The daytime drama 'Loving' went on air in June 1983. The night time series 'Hotel' based on Arthur Hailey's best-seller went on air in September 1983.
Shari Belafonte-Harper believed, "I think it’s important to slowly condition the audience to minority yuppies. Bill Cosby has done a lot in presenting a positive role image. That’s the sort of thing I’m trying to do, although it’s minimal. But as the opportunities arise I take advantage of them. I dropped my maiden name when I started. I had to become a viable entity on my own. Later, I put it back because it was a name that opened doors. Also, I tend to be scrutinized more than just Shari Harper would be."
Set in a college campus, 'Loving' sought to explore the lives of 3 families: the Polish-American Vocheks, Irish-American Donovans and the Wasp Aldens. "Under Agnes Nixon," it was noted, "'Loving' was respectably written. (However) 'Loving' is neither original or innovative. Many of 'Loving's' plot lines have been recycled from the writers' past shows. By 1989, Joe Hardy and head writers Millee Taggart and Tom King have zipped up the show considerably (using) the formula used in the early 1980s to stoke up 'General Hospital.'" Mary Harris maintained, "(Soap operas) start with the word. They start with basic story principles. I remember once I called Agnes Nixon, one of our best serial writers, and told her somebody had outlined the plots of the world’s greatest novels. She was very cool. 'What good is Madame Bovary to me?' she asked. 'Faubert could write beginnings, middles and ends to his stories. I just write middles.'"
Lorne Greene once said of his 1985 'New Wilderness' program, "It's not done as a teaching tool but as an entertainment – although I do think that every show should leave the viewer with something new to think about. As George Bernard Shaw said, 'If you can make people think, they can entertain themselves.'"
James Brolin reasoned, "Those little quirks and neuroses are what make people sit down and watch...Sure, we've got good ratings (in 1983-84). People are looking for what's best at that hour. But we've lost the best people first, the most intelligent viewers, who are looking for something to stretch their minds. I think by the time we've canceled our only viewers will be those channel flippers who are not too choosy."
After reading 'Hotel' pilot script, James said he "told my agent this was going to be a hit." Of the romance between his character and Connie Sellecca's, James mentioned, "They really ignored it all (in 1984-85) and I really complained. The girls at the bank told me they used to watch, but since nothing seemed to be going on between us, they had switched over to 'St. Elsewhere'. That was a real mistake." By 1985-86 ratings went into freefall "as I predicted. (Then) they had us consummate our relationship without a proper courtship. So, what we did (in 1986-87) was court again. It was totally backward. After being in bed...suddenly we were courting. Their theory was it's a new season and everybody forgets. There's so much on television and nobody remembers."
