Chris B

I'm in the second month of Robert Cenedella's run and so far so good. I noticed a bit of crossover with him and the Pollock's credited together so it looks like it was a smooth transition. I do think the show is slower and already seems different, but I like the changes. The Pollocks were very plot driven so most of the show was centered around whatever A plot they were running. With Cenedella, I notice it feels more character driven and each episode we get all sorts of different characters interacting together. Althea and Steve, MJ & Penny with Carolee and Steve, Penny and Maggie, Greta and Mike having actual substantial scenes, Hank and Mike. It's good to go into the episodes and be surprised by who is featured together. I always find that mixes up the canvas in that way is the best way to stretch a story on a soap without it feeling slow. I do like that the canvas has more characters in general. The newbies like Stacy, MJ and Rico all have solid connections to the foundation of the show. I like that they're using more sets and beginning to create a balance of work and home life scenes. So far I'm seeing smart changes that were needed and it still feels like The Doctors.

Seasons 4 and 5 in HD would probably be breathtaking! Knots took a lot more chances when it comes to the look of the show and the directing so I feel like a remaster would be more interesting than it will for Dallas.

I'm in the final month of The Pollocks and finally Mike has been reunited with his family. Penny is also back after a short hiatus. It's interesting that they've seemingly SORASed her a couple years, but kept the same actress. It somehow works though, likely because Duffy was already over 18 when she got hired. They've given her a more mature look and personality. Armand Assante is great as Mike. He actually makes more sense as a replacement for Peter Burrell, more than the previous guy. He can be a hot head, but very gentle as well and has strong chemistry with everyone. I also was feeling impatient about seeing the changes and watched a couple episodes from 78 and 79. Sadly, I see why Hank was phased out after seeing those episodes. The hospital was hardly featured in the episodes I saw and there was much more focus on the Powers, Aldrich and another family whose name I'm not sure of. It was Nola's family. With Hank being Black I can see how they wouldn't want to introduce a family for him at that time which is a shame. I noticed a lot of recasts in the few episodes I saw. A new Carolee, Jim Storm as Mike (just awful and horribly miscast from what I saw) and a new Billy who wasn't very memorable. The episodes were different, but not terrible. It'll be interesting to see the again in context. I also think they did a good job recasting Carolee compared to other recasts. She was different, but similar enough and put her own spin on the role.

I wasn’t excited for Dallas’ remastering until I saw it. Knots getting the same treatment would be a DREAM! I will settle for streaming, but I hope my dream of owning a complete box set in high quality comes true.

My biggest problem with Michael and Willow is that they complain all the time and it doesn’t feel earned. They’re scorched earth when it comes to Nina and Sonny, but they literally are together as a result of an affair. Why that is never brought up is beyond me, but it makes their anger and Michael’s revenge plot fall flat. This cancer story is probably one of the worst I’ve seen on a soap and the fact that rhis show is set in a hospital makes it even worse. For one, I don’t think Willow should have stage four cancer since we know she’ll be magically cured and it’ll be forgotten. Secondly, we really haven’t seen much of a progression. She doesn’t even seem pregnant. I feel like the next couple of weeks we’ll get some good performances out of it, but the writers absolutely failed.

Oh no! That is such sad news!

It really makes me question the people in charge. To fire people so soon tells me they didn't do their job when it comes to approving the story the new HWs projected. I mean, I get you can make a mistake here and there, but the amount of HWs The Doctors has from 1975 until it ends is just insane. I wonder what the deal is with Nick. It's such a shame he left because he was such an important character. In 1975 he appears maybe once or twice a month so far. I can't tell if he's off contract or maybe he had another job at the time, but it is odd to see him going from one of the stars to barely appearing.

I'm so nervous, but excited for this lol. It's been so long without a writing switch and I just can't imagine how you can go through three HWs in a year.

I think the show is well worth continuing. The Lechowick's I thought were fantastic on the show. They were given the option to go to any of the Lorimar soaps and picked Knots. After David Paulsen's very masculine season, the show needed a reset and I thought they did a good job of doing that while keeping it Knots. They experimented a lot with style, but I thought it mostly worked. I also thought they did a good job of introducing new characters. The biggest issue for them was the writing for Val which you'll either love or hate. Joan hated them because she felt like they turned her into the village idiot. The big writer swap is season 7. David Paulsen went to Knots and Peter Dunne went to Dallas. I feel like Paulsen was more successful than Dunne was at Dallas, but I still don't think it would've worked long term. Paulsen's Knots was very masculine and I felt like he came on at a time when the show had become so big and tried to continue that with more outlandish storylines, but without the heart. It's a very watchable season, but one is enough. Now Peter Dunne at Dallas? I like a lot of that season, but the show changed so much that it's completely understand tha many didn't like the show. It was nice to see the female characters showcased in the way Bobby and JR was, but it could get a little too sentimental at times.

I'm finishing up March 1975 and it's a mixed bag. Two stories I LOVE: Tom and Althea's romance and the Karen/Steve/Carolee story with Erich. Nick is pretty much off canvas and much like with Alan/Mike, he is a clear recast of Nick, but with a new name. Nick and Althea had gotten to such a nice place so it's nice seeing the romance somewhat continued with this new character. The Karen story is enjoyable because they've finally allowed her to grow out of that villain role. Granted, I don't agree with her being a villain considering Steve raped her, but I'm glad opinions are more balanced amongst the other characters when it comes to her. The stories that are just awful is this medical mystery involving a new character named Iris. It's obvious Iris and her witch doctor won't be integrated in the cast and it's just a silly, vague story about some mysterious virus she picked up in Africa. It's hard to get invested in this. The other big stinker remains Mike's returns. It's been MONTHS since they recast and he still hasn't made it back to town. I can't imagine how tiring this was when it first aired. I checked the episode guide to see when he comes back to town and it's something like 8 months after we first learned he was alive. Why would they do that? There is only so much story you can tell by isolating a character in another location with only one person to talk to. It's extremely repetitive and the fact that the story is on so much is draining because absolutely nothing has happened. It's the same conversations over and over again. I wanna say the Pollocks leave in August or September. When I get closer to that date I'm going to start monitoring the comings and goings with the writers because I know this is the point when everything changes. I know it's not all good, but I'm ready for the ride.

This is DAYS so it's hard to take anything seriously, but is it safe to assume Kate is alive and this is just one of their many fake death plots?

That's interesting about Rita Lakin. I found her writing to be the strongest the show ever had. It's a shame they didn't have full writers rooms back then so she could potentially have stayed longer. I don't think they ever reached the heights they did when she was writing.

I just realized the actor playing the return from the dead story for Mike Powers is Michael Landrum. I just assumed it was Armand Assante because I've heard his name so many times in the role, but I think he is the next Mike. I wonder why they recast as he seems like a good actor. It looks like they went for a more mature, leading man type that looks like his father. It's a big contrast to Peter Burrell, but I feel like he'll make sense standing next to Matt. Also, I hope I don't regret asking in case its a big spoiler, but how do Hank and Laurie get written off? I know they don't stay until the end, which is a shame, but I really enjoy them. I had no idea a soap (other than OLTL with Ellen Holly) in the 70s had long running Black characters, especially ones that seem to get good screentime like Laurie and Hank. They're better written than most of the Black characters in 2022.

Paul and Christine were always an awful couple so I hope they fix the mistake of sticking her with him for so long. I'm excited to see Danny and Cricket back together even though we know it won't amount to much. Personally, I've been longing for them to put Cricket with Nick and reignite her feud with Phyllis. That would have more milage than the mess they have with Nick/Sally/Adam.

That may have been the wrong choice of words, but they’d gotten rid of the baggage of her Y&R stints and based off her previous B&B return, she was in good shape to stick around long term had they not had her going around shooting people. She could still scheme and cause trouble, but to immediately jump into a plot like that was short sighted.

It was obvious they had to figure out a way to keep Sheila after the ratings boost she gave them, but why play it off screen? It’s not like she or Bill were doing anything important enough that they couldn’t show us. The biggest problem though is that Brad doesn’t get Sheila’s importance and he’ll write her into a corner the moment he needs another buzz moment. I still can’t believe he had her shoot Steffy and Finn after working so hard to redeem her. Such a waste.

Covid slowed down the process, but they're working on converting the rest of the episodes. It seems like they plan to convert all of them before they start releasing them. This is a new improved app. The previous app was horrible, wasn't available on your smart tv and drove me away from the show for years. The new app works so much better. BTW, to update on my streaming, I'm in October 1974 and the show definitely picked up in the second half of the year. My girl Karen is alive and so is Mike, although nobody knows he's alive yet. They finally wrapped up John's murder and things overall are picking up. I'm hoping for a strong 1975 since it's The Pollock's last year.

Joss and Dex have strong chemistry and I like that we've seen her express she knows she's a hypocrite considering how she's treated Sonny and Nina. I needed her to be dropped down a peg and this helps. I just wish they'd do the same for Willow and Michael, two cheaters who have no room to judge anybody. Now my only thing with Joss/Dex is that I feel it'll be an excuse to sideline Cameron. He deserves a proper story and love interest as well. He's never had chemistry with Joss so it's no loss IMO. But he deserves someone.

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall Lydia was initially announced as a temp recast and didn't they even go back and forth for a while?

What a wonderful clip! I always love when we get to see pre-80s stuff from soaps. It’s been so fun getting to watch The Doctors streaming and I hope Days gets there one day. From that clip you can tell the show was so good! I’d love to see more from this era.

This is the first sign of hope for Y&R in years. I don't think they'll keep Josh Griffith running the show alone so at the very least we will get a new EP, but I also think we may get a new HW finally. Fingers crossed!

You are so right. She was such a talented actress and her body of work proved she could do so much more than what GH gave her. I got excited with Epiphany finally becoming a doctor, but alas it wasn't meant to be. So sad for the GH family and all of her friends and family. I know this is a big loss for them because everybody loved her.

I'm happy for the show! I'm glad I never bought a DVD set for Dallas because this will definitely be the one to buy. I hope it includes the movies and the reboot series as well, but if not those are easy and affordable to get already anyway. My biggest hope is that this leads to something for Knots Landing. I don't need HD, I just would love to own that series on DVD or see it on a legit streaming site.

I think he's been really fantastic as Tucker. Right now I don't really have many cast complaints, the issue is just the writing is so boring.

Okay so now Mike is "dead" and it's very obviously a soap death. I don't really see the point. It's very strange they've essentially recast him with Gil Gerard's Alan right down to him mainly sharing scenes with Toni, Mike and Maggie. In general the show is running out of steam. The Mike story isn't memorable, John's reign of terror is done, Mona's gone which has left Steve and Carolee in limbo and Mike and Maggie aren't doing much. I'm curious to see where the second half of 1974 takes them as they begin to launch their next long stories. I'm really excited to get to 1975. I know thats the last year for The Pollocks and when all of the endless HW changes start. I'm ready to head into that journey, which from reading here I know had many ups and downs. I've heard so much about the Dancy's and Nola, so it'll be nice to finally see those characters in the coming years.