''The Best of Everything'' is an American daytime
soap opera which aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from March 30, 1970, to September 25, 1970. The series was a
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
of
Rona Jaffe's 1958 novel ''
The Best of Everything'' and the
1959 film of the same name.
Plot
The show focuses upon four young secretaries and their lives in an intense publishing firm: Linda, April, Kim, and Barbara. They were tormented by their ruthless head editor, Amanda Key, and counseled by the warm and loving Violet Jordan. Although the soap opera was short-lived, there were several plotlines, including Kim being brutally attacked by a mysterious villain named Squirrel. The series also revolved around Barbara, who had become depressed since her marriage failed.
Production history
The soap opera premiered on March 30, 1970, at 12 Noon Eastern time (11 a.m. Central). ''The Best of Everything'' replaced reruns of ''
Bewitched
''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...
'' and premiered alongside ''
A World Apart'' on ABC, which followed it at 12:30/11:30. However, the original version of ''
Jeopardy!,'' hosted by
Art Fleming
Arthur Fleming Fazzin (May 1, 1924 – April 25, 1995) was an American actor and television host. He hosted the first version of the television game show ''Jeopardy!'', which aired on NBC from 1964 until 1975 and again from 1978 to 1979.
E ...
then, was at the height of its popularity on
NBC at that point, and ''The Best of Everything,'' much like its
CBS competition, ''
Where the Heart Is,'' made practically no impact upon the ratings. ABC ran it for the then-minimum six months before canceling. This had also been the fate of an NBC serial that aired the previous year, ''
Hidden Faces
People often see hidden faces in things. Depending on the circumstances, this is referred to as pareidolia, the perception or recognition of a specific pattern or form in something essentially different. It is thus also a kind of optical illusion ...
.'' Later in the 1970s, these failures, along with a few others, prompted networks to opt instead for expansion of some of their existing 30-minute serials to a full hour each day, minimizing the risk of new programs taking an overly long time to develop an audience.
The series was executive produced by creator/headwriter James Lipton. Jacqueline Babbin was the producer. The packager was 20th Century Fox Television, in association with ABC. ''The Best of Everything'' was videotaped at ABC-TV Studio 17 in
New York City.
The series' opening and closing credits used a video shot of seagulls in flight over
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
.
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
artist Connie Eaton recorded a version of the series' instrumental theme, using lyrics which she sang on an episode telecast near the end of the program's network run. The single was released in 1970 by the Chart label. Both the theme song's melody and lyrics were composed by headwriter James Lipton.
Cast
*
Geraldine Fitzgerald as Violet Jordan
*
Gale Sondergaard as Amanda Key
*
Patty McCormack as Linda Warren
* Julie Mannix as April Morrison #1
*
Susan Sullivan as April Morrison #2
*
Katherine Glass as Kim Jordan
*
Rochelle Oliver
Rochelle Oliver (born April 15, 1937) is an American acting coach and former actress.
Career
Oliver studied acting with Uta Hagen. Her stage appearances include ''The Brothers Karamazov'', ''The Cave Dwellers'', ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' and ...
as Barbara Lamont
* Ginnie Curtis as Gwenn Mitchell
* Gregory Rozakis as Squirrel
*
Victor Arnold as Ed Peronne
* Barry Ford as Ken Lamont
* Stephen Grover as Johnny Lamont
*
M'el Dowd
Mary Ellen Dowd (February 2, 1933 – September 26, 2012) was an American stage, musical theatre and film actress, and singer, whose career spanned half a century. Beginning in Shakespeare roles and films in the 1950s, Dowd continued to perform on ...
as Kate Farrow
* Ted LePlat as Randy Wilson
* Diane Kagan as Anne Carter
* James Davidson as Dexter Key
* Bonnie Bee Buzzard as Joanna Key
Ratings
The 1969-70 season was the zenith of the soap opera format in the United States, as a record 19 soaps crowded the three major networks. Unfortunately, ''The Best of Everything'' was the worst in the Nielsens, coming in at the bottom with an awful 1.8 rating, one of the lowest figures ever recorded for a US soap opera. One reason for the show's failure was its time slot: 12 noon Eastern Time (11am Central), in which it competed against the original run of ''
Jeopardy!'' on NBC, then at the height of its daytime popularity. (Also, "Best" was not cleared by many ABC affiliates, who preferred running local newscasts in the time slot.)
1969-1970 Season
*1. ''
As the World Turns'' 13.6
*2. ''
The Edge of Night'' 10.8
*3. ''
Search for Tomorrow'' 10.0
*13. ''
Where the Heart Is'' 7.0 (aired on CBS in the same time slot)
*19. ''The Best of Everything'' 1.8
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Of Everything, The
1970 American television series debuts
1970 American television series endings
American television soap operas
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series based on adaptations
Adaptations of works by Rona Jaffe