Ben Jerrod
Starring: Michael M. Ryan, Anderson Richards, Lyle Talbot, Isabel Randolph
First Aired: April 1, 1963
Number of Seasons: 1
Estimated Production Cost: ?
In the spring/early summer of 1963, the serial Ben Jerrod ran for a few months. It was a landmark show since it was the first daytime drama to be shown in color. It aired on April 1, 1963, the same day as The Doctors and General Hospital. The show lasted one season and consisted of 65 half-hour episodes. The show aired on NBC and had a relatively brief run when compared to other daytime dramas. Two months on the air is extremely brief in the world of soap operas. Michael Ryan, who later went on to work on the soap Another World, starred in the show.
Ben Jerrod
Way Out
Starring: Roald Dahl, Martin Balsam, Michael Conrad, Murray Hamilton, Henry Jones
First Aired: March 31, 1961
Number of Seasons: 1
Estimated Production Cost: $225,000 per episode*
This spooky horror/fantasy/sci-fi series was hosted by legendary novelist Roald Dahl. Way Out, which premiered in 1961, had thirty-minute horrific presentations that began with Dahl in a hall of mirrors. The show, like AHS, dealt with odd issues. For example, in one of the series, a rival lover was murdered with ground tiger whiskers. One of Dahl’s stories, “William and Mary,” was incorporated in another theatrical plot. The plot revolved around a wife seeking vengeance on her recently deceased husband, whose disembodied brain she kept alive in a bowl of water. There were fourteen episodes in one season of this entertaining show.
Way Out
