As the World Turns was a million times better before Kriezman arrived. I recall it immediately seemed to go downhill. I also hated Reid, a sorry House knock off. The show was doing good before Kriezman arrived and they didn't need him. I don't think he did any major damage, but at that point I remember being disappointed at some of the things we lost.

An underrated writer I'd say is Lynn Marie Latham. Along with her husband Bernie Lechowick, they completely revamped Knots Landing and made the show fresh, viable and highly rated in it's later years. The other soaps were just limping towards death and they saved Knots. Then they did such a fantastic job with Homefront and Pacific Palisades. I haven't seen Lynn's Port Charles YET, but I look forward to watching that soon. I even think her Y&R stint showed great promise. I like her focus on diversity and she seems to be a more modern writer than most. I think where she failed was being given too much power and not understanding the soap opera form. They should've kept a solid EP like Ed Scott and paired her with either (or both) Kay Alden and Jack Smith at equal footing. Had they done that I think the new and the old could've come together and created great soap opera. I also think there may have been hope for MAB had she not been made Executive Producer, but she just wasn't quaified no matter how you see things.

The Soderberg's?

Hellllll no on Latham/Lechowick. Dropping all of the season 7 storylines when they took over in season 8 and giving us Jean Hackney instead does not equal fresh.

Roy Winsor - he created both Love of Life and Secret Storm and did a stint on Somerset. From everything that I've read he did solid work, but most of it was wiped so many of us never got a chance to see it.

Sam Hall - It did some great work on Dark Shadows and One Life to Live. I believe he was also at Santa Barbara for a bit.

Henry Slesar was sorely underrated. His "Edge of Night" was spot on for most of his fifteen years there. Sam Hall did stellar work on "Dark Shadows". Richard Culliton has never impressed as a head writer. His forte is scripts.

The Soderberg's?

They did solid work on ATWT and GL, but seem under-appreciated by P&G.

My vote goes to Maralyn Thoma who wrote some of the best couple dialogue ever for numerous soap couples on DOOL, GH, Santa Barbara and Passions. And created characters like GH's Brenda and others. I think she is very underrated. I will give a shout out to Margaret Depriest as well. And Ann Marcus who got DOOL more Emmy nominations than it has ever gotten.

Edited January 20, 201312 yr by theherowithin

Donna Swajewski did some good writing on AW. And Beth Millstein & Ann Schloette who did great work on Sunset Beach and wrote what I thought was an awesome transition period on Days between Reilly and Hogan.

Karen Harris's work on GH as a dialogue/script writer really shone for me.

Melissa Salmona I FLove the episodes she right at Days

What is anything good Jean Passanante did after Chris Whitesell left ATWT and without David Kreizman being there? Her "campy impulses" during this period like Ralph Manzo and the Z twins were virtually unwatchable. Also Audrey Coleman. There were so many characters who came out of nowhere to do their evil deed and left.

Passanante seems to have built her name and rep as assistant HW for OLTL during much of Malone/Griffith's era. But when she became a co-HW at the show, it was a mess, and her run on AMC (particularly after Nixon left as co-HW) was pretty horrific. I never watched her ATWT for more than a few episodes--but I really think her era at AMC may have been the worst I ever watched--which is saying something.

The Soderberg's?

They seem to have been forgotten with time--but from reading soap press and books from the time, they seemed to do a lot of good at both ATWT and GL.

Who are The Soderberg's??

They don't seem to have a wiki entry--but here's a thread on them I started two or so years back http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/34061-robert-soderberg-and-edith-sommer-glatwt/

Beth Milstein - DAYS in 2006 between Reilly leaving and Hogan entering.

Carolyn Culliton/Millee Taggert - GL in 2nd half of 2002 into early 2003.

Peter Brash and Paula Cwikly - DAYS in 2002 to early 2003.

Jill Lorie Hurst on Guiding Light. That woman made the last few months of the show a heck of a lot better than what Killa' Kreizman and Ellen Wheeler were doing. I'm surprised that SHE wasn't taken over to ATWT in its final year on the air to be head writer instead of Kreizman. I seriously think that PP should consider getting her to write for either AMC or OLTL (preferably AMC to help Marlene).

Beth Milstein - DAYS in 2006 between Reilly leaving and Hogan entering.

Carolyn Culliton/Millee Taggert - GL in 2nd half of 2002 into early 2003.

Peter Brash and Paula Cwikly - DAYS in 2002 to early 2003.

Millee Taggert absolutely--when she was involved in AMC off and on it was always that much better--and I started watching Loving under her and Guza--knowing Guza now, I'm convinced I loved it solely due to her