I'll say this much: when she was HW at ANOTHER WORLD, and Michael Laibson was her EP, Donna Swajeski wrote some very good standalone eps, such as "A Valentine to Singles" and "Murder on the Honeymoon Express." And the Cass/Frankie/Kathleen triangle? As hard as it might've been for Cass/Kathleen fans to accept that their time had passed, at least she didn't have Kathleen do something that smacked of deliberate character assassination (at least, as far as I could tell). I mean, you try telling a love triangle that's adult and sensitive to all sides in this day and age, and see how far it gets you w/ Brian Frons.

I thought Donna did a lot of things right in the AW episodes I've seen (up to spring 1991, I guess). She also did a lot of things wrong (especially with Stacey Hudson - I love Hillary Edson yet I loathe that character), but the show at its best under her run was full of strong characterization and plots which, while being somewhat ridiculous, never seemed too insane, because the plotting was there from beat to beat. As much as making Jake a rapist was a mistake, they did go out of their way to not whitewash his crimes and actually have him learn from what he had done, and they never pretended everything was fine with Marley (that only happened later on). The "Who Shot Jake?" story, and Marley's trial, Vicky pretending to be Marley, the Vicky/Ryan romance, Sharlene's split personality, etc. was all good, at least compared to today's soaps. Even a lot of the more pedestrian stuff, like the Sam/Amanda/Evan triangle, isn't too bad. The only moments I couldn't sit through involved Josie, which was also the case when I watched the last years of AW...

Edited January 25, 201015 yr by CarlD2

I thought Donna did a lot of things right in the AW episodes I've seen (up to spring 1991, I guess). She also did a lot of things wrong (especially with Stacey Hudson - I love Hillary Edson yet I loathe that character), but the show at its best under her run was full of strong characterization and plots which, while being somewhat ridiculous, never seemed too insane, because the plotting was there from beat to beat. As much as making Jake a rapist was a mistake, they did go out of their way to not whitewash his crimes and actually have him learn from what he had done, and they never pretended everything was fine with Marley (that only happened later on). The "Who Shot Jake?" story, and Marley's trial, Vicky pretending to be Marley, the Vicky/Ryan romance, Sharlene's split personality, etc. was all good, at least compared to today's soaps. Even a lot of the more pedestrian stuff, like the Sam/Amanda/Evan triangle, isn't too bad. The only moments I couldn't sit through involved Josie, which was also the case when I watched the last years of AW...

All true, but I think some credit must be given to Laibson for getting the best out of her. His GL, although riddled with mistakes, was the last time GL felt like GL to me, Megan McTavish's gimmicky plots notwithstanding.

That's true -- I did hear a lot of good things about him as a producer up to GL. That just reinforces how much AMC needs to dump Carruthers.

That's true -- I did hear a lot of good things about him as a producer up to GL.

Remember when Peggy Sloane replaced Donna Swajeski as HW at ANOTHER WORLD? Some, I'll bet, feared for the show after four years of relative stability. Yet, w/ Sloane as head-scribe, AW at least stayed consistent. I have to think that was Laibson's doing. In retrospect, it's only when he left the show, in '94 or so, that AW's days appeared truly numbered.

Laibson, though, was one of the last EP's who seemed to love and appreciate soaps for what they were and never tried to "revolutionize" them. Especially at AW, whose production values were piss-poor, he emphasized the acting and writing, and little else. Had he not been saddled with a hack for a HW, or a production outfit (P&G) who was more into bean-counting than storytelling by that point, I think he could have done some good for GL, too.

That just reinforces how much AMC needs to dump Carruthers.

Laibson did work @ AMC for awhile (as Senior Producer) after he left GL. He was there, in fact, when Megan McT returned the first time, and Francesca James was still EP. That was during a very schizoid period for the show, when you had something good (such as Stuart and Marian's initial hookup) juxtaposed with something bad (like Mateo's psychic visions). Unfortunately, AMC got hit with budget cuts, and Laibson was canned (or so the company line reports).

That's interesting. I did have very mixed feelings toward that period of AMC. A lot stunk but I loved the writing for Stuart/Marian and for Opal, and some of Dixie's return (until Braden got involved). I didn't think it was a lot worse than what came right before or right after McTavish. I was much more put off by McT's GL run, at least the last six months when the plot-driven, ugly stories took over.

I agree that AW worked when they focused on the actors (always their best feature - AW had one of the most underrated casts of any soap) and the characterization and bonds between characters. That show was on borrowed time for eons but the real end was when they started doing the stunts and budget-busting set makeovers.

I wonder what Valente would have been like at AW. He wasn't there very long. I did not care for him at ATWT but I know some said he might have gutted ATWT out of spite.

Edited January 26, 201015 yr by CarlD2

How long wa Sloane at AW? All I know is she co-wrote one of the worse eras in OLTL history (which is saying something) of course she was working with those queen hacks Leah Laiman and Jean Passanante (what a damaging duo team up that was!)

Branco's not a reporter. He's unmedicated fallout from the public health policies of Ronald Reagan.

As for what he actually says, I can understand supporting OLTL because I do too, and I like much of the show, but it has its share of dog stories, and I'm not going to shine up stuff like that Jessica story, which right now sounds plum retarded, or the current configuration of Tea vs. Blair. Fact is they are fighting over a mutilation of Todd and everyone comes off bad, except, occasionally, Blair. Great actors stuck playing crap. OTOH, there are a lot of people out there, Branco included, who simply enjoy the fun of watching Tea and Blair go at it, no matter what the reason or rationale. I'm a little more discriminating; Tea and Blair are great rivals, but I want the story to work, and this one doesn't. Maybe that sounds snobbish, but there it is.

The thing is when you praise obviously ill conceived storylines it does your soap no favours. Maybe some One Lifenewbie reads his article, decides to give One Life a try and then, thinking that this praised storyline must be the best the show can offer, never watches it again. What good does that do!

I wish Reagan could take credit for Nelson's insanity but sadly he's from here in Canada where we've had a pretty good healthcare system