Full Circle (1960 TV series)

Last updated
Full Circle
Genre Soap opera
Screenplay by Bill Barrett
Directed byLivia Granito
Bill Howell
Starring Robert Fortier
Dyan Cannon
Jean Byron
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes185
Production
ProducerNorman Morgan
Production location CBS Television City
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseJune 27, 1960 (1960-06-27) –
March 10, 1961 (1961-03-10)

Full Circle is an American soap opera that aired on CBS from June 27, 1960 to March 10, 1961. [1] The half-hour series starred Robert Fortier, with Dyan Cannon, and Jean Byron as his romantic interests. [2] [3] It was the first American soap opera to be broadcast live-on-tape from Hollywood. [4] [5]

Contents

Premise

Gary Donovan is a drifter who wants to see new places and meet new people. Pre-show publicity said "the series will take him all over the United States." [2] The initial storyline had him taking a lumberyard job in the fictional town of Crowder, Virginia. There he runs afoul of the owner, Loyal Crowder, a wealthy older man whose ancestors founded the town. Crowder has a pretty 21 year old new wife named Lisa Linda. She had come from Maryland to Crowder, Virginia, with her first husband, who was mysteriously murdered. Lisa soon provokes her husband by paying attention to Donovan. He orders some of his workers to beat up Donovan, who then has his injuries tended by Dr. Katherine "Kit" Alderich. Donovan and Alderich soon form an attachment that must weather the machinations of both Lisa and Loyal Crowder.

Response

The end credits (available on YouTube) list actors in alphabetical order, disguising that Fortier was the star and Gary Donovan the central character. Critics who reviewed the initial shows were negative about Fortier's diction and Cannon's acting, the dialogue, and the level of "sex" and violence which were very atypical of the genre at that time. [6] [7] [8] As the first storyline developed, Cannon's treacherous young blonde Lisa proved to be the main attraction for what few viewers stuck with the show. Reviewers ignored Full Circle after the first episodes, but months later Cannon was still attracting interviewers. [5] [9]

Production

Full Circle was a replacement for a show dealing with marital issues called For Better or Worse , which had run on CBS for a year in the same time slot. [10] That show had monthly storylines with changing casts. Diane Cannon had appeared in the first storyline, "The Case of the Childless Bride", during July 1959. [11] CBS producers must have felt her brash character's personality would also work well as Lisa Crowder.

Fortier and Byron had made a pilot together at Fox-TV for a series to be called Picture Window. It was offered to CBS, which didn't buy the show, but did like the chemistry the two stars exhibited, signing them for Full Circle instead. [12]

The teleplays were written by Bill Barrett, who had much more success with his novels (The Lilies of the Field, The Left Hand of God). [13] Full Circle was produced by Norman Morgan, directed by Bill Howell and Livia Granito, and made at CBS Television City. [14]

According to an interview with Cannon, the actors reported to the studio at 7:00 am each weekday. [5] They rehearsed until just before 11:00 am, performed the day's show, broke for lunch, during which the 40 page daily script for the next day might be read, then rehearsed for the next day's show until 5:00 pm. [5]

Broadcast history

CBS employed time shifting to broadcast Full Circle, using both live signals and recordings made on Quadruplex videotape, a procedure known as "live-on-tape". The actors performed the show live in CBS Television City at 11am Pacific time each weekday morning. [5] The live performance was simultaneously videotaped. [5] Viewers on the East Coast saw the live performance at 2:00 pm, while viewers in Central time zones saw the live broadcast at 1:00 pm. Stations in the Mountain states mostly carried the live broadcasts at 12:00 noon, but a few opted for the video recording which they broadcast at 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm. Pacific Coast stations also broadcast the videotaped performance at either 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm. Due to the short time spans involved, editing of the videotape wasn't feasible, so any live "flubs" would also be in the recordings.

Full Circle was slotted at 2:00 pm on CBS' published daytime schedule, directly following the hit Procter & Gamble-packaged serial As the World Turns . Despite its strong lead-in (ATWT was the most popular soap on the air that season), Circle failed to find an audience, finishing the 1960-61 television season with an abysmal 1.3 Nielsen rating, the lowest-ever figure for a daytime drama airing on US network TV. The serial was pulled off the air after just nine months in favor of the game show Face the Facts. [fn 1] But Facts was even less popular, lasting just seven months from March to October 1961, before it was replaced with another game show that proved to be much more successful: the original incarnation of Password . [15]

Cast

Notes

  1. ↑ This show, hosted by Red Rowe, had contestants guessing the outcome of already completed criminal trials, using actors to repeat dialogue from the courtroom record.

Related Research Articles

A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.

<i>All My Children</i> American television soap opera

All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes.

<i>The Edge of Night</i> American television crime drama and soap opera (1956–1984)

The Edge of Night is an American mystery crime drama television series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions.

<i>The Young and the Restless</i> American daytime soap opera

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 fictional Genoa City. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980. In 2006, the series began airing previous episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN. From July 1, 2013 until 2019, Pop aired previous episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally.

<i>Guiding Light</i> American radio and television soap opera

Guiding Light is an American radio and television soap opera. Guiding Light aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio between January 25, 1937, and June 29, 1956. With 72 years of radio and television runs, Guiding Light is the longest-running soap opera, ahead of General Hospital, and is the fifth-longest-running program in all of broadcast history; only the American country music radio program Grand Ole Opry, the BBC religious program The Daily Service (1928), the CBS religious program Music and the Spoken Word (1929), and the Norwegian children's radio program Lørdagsbarnetimen (1924–2010) have been on the air longer.

<i>As the World Turns</i> American television soap opera

As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light. With 13,763 hours of cumulative narrative, As the World Turns has the longest total running time of any television show. In terms of continuous run of production, As the World Turns at 54 years holds the fourth-longest run of any daytime network soap opera on American television, surpassed only by General Hospital, Guiding Light, and Days of Our Lives. As the World Turns was produced for its first 43 years in Manhattan and in Brooklyn from 2000 until 2010.

<i>One Life to Live</i> American television series

One Life to Live is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes via Prospect Park from April 29 to August 19, 2013. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature ethnically and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social issues. One Life to Live was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976, and then to an hour on January 16, 1978.

<i>Sunset Beach</i> (TV series) American television series

Sunset Beach is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from January 6, 1997, to December 31, 1999. The show follows the loves and lives of the people living in the Orange County coastal area named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California. Although there is a real community named Sunset Beach, the show's beach scenes were shot in nearby Seal Beach, California. The show was co-produced by NBC and Spelling Television.

<i>Loving</i> (TV series) American soap opera

Loving is an American television soap opera that ran on ABC from June 26, 1983, to November 10, 1995, for a total of 3,169 episodes. The serial, set in the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania, was co-created by Agnes Nixon and former actor Douglas Marland.

<i>Another World</i> (TV series) American television soap opera

Another World is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J. Bell, and was produced by Procter & Gamble Productions at NBC Studios, 1268 East 14th Street in Brooklyn.

<i>Santa Barbara</i> (TV series) American television soap opera

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from July 30, 1984, to January 15, 1993. The show revolves around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California. Other prominent families featured on the soap were the rival Lockridge family, and the more modest Andrade and Perkins families.

<i>Search for Tomorrow</i> American soap opera (1951–86)

Search for Tomorrow is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.

<i>Love of Life</i> American television soap opera (1951-1980)

Love of Life is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow premiered three weeks before Love of Life; he created The Secret Storm two and a half years later.

<i>General Hospital</i> American television soap opera

General Hospital is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after Guiding Light. Concurrently, it is the world's third longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street, as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. General Hospital premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. General Hospital is the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with 14 wins.

<i>Texas</i> (TV series) American daytime soap opera

Texas is an American daytime soap opera that aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982, sponsored and produced by Procter and Gamble Productions at NBC Studios in Brooklyn, New York City. It is a spin-off of Another World, co-created by head writers John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington, and executive producer of Another World at the time, Paul Rauch. Rauch held the title of executive producer for the parent series and its spin-off until 1981.

Our Private World is a 1965 American serial. It was the only primetime spin-off from a daytime soap. Created by Irna Phillips and William J. Bell, it premiered on May 5, 1965, and aired Wednesdays and Fridays over the summer; the multiple-episode-per-week format was inspired by ABC's hit show Peyton Place. The final episode aired on September 10 of the same year. Our Private World starred Eileen Fulton as Lisa Miller Hughes, the same heroine she had played on As the World Turns, and Nicolas Coster. A total of 38 half-hour episodes were produced. Also in the cast were film star Geraldine Fitzgerald and stage actress Julienne Marie.

<i>Young Doctor Malone</i> American television series

Young Doctor Malone is an American soap opera, created by Irna Phillips, which had a long run on radio and television from 1939 to 1963. The producer was Betty Corday (1912–1987), who also produced Pepper Young's Family and later was a co-creator with husband Ted Corday of NBC Daytime's Days of Our Lives.

CBS Daytime is a division within CBS that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the CBS' late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game shows.

Days of Our Lives is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from 1965 to 2022 and currently streams new episodes on Peacock. The soap is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965. A co-production of Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Television, the series was created by husband-and-wife team Ted Corday and Betty Corday. During Days of Our Lives' early years, Irna Phillips served as a story editor for the program and many of the show's earliest storylines were written by William J. Bell, who would depart the series in 1975 to focus full-time on The Young and the Restless, which he created for CBS in 1973. Following the 2007 cancellation of Passions, Days of Our Lives remained the only soap opera airing on NBC. On August 3, 2022, NBCUniversal announced that it would relocate the series exclusively to its Peacock streaming service beginning September 12 after 57 years on the network and leaving NBC as the only Big Three network without a daytime serial.

For Better Or Worse is an American soap opera that aired on CBS from June 29, 1959, to June 24, 1960. The show was atypical for its genre in that episodes were grouped into distinct storylines or "cases", each following a different fictional couple, with the cast changing along with the storyline. The only permanent cast members were the narrator Dr. James A. Peterson and the series host Jim Bannon.

References

  1. ↑ Copeland, Mary Ann (1991). Soap Opera History. Publications International. p. 268. ISBN   0-88176-933-9.
  2. 1 2 "Adventurer Is Hero of Serial". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. June 26, 1960. p. 106 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Daytime Serial Started Today". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, California. June 27, 1960 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Schemering, Christopher (1987). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Ballantine Books. pp. 114–115. ISBN   0-345-35344-7.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rich, Allen (September 2, 1960). "Soap Opera Gal Tells TV Life". The Valley Times. North Hollywood, California. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Delatiner, Barbara (June 28, 1960). "On Television". Newsday. New York, New York. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Feck, Luke (June 28, 1960). "Two Local Shows Debut". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Newton, Dwight (July 4, 1960). "Murder, Mayhem And Divorce". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Scott, Vernon (January 25, 1961). "Soap Opera's Last Stand Is Day TV". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Lowry, Cynthia (June 28, 1960). "Marriage Explored". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Couple with Problems (photo caption)". Globe-Gazette. Mason City, Iowa. June 26, 1959. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Connolly, Mike (July 17, 1960). "Mike Connolly (syndicated column)". Independent Star-News. Pasadena, California. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "CBS to Air New Serial Involving Free-Lancer". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. June 25, 1960. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Premiere (photo caption)". The Lima News. Lima, Ohio. June 25, 1960. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Full Circle". Soap Opera Network. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.