Soaplovers

To me..Ashley is more problematic than Candiace is..imho. I would know what I'm getting with Candiace vs the two faced vibe of Ashley. And Karen and Gizelle like each other deep down..that's why they can shade one another with ease. Gizelle donning the t shirt a few seasons back bothered Karen because it was Gizelle doing it vs someone else she didn't like. Same with Karen's shade about Jamal bothering Gizelle because it came from Karen.

Today's season 1 episode uploads explains why Brooke has a one track mind about Ridge and the Forrester's. She saw her mom Beth being warm, nice and putting others before herself. And seeing how she always seems to finish last made Brooke vow not to be like her mom. And I think deep down Brooke blamed her mom being unable to fight for herself and causing her dad to desert her. So I think when Ridge chooses Caroline down the line, she decides to strike back at Stephanie and Beth by taking Eric for herself. I don't think Brooke consciously did this, but deep down, she wanted to keep the Forrester's in her life..so she went to Eric. To fulfill her need for a dad, and to stick it to Stephanie..and to a lesser extent Beth. And I think had she picked Dave...she feared history would repeat itself with him abandoning her like her dad did to her mom.

I liked Dolan's 1st stint as Margo, but she began playing Margo as bitter and harsh after awhile.

@CatI view the Housewives Ultimate girls trip season 2 as a test run for Dorinda. It's being hosted at her Berkshire manor also. If she has a good stint, doesn't piss off production..or make it hostile behind the scenes...I could see her being back on NY. With Tamra, the show is using Heather to rebuild OC. And Shannon and Heather had an interesting rapport back in the day. So if season 16 goes well..I could see Tamra coming back in season 17.

AMC had the least amount of time to get things going, and also had a head writer not familiar with the show (Marlene McPherson)...yet she managed to put a show together with strong threads (JR/Cara/David, sex trafficking story, Dixie's slow forgiveness of Billy Clyde tuggle, and hints were dropped that Miranda would learn of her conception). And viewership on Hulu was strong for the episodes I recall.

Tamra needed to be rested... it was rinse, lather, and repeat. She'll be back eventually... mark my words.. but it's too soon have her back. Look at Heather.. she was kind of played out and now she's back with lots of things going on (her kids are older, she had her own podcast show, etc). Sometimes housewives need a rest.. and Tamra was due one.

Kim should be one of those characters that comes and goes for visits. She came back several times in the 90s, 00s, and 10s...but she should at least visit...especially since Shane has visited more recently.

Brooke Logan B & B At best, she should have been written out after the first ten to fifteen years when it became apparent Bradley Bell was unwilling to move her character into new territory. John Black Days He worked well in the 80s and 90s, but while Marlena has remained useful (thanks to Deidre Hall being an effective performer no matter what the show throws at her)...he's become her arm candy and has stagnated as a character.

My late mom (a boomer) saw the Maya story..and she said the following: 1) loved the actress, but wondered why a trans performer wasn't playing the part. 2) thought it odd everyone seemed accepting including hot head Rick. And said shouldn't there be pushback? Soaps and conflict go hand and hand. and she was a somewhat left leaning boomer.

Nancy had reasons to be stone cold to Joyce..and it seems like the Dobson's got Joyce..and to a lesser extent Nancy. I think Nancy and Joyce were pushed out after the Dobson's left the first time. Another character they wrote well was Carol...the nice girl. In other 1980 episodes, she's written well.

I watched the 1st 3 episodes last night. Pacing is too fast, too many plot twists crammed into each episode with little to no time to show the results. And rule #1, viewers need to care about the characters in order to make the twists work. I'm not saying slow the pace down like in the 80s, but allow viewers time to know the characters before throwing plot twists at us. Lastly, is there a soap writer on staff? If not, the show needs to employ one stat.

Guiding Light: While I liked the early 90s of GL, I wouldn't call it a golden age. It was well done, but lacked spirit. And I found that Alexandra, Nadine, Holly, and Maureen were written more to certain tropes (Alexandra = woman scorned, Nadine = desperate woman, Holly = super neurotic, and Maureen = judgemental). When Long was there, all of these women had different facets that got sidelined (Alexandra = warm, Nadine = sly, Holly = confident, and Maureen = human and funny). I just think early 90s GL had good points, but no warmth or a sense of fun.

Lisa was more of an active presence in Casey's life..and Lien's life (during the periods she was on show). Plus, was active in Parker's life as well. I don't recall much presence in Chris' life. After 2000, Lisa lost presence on the show..and even didn't interact as much with Kim, Barbara, or even trade barbs as much with Lucinda. It was a nice treat to see all the women in the 50th anniversary episode interacting. Barbara/Lucinda being frienimie, Lisa throwing shade at Lucinda while staying close to Nancy at the campfire..while Susan/Kim had a scene where the two talked about the Bob affair. While it was nice seeing Emma interacting someone off that yucky farm

Port charles becoming more telenovela in format.

Kelly played a smart aleck 40s bar tender on Homefront after Generations...and her character reminded me of a Vicky...while her Gossip Girl character was more like a Donna Love. I don't know how she would have been as Marley..tbh

Centering it around Caroline could be a good idea if there is diversity (which I doubt would occur). Seeing Giselle on the Real and her saying she would wipe the floor with Ramona makes me sad that she didn't end up on season 1 of all stars

Rosemary Prinz's had a great interview, Louise Shaffer had a great interview, Sharon Gabet's 2 interviews were great,and finally Susie Pratt totally took over. I think if the guest is strong willed, the interview will be good because they run the interview...and he just follows along. Eileen is pretty vocal (her Emmy foundation interview says as much)..so I'm hoping she has her wits about her.

Dana Wikey has been more relevant since BH than during her 25K sunglasses era.

I always thought she was a temp recast because the original Kay quit suddenly. Deanna Wright was my fav Kay. She had a town boy vibe, but was also girlish. And scenes where she went off on Grace were well done.

Season 2 had the Donna modeling story..which had the unexpected Bill/Donna connection that sadly was abandoned in spring 1989...that briefly is revived in early 1991 when Bill turns to Donna when Margo is neglectful..even offering her a job at Spencer publications before she leaves the show (actress quits and the temp recast just isn't Donna).

I think the reason the 1795 story worked was because the show wisely used Victoria as a guide. The audience had an attachment to her since she was the introduction to the present day Collins family so it made sense she was the intro to the 1795 branch of the family. That's the reason the introduction to Barnabas and later 1795 worked..because the show used the relatable outsider (Victoria) to usher it in.

The episodes uploaded yesterday and today had Stephanie thinking Brooke was the other woman...and her disbelief. And there was a scene between them..that I had a feeling made Bell go 'hmmmm'. Bell would have long term plans, but left enough room for adjustment if something wasn't working and/or if he saw.something in taping (Lauren/Traci feud on Y & r came about due to this).

I think had AMC and OLTL continued, they were probably going to do 40 to 60 episode seasons. 2 episodes dropped once a week (which people could binge them easily. My mom used to tape soaps and watch them all on the weekend). And from what I could recall, the numbers were strong viewership wise.

I saw Nancy Addison as Deborah on Loving...the mother we were thankful never to have. She had a comedic spin on the character. So seeing her as Jillian was a treat...and sad no scenes exist of her as Kit. With Charlotte...how was she as a character when played by Vicki Wyndham vs Melinda Fee?