Author Topic: OT-ABC Network, Then and Now (Read 1675 times)

dvlvan26 · « **on:** April 01, 2005, 01:44:14 AM »

Greetings, Cousins!
I have been a long-time fan of the ABC Network and I have noticed that it has gone down since it merged with Disney back in the 1990's. Everyone will know that DS was an ABC soap opera from 1966 to 1971.

All right cousins, please give an insights and/or thoughts about the American Broadcasting Company Channel, then and now.

Have a Great Time Posting!
dvlvan26

michael c · « **Reply #1 on:** April 01, 2005, 02:26:59 AM »

well i remember that(besides d.s.)abc always had the coolest soap operas.three biggies are still on."all my children","one life to live" and "general hospital".when i was a kid i watched those along with two defunct soaps,"ryan's hope" and "the edge of night".while not supernatural,i vaugely recall that t.e.o.n. had a dark,sinister quality to it.

now the only abc program i regularly watch is "desperate housewives".

Countess · « **Reply #2 on:** April 01, 2005, 07:32:08 AM »

Quote from: mscbryk on April 01, 2005, 02:26:59 AM

well i remember that(besides d.s.)abc always had the coolest soap operas.three biggies are still on."all my children","one life to live" and "general hospital".when i was a kid i watched those along with two defunct soaps,"ryan's hope" and "the edge of night".while not supernatural,i vaugely recall that t.e.o.n. had a dark,sinister quality to it.

Funny you should mention All My Children. I started getting into it when they introduced the character of Palmer Cortlandt. Seems his mansion was " haunted" and he had a beautiful daughter (much like a blonde Vicki) who kept hearing odd noises, and there was even a creepy housekeeper. At the time, that storyline had a bit of a DS feel to it, so I kept watching. I still catch it once in awhile. Back in the day, ABC had all those great movies of the week (a few of them by Dan Curtis). But now...I can't think of an ABC show that I watch with any regularity. Not even Desperate Housewives - but I'm waiting for the summer reruns and I think I'll start watching it then.

Sandor · « **Reply #3 on:** April 01, 2005, 08:29:16 AM »

Around 1970, ABC was host to a trio of new soaps ("All My Children," "A World Apart," "The Best Of Everything") and existing ones like "One Life To Live" and "General Hospital." So by the time "Dark Shadows" came on at 4pm, die-hard ABC daytime fans had already watched 5 other serials (and a few game shows thrown in the mix) - so I wonder if this excess contributed to the eventual demise of DS.
In the mid 70's, "The Edge Of Night" moved to ABC and was put in the late afternoon time slot like DS, following 4 other soaps (3 of them an hour long), and it too gradually lost viewership and was cancelled.
ABC had good "sneak previews" between shows by '77, offering an exciting snipet of the following soap's story for that day, so viewers would stay tuned. Does anyone remember if they did that for DS? All I recall is during the end-credits for "One Life To Live," the announcer would say "Now stay tuned for DARK SHADOWS, next on most of these ABC stations."

Countess · « **Reply #4 on:** April 01, 2005, 09:49:42 AM »

Quote from: Sandor on April 01, 2005, 08:29:16 AM

ABC had good "sneak previews" between shows by '77, offering an exciting snipet of the following soap's story for that day, so viewers would stay tuned. Does anyone remember if they did that for DS? All I recall is during the end-credits for "One Life To Live," the announcer would say "Now stay tuned for DARK SHADOWS, next on most of these ABC stations."

How I wish DS would have shown a teaser for the next days show but, alas, they did not.

Countess

Luciaphile · « **Reply #5 on:** April 01, 2005, 03:09:46 PM »

Don't know much about ABC soaps then, but I'll tell you they're pretty awful right now...

Barnabas'sBride · « **Reply #6 on:** April 01, 2005, 10:22:12 PM »

I've never watched many soaps. I'm not a big fan of the soap opera format. DS is an exception for me. I sometimes catch Port Charles on Soapnet, which I admit I like more than the regular soaps because of the supernatural factor, like DS.

I don't watch much TV anymore period though, not like I did a few years ago (but then it was the WB and FOX). I've never watched shows on ABC with the exception of Alias.

Patti Feinberg · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2005, 08:41:48 PM »

from Sandor:

Quote

In the mid 70's, "The Edge Of Night" moved to ABC and was put in the late afternoon

Hmm...wow..was it really that late? Where was TEOF prior to ABC?

"Lost" is a show worth watching.

I think alot of cousins watched X-Files regularly.

OT...but who thinks X-Files has not aged well?

Patti

Countess · « **Reply #8 on:** April 05, 2005, 07:10:20 AM »

Quote

I think alot of cousins watched X-Files regularly.

OT...but who thinks X-Files has not aged well?

Hi Patti!
I'm not sure what you mean about X-Files not aging well. I think the episodes still hold up and probably will for a long time. However, IMHO, they could just chuck the last two seasons. Yuck! Before they went and moved the show to CA, XF had such an amazing style. Sadly, they left THAT in Vancouver

Always nice talking to a fellow shipper.

Countess

Mary · « **Reply #9 on:** April 05, 2005, 08:17:25 AM »

Quote from: Patti on April 04, 2005, 08:41:48 PM

Where was TEOF prior to ABC?

"Lost" is a show worth watching.

I think alot of cousins watched X-Files regularly.

OT...but who thinks X-Files has not aged well?

"The Edge of Night" was on CBS before it was moved to ABC. Many local ABC channels scheduled it at all sorts of strange hours throughout the day and it was difficult to find for some, which probably unfortunately led to its demise -- sob! I'd begun watching it shortly after DS's demise because I missed DS so much and a friend told me it was DS-like. I didn't think it was DS-like exactly, but it was still full of mystery and intrigue and very cool.

"Lost" is awesome! "The X-Files" was triple-awesome!!! LOL! I haven't noticed it not ageing well, though -- I can't possibly look at it that objectively yet! LOL!

Sandor · « **Reply #10 on:** April 05, 2005, 07:07:02 PM »

Quote from: Mary on April 05, 2005, 08:17:25 AM

"The Edge of Night" was on CBS before it was moved to ABC. I'd begun watching it shortly after DS's demise because I missed DS so much and a friend told me it was DS-like. I didn't think it was DS-like exactly, but it was still full of mystery and intrigue and very cool.

So true, Mary. Around 1971 when DS was cancelled, "The Edge Of Night" had a storyline about a house that was supposedly haunted (blood on the walls, ghosts, a terrified woman named Martha, a deranged houseguest named Cookie) - but it was less a supernatural occurance than an escaped convict hiding out in the basement, hoping to scare the residents out of the home where his stolen drugs were hidden. I was always waiting for more "Dark Shadows" alumni to show up on "Edge." Michael Stroka (Aristede) played a character named Quentin, which I thought was cool.

Penthea · « **Reply #11 on:** April 05, 2005, 08:07:19 PM »

DS alumni who were on The Edge of Night:

Mary Cooper   (Josette 1841PT)
Kathleen Cody   (Hallie/Carrie Stokes)
Joel Crothers   (Joe Haskell)
Dana Elcar   (Sheriff George Patterson #1)
Conrad Fowkes   (Frank Garner)
Carolyn Groves   (Victoria Winters Clark Bradford #3)
James Hall   (Willie Loomis #1)
Dorrie Kavanaugh   (Phylis Wicke)
Michael Maitland   (Michael Hackett Todd)
Michael Stroka   (Aristede, Bruno, Bruno Hess PT, Laszlo)
David Ford   (Sam Evans #2, Andre du Pres)
Peter Turgeon   (Dr. Dave Woodard #3)
Humbert Allen Astredo   (Nicholas Blair, Evan Hanley, Charles Dawson)
Conrad Bain   (Mr. Wells)
Leslie Barrett   (Judge Hanley)
John Sedwick   (Director)

Penthea

Mary · « **Reply #12 on:** April 06, 2005, 07:30:02 AM »

Quote from: Sandor on April 05, 2005, 07:07:02 PM

So true, Mary. Around 1971 when DS was cancelled, "The Edge Of Night" had a storyline about a house that was supposedly haunted (blood on the walls, ghosts, a terrified woman named Martha, a deranged houseguest named Cookie) - but it was less a supernatural occurance than an escaped convict hiding out in the basement, hoping to scare the residents out of the home where his stolen drugs were hidden. I was always waiting for more "Dark Shadows" alumni to show up on "Edge." Michael Stroka (Aristede) played a character named Quentin, which I thought was cool.

Yes!! That's the storyline that got me into Edge of Night! Thanks for refreshing my memory, Sandor! A friend told me people were hiding in Martha's basement trying to make her think her house was haunted and she said it was kind of like DS, so I started watching and got hooked! Though there weren't really any ghosts, it was still a cool story! LOL! And such a great show! Yep, I remember Mike Stroka being on it. Wow -- didn't realize so many DS actors were on the show! Thanks for the list, Penthea! All I knew about were Joel Crothers, Mike Stroka, and, wait, Robert Gerringer was on too -- hey, two Dave Woodards on EON! Wow! LOL!

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