tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post260232589757569029..comments2023-11-02T09:08:08.645-04:00Comments on We Love Soaps: Meeting Ellen Wheeler, Part 2Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13659344675956886092noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-29129914566948948262008-12-11T16:50:00.000-05:002008-12-11T16:50:00.000-05:00What a remarkable set of posts. This is definitel...What a remarkable set of posts. This is definitely insightful. I'm please at the level of attention and detail you are able to share. This is what many soap fans want.<BR/><BR/>I am taking away one thing, though, that may be GL's "weakness".<BR/><BR/>I am reminded that Y&R has, by many accounts, reached a certain creative height in the latter half of 2009. This is attributed, by many, to a cohesive but stratified leadership team:<BR/><BR/>- Paul Rauch handles production, and he does so with all of his experience and energy<BR/>- Maria Arena Bell oversees, with a tight fist, the creative direction of her show. She is responsible for story. She is also the custodian of history and character. (We'll forgive her for accidentally reversing Victor's second vasectomy)<BR/>- Hogan Sheffer oversees plot. He knows how to generate terrific story...loaded on "oooooh" moments.<BR/><BR/>With this template, Ellen is Paul Rauch for GL. She is, from a production standpoint, slowly bringing this show more and more successfully into the new production model. While I personally have quibbles (for example, the porches with peeling paint simply don't fit well with the characters who reside in those homes, in my opinion), I think the show often looks good and will look better.<BR/><BR/>But Ellen doesn't have a "Maria/Hogan" analogue. She has that 4-HW team, but as Sara Bibel has described it, they are a distributed mix of breakdown writers...I don't see anyone as the "creative czar".<BR/><BR/>If Ellen could be paired with someone equally creative...someone who can spin good story, with a keen grasp of character and history...someone who loves the show as it was...but who also embraces innovation. I'm basically thinking of a Sri Rao for GL.<BR/><BR/>That union, if it could be done, really could creatively rescue the show.<BR/><BR/>Most of what Ellen talks about in this interview is production. That makes sense. The most she can muster about story is that it is sometimes "sucky", and she's vaguely apologetic...but basically she justifies it based on budget and the relentless pressure of producing 260 shows/year. I think what she needs is someone who REFUSES to accept sucky stories. Someone who takes as much pride and pleasure in spinning the tales as she does in producing the show.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again to P&G/Telenext, you, and your fellow bloggers for these awesome insights.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-84006349242011632552008-12-11T14:42:00.000-05:002008-12-11T14:42:00.000-05:00I commend you on writing what I feel is an objecti...I commend you on writing what I feel is an objective, not gossip piece on this entire two day experience. As someone who has talked to many of the people you have mentioned, I am glad to see someone taking a realiztic look at what had to be done to save GL. I think you have also given Ellen a fair shake, which does not always happen in the press and on the various boards. I beleive she does care about GL, but she isn't perfect, and no one is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-37967635501182531312008-12-11T11:50:00.000-05:002008-12-11T11:50:00.000-05:00though ive never watched GL, this is fascinating!t...though ive never watched GL, this is fascinating!<BR/><BR/>thank you for sharing your adventure!Norn Cutsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02650978084194878199noreply@blogger.com