AMC: Julie Hanen Carruthers

[EricMontreal22]

I think even James made several iffy choices (the brief attempt--no doubt forced by the networks--to push supernatural stories like Voodoo in Jamaica). But it's hard to say--has any EP had as much power (the PROPER amount of power) at AMC since Behr? (Ditto OLTL with the great Gottlieb who really was the only producer Malone worked wonders under).

So I cut Carruthers some credit--that said I've NEVER been pleased with any of her decisions and I think McTavish and all got a lot of flack that shoulda been aimed at her as well. But as I implied above, under Frons do EPs even really exist in anything other than name?

I had high hopes when Burke came to the show--the last year of The City was really strong in no small part to her. then what happened? Were they not allowing her to brign any of these innovations to Pine Valley? did she not care? it was a very noneventful blah regime.

I do agree that sadly she's prob the best at ABC right now

[R Sinclair]

Not to mention, I'm tired of her big hair from 1993.

[Adam]

The voodoo arc, looking back was ridiculous but at the time I actually did enjoy the whole Jamaica thing.... it brought Hayley and Mateo together, solidified Noah and Julia, and who can forget that great river fight between Julia and Taylor?

But yes, DAYS was the talk of the soap world and shot past AMC in the ratings in 1995 with supernatural stories so it was no shock when AMC embarked on their own. I don't think James had much to do what that.... I think it was for sure the network.

James was ok.... the show did win their last Drama Series emmy under her.... which I guess says something but she was the one that brought back McTavish in 1997 and we all know what happened there, IMO 1997-1999 was a bigger disaster than this latest hacking!

Christopher Goutman seems to have gotten off track at ATWT... maybe he needs a change. I'd love to see him come back to AMC as an executive producer see what he can do.

[R Sinclair]

Are we sure that was her? Because a few months after McTavish returned, Francesca James was out and Jean Duh-dario Burke was EP. So I had always thought it was ABCD that attempted to clean house by ousting Broderick and James.

[Adam]

No I am not sure. I was just speculating. Was Broderick fired? I thought she stepped down.... I don't remember. If they did fire her what a stupid move that was, fire Broderick in favour of McTavish. Agnes was also really steering the ship when Lorraine was at the helm from behind the scenes of course.

She won the show like three consecutive writing emmys. My dear god, Lorraine rocked!

[R Sinclair]

Lorraine wrote during the second half of my high school year, which, coincidentally, happened to have the teen characters of Bobby, Anita, Kelsey, Kevin, Laura and Scott. She did a good job with them. She'll always have a warm place in my heart because for YEARS (I've been watching AMC since I was 10 years old) I used to watch all the teens and wish I could be like them -- and it just so happened that Lorraine brought teens on who were exactly my age and graduated the year I did (1997). And I enjoyed the stories that she wrote for them. Kelsey and the teen pregnancy. Bobby and Anita. Kevin and Mr. Delany coming out as homosexuals. Laura Kirk being a runaway. That was some GOOD STUFF for the teens back then.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yes, our dear Lorraine was fired! Towards the end of her stint, AMC's ratings were starting to decline, so ABC thought it was best to replace her. Why those bastards chose McTavish again is anybody's guess.

Broderick had an understanding of the characters that no other writer has been able to recapture since.

I wish Broderick came back to soaps, she's one of the few HW's that's worked genius on all the soaps she's written for (AMC, GL, ATWT, and OLTL).

[juniorz1]

Strongly disapprove of JHC. She's made all the wrong moves and has failed to admit her mistakes & faults in any way. The Cady McClain thing was a public relations disaster for JHC and her camp IMO and one she'll never recover from. And she shouldn't, because JHC has become a very lazy producer, which is evident from what's onscreen.

[R Sinclair]

That's because Lorraine had been sole head writer before back in the late 80's (I have the on-screen writing credits from the 1987 Christmas show).

Written by

LORRAINE BRODERICK

VICTOR MILLER

PEGGY SLOANE

MEGAN MCTAVISH

MARY K. WELLS

SUSAN KIRSHENBAUM

ELIZABETH PAGE

KAREN L. LEWIS

ELIZABETH WALLACE

KATHLEEN KLEIN

Story Consultant

GILLIAN SPENCER

McTavish didn't go it alone until, what, 1993, 1994... and coincidentally enough, the show starts to stink. Lorraine comes in, resuscitates and then she's fired because the ratings start to dip again... and in comes McTavish with her floating ghosts, psychic coma visions, yet another RAPE (TKFP)... And Agnes had to come in in 1999 to clean up her mess. ABC just keeps setting the show up for a ratings failure every time they bring back McTavish. She doesn't save the show, she ruins it. And it's amazing that they don't understand that AMC was in the mess it was in from 2000-2003 because of the damage that BEGAN at the hands of McTavish from '97-99. So bringing back the cause of the chain reaction made absolutely NO SENSE!

[R Sinclair]

OMG! A total AMEN! I can't determine if she's a step up, down or just a step aside in relation to JDB.

I think JDB was just clueless. She was a director at heart -- she wasn't a producer. Some people can wear both hats, others can't. Directors have to work with what they're given, and what they're given, in most cases, are the visions of the producer (I'm speaking in the television sense). I think JDB worked like that. She was given crap from the writers and just giggled and worked with what she was given and put it on air.

JHC seems to know that the shit she's given doesn't work (did she HONESTLY think Fetus Boy would go over well? Really?), but doesn't seem to have the balls -- or even care enough to stand it down. She'd rather recite the network's script, instead of work at getting good stuff on the air. And then, even in the production of the show, she seems to just pretend... and not do anything interesting. "Oooh, I have a bigger budget and the first thing I'm taking care of is the lighting!"

Yeah? When will that be?

Say what you (and I) will about Jill Farren Phelps, General Hosptial's production values (lighting still a little questionable) have gotten immensely better than what they were under Wendy Riche.

AMC's production values seem to have gotten cheaper. The sets look cheap. The lighting looks cheap. Everything just looks cheaper. ESPECIALLY the sets. There's no depth to them at all. I'm still confused as to how anybody goes up that tight ass staircase at the Chandler Mansion.

[juniorz1]

No doubt. Like JFP or not, there's no denying that she's a very talented producer.

[Adam]

I wonder what Gillian Spencer is up to these day....... Megan was removed in May of 1995 and instantly the show just turned on a dime...... I mean the summer of 1995 was amazing. The start of Janet's reformation, the whole Hayley/Alec/Arlene triangle! Some of the best writing I've witnessed in daytime. Agnes wrote the summer and Lorraine came in the fall correct? I just loved everything during that period. You mentioned about the teen set during that time. It was realistic and an accurate portrayal. I was only I was only 10 when all that started but then and looking back now, that was a damn good teen set and really showcased AMC's true core as a socially relevant and social issue driven soap opera.

Kelsey's pregnancy and Edmund and Maria's adoption battle with her to this day is my favourite All My Children story and then the one night stand with Dimitri which led to Erica's madness and kidnapping the child. The acting and the writing was phenomanal, like I said she won the show writing emmy's like nobodies business.

Then McTavish came in and started off well with the anorexia storyline (a Broderick story from what I understand) then we got the poison tatoo needles, the ghosts, coma visions and all that nonsense. Who can forget about Palmer and his Nazi paitings and that secret room. Damn good soap opera if you ask me!

[juniorz1]

I still say they need to get Francesca James back over there, PRONTO!

Honestly, IMO, JHC is worse than a sidestep- she's a step backward. WHY? Because she has the wherewithall & the talent to be a great producer, and yet she's made all the wrong moves while at AMC. (or, at least, didn't fight for the show)

Burke's AMC, whilst not perfect, was miles ahead of JHC's dreadful AMC.

In all honesty, I truly don't believe the living fetus would have happened on JDB's watch. JMO.

[Steve]

I've been putting off responding to this thread because I don't feel I know enough about what Carruthers has really contributed to the show. How much of this mess is her fault instead of McT's or Fron's? If she's the one responsible for getting rid of Cady McClain & Julia Barr, then the bitch needs to go!

I loved Lorraine Broderick as the headwriter, too. She worked her way up the ranks (I believe she first joined the writing team around 1981 or 1982) and really knew the characters inside out. I was pissed back in 1998 when ABC fired her to bring back McT.

[R Sinclair]

Oh, lord have mercy, that secret room!

The only good thing that came out of that garbage was Jill Larson's AMAZING performance when Erica opened up the secret room to find Palmer had locked Opal in so he could obscond with his Nazi paintings. She was spectacular and opened my eyes to Jill Larson's TOTALLY UNDERAPPRECIATED, OVERLOOKED, UNDERUSED TALENT!