Jill Farren Phelps Interview

[Liberty City]

I enjoy[ed] this interview and am watching it now, and I am liking how she is presenting herself, especially where Santa Barbara is concerned.

 

 

I think TPTB not allowing her, especially in the early years, to do what she was hired to do is part of her downfall.

 

 

Sunset Beach had potential, but, part of its issue was who worked behind-the-scenes, and the fact it was on NBC. I think it would've faired better on ABC or if Fox had tried its turn in daytime, due to Aaron Spelling's tenure with Beverly Hills, 90210.

 

 

Well, I think the fight between the Dobsons, NBC and New World also did not help with that soap's long-term potential. From day one, that soap was doomed.

 

 

In my opinion, she isn't hired to be emotional to these soaps. She's hired to run a business, and that's what she does: run a business. That's her job.

 

 

She cut the stunt castings. Sorry, but, in retrospect, Genie Francis' firing at The Young and the Restless was justified.

The character of Geneieve was completely re-written by the time of her pairing with Jack... and her whole story-driven casting was... completely stunt-casting by Maria Arena.

 

 

How we're still stuck with Hunter King and we don't have Robert Adamson is beyond me.

[Forever8]

I know what her job description is. 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Forever8

[slick jones]

All flash, no substance

ruining legacies

killing characters off that had potential

 

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[mikelyons]

[Forever8]

[chrisml]

I think JFP confuses "high stakes" with murder and rape. The reason the blackout on GL worked so well is that it was high drama. I think of the Robert/Eden/Cruz story and it was a high stakes drama that worked on an emotional level. They killed off a character who wasn't a long-term character. R/E/C prompted months of story and it worked because people cared. There didn't need to be a murder or a woman beaten up, raped, and/or murdered. She didn't and doesn't realize that soap stories need heart; they can't be simply about stunts. The stunts might temporarily raise ratings, but the longterm effects are usually detrimental to the show. 

[Melroser]

Since AW was/is my show, I watched this interview with skepticism. She likes to quickly say that she had nothing to do with Frankie Frame's death on the show, but if you are the EP you could step into story. Frankie may still have been attacked because story was plotted out in advance, but it could have been altered. Frankie could have not been so brutally attacked and then possibly "hid" out after the incident because she was afraid the killer would come back for her since she saw his face. Frankie could have lived. But there's no excuse for killing Ryan and Bridget. I know Michael Paul Valley left of his own accord, (wasn't there a tiff with the show in regards to his then girlfriend, Christine Tucci being let go?) but he didn't have to be killed. He could possibly have been persuaded back. Killing him ruined arguably one of the most popular couples on the show, Ryan and Vicky--after you just ruined Cass and Frankie.  

There's "mixing things up" and there's causing a train wreck. I'm not sure she knows the difference. I hated the pairing of John/Felicia on AW too. Maybe others liked it. I just didn't think it was written well! Felicia was made into a vial "other woman" instead of someone that organically got closer to a long-time friend while his wife was away. Yes, it gave Anna Holbrook and Linda Dano great scenes together but I found them hard to watch. I never agreed that Felicia would have ever done anything like that to Charlene after all Felicia had watched her go through with Sharly. Plus, it ruined John and Sharlene, another of the show's long-time couples, that seemed popular with most viewers. 

She's a big fan of Steven Bochco? It shows! She produces her shows like they're one hour shock episodes for ratings instead of a long-term, family stories. 

Just IMO. 

[Forever8]

Well I'm not surprised she is a fan of Steven Bochco!!! The woman literally ripped off the openings of NYPD Blue as well Michael Crichton's ER and David E. Kelley's Chicago Hope for the last version of the Another World opening. It made it seem like Bay City took place in New York City instead of a midwestern college suburb of Illinois. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by Forever8

[teplin]

 

She rips off whatever's hot at the moment, so yes, today it would be a Chicago Fire/Med/PD theme. A few years ago, it would be flash-forwards and backwards a la This Is Us. A few years before that, probably zombies to ride on the coattails of The Walking Dead. 

[AbcNbc247]

From what I've read, (Idk if it's entirely true or not) it was Jill and the head of NBC daytime who picked Frankie to be the stalker's next victim, but that it was all Margaret DePriest who decided to write Frankie's murder as being so violent. When fans found out about it, they freaked out so Jill went to DePriest and asked her to re-write it to make it possible for Frankie to return at some point or another, but DePriest refused.

 

But you're right, as EP, she should have been able to disapprove of that story choice, same goes for Ryan's death. They could have just easily had him fall off the train trestle and disappear after Grant shot him, in order to bring him back later, rather than having him in die in the hospital. 

[BetterForgotten]

JFP gave an honest exit interview when she left AW (it used to be posted here). She basically said working there had become too political and she had to leave on her own accord - I think she had certain mandates to hit while she was there.  

Edited June 25, 2021 by BetterForgotten

[kalbir]

 

JFP got GL's ratings up in 1991/1992 and the blackout was the zenith. Sadly the momentum didn't last. I will forever maintain that Robert Calhoun laid all the groundwork but JFP got all the credit. I still can't believe that JFP lasted almost 4 years (July 1991 to May 1995), almost twice as long as Robert Calhoun (June 1989 to July 1991).

 

I'd say the original FOJ at least on GL was Vincent Irizarry. I think Nick was introduced not long after JFP became EP. Also while on GL Mark Derwin was added to the FOJ list, I believe she got him cast on One Life to Live in the late 1990s.

[robbwolff]

 

I think you're right. Irizarry re-joined GL in mid-July 1991, literally right around the time Farren Phelps became EP. Irizarry's casting was announced at the Emmy Awards ceremony in late June 1991. That said, FOJ Justin Deas predated FOJ Marcy Walker's casting: Justin arrived in January 1993 while Marcy joined around September/October, somewhat around the time Marj Dusay arrived.

[Broderick]

She said her mandate at Y&R was to "bring the show into the 21st century".  Then she started babbling about how she was never a fan of "wall-to-wall background music".   For many of us, that was the uniqueness and beauty of Y&R -- the wall to wall background music, and the stylized acting that accompanied it.  She definitely managed to rid Y&R of everything that separated it from the other shows.  

[Vee]

JFP had very little power at GH once Guza returned, and that was by Guza's own deliberate design; he got himself a co-producer credit when he returned for a reason, so he could exert the creative control Wendy Riche had once had over him during their many battles. The only time I feel you could see Jill's influence at GH post-Guza's return was in certain low-key hires of her friends for small parts, some music stuff, and then when the strike hit and Guza was gone; suddenly there was a frontburner story for Rick Hearst and a dayplayer out of nowhere, like it was GL 1994.

 

I think Jill Farren Phelps has her skills, but they're a very limited set. I don't think she's modernized any show since the early-mid 90s, and that was almost 30 years ago. When they brought her to Y&R it was like bringing in someone's hip aunt who was big on MTV in 1996 - in the 2010s.

Edited June 25, 2021 by Vee