Oh I can't forget Mark as Chad. I was focusing on Sheldon era issues. But Henry started to loose his polish after he returned from the 81 writers' strike particularly starting in February 82 after the dramatic (let down) Jeff shooting and the Libby angle. It was a perfect storm I believe: pressure from ABC and/or P&G to mirror Monty's GH, the decision to bring back Larkin after the Jeff Brown plot as the real Sky (which included Larkin's absence from the canvas and Raven's misadventures with Smiley/Frank Gorshin (Henry's second worst plot) and Larkin's car accident. This included Whitney's third worst casting of the early 80s, Chris Jarrett as Damien. The Eden plot was Henry's worst for sure capped by poor, poor Chad casting. It's hard to assess the never ending phone book plot because Henry was probably being told to extend it while they prepared Sheldon even if he wasn't aware he was going to be fired. Also, Larkin had additional surgeries during the phone book plot which interfered with the story. Casting Norm Parker as Mr. Cameron was also a mistake given how pivotal he was to the entire story. They needed a charismatic actor for that role. I think Erwin is to blame for much of what we've been discussing. I read an interview with Henry after he was fired and he said he was never told to speed up the plots or make shorter scenes. The sets were already drab and tired and there was no guidance given to Henry. He was writing the entire storylines, all breakdowns and three scripts a week. Kibbee did two a week. They needed to tell him to add another script writer and P&G / ABC needed to demand Erwin buy some paint a sherwin Williams! PS: it's ironic P&G hired Erwin to take over SFT and paired him with veteran and award winner Paul Avila Mayer (who was way passed his prime). P&G made a lot of mistakes. Erwin plus Jeanne Glynn who had found her groove and needed fine tuning over at Search would have worked I think but I believe Erwin was finishing out his P&G contract there.
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VelekaCarruthers ·
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