GH: Classic Thread

[DRW50]

Thanks. 

[vetsoapfan]

Thank you @SoapDope78 for the post, and @DRW50 for the tag.

[Liberty City]

I had not; thanks for linking.

[Paul Raven]

Thanks so much @SoapDope78 Wow-the first week of 1 hr shows and Gloria Monty's tenure.

It's been reported that she scrapped the first few shows that had already been taped in the hour format, but like so many stories from the good ol' days that might be a myth.

Nothing about what we saw there suggests any noticeable changes in direction or production.

 

[Khan]

I apologize if this has been covered already, but does anyone know whether Douglas Marland was HW'ing by that point?  If he was, then I see what he meant when he said (in so many words) that he had inherited a mess when he started at GH.  Aside from Alan and Monica, none of that material seems very promising.  The story with Mark Dante and the Corbins is the wrong kind of predictable (y'know, the kind where you know what's going to happen, but you just don't give a crap?), the stuff with Scotty and Laura is cute but toothless, I don't know WHAT the hell Gina and Steve Carlson's character are arguing about and Rick Webber has to be the dumbest man alive not to see David Hamilton twirling his invisible moustache over how to make a killing off Lamont Corbin's declining health.  (By the way, "LAMONT CORBIN"?  What is this, "The Shadow"?  And "Corbin Limited" sounds like some jive I'd hear over on Y&R.)

In a way, it's kind of like watching today's GH, right down to the dialogue that's serviceable and pushes plot along but says nothing about the characters' inner lives.

Edited 12 hours ago by Khan

[prefab1]

I don't know how reliable the information is, but from what I've read, he joined GH in 1977, and Alan (who started airing in September 1977) was one of his creations. That should have been enough time to get the show in better shape by the January 1978 episode we saw, but then again, shifting from a 30 minute to a 60 minute format is a big transition, one that requires a lot of filler scenes like Monica having a long flashback to a scene that must have only played out a few weeks earlier. 

[MissPalmer]

Thank you for tagging me!!!!! And thank you to Soapdope78. It is wonderful!!!!

[jam6242]

Thanks for the tag @DRW50

[Paul Raven]

Doug Marland came on board shortly before Gloria Monty, I believe.

Jackie Smith was in charge of ABC daytime at that point.

All of the characters in place were not his creations. Alan was created by Irving and Tex Ellman who wrote the hurricane story a few months before and brought in Alan, Scotty, David Hamilton, Dorrie and Lisa/Lana.

His first character was  Bobbie in Jan 78. Apart from wrapping up the Lan/Lisa story he pretty much kept all the stories going just adding new elements.

[DRW50]

That lengthy flashback does make me wonder if she threw out a lot, but I agree it may have been too easy an urban legend. Would these have been her very first episodes?

I imagine you could feel the big difference when Bobbie arrived, alongside the Quartermaines filing in, the return of Heather, and Lesley/Rick/Monica/Alan heating up. It does remind me that there must have been some dud moments in the 60-minute format we just don't see because little of the period is available in full. 

I wonder how much longer the Dantes lasted under Marland. 

David Hamilton is so disgusting. I appreciate the show making him disgust as some shows when they have stories about older men or women manipulating teens aren't as honest. 

I can't see this Rick being friends with him. Chris Robinson's Rick, on the other hand, I could believe.

Edited 3 hours ago by DRW50

[Vee]

I could've sworn we went over the Bobbie thing a while ago, and saw her introduced to Rick and Lesley as "Nurse Barbara" in very late '77? Or was that early '78? I know the clip is online. Jackie always credited Marland with creating her IIRC.

[Franko]

Something I didn't realize: Frank Ashmore, who played Monica's investigator Corrigan in 1981, was also Victor, the third guy in the cockpit, in Airplane!

[depboy]

If it helps any, the last script cover from the Elman papers that I have is from episode #3,736 airdate November 15, 1977.

Writers are the Hollands with Frank Salisbury.

[titan1978]

Zeman said Marland created Barbara Jean Spencer, they called her Barbara until she and Monty decided Bobbie would be better as a nickname. It was almost Barbie IIRC, and they didn’t think that was right. She also has said on more than one occasion that she came in during the transition and Monty didn’t hire her, but ended up liking her. So Scotty and his friend must have been talking about her.

This episode was fascinating. I am so happy it was shared. I can absolutely see why the show was in trouble. It’s lifeless and old fashioned as far as dialogue and some of the staging. Monty herself said she threw those episodes out, so that makes me think they were even worse. Which really made sense to me watching this because I only saw a glimpse of Monty in the less static scene with Rick moving all around while talking to David and the same type of staging with Scotty, Laura, and his friend’s name I cannot remember right now. That long ass scene through Monica’s eyes was very old fashioned as far as style.

I can also see why the ratings started rising relatively quickly. Most of the earliest Monty shows I have seen are a few months later, and the show is very different. It moves, the characters are more intense, the staging has movement, and it feels more modern for the time. By the time you get to 1979 it’s really rocking and I totally get it in a way I didn’t before just from seeing this.

Genie was so young to play that story with creepy Hamilton. And Kin sure was cute as nice guy Scotty.

Edited 2 hours ago by titan1978

[Paul Raven]

Gloria Monty started using tape editing but I doubt that was straight away. Maybe a few weeks/months in.

Did Gloria hire new directors?-I would imagine so.

She stated that she located the old tape machines used for the late night ABC Wide World of Mystery videotaped movies (some of which she directed).

That meant that scenes could be shorter and chopped up, rather than one long scene playing start to end.

Lamont was recast, probably with a more dynamic actor and the Mark/Katie story continued till mid 78.

Marland brought on Dan Rooney, Susan Moore and Gary's brother Howard. Also Chris Robinson took over in May.

So Marland pretty much followed his rules-not making any major cast changes and working/refining what was there.

Laura killing David was really the first big story that boosted the ratings.