Imagine if the soaps that they wrote for surpassed Y&R. That would just be...wow.

Wouldn't that be fantastic! AMC used to be the next best soap in comparison with GH. I will never forget Cliff and Nina, Greg and Jenny, and Jessie and Angie - all of Tad's problems, his family.... Erica and her friend from the boutique.

AMC is just plain stupid now. I can't keep that show on for more than 10 or 20 seconds w/out turning it off in disgust. But it used to be one of the best soaps next to GH.

Woah. Y&R may be going through a rough patch at the moment, but AMC, OLTL and GH have a LONG way to go before they unseat that soap behometh. The damage done to the ABC soaps has continued over a period of YEARS, not mere months. And the rot, unfortunately, goes right to the very top.

Frons would fire Susan Lucci before he would EVER fire himself and his micro-managing ways.

If they've just been hired to consult it will probably be months before any actual influence might be seen on screen. They have to watch before they can make comments. I don't know how they're going to force themselves to sit through these terrible shows. I can't do it anymore.

Most of the shows are written well in advance of what's being taped, I think.

Even with the news that ABC has hired consultants, it still isn't enough to get me to watch AMC again. I will only watch it again if I know for certain that McTavish has been fired. The woman has destroyed the show and I refuse to watch any of the garbage she writes. Let's hope that Alden or Smith are quickly moved up and put in the position of HW very quickly. I would love to be able to watch the show again.

Unfortunately, I find myself in the same position. After last week's garbage, I couldn't bring myself to watch this week's AMC based on the spoilers and next week's sound equally as bad. I don't think I'll be tuning in again until McT is fired, either.

Wouldn't that be fantastic! AMC used to be the next best soap in comparison with GH. I will never forget Cliff and Nina, Greg and Jenny, and Jessie and Angie - all of Tad's problems, his family.... Erica and her friend from the boutique.

AMC is just plain stupid now. I can't keep that show on for more than 10 or 20 seconds w/out turning it off in disgust. But it used to be one of the best soaps next to GH.

Forget GH, imo, AMC used to be the best soap, period.

ITA, it is stupid and unwatchable now. I hope Kay Alden becomes headwriter and that it happens before April 2007 when McT's contract expires. McTavish just keeps destroying this once great soap!

The last four times ABC hired consultants it was just a precusor to an eventual position at one of the soaps. Usually, they are 'consulting' because they are developing stories for particular show(s).

Megan McTavish

Hired as consultant in both 1997 and 2003

Jill Farren Phelps

Hired as consultant in 1997

Pam Long

Hired as a consultant in 1997

Lynn Marie Latham

Hired as a consultant in 1997 (before taking over PC)

As long as Frons is in charge, Smith and Alden won't be enjoying any sort of creative freedom whatever show they go to.

Megan McTavish was also claimed to have been a GH consultant by JFP weeks before she usurped Michele Val Jean from the head writing position in 2001.

From the desk of Jack Smith.

Two questions I get asked a lot are: where do you get your ideas? And...how do you keep them secret? Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. First and foremost, of course - we have an incredibly creative writing staff who are always on the lookout for off-the-page concepts. My partner in crime, Kay Alden, has a zillion terrific ideas. And then there's our crack production unit. Ed Scott and Kathy Foster (supervising producer and producer) are always pitching thoughts and so many of them are great. The actors also have good ideas. When you've been playing a character as long as some of those guys have, there's bound to come a day when you think - "hey, what if Dru (or Ashley or Jack or Victor, etc.) Did this??" In short, everyone around here knows that I'm open to story pitches from any and every direction. Hell, if the guy who's pushing the broom on the set every day has a good idea, I want to hear it - and I usually do. So, while often I get the credit for spinning a great story, just as often it came from an idea somebody tossed my way. Soap writing, more than any other genre, is a collaborative medium. Why do we do it so well on Y&R? We recognize that. We're not afraid to share the writing room with anyone who has an idea - whether or not he or she is 'officially' a writer. I guess it's true of life in general. We're all part of a collaboration. I create my reality and you help me do it. You create yours and I help you do that.

Now, about secrets. There's a time for keeping them, and a time for not keeping them (which, I suppose, makes them not secrets at all). I remember when we played a story a few years back in which Paul came very close to forcing himself on Chris. Was it rape or wasn't it? An interesting and relevant question. It would have been easy to keep that one secret as it was so unexpected. But the issue was pertinent and I wanted people discussing it. So in order to make sure that the episode was well-watched, I brought reporters into my office three weeks before the show aired. I showed them the episode (a real no-no in this biz) and I asked them, "do you think Paul raped Christine or didn't he?" They were evenly split and wrote their opinions in their columns before the show aired. Thus, we insured a large audience - people wanted to make their own decisions. We also generated a lot of talk about the issue of date rape (which I felt personally good about, as it's a topic that needs to be discussed). When Michael found out that Kevin was his brother - that one I wanted to keep secret. And, of course, when you want to keep a secret, you tell no one. So I didn't. The down side? Those who didn't watch the show that day because they hadn't been tipped missed a great moment. We have a moment like that coming up in the next few months. One of those things you just won't expect. It's tough these days to keep a secret (because of the communication explosion of the last twenty years), but that's the fun of it. No, don't start trying to guess - you won't. And don't expect any hints! Keep watching.

Any idea how long it takes usually for the consultant to become the HW? I just wonder if it would be a process that would take weeks or months to happen. Can you tell I want McTavish gone so badly and the sooner the better!!! I am holding out hope they fire her early and we don't have to wait until April for a replacement if Frons is going to get rid of her.

what they are proably doing is reading the boards and watching the show to see what the show is about and what not. Seeing what works and what doesnt. Theyy proably send a few i deas here and there. It is a smoke screen Frons is prolly grooming them to take over.

Any idea how long it takes usually for the consultant to become the HW? I just wonder if it would be a process that would take weeks or months to happen. Can you tell I want McTavish gone so badly and the sooner the better!!! I am holding out hope they fire her early and we don't have to wait until April for a replacement if Frons is going to get rid of her.

If/when Smith and Alden become HW's of an ABCD soap, DO NOT expect them to be the savior because as long as Frons is still in charge, GH will still be the "Sonny, Jason and Sam Show" OLTL will still revolve around John McMummy and Todd and AMC will still be in a strangle hold by Babe.

Expect a slower pace where ever Smith becomes HW. You really got to ask youself, "why was Jack Smith and Kay Alden let go from Y&R?" LML was brought in while Smith and Alden were still HW and co-HW. Don't expect too much because you may get let down. (But something is better that nothing).

I don't know what so special about LML. To me she didn't improve anything for Y&R.

I don't know what so special about LML. To me she didn't improve anything for Y&R.

I wasn't saying that LML is so special, but I'm just saying that something had to be wrong for them to make her HW while Smith and Alden were there.

How much longer can ABCD afford to wait with AMC and OLTL before they make real improvements?

OLTL is now taping middle of January. If a new writer arrived January 1 we would be lucky to see changes much before April.

They're already taping into February. OLTL needs serious help.