Count me on the negative side on this one. I never saw much of their work, but part of that is because I was never attracted to any of their work when I would be surfing the soaps.

They drove the nail into the coffin of PC, a show that was at one time my favorite soap, by making it a supernatural show and about a bunch of characters that had nothing to do with the original heart of the show. PC was about the Scanlon family, the interns, and Kevin Lucy and Scott when it started. They wrote a completely different show about an angel and a vampire!!

They changed the setting of GL to a fictional tropical island and centered it on the mob, both of which took the show years to recover from and escape.

The City was nice, but mainly because of the setting, the style, and the way it looked, I agree with bellcurve about that.

I agree with whoever said they seem plot-driven.

I expect a lot of new characters with flimsy or nonexistent ties to existing characters in Pine Valley. I do not expect them to write well for multigenerational family storytelling.

Good luck, AMC fans, but I am worried for you. I doubt this is much of an improvement on your previous headwriter.

Edited May 22, 200718 yr by jfung79

^ lol you're not making me feel better.

And for any Days fans, please, please, please, tell me they didn't pen the Cassie/Rex/aliens falling from the sky at the Carnival mess, right?

^ lol you're not making me feel better.

And for any Days fans, please, please, please, tell me they didn't pen the Cassie/Rex/aliens falling from the sky at the Carnival mess, right?

No, that was Brash & Cwikly. For us Days fans, they're actually considered GOLDEN! LoL

Esensten & Brown were never actually HEADWRITERS at Days. Everybody knows that Hogan Sheffer is the man with that title. B&E were just breakdown writers, I believe, but the show did take a very sharp turn downwards as soon as they came onboard, and it's taken a very sharp turn upwards with quality now that they're gone. I'm pretty sure that the two things are connected, LoL.

Well, I guess that's good, that they didn't pen that mess, but I don't like this whole thing. But I guess as long as they don't decide that Josh needs a fetus sister, then I can give them a chance.

I think it is quite sad that daytime just recylces and recycles at its writers. jumping from one soap to the next. this is why many storylines are so predictable becasue they were just done by the same person on another soap two years before. anyways, i guess B&E's hiring is a welcome change and we will have to see if they can do it.

What a disappointment!

B&E were great at first on GL, then as others have said, after that horrid clone storyline they destroyed several characters (Holly in particular) and refocused the show on the mob and the island of San Cristobel. I'll take a wait-and-see approach, but my gut reaction is that they are going to be terrible for AMC.

I would love to know why Kay Alden didn't get the job since she seemed so interested in it.

Look at Higley who was HORRENDOUSSSSSS on DAYS, and IMO, she's way better on OLTL.

Ah, no.

And B&E were awful at GL. They made Holly a psychopath and I thought that clone story was hilariously bad. They jumped on the bandwagon of trying to be Reilly's DOOL real quick before some others got the hang of it.

B&E have some good work to their credit but IMHO they do much, much more harm than good.

I am going to take a wait and see approach before I join the negative side. I am not going to hold their previous stints against them...different soap....maybe possibly different writing style. JMHO

From SoapCentral.com:

Megan McTavish apparently failed flying solo as head writer. A recent attempt to have a team of writers working together hasn't worked all that well for the show either. Now, ABC hopes that a familiar pair of scribes will help turn the show around.

Barbara J. Esensten & James Harmon Brown are repped by The Sarnoff Company (like Sheffer

I don't see how the team didn't work well together .... the past couple of weeks have been some of AMC's best in a LONG time.

I'm indifferent to B&E.

I liked some of their Port Charles. I never saw their tenure on Loving/The City.

I did get hooked on their GL. 1997 was great, IMO. I hated the Holly as a kidnapper thing. The Clone was alright, I suppose.

Overall, I liked their work on GL the best.

I so wish Kay Alden would of gotten AMC. Sigh. It makes no sense unless Frons wants Alden at OLTL. And where has Jack Smith been? Has he fallen off the face of the earth?

Weren't they just at DAYS? Either way, thank God! Thank God, thank God! I noticed a huge decline in the quality of Days as soon as they came onto the writing team. Now, suddenly, the show's getting decent again... and it's announced that they're no longer at Days and will be AMC headwriters. I don't think that's just a coincidence!

Either way, this could be a GREAT thing or a TERRIBLE thing for AMC. Their work is always very hit-or-miss. I loved them on "Guiding Light," but their work on other shows left alot to be desired.

Meanwhile, why wasn't Kay Alden given the headwriter position?

I saw B&E in an audio interview once and they both looked manic depressive and suicidal, LoL.

Yup! They were part of this year's downfall. And they may have their good qualities, just like ANY other HW, but we know their vision of shows. They did it with OLTL as well. They thrive on throwing their own characters, young, not familiar and writing for them in a manner in which people have to watch just for them.

This is the best DAYS news in a while!!!

When they were the script editors for OLTL for Dena's first 8 months, that show was absolutely amazing. Its when they left that I noticed the show went downhill.... They left in August of 2005.

I think this is a good development.

See, as a long (very long) time fan of OLTL, I disagree with that. When B&E were on there was a clear focus on a specific group and the stories went with them, weyward and all.

I hope Alden comes to OLTL but a recent article stated clearly that Higley wasn't budging at OLTL rite? Or something to that extent...

I think B&E might be okay for AMC. I'm giving them a chance. I mean look at Sheffer, I loved his work for the most part at ATWT, but think he hasn't done anything for Days.

Each show is different, as is writing for each show

While I think this isn't good news (good for Days fans), AMC fans have no choice but to be positive. Otherwise, what else is there? The wait-and-see approach might be best....