40 minutes ago, Khan said:

Was Pat Falken Smith still writing DAYS when that article was published?

Nah. She left in 1977.

Ann Marcus' run as head writer was winding down at the time the article was published.

Looking back to December 1986...

From the Chicago Tribune

News

WHAT HAPPENED ON YOUR FAVORITE SOAP OPERAS

By United Feature Syndicate

PUBLISHED: December 13, 1986 at 1:00 AM CST | UPDATED: August 9, 2021 at 6:49 AM CDT

ALL MY CHILDREN: Linc, Chuck and Kelly returned to comfort Mona, who mourned Charle sudden death. Jeremy was shocked when Erica told him their romance is off forever because shell never be his first priority. Hillary agreed to Tas idea that they see a marriage counselor. Nina and Cliff planned to remarry. Convinced that Adam set Natalie up, Palmer paid Natalies bail. Tad fumed to learn that Skye told Hillary that Tas been seeing another woman (Skye) while separated from Hillary. Brooke searched for Mark. Ross disapproved that Palmer wants to turn Natalie into a ”double agent” and have her spy on Adam. Brooke fumed that Tom neglected Laura while the child was in his care. Adam ordered Natalie to get him a key to the Courtland Enterprises laboratory where Palmers people are developing a security device. Natalie accepted Palmer`s offer to live in his mansion.

ANOTHER WORLD: On the witness stand, Catlin told the court that Peter threatened to kill Brittany after Peter learned he wast Peter Reginalds father. Peter testified that Brittany plotted to kill him while he pulled his gun with the intention of protecting her from a dangerous horse. M.J. realized that Vince split town and that Cass and Kathleen are with him. Felicia warned Rachel to make up her mind about her feelings for Mitch. Jamie and Nicole rescued Michael, who got into a barroom brawl after learning that Donna`s mental state is deteriorating. Catlin told Brittany he wants to marry her.

AS THE WORLD TURNS: Rick attempted to blackmail John over their past and an ex-con named Howard Lansing. Seth and Frannie found Mona, who had apparently died in her sleep. Seth promised to help Frannie find her lookalike, who charged away from Mons cottage on a white horse. Lyla and Casey went to bed, but she wants their romance kept under wraps for now. James foreclosed on a loan that Lucinda gave Steve. Seth and Frannie found a birthday card for Sabrina, who they assumed is Frannies lookalike. Beatrice doest feel that she belongs in Oakdale. James warned Rick to keep away from Emily, who rejected Ricks sexual advances. Lucinda encouraged Monica Lawrence`s interest in Holden. Barbara almost caught Emily with James.

CAPITOL: Mark, who is the head of the group called ”Octopus,” met with Colton, but they escaped before Sloane and Hubert could see them. Interpol agent Ray Fenton told Clarissa that Colton attempted to kill her. Carla and Baxter realized that Octopus (Mark) engineered the Baracq crisis and caused Yasmees death. Marks mystery boss said that Sloane is trouble and he wants her eliminated. Dylan bought D.Js house and told Brenda hell finance Wally`s career. Ali was wounded by a would-be assassin.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Orpheus planted a bomb in Marlena and Romas home. The bomb went off while Marlena was in the house. Kayla returned the emeralds to Patch, who gave them to his Stockholm contact, Werner. Glenn told Abe he feels guilty that hes ratting on fellow students who are using drugs. A mystery woman searched Patcs pad. Mike was surprised to learn that Robin helped him secure a grant for leukemia research. Robin learned that Mike and Ivy slept together. Roman asked Hope to find out if Victor has connections with Orpheus. Hope moved back into Victors mansion with Bo, who is working his way back into Victos good graces. Kimberly was surprised to learn that Barbara is moving out of Salem, even though Paul doesnt want to leave. Barbara spoke to Emma, who told Barbara to get Teddy (Andrew) out of town as soon as possible.

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jimmy Lee and Alan came to blows over Charity. Jimmy Lee told Charity that Alan pretended to have amnesia to worm his way back into Monics life and to get his share of the Quartermaine money. Charity told Alan that she loved ”Simon,” the man he became while he was hiding in Pautauk. Buzz told Sandy that hes been offered a chief-of-staff job in Laurelton. Anna stood by Duke, who underwent surgery that will hopefully restore the use of his legs. Robert cautioned Anna to think of Robin`s happiness when Anna makes her decision about whether to marry Duke. Frisco wants to be reinstated on the police force. Tiffany is still trying to lure Sean into her bed. Jake was puzzled to learn that Lucy is suddenly spending a lot of money.

GUIDING LIGHT: Ross told Vanessa that Dinah is their daughter after Jos second ransom demand for Dinah revealed the girls parentage to Henry. Jean-Clauds lawyer, Barbara Farrell, told Alan that Johnny worked for Jean-Claude and his partner, Roland Valere. The trio broke up after Johnny had an affair with Valeres wife, Christine. Valere set Johnny up and he was arrested on contraband charges. Gerhardt told his pal, Hugo, that Josh and Simon believed Gerhards ploy that hes an Interpol agent. Hugo paid Cat to cause trouble for Mindy and Simon. Fletcher moved in with Maeve and Ben. Joe and Shelly taunted Dinah by not telling her the identity of her parents. Billy romanced Vanessa, but said he still plans to divorce her. Afraid of losing Ross, Calla tried, but failed, to keep him from seeing Dinah`s medical records.

LOVING: Steve was shocked to learn from Gwyneth that Trishs family forced her to give up Steve when Cabot arranged Steves release from prison. Nick told Gwyneth hll take care of Trisha, who passed out from too much booze and pills. Lottie no longer has to report to her parole officer. Handsome newcomer in town Tony Benedict rented a room from Kate and applied for a job as a gardener at the Alden estate. Two punks tailed Kelly, who borrowed money from a friend. Eban pressured old pal, Sunny, for Lotties whereabouts.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE: Charles convinced Jamie to give himself up and Jamie was arrested. Thomas helped Viki keep it a secret that shs suffering from a temporary memory loss. In a minor shootout, Pete was wounded, but Jamies hostages, Didi and Connie, were later released unharmed. Believing that Maria might kill her, a hospitalized Allison lapsed into a deep coma. Cord forced Tina to turn ownership of Devis Claw Island over to Asa, who offered the island to Pamela as a divorce settlement. Brad and Connie got married. Didi left for Paris, where she joined her long-lost husband, Bo Buchanan. Kate offered to buy Devils Claw from Asa, then learned that pirate treasure is supposedly buried on the island. Rafe searched for Allisos mother, Ruth, who he believes can shed light on Jessicas kidnapping.

RYAS HOPE: Erik told Siobhan that hes her supposed dead husband, Joe Novak, and that he had plastic surgery to throw his enemies off his trail. Lizzie took off with Owney, even though she cat cope with the child. Erik(Joe) said hell let Siobhan stay married to Max if thas what she wants. Frank learned that Harlan had many enemies, and the police suspect that Harlan murdered his wife. Johnno told Jill hes convinced that Lizzie killed Harlan. Ryan argued with Rick, who doest think Lizzies a killer.

SANTA BARBARA: Newcomer Jeffrey Conrad saved Sophia when a wall that was damaged in a fire nearly fell on her. Tori learned that shs pregnant by Cruz. Caroline told Gus that she doesnt want Alice to know that Caroline is her mother. Jane helped convince Brian to stick around town for awhile. Caroline admitted to Lionel that she went to the prison to visit with Alics father. C.C. realized that Alice is Carolines daughter. After meeting Alice, C.C. agreed to Caroline`s request that he try to get Gus out of prison. Eden told Cruz that she still loves him. The Capwells concocted a scheme to

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”kidnap” Kelly to force Gina to turn over the video tape that clears Kelly of murder. Lionel figured out that Alice is Carolins daughter. C.C., who once had a boxing contract with Gus, accused Caroline of ruining Guss career.

SEARCH FOR TOMORROW: Bela felt a fool when Sunny told him that shs not pregnant. Kate took Malcolm to the airport, but he didnt board the plane to Ireland. David was cleared of charges that he caused Suzi`s death. Wilma returned from her recording session in time to learn that David has decided to fight his addiction to alcohol. Jo and Stu spent time together after his release from the hospital. Patti and Hogan returned from Ireland. Quinn brought Kat to Henderson and vowed to prove that Malcolm is a murderer. Evie realized Quinn loves Kat.

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Julia tried to help Ashley come to terms with her abortion decision. Ashley nixed telling Victor that she knows about Nikks failing health. Paul read Lauren the riot act while she explained that she had entered his photo in the centerfold contest for their mutual amusement. Paul resigned from the mayors anti-porn task force. Ellen accepted another dinner date with Jack. JoAnna returned from a buying trip and was shocked to see Paul in the centerfold. Nina saw Terry kiss Danny, who was surprised to learn that Terry is extending her stay in Genoa City. Jill vowed to tell Philip the real reason behind his fathes death. Kay told Philip that her son, Brock, is working in Africa now, but he would approve of her adopting Philip. Jill turned down Michaels marriage proposal. Victor is worried about Nikki, who`s having bouts of fatigue. Ashley is obsessed with the baby she aborted.

June 1 1977 - Patriot

Soap Opera Report By Bruce Joffe and Vickie Murphy

By moving All My Children to an hour, the ABC programmers obviously hope to lure some of the loyal CBS viewers away from As the World Turns. It's likely that we will be seeing some pretty heavy action when AMC breaks for a commercial message at 1:30, just when ATWT comes on. Whether or not the strategy works remains to be seen. If we were the ABC programmers (are you listening Fred Silverman?) we would have scheduled AMC at 3pm instead. One Life to Live may not be an able enough rival for NBC's Another World but All My Children certainly is. Especially now.

A brief digression-Another World has long been one of our favorite shows. But we wonder how long even faithful fans can live with Bay City's population explosion and its merry go round cast? Changing faces and terminal characters are not really in keeping with the soap operas basic premise of growth in character development. Another World'. characters and storylines grow boring and repetitious. Worse, our intelligence is insulted as we wonder just how stupid some people can be.

We'd like to believe that seemingly intelligent men like Mac Cory and Brian Bancroft (they are supposed to be rich and successful) would be wise by now to Iris' schemes.

If we were handicapping the ABC shows, we'd pick All My Children over Another World. We'd schedule the 45-minute One Life to Live from 1:00-1:45. and follow it by 45-minutes of General Hospital. New, earlier timeslots might prove just the shot-in-the-arm these shows need to pick op their ratings And, we suspect, lunchtime AMC fans would accept One Life to Live in its place - after all, they're both Agnes Nixon creations.

By moving Ryan's Hope from 12:30 to 2:30, ABC could ensure a solid block of support for all its shows hooking viewers into a 3 - 4:00 time slot for All My Children - which would be followed by Edge of Night at 4. Opposite The Doctors (NBC) and Guiding Light (CBS), Ryan's Hope's ratings should be even more impressive than they are. The show faces stiff competition at 12.30 from Search far Tomorrow (not to mention (Lovers and Friends). But, at 2:30, the competition favors Ryan's Hope.

Within a short white — a very short while — we predict that CBS will take positive steps to counter the challenge the threat All My Children poses to As the World Turns. Watch for CBS to expand The Young and the Restless to an hour If they're smart, they'll shift Search far Tomorrow to 12:00 from 12:30, and run YAR from 12 30 to 1 30 This will land beautifully into As the World Turns, which, we suspect will emerge from this ratings war with better ratings than ever.

In any case, we viewers will soon be faced with more dialling decisions of our own.

*Suggesting that ABC move all it's shows??? Madness. Not going to happen. Daytime viewing was always habit based. Hence why networks preferred to revamp shows with new writers/producers etc rather than starting from scratch.

I can hardly think of a show that moved timeslots and prospered. Edge of Night to 2.30-flop. AW to 2.30 flop. Y&R to 1pm-the ratings dropped and so on. LOL to 4pm -cancelled.

They were right however, about AW. The constant character changes were a killer, yet no one called a halt to it.

Missed the boat about predicting ATWT would triumph-the next year it fell from #1 for the first time in 20 years.