GH/RH: Claire Labine

[Toups]

I love Claire's GH material....well....from what I've seen on youtube. GH still had heart when Claire was writing and Guza took that away.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

That's one thing Claire wrote a lot with on GH - heart.

Guza never had that, even during his first two successful stints, he couldn't match Claire's skills in that area or for telling good family/multi-generational stories.

[AMCGio83]

I liked her GL stint. I know thats not a popular opinion but GL was just so awful in its last couple of years under B&E (shocker) that Labine was something of a savior. It's true that the parts were better than the whole but nobody can write a teary scene like Labine (Jim's death by fire). Id wager that her stint at GL is better than anything GL has had in years.

[Sylph]

Does anyone recall if fans hated her last days with too many dark and sad stories on GH? I have blurry memories of that time...

She sure was a perfect fit for GH...

[Y&RWorldTurner]

OLTL and GL weren't very good under her watch, but a lot of the blame for those can be placed on weak or tyrant EP's and ABC and P&G.

However, during Claire's stints at both those shows, the dialogue was superb. That's one thing her shows are known for. GH was never really known for its great dialogue until Labine came, Ryan's Hope won the Emmy for Writing more than any other soap, and they were all under her watch.

If Claire won't come back writing for soaps, her son and daughter (Matt and Eleanor) should come back, they did train under her after all...

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The thing is, Claire's writing style was a huge departure from GH had been ever since Gloria Monty came and changed the whole structure of the show (and most of daytime really). GH had been known for outrageous plot-driven tales until Wendy Riche decided the show needed to switch formats. I remember one of Riche's first interviews when she became EP if GH where she said she'd like to move the show in a more character driven direction. Like a year and a half later, Labine joined her at GH and the show took on that approach.

A lot of fans did complain that Claire's GH was too heavy on the social issues and at times was very depressing. In fact, GH's ratings fell towards the end of Claire's run and would get a big bump with the switch to Guza's first stint.

[Toups]

I would love to see Matt and Eleanor given a shot as HWs. Give them a chance instead of hiring the likes of Higley and B&E!

[XxTaraXx]

I slightly disagree on a couple fronts.

He wrote Jason & Robin's love story beautifully up until Cottage Hell. He even worked with Kimberly's weird schedule for school.

And Jax & Brenda had heart. However Guza-fied that triangle did end up, there was still a beautiful romance there.

However, doing the Guza years he destroyed some great couples and did some real damage to the core families.

[Sylph]

Then Guza changed the format back again into a mob soap on steroids – I think that if you compare a Labine episode and a Guza episode, Guza has doubled the number of scenes in an episode, thus changing the overall feel and pace of the show dramatically.

Yeah, Rauch, known for his impossibly difficult personality. He did wonders with Lemay though; he just couldn't resist the temptation to hire his friend Lloyd 'Lucky' Gold.

And on OLTL was it Maxine Levinson or Jill Farren Phelps? That was just a filler stint – she had a year in her contract and they just gave her the post to fulfil all the conditions in the contract. She has admitted all her mistakes during that time.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I've heard that Claire left a lot of outlines behind for Guza after she left GH in early 96. That could explain why the show didn't falter. Also, Karen Harris was Guza's Co-HW then, she trained under Labine initially.

Levinson I believe...

[Sylph]

Spot on.

[Toups]

I thought Jason/Robin was mostly Richard Culliton and then Chris Whitesell/Janet Iacobuzio. What year was their romance?

Like Alvin said, Guza had Karen Harris (who should be GH's HW or at least co-HW) in '96.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I love how Toupsy refuses to give Guza any credit.

[Sylph]

There are so many reasons to despise the man, yet with him at the helm, I just know the team will be stable. Once he's gone, all hell will break loose. I don't hate him so fervently, the way I hate Latham, for example.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Actually, many of those writers on GH now didn't leave when Guza left before. Some did, but GH can manage with most of them and being Guza-less at the same time.

The two biggies, Harris and Val Jean both started under Labine, not Guza. Korte was also there starting with Labine too, and even though she's Guza's #2, I doubt she'll leave if Guza gets fired.

Fire Guza and make Val Jean and Harris Co-HW's and send Mulcahey back to GH from B&B.

None of that will ever happen, but I can dream.