Somerset Discussion Thread

[vetsoapfan]

Yes, I kept scrapbooks for several of my favorite shows, including SOMERSET, AW, Y&R, etc. Even the short-lived HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE. What I found interesting--and frustrating--about SOMERSET is that its quality soared and plummeted at various times, depending on who was writing it. Henry Slesar and Roy Winsor were by far its best writers. I thought Greg Mercer and Steve Slade were two of the sexiest guys on daytime at the time. Jerry Kane was hot, too. I loved Jessica Delany. She was so sweet and sympathetic. I believe that with consistently good writing, the show could have lasted much longer than it did. Even at its "weakest," I would still watch SOMERSET over today's versions of Y&R, DAYS, GH, or B&B!

[DRW50]

April 1977 Daytime TV Stars

 

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[vetsoapfan]

It is so important for a soap opera to be well conceived and written right from the start. If potential viewers decide to give a new series a chance, and get turned off by lackluster writing, chances are those viewers will not come back again.

 

When I saw that Robert Cenedella would be the headwriter for SOMERSET, I was apprehensive from the start, seeing as how his work on AW had been so tepid. SOMERSET, when it premiered, was not atrocious by any means. It just wasn't very interesting either. The show didn't really improve until the great Henry Slesar took over the writing reigns. Slesar and soap vet Roy Winsor turned out great material during their separate reigns as this show's headwriters, but I think by the time these gentlemen took over, viewers had already felt burned by SOMERSET's weak writing and revolving-door syndrome, and were not apt to give it another look. The same thing happened to RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE, HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE, WHERE THE HEART IS, TEXAS, CAPITOL, and several other daytime dramas which opened with mediocre (or downright atrocious) writing, and never soared in the ratings, even when the quality of their writing improved dramatically. As a viewer from the beginning to the end, I found SOMERSET to be wonderful entertainment at times, and almost impossible to sit through at others. If it has opened with either Slesar or Winsor as its headwriter, and if it had been consistent with its themes and characters, I believe it would have enjoyed stronger ratings and a much longer-lasting life.

 

(Still, even considering its weaker stretches, SOMERSET was better than the dreck daytime dramas viewers are being force-fed today!)

[DRW50]

Do you agree with them about the last year being the best, or about Ellen?

[vetsoapfan]

No, I don't think the last year was the best, not in terms of overall writing. TPTB organized a better structure to the show, making the newspaper a core hub of the action, which was a smart idea. Several great characters were front and center, like Julian, Victoria Paisley, Carrie Wheeler and Steve Slade (the wonderful Gene Bua, who could have emerged as a major leading man had SOMERSET continued) who had good chemistry with their romantic partners. I just think that the writing was not as strong in 1976 as it had been under Slesar and Winsor. Had either of these men been writing the show when the likes of Julian, Vicky, Carrie, and Steve been on-screen, sparks would have flown.

 

As for Ellen Grant, she disappeared several months before the show's cancellation (the actress was on medical leave, as I recall), and not even mentioned for stretches at a time. It was finally revealed that Ellen was out of town with her sister India, and we never saw her again before SOMERSET ended. I liked her relationship with the younger Dale Cooper, and felt that could have worked, but nothing the show gave Ellen to do after that romance was cut short worked particularly well. It almost felt TPTB were keeping her around just because she was the last original cast member on the show. If Georgann Johnson had returned, maybe the final writers could have thought of something interesting and important to do with her.

[DRW50]

I never knew that about Ellen. That's a shame. Reminds me of (not that it's the same) when ATWT didn't even bother to have Emma Snyder around for the last year.

 

I know some preferred Kate to Vicky and thought they made a big mistake writing Tina Sloan out. Did you?

 

How was Audrey Landers on the show, or Sigourney Weaver, or Holland Taylor?

Edited March 27, 2016 by DRW50

[vetsoapfan]

During its final, painful years, ATWT's disrespect to many of its vets was egregious. I remember when they just dropped Patricia Bruder from the cast, without mentioning for a very long time what had happened to Ellen Stewart; where she had gone.

 

I actually preferred the character of Vicky over Kate, because Velekka Gray really sparkled in the role and had wonderful charisma on-screen. I think this was her best soap opera character. Kate ended up being carted off to a mental hospital, but in an interview at the time, Tina Sloan said the character had not been killed off, and would be returning later on, although she never did. I probably would have kept both characters around.

 

Audrey Landers was an interesting case. As an actress, she was quite limited and did not have a great deal of range, yet she was very LIKABLE and sweet. I would have kept her character on the show too, just because of her immense likability factor. (I'm trying to think of another actor to compare her to; another actor who was not  talented by any means, but who projected an endearing sweetness, which was oddly endearing to watch. The only name that comes to mind is Marty West.)

 

Sigourney Weaver was quite good on the show. She projected a sense of humor into the character which was fresh and fun to watch.

 

Say what you will about the weak structure of the show, and its poor track record among head writers, but its casting was often excellent.

[DRW50]

Thanks.

 

I wish I could see more of the show. I guess I should be happy with the audio recordings and episode that popped up last year...before that I figured the grainy India breakdown episode was it.

[vetsoapfan]

As someone who grew up listening to radio broadcasts, I have no problem listening to audio-only soap episodes. I can close my eyes and visualize the characters, just like I did when listening to TGL eps from the early 1950s.

[DRW50]

You should try listening to The Archers.

[vetsoapfan]

Actually, yes, that's something I've always meant to do. Trouble is, I would want to start from the very first episode, and not come in decades after the fact.

[DRW50]

I'm not sure how many of the earlier episodes are still around, so maybe you can find some of the earliest that are available.

[vetsoapfan]

Yes, although it would be a lot of work to track them down, and I couldn't find many of them it would frustrate me...which is why I have been putting it off so so long. At least when I started EMMERDALE FARM, there were many episodes readily available, dating back to the premiere, on youtube.

[All My Shadows]

What a fantastic episode from November 1972! The social studies teacher in me really appreciates the election coverage promos.

Lois Kibbee is really an underrated legend. So many of the great leading ladies of this era were pros at taking pages of dialogue and bringing them to life with nuance and tone. The Emily/Carter scenes are the best in the episode.

Chris Pennock has annoyed me since I first saw him as Jeb on DS reruns 15 years ago, Carl, so you're not alone. I liked him here, though. Andrea seems like she might have been the classic babyfied heroine of the late 60s/early 70s, the woman that everyone insists upon treating like a little girl, sorta like Liz on the Doctors circa 1967-1968.

Neat to see Jordan Charney. Tony is pretty hot, and some quick research tells me that the actor is a very successful playwright, best known for On Golden Pond.

And of course, how lovely to see that gorgeous painting in full, vibrant color!

[danfling]

I never saw any of Robert Cenadella's work on Another World, but I thought that Somerset was very good.    One weak part, though, was the Missy storyline.   She was first paired with the boring Peter Delaney, and then Dr. Stanley Kurtz was added to form a triangle. 

I wonder if Mr. Cenedella planned to kill Jasper when he was killed off, or was a decision that was made by Mr. Slesar.    It was obvious that Jasper was intended to be murdered, and there were MANY suspects.    I am sure that Mr. Slesar wrote the Robert Delaney murder trial better than Mr. Cenedella would have, since Mr. Slesar had written so many such trials into The Edge of Night.

I was not all that overwhelmed by Mr. Winsor's writing, but some of the things he did made good sense for the show.

I think that the Jasper Delaney storyline was the best one on Somerset, although the Carter/Matson merged family storyline was also extremely good.

You mentioned an actress whose talent was limited but she was good in the role.    I think that the original Laura Cudahy (Laura Roman) on All My Children was one such actress.   However, her show later gave her a storyline that required real acting and she could not perform it well.    (All My Children then replaced her.)

Nina Courtlandt on the same show was one of the characters who was also looked after as though she was a little girl (at least initially).

I did not like Christopher Pennock at first on Dark Shadows, but he grew as an actor.   I watched the 1840 storyline in reruns, he was one of the best things in the story (as Gabiel Collins).

I confess that I never really liked the acting style of Lois Kibbee, although I liked her characters.

Lois Smith as Zoe Cannell and Jay Gregory as Carter Matson were probably the best performers in the storyline.  Harriet Hall as Emily reminded (annoyingly, not in a good way) of singer/songwriter Carole King.   I was a big fan of Ron Martin's David Grant and also Doug Chapin's Tony #1.  I had nothing against Ernest Thompson, but I liked the original Tony better.  I remember when Mr. Thompson departed for a while to be in a television film based on writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald and returned with a shockingly short haircut.

I too liked Jameson Parker's romance with Ellen. The show really used Ellen in some poor storylines after Ben died.  Do you remember when they paired her with a widowed who had a sick child named Scooter? 

Sam and Lahoma were excellent (unlike Missy).  Also, Ben and Ellen and children formed the core family, and producer Lyle B. Hill should have known better than to kill off Ben!

Bibi Beesch was used better than she had been when she appeared on The Edge of Night.

I thought James Congdon was pretty good on the show.

Mary Waronov was a strange casting choice to me, but Ray Fulmer was very good in his role.   I don't know why he was cast as villiains in his soap opera roles.

I like Gloria Hoye, but I never liked the character, Terri, that she played on this show.