AMC: Friday, December 19, 2008

[detroitpiston]

Amen!

[DeeeDee]

:(

[EricMontreal22]

Francesca still directs an episode every month or so doesn't she? It was no surprise she was there--but great.

At the time I remember being disappointe dby James' run as EP--Behr was a tough act to follow and it seemed weird that Behr managed to get Lorraine Broderick in to replace mcTavish (who's run was starting to get weirder and weirder--go figure) and then she was fired herself, but AMC's ratings were starting to fall right around then, partly because of DAYS' huge climb, and many other factors. ABC was starting to interfere more with AMC as well at the time (the voodoo story) but overall in hingsight James was better than her two replacements, and I read an interview where she commente don how Pine Valley should be--like a gossipy Douglas Sirk melodrama town but with humour and she nailed it spot on. I'd love to have her back in the role (I guess this is a case of better the devil you know--at the time I was excited that Burke was coming from The City to AMC--i was sure she'd bring Angie with her and thougth she'd manage to update AMC but do it with style. But really, she didn't bring any positives from the City with her--maybe not her fault but)

Finally watched it

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. While I liked Phoebe's funeral (sorry Mark), this was definetly better done (which might have been easier to do since Ruth W hadn't been a major part of Pine Valley for some time before her death--Eileeen was.

Anyway I loved every moment. I have some small complaints--I wish we had had even more Crystal Ball flashbacks as cheesy as they were (though i wish they had gone full frame so we could see them better) --of course there aren't very many episodes saved from the era when Myrtle first came on (1976?) and had all that story--and it was cute to see her briefly with Santa Claus--too bad we didn't see her fighting herself as Mrs Claus. I woulda loved more 80s and before flashbacks but I guess they aren't too relevant sadly--I was pleased with the ones we got.

The Boarding house was boarded up cuz of repairs from the tornado wasn't it? It was nice that they aknowledged it and the Boutique.

And I completely forgot that Frankie as recast unsuccessfully under Culliton (that actor went on to The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow) stayed at Myrtle's!

I didn't cry till the Zack scene which was great. Yeah I wondered where the Martins were--but it made sense to me it would be a private thing with no Chandlers etc.

As for Joe--he's still on contract--he just accpeted a lower salary. I thought he was just on vacation.

[EricMontreal22]

MEH whatever. It's easy for a non fan to watch super dramatic excepts from long running stories, many from years ago, excerpted on an anniversary episode with lots of crying and think the acting's crap or the writing's bad or not "get it". These episodes aren't made for them, thank [!@#$%^&*] God.

But you're not a fan--I wonder why you even wasted an hour watching it?

[EricMontreal22]

What exactly is Jeff Beldner's histroy with the show? I know I've seen his name on the screen for ages, but?

[R Sinclair]

He's been with the writing staff since the early 1990s. Longer than anyone on the current AMC staff. I think he was a writer's assistant, then script writer, then breakdown/associate head writer and now script editor. He's worked under Agnes Nixon and Lorraine Broderick.

[EricMontreal22]

Thanks! I didn't think he'd be on wikipedia but he is--pretty impressive. Looks like Broderick took him over with her to ATWT she liked him so much. Tho' only decent recent time he missed was Agnes Nixon's brief, great return in 99-2000

All My Children (hired by Wisner Washam)

Script Editor: May 14, 2004 - January 14, 2008 March 19, 2008 - present

Breakdown Writer: 1994 - 1998, September 17, 2001 - May 2004

Script Writer: 1991 - 1994; October 3, 2008 - present

Writer's Assistant: 1990 - 1991

As The World Turns (hired by Lorraine Broderick)

Breakdown Writer (1998 - August 20, 2001)

[All My Shadows]

I've come to the conclusion that the episodes from around when EH made her first appearance do exist. Agnes wasn't taking her baby to an hour without some commitment from ABC, and so they started saving the episodes in 1976, leading up to the expansion in April 1977. I'm not sure when they started saving, but given that EH's intro storyline dealt with her posing as Kitty's mother, I'm sure that she was frontburner throughout most of the end of '76.

Go 'head, boy! Tell him!

[DeeeDee]

The Martins really shoulda been there.

[All My Shadows]

Rewatching the show on my other ABC station right now, and I'm noticing things peripheral things that I didn't notice on Friday. Pete is absolutely adorable in his PJs!

[SteveFrame]

I watched it twice this morning - couldn't sleep. I watched it as part of the marathon on SoapNet and then again this morning as the Friday repeat.

Anyway one mistake (no big deal) that I caught was in continuity.

On Thursday's show it goes off with Erica telling Zach that Myrtle died this morning. Then on the Friday eppy Zach tells Kendall that Myrtle died last night.

So somewhere one writer didn't tell the other writer when Myrtle died. LOL

I probably wouldn't have caught it if they didn't air back to back in the marathon.

[Antoyne]

I noticed that on Friday as well

[Toups]

Wikipedia?? Oh Eric, that hurt me! I wonder where they got that info.

[EricMontreal22]

I know that ABC apparantly started saving the eps to appease AGnes around '76 but it still seems like for wahtever reason--and not just story reasons--the condition and accesibility they have to eps pre 78-79 is pretty dodgy. I dunno, I'd liek to know for sure (and then get to watch them all )

When she died is sort aa moot point--Erica found her dead that morning. She prob died in her sleep in the night so last night. Same difference to me.

[R Sinclair]

Yeah, so that's one of the reasons before Pratt's work started airing, I had this big WTF moment when he said Addie Walsh has been at AMC for ages! She's barely been there a decade, while Beldner's been there (save for those three years) almost 20 years.

I kinda wish Michelle Patrick or Karen Lewis were still around. I would've loved to have had either one of them write Myrtle's tribute.