This thread is fascinating reading. Y&R and B&B viewers are missing CBS' most compelling, longest running soap - it's been playing out in 33.
I won't be adding my recollection of any specific incidents or sharing my direct observations or analysis of any of the people being discussed. Instead, I'd like to make a more global comment based on my months working on Price, with many of the people mentioned here, as filtered through my general thoughts on life and people. Just my opinions, no more.
Opinion #1: It's the usual office politics or schoolyard dynamics you'd find anywhere, except on steroids. The same people have worked together for years - some for as long as half a lifetime, Because it's TV it's all with supersized salaries, supersized egos and high stakes. And because it's show biz it remains mostly hidden and sometimes festering behind a benign facade, unlike the office or fast food workers who act outwardly hostile. The result: it's a hothouse environment where things grow bigger, faster, and hotter, with deeper roots and more grandiose blossomings.
Opinion #2: Few people in life are purely evil or purely benevolent. Everyone's primary motivation is survival - creative, financial, and/or emotional nurturing. When people sense their survival is threatened, they respond. Those who respond most are the most insecure. When I see someone behaving with hostility or deceit, I find it as offensive as anyone else does. But I also can see that the person is acting out of their own sense of having their survival threatened. Those who are threatened most easily and react most profoundly are usually the people who have more pain, fear and insecurity in their lives a.k.a. "baggage". When my anger subsides I feel sadness and compassion for those people.
Summary: The basic drama on that set is no different than the drama on other sets I've worked. But it is far bigger, brighter, more colorful, louder, more energized, more pronounced and sometimes more hostile. And because some of it has been playing out for decades, some of it is far more complex and convoluted. It was certainly a learning experience for me, and I now understand that I was already in the drama and politics long before I realized it, by virtue of whose "side" I appeared to be on. It's sad that something that has brought so much joy to the viewing public has been the source of so much hurt and sadness for others.
With respect and with appreciation for the experience,
Randy
tvrandywest.com
OT: I found Paul Alter to be a friendly guy with great stories, who seemed to care about his work and wanted to include some creative shots.
