http://soapnet.go.com/news/soapnet_amc_headwriters.html

BARBARA J. ESENSTEN AND JAMES HARMON BROWN NAMED HEADWRITERS FOR ALL MY CHILDREN

Brian Frons, president, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group announced today that long-time writing partners Barbara J. Esensten and James Harmon Brown will join ABC's Emmy® Award-winning soap All My Children as headwriters.

"We're thrilled to welcome this talented team back to ABC," said Frons. "They're known for telling compelling stories that take characters and viewers on a great emotional ride, and their creative vision promises to continue the show's tradition of cutting-edge storylines. Fans can expect an exciting summer in Pine Valley and can look forward to even more of the romance and intrigue they have come to love and look for on All My Children."

"Combined with their ability to take creative and emotional risks, Barbara and Jim write with commitment to character integrity and honesty. I look forward to working with them again and welcome them to All My Children," said executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers.

The Esensten-Brown Emmy® Award-winning writing team have written for the ABC dramas Dynasty, Port Charles and One Life to Live. In addition they wrote for Guiding Light, and most recently served as head writers for Days of our Lives.

Sh!t, [s.W.S.N.B.N.] taking over AMC would be better news than this.

As much as she is still quite an obscure being to me, what I read about her plans for Days made me want to have her as a HW somewhere... Who knows where is she know...

Edited May 23, 200718 yr by Sylph

I guess these two might surprise us. And maybe things aren't so bad, and I hope that's the case. I hope that I'm leaving AMC is good hands. But I just fear that they have real potential to make Megan missed. Do you know how much that thought terrifies me?

Seems like soap fans are constantly living Pandora's story. In the end, all that's left is hope and a bunch of evils wreaking havoc the world.

Oh, I totally agree with you. I say six months always seems to determine how the show's gonna be under a certain head writer. In six months I think would be a fairer assessment of the direction the current regime is going in -- unless you're McTavish and rape somebody the first week you return... THEN you've pretty much tipped your hand.

But I agree -- after suffering four years, I would LOVE to be on an exquisite high for the next four, five years. I want to be PROUD to be an AMC fan -- not be embarrassed.

And I agree with you. Right now, I can't wait to read their first AMC interview in SOW, but I'll be disappointed, I know. It will be filled with cliches about characters and their integrity and lots of empty promises.

Probably they were. Another question is who brought them to Days of Our Lives and why.

GladGirl said that B&E got the job at DAYS because they have the same agent (James Sarnoff) as Hogan/Meg.

Reportedly (oh, how much I love this word ), she was passed on because she didn't agree with the rest on All My Children HW team.

Why would the rest of the writing team matter? The only person she has to agree with is Brian Frons. They probably had different plans/philosophies for AMC. So when that fell through, Frons probably went to his back up plan and chose two writers he knew very well and who would willingly push the Brian Frons agenda.

GladGirl said that B&E got the job at DAYS because they have the same agent (James Sarnoff) as Hogan/Meg.

Where did she say that? I didn't read it. But it is totally logical. 

Why would the rest of the writing team matter? The only person she has to agree with is Brian Frons. They probably had different plans/philosophies for AMC.

Well, that is exactly the problem with teams. You have to know who's in charge, who's the leading HW. I think the three of them (Walsh, Demorest, Alden) couldn't agree on something and the deal was off. Maybe she wasn't the leading HW, maybe it was Demorest. Anyway, it's all speculation, we can discuss it forever.

Hola. I'm kind of late to the party. I followed this announcement from a blog and after reading 140 posts, lol, I have a lot to add.

And now for the continuing saga of...headwriter musical chairs...

I don't think Jim and Barbara are bad writers. They can be bad depending on the network climate.

When they wrote Loving the way they wanted to, they were aces.

The City was very good. ABC mandated that it be a hip, trendy, innovative show, and they worked well within that mandate. And they did do that transsexual story, which I thought was well done, and certainly very cutting edge for that day, more so than AMC's recent transgender plot.

They were sensational their first year and a half at GL, I thought. And then the clone storyline started. But remember: Wendy Fishamn, former CBS executive, pitched that story. CBS wanted the show to be "buzzed about" with crazy plotlines. It worked for a little while. Take a look at GL's ratings from 1998! They pretty much went through the roof. They surpassed AMC and ATWT and threatened GH a few times, which was incredible given the position GL was in before. That only gave CBS execs. more ammo for getting their hands in the direction of the show.

Then the San Cristobel and mob mess began. But, I wonder if they wanted to do that in the first place, or if it was Paul Rauch and or/CBS, because when Claire Labine took over, none of that crap went away. In fact, Claire Labine was terrible on GL. I don't know if she was such a big improvement from what she inherited from B&E.

But Claire Labine isn't a terrible writer (see Ryan's Hope, GH). So what happened? Labine obviously didn't work well with the mandates from P&G and CBS.

I don't really judge their work based on PC. Because, what could you do? Angela Shapiro (and then later, Brian Frons) pushed the stories for that show. The time traveling, vampires, and other assorted stuff weren't their ideas (so I don't think we should worry about that supernatural crap coming to AMC, because it was directly mandated by ABC for PC in the first place. It was a last ditch effort for a show with nothing more to lose), but they worked in the confines the network set up for them.

I think they are good writers inherently, but they have been used by networks to execute the NETWORK's vision. It worked well with Loving and The City, so-so at GL, and terribly at PC. This is very concerning considering they are working for Brian Frons, who as we all know likes to stick his hands in the stories like no one's business.

We'll just have to wait and see.

I don't think they are nearly as bad as Megan McTavish. They're even on the same wavelength, IMHO. At least we can know that their crazy storylines (e.g. the clone, the vampires) originated with the network, and all of Meg's crazy story ideas originated in...Meg's crazy head. Enough said, lol.

As for Days...

You can't blame them for the mess that Days is, IMHO. They were script editors! They work by themselves and edit dialogue (In fact, I'd say the dialogue improved as the stories went down the tubes, so kudos to them and the new scripters). They have no say in the story or direction of the show. The only script editor that does have that influence/input is Elizabeth Korte over at GH. Besides, everyone knows Hogan Sheffer is no wallflower. Do you think he would let his script editors steer the story ship!?!?

I could buy that B&E had a hand in the show's downward spiral if that was the only writing change that had taken place. B&E joined the show when the show was right smack dab in the middle of a writing team massacre. Writers were joining and leaving the show left and right when they came onboard. So how you can attribute the decline to them when the show hired a billion other new writers around the time they joined???

Brown & Esensten's work as script editors is still airing, and will still air through July. So any improvement you see on Days right now, they're still around for it!

More than likely Brian Frons contacted them very recently, they asked to be released from their Days contracts, and they went over to AMC and got to work instantly.

And a heads up: the reason why AMC was without a head writer for nearly three months was an economic reason. No head writer for three months? You bet your behind ABC saved a lot of money by not having to pay one for a quarter-of-a-year. It's a nice cost-cutting way to neutralize the show by playing out the previous head writer's stories and setting the stage for some new ones to start. This has been a tactic that has been used many times before.

BTW - what is this talk of a headwriting team that Alden may have not agreed with? AMC hasn't had any headwriting team since February up until now.

A bit of a sidenote: It'll be interesting to see how the AMC writing staff changes now that they are on-board. AFAIK, they hadn't met Addie Walsh before. They're friendly with Steve Demorest and Marla Kanelos. They are very good friends with Tita Bell and Donna Swajeski (from GL). I wonder if they will take any Days writers with them to Pine Valley. Namely, I'm thinking of Fred Johnson, because they've worked with him before on GL, AMC is his favorite soap, and his nemesis Megan McTavish is long gone.

I'm still curious to know why Alden was not picked. If anyone has some inside information, please share.

I'm still curious to know why Alden was not picked. If anyone has some inside information, please share.

Anyone in the past who has claimed to have "inside info" had fell off the face of the earth

So I think we best just let that go. Who knows, I think Julie could have had alot to do with this hire based on her former working relationship with them at Port Charles. Maybe she didn't care for Alden who knows.

I still have hope Alden will still be involved at AMC... and maybe down the road will be the HW. I am still hopeful.... or full of fantasy... one or the other LOL.

Anyone in the past who has claimed to have "inside info" had fell off the face of the earth

True. But I like it when we speculate. That's what makes this board fun.

That's very true Jonathan. When Jackie was in here last fall claiming Ship McTavish had sunk we all were waiting eagerly for every new post of hers. It definitely creates "buzz" but it was a big letdown when all of that information proved to be false.

I will not pass judgment until I see Barbara and Jim's work begin to air. I like the direction the show has taken since Megan's dismissal. It isn't perfect, but the feel of the show is much more in tune with what AMC truly is all about. So hopefully Barbara and James can hone in on that and carry the momentum through. They have proven in the past they are very capable HW's. We won't start seeing their work until probably mid July. I base this on when Megan was hired in 2003.

She started back there in May and was first credited as HW on July 3rd....

I really hope they completely turn the script writing team upside down. The Associates I am satisfied with.

That's very true Jonathan. When Jackie was in here last fall claiming Ship McTavish had sunk we all were waiting eagerly for every new post of hers. It definitely creates "buzz" but it was a big letdown when all of that information proved to be false.

I will not pass judgment until I see Barbara and Jim's work begin to air. I like the direction the show has taken since Megan's dismissal. It isn't perfect, but the feel of the show is much more in tune with what AMC truly is all about. So hopefully Barbara and James can hone in on that and carry the momentum through. They have proven in the past they are very capable HW's. We won't start seeing their work until probably mid July. I base this on when Megan was hired in 2003.

She started back there in May and was first credited as HW on July 3rd....

I really hope they completely turn the script writing team upside down. The Associates I am satisfied with.

I still hope that Kay Alden is involved some way. Based on her recent comments at MIT, you could tell she is very passionate about the show no doubt, because she had found another creative outlet to sink her teeth into. It was refreshing to hear.

I can still see a consulting credit in her future...

Or better yet, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER!

I can still see a consulting credit in her future...

Or better yet, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER!

Oh my gosh, if she became EP, I would do cartwheels. (Read my post in the Emmy section in the Outstanding Show/Writing/Directing thread.)

Maybe I will get lucky and OLTL will get either Alden or Smith.

Anyone in the past who has claimed to have "inside info" had fell off the face of the earth

I still wonder sometimes if any of that stuff was true. In particular the Burton Armus stuff.

Of those "insiders" I remember Jackie, Poloma S and Erica 'something'.