AMC: Beth Ehlers Vs. JR Martinez

[dragonflies]

I always thought Taylor and Frankie had some chemistry, Pratt should have explored that

[cara mia]

Why why why do we have Taylor, Brot and now Henry and Madison on the show? Why couldn't BE be Liza, why couldn't Brot be a long lost Santos, Henry could have been Trey or Jamie, Madison a sorased Colby or Laura Kirk. I don't understand all these new characters that have no tie to the main cast. And when new characters are tied to the canvas, like Natalia, they are soon forgotten.

[RoseVioletDaisy]

Killing that vile pimp was definitely Taylor's finest hour.

[Cheap21]

I actually thought she was at her best when she did first join. I liked her bc she was so different from the typical soap woman. It was refreshing to see a woman on the show who could take care of herself and who wasnt a tramp. Her story at least was original and I thought AMC handled the war aspect tastefully. Taylor had real insecurities, and fears which were shaped forom her experiences and BE played those perfectly. For me, Taylor was the best new character of last year for a while. Things didnt start to go downhill though until she got paralyzed. Her character morphed and she became incredibly bitter and angry and it wasnt pretty to watch. Did it make sense? Yes, but that didnt make her any less annoying to take. She and Brot had chemistry and shined whereas she and Jake didnt, but unfortunetly AMC failed to properly integrate them into the canvas. They got isolated into their own world which ultimately hurt them. If anything the problem with Taylor was that she was too real and I think they didnt know how to write for her without compromising the integrity of the character

BE should have been Hayley. I can definetly see North as Trey or Jamie but not so sure I care for the actor yet. Colby definetly did not need to be SORASed again, considering what a mess they've already made with Liza's return in the form of JL (who should have been Skye). She defiently could have been a good Laura. Whats the point of having Brot as a long lost Santos when that famiy's been decimated? They are all gone and having him be one loses its impact with none to act against

[dragonflies]

BE as Hayley I can't see, she should have been Liza as intended

Kieran Campion who plays North would have been a good Trey recast, he's a good actor.

[cara mia]

He is quite good. He managed to get DV to act which is no small feat! Physically, he reminds a lot of Chris Engen, which makes me think KC would have been an ideal Adam recast on Y&R.

My problem with Henry North is that the character has no ties to any one on canvas outside of his affair with Randi. Watching KC act against AM, I thought they would be very believable as siblings. Why couldn't Trey have gotten out of jail and had an off-screen affair with Randi? Also, why couldn't Madison be the DA instead? After Pratt's failure in integrating Reese, Taylor, and Brot into the canvas, why does he bring in two new characters with no ties to anyone? And it's nothing against the actors -- I like them all quite a bit -- it's just how are we supposed to invest in FOUR isolated and new characters? It goes against the basics of soap writing.

[DRW50]

I don't want to see Trey come back. He would either become a complete monster, or be killed. Or both.

[skyejames]

Very true. As someone else here once said , Zach kills all of Kendall`s hot brothers!

[Kubla Khan]

I thought Beth's interview was fantastic, and she said many kind things about JR Martinez. But let's face it: he's NOT an actor. He's charming, and he has charisma, but he has no technique and absolutely no range to save his life. He's interesting to watch, but I cannot help but think when watching him that he CANNOT act. And that's AMC's fault for deciding to cast a "real life veteran" over someone who at least had some prior acting experience.

Beth Ehlers gave it her all when she started on AMC, and if you recall, many people were praising her when Taylor first hit the scene. Her killing Fletcher? That was great. It seemed after that that Pratt just dropped the character's story. He wanted to tell this "war storyline" -- but he clearly had no idea where to go with it. Like a lot of Pratt's stories, he starts off with great ideas, but he doesn't seem to plan them out. He thinks more like a primetime writer -- I'll write this great episode, with this great idea, but he doesn't seem to think about any of the consequences. This is a DAYTIME soap -- you cannot keep the momentum going for ONLY 22 hours a year -- you need to think about the momentum for 250 shows a year. It's the same crap with Stuart's death; he had an idea that could've worked (as awful as Stuart's murder is) that could have REALLY shaken up the canvas and spun some really thrilling story, but it's veered off into some boring, convoluted crap because Pratt only thought of the actual murder itself, and THAT event, instead of the long-term consequences. Daytime is NOT about events, it's about the consequences and playing the beats of the consequences of the events and spinning them into great story.

RPG and BE failed on AMC? Perhaps, but it's not like Pratt invested ANYTHING into that coupling. They dropped that like a hot potato. Taylor had her great entrance, then vanished for a few weeks, and then only reappeared after the tornado, only to get paralyzed (which led to Taylor becoming very bitter and ornery and losing fans in the process). And Pratt had no idea where to go after that EVENT (and let's face it: she only got paralyzed just so Pratt could tack on another "event" during tornado week) and so she faltered some more.

BE has a lot to offer this show. And she is a very talented actress. She hit the nail on the head -- she hasn't been integrated into this show, and why? She's been constantly stuck in her own little corner -- with the Hubbards, Randi, and Brot -- and hasn't had the opportunity to go out and mingle with the rest of the canvas. She's right -- they can't even give her a job? Hell, the most logical thing -- especially given her work with Darnell -- would be to make Taylor a cop, especially since, as we know, Pratt has a hardon for the criminal stories on this show. It's just lazy, lazy, lazy writing, and I think BE has most def. got the sh.t end of the stick because of a really lazy writer who can't EVER look at the BIG PICTURE.

Based on this month, BE has been taping a lot more and that should continue -- but I think JR Martinez is gone. It's a shame, but the character isn't fleshed out, and he doesn't have any big chops to really play a "big storyline" at all. He hasn't been written for since he hit the show, and when is on the show, he has REALLY simple scenes. If they tried to have him carry a big storyline like Cameron Mathison does -- he would be blasted the way CM is because his obvious lack of technique would shine through.

JMO.

[dragonflies]

Beth even mentioned something like that about Pratt in her interview:

Chuck's been writing in a different medium for a while. Chuck's been doing primetime which is one episode a week. He's been doing a different genre entirely. He has not been writing soap operas. He's been writing camp basically and that's a whole different kind of thing. You don't have to commit to history. You don't have to commit to the gravitas in a situation when you write camp. Camp's all making fun of stuff. It's all broad comedy stuff. And so maybe he needed to be reminded that soap audiences don't take kindly to you messing with history. And even if you can't see the seriousness of a situation, they see it. And they want you to write it seriously. You're asking them to trust you, and soap audiences are very generous. They'll forgive you as long as they think you're taking it seriously and trying. If they feel like they're being, pardon me, f*cked with is when they get pissed off. He's clearly a talented writer and has a good resume. I hope the show can find it's way back on track.

I actually have to agree with her on tha(well except for the part about Pratt being talented(monkeys with typewriters could probably do a better job)

[MichaelGL]

Somewhere up thread, someone mentioned Taylor and Frankie, that I could actually go for.

I don't know what to make of this potential Taylor and Tad pairing.

[Kubla Khan]

He's not long-term.

And Trey? Keep far, far, far away from this show. The character was pointless and not needed when he was on the show, and the last thing we need is another person in the Kendall/Kane orbit.

[NorrthCafe]

SO disappointed in her. That's just not cool. I've always had a rather high opinion of BE, until now.

[DeeeDee]

That's sad.

[jcar03]

I think a year is a little too much, especially for Ehlers who just called out the head writer. Honestly, she is the one that jumped ship at GL to go to AMC because let's be honest here, she was following Ricky Paull Goldin. She is taking her fustration with the writing out on Martinez because that is not the scene partner she wants. From what Martinez said he never expected Ehlers to "coach" him but merely asked for tips/suggestions to improve their scenes.