For Better or Worse (1959 TV series)

The show was promoted as "Video Marriage Counselling" rather than as a traditional soap opera. The storylines were fictionalized accounts from the case files of Dr. Peterson, a clergyman and associate professor of sociology at USC, who trained graduate students to become professional marriage counselors. Storylines ran from 15 to 25 episodes in length. Each episode would open with a brief introduction by host Jim Bannon, followed by the dramatic performance. At the end of each episode, Bannon would ask questions of Dr. Peterson on camera to draw out his observations. ==Response==

Reviewers were not impressed with the veneer of professionalism provided by Dr. Peterson's analysis at the end of each episode. For one critic For Better or Worse was "pseudo-scientific soap opera" and "pap by any name". This same reviewer, after watching the entire first storyline, felt it "was staged, acted, and written with competence", but was too repetitive. ==Production==

The show was created by executive producer John Guedel. The show's sponsors were Scott Paper and Lever Brothers. Hal Cooper served as both producer and director. When a writer's strike was threatened in spring 1960, CBS revealed it was three weeks ahead on For Better or Worse scripts. ==Broadcast history==

For Better or Worse replaced Jimmy Dean Show starting June 29, 1959. Otherwise it appeared five days a week, even on holidays, thanks to advance videotaping. It was allowed to finish out its first season but wasn't picked up for another. Its last broadcast was on Friday, June 24, 1960; it was replaced on the CBS schedule by Full Circle the following Monday. Storylines ==References==