Chris B

It was Where the Heart Is. Has to be. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing had so many cast and writing changes, I can't see Alden falling for it. Unless it was during the Leslie Charleston/Beverlee McKinsey/Donna Mills heart attack era. I'd love to see that show.

Yeah I hope he doesn't get too carried away as well. I don't want him to fire half the cast, I like the fantasy/music montage scene that opens the show. And I do like a lot of these characters. I just feel they haven't been given anything interesting to do. They're also poorly paired and this writer can't commit to anything. I wonder how he's going to handle the flash forward. With Calvin murdered in May, he can't make too many plans. Since they have to revisit that, at least the characters featured should be safe until then. Then again, those were mostly strong characters so I'm hoping he wouldn't cut any McQueen's or Zak. I can't wait for his first interview!

I've resumed my Peyton Place viewing so I thought I'd copy and paste my thoughts from another board in this thread.

Been watching more and just order some more that should take me through October I believe. Loving the show. The Serena kidnapping has wrapped up, but introduced a Wayne Northrop character and a connection to Danielle. Right now we're still getting to know everyone and testing out these romantic pairings. Everything is working so far. One person I had to comment on is Mark. Love him. One thing that confuses me is the wheelchair. I understand it's true to life, but I had no idea. He's your typical soap hunk that they give this type of story to, then quickly give a miracle cure. The actor is great and it really isn't an issue for the character. I hope he stick around for a while (don't tell me! no spoilers!). One episode he was laying down on a couch taking a nap and his legs moved. Maybe I'm just totally dumb with this subject and maybe he moved his legs out of camera focus, but he seemed so casual and I totally forgot about his wheelchair. One thing I'd love to see is them integrate the interns better with Scott, Lucy and Kevin. Those characters seem a little segregated and we don't need three perspectives of this city (GH, PC: Interns & PC: Kevin, Lucy & Scott). Maybe Ellen could become involved in their story. Continuing to love her btw. Debbi Morgan is great at differentiating her soap roles. Only one I haven't seen is Chantal on Generations. Only seen one or two episodes of Angie on The City as well.

Carl, the older man I like is Eric Pollard. I believe involved with Val and he runs a B&B. I figured it out because he was in the same scene as Laurel's dad and I got all confused.

I do like Chas whenever she does anything (which is rare so far), but that voice! Oh and funny I said Sally was up to something, but I didn't expect it so soon. In the second part of the episode I was watching she set the church on fire with Laurel in it!

I'm still in November. I try to watch an entire week in one sitting, but it's still tough catching up. I'm on November 13th right now. Of the young characters, I'm really taking to Layla and the rich guy whose taking advantage of her (whats his name?). This woman Sally seems a little crazy. She sat Lauren (is that her name??) on fire at the bonfire which was nice. Still not sure why there was such a lack of follow up with that. You'd think she fell or stubbed her toe. Shouldn't she have burns on her body? Also, is she pregnant on the show or in real life? HATE most of the old people on this show. It seems all the women are rude and stroll around town making smart remarks to everyone. Do they ever do anything? Have storylines? Lives? One, Edna, really annoys me. The only older character I like is the old man who works with Layla. He reminds me of John Clarke from DAYS. Not an old woman, but I believe she's Aaron's mother and has dark hair....that woman has a painful voice to listen to. Not a cute accent on her. Reminds me of a witch. Cain and Charity still rock my world, but it seems clear she's using him now that I see he has lots of money. Other than that I wish the Sharma brothers would actually DO something.

Oh the men on Emmerdale are cute, but not too many that drive me wild. I'd say Maxwell Caufield has gotten better with age. He pulls off the aging hunk thing well, but his toupee's are troubling. I like the actor who plays Cain and the two asian brothers. John Barton is of course very cute. Hollyoaks has the sexiest men, IMO.

Del Reisman was credited as the Executive Story Consultant on Peyton Place, so he was the HW I'm assuming. There's one of those long interviews with him on YouTube, but the part where he talks about PP was missing last I checked.

I have that one episode of Our Private World and it was the most disappointing piece of television I've ever seen. So cheap and it moved far too slow to be a primetime serial. The characters seemed dull and the writing was flat. It's hard to believe Irna had anything to do with it considering she did many many of the changes they got Peyton Place on the air. She also did great work on ATWT in the half hour format. Not sure how they could've expected such a show to compete with Peyton Place.

Eric, I'm actually watching Peyton Place right now. I'm around episode 280. We're now in beautiful color, Alison is missing, characters like Rita, Norman and Connie finally have story. The mysterious Rachel Welles has arrived and Lee's murder trial continues. The show shows no sign of decline at this point. It's an absolute classic. Because of when it was made I always forget it when discussing primetime soaps, but it's one of the best. I'd also love o see The Survivors, a 70s primetime soap starring Lana Turner. They were so rare in the 60s and 70s so it was interesting to find out about that one. I hear there is a Peyton Place pilot from the late 70s starring Elaine Princi as Betty and Adam West as someone or another. I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to find that or an episode of Return To Peyton Place.

I'd love to see some of the quickly canceled primetime soaps. I've nevcer seen Models Inc, CPW, Titans, Malibu Road 2000, Malibu Shores, etc. This one has always interested me. I've read that it was #1 when it premiered and did well, but was considered too expensive so they didn't renew it. I'd love to see it as the cast sounds great. It's such a shame Lisa Hartman stopped acting. She was GREAT on Knots Landing and still to this day looks amazing. My absolute favorite classic primetime soap is Knots Landing. From beginning to end it was fantastic. Great writing, great casts and most of their risks paid off. Dallas would be my next favorite. The first 7 or 8 seasons were near perfection and I do enjoy the later seasons which some fans strongly dislike. Some of the new characters were good and the stories remained interesting. I think some fans just can't let go of their favorites who left. Now in the later seasons I don't think they told the big umbrella stories that spanned entire seasons as well, but it was still good. After that I'd say I loved The Colbys. Dynasty was pure brilliance the first two seasons and it's final seasons, otherwise it was a mess. I'd like to re-watch it and see how it holds up. Those middle years are just too ridiculous and poorly written for me to understand. The Colbys is a clone, but it had some strong actors and the story was basically Blake and Alexis still married with Krystal as the homewrecker. I liked that dynamic. Throw away the alien abduction and you have a good show. Falcon Crest was entertaining popcorn TV, but very plot driven. So many great characters were introduced (always a long lost relative!!) then they'd be forgotten in no time and a new one would be introduced. Just ridiculous. But everyone looked great and they had a good cast.Melrose Place I'm finding much better than I remembered as I re-watch it.

Firing Karen Harris does seem odd if they show was actually good when she was writing. I'm not looking forward to her stint because I know it'll be over quick and them I'm back with the arcs. I've watched three episodes so far and it's a cute little show. Chris is sexier than I remember. I don't recall him every doing anything so this is a shock. Very surprised to read that early Eve is a bitch. I only knew her as a heroine. Hell, I barely knew her since she died in Secrets. So far Ellen seems a bit of a bitch. Nothing like Angie. Not loving the wig, but overall it's a nice outing for Miss Morgan. Anyone know why she left the show after a year? Was it a Beverlee McKinsey one-year contract deal to help with the launch and then she said "Peace!"?

Excuse me. I know you posted this a long, long time ago, but I take offense! Let's not forget that RYAN'S HOPE, a great show, was thrown under the bus for Loving. That show which never seemed to find it's identity was given RH's timeslot to make Agnes Nixon happy. It's a shame because RH's ratings were good and with the timeslot switch they immediately dropped so much that you know the show never had a chance. Had they not moved Ryan's Hope we wouldn't have The City or Port Charles because it was a great, well developed show that would've remained successful. I'm still pissed it was messed about with for Loving. I'll never watch Loving or The City because of that! Now moving onto my reason for entering this thread--Port Charles! I've seen the arcs two, three times in some cases. I was a big PC fan when I was in high school and now I'm re-watching the series from the very beginning. Anything Pre-arc is brand new to me. Original!Joe and Original!Karen are new to me. Scott as a regular on PC is new to me. I just completed the pilot and was pleasantly surprised. I don't expect this to be a great show. They experimented with a different format: no families and multi-generational storytelling; set in the same town and same main location as another soap (still don't know how that'll work!). The casting seems strong which explains why they didn't have too much cast turnover in the pre-arc years. Things that stood out to me so far... - I forgot Port Charles was in New York with those painfully obvious California-as-Ontario location shots. I just assumed the show was set in Cali since the location work is clearly being done there. Then I thought about it, shook my head and tried to ignore it. Not a major problem, but kinda annoying. They could've picked a locale to put Scott and Serena that they could reasonably recreate in California. - Loved seeing Lucy Coe directly off her GH stint. I loved her during the arcs and I've never seen her on General Hospital. She was great in the pilot. Very funny, sexy and I loved the scene where she calls for help and bullets come flying through the elevator. I'm surprised GH hasn't tried that! It was such a thrilling sequence and she did a great job with it. - As an Audrey fan I hope to see a lot of her in these pre-arc years. She's in the opening and Wikipedia and IMDB show her as a regular so I hope it's more than once or twice a month. That's how I'm used to seeing her and I'd love to see her do even more. If I were in charge of Y&R I'd sign her to contract as the new Dina Mergeron. That is, if Marla Adams isn't available. - So weird seeing Julie Pinson at the beginning of her soap career. I hated her on Y&R and DAYS, but I'm enjoying Eve. This is probably her best soap role. I also look forward to seeing more of the fragile Julie. I know they ruin it later on (based on her appearances during the arcs), but I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Right now I'm looking forward to seeing Karen and Scott interact and the introduction of Debbi Morgan as Ellen.

I wonder what will happen with the Flash Forward episode which not only was six months in the future, but would be spinning off yet another story, the Who Killed Calvin story. As for the cast, I do worry about which characters will stay and which will go. It needs a revamp, but I'd like certain regulars to stay... - The McQueens - Tony, Dom, Cindy and Holly - Steph, Darren, Frankie, Jack and Newt (I don't care for these characters, but I know they've been around for years and people enjoy them) - Lauren and Sasha, the two remaining Valentine's - Josh, Amy, Ste and all of their kids - In the college sect I'd keep Hayley and Dave. Not sure I even remember who else is in the halls. Oh I'd keep the girl who shits on herself too. She reminds me of Jessica. - My babys dad Zak needs to stick around, along with Elliot, Malachy, Kris and Nancy - Since Kris seems to mainly date girls, why not keep Ravi and develop a male love interest for him? Dump Anita. Those are the people I'd like to say off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm forgetting one or two people. Overall they have a decent cast that needs better storylines, but there are certainly gaps that need to be filled. I just hate that this show in particular seems to constantly have people coming and going. With the young focus I expect that, but when revamping the show they need to develop some of the older characters like Darren, Steph, Zak, Nancy, etc. so they can have a strong group of characters going into their mid-20s-early 30s if we're looking to the future. Glad to hear this guy has mostly positive feedback. I'm willing to accept major changes even if they suck. I just want someone with a bold vision and attempts to do SOMETHING. Lucy Allan seemed to be piggy backing off of Kirkwood's material. None of her new characters were anything special and her stories were dull. I couldn't tell you what her vision was for the show. Just to keep it moving I guess. But when the ratings dropped to around 700,000 or 800,000 in December I knew she'd be gone.

Thank god! Now hopefully something, anything will happen on this show! And less teens!

There's a great British torrent site called The Box. It has just about every current British program and so many classic series as well. Right now I'm watching Crossroads from the 60s and 70s, Hollyoaks, 3 Non Blondes,So You Think You Can Dance UK and Emmerdale from there.

Oh how I love Zainab! She was a ball of fierceness. LOVED the confrontation with Christian, who is far too wooden/ken doll for me. I also loved her scenes with her husband and his brother and Syed. Pretty much every scene she was in was golden. Love that actress. Syed is the sexiest man on earth and has the most beautiful eyes. I didn't really learn anything about Ameera except she's beautiful. Does she speak? I wonder how she'll feel about all this considering she seems like such an afterthought. The one thing i hated about this episode was the Tina McQueen-esque character. Her hair was looking a mess. Also, what type of character does the big bad woman from Bad Girls play? Is she evil? And is the little boy in the wheelchair ever going to walk again? As a US soap fan I need to know whats up with that.

I didn't know when the wedding started so I started with the 28th and this show is really good! So different from what I remember. Now I'm really looking forward to the Kirkwood stuff.

It's like Brookside all over again! Not Hollyoaks! They need to sack her fast! It's so sad to think of how well the show was doing before. Now I've finished October and the show is improving a little bit. I enjoy seeing Mercedes and Sasha fight, but is it going anywhere? Nope. I at least prefer this to the upcoming affair with Calvin. Didn't they learn their lesson with Mercedes/Tony? The Jake Dean return is actually my favorite story. Steph is quite enjoyable as a supporting character. I could do with some more Darren and Cindy. Newt still drives me crazy, but his story is better without all the voices in his head. I'm beginning to like Lauren and would like to see her outside of the Newt drama. It seems that's where they are going so *fingers crossed* The Zoe/Lydia stuff is great, but I credit Kirkwood for that. Can't wait to see what happens there. Now I'm going to finish Emmerdale for October (3 weeks to go!) before I watch more 'Oaks.

So should I bother checking out some of the episodes leading up to this or just watch the fierce and fabulous wedding? It's giving me Amber Gates flashbacks!

I was just coming to talk about the wedding! So there is a gay storyline with that sexy indian man? That story actually sounds good. Eastenders must have changed a lot since the last time I watched. I may want to look at some episodes from this story and I definitely want to see the wedding.

I was never a huge Amy fan, but she is a familiar face and I think an on screen post partum depression story could be interesting. I also love her two love interests, Josh and Ste. Why would they decide to sideline her out of all those awful teens? I thought I read that Carmel gave Tina's baby to Russ. Did he end up escaping with the baby or was it returned to her? I hope the baby is gone so she can move on. They also need to give her a big new love interest and move on from Tony for a while.

I thought picking up after Hollyoaks Later would be perfect. It's the start of a new month and you have the aftermath of Sarah's death to look forward to. Unfortunately...I've hardly seen anything with Sarah's death so far. I was especially shocked not to see Amy. WTF? The first week back was largely centered around Newt (shoot me, but more on that later!) and the return of Jake. I can't say I ever cared much about Jake. I don't even remember why he left and I don't really care. I think the Dean/Osbourne family is dull. I never liked Steph or Darren, even when the show was well written. The story with Cindy has improved Darren's prospects so he's off my shitlist for now. The best part of Later was being reintroduced to those fierce McQueen sisters. Carmel and Jacqui are an absolute delight and so trashy! I love the clothes both wear and that the show hasn't toned them down over time. Can you imagine if they were on a US soap? Another character I've always hated was Hannah. I can't wait until she leaves. I look forward to seeing more of Sasha, Mercedes, Jacqui, Zac, Michaela, Kris and even Nancy. Now the one character I find more detestable than any (including all the US soaps) is Newt. I have never been so unmoved and irritated. I don't know if it's the acting, the character, the writing in general, but i hate him. Doesn't matter who is writing I just can't take it. And those voices in his head? MAKE IT STOP!!! I'm going crazy just watching him. This crop of teens is terrible compared to what we had. I also am looking forward to seeing more of the college crowd. Seems like a lot of the new characters are in this group. I look forward to see them.

Has this woman actually written any interesting stories or is it all teens and gimmicks? From what I've seen and heard she sounds like an American soap write. Going from one issue to another and it sounds very plot driven andnot very interesting.