Unpopular Opinions

[Sylph]

Elaborations needed

[CSF]

On which part?

[rhythmchyc]

I didn't think it was popular. Just interesting because people rarely mention her.

Gosh, Jess's voice. They should have her smoking on set or something to explain that.

I think we're supposed to feel for her. Otherwise, she would've played the boring bitch role, which we all know she can play so damn well.

[Sylph]

Nixon better than Bill.

[rangethatrover]

I will give my two cents-

AMC's notorious "humor" was hokey and not that funny.

Character driven, maybe.

Susan Lucci is overrated as an actress, as an icon, I guess I "get" it.

The social issue storylines were definitely better scriptwise than Y&R's..

I have never understood AMC's popularity and frankly I hated the way Agnes threw away OLTL to care for her "baby"..

I just don't "get" AMC, it was my mother's show.

And anything i have seen- Youtube, whatever- the show always looked tacky and crummy.

I known its about stories but I never got those either- except Janet In The Well. lol.

Billy Clyde Tuggle? How DID that show hit #1?

I will say that the Julia Barr/Laura's drunkdriver was amazing though- that scene where she finds out is soap opera at its best.

Bill Bell's Y&R- was beautifully done, it was all about details, the music, the lighting, the MOOD. The show is/was special and different. It raised the bar as far as quality. Bill Bell understood suspense, and he knew how to plot a storyline better than anyone. The show was slow as molasses but never boring. The characters were always complex and the outcome of the story was always worth the wait.

[CSF]

Okay, here ya go:

3 days out of Northwestern, Agnes was hired by Irna Phillips.

When she wanted to go to Northwestern and her father didn't want to pay for it, (he wanted her working for him), a teacher of her's in high school told her to write a convincing letter to her father thanking him for paying for her tuition and telling him that all the other girls where so jealous because they wished they had a father as kind as Agnes'. And her father wasn't kind and this letter was sent and received by her father before he even agreed to pay for her Northwestern tuition.

Irna made Agnes head writer of Guiding Light but gave her a big challenge. If I remember correctly, Irna killed off the heroine of the show, a very popular character and then turned the reigns over the Anges. It was Agnes' chance to prove herself as a capable writer and keep the show on track. It was the 2nd highest rated soap on the air under Agnes.

When Agnes wrote the pap smear storyline on GL, she was given many restrictions by CBS and PGP. She had to write it in a way that they deemed appropriate. She succeeded. It was one of the most popular story's in daytime history.

Agnes wrote All My Children around 1965. Gave it to P&G who loved it instantly. CBS said they were going to cancel whatever game show they had on a 3pm EST and air AMC. Soon after Agnes was told the show was going to sue CBS even though CBS said they were going to buy the show out. AMC was then shot down. It was rumored it was offered to NBC, but they went with Days, (partially created by Irna Phillips). When Agnes asked "How about ABC?" P&G laughed and then sent her to Another World which was created by Irna Phillips and Bill Bell. Irna wrote the show into cancelation and guess who saved it? AGNES NIXON. Her Another World success is what got her attention from ABC who asked her to create a show. Feeling insecure about AMC because it was rejected, she wrote "Between Heaven and Hell," which ABC asked her to rename "One Life to Live." They loved it. They asked for a second soap, and she handed them AMC. ABC thought it was amazing! It went on the air and lead ABC Daytime to number 1.

All My Children didn't reach number 1 until 1978, but it did very, very well for the time it premiered. Y&R did well too after Bill Bell introduced Katherine Chancellor, but it didn't reach a steady number 1 spot until 1988. Aside from that AMC had more critical acclaim.

Maybe it's me and maybe I am bias because I have a BA in Journalism and Sociology, but I always believed Agnes Nixon was a brilliant writer who never came off as overly confident and condescending. Not saying Bill and Irna did, either. I also believe that a person who can write stories that are social driven and relevant, should deserve all the praise possible.

Has anyone watched Agnes' 5 part interview on YouTube? It's amazing.

Also, I'd like to add, I believe Agnes had to work harder with her shows not being on CBS. Irna/Anges/Bill all had success working on CBS and had AMC aired at 3pm on CBS, it would have killed GH and AW 40 years ago!

[Cat]

Speaking of humor, rangethatrover, I always thought that the Bell soaps sucked donkey's balls when it came to outright humor. People say B&B is so campy and "hilarious" but the scripted stuff was/is dire. How many more times can Stephanie walk in on a barely-clad Donna/Brooke thinking it is Eric/Ridge coming to give them a little something something? And having the Passions ourangutan was cringeworthy.

Darlene Conley saved most of the scripted comedy and worked the well out of it because, well, she was a consummate professional and a natural born comedienne. Unfortunately, B&B doesn't have her talents to fall back on anymore.

[rangethatrover]

Y&R essentially has no humor. (Jill and Katherine excluded) The characters have always been a bunch of cranky pants.

Only soaps that ever had the kind of humor I like are Santa Barbara and yes, OLTL. Passions was everything I loathe.

Darlene Conley was a FORCE OF NATURE. Love her. Love her. RIP, Darlene.

Oh and one other unpopular opinion: There is no other Jill but BRENDA DICKSON. I would pee my pants if she returned.

[rhythmchyc]

Judith tried at the humor. Failed miserably, I gather.

[CSF]

AMC always looked like crap, but it was the writing that kept people coming back for more, not the sets. They had really, really cheap sets in the early days. Their sets would fall apart during taping and they would have to stop and fix the sets and start over again.

Lucci is definitely overrated, no argument from this corner. However, that is because she became a hit with the fans. She was supposed to be on every other Tuesday and that was all.

I don't think she threw away OLTL per sa, I think it was more that ABC wanted a soap, and had she felt more confident about AMC at the time, AMC was have premiered in 1968 and OLTL in 1970. But AMC was her baby, the way ATWT was Irna's and the way Y&R was Bill's.

One thing to keep in mind is that Y&R wasn't an instant success in the beginning. Bill Bell admitted that. What made it a hit was the introduction of Katherine Chancellor. Who would be Genoa City's Grand Dame. Drunken Grand Dame who was driving away her husband. A little similar to AMC's Phoebe Tyler if you ask me. Now I'm not saying Bill copied that character but it had a slight similarity and Phoebe was a hit.

[rangethatrover]

AHHHH. Phoebe Wallingford. I remember watching at my grandparents- Ruth Warrick WAS awesome. And her constant staring into the camera made her even more campy. O.K Agnes did write so entertaining characters! I always loved Myrtle too. God these shows have changed so badly.

[Cat]

Blame it on Frons' "No women over the age of 40" mandate.

[juniorz1]

Sarah Brown always said she wanted to work with her as well. I think a BIG part of why she took the ATWT gig was to work with Maura.

I'm rooting for Damien & Lily.

[Sindacco]

DAYS:

James Scott is one of the most overrated actors in the shows history.

[rhythmchyc]

Yeah, with Martha Byrne...