I am moved to reread that interview that Nelson Branco did with Ed Scott at the Daytime Emmys? (It was the interview shared with Maria Bell). I now want to (a) reread to see the "spin" in Scott's talk, and ( to read his comments on the "importance of the writing" with a fresh eye.

But that interview cannot be taken seriously - of course you're going to say nice things about your boss, you HW, your actors. Everything is just divine, the world is at peace, DOOL is doing great etc.

But reality is so much different.

And you know it.

But that interview cannot be taken seriously - of course you're going to say nice things about your boss, you HW, your actors. Everything is just divine, the world is at peace, DOOL is doing great etc.

But reality is so much different.

And you know it.

Ah, but reading between the lines there is much...which is what I tried to highlight. Consider this more "forensic psychology" than accepting at face value.

"improved creatively" directly implies a story connection for Scott

"to hell with" behind the scenes stuff - he was talking about NBC/Corday, but really, it shows that mutinous, renegade spirit even there

He mentions again his unique affinity for actors (not writers), and talks about the "team" advancing the creative product. In my view, this establishes in part his vision of how these shows run that boundaries are blurred...everyone on the team contributes to the final product. I think because he was raised at the feet of Bill Bell, who did all the roles, I think he has come to seen these narrow functional boundaries as limiting, anti-team. I realize I am reading a lot into this.

That said, because Scott seems to be a "straight shooter", I am surprised by his explicit expressions of love for Corday and Higley. He didn't need to go that far. Which makes me wonder what changed so quickly. (This was published 7/1, right after the Emmys)

Finally, I do think the emphasis on "character driven story" is what was at the core of his conflict with Higley. He needed stories to make sense...

It was this interview which actually cemented my respect for Ed Scott!

I'm so sorry he messed it up because I loved what he gave to both Y&R and Days in terms of technical expertise. And now he's just f*ed it up for Days. Out of all the shows, this one badly needed the TLC and professionalism to offer it a second chance. A second wind!

As for the interview itself, we know now he was fibbing when he said "Dena Higley is writing good story." I'll bet the "Ken is so great" stuff is now being re-assessed, too.

But I think he's being truthful here:

There’s a thing about actors… I just get along with them very well. And I respect their craft highly. And luckily, the Days actors are the same. It’s been challenging this past year, but I believe we’ve all come together as a team to produce something we’re all proud of.

And here:

We’re grounded into character-driven storylines. Listen, that’s what daytime soap opera does best. Once we do that, we win. If we try to compete with prime time and their tricks, we lose. It’s as simple as that....

It has to be good drama, good writing, character-driven storylines, emotional performances, and suspense! That’s what the fans want. There’s no reason to re-invent the wheel…

^^ I mean, as a fan, how can I not respond positively to this? Or to his talk of a team united in creating a good product? I like the idea of both front-of-camera and behind-the-scenes crew invested emotionally in their show.

I suspect Ed Scott is a Brad Bell manqué -- an EP with HWing powers.

Edited August 19, 200817 yr by Cat

Ah, but reading between the lines there is much...which is what I tried to highlight. Consider this more "forensic psychology" than accepting at face value.

See, I knew it you were going to go this way. I knew what you were going to write before you wrote it.

That said, because Scott seems to be a "straight shooter", I am surprised by his explicit expressions of love for Corday and Higley. He didn't need to go that far. Which makes me wonder what changed so quickly. (This was published 7/1, right after the Emmys)

Which is where your whole edifice you've just constructed falls. All that talk and then he goes on to praise Higley and Scott even though he was probably at the climax of the clash with them then.

He needed stories to make sense...

Well, they sure did under him...

It was this interview which actually cemented my respect for Ed Scott!

I'm so sorry he messed it up because I loved what he gave to both Y&R and Days in terms of technical expertise. And now he's just f*ed it up for Days. Out of all the shows, this one badly needed the TLC and professionalism to offer it a second chance. A second wind!

Well, it was extreeeemely professional of him to re-write the HW stories. I cannot understand how can you still like the guy after all that's been said and done. I just cannot. In what world are you living? You should be praising people like, say, Shaughnessy or Riche or something like that...

As for the interview itself, we know now he was fibbing when he said "Dena Higley is writing good story." I'll bet the "Ken is so great" stuff is now being re-assessed, too.

That just shows how much of a character he is.

I mean, as a fan, how can I not respond positively to this? Or to his talk of a team united in creating a good product?

I wonder the opposite, actually.

IMHO 'reading between the lines' in an interview is finding whatever youw ant to find. I am not slamming anyone, its just the way it is. Thats why i *hate* print interviews. You dont know the tone or the entire context of the question or the answer. even tv/radio interviews i dont put faith in. these people work in hollywood - its all about the spin. and at the end of the day at least for me none of that matters. i dont care who works well with who and that xx actor wont work with yy actor because they had an affair. i dont care who is writing, eping, or anything else. i care about what i watch. whats on the screen.

and IMHO, Sylph, thats how people can not hate ed scott. because a lot of people are show fans first. emaning they dont give a f*** about whos being professional. they care about what the show is at the end of the day. it may be good, it may be a bad, it may be wrong to view it thatw ay but that is how a lot of people view it.

90% of 'offline' fans i talk to dont know who ed scott is. dont care about any of this [!@#$%^&*]. they care about watching a simi-good if not great show for an hour a day 5 days a week.

and i know i just dug myself into a hole. oh well.

LOL! This entry from Soapdom.com is quite hilarious in the way it makes Corday out to be a hypocrite.

http://www.soapdom.com/content/view/161737/59/

Written by Linda Marshall-Smith

Monday, 18 August 2008

Days welcomes Gary Tomlin as new co-executive producer

Corday Productions is pleased to announce that Gary Tomlin has joined Days of our Lives as Co-Executive Producer.

"I have decided that it's in the best interest of the show's future to make this change in order to improve ‘Days’ both visually and emotionally,” said Ken Corday, Executive Producer.

It seems that it was only one year ago that Corday was touting the praises of current Co-Executive producer, Ed Scott.

Speaking of which, “We at ‘Days’ are grateful to Ed Scott for all of his contributions and amazing energy over the past year," Corday offered in regard to making the switch. However, he continued by saying that "Gary Tomlin brings a long successful history of being an actor's producer and a writer's producer to our cast and crew and I know the viewers will see the immediate results of this change for the better."

But it was in August 2007 that Corday announced “I am very enthusiastic about the important changes for Days of our Lives that Edward Scott will bring as Co-Executive Producer. Ed comes with more than twenty years experience with ‘The Young and the Restless’ and brings a new, vibrant, creative energy and strength to this all-important position of leadership. Days will benefit greatly from Ed’s direction," continued Corday. "The viewers will also be thrilled with the exciting changes in the days to come. I would like to thank former Co-Executive Producer Steve Wyman, Supervising Producer Roy Steinberg and Casting Director Fran Bascom for their service and friendship over the years. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

Flashforward to today. “I’m very happy to be back at ‘Days’ where I began behind the scenes in the early 80’s,” said Gary Tomlin, new Co-Executive Producer. “It’s wonderful to be given the opportunity to work with Ken Corday.”

Tomlin’s career on daytime serials began in 1973 when he was cast on NBC’s “Search for Tomorrow” as Bruce Carson. He joined the Corday family for the first time as Co-Head Writer for “Days” in 1980-1981 and has since served as Head Writer for “Another World” and “One Life to Live.” In 1997, Tomlin rose to Executive Producer of NBC’s “Sunset Beach” then on to “One Life to Live” in 2001 where the series received its first ever Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Series for the 2002 season.

Soapdom congratulates Tomlin on landing the Co Exec position, but with the way things have been shaking up at Days over the past year or so, one can't help but wonder just how long Tomlin will remain. Time will tell.

"Days of our Lives," which will celebrate its 11,000th episode in January 2009, first premiered as a half-hour drama in 1965 and expanded to an hour 10 years later. Today, it remains a consistent favorite among viewers of daytime television serials and continues to lead the competition among younger female viewers. "Days of our Lives" is produced by Corday Productions Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television. Executive Producer, Ken Corday, is following in the tradition of his parents, Betty and Ted Corday, who co-created "Days of our Lives" and helmed the series for many years.

Well, it was extreeeemely professional of him to re-write the HW stories. I cannot understand how can you still like the guy after all that's been said and done. I just cannot. In what world are you living? You should be praising people like, say, Shaughnessy or Riche or something like that...

You misunderstand. It was precisely his lack of professionalism which has ruined everything. I said that Days badly needed TLC and professionalism -- which it did not get here.

And I have always praised Shaughnessy and Riche! I don't know how you can say that. When I used to watch GH, I was singing Wendy Riche's praises the whole time on this site. For me, she represented an amazing golden era for the show.

I wonder the opposite, actually.

Why? Because I like the idea of people working together to produce a professional product? Because I like the idea of character-based story-telling?

Unlike you and others here, I don't have all this insider knowledge or a background in writing soaps. It has been fascinating reading all your posts and I learn something every time I come here. But I cannot contribute in the same vein. Why pretend I am somebody "in the know" when I am so clearly not? Therefore, I can only respond to what I see on my screen. As a viewer, that is all.

Perhaps I should piss off and find another board suitable to my inferior level of soap discussion, but I like it here and still believe I have something to contribute, even if it is only a personal opinion, nothing more.

You misunderstand. It was precisely his lack of professionalism which has ruined everything. I said that Days badly needed TLC and professionalism -- which it did not get here.

And I have always praised Shaughnessy and Riche! I don't know how you can say that. When I used to watch GH, I was singing Wendy Riche's praises the whole time on this site. For me, she represented an amazing golden era for the show.

Why? Because I like the idea of people working together to produce a professional product? Because I like the idea of character-based story-telling?

Unlike you and others here, I don't have all this insider knowledge or a background in writing soaps. It has been fascinating reading all your posts and I learn something every time I come here. But I cannot contribute in the same vein. Why pretend I am somebody "in the know" when I am so clearly not? Therefore, I can only respond to what I see on my screen. As a viewer, that is all.

Perhaps I should piss off and find another board suitable to my inferior level of soap discussion, but I like it here and still believe I have something to contribute, even if it is only a personal opinion, nothing more.

Cat = so much

Cat = so much

Word.

I enjoy Cat's opinions, she doesn't pretend to be something or know more than she does. It's the reaction from a fan first, which is what this community is built upon.

Right back atcha, JP and Y&RWorldTurner. *cue mutual love-fest*

And I Sylph. I like that you force me to justify my opinions. Just one favour (note correct British spelling) to ask you. You wrote "In what world are you living?" and it seemed quite a personal statement. That's why I got het up in my response. Answer: I live in the real world, just one that happens not to be connected with Daytime. So please just try to give me a little leeway and patience if/when you read my posts.

FTR, I absolutely support the writers that struck and their reasons for doing so. I 100% understand their need to be recompensed justly. I am sickened by the hypocrisy of an industry that fires writers who go on strike and replaces them with scabs or Fi-Core. And producers absolutely should not change the writing without explicit permission from the writers themselves. That interference is absolutely wrong. And illegal.

But ask me about LML getting fired from Y&R at the start of the strike, and I cannot honestly say I was shedding tears over that. She should have been fired for being crap. And if I am disappointed about Ed Scott, it is over the potential of the show he squandered and his own reputation he ruined. It is all just a big waste.

Edited August 19, 200817 yr by Cat

Well, it was extreeeemely professional of him to re-write the HW stories. I cannot understand how can you still like the guy after all that's been said and done. I just cannot. In what world are you living? You should be praising people like, say, Shaughnessy or Riche or something like that...

I don't think I know anything that lets me comment on his professionalism.

If he met with stonewalling by his HW, was unable to contact his vacationing EP...for all we know, Sony said "do what you have to do".

I don't know the internal processes there, and the allegations (let's even accept them) that some level of script altering occurred (again, I personally have no knowledge about how much) in no way speaks to professionalism.

The other "legal" standard that really has to apply is "usual and typical". In other words, Sara Bibel seems to imply that this stuff HAPPENS ALL THE TIME; ergo, it is part of the "professional" conduct. It is an implicit process of collaboration that occurs across guild lines.

The difference, I take her to say, is that this time someone called the cops.

Not working through the internal channels, but calling the cops...that doesn't smack of professionalism to me.

Again, I have no claim to truth here...so I could well be blowing smoke. I just can't go straight to judgment without facts.

and IMHO, Sylph, thats how people can not hate ed scott. because a lot of people are show fans first. emaning they dont give a f*** about whos being professional. they care about what the show is at the end of the day. it may be good, it may be a bad, it may be wrong to view it thatw ay but that is how a lot of people view it.

I am a fan, too. And I don't want my soap to be the mockery of the whole industry. I don't want my HW - no matter how bad - to be re-written. I want things to be done according to some rules, rules that have been made up because if there weren't any, things would fall a part in a blink of an eye.

That's why the guy doesn't deserve any sort of sympathy (and besides, he's not a poor, misunderstood Ed - he knew very well what he was doing). And he doesn't deserve to be snatched by some other show.

Why? Because I like the idea of people working together to produce a professional product? Because I like the idea of character-based story-telling?

I am for all that, too. But by the rules. Not by re-writing your HW behind his or her back. Or in right in front of him or her but without consent.

Perhaps I should piss off and find another board suitable to my inferior level of soap discussion, but I like it here and still believe I have something to contribute, even if it is only a personal opinion, nothing more.

Your level is more than fine, it is superior and you should stay here. I like you a lot! A lot.

Edited August 19, 200817 yr by Sylph

* DOUBLE POST *

Edited August 19, 200817 yr by Sylph