2010: The Directors and Writers Thread

[R Sinclair]

I am not giving the network the blame for Richard Culliton making every last thing about Greenlee and Leo on All My Children. I doubt, highly doubt, that Angela Shapiro said "Richard, don't only make Greenlee and Leo the focal point of AMC, but also make sure half the cast is somehow related to Leo."

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Culliton is very hit or miss as a HW, I saw that on his ATWT, GH, and AMC. For every good story, there was always an awful one there to balance it out. I do get the sense that he genuinely cared for all the shows he was HW of though, and he tried his best to respect their identities. I think his strengths are as a script writer though. Personally, I don't think the general dialogue on DAYS is that good. I thought his scripts on ATWT prior were better in terms of conversations and uniqueness of voice.

BTW: There's some episodes of The Doctors on YouTube with David Cherrill credited as Co-HW with Elizabeth Levin. They were pretty good episodes from what I saw. I wonder why Cherrill never HW or Co-HW after that...

Here's the credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKgaV1nzayk

[Khan]

Why not? Stranger things have happened in this business, you know?

There's a tremendous amount of give-and-take behind the scenes, apparently. I'm not saying this to justify any thing (good or bad) any writer has ever done for any soap. What I am saying, however, is that compromise is always the name of the game.

[Khan]

I think so, too. I haven't cared for all the stories Richard Culliton has penned as HW (I could've done w/o Proteus, for one); however, either with him, or w/ Carolyn, there's never this jarring sense of tone in a show that you'd expect from other, incoming HW's. If anything, Richard Culliton tries to respect history and not change it arbitrarily.

Plus, no matter what people say about him, Carolyn, or even Gary Tomlin, they'll always get votes of confidence from me for cleaning up the dog-[!@#$%^&*] Pat Falken Smith and L. Virginia Browne had made of GL. Truly, Pam Long was lucky to come in when she did the first time, b/c otherwise, there would've been no way in Hell for her to turn that show around!

Actually, Cherrill did head-write for SEARCH FOR TOMORROW after THE DOCTORS. Wasn't for any significant period of time, however.

I believe there are a number of writers in soaps who would make good, if not great, HW's, but choose not to, b/c they don't want the headache(s). Caroline Franz, for example, was one of ATWT's better HW's (w/ John Saffron) during that sketchy post-Dobsons/pre-Marland era, who ultimately decided to step down, b/c the stress caused her to experience digestive problems. Millee Taggart's another writer who chose to leave LOVING when she was HW for the 2nd time, because it was not conducive to her health.

[LeClerc]

Frons: So tell me Richard, who really pops for you on "Children"?

Culliton: Well Julia Barr is by far my favorite actress...and my favorite couples are Edmund & Brooke and Opal & Palmer.

Frons: You can pick up your pink slip on your way out.

[Adam]

Yep. I always heard once Frons found out Brooke and Adam were going to be Culiton's next big thing he was fired.

[R Sinclair]

Well, I am not disagreeing with that. I'm just saying Culliton's writing was extremely sloppy all across the board. And if the network "interfered" with all of it, then he did a horrible job at executing their mandates. Soooo many dropped stories. Soooo many characters left doing nothing and underdeveloped. Soooo many holes and blatant rewriting of history that didn't even try to make it seem like it meshed with what actually happened (Vanessa seeing Richard Fields raping Erica?!). And don't get me started on Brooke selling her soul to keep Edmund from finding out about Maureen S. Gorman. It was just sloppy storytelling. He doesn't know how to weave.

[Toups]

I bow down to Karen Harris' greatness!! And Jonathan Jackson delivered these words perfectly. Now this is definitely dialogue worth showcasing. I haven't been this impressed by GH's dialogue in long time. Kudos to Karen Harris!

Transcript from Monday January 25th:

Teaser

Elizabeth: Lucky, you think that Nikolas and I -- no.

Lucky: Yeah, I know Elizabeth. I know that you two have been screwing each other behind my back. It's not your finest moment.

Elizabeth: Lucky, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know how I let it happen. I know it was wrong.

Lucky: Wrong? No. No. Wrong is forgetting our anniversary or not paying the phone bill. When your fiancée is nailing your brother, that goes way, way past wrong, Elizabeth. That's something else. I don't even know what it is. It's sick. And I've been tryin' to figure out how I could be so blind to what you really are.

Act 1

Nikolas: You're drunk. This isn't the time for this.

Lucky: So what?

Nikolas: You're gonna say something that you regret.

Lucky: So what? I'll regret? Out of the three of us in this room, I'm supposed to be the one with regrets?

Elizabeth: Who told you?

Lucky: You did. Well, actually you told him. See, I was on my way to Wyndemere, say good-bye to my brother, and I heard your voice say, "I love you," just like you've said to me a million times. Pushed open the door -- and there you were, all over each other.

Elizabeth: Lucky, I never wanted to hurt you.

Lucky: Why would you care? You don't love me.

Elizabeth: But I do. I do.

Lucky: You don't do this to someone you love.

Nikolas: If you're gonna hate anyone in this, hate me. It's not her fault.

Lucky: Oh, I’ll get to you. Don't worry. But you know what? In all fairness, I deserve a free pass. First time around, you know, not knowing that you were banging Jason, carrying his child, and lying to me, sayin' that it was mine. I mean, I was in recovery, and I thought you were the little angel I'd always loved.

Nikolas: It's not her fault, okay? She didn't want this all along, and I pressed it. I --

Lucky: You pressed. Well, she failed miserably. What is it, Elizabeth? Huh? I wanna know. What is it about cheating that just turns you on so much, huh? Are you bored when I touch you? Is it not risky enough, or do you just like being the center of your own drama, huh?

Nikolas: I am begging you not to do this right now.

Lucky: What, do you like the rush of sneaking around behind my back, the danger of screwin' on any flat surface you can find? Huh? In the back seat of a car, telling him or just whoever the guy of the moment is that nobody gets you like he does?

Elizabeth: I don't think we should be doing this while you're drunk.

Lucky: Who cares?! Who cares if I'm drunk?! Drunk! sober! Sober! Drunk! I can still smell every lie that comes out of your mouth. But look, I'll own my part in this. Okay? I couldn't see what was right in front of me. You’re too edgy when Nikolas is around. You cry for no reason. You push me away and then say it has nothing to do with me. I should have known after everything that Elizabeth has done that she was a faithless tramp. But never, ever in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine this betrayal from my own brother.

Act 2

Lucky: You're the big surprise, Nikolas. All those years learning to trust each other, believing you when you said you loved me, that we were both our mother's sons. I got news for you. You are a Cassadine right down to the bottom of your rotten soul. Yeah, I guess I had to see it for myself, but you two make a hell of a pair.

Elizabeth: I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Lucky: So you've said.

Elizabeth: I have no excuse.

Lucky: Something we agree on.

Nikolas: Look, don't know what else to say. We didn't plan for this to happen, Lucky. It just happened, okay?

Lucky: I don't even know what that means.

Elizabeth: You know, what you saw, it was the end of it.

Lucky: End of it? Oh, it helps to know that wasn't the only time. When did this affair start exactly, huh? Well, you know what? I don't wanna know.

Nikolas: The bottom line is, Lucky, we love you. It's over. Whatever we had --

Lucky: You might have thought about that before you jumped into bed.

Elizabeth: Nikolas was leaving the country. I just went to Wyndemere to say good-bye, and I don't know how --

Lucky: Oh, and nothing says goodbye like a good --

Nikolas: Wait! Stop! St --

Lucky: Hey! You wanna get all macho now? Huh? You wanna get all chivalrous, defend your little prize over here? You make me sick. You're a sorry excuse for a man. What happened, Elizabeth? What happened? I mean, I thought we had forgiven each other for everything that happened with me and Maxie and you and Jason.

Elizabeth: We did.

Lucky: Then why?

Elizabeth: We did.

Lucky: Then why? What, you just decided to betray me?

Elizabeth: I hate myself for what I did, and I'm never gonna touch him again. I swear.

Lucky: Well, good news on that, 'cause the deal is off. You two can screw each other as much as you want now, 'cause I no longer care. You were everything to me once, Elizabeth. And I don't know when you changed or why, but now I can see you for the cheating slut that you are.

Nikolas: Stop it! You wanna take it out on someone, you take it out on me! It's not her fault!

Lucky: Oh, I'd love to.

Act 3

Nikolas: Elizabeth loves you. Do you understand that? She tried to end this thing with me over and over, and I wouldn't let her. It's on me.

Lucky: Do me a favor, okay? Stop tryin' to blame yourself. It's embarrassing. It doesn't change any of the lies. It doesn't change the fact that you were sleeping with him while you were getting ready to marry me.

[Knock on door]

Carly: Elizabeth, it's Carly. Are you home?

Elizabeth: Please don't.

Lucky: Pardon me. Hey, cuz. Come on in.

Carly: Okay, obviously you guys are in the middle of something. I just wanted to invite you to Josslyn's christening. It's on January 29, so --

Lucky: I'll be there, wouldn't miss it. Nikolas and Elizabeth, I don't think they're gonna be able to make it, though, because they'll be both busy rutting like farm animals on any flat surf --

Nikolas: Lucky, for God's sakes! Come on, will you?!

Lucky: What, man? Huh? You don't have to keep it secret anymore. This is liberating! [Chuckles]

Carly: I'm gonna go.

Elizabeth: Carly's gonna tell the world.

Lucky: Don't blame Carly.

Elizabeth: I know you wanna punish me, but think about the boys.

Lucky: Shut your lying mouth! You can whore yourself out to anyone you want, but don't you ever, ever try to use Cam and Jake to manipulate me again, you bitch.

Elizabeth: You can attack me all you want, but I have never used Cam and Jake to manipulate you.

Lucky: You always have. You knew the problems I had with my dad from day one. You held Cam and Jake out as my chance to be a better father, to have a stable family, but what you really wanted was for me to be your fail-safe. You wanted me to play papa while you were out tramping around. Those boys have no idea --

Nikolas: Lucky, you're understandably upset, but you're taking this thing too far.

Lucky: Like hell I am! You heard her. She doesn't want the world to know what you two did, for the boys' sake. She thinks that by throwin' them in my face, she'll get what she wants like always. Well, not this time! You cheated, he lied, and you handed yourself out like candy. You're gonna get what you deserve, Elizabeth, and that might include 2 kids who can't stand the sight of you. Just remember you only have yourself to blame. What happened to that precious little girl that I found trembling in the snow? I'll always love her. [Weeping]

Act 4

Lucky: Can I have a glass? A glass, Dad. [sighs]

Luke: You know there's only room for one bitter, jaded, nasty Spencer in this saloon, cowboy.

Lucky: You ever looked at someone and known what love is? Watched her brush her hair, read a book, and just every gesture, so simple, so perfect?

Luke: Yeah, I think I know that feeling.

Lucky: I loved her. I mean, I would just look at her and know that she was mine. My heart would just ache with it. That was a good ache. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff looking at the ocean, just frighteningly beautiful. Now the good is gone, and then all that's left is just the ache. I confronted Elizabeth, called her some horrible, horrible, brutal names. I don't even think I feel sad about it or angry. I don't even think I feel anything about it.

Luke: Well, that's probably a blessing right now.

Lucky: Yeah.

Luke: But it won't last.

Act 5

Luke: I hope you're numb. I hope your numbness gives you a little rest, 'cause when the full weight of this hits you, it's gonna be like an emotional tsunami.

Lucky: You know, I don't give you enough credit, Dad. You've always known that love is just an invitation to get played for a fool.

Luke: Oh, I think it's a little more than that. It has changed lives. It's saved lives.

Lucky: It's destroyed lives.

Luke: Love is a perfect notion. People expect too much out of it. No one can fix your life for you, no matter how much you love them. People are flawed. People fail. I fail regularly.

Lucky: Well, that makes two of us.

Luke: I don't have any doubts about you, cowboy. As soon as you get your wits about you and get your balance back, you'll know just how to face this.

Act 6

Lucky: There's a lot that makes sense now about you, why you'd never make plans. That way, you'll never be disappointed. You just get up and take it as it comes. Heh. You know, I've been goin' to meetings for over 2 years now, and I just finally now understand what "just for today" is about. Deep your options open. Dump your expectations.

Luke: it's not really that black and white. Nothing is. You know, every hope doesn't get shot to hell.

Lucky: It's okay, Dad. There's something to be said for takin' off the rose-colored glasses. It helps you see clearly to a place where nothing can hurt you, 'cause you've got nothing to lose.

Luke: Careful, son. A man with nothin' to lose has nothin' to live for.

[Khan]

Wow. Lucky's throwing every name in the book at Liz, isn't he? Am I supposed to forget how he once comforted this girl through the most sexually traumatic ordeal of her life? They say we reveal our truest feelings in times of anger and hurt. Lucky felt betrayed by his wife, and he basically labelled her the whore of Babylon. He can't deny it, he can't take it back, and he can't say those words just came to him in that moment. They've been there, all along. So, now, I start to wonder what he really felt about Liz's rape. (If I were Liz, at least, I'd tell him to go to Hell.)

And Luke just needs to STFU.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

I wish Nikolas could have been given more dialogue during that episode, to me he was sort of sitting on the sidelines staring into space, and when things got to heated, he would finally speak up. But all in all, it was a very well scribed episode by Karen Harris, loved it.

[Khan]

It was...okay. To me, however, it just feels like more of Bob Guza's patented, misogynist crap. Liz had the audacity to cheat on a big, bad Spencer; so, of course, she should be humiliated and "put in her place," so to speak. Not that I'm saying Liz has been an innocent in all this, but damn, neither Guza nor Harris did an effective job of allowing Liz to stand up for herself, IMO. And, what, I'm supposed to care that one day Lucky and Liz will forget all this and be reunited?! Screw that! If Lucky ever crawls back to Liz, she should do exactly what I'd suggested before, and tell him where to go. I don't care what she's done, no woman deserves the sort of pathetic, drunken name-calling that s.o.b. inflicted upon her.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

That bothered me to...Liz wasn't given a chance to stand up for herself, she was basically just crying her eyes out (quite beautifully BTW), and every word she said was "sorry" or some excuse...something I expected though, considering who the Head Writer is. It's unfortunate how the show is most likely going to put Liz and Lucky back together, after all of that. I do NOT want to see Liz end up back with him after he mentioned her rape, and he's drinking again...just a mess. I want to see her get through this, and come out of it a better person. As to who she should be with, LOL, I so want to see her with Jason again, but I doubt it with the way the show is going with Bonny and Clyde wannabees JaSam...so maybe Liz can find someone new, or befriend someone known in PC, idk..anyone but Lucky! But, I doubt any of that will happen, so!!

[Khan]

Exactly. And Nikolas constantly coming to her defense - OMG! Am I supposed to swoon at that, or something?

Yes, Liz did a terrible thing in sleeping with Nikolas, but I think I could have respected her more if she'd just said, at some point, "When you're sober and ready to talk about this like an adult, give me a call. But until then, this conversation's over," and then walked away.

[Jonathan]

I'm not a regular GH viewer, but I viewed these scenes online, and JJ was on fire! Good script!

[R Sinclair]

I have to agree. Plus, it got redundant after a while. A prologue and maybe two acts -- set up, Lucky's attack on Liz, then Lucky's attack on Nikolas -- and that's that. But FOUR segments of that -- in addition to the really unnecessary implantation of Carly -- was beyond enough.

Lucky: Whore, bitch, tramp, slut!

Carly: Josslyn's Christening is on January 29th!

Lucky: Thanks! Bitch, whore, slut, trap!

But, then again, this was probably written to cater to Jonathan Jackson's Lucky. I'm sure if Greg Vaughn was still in the role, Lucky probably would've taken a swing at Nikolas, but being so shitfaced, he wouldn't even be successful at that, and probably stumble and fall -- hitting his head on the furniture, having Liz tend to the ineffectual buffoon.