All: If you could bring in new blood, who would it be?

[R Sinclair]

^^^

Damn, you're pretty much shitting on EVERYONE'S choices!

[Sylph]

Of course I am. Is that a problem? If the choice is bad, I'm disagreeing with it. Eg. never forget Silvio was responsible for Jake 2.0.

[bellcurve]

Could you be any more right?! You've summed up my main reason for detesting GREY'S ANATOMY. Give me 90's ER anyday over this crap they call a hospital show.

[bellcurve]

I'm also weary of bringing in "a primetime writer" or "new blood" with no ties, experience, or fandom associated with daytime television.

But since you asked, I'd love to see Richard Andreoli(FASHION HOUSE, AMERICAN HEIRESS) writing scripts for a show like THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, where anything goes and usually does. His one liners were *the* reason to watch FASHION HOUSE last season.

Also, making another plea for Christian McLauglin/Valerie Ahern from SPYDER GAMES. I know McLaughlin did scriptwork for B&B, but I have no clue how good he was at it. I think if he got a good grasp on the characters and their histories, he would be able to spice up alot of Brooke and Stephanie's dialogue, among other characters.

[Matt P.]

I agree that the writers from the MTV 2000 soap craze would be great. That includes writers of Undressed & Spyder Games. I would also like to see the writer of Fashion House to have more work as well.

However, I would also love to see Roger Newcomb & J.R. Benight of the online radio soap craze. These are good plots and are way better than what daytime has to offer.

[Sylph]

I'm not shitting on yours! I actually like thirtysomething creators, but can you elaborate your choice further? What makes you think they would thread the stories for daytime successfully?

[EricMontreal22]

I love WInnie but she was just a main writer on Once and A and thirtysomething 9where she started season 3)--those are Herskovitz/Zwick shows who also EPed MSCL. I adore that whole team and am still mad thei 1/4 Life pilot wasn't picked up--and agree with you

I would also say I wantr them to look more from the world of theatre. Some of the past few best HWs have been playwrights (Harding Lemay) and even my fave writers of relationship based shows often come from theatre--Winnie Holzman started off as a playwright.

John Robin Baitz is a BRILLIANT playwright and I love wha the's done with Bros and Sisters--after finding his footing. Alan Ball from Six Feet Under is also a great playwright, and Craig Wright who's created the show I'm most lookign forward to, Dirty Sexy Money, and was an Emmy award winnign writer at Bros and Sis and Six Feet Under is *also* a very respected playwright (they're also all gay men and fairly political interestingly enough).

Anyway, theatre is seriously where I'd look--another reason being that playwrights are usually better at using dialogue to tell their stories--daytime may be changing but still, like a play it depends on usually 3-4 sets per show and that's it FAR less than a movie or primetime show which can be told much more visually--this is another reason the fit seems to work so well

(and so off topic but I'm glad other people besides me see why Grey's is SO overated I am glad Marti Noxon is there now, I love her, but not enough to watch )

[EricMontreal22]

Which I think Baitz can do once he gets his bearings. We'll see this year with B&Sisters as some of his main writers--like playwright Craig Wright is off doing DSMoney and Berlanti (who I find vastly overated even if I'm glad he did help Baitz with B&S--even if I blame some of my probs with teh show on him) is busy with Eli Stone--so Baitz will be much more in charge of the show. but from watching it and reading his great blog I think much of what I loved about it by the season's end was his doing--and I say that as someone who has read and/or seen a good handful of his plays and knows some of his style.

Even Harding Lemay needed Irna's guidance for much of his first year as he shows excellently in his book 8 years in Another World--she initially helped with early all the plottign stuff (which is what I think Baitz needed help with)

[EricMontreal22]

We need them back in tv (i'll pay 100 bucks to anyone who can find me the 1/4 Life pilot. The script leaked online and was *brilliant* but ABC instead went with the comparitevly banal What about Brian which they thought targeted the same demo... GRRR--if anyone wants to read the 1/4 script ask me) They do decent film work (ironically their films are VERY "Epic--Samurai, Glory, Blood Diamond when their tv stuff is all so domestic) but their strengths is in their tv work...

I know WInnie Holzman has a fondness for soaps but I'm not sure if Zwick/herskovitz--as genius as I find them could really transfer over into the daily soap world

I do think maybe an author could be a good choice too as it worked for Malone and Slesar--tho Malone I think needed the help of Griffith and EP Linda Gotlieb (sp?) to make his ideas work--without them he pproved pretty weak. Gottlieb is a good example actually--she came from the world of film (was an EP of Dirty Dancing)--maybe that's where we shoudl be getting out producers and not writers?

Whoever headed ABC Daytime in the early 90s was great--good visions--finding Gotlieb who then picked Malone to do OLTL, putting Minei Behr in charge of a flagging AMC (she had been with the show since 1971) , the Labines at GH, even bringign Agnes Nixon back toLoving to restructure the show--I have no idea who headed ABC Daytime then but I want them back...

E

[Sedrick]

Since the majority of the daytime scene is now nearly lily-white, and the second-most excuse for it (besides the same old "We don't have any room on the canvas" excuse we've been hearing for decades now) of how white writers have such 'difficulty' writing for characters of color, I would want the add some much needed diversity behind the scenes...

One of my favorite authors is Walter Mosley, who is most known for his mysteries (his novels soared to the top of the bestsellers lists in the mid-90's when President Clinton named him as his favorite author) but who has had much success in various genres. Mosley's careful attention to characterizations and detail and his realistic and lively dialogue would be a perfect fit in daytime.

Another author who might shake things up in daytime is Kristina Laferne Roberts, who writes under the pen name Zane. Her numerous novels are steamy erotic thrillers that have sold so well they have made her quite wealthy and a one woman media empire.

Yvette Lee Bowser, the first African-American woman to develop her own prime time series (Living Single) is an experienced producer who got her start under Bill Cosby and Debbie Allen on A Different World, which was one of my favorite shows back in the day. Bowser is able to blend comedy and drama successfully in a serialized fashion, and her forte is romance and relationships.

Former actress Kasi Lemmons (she appeared on ANOTHER WORLD in the 80's) is one of the best film producer/directors in Hollywood, and she too would be a welcome addition in daytime. Lemmons was the force behind the 1997 masterpiece film Eve's Bayou, a moody and atmospheric drama that many mainstream critics agreed should have been a Best Picture nominee (the film features a powerhouse performance by Debbie Morgan, who critics also agreed was robbed of an Oscar nom for her searing performance).

Speaking of Morgan...she's a daytime pro, a legend in fact, who knows the business well. If Ellen Wheeler and Francessca James can be EP's, why not give Miss Morgan a shot?

[EricMontreal22]

WHat has Debbie been up to? I'd love to see her return to AMC in some capacity--I've always been mad that after reprising Angie on Loving/City she never got to do the same on AMC...

I agree that the behind the scenes needs more colour for sure--as much as I'm not a fan of Grey's Anatomy I hope it's proven to ABC and others that that works... was "of how white writers have such 'difficulty' writing for characters of color, I would want the add some much needed diversity behind the scenes" actually used as an excuse?? if so I'd love to know by who--what a wonderfully craptastic excuse that basically shows you to be a bad writer. I mentioned how many of my fave current writers are gay males--but really that's besides the point, I hate the belief somepeople still have that men can't write good female characters (tell that to Tolstoy and his Anna Karenina), straights can't write gays, etc... For me being a writer is being able to get inside any character no matter what gender or race--can only murderers write for murderers?

I still say they need to be looking more at the theatre world though playwrights are used to writing stories THRU character not THRU plot the way movies are largely written

E

[Faulkner]

I think Armistead Maupin would be a great soap writer...just watch his Tales of the City on Logo to see how he interconnects character in interesting ways.

[EricMontreal22]

Hrmm Maupin's an interesting idea--not sure what I think of it but the first 3 or 4 vols of the Tales books weree originally serialized in a San Fran paper so he's used to writing serialized fiction anyway

[leevo64]

Veronica Mars' Rob Thomas could craft a long term story arc involving tons of characters like nobody's business. He also creates strong female heroines, follows through with spectacular finales to stories, and makes sure that everything leads in to something else. Imagine how awesome Lulu would be if he were writing for her on GH!!!

[DaytimeFan]

Although I've yet to be impressed by any primetime writer doing anything on daytime (take a bow LML you worthless hack!) I have to say that Peter Dunne would be straight up fantastic. Donna Mills said that he was her favorite writer on KL (and knowing that Donna Mills hated LML...he gets my vote) and his stuff on Melrose Place, CSI, Pacific Palisades etc was always a good time. I don't really know how to explain it but I always knew when Peter Dunne was the writer.

I also really think that popular novelists like Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins would make excellent creative consultants to shows like AMC (for Ms Steel) or B&B (for Ms Collins). They would bring fresh perspectives to the table and the fact that both novelists are NY Times Bestsellers doesn't hurt!

But the big thing with any of my recommendations is all of these people would NOT be EP or HW...simply put the only people to fill those positions are those who truly love and appreciate the genre, having a prime time pedigree doesn't necessarily translate into daytime passion.