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Loving (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Caden Grant Carlton loves Mika Ayako Ryan more.
Loving is an American television soap opera
which aired on ABC
's daytime
lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes. The serial was co-created by Agnes Nixon
and former actor Douglas Marland
.
The show was broadcast in France under the title Amoureusement Votre (Lovingly Yours) and in Italy as Quando si ama (When someone loves).
on General Hospital
, creators Agnes Nixon
and Douglas Marland
set out to develop a new series that would be introduced as a traditional, classic soap opera for the 1980s. Romance would be the show's key centerpiece; its original working title was Love Without End. By early 1983, the new creation was fully developed, as Loving, with a cast set for both a primetime premiere and a weekday run.
Loving premiered on June 26, 1983 as a two-hour primetime movie. It starred much of the original cast and featured film actors Lloyd Bridges
and Geraldine Page
. Set in the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania, the early years of the show revolved around the blue-collar Donovans and the blue-blood Aldens. Major social issues such as incest
, alcoholism
, and post-traumatic stress syndrome of Vietnam
vets were covered. But Marland and Nixon left the series after a few years and in spite of ABC's bumping down Ryan's Hope
to give Loving a choice timeslot, and cast additions of such popular All My Children
stars as Debbi Morgan
and Jean LeClerc
, the ratings remained poor throughout the show's run. Loving suffered from a constant revolving door of writers and producers, leading to questionable story moments such as a heroine's addiction to cough syrup and one character's selling his soul to the Devil
. Circumstances became so desperate in the early 1990s that, to keep the show afloat, ABC assigned its own programming suits, network executive Haidee Granger
and later, Vice President of Daytime Programming JoAnn Emmerich, to serve as Executive Producers. Nonetheless, on June 26, 1993, Loving celebrated its 10th Anniversary on ABC.
Long-running characters included Ava Rescott (played by Patty Lotz, 1983–1984; Roya Megnot, 1984–1988, 1990 as a temporary replacement; Lisa Peluso
, 1988–1995), a schemer whose adventures ranged from stuffing a pillow in her dress to simulate pregnancy
to being kidnapped at Universal Studios
to being menaced by her lover's identical twin, Gilbert. Another longtime favorite was Stacey Donovan Forbes (portrayed by Lauren-Marie Taylor
, the only continuously running original cast member), who was killed off via a poisoned powder puff
in summer 1995, and Gwyneth Alden, the long-suffering matriarch who never stopped loving her roguish ex, Clay, or her mentally disturbed children, Trisha and Curtis.
In early 1995, ABC Daytime
planned to cancel the show and asked new head writer
s James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten to find a way to salvage a few components of the series. The writers embarked upon the show's last big storyline, and what many considered one of the show's best storylines, the Corinth serial killer
. Stacey, Clay, Curtis, Cabot, Isabelle, and Jeremy lost their lives, culminating in the revelation that an insane Gwyn had murdered most of her friends and family in a bid to "make their pain go away". Gwyn then injected herself with poison before the police could take her into custody. Loving characters Ally, Alex, Angie, Buck, Frankie
, Jacob, Steffi, Jocelyn, and Tess moved to New York City's SoHo
District and began a new series, The City, which would run until March 1997.
and Search for Tomorrow
. The following year it moved to a fairly comfortable 10th place and 4.1, holding that for the 1985-1986 television season with 4.2. A change in timeslot, with Loving occupying the slot previously held by Ryan's Hope
, was a major factor in ratings improvement (albeit having the opposite effect on Ryan's Hope).
Unfortunately, the slow but steady ratings growth was not sustained. Loving fell back to 11th place, hitting last place for the first time in early 1989 (between the January series finale of Ryan's Hope and the March premiere of NBC
's Generations), and then back to 11th. In January 1991, the series began ranking last again, and stayed there until its cancellation four years later.
When it originally premiered, the show aired at 11:30 AM ET
/10:30 AM CT
/MT
/PT
. On October 8, 1984, the show was moved to the later 12:30 PM/11:30 AM timeslot, bumping Ryan's Hope up to Noon/11:00. (This caused Ryan's Hope ratings to plummet because many East Coast ABC stations pre-empted network programming at Noon for local news. Some affiliates, such as WSB-TV
in Atlanta
, chose to keep Ryan's Hope at 12:30.) Despite airing in the 12:30 timeslot, Loving never achieved the ratings Ryan's Hope had during its glory years. In the Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones, Loving was often pre-empted at 11:30 for local newscasts, airing on a one day delay earlier in the morning or not at all.
In 1992, after ABC stopped airing programming in the Noon/11:00 period, Loving was made available to affiliates at Noon/11 or 12:30/11:30. Some ABC stations outside of the Eastern Time Zone moved Loving to 11:00 AM to air local newscasts at 11:30. Despite the time slot changes on some affiliates, the national ratings for the show never improved.
Although the national ratings were never strong enough to climb above tenth place, Loving did beat the genre's top-rated program, CBS' The Young and the Restless
in markets such as New York City
, Los Angeles
, Chicago
, and Philadelphia
, which were home to four of ABC's owned-and-operated stations; however, Loving only competed with the first half hour of The Young and the Restless.
Loving is an American television soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
which aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes. The serial was co-created by Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
and former actor Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland was an American actor and writer of soap operas.-Career:He began his soap opera career as an actor, appearing on the Irna Phillips series The Brighter Day and As the World Turns. He also did odd jobs on the side as a director for small theatre groups...
.
The show was broadcast in France under the title Amoureusement Votre (Lovingly Yours) and in Italy as Quando si ama (When someone loves).
History
With the established and successful ABC daytime soaps veering into a new trend of youth orientation and action/adventure storylines, a format heavy influenced by Gloria MontyGloria Monty
Gloria Monty was an American TV producer working primarily in the field of daytime drama.She died of cancer at the age of 84.-Education:...
on General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, creators Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
and Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland
Douglas Marland was an American actor and writer of soap operas.-Career:He began his soap opera career as an actor, appearing on the Irna Phillips series The Brighter Day and As the World Turns. He also did odd jobs on the side as a director for small theatre groups...
set out to develop a new series that would be introduced as a traditional, classic soap opera for the 1980s. Romance would be the show's key centerpiece; its original working title was Love Without End. By early 1983, the new creation was fully developed, as Loving, with a cast set for both a primetime premiere and a weekday run.
Loving premiered on June 26, 1983 as a two-hour primetime movie. It starred much of the original cast and featured film actors Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
and Geraldine Page
Geraldine Page
Geraldine Sue Page was an American actress. Although she starred in at least two dozen feature films, she is primarily known for her celebrated work in the American theater...
. Set in the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania, the early years of the show revolved around the blue-collar Donovans and the blue-blood Aldens. Major social issues such as incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and post-traumatic stress syndrome of Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
vets were covered. But Marland and Nixon left the series after a few years and in spite of ABC's bumping down Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
to give Loving a choice timeslot, and cast additions of such popular All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
stars as Debbi Morgan
Debbi Morgan
Deborah "Debbi" Morgan is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Angie Hubbard on the ABC soap opera All My Children, and for her role as The Seer in the fourth and fifth seasons of Charmed.Morgan joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as...
and Jean LeClerc
Jean LeClerc (actor)
Jean LeClerc is a Québécois actor. In the original French, his name is spelled Jean Leclerc. He is best known for his work in the United States as Jeremy Hunter on the American daytime soap operas All My Children and Loving in the 1980s and 1990s.LeClerc first started his career in Quebec on the...
, the ratings remained poor throughout the show's run. Loving suffered from a constant revolving door of writers and producers, leading to questionable story moments such as a heroine's addiction to cough syrup and one character's selling his soul to the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. Circumstances became so desperate in the early 1990s that, to keep the show afloat, ABC assigned its own programming suits, network executive Haidee Granger
Haidee Granger
Haidee S. Granger is an English and American TV producer, writer, executive and media consultant.-Early life and career:Born in South Africa and raised both there and in London, Granger studied art and worked for a time as an animation artist. Granger opened and ran Granada TV's American operations...
and later, Vice President of Daytime Programming JoAnn Emmerich, to serve as Executive Producers. Nonetheless, on June 26, 1993, Loving celebrated its 10th Anniversary on ABC.
Long-running characters included Ava Rescott (played by Patty Lotz, 1983–1984; Roya Megnot, 1984–1988, 1990 as a temporary replacement; Lisa Peluso
Lisa Peluso
Lisa Peluso is an American soap opera actress.-Biography:Peluso was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Mary Peluso. Her first big break came at the age of nine, when she starred in the Broadway production of Gypsy with Angela Lansbury...
, 1988–1995), a schemer whose adventures ranged from stuffing a pillow in her dress to simulate pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
to being kidnapped at Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
to being menaced by her lover's identical twin, Gilbert. Another longtime favorite was Stacey Donovan Forbes (portrayed by Lauren-Marie Taylor
Lauren-Marie Taylor
Lauren-Marie Taylor is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role in the 1981 horror movie Friday the 13th Part 2...
, the only continuously running original cast member), who was killed off via a poisoned powder puff
Powder puff
Powder puffs are pieces of soft material used for the application of face powder. They may be shaped as balls or pads.Historically, powder puffs have been made of very fine down feathers, cotton, fine fleece, etc...
in summer 1995, and Gwyneth Alden, the long-suffering matriarch who never stopped loving her roguish ex, Clay, or her mentally disturbed children, Trisha and Curtis.
In early 1995, ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
planned to cancel the show and asked new head writer
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
s James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten to find a way to salvage a few components of the series. The writers embarked upon the show's last big storyline, and what many considered one of the show's best storylines, the Corinth serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. Stacey, Clay, Curtis, Cabot, Isabelle, and Jeremy lost their lives, culminating in the revelation that an insane Gwyn had murdered most of her friends and family in a bid to "make their pain go away". Gwyn then injected herself with poison before the police could take her into custody. Loving characters Ally, Alex, Angie, Buck, Frankie
Frankie Hubbard
Dr. Franklin "Frankie" Quentin Hubbard is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, All My Children. He is the son of soap opera supercouple Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter.Frankie has also appeared on Loving and The City...
, Jacob, Steffi, Jocelyn, and Tess moved to New York City's SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
District and began a new series, The City, which would run until March 1997.
Ratings history
Although Loving rated poorly throughout its history, its first few years were relatively encouraging. In its debut year it finished in 11th place and 3.9, above the then ailing soaps The Edge of NightThe Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
and Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
. The following year it moved to a fairly comfortable 10th place and 4.1, holding that for the 1985-1986 television season with 4.2. A change in timeslot, with Loving occupying the slot previously held by Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, was a major factor in ratings improvement (albeit having the opposite effect on Ryan's Hope).
Unfortunately, the slow but steady ratings growth was not sustained. Loving fell back to 11th place, hitting last place for the first time in early 1989 (between the January series finale of Ryan's Hope and the March premiere of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Generations), and then back to 11th. In January 1991, the series began ranking last again, and stayed there until its cancellation four years later.
When it originally premiered, the show aired at 11:30 AM ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
/10:30 AM CT
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
/MT
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
/PT
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
. On October 8, 1984, the show was moved to the later 12:30 PM/11:30 AM timeslot, bumping Ryan's Hope up to Noon/11:00. (This caused Ryan's Hope ratings to plummet because many East Coast ABC stations pre-empted network programming at Noon for local news. Some affiliates, such as WSB-TV
WSB-TV
WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, chose to keep Ryan's Hope at 12:30.) Despite airing in the 12:30 timeslot, Loving never achieved the ratings Ryan's Hope had during its glory years. In the Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones, Loving was often pre-empted at 11:30 for local newscasts, airing on a one day delay earlier in the morning or not at all.
In 1992, after ABC stopped airing programming in the Noon/11:00 period, Loving was made available to affiliates at Noon/11 or 12:30/11:30. Some ABC stations outside of the Eastern Time Zone moved Loving to 11:00 AM to air local newscasts at 11:30. Despite the time slot changes on some affiliates, the national ratings for the show never improved.
Although the national ratings were never strong enough to climb above tenth place, Loving did beat the genre's top-rated program, CBS' The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
in markets such as New York City
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
, Los Angeles
KABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
, Chicago
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
, and Philadelphia
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
, which were home to four of ABC's owned-and-operated stations; however, Loving only competed with the first half hour of The Young and the Restless.
Title sequences
| During Lovings 12 year-run, the series went through quite a few theme and visual changes, primarily due to the ever-changing role of executive producer, and each's attempt to make the show more attractive to viewers (in order to boost ratings). In addition, Loving was one of the few soaps in history to implement a special, limited-run title sequence to represent a major storyline, for The Loving Murders in 1995. | |
 June 27, 1983 - March 24, 1989 |
Nixon & Marland's Original Loving Image For its first six years on the air, Lovings main title visual consisted of a rather simple flash of the show's iconic script logo against a sky blue background. The outline of the title would appear in pink, entering diagonally, and then match itself with a white layer of the title; the two would zoom out together until the pink outline in the background disappeared, leaving the title in white. An underline below the Loving title was used in both title and closing sequences during this period. The design of the "L" in the show's logo is unique, in that if turned 90 degrees upward, it represents the shape of a heart. The instrumental theme, a pleasant 10-second waltz in D-major, was titled "Theme from Loving". The short sequence cut and the longer, complete version used in the closing sequence was written and composed by Michael Karp. The closing credits sequence, which for the most part remained unchanged for Lovings first nine years on the air, used a live-action extended scene with a single character or more (minus dialogue), while the credits scrolled in white Goudy Bold Italic font. Since the soap was fully owned by Agnes Nixon's Dramatic Creations company, its copyright notice appeared much different than on its ABC-owned weekday stablemates: it was in the same Goudy font, on three different lines as "(year) Copyright, Dramatic Creations, Inc., All Rights Reserved", and showed up separately on the screen before the Loving logo. (In the 2-hour primetime pilot that aired on June 26, 1983, the copyright first appeared as "© 1983 Dramatic Creations, Inc., All Rights Reserved" on three separate lines, however.) Originally, from the daytime premiere through 1985, all production principals, from creator through to associate producer, were centered on the screen, while cast lists and technical crew (which alternated) were positioned to the left. Joseph Stuart, Lovings inaugural executive producer, had used the left-hand-style credits on One Life to Live during the last three years of his tenure there (1980–1983). From Doug Marland's departure from the series in 1985 through the summer of 1988, the writers' credits became the only production principals to appear to the left of the screen. For a brief few months in late 1987 into early 1988, the closing credit crawl appeared in transparent white, without the use of black shadowing. Soon after Joseph Hardy replaced Joseph Stuart in the spring of 1988, there were other minor cosmetic changes. The title sequence now featured a chime-like sound effect during the 4-6 second mark, as the pink outline of the show's title met the white display of it. The closing sequence also went from playing out mimed scenes to featuring a series of stills from that day's episode, a change made by Hardy five years earlier on Ryan's Hope, upon taking the helm of that series. The crawl, which now had its black shadowing reinstated, moved the writing staff back from the left side of the screen to the center. |
 March 27, 1989 - February 1, 1991 |
The Johnny Mathis Loving Package Joseph Hardy changed Loving's musical scores and overall image to represent more of a youth appeal, steering away from the show's original old-fashioned, "classic" image. Nearly a year into his arrival, this shift included the show's theme song and visuals as well. On March 27, 1989, a new theme package debuted on Loving. The new theme was a full orchestral piece sung by Johnny Mathis Johnny Mathis John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts... , and was written by composers Bob Israel, Michel Camilo Michel Camilo Michel Camilo is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work... , and Bobby Daye. The title sequence begins with a glass version of the iconic Loving logo moving gingerly toward the screen, at the bottom, over a replica of a religious painting of two boy and girl infant angels showing affection. This view proceeds into a series of charcoal Charcoal Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen... and pastel Pastel Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.... paintings which chronicle one couple's romance throughout a single lifetime. The paintings overlapped each other while glass letters of the Loving logo flew over them (one at a time), and were the following:
At the end of the sequence, the show's title in glass would zoom inward, with another layer meeting it in the back, over a variation of the original angel painting. The painting would then undergo a ripple effect, as if it were floating in wind or water. Two longer-length versions of Johnny Mathis' theme were used in closings during this tenure, each running 2 minutes in full. The complete vocal version, performed by Mathis, was often used early on. When played, network announcements were not run over the credits. This alternated with a long instrumental cut on other episodes, featuring as much heavy orchestration as the opening and closing vocal tracks but with a trumpet solo playing along with the orchestration during the first several verses. Within a year and a half of this theme's debut, the instrumental track was used alone for the closing sequence. A variation in the lyrics of the opening and closing vocals occurred in the second line of the chorus; "My loving will..oh, touch you" in the opening was "My loving will protect you" in the full closing version. The only graphic aspect to change in the closing on March 27, 1989 was that of the Loving logo, which had its underline removed. By July of that year, the copyright notice now appeared under the Loving logo at the end, still in the classical "(year) Copyright" format. Then, in December 1989, the notice was changed to the more conventional version of "© (year) Dramatic Creations, Inc. All Rights Reserved". It was now in a separate Helvetica Italic font. Also beginning that month, cast credits were divided into two different groups, principal cast followed by supporting players, with a large space between both groups. The cast credit division lasted through the end of Loving, and was used during the entire run of successor series The City. From December 1989 to April 1990 only, coordinating producer and executive producer credits, in that order, were moved towards the end of the credit crawl following "JOHNNY MATHIS Sings The Loving Theme" (which appeared after cast or crew everyday). During the run of the Mathis theme/painting visuals, there would be an accelerated turnover in Loving staff, especially in the executive producer's chair. First, ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... moved Joseph Hardy over to General Hospital in late November 1989, replacing him with veteran daytime producer and future The Real World The Real World The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the... creator/producer Mary-Ellis Bunim Mary-Ellis Bunim Mary-Ellis Bunim was an American television producer and co-creator of MTV's The Real World and Road Rules.-Biography:A native of Massachusetts, Bunim began her career in daytime dramas... . Bunim, however, only served four months as the show's EP before abruptly leaving. In April 1990, former All My Children producer Jacqueline Babbin took over. Although she agreed to only stay on for a year, Babbin decided to make some noticeable adjustments of her own, which eventually included the Loving theme package. After just less than two years, the Mathis theme was retired on February 1, 1991. |
 February 4, 1991 - February 13, 1992 |
New Age Loving - The Contender For the Shortest Lived Soap Opening Ever On February 4, 1991, new opening visuals premiered, composed of a series of videotaped, live-action shots of a couple's romance. These shots include a man feeding a strawberry into a woman's mouth, a shattering wine glass, the man placing a ring on the woman's finger, etc. Every scene is taped with dark-colored backdrops, each with a different color, and only the portions of the man and woman's faces and hands are revealed. Some scenes transition with freeze-framed shots of the action(s) in a small square graphic, which fades out as the next shot begins. The last scene is a silhouette of the man and woman holding hands, and then embracing, over a sunset sky visual, while the Loving logo flashes to the center of the screen, with the font clear and transparent. The woman who is partially seen throughout the opening is model Jane Ericson. The dramatic, yet somewhat soothing theme music, which featured piano and synthesizers, was composed by David Randall Lowe and David M. Shapiro. The cut of Lowe/Shapiro Loving theme used in the title sequence was 25 seconds long, and was accented by loud sound effects used to emphasize the actions taking place (i.e., the sound of shattering when the wine glass breaks, etc.). The longer closing version featured modified instrumentation and no sound effects. However, unlike the extended theme music of other programs, the closing track did not expand upon the opening melody; rather, it repeated the same 25 seconds of notes twice during the song, with an original one-note bridge serving between each loop, before repeating the last 10 seconds of the melody to add diversity. The longest airings of the Lowe/Shapiro closing had at least four of the 25-second sections separated in the middle by one 10-second portion. The graphic changes that occurred in the closing credits during the previous theme package, along with the long-running Goudy Bold setup, remained in place for another year. The visuals overall, and the new age theme song that accompanied it, were later seen as a preview of the similar "New Age" visuals of One Life to Live One Life to Live One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social... , which ran from January 1992 to November 1995. While this Loving theme package was still running when OLTLs new package debuted, it would be gone a month later—due to the fact that executive producer Fran Sears, who had replaced Jacqueline Babbin in July 1991, wanted to implement different visuals of her own. |
 February 14, 1992 - November 10, 1995 |
The Final Main Package ft. Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:... Appropriately enough, for Valentine's Day Valentine's Day Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496... on February 14, 1992, the final Loving main title visuals and theme debuted. It was clear that Fran Sears wanted to bring back a vocal theme, but she did so this time with a younger popular artist, R&B star Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:... . The new theme by Osborne was joined by new visuals that panned over the inside of the master bedroom of two lovers, which was followed by overlapping squares and shots of rose pedals. The entire sequence was tinted in shades of red and pink. The final scene displayed a shot of a birdcage sitting by the bedroom's window (which was seen within the first few seconds of the sequence, as the camera pan began), while a brand new Loving logo appeared over it; the logo consisted of each letter of the title, in white capital script, encased in individual black boxes. Once the title is firm on the screen, the birds in the cage become more visible, and a yellow canary Domestic Canary The Domestic Canary, often simply known as the canary, is a domesticated form of the wild Canary, a small songbird in the finch family originating from the Macaronesian Islands .... appears to be sitting on the black box containing the letter "O" in the new Loving logo. Originally, an all-new, innovative closing credits format accompanied these visuals. Scenes that were based on, and directly from the title sequence were seen on the left side of the screen while the credits, in a new, smaller Times New Roman white font, appeared against a black square potion of the screen on the right. Most often the credits now faded in and out, but at times they would even scroll. Joining the closing visuals was a full instrumental version of Jeffrey Osborne's Loving theme, with minor vocal contingents being heard in the end of it. Possibly due to an unfavorable reaction from viewers, this credits sequence was scrapped after only a month. Thereafter, beauty shots (mimed scenes) of the characters were reinstated for the closing, for the first time since 1988. The credit font remained in Times New Roman from the February revamp, and the closing version of the new Osborne theme continued. A return to beauty shots also meant the reinstatement of the original Loving logo, that was now no longer used in the title sequence. From March 1992 through fall 1993, it appeared diagonally on either the left or right bottom corner of the screen (often alternating), across a small pink heart. Under this artistic display, the copyright appeared in thin, mostly lowercase Times New Roman, and was just as small as the logo. Prior to this display at the end of all closing sequences, the "Videotaped at ABC Television Center in New York" credit would scroll up, remain still, and then fade out. During this period, there was no Loving logo before the credit crawl. By the fall of 1993, a more traditional display of the classic Loving logo returned to closings, with the title appearing dead center of the screen as the sequence opened. As the sequence ended, the copyright remained the same, and was as large as the current size of title logo. While the title sequence remained the same, and the package itself managed to outlast the previous two, the minor closing credit changes aforementioned were just small indications of the revolving door of executive producers, which continued its swing during the final three-and-a-half years. Only three months into the Osborne package, Fran Sears was out, replaced by Haidee Granger Haidee Granger Haidee S. Granger is an English and American TV producer, writer, executive and media consultant.-Early life and career:Born in South Africa and raised both there and in London, Granger studied art and worked for a time as an animation artist. Granger opened and ran Granada TV's American operations... . Seen by viewers as Loving officially going on "life support" due to Granger's role at ABC (she was a recently-arrived network executive), Granger had one of the hardest turns as show-runner on the program. She would be ousted by two more replacements, first with JoAnn (Josie) Emmerich in November 1993, and finally with Jean Dadario Burke Jean Dadario Burke Jean Dadario Burke is an American television New York City-based soap opera producer and director.-Positions held:All My Children*Executive Producer *Senior Producer *Director... in December 1994. Fortunately, none of them chose to change this theme package in any way. With the exception of the period from July to October of 1995, in which The Loving Murders story arc ran, the Jeffrey Osborne theme package ran until Lovings final telecast on November 10, 1995. |
 July 1995 - October 1995 |
The Loving Murders Special Sequence After ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... announced that Loving would be folded into the new soap The City, the producers planned to kill off many of the show's central and veteran characters, while the survivors would ultimately be carried over to The City. In July 1995, The Loving Murders plot began, in which a mysterious character killed each selected citizen of Corinth in a unique way. For the duration of the storyline, a special sequence was used which encouraged viewers to "figure it out". It consisted of black-and-white or dark color shots of various objects ticking - from a pen, to a metronome, clock, a purse, etc. During the series of objects, a woman narrated the official epigram to the plotline: "This is the sound of trouble. The kind that caresses lives, even as it steals them away. That delicately unravels the fabric of entire towns like Corinth, Pennsylvania. When the trouble comes, it will sound like this. (clicking sound) And Loving, will never be the same again. Trouble, with a capital L. Figure it out." At the end of the sequence, there are the letters L-O-V-I-N-G cut out from magazines, ala a ransom note. Arranged on a table or some sort of light-colored surface, the letters are promptly blown away. The final scene has the original Loving logo (the one used in opening sequences from 1983-1992, but still in the closing to the very end) floating around like it is on a curtain that is blowing, with "Figure it out" on the bottom right corner. Notably, during key scenes of the storyline in which every murder or clue was executed, the "Figure it out" tagline would appear in either bottom corner of the screen for a brief few moments. It appeared in a clear-colored, grunge variation of Courier Courier A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for... font. The instrumental Jeffrey Osborne closing theme remained in use during The Loving Murders time frame. |
Executive Producers
| Duration | Name |
|---|---|
| June 27, 1983 to June 17, 1988 | Joseph Stuart |
| June 20, 1988 to November 30, 1989 | Joseph Hardy |
| December 3, 1989 to April 1990 | Mary-Ellis Bunim Mary-Ellis Bunim Mary-Ellis Bunim was an American television producer and co-creator of MTV's The Real World and Road Rules.-Biography:A native of Massachusetts, Bunim began her career in daytime dramas... |
| April 1990 to July 12, 1991 | Jacqueline Babbin Jacqueline Babbin Jacqueline Babbin was an American television/theatre writer, producer, and executive. She died of cancer on October 6, 2001 in Kent, Connecticut.-Early life:... |
| July 15, 1991 to May 25, 1992 | Fran Sears |
| May 26, 1992 to October 1993 | Haidee Granger Haidee Granger Haidee S. Granger is an English and American TV producer, writer, executive and media consultant.-Early life and career:Born in South Africa and raised both there and in London, Granger studied art and worked for a time as an animation artist. Granger opened and ran Granada TV's American operations... |
| November 11, 1993 to December 1994 | JoAnn Emmerich |
| December 1994 to November 10, 1995 | Jean Dadario Burke Jean Dadario Burke Jean Dadario Burke is an American television New York City-based soap opera producer and director.-Positions held:All My Children*Executive Producer *Senior Producer *Director... |
Producers
| Duration | Name |
|---|---|
| 1990 to 1992 | Barbara Duggan |
| 1992 to December 1994 | Jean Dadario Burke Jean Dadario Burke Jean Dadario Burke is an American television New York City-based soap opera producer and director.-Positions held:All My Children*Executive Producer *Senior Producer *Director... |
| December 1994 to November 10, 1995 | Jane Elliot Jane Elliot Jane Elliot is an American actress, known for her role as Tracy Quartermaine, a role she has played on General Hospital and The City .... & Laura Rakowitz |
Associate Producers
| Duration | Name |
|---|---|
| June 27, 1983 to September 1988 | Barbara Duggan |
| September 1988 to January 1990 | Achille Raspantini |
| January 1990 to January 1992 | Richard Schilling |
| January 1992 to 1994 | Heidi Adam |
| 1994 | Heidi Adam & Dana Walker Keane |
| December 1994 to May 1995 | Heidi Adam |
| May 1995 to November 10, 1995 | None |
Coordinating Producers
| Duration | Name |
|---|---|
| September 1988 to 1990 | Barbara Duggan |
| 1990 to May 1995 | None |
| May 1995 to November 10, 1995 | Heidi Adam |
Head Writers
| Years | Names |
|---|---|
| 1983–1985 | Douglas Marland Douglas Marland Douglas Marland was an American actor and writer of soap operas.-Career:He began his soap opera career as an actor, appearing on the Irna Phillips series The Brighter Day and As the World Turns. He also did odd jobs on the side as a director for small theatre groups... |
| 1985–1987 | Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children... |
| 1987–1988 | Ralph Ellis |
| 1988–1991 | Millee Taggert Tom King Tom King (writer) Tom King is an American television writer and story board artist best known for his work on the animated children's shows The Ren and Stimpy Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, Chowder and The Fairly OddParents... |
| 1991 | Mary Ryan Munisteri Mary Ryan Munisteri Mary Ryan Munisteri is an American television soap opera writer. She was head writer of Ryan's Hope , Guiding Light , and Loving... |
| 1991–1992 | Addie Walsh Addie Walsh -Positions held:All My Children*Associate Head Writer: April 2000 - April 2002; July 2003 - January 14, 2008 ; March 19, 2008 – PresentAs the World Turns*Co-Head Writer: 1997*Associate Head Writer: 1995 - 1999... |
| 1992–1993 | Millee Taggert Robert Guza, Jr. Robert Guza, Jr. Robert Guza Jr. is an American television writer and producer, and formally held the position as Head Writer on the long running ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital. He was fired by Brian Frons.-Personal life:... |
| 1993 | Millee Taggert |
| 1994 | Addie Walsh Addie Walsh -Positions held:All My Children*Associate Head Writer: April 2000 - April 2002; July 2003 - January 14, 2008 ; March 19, 2008 – PresentAs the World Turns*Co-Head Writer: 1997*Associate Head Writer: 1995 - 1999... Laurie McCarthy |
| 1994 | Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children... |
| 1994–1995 | Barbara Esensten James Harmon Brown |