ALL: Where would you send Brad Bell?

[Sylph]

Those who hate him, hate him to the core. I know. I just have this weird thought of sending him to be a HW for General Hospital. People are gonna kill me after this...

[Khan]

I wouldn't kill you, Sylph, but from reading your post, I'd definitely look into some professional counseling, if I were you.

[Sylph]

What made me think about it and write this is the following, written by SON's member MarkH. I wonder why he didn't write it here...

Bravo, MarkH!

I really think the man can write romance, business storylines and family drama. Yes, he flushed many characters down the toilet - Brooke, Stephanie and for some time now even Taylor, Ridge (never liked him, so I don't care) - but still, he also wrote many great storylines during his tenure.

Now who needs professional counselling?

P. S. This is what Karen from CBS soaps Usenet groups wrote:

[JamesF]

I still refuse to see Brad Bell as a great headwriter. He simply isn't.

He is (on occasion) a good ideas man who could make a fantastic story consultant but he can't write worth a damn. He knows nothing of pacing or long term story projection preferring to focus on the latest gimmick to enter his brain. Now I could handle that if he ever saw a storyline through but I can think of very few stories from the past few years in particular that have had real and lasting consequences. The set up has been there several times; Stephanie's fake heart attack, Stephanie taking over FC, the Marones taking over FC, Brooke's rape, Taylor killing Darla but they always fizzle out. Even at least one of those was purportedly Patrick Mulcahey's story idea.

The thing is it hasn't always been this way. In the mid-late 90s, he wrote a very entertaining show with some stories that led to real climaxes. As soon as Bill Bell stepped away and he was left to his own devices, he jumped from one thing to the next. Ambervision, the Latino invasion, the Marones all occurred in the same 5 year period and represented distinct changes in direction.

So yeah I can't think of a soap I'd send him to because he's fundamentally flawed. As EP and sometime story consultant however I think he could work for several soaps, including Y&R. GL too actually.

[Matt P.]

Actually Bell's current success of familiarity could come from the fact that Kay Alden has been serving as a writer. I think that it's very admirable of her to go back to some sort of Bell roots.

[Sylph]

I know he is flawed; that is why I never said he is a great head writer. I think he's really burnt out and so I decided to ship him somewhere else, although that won't happen in a million years. If he goes somewhere, it'll be one of CBS' dramas, not ABC and especially not NBC.

I would agree on "(on occasion) good ideas man" and the fact that he doesn't follow through, he's careening all the time. One of the reasons he destroyed so many characters - Stephanie has become irredeemable, Taylor became a murderer and a tortured soul, Ridge has never suffered any consequences of his wrongful deeds and so on... Also, I think you noted in one the threads, he didn't find a way to successfully incorporate the Marones into the canvas. I really love Jackie (who he also destroyed by making her a prostitute) and Nick, but so many things involving those two don't make sense. Still, I wouldn't write them off.

As for Patrick Mulcahey, I never really saw why is he such a superb writer. That rape episode showed quite well he isn't. And I'm not sure what to say about Alden's and Ferri's influence - why was that rape story so bad under their consultancy?

[RuAsRuAnAu]

I don't think that just b/c they (Alden/JFE) are female means the rape story would or should be any better. the fact that they are writers is all that matters- them wanting to create good strories, irrespective of the character's gender.

If one didn't look at the end credits to see Alden's name listed, they wouldn't know that she was part of the staff. They'd be surprised b/c her influence (if she has any at all) is not being felt in a discernible capacity. Maybe if she (Alden) was HW she would return the show to its roots in a rockin' way. So far, i'm very disappointed with Alden & JFE. They are very capable writers, but B&B is clearly not the show for them. They are Y&R writers, first & foremost, and extreme camp is not their forte.

[RuAsRuAnAu]

All you have to do is compare both shows so far in 2007 and you'll have your answer. The answer: Nowhere. He must stay on B&B.