THE JOURNAL-NEWS, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER, 11, 1983
‘Capitol’ now a capital sudser; bucks daytime no-quality trend by Lynda Hirsch
In the past few months, viewers of “Capitol” have witnessed a rare event — the making of a mediocre soap into a high-caliber daytime drama. The show is filled with exciting acting, interesting plots and easyon-the-eye sets. While CBS’s baby soap has had respectable ratings, ratings don’t always mean quality. “Capitol” seems to be bucking the trend of all-ratings-no-quality action. The secret seems to be three-fold: John Conboy, the executive producer; Pat Wenig, supervising producer, and Peggy O’Shea, head writer.
Conboy told us, “I wanted Peggy O’Shea for head writer from the beginning, but she was busy with “One Life to Live” when “Capitol” got underway. I was only given a few months’ notice by CBS that the show was to go on the air. In the middle of putting the daytime show together I was informed “Capitol” was going to premiere with a one-hour prime-time episode. William Kelly and I literally wrote that script while ensconced in a hotel room for ten days.” Conboy went through several writers before getting O’Shea, with whom he is thrilled. Pat Wenig joined the show early this year. “John and I had worked together on other projects. He wanted me when "Capitol” debuted but I had just joined "Days of Our Lives” and it didn’t seem fair to leave them When I finished my stint at “Days,” John asked me to join “Capitol.”
That was in February. “It takes two months to make your presence felt on a soap. I thought "Capitol" would be a challenge. It had potential I was excited that rather than a character being the villain we could use a city. Ask anyone in politics — Washington. DC., can be a formidable enemy." When Wenig came aboard, the show was in the middle of one of those awful spy stories. “I didn't understand what was going on. How could the audience or the poor actors?" Although Conboy admits the story had holes in it, he believes. “The way I envisioned it, it could have worked, but it never seemed to come out the way I’d hoped it would.’’
According to Wenig, "I feel a soap should be about people, about romance. There was only one love storgoing on — that was between Trey and Kelly. Our hero and heroine, Tyler and Julie, were on the fringes. As for Mark and Clarissa, our older love story, they talked about their love but never showed it. That was a major problem with the show — lots of talk, little action, hardly any payoff. Nothing came to anything. They’d get a story going and then suddenly drop it in the middle, never mentioning it again.”
That has ended. "Capitol” has several love stories, Tyler and Julie have wed, a hot whose-daughter-is-she story and the return of the appealing Thomas, a character handicapped since birth, striving to live in a world that often does not understand the problems of the handicapped. “My first input on casting was Michael Catlin, who plays Thomas,” says Wenig. “He is a joy to watch. I think he adds to every scene he’s in.” Neither Wenig nor Conboy will divulge upcoming plots, but Conboy will admit one plan he has for “Capitol’s” future. "To make the show No. 1.”
By
Paul Raven ·
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