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DePreist, as much as it hurts me to say this because my Sam died under her, does not deserve to be on that list. She wrote some really good stuff.

Neither does LML. Even though she has her faults she does what needs to be done and does not worry about what the fans reaction will be.

Here's my list:

James Reilly

Megan Mctavish

Dena Highly

Tom Langan

Jean Passanate

Bob Guza

There are more....I just can't think of them right now, lol.

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I can see where you're coming from, and those who say that JER's influence on (and ultimately damage to) the way shows are done. But weren't some soaps also doing far-out things even BEFORE Reilly took over at Days? Some believe the adventure, plot-heavy, couple-heavy formula pushed by GH and Days in the 80s was counter-productive in the long run, and that soaps reap what they sow. And wasn't it the case during Paul Rauch's time on OLTL, that they had a couple of ridiculous storylines in the latter half of the 80s- a time, mind you, when they were doing really well in the ratings?

We've had discussions before on the merits of Reilly and McTavish's first stints on their shows, and we could conclude they just got really lucky. Especially McTavish, because she had the saving grace of working under FMB.

I would agree with the inclusion of McTavish, Higley, Passanante, Reilly, Laiman, Black, Stern and Langan. And, sadly, Brad Bell too. SSM I'm not so sure- her tenure wasn't brilliant, but does it compare favourably to JER Mark II, Higley or Langan? I'm not sure on Margaret DePriest- wasn't the whole thing on Frankie's death blamed on JFP? A lot of the time, EPs and network execs above and the script and breakdown writers below can have a BIG impact on the quality of work under any given HW. It may have been the case with SSM, and also why Broderick didn't last long on Days.

Which is also why I disagree, quite strongly, with the inclusion of Richard Culliton on the list. Culliton is a capable writer, whether as a script or HW, but some of his HW stints- especially recent ones- have tended to be interfered with from above. He did co-write with Pam Long on GL in the 80s before going to Another World where IIRC characters like Marley, Felicia, Cass and Wallingford all came to the fore- this was also the time (1984-85 I think) when AW's ratings made something of a recovery and stabilisation, albeit off the back of Days' own resurgence. His one year or so on ATWT, I think most acknowledge, compared favourably to the garbage that followed right after- especially the John/Lisa storyline.

As for the Days teen scene, my understanding is that SSM and then Broderick wanted a gradual phasing in, as opposed to Corday and Langan wanting to jump right in, which they did.

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IIRC, Days' was still in the top 3 ratings-wise during SSM's tenure.

The real big divers in the ratings the previous year was ABC. GH saw its numbers fall back from vying with Days and B&B for 2nd, but AMC and OLTL tanked big time. Especially considering AMC had been a top 5 soap for most of the previous 20 years, under McTavish's second stint its ratings fell below even ATWT and GL!

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