2008: The Directors and Writers Thread

[Y&RWorldTurner]

It won't, what do we have to go by? A fashion consultant that was put in charge by her family?

I'll laugh my ass off if August turns out to be one huge bomb.

[R Sinclair]

First of all, bitching and making snarky comments, as well as having the audacity to lecture is what I do (insert all other things people hate about me, too. Too many for me to pretend like I care to memorize). If you haven't realized that after 2 years and 2460 posts, then...

Second of all, there are very few AMCers who offer anything intriguing when it comes to the writing (except that they just know Agnes Nixon's been "Secretly Writing" because B&E are "whitewashing hacks" x3), so what's the point of hijacking this plane if nobody's on board?

Third, I didn't bribe Barbara Bloom and Maria Arena Bell wait this long for another show to take Beall off my hands only to follow her over to another show. So, watching Y&R? Oh, baby, that's out.

[dm.]

I'm still hoping. And I don't know why... especially because the "fashion consultant" decided to bring in the boring Restless Style storyline, and obviously brought Sabrina so someone would keep talking about art all the time.

[Sylph]

Of course I know that. You misinterpreted the post - those two smileys should have give you the clue. I was deliberately trying to provoke you to post. Because I miss your posts, I miss them so much, I make other people sick by constantly complaining about the lack of those.

Also I hate the thing AMC threads have turned into. The only thing worthwhile in there are your fights with Zendall Fan, but those are really starting to wear off. Instead of reading a genuine discussion between you and someone else, I'm forced to read endless posts about the same thing. And let me tell you one thing, just in case you didn't know, I'm on your side, I totally share your point of view. It's just that it's a waste of your energy you could have spent on a different type of posts.

You don't know that! People are on board, you just haven't put enough effort into it.

That's a big problem of yours - and mine - because I would really like to read you b!tching abou, say, Y&R.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

That woman doesn't get that Genoa Cty is in the mid-west, not New York City. Talk about utter lack of common sense.

[Sylph]

Oh, I miss The City. And Morgan Fairchild.

[dm.]

That brought up a great flashback. Fairchild should consider trying daytime again.

[cct]

Oooh! RSinclair, I will gladly bitch, moan, shout, whine and generally commiserate around AMC writing. In fact, I was on youtube a moment ago and ran across an old clip of Nurse Gloria (remember her?) when she was talking to Dixie (who was ditzy back then) about Craig and he was right in the room with them! Talk about dramatic irony. Of course that was back in the days of Agnes and Wisner.

So surge forward, I am boarding the plane...

[detroitpiston]

Oh yeah, she kicked ass on The City and Fashion House. She really needs to come back to television.

[DeeeDee]

She's still better than Lynn Clear "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" Springs Latham.

[MarkH]

But that's Schadenfreude. Why wish such malevolent ill on the show? It's like you are waiting in breathless anticipation for it to fail. Is this a defensive act, because to hope is too painful? Cynicism is an effective defense...

[Sylph]

Even if it turns out to be a huge success, how much will it last? Is it sustainable?

[MarkH]

Uh uh!

Midwest viewers count for less than New York or LA viewers, right? It's all about "audience sophistication" to Madison Avenue. (That's why The Office is a "success" despite fairly low ratings in primetime).

So, don't you think this is a purposive honing in on an urban landscape that might better appeal to the young and the urban?

On that note, there have always been "skyscrapers" out the windows of Jabot, Newman, and Paul's old detective office. So, I think urban was always intended...whether it was New York-ish or Chicago-ish is a good question... Now, the ratings show Fashion and Art haven't been ratings draws. Here again, I celebrate the attempt. First, this is a goal to bring in a younger and more sophisticated female viewer. Bravo! That is needed for these shows to survive. Moreover, Restless Style is clearly intended to build an e-commerce platform. Again, I celebrate any attempt to bring in new revenues for the soaps.

Sara Bibel talked about one of the two OnStar product placements on Y&R. That was fairly heavy handed. Restless Style, in particular, offers a possibility of fairly seamless integration of e-commerce into the show's DNA. If that helps pay the bills, more power to them.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

In today's climate where every HW and EP tells us that good things are coming up and it never happens, I don't think I can bear to have any more optimism. That well is all dried up for now. Until Maria and any other HW can prove to me that they can deliver and do it consistently, I'll be a pessimist.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The recent focus on fashion, art, and characters breaking into Faux-French is tacky and not befitting of a midwestern town. It would be more believable on B&B, but not Y&R.

And it's not even brining in any new viewers, ratings plunged when these things were incorporated rather heavily.

Y&R spent years not catering to any niche market and was successful, why start now?