James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten
James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten are American television writers, primarily working on soap operas. The duo have worked together for over 20 years, starting on the prime-time serial Dynasty. Together, they created the soap opera The City, a spinoff of Loving. On November 14, 2012, Esensten died at the age of 75.[1]
Controversy
Brown and Esensten are somewhat controversial; their writing has been criticized as often drifting into the absurd and sci-fi. When the two wrote for Guiding Light during the later part of the 1990s, the show's primary herione, Reva Shayne, was cloned, and when the duo would later write for Port Charles, vampires were introduced, along with other supernatural creatures. When the two took over as head writers at All My Children, the show plummeted to record lows in the ratings.[2] The show reached a record low of 2,144,000 viewers on November 2, 2007.
Because of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Brown and Esensten went financial core within the guild, allowing them to write for All My Children because of financial strains brought on by the strike. Megan McTavish, the writer they replaced at All My Children, was displeased. "These are not youngsters struggling to make mortgage payments or feed their children. Their sole intent now seems to be piling up more money for themselves," she said.[3]
Positions held
- Co-Writers: 1987-1988
- Executive Story Editors: 1988-1989
- Co-Head Writers: July 26, 2007 - January 14, 2008; January 30 - August 26, 2008
- Script Writers: July 20, 2010–September 23, 2011
- Script Editors: November 2006 - May 2007
- Script Editors: October 2004 - October 2005
- Co-Head Writers: November 2000 - July 2003
- Co-Head Writers: 1997 - 2000
- Co-Head Writers: 1994 - November 1995
- Creators
- Co-Head Writers: November 1995 - March 1997
HW History
| Preceded by Michael Conforti Victor Miller |
Head Writer of Guiding Light 1997-2000 |
Succeeded by Claire Labine |
| Preceded by Megan McTavish (no HW listed before they joined) |
Head Writer of All My Children July 25, 2007 - January 14, 2008 January 31 - August 26, 2008 |
Succeeded by Charles Pratt, Jr. |
References
- ↑ "Barbara Esensten Dead at 75". We Love Soaps. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "AMC hits new record lows". Soap Opera Network.
- ↑ Steinberg, Jacques (January 21, 2008). "Soap-Operas Are the Hidden Drama of the Strike". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-21.