Jump to content

2008: The Directors and Writers Thread


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 4.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

Ugh...folks are always ripping on poor Austin.

He is not Lane Davies. I get that. He's not even Thorsten Kaye.

But, he is now matched with the right role...or, said more correctly....the role of Brad has been well fitted to him. As a consequence, we have this goofy, likeable guy...who is plausible in the romantic and lightly comedic stories he is given. He is a more entertaining part of the ATWT canvas than almost anyone else.

What are people not digging about him NOW? He is miles ahead of his Days days, and he brightens his otherwise tragically miserable show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I played that clip a lot.

I'm pretty sure she was being sarcastic. In other words, she DID NOT expect the victory. Political bloc voter that she is, she probably figured it would go to a CBS show...or to OLTL (which had won writing and directing).

So, when she got it, she was TRYING to convey humble irony with "this was expected" MEANING "this was unexpected". But she has a dry, forceful delivery...she said it relatively unsmiling...and so all the misinterpretations spin off.

Maybe I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think so.

For all the demonization of her that goes on (and she HAS overseen some AWFUL things), she is widely seen as capable. On most of the shows she has gone to (certainly GL, AW) production values and energy go up instantly. Storytelling gets hurt when she brings in FOJ, and she kills legacy characters...so I'm not suggesting I want her at Y&R or anything.

Still, even Marcy Walker (when she was pissed off about the Tangie debacle at GL) STILL called JFP "one of the best line producers I have ever worked with". Others here have quoted Harding Lemay's laudatory stories. On GH, the show still LOOKS good, even as budget is hacked away.

Why assume the worst? The things people are hating on GH these days are almost certainly more due to Frons (budget mandates, actor mandates) and Guza (dark dark dark dark evil dark dark dark dark). JFP is just keeping the boat floating.

But I digress :-). She was just being sarcastic, I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrator

I don't know for sure.

But I doubt Pratt's material will air that soon. He officially started on June 23rd. So I would guess he probably won't be credited a month later on July 24th - even though "Taylor McBride" is a Pratt creation. I know, it's weird. :huh:

Maybe Rain or Soaplvr knows?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hopefully Michael Logan's upcoming Pratt piece (which should be interesting, one way or the other) will clear up when his material will start. It's definitely too soon unless he tossed out weeks of material that was already in the can (which I wish he had but they probably wouldn't waste money like that). I'm guessing it'll be closer to August 5th when Taylor was originally supposed to start, although even that is rather quick.

I hope SOD's tidbit about Adam & Erica also indicates they did an interview with Pratt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Beth Milstein wasn't credited on Friday's Y&R episode in Canada. It was just Maria followed by Minardi/Hamner followed by script/breakdown. Is this a minor bug or has something changed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I know this is... like... two pages ago... but I feel like I need to defend myself. :)

I *AGREE* that Austin Peck has FINALLY found a role that "fits" him better than Austin Reed EVER did.

I was certainly NOT putting him down as Brad.

Don't get me wrong., I have MAJOR issues with what CG and JP did to Brad (the established character) to shoehorn this actor into the role. But that's certainly NOT the actor's fault.

And Austin Peck is doing things as Brad I NEVER thought he was capable of in all the years he played Austin Reed.

That wasn't where my silly joke came from.

I just thought it was really funny that our Sylph... the post-er we all look up to/argue with/are offended by... the post-er who always looks at everything from a perspective of great literary and intellectual viewpoints... who has used avatars of a Bell heir and a top-notch BBC-'artist'... suddenly switched to the actor who (whether said actor liked it or not) front-burnered the unanimously mocked Garden of Eden story on Days.

It was chuckle-worthy. But no offense was meant towards the actor, OR to Sylph.

That is all.

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You're not the only one, lol. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Brad Snyder I remember from before was not only older, but less of a meathead, too. Frankly, given how well AP has turned out on ATWT, I don't mind him being there...but I'd much prefer if they had brought him on as a brand-new character.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I feel bad that Brimike felt the need to defend himself...I really didn't mean to offend. My apologies.

The way I see it, these actors are not to blame that the soaps often cast men and women as eye candy. Of course, I wish for more....but the soaps relentlessly give us these pretty people.

I cannot blame these performers, then, for taking these jobs. And I admire the incredible discipline it takes to look the way they do. At least they work hard for the money. I'll even confess to enjoying watching these big chested people in states of undress.

Occasionally, these pretty people rise above sheer prettiness. So it is with Austin on ATWT. He has played his "big doofus" so likeably, I am won over--in ways I never was with his ultra serious, ultra stupid Austin on DOOL.

I don't actually know what I'm trying to say here :-). Except I hate it when we cast aspersions on these people because they are pretty....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Actors like Austin Peck highlight how important writing actually is...while some actors can just rise above their material (like Jess Walton) or play their characters as themselves (like Eric Braeden) some actors really need writing that 'fits' them. Austin Peck is one of those actors...I never minded him on DAYS, Austin Reed was a dull character who was basically a prop and I thought Austin Peck did a decent job. Then, when he hit ATWT, almost instantly, he won me over. I think he's terrific as Brad even though the character is basically an entirely new character (just like Joan Collins when she played Alexandra on GL, she was great but the character was totally different)...so kudos to Austin Peck, good actor and a helluva nice guy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think it helps that ATWT actually cares about actors performances and gives them a chance to improve. At DAYS acting wasn't a priority for many years, so how was Austin Peck or Jason Cook or Kirsten Storms going to improve? Notice that off the show or now with Ed Scott people are improving all around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Arguably DAYS OF OUR LIVES has been brilliant lately & definitely was last week. But, here I am with nitpick & technicalities. This was the only misstep but it was just a stupid thing that should have been caught. Deidre Hall as Marlena has this one problematic line, "It didn't matter how many identities you had, I always knew exactly who you were, you were the man who saved my life." - Marlena, DAYS, 6-2-25 Unfortunately the flashback closest to it was when Marlena was on the phone, terrified because she thought he was Stefano. Yes, it's true that the line is not accurate. There were many times when she did not feel the way she is claiming because of whatever was going on in story with his 'retconned to hell & back' identity & origin story. Does it keep the whole week from being called excellent? Nope.  
    • The Vault has been down all night.
    • Notable: Glendale is not exactly a progressive enclave.

      Please register in order to view this content

      Newsom is a craven opportunist, but his comments today were exactly how better people need to handle Trump.
    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • I decided this primetime soap deserved it's own thread as the Primetime soaps thread is very cluttered and why shouldn't NBC's Lorimar soap mot have a chance to shine? In doing a deeper dive into the second season ratings I was surprised to see that FR actually had an uptick in the ratings when NBC moved it to 9pm Tuesdays beginning March 82. I'd always assumed this move was a desperate one as NBC were running short of programming and had given up on the show,deciding to let the final episodes play out and be hammered by 3's Company  and CBS Movie. But the numbers paint a different story. In it's 10pm slot up against Hart to Hart, which regularly finished in the Top 20, FL premiered in 53rd place and placed in the 40's and 50's as the season continued. But come January 82 the numbers surged a little now moving into the 40's hitting #43 in Feb. Hart to Hart was #11 Then in March Bret Maverick was moved to 8pm with FR @9. First week 16th March FR #47 15.1/24 3's Company #3 Too Close for Comfort #5 CBS Movie #60 Not great but #2 in it's timeslot March 23 FR #44 15.6/25 3's Company #4 Too Close for Comfort #5 CBS Movie #33 So even with a stronger movie on CBS FR's numbers went up. March 30 FR #31 16.6/26 3's Company #9 Too Close for Comfort #5 CBS Movie #56 Best rating/position yet Tues April 6 pre empted Tues April 14 FR #36 16.0/26 3's Company #5 Too Close for Comfort #11 CBS Movie #59 Maintaining previous week's numbers Tues April 21 FR #33 15.6/24 3's Company #3 Too Close for Comfort #5 CBS Movie #60 Numbers down a little (reflecting general spring downturn) but best ranking of the season so far Tues April 28 FR #35 15.1/23 3's Company #9 Too Close for Comfort #6 CBS Movie #42 Tues May 4 FR #27 15.2/24 3's Company #5 Too Close for Comfort #4 CBS Movie #41 Season finale and highest position of the season. Looking at those numbers I wonder why NBC cancelled the show? They had very few hits and here was a show that was holding it's own and moving up in the rankings in a tougher timeslot. And being a serial, the storylines could continue to build the following season. And I'm sure the desirable W18-49 demo was good. Some might argue that CBS were shower weaker movies, but even so, soap viewers are pretty loyal. I guess Grant Tinker arrived at NBC and wanted a classier look but there was room for FR on the schedule. I mean, the following season Knight Rider,Powers of Matthew Star and the A Team arrived so there was still room for more populist fare. Flamingo could have stayed at 9pm-the replacement Gavilan bombed (surely FR would have done better} or moved back to 10pm. The following Jan NBC had a hit with A Team Tues 8pm. Had Flamingo followed it, it might have really taken off. As it was they tried Bare Essence, which flopped. Oh well,it was not to be...    
    • Always, in every way, Cass/Wally/Felicia foundational to my viewing. And, I think if we look at the aftermath of the disastrous 90 minute show that we find too many pockets of some kind of lost time at the show plus way too much of change-ups in exec & writing leadership and of course we also reach the first time it becomes notable that NBC wants to get rid of the show so they can put a new soap they own in the timeslot.
    • If the MAGAts were easy prey enough to get manipulated into voting for the tangerine-tinted terror, they'll fall for anything.

      Please register in order to view this content

    • And this came out as the "feud" and the media pushing the protests in Los Angeles got all the media attention. They know the press and the public will not care or can be manipulated into approving.

      Please register in order to view this content

    • Hope you will enjoy the 1976 storyline from the Daytime serial Newsletter. The show had just expanded to an hour so new characters and stories were required. The Soderbergs had been writing since late 73 and the show was still #1. Looking foward to comments and discusssion Pt.1  For over two decades As the World Turns has depicted the events in the lives of two Oakdale families: the wealthy and influential Lowells and the less affluent but equally respected Hughes family. Judge Lowell’s granddaughter Ellen is married now to Dr. David Stewart, whose adopted son, Dan, is actually her own illegitimate child. Dan was once married to Dr. Susan Stewart, by whom he has a daughter, Emily. Dan then married Liz, the ex-wife of his late brother Paul. Liz was the mother of Dan’s daughter Betsy, who believes to this day that Paul was her father. Liz died tragically the day after their wedding. Ellen and David have two daughters, Carolann (Annie) and Dawn (Dee), now of college age. Dan has recently fallen in love with Kim Dixon, who was about to divorce Dr. John Dixon until injuries suffered in a tornado caused amnesia and left her with no memory of her love for Dan. John is using this respite to solicitously convince Kim of his love for her. Nancy and Chris Hughes had three children: Bob, a doctor, Donald, an attorney, and Penny, who, after tragically losing two husbands due to automobile accidents, is now living in Europe, where she is married to a racing-car driver. Bob was married while very young to Lisa Miller, then a scheming and selfish young woman, whose machinations destroyed their marriage. She is the mother of Bob’s son, Tom, who is divorced from Carol, who is now married to Jay Stallings. Tom is currently married to Natalie Bannon. Bob later married model Sandy Wilson, a marriage which ended in divorce, and Sandy is now married to Norman Garrison, who is her partner in a beauty products concern. Norman blames Bob for Sandy’s  recent disillusionment with their marriage, and, ironically, Norman suffered a heart attack during his verbal assault on Bob at a Hughes family party; and while Bob rode with him in the ambulance to the hospital, Bob’s beloved wife, Jennifer, Kim’s sister, died in a car crash while driving home alone. Lisa, more mature and considerate of others now, is married to attorney Grant Colman, but her life has been complicated by the recent arrival in town of Grant’s ex-wife, Joyce, and the incredible news that she and Grant had a child after their separation, a child Joyce gave out for adoption but now wants to reclaim. Now the story continues... The picture has now come clear for attorney Grant Coiman. He has learned that his ex-wife Joyce neglected to tell him she had a child shortly after their divorce and had given the boy to Mary and Brian Ellison for adoption. Grant, after seeing the adoption papers and considering the boy’s interests, tells Mary he feels the child should remain with them; they are providing a fine, stable home for him. Grant’s wife, Lisa, is pleased with his decision, feeling he has thus closed the door to the past and they can now go on with their own lives. But Joyce has learned that attorney Dick Martin is now back in private practice, and she tells him she was confused when she gave Teddy up years ago and wants him to represent her in a custody action to get her son back. Dick tells Joyce she has a very weak case but he’ll do what he can. He goes out to Laramie to see the  Ellisons, upsetting them very much. Grant, meanwhile, has confided in Chris Hughes, his law partner, that while his name was on the consent form for the Ellisons’ adoption, he didn’t sign the papers; he had, in fact, never known that he had a son. But he’s afraid to open a new can of worms by signing a consent form now, as that would reveal that the adoption papers are not legally correct. Grant confides the situation to Lisa, explaining that if he wanted to,  he could probably get custody of Teddy himself, but that’s not what he feels would be best for the child. Mary Ellison finally breaks under the strain of Dick’s visit and tells Brian that Dr. Paulk, the doctor who arranged the adoption, told her he didn’t know where to find the baby’s father and so he signed the consent form himself. She painfully explains she kept this secret knowing that Brian wouldn’t go through with the adoption if he learned the papers weren’t legally sound. Brian quickly calls their family lawyer, Jerry Butler, who immediately phones Grant to be sure he backs the Ellisons’ claim. Dick realizes from Joyce’s story that Grant couldn’t have signed the papers and tells him he knows. The only person who has a right to file for Teddy’s custody now is Grant; he’s the only injured party. And the moment he files, Dick can sue for invalidation of the Ellisons’ adoption. Grant finally files, to settle the custody question once and for all, but technically he's filing for custody himself. Tom Hughes and Natalie Porter are married in a small, lovely ceremony at the home of his grandparents, Nancy and Chris Hughes. They honeymoon in the Southwest and return full of expectations of happiness. Natalie is disquieted, however, when flowers arrive which are not from her new husband. She covers by pretending to check with the florist and tells Tom it was a wrong delivery and they have told her she might as well keep them. But she knows who sent them. Natalie is upset when, shortly after, Luke Porter arrives in town and seeks her out. But Luke insists he is there only to assure her this is a final farewell and he has now decided to concentrate on. making his own marriage work. Sandy Garrison, Bob’s ex-wife, is working at the  bookstore to fill in for Natalie. Her estranged husband, Norman, recovering from a heart attack he suffered during a drunken confrontation with Bob at the Colonnade Room, is still telling anyone who will listen that Bob and Sandy are having an affair, but ironically will let only Bob care for him at the hospital. His recovery is hampered by his easily aroused temper. Norman anxiously tries to persuade Dr. John Dixon to convince Bob to swear he slipped at the restaurant, thus making them liable for a costly lawsuit, but John won’t do this. Chris discovers a large amount of money missing when checking the books on the Garrisons’ business, but doesn’t want to upset Sandy with this. More to come...
    • The cynical (i.e., the dominant) me has the very same thoughts.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy