Soaplovers

Marj's best role was as Myrna Clegg on Capital.. she took over the role and made it her own. She wasn't Alexandra, though I do think when she first started as Alexandra, she did try to emulate Beverlee a bit without much success. With that said, she had better chemistry with Fletcher than Beverlee did.

I'm in a good mood so I'll try to say some positive stuff about the Peapack era of the show. The production values sucked and it did distract a lot from the writing/stories.. but there were some positive stuff that I liked from that era.. Olivia/Natalia.. it was a slow build to them becoming a couple since the two had started off as not being friends whatsoever, and than becoming friends, than becoming roommates, becoming close friends and both not realizing that they were falling for one another.. at the same time that Natalia was involved with Frank.. and Olivia assuming Natalia wasn't in love with her let her be with Frank while Natalia was struggling with being gay, in love with Olivia yet not wanting to hurt Frank. Philip's return from the dead was handled fairly well.. with him reconnecting with Dinah (the writers remembering they were cousins), and Lizzie giving him a tongue lashing.. with the two having a very tension filled relationship (she had his stubborn and controlling streak.. she wasn't anything like her mom... in fact, when M Rylan played Lizzie.. she reminded me more of a young Mindy than a young Beth). I did like that the show remembered Frank/Blake had a prior connection/friendship that fell by the wayside in the mid 90s.. and the two ending up together kind of made sense. Dare I say it.. but I liked Reva with Jeffery.. and I liked that there was a scene of closure between Reva/Josh where they admitted they would always love each other, but couldn't go back. Hence why the show had to 'kill' off Jeffery to reunite Josh/Reva (and had to flash forward one year into the future as well). Whew.. that was hard work LOL

This is why I never was a big fan of Josh/Reva as a couple. In the backstory of Josh/Reva... they were child hood friends and sweethearts.. but she was the daughter of the cook (Sarah Shayne worked for the Lewis family).. so she never felt she was good enough for Josh.. and Josh never let her forget it. Reva's actions always were impulsive especially in reaction to what Josh's actions toward her and in general. When he left town for college without a thought to Reva (at least in her mind).. she quickly married his older brother Billy. Zimmer said in that emmy legends interview that she was given a couple of different scenes to act out in her audition... one where she was the fun loving party girl, one where she was brash and sassy against those that spoke ill of her, and finally a scene with Josh where she crumbled and was vunerable. It seemed to me that Josh tolerated stuff from Tangie/Harley/Annie/Olivia/Sonni because he didn't grow up with them.. nor were they daughters of the family cook/maid. To me, his actions toward Reva were a throwback to the class differences between the two. I actually will say that I liked Reva better during the two years where Josh wasn't in the picture where she was involved with Kyle, her suicide attempt, her trying to rebuild her life, becoming a photographer for the Springfield Mirror, and realizing that Kyle wasn't the man for her because of how cold blooded he was to Maeve in regards to their son Ben. I'll even go as far as to say I liked Josh with Harley... even though she was the kids nanny.. she also wasn't one to stand for anyone talking down to her (her verbal smackdowns to Vanessa/Sarah post Reva driving off the bridge were great).

I felt Eden's first several months had her being a daredevil, fiesty, stubborn, and defiant against authority.... and I always figured she left for Europe years before because she always felt like the odd child of the family. Within a year, they made her and Kelly almost interchangable with the victimization/kidnapping/emotional issues, etc.

I recall my mom texting me about asking about the shaky camera work, and the weird green color. I think the end of feb/early march was the official start of the Peapack suicide mission... but there were a few episodes before the official start where some scenes were filmed in the new style mixed with scenes filmed in the traditional style. It was like two halves of different items being fused together and that didn't fit at all. I will give credit to Long trying to figure out where the scabs were going with some of the stories. I do think she had Josh/Reva watching little Ben while Fletcher was grieving (even was a note of sorts from India who was Maeve's good friend). Plus, there was even a custody battle talk between Fletcher and Maeve's mom as well during Maeve's funeral. I think it was a surprise that she was killed off so suddenly.. it wasn't expected at all.

If she did, her talk show wouldn't have been cancelled after a season thus crawling back to RHONY with her tail between her legs. But let's all of us talk about alcoholic Dorinda for a moment. She needs rehab just as much, or more so, than Luann. The way she acted with Luann.. and than failing to admit she was wrong on WWHL... I think she needs to exit stage left after this season... or tell her it's rehab or kiss your apple good bye.

Blake was the other one Long had mentioned. The actress was cast, but before she was set to film.. the strike happened.. and Blake was still introduced and Pam Long was surprised since the scabs had no outlines or direction on where the character was going to go... so Blake spent the time talking on the phone to someone mysterious and wondering around a playground acting tortured... and when Long returned from the strike, she asked who Blake was talking to and why she was so tortured.. and the scabs didn't know.. they were making it up as they went along.. so Long/Curlee had to do a plan B. Rumor has it that if this hadn't happened... Roger/Holly might not have returned since Blake wasn't supposed to have been Christina.. but who knows for sure.

The actress decided to leave..and it was during the writers strike so the scabs killed her off... and no, her body was found and she died at Cedars. Pam Long had said had the actress opted to leave while she was head-writing, she wouldn't have killed her off.

I did like Maeve/Fletcher.. and by 1988.. she was more of a strong supporting character than a lead character so I think the show sensed that as well. I do recall one of her last episodes before the death of her character had her having lunch with Blake.. and her instincts instantly knew that Blake was hiding something and was going to find out what her story was.. and than bam.. she had the helicopter crash and passed away.

I do know she didn't Peapack... hence why Reva always acted drunk cause the actress was drinking heavily during that time LOL. It's interesting that GL dressed Reva in such yucky clothes when Reva of the 80s/90s/early 2000s was such a fashion label lover. I know the actress put on weight, but it was like the show didn't care to feature Zimmer in the best possible light. Her wardrobe improved quite a bit during her year long stint as Echo where they dressed her in blazers and her clothes were fit properly.. and she looked much better.

Tina should never have been created or featured. She was like nails on a chalkboard to me. The show fired the likable Amelia Marshall, whose character was an attorney and dating Adrian.. for this nitwit.

@Cat I'm not surprised the OC isn't pulling in ratings that are closer to 2 mil (like in previous seasons). Season 12 was a disaster.. and the shows refusal to fire Vicki is what is killing the show. A lot of Housewife fans I've talked to in Chicago have cited Vicki as their primary reason they've tuned out of the OC... Facebook message replies on the RHOC page also indicate Vicki should have been fired, and even Twitter has said the same thing. Yes, Vicki is the OG.. but lets face it... Nene and Bethenny left their shows and the shows carried on without them.. so I think it is time for the OC to shed their OG and focus onto the future. She isn't married, her primary filming partner (Brianna) isn't on this year so we won't see her as a mother nor as a grandmother... I'm still questioning why she wasn't downgraded to friend of status since she doesn't have anything to offer that Shannon/Tamra/Kelly can offer.

Is there anything to set Dallas and Potomac apart from the rest of the franchises? I think in the earlier days of the franchise, the location played as big of character as the women did. Atlanta showed itself off as the epicenter of the south in terms of production/wealth/entertainment (lots of things are filmed in Atlanta nowadays), Orange County was new money/Olive Garden esque tastes, Beverly Hills was what Orange County thought they were, New York was high end, and Jersey was all about family/loyalty, etc. Dallas, from what I've seen, does seem to show the flashy over the top everything is larger than life.. but what is the main identity of the Potomac? I think the problem with all the franchises is that they've become too alike. Fighting, contrived gatherings, girls trips, spa days, etc... there isn't a lot of variety in these shows anymore. I think the OC is so far repairing itself nicely showing more fun stuff.. and I do like that the two new girls have kids (though I'd love to see a train wreck teen like in the good old days... since Shannon/Tamra/Kelly/Vicki's blood seems even tempered compared to their moms. NY has pretty much given up being about married women.. or about their family lives.. so it's all the girls hanging together all the time... but that can be limiting. I've never watched Potomac.. but why is the show on fire now vs in its previous seasons? Has the focus changed on Potomac (more about shading/fighting than about their day to day lives, etc) this season?

I say fire all of them RHOBH women and start over from scratch. Find non actresses to be housewives. RHOC: Andales came back!!! I despise stroller moms in real life, and don't real like watching them (I think all future housewives hired on OC should have at least one teen... 6 little brats is too much). With that said, it appeals to younger moms.. while the Andales scenes and Tamra being carried around appealed to those like me that wish I could wake up bright and sunny the morning after hard partying.

Jill as a 'Friend of'.. I could see... but she'd be so thristy she'd make the season toxic in an attempt at getting an apple instead of just enjoying herself with all the perks without having to start drama. Aviva, hell no! She's as vile/nasty as Cindy from season 4 was. I want new blood.. married blood or else just change the bloody of the show.

I have a feeling that Dr. Paul's story about his son falling into gambling, etc.. isn't the truth.. that it perhaps is Dr. Paul that fell into gambling. I also think Mona is wanting a larger house because she's used to a high class house, and also to remove reminders of Carolee. If anything, Dr Paul's recent arrival has kind of renewed my interest.. a possible new villain that has a past with Ann, an interesting rapport with Stacy, and it seems as if he and Matt Powers had a bad run in in the past. I'm intrigued for sure

Don't all the housewives do this to an extent? It's why I like housewives like Shannon on the OC... that girl features everything and the kitchen sink from her life.

What she says is what I personally feel about brunches (the hallmark of Sunday mornings in Chicago).

Don't forget Kandi. Nene never could get the best of Kandi.. no matter what she tried.

I don't know... I watched RHONY and it seems like it's a rehash.. so maybe more women in addition to Carole need to leave.. so we can get some new blood.

There were rumors years back that Andy Cohen and co tried to get Cat from RH of DC to do RHONY ...but that she was now back in Europe due to her girls going to school there. Not sure if it was confirmed or not. RHOC is doing the reboot after season 12's uneven season. Vicki vs Kelly would be interesting because both of them are hotheads that act before they think. It would be a relief from a redux of Vicki vs Tamra.. or the ages old feud of Shannon vs Tamra. It will be interesting to see both Shannon/Tamra being friendly with both Kelly and Vicki. Not sure how the newbies will fit in.. but it sounds like Shannon won't like either of them LOL RHONY... the show needs total reboot... if Carole is leaving.. can Tinsley please go with? RHOBH... they need to take their time before filming resumes. Denise R would be interesting because she has the interesting home life and her dad was always so nice and calming (still loved when she had her dad appear on Millonaire matchmaker and he was interested in one of the choices unaware that she was into bondage, etc... and Denise was being protective of her dad.. it was cute)... but is she capable of doing the whole drama/fighting thing?

You put Jeff Ryder above the Dobson's? Well we all have our favs. To me I thought Curlee/Long worked well together since Curlee was good with strong character/tight plotting.. while Long was good with emotion/family/whimsical (Kim Zimmer in an interview said when she auditioned to play Reva.. she didn't get a summary of the character, but a bible on the character). While I do love 1991 to 1993, I have to admit there was a spirit that was missing that we had in the 1988-1990 episodes that Long/Curlee wrote together. I would have switched Marland and the Dobson's because their style was more laid back and their characters were a little more naunced... while Marland's characters sometimes seemed static.

Same old Vicki... it's almost as if she doesn't realize she's lying.. kinda scary.

I recall liking Henry and Maddie's sister Eve.. she was played by a decent actress and she and Jack did have decent chemistry with one another. In the old days, writers/producers would have adjusted the story if a character worked and/or had chemistry with another character... but by this point.. they didn't.

Why do you think RHOBH is having trouble finding that right mix of women... but shows like RHONY and RHOC seem to be able to correct troubled waters? RHOC, especiallly manages to evolve with a constant rotating of the cast (except sadly for Vicki).