Members Titus Andronicus Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 Laemmle was such a horrible idea. I'd love to know WHY she was hired. Was she a friend of Betty Corday's? Did NBC force her on the series? 1979 articles seem to indicate NBC was interfering with Days. It feels like they noticed GH's success without understanding a single bit of why it worked. I had never thought about the age of the new characters, but yeah, only Jessica and her barely-seen friends could have found more of an audience than they already had. Then they seemed hellbent on alienating the fans they did have who were attached to the Hortons. Laemmle didn't even know how soaps were even conducted, based on what Jed Allan said in an interview that summer. She wasn't even writing the outlines, which I assume was being done by Ruth Brooks Flippen. (I don't believe that Flippen was ever really head writer). Flippen was arguably even more out-of-date than Laemmle, not having written for TV for even longer and also having never been credited for soap work. Actually, I can guess why Laemmle was hired. Soaps brought in good ratings, but NBC probably didn't respect the process. Laemmle was a "name" and she was probably cheap to hire. I wonder how much Laemmle respected the job. I do have sympathy for her, as her daughter died a few months into her run. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carolineg Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 I do appreciate NL's fearlessness in firing all those actors and revamping (whether it was her decision or the networks), but it doesn't really seem there was a plan for those new characters. I agree it just alienated viewers and didn't bring new ones in. But I do appreciate the fact the show was willing to try I guess. I just think the focus was off and the new characters weren't very good. Outside the writing, I think casting was a huge problem as well. Gloria Loring worked as Liz despite the writing and I think if some key parts had more charismatic actors the change would have worked better. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) I pulled the Flippen/Laemmle script covers to check exactly what they say: For Flippen's 25 episodes, this is how the scripts list the writers: 3634-3637 Story by: Ruth Brooks Flippen; Written by: Ruth Brooks Flippen, (Script Writer...see list below) 3638 Story by: Elizabeth Harrower; Written by:Ruth Brooks Flippen, (Script Writer...see list below) 3639-3643 Story by: Ruth Brooks Flippen; Written by: Ruth Brooks Flippen, (Script Writer...see list below) 3644 Story by: Ruth Brooks Flippen, Michelle Poteet-Lisanti 3645-3658: Story by: Ruth Brooks Flippen; Written by: Ruth Brooks Flippen, (Script Writer...see list below) 3634 Perry, Joyce 3635 Stannard 3636 Tomlin 3637 Poteet-Lisanti 3638 Rega 3639 Harrison 3640 Stannard 3641 Tomlin 3642 Poteet-Lisanti 3643 Rega 3644 Poteet-Lisanti 3645 Harrison 3646 Tomlin 3647 Stannard 3648 Rega 3649 Tomlin 3650 Poteet-Lisanti 3651 Harrison 3652 Stannard 3653 Rega 3654 Tomlin 3655 Poteet-Lisanti 3656 Rega 3657 Stannard 3658 Tomlin For Laemmle's 124 episodes, there aren't many where she's listed solo as the outline writer (just 25 of them). But there's no overlap of Flippen & Laemmle. For the outlines, it looks like most are either written by the script writer as well, and then 3714-3760 list it as a duo for the outline: Written by: Nina Laemmle/Michelle Poteet-Lisanti. And then 3761-3782, the outlines were done by the duo of Michelle Poteet-Lisanti & L. Virginia Browne. 3659-3673: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle, (Script Writer...see list below) 3674: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: (Script Writer...see list below) 3675: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle, (Script Writer...see list below) 3676: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: (Script Writer...see list below) 3677-3682: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle, (Script Writer...see list below) 3683-3685: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: (Script Writer...see list below) 3686: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle (Script Writer...see list below) 3687-3695 : Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: (Script Writer...see list below) 3696: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle (Script Writer...see list below) 3697-3703: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: (Script Writer...see list below) 3704: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle (Script Writer...see list below) 3705-3713: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: (Script Writer...see list below) 3714-3760: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Nina Laemmle/Michelle Poteet-Lisanti (Script Writer...see list below) 3761-3782: Story by: Nina Laemmle; Written by: Michelle Poteet-Lisanti/L. Virginia Browne (Script Writer...see list below) 3659 Markus, Leah 3660 Seidler, David & Feather, Jacqui 3661 Joyce, Patricia 3662 Poteet-Lisanti 3663 Seidler & Feather 3664 Seidler & Feather 3665 Markus 3666 Joyce 3667 Poteet-Lisanti 3668 Seidler & Feather 3669 Joyce 3670 Markus 3671 Poteet-Lisanti 3672 Tomlin 3673 Joyce 3674 Poteet-Lisanti 3675 Pommer, Joan 3676 Markus 3677 Tomlin 3678 Seidler & Feather 3679 Joyce 3680 Poteet-Lisanti 3681 Pommer 3682 Tomlin 3683 Markus 3684 Joyce 3685 Poteet-Lisanti 3686 Seidler & Feather 3687 Pommer 3688 Tomlin 3689 Joyce 3690 Poteet-Lisanti 3691 Pommer 3692 Markus 3693 Seidler & Feather 3694 Poteet-Lisanti 3695 Joyce 3696 Tomlin 3697 Pommer 3698 Seidler & Feather 3699 Poteet-Lisanti 3700 Joyce 3701 Pommer 3702 Tomlin 3703 Markus 3704 Seidler & Feather 3705 Poteet-Lisanti 3706 Joyce 3707 Pommer 3708 Tomlin 3709 Markus 3710 Poteet-Lisanti 3711 Joyce 3712 Pommer 3713 Tomlin 3714 Seidler & Feather 3715 Joyce 3716 Pommer 3717 Markus 3718 Poteet-Lisanti 3719 Tomlin 3720 Seidler & Feather 3721 Joyce 3722 Pommer 3723 Markus 3724 Tomlin 3725 Joyce 3726 Pommer 3727 Markus 3728 Seidler & Feather 3729 Tomlin 3730 Joyce 3731 Pommer 3732 Markus 3733 Seidler & Feather 3734 Tomlin 3735 Joyce 3736 Pommer 3737 Markus 3738 Seidler & Feather 3739 Joyce 3740 Tomlin 3741 Pommer 3742 Markus 3743 Seidler & Feather 3744 Joyce 3745 Pommer 3746 Markus 3747 Seidler & Feather 3748 Tomlin 3749 Joyce 3750 Pommer 3751 Seidler & Feather 3752 Markus 3753 Tomlin 3754 Joyce 3755 Pommer 3756 Seidler & Feather 3757 Markus 3758 Tomlin 3759 Pommer 3760 Seidler & Feather 3761 Joyce 3762 Markus 3763 Tomlin 3764 Tomlin 3765 Pommer 3766 Joyce 3767 Markus 3768 Tomlin 3769 Pommer 3770 Joyce 3771 Tomlin 3772 Pommer 3773 Markus 3774 Joyce 3775 Pommer 3776 Milstein, Beth 3777 Katkov 3778 Markus 3779 Pommer 3780 Milstein 3781 Katkov 3782 Pommer Edited June 5, 2022 by JAS0N47 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) Who was around at the time that Days could have hired as headwriter? After PFS and Ann Marcus, 2 big soap names, they went with Elizabeth Harrowere who had never been a headwriter. I guess it was good they tried to bring in new blood and maybe Harrower's ideas sounded good on paper? Anyway, I would suggest Robert J Shaw, who had been at various soaps over the years. Maybe Richard and Suzanne Holland? Can anyone think of other writers who might have been suitable? Maybe Rita Lakin should have been offered a sweet deal to take on Days for a period of time. She might have been tempted to return to daytime. Edited June 5, 2022 by Paul Raven 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AbcNbc247 Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 I think those firings and changes were spearheaded by Al Rabin, after he was brought on as co-EP, because it all pretty much began right as soon as he got there. Whether all the changes were solely Rabin's decisions or if he was taking orders from the higherups at NBC/Columbia, etc, Idk, but it fell on Laemmle to introduce new characters and she failed miserably at it. Bringing in new characters and immediately placing them in frontburner storylines is pretty tough to do, and sometimes it doesn't work. But ironically, when Pat Falken Smith came back the following year, she did just that and it worked perfectly. Harding Lemay was available, but he probably would've turned it down. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carolineg Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 So Laemmle had to write out these characters and create new ones? I wonder if she even knew that going in or what it would entail. PFS had a much clearer idea of what she wanted to do and where she was going with these characters and new families. PFS also shifted the shows tone a lot to fit the new characters while Laemmle just kept the tone of the show basically the same and inserted new characters doing similar things lol. The show just seemed 'younger' and 'fresher' even if PFS was ripping off GH. I always felt Days in the late 70's and early 80's were giving their youngish leads such dour, sad stories that were 'too old' for them. IMO, it was much more entertaining to watch Marlena/Roman do action/adventure stuff than watching Marlena loose a child, get cheated on, get divorced, and get raped in a year or so. But I can understand fans missing the more psychological, character driven drama of the past. I think Laemmle's failure and the failure do make significant ratings gains lead to PFS being able to change the show to her vision without much push back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) Most of the characters were written out before Laemmle ever appears on a script. Based on what I had read years back, I thought it would be all Laemmle, but once I finally got all of the script covers, I confirmed all the firings actually happened before she arrived. The only main characters who were written out once Laemmle first joined the show were Mike, Margo and Hope. Elizabeth Harrower 3613- Eileen Barnett (Stephanie Woodruff) 3615- Cindy Daly (Cathy Breton) 3626- Margaret Mason (Linda Anderson) 3633- Robert Clary (Robert LeClair) 3633- Mikey Martin (Dougie LeClair) Ruth Brooks Flippen 3643- Mark Tapscott (Bob Anderson) 3652- George McDaniel (Jordan Barr) 3653- Tracey Bregman (Donna Craig) 3654- Ed Mallory (Bill Horton) 3658- Andrea Hall (Samantha Evans) Nina Laemmle 3681- Wesley Eure (Mike Horton) 3681- Suzanne Zenor (Margo Horton) 3708- Natasha Ryan (Hope Williams) He became EP in Episode # 3595, and the characters started being written out as of # 3613, so yes, that lines up with it being Rabin more so than the head writers, since the firings were split up pretty equally between Harrower, Flippen and Laemmle. Edited June 5, 2022 by JAS0N47 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) As mentioned above, all the characters except for Mike, Margo and Hope were already written out before she joined the show, but yes, she definitely knew she would be responsible for creating 8 entirely new contract roles, since they all debuted in her first 13 episodes, from 3659-3671: 3659- Stephen Brooks (Joshua Fallon) 3660- Charles Bateman (Maxwell Jarvis) 3662- William Joyce (Kellam Chandler) 3663- Gloria Loring (Liz Chandler) 3664- Brett Williams (Tod Chandler) 3668- Jean Bruce Scott (Jessica Blake) 3669- Dianne Harper (Leslie James) 3671- Deborah Dalton (Cassie Burns) Edited June 5, 2022 by JAS0N47 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoria foxton Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) A Renee and Jesscia clip. Edited June 5, 2022 by victoria foxton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carolineg Posted June 5, 2022 Members Share Posted June 5, 2022 Thank you as always @JAS0N47 for all your knowledge. So interesting! I wish there were more articles available about this era. I wonder if NL watched the show before she started writing these new characters. The idea of a mysterious family like the Chandlers is intriguing, but instead of creating an entire new family it seems like it would have been wiser to just add family to certain characters instead as a lot of non-Horton leads had very little family in Salem. Thanks! Jessica is still a dud, but those were very nice words by JBS about Philece. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Titus Andronicus Posted June 6, 2022 Members Share Posted June 6, 2022 I put together a timeline as best I could a while back with the personnel decisions. Wes Kenney said in an interview he left because of how Harrower's firing was being handled. Rabin was next man up. I don't think Rabin had total control because newspapers in January 1979 announced Days was about to clean house. This is being announced as Harrower is being fired. Laemmle was announced as hired that same month. Jason's explanation of the script covers for that year with Flippen and Laemmle is confusing me with how the press handled the transition. Flippen was never mentioned in the papers and only her obituary seems to have any contermporary reference to her work at Days. Several soap columnists were very insistent that all the decisions were Laemmle from March or so onwards. Harrower was still writing scripts after being fired, making the confusion even worse. NBC would have had to be behind these character decisions, right? Jason's script listings does confirm that Seidler and Feather were Laemmle's additions. That couldn't have helped, either, that not only did you have two new soap writers, but English ones. They've stayed a team over the decades and have done great work together, but that had to be rought. As far as I can tell, Seidler's only briefly ever mentioned Days. Probably nobody knows to ask him about it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted June 6, 2022 Members Share Posted June 6, 2022 (edited) Some articles dealing with the Days drama at that time March 13 1980 Big changes over at "Days of Our Lives" include a new head writer. Nina Laemmle has taken over for Elizabeth Har-rower. Ms. Harrower, mother of Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie, "Days of Our Lives"), might Just return to "Young and the Restless" where she got her soap opera writing start. With Harrower's departure will come the usual exit of stars. Eileen Barrett (Stephanie) has already left, and it looks like Margaret Mason (Linda) may be the next casualty. Of course, many storylines will suddenly come to a halt and new ones will begin. April 20 1980 Days fans feel cheated as plots fizzle out NEW YORK — Things are getting worse every day on the set of "Days of Our Lives” Folks on the show don’t know from one day to the next whether they’ll still have a job at the end of the week The venerable and once-Nielsen-ratlngs queen of the soaps has fallen on dire times and desperate measures continue to be taken. The move to “alter” the cast and character lineup on the show began last month when a new headwriter Nina Laemmle was hired. But within a six-week time period more people have left the show at one time than in any other period in the show’s history. Half of the current cast has been given walking papers or they’ve been informed that their characters will be “in and out tem-' poraries” “Days” is beginning to resemble a graveyard. Already “killed off’ have been Mark Tapscott (Bob Anderson) Eileen Barnett (Stephanie Woodruff) and Suzanne Zenor (Margo Horton). Leaving towners include Dan Barton (Earle Carnes) Robert Clary (Robert LeClare) Corinne Conley (Phyllis Curtis) Cindy Daly (Cathy Breton) Thomas Havens (Stan Kositcheck) Gail Johnson (Mimi) Debbie Lytton (Melissa Phillips) Mikey Martin (Dougie LeClare) Margaret Mason (Linda Anderson) Steve Schnetzer (Steve Olsen) John Stevenson (Terry Gilbert) and Ed Mallory and Rosemary Forsyth (Bill and Laura Horton). Wesley Eure (Mike Horton) Tracy Bregman (Donna Craig) and Andrea Hall-Lovell (Samantha Evans) are among those who may “pop up” periodically in the story but for the time being will be put in limbo ' Edited June 6, 2022 by Paul Raven 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted June 6, 2022 Members Share Posted June 6, 2022 Adding those additional actors from the story above. The story does not mention the exits of John Lupton (Tommy), George McDaniel (Jordan) and Natasha Ryan (Hope). Elizabeth Harrower 3567- Thomas Havens (Stan Kositchek) 3577- Stephen Schnetzer (Steve Olson) 3610- Dan Barton (Earle Carnes) 3613- Eileen Barnett (Stephanie Woodruff) 3615- Cindy Daly (Cathy Breton) 3615- John Stephenson (Terry Gilbert) 3617- Gail Johnson (Mimi Grosset) 3626- Margaret Mason (Linda Anderson) 3628- John Lupton (Tommy Horton) 3633- Robert Clary (Robert LeClair) 3633- Mikey Martin (Dougie LeClair) Ruth Brooks Flippen 3640- Rosemary Forsyth (Laura Horton) 3643- Mark Tapscott (Bob Anderson) 3651- Corinne Conley (Phyllis Curtis) 3652- George McDaniel (Jordan Barr) 3653- Tracey Bregman (Donna Craig) 3654- Ed Mallory (Bill Horton) 3657- Debbie Lytton (Melissa Anderson) 3658- Andrea Hall (Samantha Evans) Nina Laemmle 3681- Wesley Eure (Mike Horton) 3681- Suzanne Zenor (Margo Horton) 3708- Natasha Ryan (Hope Williams) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carolineg Posted June 6, 2022 Members Share Posted June 6, 2022 Did any of these actors actually pop up periodically? I think Mike/Donna might have appeared once or twice more to finish up their stories and obviously Sam cam back to die, but they were never used in a recurring capacity, correct? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted June 6, 2022 Members Share Posted June 6, 2022 Wesley Eure was the only one who ever had a contract, and he did remain as recurring from June 1980-January 1981. Tracey Bregman and Andrea Hall were never on contract, and they never did return after their stints wrapped in April 1980 (other than for Samantha to be killed off in 1982). Wesley Eure (Mike Horton) recurring: 6/6/74-9/25/74; contract: 10/3/74-5/21/80; recurring 6/9/80-1/16/81 Andrea Hall (Samantha Evans) recurring: 7/15/77-6/21/78; 1/10/79-4/18/80; 5/21/82-5/25/82 Tracey Bregman (Donna Craig) recurring: 4/4/78-4/11/80 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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