HOLIDAY MIRACLE: Prospect Park Back On Track To Revive AMC and OLTL

[RavenWhitney]

I think PP will look to Agnes to assemble some good writers. Agnes will probably try to get Jeff Beldner and Lisa Conner into the mix. Marla Kanalos is also available and worked on ABC soaps.

[EricMontreal22]

It must just be courtesy--her name is always on the ballot. Also, her comment is so obscure it's not clear when she was barred--many people liked the first half year or so of Pratt's AMC (me, tornado aside, included) and that included stuff like Myrtle's Funeral and the episode with Agnes wandering around Pine Valley for the 10,000 episode which surely she had some say in. Or maybe Aggie is just a big fat liar and wanted to distant herself from that stuff

OK looking at the list the cut off date would have been Spring 2009 Pratt's material began airing Sep 2008--it also includes Brown/Esensten when Agnes was in the writing room (remember we all "know" she wrote Jesse and Angie's return ), so it makes sense she was included.

Yeah I doubt he barred her before he even started writing. The Brott story was rumoured to have been set up before he came on and he inherited it (as he did Beth E, though I believe he renamed her).

He won't talk about it right now but I want Hal Corley there

[Adam]

Pratt's AMC initially had a lot of potential, but it lasted all of 10 minutes. Killing off Stuart also basically negated any positive things he did. I still cannot believe he had the gall to not allow Nixon to come into story meetings. Like, who did he think he was?

Wasn't Beth Ehlers originally supposed to be a Liza recast? So glad she wasn't. Luner, IMO, worked out just fine.

[EricMontreal22]

Yes, physically Lunar was all wrong, but I loved the recast too (too bad Pratt had her intro having random sex with Zack...) I think Pratt's Sep to Dec 2008 were pretty good (it helped we got some special episodes like the already mentioned one with Agnes, and Myrtle's funeral)--and had fun elements like quirky Petey, etc (did he ever even get an exit)? I remember Marlena De La Croix whose soap reviews I usually agree on, saying how hopeful she was around the time Myrtle's episode aired that things were on the upswing. And it's like literally a few months later everything had crumbled and the show became unrecognizable, plot driven nuts.

[EricMontreal22]

As for barring Nixon, it just speaks volumes about his ego. I know some people have not liked her interference (there's an interview here somewhere with Pat Mulcahey I think saying when he was a writer on Loving in the early days he'd get so many notes on every script he wrote--she'd say things like he was repeating the use of a word too much, etc, and how suffocating he found that--though frankly I think that's what a good headwriter should do), but come on. You tell this old lady who created the whole world and apparently still had great ideas (though obviously not Pratt-like ideas) that she can no longer come?

[Adam]

Adam/Erica, the tornado, Annie's descent into madness, Babe's death and the subsequent return of David Hayward, Petey (as you mention) were all great elements that really livened up the show in the fall of 2008. And no, Petey never really got an exit I don't think. The show just seemed refreshed and re-energized compared to the boring, uninspired drivel B&E chruned out.

How quickly it can come undone though.

Sadly, AMC's last consistent batch of good writing that lasted more than a year was Lorraine ffrom 1995-late 1997. The show, rarely, missed a beat during that time period.

[DRW50]

I thought the show went to hell for much of 96-97, although I don't put that all on her.

I think the show only ever managed about a year, if that, once Disney came in. I'd say Culliton's year +, McTavish's 2003-early or mid 2004...

[Errol]

Foz ‏@TheMightyFoz

@I_Am_Maylin_Now The amount of work Agnes is doing... she is a super consultant at this point!

[EnglishTea]

Daytime Emmys are now based on calendar year. The Emmys in 2009 would be based on the work from Jan. 1st 2008 to December 31st 2008, etc.

[Jonathan]

Yeah, that was also my thought.

@I_Am_Maylin_Now The amount of work Agnes is doing... she is a super consultant at this point!

Interesting!

ETA: Someone asked how Agnes Nixon can be a super consultant at 85. My response is if Betty White still has zip, why can't Agnes?

[alexisfan07]

Damn right!

[allmc2008]

Precisely!

[Marco Dane]

I hope they shoot a lot of outdoor scenes for both shows! Just none like GL

[Errol]

My hope is if they can film outside, that they do it as well as the British soaps do. I have been watching british soaps via YouTube for a couple of years now and their filming techniques appear far superior to our soaps while also dealing with budget constraints like American soaps have.

[Vee]

I believe Eastenders also has permanent sets built as their outdoors storefronts. It's on a lot.