Megan McTavish
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| Megan McTavish | |
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| Born | April 30, 1949 Pembroke, NH, U.S. |
Megan McTavish (born April 30, 1949 in Pembroke, New Hampshire) is an American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.
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[edit] Early career
Before becoming a writer, McTavish was a Chicago-based stage actress. She played Penelope in the National Radio Theater's Peabody Award-winning radio dramatization of Homer's Odyssey (1980). On television, McTavish broke into the soap opera industry as an actress; she played Lola Fontaine on Guiding Light from 1983 to 1984.
[edit] Writing
McTavish began her writing career as a staff writer on the Procter and Gamble Productions's Texas. (The show was notable for allowing actors to contribute as writers; its final head writer, Pamela Long, had been portraying the front-burner role of Ashley.) She also worked as a staff writer for the company's Guiding Light.
McTavish was head writer of several shows. She was at Guiding Light from 1995 to 1996, at One Life To Live from 1999 to 2001, and at General Hospital from 2001 to 2002.
However, she is best known for three separate stints at All My Children. McTavish was mentored by All My Children creator Agnes Nixon and her 1992 ascension to head writer was reported in the press as a change of the guard. McTavish wrote for All My Children until 1995, and returned for two additional stints, from 1997 to 1999 and from 2003 until 2007.
[edit] Accomplishments
McTavish's first stint on All My Children was her most critically and commercially successful stint. McTavish updated some of the existing characters and introduced new ones. She wrote several sweeping umbrella stories over the years, most notably a story where Pine Valley was hit by a tornado, and a baby-swap story involving two of the show's young ingenues, Bianca Montgomery and Babe Carey.
McTavish created several popular characters, including Ryan Lavery and Kendall Hart, who are still cornerstones of the show today.
[edit] Criticisms
McTavish has been on the receiving end of significant criticism from the soap opera press, as well as fans.
On all of McTavish's shows, she has been criticized for writing stories that are plot-heavy without significant character development. Former Soap Opera Weekly critic Marlena Delacroix wrote a 1995 criticism of McTavish's writing for Guiding Light, denoting McTavish's adherence to plot over character.
McTavish was a particularly unpopular choice for head writer at General Hospital, where she wrote a story about a dead man being reanimated. Even so, she received an Emmy during her time there. Several of the show's leads made mention of their dissatisfaction with her in subsequent press interviews.
McTavish was also criticized for unrealistic stories at All My Children, as well as violent ones (the town's lesbian character, Bianca, being a victim of rape). She was specifically criticized for rewriting history. The most notable case was reversal of a landmark story where central character Erica Kane had undergone daytime's first abortion; McTavish's rewrite of the story revealed that rather than having had an abortion, Erica's fetus was stolen and implanted into another woman's uterus, resulting with character Josh Madden. McTavish also rewrote history and the timeline of Erica's past to introduce character Kendall in the early 1990s. Several major, long term actors were recently written off the show, prompting severe viewer backlash. In addition, McTavish would sometimes repeat storylines she had previously written on the show, most notably the Mardi Gras explosion in February 2006, which was very similar to the Holidays Restaurant explosion in July 1998.
McTavish's second and third tenures on All My Children saw significant ratings decline, blamed on a deterioration of quality in those periods. Many fans believe that Executive Producer Felicia Minei Behr was the real driving force behind the show's success.
[edit] Writing credits
- Head Writer (1992 - May 1995; December 1997 - June 1999; July 1, 2003 - May 1, 2007 (termination announced February 28, 2007; new head writers named May 21)
- Breakdown Writer (1987-1992)
- Head Writer (April 2001- June 12, 2002)
- Co-Head Writer (June 13, 2002 - July 2002)
- Head Writer (1995-1996)
- Breakdown Writer (1985-1986)
- Script Writer (1984-1985)
- Actress: Lola Fontaine (1983-1984)
- Head Writer (February 1999- January 2001)
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Win, 2003, Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team, for General Hospital
- Nomination, 1989-1996 and 2004, Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team, for All My Children
Writers Guild of America Awards
- Win, 1999, 2004 and 2006, Daytime Serials, for All My Children
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Wisner Washam |
Head Writer of All My Children 1992- May 1995 |
Succeeded by Agnes Nixon Lorraine Broderick |
| Preceded by Douglas Anderson |
Head Writer of Guiding Light 1995-1996 |
Succeeded by Michael Conforti Victor Miller |
| Preceded by Agnes Nixon Lorraine Broderick |
Head Writer of All My Children 1997-1999 |
Succeeded by Agnes Nixon |
| Preceded by Jill Farren Phelps (De facto) |
Head Writer of One Life To Live 1999-2001 |
Succeeded by Lorraine Broderick Christopher Whitesell |
| Preceded by Elizabeth Korte Michele Val Jean |
Head Writer of General Hospital 2001-2002 |
Succeeded by Robert Guza Jr. Charles Pratt Jr. |
| Preceded by Gordon Rayfield Anna Cascio |
Head Writer of All My Children July 2003-May 2007 |
Succeeded by James Harmon Brown Barbara Esensten |
