AMC and OLTL Will Move Online!

[DRW50]

Did you know Lenny was on SNL?

http://snl.jt.org/cast.php?i=GeCo

Here's the article where Gottlieb talks about working with a black writer.

[DRW50]

I think the biggest issue is they go to ugly places but don't want to address this. That means Ford, Victor, Clint, and Jessica all did unbelievably horrific things, and yet we were either supposed to not care, or we were supposed to love it. Clint did awful things last year, and we learned he'd been doing awful things offcamera for years, and...what happened? He had a heart attack and then bought a heart. He confessed to a murder that no one on the show really cares about and was dropped. He lost some money but he still has Viki who certainly has enough money of her own. Everything he did is now history, perhaps because the show saw it as great camp, not much else.

There's also no real heart, and they only write humor when it's camp. That left characters like Bo, who is now a stranger IMO, hanging out to dry.

I would like someone to ask RC to try writing seriously and not to do any attempts at comedy, and see what the results are.

[EricMontreal22]

You mean he also appeared in the original casts of Mame and Company on Broadway? Funny, nobody got him to take his shirt of in those...

[EricMontreal22]

So glad you re-linked to that--I missed this board for most of July, and I guess when I skimmed through what I missed, I missed that interview. It's terrific, and makes me appreciate Gottlieb all the more (I do get why some longterm fans felt that Gottlieb and Malone/Griffith changed character and things too quickly, and of course I came into the show probably mid 1992 with the gay storyline, so didn't have a history with the show, but I think it really did need to clean house, and I respect that from that interview Gottlieb did consult with Nixon, and we know Malone said he spent several weeks talking to Nixon about her thoughts and vision, so they did IMHO have a respect for history). Sure some things didn't work, but the show had so much that was compelling during her time, that it seems unfair to quibble. ABC Daytime really was in good shape at the time--even with OLTL still getting fairly mid level ratings--creatively OLTL, AMC and GH were all very strong overall from mid '91 to '95--well GH I suppose not till '93 creatively, I know nothing about the 90s pre Labine. Even Loving was kinda starting to find its footing and stability.

I always wondered if Gottlieb left on her own or was let go, now I suspect she left on her own--she's known for liking to try many different types of projects, and did leave almost exactly after three years, which was her contract. I have to admit though, I don't even remember Troy, and Valerie P was never given as much as she should have--though she has such an extraordinary stage career as an actress and singer/dancer--I saw her in Fosse in the late 90s where she was the lead female dancer and mind blowingly good--that I wonder if maybe she didn't want to do a steady soap.

[EricMontreal22]

The camp if kept in control would bother me less, but I definitely agree about heart--and about no repercussions for those dark or violent moments you mention. Either the character goes psycho and is killed/written off canvas, or more often than not, it's not just that we're asked to forgive them, it's more to me that we're asked to basically forget--and if their past actions are mentioned they're underwritten to seem like less than they were.

[DRW50]

I would have asked Valerie if she would consider working on a recurring basis and promising her some stories in the time she was able to work. She was so dynamic and the Hank/Sheila/Nora/Bo/Rachel group was badly hurt when she and then Ellen Bethea left. I can imagine how much more dramatic the RJ/Sheila story (which went nowhere) would have been if Valerie had been in the role.

There are a few clips of Troy. I like him but I can't say they were wrong to phase him out.

I wish they'd cast Count Stovall on the show - I really enjoyed his work on ATWT, and it seems like he had a thankless role on AMC (didn't Angie and Pat fight over him, to which I say, is that REALLY who you're going to give a mother/daughter rival story to?).

[EricMontreal22]

What was the Sherezade story on OLTL that Gottlieb mentioned?

[DRW50]

I think that was her description of Megan dying as people tell her stories to keep her alive.

[JaneAusten]

Very impressive. He worked for Eisner along with Katzenberg, didn't realize that. I wonder if he and Katzenberg got fired or left around the same time. EIsner the once golden child at Disney ultimately was the one who helped devalue the companies stock and had a lot to do with ABCs plummet due to his micromanaging. I remember rumors that he even had his hands in ABC Daytime. He fostered a culture of micromanagement and conflict which is the complete opposite of Iger and Sweeney. Katzenberg has faired well with Dreamworks. THis is definitely a positive.

[Khan]

I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Eisner seems like the type (to micromanage) and he probably thought his previous experience in daytime programming would come in handy, too.

[JaneAusten]

He killed ABC. ABC went from the number 1 network when Katzenberg left to number 3. I think he was also behind the break with Pixar the animation company responsible for a lot of the great animation work done years back when Disney had that great resurgence with its motion picture division. There was some big blowup with Eisner and Steve Jobs over it and I think that was the final nail in his coffin at Disney plus all the bad press he got with Roy Disney. I had actually read somewhere that some of the changes at AMC and GH were directives from him like the Sex and the City component on AMC and basically morphing the 3 shows to a point where they were almost interchangable from a visual perspective. Having the same kind of openings on each show was also rumored to be his mandate. Now why the president and CEO of Disney would get involved in stuff like this makes no sense. But Frons does seem to share that mgmt style.

[KMan101]

Disney buying ABC killed ABC. They influenced and dumbed down nearly all of the sitcoms and helped ruin daytime.

[JaneAusten]

Thats very true. THey had a lot to do with what happened to Roseanne and why she rebelled of sorts in her last year

The strange part is the 2 people who worked for ABC Programming who were responsible for brining on Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Greys the

only really big successes Disney had other than DWTS were fired by Disney while Eisner was still there. They were also the ones pushing ABC/Disney

to take on CSI which ABC/Disney saw as a loser and we see how that worked out for CBS don't we, Of course Fox also passed on Modern Family so

I guess many networks have their share of f'ups

[John]

If I was Prospect Park and actors from either OLTL and AMC bad mouthed PP I wouldnt offer them to continue On-Line

[John]

Cap Cites which owned ABC Til 95 wasnt all that great either

Ilene Kristen (Roxy, OLTL) said when they canned RH in 88, the heads came to the wrap party & Helen Gallagher (Maeve, RH) Told them where they could go with their "Concern". I wish I was a fly on the wall to hear that. LOL