All My Children AMC: The Prospect Park Era (old production thread)

[Vee]

What in the living hell are you talking about?

None of this has a basis in the facts. There are no "powerful focus groups" that control this show, there is only the occasional reaction to audience feedback. There is no "time limit" to "get the show on track" because to most viewers, other than you, the show is already on track.

You have been bound and determined to make us believe this show is in crisis because it dares to tell a story where Angie and Jesse might be pulled apart. You are certainly within your rights to dislike that story and be vocal about it. But there is no call to pretend the entire show is in jeopardy and make up all sorts of nonsense to try and back it up to suggest that unless the show "shapes up" regarding your couple and other MIA couples, that it and its EP are in serious danger. Because it's not. At all.

[Jonathan]

Yup. No argument there. But the show probably felt that, in order for it to get off the ground, it needed to feature some familiar faces.

[cassadine1991]

I was the only caller to talk about Agnes

[greens_dupres]

Hulu is not still looking for a buyer- its current owners have taken it off the table despite a DirecTV bid that was rumored to be in the billion dollar range. They just announced that they plan to invest 750 million dollars and will focus more on building up HuluPlus.

I think Julie Hanan Carruthers was terrible for AMC. TERRIBLE. Yes ABC was part of the problem but she seemed happy to be Frons's puppet and had no vision for the show or real understanding of its history. Additionally, the show was notorious for not being able to balance a budget under her. She allowed Agnes to be marginalized. On those two things alone, she should have been shown the door years before the cancellation. When I listened to Ginger's interview, I found myself wondering why wasn't this woman who had been with the show since 1988 given the chance to be showrunner and wondering what those years could have been like if she was at the helm.

I can somewhat buy that there is a vocal Zendall fanbase though its not as massive as you describe but I really truly believe the "Rylee" fan base is a small small subset of AMC fans. Where were the huge fanbases when the constant focus on these couples caused the ratings to plummet and never return? I don't understand where this deadline idea is coming from. What is the deadline? Who has set it? And really fans who only watch for one couple or character were never the type of fans who were going to make this project a success anyway. For every alleged angry deadline-setting Rylee/Zendall fan, I think there is a lapsed fan who has tuned back in and is pleasantly surprised that it finally feels like we're in Pine Valley again.

[Vee]

I don't see how anyone could think the show is somehow beholden to Rylee or Zendall fans, or any couples fans, and on a clock. If they don't want to watch, too bad. Their "legions" and their demands are entirely in the mind of the beholder.

[Steve]

+1 and thank you, Vee, for stepping in and trying to bring this thread back to reality!

Yes, Julie Hanan Carruthers was an awful EP for AMC. She had absolutely no understanding of what made Pine Valley different from any other soap town and it was under her that the Valley Inn disappeared to be replaced by the yacht club as the main place to have dinner. And don't get me started on Ryan as the hero and Babe as JR's poor victim!

I have seen more support for Zzzendull online than Rylee, but I don't think either couple had that big a fanbase since they didn't bring in great ratings and I know at least 2 people who quit watching due to them.

[marceline]

Rylee and Zendall's "huge" legion of fans couldn't save AMC the first time around. They - and the senseless, mindless catering to them - helped drive AMC tinto the ground and off the air. Rylee and Zendall are two of the biggest and brightest examples of Frons' toxic influence and the farther and longer PP can keep them away from this show the better.

[Soaplovers]

Did anyone ask Ginger how it was working with the previous head-writing team vs the current head-writing team? Someone mentioned hearing not so good things about Chip Hayes.. so curious what the story is about him other then he is married to Deborah Adair and worked on Melrose Place.

[DramatistDreamer]

I listened to the podcast and I was still hoping that someone would mention that course language within moderation, really isn't such a bad thing. That exchange between Uri and Jesse was somewhat comical because now they're both prohibited from swearing even though, given the circumstances, Jesse uttering a 4 letter word would have been understandable. Jesse calling Uri a Slag, uh what?! I didn't know Americans even used that word, let alone Jesse Hubbard?

[EricMontreal22]

I look forward to your reaction.

[greens_dupres]

She thanked the outgoing team for jumping onboard quickly & getting them off to a great start.- no reason for their departure just said Chip and Lisa are now headwriting. Said they've has been hard at work- very excited, lots of ideas, want to make sure every episode is can't miss. I don't think much more was said and no specifics but if I missed something, maybe someone else can jump in.

[Vee]

I was always sold on Ginger Smith. She seemed like an incredibly forthright, conscientious presence who truly loved the show she grew up on and with. And the thing is, there's many, many people like her at both these shows who we don't know about - we didn't really know of her before.

I like Jennifer Pepperman a lot too, because she seems like a straight shooter and pretty blunt. But as opposed to Smith's long tenure she has an on and off history with OLTL since '98 - she spent most of the 2000s at CBS/P&G. That's not to cast any aspersion, it's simply a different backstory from Smith's, after a point. They both clearly cherished their shows from their formative years - I believe Pepperman may have said she started out as a young viewer of OL.

My only concern about Connor and Hayes is the ABC factor and the Spelling factor, respectively. I know Hayes (and Jessica Klein at OLTL) largely from their time at the Spelling soaps of the '90s, which went off the rails in a major way over time. That wasn't the product of any one person at a machine like those big shows, of course, and it's impossible to know too much, but I know Hayes and Klein's names presided over many, many a show in those dog years - as well as 90210 and MP's good years, to be fair. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression Chip Hayes first came to ABCD with Chuck Pratt from the Spelling team, either at GH or at AMC.

And with both of them I worry about the ABCD factor - the idea that they could be hidebound to ways of telling stories about these characters that was largely the province of the Fronsian soaps. I watched the dreck of AMC in summer 2011, and some of it is okay (Tad and Cara), but a lot of it is either terminally boring or just bad. Who cares about Evil Reverend Ricky and Kendall's latest peril - really? And then there's yet another dead baby swap story. And Jane the imposter.

For the most part, I am honestly not that worried. The actors have vouched for them and the air shows they've written are all very good. I have every reason to believe they'll do well, but with both new sets of HWs at both shows I have some lingering concerns. I worry about AMC backsliding into that stuff with writers who have been there a long time - where McPherson and Snyder, to my knowledge, had not been - and I worry about OLTL going a little too late-stage 90210 under Klein. I worry, but I don't worry that much right now since I've seen their day-to-day shows. I just wanted to voice it. Possibly because I am on cold medicine.

I think the real conclusion I need to come to is to stop watching the reruns on SoapNet. I blame my cold for having me up at that hour.

[Soaplovers]

I would be more likely to worry if Chip Hayes and Jessica Klein were sole head-writers.. but I've heard positive things about their co-head writers... I know Cady and another actor stated Lisa C. helped research and compile all the data for the 25th anniversary book and Agnes speaks highly of her.... Plus Marin G worked at HBO, and OLTL seems to want to become more gritty and dark. plus Jenn Pepperman stated that Marin G is very much into character driven scenes and usually would speak up in writers meetings if characters aren't acting in character.

Though I'm still wondering why LIsa C wasn't selected as head-writer to begin with? They had trouble finding a co-headwriter for AMC and selected Snyder not too long before they had to tape their first episode...hmmm

[LeClerc]

I think you got it all. Unlike Jennifer Pepperman, she really didn't give any reason for the HW change at AMC (as you point out) or what LC and CH, specifically, bring to the table.

I believe Hayes was brought to AMC by Carruthers. I don't remember ever seeing his name in the PC credits, but his resume has him writing breakdowns for PC in 2002. Plus he joined the AMC writing team at the same time (~ late 2003 early 2004) as Amanda Beall, Marla Kanelos, and Karen Harris, all Carruthers' friends from PC.

I think Pratt & Hayes may not even have been on good terms (although Pratt didn't fire him when he arrived in 2008) given Hayes' lawsuit against Spelling after he (Hayes) was fired as Producer of Melrose Place for allowing crew members to bring porn on set. Hayes claimed he didn't know he had to enforce the company's sexual harassment policy

[Vee]

That is a new one on me.

I could've sworn Hayes and some other Spelling folks came aboard at ABCD with Pratt at GH and some stayed on, floated around. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

As for the writing change, the only person I can recall who's commented on it directly is Cady McClain.