DRW50

Thank you @rsclassicfanforever

I think they are, just not in the traditional way. Young people, some of them anyway, go down hours and hours of rabbit holes on tiktok or Youtube. Just as religion has been replaced for many by causes or by worshipping celebrities, soaps have been replaced by a four hour video about the Star Wars hotel. I will always believe there is a play in American culture for soaps in some format. They just have to figure out that format. My own belief is going back to the 15 minute format might be a good idea. Of any of the primetime soaps of years past, Knots may be the one that could most succeed today because it wasn't tied to one character or moment. A found family element, along with a focus on buying or renting a home in a period where many can't do so, could generate interest, along with compelling characters and plots.

Others here have watched more than I have, but I do think Long is a better basic writer than any who take over after her in the '80s. I think the show she wrote by 1984 and especially 1985 was already very alien to what GL had once been, but as others have said, that may be down to Gail Kobe, as her writing felt more in tune with GL when she returned. There are some positives - Chris Bernau's return, and the Dinah story, which was very important for Vanessa as a character (and likely helped keep JvD on the show in some lean years). Charita Bauer also died at only 62. When you think of Helen Wagner, her compatriot, she lived to 91 and was still working until very near the end. That hurt GL a great deal.

@Vee That's hilarious. Pete remains very good at breaking down gotcha questions - that remains his best gift to the party. The media will never stop painting the picture that Republicans can say whatever they want and if Democrats don't take the high road, they are hypocrites and bad people. That Politico guy seems terrified.

Now that I think that was Angela Shapiro, not Frons. Sorry. You're right - the Nurses Ball stuff is a good idea for a good cause. Interesting. Makes sense for her not to want to be there full time, especially with all the hate she'd get. I do wonder if there would be more emphasis on Jason/Sam if Kelly weren't in the part.

If you can't read the last tweet, it's some backtracking from yet another cosplay activist who tweeted about how Chicago was "ready" for Kamala Harris and then played victim when some people took it as a real threat. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/gaza-protest-dnc-kamala-harris-b2600519.html They will look for any reason to help Trump get elected. Any excuse. They should just go ahead and endorse him. I don't believe most of this is ever about helping anyone in Gaza. I think he'll leave that to JD Vance. As soon as I saw it I knew what would happen. I wish that people would just try to keep their kids out of the public eye. I still remember how horribly Chelsea Clinton was treated.

She is a genuinely bad person and I will never watch anything she is involved in.

I think it did well for a while as they kept making product (isn't that where they sold the infamous Todd Manning doll?), but this feels very out of date. Is Brian Frons back? I do think that very low priced items might not be a bad idea. I wonder how Lynn Herring and Jane Elliot feel about this considering they were around in the rating heights of soaps.

I hope so, but Trump is just a god to so many people, and the media adores him. Me too. From a few bits I've heard his opponent hasn't run a good campaign, but I'd love if he loses.

I don't think so. A lot of Hispanics in Texas and new voters to Texas have pushed the state further right. Harris' pollsters have said (as Biden's did in 2020) that it's much closer than many public polls suggest. If she wins, it's likely going to be very narrow.

Ann Coulter is probably to the left of today's GOP, which is insane, as she's a racist who doesn't want women to vote. But she isn't saying anything most of the party isn't saying on this topic. They are hateful, ugly people.

Valentini seems to still be stuck in that era.

I have to admit I've gone to the same well at times with other characters, but I was looking around on Twitter and get the impression some fans think that they deliberately temp recast Sam out of spite for an important day. I'd think if Valentini had that many issues with Kelly he would have just dumped her.

Neither did I. Was this announced?

Now that the thread's back, here's the new season trailer. https://deadline.com/video/frasier-season-2-trailer/

One of the biggest issues is how plot-driven so many of the new characters feel - they just lack any inner life. If they had kept some of the vets then the actors or the viewers could have filled in the blanks due to history, but I'm not sure it would have done enough to combat the empty writing.

I hope you're alright.

It's interesting how many different regimes capitalized on the Ross/Vanessa history, even when they didn't have a great deal of plot together. The whole Lujack music saga and the characters it brought in is a great example of how much GL was trying to be like anything but itself at this point. Imagine what the Dobsons could have done with Frances Fisher. Miss Sally is just an exhausting watch. I'm so used to seeing Ross with the same hair year after year that when it's not the same (like in this period), I just get weirded out, like when your father tried to grow a mustache. I have no idea why they did all this buildup with Simon and India when he then went after Jessie. Was it down to Pam Long leaving?

An episode of The Crew guest starring Kristoff St. John.

Thanks for mentioning it. I saw those but was afraid of dumping too many videos at once.

I think Richard would always have a lot of regrets. I do think he would have stayed with his new wife, but you'd see he always loved Laura most (even though we know if he'd stayed with her, he would have also been miserable because he will always want what he doesn't have).

That would make sense. I suppose after the all-good/all-bad writing for many like Sonny, Carly or Jason in recent decades I'm never sure what nuance is intended or what is down to the actors or maybe different writers having different takes on a character (like Ava and Nina).

That's a great idea. Home & Away is currently doing a storyline where a man whose parents split up due to the father cheating and leaving for another woman ends up cheating and leaving his wife for another woman, which estranges him from his sister, who never forgave their father. It's very strong soap that impacts generations of characters. Anything that would get John Pleshette back would be a bonus. Sorry to say Claudia instead of Diana in my post... Interestingly I do think they knew how to make Paige a fairly complex character, but she was an exception to the rule for them. I definitely cannot imagine a character like Laura existing in the last 5-6 years of Knots. You only had a few archetypes.

I do wonder if the show is assuming viewers will sympathize with Kristina either because she's Kristina or because Kate Mansi was popular at DAYS. They have created a situation where a lot of fans hate her. It's certainly one of the best things to happen to Molly (although she will likely go under the bus soon enough), and they seem to be writing to the strengths of the new actress. The bit where she found the papers while Alexis was swearing protection to Kristina was a great soap moment. Nice to know they can do them.