Michael Logan has the scoop for TV Guide Magazine.
AMC head writer Chuck Pratt blames the mess on Riegel’s exit for pilot season. “I was led to believe we had her for longer than we really did — suddenly I got word that Eden is leaving now,” he says. Meanwhile, Braun had agreed to a six-month stay, so that left her neurotic, sexually confused character dangling in the wind.
“We got to play everything we wanted to with Bianca and Reese but not in the time we’d hoped for — in my mind, it was a two-year story,” Pratt continues. “I guess I could have rushed to the wedding earlier so that they’d have had more time together as a married couple and then had them break up, but I think the fans would have been even more unsatisfied with that.”
What if Braun had been willing to stick with AMC? “We discussed that possibility,” Pratt notes. “But if Tamara decided to stay, keeping her on the show as an angry lesbian — with no other lesbian characters on the canvas — would be kind of insane. So we thought about making Reese bisexual — kind of an Anne Heche who bounces back and forth — and maybe make her an opportunistic black widow, a real bad girl. And Tamara would have been really great at that. But, ultimately, we decided to stick with the message.”
TVGuideMagazine.com
OCH...this is all the talk on some message boards.
ReplyDeleteThe HW did not know how long he'd have Riegel for? Good communication.
He didn't know what to do with an available lesbian? (E.g., he couldn't cast another lesbian or -- Otalia style -- craft a mid-life awakening or bisexual character for Reese on the canvas?).
Tragic.
Yeah, ultimately they decided to "stick with the message"? What message? They were blindsided by the enormity of the backlash and are still scrambling to fix things. Won't work. And Otalia over at "Guiding Light" has stolen their thunder.
ReplyDeleteBuy-bye, Breese. Viva Otalia!
Mark, you would think the length of Eden's stay would have been clear up front. It seems odd that a wedding was planned, heavily promoted then she was gone a few days later and the writer didn't know about the timing (especially considering she was only on a few months anyway).
ReplyDeleteJazzy, I'm assuming he means the original message the actors seem to think the story was going to be about when they signed on. But it totally went off message a long time ago.
I feel so fortunate to be watching the Otalia story unfold on Guiding Light, especially having been burned multiple times by AMC's butchering of Bianca Montgomery.
ReplyDeleteTrying to blame the absolutely dreadful writing for Breese on Eden Riegel's exit is preposterous. Learn how to communicate with your stars - I highly doubt she sprung it on them. Pilot season is the same time every year. And Eden Riegel is a damned saint for coming back so may times despite the awful writing for her character. Breese has been like one repeated slap in the face, and I don't give a damn whether or not they plan to give them some kind of tacked on happy ending send off. The carnage has been created already. Pratt & co. can stick it where the sun don't shine as far as I'm concerned.
And not keeping Reese on the canvas as an "angry lesbian" because there would be no other lesbians for her to interact with? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I'm kind of glad AMC will be leaving lesbians alone. Leave it to decent writers, like Jill Lorie Hurst and Ellen Wheeler.
Wow, you can bet Eden wont be back again for a while if ever, they can't blame this mess of a storyline on her they need to blame it on the writers. Plus how could he not know up front when Eden was leaving isn't the he head writer?
ReplyDeletethought about making her bisexual? uhmm, hate to break it to you pratt, but REESE IS BISEXUAL! as bianca said lesbians don't go around kissing men.
ReplyDeletei totally agree with simone. i feel so fortunate to have found otalia. i only wish i had been investing my time in guiding light instead of AMC in 2008.