Q&A with Tom Lisanti on Texas: An Oral History of Daytime TV’s Answer to Dallas

Q&A with Tom Lisanti on Texas: An Oral History of Daytime TV’s Answer to Dallas

1. What possessed you to write a book about this short-lived soap opera, Texas?

After I finished writing my first soap opera book, Ryan’s Hope: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap, which was well-received, I was asked if I had another similar-type book in me. I said that the only other serial I watched religiously from beginning to end was Texas. I had to explain to some folks what it was because it was only on for two and a half years opposite General Hospital. I did not receive much enthusiasm for it until I began dropping hints about writing it on social media. Texas fans came out of the woodwork, so I decided to proceed but only if co-creator Joyce Corrington approved. I reached out to her and not only did she give her blessing, but she provided me, via email and telephone, everything she could remember about creating and writing the show for its first six months with her late husband, Bill.

2. When and how did you begin watching Texas?

In the spring of 1980, I stumbled upon the ABC soap opera, Ryan’s Hope, during breaks from classes I was taking at Nassau Community College. A few months later, my aunt, Maria Casamento, recommended me for a part-time file clerk position at Guardian Bank in Hempstead, Long Island, close to my school. Sitting at my desk outside the mortgage vault in the bank’s basement, I faced the cafeteria space that included a full kitchen and a small television set. The mostly female staff would venture down at lunchtime to eat and watch their favorite ABC soaps. Then, a new young woman named Dawn was hired in our department. She was a renegade because she preferred Another World on NBC to ABC’s One Life to Live. If she happened to get down to the lunchroom first at 2 p.m., her ABC-loving co-workers would sit there annoyed, as they choked down their lunch. I actually liked both soaps, so it did not bother me much which one was on. It was because of Dawn that I was introduced to Texas since the NBC channel remained on when everybody returned to work. This soap instantly drew me in much more than General Hospital.

3. Why Texas over General Hospital?

I thought Luke was creepy and didn’t buy that love affair with Laura for a second. They dominated the show practically every day. I thought the characters on Texas were much more interesting and fun to watch, such as troublemaking Justin; scheming, bad girl Reena; dangerous, ex-con Billy Joe; and over-protective Iris and her son, Dennis played by Jim Poyner, who I developed such a crush on. I was a man on a deserted island because most of my friends and family members, who watched soaps then, were tuned into General Hospital.

4. What did you learn from Joyce Corrington about the creation of Texas?

First, she and her husband were snatched away, as head writers on Search for Tomorrow, to create their own soap for NBC called Reunion. It was going to be set in post-Civil War, New Orleans. The bible was approved but then NBC changed their minds and asked them to create a new soap along the lines of primetime’s Dallas and it was to be spun off from their popular Another World.

5. Were there any actors that surprised you by talking or not talking with you?

As with my Ryan’s Hope book where Kate Mulgrew turned me down twice, I was disappointed that Carla Borelli who played Reena and Alexandra Neill who played Ruby politely declined. But then I was surprised and grateful Kin Shriner, who played Jeb and was lured away from General Hospital, said yes since I knew it was not a wise career decision for him. He was very forthcoming in our interview.

6. What was the most surprising thing you learned about Texas from your interviews?

First, Pamela Long (Ashley Linden on the show) revealed a number of amazing things to me about acting on and then head writing the soap. I also interviewed two NBC daytime executives, Jeff Ryder and Lucy Johnson, and learned that NBC licensed their soaps that were produced by Procter & Gamble (P&G). The network had no creative input into Texas for the majority of the time it was on the air. It was the executive producer working with the head writers, P&G reps, and advertising reps that made story and casting choices. The NBC rep was kept abreast and told after decisions were made, as a courtesy. That totally took me by surprise since over at ABC, the network interfered in many aspects of Ryan’s Hope before they bought it from creators Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer and even more so afterwards.

7. What were your favorite storylines on Texas?

I loved anything involving Iris and her son Dennis, especially later when Dennis is implicated in the murder of his trashy wife Paige’s blackmailer. I enjoyed the bad boy, Billy Joe Wright, because interviewee John McCafferty played him evilly but with a touch of humor and empathy. He made you love to hate him, but you hoped he would do the right thing, which he rarely did during the beginning of the show. I loved foolish singer Elena on the run with her kidnapper, the almost always shirtless Joe Foster, whom she falls in love with. Another favorite storyline involved the dirty dealing Justin and Ashley trying to obtain controlling rights to the Marshall ranch to drill for oil while battling Justin’s grandma Kate, and Reena and her husband, Max Dekker, the ranch’s foreman.

8. Why do you think Texas did not become a ratings hit?

A number of reasons. One, it could never be Dallas, despite the hype, with its much smaller budget and doing five shows a week. Plus, there was no JR Ewing character in the show. It was equally focused on the have-nots and the wealthy, so making the comparison in the press was foolish. The head writers goofed, as Joyce cops to, in taking Another World’s favorite villainess Iris, played by the superb Beverlee McKinsey, and turning her into a romantic heroine. Her fans did not recognize the character any longer. Another mistake was starting the show during the last half-hour of the then 90-minute long Another World for six weeks. When Texas moved to its 3 p.m. time slot, new viewers came in during the middle of storylines and were confused. And finally, it was on up against CBS’s Guding Light at its creative peak under head writer Doug Marland, and ABC’s General Hospital, which became a ratings juggernaut thanks to the popularity of Luke and Laura.

9. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers about Texas?

Yes, thanks to Chuck Snitchler, most episodes are available for viewing on YouTube. Please watch and make up your own mind about the show. And then, if you are interested, read my book for a look behind the scenes.

10. Will there be a third soap opera book from you?

Yes, because I had to cut about 10,000 words from my introduction, which was a lead-up to the start of Texas. All that material and more will be in my upcoming book, what I am calling a prequel, Daytime Drama: The Story Behind Lovers and Friends; For Richer, For Poorer; and the 90-Minute Another World. Executive producer Paul Rauch is the common thread through all these soaps.