Jump to content

AMC: Pratt's bible


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 66
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

Just a question to the person who mentioned Joe & Leora's affair. I remember that story and to the best of my ability it was more of a just a flirtation thing and they never slept together - same as it was for Ruth and David Thornton a year or so before that.

I know that Wikipedia says Ruth slept with David and that it was during the time Joe was attracted to Leora but they have the story all wrong. Ruth got attracted to David when she separated from Joe back in the mid-70's - they separated over Phil and Tara that time.

Joe developed feelings for Leora and Ruth got jealous but they never slept together as far as I remember and as far as I can find in any of my sources.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Ruth definitely cheated on Joe with David Thornton. They were having an affair, and she was going to run away with David, until Joe suddenly took ill. That had to have been around 76 or 77, when I started watching the show. Pretty certain about that. As for Joe and Leora. I thought they had slept together, or at least the implication was that they had slept together. Whatever the case, I'm sure that Pratt won't be looking at the Martin family circa 1978 for story ideas LOL. As far as TPTB are concerned, the only ancient history on AMC that matters at all is Erica's life. But they do need a demographically desirable female character to carry the Martin torch. And I don't mean Krystal LOL!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Ruthie was getting her groove on with the younger doc LOL! I often wonder if Ruth's rape by Ray Gardner was Agnes's attempt to redeem Ruth in the viewers' eyes after she cheated on Joe. She does have a track record of redeeming characters through rape and making them more sympathetic to the audience. Gloria and Natalie come to mind, even Kit. OK, maybe Kit was more Megan than Agnes, but you get my point. Maybe it's more a general soap device.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

It used to be a general soap staple that characters who committed such acts had to be redeemed some way. Irna Phillips practiced it and she instilled it in her protege's nixon & Bell.

But even other writers used it.

When Bob & Kim cheated on ATWT, they had to pay with the loss of the child Kim was carrying.

On Y&R, when Jennifer Brooks was revealed to have committed adultery, Bell had her get breast cancer to redeem her.

Bell made Doug & Julie and Bill & Laura suffer through numerous unhappiness before either could be happy together on Days. I still get sick over how long I waited to see both couples happy and together - even after they got married they still went through trials and breakups. Not long after Bill & Laura married he had the affair with kate Winograd. Doug had the affair, then Julie got raped, then she got burned, the divorced, Doug remarried to Lee, took forever to get back together. Laura went crazy and of course Bill & Laura were written off and fans never really got any conclusion to that story. Then of course Doug & Julie were written off, divorced offscreen, and then got back together offscreen.

Fans who complain today that they are cheated by the writers don't know what cheating is. The Bill/Laura & Doug/Julie fans waited 6 to 8 years for their couples to even get together and never got to enjoy it much at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

But the thing is, I enjoyed Janet Green's redemption on AMC in the mid 1990s. It was slow and it was organic. It wasn't "Okay, she was bad -- she was raped, now she's good." It was a slow build up. One good deed... followed by another... followed by someone showing her gratitude... followed by a friendship with Erica... followed by a bond with Amanda... followed by Trevor softening... It was growth, change and self-awareness that helped Janet become redeemed. I think all a writer has to do to "redeem" a character is present them as flawed HUMANS. You don't need to go to the extent of having them tortured or raped or beaten or victims... and you don't need to gloss over their offenses and have them become all-knowing morally superior saints. The best way to redeem a character is to simply make that character relatable. A character who realizes that they've tresspassed against someone, attempts to make reparations and humbly asks for forgiveness is, IMO, able to have a better connection to the viewing audience. A character who does something horrible, lies and covers it up, justifies their actions and plays victim to their own choices and proceeds to judge others without a single drop of humility and/or self awareness is more difficult to redeem -- even if you have them beaten or raped or shot or imprisoned.

Also, I can't get behind women who have been blatantly sexually active being raped -- as if that's how you "redeem" or "punish" a "dirty, nasty woman" who has the absolute nerve to be comfortable with her own sexuality. Erica Kane's been using sex as a weapon for years -- we find out she was raped at 14 by Richard Fields. Gloria Marsh was a slut -- raped by Will Cortlandt. Julia Santos was a slut -- raped by Louie Grecco. Kit Fisher was a slut -- raped by Braden Lavery. Bianca was a lesbian -- raped by Michael Cambias.

I honestly think the only reason Babe Carey wasn't "redeemed by rape" was due to not only the fact that Bianca was raped three months before she came on the show, but also the whole Great Baby Switch storyline had to have Babe pregnant ALREADY by the time she came on the show. But I totally believe if McTavish & Co. didn't play their Redemption by Rape card too soon with Bianca, they would've had JR rape Babe in order to gain her instant sympathy -- since they were doing everything in their power to villify the JR character at her expense already for Babe's redemption, I mean.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I never thought that Babe was going to be raped. They always tried to model her character by the Dixie formula, she is basically just an extended clone of that model. The thing with redemption is that you have to unify with the character. However more often then not I find myself hating the "heroes" of the story (Zach, Jason, JR, Elizabeth) and rooting for the flawed, "evil" people (Lucky, Sam, Greenlee, Ritchie, Annie, ect.).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The part of not just you Skin but many fans today rooting for the bad guys is something that I still find interesting. I wonder if it is more of a change in the way America thinks or what, but when I grew up the HEROES were the one you rooted for. And I am still that way.

We rooted for Superman, Batman & Robin, Roy Rogers, etc.

On soaps we rooted for Alice Matthews over Rachel Davis, for Tara Brent over Erica Kane, for the Bradys over the DiMeras, etc. The classic battle of good vs evil is what made the soap world go round. You loved the villians, but you couldn't wait for the good guy to triumph and for them to get what was coming to them.

Today fans root for the bad guy and want them to prevail and to never even pay for the bad things they do. And thus writers don't even write characters with shades of gray anymore - they are all bad and never pay for the crimes they have done. Even the supposedly good guys don't pay anymore because it seems the fans don't want anyone to pay anymore.

I am not passing judgement on anyone who does root for the bad guys, but I just grew up in a different time. I would love to see soaps go back to the classic good vs. evil pattern. I like good characters who sometimes do bad things, but I like to see them pay too. I don't think there are any totally good people anywhere. We all have shades of gray and I think that needs to be explored on the soaps - but not all the people are like Carly (ATWT), Kendall (AMC), Greenlee (AMC) or Sami (Days) eitehr who are played as the central heroines we are supposed to root for today. I can't root for them because they never learn from their mistakes - they just keep making the same ones over and over and over and over.

At least when Days reformed Julie Olson and AW reformed Rachel - they paid for their mistakes and suffered big time for them.

I loved Bianca on AMC and really miss her. She was really the last classic heroine we had in Soaps. Lily on ATWT fits the mold too but they hardly ever use her for anything really good anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think it would be great to have Taylor McBride connected to the Martins. They needs to bring in some new Martins. I think Pratt will have a good bible. They already have a (Donna/Chuck ) type storyline . They had alot great storylines from the 70 's like Phil Brent ,Tara . They were the most popular couple during that time. AMC was the NO. 1 daytime show during the 70's. and the best written daytime show back then thanks to Agnes Nixon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

He fits the bill always blamming others, never being made to pay for consequences of actions, doing equally duplitious deeds while calling everyone else wrong, evil and commiting vigilante justice i.e. (Jason, Zach)...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

AMC was not the #1 rated show until the 1977-78 season.

In 1970-71 it finished 17 out of 18

In 1971-72 it finished 17 out of 17

In 1972-73 it finished 8 out of 17

In 1973-74 it finished 6 out of 16

In 1974-75 it finished 5 out of 14

In 1975-76 it finished 6 out of 14

In 1976-77 it finished 6 out of 15

In 1977-78 it finished 3 out of 14

In 1978-79 it finished 1 out of 14

In 1979-80 it finished 2 out of 13

*******************************************

The top 3 rated shows of the 1970's were:

1) As The World Turns

2) Another World

3) The Guiding Light

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • 6-6   Hmmmm. Not my favorite of the week. However, it showed the strength of Jazmen's script writing against RC's breakdown. And he's good enough to rise above almost all of RC's tics. Though I guess the real question would be would I have caught 'Carl' author thing if I had not heard it mentioned here?

      Please register in order to view this content

      I felt the stories moved and while there were situations, they weren't the slapsticky I would expect from a RC breakdown. Well-done, Jazmen.   I guess I liked it on a second viewing. I'm just sorry that outside of Bill's subplot and Chelesa's love life C plot, it did not continue the majority of the stories that were going on this week. I still liked what I got so I guess it was worth it for potential flow interruption. Though I have to note that Eva and Kat have been dancing around each other all week and since it is a by-product of the SilkPress storyline, I love how the story can be used separate from the main part of that plot, which kept this episode with a thread attached to the main stories of this week.   It has been a minute since I saw a situation where a character has to get into someone's room and it seems plausible. Of course, Kat has to use her family name. That said...those scenes did not seem implausible at all, but that could be my industry experience showing. Meanwhile, Eva and Tomas continue to grow closer. But even I had to side-eye when he finally declared his interest for Kat. Because it seem like he had been working hard to give mixed signals to Eva and Kat. And NOW he's devoted to Kat? And I am smh at Kat thinking Eva is the one who ran Laura off the road now. Just le sigh. BUT keeps their rivalry going if she accuses Eva and it turns out to be false. Eva will be looking for the payback. And she will be justified.   I know I'm in the minority, but I enjoyed the Doug/Vanessa/Joey scenes. I've mentioned it before, but of all the B stories, it was the only one that was given enough room to grow and had a build to it. And you could cut the tension in that room with a knife. Everyone gave a good performance. You could see the distance between Doug and Vanessa. And for all that drama...there still was more to play with the other shoe dropping of Doug finding out Vanessa and Joey slept together. Just juicy. Even if the end goal apparently seems to be money laundering.   Lord...Bill wasn't really even out of the hospital for an episode without having to go back in again, was he? lol. Good to see his separate story progressing.    Same for Chelesa and her love life. I'm not sure if Naomi is right. That said, I do like the cliffhanger of Mystery Woman being Bill's doctor. Not to mention Kat with the evidence. 
    • Speaking of 1986, YT recommended me some 1986 episodes revolving around Kyle/Reva/Maeve/Fletcher/Cain. What struck me most about the episodes is Zimmer seems at a loss. This does not feel like Reva at all. Was Kyle always such an a-hole? Why was the pairing so popular? He's so unlikeable, and Malloy's theatrical acting does not help matters. Jay Hammer is extremely charming as Fletcher--did they ever try Reva and Fletcher? The real star of these episodes is Leslie Denniston. When she tells Kyle she wants a divorce, it's a fantastic scene and Denniston is putting in some great work while the stuff around her is just weird and off-putting. 
    • The Day Of The Jackal author Frederick Forsyth dies
    • 6-5   Case in point...lol.   Kat and Jacob can soooo have a spinoff. Just watching her being adamant that Eva is up to no-good while Jacob continues to try to play straight man to the craziness continued to be a hoot to watch. And the sad part is that Kat is on the right trail, just following the wrong clues. Or worse coming to the wrong conclusion. All because of her dislike for Eva.    Meanwhile, Eva continued to make inroads. I know I have said this since the start of the show, but I love how for the most part, the writers write the characters in gray. Not completely white. Not completely black. Most of the characters have moments where they resonate with the audience and then have moments where they are unlikeable. Like technically, Eva should be a pariah. I like that she knows this, understands this, and still shows remorse and still tries to work to get back the lost trust. It makes her so rootable. And played by a star is a bonus.

      Please register in order to view this content

       It is also what makes the rivalry between Eva and Kat so much fun to watch. Also played by a star. Neither one is perfect really, but they are oh so watchable and a nice by-product of the SilkPress storyline.    Same for Anita. I love the regal coldness TT has given to the role. The sense of ruthlessness beneath the beautiful face. And yeah it can be a turn-off. And it's been nice to see a softer side to her throughout this story of her and her bandmates. She is far from perfect. She...is also NOT a doormat so it was great to watch her versus her bandmates this episode.    I like the run-in between NuTed and Nicole. I'm getting used to NuTed. And Nicole's presence has been a little too light for my liking. I can only assume that is to build to the next Nicole vs Silk Press Sheila confrontation which rumor has it will be another good one.    Speaking of which...LAURA IS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!!!! Praise it be!!! And I thought it was so adorable that Nicole, Kat, and Mona were on hand to welcome her back. I liked that Laura has an open mind toward Eva (unlike her feelings toward SilkPress). Another layer to add to the Eva vs Kat rivalry. 
    • Victoria Principal clearly stacked her Dallas coins real good. In the grand scheme of things, she was smart to walk away from Dallas when she did.
    • When Robert Calhoun became EP I thought GL was finally hitting its stride after some pretty rough years. Unfortunately the ratings during Robert Calhoun's run did not reflect the quality of the show.
    • There was a five week break between the last Friday episode and the Thursday episodes which were the final four episodes. I have a feeling the final four episodes were refilmed to wrap up the storylines. 
    • Yes, I forgot there was a gap between his exit from GL and his start at ATWT. This almost makes me want to cry. He really turned ATWT around (and good for them). It would have been great if someone had done the same for GL. Can't imagine who. The Dobsons were doing Santa Barbara at this point. I mainly blame Kobe. She may not have been the worst EP they ever had, but she almost totally destroyed the Bauers and decimated much of the rest of the cast, sometimes for egotistical reasons. That was a huge mistake and made it that much harder for the show to recover.
    • Douglas Marland began at As the World Turns in September 1985 but it took about a year for his run to show growth in the ratings. 1986 As the World Turns becomes CBS's #2 daytime drama after Y&R.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy