The Lily/Damian story (around '95) was okay.

It was hit or miss. I remember Orlena falling to her death. Then afterwards Damian crying as they played Annie Lennoz's "Why".

Carly's intro was okay.

Carly was Marland's character. I wonder how he would have wrote her.

It was the Stern and Black era that totally sucked, and I think they succeeded him.

Their time at ATWT was so bad that I dont remember their work. I totally blocked it out.

Edited March 12, 200718 yr by Soapsuds

Are there any yearly recaps of ATWT anywhere?

Here is a lot of info on ATWT. It is a good read Shawn.

As The World Turns History

It was hit or miss. I remember Orlena falling to her death. Then afterwards Damian crying as they played Annie Lennoz's "Why".

Carly was Marland's character. I wonder how he would have wrote her.

Their time at ATWT was so bad that I dont remember their work. I totally blocked it out.

Marland died in '93...legend has it he outlined the character of Carly, and because he worked so far ahead (outlines a year in advance) I believe that. But the actual writing would have fallen to the actual writer at the time.

As for blocking Stern and Black...three words...ModelPaul, Sarah and Zoe. I think I blame the horrible "Who Killed Diego?" mismash on them too. Making my Kirkadoodle a killer. Bah-humbug.

Marland died in '93...legend has it he outlined the character of Carly, and because he worked so far ahead (outlines a year in advance) I believe that. But the actual writing would have fallen to the actual writer at the time.

As for blocking Stern and Black...three words...ModelPaul, Sarah and Zoe. I think I blame the horrible "Who Killed Diego?" mismash on them too. Making my Kirkadoodle a killer. Bah-humbug.

I think I was the only one to like ModelPaul. I would take him over Roger Howarth's version anyday. I hated Zoe and Sarah. Now the flashbacks of their years are coming back.

^^^I'm so sorry, dude. I didn't mind modelPaul....and I'm the only one who liked Sarah Kasnoff. ;0 But the stories were lame. FauxConner/Mark/treehouse sex.

^^^I'm so sorry, dude. I didn't mind modelPaul....and I'm the only one who liked Sarah Kasnoff. ;0 But the stories were lame. FauxConner/Mark/treehouse sex.

Sarah was ok. I guess it was Zoe with her that made her blah. I was one angry viewer when I read on SOW that Allison Rice Taylor was let go as Connor. Susan Batten was just horrible as Connor. Her and Mark had no chemistry. I sure would like to see Allison return as Connor. Behr completey ruined the Connor character. Thats why I never want to see Behr back on CBS daytime.

Edited March 12, 200718 yr by Soapsuds

Ah, Richard Culliton, my favorite writer and favorite topic ... I've been a fan of him since his mostly good (but some boring bits) time at GH, and I think he's gotten better and better at every show that I've followed him to.

They seem to be using him more as scriptwriter for key episodes these days at ATWT, and I'm certainly happy about that, regardless of whether or not he also gets promoted later.

I think I've said it before, but just in case anyone missed my going on and on about him, I think he is one of the best headwriters for mostly character-driven story in daytime, with some grounding in real issues and real perspectives, but, crucially, not in a boring way, because he also interjects humor, suspense, and plot twists, and is willing to retcon a character's history if it serves a clear dramatic purpose. And, I love that he writes multigenerational umbrella stories rather than isolating characters in their own little islands, and rather than ignoring vets.

If you are interested in a pretty diverse range of samples of his work (not screened to only choose the best scenes -- and from various shows ... but, still very incomplete -- there are lots more videos to add), check out my Culliton YouTube playlist that I've compiled, mentioned in my sig. Here's the direct link for people who can't see my sig: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1D34A14E103B2F0B

And to add, Richard Culliton wrote AMC in 2001 and into like the first month of 2002 or something like that. I personally felt he did a good job, even though not every story was good. Did he bring back Kendall? I think he introduced Trey (I miss Sam Page on daytime) and Dog Boy Gabriel, although I could be wrong.

He introduced Trey, yes, but not Gabriel. And yes, he brought back Kendall. His work aired on AMC from early September 2001 to early December 2002.

Edited March 16, 200718 yr by jfung79

I will say, none of his scripts have really stood out for me. Friday might have been a good eppy for a lot of people, but not me.

Aww ... Not even Holden telling Emma about Luke being gay and the second day of Luke's coming out to Kevin, which was one of the WGA-nominated scripts?

Or the day that Tom was in hospital and Bob and Lisa were there as characters in their own right interacting with each other as well as with Margo, then Casey and Adam showed up and there was the family hug?

Culliton, to me, has the potential to be a very good writer and does have moments of inspired greatness. However, his stint on AMC should show why the bad sometimes outweighs the good with him.

In his first few months on AMC, Culliton wrote out unpopular storylines like Gabriel/Rosa and jump started tired characters on the show, such as Haley/Mateo and Bianca. The drug storyline, which was going nowhere, was given a mystery twist to it with "Proteus" and Greenlee/Leo were given some fun story with Jake. Erica's romance with Chris Stamp was a welcome departure from thje Erica norm, and the reintroduction of Kendall through the "Who killed Frankie?" story was great. Kendall's romance with Ryan was good as well.

I liked what I caught of Culliton's first few months at AMC too, mainly because of Frankie. But, I think he really hit his stride later, after Vanessa was revealed as Proteus (but not solely because of that). I was addicted in 2002.

Things started to fall apart, however, when Culliton began to introduce random new characters to the show - everybody loved Frankie, but does anyone remember liking Aidan when he was first introduced? Or Trey? Or even Simone, who we only grew to love later on?

I liked Trey from very early, because he wasn't a typical soap hunk. I liked Simone early too, because of her needy relationship with her father, Zeke, and also because of the Roger-Simone story. I didn't care much for Aidan though.

Culliton also tried to write a big storyline around newcomer Mia, who audiences didn't invest in, and tried to recreate the Edmund/Brook romance. The Proteus storyline, however, brought things down. Immensely likable characters like Roger and Mary Smythe were introduced then vanished, Tim Dillon and Frank Hubbard returned only to fade into the woodwork, David and Anna's storyline was all about Leo and Greenlee, and red hot romeo Jake was turned once again into a bland supporting player with Mia. Dropped story threads took up much of the screentime that wasn't devoted to Proteus, and botched attempts at new storylines flopped with the viewers. Maria's return was one giant dropped ball, and Ryan's exit left newcomer Kendall less likable and less root-worthy.

Much of the dropping of characters and story threads happened after Culliton was fired. Tim's the only one I agree with you faded away into the woodwork under Culliton's watch. Roger didn't vanish, he had a significant death as part of the Proteus story. David and Anna definitely weren't all about Leo and Greenlee -- I remember fondly first their initial coyness about whether they loved each other, then their defending the other in being able to keep their jobs (doctor, chief of police), then their conversations and actions around wanting a house, a baby, ... and a willow tree. Additionally, most characters had stories about their jobs too, including David and Anna.

As Culliton's tenure winded down, it seemed like he had run out of ideas. The show introduced two strangers, Laurie and Joni, to interact with recast JR and Jamie. Tad was without a love interest. Erica Kane was offscreen for weeks at a time. I think that Culliton needs a creative consultant to help distinguish what works and what doesn't. If instead of the Proteus storyline the front burner stories focused on Erica/Chris/Jack, Kendall/Bianca, Jake/Greenlee/Leo, Haley/Mateo, Brooke/Edmund/Maria and David/Anna in different capacities, the show would have been the best thing on the air.

I agree with you to an extent that there was a loss of steam near the end. However, I was still enjoying the show, and there were still great scenes like Kendall and Trey bonding, and a warm hodgepodge family Thanksgiving at a widowed Greenlee's, and Liza accidentally pushing Mia off the 2nd floor.

Edited March 15, 200718 yr by jfung79

I disliked Culliton as AMC's head writer from 9/2001 - 12/2002 as many people already know. Most of his work during that stint was mostly MISS instead of HIT for me. I didn't really like his vision. But I will say that the first thirteen weeks were enjoyable for me because he was undoubtedly about six steps up from his predecessor Jean Passanante, but then I found his stuff had started becoming forced and contrived. The Trey storyline was definitely a contrivance and I had to work hard to figure out exactly when all of this stuff was supposed to have happened within the revised/rewritten back stories that have already aired. Some how Trey was supposed to have come before Kendall and Leo, but after David. Vanessa was an actress at the time of becoming pregnant with Trey, but she was a drug lord by the time David was 12 years old because his father was the head cheese before she taunted him into suicide. Was Vanessa still an actress while David was a kid? Was she not? There were just too many holes in that story just so Culliton could make everyone on the canvas related to Vanessa and Leo and I was not enjoying it. It was not organic.

He also dropped the ball on the Revlon storyline. All the characters did was name drop, but there was no actual storyline... and then after the thirteen week product placement license was up, the company was nameless for months, and then became Giovanna Cosmetics without so much as an explanation.

I also did not like the gutless afterthought he did with the Bianca/Frankie story. He wrote absolutely NO official proclamation that these two were together (Frankie had sex with JR for goodness sake!) until AFTER she was murdered. And then everyone and their mama were talking about Bianca and Frankie as if they had this deep romantic relationship.

I just got tired of watching his crap pique my interest, and then pretty much disappoint as they fizzled out with a whimper.

Richard's time on AMC was pitiful. Did he do the Libidizone storyline or was that someone else? (God I hated that storyline). And what about stupid Laura getting Gillian's heart? I didn't follow AMC religiously then except for Gillian, Ryan, Leo, and Greenlee. That was all I care about.

But I did like some of his Port Charles stuff.

Richard's time on AMC was pitiful. Did he do the Libidizone storyline or was that someone else? (God I hated that storyline). And what about stupid Laura getting Gillian's heart? I didn't follow AMC religiously then except for Gillian, Ryan, Leo, and Greenlee. That was all I care about.

But I did like some of his Port Charles stuff.

That was Jean Passanante that did the LIbidizone storyline. Now ATWT is stuck with her.

Passante is horrible. I can barely stand to see a moment of ATWT these days.

Richard's time on AMC was pitiful. Did he do the Libidizone storyline or was that someone else? (God I hated that storyline). And what about stupid Laura getting Gillian's heart?

All Passanante.

Richard Culliton was also an associate writer on AMC in the early '90s. I think I heard somewhere that Wild Wind was his idea. As for his HW stint on AMC, as I said in another thread, I think his strong point was writing the characters. He wrote them how they were meant to be written. I don't remember many "pod" versions back then - if there were, it definitely wasn't as bad as now. Some of the actual stories were weak and/or forgettable, but I remember liking the characters a lot more.

Edited March 16, 200718 yr by Pine Charles

All Passanante.

Richard Culliton was also an associate writer on AMC in the early '90s. I think I heard somewhere that Wild Wind was his idea. As for his HW stint on AMC, as I said in another thread, I think his strong point was writing the characters. He wrote them how they were meant to be written. I don't remember many "pod" versions back then - if there were, it definitely wasn't as bad as now. Some of the actual stories were weak and/or forgettable, but I remember liking the characters a lot more.

He was character driven for the most part. I totally agree with your post! That's why I saw such good in Culliton.... sure his stories sometimes were meh but he seemed to get the characters he wrote for. It felt like AMC. Certainly alot more than it has the better part of the last 3 and a half years.

I never had heard the Wildwind part. That's cool.

And it is still hanging on as a part of AMC to this day.