AMC: A New Interview

[EricMontreal22]

The eye movement technique was EMDR--I've used it with some past trauma and, in 2003 it was still fairly cutting edge--it's related to hypnotherapy.

I agree with your last comment

[LeClerc]

I guess after the whole encouraging Greenlee to jump to her death thing I just figured everything the writers had Lysistrata technique-wise was completely made up.

I had no problem with McTavish getting rid of Henry, Laurie, Doug, Boyd, Carlos and probably some others, but she blew it by being an egomaniac and getting rid of everyone R&C brought on. Lysistrata, Janelle, and Lena in particular...so much potential wasted.

[EricMontreal22]

Totally agree on your last comment--she basically scrapped them all (who knows, maybe she was told to but...)

[Jonathan]

Speaking of scrapping, I remember reading how when Agnes Nixon took over Another World, there was this one family that just wasn't working for her; they weren't interesting enough. So she sent them off on a plane to some country and had the plane crash and poof, the whole family was dead.

What a way to go out huh?

Don't you wish they'd put the sextet on a plane and have it crash somewhere?

[R Sinclair]

I don't remember that at all. R&C seemed invested in Mia&Edmund and Rayfield definitely seemed to be invested in that boring ass Maiden (Maureen/Aidan)... but that was nipped in the bud when McTavish came back because Maria got her memory back and then started having her eerie relationship troubles with Edmund (eerie because John and Eva were going through a rough divorce at that time). I do believe McTavish wanted Tad and Liza together because she was always pushing their BFF status during her 1998-1999 tenure as well. As far as Tad and Dixie were concerned, Dixie had been "dead" for over a year by the time Meggie showed up and Cady was kicking ass as Rosanna Cabot on ATWT in 2003, marrying Craig Montgomery (I know because I actually watched Cady's Rosanna marry Hunt Block's Craig around the same time). So I don't think it was in her mind to save Tad for Dixie at that point in time. Again, just my opinion.

But yeah, I think TPTB (whether it was Rayfield, Cascio, Frons or McTavish since everything seems to be jumbled together around that time, apparently) wanted Tad and Liza. But I think it was strongly Rayfield since MEK said in an interview (it's somewhere online) that Gordon Rayfield actually wrote the script for the Fan Fantasy Day episode -- the episode where Tad and Liza got together at the end and Liza broke the forth wall and said to the camera something along the lines of "This is what you all have been waiting for."

[EricMontreal22]

Yeah well it was kinda karma--remember the previous writer, James Lipton (who I'll say once again is an egomaniac--as Inside Actors Studio proves--who has very little talent and was one of the first examples of a soap writer who got to HW, and even create a soap even though EVERY show he wrote for did badly under him) had phased out the original family the Matthews and created a bunch of new characters. Agnes came in, brought back nearly all the Matthews and killed off I believe ALL of Lipton's creations (well a few moved away)

I wonder if audiences even slightly cared--there seemed no love lost

[EricMontreal22]

R I agree--I thought McT liked Tad and Liza...

Aww I miss Liza... And Brooke

[R Sinclair]

Don't forget nixing the promising Joni/Reggie pairing. Those two characters were very full of potential as a couple. So many stories could've been told concerning Joni's conflict with her religious upbringing/parents and Reggie's issues with being on the streets and living a new life as an adopted child of Jack. But for some reason, McTavish didn't want to explore that and made Greenlee Jack's daughter -- and for the next 2 years, all Jack was worried about was Greenlee. A grown ass, college educated, 25 year old cosmetics executive got more attention than his 16 year old son. That's another thing that rubbed me the wrong way about McTavish's stint. Reggie was ignored, Autistic Lily was allowed to run loose around Pine Valley -- Jack didn't care. Greenlee, on the other hand, had to be coddled and protected and smothered with all the love Jack had to give -- and she was the oldest and the ADULT of all of his children.

[EricMontreal22]

I'm rpetty sure Joni stayed on 4-5 months into McT's run, didn't she? I know McT wrote Laurie's farewell scene (which was sweet--she was at the graveyard when David was saying bye to his baby) but I'm CERTAIN Joni stayed on past then--I know the actress moved on to mvoies etc pretty soon after of course (Mean Girls which ahd a bunch of ex AMC teens)

And while far from perfect, I do give mCT props for bringing back Lily and initially handling her really well i thought

[R Sinclair]

I know Joni was GONE by the September. Reggie used her as an excuse/alibi to account for where he was the night Michael Cambias was murdered (something along the lines of he snuck out to see Joni even though he didn't because he witnessed Bianca shoot Cambias and covered it up by throwing the gun away) -- but she hadn't been seen for a long time.

Maybe AMC History can do an interview with her.

See? I knew we could get this thread back on topic somehow! LMAO!

[Jonathan]

You're like our Meredith Vieira, way to moderate and get us back on track!

[All My Shadows]

I wanted Joni and Reggie BADLY. BADLY. If given a chance, they could have steamed that fricken Habitat for Humanity house UP.

And I also ate up on Kenny and Simone. Not so much when Kenny returned for that horrible serial killer storyline. Kenny/Simone had the potential to be a wonderful little, playful little coupling, especially after Simone was stuck with oldFrankie (who, after CSJr., I'd like to forget even existed), the dork who videotapes people overdosing instead of getting them help.

[EricMontreal22]

I LOVED Kenny and Simone too (and to a lesser extent Joni and Reg) as well. I was glad to see him back for the serial killer storyline just cuz I liked him (way more than the other "hunks" brought on at the time like Carlos and that chemist who looked like an underwear model--who did kinda grow on me) but he was wasted obviously.

Old Frankie was a MESS and an example of a wasted character return under Culliton. Remember Simone under him used to CRY and CRY and CRY and scream and CRY like nonstop (of course with her storylines I woulda too). Her father was that mean shrink at the hospital, her bf filmed her brother dieing (I'm glad thye've forgotten that bit of history with Frankie) etc... It was under Rayfield where they found her personality and humour (although she was a bit too flitty--she gained some weight personality wise later on)

[R Sinclair]

Culliton was a step up from Passanante, in my opinion, but that wasn't saying much. I didn't enjoy a lot of his tenure. WAY too much revisionist history and WAY too much Greenlee. She had her fingers in the pot all across the board. A LOT of things were dropped under his writing regime as well. He did, however, bring sense of humor back to the show. I initially liked his first three months, but then Frankie Stone was murdered and then that's when the BIG HOT MESS ball started to roll... and then Erica went on trial, and that ball gained even more momentum... followed by the blatant FORCED pairing of Rendall... then we got to the summer of 2002 and I was sick of it all.

[R Sinclair]