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[amybrickwallace]

 

According to the book written by Ann Williams' children, their mother was devastated that she was let go from SFT. She had been with the show for a decade, and her character was the sister of the show's main legacy character - Jo. I don't know if P&G just wanted to dump her salary, or if they just wanted to go in a different direction storyline-wise.

[vetsoapfan]

 

I think it was just a case of bad writers wanting to do something flashy to attract attention, but as always, when the writing is weak, no amount of gimmicks will lure audience members in for long. SFT ended up killing so much of Jo's family, and no no valid reason. This was just one more dumb mistake.

[Soaplovers]

Not only did it kill off a viable veteran..it also wrote a complicated character into a corner.

 

 

[Paul Raven]

I guess it was a case of dropping a more expensive older character in favor of cheaper newbies. Y&Rs success had led to other shows trying to be more youthful. 

 

They had Jo, Janet and Stephanie in that age range and for a 30 min show that was probably considered enough. And by this stage Eunice had been married several times so probably was considered expendable storywise.

 

And Morgan Fairchild probably wanted to try her luck in Hollywood.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Paul Raven

[vetsoapfan]

 

Yes. Nowadays, soaps lack a moral core and their habit of allowing various rapists, murderers, and other degenerates to roam free is well known. Back in the 1970s, however, heinous behavior was usually punished in the end, and even popular characters had to pay for their crimes. The Elmans really did not have the skill to write complicated characters, however, which is why they had to resort to cliches and gimmicks for shock value.

[DRW50]

Did someone say Mary Stuart felt some of these decisions were efforts to isolate her character? 

[Khan]

Actually, I think it was Ann Williams' children who'd suggested that their mother was fired because (according to Williams) Mary Stuart was jealous of her onscreen sister's popularity on the show.

[DRW50]

 

Thanks.

 

Maybe I'm confusing Mary with Vicky Wyndham...

 

I know that that and the Ann Marcus thing suggest some ego issues with Mary Stuart but I think she was too well-respected in the industry for that to be all that true.

 

(that's a lot of thats...) 

Edited April 18, 2017 by DRW50

[vetsoapfan]

 

I can't see that really being true, because it was Stuart, not Williams, who was always at the top of all the popularity polls. In an interview at the time, Williams said that the writers were excited about this story...but God knows why. In any case, it was but one of countless bulnders made by TPTB over the years.

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Actually, I remember Wyndham claiming that the executives wanted to isolate her character, too, so perhaps that IS what you were thinking of. Stuart did go on record, however, about the lack of sense it made to kill off so much of Jo's family.

[Paul Raven]

I wouldn't blame Mary Stuart for feeling a little threatened as the 70s rolled on.

 

She had been 'The Queen of Soaps' but Jo was getting older and less viable as a romantic heroine. Her daughter and 'son' were written off. I'm sure she was concerned that Jo would end up as minor player in Henderson's stories.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Which tended to happen so often to former leading ladies. Look at poor Emily McLaughlin of GH, whose Jessie Brewer went from the show's leading heroine to a rarely-seen bit player before disappearing completely. Or Eileen Fulton of ATWT, whose inexplicable downgrading to nothingness was shocking.

[amybrickwallace]

I'm so glad that her kids recorded her scenes on SFT, EDGE and LOV and were able to upload them to YouTube years later. I just wish we could see her as the original Maggie on TD.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Since Colgate-Palmolive apparently kept the entire run of TD, those earliest eps probably still exist. It's a shame that the new broadcasts of the show only began after it went to color.

[DRW50]

 

I think someone said that they started there in part because a lot of early episodes are missing or in bad quality and that they might release them on DVD. I wish they'd put them up for sale on their site (if they have a site). I guess they will likely decide it isn't worth the cost to bother with them.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Oh, I did not know that the earliest episodes might be comprised or missing altogether. That's a shame of course, but we are still lucky that so many later eps do survive. I would buy any material released on DVD. I do wish they's give a shot to releasing some of TD. DARK SHADOWS sold extremely well, so who knows how profitable sales of TD might be?