2007: The Directors and Writers Thread

[sheilaforever]

Re Sylph: I really think Janice Ferri Esser was a HUGE gain for B&B.

It could be mere coincidence but not only is this woman writing brialliant dialogue but as soon as she popped up in the credits the show started to have a rapif character rotation which I haven't seen in soaps in quite some time. Every episode has about 3 stories which are sometimes linked but still of their own and after 4 or 5 episodes at max. the focus shifts to another group of characters and stories.

This is soap opera how it should be done. Pure and simple as it is.

It might be to soon for Kay Alden's influence but another thing which was apparent last week and especially on Friday is that the episodes itself are slowed down. The entrance into scenes is much longer, very classic Y&R-like, the music is strong and there is loads of tension built up by it.

The only thing bothering me is that overall the stories move still along pretty fast - although Brad Bell IMO still manages to write beginning, middle and climax for its stories unlike so many so-called headwriters out there - which could pose problems for the near or far future to come up with as many new storyline ideas (so that we could end up with the usual traingle nonsense)... Right now: B&B get 'A' for execution for me and 'A+' for effort.

That makes their ratings even more pitiful.

[Ponz]

ICAM.

Corday has a habit of snubbing writers/producers with links to the 80's in favor of "big names" from other soaps (eg. Langan, Palumbo, Reilly, SSM, Broderick, Sheffer). I'd prefer that they axe Hogan completely but at the very least, he needs a co-HW who understands what DAYS is about and feels connected to the show's history. It could be an 80's writer (Sheri Anderson, Beth Milstein, Richard Allen) or someone more recent (Brash, Cwickly, Sofia Landon Geier). Alden is a great writer but would likely reinforce rather than balance out Hogan's weaknesses. She's spent 20 years writing for a soap with a very different identity to DAYS.

I'm hoping that Ed Scott brings the respect for vets, character-driven focus & production value associated with Y&R under his leadership. That's where the similarities should end.

[Sylph]

OK, I forgot - when did I talk about her? I always found her a good dialogue writer, but I'm not sure if I mentioned her in this thread. Could you remind me?

Y&RWorldTurner, Guza or Pratt?

[Chris B]

I don't think Ed Scott will turn DAYS into Y&R, but ANY soap could use a Y&R Executive Producer like Scott. He'll no doubt bring superior production values and he's already put a very talented casting director into place. I don't think DAYS fans will reject changes like that. Really, I don't think any good EP would try and turn one soap into another they had success at. If they do that they just plain suck.

As good as Ed Scott is, I don't think there is any way he can screw this up. He's already proved at Y&R that he knew how to work a budget. Look at the show now, it looks cheap, poorly directed, sets are bland and they never go on location. Now their outdoor sets look like high school plays.

With the writer situation, I really don't expect ANY changes. Firing Hogan would be a HUGE HUGe thing and as much as I would lvoe it, it won't happen. You don't fire a 4 time Emmy winner without a fight.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I guess I'll go with Guza, but only because he appears to be the lesser of two evils.

Guza's prior writing stints on GH were quite successful, particularly his first writing stint, paired with the highly intelligent, yet underrated Karen Harris. Harris was one of Claire Labine's proteges, during her time on GH, Harris helped Guza carry on Labine's vision, yet also helped him put his own mark on the show.

I've always said that Karen Harris is beyond wasted on the GH writing team. ABC should send her to head write one of their other soaps or P&G should pick her up for either ATWT or GL.

When Pratt left the GH writing team last year, I noticed a surge in quality in the writing, so Guza definitely takes the cake.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I don't think Ed Scott will turn DAYS into Y&R, but ANY soap could use a Y&R Executive Producer like Scott. He'll no doubt bring superior production values and he's already put a very talented casting director into place. I don't think DAYS fans will reject changes like that. Really, I don't think any good EP would try and turn one soap into another they had success at. If they do that they just plain suck.

As good as Ed Scott is, I don't think there is any way he can screw this up. He's already proved at Y&R that he knew how to work a budget. Look at the show now, it looks cheap, poorly directed, sets are bland and they never go on location. Now their outdoor sets look like high school plays.

With the writer situation, I really don't expect ANY changes. Firing Hogan would be a HUGE HUGe thing and as much as I would lvoe it, it won't happen. You don't fire a 4 time Emmy winner without a fight.

While Ed Scott is definitely a superb EP, I think he burnt out towards the end of his EP run on Y&R in 2001. He was also criticized for picking horrible Emmy reels for the show, I know Carolyn Hinsey called him out for this a few times. I really enjoyed David Shaughnessy's run as EP from 2001 to 2004, I think he reinvigorated the show. He also guided Y&R to its first Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series in the post Bill Bell era. If those idiots finally wake up and fire LML, I definitely want Shaughnessy back as EP.

[Sylph]

As I said - if I really had to choose...

[MichaelGL]

Eh I'm always on the fence about their time on GL. They did do alot of damage to the show, but brought alot of fanfare to the show. They're the equivalent to JER and Days.

Question: So is Simon still with ATWT or not?

Re: Alden/DAYS: For some reason I just don't see her having any success on DAYS if she ever became HW, unlike AMC which I could have seen her doing wonders over there.

[IMissAremid]

If the worst anyone can say about this man is that he was burnt out 6 years ago (plenty of time to regenerate don't ya think?) and that he put an awesome show on the screen but picked poor Emmy reels that got him criticized by Carolyn Hinsey (now the show already has poor Emmy reels because it's just bad and Hinsey already hates DOOL so it's not like her ire over the issue is a big deal for Days) then I am EXTREMELY enthusiastic about this hire.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

My biggest worry for Days is that Corday and Scott will fill the creative team with people who have no history with the show or know what the show is all about. I'm not speaking from a purely creative standpoint, but from a commercial standpoint. Fact is, most of Days' current audience are people who started watching during JER's original stint. Scott's creative outlook couldn't be anymore different than what Days' current core audience expects or wants. As we've seen with Hogan, a huge departure from what the show was about can be disastrous for ratings. Days fans aren't watching Days to see what Y&R was like, they're watching Days for its own distinct identity. That is why I don't want Scott to hire too many of his old friends, because Days needs people who know the show, respects the shows history, and can help the audience understand why we fell in love with these characters in the first place.

[NYC123]

^ i agree with you 100%!

[heatherwebber]

Bill Bell's Days wasn't Bill Bell's Y&R, nor were either one of them his B&B. Nor did any of those particularly resemble what his son has done to B&B.

Kay Alden is employed and might well remain where she is.

I do expect major changes of some kind at Days. Hopefully the first will be to fix the disaster which is the reworked dumbed-down sex-mad Stephanie. Beyond that I could only begin to guess what might occur.

Sheri Anderson would be a huge blessing. I've enjoyed her writing at several shows over the years. Far beyond most of the people currently writing for soaps, in fact, as she has a special something which most of those others lack. She's the kind of writer I can't miss a single minute of because everything's just so good and it all is leading somewhere.

[Khan]

>> unlike AMC which I could have seen her doing wonders over there.

I know admitting as much amounts to treason (and, Lord knows, AMC could do (and has done) a whole lot worse), but, I dunno, I don't think I'd care much for an Alden-penned AMC. True, she would respect history and characters, but how would the day-to-day writing fare? As much as I hate what Lynn Marie Latham has done to bring about Y&R's downfall, OTOH, I have to admit, I enjoy the PACE of her Y&R alot more than I did Alden's (and Jack Smith's).

It's kind of the same reason why I never particularly cared for Labine's GH (though, I'll always be fond of her work on RYAN'S HOPE) or even Michael Malone's OLTL (and that includes BOTH stints, thank you very much).

On another front, where is all this Sheri Anderson love coming from? First of all, when she headwrote GL, she introduced Johnny and Lacey Bauer, quite possibly the most boring two characters ever conceived for that show; and saddled Reva and a just-returned-from-Venezuela Josh with some cock-and-bull plot about Cat Brixton working with Diamondhead to take over Lewis Oil.

And secondly, do we REALLY want a return to a DAYS that had Stefano searching for a magical prism that would heal his brain tumor!?

[MichaelGL]

Kay's slow paced storytelling is just one of the reasons I can't see her writing at Days, but who knows maybe it was just the writers who wrote under her.

Whenever I think of her and DAYS, I have thoughts of the ridculousness surrounding the Victor/Sperm Switch X3 just because it's DAYS, and almost every writer has tried to copy that camp JER put into the show. With AMC, I dunno, I think she'd try to bring the show back to it's roots.

[IMissAremid]

I am not sure either where/when it got started, but it sure seems to be gaining steam on the boards. Is it because Thaao and her are friends and he came back so the thought is Sheri might now too?

As for the magical prism to heal the brain tumor... meh. That's silly but I think people felt there was enough romance and adventure and drama surrounding the silly of Days with stuff like that it was still good. Besides... didn't Brash and Cwikly give us the alien twins dropped from the sky yet everyone praises them to high heaven? Even the best soap writers have a clunker or two. I am not personally on the Sheri Anderson bandwagon just because I don't really know enough about her or exactly what was her doing on stories and characters to champion her but I do agree with everyone who wishes that if DOOL can't/won't send Hogan packing they get a co-HW for him that knows DOOL whether that is Anderson or bumping up Beth Milstein or bringing in someone else with Days roots.