Lorraine Broderick as AMC head writer

[Sylph]

OK, by now the whole planet knows that Daytime Confidential is reporting that Lorraine Broderick will be AMC's next head writer for the "foreseeable future".

If you were a viewer during her past stint on this soap, what stories do you remember most fondly? Which ones did you detest? What are Lorraine's not-so-good tendencies? Who do you expect she'll write especially for on the current canvas and do you expect she might resurrect a long-forgotten character.

And if you haven't watched her AMC but did another soap she wrote for, same questions.

Introduce others to your thoughts on this writer.

[quartermainefan]

I am really unlcear what a co-head writer does vs an associate head writer and a plain old head writer. 1981-1991 had a lot of great stuff but it is sort of unclear what her contribution is from these labels. Did she write Ross raping Natale or something like Barbara needing another baby to save her own? Cecily and Nico?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Lorraine seems to have a fondness for baby stories and switches. She did it on AMC and then started one again on ATWT. I like the woman, but the last thing AMC needs for the foreseeable future is another baby story.

I think she's particularly story with creating a community atmosphere where diverse characters can interact. I think her AMC was the last time the show has a consistent group of interesting and different characters.

[Sylph]

Here is a nice pic of the woman together with Malone, Altman, Cascio, Wilkinson:

http://www.photoshelter.com/c/platzer_twinimages/gallery-img-show/Writers-Guild-awards-Feb-21-2004/G0000F9PCm5yVaXY/?P_ID=P00006IAp33eD31I&_bqG=71&_bqH=eJyzMAgpCMjKtMjVNUzJr0oNKktxzw9zdouMzHG0Mre0MjQwsLJyj_d0sXU3AAI3ywDnXNPKsMSISLUAkGgASNTM07HA2DjVxdjQU83dM97d0cfHNSgSmyYAAjIfnw--&I_ID=I0000a0LPq0TqYOg

[Sylph]

Another one:

http://www.photoshelter.com/c/platzer_twinimages/gallery-img-show/Writers-Guild-awards-Feb-21-2004/G0000F9PCm5yVaXY/?P_ID=P00006IAp33eD31I&_bqG=72&_bqH=eJyz9MmtcC7L8czyLyhKLYxPdo8ycnZM9C8wNne0Mre0MjQwsLJyj_d0sXU3AAI3ywDnXNPKsMSISLUAkGgASNTM07HA2DjVxdjQU83dM97d0cfHNSgSmyYADp0fqA--&I_ID=I00000.jrTOaPy7E

[Kubla Khan]

She has done baby stories, but Lorraine is a smart enough writer to know when something's overdone.

Her last stint was overall great, and when Lorraine is going through a "bad" story (the one that viewers really seemed to dislike was Erica taking Maddie), she still has plenty of good ones going on to make up for it. The day to day execution from her was usually superb.

Great stories from her last stint:

-Michael coming out to his class, and Kevin coming out

-Laurel's murder

-Janet's redemption (I LOVE Kate Collins, but LB made Robin Mattson's Janet such an interesting, complex character)

-Plane crash that "killed" Maria

-Liza's return to town, and her affair with Tad

-Marian's return

-Liza/Adam's twisted romance

-Skye/Dr. Kinder

-Erica at Betty Ford

and there are others, but these are the ones that stick in my mind. Under her stint, the dialogue was absolutely fantastic. Her stories can be dark, but with Lorraine, she put a lot of wit and 'smart humor' into the show (as opposed to McTavish, who went more for broad camp). Any scene with Liza and Marian....OMG! Just delicious dialogue. She won three Emmys during her 2 year stint at the show, and not only were there wonderful stories, but the day to day execution was wonderful, and the dialogue could not be topped.

I certainly hope she can lure Michelle Patrick back to the show (again!) because they worked really, really well together the last time. I hope she does an overall of the dialogue team (bye bye Rebecca Taylor), and she MIGHT, because dialogue is really, really important to her.

[Sylph]

Her other infamous stories are that voodoo arc and the real Santa, right? That was her?

[Southofnowhere]

Did she write the story that won la Lucci her Emmy?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yeah, but I think Francesca James played a big part in that fiasco. They wanted to compete with DAYS, which had at that time taken the #2 spot in the ratings, where AMC had been for years.

[Kubla Khan]

Lorraine started Bianca's anorexia story. Megan McTavish was in place by the time the intervention happened (which won her the Emmy).

[DRW50]

I guess it depends on the producer. If she even has any real power. For all we know she may be tying up loose ends until someone else comes along.

She certainly did a good job with her work up to about 1996.

There seemed to be a lot of pressure from Disney and from Francesca James in 1996-1997, but quite a few of the stories on display at that time, Brooke/Pierce, the attempt to turn Janet back into a cartoon (which was scuttled, thankfully), Maria not knowing she was pregnant for five months, the vile Tanner Jordan storyline, the Liza/Jake relationship which ended up doing very strong damage to both characters (along with having Liza get pregnant and lose Adam's baby - the start of Liza's baby rabies), Brooke's boyfriend being Laura's child pornographer, I thought they set a tone for the show which, unfortunately, put ugliness over heart and plot over character.

This has been AMC's problem off and on for years now, so I don't know if she can make a difference. I think at the very least she can hopefully tie the current storylines up with some dignity, and undo some of the damage done to Erica and Adam, and perhaps give Adam a great exit before David leaves the show.

[Sylph]

Right. I remember the EP switch.

Say what you will, but I love this woman. She is a very intelligent writer and once I found out she was a Chinese Literature professor, my love just got greater. I wonder how much that figured in her writing process and stories, i.e. has she consciously been influenced by it.

[Kubla Khan]

Splitting hairs, but McTavish was the one who made Jim evil. That was one of her first moves as HW, actually.

Despite her clunkers, this show needs someone like her at this critical point in time. Someone who knows the history - loves the legacy of the show.

[Chris B]

She did an amazing job at ATWT and I do think she was unfairly fired. I wish she was returning to that soap, but this is interesting. Only because she HAS done great work (on ATWT and OLTL). I don't know her work on AMC, but I am shocked they went with a fairly credible name. I wonder how this will be in 2010...with Frons. I really do hope for the best. It's sad that they've gone through a succession of writers getting worse and worse. I hope for AMC fans that she's a good writer. I also hope she recognizes the power of the Hubbard's and Brot and diversity in general.

[reallyhateskateonlost]

That was fast. I just get excited.