Chris B

I agree they've missed the boat not releasing more seasons on DVD.

I haven't seen NYC yet, although I can't wait, but ratings were not good! Especially for a heavily promoted premiere of an established housewife show. It got 1.6 million for the first airing and 1.0 for the second airing. Hopefully with word of mouth it'll improve. The previous season was pretty big ratings wise. I think they definitely missed the mark in dumping Alex, who is probably more relatable to viewers. Now we have to wait and see how people take to the new wives. I'm in love with Carole and Aviva from what I've seen.

I was reading a pretty standard article about Dallas, which had some surprisingly good details. One thing I noticed is that the article says the producers reached out to Joan Van Ark and Ted Shackelford to appear in an episode. It would've been a small appearance, but imagine how nice that would've been! We could've had Gary and Val reunited with Lucy and hell, seeing them at all would've been amazing! Ted is the reason they didn't appear. He said the role wasn't big enough and turned it down. Now we know where the rumors of JVA appearing came from. I wonder if there's a chance she DID film the cameo by herself. What do you guys think? Personally I find it short-sighted on Ted's part because who knows what this could lead to. They might be thinking of a Knots Landing spin-off and could do that by testing things out with guest appearances by Gary & Val and maybe Bobby and Betsy if Dallas is a big enough hit. Or even on Dallas there might be a place for them. I think it's great the writers tried to include Knots even if it wasn't successful. Here's a link to the article: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Dallas-TNT-Ewings-1048494.aspx

If you were going to include originals, I would focus on Paige and Greg since they would make it easy for the Mackenzie's and also Abby to make appearances. Then you can include Gary and Val by having the twins around. Olivia, Brian and Kate are also options. I'd simply have most of the originals living elsewhere and their homes inhabited by their children. Would be a little contrived, but could work. There are so many different ways you could go. Another option would be to redo the Scenes From A Marriage theme of the early days and pick five couples to lead the way. Could do Brian & Kate (with their teenage daughter Molly & Grandma Abby), Olivia with somebody new, Bobby and/or Betsy with somebody new, Meg with somebody new, a recast Michael with a love interest and considering how Kent King has aged, I'd certainly have Julie around.

If Dallas is successful, I think for sure we'll see Dynasty done as a revival. With Knots Landing or Falcon Crest, I definitely see them being considered as well. Whether it's a revival or continuation is to be seen, but these shows will be on everybodys radar. Viewers seem to be gravitating more towards the pure drama soaps and less of the dramadies that dominated during the Desperate Housewives days. I think Falcon Crest is a nice, dark concept that is ripe for remaking.

I find it shocking a series hasn't picked up Donna Mills or Michele Lee the way soaps are coming back. In all the pictures Michele Lee looks great on Fumbling. She'd fit on Revenge. I dream of this Knots Landing remake if Dallas is successful, but even then it probably wouldn't include much of the originals. If anything, I could see Mills and Lee fitting in on new shows, if somebody is smart enough to hire them.

I think there needs to be a balance. So far the balance has been too skewed for older episodes, which is great for me since that's what I wanna watch, but I accept that more recent stuff would make more sense in building profits so you CAN release that older stuff. IIRC, in their research, the 80s were a decade fans wanted more of for ATWT. I think the focus on James is probably what caused this not to do as well. Barbara was there until the end and had lots of major storylines and a huge resurgence towards the end. To anyone who started watching the show after 2000 (like me) James was a recurring villain, often in bad stories who came in and out. He was hardly a major presence, so I can see why newer fans wouldn't rush to get this. Newer fans will know Holden/Lily or Carjack or Barbara or Tom and Margo. I don't think it was a bad idea to do this DVD, I just think the same episodes with a heavier focus on Barbara would've sold them better.

It should be no surprise that the Farewell DVDs did well. Most of the fans on the internet are young and only know the show from the more recent years. Things like Carjack, Gwen/Will, Olivia Spencer on GL or Katie for ATWT are clear sellers. I suggested a while back, a way around this would be a set pairing one older couple with a newer one. Say 10 episodes focused on Olivia Spencer, plus 10 episodes of an older character that may be similar. Or Quit/Nola, plus a newer couple in a joint boxset. That would allow newer viewers to still buy the set, become familiar with the older couple and they might be more willing to buy older leaning sets later on. I also think it was a mistake focusing so much on James Stenbeck for this new set. I would've given Barbara equal footing, since she's a character the modern fans are more familiar with. It could've been Barbara and James: Volume 1, then a Volume 2 could've been their stuff in the 90s, 00s.

I feel like the only reason Brandi wasn't full time is because the cast had more power with Bravo not knowing what viewers would take to. Now that we see how well liked Brandi is, it's easier to make her a housewife, even though you have others threatening to quit if that became a reality.

John Pleshette was brilliant and his arc ended so well. I do think he could've worked in the later years, but not the glamourous middle years. I'd have enjoyed a pairing with Richard and Robin Strasser's Dianne, who was foolishly overlooked as the Abby replacement. I found comical Anne to be a total bore, I only liked Anne when she originally arrived as a darker character, or her more serious turn in the final season. Funny yall are asking about season 11 because that's the season I'm watching right now. I also believe it was the season John Pleshette was fired by Lynn Marie Latham and her hubby for criticising one of their scripts lol. I've always found it to be a boring season, but re-watching it and it's very well written. The show is very domestic again, but it works. I like Sumner Group and all the recurring characters like Bob, Mort and Harvey. They've done a great job transitioning Michael into an adult character, Linda is amazing and Paige is maturing as a reasonable speed. I like that they brought in Tom instead of having Paige pine away for Greg. A major downside is keeping Paula and putting her with Greg. She was such a dull character! As yall mentioned, Sally's Friend was a bit tiresome, but I found Penny Peyser to be a good actress and re-watching it the story isn't bad at all. The problem I have is that Val had been dumbed down and victimized so much at this point that the story can't work. As a Val fan it's insulting. I don't recall her doing anything last season after the rush-wrapped up the Jill story and to throw her into ANOTHER Crazy Val story is just stupid. But looking at it objectively it's not a bad story. Mack's story didn't bother me either. I wish it was Lilimae instead of Aunt Ginny, but I do enjoy Mack and Frank (and soon having Tom involved) in their work stories. I loved everything about Karen's talk show, which gave us Robin Strasser as Dianne. I just can't understand how they didn't cast her full-time. She was the PERFECT foil for Karen, which is what they needed when replacing Abby. Claudia was friends with Karen so that didn't work, Anne was a joke so that couldn't work either and Linda was too young. As a result we ended up with Karen winning constantly, being nosey and preaching at everyone.

A new 10 episode James Stenbeck DVD has been released. It only covers the 80s, which is a great idea IMO. I think that Carjack DVD worked so well because there were less years to cover so it was able to give you a good scope of their relationship. Since this just focuses on the 80s they'll be able to condense the story better, plus if it sells well you can do another set. I'm excited!

I think the Vancouver casts and the new NYC housewives are just what this franchise needs. Beverly Hills has some good ones too, but it getting too dark and trashy with Taylor.

Wow, so she was on Love of Life for two years AND Search For Tomorrow, yet when she joined DAYS all that was downplayed so much.

Bringing Sydney back just to kill her makes no sense, but yall have to remember---it's AMANDA who was supposed to die, which makes even LESS sense. I highly doubt the idiots running that show ever watched the original. They also didn't know how to write Sydney or Amanda. In general that had a poor handle on the original characters and the show was too dark and just plain boring. They should've just hiring Chuck Pratt and let him write it. Considering he's currently writing a teen show, he's obviously still in the mindset to handle a show geared towards younger viewers. I would rather risk what he would've done to what we got. Bringing Sydney back just to kill her makes no sense, but yall have to remember---it's AMANDA who was supposed to die, which makes even LESS sense. I highly doubt the idiots running that show ever watched the original. They also didn't know how to write Sydney or Amanda. In general that had a poor handle on the original characters and the show was too dark and just plain boring. They should've just hiring Chuck Pratt and let him write it. Considering he's currently writing a teen show, he's obviously still in the mindset to handle a show geared towards younger viewers. I would rather risk what he would've done to what we got.

When Ronnie pulled out the sea plane I almost fainted lol. That was so adorable and PERFECT for a show like this. I wish they'd included that in the trailer for the season. This needs to hurry and come to the US. Such a good show! I've completely dropped New Jersey and this is the perfect replacement. I'm also about 5 weeks behind on OC.

I can't believe Tracy Melchoir was ever considered as Lily on ATWT. She is so wrong for that role, even moreso than Noelle Beck. The other suggestion of Susan Haskell is even worse. I remember when reading about that ridiculous recast, I saw how hard a role it is to fill. I don't see them recasting Carly if it came to it, I think a lot of it was done out of spite.

Didn't New York have 7 last season? And of course than depends if everybody lasts the entire season. Maybe Yolanda will end up a Friend or maybe Kim or Taylor will be pushed down to a Friend. If Kim never shows up like usual, it could happen easily.

Katherine Ross was a HUGE casting blunder. Worse than Ali McGraw on Dynasty.

I loved this show. The first season was legitimately good and I loved Barbara Stanwyck and Stephanie Beacham was a revelation. I find the two seasons of The Colbys better than most of what we saw on Dynasty around that time.

Around what time did Johnny sour to you? I always wonder what would've happened if Loving didn't get RH's timeslot. I could see it being successful well into the 90s.

It's shocking how much older he looks without his hair piece. I always thought he was so adorable on Ryan's Hope. Maeve and Johnny were a powerhouse couple. I LOVED everything about Johnny Ryan.

Say what you will, but IMO Theresa is one of the only salvagable cast members on that show. When they retool (and they will) for next season she'll no doubt be at the central of the show. Melissa and Kathy will probably be save ONLY due to the connection to Theresa. Jac and Caroline have the most to worry about IMO.

I have the entire series of Emerald Point NAS and it's so dull.

http://www.tamaratattles.com/2012/04/real-housewives-of-miami-drama-filled.html That article isn't very clear, but it reveals some of the drama. Mainly you wanna check out Miami Herald who is posting most of the stuff. One thing is certain, there is a fued between Marysol and drag queen Elaine Lancaster. When the show was originally revealed, there were reports of a drag queen housewife, but Lancaster was cut from the show. She moaned about that on Twitter, but for the second season she's definitely there as a Friend of the Housewives I'm assuming. Marysol and Elaine had a big blow up at an event and Marysol was caught threatening to quit the show. Also apparently Mama Elsa is still as fabulous as ever. Looks like 3-4 potential new housewives and Alexia is going to still pop up here and there.

The stuff we've heard of Miami sounds interesting, but I also enjoyed the first season for what it was. I can't wait to see how it all comes together and how it looks.