Melroser

It might be odd, but I'm not complaining. It's great to see shows having an increase in viewership over the year before instead of the constant downward trend. I hope it lasts.

That was my thought! Then I thought he might be too old. He's 9 years older. Seemed a bit old for Kat, but who knows? Soaps play with ages all the time. Vanessa/Joey????

If BTG ever wants to expand Tomas's family...and older brother? Cousin? No, I don't want the current Tomas sticking around, but I think his family could be a nice exploration.

Deanna's arrival was terrific and she seems to be cast well. I agree that it was like a slap in the face and then poof she's gone. The show tends to do that though. Hype a character, bam(!), then off he/she goes. Kial, for another example. Bill's scenes with Anita and Kat were making me like him again and I usually don't. Well done. I'm already over the Kial/Nicole/Carlton thing. Nicole talks about the men being juvenile, but I find it juvenile to be playing to men against each other like she is. Nicole isn't any better. Yes, Nicole has every right to date two men at the same time, but she's written like she enjoys them battling over her. So don't then call them out for being juvenile. I agree that the Bill/Hayley story should have come to a climax in St. Bart's ala Janice poising Mac on Another World and her battle with Rachel. Bill and Hayley could have escaped for a week of fun. After they leave, more detailed results come in on Bill's blood work that shows a trace of poisoning (though Randy insists there wouldn't be. He isn't necessarily the sharpest though.). Madison discovers it and leaves the chart out in front of Dani somehow which, of course, leads to Dani being nosy and reading the results. She starts putting two-and-two together, Bill's shakes, the stroke, the "sudden recovery" and realizes it's Hayley's doing. She rushes out to go warn Bill and is overheard by Randy, who then drags Lynette with him, as they all rush to St. Bart's to warn Bill and Hayley the jig is up. There are confrontations. Someone dies. Bill returns behind the gates grateful to Dani causing more problems for Andre. I've been a fan of Leslie from the first week when she was revealed as the "evil" Sheila character arc, but even I agree the past couple weeks have been obnoxious. I no longer find her funny at times. I just find her annoying and not wanting to listen to her anymore. I hope they tone it down soon!

The possibility of AW moving over to Soapnet is interesting. If it had aired in the evenings (along with delayed daily airings of the other current soaps), I wonder how it would have done. Huge ratings wouldn't have been needed on that network to be considered a success. I suppose it may have still lost Jake, Vicky, Felicia, and if so, that would have hurt, but maybe it would have done well enough to lead the way for other shows to move to Soapnet instead of true cancellation. Port Charles? Maybe even GL and ATWT being moved over before their CBS cancellations. New episodes of these shows would probably have had better ratings than what the network was getting. Oh, what could have been.

Deanna calling out Vanessa was great and deserved. I do wish Vanessa wasn't given emotional scenes though. They don't work for me. I really like Donnell, and he and Deanna work well together so far. The clinic should definitely be onscreen! With all the drama around it from the interactions of Leslie, Eva, Derek, Vanessa, and even Joey. Then mix in the doctors volunteering. I suppose it is a bit of a duplicate to the hospital, but still. So much has been offscreen it's hard to know what's going on. How did the clinic go from being such a sorry state to suddenly opening today? I just don't understand Kat. I really don't. The writing isn't helping when it has her all over the place. I totally agree with Tomas when he was pointing that out. The writers need to ground her more or something. (This doesn't meant I don't understand why Kat hates Eva. That I can understand.)

This plasma ring story definitely has its issues. I will never buy into Jacob as an undercover cop. He written cartoonish and not too smart. There's no way he'd be put into something like this for undercover work. However, I do love that this story is mixing it up with a lot of the canvas and will impact many characters. The hospital. The new clinic. Joey's crime ring. Even Smitty/Martin. Execution could definitely be better, but this is what I miss about soaps. Making the show feel like a community instead of small groups of actors each off in their own stories. I'll take this over Y&R's incessant talk of AI, corporate "takeover", and the "crazy of the month" returning.

I'd love for this to be the first season in many that Y&R and B&B has an increase in average viewership over the previous season. It would look favorably toward BTG and show that soaps can pull in an audience again. GH is doing well also. Please soap Gods, let the networks reconsider having a full slate of soaps again.

The more exposure the better. I hope this leads to more views on Paramount+.

This Taylor/Sheila dialogue is cringeworthy. Then they add the "toes". What were they supposed to be? Eclairs or something? Just tacky. Will is just as boring with Dylan as he is with Electra. The show needs to shift its focus. Will should have a better storyline. Involve him with Forrester more or have him leave and go to Katie's Logan to do something. Anything. Can we get back to Katie vs Brooke please? Much more interesting.

Hayley being over excited about getting money for an anniversary gift from Bill was hilarious and so in character. Dani should have pulled out one of those toy guns that when you shOOT it a flag pops out saying "Surprise!' I agree it's great for Shanice's family to pop in.

I'm getting tired of both Leslie and Kat. Leslie used to be fun but now she's become annoying with the same over-the-top antics day after day. Kat is just written in such a spoiled brat way that I can't root for her even though I understand why she hates Leslie/Eva. At some point, you just have to move on and let it go. You can still hate them and not trust them, but stop putting yourself in their business. Just walk away. The Smitty/Naomi scenes today. I appreciate the moments to show how the undercover work of Jacob will effect Naomi, especially if Smitty was in on it and kept secrets too.

Especially when Sandi Ferguson had also had issues with him when he was Sam. I know Sandi wasn't still playing Amanda during RKK's second run, but still.

I see Jacob isn't too concerned that his bosses might get a hold of his burner phone and see he's calling the police chief. I wish the clinic would get up and running already or at least have a building to work out of.

As a fan of the genre from as long as I can remember and as someone that has witnessed the cancellations of so many shows since the 80s, I was beyond excited when it was announced a new show was coming. It felt like a tide had been turned. I wasn't sure if I'd like the show or not, but was willing to support it just because and I have to say I love the show. I enjoy it even more than I thought I might. It has become my daily fix that I have lacked since the days of AW (my show!) and then on to OLTL until that was cancelled. Yes, the show has had its ups and downs and definitely took a while to get its groove going. Considering the production was in Atlanta and many involved had to learn the production of a soap opera, it has now come together. I can't wait to watch the next episode and I haven't said that about a soap in a long time. I also watch Y&R and B&B, but honestly, I could go days without them and not be upset. BTG, though, I want to watch the next ep. I feel it's the most well-rounded and the stories move without too much repetition as the other two. The one thing BTG does that I love is that it feels like a community (especially lately) where the characters flow in and out of each other's orbits like one would in a community. For examples, the free clinic and plasma stories are pulling in characters together that hadn't mixed it up before and it's interesting to me. Then you have the Hayley mess that is pulling in Lynette, Randy, Joey, Mona, Tomas, etc. I can't wait to watch more and I hope there are many years to come. How crazy will Leslie get? Will Kat and Eva ever have a true catfight? Is Doug truly dead? How about Kenny?