James Harmon Brown & Barbara Esensten: The Verdict

[EricMontreal22]

You know thinking back about their era on AMC one thing they sucked at was follow thru--ANgie/Jesse's wedding being one HUGE exception.

We had many great ideas--even the whole Richie thing, pairing him with Janet, pairing him with Opal--GENIUS on both counts yet they BARELY made ANY use of them and both situations were kinda just dropped. That's one example in TONS out there...

It was weird I had high hopes for Burke cuz I loved so much about The City but she didn't bring ANYTHIGN I could see from how she produced that show to AMC....But i agree with your assessment of McTavish. The true tragedy of McTavish is I believe she has a LOT of talent--but she really really needs the proper guidance.

As for that era--Elizabeth Page never wrote without Agnes--briefly the credits were Agnes Nixon when Mctavish left in 99, then it was Agnes Nixon with Elizabeth Page right under then VERY briefly Agnes Nixon, and Elizabeth Page and Jean Passanante under and then just AGnes and Jean and then just Jean. I never got why Jean got bumped in instead of Page who many really liked but it did make for VERY schizo times when you had near the end of the co writing tenure Agnes doing basically jjust bianca's coming out and everything else being VERY cartoony and campy...

[Laurie]

The 1st 2 weeks of Crash was the only thing I liked about B&E's AMC run. I feel stupid for thinking they could be good for AMC...really stupid

[skyejames]

Is it unusual for an expensive returning leading lady to be chemistry tested with all the possible leading men ?

I would have thought that was common practice , and as an avowed Rylee objector , I`m very glad they are exploring other options .

Regarding "Crash " , I enjoy umbrella stories but it deteriorated into one of unremitting doom and gloom . It didn`t help that characters said the same thing to the same people for weeks on end .

I felt Zach came close to being a caricature , only allowed to repeat the mantra , 'I will protect my family"

I thought they recovered his character beautifully by throwing him in a hole with Greenee ! I enjoyed seeing their initial antipathy warming up into compassion and mutual respect and thought those scenes were amongst the grittiest and believable I`ve seen .

Re the alleged couple swapping . It was all very superficial , imo ; Ryan was allowed 2 heart to heart`s with Kendall , Zach and Annie a few supportive chats and Kaidan interminable gulilty exchanged looks . Essentially all the pairings were intact apart from Ryannie but they are considered by some to be as dull as ditch water so that was no bad thing !

The revelation for me was that Zach and Greenlee could retain their snark yet have the same sparks in emotional scenes . Their scenes have a spontaneity and warmth I haven`t seen for a long time . And boy , do they bring the pretty !

I think the last few weeks have been astonishingly good . Umbrella stories that bring evryone together and let the good in them shine out .

Loved Ruth reassuring Opal about Tad yet expaining the intracies of the operation the way only a s consultant`s wife could . Enjoyed her reaching out to JR and the unspoken emotion between Adam and his son .

For the first time in ages I feel PV is a community , a little village even , ( Angie holding Joe`s Hand in surgery , Gregg handing around coffee). I`ve loved all the Martin bonding and feel Jake`s introduction has been inspired .

Add to that Tad & Dixie moments and The Hubbards and I feel the show is recovering .

I feel B&E must take a little credit for all this as they are still in tenure , if only nominally . I also loved their villain, Robert and was a inveterate Ropal shipper ( why exactly did Opal go into a broom closet with him ? Loved her niave twittering as she entered anyway)

I see some balance returning as regards airtime for characters too . No Zach or Ryan for 4 straight days is a boon for all I think.

Can`t say I like what they`ve done to Kendall . To me she is a pale shadow of the woman who McT had take on the whole of Pine Valley to protect her sister . I know MCT later wrote her as a pitiful woman scorned but she retained her fire and snark which she has lost with B&E imo .

[R Sinclair]

Chemistry testing is most absolutely a common practice on soaps.

[skyejames]

Mmm, I thought so .

So far between Zach and Greenlee we`ve had the classic " run into male chest and bury face during hug" ( which started Rendall BTW) and the " stumble inadvertently into arms " one too . I thought both Zach`s and Greenlee`s reaction was perfect in that .

But really , given that your pairing with CamMat`s Ryan brought a mixed response and given that Del is now not an option which male actor would you expect your agent to push for scenes with?

I can see RB`s Greenlee working well with Jake and Zach . With Ryan I think there`s a sparky but sibling type of chemistry . JMO

If the Zachlee testing was B&E`s idea I say " good on ya "

Imo things needed to be shaken up . The only thing is I don`t see Kendall getting tested with anyone right now .....

[Laurie]

IMO, Zach and Greenlee are 2 characters, that shouldn't be tested, as a couple giving their history. I could care less about the farking hole 'bonding' (in quotes because I didn't see any profound bonding...I saw more profound bonding with Zach and Kendall, during McT's Satin Slayer storyline-ie: the scene on the balcony, where Zach told Kendall the truth about his childhood/ the scene where Kendall said she believed in them)

Honestly if the writers wrote Zach and Greenlee, as having a gruding respect and tolerance, the scenes would be easier to tolerated

JMHO

[JackPeyton]

A rocky past makes for a great coupling on soaps.

MUCH worse has been done.

[skyejames]

I can`t honestly see how they could be excluded from testing . Both , expensive , leading characters . Imo past histories are never insurmountable ( Rylee is but one example) . Also 5 wks bonding is a heck of a lot more groundwork than most couples get ! I`m only surprised they weren`t shut in a coat closet a la Jerica !

I must be shallow , cos if a pairing has talent , chemistry and prettiness, I am theirs .

I also think RB and TK look like they`re playing the heck out of their scenes and enjoying lifting their game with each other . I like looking out for TK ad libs and Rebecca `s reaction . JMO . I`m actually enjoying his character of Zach for the first time since the very early days of Zendall .

However new couple permutations are only a tiny reason why I`m enjoying the show again . For me it`s the whole pV community feeling which i haven`t seen since the Michael Cambius and Miranda Is Missing s/lines .

I hope this is an aspect continued by the new scribes and I hope to see Opal , The Martins and everyone else who have been so neglected .

[EricMontreal22]

One thing I hate about soap scribes is when they allow characters, no matter how hated, to just disappear from the canvas without an explanation. McTavish was fairly good at, even when cleanign house, giving characters exits although at the end of her run I believe both, Sidney, Barbara and Jeff just kinda disappeared. (Brooke being by FAR the worse exqample though I think that was partly upset at her being fired and not knowing what to do)

Anyway under B/E they didn't seme to really car-e-how many characters did we have disappear? Did we ever get an explanation for John being off the show? Ava/Lily? Del? And after sleeping with that psycho woman did we get even a line of dialog as to why Sean Montgommery left the show?

[Sylph]

Tom Casiello wrote about Jim and Babs here.

[Jonathan]

He PERFECTLY PERFECTLY summed up what we have been witnessing on our TV sets.

[marceline]

JMHO, but I think this is more a Frons thing. I think it's his way of hanging on to viewers while disrespecting them at the same time. If Brooke doesn't get a send off there's no way for the average viewer to know that she's really GONE. Not just backburnered but really, truly GONE. Perhaps she'll pop back in like Opal or Joe or Ruth, right? They don't know what we do.

Plus, no matter how marginal we may feel a particular character is, they each have their fanbase. By ignoring their exit, ABC can string those viewers along for months and spare themselves a lengthy never-say-die "bring 'em back" campaign like the ones they've seen with Cady McClain, Dan Gauthier, Renee Goldsberry or the one they're seeing now with Forbes March. Not every character engenders that kind of loyalty but the ones who do are no doubt a pain in Frons' ass, especially when the actor is gone for political reasons.

[EricMontreal22]

Th eBrooke thing that really got me was NO mention when Jamie left, AT ALL.

You may have a point. I just find it so disrespectful to viewers--even if the character is a HUGE flop (carlos?) give him an exit. we had to watch him for hours on our screen... Even if it's a comment "oh he had to move home to look after his mom"

[Adam]

Yeah I agree. It makes sense for them to be friends.. considering what they went through together. That's just my opinion of course. I've never really been turned off the Zach/Greenlee friendship thing. I hope that's as far as it goes, but LOL Thorsten and Rebecca, so hot. I'm sorry, but they are.

[Toups]

Hmmm......I just found out about these interesting tibits:

1. The crash storyline was orginally McTavish's idea (the car accident). The stuff that happened after the car accident came after her firing.

2. Greenlee being innocent of Spike's deafness wasn't a rewrite.