'Dynasty', Esther Shapiro emphasized was "pure entertainment for women - that's something that has been looked down on." Robert and Eileen Pollock created the 'Dynasty' spin-off 'The Colbys'. "'The Colbys' was in the works for 2 years," John James made known in 1985. "(Esther) has a very good story instinct," Robert remarked, "She's not as good at story creation. She knows what is going to turn on audiences, what is going to light up the skies, what is contemporary, what is current - and what is going to be dreary on television." Of 'Dynasty', Esther reasoned, "We did not want to send out the message that all women have to be the same thing."
Of 'The Colbys', John insisted, "They convinced me it would be great to recreate a show like 'Dynasty' and do it even better. We're not going to be the flip side of a hit record....'The Colbys' has its own style and feeling...It is a little more male dominated than 'Dynasty'. We also have a more cinematic look. Charlton Heston, Barbara Stanwyck and Ricardo Montalbán have all been major movie stars. We look more like a weekly movie than a TV show. In one scene I watched the 3 of them doing the special things film actors were trained to do and it was like going back to the 1950s watching them do their work."
'The Colbys' finished its first season in May 1986. On daytime in May 1986, 'Another World' - the Mondays to Fridays afternoon soap opera - celebrated its 22nd year on the air. In 1970, 'Another World' became the first daytime drama to spin-off another soaps, 'Bay City' and 'Somerset'. Nancy Frangione joined 'Another World' in 1981 returned in 1986. She played the editor of 'Bravo' magazine named Cecile de Poulignac.
"('Another World') will revolve around 3 families," head writer Margaret de Priest outlined in 1986. "The wealthy Loves, the blue-collar McKinnons and in between both of them, the wealthy but socially conscious Corys. Other characters (such as Catlin Ewing played by Thomas Ian Griffith, a black belt in Tae Kwan Do) have already been added to flesh out each family and more will be arriving during the (North American) summer months. The stories will have more surprising twists and turns. We will get away from relying on the Friday cliffhanger. I want to throw the audience off balance. Fans will feel that they've got to watch everyday because important plot events are going to take place throughout the week."
Margaret maintained, "The audience will be able to see in one key scene what 'Another World' is about. I intend to give each character a reasonably clear point of view. Viewers will know what each character would want to do and whom he would wish to do it to if the world ended tomorrow." Of on-location shoots, Christopher Rich remembered "the Wyoming trip had a major impact on me. I'm originally a city boy from Dallas, Texas. I think this interest comes from a desire to go from the radical way of life – in Manhattan – to another. I'm sort of playing both sides against the middle. The middle ground just doesn't feel right for me." Filming on location, producer John Whitesell II pointed out, "By isolating our characters in a beautiful and exotic location (such as St. Thomas in the Caribbean), we'll make things happen that could never occur in Bay City ( the setting of 'Another World')."
In 1984 'Another World' went on location in Majorca, Spain. Some scenes, Stephen Schnetzer recounted, "We had to do several hairpin turns and the kind of velocity on those roads was nerve-racking. I was in control and on sheer instinct I wasn’t nervous, just excited. But everyone else was petrified. Julie (Osburn) kept slamming on imaginary brakes and everyone was screaming bloody murder." Julie recalled, "During those scenes we had to come within 5 inches of the cameras – so close in fact that one of the cameramen actually ran away while shooting. After all, he has a wife and 5 kids." Of writing for daytime Gary Tomlin said, "When I first started writing, I'd just say 'OK, this could happen to anybody'. You've just got to use some imagination and think about how to weave the story. The key is to weave it so it all comes together. You don’t want to have a story about just 2 people."
