Y&R: Ed Scott Returns As Senior Producer

[Antoyne]

Gosh it would be amazing if it helped the show visually. Days looked AMAZING under him. It was wild.

[soapfan770]

Hahaha thanks. I don’t pay attention to Days’ credits anymore except counting down the days til RC is gone lol. I imagine Corday also probably regrets dumping Maxam after his brief stint as Co-EP as that would eventually lead to the rise of Albert Alarr.

Beall’s just there as a figurehead at best so Griffith can have someone WGA friendly on his crew Basically a rubber stamper of JG’s crude.

I should feel a bit bad for Gundaker as really she could be EP while JG could focus more on whatever the heck JG is writing. Then again Gundaker has her own dubious history under three dubious EP’s at ATWT and of course a rough period at AW. 
 

Her and Griffith have worked together for years at both ATWT, Hollywood Heights, and the last few years at Y&R I imagine she tows to the party line and probably thinks highly of JG just like she does of Goutman. That’s not promising lol. Reminds me a bit of the Susan Dansby situation. 

No clue on who Olsen or LeBrun are…line producers without using the wore line?

And then we have Josh Griffith himself, who in another thread recently we deduced he’s been talentless hack since day one but was able to disguise it in the early 90’s and after that his other stints have all gone down in flames. 

Edited October 10, 2024 by soapfan770

[TEdgeofNight]

You forgot John Fisher, “Supervising Producer” who supervises nothing. Yes, he pays bills for the show in the office but he supervises nothing related to story or what we see onscreen. 

[DRW50]

Always applicable with news of Ed Scott (and what Y&R could probably use these days):

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[soapfan770]

Yet another example of a pointless position. Correct me if I’m wrong but I do seem to recall he was a Latham hire and only had a history of producing talk shows before joining Y&R. Paying the bills must the only thing he does  otherwise I wonder how he’s lasted this long. 

[BetterForgotten]

I forgot about Fisher, lol. I think he’s been there since Jack Smith’s EP tenure. 

[Liberty City]

He's been on staff since 2004.

[Aback]

 

Exactly! Who would even buy those? I am positive they just consider the old cues 'too old'.

[BetterForgotten]

This was put together for Mel and Ed’s Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy awards a few months back. 8:30 in gives a good snapshot of how Ed works as a producer (at B&B) - he’s the lead producer in the booth working with the director of the day and other  producers, but also goes out into the floor to give notes to actors. 
 

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What’s hilarious is that Mel also talked a few months back at the Daytime Emmy’s red carpet about how her marriage to Ed often caused jealousy and tension with other actors. I think Jeanne Cooper is the only one that went on record in her book and spoke about the preferential treatment Ed gave his wife and how that gave Mel an inflated ego for a while.

1:49 in:

 

Edited October 10, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[kalbir]

Ed Scott has always given me s--- disturber vibes and I don't find it a coincidence that all the backstage drama at Y&R began when he became EP.

I also believe Ed Scott played a part in the departures of Brenda Dickson, Eileen Davidson, and Terry Lester.

In Victoria Rowell's "novels", it's pretty clear that the soap opera producer is based on Ed Scott.

Surprisingly, Eric Braeden wrote positively of Ed Scott in his book.

When Ed Scott first became EP, he ended all the action/adventure elements and Y&R became more corporate. Yes, Y&R reached #1 during Ed Scott's original run, but he got credit for the groundwork that was laid by H. Wesley Kenney.

[Sapounopera]

I always thought that he wanted Brenda Dickson out, so that his wife could become the show's first lady. Nikki became way too prominent.

However, I could not be happier about his return. If only he would bring a new writer...

[ranger1rg]

Ed Scott knows how to make a show look good.

What I need to know is if he has any power/influence regarding the sets. Characters move from Society to Crimson Lights to the GCAC, then walk in the park before returning to Society and then to CL for a late night coffee. It's maddening.

There's so little camera movement it's unreal. We get characters seated at a table or at a bar and then not moving for the entire scene. It all reeks of blocking that's intended to get scenes taped quickly and over with.

So can Ed Scott make changes here or no?

Another problem....most soaps have "out of sight out of mind" kids, but I can accept that more easily when people are at HOME. On Y&R, they're in restaurants all the time, and that makes missing kids a problem.

Shouldn't we at least pretend that Victoria spends time with Katie and Johnny? Mariah and Tessa wanted a baby SO badly, but now? They're whining about losing their nanny as they eat out at Society. Isn't being away from Aria all day long enough for them?

[kalbir]

Ed Scott becoming EP overlaps w/ Cricket eating the show. 1987 and 1988 MTS was the #2 female after LLB.

[DaytimeFan]

Note what Ed Scott says himself in that interview with Michael Fairman. He says he was "Bill Bell's Top Gun in the studio" - aka he was Bill Bell's enforcer. That role is needed on a set and on a show like Y&R that's got a lot of personalities. He's spent his career in the booth communicating with the actors and driving the production and he's extremely good at it. 

That doesn't mean that Ed Scott didn't and doesn't play favourites.  It's human nature to do so. However, my observation is he really boosted talented people and did what he could to muffle nonsense and diva behaviour, blind, of course, to his own wife. 

In Jeanne's book, she was not critical of Ed. She pointed out that MTS got weird for years with her and would not speak to her off the set, for no reason as far as Jeanne knew. 

He wanted Brenda Dickson out because she was a complete pain in the ass and the producers knew they had a far more talented replacement available in Jess Walton.

[Paul Raven]

It's interesting re Brenda.

As we have seen from her later actions Brenda seems to have some mental health issues.

Back then, she was seen as troublesome but nowadays she would be able to speak openly and just firing her may not have been as easy.

I read that Ed Scott is 80. Hopefully he is still firing on all cylinders and can get the show back into shape.

I really hope this means Josh will be leaving soon.

Edited October 11, 2024 by Paul Raven