Freaky Friday: What would the Nixon soaps be like if Bill Bell wrote for them vice-versa

[Soaplovers]

If Bill Bell had taken over AMC in the late 80s, I assume he would have had Erica/Travis/Jackson as a main triangle for several years instead of two or three years. He did like his siblings falling for the same person (as evidenced by Lori/Leslie falling for Brad and later Lance). I agree that he didn't do middle class, nor working class characters as well.. so I think the Martins would have been phased out like the Fosters/Williams families were phased out on Y & R. I think he would have positioned the Cortlandts and Chandler in the same way he wrote the Newmans/Abbots.

I know Y & R had social issue stories in the late 80s/early 90s.. but I think Agnes Nixon would have had some of those social issue stories involving the main cast as opposed to a short-term character... plus, I don't think she would have had Cricket/Christine involved in every social issue story... I think she would have had a ball writing for Nina (since I think she was still very rough around the edges in the late 80s).. but probably would have revealed Nina as a prostitute hence why she ended up pregnant and having her baby stolen. I do wonder if she would have written a Who Killed David Kimball story since he was a slimeball like Will Cortlandt was.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Agnes would've loved Nina's mother, Flo. That's was as close to an Agnes-type character Bill probably created on Y&R during that time.

[SOAPSFOREVER]

Bell didn't "drive out" the Fosters and Brookes. By his own admission, he created the Abbott family because so many of the popular younger actors in the Brookes and Foster families left the show and had to be recast, not once but twice. It was a huge gamble, and the show's ratings suffered for awhile, but he smartly realized he could generate as much excitement with a new core family, with new faces and new stories. If the actors portraying Snapper, Greg, Leslie, etc. had stayed, he would have gladly written for them. But constantly replacing them only diluted the power of the stories he wanted to tell with specific actors. As for writing OLTL and AMC, both shows would have been more grounded and less camp. Good or bad.