Somerset Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

1974 script cover.

[danfling]

I think that Lyle B Hill was a very competent producer.  He has worked on As the World Turns and then on Somerset.   That is obviously the reason that so many performers who had appeared on As the World Turns (Michael Lipton, Ed Kremmer, Gloria Hoye, Pamela King, Abby Lewis etc.) appeared later on Somerset.

 

The show was interesting when it was being written by Robert Cenedella, Henry Slesar, and even Roy Winson.  But, somewhere during its run, I lost interest in the characters/

 

I think this began when Julian (Joel Crothers) stopped being a concert pianist and was suddenly hired as the editor  of the town's newspaper.

 

Mary Waronok and Ray Fulmer were good in their roles.  So too were the show's older cast members (Abby Lewis, Clarice Blackburn, Molly Picon), but the crime element was not quite up to the standards as Mr. Slesar had written.

 

And, I adored Bibi Beesch after having seen her on The Edge of Night and especially on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.  But I really cannot remember what actor played her romantic lead on this show.

 

Audrey Landers, who had appeared on The Secret Storm after winning some type of contest, was also good as the daughter of Ms. Beesch.  She was used with two leading men, Greg Mercer (the superb Gary Swanson) and James O'Sullivan (who later became a wonderful actor in his roles but had not yet reached his best).  I remember that the mystery concerning Dr. Kane and Heather was very mysterious, and the fans talked about this storyline a lot.

 

The newer writers and the later storylines did not hold my attention.  I believe that killing off Dick and Mitch was a mistake.  I know that pairing Georgann Johnson and Jameson Parker was a mistake.  It may have made sense to someone at the time, but it hurt the show's matriarch who had already been weakened when she became a widow.

[robbwolff]

 

Dick? I remember Mitch Farmer, but I don't recall a character named Dick.

[danfling]

I was thinking that Dick was the father of Jill.   However, I now realize that Dick was the character that the same actor had played (and would later play) on As the World Turns.   Please tell me, who was married to Ellen and was the father of Jill and David?

[vetsoapfan]

 

When referencing a character named "Dick," Danfling was actually referring to the show's original patriarch Ben Grant, played by actor Ed Kemmer.

 

Heaven knows, we all have "senior moments" and forget names and storyline details from time to time.

 

Just for historical accuracy and clarification purposes:

 

The writer referred to as "Roy Winson" is Roy Winsor, a legendary figure in the golden era of soaps.

 

Actress "Mary Waronok" is Mary Woronov.

 

Actress "Bibi Beesch" is, of course, Bibi Besch.

 

 

[GymnastGuy]

I went to Paley two weeks ago and watched all the Somerset shows they had; 9.  The years were 1975 and 1976 that they had.  The quality is excellent.  The shows were very interesting.  I was amazed at how nice the sets were.  I guess with all the space they had in Brooklyn that helped.  The cast was beautiful and I thought the acting was top notch.  Very underrated .  It is sad that more episodes do not remain....

It was nice to see so much of Georgeann Johnson's character Ellen with both Dale and Luke McAllister.  I think most of the characters from Spring 1975 until July 1976 were featured.

[RavenWhitney]

That period was very progressive from my childhood memory. Ellen having an affair with David.  Didn't they start the murder plot where Dale was accused but it turned out to be the son of the old man in the cottage? I think Doris Frankel was head writer and she introduced the senior plot with the veteran actors?

[SoapDope]

I wish we could see more of Somerset, especially some scenes of Sigourney Weaver as Avis Ryan. I re-watched the 1972 episode with Jingles The Clown the other day. I noticed the magazines from back then seemed to try and build Ron Martin into a teen idol/heart throb. I checked his Imdb page and he has little to no acting credits beyond the soap. It also lists him being born in 1940, which clearly has to be wrong and probably is more like 1950, since he appears to be in his early 20 in Somerset photos.  What happened to him ? 

[RavenWhitney]

Here's a great summary of Somerset's history although it doesn't accurately reflect all the head writer tenures. I believe Doris Frankel was briefly HW after Shaw and I think AJ Russell was brought back after Kubek.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20130814031622/http://awinsomerset.com/

[vetsoapfan]

 

Ellen became involved with Dale romantically, not David...who was her son. EEEK!

Please register in order to view this content

 Even soaps during the 1970s had their limitations! LOL!

 

 

I am so glad you gave us this l;ink. I had had the site bookmarked way back then, but then it was closed down and I thought all the data was lost. Thank you!

 

I am almost 100% positive that Russell Kubeck was indeed Somerset's final head writer.

[RavenWhitney]

Sorry, I meant Dale. I loved that plot. I was a kid and watched it live. Kubek was the one who ruined the show by focusing only on the mob plot.  He was fired and the final head writer was AJ Russell again, I believe, who brought in Toni and Gene Bua.

[vetsoapfan]

 

I know you meant Dale and not David. I was only joshing with you. We all have "senior moments" when we write one thing while thinking another.

 

I found this on page 8 of the Somerset thread, by Toml1962:

 

"You can more or less track the changes in direction from the changes in head writers. Contrary to what some on here believe, Cenedella handed down to Slesar after the first year - this fact is well-documented. Slesar came up with the Jasper murder storyline which took upnine months of 1971, and he also came up with the Robert and India divorce,as well as the Davis divorce and Marsha marrying the nefarious Ike Harding, only to see him killed less than a year later:

 

Robert Cenedella (3/1970-12/1970) 1 year

Henry Slesar (1/1971-3/1972) 1 year alone

Henry Slesar & Jane Lyon (4/1972-6/1973) 1 year

Roy Winsor (6/1973-6/1974) 1 year

Robert J. Shaw & Winifred Wolfe (6/1974 – 1/1975) 6 months

Don Appell (1-6/1975) 6 months

A.J. Russell (6-12/1975) 6 months

Russell Kubeck (1-12/1976) 1 year"

 

I watched the show live as well, and could have sworn that Kubeck really was Somerset's final head writer (I kept a scrapbook of the show, with articles, synopses and credits), but because I am not 100% sure, I'll take your word about the switch back to Russell. Data available through internet searches only indicates that both writers worked on the show in 1976.

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by vetsoapfan

[RavenWhitney]

Here's another summary at this link:  http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/spinoffs.html

 

March 30, 1970 - December 31, 1976

Creators: Irna Phillips and Robert Cenedella

Executive Producer: Lyle B Hill.

Producer: Sid Sirulnik

Headwriters: Robert Cenedella, March 1970 - December 1970.
Henry Slesar, January 1971 - March 1972.
Henry Slesar and Jane Lyon, April 1972 - May 1973.
Roy Winsor and Robert J. Shaw, May 1973 - April 1974.
Robert J. Shaw and Winifred Wolfe, April 1974 - March 1975.
Don Appell, Doris Frankel, and Frank Salisbury, March 1975 - December 1975.
A.J. Russell and Frank Salisbury, January 1976 - May 1976.
Russell Kubeck, June 1976 - December 1976.

Associate Writers: Elspeth Eric and Robert Newman (1970-1972).

[vetsoapfan]

 

When it comes to vintage soaps, I have read a lot of completely-contradictory information, from many different sources, over the decades. It's frustrating that we cannot go directly to the episodes themselves for verification. I do know that Eddie Drueding of The Another World Homepage has put decades of research into his site, however. I'd probably trust his information over even my own memory, LOL.

 

Thanks for that link.

[robbwolff]

According to the guy who managed the old Somerset Page, Kubec was the final head writer.