Soaplovers

I truly wish that Jacob and Derek had more 1:1 scenes that wasn't Jacob lambasting Derek for not being a doormat for Ashley like he was for Naomi. I'm hoping this story will finally wake Jacob up to the fact that Naomi doesn't truly value her husband. It's an element that has been apparent since day 1 of the show. She's a lot more like her father Bill then she would like to admit. @Melroser Since episode 150/151, the Hayley story has been in a Passions like hamster wheel.. and we're almost to episode 300 so it has been more than six months. The only thing I liked in that story was Lynette and just when it seemed like we would have movement.. she literally vanishes. The Darlene/Eva/SPS/Iziah story should be getting more focus.. especially since it's a non-Dupree story and I would like to know what exactly it is about Eva that Darlene has a problem with. Is it just because of who her mother is, or is it due to possibly something from Darlene's past?

My late mom was a huge fan of AMC, even watching it as a young teen when it first came on in January 1970... and the story that caught her attention was the Phil Brent paternity story with Ruth, his aunt, raising him as if he was her son while his aunt Amy was really his mother... but Amy didn't tell anyone including her current husband Linc. The reason being that there was a similar scandal within the family (when she found out about the Anton/Corvina story where Anton found out his older sister was really his mother.. she was happy that a soap covered that story since that was the family scandal). She instantly loved Erica Kane and knew that as long as Susan Lucci wanted to stay.. the show would never write her character off.. and that turned out to be the case. Very few soap performers got the perks she did (being able to do tv movies, generous vacation times, etc). When it came to Tara, my mom had her thoughts about all 4 Taras. She was excited to see KLG in Saturday Night Fever (It's an awesome movie and I'm glad it hasn't been canceled yet.. sure that will happen in 2027 because our society loves to crap on iconic movies when an anniversary comes up)... but she wasn't her favorite Tara. Nancy F (Tara #3) was her favorite Tara and loved her as Cecile years later. She said that Nancy made Tara both soft and also a little sexier than the previous Taras (She didn't recall Tara #2) while she thought Tara #4 smiled too much.

Oh god... they really are doing the cheap stunts. I hate disaster stories on soaps because it's all about the event with little to no follow up and if The Duprees are friends with the Newmans and Abbots... then they're in my vilainn list.

Apparently there were a few other contenders for the role in Saturday Night Fever: Jessica Lange, Kathleen Quinlan, Carrie Fisher & Amy Irving. I think had the movie ended like a typical rom com, I could have seen one of those four playing the part... but because it wasn't a rom com... I think KLG was the correct choice. She was a tough New Yorker that put up a front when she was actually in the same boat as the lead protagonist. I did share a full episode with as Tara in late 1995 within the last few weeks. She was more passive and nervous in her take as Tara.. though I loved the hints of tension between Kelsey, Tara, Charlie with Kelsey remarking that she heard about his miracle birth for the 100th time while rolling her eyes.

And yet she prefers someone that doesn't value her (Ted) just like her bestie Ashley prefers Grayson.. who is less than heroic. It's odd that Derek's death has sort of kick-started Jacob's PSTD... but I have a feeling that with women in charge.. they'll cheapen it by stating that he's only feeling this way because he's too much of a man that refuses to share his feelings while Ashley is doing everything right because she's showing her emotions.. even though she's suffering from only child syndrome and makes everything about herself. Vanessa always bringing everything back to sex isn't empowering, it's a cry for therapy. Why she always brings the topic back to sex makes me wonder if she has anything of substance to share since she doesn't seem to talk about anything else other than sex or trying to domesticate Joey. Talk about a 50s throwback. It's nice to see Andre away from his prison warden Dani, who also would benefit from regular visits to a shrink.

Shelley Duvall of the Shining, Fairy Tale Theatre, Robert Altman movies, & Mother Goose Rock n Rhyme also did a pilot in 1986 for a show on CBS I believe called Lily. Seems to be a hybrid of Murder She Wrote, Scarecrow & Mrs King, and other 80s CBS action and mystery shows. Not sure how it would have worked long term.. but she is likable.

I'm an equal opportunity sex shamer.. especially if you're married and encouraging others to cheat on their spouses. I always call Bill & Vanessa whores because they both are whores.

Unpopular opinion, but I kind of liked Brenda's dismissive tone of voice as Jill when she interacted with those she didn't much care for. She didn't fly off the rails nor react emotionally.. she had a cold voice dripping with dismissive sarcasm that I thought really suited Jill. Jill vs Kay during her time as Jill was so much more interesting. Jess seemed almost angry and totally un-Jill like especially in her interactions with Kay.

Optimistic me is hoping that the whole Bill/Hayley/SPS scene was groundwork being laid down for Hayley framing SPS for the poisoning. The only area Hayley has played her cards right so far is the way she dismiss SPS, refuses to engage with, and being the supportive wife to Bill to the point where even Chelsea and Naomi have to admit that... even Dani remarked once that Hayley finally had some good judgment not liking SPS. Not only that, but SPS has shown herself to be reactive when it comes to Bill.. and she has motive for wanting to poison Bill.

From what I can see from reading weekly ratings, ratings held steady in 1980/early 1981 before they started sliding in mid to late 1981 before briefly rallying in late 1982/early 1983. In terms of actual rating points.. it did jump almost a rating point the week of Steve and Betsy's Wedding in May 1984.. but otherwise, the ratings weren't strong in 1984/1985.

The crossover isn't an issue for me, it's just the characters chosen. I'd rather have seen Lauren Fenmore crossing over since Chelsea/Kat are doing their line and they'd mentioned Fenmore's in the past.. .while seeing that played out outdated Victor Newman polluting another soap kinda sucks lol

They were married so yes, there was something to wreck.

I always remembered how this soap in particular had exes that actually became good friends such as Billy/Vanessa, Vanessa/Ross, Holly/Ed, Reva/Billy, even India/Phillip would banter with one another. I also liked that two of those couples ended up reuniting at the end of the show (Billy/Vanessa & Holly/Ed).

Dani deserves the treatment she got from Bill. Miss high and mighty needed to be bought down a few pegs and the first episodes of the series really showcased how much of a narcissist Dani is. And if anything, Dani displays just as much misandrist tendencies as Bill displays misogynist tendencies. Sorry... I'm with Kat and Martin on this one... I don't want to think about my grandparents in that way. That's a realistic and healthy response.

Every once in awhile, you would be reminded that Nadine had abandoned both Frank and Harley thus putting Frank in the position of parent to Harley. One particular conversation was Christmas 1992 where Frank goes to visit Nadine whose happily hosting Christmas for Billy's family and she happily tries to invite Frank to stay.. and he lays into her for abandoning him and Harley. Ironically mid 1993 to mid 1995 was probably the only time where the show does actually try to give Nadine more layers... and seeing how Buzz basically strings her along gives the viewer a bit of insight into what caused Nadine to become the person she became after he was believed 'dead' in Vietnam.

I think Bell intended for Eric to be that way hence why McCook was cast as Eric. No one else could have worked for that version of Eric...imho. And I think Beth #1 could have worked opposite Stephanie, but as my late mom used to say... Beth #1 was blonde, tall, and attractive... no way that Eric would look in Stephanie's direction... but Beth #2.. definitely could have seen that. In regards to Vanessa, she seemed like a Gothic character and there were a few instances where Bell did infuse the character with a bit of depth. However, the story have run for over five years.. and either Bell needed to reform her or else kill her off because Lorie vs Vanessa had run it's course by 1981

In regards to Chelsea and Madison, I can't be over something that I never cared about to begin. I've said this since almost day 1 of the soap and I'll continue to say it until there is actual improvement... but Chelsea and her story/arc is treated like an afterthought to the writers. You have very strong focus and character development with Naomi, Eva, and Kat.. even Ashley has decent character development... but Chelsea feels like an afterthought to these writers. It's almost as if the writers are just chilling out and a photo of Chelsea comes up and they get reminded that she's actually on the show and maybe it's time to wheel her out for her bi weekly air-date. Ashley is acting the grieving widow because she feels immense guilt over the way she treated Derek.. and I'm going to be honest in saying that he didn't lie to her at all. He was just waiting till he could actually walk before telling her while Grayson was caught in a huge Operation... but she'll be back in his bed by 4th of July.

Nadine/Billy became a thing because the two had a vested interest in keeping Vanessa & Ross apart. When Vanessa returned to Springfield in mid 1989, she made her intentions to resume things with Ross known while instantly disliking Nadine who was dating Ross at the time. Billy came back to town and was interested in trying again with Vanessa while he and Nadine flirted with one another and teamed up for a bit to keep Vanessa/Ross apart. Eventually Ross/Vanessa didn't go anywhere and it turned into a Vanessa/Billy/Nadine triangle by late 1989.. and it had legs for a few years until 1993 when Nadine was finally exposed for pretending Bridget's baby was her baby. Before that, she schemed with Alan (helping him fake not being able to walk) and dated Ross while trying to social climb and start her dating show Lovebug at the station while embarrassing Frank and making Harley roll her eyes. On paper, Nadine and Billy fit together like a hand to a glove... but chemistry & real life never seems to match with what is on paper and his heart truly belonged to Vanessa and vice versa. The difference between when Long was in charge vs when Curlee was in charge was that Nadine was less insecure/needy in the triangle when Long was writing it while showing Billy being conflicted because he did seem to love both women... while Curlee pretty much wrote it as Billy settling for Nadine because he didn't think he was worthy of Vanessa. A story element that survived in the late 90s and 00s after Billy left prison and would always give advice to Vanessa in the same way that Vanessa would give advice to Ross. My favorite Billy and Vanessa post marriage talk was when Vanessa wouldn't tell the police where Dinah was in a misguided attempt to protect her daughter after Dinah accidentally killed Hart in early 1999 with Billy basically saying he understood her motivation because he would move heaven and earth to protect Melinda Sue if she were in trouble.. but that sometimes the best way to help them is to not protect them from their decisions/mistakes.

SPS/Dana wouldn't be in the situation she's in with the free clinic had she listened to Derek. She is the type of individual that ruins a company culture. Ashley is a typical only child with Derek's death being all about her and not about his family and friends. Episode 150/151 was when Hayley was revealed to be a con...and we're at almost Episode 300 with little to no movement since then. Me thinks this was a Guza plotted plot and his replacement isn't sure how to pace it. Problem is that no movement is far worse than too much movement. Either she needs to be caught or Bill needs to be in the hospital with Hayley hightailing it out of town.

The Nicole/Carlton/Kial story is a reason why there should be a straight male on the writing team that would advise the women in charge that men don't act like this.. that this story is a fantasy of what women wish men would act like

The show needs a writer that has fresh ideas and energy and to pair them with a writer that knows and understands the characters.

I think more recent soap performers that come on are easier for the two hosts to interview because the focus is much more narrow and easier to go indepth with. When you have someone like Morgan Fairchild, Donna Mills, Jackee., etc with long careers...it becomes more difficult for the two hosts. Do you focus on their soap roles, their non soap roles, a combination? It can be difficult. Their obsession with Donna Mills GH stint was such an amateur move since the role was under written and Mills had gone on record as not liking the filming format or writing. She had other roles that she could have been asked about (i.e. her tv movie career in the 80s and 90s had variously different roles that were un Abby like).

I would think Kat tampering with the evidence would deem it in admissible and make it seem like Kat was framing Leslie/SPS. Of course, if that actually happened we couldn't have the writers presenting Kat as a Nancy Drew girl boss...and in 2026, that is a requirement (sarcasm). Phyllis went years before it came out she ran down the Bug and Paul so I could see the show holding off on exposing SPS. With that said, the writers could have her occupied with stories outside her Teddy bear and the Duprees. Explore her life with Eva pre 2024...I'm sure there was a relative and/or enemy of hers from her years in Chicago.

I think Earl Hamner deep down liked soapy moments. His favorite scene alone confirms that: https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/earl-hamner-jr?chapter=7&clip=56432