The Kinder stuff was a lot of fun but that, like Santa Claus, only lasted about a month. 1996 was more balanced but there was a limited amount of humor. 1997 I barely remember any humor. Marian had some good one-liners and then Edmund and Tad dressing in drag to get Maddie back was fun, but otherwise, it was heavy, sometimes suffocating drama. Hayley/Tanner, Erica taking the baby, Maria dying soon after she got the baby back, Dimitri getting custody of the baby by depicting Edmund as unbalanced, Bianca's eating disorder, Jake beating down Liza until she agreed to give up everything in her life to go live on his boat, Jake dumping Liza because she slept with Adam, Liza getting pregnant and losing her baby because of turbulence, Jim Thomasen the kiddie pornographer, Kevin's parents trying to get him to turn straight.

Some of this was fine but everything together I think was too much. I'm not saying this was always bad -- I think after a very rough start, the last 3-4 months of 1997 were strong. But when the most lighthearted story in an episode is Tim locking Janet in the deep freeze, then I think there was a tonal problem.

I didn't even remember that Tim was still there by 1997. LOL

I admit I loved 1997, but I know the general fan reaction online was it was too dark, and maybe you're right. We had some lighter moments--like Kelsey and Kevin's friendship, etc, but yeah...

Yeah, 1997 was a VERY dark year.... but I didn't really find it offensive like I did with most of McTavish's disastrous 1998, arguably one of the worst years in the show's existence, maybe the worst ever. Right up there with 2005/2006.

I can't even remember what happened in 2005/2006 for sure (Oh wait that was the unabortion and Greg in the coffin, wasn't it...)-- but I still say Passanate's year is the worse--with Rayfield's half year up there...

Edited March 2, 201015 yr by EricMontreal22

The stuff with the viaduct and ghost Maria filing her nails was dumb but Edmund and Dimitri mending fences and letting all their baggage air out was one of the better set of scenes I remember in 1998.

LOL What? I don't remember a ghost Maria at all, let alone one who took care of her nails.... Do tell lol

There were other things I enjoyed. I was one of those who didn't have a problem with Janet/Trevor getting together. I liked Stuart and Esther. I thought the Kevin reparative therapy story was generally quite good. Erica's trial and Bianca's eating disorder were good, although I was never quite sure if they were planning to end the story with that Thanksgiving scene where Erica got Bianca to eat, and McTavish decided to bring the story back, or if that was just a false ending for a happy holiday.

I dunno, but I think if it had ended with that thanksgiving scene it woulda been too pat an ending for such a massive issue. I thought the Kevin stuff was great--and much more subtle than the "Mr D" stuff a year before (though I did largely like that).

There was just so much else going on which I think took too much of a toll, with the last straw perhaps being Jim Thomasen tormenting Laura. I don't think AMC is a show which can sustain that type of darkness, and some of the darkness that year, while not as collectively dark as McTavish's years of hell, I thought were much more...I don't know how to say it...invasive, and harrowing, and hard to get out of your head, than McTavish's psychos and overdone crap.

That was one of the reasons I was somewhat relieved when McTavish returned

McTavish did seem to, at first, want to make things more fun, which was probably a smart movie. Of course I think ratings just sunk even more under her (understandably so...) (funny that she made Jim Thomasen into one of those psychos as you mention).

Hadn't DePriest moved on to OLTL within a year? ...

(Wiki lists the OLTL writers of that time:

August 1991 to January 1992 Michael Malone

May 1991 to August 1991 Craig Carlson

September 1990 to May 1991 Craig Carlson and Leah Laiman

July 1990 to September 1990 Margaret DePriest (interim)

July 1987 to July 1990 S. Michael Schnessel

But I swear I have more episodes from 1990 than just those 3 months with DePriest's name in the credits...)

I think DePriest moved over to OLTL from AMC pretty quickly, but I'm not sure if she was HW right away. She may have initially been AHW under Schnessel... but I'm just surmising. There was so much change-over between Schnessel and Malone, I'm surprised it's even in order (and it does seem to be). I think DePriest was HW longer than two months, as well... but not too much longer. She was demoted to AHW after Leah Laiman showed up, so her name still would have been there - just not as HW.

The fact that they'd demote her under a hack like Leah Laiman is shocking to me (sorry, I have absolutely no love for Laiman) though I admit I'm not quite sure whose was what writing in that era either. The writing in general was pretty awful, it seems. (it's interesting, when Rauch came to OLTL he was hiored, apparently, to bring his realism and style he had with AW in the 70s to the show--but Rauch had other plans, wanting to do what GH was doing but on an even grander scale. After Schnessel's writing finally started to cause the ratings to drop, I guess Rauch briefly tried to go back to social issues and more "realistic" writing--for the most part--but for a variety of reasons it didn't really work...)

At any rate, it does seem that for a brief time ABC had DePriest as their kinda "soap doctor", for whatever reason.

As a teenager (barely), what I ended up finding strange (and disappointing) back then was the fact that they suddenly stopped having story together. I was enjoying their story and then poof until the exit, lol. Through Michael Logan fanning the flames in TV Guide, I realized their was some sort of fued going on there. Years later, I remember Sydney Penny regretfully owning up the the clique crap with the new girls in SOW, discussing how immature it all was.

Me too--it was like they suddenly tried to take her out of Erica's orbit (with Del, Anton, etc) when there still was a lot more story there. I used to always take the SMG stuff with a grain of salt, but after hearing how she behaved the last little while on Buffy, I believe a lot more of it. It's too bad as I loved her on AMC (and on Buffy, of course).

I don't like my soap too serious or too campy, I like it in the middle. I think Megan McTavish can be and has been a decent AMC writer at times, but she needs to be controlled by a Broderick, Behr and/or Nixon. I don't buy that she's anybodys "Yes" woman, she's a writer that likes being in control. If you give her that control and let her free, she's basically what this guy described, a bitch with too much power and mouth that will do some insane stuff on screen and maybe off screen too. Maybe not immediately so, but eventually. I loved the show until 1994-1995. 1993 was a magnificent year, campy but good, IMO (Tad's return, Kendall's introduction). Pre-dating 1993 there was Will's murder, Natalie in the well, Dimitri - I enjoyed it. The show was brilliant in a less campy way before her stint, as well. I enjoyed the show for the first 1-2 years McTavish was back in the 2000s. For those reasons, I probably could never look at McTavish as the worse writer in AMC history despite the unabortion and Dixie and the pancakes and Tad burying a man alive - as insane and awful as those things were. She did some horrible, unforgivable stuff, but she also provided some of the years this viewer found most enjoyable on this soap.

Well said--and that's why I often stick up for McTavish, even though I don't think I'm blind to the awfulness she has done. (I do disagree with the yes woman/man thing, though, I think there's a reason she got along with Frons, with JFP, etc, and that's why, though I do get what you're saying about her wanting to be in control). But anyway, that's why I do--because frankly much of her time has given me my happiest years as a soap opera fanatic--like 1992/1993 (I know Nixon was HW when Janet in the well happened but wasn't that credited to McTavish? I remember it being pimped when they were talking about her success in a SOD article).

I was turned off to AMC between McTavish's exit and Broderick's return, it was a mix off too many new faces, all the soaps trying to copy JER, and becoming a DAYS fan despite despising JER's tactics being used on other soaps.

Confused--you mean from 2007 till now? Or back in the 90s? CUz as much of a mess as lots of that recent era was, I admit I don't see all that much JER influence...

LOL What? I don't remember a ghost Maria at all, let alone one who took care of her nails.... Do tell lol

When Jim Thomasen kidnapped Edmund (as Edmund had dirt on him) and chained him in a viaduct, Eva LaRue returned for a day or two as an image of Maria appeared to help Edmund keep focused and alive. She would file her nails once or twice and talk to him about Maddie and Sam and her love for him and so on.

I didn't even remember that Tim was still there by 1997. LOL

He was hanging out with "Oyster Cracker", played by Chip from Kate & Allie (who went on to traumatize many 80s sitcom fans further with his stint on Oz), and he hit the roof when he realized Janet and Trevor were dating. I think I had it wrong though, I think he locked himself in a deep freeze and framed Janet for it.

The Dillon stories, as iffy as some of them were, helped me enjoy AMC in some of those lean years. It's never been entirely the same for me since that awful awful exit the family was given a few years later (not to mention what McTavish did to them when she returned in 2003).

The Dhillons were really the last example I think we had of a fairly normal, relatable, middle class family unit on the show--something the show used to have in spades (it's funny to call any family with Janet in it normal...) I was never a HUGE fan but I did miss them when they left (though that's not McT's fault, she seemed to like to write for them--I'm still not sure why Nixon and Passanante wrote them out--that was the whole Candy Cane killer story right? I always forget the details).

I don't remember anyone on AMC ever being called Oyster Cracker lol but I do remember Tim framing Janet, now--and I completely remember the Edmund thing (though I still don't remember her filing her fingers, LOL)

Thanks

Edited March 2, 201015 yr by EricMontreal22

The Dhillons were really the last example I think we had of a fairly normal, relatable, middle class family unit on the show--something the show used to have in spades (it's funny to call any family with Janet in it normal...) I was never a HUGE fan but I did miss them when they left (though that's not McT's fault, she seemed to like to write for them--I'm still not sure why Nixon and Passanante wrote them out--that was the whole Candy Cane killer story right? I always forget the details).

I don't remember anyone on AMC ever being called Oyster Cracker lol but I do remember Tim framing Janet, now--and I completely remember the Edmund thing (though I still don't remember her filing her fingers, LOL)

Thanks

I hated the Dillons. I just couldn't accept that Trevor would fall in love with Janet. It was preposterous.

Edited March 2, 201015 yr by Jonathan

They were already phasing the family out anyway. Poor Tim was gone, Trevor and Janet were barely there. James Kiberd left because he refused to take what he saw as an insulting pay cut. I have always wondered if they lowballed so he'd leave.

The story was that an old ex con friend of Janet's was blackmailing her and she refused to take money from anyone (she had one clumsy scene with Erica over this) and then she went nuts and beat Sophie with a candy cane. Then the woman died in a fire at a warehouse and Trevor was blamed and went on the run. Arlene wore a wire to find the real killer and we got a rushed last scene which amounted to, "Hey, Trevor is on the phone. He's not going back to Pine Valley because it's too much for him but he's somewhere else, and so is Tim! Let's go!"

Stories like this were why I couldn't really get behind the whole "AMC is back!" stuff around that time.

I hated the Dillons. I just couldn't accept that Trevor would fall in love with Janet. It was preposterous.

I didn't see it as any more ridiculous than Trevor going from crazy mercenary to cuddly Uncle Porkchop

I always had doubts about them as a couple but for me it was worth it to keep such good actors and interesting characters on the canvas, who had ties to so many people. I also thought there was such potential for Tim and Amanda, both played by very good young actors. Considering the other stories going on in that timeframe I thought there were places for them to go.

Now I guess the only one left is Amanda, who was turned to nothing by Pratt anyway.

Edited March 2, 201015 yr by CarlD2

Arlene was involved in the story? I don't remember that at all So Trevor was never cleared on the show? I remember the ex con clearly--at Xmas Janet kept seeing her everywhere...

Arlene was involved in the story? I don't remember that at all So Trevor was never cleared on the show? I remember the ex con clearly--at Xmas Janet kept seeing her everywhere...

After Trevor went on the run (the last time viewers saw Kiberd), they teased a story where Janet was talking to Mirror Janet and going nuts. This was abruptly dropped, as Robin was fired, I believe. Arlene was back in town by this time and she wore a wire to flirt with the man who had actually killed Sophie. He was busted, and Trevor was cleared. Then Janet, who was still clearly very shaky mentally, had the phone call and left for a "happy" ending with Trevor, Tim, and Amanda. Of course even the return of her instability didn't make me think Janet would go on to kill Trevor, but I guess I didn't have enough of an imagination.

Edited March 2, 201015 yr by CarlD2

I didn't see it as any more ridiculous than Trevor going from crazy mercenary to cuddly Uncle Porkchop

I wish there were clips around of the first Trevor. He was so different, I bet most people don't even remember Good Old Trevor was actually a recast. The original didn't last too long, he was the guy that I think was trying to kill Jeremy or working with Marisa, I forget what the story was.

There is a clip of JK's Trevor (with tan and ponytail) fighting with Jeremy, I think Eric or Carl put it up a few months back. Help me out guys.

I wish there were clips around of the first Trevor. He was so different, I bet most people don't even remember Good Old Trevor was actually a recast. The original didn't last too long, he was the guy that I think was trying to kill Jeremy or working with Marisa, I forget what the story was.

I can see he was probably different, but even early Kiberd is scary!