Thanks @Vee
The standout comment to me seems to be Bill was just an unconventional dad, not a bad father. I believe that Bill would believe that, and, as a result, Tony Geary should have. The truth is though Bill was a sh*t father who dumped Sly with his grandparents, then Finian, and then whoever else would watch him (Jenny, typically). I think an argument could be made that when he was with Fred and Angela Eckert that Bill was off at sea and providing for his kid. In the initial backstory, this was a sort of noble act where Bill's work on the ship was less about the life of adventure and more about the big pay day that came with that type of work.
To examine Bill as a father would mean to look into Bill's own father, Fred. As presented in early in the run, Fred was a loud, boisterous family man who was also maintained a family feud that was tinged with ethnic bigotry. He was also a successful small business owner. Fred is the first of the Eckerts that are dumped. I think later Fred was described as more complicated and possibly abusive. I don't think that is present in those February-May, 1991 episodes, but I think it's possible Fred could have mellowed over the years. Making Fred a recovering alcoholic may have given Fred's history a little more nuance explaining how Fred could be a wonderful grandfather and still create the man that Bill became down the line.
I think by the time you introduce Nancy Eckert it can almost be seen as a way to justify Bill as a parent because Nancy was so much worse. I haven't seen much of Nancy-Bill interaction but they seem incredibly toxic. It's hard to imagine what the thought was that drove Bill to Nancy. I imagine we are suppose to see Fred's strict disciplinarian ways as the impetus for Bill's departure from the Eckert home not necessarily In a super negative way, but just a catalyst for Bill's independence. The Eckert parents characterization changes several times (I'm more aware of Angela's), and Angela's evolution into a status conscious domineering matriarch who helped conceal Jenny's miscarriage from a fling with a much older man sheds a different layer on the Eckert family.
It is Bill's own actions for me though that make him a crap father. He chooses the women in his life over his son (Julia, Holly, and Victoria) as well as going off on those adventures and leaving Sly at home when he has already lost one parent, a grandparent, and never been in a stable environment for long. There could have been fun tension of Bill trying to be a good dad and just failing miserably, but Bill's parenting style seems very ahead of its time. He wants to be more of Sly's friend than anything else.
By 1993, they have Sly pretty consistently calling him out on it and pair Sly and Scotty in an inspired friendship that adds such depth later when Dominique is dying and she wants to give Scotty a child.
Michael Logan is right though that so many writers had their fingers in 1991-1993 that it's hard for any character to find a solid, consistent footing in that period (though I enjoyed many of them). I suspect one of the greatest influences on end stage Bill Eckert may have been, ironically, Anne Howard Bailey who was a consultant in the spring of 1992 during the headwriterless period. I suspect she may have been the one to create the San Sebastian tale which has a very mid 1980s vibe to it from what I've seen. Out of that story, with Bill away, I think they started to lean into Bill as the deadbeat dad.
I also don't think Bill as bad father was anything new to the show. Monica and Alan are pretty consistently skewered in those years for the way A.J. turned out and people insisted that their bad parenting was to blame. So Bill wasn't alone. I do feel it became part of that unique perspective that made him interesting. I also think that Bill dying protecting Sly and Lucky shows that the show didn't think Bill was without worth or redemption. Good or bad aside, the truth is that Bill wasn't the father Sly needed and that was his fatal flaw that made him fascinating and yet a hard sell as a romantic lead.
I am nearly positive that Bill's origins are in Gloria Monty's 1990 proposed soap opera project that was set in Portland and also to be filmed there. I think we would have gotten Bill Eckert without Geary, but Geary was brought back to for impact on the ratings. If Bill was played by someone else, I wouldn't be surprised if Monty had axed Bill before 1991 was over. In his initial form, Bill is just boring because the connections to the canvas aren't there. The romance with Bobbie is quickly aborted as is the blooming romance with Carol Pulaski (who's entire family was introduced and quickly faded into the woodwork). At the end of the day, I do suspect Geary may have sabotaged the more effective version of Bill who took over the cannery with Paul, was business rivals with Jenny's husband Ned, and was still in love with Julia even though he killed her father. I doubt Geary fought against Holly and the San Sebastian story and I'm not sure how he felt about the Victoia Parker gothic mystery but I don't think either suited Bill well. For me, Bill at his best is grounded in Port Charles possibly feeling restless, but deeply involved in the fabric of the town.
I think Bill is a fascinating creature and I do wonder what Labine might have done long-term with Bill, but I doubt this was ever truly a consideration.
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dc11786 ·
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