AMC: Julie Hanen Carruthers

[DevotedToAMC]

When AMC fans talk about someone here behind the scenes, they are usually discussing the writers but not much has been said about JHC. So where do you stand with her? Do you approve or disapprove of her? I have to say I approve of JHC and find her better than the one she replaced (Jean Dedario Burke) and her overall rating with me would be a B

[R Sinclair]

Felicia Minei Behr and Francesca James were AMC's last two "successful" producers. JDB and JHC are jokes in my opinion.

[knowjack]

I guess she's done okay, but she doesn't seem to have the balls to fight Frons (or even McTavish) for the greater good of the show. And if it WAS her idea for the "shakey cam" then that's a major mistake on her part. The lighting is often very weird on AMC, and the background music is so LOUD and obtrusive. Some times I can barely hear the actors over the cheesy swelling music in the background. And AMC needs to lay off the musical montage. Once in a while is okay, but they've really overdone it...speaking of music, I remember when soaps actually used songs you've heard before--made it fun. Other than Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" I can't remember many current, or even familiar, songs AMC has used in the past year or so. I did love when they used Ron Sexsmith's "Maybe This Christmas" Xmas before last.

[Ryan]

I find Julie H. Carruthers to be a great addition to AMC. Gone are the days when the EP had tons of control. Compared to most EP's on ABC, JHC still has stroke. She was one of the few at ABC who wanted McTavish gone LAST year, but couldn't get it done.

She has great ideas and is well liked by the cast. That doesn't really happen a lot. Plus she's a big fan of Thorsten Kaye so that's a plus for me!

I'll go into this more when I get home.

[Laurie]

For me too!

Seriously thou, I don't have a problem with JHC

[baller]

if your fav actors are a FOJ (Friend of Julie) then you have it made.

Otherwise, not so much.

She needs to go. Devoted, considering how your crazy rants on AMC come up every day, I am surprised you like her, since a lot of those things you rant about are decisions she made.

[NYC123]

I would give her a B+!

[R Sinclair]

That, ironically, is one of the first things she said in the press that she was going to change. Talking about how now since she has a bigger budget at AMC than she did at Port Charles, the first thing she was going to change was the lighting.

[R Sinclair]

Which I find interesting because of...

JHC brought her friends, Thorsten and Ian Buchanan on to the show -- but like knowjack says, JHC didn't seem to have the balls to fight Frons and McTavish, because Thorsten's Zach and Buchanan's Greg Madden were villified during McTavish's reign. Everyone hated Zach for no reason, and Greg was buried alive and suffocated to death. In my opinion, if JHC had some balls, she would've been like, "LOOKY HERE, MEGAN! These are my friends! Stop making them play such hateful, dead-end characters!"

I think the only reason Zach stopped being public enemy #1 is because Thorsten was thisclose to leaving, and JHC finally put her wimpy foot down -- because if Megan had her way, Kendall would've been with The Abuser -- I mean, Meggie's Wet Dream Ryan... which is what she was really trying to set up.

I'm not claiming to be an insider, so who knows really what happened -- but I'm not dense, either.

[Adam]

Julie Hanan Carruthers is hit or miss with me. I have long given her the benefit of the doubt due to the power structure at ABC.

I feel the production values of the show have gone down dramatically since she came aboard. They don't bother me per say but it is noticeable. I don't think AMC has had a good EP since Felicia left in 1996. Francesca James was "ok", much better director and even better actress!. Jean Burke (how the hell did she hold the job for 5 friggin years) she had no vision and do you find it ironic we had like 5 HW changes in her tenure LOL?.

I suspect Julie was behind shaky cams '06 and the new simulated film look....... and I supported it. It was fresh and innovative and I actually prefer the film look. But where she and they went wrong is the majority of fans did not like it..... they got rid of the shakey cams but we still have the new look.

I blame McTavish and Frons first and foremost for the damage done to AMC since 2003 but Julie as EP must take some of the blame. As R Sinclair alluded too, yes she may get her friends cushy jobs.... but she really did not fight for them... like she probably should have. Maybe she tried, and was shut down, who knows. My feeling is Frons let McT run with her wild ideas and Julie spent her hours in the editing room. Hopefully that has changed a bit now and I assume it has based on who was just named HW's, her old pals from P.C. Maybe now she will have more control and we can actually judge her as an EP.

She's the best of the lot though at ABC currently and sadly maybe in daytime . I wouldn't trust JFP with my houseplants and Frank Valentini.... umm we never hear from him! LOL.

[bellcurve]

I'm so over Carruthers.

She's a spineless, talentless EP who rides the coattails of whoever the writer at the time is.

Carruthers got lots of praise for work that she, essentially, didn't do on PC. Most of it was either the writing(during Karen Harris's golden, should-have-been-Emmy nominated year or the overrated, campy Jim Brown/Barbara Esenten vampire era that got the show nominated for Outstanding Drama Series) or the acting. She should never get credit for anything, because she is such a hands-off EP. Which can be good when it comes to some things, and not so much when it comes to others.

A talented writer deserves to have someone like Carruthers as an EP, because she's that apathetic about the quality of the writing. JMO.

ETA: Things I left off because I was sleepy in the middle of the night when I finished writing this.

[bellcurve]

That's because he's too busy flirting with the twinks he hired.

[DevotedToAMC]

I only rant about Ryan and Ryan was beloved by McTavish...I don't think JHC has a love affair going on with him and Cameron Mathison. If she does love him, then I can deal with that because other than her liking him, she still has done well

[Adam]

You know what, I pretty much agree with this....... I long for the days of Felica Minea Behr.... she along with Agnes brought glory back to Pine Valley and made AMC the critical darling of the soap world in the early 90's.

AMC has never been the same since she left in 1996 IMO.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^I agree, Pine Valley hasn't felt like Pine Valley, well, in years! FMB was a fantastic EP who understood the focus and direction AMC should take, everything just seems directionless these days.

FMB needs to return to daytime, I wish she'd go back to AMC, but I doubt that will happen. EP's on ABCD are nothing but puppets for Frons anyway.