Thanks for pointing us to this. Ironic, that 1982 was actually Marland's weakest year at GL and he was out before it ended, as @P.J. pointed out.
The most overwhelming thing I get from this interview? "It's my way or the highway." He thought the head writer (i.e., him) should be involved in everything from casting to costumes--and I understand wanting that power, but the reality is those things are ultimately the producer's domain. Like it or not, media like television and film are colaborative efforts. I think the era of the soap opera writer having a lot of power died with Irna Phillips. Long had her opinion overriden about casting at least two times that we know of--she didn't want Zimmer at first, and she wanted a different actress to play Samantha.
He wanted no pushback, no "negativity." (i.e. "Hey, your multiple personality storyline is a clunker and is turning off viewers, maybe you should end it.")
It goes very far to explain why Marland walked out when Elliot was fired and he was forced to end her storyline. Long also left her final tenure because they nixed her desire to add a Jewish family to the cast. So I'm not saying it's just him. Unless you're a Bell whose family still owns the show, it's the reality of the genre.
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DeeVee ·
