Claire Labine on new OLTL Head Writer Ron Carlivati

[Jess]

I agree with this. I look forward to seeing what Ron does for OLTL. I hope it is very good. On the other hand, in my opinion, AMC is going to be very happy with B&E.

I also want to remind everyone that Errol discussed on this board prior to November that ABCD was getting some pressure from upstairs to do something and was given a couple of sweeps months to make that happen. It sounds like that is what is going on here.

So nice little tip there Errol.

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

It would be awesome to get Claire Labine back as Co- Head Writer, or as the breakdown writer filling in the gap left by Ron.

[ANDREA LOATHES REILLY]

Hackley proved that she didn't have what it takes when she resolved the best story OLTL has had in ages in 2 weeks.

The gay politician story had so much meat, and that moron quickly writes off each and every character.

Then she leaves us with the Tessicashio sh!t.

Rex and Adriana, who always need a third person to make them interesting, and that still does not work.

Clint is a horny azzhat!

Vikki is wallpaper

Evangeline passed from one nonblack male to the other, and she does not even get a story. Renee and Trevor and even Michael were hot, but it's not something black Americans care to see all the time... Put some rootable black couples onscreen!!!!

Todd the perpetual punching bag.

John McBain was the BANE of our existence.

Spencer Truman was a hot mess! Absolutely ridiculous! And his motive for all those monstrosities was exactly what?????

There are so many reasons why this hack should have been gone long ago. But anywhooo - GOOD RIDDANCE, witch!

ANDREA

[Cat]

The fact that Claire Labine praises RC so highly -- and the fact that he's been there for so long, was a fan before that, and worked his way up -- really makes me optimistic. Hopefully he'll give Timothy Stickney and Tuc Watkins a friggin contract. I would love him to entice back Renee Elise Godsberry, but that's prob a pipe-dream at this stage.

[IMissDrusilla]

Andrea,

I don't watch OLTL.

But anytime a storyline is wrapped in 2 weeks and all the characters written off--that's the network, not the HW.

More than likely, a bunch of folks raised heck over the "gay" aspect and the network ordered Deanna to "gaslight" it

pronto.

What's really sad is that the way soaps are structured and written nowadays, the HWs aren't even really writing

these shows but they get all the blame. I'm certain that a combination of "higher ups" wrote at least 50% of OLTL

and over at ATWT the entire show is written by Chris Goutman.

If a superstar veteran has a huge contract, for intance, but you barely see that person "on screen", then the HW is

being ordered to cut the budget by not writing for that person. It's much less expensive to pay the "guaranteed" portion

of the contract and use the other monies to buy new sets or hire new teens, and the HW has no control over that, but

the "network" or the "Production Office" will tell the cast that the HW is the person in charge.

Total B.S.

I'm not saying that Deanna Hackley didn't stink. She might be an atrocious writer. But there's a lot more hands in the

pie and you may not see a drastic change with the next HW, because these shows are dragged down by "interference" and

"focus group stats".

Daytime is to the point where we don't know who can actually write and who can't, because there's so many cooks in the

kitchen.

Agnes Nixon said in an interview that if she came along today, she wouldn't be able to survive more than a few months.

[ANDREA LOATHES REILLY]

Thanks for that. I totally get that Fronz and the others are too involved, but Dena is largely responsible for the mess that is OLTL. It may have played out exactly the way you think it did, but I can't help but think that if Dena were a decent writer or A writer, that story would have gone so much better. She has given nothing but trash since...

ANDREA

[cal3]

I don't think the network intervened to tell her to put an early end to the Daniel story. I think it was always intended as her manner of cleaning up Malone's left overs.

I never liked Dena but the first months of the show were much better. I attribute that to two things. B&E and the fact she was cleaning up the story Malone left. The stuff that played of hers during those first months was awful. Todd's rape played for laughs was awful and it was pure Dena.

Daniel's story was a solution to Paul's murder that got left in the lurch and very much a way to clear out things that she and the network had no further use for. Too bad they were so intent on sweeping out the trash that the didn't realize they were sweeping away a golden story.

[ANDREA LOATHES REILLY]

AMEN TO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANDREA

[JONNYSBRO]

I am glad Claire Labine praised RC. I heard Labine is retired and ill, so no return to daytime for her. I am glad ABC finally promoted within. He has had 11 years of experience. In fact remember when Todd had the parrot years ago with Tea, RC was the one who wrote all that dialogue. I think ABC is doing the David Kriezman route in promoting. Kriezman had been on the GL team just like RC and then was promoted to head writer three years ago. He has been hit/miss with stories but glad to see OLTL making the change. OLTL needed to dump Higley a long time ago. Her stories were plot driven, no vets in them, isolated, and dragged out for years on end. Remember the Margeret storyline that should have went on for a 1-2 months tops became almost a two year storyline and still Todd does not know his son is alive. I am surprised Higley stayed as long as she did but thank god her tenure is done. She was one of OLTL's longest running head writers in years.

[Adam]

Brown and Esesten made the show watchable and actually enjoyable during that whole transition. I was in love with OLTL during the summer of 2005. They leave and it quickly all goes to hell.

[juniorz1]

ICAM! To me, a good writer can make it work within the limits of the budget. Dena's a hack. The only "storyline" that she wrote throughout her entire run was the Tessica crap. Spencer doesn't count because it wasn't a single story, it was a bunch of mini-stories that all went back to him.

Absolutely. What really sucked about it is for 2 weeks, OLTL was friggin awesome. And then it was all over. Sad that, in a 2 1/2 writing span, she had a total of 2 weeks of greatness.

[Adam]

Remember Nora confronting Daniel with the scissors!!!! OMG! I still have it on tape.

[Dan]

Yes and look how well THAT turned out. Sometimes being a good dialogue writer does NOT mean a person is a good headwriter. Higley herself was a script writer for a number of years at DAYS. The second she becomes the HW, she turns the show into [!@#$%^&*]. Likewise David Kreizman was promoted after being with GL since 1995 (first as a production coordinator, then on the writing staff). He becomes headwriter in 2004 and drives the show into the ground. Megan McTavish won an Emmy as a dialogue writer as part of the 1986 winning GL writing staff and then we all know what happened later.

As such, I am taking a wait-and-see approach to all of this. Who know, he could turn out to be another hack in sheep's clothing.

[Adam]

Very true Dan. It really could go either way. Its hard to believe DK at GL will be HW for 3 years next month.... are they ever going to make a change?

[Dan]

More than likely? No. Kreizman is a cheap HW. Getting someone better would mean that PGP and CBS would have to loosen the Vulcan Death Grip they have on GL's budget and they sure as hell won't do that.

You know what's sad? I predicted all of this. When I heard of Kreizman's appointment, I remembered that he wrote the episode of Blake/Ross' Christmas wedding, which I thought was the biggest bunch of bull ever.