Who would you consider the Nixon, Bell, and Phillips of PRIMETIME

[amybrickwallace]

One name I haven't seen mentioned yet is Danny Arnold, best known as the co-creator and showrunner of Barney Miller. In addition to writing many of the scripts, he was also producing and was such a notorious workaholic/perfectionist that he developed serious health issues that caused him to take an extended period of time off. Thank goodness he had a staff who knew what they were doing and were able to keep his vision going.

Danny Arnold was also the writer/producer of the first season of Bewitched. That first season was and is still absolute magic (even without the special effects). Samantha and Darrin were at their most romantic, and the problems faced by a man and a woman who happened to come from completely different backgrounds but were absolutely perfect for each other were played out beautifully.

That Mr. Arnold could write both deeply romantic fantasy and sarcastic, blue-collar cop humor so equally well just shows how big a talent he really was, even though most of the people he worked with couldn't stand him. (In fact, Bill Asher had him bounced off Bewitched after its first year due to creative differences.) When Mr. Arnold passed in 1995, the TV world lost one of the best writers of his generation.

[amybrickwallace]

Do you mean Dick Wolf (the L&O franchise)? Dick York, the original (and BEST!!) Darrin Stephens on Bewitched, had long retired from show biz due to ailing health before his passing in 1992.

[amybrickwallace]

Another one I didn't see mentioned yet was Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) in the sci-fi/fantasy realm.