Mike Taylor on 8/7/97 3:45 PM said:

>jdsprst

>Olga Werby on 8/7/97 1:38 PM said:

>

>>..."I wonder if this tension will be true for all the authors who've been writing for a while. There's been some turn-over of authors on The Company Therapist..."

>Admittedly, I have also experienced this tension of late. Unlike writing a short story or even a book, in which there is one general subject/plot that slowly unfolds, we have the challenge of creating new adventures for our characters on a weely or bi-weekly basis. It's analogous to the TV episodes that, over time, start seeming more like recycled versions of older, much more original episodes.

>Take Melrose Place, for example. It started off rather innocuous, but gradually the storylines became more and more ridiculous to the point that no murder plot or love triangle was beneath the scriptwriters to conjure. As audiences, I think we've become desensitized to the normal, real-life material in favor of the much more sensationalistic stuff.

>Okay, I'm rambling now...I really need to stop eating these brownies...

>--Mike

>

It's interesting that you feel that way with Thomas Darden, since I think of him as much more "character-based" than "narrative-based"--although, of course, there's plenty of narrative during his sessions, too. Thomas is someone that I feel like I know better and better after each of his sessions--sort of like the layers of an onion. Not as the Doctor, of course, he really seems like he would benefit from a girlfriend. He's one of those guys who don't do very well by themselves, but blossom when they're part of a relationship. I know the Doctor is trying to get him out more, and that seems just the ticket!

I think you have a long way to go before you start suffering from the soap opera narrative that typifies so much episodic writing.