newbies floating around, it's harder to maintain interest. Fans wanted to see "our" Jo, but when she was shoved onto the backburner yet again, we turned off the SFT stove.