ALL: Proposed Soaps Over The Years

[Paul Raven]

1972

CBS primetime proposal Diamond Head based on 1963 movie, to be written by Rita Lakin.

[j swift]

On the Classic SOD tumblr there was a whole story about Pacific Lives and the plans for the series.  Has Deidre Hall ever discussed what happened?  Was it shelved for Sunset Beach? I cannot remember that timeline.

 

The bible and proposal for that show would be so fun to read.  I wish those things were digitized and searchable.

[Paul Raven]

Deidre's spinoff was Manhattan Lives.

 

Pacific Lives was an earlier proposal dealing with Tom Horton Jr, Sandy Horton and others.

From SOD Feb 1992

 

New Days are Dawning - Marlena gets a Spin-Off

 

After months of whispering and 'no comments',it's finally official: Days star Deidre Hall(Marlena) is getting her own spin-off. Set in New York City and centering around Hall's character, the still unnamed daytime series will probably debut in late spring.

 

"The show will totally throw you back in your chair," says Hall, who also serves as the show's co-executive producer,with Day's head honcho Ken Corday. "Ken is excited about it,I'm excited about it,and we have a great team." Former Days head writer Gene Palumbo will take up that post on the spin-off, together with longtime Days scribe Sheri Anderson. According to Palumbo. Marlena will not be the only familiar face on the show. "You will see a lot of terribly popular and well loved Days characters turning up and familiar couples who won't necessarily be in each other's arms."

 

Palumbo says Hall has taken an active part in story meetings. "Deidre is definitely part of the whole process and she has some great ideas',he notes. According to the actress, she was first supposed to do a spin-off eight years ago. "At the time, we negotiated, we got ready and it never happened", hall says. "Then when I signed with Days six months ago, I had in my contract a development deal. i didn't know what in the world to do about it, but then i remembered the spin-off. I said. "What's happening with that?" And Days producers said."Would you consider it?" and I said,"Of course!"

 

From SOD April 14th 1992

 

"Bible" Thumping: Marlena's DAYS Spin-Off Gets Named And Plotted

 

After months of speculation, Deidre Hall';s DOOL spin-off finally has a name. According to Gene Palumbo, who shares head writer duties with Sheri Anderson, the show will be called Body and Soul. Palumbo says he and Anderson 'came up with a whole list of names and showed them to people around the office. Body and Soul was thought to be the most provocative name, especially with the ladies. Of course, it's really only a working title. We haven't even gotten the go-ahead on the show yet.'

 

Palumbo says the NBC brass has already been presented with Body and Soul's 'bible'-a detailed description of the series and its characters, drawn up by the writing and production team. "We ought to know within the next few months whether the neywork will pick it up,' he relates.

 

While Palumbo couldn't give specifics about the bible, sources close to the production say it includes a slew of new characters as well as six months of story. According to these sources, the show will focus on two New York neighborhoods-one upper crust, one working class. Marlena won't come into a lot of money suddenly, but will interact with the show's wealthy family. the Waterfields, whom the sources describe as similar to the Trumps. One of the show's preliminary storylines is rumored to be a love triangle featuring single mom Marlena and a Waterfield father and son. What will become of Roman(Wayne Northrop)? Since Northrup's contract ends this summer, his character's fate is anyone's guess. Whatever the outcome, sources say Roman is not mentioned in the Body and Soul bible.

 

One character who is mentioned is Marlena's stepdaughter carrie (Tracy Middendorf). An issue oriented teen love story is supposedly in the works in which Carrie learns about safe sex. In addition to her stepdaughters company. Marlena will have a new best friend-PT Barnum. As her circusy name suggests, PT's an outgoing actress type based on Bette Midler's role in the movie Beaches, As mentioned in previous SOD, several ex Days stars are on the Body and Soul list, including Thaao Penghlis (Tony) and Leann Hunley (Anna). while some of the wish list actors have already been approached, real negotiations will begin if and when Body and Soul is approved for production.

 

[SteelCity]

Body and Soul is a terrible title, but so is Manhattan Lives. Isn't it kind of a known fact that daytime soaps named after a location never last? Compared though, Manhattan Lives does sound better. I why it never came to pass. Has Deidre Hall ever been interviewed about it?

[Khan]

B&S sounds more like a prime-time miniseries than a daytime soap opera.  Whenever I read these articles about them, in fact, my mind conjures up images of Fifth Avenue shopping montages set to Debarge's "You Wear It Well."

 

 

Picking the right name for a soap opera is almost an art form unto itself.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Khan

[Franko]

There's quite a lot to digest (pun intended) here!

 

Late spring 1993 ... so as a replacement for Santa Barbara, or in the half-hour before Days? Of course, by that point, Days had reignited John and Marlena. Also interesting to note that Northrup's return contract was only for a year.

 

I'd love to know who some of those wish-list actors were, namely for the Waterfield father and P.T. Barnum.

[Soaplovers]

I think one of the Bells (I think Bill Bell Jr and Maria Arena Bell) had a proposal for a soap that was in competition with Manhattan Lives/B & S ... curious as to why both didn't get picked up.

[LoyaltoAMC]

In his We Love Soaps interview a few years back, Wisner Washam mentioned that he was working with Fox to develop a prime time soap centering on the residents of an apartment building on the Upper West Side of New York City. He said that it was a precursor to "Friends," so it sounds like it was probably in development sometime after he left AMC for good in 1991/1992, but before "Friends" premiered in 1994.

[j swift]

I feel guilty saying this, but my first thought on reading the proposal was that Deidre Hall has always overestimated her comedic appeal.  I recall an early Salem Place episode when they dressed up in funny costumes to go to the movies.  There was something about Marlena's overly made-up/coiffed sophistication mixed with the silly costume that did not work to full effect.  Marlena as "straight man" to Eugene was the cringiest time of DAYS for me (a psychiatrist goofing around with an ex-client creeps me out).  So, I guess I'm glad this didn't go forward; 25 years ago.

 

Also, while I am intrigued by Tommy Horton's adaptation to medicine in a tropical setting,  Sandy Horton was never intriguing enough to build a spin-off upon.  I'm sure it was more of an issue of casting than character, but she was always a bit of a bore.

 

If we're playing fantasy spin-off, I would have liked either a Dark Shadows-esque origin story of the Dimera family in Europe or an EON-type short mystery arc oriented soap with Marlena and Whomever in Hart to Hart-like roles.

[Franko]

Early '93. Roman and Marlena were going to a Marx Bros. festival. He was Groucho -- she was Harpo. They ended up roping in John as Chico.

 

I agree with you on Deidre, which is why I'm especially curious about who could have pulled off P.T.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Franko

[j swift]

That's amazing!, thanks for filling in the blanks.  I remember it because there was also an "E" Behind the Scenes episode being filmed of the event and Deidre promised that Marlena and John were getting back together.  The whole time I was thinking that it was implausible that Marlena (nor either of her ex-husbands) would be fans of slapstick comedy.

 

[robbwolff]

Yep. It was Bill Bell Jr. And the series was titled Coming of Age.

[SteelCity]

I'm curious about what could have been if the Marlena spin-off had happened in '86 instead of '92. 

[j swift]

Thinking back on Deidre Hall's "spokes on a wheel" firing, I wonder if the additional fees spent on spin-offs and etc. were part of that decision?

[SteelCity]

I need more information.