Members R Sinclair Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 I don't mind rehashing, since this is one of the three agendas I've never been quiet about nor ashamed of pushing (McTavish's ejection and my abhorrence of anything Carey/Lavery/Martin being the other two). But to capsulate it all, IMO (but really, in my world, that's the only one that matters), Beall isn't a "soap dialog" writer -- she's a "Wish I Was a Sitcom Writer" reject. Snappy comebacks, acidic little quips, the ba-dum-bum-CHING rhythm of the dialog... it's all very wannabe SATC, Friends, Will&Grace (which, ironically, people said they had that feeling while watching Jake and Greenlee scenes on Tuesday)... To me, in my opinion, her dialog is SOOOO heavy handed that there's almost captions that come on the screen that read: "I'M WRITING AN EMOTIONAL SCENE, HERE!" "I'M BEING FUNNY AND CLEVER, HERE!" "I'M BEING TRENDY AND HIP, HERE!" "I'M WRITING AN INSENSITIVE CHARACTER, HERE!" And when it came to her breakdowns and dialog, she was just as heavy handed with the pushing her agendas, too. She was pro-Carey, pro-Tad. I'll never forget the BALLS Beall had in a script and breakdown SHE WROTE for the 12/21/2006 episode when she absolved Tad of killing Madden: TAD: Livia, I stuck a man in the ground. And then I dug him up, and I put him back there all over again. Why would God care about a man like me? Why should he? LIVIA: I know God cares for you. And I know that as long as you're alive, you can pray, and as long as you can pray, there is hope. Christ died so that we are all forgiven, we are all saved. Now, you simply have to accept and receive that. That's what tore it for me. The pure, egotistical AUDACITY to use an officer of the court -- the court that's supposed to bring about, oh, I dunno... JUSTICE... and to use Christ as a way to get out of making Tad pay for his crime of torturing a man and subsequently killing him. And I wouldn't have been as outraged if this wasn't the same man, who seven years prior, compared Adam Chandler to Ray Gardner because Junior ran away when Adam wanted to send Junior to boarding school -- Tad calling Adam a monster. I suppose saints and angels torture and kill humans -- monsters send their children to boarding schools. Also, when Colby caught Sean and Ava having sex on the yacht, it was "let's go overboard with blatant and obvious sexual innuendos!" Ava: It's just sex, lots and lots of sex and some groping and a little more sex. Sean: Ok, shut it. Ava: You sure you want to say that to me? You better think long and hard. Sean: Yeah, how about shut it and go? I'm surprised Ava didn't offer to go all out and... spread the word. Or other examples of her horrible dialog... J.R.: You skanky little tramp. BABE: How -- how did I get here? J.R.: Same way you always do, Babe -- open bed, insert slut. or... BABE: You messed with the wrong girl this time, bitchcakes! or... AMANDA: Spaz down already. I'm here to see the real Dr. Madden. or JULIA: Hey, why don't you power trip on somebody your own size? and the infamous: ERICA: I have my own test, I'll do my own testing. I don't need DNA. I have K-A-N-E. There are a few things in life that I know for certain, but among them are these: Amanda L. Beall will make sure that Careys are always propped. Laverys are always right. Tad’s always sanctimonious. Chandlers are always viciously offensive as well as the butt of jokes. Kendall and Greenlee’s bitter sarcasm and snark will give Friends and Will & Grace a run for their syndication money. We will be TOLD how to feel about characters and their situations, instead of being given the courtesy to decide for ourselves. There are plenty of other reasons I can sit here and cite to back up my opinion of this horribly bad writer, but I did say this was going to be capsulated and I'm going to the beach. Ooh, but wait... here's something that made me gag about yesterday's Beall-written episode. COLBY: Was that before I ticked off Corrina? I got the maddest text from her. Too bad I have no idea what I did. CASSANDRA: Ok, you hit on Ren like a Page Six party girl, but that's besides the point. Could you focus? We went to drag you home, in your car -- COLBY: And then, you decided to play "run down the psycho"? And don't forget last year's horribly un-funny 4th of July episode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dm. Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 What will Beall's position be on Y&R? I hope she won't be doing dialog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 I don't want her writing outlines either. However, if she is doing dialogue, there is a chance she could improve with better direction from the HW's and breakdown writers. I know a lot of people weren't fond of the dialogue on DAYS or noticed Jodie Scholz's work there as scriptwriter before Hogan came. I notice her dialogue started to get better with Hogan and his team, at least a lot of people started to notice it more. If Beall's dialogue is guided and edited properly, it could work. Same goes for most other scriptwriters. From what Thom Racina told ITZ the other night, the scripts on Y&R go to everyone and he mentioned Beth Milstein (the script editor), Hogan Sheffer and Scott Hamner - the two people who gave him some sort of notes and story to work from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 The problem is that then you spend a whole lot of time rewriting other people. I'd say that if you hate several scripts a writer has handed to you - fire him or her and find a replacement. Your creative energy could be spent devising stories. I mean - three people editing scripts and adding notes? And three very, very different people (Hamner, Milstein and Sheffer). When you get the notes, it must be a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members R Sinclair Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 Oh, spaz down, already. She might be doing both, bitchcakes! I'm sure her dialog would be right up Christel Khalil's ally... like, fer sure, you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 Is she still pushing for a return to Y&R, like Rain1 told us? If so, I can see Maria hiring her and Bradely letting Maria hire her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dm. Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 I'm just glad Milstein is between Sheffer and Hamner... And LML buds are gone. Still, a lot will have to be improved. AMC is so lucky for getting rid of Beall, if she's really as bad as everyone says. On another note, is the correct spelling "dialog" or "dialogue"? Because I always use "dialogue" and the spell-checker underlines it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 Where on Earth is rain1?! The heat is oppresive!! I need some patchy showers on a hot summer afternoon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dm. Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 LOL Don't remind me of Christel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 Dialog is American English, dialogue British. And to me more literate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 Rarely does Y&R let its scriptwriters and breakdown writers work as both, thankfully. Let's just hope, if she doesn't improve (which is very likely), she'll be gone at the end of her contract cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dm. Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 I know what I'll be praying for. Hopefully Y&R won't let Beall do double-duty like she did on AMC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 You should also be worried about Marla Kanelos... When does her cycle end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 I don't know if its attributed to him or the people he hired, but I've always noticed that the dialogue on the shows Hogan Sheffer has written for have improved greatly under his tenure. I mentioned Jodie Scholz before as being on prior DAYS writing teams (and she's still there under Dena) where the dialogue was generally loathed, but her dialogue seemed to improve greatly and get much notice under Hogan's tenure. The scripts Beth Milstein has written have been good so far, so I don't think she'd do a bad job as script editor actually. We'll see. Probably in the fall or so, but her breakdowns haven't been too jarring actually. I actually think there's worse breakdown writers on that team. I wouldn't mind seeing her go though, she was Latham's last hire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 10, 2008 Members Share Posted July 10, 2008 I've given up. The glory I want for Y&R will never be achieved... So in the end - I really don't care who they hire or fire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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