Nelson Branco Interviews former HW (OLTL) Michael Malone

[leevo64]

I'm a little late to this party, but it didn't even seem to me like Malone was so horrified about the Todd/Marty story. Rather than accuse people of agendas, twist words and make things personal, isn't it kind of nice to have an opportunity to hear from one of soaps' most legendary writers?

[dc11786]

Mitch was talking to an older man who was obviously Victor Lord before Josh Griffith and Michael Malone came aboard. They may have given the story a name, but Victor Lord's return was definitely a story Whitsell & Broderick storyline. It was clear Victor was returning to the show before Griffith's work began airing.

Malone and Griffith may have kept Mitch around longer, I'm not arguing that. However, the idea of bringing Victor Lord back was not a storyline Malone and Griffith created. Did they continue it? Yes. I think they did the best they could with the situation by ending the story after revealing the old man was Victor Lord. They inherited a bad plot and they ended it.

[EricMontreal22]

Agreed with EVERYTHING you say 100%. But yeah I think he really needs to always be tied in to a soap with Josh Griffith--they work great together and frankly all of Malone's worse soap work (AW too) was when he went solo. I really really really wish we had gotten their (and Gottlieb's) 30 minute late nigth soap 13 Bourbon Place. I'd love to see that pilot--shame it's not leaked. I hoep the interview will further shu tup those OLTL fans who go on abotu Agnes ixon "abandoning" the show to the wolves--when she clearly was a consultant and friend to Malone as has been stated before. Props to Malone also for bringing up the often forgotten fact that there's a huge legacy of romanticizng rape in romantic fiction--it's not just a recent soap opera ratings grab.

Where the [!@#$%^&*] does Nelson get off placign Pam Long alongside Bell, Nixon and Marland though. LOL! did he not watch OLTL under her? That whole opening bit by Nelson shows in spades everything I hate about his "reporting" and interview style. Kiss ass all the way, and just the way he phrases things "Of course you stumbled at first, but you were masterful, spine tinglingly brilliant bla bla bla" GAWD.

I agree that there shoulda been SOME questions about why his second tenure was so different--not just quality wise but in tone--much more adventure, even fantasy oriented, etc. It's not too itneresting to read SOO much about what he thinks of a current story that he's completely unaware of and has never watched a minute of.

[DavidEvanSmith]

Well I'm fascinated. Vee, and Lee, I respect your efforts. But the running theme from Carlivati's detractors is that they are so offended by the CONCEPT of the story (which can't even be fully understood UNTIL the story climaxes) that they have already made up their mind that the story will not reach a satisfactory conclusion (because they are clairvoyant) and thus... Ron's a hack. I would actually like to hear what the detractors would consider a satisfactory conclusion to this story to be, because I doubt anyone has an answer to that other than "turn the clock back six months to before Ron came up with the idea so I could send him some Anthrax at the studio."

There are so many ways to view everything. When I read "What I’m saying to you is to have faith, because I would expect that Ron has a larger plan. I hope he does." it sounds to me like he means what he says. He tells Nelson to have faith. That Malone expects Ron has a larger plan. He hopes Ron does. Malone sounds like me over in the "Fire Ron the Hack" thread! The point is, I have faith that Ron Carlivati will make a success of this story, and others have faith that Ron will fail miserably. Faith in failure is not where I like to put my faith. If I have faith in success, and I am wrong, I will own it outright. People who choose to have faith in failure are in it to say I told you so, if they are right. If they are wrong, they will pick apart anything possible about the story to FEEL right.

I ask this: Can a story be successful if it's never told? Are there stories that SHOULDN'T be told? Ever? I could argue that there are posts on this board that should never be made, but I wouldn't because I think even the opinions I don't agree with, or points of view that are personally upsetting to me, are still valuable, and shouldn't be dismissed. Someone out there will agree, and not feel alone, or someone else will disagree and learn how not to let ignorance, or informed opposition intimidate them away from discussion. As far as soaps and storylines, people go through unspeakable things in life, to greater degrees than even soaps dare to explore, and those unspeakable things are pretty much the reasons soaps, a heightened, dramatic reality exist.

But people read what they want to read and see what they want to see. I'm choosing to take Malone's comments for what they ARE. Others are projecting and prophesizing about what they THINK Malone is NOT saying, or is being too diplomatic to say. What would the consequences be for Malone if he were to lampoon Ron openly, IF that is what he is stopping himself from doing? Blacklisted from daytime? He attributes MUCH of his soap success (and willingness to participate in the genre) to people who aren't in the game for him right now, so it doesn't sound like he's trying to keep from burning bridges here and is playing it safe with his answers.

Marty having amnesia forever = easy path to redemption for Todd. The path to redemption, according to Malone, shouldn't be easy. For Ron to love the genre as much as he does, from what Malone knows/believes about Ron, Ron wouldn't make it easy. So Malone doesn't think Marty will have amnesia forever. The interview was in English, right?

Malone believes because of the inherent nature of these two characters, they WILL be tied together through story, in some way. This is the way they are being tied together right now. It's the nature of Marty and Todd. They are bonded by that "moment in time" that drives Todd to want redemption. Like Viki and Dorian are bonded and will likely forever be bonded, in story, whatever form that story may take, based on whatever writer is writing it. I see no judgment here on the way they are being tied together, just confirming that it's natural they WOULD be.

Hm. Not endorsing a Todd/Marty romance... and I don't even think the FANS of the story are. But he acknowledges kind of an intertwined love/hate/redemption theme that MarkH was talking about. And mentions their children Starr/Cole being a possible resolution.

I'm done quoting and interpreting basic English.

[EricMontreal22]

Well they did take it in a much more, umm... fantasy adventure direction. that whole new house Mitch bought (is it still used/ ic an't remember), dancing with Jessica and all those creepy vaguely incestuous stuff, the Bahdra jewel and its curse, etc etc--all Griffith and Malone (i suspect more Maloen than Griffith) They certainly didn't end it as quicklya sthey coulda but took it off in a completely different direction--one I actually enjoyed parts of (i love gothic storytelling on soaps) but the payoff wasn't there

Right--although he does sound not into havign Margaret rape Todd which was a Higley plot I despised too--I'd warrant a guess that *that* he does consider a too easy and gimmicky way to redeem Todd--"He was a rapist, but now he's raped and truly knows what he's done!"

[EricMontreal22]

Right, exactly. He obviously respects Carlivati and know she loves the genre. He also states that Carlivati joined OLTL very near the end of his last stint (which frankly became quickly awful when Griffith left--a confused, Irish mob mess of a show), and he doesn't seem like they worked much during his second.

I do wish Nelson had taken this interview deeper and asked some basic questions like--how and why did Malone meet Agnes Nixon before he was asked to write OLTL? I always had read that he was clueless of the soap genre before, but he obviously knew and respected her (and implies that was pre his hiring). As said earlier, why his second stint was so different in tone on OLTL. Also didn't Gottlieb leave OLTL and her replacement Susan Bedsow Horgan get hired DURING the rape storyline? Horgan was definetly there by the time fo the groundbreaking Vicki DID story in '95--I'd love to hear if she fought as hard (I doubt it but few EPS fight as hard as Gottlieb)--I always wondered what happened to her as her time at OLTL was almsot as good as the maverick Gottlieb's. Or for that matter ask why they tested those short term storylines and how they realized they weren't working, or the decision to make Vicki's DID about incest, etc.

To be fair to Nelson the interview touches things that most frivolous soap interviews never do--but still I wanted more. I'm greedy.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I hear Susan Bedsow Horgan was overwhelming responsible for the Irish mob mess. I recall an interview with a music composer of OLTL where he stated that Horgan was obsessed with Irish music and cultured and she wanted to incorporte that into OLTL as much as possible.

[EricMontreal22]

Well I guess that was when Riverdance was starting... I think Malone liked it too though--he felt a great affinity for the character of Patrick certainly (I own a copy fo the fairly funny Patrick's Diary tie in book he did)

[dc11786]

When Victor died, the organ transplant story ended and so did Victor's menacing Llanview. I find it hard to believe that Whitsell and Broderick didn't plan to delve more into the Victor Lord return story. If Victor's death springboarded Mitch Lawrence's story, I don't think that is really a continuation of Victor Lord's return from the dead storyline. It was merely going what good soap does, build off the last story point. The stuff involving Lion's Heart and the Badhra diamond wasn't the Victor Lord storyline in my opinion. Wasn't the Badhra located in Llanfair or La Bouelie?

I'm not sure what payoff you were expecting. More from Victor's death? Or more from what happened after such as the search for the Badhra diamond and Mitch Lawrence's antics post-Victor? I thought killing off Victor again was the best thing to do. The Badhra and such didn't end up being a flop and was a let down. So many plots never developed fully or resolved with little fanfare. I liked Malone because somethign was always happening, but became bored because nothing ever resolved in a satisfying manner.

[EricMontreal22]

I respectfully disagree--I feel like Victor's story was the starting off point for the Mitch/Bahdra storyline 100% and the start of the story. I get what you mean--but gotta disagree.

"The Badhra and such didn't end up being a flop and was a let down. So many plots never developed fully or resolved with little fanfare. I liked Malone because somethign was always happening, but became bored because nothing ever resolved in a satisfying manner"

yes this is what I meant--I meant the pay off of that whole story. RFe Victor's death--didn't Ron intend to do somethign with it? At Asa's funeral Dorian told Vicki somethign abotu Victor we never heard...

[Vee]

No, sorry. Malone and Griffith's smaller alterations and additions began to air in December and January. That includes Victor in late January. Their first full date of work was, IIRC, February 3rd or something. If Malone had not brought back Victor, he would not have titled the story himself: "Heart Of A Lord," something both Mitch and Victor said repeatedly during the story.

Yes, it most certainly was their story and I can back it up with articles. Their first full airdate of work and the fact that they were making pre-February airdates was very well-publicized. The Bahdra was theirs. By mid-January Whitesell/Broderick's work was all but gone.

The Bahdra diamond was introduced as a mystical Indian gem which both Mitch and Victor believed would/had brought them great power and fortune. According to Dorian, Victor credited it without creating his empire. The Bahdra was last seen being made into Blair's engagement ring, carved by Todd. Before it was over we had truly embarrassing scenes with Blair and Dorian locked below Llanfair searching for the diamond into a room full of booby traps and poisoned spikes.

[dc11786]

I would appreciate reading the articles. I wasn't aware that Griffith and Malone (wasn't he only a consultant at this time?) had toyed with the stuff before the Storm of Change. I seem to recall everyone making a really big deal about the fact that Griffith and Malone's work wouldn't be appearing until the first week of February that I don't recall any publications stating otherwise. The Storm of Change week (the first week of February as you stated) seemed so radically different than the material that had been airing that I didn't have any reason to believe they changed anything.

I never claimed the Badhra wasn't theirs.

Also about Lion's Heart, is that were Gigi and Shane are living. Initially, I thought it was the carriage(?) house that Kelly Cramer lived in, but now I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't Lion's Heart.

[EricMontreal22]

No, they're living at the carriage house of Vicki's--they kicked Mitch's brother (who's MIA) out

Griffith and Malone were at the staff in Dec--and adding subtle plot switches etc--I remember the talk online about it, but Storm of Change was their official start. So I'm not really sure how we can tell who wrote what story part when...

Andyes it was Griffith officially with Malone as consultant back then

[Vee]

You could tell certain things were MM and JG additions throughout late 2002-early 2003. I remember it vividly. Roger Howarth's Todd had his best scene in four to six years in January, when his Todd confronted Mitch over the revelation that Mitch had raped Viki and Jessica had to hold him back. All of a sudden, after years of coasting and mugging, RH came to life like he had not in ages and sold very good material about Todd, who he really was, the guilt he lived with, and so on. Also, the Jessica/Seth Anderson breakup scenes were surprisingly exceptional, and there were some very Max-centric scenes in which he hung out with, of all people, Keri's whorish mother Liz Reynolds. To this day I regret RH did not hang around, but his loathing of Malone must've been that intense. It's a pity because his performances in his last four or five months were the best work he had done since (IMO) 1996.

There was a lot of magazine talk about how MM/JG were adding and changing scenes in the months before their official start date, and that happened with RC as well; his first day of full work by his team was in mid-September, but he alone penned the Asa's death episodes which aired in late August 2007. The first scenes in which Victor Lord's presence was implied only aired in (IIRC) the last week before MM/JG's first full writing team episodes. That was not from Whitesell and Broderick. Period.

The Morascos are living at the Llanfair cottage, not Lion's Heart. The Lion's Heart Manor plot device was so bonkers that I now know that goofy house like the back of my [!@#$%^&*] hand, people. Ask anyone who knows me; the Mitch storyline finale MM and JG penned in summer 2003 was so wild and ridiculous that I could not take my eyes off it. During the story, Mitch whisked Jessica off to Victor's secret love palace, the secluded Lion's Heart Manor deep in the "Lenape Forest." Antonio searched for her, but Bo warned him that THE FOG was so intense and thick that "a man could hallucinate within minutes!" And sure enough - Antonio begins to hallucinate within sixty seconds! He sees his 'dead' girlfriend Keri and baby Jamie in the mists, and in a bizarre Malonian twist on Arthurian legend, Keri's spirit becomes "the Lady of the Lake" to Antonio's "Arthur," searching for "the castle," while meanwhile the kidnapped Jessica is wearing medieval dress and writing notes like "El Leon - I will meet you at the window at dawn." I am completely serious, this all actually happened. It was like Malone went rifling through his literature classic Cliff's Notes, dropped acid and then started writing breakdowns. I was glued to my seat by the sheer ridiculous insanity of it all and while it was truly bad, I enjoyed every minute and I still miss ol' Lion's Heart to this day.

In Malonian fashion, his mysterious Santi dynasty later took over Lion's Heart, but they didn't last. IIRC, the house was last seen when Todd hid there while on the run in 2006. I miss goofy-ass old Lion's Heart, and I think it is the perfect crazy, weird over-the-top gothic house for Todd and his family to move into.

[EricMontreal22]

This is an embarassing confession but I kinda loved all that gothic silliness you just described and brought back to me. I can't say I found it GOOD, but I enjoyed every ridiculous moment. Again--thi sis what I wish Nelson had asked Malone--why such a diff tone than most of his first stint--why?

Makes me think malone was really sad (this combined with his sci fi/fantasy plotting on AW) that their supernatural soap Bourbon Place wasn't picked up