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« on: April 29, 2014, 08:23:03 PM »
I don't see the writers caring very much, then ceasing to care. That doesn't make sense without other big factors making that happen. The writers couldn't just do anything they liked. Dan Curtis would force storyline ideas on them that were sometimes impossible to write well for.
The quality of DS kept going up and down throughout its run. Often the quality dipped apparently because they were concentrating far more on preparing the upcoming storyline and getting that one right, than they were on the present storyline that was running out of steam. 1967 got pretty embarrassing and dismal I think, right before they went back to 1795, and then the quality shot right up...
Creative people don't just stop caring. Maybe changed working conditions and the strain of working on a complicated show that had to produce every weekday, those might have burned them out for awhile.
I think 1968 gives off a sense of apathy far more than 1840 does, but I'm in the minority on that. Continuity suffered in 1840, but it was very well crafted and those in charge definitely cared then. PT 1970, I have no idea. Just stealing the plot of Rebecca was unforgiveable to me. The writers probably had no choice in that though, and their enthusiasm went up and down during these periods I suppose. For awhile no one will seem to care, then they'll hit a pocket of story with a few interesting challenges and possibilities... the writers will wake up and get engaged for a week or two.... then that will have run its course, and it's back the plodding stuff again...