I agree on Cascio& Rayfield being great, I think them and Culliton were probably the best writers to me from 2000 onward. I enjoyed the show the most then and I was really sucked in to the main drama surrounding Leo, Bianca, Greenlee, Kendell and Ryan at that point as well as the storylines featuring Maria, David, Dixie, Tad, Brooke and Edmund. I loved it all during that period. I remember really feeling the show kick off again after a lull during Micheal Cambias' arrival. I think AMC 2003 was really in an amazing place and there were so many great things happening for the show at that point.

The Rayfield stuff did instantly get better when Cascio joined him, but it felt too much like AMC light to me. All these new teen characters (that bad girl actress dating JR who had the alcoholic dad was like another attempt to try short term storytelling, Boyd the not gay hair model super scientist, Carlos the love letter writing poet, Amanda Seyfried's character who never did anything, Henry and his chinese restaurant that Joe apparently had gone to lunch at for decades, umm that lawyer guy who liked Simone and was cute but never had any story--he came back during the Satin Slayer mystery as a suspect, this was also when Frons seemed to push his Sex and the City vision the strongest). I did like some of the humour, loved Lysistrata the counsellor and her sessions with Adam and Liza as well as her dating Tad). But it was all largely fluffy (I guess apparently they were going to have Michael Cambias rape Kendall and McTavish moved it to Bianca which of course causes some uncomfotable issues to rise up, but did also lead to a more emotional story). Ironic because McTavish's work could get mired down in too much doom and gloom (didn't some of her stories the last time come from a soap bible she had penned called Purgatory?)

Edited July 7, 201213 yr by EricMontreal22

I mostly remember being so annoyed over Trey's exit.

I loved Lysistrata! I believe she had sessions with Greenlee as well. I also liked Kenny (the lawyer) and Joni (Amanda Seyfried's character). There were things that you could and pick and choose out of 2002-2003 AMC that were really good/fun, but it was such a boring mess most of the time. Andrew Ridings' JR was the absolute worst, and I still maintain that he had no upper lip.

I think it would have made sense to keep Lys on the show as a shrink people could go to. Honestly, I don't know why more soaps don't have shrinks (and not Marlena type ones) who we actually see in therapy sessions, it seems like such a natural place to deal with exposition and character stuff that is usually handled awkwardly.

I liked Kenny and Joni too--but they had nothing to do. And yes Trey's exit was a waste (the actor is one of four AMC actors to have recurring roles on Mad Men)

There was so much potential with the Trey/Kendall relationship, and Trey/Greenlee.

I thought Lysistra was just the show trying too hard.

Laurie, Henry, Carlos, Boyd, etc. were all very dull. The show did pick up after about 6 months but I don't have a lot of fond memories of the earlier stuff. I still have some of those cringey Fusion fantasies in my head.

Dysastra was awful. Thats a character that had me cringing and glad I wasnt watching AMC in 2002/early 2003. Thank god she was gone by the time AMC took over

Kendall & Greenlee's relationship was written so frickin perfect pre-McTavish. The perfect frenemies mix. Not friendly enough to not become enemies again. Not enemies enough to not have each others back when there's a mutual enemy. They were both fun bitches with good anti-heroine potential at that moment in time. I enjoyed that and the beginning of Fusion. As much as I think she's one of the best AMC writers (for her first 1-2 years of most stints), I would never like Fusion again once McTavish started on the show and I think she completely ruined the dynamic between Kendall and Greenlee which could have been legendary (like Erica and Brooke). It went from too severe (which you could fix) to absolutely gay (which is hard to fix) with Megan.

Leo/Greenlee/Kendall/Trey "gold" diggin together:

There was so much potential with the Trey/Kendall relationship, and Trey/Greenlee.

I thought Lysistra was just the show trying too hard.

Laurie, Henry, Carlos, Boyd, etc. were all very dull. The show did pick up after about 6 months but I don't have a lot of fond memories of the earlier stuff. I still have some of those cringey Fusion fantasies in my head.

They were just such poorly conceived characters. It was like they found an actor (and none of those actors you list were very good--Carlos being one of the alltime worst actors on TV, I remember my mom at the time, who NEVER talks about acting quality just burst out saying she couldn't even watch the tv when he was delivering lines, it made her too embarassed) and then gave them some generic character and nothing more to it. But I still felt the tone was what was most wrong--it was just wrong.

I don't think any character had long-term relationship potential with Greenlee because she was just too cold and selfish.

I hadn't thought about those scenes in years. I did enjoy them at the time. I don't think Richard Culliton ever got a fair deal.

I don't think any character had long-term relationship potential with Greenlee because she was just too cold and selfish.

Don't get me wrong, I usually felt that way about Budig's Greenlee. I felt she was an incredibly cold actress for the most part that wasn't written with enough balance and her hitting great chemistry in terms of romance was not easy at all. But, but, but I felt she had a warm period surrounding Leo's death. I did like her potential with Trey and I actualy liked her with Juan Pablo.

Juan turned into a dead end but at first he did seem like an example of McTavish fixing the problems--Carlos was a crap actor and a poorly conceived character (we never really found out the whole love poetry/secret thing behind him), so she brought in his brother and got rid of him quick.

Was it Rayfield who did the awful Edmund locks up Maria until she turns back into her self stuff? And the death of whats-his-name the janitor boyfriend of Erica? For the last one they hav e my thanks.

Chris gets no love around here. I loved the episode with Chris' death, I still remember that last segment clearly:

Kendall to Bianca: My boyfriend is having sex with your girlfriend. <-- great soap line

Bianca bitch slaps the bleep out of Kendall.

Moby's Natural Blues starts playing...

Chris is chasing that bad guy while Mia and Edmund are on a date in the park. Maddie ends up running off. Bad guy runs into Maddie. Chris runs into bad guy holding a gun to Maddie. Chris picks up Maddie and I believe turns around so Maddie can't be shot. Chris dies a hero.

Oh this reminds me, I sort of really enjoyed Mia and Edmund. I hadn't liked Edmund with anybody since Brooke in the 1990s.

I think it was them, yes. I still remember that location shoot where Jack was gunned down right near a big tree. How appropriate.

I still remember that location shoot where Jack was gunned down right near a big tree. How appropriate.

Haha.

Carlos did suck. Maria and Aidan sucked too. I did like Fusion pre-McTavish, but that sexiest man competition was also made of suck. Henry was boring. There was a lot of unused potential. For example, I thought Anna and Jack had potential but they never went there.

Don't get me wrong, I usually felt that way about Budig's Greenlee. I felt she was an incredibly cold actress for the most part that wasn't written with enough balance and her hitting great chemistry in terms of romance was not easy at all. But, but, but I felt she had a warm period surrounding Leo's death. I did like her potential with Trey and I actualy liked her with Juan Pablo.

Now that you mention it, I do remember feeling a little hopeful about Greenlee when Leo died, that she might become a more likeable person. It seems like so long ago.