I truly would have loved RC back as EP when Marland passed. Laurence Caso was such a weak producer. He is the reason why we lost HBS as Margo and got ED as boring Margo.

I don't think he was as good as Calhoun but other than some issues in 93-94 I thought he did a decent job. I don't know who could have fixed ATWT at that time.

I admire Wendy Riche for moving GH forward, not attempting to recreate what had made the show a big sensation just a decade earlier (and what eventually started to go out of fashion anyway). So many soaps try to recreate their glory years with terrible results these days, but Riche realized that the show had to move on and explore territory it hadn't gotten the chance to really explore in the years leading up to her tenure.

That said, by the late 90's, Wendy was clearly burnt out, as GH dissolved into a boring and destructive mess. Yes folks, let's not act like 97;99-00 GH was that much better than what the show became by the late 00's.

Calhoun left soaps because he had gotten so fed up with PGP and CBS' interference that he just couldn't work for them anymore.

I really would have liked to know how GL would have turned out had he worked with Curlee/Demorest longer than he did. He apparently didn't get on that well with Pam Long at all, and I always thought Long did her best work in her second stint (when Calhoun was there).

Would people include John Conboy on this list?

Would people include John Conboy on this list?

I wouldn't, maybe for his pioneering production values, but Bill Bell was running the show at Y&R anyway.

I wouldn't call Capitol, his Santa Barbara, and his Guiding Light successes....

What about Paul Rauch?

If we didn't know the stories about him, would we have a higher opinion?

If we didn't know the stories about [Paul Rauch], would we have a higher opinion?

Good question. However, I think Rauch's aesthetic sense suffered between ANOTHER WORLD and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. What once was tasteful became downright garish. That's why he isn't on my particular list.

Would people include John Conboy on this list?

I wouldn't. Not on mine. Granted, John Conboy's shows always had lush production values. But, boy, did he make some awful actor choices. Particularly at GUIDING LIGHT.

What about Paul Rauch?

If we didn't know the stories about him, would we have a higher opinion?

His tenure at Y&R was horrible, but I don't know how much of that was him and how much was Maria.

I'm willing to place blame on Maria squarely for that disaster. It's not like the show changed when Rauch left....

I theorize that Paul Rauch was a CBS/Babs Bloom hire. She wanted someone with experience in that position, so she picked him. Then, as soon as she could, MAB basically forced him out. Not that Rauch was good for the show, exactly, but you all get what I'm saying.

I wouldn't. Not on mine. Granted, John Conboy's shows always had lush production values. But, boy, did he make some awful actor choices. Particularly at GUIDING LIGHT.

He did revolutionize the look of soaps (and, in the long run unfortunately, the emphasis on casting looks over talent) during his time on Y&R. Any press or soap book text about Y&R you read from the 70s talks much more about what he did with the show, than what Bell did. Of course he largely seemed to act on Bell's ideas, but still, for that he gets some credit I think. I dunno if it's a positive credit, but... (All of those old books act like suddenly Hollywood glamour had come to daytime).

I admire Wendy Riche for moving GH forward, not attempting to recreate what had made the show a big sensation just a decade earlier (and what eventually started to go out of fashion anyway). So many soaps try to recreate their glory years with terrible results these days, but Riche realized that the show had to move on and explore territory it hadn't gotten the chance to really explore in the years leading up to her tenure.

Didn't Monty sorta attempt that herself when she returned? She focused less on action/adventure and more on families? I am not very strong on my GH, but it seemed like they brought her back, and then she attempted (and failed) at trying to move the show back in a more traditional direction.

Monty wanted to dump the Quartermaines, as she saw them as tired, and she wanted blue collar focus, along with focus on current topics such as ecology.

Right--I guess I kinda meant that--I remember the blue collar families. It does seem like she lost the touch she had for tapping into the zeitgeist the way she somehow did so well in the late 70s. (How many EPs had great runs on more than one show? )