Author:
SkinTheKat - Soap Buff Uber Alles
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Date Posted: 18:48:23 09/03/03 Wed
In reply to:
Holly
's message, "I agree. Serial drama has to be self-perpetuating. That means" on 14:30:05 09/03/03 Wed
>Generation has to lead to generation, and you can't
>have one age group eclipse the others, even IF the
>young'uns are making less money and it seems (to the
>shortsighted) that it's therefore more cost effective
>to have them on all the time. It's pennywise and
>pound foolish.
I can understand giving more screentime to the young'uns and cutting down the vets' screen time, but you can't make it OBVIOUS that this is what you are doing. If the sense is there that a popular vet is being PUSHED OUT to make room for an untalented newbie, THAT's when you have problems. However, if you give the audience a sense that the young'uns are prosecuting a vet's storyline, it's totally different.
I'll give you a GOOD and BAD example of Newbie Propping - all in one show. Good newbie propping: When BOTH Greenlee AND Kendall were working at Enchantment for Erica who was plainly pitting them against each other. Of course, Enchantment AND Erica could only benefit from their creative competition. You had the whole corporate set atmosphere and even when Erica WASN'T onscreen, you could feel her presence. She was Madam the Boss who decided which gal was going to get the promotion. BAD Newbie Propping. When Kendall and Greenlee LEFT Enchantment to form fusion with the two other chicks. AMC's big mistake was not writing off Mia with Jake and Whats Her Name with Frank and be done with it. No, the action should have remained at Enchantment. Throw Erica's favorite child, Bianca in the mix and maybe LENA who was sleeping with the bosses' daughter and it would have been more interesting.
Viki and Dorian should be passing the
>vamp/heroine torches to the females in the young to
>middle middle age bracket (and that's not to say that
>Viki and Dorian don't still have puhlenty of story
>left in them - it just shouldn't be trampy triangle
>win-lose story - they have outgrown that superficial
>bullshit and should be thinking about their legacies
>and what makes them happy women). Those full-grown
>females should be ceding the vixen/ingenue dymanic to
>the 20 to early 30's bracket. Puppy love can be
>incidental to teen stories, which I think should
>mostly be about trying to figure out who these kids
>are as people.
Viki and Dorian are of the ages to be Grande Dames. And they should have two firmly established RIVALROUS spheres of influence. While Viki should have maintained control of The Banner, Todd should have grown a wild hair and ceded controlling ownership in the hands of DorLor. My BIGGEST complaint is how the business sets of OLTL are underutilized. That would determine how the personnel is used. I NEVER wanted Blair to get control of THE SUN, because she is never there and/or she ends up losing it to some bozo. I get the feeling that Dorian's hold would be as tenacious as hell. Why would Todd allow Viki, the owner of his newspaper's RIVAL, to be able to sell his paper? That was stupid. He'd KNOW Dorian would hold onto it if only to stick it to Viki! I liked Blair as a member of the Sun's board with voting power, on behalf of Starr and Jack. I also liked Tea on the board, too on Tomas' behalf. BOTH of these women are of the right age where they can transition from Bitch-Vixens to DIVAS. However, I wanted both Blair and Tea to work in their OWN businesses. You have the Serenity Spa Set that is never used. I wanted Blair to resurrect MELADOR and own her own Clothing and Cosmetics Line, etc. Working with Gabi, Cassie and Kelly -- daytime's answer to Designing Women if you will. I wanted Tea to be a full partner in the law firm with Vangie and Nora and a few other lawyers, like THE FIRM. Naturally these sets would feature the young'uns in various jobs. For example, Sarah could work at MELADOR SPA as a Manager and Fitness Instructor. Jen could work in the Melador Offices as a designer, etc. Jess could work at THE BANNER as a Newspaper Reporter. Natalie could work at the law firm as a Law Clerk.
>If Phil Carey really is thinking about retiring, or if
>TPTB are thinking of retiring him, then the Eddie Q
>tale is the way to go about it. Clint and Bo have
>made it clear that they're not interested in Buchanan
>Enterprises. But Max and Cord and Kevin have some
>spark and would make worthy competitors. Kevin, as
>the Buch-Lord-Riley of the bunch would have even more
>to contend with, since he would be pitted against
>either Todd, or his proxies (read: Tea and Blair) for
>THAT part of Llanview's power grid. Gabby could
>always step in as Max's proxy. And you've got 'em
>lined right up at the turnstile after that - Al,
>Jess/Nat, CJ, followed by Todd's kids and Duke
>Buchanan, ad infinitem.
Not only that, but if you have Asa become Eddie Q and Cord, Max and Kevin all competing for control of Buchanan Enterprises, you have Al, Joey, CJ and Duke and yes, even REX BALSOM -- if you make him Max's son by Roxy in the fray. In my WILDEST wet dream, TPTB would resurrect DREW BUCHANAN as the Truest Buchanan to raise hell. But you would not only have vets like Asa and Max propping the newbies, you'd have the sets, too. And that is what is needed is the sets to show that these younger folk are working SERIOUS jobs, not McJobs like they are showing today.
>
>You see, STK, the way you have outlined it builds in
>audience investment, continuity, shifting alliances,
>drama, suspense, and exit plans for actors who leave
>or retire.
>
>All of which are sorely lacking in today's ABC daytime
>dramas.
Thank you for that compliment, but what I am trying to illustrate that the best way to cut down on Vet screen time and prop up the newbies is to give the audience the illusion that it's still a Vet propelled story. The best way to do that is to put the Vet characters in positions of authority -- make them the bosses and the power brokers, the Kingmakers and the Wheeler Dealers. Let the Newbies soak up screen time by prosecuting their agendas.
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