titan1978

I wonder what the issue is with Kelly Monaco? She’s barely used at all anymore, and then misses one of her few appearances, in a pivotal set of scenes. I will just continue to harp on this until Valentini is gone or the show ends. The way they use contract performers is baffling. I think I am supposed to feel sympathy for Kristina, but it’s just not there. And a lot of it is how Mansi is playing it.

It was apparently not shown, these are the syndicated shows. But it was posted on Twitter. https://x.com/cbsKnotsLanding/status/1827518100566118894/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1827518100566118894&currentTweetUser=cbsKnotsLanding

My update is a hybrid. Karen is the anchor between the old and the new. Mack has recently died, Karen is really suffering, and Diana and her two children are staying with her. She and Meg are having a rough time because before Mack died Meg had accepted a job offer from Greg at Sumner, who is nearing retirement. Two new families on the Cul-de-Sac and new characters at Sumner fill out the rest. Karen’s neighbors are an ultra conservative young family, and the husband is a little too interested in Diana’s son, who is gay. He is ultimately more like Karen was, community minded and emotional. And his sister is like Diana’s aunt- Abby, willing to do whatever it takes to meet her goals. They also favor their father, who was a Black artist Diana couldn’t make things work with. By the end of the two-hour premier, Karen’s grandchildren decide to stay to help her and to experience new opportunity in California, Val has stopped by and she and Karen walk on the beach, talking about how often their lives have involved starting over. And that second focus family is moving into Val’s old house. The episode ends on Meg finding Greg dead, having been shot. Karen and eventually Abby would be the only original cast that regularly appear. Val’s twins could someday play a part, but I think it’s important to set up new characters living and working there before more returning characters as regulars. Karen just feels like the natural anchor to me. Michele Lee was in every episode, and she has natural ties between the neighborhood and Sumner.

It has been kind of jarring to watch the show in fits and starts. Especially once I got to season’s 10-12. The style of the show was much more about twists and quick cut editing between sets of characters. Those earlier episodes where people literally had no lines but filled the scenes with information and depth through their acting are long gone. Nobody has time to think on this version of Knots. Danny is when Val’s brain was stolen by the showrunnners. The show also feels more disjointed. I watched three episodes in a row with Karen being stalked and Michael was in the episodes but had nothing to do with her story. Also, Karen, in the midst of hallucinating being killed left and right just picks up a wrapped package and opens it without any hesitation. Several times, culminating in the box full of snakes. Val isn’t the only one that doesn’t have a brain anymore. Frank, Julie, and especially Pat deserved better.

The only part I liked in Abby’s exit story is that she turned it all around for a win, like always. She often found herself deep in schemes and in mild panic mode. But the character always had a strategic mind for solving her own problems, and it was fun to see her do it again instead of the show deciding to punish her for years of misconduct. I wonder if anyone thought Ted was going to kill Abby? They flirt with the danger a few times in the episodes and the teasers.

His character did some scummy things. But Hearst is always so pleasant in interviews and seems like he would be a blast to work with. He comes across as chatty too- I cannot imagine how they filmed any scenes with him and Kin Shriner.

She helped build the Carly character with the team at the time lead by Guza. I have seen them comment on each other’s posts, but maybe not as close as MVJ is with Vanessa Marcil, Kristina Wagner, or her friendship with Jacklyn Zeman.

That’s pretty disgusting. I hope they are easily dealt with.

As many of us complained about, he was Jagger in name only with a cheat sheet of references to placate the older viewers and give him insta-ties with the current show. Didn’t they do this with Paul Hornsby too a few years ago? They were brought on to be trashed if need be. Molly is killing it and is now officially my favorite Davis kid. Mansi is not playing any sympathetic quality to Kristina’s current story. Do they want the audience to truly hate this character? I think we are supposed to at least sympathize with her a little bit. And instead it’s hard to argue that her impulsive actions did lead to the consequences everyone is facing right now. Ava certainly has a part to play in that too, as does Sonny and even Dex. All these choices lead Kristina to that window.

Ideally, what could have been was a short and core focused final umbrella season, much like they tried to do with the last few episodes. But I am talking 10 episodes or more focused on the classic characters, Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills come back at the beginning, and the show goes out in a true high note. And at that point I think Greg could have been killed off to add the finality and impact. Tie it in more forcefully to the book Val was doing about Greg and maybe pay off something involving Galveston, perhaps use Claudia as the architect. I didn’t hate the last season, but I just wish it had been used to honor the show more, instead of just trying to keep going until they couldn’t.

It’s hard to compete with shows that become cultural juggernauts. I was a teenager and was glued to 90210 and especially Melrose Place. You did have to be there, MTV and FOX were our networks. And then ER comes along and was just a juggernaut.

I cannot imagine the show as it was sharing a timeslot against ER. I think it suffered from what a lot of soaps do now- people in their 50’s or older stuck in place and a younger generation not being well placed to flourish. Paige was a successful character, but not really surrounded by others that lasted. Linda and the Sumner Group stuff they had been working on was a good direction. But they never found a young man as capable of building on as they did earlier with Greg. What the show had going for it was its foundation. It could have gotten a couple more years if they had their Summer Group stories and then also refocused the rest of the show around smaller, more grounded stories like the original seasons. Well, better ones than what they tried. That foundation is why I always loved Knots and felt it was stronger than Dallas or Dynasty.

I agree. I think she gets stronger as they figure out that Paige doesn’t work as Abby-lite.

Knots experts- I didn’t really notice the drop in quality before we had HD tv’s. I remember thinking they had done away with most of the moody lighting in the season 7-8 era, but it seems like more than that now. Did they stop using film and produce the show on video at this point? Or is that just bad dubs for syndication, which is what is airing now IIRC? I hope we get remastered versions for download of all seasons at some point.

Their last season, after the pretentious painting opening for two years, and the sandcastle one. The theme is slow and dull, and it comes back to life for the final year.. I am not one of the Knots fans that hates them. But the critiques are valid. They didn’t get Ben, they did terrible writing for Valene, Abby becomes much less nuanced, Paige is forced to the front too much, and Laura should never have been written out. I think Laura would have fit in with the Sumner Group stories quite well. Their show is still very watchable though. Season 5 is my personal favorite. But it’s hard to argue the success of season 6 from every angle- storytelling and pacing, cast all doing great work, and no Diana.

OLTL finally lures Susan Haskell back as Marty, and pretty much most of what Ron gave her was inappropriate as far as Todd went. And a total waste of her talents and Marty. I don’t care that Todd was really Victor Jr. GH- Lulu being violated to create another Cassadine/Spencer child. Just disgusting. DAYS- Hope and John having sex while neither was in their right minds. These shows just use rape as a plot point way too much. There was a time on DAYS in the early 90’s where pretty much every woman in a scene had been raped for a plot point or as an obstacle for a super couple. In hindsight, I also include Luke and Laura falling in love. I loved them in the 90’s, and both characters separately. But with todays eyes there was a way to tell what they wanted without having Luke fully cross the line and Laura be willing to forgive him.

@Soapsuds I have zero memory of that flute only theme. Neither of them really work for me to be honest. My least favorites until the sandcastles. Speaking of which, the Lechowick’s openings are all both pretentious and boring. One of the best things about the final season was they went with a modern take of the classic era theme, and amped it up again.

I see it as Val is allowing Joshua to stay in deference to Lilimae. Their relationship changed with what happened with Chip. And then when Joshua first arrived and Val put the pieces together that he was her brother. She also is distracted by her own needs- mental health, and the whole twins drama. She does start really pushing back on him once she is stronger and especially after the babies are back. But she seems to be walking a delicate line to protect Lillimae. All the in and out has done is prime me for on demand or purchasing as soon as it becomes available.

He did. Abby finds out by reading a letter he wrote Val that is saved on his 1980’s computer. The direction is so great too- Abby reads the line, then her face becomes clear on the monitor, and the credits roll. Ben knew for quite a long time before that scene happens.

Watching this episode again, after years of only seeing edits on YouTube, is as thrilling as it was the first time. Joan Van Ark really acted the hell out of this whole season.

Otalia had one major thing going for it- Crystal Chappel is one of those actors on soaps that has always had real intensity, and chemistry with pretty much every romantic partner. She also knows how to turn nothing into something by playing with it, a skill soap actors used to have. Mansi, and I liked her on DAYS and GH, does not have that passion, that sense of longing. She was perfectly cast as Jennifer’s daughter, she plays banter, determination, and conflict well. Intensity and passion are not her biggest draws IMO. I think what we can all agree on is there is an audience out there hungry for LGBTQ couples. This genre has always been served well by people falling in and out of love, and as flawed and afterthought Blaze and Kristina was, people do want to watch that. Even in mediocre form. The shows should learn the lesson to dip back into romance and not be afraid of same sex couples!

The truth is the pairing had a small and vocal fanbase, but really wasn’t working overall. And it would have gotten much less attention all around if the show hadn’t botched the bigoted Natalia part of the story. That was what made people angry enough to care. If Natalia was also gone, this would be a minor bump. Instead I think it could become the issue that causes Frank some heartburn for some time. The optics are the problem, not Blaze per se.

Eric didn’t hit her hard enough! Karen is also insufferable during this whole storyline. This show is still incredibly watchable. I cannot wait for on demand streaming or purchasing becoming available. Hopefully they are still working towards that like the other primetime soaps of the 80’s.

I absolutely hate Diana. I forgot just how awful she was in season 5.

Just wanted to add that he was using the big talent they have for the reset when he was still steering it. Anna and Laura vs Sonny is far more complicated and could have had real depth to play for all three of them. You have some of the biggest guns in GH history on contract and are not using them for more than window dressing right now. Even Dex was being given natural complications becoming a cop with a force that half enables Sonny/on his payroll and half knows he is a criminal and can’t do anything about it and we’re not happy about it. Every story group and character was being set up with a point of view to drive conflict and more emotional stakes. Classic soap stuff like brothers not getting along, the Nina/Willow/Drew story, Ava back to being a villainous character, which puts her at odds with people like Nina and Trina, etc. The show needed better stories, the Pikeman story should have been used faster to integrate Jason and some action into the show while they did the more delicate character work concurrently. Had Valentini allowed that I think we might have seen a much stronger show. The problem with a writer like Mulcahey is that he doesn’t write the big story churning plot driven spectacle well. I think if he had been paired with a writer that does do that well, the whole thing would have ended differently. But the truth is FV never gave it a chance.