TexasTexasTexas
was one of two official spin-offs from the long running NBC soap Another World. The show wasn't originally conceived as an Another World spin-off, however. Creators Joyce and John William Corrington, who achieved success as head writers of Search for Tomorrow in 1979, wanted to do a period costume drama set in post-Civil War New Orleans. AW executive producer Paul Rauch and NBC wanted something more closely resembling the hit CBS series Dallas. Beverly McKinsey, who was a standout on AW as Iris during the 1970s, was made the lead player in the new series.The basic format of Texas's opening sequence remained unchanged throughout the show's two-plus year run. The main title begins with a series of aerial shots of the city of Houston and its environs: the downtown skyscrapers, the sprawling ranches, the oil refineries, etc. Then there would be a series of video clips of all the main cast members, all taken from actual episodes of the show. The last clip, of Beverly McKinsey as Iris, would dissolve to the Lone Star of the Texas flag. The camera then pulls back from the star to reveal the whole flag, and the title of the show appears in neon-futuristic metallic lettering. The basic logo of the show is shown as follows:
New Information (courtesy of SoapNet's Soap Center)--As of August 4, 2001:
It should be pointed out, however, that the very first episode of Texas (at least) used an entirely different logo image. While the Houston panorama and cast clips montage was used as in the more familiar opening, there was an entirely different Texas flag image. Plus the clip of Iris at the end of the opening montage is framed differently--by a white star outline instead of the actual state of Texas flag lone star. That star outline dissolves to a shot of a flat Texas flag that is partly flipped over as the camera pulls away. The title of the show, possibly set in the Olive Antique Black Extended font in red letters outlined in white, does a multiple image zoom out from the star and appears above the flag. Below the flag in white letters are the words, "Starring Beverlee McKinsey."The original theme song of the show was a bright and lively piece in G major composed by Bob Israel for Score Productions, and this theme would only last just less than fourteen months.
Texas
did not fare well in the ratings early on, so Procter and Gamble hired Gail Kobe as the new executive producer in March 1981, replacing co-creator and original executive producer Paul Rauch. Ms. Kobe made a number of changes designed to distance Texas from its mother show, Another World. Her changes were also designed to give the show a more distinctly Texas look and sound.One of Ms. Kobe's biggest cosmetic changes went into effect starting with the September 28, 1981 episode. Along with updated cast member head shots came a new, bolder theme song composed by Rob Mounsey for Elliot Lawrence Productions. Also, following the departure of Beverly McKinsey's Iris at the end of November 1981, announcer Ken Roberts began introducing the show as "Texas, the New Generation!"
For most of its run, Texas's end credits ran in yellow Helvetica lettering over the close-up shot of the white star on the Texas flag. During the first year, however, cast credits sometimes had a series of pictures of each major cast member accompanied by the actor's name and the character name. Until the summer of 1982, the credits were set in a cheap-looking early computer-generated graphic style and presented in a separate card format; then they changed to a more presentable Italic typeface.
New Information--As of August 4, 2001:
The very first episodes of Texas used an entirely different long crawl end credit backdrop from the familiar tight close-up of the lone star on the Texas flag. There is a videotaped outdoor shot of the flag of Texas waving against the sky as the end credits run in the same cheap-looking computer-generated Helvetica font used for most of the show's run, however the letters are light blue instead of yellow. These end credits were done in a long crawl.In the final episode on December 31, 1982, the end credits rolled over the New Year's party scene at KVIK, complete with Justin Marshall's toast "To Texas!" This very last end credit crawl played before the final commercial break.