If You Could Choose the Writing Staff for your Favorite Remaining Soaps

[allmc2008]

Does anyone know what was in her AMC bible?

[sungrey]

Days:

Executive producer -- Ken Corday (and only Ken)

Producer in studio -- Greg Meng

Head writer -- Sheri Anderson

Associate head writers -- Lorraine Broderick, Richard Culliton

Breakdown/dialogue -- Melissa Salmons, Carolyn Culliton, others TBD

[robbwolff]

I've never heard about her involvement with GL. I remember her saying she was involved in the casting of Austin Peck as Brad Snyder on ATWT but don't recall her ever mentioning working on GL.

[robbwolff]

I know this is all wishful thinking, but what makes you think Marin Gazzaniga is qualified to co-head write DOOL? I believe she only wrote a few OLTL episodes last year; her work as co-head writer never aired.

[Chris B]

Her development deal was with Televest so she worked on both shows. I think she mentioned doing a story bible for GL, but she wasn't picked as HW.

[MichaelGL]

DAYS

Executive Producers: Ken Corday, Ed Scott, and Noel Maxam

Headwriters: Lorraine Broderick, Gary Tomlin, and Carolyn Culliton

I would like to see what DAYS would be like if Broderick was in a more prominent position. I could care less if Tomlin remained on the writing team to be honest. Yes he's done some good for the show, but he's done equally, if not more harm to it as well. Not a fan of Chris Whitesell, and when paired with Tomlin those two seem to feed into each other's bad habits with the need for camp and heavy handed writing. I would however like to see what it is like if Tomlin shared Head Writing duties with two extremely talented writers with a proven track record of writing down to earth character driven storylines. As for EP, I was probably the only one here, but I loved the production quality of DAYS when Scott was with the show. The dark lighting, the actual fights(ok maybe one and that was between Shawn and Philip), the actual effort put into the directing of each and every episode. I was proud to be watching a show that would give other soaps a run for its money production wise. I'm convinced that if DAYS cut off some of the lights on their sets, it would save enough money to perhaps keep Eileen Davidson next time.

Y&R

Executive Producer: Ed Scott (Yes, why not give him double duty)

Headwriter: Kay Alden and Josh Griffith

I picked Griffith mainly because his ideas were good, it was just the execution that was downright terrible. Way too many stories started but seemingly never finished or were never properly resolved. I believe working with Alden would have balanced it all out, and with a EP with a firm grasp on Y&R's history, the show would have a chance to return to being the show it once was.

GH

Executive Producer: Jennifer Pepperman

Head Writer: Garin Wolfe, Sri Rao, and Karen Harris

Similiar to what I said about Griffith, I will say about Wolfe. He needed to be paired up with an experienced HW during his last tenure on GH. Pepperman would only enhance GH's quality in production compared to the current regime.

[robbwolff]

Thanks. I never knew that.

[Vee]

I'd give DAYS to Ron Carlivati or Michael Malone plus Lorraine Broderick and watch the fur fly. Both men are driven to very specific personal excesses which uniquely suit that show but have at times benefitted or ruined more grounded soaps.

Alternately, leave Ron at GH and strap Michele ValJean to him like a suicide vest.

[DRW50]

I think Ron would be bounced within about 6 months at DAYS. He's hung on at GH because ABC doesn't give a [!@#$%^&*] anyway.

[Vee]

I think the DAYS barometer of quality is profoundly different, and not in a necessarily better way.

[DRW50]

It's not so much about quality as it is about Sony or Corday and their issues. They tend to dump new writers very quickly and go back to familiar options.

[titan1978]

I am not enjoying Carlivati and haven't been tuning in regularly since the holidays, but if he and his team brought the ratings to DAYS that GH has had since his plots started, they would hang on to him until he crashes. They keep Tomlin and his work hasn't been stellar. ABC does give a crap. They keep him and the show because he is getting results they can't ignore. I just wish it was better. But I used to wish Reilly wouldn't dumb everyone down so much towards theend of his first DAYS run, but everybody with a Nielsen box seemed to love it.

[DRW50]

They keep the show because they couldn't find anything else.

Ron's OLTL ratings were in the toilet for most of his run. He's been extremely lucky at GH, benefiting because of less soaps on the air. I think a backstage atmosphere like DAYS would eat him alive, but I guess we're likely never going to find out anyway.

[Chris B]

I could see Carlivati having similar "success" at DAYS or B&B. I think his B&B would be over the top and crazy and it would be nice to see more characters featured, but I would never truly want that to happen. I hope he and Frank stay at GH because I really don't want them ruining any of the other soaps. Hopefully Ron decides to go primetime next.

[Vee]

Ron couldn't do primetime. Daytime is his scene.

I believe they got decent numbers at OLTL as well, but it may have been partly in the youth demos. They kept it afloat.