The Great Douglas Marland

[jfung79]

Fascinating interview! I was too young to watch any of Marland's work so I can only read about it. What was the incest storyline on Loving that had to be wrapped up and never mentioned again?

[SteveFrame]

It was the first time that in an incest story the rapist was actually the girls father and not a step-father.

Garth Slater was a dean at the Alden University. He had raped his daughter Lily. He ended up being killed. Lily's boyfriend Jack Forbes was accused but it turned out that Garth's wife, June, killed him.

John Cunningham played Garth. Jennifer Ashe in her debut played Lily. Ann Williams played the alcoholic June who killed Garth in a drunken stupor and blacked it out. Perry Stephens played Jack. Both Ann Williams and Perry Stephens have passed away now.

[Chris B]

Douglas Marland is everything Ron Carlivati should want to be. I think Carlivati's style is similar, but he needs to study Marland to perfect it. Marland utilized history, but in smart ways (like Maria Arena Bell) which moved story forward and wasn't just rehashing it. He could do comedy, but serious drama, mystery, romance and family as well. Out of those I only think Carlivati is truly successful at the comedy and family aspects. A lot has to do with his awful writing team as well.

More on to Marland--what I love about his writing is how different it was for each show. I've seen episodes from his stints on GH, GL and ATWT and he created an identity for those shows which modernized them, but kept them true to themselves. He also wasn't a one trick pony. I long for the day GL is cancelled so the PGP soap channel (if they find a new home) can start streaming from the early 80s. I'd just love to see GL from like 1980 until the late 90s when it got bad. I want to see Quint and Nola, Alexandra, the Four Muskateers, original Alan and all the other goodness. Then when ATWT is cancelled we can hopefully see his entire run, plus some before that. I'd love to see what the Dobsons did with the show in the early 80s.

[leevo64]

Look what I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnxgJ_JXJbk

The Kim/Doug story is SO creepy! Imagine how a story like that would turn out today.

[MarkH]

Douglas Marland is everything Ron Carlivati should want to be. I think Carlivati's style is similar, but he needs to study Marland to perfect it. Marland utilized history, but in smart ways (like Maria Arena Bell) which moved story forward and wasn't just rehashing it. He could do comedy, but serious drama, mystery, romance and family as well. Out of those I only think Carlivati is truly successful at the comedy and family aspects. A lot has to do with his awful writing team as well.

More on to Marland--what I love about his writing is how different it was for each show. I've seen episodes from his stints on GH, GL and ATWT and he created an identity for those shows which modernized them, but kept them true to themselves. He also wasn't a one trick pony. I long for the day GL is cancelled so the PGP soap channel (if they find a new home) can start streaming from the early 80s. I'd just love to see GL from like 1980 until the late 90s when it got bad. I want to see Quint and Nola, Alexandra, the Four Muskateers, original Alan and all the other goodness. Then when ATWT is cancelled we can hopefully see his entire run, plus some before that. I'd love to see what the Dobsons did with the show in the early 80s.

If Carlivati wants to STUDY Marland, he should check out Tom Casiello's entries on the long-form story document written by Marland:

http://casiello.blogspot.com/2009/01/great...t-part-one.html

[Soapsuds]

I loved the Lilith character he created. Sara Bodsford(sp?) was great in the role. I wasnt really a fan of Duncan and his stories but was glad for Lilith.

[DeeeDee]

*cough*BJGreen*cough*

[brimike]

Wow, that story was so literally forgettable that I had no idea who you were talking about at first, DeeeDee.

That wasn't even that long ago. Geez.

It's one thing to hate a soap storyline, but there are very few I've literally erased all memory of. Ambivalence is far worse than hatred.

[DeeeDee]

Exactly!

[DeliaIrisFan]

Indeed, Ron Carlivati - and anyone else who has any interest in soap writing at all - should read (and re-read and re-read) this post on Tom Casiello's blog. But incidentally the whole point of the earlier post that prompted him to write at more length about the Marland document itself in a follow-up was that no writer could do what Marland did today, because of changes in the power structure behind the scenes...

[Darn]

Wait, who?

[brimike]

I know, right?

Brian Gaskill played him, and it was only, like... what? Two years ago? Three at the most? He stalked... Katie? I don't even remember.

Man, I don't remember SQUAT about that story. It's like it never happened.

[Darn]

Oh, on ATWT? That's when Gaskill was jumping from soap to soap looking for something that stuck. Thank god nothing did. Horrid actor.

[juniorz1]

I guess I'm the only one who even semi-enjoyed the BJ Green story.

[Dan]

People just keep forgetting that brilliant sequence early in Marland's GL tenure of Roger chasing Rita Bauer through the Hall of Mirrors to the tune of "Enough is Enough." Not to mention the subsequent Roger and Holly story.