I think the issue with AMC Is the issue with all of the ABC soaps. They just in many ways became carbon copies of one another. The things that made each show special and unique has disappeared.

That's true of all soaps, not just the ones on ABC. I loved all the shows - well, almost all - but I loved them for different reasons. If you wanted straight-up kitchen sink drama, you went to AMC, LOVING, RYAN'S HOPE and SEARCH FOR TOMORROW. If you wanted far-flung adventure stories with a little romance thrown in, you went to DAYS, EDGE OF NIGHT and GH. If old-school glamour was your thing, with big hair and bigger emotions, then you had B&B, CAPITOL and Y&R. If you'd rather your stories not take themselves so seriously all the time, then you had OLTL, PASSIONS, SANTA BARBARA and SUNSET BEACH. And if you enjoyed all that, but just wanted a deeper emphasis on issues concerning families, then you stuck with ANOTHER WORLD, AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT.

I can't blame all this on PP. All these people were scheduled to return as it was before PP was announced so Broderick came up with some convoluted story to explain it.

True. Regardless of their intentions with this story, or who actually mandated that it told be this way, now was not the time to tell it, PP reprieve or no. As it is, I feel like entire emotional chunks have been taken out of the story because they don't have the proper time to explore all its' nuances.

I should clarify. I don't "blame" PP for the Project Orpheus story. Sadly that's all on LB. But I do think the "reprieve" may be responsible for the fact that show is choppy, some stories have been truncated and/or rushed and that some returns have been/will be completely fucked up.

But I do think the "reprieve" may be responsible for the fact that show is choppy, some stories have been truncated and/or rushed and that some returns have been/will be completely fucked up.

Because PP's reprieve came so late into the proceedings, I feel like they should have told AMC not to worry about keeping everything open-ended. Just do what you gotta, they should have said, and we'll figure out what to do next later.

I think we should all wait to see how things conclude before PP gets held accountable. I keep going back to what Agnes said when the show was cancelled and being wrapped up before PP came into play was that yes thinks were being wrapped up but she was going to end the show with an eye on the future, life goes on feel to it. Leaving things to the point also where if someone were to pick the show up it could be a relatively easy transition. Unless AMC leaves the air with a cliff hanger of sorts, some tragedy, I don't think I will buy that PP was the influencing factor at least in a major way.

I don't blame PP for the direction the show is taking. Yes, LB and AN had a plan for how the show should end had it not been picked up but they as writers are deciding how things will be. PP obviously has faith in LB if the rumors are true she is staying with the show when it heads online in January. I do think that things changed drastically once it was announced the show was continuing but again I don't think the show is the train wreck some feel it is.

I don't blame PP for the direction the show is taking. Yes, LB and AN had a plan for how the show should end had it not been picked up but they as writers are deciding how things will be. PP obviously has faith in LB if the rumors are true she is staying with the show when it heads online in January. I do think that things changed drastically once it was announced the show was continuing but again I don't think the show is the train wreck some feel it is.

I don;t think the show is a trainwreck. IN fact I think honestly once they killed off Zach, the show became much improved even with Ryan still around because I just find Zach such a suffocating character, same as most of the it men on the ABC soaps are. HIs departure opened up the canvas to other stories and characters. How interesting it would be to me to see a GH without Sonny or Jason or a OLTL without John McBain. Was the show perfect no but Kendall became half watchable again thats for sure. Erica's story was given more focus and I thought Angie and Jessie actually seemed to be used a bit more. We got Tad and Cara and Scott and Madison. I wasn't excited about Amanda and JAke under the prior writers.(thats one area I do think LB has improved) Its been Zach and Dixie's return to a lessor degree that has helped derail some of the things that were actually working and improving.

Edited August 28, 201114 yr by JaneAusten

Are we ever going to find out how David and Ben are connected?

I don;t think the show is a trainwreck. IN fact I think honestly once they killed off Zach, the show became much improved even with Ryan still around because I just find Zach such a suffocating character, same as most of the it men on the ABC soaps are. HIs departure opened up the canvas to other stories and characters. How interesting it would be to me to see a GH without Sonny or Jason or a OLTL without John McBain. Was the show perfect no but Kendall became half watchable again thats for sure. Erica's story was given more focus and I thought Angie and Jessie actually seemed to be used a bit more. We got Tad and Cara and Scott and Madison. I wasn't excited about Amanda and JAke under the prior writers.(thats one area I do think LB has improved) Its been Zach and Dixie's return to a lessor degree that has helped derail some of the things that were actually working and improving.

I totally agree. I guess the reason I won't fully blame LB is because she really had a thankless job. Should she have focused so much on this Orpheus mess? no, but to say Wheeler did better at GL for instance seems ridiculous to me--it's such a different case.

I admit I've never got the argument about AMC being absolutely unrecognizable, when compared to many long running soaps still on, I think it is pretty recognizable. Yes, it's lost a lot of the charm and humour--but...

I didn't say Wheeler did better but at a time when LB should have people tuning in because it's the end and to make sure viewers follow the show online in january, I see the exact opposite happening thanks to the crap that is currently onscreen.

Okay I get that and you're right that the show has definitely lost a lot of its personality.I guess when I hear "unrecognizable" I think of GH where somewhere along the line a conscious decision was made to completely change what the show was about. I don't think that's happened to AMC. I've seen comments that AMC deserved to be canceled because it was "too far gone" and I've never agreed with that. It's was badly damaged by whiplash writing regimes and, of course, Fronsian interference but the people who say it was beyond hope tend to be coming from a viewpoint that...let's just say I've always had a problem with.

All that said, the fact that the show is going to end with this sickening sci-fi plot and these rancid, stale pairings borders on creative malpractice.

I don't think so either, marceline. Granted, AMC has lost its' charm. As I've said before on numerous occasions, Pine Valley has become too cosmopolitan; frankly, I doubt the move to PP will restore its quaintness, for lack of a better word. However, in creating AMC, Agnes Nixon set out to tell the story of a town. A town filled with some quirky, larger-than-life character, yes. But also, a town with "ordinary people" facing the same everyday problems you and I face. If the writers cut out all the b.s. and get back to that, regardless of who stays and who doesn't, it will be a step in the right direction.

I don;t think the show is a trainwreck. IN fact I think honestly once they killed off Zach, the show became much improved even with Ryan still around because I just find Zach such a suffocating character, same as most of the it men on the ABC soaps are. HIs departure opened up the canvas to other stories and characters. How interesting it would be to me to see a GH without Sonny or Jason or a OLTL without John McBain. Was the show perfect no but Kendall became half watchable again thats for sure. Erica's story was given more focus and I thought Angie and Jessie actually seemed to be used a bit more. We got Tad and Cara and Scott and Madison. I wasn't excited about Amanda and JAke under the prior writers.(thats one area I do think LB has improved) Its been Zach and Dixie's return to a lessor degree that has helped derail some of the things that were actually working and improving.

ITA. AMC hasn't become completely unrecognizable and IMO has been salvaged quite well by Broderick so far. Zach's return is the one dark spot in an otherwise mostly entertaining hour for me and that only occurred after the cancellation. I may be in the minority, but Dixie's return has worked on every level for me and I'm hoping Tad & Dixie will anchor the show when it moves online.

Are we ever going to find out how David and Ben are connected?

I hope so!

I didn't say Wheeler did better but at a time when LB should have people tuning in because it's the end and to make sure viewers follow the show online in january, I see the exact opposite happening thanks to the crap that is currently onscreen.

I couldn't disagree more! I think the ratings will rise considerably at the end after Angie learns the truth and we find out exactly what David did to Dixie.