AMC/OLTL: HW Rumor

[Errol]

Fact. Others do look at the ratings, and just like CBS with their lineup changes...ABC isn't ignoring their problems.

[whyamcwhy]

I am glad to know that they aren't ignoring their problems but they certainly aren't in any rush to solve them. Or even let the public know that changes are coming. I am beyond frustrated at this point. I don't watch AMC anymore and I wonder if I will get back to it even when a new headwriter is announced. And that could be next year at this rate.

[cal3]

It is interesting to know they aren't ignoring the problems. I don't see them doing anything to fix them either. By the time they actually do something will there be anything left?

[R Sinclair]

I don't watch One Life except if I happen to still be eating lunch after AMC goes off, so I don't really know the problems with that show. I watch AMC and GH every day, but I'm an AMC Fan First. Which pains me to say that between GH and AMC, AMC is in far worse condition.

Frons influence may be causing Guza to inject Laura Wright's hideous character into every storyline, and making Sonny the moral compass of the show (as well as other obvious injections - Maxie, Sam/Ric), but overall, it's still entertaining -- to me. There's more of a rotation at that show than there is at AMC. Sonny and Carly may be heavy one week, but then then next week would be Jason and Sam heavy, then another week Dillon and Lulu would be dominant, and the next Robin and Patrick with a twist of Carly and Jax... so on and so forth. The storylines move, and when something doesn't work, Guza's strong point is that he doesn't cling to it. His weaker point is that he wraps it up incredibly shabby, but at least we're not watching a year of everyone on the canvas propping up the piss poor storyline and turning into pod people.

AMC, on the other hand, is all Babe/Ryan/Kendall with special guest Lily all the damn time, and the stories are just insulting! It's like watching someone force salmon to swim downstream! You know that it's not organic. You can SEE someone FORCING the direction they want and then watch them try to justify and make excuses for going against the grain! You tell them you don't buy it, but they keep on doing it anyway with a total disregard for your intelligence and knowledge of the characters and their histories. Watching Jack and Erica sing the Lavery boys' praises to Lily and Kendall is equivalent to GH's Monica and Alan encouraging Emily to work things out with Sonny! LAUGHABLY WRONG ON SOOOO MANY LEVELS!!

I may hate how GH is destroying Ric at the altar of Sonny/Jason/Laura Wright's character, but at least it's based in truth of the fabric of the show. It's not like Ric is hated all because he slept with Faith four years ago (Erica hates Zach because his brother raped Bianca, but she loves Ryan even though his brother raped her sister in-law and his other brother terrorized her daughter and two step-daughters). Each of the characters have their own history which makes it easier to understand the Ric hatred. I, personally, just don't like the destruction of the character.

As an aside, I read the transcript of AMC's Tad's confession to my mother (who missed the entire week last week and didn't even care), and even SHE, the most forgiving when it comes to Megan's horrible writing, said that it sounded like McTavish just got lazy and wanted the story over. That's how I know that McTavish has gone far past haywire/burnout, when my mother even says, "are ya kiddin' me?!"

[SlezaksOLTL]

In one sense I hope Frons waits because that may just be the end of him. On the other hand the shows are suffering so badly right now and knowing that is takes months for a new HW and their work to appear we will all still have to suffer a long bit of crappy writing and horrible months of absolute bottom of the barrel soap until new HW are announced and their work begins. The only thing is this-with Frons still there will it really make that much of a difference who writes for which show? Frons is all about youth, we all know that now, look at how he has backburned/fired/forced off or put on recurring the majority of vets since Frons started. This is a man who thinks more of ad and product placement than anything else. This is a man that is more interested in celling screen savors of his faves on the cell phone market than in well-written planned out and executed storyline on the daytime genre. This is a man who thinks he needs to reinvent the wheel for soaps when that is as far from the truth as you can get.

Personally of AMC and OL, OL desperately needs more help because of one huge difference, along with a bad HW they also have an even worse EP. AMC at least has a good EP (although that new camera crap is just annoying as all get up). But OL has their HW at the end of her contract, which should call for some sort of change now. If they still have time on for McT, maybe they ought to temporarily move her over to OL just to write in the interum as they get rid of Higley for good. At least McT knows the OL landscape and could potentially write the current storyline arcs already set up.

What I hope for most is Frons shooting himself. As much as people hated her I would love for Shapiro to be back as head, but she never will because Disney screwed her over ten times to Sunday, which is really too bad because she at least go the daytime genre and did give fans more payoff than Frons. And I hate to say it, but she was a woman, and since the majority of daytime viewers are women, she got that and knew a little better how to show some escapism for the audience. Frons on the other hand is such an egoist and so youth market oriented he is completely ruining the whole base of what each of the ABC shows is built on there is no foundation left. Any man that tries to oust Erika Slezak and fires Genie Francis is a man that needs to be fired from the daytime genre as a whole.

I don't really care if they put Armus or Alden or even co-HWs at OL, either way a change must be in order and something needs to be announced soon. Why? Because the viewers are completely losing hope, and when that happens they not only tune out, they tune out for good and NEVER come back. ABCD cannot afford that, they just cannot.

[Errol]

ABC is far more involved in daytime than everyone thinks. Brian Frons is actually not the be-all, end-all of ABC Daytime anymore.

[cal3]

That acutally frightens me more considering the infamous SN interviews where Frons talked about training viewers, the departures from AMC and OLTL and the new contract and focus on ME. If those are the decisions of the new regime, it's over.

[SlezaksOLTL]

Does that mean he was before and isn't now? Thanks. And are they now involved because ABC is failing or have they been the whole time involved? Thanks.

I still hope he goes, because he is a large part of the problem.

[whyamcwhy]

That frightens me too!!! I don't know what to think anymore. I actually was starting to get excited about the possibility of BA writing for AMC but now it sounds like he could go to OLTL. Alden sounds like a version of McTavish and that scares me.

Didn't GH used to be the #2 ranked soap? And AMC was right behind them. It is unbelievable that they have fallen that far. I think that the minute both soaps started to fall, changes should have been made. HW's, EP, etc. should have been fired and replaced at that time. And GH used to be the pride and joy of ABC daytime and look where they are at now. Maybe Guza should be the first to go.

Errol or LookingGlass, any feeling of which soap that BA is going to end up with? And in reading past posts, Frons has tried to Alden before. What happened? Maybe she was smart enough to recognize what an idiot Frons is!!!!

[Errol]

There is no new regime. The only thing going on now is that ABC is taking a more hands on role with ABC Daytime, as they did with ABC News in 1998/1999. Brian Frons is the boss, but now his bosses are more active in his decisions. They may not oversee what he says to the press, but they are now overseeing what WILL happen at ABC Daytime in the next 6 months. It won't happen overnight, but in six months, things SHOULD be good at ABC Daytime again, with ratings hopefully climbing.

[SlezaksOLTL]

Thank you Errol. One final question, will ABC ever focus again on some of the vets for their story? Like Viki on OLTL, Adam on AMC, etc. The vets seem to get no story while the kids get all the focus/airtime, etc. Is ABC going to from now on only be about the Frons faves and the obsession with youth only? Thank you.

[Vee]

I don't think what Frons said was a reflection of any "new regime." That has been Frons's attitude for years.

I am afraid I will believe that things can be better at ABCD when I see it. Anne Sweeney did take a firmer hand a year or two ago, yes, but we only see real evidence of that in the way GH had to make some changes, and that show is still a real mess despite some bright spots. And OLTL, well, in the last year OLTL has seemed like a black hole, closer to cancellation than ever. They know what they were buying when they got Dena Higley and in my opinion she has been awful from start to now.

I would welcome Burton Armus at OLTL but not if he is being placed to do more 'cop stories.' I think a cop shop and police characters have a reasonable place on soaps, and I like Bo, but I don't think a soap (save EON) should become almost exclusively a 'crime drama' the way they've tried to do it with OLTL. I have no interest in another year of John, Antonio, and Bo lurching around.

I'd like to know if there was any backlash onto Frons for losing Hogan Sheffer to DOOL.

[Theresa33]

Errol,

IM 41 and I have watched this show since a little girl with my mother. I have been through bad storylines, and never matter because the characters were the characters. First I want to thank you for responding to everyone, because I know your busy. But I am sorry I dont want to wait 6 months. 3 yrs was 3 yrs. And after 33 yrs I am gone. You know what though. No one really cares. They either think they can tell the viewers what the viewer really wants, or train them. Or get rid of them . And it pains me but I gave them until Oct 6, and no more. thanks again .

[cal3]

I see no hope for six months based on where they stand today. The character destruction is rampant at both soaps. Tad confessess to a brutal murder and the torture of an admitedly horrid man? I get why but I have no warm and fuzzy feelings left for Tad who was once one of the few reasons I occassionally watched. VI gone. DG gone at an accelerate departure. HT gone. I only see decisions that continue the status quo of no hope.

[SlezaksOLTL]

That sums it up, a lot of viewers have lost hope, hence they tune out. OL was always great as a family show and focused on the news wars. When it turned into cop central with the focus on one Detective it lost its core focus. Oddly enough it also turned away from the core characters and lost the viewers now too.