Guiding Light Discussion Group
Topic: If You Could Choose A Past Headwriter (to Replace DK).....
Topic Posted by: Pittman
Date Posted: Fri Apr 25 12:35:30 2008
Additional Comments: To my astonishment, it looks like David Kreitzman is here to stay. I suspect because Ellen Wheeler hand-picked him & doesn't want to admit she made a mistake by firing him.
I really believe if the writing were tighter, & focused, there wouldn’t be so much griping about the format change, which in my opinion is improving by leaps.
In any case, Here are my choices, in no real order of preference. I just thought the show was really good while they were at the helm, writing.
Pam Long
Nancy Curlee & Stephen Demorest
Millie Taggart
Posted by: GLATWTfan Date posted: Sun Apr 27 13:00:54 2008
Message: Pam K. Long - she knew the show history and wrote great stories.
Doug Marland - If only this great one was still with us.
Millee Taggart - She was pretty good, I def like her better than Kreizman
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So true. Doug Marland was a legend.
Posted by: glfan Date posted: Sat Apr 26 21:08:50 2008
Message: Nancy Curlee or Millie Taggart
Or BOTH! Oh, GL could be sooooooo good again! Get one of these ladies back - PLEASE! Or anybody with half a brain on how to write a soap opera!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
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But that is the problem. Many of the current, proven writers, DO have a brain, but they aren't being paid to use them or be creative. They aren't being paid to do their best work, just to slog through & get by. It is why all soaps look & sound the same. If it were up to them being themselves & putting their own, unique stamp on the work, each soap would be different & there would be a big difference between one writer & the next. eom
Posted by: fee Date posted: Sat Apr 26 17:49:56 2008
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Posted by: L.A. Date posted: Sat Apr 26 15:25:15 2008
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Posted by: Ryder Date posted: Fri Apr 25 20:34:37 2008
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Are Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer still alive?
Posted by: Rosebud1 Date posted: Fri Apr 25 15:52:52 2008
Message: All we're seeing now is how well EW & DK are able to connect the dots & follow those mandates. It long ago stopped being about EPs or HWs being part of the creative team. That was one of Pam Long's (& others) biggest complaints w/her last stint as HW for a soap. She was one of many who said that it wasn't a satisfying job anymore, because they weren't being the storytellers that they could/should be, HW was just a title. But the Suits still expected them to do the work, just not have a say in what stories to tell or how to tell them.
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I have a question Rosebud1. If the head writer really doesn't make a big difference, then why has the head writer at One Life to Live apparently made such a big difference on that show? When Ron Carlivati is head writer, the show is just fantastic. The show has suffered a bit since he took part in the writer's strike and Gary Tomlin took over head writing duty, but I'm sure with him coming back soon we're going to once again see such a big difference. At least with OLTL, I have to believe the head writer makes a huge difference. (Edward)
nathan- Yeah, I would like to see Rosebud answer that one myself. Good question, Edward.
We've seen it happen before, a soap goes from crappy to watchable, then back to crappy again. The audience will turn on RC. Frankly, I don't see OLTL as suddenly being great again. It is STILL drivel & far less than it could/should be. I don't see that changing HWs has made a drastic difference in what we're seeing or the production quality. Todd is still unbelieveable & monsterous, even for Todd. They are still clueless about who these characters are, particularly the vets, & aren't doing much in the way of making OLTL as good as it could/should be! I haven't bought Blair, for example, for a very long time. She just hasn't been herself since Mia Korf left. There was a time when MM was heralded as a great EP, but then the audience turned on him. He was one of the writers who was very open about why he wasn't interested in doing soaps anymore. Because the storytelling aspect of the job was non-existant. So did Richard Backus, who has been a consultant, but has said that he doesn't want to have the job without the creative side being part of the job description. eom
mandates, shmandates! Did you get your question answered, Edward? I doubt it! I don't watch OLTL, but it sounds like Rosebud is once again clueless and trying to sound like she knows something, LOL! All she can do is give her opinion that the HW ain't all that! HAHA! I guess your opinion of the HW is just wrong and it makes no difference according to the ''expert''! Rosebud, when are you going to figure out that you are wrong? EW and DK ARE DOING THEIR REAL WORK! THIS IS THE BEST THAT THEY CAN DO! And it is not acceptable and horrible writing. They have no writing talent! Roxie
Roxie: When we don't see HWs & former HWs talking about how little creative input or control they have over storylines! That wasn't always the case. I'm going by what they have said. Frankly, I take their word over yours in terms of what is & isn't going on. There are also former HWs who are MIA, who left because of these issues. So if they aren't going on, then why is it that they have stated that it was the reason they've left & haven't been back?! There have also been those, like Richard Backus, who have said that they were far from satisfied w/the work environment & said it was the basis for them not returning to soaps in a HW position, but as an occasional consultant?! Gary Tomlin has said that he submitted a storyline that was given the greenlight, but that the reality was far from the original concept & he isn't alone. This same thing has been said by many others. eom
Roxie: When we don't see HWs & former HWs talking about how little creative input or control they have over storylines! That wasn't always the case. I'm going by what they have said. Frankly, I take their word over yours in terms of what is & isn't going on. There are also former HWs who are MIA, who left because of these issues. So if they aren't going on, then why is it that they have stated that it was the reason they've left & haven't been back?! There have also been those, like Richard Backus, who have said that they were far from satisfied w/the work environment & said it was the basis for them not returning to soaps in a HW position, but as an occasional consultant?! Gary Tomlin has said that he submitted a storyline that was given the greenlight, but that the reality was far from the original concept & he isn't alone. This same thing has been said by many others. eom
Rox, just in case you missed that the first time . . . fee
nathan, Edward, I got the same treatment myself! I liked the past writing on ATWT and hate the present, so I was told that the past writing I loved was just as flawed as the present writing, and this writer isn't writing, etc.! Apparently our opinions are not acceptable! I want to know why the head writer is getting paid a writers salary, if he's not writing! And why an EP is being paid an EP's salary, if they're not producing! Especially since the shows are so destitute for funds! Looks like they could just take those salaries and buy cameras with them, since the suits are doing the writing and producing, and not the writers and producers! fee
fee: Flawed as the past writing may have been, when there was more to the writing of soaps than connecting the dots, it WAS superior. It isn't that the writers aren't writing & that the producers have nothing to do. They DO. But they aren't part of the creative process any longer. There is next to nothing going on in the areas of development of characters or storylines & it shows. THAT is what they aren't a part of. There is still a lot to do. Some HWs HAVE objected to being expected to do a very abreviated part of the work. There isn't a team atmosphere & hasn't been for a long time. This has never been about individuals, it is about a Corp. mindset that requires no individual thought process whatsoever. HWs & EPs still have a lot of things to do--like keeping abreast of the show's contractual obligations to contract performers & daily production. But they don't make the big decisions that their jobs once did. eom
Fee, LOL!! Surely you remember Rosebud explaining the job duties to us of the HW & EP awhile back. I do! It was a bunch of crap like ''coordinating actors vacation days'' and maybe ''making coffee''. HA! Job duties like my assistant has who gets paid minimum wage!! ..Roxie
What exactly makes this ubiquitous Rosebud person such an expert on the inner workings of the soap industry? Just curious.
We've been wondering that for years. Turns out it's basically her self-proclaimed expertise status that she's undoubtedly crowned herself. She is the ruling queen of know-it-allness! Other than that, maybe she can explain her expertise to you. She's never given any explanation to us lay people....Roxie
Glen & Roxie: As I've said before, I've read many interviews w/soap writers. They are the ones who have said that the inner workings have changed over the last 10+ yrs. They are the ones who have said that they have virtually no input into storylines or the direction characters are taken. This includes former HWs. They are also the ones who have said that when they HAVE submitted story ideas, if they get approved, they are rarely even close to the original concept. Many former HWs have also sited the redefining of the job of HW as their reason for no longer wanting to do soaps. This isn't from just one source, but many. Roxie, I've never said that I was a soap insider. I never have been. But I read articles & I've been a fan of soaps most of my life--for over 40 yrs now. Yes, I've known writers, directors, producers, etc. I was raised around the entertainment industry & own a production company. I haven't worked on a soap, but know people who have. eom
Posted by: Leprechaun Date posted: Fri Apr 25 13:59:17 2008
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Posted by: Edward Date posted: Fri Apr 25 13:14:28 2008
Message: Definitely Millie Taggart. That was the last time the show was really good. So of course she was quickly replaced by one of the worst writers ever.
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So true. Millee Taggart's tenure was so short-lived.
I'll never forgive Conboy for firing Millee Taggert so he could hire his old pal, that hack Ellen Weston. And lest we forget, we have JC to thank for hiring no-talent Kreizman as part of Weston's team.
MT's tenure on GL may have been short lived, but she was involved w/soaps for many, many yrs, both in front & behind the camera. She is a wonderful storyteller--along w/many others. Pam Long, Jay Hammer, Michael Malone, Michael Conforti, Richard Backus, James Houghton, Agnes Nixon, Gillian Spencer, Sophie Landon Geier, Claire Labine, Matthew Labine...there are MANY excellent, proven soap storytellers out there who would be more than capable of writing compelling stories--especially if left to their own devices! eom
