Soaplovers

I wish the vacations on the housewife shows were more like the spin-off 'Welcome to Crappie Lake"... because when I watch the girls vacations on the franchises... I wonder to myself 'why would you consider these people your friends if all they do is cause drama and fight all the time'.

I think the shows should go back to the earlier seasons where there was one huge cast trip near the end of the season.. where you could have fun and air out some grievances that had been festering for the season.  Of course, the shows would need to do away with the contrived gatherings in every episode in order to build the anticipation and excitement.

On 7/8/2023 at 4:28 AM, DRW50 said:

I know you can't really blame one character, or one actor, for tanking a whole story devised by many hands, but there are times when I'm very tempted. 

My main case of this would be with the 1840 story on Dark Shadows, which, in its early months, was, other than the usual generic figures of Barnabas and Julia, full of very jagged, complex characters, throwing venom at each other but also still having their moments of sympathy and heart. The triangle between back-from-the-dead Quentin, embittered wife Samantha, and her new man/his old friend, Gerard Stiles (then a fake psychic, on his way to being taken over by a malevolent force) was extremely dramatic and very entertaining to watch, especially with the other side characters like Quentin's nasty brother Gabriel and his scheming wife Edith, ditzy Flora, Gerard's partner-in-con Leticia Faye, inventor Desmond, and last but never least, Angelique, returning to Collinsport after hearing her "beloved" husband had returned. 

And then we get...Daphne.

Kate Jackson would go on to have her share of primetime success, but that was never when cast in ingenue roles. And every DS part she had was pure ingenue. She had, in setting up the 1840 plot, already recreated the Beth and Quentin storyline from several years earlier, but at heart she was basically a Maggie replacement, who had been a Victoria replacement - very generic women who were there to be victimized, kidnapped, and fall hopelessly in love. This part had grown steadily duller as the show progressed (to the point where in the show's very last storyline, they all but did away with this trope - better late than never).

Making matters worse, Kate and David Selby had little chemistry, so when this wan character not only took a major role on the canvas, but essentially took Samantha's place in the triangle (with Samantha appearing less and less, finally just returning to be abruptly killed off), it took me right out of the storyline. And around the same time most of the 1840 plot hit the skids, although it still had its moments. 

And the twist was that Daphne's long dead sister Joanna was more interesting...and we had a few episodes where we wondered if she were truly dead or not.  The Samantha/Joanna element was short lived..imho.

Guiding Light: basically most of 1998 to 2000...if there was a story ..Reva would be involved and become the focus.  

My first memory of summertime soap opera viewing was summer of 1991.

AMC: Janet from another planet.. along with Hayley/Brian as the teen couple.  That soap was my go to soap that summer.

1991 Summer promo running on CBS was 'Try Me'.  It started in the summer and it ran into 1992.

Oh wow... this was unexpected

4 hours ago, Cat said:

RHOC

What's interesting about Tamra's return isn't so much that she's 'doing the most' by stirring the pot. It's that she's getting the other women to work. It is a constant switcheroo of alliances between Tamra & Jenn, Tamra & Heather, Tamra & Taylor, Tamra & Shannon. One minute she's your friend, kiki-ing with and cuddling you, the next she's thrown you under the bus. Tamra is one of the best practitioners of RH pot-stirring and, crucially, she doesn't care if she gets caught on camera. What's of interest to me is Heather not wanting to confront Tamra on what she knows must be true, which is,Tamra talking behind her back. The hasty alliance they slapped together since Tammy Sue returned is already cracking -- Heather already fears that when T and Shannon make up, she'll be on the outs.

I am really liking Shannon so far this season. Also, Jenn is a good pick for a newbie.

Heather talking to Travis on the phone "She's fine. She'll call you back" and then hanging up on him had me LOLing. 

The problem with both Tamra and Heather is that neither are authentic.

The last episode was so paint by numbers that I was so happy to see Emily in a scene with Shane and her daughter.  It was a nice scene and a nice relief from all the contrived BS of the Montana trip.

And I don't want them to 'work's.  I want to see all the women be themselves and not interact with one another.

I want 1 episode where none of the women talk to one another, no mentions of a party or trip, just a peek into their lives.

I want to see Heather's daughter Kat (the 16 year old) learn to drive with uptight Heather, Shannon with Archhe/John/daughters, Tamra/Eddie adjusting to life post Cut Fitness, Emily as a stay at momager, Gina/Travis trying to sell a house, Jen with her kids and her ex/boyfriend, and for fun...Taylor with her daughter Kennedy.

1 episode like this for all franchises would be nice.

1 hour ago, Cheap21 said:

This bitch was playing in our faces. They did all that to drum up interest around them so Bravo would bring them back either on RHOA or their own show. We don’t want it

I think it dawned on wig that it probably would cost more to divorce than stay together 

6 minutes ago, NothinButAttitude said:

 

I was just saying that on another forum. That's why Kyle made it her mission to peg LVP to the cross that season. 

And also in season 1, she hinted to Mauricio she wanted another baby...so that adds more weight to Allison's prediction that kids were their only connection 

16 minutes ago, Cat said:

Holy sh!t, People??

And of course, all our collectiv minds right now are going straight back to S1 and Alison Dubois...

Lol its that drip-drip viral marketing three months away from a trailer being dropped.

Allison said Kyle would be married twice...she didn't say she would stay with Mauricio forever...just that she would only be married twice.  And he's been checked out for awhile now..and I bet the season 4 rumors weren't a rumor.

On 6/30/2023 at 11:22 PM, danfling said:

 

2.  Maggie, in the first episodes, tells Victoria that everyone who lives in Collinwood is a kook.   I think that the least kookiest would have been Carolyn.   I wonder if the show was preparing the viewers of an eventual conflict between Maggie and Carolyn (over Joe).

(This is not the only time that I think that storylines originally intended for Carolyn were dropped.)

 

According to the original bible of the first six to nine months of story projections...Maggie/Joe was not even a thing...and that Carolyn/Joe were eventually to marry with the class differences between the two becoming the conflict in their marriage.

Over all, I think the show noticed Maggie/Joe had more chemistry and spent several weeks slow burning them (i.e. going from friends to lovers).

Because the original arc was changed...Carolyn was aimless especially after the Jason McGuire story concluded..and her mother/daughter conflict with Liz was resolved.

And in that Zoom holiday reunion special, Alexandra Moltke stated how she managed to get out of her contract with the show.  Apparently it wasn't due to pregnancy difficulties..but not being paid for all the episodes she had a voice over for and didn't actually appear in the episode....her lawyer told her this.

I'm wondering if these movies to soap proposals were going to be more like a telenovela where it would be 3 to 6 months per soap?

Unpopular opinion but I think Miami needed a slight cast change...Larsa really has no business being on the show.

In fact, all the housewife shows need cast alterations every season.  

RHOC:

Shannon at the Crystal store is why I'll never not like her.  Me thinks the editors did the fire and water scene as a foreshadowing of the end of their relationship.  Her look when Tamra was talking to her was realistic...because no way I'd be anxious to hug her.

Heather is insecure...and when she's insecure... she becomes condescending.  Her daughter Max is just like her.  I will give her a point for  Def con analogy with Tamra.

We all know nothing makes Tamra more insecure than a OC blonde..and Jen is that.  I do sense some spunk and backbone with Jen...so it won't be like Gretchen or Alexis.

And Gina should really be a bit less judgy with her DUI and allegedly doing something physical to her boyfriend.  

I did like the family scenes 

It sounds like Robert/Iris was another version of Robert/India on Somerset.

Didn't Robert break free from India because she was too status conscious and went for Jessica?  And was Jessica level headed like Lenore..or more like Clarice in terms of personality?

I wonder who Todd Williams would have been tempted by... that would cause Mary Williams severe anxiety that made the anxiety she felt about Paul's escapades pale in comparison?

I think the Williams family had an interesting set up that sadly got lost in the expansion to an hour in 1980.  We had the working class cop Carl, his stay at home traditional wife Mary, their oldest son Steven that followed the more traditional teachings of his family, their son Todd that was studying to be a priest, the rebellious son Paul, and then the youngest Patty that was young and naive.

I often wonder if Bell had watched Saturday Night Fever since a lot of the early Williams structured seem to be modeled after the Manero family in the movie.   Blue collar rough around the edges dad, the eldest son studying to be a priest (who briefly steps back from being a priest to experience the real world), the younger son that loved dancing/women, and then the youngest daughter.. who was the observant young girl observing this family structure.

The Macy/Thorne/Anthony/Ivana story was probably the best of the stories going on in early 1995.. followed by Sheila's final descent of terror before she was exposed in mid 1995.  Both stories provided welcome/relief from the neverending Brooke/Ridge/Taylor saga.

I recall Eva's small bubble of cast-mates that she interacted with on a consistent basis was usually Paul, Michael, Chris, Mary, and eventually Diane.  She did have some interaction with Lauren and Nikki (in fact, Nikki did caution Paul not to move to fast with Isabella).  So it made sense she and Eric didn't know of one another on the set.

And sometimes Eric needs to be brought down a peg or two..

Soaps always continue production during strikes so the WGA picketers need to go away and focus on something else.

RHOC

Miss DUI Gina certainly isn't judging someone for a mistake..nah..couldn't be.

Tamra and Shannon face to face should have been held off till at least the 3rd or 4th episode.  Anticipation is what this show needs.

With that said...what Heather and Tamra don't get is both of them attacking Shannon makes the audience side with Shannon as the lesser of two evils.

Who knew Shannon of all people 'threw Tamra under the bus'...and Tamra is so bothered by her...moreso then she was by Gretchen.  #priceless

Pointless character... and a noose around Erica Kane's neck.

Hopefully his character is single and can finally shed his co dependence on Erica.

I think Althea proved Hubbard could act and play a character unlike herself... while I viewed Lucinda as an extension of Hubbard.. especially as time went on.

Emma started off cold and harsh when she debuted on ATWT, and for some reason, Marland and co decided to soften her and make her warm and flighty person.  I think it kind of undercut any potential the character could have had long term after Marland passed away.

Cal/Lucinda had a fling after he/Emma broke up.  I think he was starting to date Lyla, who wasn't ready for a long term relationship right after Casey's death so he and Lucinda had a fling.  Then I think he decided he really liked Lyla and broke up with Lucinda.

11 hours ago, Chris B said:

Zach and Jack aren't the biggest highlights for me, but I appreciate them for the fact that it's nice seeing Felicia in a relationship with spark and I loooooove Sly. And then it's nice to see Stephanie dating someone instead of just begging Eric to take her back.

One thing I'm not looking forward to are all of the exits. I felt like Margo and Jake's story had ended and I suspect Sheila got a lot of story that could've gone to Margo. I'm really going to miss Felicia, Kristen and Clarke when they leave. It's hard to imagine why they were written out.

I like that Zach/Jack gave some more development/dimension to Taylor then just the resident shrink or Brooke's rival for Ridge.   Seeing her with both her father/brother gave Taylor other characters to interact with.  It gave her equal development to Brooke in terms of having family to be around.

I do recall Zach/Felicia's relationship brings out Stephanie's disapproval and controlling ways... but I recall it will be presented differently then it was with Brooke/Ridge.

Lily was always Craig's biggest advocate with Lucinda/Sierra just as much as Sierra was the mediator between Lily/Lucinda.  So to have Craig treat Lily the way that he did just contradicted the history between Craig/Lily.  It was acceptable that he/Rose didn't jive because of the lack of history.. but Lily/Craig were always good friends.

I do remember Grant Coleman being the red herring for causing the gaslighting of Lisa after Earl's vanished.. but I remember my mom saying that there was no way Grant would ever do anything that vile to Lisa.   She had said that Grant was Lisa's true love.. and that the break up of their marriage due to Joyce was the thing that caused Lisa to become the anti heroine in the 80s and thereafter.

3 hours ago, NothinButAttitude said:

I will never understand why the show didn't simply toss Marcy into an established character role, as it would've possibly made her stint longer.

Does anyone think she would've been good as a Morgan (Richards) recast?  I mean it would've still connected her to Josh (Robert Newman) as didn't Morgan/Josh have a fling before she was written off?

Based on how Tangie ended up going into the Holly/Roger/Blake orbit... instead of Tangie being his ward/foster child... I think maybe Marcy could have been Blake's cousin Emily.... she could have still had that tension with Roger... and been conflicted over the Holly/Fletcher hook up and keeping it quiet.

20 hours ago, Cat said:

I mean, the rolling see-through staircases on RHOA are still tripping me out. 

The whoosh! And Vicki with her hand on her hip, her head dipping to the side, and Donn, Michael and Brianna behind her! See, it's sh!t like this that I get attached to and don't like to see replaced. For a show like OC, especially, which is so unabashedly OC and not trying to be something else, it is worth keeping a few of the old quirks. 

Lol, not me, just a very clever RH fan on Twitter. You know Dorinda's face is doing that right now.

I like that the families are still in the opening.  This and NJ were always more of a focus on family.  

In fact, RHOC was a concept that combined Desperate Housewives with the OC....so the teens always had a focus.  

Plus we have seen Heather and Shannon's kids grow up on the show...I like that we sometimes hear from them about their moms.

Last night we met the newbie Jennifer...and she is exactly an OC prototype.  Messy older kids, hectic life...and lips that are..wow.  only thing missing is the sky top lol