All My Children Tribute Thread

[DRW50]

I can see why. It's a shame about her return.

[Paul Raven]

Wonder what Gillian Spencer contributed as story consultant?

[danfling]

I think that Art Wallace (who mostly created Dark Shadows and was its first writer) was also a story consultant during that time.

Also, Mary Harris, who had worked with Agnes Nixon on Another World, was also an uncredited story consultant.

[allmc2008]

what exactly is a story consultant?

[Khan]

From my understanding, a story consultant can pitch ideas from time to time, but mostly they are there to assist the head and associate writers as they lay out story every week, debating whether a particular story "beat" is effective and, as in the case of Harding Lemay and every soap he has consulted on, whether characters' motivations are logical and apparent. Ken Corday used to employ story consultants on DAYS often during the 1990's.

[Paul Raven]

You would think that the headwriter/assistants job would be to lay out story and beats /character motivation etc without paying out extra money to have someone else throw in their 2 cents worth.

From what I've read half the time they're ignored anyway.

[LoyaltoAMC]

I think Jorn Winther hired Gillian Spencer as story consultant when he returned as EP in 1986. I remember the during the last year or so of previous EP Jackie Babbin's reign, the show had issues with inconsistency and continuity. Since Washam and Broderick remained as HWs during the EP transition, I can only wonder if Gillian was brought in to shore up those issues. I've seen her work as HW on AW (I think as co-HW with Sam Ratcliffe), and was not really impressed.

[DRW50]

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[ghfan89]

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[YRBB]

AMC 1994: I'm surprised by how much I like Adam & Gloria. He keeps treating her pretty close to horribly because he mistrusts her following her affair with Alec but there's just something about her that screams vulnerability and strength at the same time. She's mesmerizing.

[Pine Charles]

Gloria was great! I always felt so sorry for her. LOL

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[danfling]

I thought that the show was eventually planning to make Gloria and Tad the show major family. I believe that changed when Dixie returned to the show.

[DRW50]

Gloria and Tad never really had any chemistry. I guess the show may have done more with them if Teresa Blake hadn't left, but I don't know.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Tad and Dixie would always be the end game. Even if Tad and Gloria had worked as a couple, she would've been nothing more than a plot device/stumbling block to an inevitable Tad/Dixie reunion. Before his pairing with Dixie, I thought they were going to head in the Tad/Barbara direction. Knight and Susan Pratt had terrific chemistry and all that great banter. It was all very adult and more sophisticated than the Tad/Dixie pairing would ever be.

[DRW50]

I watched the first Dec 1986 episode posted and I was surprised at how much of it I enjoyed - pretty much all of it, other than Tad, who seemed incredibly sanctimonious and hypocritical even at that time. At least there was a good scene with Tad and Marian. It's great to see that she did last as long as she did after Liza was written out.

The production values look so lush compared to what we have now, and I loved the background music in the scenes with Natalie at the stranger's apartment. (I will say I don't think she would have fallen for that ruse, or drank the champagne).

Was that Christian Slater in the mountain lodge scenes?

I really like Taylor Miller's work as Nina in this period - it is so sharp and so fresh, a mix of modern and old soap melodrama, and it holds up very well.

Why did Donna have a huge tear up the back of her blouse? Was that fashion?

On the other hand, I kind of liked Natalie's silk pants suit.

I guess I can see why AMC recast Skye (they did fire Byron, didn't they?), but she's very entertaining. I love that plucky Australian accent, bopping around in that huge blue beret that is nearly bigger than her head. I can't imagine how fans reacted at the time when the very subdued Robin Christopher took her place.

This Josh character that Stuart and Adam said left - was he ever onscreen?