AMC: Friday

[Pine Charles]

I'm pretty sure she was back at the studio in May; her work started airing in July.

[rsmith2k2]

I think the rape was July 8 (or 7th), boy she got started quickly, eh? There was some talk she was consulting earlier, I've never seen proof (or don't recall it). She would have had to be back writing in Apr/May to get story for very early July (and I think that's why April has been considered her contract date, is that right?).

I really don't thik McT's on-air stuff on-air went all the way back to May, did it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and I agree on a lot RR but part ways here. Changing dymanics, yeah...but what a way to do it. And hadn't the dynamic already been changed or were changing by taking down Michael together? Rape's needed to do so? No way. Lazy and so very very splashy and very McT. Yet she utterly refuses to engage the fall out of these straight-to-video storylines she loves. I could buy a lot of what you're saying RR, your analysis but disagree about it not being a "distraction from a lesbian life for Bianca."

If we say it wasn't created as a distraction for a lesbian life for Bianca but rather an reshifting of The Kane Women dynamic, there's no reason for those to be mutually exclusive and they became so.

Even if they only wanted to revitalize/shift TKW, how as a storyteller can you tear apart a couple in love by a brutal rape, have one woman totally separated and not speak to/write a letter to that woman/talk to that woman EVER about the rape. Why not speak, why is that not one of the natural components of the story? If it were a straight woman, the reprucussions of that rape would have been played out entirely different. Not saying we should see or want some hot monkey sex, but if you're splitting apart a couple then deal with the drama you've created. Not only the parts you deemed important *waves at Cambius Murder Mystery*.

They failed the test of rationalizing this rape on every single level of story, writing, character, how being lesbian rape victim might have been different than straight women or faced different challenges. For not educating the public (hardly at all...more about abortion than the rape and that's for another time), for being too ignorant to connect what they were doing to the only major lesbian core character in daytime history (who'd just gotten a gotten a girlfriend, was in love, got her first kiss and morning after scene) to how rape and the threat of it has been used again and again in movies, books, TV and real life against lesbians. Straight, bi-, gay, TG, all women (and men) can be raped, it's just that there is some very heavy political baggage goes with for lesbians in a world where we are told/it is thought (by some still today), all we need is a good f*ck by a man.

If they'd shown any real consideration of her relationship, show the steps a rape victim reporting the crime may have had to encounter, some therapy, the special needs she may have had a lesbian rape victim or the re-establishment of her sex life after an appropriate time, I'd agree with you. Failed, on all accounts, imo.

And GLAAD gave their support for that story, too. They have zero credibility and do not represent me on the rape story or the TG story.

One thing I have learned though as time's passed during McT's 3.0, is early on I did think Bianca was a unique case for McT's destruction but I've seen this pattern too many times now to think her unique so much(the list of character destroyed on badly damaged is rather long)...but I do think she's shown a particular thrill for using Bianca as a crutch for whatever she's selling today. Now it's Babe=YouKnowWhat and a TG played by a male actor for Bianca!

We ought to compile a list of characters traits/accomplishments, Before McT and After McT and see which characters have benefited, truly from McT's writing. Because despite her innumerable attempts at building them up, she even tears down her pet creations. And I do still harbor the notion that she HATES TKW, despite her protestations.

[Angela]

Definitely not, it's just that I'm not completely sure it was R&C either. July had to be the earliest she started, because when it was official she was returning she was talking about the Kendall/Erica scene after Michael's attempted rape on Erica and she was all like "I was watching that (them embracing)...and I want to write stuff like that." Wasn't that (Erica attempt) early June? I've always thought the 4-character episode was her first episode back (July 7,8), but I thought somebody once told me I was wrong about that with suitable evidence. I forget.

Off to read the rest of your post, then I'll edit and reply here.

Okay, I'll definitely give you that they didn't need to halt Bianca's romantic life as much as they did...thus yeah it was probably partially a halting (of the lesbian love life) tactic. And I can't forget that Frons says things like the audience is still quite a little iffy about lesbians...and colored people (that was like 1-2 years ago). Sigh. But there was more innocence to it at that point, IMO...now it's progressed to the point where we're basically having Bianca prepared to hook up with a man, lol. I laugh, but it's sad, really sad. I'm probably one of the only ones here that's not fallen in love with Zarf, I think. It's because I don't like any new character being pushed on me so hard. I'm actually on Bianca's side with the Zarf thing, Bianca's not the only one judging (Zarf is judging big-time). And I've known Bianca a lot longer than Zarf.

[R Sinclair]

It was "announced" in May 2003 that McTavish was returning to AMC "effective immediately," and her material began airing the first week of July.

Now, after all of the things we've learned from supposed "insiders" here, one of the things is that all because it was officially announced in May that McTavish was returning, doesn't mean jack. She could've been "consulting" long before her arrival was officially announced. It was being rumored during the whole R&C tenure that Frons was looking for a head writer to return AMC to its glory days, with McTavish's name, as well as Hal Corley's name being talked about as well. That was in early spring. I remember, because Kathy Carano mentioned something on her Pine Valley Bulletin site hoping that McTavish wasn't a serious contender because, in her opinion, she was the one who began the show's downward spiral to begin with.

So McTavish could've been tweaking things and adding her two cents to warm things up for her return -- and then when the R&C cycle was up, the announcement was made. I mean, I find it very coincidental that McTavish's work would start airing only six weeks after it was announced she'd be returning. Don't you? She needed to have to time write her story projection, which would've taken longer than a mere six weeks.