2007: The Directors and Writers Thread

[Khan]

Patrick Mulcahey is lauded by so many people, b/c he's one of the VERY few writers in this business who gives us viewers credit for having brains. That's true not only in his actual dialogue, but in his approach to characters and scenes as well.

Take, for example, Pamela Capwell Conrad's "unexpected" arrival at the Capwells' dinner party, on SANTA BARBARA. Some writers might've played it strictly for laughs; most would've played it strictly for pathos. Only Mulcahey, however, had the insight, as well as the guts, to wring both humor AND pathos out of what turned out to be a pivotal sequence in SB's history. Even today, long after many memories about that show have faded, that moment continues to stand out for people.

Now, if some believe Mulcahey's scripts for B&B have been relatively sub-par -- and I tend to think even Mulcahey's worst is still miles ahead of B&B's best -- then the fault, as Toups has suggested, lies not with him, but with B&B itself. Aside from Stephanie, most of B&B's characters, IMO, are shallow, one-dimensional, and almost totally dependent on the plot to be at all compelling. (I watch B&B as much as I can, but heck, Mulcahey can only do so much with so little, lol.) Whereas, with someone like Lane Davies' Mason Capwell (SB), or Michael Zaslow's Roger Thorpe (GL), or Sarah Brown's Carly (GH), all they had to do was walk into a room to catch your interest.

And as for those who think Mulcahey just doesn't do topical issues well, I'll just say "Eden's rape," and leave it at that.

>> MP and all those other great trashy shows had punchy, pointed dialogue. Shows like Passions and most of daytime don't.

Yeah, but Megan McTavish's AMC came awfully, awfully close. Emphasis on the word "awful."

You know who does great dialogue (besides Mulcahey)? Harold Pinter. Now, why can't we get him to write for AMC?

[heatherwebber]

Sarah Brown's Carly (GH), ""

One of the most poorly conceived and badly executed characters of all time. Yikes. At least her character on ATWT was better written and she'd grown up quite a bit by that time. Carly however is still a bad one-dimensional mess however talented this actress might be.

[Toups]

Thanks!

Umm.....nothing for now. I'll have something for you in October or late September. lol

[RuAsRuAnAu]

People would rather die than give a compliment to people they hate. (ie LML, Guza etc.) How do you know that it was because of Harris that Guza's 1st stint as HW on GH was very good? Did Harris ever say that? Did Guza? Anyone else?

I don't think Harris is being wasted on GH. She's a great SW. She's part of Guza's Angels. Besides, anyone watch Port Charles under Harris? Kay Alden called PC under LML "unwatchable" (what about Y&R summer 2001?), but PC under Harris.....?

Am i correct in thinking that when something bad happens to any female character, it's because writers & producers hate females? Does the same standard apply with males? Many called McTavish anti-female when Bianca Montgomery was raped in 2003; the same accusations happened when Emily Quartermaine was raped in 2005 (Didn't see it so I don't believe people who say it was a "brutal" rape. We all share differing opinions after all.) Funny how females think GH is filled with woman-hating characters & crew while far less men share the same opinion. Without men, Gh is nothing. Without GH, how much faith do you think Disney will have in AMC, OLTL & The View?

So now it's someone else fault, not Mulcahey's, that his scripts have declined in quality to an alarming level? Nothing new, just pass the buck along. Mulcahey needs a break from scripts & return to breakdown writing. He's god status is diminishing. I'm very disappointed with him & Janice Ferri Esser. Step it up, you two. It's time to rock the Hell out of your scripts.

Tracey Ann Kelly, what can I say about her? She's just...blah. Rarely does something stand out in her scripts. She needs to go like yesterday.

Please Mr. Carlivati, drop Mr. Christopha like a hot potato!

I wish all 8 shows were held to the same standard as primetime series like Alias, The Sopranos, Oz, Sex & The City etc. By doing that, they'll be on the road to recovery (increased credibility, buzz & ratings).

[Y&RWorldTurner]

How do we know? Um, obviously it's our personal opinion, as you have yours. Have you seen his first stint to compare it to subsequent stints? Guza's first stint is by far his most lauded, highest rated, and thoroughly entertaining stint on GH. GH didn't focus on 4 characters then, it was a full-out ensemble, sure some character had more airtime than others, but we at least got to see a wide range of characters interact.

There was more to the story though, Claire Labine said she left Guza storyline outlines before she left. I suspect this coupled with Harris' contributions enabled Guza to write a well-balanced and entertaining soap opera.

PC under Harris is often cited by fans and critics as PC's golden era.......your point?

[Toups]

A few "bad" scripts here and there isn't going to diminish what he did at SB, GL, GH and his early B&B stuff.

There's a reason why his name always stands out when people talk about script writers. Go to any old message boards and search for Patrick Mulcahey and you'll discover people raving about him whether he wrote for SB, GL or GH.

[RuAsRuAnAu]

Writers, as other people, do change. Maybe Guza was primarily responsible for how great GH was in 1996. It's possible for both scenarios to occur: Good in 1996, subpar in 2007.

As I understand it, C. Labine quit GH b/c of a power struggle b/w her & Riche. Both her & Riche had clear, differing visions for GH (health & sickness in its many forms- financial, moral etc-you know, GH's true theme), and they "fought" over the proposed GH spin-off titled GH2. Labine's proposed pilot was centered around Ned & Lois in Bensonhurst (was it called Heart & Soul?) & Riche's was what eventually & regretably what was to become Port Charles. It was a grave mistake to air a GH spin-off. Disney made the same mistake P&G made with Somerset & Texas (Created solely to give McKinsey a starring role?). That being said, they should have went with Labine's pilot, and not the vampire-ridden PC. Shriner, Coe, Lindstorm & GH fans deserved better. Do you think Eleanor & Matthew will shop their mother's proposed GH spinoff (changes made to it & not a spinoff, of course)? Did anyone read the script?

Now, even though C. Labine quit (pissed that Labine's PC was chosen over her spinoff--Don't forget that Labine loves the 30 minute format), she was still bound by her ABC contract (about a year & a half left as I understand it), so the brass at ABC & their "infinite wisdom" gave her a choice: Either return to HW GH or HW OLTL. We all know what happened after that.

PC...had a...golden era!? I must've blinked. If Alden chastised LML for what she believed to be lackluster writing (thoe two clearly dislike each other), she should've held Harris to the same standard. Harris, please stick to scripts, you're GREAT at it.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Toupsy, I know Passions has lost it's spot in this thread, but I've heard that the writing staff has been cut from 10 (on NBC) to 6 on Direct TV (JER plus 5 others). Do you know how true this is?

[Sylph]

I loved Melrose, too!  (People are gonna shoot me right now for saying that...) But I agree with this:

I loved Heather and Jamie Luner until they decided to turn her character (Lexi) into a sh!tfest of a character... And that was a fast transformation.

[R Sinclair]

I think you mean Herring, babes.

[Toups]

I'll see what I can find out.

I loved MP too.

That I agree with. MP had great one liners, but the overall dialogue was nothing to rave about.

[heatherwebber]

Speaking of Passions, is it still a 60 minute show on DirectTV or is it now 1/2 hour?

[Toups]

It's still a 60 min show that airs 4 times a week.

On DTV though, it's actually longer than the network soaps. Passions now last 44-45 mins instead of the 36-37 mins on network tv.

[Toups]

BTW, where/who did you hear this from? Do you have your own sources?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I have no sources. I randomly stumbled upon it on another message board, but no one's been able to confirm it.

I did expect some of the staff to be cut once the move was made to Direct TV, but not this fast.