Jump to content

All My Children Tribute Thread


Toups

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 10.4k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

I never cared for Laurel, but I thought her murder storyline involving Jason, Michael etc was well done. I was watching some of those episodes and it's like two different shows. This was a good story, but then you had the Jamaica stuff with Noah/Julia/Mateo/Hayley/Taylor which wasn't interesting at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I remember some claims that the latter was network interference, I don't know. All I know is that I found all the Julia and Noah stuff boring and he annoyed me a great deal. I get the feeling that may have been one of the storylines McTavish was better suited to write. She had a very specific style (for better or worse...). I think if she and Lorraine Broderick had ever been co-headwriters they would have been a perfect fit for AMC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

That's been said many times. The problem is that McTavish, by many accounts, could become impossible to work with. She wasn't open to deviating from her style, or collaborating with another voice to create a new voice together. 

 

Former head writer Wisner Washam outright blamed McTavish for driving him off AMC in the early 90's, and it's been long rumored that McTavish had green-eyed monster issues toward Broderick that ultimately caused LB to defect to Guiding Light a few months after Washam's exit.

 

There's an interview McTavish gave during her last AMC stint, where she throws the most petty shade at Broderick... something along the lines of, "You can win all the awards in the world, but they don't mean anything - it's ratings that count." (Broderick had won 4 Daytime Emmys as All My Children's head writer - 3 of those consecutive in the mid-90's... and McTavish? ... Zero.)

 

So yeah. McTavish likely wouldn't have shared head writing duties with anyone, least of all Lorraine Broderick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I've read that too. It's unfortunate, especially since Broderick (presumably not through her own choice) ended up churning out McTavish-esque material for much of 1996 and 1997 anyway, which was not her strong suit. It ended up being the worst of both worlds. 

Edited by DRW50
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

1996 wasn't Broderick's first attempt at science fiction. LB also did that whole Damon Lazzare hypnotizing Silver story in the late 80's. Although you maybe right about it being network mandated given the popularity with DAYS at the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

It wasn't just the Jamaica stuff, but also things like Janet taking Brooke's face (which I assume she must not have wanted to do in part because I think Robin said when they rehired her that Broderick came up with a story to keep her around - didn't she say that?), and then all that mess like Dimitri sleeping with Maria, and the baby stealing, and the Jim Thomasen stuff with his past history of exploiting Laura, etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Agree.

 

But, ya know, even if I've never thought much of LB as a HW, I'd still take her brand of wackiness over MMT's any day.  At least Lorraine tries to ground her in some emotional truth.  To me, Megan McTavish was all plot, all gimmick, all the time.

 

I STILL would LOVE to know what he meant when he said she had a "big mouth."  Did she "runteldat" on him to Agnes Nixon, or FMB, or the network?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Actually, BF, I agree.  People tend to give Agnes Nixon credit for AMC's early-to-mid-'80's golden era when, in fact, it was Washam who handled the actual HW'ing duties.  Yes, Nixon kept her hand in, so to speak, but I get the impression that she spent the bulk of her time on other pursuits (LOVING, her prime-time miniseries, etc.).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Laurel wasn't a horrible character, I just think her type of character would have fit in better on the show in the 80s then in the 90s.

 

Lorraine B. always had a quirky side.. pairing Janet/Erica/Skye as a witches of eastwick trio was inspired and funny... while Skye accidently saw Dimitri/Maria together and being conflicted about it because of her friendship with Erica and her crush on Edmund.. with Janet being her sounding board.  There was a lot of good stuff within the wacky.

 

With that said, I loved how judgmental Erica was to Annie.. and even when both were in Oakhaven.. Erica still kept acting like she was above Annie while Annie pointed out to her that they were both in a mental hospital and that both stabbed someone.  I loved Annie's facial expressions and reaction when she found out about Erica/Janet hiding Kinder's body and remarking 'And I'm the crazy one'.  If only she found out about Erica stabbing Dimitri and also kidnapping a baby.

Edited by Soaplovers
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Franscesca James deserves partial credit for that time....  a sudden, overdosed injection of plot drive (FJ called it taking characters to the edge) that made our heads spin. 

 

But unlike McT's bag of tricks, there was consistent character exploration in between, very much Broderick's style. In spite of the events that the story surrounded (which I also disliked - Maria sleeping with Dimitri, Janet turns her obsession to Brooke, etc.), they included gripping scenes along the way... and usually led up to power conclusions - all with shedding layers of character, character, character... Edmund taking Sam from Maria's arms to give back to Kelsey, Erica hearing Dimitri tell Maria things were better off that the baby died, Erica returning the baby to Maria, her taking responsibility at the end of her trial, Janet's road to redemption, Kelsey & Kevin's friendship & the conversion therapy story... 

 

Felicia Behr as EP was much better for AMC, and it was a mistake to replace her with FJ. Behr achieved a pacing and balance that felt just right. Disney bought ABC, saw that the ratings weren't quite as good as prior (no soap's was), and really jumped the gun here. Dumping Broderick for McTavish 6 months later, thinking that was going to solve their issues, made things even worse.

 

 

I wouldn't call that sci-fi as much as psycho-fi, lol... Silver was being drugged, as well. I actually found it fascinating to watch. Broderick's work has at times touched on a "gothic" feel to some stories. I enjoyed it.

 

What was terrible was Erica's story that came out of the WGA strike. Travis, and the fake kidnapping, and... honestly, I can't even piece it all together correctly. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The writer strike in 1988 did no favors for a lot of the stories... so when Lorraine Broderick/Victor Miller were demoted in early 1989... they were probably unable to clean up the mess left during the writers strike.

 

I will say Margaret Depriest in her ten month stint as headwriter did some good and not so good of things for the show.  She resolved the Cliff/Nina story, paired up Tad/Dixie, started Jack/Erica (which was fresh at the time), and while I think the Eric as a clown story was strange... in a weird way.. I think it actually was needed because she was a new parent and probably felt more then ever she needed to find her father.  Did Depriest, or Nixon, write that her father Eric betrayed her by selling his shares to Natalie (her rival)?

 

Also, I had no idea that Jeremy/Skye were a couple...I guess Nixon ended that when she came back on fairly quickly?  I

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • @TaoboiI ran into Dani’s favorite party planner again tonight

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I think they’re desperately trying to cover his awful tattoos. But anyway them being unable to style short kings properly has been a major pet peeve of mine for a while now.  I honestly don’t understand what some people expect from actors to even begin considering them for recognition. Let’s be real—awards mostly mean that an actor is respected by their peers and has some level of cultural relevance. Actual judgment on the acting itself? That’s often secondary—highly subjective and shaped by the times. I completely agree on both points. If you’re an actor or a dancer you shouldn’t get any tattoos (sorry not sorry). Tomas’ tattoos are ugly too. And regarding the couples- you’re completely right. These writers are unable to write romance.   Further comments: - Kat cannot be this dumb to keep tampering with evidence over and over again. And I’m officially not a fan of the actress—every time she’s in a scene with Leslie, she doesn’t seem intimidated at all. She plays it like comic relief, which is just too much, especially when paired with Leslie’s histrionics and over-the-top antics. Leslie is older, dangerous, and has literally been portrayed as homicidal—Kat should be at least a little scared. • I also didn’t like Kat playing damsel in distress with the hotel manager. It gave off the same weird energy as Dani with the cop. I would’ve much preferred the version Paul Raven suggested, with her sneaking in through housekeeping. • And yes, Dani again accused Hayley of faking the pregnancy—this time even specifying she might be using a pillow under her shirt. (No fake miscarriage being mentioned) I stand by my take: this is ridiculous writing. No one in the real world—except us, the chronically online soap watchers—would even think of such a conspiracy theory. Haley is no Beyoncé. • What in the world was Chelsea wearing in her hair the other day? And this whole thing with Madison is beyond cringe. Chelsea’s coming off as needy and toxic—basically like every other Dupree. • I’m glad the casino storyline is moving forward, but it’s still boring as hell. Honestly, I’d be so here for a plot twist where Vanessa and Doug take Joey out. • The direction and editing lately have been rough. Abrupt cuts, weird pacing… something just feels off overall. There’s a strange uneasiness to how it’s all coming together. • And finally: Tomas is too much of a saint. Where are the messy sluts when you need them? (Vanessa doesn’t count.)
    • I was watching some August 1987 episodes and they brought back so many memories. I had some thoughts: Lisa and Jamie were so dull. Lisa was such a nothing character. It boggles my mind that so much story was centered around her in such a short amount of time. Joanna Going is a talented actress, but the material was just not there.  It was so good to see Wallingford and Mitch again. I know there was talk about Felicia a while back, but these episodes reminded me how integral Felicia was for the show.  Sally Spencer was done so dirty. She is turning in superb performances in an icky storyline. I wish she had stuck around longer. She has chemistry with everyone. The McKinnons should have lasted longer. Spencer had some strong stuff with Stephen Schnetzer and Mary Alexander. AW waster such a talented actress by getting rid of her. Justice for Cheryl too. I also missed Ed Fry when he left. Sandra Ferguson was a star from the moment she came on. She was charismatic and just popped. She had immediate chemistry with RKK and blended in well with Wyndham and Watson. I'd forgotten about the teenage Matthew.  I have no memory of Peggy Lazarus. She must not have lasted long. Was the original plan for John that he was going to turn out to be the twins' real father?      
    • If the new and improved copies that @rsclassicfanforever has uploaded can be manually moved into the "by month, by year" folders, that would be awesome. I personally don't think it's necessary to keep the older versions (which either have Dutch subtitles hard coded on them, or are lesser in picture quality). That's a lot of valuable drive space that could be cleared. Just my view but can appreciate others may feel differently. The structure had been by month by year previously, so I think it would be easier to conform to that, where so much prior work to get it to that format has already been done. Hopefully you can "drag and drop" so the new copies are in the right month/year? Re Clips, I never look at them now we pretty much have the episodes in full. Appreciate others may use, however. Thanks for all your hard work here @BoldRestless!
    • Oh yes defintely, Josh Griffith repeats and repeats the same storylines.
    • Isnt’t this storyline similar to the Cameron Kirsten situation though? Sharon thought she killed him. He ended up being alive and Sharon was being tormented with thinking she was seeing his face everywhere and that’s how we got that iconic scene with her and Nikki in the sewers.   I understand in Mariah’s case this is different circumstances but it does seem like a play on that whole thing. Maybe I’m wrong. I just wish if they were going to make any character follow in Sharon’s foot steps it would be Faith. Mariah wasn’t even raised by her, and her personality is different. I would expect her to take a different path. I understand I could be completely jumping ahead because the storyline hasn’t even played out yet but we’ll see. 
    • Thanks again @Paul Raven Monica was completely without redeeming qualities at this point. I always found the whole Monica = Carly narrative regressive, as I don't think shows comparing characters so heavily is ever a great idea, but she's actually worse than Carly was. Was it the Pollocks who had Leslie have a miscarriage?  Giving her a child, especially by rape, was not a good idea, but a part of me wishes they'd committed to it just to see what story it might have had in later years.
    • @janea4old Your detailed explanation and delving into the psychology and motivations is no doubt the opposite of what we will see onscreeen. As @ranger1rg stated we will get a few scenes and some sketchy explanations. Like the adoption of Aria, most of it will take place off screen.
    • I'm suddenly fearful that DAYS is going to pull a Flowers-for-Algernon stunt and Bo's progress will be reversed.  While @te. is stuck on Abe's tiny bedroom, I can't stop thinking of the size of Bo's huge hospital room.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy