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Texas (sometimes called '''Another World in Texas''' and, later, '''Texas: The New Generation''') was a Soap Opera which aired on NBC from August 4 , 1980 until December 31 , 1982 . Created by John William Corrington , Joyce Corrington , and Paul Rauch , the show was a spinoff of '' Another World ''. It was unique in that it was the first soap opera to air hour-long episodes from its inception. Rauch's initial plans involved a historical soap centered around the period of the '', then at its most popular, and '' Guiding Light '', which was going through a resurgence at the time. Critics complained that Iris (who was known on ''Another World'' as being a villainess and a bitch) had become too tame, and that other roles were poorly cast or suffered from paper-thin writing (''Texas'' hired ''General Hospital'' star Kin Shriner at great expense, only to give him almost nothing to do until he finally left). After a year, however, McKinsey left the show and the secondary characters seen in the first year were given more story. ''Texas'' lost one million viewers upon McKinsey's departure. While ''Another World'', which also lost a million viewers upon her 1980 departure, could afford the drop in ratings, ''Texas'' could not, and its days were numbered. To try to appeal to the younger audience, the show rechristened itself ''Texas: The New Generation''. In 1982 Gail Kobe became executive producer and Pam Long (who also acted on the show, playing Ashley) became headwriter. The show began to improve in quality but the ratings remained in the basement. In the latter part of the year, ''Texas'' was canceled. The last episodes featured a Christmas miracle (snow fell in Houston as Long's character Ashley and her unborn baby, who had been presumed dead after a flash flood, returned home to loving husband Justin) and a New Year's series finale where the local TV station was bought out and all the major characters were fired. The final scene was a bittersweet final toast, "to Texas!" Executive producer Kobe and writer Long would go on to make their mark on ''Guiding Light'' for much of the 1980s . Of note, during its initial run, Texas Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby, Jr. took a tour of the program's Brooklyn studio, and praised the show's realistic visual feel. RATINGS HISTORY Texas was launched at a time when NBC's daytime lineup (consisting of ''Another World'', ''Days of Our Lives'' and ''The Doctors'') had fallen into ratings trouble, after a highly successful period in the early and mid-1970s. Throughout its run Texas remained in the bottom echelon of the ratings chart, tying with The Doctors for last place in its innaugural 1980-81 season with numbers falling graudally after that. However, it did impact on the ratings of Another World to the point that it was no longer NBC's highest-rating soap. FAMOUS ALUMNI
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