The soap opera writers' discussion

[robbwolff]

He didn't head write GL. So either he misremembered or the interview was confused.

 

Lemay returned to Another World in 1988. I believe the story goes that he was rehired and then the writer's strike hit. Donna Swajeski wrote the show during the strike. After the strike was over, Lemay was credited as head writer for about two months when Swajeski replaced him.

 

There is much speculation that Swajeski used much of Lemay's bible during her first year. That said, Swajeski's stint was better than previous writers but disappointing in many respects. I often felt that she started out strong with her story ideas but the resolutions were disappointing and anticlimactic.

Edited July 9, 2018 by robbwolff

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

Makes sense. Again I didn't follow AW. But my (perhaps incorrect) understanding was that P&G brought Lemay back to reset the core families that had gone off track during his absence. So Swajeski was supposed to use his new bible and build on those ideas. It was like they didn't want to pay him all that money to keep him on full time but they would use him when the show was in trouble to fix it.

 

I do find it interesting that he worked "under" Marland at GL, since he had basically trained Marland at AW in the 70s. Maybe he was finishing out a contract with P&G and they just shifted him over there temporarily to finish out the contract, and since he and Marland got along it was easy. Just guessing.

[Soaplovers]

I wonder if he confused head-writer with consultant.  I know he was a creative consultant on ATWT in the mid 80s before Marland took over, so perhaps he was that for GL?

 

There was an interview done in 2009 with Lemay where he commented on Marland and how he found him to be a fascinating writer.. but thought Marland was too rigid and wasn't open to flexibility... and this was in response to Marland's list of how not to ruin a soap.  

 

I will say I will agree with Lemay's one consistent rule that he mentioned throughout that interview... when writing a script/character/story.... ask why and never ask what (i.e. if you can answer why a character is acting a certain way, it will work.. but he said that with the gridlock of the genre, he understands why a writer would lean toward plot rather than character because it's faster and easier).  I often think Lemay/Marland would either have struggled in the late 90s into the 2000s.. or had left the business altogether..imho.

[Paul Raven]

IT'S TRULY A CHALLENGE BEING THE TOP WRITER ON A LONG-TERM SOAP

By Tom Jory
Associated Press
December 22, 1983

GUIDING LIGHT has been a daytime companion for millions since 1937, starting on radio and switching to TV after 15 years. Can anything new, really new, ever happen to the Bauers or the Reardons or any of the other folks in Springfield?

"I get really upset," says Pamela Long Hammer, principal writer for the CBS soap opera since March, "because I'll come up with this neat scenario and someone will say, 'That's like Strangers on a Train.'

"I think, 'They keep stealing my material.'

"The way I figure it," she says, "there are only so many stories in the world. It's the characters who keep the show new and exciting. All of our stories come from them: I don't come up with a plot, and then work a character into it."

Continuity is important. Someone out there surely knows all that's happened, to everyone on the show, in 46 years.

"Nope. I care about what our core families have been doing," Hammer says. "I'm always interested in what happened to Bert Bauer (played since 1950 by Charita Bauer) 20 years ago, but as far as going back and reading scripts, no.

"Others on the show keep track," she says. "I'll suggest something, and be told, 'You don't remember, but five years ago, they had this terrible fight. They would never speak to one another now."'

Hammer, a former Miss Alabama who came to New York as an aspiring actress in 1980, began writing for daytime television while playing Ashley on NBC's TEXAS. She eventually wrote herself out of the story.

Her staff for GUIDING LIGHT includes nine writers, among them her husband, Charles Jay Hammer, whom she met while both worked on TEXAS.

NBC dropped TEXAS after two seasons, and episodes from the serial currently are being rerun on the Turner Broadcasting System's cable-TV superstation, WTBS.

Gail Kobe, who was executive producer of TEXAS, now has the same job on GUIDING LIGHT. And Beverlee McKinsey, who played Iris Carrington in ANOTHER WORLD on NBC, and later in TEXAS, will join the LIGHT cast of the CBS soap in February.

Hammer is reponsible for the long-term story, which can mean looking ahead 18 months or more. Staff writers deal with specifics, including the scripts for individual episodes.

She says she draws on "imagination and instinct" for the GUIDING LIGHT story. Often, that involves inventing new characters.

"I look at Vanessa (Maeve Kinkead), one of our leading ladies," Hammer says. "What could make the audience care more about her?

"Then I think, 'Why can't she find a man she can love, who will also love her?' Voila, here comes Billy Lewis (Jordan Clarke).

"Another example," she says, "is Alan Spaulding (Christopher Bernau). All of a sudden, he's got a sister no one ever knew about.

"They come complete," says Hammer of the serial's characters, including the new ones. "We know who they are and where they came from long before the viewer gets all that information. That's one of the most interesting things about daytime, the complexities of the characters."

The writers make a big effort to keep the show contemporary, and four of the leading players are in their late teens or early 20s - Judi Evans, who plays Beth Raines, Kristi Tasreau (Mindy Lewis), Grant Aleksander (Philip Spaulding) and Michael O'Leary (Rick Bauer).

GUIDING LIGHT, longevity notwithstanding, is a moderate success by that ultimate yardstick of the industry: ratings. The show is behind GENERAL HOSPITAL, ALL MY CHILDREN, and ONE LIFE TO LIVE, all on ABC, and CBS's THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Hammer says she's convinced writing is the key to greater achievement.

"When I say I love the characters, it's not a light thing," she says. "I think what the audience senses is an enthusiasm and an energy among the people who do the show."

[danfling]

I want to ask if anyone has any comments on the work of Don Ettinger?

 

I had thought for a long time that he was the creator of A Flame in the Wind.  I was wrong, though.  The co-creators were Raphael Hayes and Joseph Hardy.

 

I think that he was one of the first writers.   I don't know the length of the time that he worked on the show, but Gordon Russell was also a writer.

 

I have seen one episode of the show, and I liked it.   The female character, however, appear to have kept changing.

 

Earlier, Mr. Ettinger had been a writer of The Secret Storm.

[Khan]

I'm surprised to learn that Joseph Hardy's career in soaps went back as far as it did.  My assumption had been he had worked strictly in the theatre before ABC and RYAN'S HOPE came calling.

[danfling]

He was a producer of Love of Life.   That show was a sister show (both having been created by Roy Winsor and being owned by American Home Products) to The Secret Storm.   So, both Mr. Hardy and Mr. Ettinger were familiar with each other.   I would not be suprised if Mr. Ettinger had written Love of Life at some point.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

Thanks for this. She's my favorite GL writer of all time. Followed by Millee Taggart and Doug Marland. She really did understand character and the need for characters to find love. Her creations carried the show through the next 25 years. Without the foundation laid by Pam Long during her two headwriting stints, the show would have ended much sooner.

[Faulkner]

Forgive me if you’ve already posted this, but what did you think of Nancy Curlee?

[Paul Raven]

Ettlinger was headwriter of Love of Life in the early 60's when the show had good ratings.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

I didn't care for her writing. She often co-headwrote with others and I found her writing partners' material more interesting. I felt Curlee was overrated.

 

This is how I'd rank my favorite headwriters on GL:

1. Pam Long

2. Millee Taggart

3. Doug Marland

4. Jeff Ryder

5. Barbara Esensten & James Harmon Brown

6. Jerome & Bridget Dobson

7. Claire Labine

8. Megan McTavish

9. Lloyd Gold

10. David Kreizman

 

Worst

1. Sherry Anderson & Joseph Manetta (what a dreadful period right before Long's return; the show fell apart overnight; they did not get the characters or understand the show; it was the worst nine months ever in the history of Guiding Light)

2. Mary Ryan Munisteri (another one who was temporarily in charge between Ryder and Long's second tenure...the Andora plot with India and the little girl Dory was just awful...she was fired after three months).

3. Jill Lorie Hurst (the last headwriter..killing Coop off was a stunt to boost ratings at the last minute but was a mistake...the final episode was a dud...it felt like a college production those last six months)

4. Douglas Anderson (I think he was right before McTavish...the show was incredibly dull with him, Lucy and Alan-Michael were the main couple, the show felt lifeless; he only lasted six months.)

5. Ellen Weston (She retconned things with the Maryanne Carruthers story, made a mess of the core family histories; turning Edmond into a good guy when he was better as a villain; turning Reva into a psychic, really bad stuff).

[dc11786]

 

Ettlinger and Hardy worked together on "Love of Life." I believe they were the ones who helped create Rosehill and the Sterling family, but I may be wrong about that. At the very least, they were in charge for a good chunk of the early 1960s. 

 

Ettlinger and Hardy were both at "Flame in the Wind" when it became "A Time for Us." I don't know when Ettlinger left and Gordon Russell came on. Later, Ettlinger and Hardy would end up at "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" in the spring of 1968. Don Ettlinger would replace Ira and Jane Avery and introduce the Garrison family. Ettlinger later ended up "The Secret Storm" either before or after "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."

 

 

[Faulkner]

Thanks! I appreciate differing opinions. I only started watching during Curlee & co. To me, her stuff was perfect ensemble soap, at least until things began really unraveling around 1993. B&E above the Dobsons? I loved B&E’s first year, but ‘98-00 was ROUGH aside from a few stories and characters I enjoyed, like Selena and Drew. McTavish is forever on my sh!tlist, and I was disappointed in Labine after her often sublime (if uneven) GH and her underrated (IMO) OLTL tenure.

 

Even though I was too young to see Pam’s GL, I can certainly see why she’s revered, even though her Santa Barbara and especially her OLTL were weak. I missed a lot of the 2002-03 Taggart era because I was in college. I can admit that Kreizman had his moments (and was helped by a strong cast), but I really felt like the show had already been too damaged at that point.

[Soaplovers]

 

You put Jeff Ryder above the Dobson's?  Well we all have our favs.

 

To me I thought Curlee/Long worked well together since Curlee was good with strong character/tight plotting.. while Long was good with emotion/family/whimsical (Kim Zimmer in an interview said when she auditioned to play Reva.. she didn't get a summary of the character, but a bible on the character).  While I do love 1991 to 1993, I have to admit there was a spirit that was missing that we had in the 1988-1990 episodes that Long/Curlee wrote together.

 

I would have switched Marland and the Dobson's because their style was more laid back and their characters were a little more naunced... while Marland's characters sometimes seemed static.

 

 

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

I guess I should have explained my favorite GL headwriter choices, so here goes:

 

1. Pam Long...created iconic characters, more than just Reva. She reconceived Josh and Vanessa, as well as Alan, Phillip and Rick; Her core families were fantastic-- the revised Spauldings (with the introduction of Alex and Lujack); the Lewises, the Shaynes, the Coopers, just all so wonderful. She phased out several of the Bauers which I didn't care for and Alex took over as the main older female after Bert's death, but the Bauers still continued under Ed and Maureen; and the Reardons still continued with Chelsea.

 

2. Millee Taggart...the Alan, Olivia, Phillip triangle was excellent; she also new how to write the sisterly relationship between Reva and Cassie quite well; the heart transplant story for Rick which involved Richard's mercy killing by Reva was brilliant. She also kept Harley as a central character without putting Harley on screen four or five days a week like previous writers had done. That was a strong year under her guidance and Paul Rauch's producing.

 

3. Doug Marland...he was good with young characters like Kelly, Nola, Morgan, Floyd, Katie, etc. He also gave Roger an exciting exit in the spring of 1980. I thought the Carrie Todd storyline was intriguing if not ill-fated. The Reardons were fun if not a little too overexposed. I loved the Jennifer Richards storyline.

 

4. Jeff Ryder...he did a good job carrying Pam Long's creations forward. I loved Mindy's marriage to Kurt, which got her away from being a ping pong ball between Rick and Phillip. He knew how to write strong female characters: Sally Gleason, Maeve Stoddard, Vanessa, Reva, Claire Ramsey, Calla Matthews, Alex, India...they all had interesting things to do.

 

5. Barbara Esensten & James Harmon Brown...Cassie was their best new creation; also Richard and Edmond, which mirrored the old Roger-Ed stuff. I was a big fan of the San Christobel storyline even though it took some of the focus away from Springfield. Cassie and Richard's wedding was a highlight. I loved the storyline where Vanessa told nasty Ben Warren she wasn't going to help him and then shot him. But of course she lapsed into a coma, and Carmen Santos' daughter finished him off. The Santoses were exciting and I loved how they were connected with the Bauers through Michelle. To me this was a renaissance period for the show.

 

6. Jerome & Bridget Dobson...I started watching the show under them and was hooked. I loved characters like Hilary Bauer, Jackie Marler, Ross Marler, Rita Stapleton, Evie Stapleton; Justin Marler; Ben McFarland; and of course Alan Spaulding. A lot of great characters under them.

 

7. Claire Labine...some of her storylines felt forced but her dialogue was always so natural. I liked how she wrote for Mary Stuart as Meta; plus she continued the whole Santos-Bauer thing which I really enjoyed. I think she made a mistake killing Beth's husband Jim Lemay. But her use of Edmond as a villain was great; plus she brought Alan back after Ron Raines had gone off contract and Alan had become a recurring character for awhile.

 

8. Megan McTavish...she was inventive. I liked the story with Blake's twins having different fathers, it was unique. I liked the Brent/Marian drama. She brought Nola back. She gave Henry an excellent sendoff when Bill Roerick died. She also wrote interesting material for Gilly and Gilly's family. And I have to admit I liked the whole Goshen story with the Amish characters, especially the introduction of Abigail

 

9. Lloyd Gold...his main contribution was the Boudreau family, with Mel marrying Rick. It worked for me. He also did the story with the earthquake in San Christobel which upped the drama. He carried some of Labine's creations forward, most notably Gus Aitoro, who was a great character. I liked how he connected Gus to the Spauldings because Gus was the product of a relationship Alan had with a nun. I bet Claire Labine came up with that idea, but Gold is the one who fleshed it out.

 

10. David Kreizman...his first year was really solid; he ended the horrible Sandy story Weston started and made J.B. the long lost son from Christobel that Reva had with Richard. He refocused core characters and the business plots with the Spauldings started to make sense again. He brought Dinah back in the form of Gina Tognoni.

Edited July 24, 2018 by JarrodMFiresofLove