See, the difference between me and most of the OLTL fans is I liked the Rappaports because I understood what they were- characters that were brought in to give story to the "A" listers and they did just that. The adults were played by seasoned vets (Kale Browne, Cat Hickland) and I found the actors that played Will and Jenn appealing enough (FAR more appealing than JPL and Farrah Fath) so I just don't get all the hate for this period.

Again, I'm not willing to speak for everyone else, but I felt the issue was not so much who was featured and who wasn't but just that the general tone of stories under JFP's regime was dark, brutal, misogynistic, and depressing.

Hillary was vocal - both ten years ago and more recently - about hating the JFP era.

It's not always about how much story you get, it's what story and with who. JFP's only purpose for mobilizing those vets was to move story for her ready-made favorites.

Edited April 27, 201312 yr by Vee

I'm pretty sure that the FOJ thing started when she had just joined the show and met all the actors. HBS met her and was complaining about her lack of airtime and storyline and JFP said (and I quote) "I'm gonna be your new best friend!"

And HBS was frontburner for Jill's ENTIRE STINT. Say what you will about Jill, but she was featuring ALL the right characters during her tenure, and, dare I say, it was the last time OLTL featured most of those actors the way they were (Woods, HBS, James DePaiva, Pat Elliott, Phil Carey, Cat Hickland, to name a few).

See, the difference between me and most of the OLTL fans is I liked the Rappaports because I understood what they were- characters that were brought in to give story to the "A" listers and they did just that. The adults were played by seasoned vets (Kale Browne, Cat Hickland) and I found the actors that played Will and Jenn appealing enough (FAR more appealing than JPL and Farrah Fath) so I just don't get all the hate for this period.

As I've often said, JFP's tenure was the last time I was truly addicted to OLTL.

I enjoyed JFP's reign better under McTavish (though, as often is true of McTavish it was very dark)--I thought it was pretty rough under Pam Long and that period where apparently JFP was writing it.

Again, I'm not willing to speak for everyone else, but I felt the issue was not so much who was featured and who wasn't but just that the general tone of stories under JFP's regime was dark, brutal, misogynistic, and depressing.

I agree with your every description except misogynistic. I never found her OLTL to be misogynistic. But dark, brutal, and depressing? Parts (most) of it were, yes, but at least there was something to watch every day. The year before that, literally NOTHING happened on OLTL. At least with JFP's version, like it or not, there was something going on that you were invested in, whether it be hating or loving it, it was impossible to feel indifferent to her OLTL. Honestly, I thought it was a departure from the kind of stuff she had done on SB and GL and found it to be shocking.....but in a good way.

And as dark as it was, at least in the beginning, I felt the Blair/Max/Asa Renee story gave it some balance, though that story's bread and butter is when it got heavy and Renee realized the truth. Man, Pat Elliott acted her ASS off and I've never understood why no other regime that came after bothered to use her. It was during this period that I fell in love with she & Renee and I'm glad, if for nothing else, that JFP gave her the chance to shine.

I enjoyed JFP's reign better under McTavish (though, as often is true of McTavish it was very dark)--I thought it was pretty rough under Pam Long and that period where apparently JFP was writing it.

Hehehe, dare I say that I LOVVVED the period where JFP was writing it?

I agree about the Long period (that was '98, no?)- but I enjoyed everything that came after, including McTavish. This was actually the only time that I was more entertained by OLTL than I was by AMC.

I agree with your every description except misogynistic. I never found her OLTL to be misogynistic. But dark, brutal, and depressing? Parts (most) of it were, yes, but at least there was something to watch every day. The year before that, literally NOTHING happened on OLTL. At least with JFP's version, like it or not, there was something going on that you were invested in, whether it be hating or loving it, it was impossible to feel indifferent to her OLTL. Honestly, I thought it was a departure from the kind of stuff she had done on SB and GL and found it to be shocking.....but in a good way.

I somewhat agree with this. Definitely the couple of years before were a muddled mess of boringness (I thought the Labines' stuff started off promising but that didn't last long) between Malone (whose work fell apart anyway after Griffith left, with all the Irish mob stuff, etc) and JFP.

I never understood how after Behr lambasted Jill and McTavish's tenure at OLTL, they both got "upgraded" to GH. I guess that was Angela Shapiro though...

JFP did bring the demos up at OLTL and it was the first time OLTL was regularly beating AMC in the demos, I believe.

I never understood how after Behr lambasted Jill and McTavish's tenure at OLTL, they both got "upgraded" to GH. I guess that was Angela Shapiro though...

JFP did bring the demos up at OLTL and it was the first time OLTL was regularly beating AMC in the demos, I believe.

Wasn't this when AMC was going through headwriter HELL? Rayfield/Cascio, Richard Culliton (who ALWAYS needs a co-head), Jean Passanante? I remember just HATING everything they did to my Liza and Brooke during that period. This was also the time of the botched Maria return, right?

Wasn't this when AMC was going through headwriter HELL? Rayfield/Cascio, Richard Culliton (who ALWAYS needs a co-head), Jean Passanante? I remember just HATING everything they did to my Liza and Brooke during that period. This was also the time of the botched Maria return, right?

OLTL had Tomlin as EP and Broderick/Whitesell as HW by the time of Culliton and Rayfield I think (certainly by the time of Rayfield). But Passanante, both writing with Nixon and her awful solo era definitely corresponded I think.

JFP did bring the demos up at OLTL and it was the first time OLTL was regularly beating AMC in the demos, I believe.

Not only that, OLTL was often #1 in the demos by itself during JFP's reign.

For example, http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/26454-october/

I never understood how after Behr lambasted Jill and McTavish's tenure at OLTL, they both got "upgraded" to GH. I guess that was Angela Shapiro though...

JFP did bring the demos up at OLTL and it was the first time OLTL was regularly beating AMC in the demos, I believe.

Weren't there rumors that after the TV Guide interview she was pretty much cut off at the knees?

(although to be honest I didn't think much of her producing skills at ATWT and they were decent but flawed at AMC)

Weren't there rumors that after the TV Guide interview she was pretty much cut off at the knees?

(although to be honest I didn't think much of her producing skills at ATWT and they were decent but flawed at AMC)

I action rather liked her as EP on AMC, but I think that she's one of those EPs that only fits one show because she was the producer that came in and gutted ATWT in the 90s.

I think Jill's high demos at oltl got her Gh which is the show she really wanted. She worked to get that job from Wendy.

I went from loving Y&R to deploring it. It does not even look like Y&R anymore. It does not have the aesthetic of Bill Bell show. Also, the cast overall seems to be phoning it in. There is something about the tempo that seems far off.

I went from loving Y&R to deploring it. It does not even look like Y&R anymore. It does not have the aesthetic of Bill Bell show. Also, the cast overall seems to be phoning it in. There is something about the tempo that seems far off.

You loved MAB's Y&R?