Bad Writer Bloodbath

I never thought I'd see the day. Yes, finally, we're rid of Bob Guza, sloppy, misogynist head writer of General Hospital and fans are....mixed. Personally, my sentiments about Guza were fairly straightforward:

But I empathize with those who aren't so happy, because last time we celebrated the departure of a rotten writer, it was when Kreizman & Swajeski were fired in favour of Lorraine Broderick at All My Children...and then within the week discovered that she was writing the show's finale, not trying to get the show back to any semblance of reality or sense. So forgive us if we're more than a little skeptical.

Outgoing DAYS scribe, Dena Higley

But this IS great news. AND it gets better. Soon, Days of Our Lives' head writer Dena Higley will be gone. Not that I'm super-excited about that one either, for numerous reasons. For one, DAYS tapes so far in advance that the new writers, Marlene Clark McPherson & Darrell Ray Thomas Jr., won't see any of their ideas appear onscreen until at least November. This is just rumours, of course, but what kind of cruel god would foist this upon us all. That's five more months of directionless storylines that are at best unbelievable and at worst non-sensical. How many more times will Jennifer's heart be stolen? How many more times will Sami's children be kidnapped? Which one will it be this time?? Will EJ finally find something productive to do with all the time he appears to have on his hands?

Methinks he takes his job too seriously: Guza (GH)

The worst part for me really is that as soon as the GH news got out, everyone pretty much assumed that Garin Wolf's appointment as head writer meant he was writing the show to its end. How depressing. I understand how that's a likelihood and all, but let's look at things from a positive perspective. What if the stars align beautifully and some great stories emerge from Wolf's pen? What if we're treated to some complex characterizations we haven't seen since Claire Labine wrote the show in 1996? What if he does such a good job that the ratings jump a full point in six months?? Yes, it's completely unlikely and I'm being absolutely naive, but we can hope, yes? It's happened before (albeit under completely different circumstances at a time when the soaps were doing so well in general that there were viewers about to lure a million of them to a soap in six months).

So what can we expect now that the mob-lover is out? Well...not a whole lot of difference, actually. I mean...Frons is still running ABC Daytime and still picking it apart with a fine tooth comb so that won't change much, and Jill Farren Phelps is still Executive Producer, which means rape and needless violence will persist, but possibly to a lesser extent? Wolf worked under the great Douglas Marland at As The World Turns for many years, so that may be a plus, but he's also worked under Guza for many years, so I'm not entirely sure what will happen now. Apparently his ex-colleague Karen Harris has a lot to say though, posting on Facebook that:

Karen Harris- Oh, please. (lol) I have a new lease on life, Jami. But I walked the picket lines with a whole bunch of terrific writers. Garin quit the WGA so he could scab. This is his reward. I'm sad, because there are others there who are better writers and deserve it more.

Someone's bitter that she got fired and a scab got her job. Not that I can entirely blame her, but her opinion's invalidated by the fact that she's spent all these years kissing Bob Guza's arse and thinks he's actually good at his job. I'm sorry, any man who thinks THIS is good soap opera:

Or this:

OR...you know...Sonny shooting Carly in the head while she's in labour...someone had that posted too but of course they took it down. Too many angry people, I suppose.

This isn't enjoyable soap opera, people. Anyone who thinks that is insane. If Guza wanted to write this, there's a show called The Sopranos on HBO he could've gone to. Now, unfortunately Garin Wolf was part of the writing team all through this mess so I don't hold out a lot of hope, but now...maybe I could be wrong. Maybe he has a different vision for the show? Cross your fingers.

Alternately, I'm hearing good things from the right people about Marlene and Darrell at DAYS. Sheri Anderson, longtime head writer at that show, as well as author of two books based on the series (with more to come) had this to say about the new appointments:

Twitter: "Congrats to Marlene and Daryl. They are terrific writers, and I see only good things for Days with them at the helm."

Facebook: "Marlene Clark Poulter and Darrell Ray Thomas have been named the new headwriters of Days of our Lives. Marlene worked with me on the show in the 80s and she was always one of the most talented writers I've worked with. Congratulations to them both and show them your support!"

So at least in this case, things are looking up. Marlene and Darrell both worked on DAYS at its most recent 90s peak, and have spent the last decade at Passions, and as much as I find Passions to be a complete farce, I also know that the talent pool on that show was excellent and they've gone on to do great things: Lisa De Cazotte moved on to be Executive Producer at GH: Night Shift on SoapNet and did GREAT things there. So really, it's starting to look up! Let's just not cancel the Will Goes Gay storyline, and I will be happier than happy.

For Those With Time on Their Hands

Stumbled upon this 1999 BBC Documentary on "Neverending Stories: Guiding Light". It's a bit rudimentary but it explains a lot of the fascination and the loyalty people DID feel for their soaps...at least into the new century. Too bad those same virtues that made the soaps so treasured to so many became a liability and a farce afterwards.

On the EDGE...of something good

Yea yea, cheesy title. So what? Just found out we're in for a real treat. A few years ago, Procter & Gamble posted episodes of classic soaps Another World, Texas, and The Edge Of Night on AOL Video dating from between 1979 and 1981. The uploads stopped not long after, about the same time AW debuted on SoapNet. Well, those AOL episodes will be back up shortly thanks to a certain soap fan in the YouTube community (provided P&G doesn't go copyright crazy on their properties they aren't/never will be using).

The show focuses on the goings-on in a fast-growing mid-sized city called Monticello. Whereas most serials focused on the romantic lives of the townspeople, EDGE was different in that their focus was also on the law and criminal activity in the city. Sort of a serialized Law & Order for daytime. Or, as the original pitch was to be, Perry Mason for daytime (even featuring radio's Perry Mason, John Larkin, as the original central character, Mike Karr). The show appears to have had some influence in the mystery-lovers community,as the show was honoured with a special Edgar Prize by the Mystery Writers of America for their 25th anniversary in 1981.

This is a chance to see the daily goings-on in a soap that is still very highly regarded, and many believe that if CBS had not moved the top-rated serial from its late-afternoon timeslot in 1972, would be at the top of the ratings even today. Even a 1975 move to late-afternoon on ABC after General Hospital couldn't save the show, and by 1984, despite airing for years directly after the #1 show in daytime, EDGE was in dead last in the ratings, and was cancelled at the end of the year, mostly at P&G insistence.

The ratings for all the P&G serials at the time had taken a massive hit around this time. In 1978, the #1, 2, 4, 6, 13, 15th placed soaps (of 15) were P&G-owned, by 1984, the #5, 6, 9, 12, and 13th ranked (of 14) were P&G, marking a huge loss in revenue for the company. EDGE, being their lowest-rated property, was simply too much money for the company to invest in serials, and by January 1985, EDGE was gone.

Part of the AOL episodes includes the Draper Scott / Kirk Michaels storyline, which comes to a climax beginning this episode (see YouTube clip). Check it out, I'm already hooked into this and I've watched about five minutes of it. Excellent shows on their way.