Jill Farren Phelps Podcast Interview

[lucaslesann23]

ohhh right, I remember hearing JG can't handle stress well. 

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[soapfave06]

Oh I definitely agree MO was a step above MR...yikes. But she has been on a decade almost and still no successful romance or storyline for me. 

 

And wow I don't remember Hilary being hinted as Dru's daughter but I would have loved that. I forgot about the wasted potential of Lauren and Carmine. I loved their affair and really wanted Michael to go crazy again at the time as I was done being bothered by the Baldwins. Devon and Hilary living at the Chancellor mansion would have been great with Jill and Esther. 

[soapfan770]

 
LOL I remember SOD and SPW being very critical of this. And then Eddie Drueding inserting rare commentary that was very critical as well on his website. It’s interesting Phelps even felt the need to defend the John/Felicia story in 2020 I think she has had time to read Eddie’s very scathing review of them a devoted on a website almost generally free of any opinion. 

 

 

I don’t entirely blame MO though. I mean first she had that cop Alex. Then it was getting engaged to Tyler that went nowhere. Then was shacking up with Stitch who had already been with her sister & mom and was given a wicked stepson who then turned out to have a brain tumor and needed diapers

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. The affairs with Scott and Arturo were pointless, I can’t believe no one has even came up with anything remotely interesting for Abby to do other than she sides with Adam occasionally.

 

Yes Hilary was originally intended to be Dru’s daughter from her street days and hence why she was the revenge seeker, but the show got scared of VR backlash so they came up with that convoluted half retcon story of a drunk Neil and drunk Rose Turner to explain what Neil was doing on his drinking binge after Dru’s death, what even Latham very poorly addressed until Olivia popped in to tell Neil to “sober up” and yes just like magic Neil was sober again!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by soapfan770

[lucaslesann23]

Oh that would have been good ugh. And this was griffiths idea? I wonder if any of his stuff now is being cut, or hes just burnt out

Edited May 18, 2020 by Dylan

[NothinButAttitude]

 

So they all believed that Cass should've basically ended up with Cecile?

 

I mean it makes the most sense seeing as they were a huge couple for the show in the early 80s. Plus, Cecile was already established on the canvas. And with Cecile being a worldly woman, there could've been tons stories they could've came up with during the time she was off canvas. 

[soapfan770]

 

it wasn’t the fact of Cass and Cecile being together again it was over the nonsensical lies of Maggie’s paternity basically. But yes when AW’s finale aired and we had saw Grant drinking alive and well in Tanquir as Cindy prepared to visit there all the soap mags were quick to point out Cecile should have been that scene too lol.

[titan1978]

Wasn’t that around the time that their budget really started to take a hit?  Their events were not paying off anymore.  I remember they finally lured Vanessa Marcil back again the following year, but it was also disaster.  She and MB didn’t like the story, fans knew she wasn’t going to stay so they were not invested, and you could tell Guza’s tank was dry.

 

He had strip-mined all the charm out of the show.  It was a depressing, and at times boring mess.  He drove me away from the show several times- however I have never denied he is a good writer.  His show and scripts were light years ahead of what we have had since, in terms of depth and content.  It was just too dark and depressing and focused around the same sets of characters.  Carlivati brought many favorites back, but they were never what I would call well written.  But at least I wanted to see them.

Edited May 18, 2020 by titan1978

[soapfave06]

Budget may be accurate. I remember feeling like the show was on the right track with Robert and Anna visiting for the Scrubs wedding then they ruined it with the PPD story and the ball story both of which Guza or JFP seemed bored executing and by the time they rebuilt the hospital the show simply did not keep my attention and felt flat.

 

You are right about RC too-I loved the initial Duke/Faison story and was excited to see history being used but boy did it go south fast and I stopped watching by 2013 altogether. 

[DaytimeFan]

 

+1 - I hate that it's shot from that angle too. When JFP first turned the set, when Jeanne was still alive, she took the farthest right set wall and simply shifted it to where it is now - but it was literally the same wall down to the furniture and sconces, so that was simply a filming choice - it didn't save set space because it simply changed orientation.

 

Then, when the set was gutted and utterly destroyed, I suspect the only original pieces left (or they are good replicas) is the fireplace mantle, arch beside the staircase, and parts of the wall that had the double doors that now have bookcases carved into them. The entrance is now much smaller (the coat closet was removed), the front door was changed and brought flush with the rest of the set, the dining room hasn't been seen in years, those odd double doors are now beside the fireplace to the hallway that the red wall exit door lead to. 

 

Bottom line is JFP could have easily shot the angles she wanted to shoot with the set as it was (they did that angle for many years, particularly during the Billy/Mac era) but I suspect she wanted to shake things up for the sake of it or to make the set smaller. That seems to have been the only plausible reason the Newman Ranch was destroyed - to shrink the set size. 

 

 

Donna Love was indeed supposed to be the one killed off but that leaked and apparently fan outcry saved Anna Stuart her job. 

 

 

Bingo. Several FOJ's like Linda Dano and Erika Slezak have said how good she can be to actors and how some people really flourish under her. At Y&R, JFP was coming into a very skilled cast, and she definitely seemed relaxed. I recall pictures of her with Francis Ford Copolla on the the Y&R set with Jess Walton and Peter Bergman and she looked really relaxed and happy. She produced a note perfect tribute to Jeanne Cooper.

 

I think with a better head writer working with her, for in my opinion she worked with not one good head writer over the 4 years she was with the show, she could have lasted a long time. 

[Aback]

The Chancellor set does not bother me because I understand the need for smaller sets and it still kind of resembles the old one. The Newman Ranch, however, is abysmal. I'd rather they'd use a CGI backdrop over that crap lol

[lucaslesann23]

Its so Tiny. I think it was brought on as a den than they just made it the main set for the ranch.

[Cat]

I don't like JFP, I think she is a mediocre EP who turns the shows she works on into bland, generic, 90s grey sludge visually. Don't get me started on her equally generic music choices.

 

Having said that, I recognise that with some actors, she worked marvellously, and she is a work-horse. She's not lazy or checked-out. Her experience on Daytime is pretty unparalleled and she got her start during a golden era in soaps, at one of my absolute faves when I was a kid, SB. This should be a very interesting podcast, so thanks for the head's up.

 

Also glad she gave JER some props. What he did initially with Days was innovative and exciting back in the early to mid-90s. Obviously there was stuff, too, that headed into Crazyville, especially later...

Edited May 18, 2020 by Cat

[Chris B]

Wait...I’m catching up on this thread and y’all mean to tell me Brad Bell offered to write Y&R?! I do remember JFP going above Angelica’s head and choosing Pratt over SSM, but I had no idea there was a chance for Brad to write the show. As repetitive as B&B is, I’d give him a shot. If only because of who his father is, but also to see how he’d handle an hour long show. Brad can tell a good story, but he often Only focuses on one which is his issue. I’d be open to seeing how he’d handle an hour show. At this point what do they have to lose?

[Khan]

Well, at the very least, his stories would FEEL more like Y&R.  

[Vizion]

 

This. Brad and JFP and Sussman and JFP both would have been dreadful. Brad has no talent and is only where he is because of nepotism and Sussman is the most boring writer on the planet.