The Flashback Soaps NBC
We now return to our lookback at Soap Operas from the past , this time : NBC's hit soap "Another World". The idea for "Another World" was a spin off for "As the World Turns" (get it? , Another World from As the World Turns) but CBS didn't have room for the series and they didn't like an idea of a spin off being on another Network. Irna Phillips decided to pitch the soap to NBC but not as a spin off.
The soap did things that were considered controversial a plotline with a teenager having an (at the time) illegal abortion. It also ,after year lessened the focus on one family later on Agnes Nixon became the head writer of the series and it found a footing and audience. By the 1970's Nixon left to create One life to Live . In 1970 it also gained a spinoff , Somerset, we will talk about that soon. The series was doing well so they decided why not expand the show to 90 minutes ( way longer considering many soaps at the time were 30 Minutes and some were expanding to an hour ) in 1979. The 90 minute period started with the death of the Character , John. Randolph. The 90 minutes idea didn't catch on too much with the viewers so after a few months it was cut back down to 60.
Brought you by Dawn , because it's soapy get it?
In the 1980's a new family became prominent in the series , the Love Family, this made the writing out of the Matthews family happen. The series still focused on romance. It was the first Soap to have an AIDS storyline in 1987. By the 1990's ,as the many of our story of series from the past , the kind of end up at a point where ratings go down. Jill Farren Phelps became head writer for the soap in 1995 , she decided to put the show in a youthful direction. Some plot lines during this time included Rachel Cory Hutchins had a evil look alike named Justine , who apparently was invincible to being hit by a train. Ratings going down also caused budget cuts and a serial killer plot (because serial killers make things cheaper) . Also some of the believe ability for people started going down ( I hope it was with the woman and the train) and so did ratings. In 1999 Another World was canceled due to low ratings and also because NBC wanted to make a new soap and had no room so Passions was in and Another World was out. The Final episode aired June 25, 1999.
Another thing.... some characters after the show ended , went to As the World Turns . Fitting, considering the original intent of the show.
Now let's talk about ... the spin offs. {Inset soap opera music here]
As stated above "Another World" was originally going to be a spin off "As the World Turns" but that didn't happen. "Another World" itself did have spin offs.
The first one was "Somerset" it premiered on March 30, 1970 on NBC it focused on Palmer Matthews, Lahoma Vane Lucas , and Sam Lucas as they moved to Somerset , a fictional suburb of Detroit. When the series changed head writers it decided to have crime stories as a focus, which was a way to make it NBC's version of "The Edge of Night", but that didn't help it and Somerset ended December 31,1976 after it didn't gain big traction.
Another Spin off that was launched , this time in 1980 was called "Texas" the series focused on daily lives of Wheelers , Bellmans ,and the Marshalls. It was not originally going to be a spin off but due to the Primetime show "Dallas" doing great for CBS, NBC wanted some of that fun. ( Calling the show Houston would be too obvious) So they had a character from Another World , Iris Cory Bancroft (played by Beverlee McKinsey) "move" to Houston. They also to get more viewers they had more characters from the parent soap come to "Texas". McKinsey left the series in 1981 and they changed focus to the background characters. The series did very well in Canada but on this side it was never was that Big and it ended on New Years Eve 1982.
Texas ..... was a soap
That's our look as the Another World now watch this post get hit by a train and live.
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