Soaplovers

I would prefer if the show focused more on the damage Dani inflicted on both of her daughters as a result of her selfishness and stunted emotional maturity level. Andre is too good for her and he hope he dumps her pathetic ass.. but then we'll be subjected to her crying and acting psycho again. If every a character needed a punch to the fact.. that character would be Dani.

When watching the episodes where the Phillips clan were a new focus, I knew that the actress that played Amber looked familiar. I remember she was in a Canadian series in the late 80s called Diamonds.. which was their answer to Moonlighting since it starred two people formerly married that are detectives after playing detectives on a tv show. It was comedic and I do agree with what a previous poster said that she did give off a Deborah Adair vibe in terms of look and vibe when watching the series. Apparently she did a series of Grapenut commercials in the late 80s and I actually faintly remember it. And apparently still living her best life in Europe according to Facebook.

Is there a reason why it was put on pause? Was it due to ratings? Streaming #s? Holding out for more money? Was there a toxic cast mate that the others wouldn't film with (Like with Jodie on Vancouver or the Salahis on DC)? I heard good things about it, but there has to be a reason behind the scenes that it's on pause. I know Miami was on pause, what reason was there given for pausing that show?

The emotional and physical decline of Robin sounded so sad and the finale of her character is something that probably wouldn't happen on soaps nowadays because it would be too triggering and/or painful. Even though the character had trouble getting over the miscarriage, felt her life had no meaning because she wasn't able to give the child the love that she never really had herself, and felt like a failure as a step mom and as a 2nd wife to Paul. It's interesting that the start of Sara in 1967 seemed to mirror the final months of Robin's stay on the show with Robin feeling like she couldn't measure up to Sara due to her accomplishments while we come to find out over the coming years that Sara had a host of insecurities herself. The one line that catches my eye is the one where Ed is afraid to touch alcohol due to how that ruined his father Bill's life... and it's sad that he didn't listen to his intitial instincts because the bottle did cause him some heartbreak. The one character thread that seemed to play throughout the decades for Ed was him being his own worst enemy and being the primary cause of his own undoing (as we saw in the early 90s with him/Lillian/Maureen).

In regards to Marlena, I was raised on that character by my late mom. When she first arrived on Days in 1976, my mom was a young collegiate with a feminist spirit that instantly took to Marlena. A woman that was confident, competent at her profession, and would give as good as got in her interactions with both male and female scene partners. She also watched when baby DJ had died sudden from SIDS and was one of many viewers caught off guard by that story choice. Sadly with the vast amounts of content and trigger warnings, I doubt that a soap could do something like this even if spoilers weren't a thing. I know in one of Diedre's recent interviews, she did talk about that story and the decision behind doing that story with Diedre tearing up as she talked about the story. I really hope that when the new co-head writer comes back on, he does something with Marlena to show that there is life after one of the loves of your lives passes away.

Some of you are very nose up in the air and picky about content on soap operas. To me, I admire a soap opera that is willing to experiment and try something that is a little different from the norm. I thought The Valentine's day for singles episodes were a good way to get a little insight into each of the male and female characters currently on the show. I liked that the show would do these random one off specials. My favorite were the Cass ones from the 90s 'The Case of the Stolen Heart' & 'Murder on the Honeymoon Express'... the last one included a brief return visit from Cecile after the special episode to try to tempt Cass away from Frankie.

I think Eva and Kat declared a truce, but Ted is still an issue that needs to be dealt with because he's delusional. Looks like Kat is less charitable with SPS/Leslie and I hope that continues.

I disagree that this episode was meant to prop Eva, I think the episode was an opportunity to go inside Kat's head and get a chance to see things from her perspective. Things I liked: The alternate universe Duprees were a lot more fun and interesting to watch.. can we get a little of that in the real world. Eva/Tomas as a couple shows that maybe Kat isn't quite over what had happened between the two of them. Kat realizing that she's letting her bitterness and hatred of Eva affect all aspects of her life was a breakthrough. She isn't going to like nor trust Eva, but she understands where Eva is coming from and perhaps now they'll be cordial with one another going forward. And also let Eva 'hang herself' and then everyone will see that Eva hasn't changed. Eva feeling guilt once she found out Kat wasn't awake yet. Alternate Universe Nicole was pretty fun to watch. Overall.. a good episode and Kat's reactions to what she was seeing was a hoot.

And I show my Gen Z relatives and friends the Norman Lear shows and they roll their eyes at how cringe it is. I have to admit that the shows was a lot of preaching and a lot of yelling so I kind of understand why they found his shows a chore to get through. At least MTM & Rhoda were headlined by funny female performers, though I much prefer the married era on Rhoda over the divorced era. Oddly, they get a kick out of Dallas especially how they always had breakfast, dinner, and after dinner family time in the living room where they argued and bickered over business matters saying it reminded them of their families. Speaking of short-lived primetime soap operas, I will forever be intrigued with NBC and their inability to ever showcase a successful one going all the way back to the 80s, including their 2013 attempt that was promising, but the concept made it sound like it would have made a good mini series instead of a long running primetime soap.

To me, the show still seems obsessed with each week focusing on almost one story instead of doing what soaps used to do and give equal focus to multiple stories. While I enjoyed watching the Kat story this past week, we had almost no other stories going on except for an occasional focus on the Dani/Bill fallout and a bit of focus on Hayley's attempt to still be a con artist. This is a telltale sign that MVJ hasn't quit shaken the stench of working for nepo Baby Bradley Bell at B & B. In regards to breakdown writers, Jamey isn't the worst one on the show... Ron C was the worst breakdown writer with his ADHD esque tendency of 30 second scenes that made you suffer from a slight case of whiplash. Jean P (former head writer of ATWT) was known for her breakdowns, it's a shame she and Lorraine Broderick aren't still active in the daytime scene to teach people how to do a proper breakdown .

Apparently Linda was a character introduced to provide Greg Foster with a story, but she and her husband Larry didn't last very long. I think it was a weird attempt from Bell to tell a story about a couple marrying too young and feeling trapped by that choice years later. Apparently Linda and her husband Larry didn't last too long on the show. Not sure about Beth, perhaps just a shoulder for Linda to cry on maybe?

I think by the time he returned to playing Mitch, he accepted he was always going to be typecast as the villain. His character on The City was his best attempt at breaking from that trope by playing a strong anti-hero. The show was able to pivot with Nick when the planned pairing between him and Syndey didn't seem to work by pairing him with Lorraine. I don't recall if the show carried over the tensions that had developed between Lorraine and Angie on Loving or not. I was also trying to figure out what decent sized name in 1995 could have hidelined a new soap.. but the only names in soaps by then that could have affected ratings in a significant way would have been a Susan Lucci or a Diedre hall type. Having Morgan Fairchild was an interesting choice because she had gotten her start in daytime in the 30 minute format and while she wasn't a huge name.. she had a name that people knew that could drive some eyeballs to the show. I think the biggest problem with the Sydney character wasn't MF, but the fact that the writers kept her character isolated from the majority of the cast. She only had consistent interactions with Tess and Danny with occasional interactions with Angie, Alex, and Jocelyn (who was the wrong character to bring over from Loving since people hated that she was a replacement for Ava).

In the US QAF, I think the problem with Lindsay and Mel was that they were the only lesbian regulars so the show was stuck keeping them together and/or breaking them up for short periods of time. Of the two, the show did seem to do a better job with connecting Lindsay with the rest of the canvas due to her long time friendship/unrequited love for Brian, her being a mentor of sorts for Justin, and her friendly rapport with Emmett, Ted, & Michael. If I recall, Lindsay was bi.. or leaned more bi and the show never really focused/developed that aspect of her character. The only time I thought the show made somewhat of an effort to incorporate Mel into the canvas was during the brief season 1 arc where she and Lindsay broke up and she became friends with Ted with the two hanging out at Bablyon while Emmett was trying to turn straight and met a woman also trying to go straight. And the woman was likable and cute and she met Mel at the Babylon and it looked like maybe the two might have hooked up, or could have hooked up... but then she wasn't seen again. @te. The Peacock version had potential... but it was so focused on checking off every diversity box that it didn't think to develop the characters nor think out long term story arcs for the characters.

I still enjoyed Sex and the City because it is a time capsule of a bygone era.. and people seemed a lot more free and open during that era then the more puritanical 2020s have been. And when I say puritanical, I mean both the right and left are chronic pearl clutchers nowadays. CBS may have misfired in 1995 with their attempt at attracting younger viewers, but at least the network was willing to try something new unlike the modern day version of CBS that is procedural heavy. I remember having a friend that disliked soap operas and made fun of them.. but the three shows they watched with devotion were Downton Abbey, Stranger Things, and Game of Thrones. When they told me this, I started laughing and I told him 'Sweetie, you're watching soap operas lol'

I think the show needs to bite the bullet and close the book on KS and move on. In the real world, she would be canned a long time ago and it's time for the show to move on and find another Maxie.

Melissa's character on CPW initially started out promising and she had a very unique presence on the show. The turn to the dark side started out promising with her agreeing to team up with the villian in order to further her career... but where the writing ended up taking her character happened too quick and too fast.

Sweetie, Maga administration is criticized by the majority of the press. I enjoy watching how closed minded and lacking in common sense the panelists on The View are. They're so New York, it's fascinating to me. It's great that you all are getting to watch some of AMC from the mid 90s and hopefully one day we can also view those episodes down here in the states.

In regards to what the women were saying about Joe Stuart.. I view it as they were both right and wrong in their opinions on him. In regards to Susan Walters and her complaining about her low pay, what she needed to understand was that this was a business and pay increases are partly tied to ratings and Q-ratings. Loving was low rated and the budget was probably not suficient enough to offer her the raise that she believed she was entitled to. She did the sensible thing and walked away when they were unable to give her what she wanted, but she was also wrong to assume that she deserved the huge raise she wanted. The only story I felt for was Noelle Beck's because that was a horrible thing to even present to her and good for her sticking to her guns. In regards to Leo and Shana, I think the show runners assumed that with Alex back.. that Alex/Ava were going to fill the void left by Leo/Shana's departure.. but the couplings were so different from one another. I have a feeling that the show wasn't able to write a happy and content Shana since most of her arc was always feeling like an island going back to her arrival in 1984 as the illegitimate daughter of Cabot and being an outsider in the Alden family and later losing both the love of her life and child in a plane crash. I think having Leo/Shana navigating their life with a baby and still maintaining the battle of the sexes rapport would have given the writers plenty of material since both were strong minded and set in their ways yet were in love with one another at the same time.

In regards to Eva, I think her character was one that got affected after the change in direction on some of the stories. Eva/Tomas/Kat was slowly building for 140 episodes to where Eva and Tomas hook up, Kat discovers them together as she comes to extend an olive branch, and Tomas opts for Kat over Eva with Eva vowing to fight for him. After Guza leaves, the direction for Eva's character shifts and she's paired with Izaiah. The two have chemistry, but they have little development nor any huge obstacles. Darlene is a promising obstacle plus Darlene vs Leslie is promising...but the whole story has been treated like a C level story. Still...it at least has some focus unlike Chelsea and her arcs. It would be wise of the show to cut her loose..or even cut loose Tyrell/Samantha..and replace them with Donnell and Deanna...that way Vanessa can be given layers again as she tries to parent..and maybe lure the actor that plays Doug back for some flashback episodes showing him with Vanessa and with the twins during happier times.

I think the changing of the EP's and head-writers was partly to blame for him getting his walking papers. I think the EP switch happened during the summer and the head-writer switch was happening in September/October 1986. For whatever reason, Kurt/Mindy seemed more of a Pam Long vision and she left mere weeks after the huge wedding between both characters and the follow up writers and EP probably didn't know how to write for them or for Kurt as an individual character so he was an easy person to write off.

I wonder if the change in how Curtis was written/presented had some to do with the change in head-writer from Marland to Nixon. Just like how the character of Ava changed after Nixon took over, I also think Curtis changed as a character under Nixon. In regards to Leo/Shana... I viewed them as the classic case of Battle of the Sexes with a strong willed Shana verbally battling with the more traditional minded Leo. Back in the 90s, viewers actually enjoyed these types of relationships unlike the more puritanical 2020s where such buzzwords as misogynism are used so much to the point where most people are dismissive.

I'll say this until I'm blue in the face, but Kat is probably the best written character on the soap and one of the best acted characters on this particular soap. She can be petty, she can be funny, she can be razor sharp, and she can be impulsive.. but the one thing anyone that watches the show can agree on is that she isn't boring. The current story with Kat/Eva kind of reminds me of the ER episode with the two sisters where one sister needed a liver transplant and the younger sister refusing to give it because she had a sporting event she needed to play.. and being guilted for not agreeing right away. Seeing some of the other forums and other places on social media, a lot of people are upset at Kat for being selfish (and they also seem to not like Dani)... but the thing is that a soap opera needs a character that isn't agreeable and can be the spark that creates good scenes and content. If it weren't for Kat.. the Duprees would be Hallmark Channel material. This makes me wonder something. If the writers are able to write a character like Kat, and to a lesser extent Eva, so well... why do they seem to have trouble with the Chelsea character? The actress has improved quite a bit over the last year, but the writers seem to treat her as an afterthought and only to be bought out for family gatherings, to be a voice of reason for Kat or Dani, and to remind people that she's non-hetero. And a few people wonder how the show could possibly think to move Hayley over to Y & R if she's been trying to poison Bill. If SPS/Leslie can walk around free after trying to kill Laura twice.. then what's to stop Miss Hayley from walking away from Bill with a nice little settlement for being cheated on and moving over to Genoa City. As others have mentioned, Hayley is a Bill Bell character in spades as seen in Jill, Nina, and to a lesser extent Lauren. But with the current people running Y & R, they'd ruin her in a heartbeat... but it's better then the box that Hayley is in on this soap (remember how excited we were whenever she would run into a character outside Bill/Dani like Derek, Ashley, Caroline, etc?)

Martin is a verbally abusive piece of crap... the show might have forgotten the gas lighting and sabotage he tried to do to Smitty at the start of the show, but I haven't forgotten that. I wish the tree had killed his character.

Dani feels guilt... but it's always like that for her. Leaping before thinking seems to be her motto so this time wouldn't be any different. Upside is that something finally happened in that Bill/Hayley/Andre/Dani story after having it stall for so long. Wonder if perhaps Hayley might shift plans if she catches wind of this mistake and use it to get a decent divorce settlement and then she makes a stop over in Genoa City? Martin called Kat the miracle baby so it looks as though he has been resentful of her for awhile.. probably because the parents lavished her with attention and maybe something else happened in the past involving the two that he's never quite forgiven. At the same time, let's not forget he was controlling and borderline abusive to Smitty before the show did a reset on their relationship dynamics so him being an A-hole seems par for the course. Thank gosh Kat is the way she is or else the Dupree's would be this perfect little family... she provides spice. And I'm still intrigued to see why AJ was cast instead of a Sarah Joy Brown type for Heather. I much prefer seeing performers go against type so hopefully we'll see what the writers have planned.

To me, I just didn't get the whole Rick/Mindy being a couple thing when they worked so well as friends. Not every male and female pairing needs to be romantic and I thought it was nice for awhile that Rick and Mindy were just really good friends without anything romantic or sexual between them. Especially given the toxicity of the Phillip and Beth pairing and how unhealthy they were for one another. I mean the man tried to dig up a grave thinking she was alive, not exactly someone I would want to pro-create with.. yet women wanted to date and pro-create with him. Of course, I thought the same thing about Reva and why any man would want to be married and pro-create with her. Be friends with her.. sure.. but I wouldn't want to have anything that would tie me to her forever either.