2008: The Directors and Writers Thread

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Who else thinks Jeanne Marie Ford is leaving OLTL soon? I forgot she even wrote for the show....lol

[Chris B]

Sylph, here I am...

For anyone who watched Port Charles, did LML have the same bizarre way of structuring a daytime soap? I don't see how she lasted for so many years if that's the case. On Y&R, as Vincent Irizarry confirmed (as a compliment, the fool), scenes were only three pages long. Major events like Mackenzie's miscarriage, for whatever reason, happened during commercial breaks and in between episodes. The main focus is always the plot which can shift based on whatever new idea LML got, or as the mystery Y&R actor said--based on what movie she saw (in this case Blood Diamond). Characters and their motivations shifted which each story. She had no sense of pacing beyond a simple primetime episode. This is why you have Jill and Ji Min fall in love in two weeks, disappear for three months, then return engaged right before he's killed off.

Romance was a big no no for reasons I'll never understand. Looking back, she even removed the sex from Knots Landing, but not to the extent as Y&R. She DID however remove ALL the glamor from that soap. I will never forget the laughable cliffhanger at the end of the 12th season when Karen turns vigilante and goes on a high speed chase (in her big Lincoln!!!) when a cheesy teenage gang shot her with a paintball. It was a horrible end to a fantastic season. The preachiness always reared it's ugly head. A MAJOR issue with her is that the show MUST be politically correct, as the Blood Diamond thing showed. On Knots Landing, William Devane's character was known for his cigar smoking, but she tried to bar him from doing it because smoking is bad for you. Being the god he is, he refused to back down. Nicollette Sheridan said he'd rip up the scripts and say "What is this [!@#$%^&*]?!" Then re-write all of his scenes. Keep in mind, she joined the show with LML, so it had to be her work.

According to John Pleshette, whose wife gave Lynn and Bernie their first big break in Hollywood, he was fired for critiquing one of Bernie's scripts. That is a major no no and Joan Van Ark reiterated that there was no dialog allowed between the writers and the cast. She had to go to the creator of the show (who wasn't even involved at that point) when she felt they were making fun of her.

It may seem like I'm digressing a bit, but the way Lynn and Bernie worked is why I'd fire every single writer she brought on. I don't think all of them are bad, I particularly enjoy Gottesfeld & Bennett, but they all need to go. For the most part, they have limited daytime experience (or horrible experience like Marla Kanalos & Scott Hamner) and simply aren't qualified for the job. They've been trained by someone who didn't respect the show, it's tone or it's history. A key example of their misunderstanding the genre is the fact that they constantly bring on short term characters to prop other new characters. Rarely do they ever bring on people to benefit the veterans, whether it be a short term return or something to future their character directly.

I will take a pool of Y&R's worst writers before I keep any LML rejects. I even mentioned to Toups in the ITZ chatroom that the return of JER in a limited and controlled capacity could be a good thing.

But it's his fault, he should be fired. I hated when people would slag off Ed Scott and call him burnt out and constantly sing the praises of David Shaughnessy, who I agree was a good EP. Scott has a very hands on approach and paid attention to every detail. He does script rewrites, is on set coaching the actor, had an acting coach, makes sure they're well lit and made up, etc. Griffith has dismantled all of this. Scott has also shown at DAYS what amazing things he can do under a severely limited budget. Just imagine the greatness he could be doing at Y&R right now. Remember the exciting conclusion to the Cameron Kirsten story where Sharon, Nick and Cameron jumped out of a real plane and landed in a real cornfield? I don't think Griffith has the imagination or talent to pull anything like that off.

People always overlook the EP, but that is just as, if not more important, than who is writing the show. I want HIM and those Y&R staffers (especially Marnie Siatta) back.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

But it's his fault, he should be fired. I hated when people would slag off Ed Scott and call him burnt out and constantly sing the praises of David Shaughnessy, who I agree was a good EP. Scott has a very hands on approach and paid attention to every detail. He does script rewrites, is on set coaching the actor, had an acting coach, makes sure they're well lit and made up, etc. Griffith has dismantled all of this. Scott has also shown at DAYS what amazing things he can do under a severely limited budget. Just imagine the greatness he could be doing at Y&R right now. Remember the exciting conclusion to the Cameron Kirsten story where Sharon, Nick and Cameron jumped out of a real plane and landed in a real cornfield? I don't think Griffith has the imagination or talent to pull anything like that off.

Shaughnessy was EP of the show then, Chris.

I want Ed Scott to stay at DAYS, he's one of the only people with any sense there these days it seems, but I do wonder if he's happy being there with all the chaos that show seems to be going through behind the scenes. Anyway, Shaughnessy could easily come back if they made him an offer. Hell, he still occasionally directs for B&B, so he's obviously still close to the Bell's. It's Bill Bell jr who should get all the blame. He's the one who made all those "changes" with Latham and Barbara Bloom and he's the one who hired his INEXPERIENCED wife to Head Write the show and kept the equally INEXPERIENCED Josh Griffith on as Executive Producer.

I get the feeling that the Bell's want Y&R to fall from #1 so B&B can take over, which is stupid IMO....

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I was just looking at Toupsy's end credit achieves, and I noticed that Joshua S. McCaffrey, another former Y&R-er worked with Hogan briefly at ATWT. Maybe if Hogan remembers him, he can persuade Maria to bring him back.

[Darlotto99]

could it be that the Bell's want Y&R to fail so they could eventually make the case to marge the Y&R and the B&B into one show. They would have more power to controll the show.

[Toups]

Yeah, I was surprised/excited (I get excited whenver I find new information ) by that! I never knew he went over to ATWT for a short while.

[Sylph]

Sylph, here I am...

Chris, that was one great post! I keep re-reading it!

It may seem like I'm digressing a bit, but the way Lynn and Bernie worked is why I'd fire every single writer she brought on. I don't think all of them are bad, I particularly enjoy Gottesfeld & Bennett, but they all need to go.

Well, finally, I agree! I thought some should stay, but the all need to be gone!

[JackPeyton]

...

[Sylph]

Why did you edit the post?

[JackPeyton]

because i got LML's time on PC mixed up with B&E's time on PC.

I didnt watch LML's pc because it was boring.

[Chris B]

Oh. I thought we were at Jack Smith as EP by then. Well as I said, Shaughnessy was very good, but I still think Scott is underrated for his later work on Y&R. I'd take either back, but Scott would be my top choice.

BTW, I checked his Wikipedia profile and it says he was a Story Consultant at Y&R from January-March 2008. Was he ever credited for that?

[Sylph]

BTW, I checked his Wikipedia profile and it says he was a Story Consultant at Y&R from January-March 2008. Was he ever credited for that?

I don't recall it.

By the way, who is doing those ridiculous Wikipedia "articles" where you can find out that e.g. Gialanella is friends with Higley and Myers? And a lot, if not everything, has been stolen from Toups' resources.

[JackPeyton]

Wiki is like IMBD - anyone can add anything. Its what makes it awesome but also its biggest draw back. I check it out - but i dont go by it as law.

The best part for me is all the drama it has. JFP's lists the friends of JFP; etc...

[dm.]

Wikipedia is the least reliable source. Sadly, EVERYONE can add info. A HUGE flaw.

[Sylph]

I know all that, but sometimes I'm extremely annoyed with some entries.

The best thing happened when someone a long time ago here asked whether the Janice Ferri article was really edited by Janice Ferri.