All My Children Tribute Thread

[Liberty City]

 

McTavish wasn't all bad in her writing... especially in the beginning months.

[DemetriKane]

I think Lorraine and McTavish collaborating could be a interesting AMC. 

[Liberty City]

 

I'd be interesting... Broderick leveling out McTavish's more out-there stories with some heart. Though, Broderick's final months felt like a return-to-form for years-to-come had ABC not ended things.

[Pine Charles]

Please register in order to view this content

[LeClerc]

^^ Where did you find that?

 

AMC's last great writing team. Within months I think everyone in that picture was gone and McTavish was back for her god-awful second stint. And thus began AMC's long decline.

[Pine Charles]

I’m Hal Corley’s friend on Facebook.

Wonderful man.

 

Here’s another cute, behind-the-scenes shot:

Please register in order to view this content

[Pine Charles]

OK, so Mr. Corley has a Facebook album entitled “Soap.”

These comments were made 10 years ago, but I found them interesting (I’m sure most of you will recognize the names).

 

 

Please register in order to view this content

Edited July 2, 2021 by Pine Charles

[LeClerc]

Thanks for all that. 

 

"The show was being trashed and it was unbearable". Indeed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jonathan]

 

[Pine Charles]

This is no mystery, but Megan McTavish was NOT well-liked by most of her colleagues.

On the flip side, Lorraine Broderick is much-loved; the two women seem like polar opposites (but, perhaps, their “oil and water” aspect as co-HWs could’ve somehow worked).

AMC enjoyed healthy ratings for most of McTavish’s first HWing stint (usually always ranking #2 in the weekly ratings - and nearly toppling Y&R for #1 in early ‘93), but I feel it was her team who made most of her ideas work on-screen; she needs good people around her (like Hal Corley, ect.).

The influence of Felicia Behr (having been involved with AMC since 1970, as an associate producer) also invariably helped matters.

AMC’s ratings in the early ‘90s really started to rise in September 1991, when Natalie was rescued from the well (with Janet being exposed in October). Agnes Nixon, Lorraine Broderick and Wisner Washam were at the writing helm at that time; Megan was a breakdown writer (although she is often credited with coming up with the iconic “Natalie In The Well” saga). She wouldn’t become HW until the Spring of 1992, her first major plot being the “Who Killed Will?” murder mystery (which received widespread acclaim in the soap press).

 

[LeClerc]

I remember years ago the late Bettina Bradbury shared some stories on FB about how vicious McTavish could be with the writers, including exploding at a scriptwriter when said writer's baby started crying during a teleconference, and screaming about her decision to adopt a baby. Once the meeting was over, all the other writers stayed on the call to make sure the writer was okay. 

 

She also fired Bradbury -- a veteran AMC scriptwriter -- because she complained that one of the breakdown writer's (Chip Hayes) breakdowns were lacking in detail/half-assed. McTavish accused her of thinking she was better than everyone else, proceeded to only assign her Chip Hayes breakdowns, and then fired her at the end of her next cycle. 

 

 

[Pine Charles]

Yes, she’s a truly nasty person - sadistic and vindictive.

She probably wrote Janet’s dialogue when she’d visit the well to taunt & torment Natalie. LOL

Wisner Washam LOATHED her, which is why he exited the writing team shortly after she was promoted in ‘92.

 

[allmc2008]

Why are you posting with center justification and not left justification?

 

What else! What else!!

[Jonathan]

 

I seem to recall recently that James Patrick Stuart gave Agnes Nixon credit for the Who Killed Will storyline. 

[DemetriKane]

Whomever came up with the storyline, made a major mistake imo. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed that “will”storyline; very fun and interesting. But robbed the show of many more future storylines. Will should have been the resident Cortlandt rascal way until the early 2000s.

Edited July 3, 2021 by DemetriKane