I Used to Love the Emmys. What Happened? :(

When I was growing up, I didn't have many hobbies. I didn't play sports. I wasn't in many clubs. There was Boy Scouts and I played the cello in my school orchestra and in high school I got involved in the drama club. But otherwise I watched TV. Tons of it.

Every night of the week. My life revolved around the TV listings in the newspaper (We didn't get TV Guide growing up but I did subscribe to it as an adult).

I've discussed in some of my earlier blogs my love of television and my lifelong obsession with it. And I still love it. I love the technology. But to be truthful I miss old school network TV. For me, that is real TV. In my opinion, streaming and pay cable and all the other various outlets are not TV. I'll say that again. Streaming. Is. Not. TV.

There I said it. Call me old fashioned. Call me an old timer who can't accept change. But I believe that the only real TV is still the broadcast networks. TV is on a schedule. A show airs at a specific date and time and that is when you watch it, or record it.

Growing up we just had the Big Three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. CBS being the king of them all! And the Emmys for me were an annual ritual where I could see all my favorite TV stars. It was fun and entertaining. There were only the 3 networks and PBS and some syndicated shows. Five nominees in each category. Sometimes less. The only awards given out were for Comedy, Drama, Movies and Mini-Series and Variety Shows. And the categories were Show, Directing, Writing and Acting. That was it.

Now there are so many awards given out they have separate ceremonies for the creative arts and technical awards and the guest stars, etc etc etc...

And there's reality show categories, competition and lifestyle and here's my biggest qualm...first they added cable TV and now streaming and as a result the networks are being shutout! And I don't know any of these actors. They're all from the UK or Australia or they're movie stars! And the ceremony is really long and really boring.

I don't care about them at all anymore. I want to root for my favorite shows but they're not even invited to the party these days. And the ratings go down every year. This year was the lowest rated Emmys ever! Granted, all broadcast TV shows go down year after year after year because of the fractured world of modern TV. None of the big events get the ratings they used to get when there were just three channels, (except the Super Bowls).  Seriously, remember when Miss America and Miss Universe were a big event? Not even on broadcast anymore. Or all the Bowl games and parades on New Years Day? Where are they now?

But also, the people watching broadcast TV don't know see any of their shows represented.

Look. I love streaming as much as the next guy. I have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. But even I barely watch the tip of the iceberg in their original programming because there is just too much of it. If I ran the TV industry, (which let's face it you know I should!), I would have separate awards shows for streaming, cable and broadcast. The Emmys belong to the broadcast networks. How much longer do you think they will continue to broadcast the Emmys if they're not even represented at the awards show?

I want my TV back the way it was. I used to look forward to the Emmys every year.  Not anymore. Its just not TV. :(

Hairspray Live!

Last night NBC aired their annual Live Broadway musical adaptation, Hairspray Live! Following The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz.  The first three shows were produced on a soundstage in New York City (well Long Island) with no audience.  The leads in the first two were not great but the producers wisely surrounded them with award winning Broadway vets. Last year's The Wiz was an improvement and a lot of fun. It was nice to see a show that isn't done that often. And the casting was more inspired. They very wisely cast an unknown actress in the central role of Dorothy and surrounded her with names.

Last spring, FOX aired Grease Live! which was a broadcast from the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, and used many outdoor sets on the lot and had a live audience incorporated into the gym and dance sequences as well as on the streets outside. It added an energy that some felt was lacking from NBC's broadcasts. I will admit that sometimes it seemed flat when a big production number ended and there was no applause, just silence and then cut to commercial.

So taking a cue from FOX, NBC aired Hairspray from the Universals Studios in Hollywood and also used the backlot for outdoor shots. Once again, they had a big search for an unknown actress to play Tracy and surrounded her with name talent. Harvey Fierstein recreated his Tony award-winning performance as Edna. Martin Short, Kristin Chenoweth, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Andrea Martin, Sean Hayes, Rosie O'Donnell and games by the original movie Tracy, Ricki Lake and Broadway Tracy, Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals of the last couple of decades. I love the score. Its got a great early 1960s sound.  And the show is just plain fun. I love it! I think it was an excellent choice and since its not that old show they were able to have one of its original stars re-create this role.

There were some technical issues throughout with some shaky camera work, sound going out a couple of times, and some odd camera angles, or blocked shots. There was a moment in one of the dance numbers where a couple of dancers were blocking a shot of two leads in an embrace for instance.  But I think that kind of adds to the excitement of doing it live. But then again I don't think I've noticed as many technical glitches as I did in this one. Lots of shadows on performers' faces too. The jail scene between Tracy and Link as one example. A couple times, Tracy was briefly out of her light in the Corny Collins Show stuff.

And I loved the retro commercials. Those were fun.  The Reddi-Whip milk man had me scratching my head. Was that a thing back then? But then I realized they were dong retro style commercials. I loved the Toyota spot best. I have to say it was jarring to see Derek Hough finish a number and then walk directly to the camera and do an Oreos commercial.

Speaking of Derek Hough, I knew he could dance, but he can sing and act too!

I think Maddie Baillio did a great job as Tracy. I loved that they had a talent search to fund an unknown and she did a great job carrying the show. She had great energy, which Tracy needs. I really liked Dove Cameron as Amber too. Garret Clayton as Link was the weak link in the main cast. He looked and moved great. He had some killer moves on the dance floor but not the strongest actor up there.

I LOVED Harvey Fierstein and Martin Short as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad. Their second-act song, You're Timeless to Me, was a high point for me. A couple of sketchy camera shots but otherwise, perfection. Two old pros showing you how its done. THAT'S Broadway to me.

Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle? Singing I Know Where I've Been. Amazing! Brought the house down. But I felt she was a little small in stature to be Big Blonde and Beautiful.  Still loved her though.

Kristin Chenoweth was great as always. And they clearly re-wrote her numbers so she could hit those high notes at the end.

Speaking of re-writes, there seemed to be some re-writes form the stage version. There was no Big Dollhouse number and Tracy was the only one to get arrested and go to jail. In the Broadway version all the women wind up in jail.  But one of things I noticed with Grease Live! too was that they were doing a hybrid of the Broadway and movie versions of the show as opposed to doing a straight-up televised stage production.

The production design was amazing. Seriously, I loved the Baltimore street set with the Easter eggs in the names of the shops, Waters Plumbing, Divine Pet Food with a pink flamingo on the sign. Nice! And I totally geeked out when I realized that the two women escorting Tracy and Edna in and out of Mr. Pinky's were Marisa Jaret Winokur and Ricki Lake.  But seriously, I loved the set design. So much goes into these live productions. And this one looked fantastic.

Picky stuff...in opening number, Good Morning Baltimore, it was clearly not morning but nighttime as the scene was done outdoors after sunset in LA. And since when are there mountains in Baltimore? You could clearly see the Hollywood Hills in the background. I know I'm being nitpicky but these are the kinds of things I notice.  Like Billy Eichner as the news reporter with a couple of days scruff. That is a very NOW look. A TV host/emcee/reporter in 1962 would never go on the air looking like that.

Again, I'm being nitpicky. Most people wouldn't notice or care. And does it ruin the experience for me? No. It just takes men out of it when I see something that isn't period in a period piece.

I loved it overall!  And I think this one is the best of the NBC shows so far. Nest year, Bye Bye Birdie with Jennifer Lopez.

Grease Live!

Last night was Grease Live! on FOX.  This was their first attempt at a live musical after NBC has given us 3 over the last couple of years. The main difference between Grease and NBC's telecasts was that there was a live audience. However, like NBC's live musicals, Grease was shot like a movie as opposed to a stage production and in this case used the Warner Brothers soundstage and backlot to keep the show moving. As a result, the "live audience" was not sitting in a fixed audience or bleachers. They were scattered throughout the locations and integrated into the scenes.

For instance, the opening took place outside, (right after the rain I might add) , and had people standing behind ropes cheering on the opening number. The same held true for the cheerleading tryout scene which was outside in front of the school building. In the gym, the audience members were in the bleachers as in Hand Jive too. The extras in the front rows of the bleachers were dressed in period (sort of) but everyone behind them was just  regular modern audience. The audience cheered at everything. It did add to the "Live" excitement of this event.

And it was an "Event" in every sense of the word. In fact it was a spectacular. Did you know that in the 1950s that is what the big TV specials were called, Spectaculars? Look it up. This production was an amazing feat. They used multiple sets, soundstages, and outdoor locations in and around the Warner Brothers Burbank lot. It was an incredible production and they pulled it off. Kudos to the amazing camera work. It was seamless. Because, ladies and gentleman, the truth of the matter is this was NOT just a filmed stage production. As I've said with The Wiz Live, this was hybrid of movie and stage.

In the case of Grease Live, this was even more true.  Why is that? Because they matched the movie almost scene for scene and shot for shot. This was NOT the stage version of Grease. Why? Because the movie is so beloved and iconic. And its what people expect. But the movie strayed far from the original Broadway play. Grease the Broadway musical started out in Chicago, moved to Off-Broadway and then to Broadway becoming the longest running Broadway show of all time running a then record 8 years (1972 to 1980). It was smaller, raunchier and grittier. It was not the sunny nostalgic look back at the 1950s that the movie was. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But subsequent revivals of the show now interpolate scenes and songs from the movie. I would love to see someone do the original version of Grease just to experience it the way it was originally intended.

Back to last night's show.  An amazing feat to pull off.  I was on a thread on fb with some friends where we were being snarky and dishing so many things. So I will use this to be positive. Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. OMG. When she sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", she nailed it. NAILED IT! Especially considering her father passed away the night before. Proof that the show must go on. Kudos to her. Loved Keke Palmer as Marty singing Freddy My Love. I loved the transition from her bedroom to the USO stage. I rewound and played it back to catch the costume and set change again. The same with the Greased Lightning transition. So well done.

Loved that they Didi Conn was the waitress with the "new" Frenchy. Although I was not a fan of the song they gave Carly Rae Jepson to sing right before Teen Angel. It didn't fit in with the style of the rest of the show.  I also loved what they did with Those Magic Changes. That montage was very well put together. And this is a prime example of the movie vs. stage. You can't do that onstage. Its an editing thing that can only be done in movies. But they found a way to do this. Awesome.

Hand Jive. Wow. So much going on. And think about this. Think about the logistics of filming this in a way so that the audience isn't aware of how its being done. But imagine all the cameras on that stage. All the crew holding those cameras. Running in and out of the dancers, or being lifted above the soundstage simultaneously. And all out of sight.

I read some complaining about the ages of the actors being too old. So? What else is new? So were the actors in the movie. They were mostly in their late 20s. Olivia Newton John and Stockard Channing were over 30. Get over it!

Loved Blanche played by Haneefah Wood. Why isn's she listed on the imdv page for this? At least not last night during the airing. She was a scene stealer. And considering most of her scenes were opposite one of my faves, Ana Gasteyer, thats saying something.

This was a big, fun, splashy event night of television. And I hope there is more to come. Well there is in fact. FOX is doing Rocky Horror at some point and then NBC is doing Hairspray in December.  Let's hope NBC livens up Hairspray with some audience.

Binge Watching TV - Not. Enough. Time.

I have been a TV addict my entire life. I love TV. Always have. Always will. I was raised in the era of three networks. When all three networks aired programs aimed at all audiences and families watched TV together.  I miss it.

Today's TV is well in the words of HBO, Not TV. It's not. Its made for the internet, for streaming, for cable. You have to subscribe to services or channels to get programs that you may like, There's Netflix and Hulu and Amazon and HBOGO and all the major networks have their own streaming services as well. And not just to re-a-r their broadcast shows. CBS recently announced that they are producing a new Star Trek series...for their streaming service. Not for their network! WHAT!?

I have Netflix which I subscribed to when it was strictly a DVD rental service. It was awesome...at the time. Order your DVD rentals online and they come in the mail. Great! Modern technology is awesome! That was so 2010. I have Amazon Prime because I subscribed for the free shipping, now I get TV shows and movies. And now they have original programming too! And good programs! I have DirecTV, Amazon Prime and Netflix. Do I need Hulu too? Its too much money. And my DirecTV bill keeps going up. I cut back on the number of channels after year one to get the price down and now its gone up again. Do I dump DirecTV? Do I dump cable altogether and just subscribe to streaming services? And then get an antenna and watch regular good old-fashioned free broadcast?

I admit that Is till like to watch shows on the major networks when they air or at the very least record them and watch as soon as possible.

But now, there is so much to watch or to catch up on shows that I might not have been on board with from the beginning but now I want to sample. Right now this is my list. I need to finish Aziz Ansari's show Master of None, Transparent, then I have to watch season 6 of Parenthood which was just released on Netflix. I want to watch Fargo and The Americans. And Mozart in the Jungle Season Two was just released on Amazon this week. Plus there's the regular shows I watch every week. The Good Wife, How To Get Away With Murder, CBS Thursday night comedies, ABC Wednesday night comedies, The Amazing Race, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl. The new NBC comedies look decent, Superstore and Telenovela. I'm always into HGTV shows, thats my weekend background noise.

Oh! And I currently have a free three months of HBO so I have recently watched all four season of Veep, The recent season of The Comeback, the full run of Looking and I am now into Getting On. What else? What else? I have to watch them all. There's so much good stuff out there. What next? Feed me Krelbourne. Feed me now!

Oh! And I forgot I've been watching the 1970 episodes of The Doctors. Two episodes a day from NBC's 1970 daytime soap opera. In Living Color on NBC. Stay tuned for Another World. In Color. (They leave in the original intros and outros. It's awesome!)

I think I may have a problem

The Wiz Live!

My thoughts on The Wiz Live!

I enjoyed it. It was much better than Peter Pan Live! and Sound of Music Live!  I thought it was an excellent choice. The Wiz is not as well known as the other two. People know of it, maybe know the songs but have most likely never seen the show. I am one of those. I had the Original Broadway Cast Recording and loved it. In fact, I got it when I joined the Columbia House record club when I was in the 9th grade.

So that is reason one why I think it was a smart choice. It exposed the mainstream audience to a little performed classic Broadway show as opposed to another production of one of the most produced shows ever (like Sound of Music and Peter Pan).

The second reason, they cast an unknown in the lead role of Dorothy and surrounded her with a cast of names. And she was wonderful, like the wizard! (Get it ? Because the original book is called The Wonderful World of Oz). Great choice. Smart choice. And it paid off. Oh! And brining back Stephanie Mills to play Aunt Em? Yes! My musical theatre geek heart nearly exploded.

Reason number three, diversity, diversity, diversity. An all black cast in an all black musical! Yes. Smart NBC. Very smart. And in this day and age...necessary.

Now, most of what I have read online has been positive. It was an improvement from the last two years but of course not flawless. Personally, I thought that Queen Latifah's songs should have been taken up into a more comfortable area in her vocal range. They were too low for her. Yes, the songs were written for a man, but c'mon. This is a major network show. Change the keys for her.

Some of the negative comments I've read are that its still not as good as a live stage production. Well yes. It is a stage show and its being performed without a live audience so it does lack that aspect. However, its for a television audience. It's sort of a hybrid of a musical theater production and a television show. It was staged and designed for a TV audience, not a live audience. It's been staged on a huge sound stage in a movie studio and staged for the cameras as opposed to a live audience.

There were complaints that there were too many commercial breaks. Agreed. But perhaps necessary so that actors could change costumes or run from one set to another for the next scene. Because while it is a TV production, its live and its of a stage show which means you keep going. No stopping. It has to flow. Unlike a movie where you cut and shoot multiple takes. Its live TV.  All the editing is done in the booth as we are watching it. And that lends to the excitement of a live TV show. So we lose the energy and the heightened performance you would get in front of a live audience. But being live, things can still go wrong.

While nothing went wrong here, there were some camera shots that were questionable. But I think that was more on the TV director and the cutting. Some of those shots in the big numbers should have been wider. But that's being picky.

The costumes, set design, choreography, makeup all so awesome.

And bottom line for those negative Nancies out there who think the show was bastardized or dumbed down or just plain didn't like it because it was not an exact duplicate of the stage production...think about all the people who were exposed to a musical theatre piece that might not otherwise ever go see a show in the theater. Think of all the young kids out there, who will see this and be inspired to pursue acting or singing or dancing.

As I said with Carrie Underwood in The Sound of Music two years ago. Yes, there are far better stage actresses who could have played Maria in that. However, bringing in a name like Carrie Underwood brought in an audience that might not otherwise want to see a musical. Carrie Underwood fans, Country Western and Pop music fans. Bottom line, NBC is a major broadcast network and they are in the business of making money. You cast a name in the lead role, you're going to get a bigger audience. It's smart business.

However, this year. They took chances and those chances paid off. The Wiz Live on NBC. Did I like it as much as listening to the Original Broadway Cast album I grew up with? No. But did I like it as TV? Yes.

Two thumbs up to The Wiz Live! Can't wait to hear what they do next year. Let's hope they stick with this formula and not the Peter Pan, Sound of Music formula.

My Not So Secret Love Continued

Yesterday, I told you about my love for television growing up. Today, I give some details about how active my imagination was. Some of this is embarrassing so please kind. I know was a little weirdo.

When I was a kid I fantasized that Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore might be my real parents. I fantasized about being discovered by no less than Lucille Ball.  She would have me a guest star on her show and from that I would get my own Monday night sitcom on CBS...The Richard Van Slyke Show. I would have annual specials too so I had an opportunity to sing and dance of course.

In the Fifth grade, my friends Bob Pohl and Nick Mangus would play The Odd Couple during recess. Bob was Oscar, Nick was Felix and I was Murray the Cop. Murray the Cop. Really?  I fancied myself the star. Instead I'm the fat guy with the big nose? Great!

As I entered later high and into college, my favorite show was Guiding Light. This happened when it expanded from a half hour to an hour and pushed my All in the Family reruns back a half hour. So when I got home from school at 2:30 Guiding Light was just tarting. So I watched and it quickly became my favorite show on TV. I loved it! Rita and Ed. Holly and Roger. Alan and Elizabeth and Justin and Jackie and Mike Bauer of the core Bauer family.  Roger raping Holly. Holly shooting Roger and Roger "dying". The failed kidnap attempt of Christine leading Roger in full clown makeup chasing Holly though a carnival hall of mirrors while Enough is Enough played in the background? Awesome! The introduction of the younger characters, Nola and Kelly an Morgan. The episode that opened with 15 minutes of Kelly confronting Nola about al her lies that had been building for about a year and a half? Brilliant!

Late nights in my college years, CBN (now known as ABC Family) ran reruns of 1950s sitcoms and discovered Burns and Allen, My Little Margie, Private Secretary, I Married Joan.  Then Nick at Nite went on the air and boom! More 1950s 1960s shows.

Now, TVLand and Nick at Nite shows are from the 1990s and even more recent. And we have Retrotv Antenna TV and ME TV. But they are analog channels and without cable, who can get them? Plus they air the same old shows.

So now I collect DVD sets. A lot of DVD sets. I have the complete series of Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Newhart, Family Affair, Hazel, That Girl, Get Smart, Green Acres, All in the Family, Rhoda, WKRP, News Radio, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Odd Couple, Soap, Will & Grace and selected seasons of other series.

Yeah, I think I may have problem!

My Not So Secret Love

I began yesterday's blog by starting to get into this but wound up on another related subject. So here it is...

Over the last few years, I have become more open about this and have begun the slow process of coming out to my friends. I have always been a bit embarrassed to admit this about myself. But I am more comfortable sharing this about myself. I've been afraid of being labelled a "geek" or a "nerd". So here it is...

I love television. No, I mean really LOOOOVEE it! I cannot imagine living without it. I know more about television shows and the actors and creators then I do about the people in my own life. I am a walking encyclopedia of television history. I know the Emmy winners through the years. I can tell you the top rated shows from the beginning (1947 Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle) through today (NCIS). I can tell what years and networks that shows aired on and who starred on them, who they were married to, who directed, produced etc.

I even won a great deal of money on Trivial Pursuit - America Plays, the game show.

I used to go straight the TV insert of the Sunday paper every week and memorize it.

I started reading the weekly Nielsen ratings every week when I was 12 and I haven't stopped.

But my knowledge kind of trails off as we get into the mid-2000s because of the proliferation of the cable networks and subsequently other sources of programming such as Netflix. But when it comes to the networks (ABC CBS and NBC) I know everything. Even who runs the networks and who ran them in the past. Its in there. In my head. And whenever someone says something that I know is incorrect, I immediately blurt out the correct answer. It's almost like tourettes. I can't help it! I think I may have a problem.

I'm not so crazy for present day TV. Most of it is like movies anyway. They look the same. They're just 22 or 43 minutes in length. I miss the days when it was just the big three (ABC CBS and NBC) . They programmed for everyone. Now, everything is splintered. Networks for kids, networks for women, networks for sports, networks for original movies.  No more Saturday morning cartoons on the networks. No more made for TV movies of Hallmark Hall of Fames. No more original programming on Saturday nights!

I miss the old shows. I grew up in front of the TV. On Friday nights, my sisters and I would roll out the sleeping bags, get into our PJs and watch the ABC Friday night line up (Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Room 222, The Odd Couple, and Love American Style), fall asleep and wake up on Saturday morning to watch all the cartoons (Archies, Sabrina and the Groovie Ghoulies, Scooby Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, The Monkees, HR Pufnstuff,  The Jetsons, Pebbles and Bam Bam). Saturday nights, the whole family including my parents watched the CBS line up (All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett). Sundays were Disney and Lassie.

Afternoons were loaded with reruns, Bewitched Jeannie, Mr. Ed, Superman, Mickey Mouse Club, The Musters, The Addams Family, Gilligan, the list goes on. The networks used to program  daytime reruns in the mornings of their recent shows The Lucy Show, Andy Griffith, The Beverly Hillbillies, Dick Van Dyke, That Girl.  There were the game shows, Concentration, Password, Match Game, Tattletales, Joker's Wild.

My parents were always after me to get out from in front of the TV and to go outside and play. "You've seen this I Love Lucy 100 times!"

What's left today? Two game shows on CBS and that's it. No more daytime reruns. Only four soaps and no cartoons.

Because of the fractured landscape of television today, we don't sit down as a family and watch TV together anymore. Kids today don't even watch TV on a TV! And never mid rushing home to catch your favorite shows. You can watch it anytime thanks to DVRs and streaming services.

I an still remember the thrill of rushing home from my part-time job at Sears on Friday nights to catch Dallas. Watching the drama unfold from week to week on St. Elsewhere and Knots Landing. God! How I loved those shows. I miss that. I want the old days back. Or am I just old?

And if you doubt my knowledge of TV history, go ahead and ask me if you see me. Its kind of hard to prove on here. Who's to say I won't use the internet to get the answer. So if you see me in person, ask away.

What do you think? Do you prefer the good ole days? Or do you prefer television today?  Or am I just an ornery old guy longing for the good ole days? I'd like to hear from you.

I'm Obsessed with The Doctors in Living Color on NBC

I have something I want to confess. This is difficult for me. Because I've only recently learned to embrace my geekiness. I used to hide it because I was embarrassed. But the truth is I am addicted to television.

My latest obsession is reruns of The Doctors on Retrotv. Not The Doctors talk show that is currently in syndication, but the original The Doctors soap opera that aired on NBC from April 1963 through December 1982. How many of you remember that show?

Fun fact: It debuted the same day as General Hospital on ABC and in the late 1960s and early 1970 was the higher rated of the two shows. Each of these shows were ABC and NBC's first real successes with the soap opera. CBS had dominated the soap genre since the early 1950s with its soaps. (Search for Tomorrow, Love of Life, Guiding Light, Secret Storm, As The World Turns, The Edge of Night).

Last fall, Retrotv started airing two episodes a day of The Doctors starting with late 1967. Right now they are into March of 1970 in the story. I don't get Retrotv but there are people who do who then upload the episodes to various on line outlets.

They are fascinating to watch. A) because they were kind of low budget; B) to see the hair styles and clothing; C) think about this. They had JUST switched from black and white to color! D) because every once in a while you'll see familiar face as an uncredited extra. Paul Michael Glaser was on a few episodes as an orderly and dancing in a nightclub scene. Kevin Dobson was an ER doctor in another. No lines, but there they are plain as day.

And who knew that Terry Kiser (Bernie in Weekend at Bernies) did soaps? And not as the comic relief! He plays a young doctor on the show.

Another reason I am fascinated with watching this show is this. In the mid-1960s soaps started to switch from live daily airings to videotape. From the late 1960s through the late 1970s, the tapes were all recorded over to save money because back then videotape was expensive. So virtually no soap opera episodes from the late 60s to mid 70s even exists. Dark Shadows was the exception. So the fact that these exist is huge! At least to a TV geek like me.

Also the process of videotaping back then was different. They recorded what they called live to tape. This means that they did not stop for retakes unless something went horribly wrong. So even though it was shot on tape, they went on as if it were airing live. As a result, you will hear offstage coughing, door slams, the occasional boom in the shot and flubbed lines. Remember, this was professional network television!

This was one of my mom's favorite soaps when I was a kid. But then, I think at one point she watched all the CBS soaps. I remember Search for Tomorrow with Jo and Stu. Jo's big love interest in the late 1960s was played by Robert Mandan who went on to play Chester on Soap. That one was on at lunchtime which is why I remember the characters. And Love of Life with Van and Bruce. Right before lunch.  The other shows I didn't watch but I remember the opening titles. Like the kind of eerie opening credits of The Edge of Night Dum Dum Da DUM. The Eeeeedge of Night!  (As the Cincinnati skyline fades to black.) Or the splashing waves on the rocky coastline of The Secret Storm. Eventually, as shows expanded to an hour and game shows became more successful, the soaps started getting cancelled so my mom moved over exclusively to the NBC soaps, Another World The Doctors and Days of Our Lives. She still watches Days to this day. The others have all died off.

I love the fact that back then there were around a dozen soaps that shot in New York City employing dozens of actors directors, costumers, writers, set designers etc. And so many actors were employed for years (decades in some cases) in one role. I mean the same job as an actor for years! Think about that. In what other genre does that happen? It doesn't. That has always fascinated me. Most actors go from job to job and have long periods of unemployment, but not soap actors
. Alas, there's an entire industry that no longer exists in New York City.

But back to The Doctors. It was the first soap to win a daytime Emmy for Best Daytime Drama in 1974. And again in 1976. Elizabeth Hubbard won for Best Actress in one of those years. I am familiar with her work years later on As The World Turns which I started watching in high school.  Its really interesting to see her as another character completely different from the one she played on World Turns. Her scenes with her main love interest are amazing. Their chemistry is undeniable. She plays Althea Davis, a well bred New England doctor who runs the clinic and she falls for the brash hot-headed brilliant neurosurgeon Nick Bellini played by Gerald Gordon. He flies off the handle every day. But my favorite character is Nurse Carolee Simpson played by Carolee Campbell. She is sweet and funny and endearing. Even when she is in a dramatic story line, she has quick little quips.

So every day, I watch the latest two episodes and then go on the forums to read other people's comments. And I am anxious to see how the story lines play out and see how the technology advances and budgets grow as we get into the 1980s. And oh yeah...some actor named Alec Baldwin joins the cast somewhere around 1980.