Part 2: What would Irna think…

About Beyond the Gates?

CBS

Correction: 
Originally, I wrote that the Richardsons might be expecting. Of course, I meant the Hamiltons. 

Before I start:

Last time I wrote, “should newlywed Haley Hamilton’s recently announced pregnancy end happily (never a given on a soap:), P&G’s premium diapers, Pampers, could be mentioned.” Of course, what I should have said was, “never a given on a soap, assuming the pregnancy is even  real.” Suffice it to say, it doesn’t look as though the Hamiltons will be needing Pampers anytime soon.  

Moving on…

While much has changed in soaps over the years — and not always for the better — “Beyond the Gates” head writers, Michele Val Jean and Robert Guza (who recently left), are continuing the foundation of Irna’s storytelling, which she shared in 1972 on the David Frost show: “People are people. They’re motivated. We’re all grays. None of us are either white or black, or bad or good.”

This ethos defines BTG’s opening story: Dani and Bill Hamilton’s divorce and his remarriage to Haley. The aftermath, which continues to reverberate, embodies critic Robert LaGuardia’s insightful description of Irna’s storytelling: “Phillips presented the story through characters neither all black nor all white, forcing viewers to grieve over the heartbreak of the human condition rather than hang on to a fixed value judgment.”

Without going into too much detail, Val Jean and Guza have created scenes that allow these characters to exhibit the conflicting emotions of simultaneous emotional truths: Dani hates Bill for leaving her after their 30-year marriage, but part of her will always want him back — and vice versa. Their daughters, Chelsea and Naomi, are understandably furious with their father, but, he’s still their father. Bill seems happy with his new life (at least for now), but desperately wants to repair his relationship with his girls. So the online discussions/arguments continue: “Dani’s right;” “no, Dani needs to get over herself.” This is how fans “grieve over the heartbreak of the human condition rather than hang on to a fixed value judgment.”

But — now you knew a “but” was coming, right?

When Irna conceived “As the World Turns,” as the first 30 minute soap, she wanted the additional time not to tell more story, but to develop "better story and characterization."

The first two weeks of Beyond the Gates were overwhelming. Not only was every one of the 20 contract characters introduced — along with a few of the recurring — but their upcoming storylines were telegraphed, as well; some began immediately unfolding. Keeping track of what was happening to characters whose names we barely knew was exhausting. Why introduce everyone all at once?

Four months in, the pacing has settled down somewhat, but is still choppy and lacks cohesion. Storylines move plot point to plot point — skipping over the emotional beats in-between that connect viewers with characters — in Irna’s words, “better characterization.” These emotional beats are often replaced with exposition, creating more than a few missed opportunities. 

The most glaring is the relationships among the Richardsons: Dani’s sister, Nichole, a psychiatrist, her plastic surgeon husband, Ted, and their two children, Kat and Martin. What few scenes there’ve been between parents and children have involved the revelation of Ted’s affair and new daughter — no sense of the how these people related to each other previously. Or, how these two physicians, whose profession requires discipline, patience —  not to mention impulse control — could raise children who’ve acquired none of these qualities. Was this a source of tension — dare I say — conflict as Kat and Martin were growing up? Not a clue. 

The underlying problem continues: juggling so many character and storylines left little time to fully flesh out characters — and not just the Richardsons. While some of the initial storylines are coming together into an umbrella story that promises to have far-reaching consequences, with so many characters and storylines, the whole of the show has yet to exceed the sum of its parts. Given the size of the current cast and number of storylines can it ever?  

Michelle Val Jean began sketching out BTG long before CBS, P&G Studios, and NAACP joined forces to bring the show to air. Considering her and recently departed co-head writer Robert Guza’s decades long history with soaps, I have to wonder if the show would have begun with such front-loaded the narrative had they been left to their own devices. 

According to Ken Corday, whose father, Ted, co-created “Days of Our Lives” with Irna: 

“Irna raged against what she called the ‘dying of the light brought on by the corporate and network creative control.’ She called them ‘temporary people making permanent decisions who didn’t know what they didn’t know.’”   

Given that the show has to deal with three corporations and eight — eight! — executive producers (including Val Jean and creator, Sheila Ducksworth) it’s more than likely that at least some decisions were the result of corporate notes. As many, including my old friend, Patrick Erwin, have observed from the BTG earliest days: “Too many cooks stirring the pot.” 

More about the cooks next time.