Скачать или смотреть SEARCH FOR TOMORROW (NBC Debut Episode Opening/Closing Sequence - March 29, 1982)

This is the opening and closing sequence for the Monday, March 29, 1982 episode of the 1951-86 CBS/NBC daytime drama "Search For Tomorrow". This is from the debut episode of the soap's 1982-86 run on NBC after being cancelled by CBS, its' home for 31 years.

In 1981, John Conboy, the original executive producer of the CBS soap "The Young and the Restless", left that series in order to work on "Capitol", the 1982-87 soap that he pitched to the network as a response to the youth-oriented, ratings powerhouse shows on ABC, particularly "All My Children" and "General Hospital", which was the most-watched soap at the time. CBS picked up the series and it left a quandary. The network and "Search"'s production company, Procter and Gamble Productions, had a long history of disagreements about the show. The problems started in 1981, when CBS relinquished "Search"'s longstanding, original 12:30 time slot and moved it to 2:30, in between the hour long P&G serials "As The World Turns" and "Guiding Light". The reasoning was CBS' desire to accommodate it's hit serial "The Young & The Restless", which had expanded to an hour a year before. P&G begged the network to return the series to 12:30, but CBS refused. Finally frustrated from all the disagreements, CBS, in a shocking move, cancelled "Search For Tomorrow" after being on the network since 1951. P&G promptly responded by searching for a new home for the show. It was historical for it was the first televised serial.

This was familiar territory for Procter and Gamble. Six and a half years earlier, in 1975, rival network NBC decided to increase the length of it's 1964-99 soap opera "Another World" (owned and produced by P&G) from 30 minutes to an hour. CBS decided that same strategy for it's top rated soap "As The World Turns". That decision left no more room on the network's daytime schedule for it's 1956-84 P&G soap "The Edge of Night". P&G brokered a deal with rival network ABC to carry "Edge". On November 28, 1975, CBS aired it's final "Edge" episode, while the ABC run of the show would start three days later on December 1 and would run until it's final episode on December 28, 1984. It was the first time a soap opera would switch networks, borrowing a practice from prime time television.

P&G wasted no time in trying to secure a network deal for "Search". ABC was a strong contender for the show, as the network had the most watched daytime lineup, thanks to "General Hospital", still at it's peak ratings. ABC, however, declined the offer. It already had "Edge", for one. Also, it had a full schedule as it was. NBC made an offer that P&G accepted, as it already had two P&G soaps on the lineup ("Another World" and it's "Dallas"-inspired spinoff "Texas"). It would also give "Search" it's original 12:30 time slot back, thereby, putting the show in direct competition with "The Young & the Restless" on CBS and "Ryan's Hope" on ABC. CBS aired it's final "Search" episode on Friday, March 26, 1982. "Search" then began it's NBC run the following Monday, March 29, 1982. That same day, "Capitol" began it's run in "Search"'s former 1:30 timeslot.

However, this proved to be the beginning of the end of "Search", as many NBC affiliates would not carry the show at 12:30 due to reserving the time slot for local news or programming. The show struggled through it's rating for the rest of it's run. Though, a mishap concerning missing master tapes forced the entire cast to perform the August 4, 1983 episode live, a practice that had been extinct on daytime since 1975, since all shows had moved to tape. As a last ditch effort to bring up the ratings, "Search" featured a storyline in where the town of Henderson was hit with a massive flood. It briefly spiked ratings, but returned to it's normal place near the bottom of the ratings.

Finally fed up with the low ratings, affiliate defections, and a new game show to be put in the time slot over P&G's objections, NBC decided to cancel "Search For Tomorrow" in the late months of 1986. The final episode aired on Friday, December 26, 1986. At the time, it was the oldest and longest running program on television.