AMC: If Felicia was not EP when Megan Mctavish bacame the HW the first time around....

[allmc2008]

I would be scared. Since her last stint was so much like her first but she did not have someone to keep her in check I would guess that Kendall would have been more like josh if you catch my drift. Heck, I bet Janet From Another Planet would actually be from another planet if, lets say, JHC or even FJ was the EP.

What do y'all think would have happen??

[EnglishTea]

Without a strong EP - Megan McTavish was always bound to fail. She came on with strong ideas that she could execute, but when she burned out, the strong ideas just became sensationalism without boundaries and no real focus. She needed someone who could contain her.

[CSF]

I don't even think that Francesca James would have allowed her to get so out of hand. The issue was Brian Frons and JHC. Julie Hanan Curruthers was just a weak EP all around.

[KMan101]

Exactly. Megan was a disaster under Frons and JHC though i appreciate she actually brought back characters from the past when it mattered.

She at least had some respect for the shows history and knowledge unlike anyone else really after her except for Broderick's brief return to see the show out.

[Khan]

Nah, that's in poor taste. Moving on....

[LoyaltoAMC]

I think McT's first tenure is highly overrated. She was lucky enough to inherit a very strong show from Nixon/Washam/Broderick the first time around, in terms of very popular actors and characters and overall structure. I remember noticing a decline in quality when she took over. She wasn't lucky enough during her next two tenures. JFP loves her, so don't be shocked to see her name pop up in the Y&R writing credits.

[EnglishTea]

McTavish and Y&R would have to one of the worst combos ever.

I also think that (and always seems to be the case with her) she started out strong in the early 90s with the Wildwind bunch, but I think it went down hill when Maria and Edmund married. Yes, I was a Brooke and Edmund fan, but the stories to cause problems for the Maria and Edmund seemed very contrived. I think the show would have been better of having Brooke and Edmund marry, and have Maria be a thorn in the newly married's sides. A pregnant Maria being revealed after their marriage, and Brooke unable to have children, would have been just one idea that would have worked.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Brooke was active for most of the 90s, but looking back, I'm not sure the writers saw her as much more than a plot device to come between popular couples. At one point of another, she was an obstacle for Tad/Dixie, Jack/Erica, and then Edmund/Maria. When they started giving her romances all her own, they were total busts (Pierce, Jim, Josh/Elliot). She was only really successful (in the writers' minds, at least) with Adam (and Tom of course, but the writers never wanted to revisit that for some reason), but I don't think the writers saw any value in them as a "super couple." And in the end, they were just re-paired for nostalgia purposes.

[EnglishTea]

Brooke was active for most of the 90s, but looking back, I'm not sure the writers saw her as much more than a plot device to come between popular couples. At one point of another, she was an obstacle for Tad/Dixie, Jack/Erica, and then Edmund/Maria. When they started giving her romances all her own, they were total busts (Pierce, Jim, Josh/Elliot). She was only really successful (in the writers' minds, at least) with Adam (and Tom of course, but the writers never wanted to revisit that for some reason), but I don't think the writers saw any value in them as a "super couple." And in the end, they were just re-paired for nostalgia purposes.

Julia Barr was/is close friends with Lorraine Broderick. A fact that never seemed to sit well with Megan McTavish. JB and JC had great chemistry, but Megan seemed adamant on having Brooke wring her hands while Edmund went off on his quest to prove he was an heir to Wildwind. JB didn't like having to play that same tune over and over, and rumor was she had some issues with JC during their first stint. He was big on directing the other actors in a scene - it was something that annoyed ELR when she returned (maybe she just didn't notice when they were in love and she was new to acting during her first run), but it did apparently irritate JB during the characters first romance (given that JB was a season actor, that also makes sense).

JB went to the writers (this is documented in interviews), at the time, which was helmed by Megan, to complain about how her character was being portrayed. Rumor is Megan was pissed that she had given JB a great romance, and it wasn't appreciated.

Just speculation, but I believe JB jumped at the chance to be paired with MEK when he returned, knowing full well that the characters would never be long term, but it meant that for a good six months she got MEK instead of an controlling JC as her main acting partner.

Originally, Brooke and Edmund were supposed to be reunited, but the pairing of Maria/Edmund, combined with the real life romance of the actors, changed the course of the story. IMO not for the better. It seems like they just inserted Maria into the story that had already been written for Brooke/Edmund. Maria and Edmund's six month courtship, a good portion of the time spent with Edmund still in love with Brooke, didn't warrant a big lavish wedding on location. It just didn't by soap opera standards - that would have been reserved for Brooke and Edmund, who it would have taken two years to finally make it down the aisle. Then, it was contrived that Del happened to be from Maria's past, and just happened to be Dixie's brother, and part of the reason that Maria couldn't have children. Brooke had problems conceiving, and then had the ectopic pregnancy, which would almost have certainly shattered any chance of her having more children. Maria and Erica didn't get along (true Erica didn't get along with many women), but there was no real reason established for Erica and Maria's dislike of each other whereas Brooke and Erica living under the same roof, married to brothers would have been clash of titans from their previously established long-term relationship.

I think part of what made Megan a bad headwriter is that the above scenario all came into play because of her dislike for JB, which shouldn't come into play when deciding what is best for the show. I think Maria should have been part of the story as it continued into the next chapter, but she should have been the supporting player, not moved into lead.

Maria's return went so poorly (IMO the deterioration of JC/ELR real life relationship didn't help) because Brooke lost the first time to Maria, and setting her up to lose a second time, just wasn't going to sit well with a good portion of the audience. Edmund also looked like a total hypocrite because he tried to kill his own brother when Dimitri came back and Alex left him in the dust, but yet had no understanding of why Brooke went over the edge. The show should have reunited Brooke/Edmund in 2000 after the fiasco with Eliot - giving them a good year together, and then had Maria/Maureen pop up.

As for Brooke and Adam, LB (one of the couple's creators) was very clear that she was moving the couple back to their original vision, undoing much of what Megan had done to destroy the connection. Megan was forced to put Brooke/Adam back together in 1994, but she did that by making them enemies, who were really nasty together, and when it came time to reunite the characters romantically, it lead to Megan leaving the show. Wisner Washam started the romantic reunion (also one the couple's creators) until LB returned full-time. I don't think LB handle their relationship very well in 95/96, and she latched onto her creation of Pierce too strongly, when the character should have just been done after James Fitzpatrick's unfortunate incident that lead to his dismissal.

When Megan took over in 2003, she again had Brooke and Adam mostly at odds, and when it came time to pair them up romantically, this time Megan won the battle because JHC had no backbone to stop her, and it ultimately lead to JB leaving the show. It also lead to Adam marrying KWAK, and while the actors had chemistry, the characters would never have been together, and Adam was made to look like a fool throughout much of the relationship.

IMO a stronger EP with historical ties to the show would have never let this come to pass - they would have found a way to protect the veteran actors from Frons, knowing that they would have to make some story concessions along the way, but they wouldn't have let a vile character like KWAK take center stage.

[DRW50]

At times I wonder if Behr was that much better than McTavish - I guess some is down to network interference, but I thought 1995-early 1996 was a very mixed bag, and many of the attempts to change the canvas did not work. The best tends to be remembered (Michael's story, Liza's return, Erica's pill addiction, Hayley/Alec/Arlene, early Janet/Pierce), not the rest (the awful teens, Charlie/Cecily, Brooke/Pierce, Adam spinning his wheels for over a year, Noah/Julia, the endless and annoying Maria baby saga).

I also wonder if Maria ever really should have been a lead character. ELR was luminous and a capable and charismatic actress but I thought Maria came across horribly in most of her lead stories - self-righteous, cold, unpleasant. I remember someone telling me that Maria was a much better character before they rushed her into marriage with Edmund and had that bizarre story about her aborting Del's baby in a bathtub.

[EnglishTea]

At times I wonder if Behr was that much better than McTavish - I guess some is down to network interference, but I thought 1995-early 1996 was a very mixed bag, and many of the attempts to change the canvas did not work. The best tends to be remembered (Michael's story, Liza's return, Erica's pill addiction, Hayley/Alec/Arlene, early Janet/Pierce), not the rest (the awful teens, Charlie/Cecily, Brooke/Pierce, Adam spinning his wheels for over a year, Noah/Julia, the endless and annoying Maria baby saga).

I also wonder if Maria ever really should have been a lead character. ELR was luminous and a capable and charismatic actress but I thought Maria came across horribly in most of her lead stories - self-righteous, cold, unpleasant. I remember someone telling me that Maria was a much better character before they rushed her into marriage with Edmund and had that bizarre story about her aborting Del's baby in a bathtub.

I agree totally with your assessment. Some stories during that time touched gold - Liza came back in glorious form, but we also got to see that there were layers beneath, and a little girl who still longed to be loved. I wished they had played more Jake against Tad, and made a quad with Liza/Jake/Tad/Dixie. I think that Adam and Liza had a nice chemistry, but she looked too much like she could be his daughter for me to buy them as a romantic couple. It might have been interesting if they had played them as surrogate father/daughter relationship, and the jealously that could have developed in Skye. Then again, I had the same issue with Adam/Gloria

Erica's pill addiction, and Maria's part as a supporting player, did actually work for me. Maria being a doctor and noticing the signs of addiction, and Erica stealing Maria's prescription pad didn't feel forced.

Hayley/Alec/Arlene creeped me out, but that was what the story was intended to do.

Michael's coming out along with the shooting, and Janet unjustly becoming the lead suspect was great. Janet and Pierce were unexpected as a couple with sweet and sexual chemistry, and with Laura added to the mix, they were the poster child for a family is what you make of it. They were also ripe for having conflict hit them once they left the woods, but adding an affair with Brooke was definitely the jump the shark moment for the story.

I think the problem was a lot of stuff sounded good on paper, but when it didn't play well on camera, the writers dug in their heels because they believed the story would eventually turn out as good as they had hoped. The ignored the obvious chemistry between Janet and Pierce, for example, to create conflict for Brooke and Adam when there were multiple other avenues to develop conflict between the couple, which also would have kept Adam active for the next year until Liza could have become a thorn in their side.

Instead, Brooke came off as a total jerk - she wouldn't marry Adam, but claimed she was committed to him nonetheless, but then claimed it was okay to have the affair because she never took the vows.

Supposedly and thankfully, JB helped put a stop to the story with Janet taking over Brooke's life, and JB having a double role. She apparently didn't want another actress losing her job. As a viewer, I couldn't get past RM being a good foot taller that JB.

The teens should have been good during this time, but parts of it felt contrived, parts felt too much like they were trying to recreate the magic they had with the 80s with their teen set, and parts of it felt like the young actors weren't up to the challenge - a definite mixed bag.

Noah and Julia started out so strong, but wow, it spiraled out of control.

I know that a lot of people thought ELR gave a great performance when Edmund took away baby Sam, but I was so sick of her baby saga and whining at that point, that all I could get out of the performance was snots flying everywhere. Again, I would have also found it more believable that Brooke, who had already lost a child, would have a ONS with Dimitri (who she also had a much longer and significant relationship with than Maria) in a moment of despair - and I also believe that is what it would have taken for Brooke to sleep with another man while in a committed relationship, not her simply taking a weird liking to the hermit in the woods.

[allmc2008]

bizarre story about her aborting Del's baby in a bathtub.

I am almost afraid to ask. WHAT!!!!!

[EnglishTea]

I am almost afraid to ask. WHAT!!!!!

If I remember correctly, saint Maria didn't want anyone to know that she had gotten pregnant in college by Del, and she took medicine of some sort, which caused her to lose the baby, which she expelled in the bathroom. She didn't seek medical treatment afterward (I think it is called a DNC), and she was left with an unknown infection that later caused her fertility issues.

[ghfan89]

I am almost afraid to ask. WHAT!!!!!

Here's Maria explaining the whole thing to Edmund at about 7 minutes into the episode. I was never a fan of Maria's whole baby woe storyline either.

[EnglishTea]

I don't know how to post links, but in this YT clip entitled below, the scene seems written to balance out JB's concerns with her character's relationship to Edmund: All My Children - 1992 - "The Problem with Night Lights..." on amcthroughtheyears