Director, Programming Daytime

JOB SUMMARY

The position serves as the network’s creative liaison between the show “General Hospital” and the Company. Manage show activities including: giving notes to writers and producers on story outlines, long term story projections, and scripts. Read story outlines in a timely manner and email notes to show’s head writer and executive producer. This may require some work during the weekend.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Participate in weekly meetings with the show’s writing team and executive producer to ensure story outlines are revised based on network notes.

• Act as the network’s point person for the show, interact with upper management and various departments, such as promotions, publicity, digital, sales and research on show activities.

• Pitch long term story projections to various network departments in monthly programming meetings.

• Create and distribute weekly beat sheets to provide network with detailed story information.

• Work with Marketing and Publicity department to develop weekly on-air promo and PR pitches.

• Update network on recent story outlines in weekly staff meetings.

• Work with production department to discuss changes and adjustments to show budgets.

• Read writing samples from potential new writers in conjunction with Daytime Talent Development executive.

• Troubleshoot day-to-day activities of show productions. Assist with resolutions as needed.

• Build relationships with agents and writing talent.

• Stay on top of relevant news stories and current events that may help inform storyline ideas for the show. Pitch storyline ideas as needed.

• Work closely with research department to help facilitate weekly and quarterly testing. Attend focus groups when necessary.

• Help facilitate special projects including ancillary products, promotional sweepstakes, and giveaways.

• Work with Sales on promotional opportunities and present sponsorship integrations to the show producers.

QUALIFICATIONS

Work Experience

Required

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in Network Programming

• Strong working knowledge of the business and creative aspects of producing a show

• Able to interact with all levels of management

Preferred

• A minimum of 10 years of related work experience

Skills & Abilities

Required

• Able to assume a strategic leadership role while displaying strong analytical skills and excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

• Able to work effectively within a team and collaborate with peers, subordinates, superiors, and with a special emphasis on communicating creative goals and the value of the programming to various constituents.

Education

Required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

Additional Information

May also provide network creative advice for All My Children

Job Location: Burbank, CA

2001. A year of devastation and discovery. Of tragedy and triumph. Of heartache and hope.

by Tom Smith, January 4, 2002

Of course, this has nothing to do with the innately inept, sadistically shallow, unbelievable buffoonery that is now characteristic of the soap industry. But, every other awards show has tried to make its’ subject seem more relevant than they are. So, why should I be different? This however, is as maudlin as it gets. I think now, more than ever, daytime really needs to be held to a higher standard--or at least a consistent one. Passions doesn’t pretend to be anything other than it is, but, almost every other soap does--and when they fail to meet that standard, I will skewer them.

There are a ton of new categories this year, as well as some hold-overs from last year. Many categories were dropped because I couldn’t think of anyone who deserved the win. As you might expect, positive categories were largely slim pickings; negative categories had a cadre of candidates. I try to limit each category to one winner, so I don’t type forever, but I occasionally break said rule. Also, it’s a good thing I waited until the end of the year to do this, because some of the winners have literally come forward in the past few weeks. Oh yeah--unlike some soap mags, I didn’t put this list together in September.

Best Wedding: ATWT’s Katie and Simon. The recent nuptials was the capper to a great year of conflict and romance between these two. A truly romantic sentimental wedding, and some great chemistry between the two leads. Katie and Simon get the nod for Best Couple as well.

Worst Wedding: AMC’s Leo and Laura. A paint-by-numbers triangle ends in an oh-so-predictable “traditional AMC wedding”. (Executive Producer Jean Dadario Burke’s words, not mine). If I had been one bit invested in this triangle, I might have been mildly entertained by the payoff. Instead, I was subjected to months of a couple with great chemistry being nasty to each other for no good reason, while another AMC character was assassinated for plot purposes. Worse, AMC’s done this all before!

Couple with Most Wasted Potential: ATWT’s Ben/Lien. ATWT did the impossible here. They took fan-favorite Ben and returning core family member Lien, and paired them. As if pairing a stuffy doc with a loose lawyer in an interracial romance wasn’t conflict enough, Lien became Ben’s lawyer in a custody dispute! But wait--there’s more! Lien also had a serious medical disease which turned out to be a side effect of Agent Orange! Life and death situations! Social relevancy! Ben and Lien must have taken over the show, right? Nope. After going to all the trouble to set up years of story for this couple, every single plot was dropped in favor of The Bar-Bar-Que Hour and Malta Misadventures. No wonder the actress ran back to Broadway.

Most Boring Couple: OLTL’s Bo/Melanie. The only people thrilled with this pairing were their portrayers. And maybe the people in the control room. Bo/Melanie weren’t an option for Super Soap Weekend, but if ABC ever hosts a Super Snore Weekend...

But It’ll Create Story-Really Award! To AMC, for killing Gillian. Do I need to elaborate?

Best Psycho: The competition was fierce, but I must give the award to Y&R’s Tricia. Y&R’s writers and actress Sabryn Genet teamed up to show you Tricia’s descent into madness. True to Y&R’s strength, it was a madness that had been building for years, and you could look back at specific events and see what made her snap. Bonus points to Genet for bringing a bit of understatement and class to the role, only displaying Tricia’s full psychosis when necessary. Silver and Bronze straight jackets to ATWT’s Annie Parrise (Julia) and B&B’s Sarah Buxton (Morgan)

Worst Psycho: AMC’s Laura. The most boring pedestrian nut of the year. As with all of her interpretations, Laura Allen was a washout, and the utterly cookie-cutter writing didn’t help. Allie Doyle was more menacing.

Best Potential Psycho: GL’s Tory. You know something’s brewing there.

Best Villain: B&B’s Deacon Sharpe. The best villains aren’t rich, megalomaniac, take over the world types. They’re not unsympathetic. Sometimes, they’re just ordinary folks who will play with people’s emotions just to get what they want. Deacon, who uses and abuses naive Bridget, is the best and most realistic heel in daytime.

Worst Villain: GH’s Stavros Cassadine. Irritating beyond belief, Robert Kelker-Kelly’s attempt to bring Snidley Whiplash to the screen wouldn’t impress the most hardcore Passions fan.

Best Teens: Y&R. Well-acted and surprisingly realistic.

Worst Teens: Passions. The exact opposite of Y&R. Not the least bit entertaining, either.

Best Actress Hiring: OLTL’s Melissa Archer (Natalie)

Best Actor Firing: GH’s Robert Kelker-Kelly (Stavros).

Best Actress Firing: OLTL’s Darlene Vogel (Melanie)

Worst Actor Hiring: OLTL’s Brandon Routh (Seth.) (The “Best Batch of Crack” award goes to the people who made the rock Executive Producer Gary Tomlin was smoking when he insisted this guy was so good, he had to create a totally superfluous role for this guy. Woo-wee, that’s some potent stuff!)

Worst Actress Hiring: GH’s Jensen Buchanan (Melissa). What an utter waste of talent in such an insipid role. (GH’s Roy/Melissa were serious contenders for Most Boring Couple). To think, Buchanan almost avoided this career blemish when she was temporarily removed from the role due to the ABC/P&G lawsuit.

Best Recast: OLTL’s Gina. The Viki/Ben/Gina plot was a farce from day one. Lisa Peluso realized it, and gave the material the treatment it deserved. As such, she helped wring some entertainment from this mess.

Worst Recast: Y&R’s Susan Walters (Diane). Alex Donnelly was more than willing to come back, and the new actress brings nothing to the table. We like the old Diane in spite of ourselves--is the “new direction” supposed to stop that? Why?

One Step Forward, 312 Back: OLTL, for firing Kale Browne--only to recast Sam Rappaport in the form of Laurence Lau. Worse, the writing for Sam is more obnoxious than ever. Why didn’t they cut their losses when they had the chance?

God, I wished You’d Stayed Gone: OLTL’s Ty Treadway. Give the ladies in the audience a Treadway calendar, and nobody would miss this guy.

The Ham Award (tie): ATWT’s Colleen Zink Pinter. You know things are topsy-turvy when Hunt Block is giving tear-jerking performances, and Pinter’s chewing the scenery like a crack-crazed squirrel. She shares the award with hubby Mark Pinter, whose recent scenes as Roger “I Needs the Stuff, David” Smythe have been astonishingly bad.

Insult to Injury Award: OLTL’s Darlene Vogel. Not only was Vogel fired, but her character was stripped of every shred of dignity on her way out--the very thing Vogel complained about! Needlessly overwritten, utterly pointless, mean-spirited exit for The Dar.

Phrases I’m Tired of Hearing:

“Give __________ a chance--they’re just getting started.”--Anybody. Chances are if someone’s getting slammed from the beginning, they have a reputation that precedes them.

“I know the audience may be skeptical at first, but it’s necessary for me to do THIS story THIS way.”-- Any writer trying to scam the audience into accepting a pointless story or plot device.

“It’s a learning curve for me”--Jill Farren Phelps. Is there any soap Jill’s helmed where she doesn’t use a variation of this line when she gets in trouble? Jill, baby, if you’re always on a learning curve, when do you learn?

“I’m so glad we got the original actress back. Now, we can show the original flashbacks, and tell the audience, see, this really happened!”--Gary Tomlin. Gary, we know Allison kidnapped Jessica. What we don’t know is that Allison switched Jessica with Natalie--THAT’s the heart of this story. Where are the flashbacks for that?!

People I’m tired of Hearing From Award: OLTL’s Robert S. Woods and Darlene Vogel. ABC Daytime President Angela Shapiro; Jill Farren Phelps; Megan McTavish; Whomever writes the blind items in SOD/SID.

Bad Timing Award: Headlines on soap mags the week of September 11.

Worst Soap Mag Reporting: Cameron Mathison (Ryan) negotiates with AMC. SOD puts out a slew of misleading headlines and erroneous reporting so confusing, even Mathison doesn’t know if he’s re-signed.

We’re Trying to Kill Our Show: ABC, for seriously jeopardizing what little progress Port Charles has made with the new shooting schedule.

Take the Radio Out of the Office: Port Charles Head Writers Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown. So, do they come up with the plots first and set them to song, or....Heh. Considering past interviews, perhaps I should call this the “Take the Jukebox out of the Bar” Award.

Talk that Double Talk: ABC Daytime Vice-President Felicia Minei Behr, for confusing everyone with her recent SOD interview on Port Charles.

Vote of Confidence Award: Angela Shapiro for talking up Port Charles’ success, while admitting that they came this close to axing it for a reality show.

Rip Van Winkle Award: DAYS Executive Producer Ken Corday. Welcome back to the land of the living, Ken--while you were in la-la-land, your show went in the crapper.

Waterloo Award: Jill Farren Phelps. I don’t think this is quite what JFP envisioned her first year at GH being like--having everyone from the viewers up to ABC corporate tell you that your vision sucks, and you have to do the opposite of what you’d normally do. Still, 2001’s been a pretty bad year for most of us. Why should JFP be different?

Best Backstage Exit: Y&R Executive Producer Ed Scott. Well-handled and classy.

Best Backstage Firing: DAYS Co-Executive Producer/Head Writer Tom Langan--long overdue.

The That Was So Last Year Award: The Internet. Last year, we were making major plot decisions on Days. This year, we’re picking baby names for Hayley’s kid on AMC. Not progress.

Worst Plot Device: Bombs in Salem. It was a bomb alright.

Most Pointless Gimmick: Time-tripping with Reva. Ugh.

Most Obvious Plot Twist: GL’s Carmen is still alive. Damn it.

Least Obvious Plot Twist: Y&R’s Sharon loses the baby.

Best Social Issue: Y&R’s Mac deals with her stepfather’s abuse and mother’s denial.

Worst Social Issue: AMC and Lesbianism. Bianca’s first love is last seen in a hospital, recovering from anorexia. Her second love doesn’t swing that way. Her third love is dead, supposedly at the hands of her mother. And Bianca’s reaction is the same: “I’m gay, mom! I’m gay! Can’t you accept that?” Is this what Agnes Nixon had in mind?

Most Out-of-Place Social Issue: Passions and abortion. What’s worse--that Passions is tackling such a serious topic, or that it’s doing so better than ANY soap since AMC’s 1994 storyline involving Julia?

Best Use of Flashback: Sparingly, and almost always relevant, this goes to Y&R.

Worst Use of Flashback: OLTL and the Alison flashback.

Best Holiday Episode: DAYS December 25’th flashback show. This is the format last year’s 30’th anniversary show SHOULD have used.

Worst Holiday Episode: GL’s December 24’th show. Relentlessly phony. Jerry ver Dorn‘s (Ross) knowing smirk couldn’t save this one.

Blooper Award: B&B. The difference between Morgan’s house and the outside world was like night and day during the climax of “Taylor Held Hostage.”

Best Show: The Bold and the Beautiful. That’s right, I said it! Other shows may have better storylines or casts, but no one was as consistently entertaining as B&B. Y&R had bright spots, but, on the whole, the year was a drag. After being the comeback kid of 2000, ATWT is slacking off. Neither OLTL nor GL have improved enough to snag this one. The others don’t even rate! B&B, my hats off to you!

Worst Show: Days of Our Lives. Agnes Nixon’s adopted motto: “Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, make ‘em wait.” Corday and Langan’s motto: “Make ‘em bored, make ‘em scream, make ‘em say uncle!” The half-hearted attempts to return DAYS to normalcy in 2001 couldn’t overshadow the worst storyline in daytime for three years running, Sub-Spawn: The Story of John and Hope’s baby. Ignoring fans wishes at every turn, these two nimrods finally reaped what they sowed in 2001, with some truly embarrassing ratings--proving once again, the best way to get TPTB’s attention--turn it off.

Best fans: You guys, of course! You’ve written me, provided me with much column fodder, supported me when I was ill, and followed me to another soap jig. I’m not really worth all this adoration, but I’ll take it! Here’s to a better 2002, for the industry and the world!

COMING:JFP and McTavish on life support.

Sweeping Up Sweeps Part I

by Tom Smith, December 3, 2001
There’s been lots of short-term news that I probably would’ve spilled a lot of ink about—GL’s new Marah, B&B’s Hunter Tylo fiasco. But, after letting it play out for a few weeks, it didn’t seem so big a deal. (For the record, I believe both Old and New Marah are atrocious actors, but New Marah is prettier, and I think that'’ what GL's brass were thinking too. Hunter Tylo is a dip that seems determined to play out every contract negotiation in the press. She’s a decent actress, but she’s replaceable, which is what Bradley Bell should do, if Tylo’s going to be a problem). So, what I’m going to do is give my review of ALL the soaps during November Sweeps. (On a letter grade scale.) If there’s anything outside the scope of November sweeps that I want to talk about, I’ll fit it in there somewhere.

ALL MY CHILDREN (C-)

The Big Story: Greenlee/Leo/Laura/Jake. There’s the problem. I will concede that new Head Writer Richard Culliton is better at spreading the airtime around than previous writers. But, there’s still way too much of what has been AMC’s trademark problem for the last eight years—too much airtime concentrated on one storyline. To break it down further, AMC finds a couple that the audience has an interest in, and milks the couple to death, until the audience begs for mercy, causing AMC to move on to the next couple and repeat the process. It started with Noah and Julia, then Hayley/Mateo, Ryan/Gillian, Adam/Liza, Tad/Dixie, and now Leo/Greenlee.

The weird thing is that with other couples, the writers usually have the various conflicts fleshed out. But with Leo/Greenlee, they seem to be making it up on the fly. In just a few months, we’ve gone from Greenlee dumping Leo because he originally came to town to marry her for her now non-existent fortune (a truly asinine rewrite of history) to Greenlee forgiving Leo only to have Leo marry Laura because of her illness. Since nobody was buying Laura’s portrayer, Laura Allen, in a sympathetic role (or any role), Laura remained an obstacle, but now became a psychotic shrew. The whole situation was contrived, with weak repetitive scripting, by the numbers plotting, and lightweight Laura Allen playing the heavy. Mightily, Josh Duhamel (Leo), Rebecca Budig (Greenlee), and J. Eddie Peck (Jake) have kept my interest, to a certain degree. (This is a big achievement for Peck, who on The Young and the Restless, was as exciting as Sominex.) The writers must have noticed this too, as they’re working double-time to extricate Laura from the story and build it around the three actors who might prove to be interesting.

I won’t comment on the character assassination of Laura English, or the continued character assassination of Brooke English. Why? My fingers would get tired. Plus, I’m playing some really snazzy Christmas music right now, and I don’t want to be brought down any more than I have to.

IN OTHER NEWS: Tad and Dixie are breaking up—again. Tad is so obsessed with bringing down David, that he made contact with Psycho Leslie, who promptly tried to hang him high—literally. Only the intervention of Angel Jesse could save the day. But Dixie is so mad at Tad she apparently can’t forgive him. Man, they have turned Dixie into a self-righteous bitch. How many times has Dixie needed some forgiveness in her life? Dixie can take the forgiveness, but she sure can’t dish it out. In fact, she sometimes tries to pin her mistakes on others, as she did trying to make her affair with David all Tad’s fault. I’m not saying Dixie shouldn’t be mad at Tad, but this is a marriage breaker?

Of course, the real scoop is that Cady McClain wants to leave the show—again. I honestly don’t know if Tad and Dixie’s latest fight is really going to be the exit for Dixie, but I will be highly pissed if it does. It makes no sense to break up Tad and Dixie. While McClain no longer wants to work full time, she’s told TPTB that she’s willing to work up to three months a year, if necessary. Now I agree that having Dixie around three months a year, and missing the other nine months is pretty conspicuous. But, if McClain’s willing to do, say, sixty shows a year, perhaps she can be persuaded to spread those appearances throughout the year. Hey, it works for Mary Fickett! Or maybe, a time-sharing role? McClain can do three months, and then some other lucky gal can take it for those other times where a Dixie appearance is absolutely essential? Anything is better than another pointless T&D breakup, which will lead to TPTB repeating the mistakes of 1996-98, pairing Tad with anybody, instead of appreciating Tad for the fully developed, multi-talented character he is by himself.

And Dixie. If McClain and TPTB can’t work out a decent arrangement, I’d rather Dixie and Tad make up one last time, Dixie get in her car, turn the ignition, and get blown to bits by Proteus.

Speaking of Proteus, (admit it—you’ve missed my segues), what is the deal here? I was mildly interested in the story, because it gave Edmund the chance to do something besides chase women. I know, this mystery villain story is exactly the thing Richard Culliton does WRONG, but it had me. Until the day Mateo went to meet Proteus, and all we got was a room with a bunch of video-screens, and a voice that was supposed to be scary, but was just silly. Granted, all the video screens were of Hayley, but still I’m not that scared. (Maybe if they were of Regis.) In one scene, the Proteus angle went from kind of interesting to hokey and lame-ass. And, while I appreciate Culliton’s obvious attempt to make Proteus an umbrella storyline, dragging Erica/Bianca/Frankie into it is really pushing it—especially when the “shocking plot twist” is an old storyline from Dynasty.

AS THE WORLD TURNS (GRADE: C)

The Big Story: Barbara is crazy! Man, she is nuts! She’s off the wall! Out of her mind! Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs! And, might I add she’s crazy?

Poor ATWT. The truth is that they spent all their capital prior to sweeps. The Malta adventure was (mercifully) over. The fallout of Bryan’s death, led to some phenomenal shows and performances. And Jake and Molly got married. (Do you hear me, Mary 5252? I won’t say anything bad about Hunt Block…for the rest of the year.) But, that all happened prior to Sweeps.

So, we got a kind of lackluster Sweeps, as ATWT dragged out the inevitable revelation of Barbara learning that Paul was scheming behind her back. In the meantime, we got pointless filler of Rose’s days as a prostitute, and Paul inexplicably keeping his business relationship with Carly hidden from Rose, as obstacles threatening to tear this couple apart. We also got more of the dastardly James Stenbeck, and his wacky psychological games. Surely, Anthony Hererra (James) will get an Emmy award—if they start giving awards for Best Lurking! Man, after all they’ve been through, Barbara would have to be crazy to listen to James, wouldn’t she?

Well, she is. If you got nothing else from the writing and Colleen Zenk Pinter’s “Do you want that ham on wheat or rye” performance, you should know that Barbara is crazy. Immediately following the fire, Barbara was sympathetic, as a woman who had made a lot of selfish mistakes, but did NOT deserve the payback she got. However, Barbara has become completely irrational, wanting to push everyone away from her, yet getting incensed when their world keeps on turning. She wants her designs used, but it’s hard to see the designs when she’s drawing big red X’s through them! Upon learning that Paul has employed a talented, sane woman to keep their company afloat, Barbara went off the deep end, and began digging a hole. She went to the fashion show, began ripping up dresses, practically knocked an innocent woman unconscious, terrorized her daughter, and tried to stab Carly, all in the span of about ten minutes. A slow, psychological descent this was not.

Pinter’s scenery chewing aside, there were other interesting performances as well. Maura Tierney (Carly) was good as a woman who was tired of apologizing for all her wrongs, while folks like Barbara were never called on theirs. Hunt Block (Craig) was…Hunt Block. Michael Park (Jack) excelled as the guy who clearly still cares about Carly, but just doesn’t know where they stand. Kim Onasch (Jennifer)’s terrified face-mugging at Barbara’s insanity proves that she if ever gets kicked off ATWT, she has a future in the B-horror movie circuit.

In Other News: Well, there’s not much. Almost everything intersected with the fashion show. Despite their silly obstacles, I enjoy Paul and Rose, and am glad that TPTB can still get their money’s worth out of Martha Byrne (Lily/Rose) while giving Lily a breather. The latest Jack/Carly stuff is interesting. It’s amazing after months of hating Jack, I’m now being conditioned to hate Carly for getting involved with a snake like Craig. I guess when Head Writer Hogan Sheffer said he was going to play the Carly/Jack/Julia triangle one last time he didn’t mean that Jack and Carly were going to get together. Issac/Bonnie have no chemistry. Are Ben and Jessica getting together, or are they just really good friends? I don’t hold out any hope for Ben after the outrageous handling of Ben/Lien.

I’d gladly review the Nick/Abigail/Adam story, if I could figure out what the story is. Any villain that messes with teenage love lives isn’t menacing, just pathetic.

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL [B]

B&B is usually the most entertaining soap on TV, doubly so during Sweeps. Not the smartest or the deepest, but just the most entertaining. But, that didn’t really happen. There were obviously some factors at work behind-the-scenes, probably due to the September 11’th attacks. (The cancellation of the remote to Venice; the obvious shortening of Massimo and Stephanie vs. Brooke). But B&B, though good, wasn’t great.

The obvious shortcomings stemmed from way too much time on the B&B blood suckers Rick and Amber. Did anybody really give a damn when Rick found out Amber kissed Deacon, especially since Rick had kissed another girl months earlier? (Whom I really wish they’d bring back; she was cute. But that’s neither here nor there.) Amber got pregnant, hid the fact that it could’ve been fathered by another man, hid the fact that the baby died and she replaced it with her cousin’s child, and Rick was cool with that. But, a quick smootch with another man? Well, ultimately Rick was cool with that too. After berating Amber, he eventually decided to give her one more chance, making this more of an anti-climax than ever.

Sean Kanan continues to delight as Deacon Sharpe, but his character’s in some real trouble. No, I don’t mean sleeping with Brooke—the only thing he’s in trouble with there is catching some STD’s. Deacon should always have an edge, but he’s losing that edge the longer he stays with Bridget. That’s supposed to be the point, but it’s also making Deacon less fun to watch. With Amber, you got the feeling that Deacon really did love her for her. But with Bridget, Kanan seems to be working against the scrip, and playing Deacon as loving Bridget like a puppy. You can’t really be mad at a puppy, cause they’re so darn cute. I don’t get Deacon loving Bridget because he loves her, or she believes in him, or she makes him feel good, or she’s great in the sack. I keep expecting Deacon to reach over and pinch Bridget’s cheeks, and say “You’re a cute little rascal, yes you are! Yes, you are!”

While B&B is usually good at utterly pointless, but shocking plot twists, they fell flat with “Massimo is Ridge’s daddy.” Outside of Ridge now and forever being inducted into the Moron section of the Knucklehead club by managing to impale himself on a sword and get hit by a bookcase, what’s the point? Eric gets so mad that he divorces Stephanie? It could happen, but who wants to see it? Stephanie won’t take up with Massimo. Ridge won’t accept Massimo. Ridge is already barely speaking to Stephanie after her latest antics. Where’s the payoff? All I’ve seen is the normally sharp Stephanie acting like a dingbat after being informed by the doctor that Ridge and Eric’s blood types don’t match. Stephanie didn’t act like a woman who knew that Massimo could be the father, but didn’t want to admit it to herself, as happened in subsequent episodes. She acted as though Massimo absolutely, literally, could not be the father. It made no sense.

Tony/Kristen was the sharpest storyline of Sweeps, and probably the lightest, which is shocking when you know that Tony’s got AIDS. But Tony and Kristen are determined to have some genuine happiness and not let this ruin a life together—however brief it may be. The high drama came from Eric and Kristen’s ex-husband Clarke kidnapping Kristen and forcing her to watch a documentary about an AIDS patient. If John McCook could get an Emmy nomination last year for doing nothing, what will happen this year with his performance as “Eric Forester—Dad out of Control”. Combine this with Eric ramming his car into Deacon, and McCook’s got an Emmy reel that’s sure to please!

DAYS OF OUR LIVES (Incomplete)

The Big Story: I don’t know. I can’t watch ‘em all, folks. Every time I looked at this I either saw wacky Jack/Jennifer hijinks, or heard Lexie say the name of Princess Gina. Both sent me running for terror. So did those island teens!

NOVEMBER SWEEPS 2001: THE CONCLUSION

by Tom Smith, December 15, 2001

Four down, six to go. You know the drill, so I’ll just jump right in.

GH: (C]

THE BIG STORY: The end of the Cassadines. You’ve got to laugh at this one. When Jill Farren Phelps assumed the position of Executive Producer this year, it seemed that her biggest goal was to establish the Cassadines as a prominent core family on the show, one that would intertwine with the Quartermaines and the Spencers. To that extent, she returned Stefan to front-burner status, and made Nikolas and especially, Helena’s roles, bigger than ever. She then had Stavros Cassadine resurrected, just to fill things out. What JFP didn’t realize is that you can’t build a core family on psychos, obsessives, murderous thugs, and world dominators. Well, you can, just don’t expect them to be popular or last very long. Now, less than a year later, Stavros is dead again, Helena is putting in weekly appearances from a jail cell, and Stefan is leaving. The official spin is that the events of September 11’Th made the Cassadine story just too controversial to continue. But, can you imagine ABC saying that if GH had jumped half a point in the demo during all this? Me neither.

Instead of being stuck in an endless go-round, GH was forced to give a speedy climax to the story. For the first time in a long time, GH delivered a legitimate payoff. The good guys prevailed; the bad guys were jailed, or dropped off the face of the earth. No depressing plot twists, anti-climaxes, or rescues from Sonny.

Whether the ending was any good or not depends on your perspective. The ratings seem to suggest that most GH fans were not interested in revisiting the past via this throwback to the early 80’s storyline. However, those that loved “The return of Stavros” did so with a passion. The weeklong climax in the Cassadine cave only entrenched each camp’s position. Those that loathed it were aghast at the cartoon villainy of Stavros and Helena, the comic-book melodrama of Lucky’s brainwashing, the movie serial quality of Luke hanging from a trap door. Those that loved the story appreciated these touches all the more!

Needless to say, I was not a fan. However, this storyline was what it was, and audacious as it was, I was glad to see it end with a bang than a thud. The only thing that really irritated me was the totally out of place movie soundtrack background music. What we were seeing played out like an extended episode of “Jonny Quest”, but the score seemed lifted from Indiana Jones, or a similar big-budget movie adventure. (A big budget was certainly missing from this “how many ways can we make this hall look longer” story.) At least, the disco music in the “Ice Princess” climax seemed oddly appropriate.

(GRATITOUS JFP SLAM ALERT: Two things struck me about JFP while musing on the music. One, she still seems to have delusions of grandeur when it comes to her product. The writers and actors seemed to have no doubt they were turning out mindless entertainment, but the production seemed as though JFP thought this week was going to be released as a letterbox DVD in Surround-sound. Jill, baby, know your role. Secondly, I got the distinct feeling that JFP is playing dress-up at GH. She seems to be less of an executive producer, and more of a musical director who picked up a few things from Gloria Monty. Well, it’s taken her this far.)

Following Cassadine week, things have certainly slowed. It has been fun to watch everyone take a shot at Helena Behind Bars. And yes, the bit with Helena’s court-appointed lawyer was right out of a bad sitcom, but I laughed anyway, which shows what an easy mark I am. Helena needs to be humbled and humiliated—a lot. There was also some good follow-up with Taggert and GASP!—Gia’s mother expressing outrage at Nikolas over his involving Gia and the whole mess. Luke/Laura/Scotty, however, is a dud. Been there, done that. I realize that this story is better than anything Kin Shriner would be getting at Port Charles, but, for better or worse, Luke and Laura are the couple. JFP wants ratings? Have Luke and Laura reunited by Christmas, and give them a Valentine’s Day wedding.

IN OTHER NEWS: Angel killed Sorel. Angel got away. I’m not thrilled about the PCPD (last year’s SEW Award winners for worst cops on daytime) being made to look like idiots. But, there is something to be said for a story that takes out two of the worst characters on the show.

Sonny can’t forgive Carly. He loves her, he loves Michael, he’s a bigger scumbag than she is, (no mean feat), but he just can’t forgive her. The Fonz couldn’t say he’s sorry, Sonny can’t say he forgives. With Maurice Bernard currently displaying the same level of talent as Henry Winkler did on Happy Days, the comparisons were inevitable. Will Sonny and Alexis wind up in bed? I hope not. These two are friend material, not couple material. Besides, I’m supposed to believe that Alexis can handle being Sonny’s woman, but couldn’t marry Ned, because she didn’t want to be a part of the Quartermaines? Come on.

GL: (C-)

THE BIG STORY: Time-Tripping with Reva Shayne. Yawn. As a fan of Dark Shadows, I know what a good time travel story can be. This wasn’t it. It was pointless filler that wasn’t even done in an eye-catching, promotable way, like the wacky stunts on DAYS and Passions. Did it really take going back to the Civil War for Reva to realize that she still loves Josh, and that Olivia and Alan were hittin it on the down-low. She could’ve figured that out if she was blind! (Insert joke here.)

IN OTHER NEWS: Cat and mouse games between Danny, Michelle, Carmen, and Gus. I could really get into Gus being Danny’s archenemy if I thought there was the slightest chance that Gus would best Danny. Gus is exactly what GH’s Mac isn’t, a guy willing to play dirty to get the bad guys. In fact, Gus borders on being an a-hole, but he’s just so lovable. Maybe because Danny is an a-hole. And Carmen? GL, steal a page from GH. Kill Carmen (for real this time), and make the culprit some other pointless character (so many to choose from.)

The teen quad. I can’t even remember their names, they’re so damn boring. I commented on the new Marah last week. I mean, what’s the story here? Marah declares herself the happy virgin, then is upset when the whole campus finds out, then ends up becoming Campus Queen when she defends her virginity. I’m all for a character promoting abstinence, but there are so many better ways to do it, than this.

Billy’s attempt at breaking up Buzz and Holly was funny. Rick/Harley are pointless. If they had any romantic chemistry, they’d have been paired long ago. The Boudreauxes seem destined to be the latest in a long line of new families that Executive Producer Paul Rauch throws on his shows, only to have them go nowhere and disappear. The Edmund/Lorelei caper is already getting tedious.

OLTL: (C]

THE BIG STORY: Will the real Miss Buchanan please stand up? It’s a credit to OLTL when I say that it was hard to pick the big story, because the show is more balanced these days. I’m going with this storyline, because it’s probably shaken things up the most. This reminds me a lot of the Kendall storyline on AMC. Long-lost daughter comes back, conceals her identity for a while, is exposed, then demands that she been given her rightful place in her mother’s life. Of course, Melissa Archer is suited to her role, unlike under-aged Sarah Michelle Gellar. Archer’s Natalie is a find, and I believe that she has displayed enough range to develop Natalie into a long-term, multi-faceted character, which is inevitably going to happen. I still think the odds are 50/50 as to whether Natalie is the real Jessica or not. If Natalie can become popular in her own right, it won’t matter.

I am not a member of the Allison Perkins Fan Club. I understand Perkins was necessary to make this story work, (of course, you could also have said Jessica was switched at the hospital, and it would’ve been about as big a stretch), but if I hear Tomlin crow about how he got Barbara Garrick back so he can show flashbacks, to prove to the audience that this is real, I’ll scream. Big damn deal Gary! You show the same grainy flashback every week. (NOTE to ABC: Your videotapes look like crap. Invest in digital, STAT.) What we know is that Allison kidnapped Jessica, left her at her mommy’s, and then got hit by a car, and disappeared off the canvas. Showing a flashback of Allison taking Jessica out of Llanfair doesn’t prove Jessica was switched with anybody. Allison’s switching babies doesn’t even make any sense, which means this is a scam, or Allison is just plain crazy. And we’ve got enough psychos in Llanview.

Good things about this story: 1) It puts Ben where he should be, as a support to Viki. Viki and Ben aren’t chasing each other, aren’t involved in stupid “keep them apart” plot contrivances better wasted on the young, and they aren’t having sex on the Craftmatic adjustable pool table. They’re both acting like loving, supportive adults. 2) It places Jessica as a victim. Can’t believe that’s a positive, but the audience needed a reason to be in Jessica’s corner, after the absolute bonehead she turned into under JFP. Of course, any romance with Seth will destroy her credibility. 3) Slezak and Archer have chemistry. They’re obviously good at being pissed at each other, but I also think they could do a mother/daughter type of relationship, when the time is right.

IN OTHER NEWS: How do you show you love someone? If you’re Todd Manning, you tell your love that her baby is dead, pass the kid off to someone else, and hope she’ll stop crying herself to sleep at night, and marry you. What’s even more sickening than this plot is that TPTB thought there was a large opportunity for humor in it as well. Whoo-hoo, watch as Todd tries to give away the baby! Ho-ho, watch as Todd can barely handle the baby, even though he was pretty good around Starr from the time she was about six months old. Ha ha, watch Todd as he’s haunted by his guilty conscience in the form of a kid! Yuk, yuk, yuk!Watch Roger Howarth act as though he’s auditioning for Three’s Company 2001! Side-split, side-split!

Like Todd Manning himself, OLTL keeps shooting itself in the foot, when it comes to Todd and Blair. Blair and Starr should be the people he loves more than anything else. He can be a scumbag to everyone else, and even indirectly hurt Blair and Starr through his actions, but he cannot be cruel to them directly, for any reason. The problem with Todd and Blair getting back together was not Blair, or the baby; it was Todd not wanting to marry Blair, when she had another man’s kid. He got rid of the kid not for love, but profound selfishness. Still, Todd’s guilty conscience could have turned things around. If Todd had realized what he’d done was evil and rescued the baby BEFORE learning it was his, it would have been a major turning point and a saving grace. Instead, he does nothing while thinking it was Max’s, and rushes after the kid, because it’s his. I don’t care how unconventional, twisted, or just plain weird Todd and Blair, there has to be a fundamental belief that they can love and trust each other (within reason) to make me root for them. This baby twist has wrecked that, probably for all time.

Asa’s dead—again. The twists keep coming in this “how’dhedoit”. How did Asa fake his own death? How did he set them up? No matter what happens, I can’t feel any sympathy for Max or Gabrielle, which is a testament to how ruined Max’s character is. I do feel sorry for Bo, who is more enjoyable than he has been in years, investigating his pa’s death. He’s being set up for a big fall, when he learns the truth. The funeral of Asa was a hoot, and it was nice to see someone acknowledge the outrageous recasting of Blair. To those who say it’s not a big deal, let’s recast a white character with a dark-skinned black, and see what happens! The “Ex-Wives Club” was funny, and lasted just the right amount of time. I’m glad that TPTB at least tried to acknowledge the absence of several family members.

R.J.’s got a daughter? Meaty material for the Gannon brothers, but let’s see how far they take this storyline, before I start lavishing praise. Keri/Antonio are being pushed way too fast. Five will get you ten we see a Keri/Antonio/Andy triangle down the road. Having Antonio involved with R.J.’s daughter could be fun, though.

Bo broke up with Melanie in the dumbest way possible, but they got together in the dumbest way possible, so it’s fitting. I guess this accounts for Woodsy deciding that Bo is a self-righteous jerk. Um, Woods, Bo’s been a self-righteous jerk for years, regardless of whether he taps that young ass, or not. I hope they keep Bo away from romance for a long time.

The hit man vs. Christian was apparently just an excuse to have Jen sleep with Al. I’m betting Jen ends up pregnant by Al. The only good thing about this yawner was Keith Colorious’ airtime was kept to a minimum. The only thing menacing about this guy is his hair.

And where’s Dorian?

PASSIONS: (D)

THE BIG STORY: Theresa’s married to Julian! In the plot twist you never saw coming, Theresa tried to convince Julian to re-accept her fiancé Ethan back into the Crane fold, even though Julian is not his biological father. Instead, lecherous Julian plied Theresa with liquor, wedded her, and bedded her. This while he’s engaged to one woman, and in the midst of a messy divorce with another! This storyline is the sole reason why Passions is getting a passing grade. Maybe James E. Reilly’s storyline bible ran out, or he realized he couldn’t live by demons alone, but the Julian/Theresa wedding is easily Passions best storyline. It includes all of Passions best assets—genuine plot twists, situations that are both comical and compelling, and great bad acting. Ben Masters (Julian) and Andrea Evans (Rebecca) are at the top of their game here, and prove that being hammy doesn’t equal being atrociously bad—something the rest of the cast could figure out. Indeed, after nearly two and a half years, Passions has finally found a storyline that really does what everyone swears Passions has always done—make fun of soaps, while being a soap at the same time. I maintain that until, and excluding, this plot, Passions is a boring show that neither makes good soap, or is good at parodying it. Far from being unique, Passions seems to be like every other soap that is throwing on supernatural and sci-fi gimmicks to cover up what a dull affair it really is. But Reilly seems to be getting some spark back with this caper.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sheridan’s presumed dead…again. Yawn. And Luis and Sherdian are reincarnated lovers from the Titanic? Please. Titanic plots are so four years ago. The teen triangle spins endlessly. The Charity/Miguel/Kay storyline was due for a big shakeup after the big Spring invasion from Hell. Instead, they’re desperately trying to get back to status quo, and it’s boring.

PC: (Incomplete)

Like most of America, I didn’t watch during sweeps. However next week I write extensively about Port Charles! The renewal, the new production scheme, the ratings analysis, and I'll admit I was wrong!

Y&R: (B+)

THE BIG STORY: Wedding Day Disaster. Sweeps went out with a bang-literally—for The Young and the Restless, as psychotic Tricia Dennison knocked out bride-to-be Victoria Newman and took her place at Ryan’s side. Realizing that everyone may not be as gung ho as she was, Tricia held everyone hostage with a gun. Victor and Ryan managed to get most of the spectators out of the church, and may have even calmed Tricia down, if Victoria hadn’t showed up at the last minute. Tricia aimed at Victoria, but Ryan jumped in the way, taking the bullet. Tricia was carted off into psychiatric care, but not before shamelessly confessing everything in a matter-of-fact way. (SIDEBAR: After witnessing Sabryn Genet and ATWT’s Annie Parisse this year, I will never settle for sub par soap psychos again). Ryan held on long enough to ask Victoria to marry him immediately, while he was at the hospital bed. Victoria refused, because marrying him then meant admitting he was going to die. To what will surely be Victoria’s eternal regret, Ryan died anyway.

When Y&R is boring, it is very boring. When Y&R is exciting, it is sheer adrenaline. Nobody does a climax like Y&R. (Of course, nobody stretches a storyline like Y&R.) Even though you saw this scenario coming a mile away, it was still exciting to see all of Tricia’s machinations, including the unexpected detour where Victor framed Tricia for rape. Heck, at one point, it seemed we knew Tricia was going to disrupt the wedding, before she did. The climax mixed “only in a soap” moments like Victor throwing a chair through the courthouse window and arriving at the church before anyone could find him, with genuinely chilling moments like Victoria tied up in the closet, unable to do anything. Heather Tom did so much without a word in those scenes. What about when Victor had to work fast to get Cassie and Noah out of the church, without scaring them to death? Even in all this, Y&R still made advancements to other storylines, such as Nick allowing Victoria to stay in the church, which only compounds all the idiot things he’s done lately. Of course, the big shocker—the death of Ryan. Scott “Whassup” Reeves has not always put in award-winning performances, but he shined here as the man who almost had it all, the man quickly running out of time. I’ve criticized Y&R for taking the easy way out, so I’m stunned that they didn’t go for sentimentality here by having a deathbed Ryan/Victoria wedding. Sad? Yes. But, it was also more effective drama.

IN OTHER NEWS: Nick is a jerk. His thoughtless actions indirectly led to Sharon losing her child—and his child, too. However, I think Nick learning that he lost his own child will be more powerful than OLTL’s Todd learning the same thing. Neil may get something worthwhile to do, now that he’s lost his best friend. God knows the quadrangle he’s trapped in is going nowhere. The return of Mac’s mother makes for great drama, but it’s going to be a very hard sell to get Mac (and the audience) t forgive her for thinking Mac was lying about such a heinous thing, for no reason. Jack and Phyllis are boring—perhaps the return of Diane Jenkins and the inevitable paternity reveal will spice things up. Chris/Paul/Isabella seems to be more pointless than ever. The normally top-notch Y&R plotters seem to be making this one up as they go along. The unnecessary return of Lauren just complicates things even more. Ashley looks like a bi-atch for trying to cut Colleen out of Brad’s life. But the Brad/Ashley marriage was dumb anyway. How long will Brad stay when her baby’s paternity is revealed?

DAYTIME’S TWO BIGGEST PSYCHOS RETURN!

written by Tom Smith, June 15, 2003

...is how some might tout the impending returns of Head Writers James E. Reilly and Megan McTavish to the shows that put them on the daytime map. But, here at SWI, I have a lot more class than that. I will examine all the facts surrounding these decisions, and after a thorough pondering of the particulars, will give my judgment in a reasonable manner.

(Did I mention that I’m on new medication today? It’s very relaxing.)

Let’s start with Mr. Reilly. After weeks of speculation/rumor-mongering, it was finally confirmed in none other than the June 3’rd edition of Variety, that James E. Reilly was returning to oversee Days. Here are lengthy extracts from the article written by Josef Adalian:

"NBC and Sony Pictures Television have inked a five-year deal worth nearly $500 million to keep hit sudser "Days of Our Lives" on the Peacock through May 2009. In addition, former "Days" head scribe Jim Reilly -- who left to create NBC sudser "Passions" -- has signed on to oversee writing on both skeins. Ken Corday will continue to exec produce "Days," the saga of the Horton and Brady families created by his parents nearly 40 years ago.

"Both pacts were engineered on the Peacock side by NBC senior VP of daytime Sheraton Kalouria, who's also been doing some dealmaking on his own behalf: Exec has just reupped for another three years as head of the daytime unit.

"Peacock now will shell out roughly $1.7 million-$1.8 million per week for "Days," down from the nearly $1.9 million the net had been paying. That figure still makes "Days" the most expensive sudser in daytime and is well above the $1.2 million NBC paid for "Days" five years ago.

"Days" remains a solid daytime performer, ranking first among women 18-34. Its numbers have slipped during the past 18 months, however, and the skein has surrendered its former hold on first place with women 18-49.

"Key to the "Days" deal was convincing Reilly to oversee both shows. Scribe helped the sudser soar to the top spot among women 18-49 during his first go-round as head writer from 1992-97, and with "Passions," he created what appears to be a long-term franchise for NBC.

"Corday had some initial concerns about Reilly splitting his time, but Kalouria said all parties ultimately realized it made sense to bring back Reilly.

"What Ken and I both agree on is that Jim is the right guy to be the creative leader overseeing the next wave of stories for 'Days,' " Kalouria said. "We saw in Jim someone who had a proven track record, and we wanted to bring him back."

"Corday also said he welcomed Reilly's return.

"I had qualms about it at first only because it's a huge task to write five shows a week, and now you're asking him to write 10 shows," he said. "But Jim has the appetite and the skills, so away we go."

In case you don’t speak Varie-tiese, here’s the translation: James E. Reilly will be in control of writing on both Days of our Lives and Passions. Whether he will be "going it alone" (i.e., is Dena Higley already out of a job?) isn’t clear yet. NBC wanted Reilly back at Days. Getting Reilly back was a key part of renewing Days for another five years. NBC Daytime vice-president Sheraton Kalouria has also signed up for another three years in his current position. Also, NBC will be paying more money to air Days.

Now, let’s look at the good and the bad sides of Reilly’s return.

THE GOOD:

--A proven ratings track record. Reilly took Days to number 2 in the ratings, and created the demo lock the show has today.

--New viewers. No doubt that Reilly brought in a lot of new viewers to Days, something that daytime is always in need of. In fact, Reilly’s DAYS run was probably the last time a soap achieved a significant influx of new viewers.

--Humor. The main reason why Reilly got away with things that no other writer would even dare is the tongue-in-cheek, "Naked Gun" style of humor Reilly brought to his outrageous plots. His storylines were absurdly twisted, and clearly not to be taken seriously, which is a refreshing change from say, recent storylines from "All My Children", which demands that you not only take them seriously, but bow at their feet for being the crown jewel in daytime. Yet, Reilly’s Days humor wasn’t the self-conscious "humor" of Passions, which tries to be wacky and irreverent, but is actually just dumb.

--Easy to follow stories. No, soaps don’t have to be written on a fourth grade level for the audience to understand them. (In fact, that school of thought combining with the increasing educational background of their audience is causing a major disconnect between viewers of soaps and the folks that produce them.) However, it is nice to have storylines that can be explained to a new viewer, in, let’s say, five minutes! Hey, it’s even better to have storylines that viewers can explain at all! Reilly’s stories, wacky as they were, could be easily summarized. "What’s wrong with that lady?" "She’s possessed by the Devil." "Hey, why’s that guy going to the gas chamber?" "Well, you see he was set up for murdering a guy, but he didn’t. And now, his girlfriend is going to the guy’s father, who has the proof, to beg for his life." Great. Now, explain Princess Gina, or the alien twins. Subsequent writers have attempted to duplicate the outrageousness of Reilly, without following the KISS philosophy. They created absurdly complicated storylines no one could follow, and weren’t really worth following. And the constant writer changes, and other stops and starts haven’t helped. ("Yeah, I know we said we were finally going to resolve this decades long Stefano/Bradys feud, and we spent months building up to it, but let’s just drop it." Yes, it’s always a good idea to casually announce you’re dropping stories to the ever-shrinking circulation of soap magazines.) To non-viewers, casual viewers, and daily viewers alike, the post-Reilly message was loud and clear: Days is a show that’s hard to follow, and not worth following. Well, the ratings reflect the receiving of that message.

THE BAD

--Reilly is nuts. Okay, I just felt like getting that off my chest.

--Young people are fickle. NBC clearly wants a young-skewing audience, and believes that getting Reilly back to Days will achieve that goal. But, what young people are into changes every five minutes. What worked in 1997 may not reach them in 2003. Reilly’s Days was lengthy, simplistic, tongue in cheek storylines, with two-dimensional characters. If we take the WB as the pulse of what teens and twenty-somethings want from their TV viewing, today’s trend is more well-rounded characters, heavy romantic entanglements, family drama, with just a dash of a gimmick. Reilly is all gimmick.

-- Passions. Passions makes the best arguement against Reilly‘s return. Unlike John Conboy or Michael Malone, Reilly did not disappear for several years, leaving behind only fond memories that left us anticipating his return to daytime. Reilly left Days to create and write Passions. And, if the past four years of Passions are any indication, Reilly’s writing is lazier, more cardboard, and more gimmicky than ever before. You may counter that Days and Passions are two separate shows, and Reilly will adjust accordingly. Or that Reilly will have more checks and balances at Days (Ken Corday’s baby) than Passions (Reilly’s baby). I argue that NBC putting Reilly in charge of writing an entire network’s daytime lineup will give him an even bigger ego than ever, and embolden him to be more reckless with both shows than he’s been in the past.

As for checks and balances, over the past several months, Ken Corday has been railing against the Reillyism (my word, not his) that had taken over the show. He has declared that Days needs to get back to basics, and has even taken some steps in that direction. It seemed to be working, with the duo of Peter Brash and Paula Cwikly routinely making silk purses out of sow’s ears like Sami Scams Austin part 12, and the Hope/Lexie baby switch madness. So, what happened? Muttering something about budget expenses, Corday has since axed Cwikly/Brash and promoted Dena Higley, who so far has written basically non-events like the Salem earthquake and mystery goop. But, when it came to a showdown with NBC, Corday blinked. Do you think that Reilly will take Days back to its’ roots? No, but NBC wants him there, and is willing to pay the big bucks to get it done. And in a era where soaps may really be coming to an end, signing this deal will keep Ken Corday, and hundreds of other folks employed for the next five years at least. Product be damned, it’s a good business decision for Corday. Of course, he’ll now have to do yet another 180 and support whatever nonsense Reilly comes up, and will like an even bigger, more contradictory fool than ever. But, that doesn‘t seem to bother Mr. Corday.

So, what‘s the bottom line? I can see the appeal of wanting James E. Reilly to helm Days. But, I think Reilly’s best days are behind him, and NBC giving him this much power won’t inspire him to heights of new greatness. Also, I can’t help but wonder what’s driving all this. If you are only as good as your latest rating, well, Days, as convoluted and unwatchable as it’s been, has maintained significantly higher Household and key demo ratings than Reilly’s Passions, unless you count 12-17 year old females. Overall, it seems to me that there’s more going against a Reilly return than for it. But, NBC is notoriously short-sighted. Speaking of which...

Several weeks ago, the stunning announcement was made that Ms. McTavish, formerly of All My Children, Guiding Light, All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital, would be taking over the Head writer position of....All My Children. McTavish recently spoke to Soap Opera Weekly, about life in Pine Valley the third time around:

SOW: How will you alter the direction of the show?

McTavish: I wouldn't say 'alter'. I am trying to take it back to the show I wrote before, one that offered payoffs to big stories, with a lot of twists and turns that encompassed romantic couples. I'm taking it back to what it once was---certainly what it was the two times I wrote it before. All My Children is a very unique show that blends outrageous story with very dramatic, social-issue story. I am taking it back to what it was in its glory days.

So, there you have it. McTavish sees her previous tenures at AMC (both of them) as the glory days of the show. I will admit to having enjoyed much of her first tenure (when Felicia Minei Behr was Executive Producer, and Creator Agnes Nixon had more of a hands-on role), but I would hardly call it the show’s glory days. And the less said about McTavish’s ratings-killing, widely panned second tenure, which brought Agnes Nixon out of retirement. But, if I were her, and ABC was willing to bring me back for my third tenure as Head Writer of All My Children, and my fifth tenure as a Head Writer of an ABC soap, I’d feel cocky too. Of course, this is the same network that idolizes Port Charles’ Head Writers James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten for cranking up the buzz-o-meter on that show, even though nothing they’ve done has translated to long-term ratings success. Of course, that also happened with Esensten/Brown’s tenures on Loving and The City! ABC seems to have a Nora Buchanan sized case of amnesia here.

In fact, if you factor McTavish’s return with the Reilly story, and the return of Michael Malone/Josh Griffith to One Life to Live, it appears daytime is returning to the early to mid-90’s to restore high ratings to the soaps. And, why not? Ratings were about three points higher a decade ago than they are now. Of course, what wasn’t present ten years ago, was micromanging, massive budget cuts, and an insane obsession with youth that is making fools of some of the best writers daytime has to offer, and turning soap institutions into unwatchable shells of their former selves.

But, even if none of that were the case, one seriously has to question the wisdom of re-hiring Megan McTavish. With the exception of her first tenure at AMC, everything the woman has done resulted in disaster. She has bored/insulted/offended the audience of every soap she’s worked at over the past several years. As one message board poster said, "Megan McTavish may not deserve the rap she’s gotten, but she hasn’t done anything to clear her name." How can she continue to coast on three medium years at AMC?

McTavish’s umpteenth stab at soapdom is made even worse by the fact the she’s replacing recently installed Head Writers Gordon Rayfield and Anna Teresa Cascio, who have resided in Pine Valley about six months or less. Rayfield was a staff writer on AMC for years; Cascio was a staff writer at OLTL. The team was supposed to be part of the new blood that everybody working in daytime swears is needed, but refuses to infuse. Wasn’t it a few scant months ago that ABC Daytime President Brian Frons was gushing to Soap Opera Digest about Rayfield/Cascio’s story outlines, and that he shared them with Agnes Nixon, and they almost brought on a second world flood with their tears of joy, over how these two wunderkinds were going to bring AMC back to its’ roots? (Okay, I exaggerated just a bit. Meds must be wearing off.)

I’m not going to say that the outgoing team was the greatest, or even good. But, in an environment were well-identified, clearly labeled hacks go on torturing audiences for years before being released, I can’t justify how two highly touted novices to Head Writing were tossed before they could even get their feet wet. I mean, I’ve seen worse stuff on AMC than what they turned out, most of it from McTavish! Stupid mistakes like these have cost Frons all the good will he built up from his "Preach it, brother!" interviews he conducted last year. Frons has joined the ranks of those who would be better off if he actually believed and practiced everything he said about producing good soap opera. I mean, why spout these things about hiring new blood, if you’re going to betray yourself as a liar three months later? Maybe the daytime bigwigs have developed amnesia, but I haven’t.