ABC Spin: "Moving AMC to L.A. Will Breathe New Life Into the Show"

[Max]

Two years ago, does anybody remember which AMC stars were puppeting the corporate spin that moving AMC to L.A. would breathe new life into the show? To the best of my knowledge, the only ones who were doing this (to any large extent) were Susan Lucci and two of Frons' favorite pets: Cameron Mathison and Rebecca Budig. I personally believe that Lucci was essentially forced to puppet this bullshit, in addition to being forced to make the move/commute (because if she didn't, she would be blamed by many fans for AMC's failure).

It was reprehensible that almost all of AMC's cast had to uproot their lives to satisfy some ill-conceived idea. Even more disgusting was that Frons once took credit (in his Disney/ABC online biography) that significant cost savings were achieved by making this move. (Obviously this wasn't the case, or else AMC wouldn't have been cancelled.)

Two-plus years after this news was announced, what are your current thoughts--and what were your initial thoughts--regarding the idea to re-locate AMC to another coast? I always felt that it was an idiotic idea, analogous to moving a terminally ill patient cross country. I was also very skeptical that it would materially reduce costs (despite realizing that union crews wouldn't have to take down sets on a daily basis), since California also has a reputation for being a business-unfriendly state. However, one thing that I did realize at the time was that OLTL was doomed; its doom was all the more apparent when the planned transition to HD never occurred. (Yet one thing I am certain of is that it was not ABC's plan all along to axe AMC; otherwise, these huge investments would never have been made.)

I was completely wrong regarding when it came to predicting just how little time AMC had left after this move was made. I honestly thought that AMC would be on televison until at least 2015; cancelling it earlier would be like throwing tons of money down the toilet, and would also be a huge admission of failure on ABC's part.

Finally, does anybody conclusively know if moving AMC 3,000 miles was Frons' idea? (Although I certainly suspect it was.) Or could it have been the idea of one of his bosses?

[EricMontreal22]

Does this really need its own thread at this point? Serious? *can already guess most of the responses*

As for stars "spinning" stuff--of course they saw a move as ABC having faith that they'd haave a show and a job for a number of years to come, I don't think any should be cirticized for saying or acting like it was a good thing at the time.

[Max]

Eric, one of the major reasons why I started this thread was that I honestly don't remember what the initial reactions of people at SON were at the time. I was also curious which stars were most gung-ho about the move.

I wasn't criticizing Lucci for what she did, because I felt that she had to say the things she said. In contrast, I feel that RB & CM were just kissing up to Frons.

I could have just lumped this topic in with the PP discussion thread, but it just would have broken up the flow. I'm also curious as to how many years everybody thought AMC & OLTL had left (on television) after the move was announced. However, if one of the moderators wants to lock or delete this thread, I'm OK with that.

[Cheap21]

+1 This was most relevant when the show got cancellde and got discussed plenty of times over the past year

[marceline]

I think we all know that the move west was a scam. That's why I don't have a problem with the fact that these actors haven't/won't sign with PP. They've been burned.

[aMLCproduction]

Max it's a good thread and a topic worth discussing. I am curious to see peoples thoughts. Proceed..

Now see I didn't. I like Max thought this would have gave AMC three to five years. Never in a million years did I dream they only got two. So I think this topic is fair.

[Max]

aMLCproduction, thank you so much for your kind words.

[JaneAusten]

I guess I wasn't around much when the cancellations happened so I will ask a couple of questions and plead ignorance here

1. What was the move supposed to gain them

2. Was it a requirement for all the actors to relocate aside from Lucci

3, Did they expect the ratings to improve because TPTB were closer to the show to provide more on the set input?

4. How long did they expect it would be before they recouped the relocation costs?

[R Sinclair]

1. Cheaper production costs.

2. Actors on contract had a choice to relocate or commute but at their own expense either way.

3. It wasn't about ratings.

4. That wasn't talked about.

[Cheap21]

1. It was supposed to make the show cheaper to produce. The move was also done to facilitate the show moving to an HD format, whcih would have been more expensive to do had they stayed in NY

2. No actor was required to relocate. All had the option to leave and some did

3. It wasnt a ratings improvement they were looking for, but rather making the show more cost effective. It just so happened to coincide with the old writers being fired and Broderick coming on as interim writer and there's always the hope for a ratings increase whenever there's a transition. For what its worth, the show did seem alot better when it moved to LA, primarily bc of her writing.

4. No clue

[marceline]

Let me make a correction: "I think we all know NOW that the move west was a scam." That's what I meant. I'm not saying the subject doesn't deserve discussion, If people don't want to talk about it then don't comment.

[JaneAusten]

Thanks to both of you -

Going to HD, LA or not always made me think they had a longer term investment in the show.

Marceline when you say Scam what do you mean. Call me dense

[marceline]

I think it was an attempt to kill time while ABC tried to find the perfect replacement shows. They moved AMC even as they floated pilots for Aisha Tyler and Tori Spelling, ABC was always planning to ditch the soaps. They only variable was when and in what order.

[Cheap21]

same here and I beleive they did. Unfortunately it always comes down to money and the ratings werent making any signifcant improvements, hence the show was on the chopping block. I dont for a second think that they had definite plans to cancel the show when they made the decision to relocate it. If anything that was a last ditch effort to save it and keep it from getting cancelled . It at least extended its life for a little bit and Im glad for that bc I found 2010-2011 to be more enjoyable than the years which had preceeded it

[R Sinclair]

Rubbish.

I agree.