Soaplovers

I just hope the show won't put David and Darlene back together.. they should never have gotten married nor pro-created. She was better on her own then with that clingy leech. The sooner they divorce, the better in my opinion. With that said, I'm wondering if Darlene is getting any sort of child support from David.. or getting unemployment from her previous job (did the show mention what she was doing that caused her to get laid off... it sounds like it was a decent job if she was living with her two children in Chicago). Also, her daughter Harris may look like she could be Darlene's daughter.. she so is not how Darlene was as a pre-teen/early teen. She kind of reminds me of Becky in personality.

This is why I'm partly interested in the Scott/Wendy/Eleanor trio.. because it gives Althea something to do outside of awkward, but fascinating, interactions with Penny.. and missing Nick (though denying that she is). It's why her relationship with Tom didn't work because he was written as a watered down Nick instead of a character in his own right.

Ugh... Nick... the most over-rated, unattractive character ever... and proof that character propping was in style back in the early 70s. I watched them as a couple and don't get the appeal.. even during the Lakin years, they weren't all that interesting together. Thankfully, this future return will be short-term and hopefully will close the book out on this toxic couple once and for all.

I happened to see a July 1976 episode once a long time ago (Depriest was writing).. and all i can say is that the next six to seven month will be interesting (i.e. it's very different). It seemed just from the one episode I saw of Depriest that she wrote more mystery/action then Cenedella. I can't remember the actor that plays Jerry.. but I know he was on ATWT as the guy that Iva ends up marrying... and on OLTL as a homophobic father of Ryan Phillipe's character.

I can't really judge the Laura Simmons story because it started a little before the strike and was resolved during the strike so we can never really know what Marland had planned for the character and story. Wasn't the guy that turned out to be her brother Beau... wasn't he the one that was attacking her in the park.. or was that someone else? I remember Pam... she was a normal, average girl that didn't want to be the center of attention like Lily and Meg.. hence why she got along with both... and why Lucinda was more apt to accept having her live with them at the mansion then she was toward Duke. Pam is one of those support characters that soaps used to have... never the main story, but a nice side story that sometimes affected the whole canvas.. but was off on their own. She was a nursing student with Meg, plus had connections with a lot of other characters so I never viewed her as being as isolated as most of the Synders were (I still think having them out on that ugly farm set isolated them as opposed to if they lived in town).

Eleanor finally debuted... fascinating actress.. reminds me of a more subtle Sandy Dennis (I only knew of her as the grandmother on True Blood). While the Scott/Wendy/Eleanor trio has given Althea some actual story... I do feel that they're too disconnected from the core hospital grouping. I guess this is the start of the move away from the hospital to a more traditional soap opera structure. What made The Doctors interesting was that the writers employed before Cenedella weren't typical soap opera writers (Lakin especially was fantastic with a good mix of character/plot... and the Pollocks had interesting plots... but their tenure should have probably ended in 1973/1974 instead of mid 1975). With that said, I do like there is more depth and dimension to the characters that was absent with the Pollocks.. and I do give Cenedella some props for actually writing for Tom outside of being a watered down Nick... but the problem is that no one really interacted with Tom much outside of Althea/Toni/Martha.. and little focus was given to him before Cenedella that it is difficult to muster much interest in the story (oddly, I do think him and Toni would have been an interesting couple to have explored..oh well).

I was in grade school twenty minutes form where Laurie Dann shot the kids.. and we had practice lockdowns, cops coming in to advise us what to do, etc. It was creepy.

The Dancy's have arrived.. at least Jerry and Joan (though at this point, she's just a neighbor with a different last name). I guess that the start of the family was created by Cenedella.. and expanded by both Depriest and Marland. Good interplay between Jerry and Penny as well.

1992 is when Lorna was revealed as Felicia/Lucas' daughter. I do recall when Lucas first came on.. that he had thought Lisa was his and Felicia's daughter... and I always wonder if Joanna Going hadn't quit.. if Lisa would have ended up being that long lost daughter.. since she did resemble Felicia. And Felicia was given something to forget she even had a baby to begin with.. so it would have made sense that she was told Lisa was her niece.. and she seemed very maternal toward Lisa, etc. I also think Jenna fulfilled the role that Lisa had provided for Felicia hence why I think Lisa was never recast.

I also recall as a kid liking Lisa/Jamie... and recalling that she cut her losses and moved away to start a new life (the timing of it was weird because she left right when her aunt Felicia was celebrating her 40th birthday and was going to be accused of murder). As an adult rewatching that era, they were kind of boring together and was thankful for Vicky coming between them. The show didn't seem to know what to do with Lisa in those last months so she went on random dates, even was the object of a crush by Matt (Jamie's half-brother). I never knew if the actress quit the show, or if the show decided to write her off.

It's difficult to rank soap opera writers for myself because I was a child of the 80s and didn't really watch soaps until the late 80s/early 90s. With that said... here a few of my favorites. 1) Pam Long (only her GL... Santa Barbara was so far gone when she got there then even a great like Nixon or Marland couldn't save it. I liked parts of her OLTL). 2) Agnes Nixon (I was a big fan of early 90s AMC when she ran the ship). 3) Lorraine Broderick (Her mid 90s AMC was fun.. and she was the perfect writer to close out the ABC era of AMC). 4) Donna Swajeski (Her AW was consistent, fun, and had some misfires.. but a lot of great things... she was sole headwriter during that time. her GL and AMC were shared head-writing duties during a weird time for both shows and the era of soaps).

Cliffhangers only work if you care about the characters.

Marland was talented, but wasn't my cup of tea... but I will say he was good at pacing and juggling multiple plotlines and characters.

So basically like Bob and Lisa. Yeah, I always thought Jack and Carly should have divorced.. stayed friends while both had relationships with others.. then during the nine months the show had to conclude stories.. worked them back into each other's romantic orbit and reconcile before the show ended.

Of course, he wouldn't agree with that LOL I'm going to say I never liked Carly with Jack.. I think pairing them was the worst thing the show did with her character. She was a spitfire and entertaining pre-Jack. Plus, while I thought she was a good actress.. I certainly didn't think she deserved all the Emmy accolades either, but I figure it's all in the eye of the beholder in terms of acting talent.

It's interesting that BH has taken a dive since it's stellar first two seasons, and no matter what the producers do.. it doesn't seem to fix the problems with this particular franchise. RHONY had issues, and even though their fixes didn't work right away.. the show eventually recovered and is firing on all cylinders (though I think for season 11.. they might have to do a reshuffle so it doesn't get too stale). RHOC.. this show has always added and subtracted housewives since it's very first season. The show realized Lydia/Peggy weren't working so neither came back for season 13... Tamra/Vicki/Shannon knew they had to make up and be social friends for the good of the show (and I've seen some fun Shannon/Kelly pics as well as some fun Tamra/Shannon pics.. so I'm hoping the fun scenes are included when the season officially premieres). They've always managed in the past to fix and evolve this franchise.. so fingers crossed season 13 continues that trend (it can't be any worse then season 12.. and there were some fun stuff in that season.. it just was too divided without any fun group scenes). RHOA.. touch and go this past season.. but they always fix themselves. Kim/Sheree leaving is a start.. but further house cleaning is needed. Porsha needs to be demoted.. and we need some married women on the show to keep Kenya/Kandi company. I don't watch Dallas nor Potomac very much so I can't comment on those. @Cat Sorry if I sounded a little harsh on my rebuttal on your OC views.. but it's my favorite franchise and I can't help but defend the OG of the franchise (which gets little to no respect from the Housewife viewing public, nor from Andy).

I recall when the girls from the OC went to Ireland... they did a pub crawl, went on several of the tours, Meghan even researched her family history then went up to random strangers with Kelly asking them if they were related LOL Plus, the year they went to Bali.. they went on bike rides, toured rice fields, went to the little shops, even had their feet dipped in the water with the fish, etc. The downside of the OC women on vacation is their lack of adventure in terms of food. I admit I didn't watch their vacation last season..tbh

I think Sandra Ferguson had an easier time in her first stint as Amanda because her character did have a good consistent character arc. She had a harder time when she reprised the role in early 1998 due to a lack of strong writing, a character that had been changed quite a bit during her five years away from the role. We've seen other performers on different shows reprising their roles after being played by a recast and sometimes struggle (i.e. IK on Ryan's Hope, Brenda Dickson on Y & R, etc). I think they struggle because the character changes due to different writers, how their replacements played the character, etc. We saw her struggle to play the damsel in distress because the Amanda of her years wasn't a damsel in distress.. she was impulsive and a little entitled.. but wasn't so ditzy nor needy (Moss played up the needy part to the hilt when she played Amanda). Matt Crane also struggled a bit when he came back because he came back where Matt was the 'bad guy' for keeping Lila away from Cass... and it just didn't work. I recall reading somewhere that had the show been renewed.. they were going to revisit Josie/Matt.

Oddly, I've liked Alan since the change in writers... and pairing him with MJ is a good idea.. shame is doesn't last.

Thankfully... the full 90 minute episode coming in March 1976 is in tact and not one of the lost episodes... so it will be interesting if it will be run in 3 parts... or if it will be run as a full 90 minute episode. Should be aired in about two months time I predict From what I've read, it was a great episode.

In regards to Hunter Tylo..... Deborah was her first name... Morehart was the last name of her first husband... and Hunter was her maiden name...

Meghan is just an idiot.. and proof that nepotism doesn't work in any professional venue unless they work hard and have the talent to back it up.

Watching the latest episodes, I have to say I think I kind of like Cenedella's writing better then the Pollocks (their final months were disjointed and very plot driven). He and his script writers have given Penny, Karen, and MJ more depth... as well as making Stacy less crazy and Ann is acting more like her old self (being wisely used as supporting). Plus, he's made Alan likable for the first time ever with his interactions with MJ... now if that doesn't spell talent, I don't know what does I also was interested in the kidnapping story spanning five episodes as the sole focus.. but it did allow beats of the story to play out that might have been missed if this had been shared with other plotlines. Still, there are no other stories to take over now that the kidnapping aspect has been concluded (and quickly, too). With that said, I'll be interested to see Depriest's tenure start because I've heard she changed post GH in terms of how she wrote characters. I actually liked her 10 month stint on AMC, even thought her first stint at AW wasn't so bad.. so I'm looking forward to seeing her take on The Doctors.

Well worded apology from Kim... yet I always believe that an apology means nothing without a change in behavior that warranted the original apology. Before the bathroom tirade, she could have played up being ganged up on.. since she was in essence... but she is her own worst enemy and I doubt she will come back from this even with an apology unless she changes the behavior. Dorinda herself could stand to get some therapy since she's a hostile angry person. Unlike most in here, I've never warmed to her because I could see the rage boiling beneath the surface. She should check herself into rehab because the girl cant handle drinking (she's a mean drunk.. and those are the ones that shouldn't be drinking). I do think she hasn't moved on from the death of her love, but she can't say that they would have still been together if he hadn't died.. no one can predict that. She's basically frozen in time, still in love with him, and only dated John because he was the opposite of her late husband. I also can't forget her blaming Kristen and other women for John being a pig. With that said, Sonja could also use some therapy as well because I think the delusions she's been harboring since the 4th or 5th season have now started to affect her outer appearance. I still recall in season 4, Kelly Bessimon (sp) remarking how Sonja's townhouse was in shambles and wondering why no one was bringing that up to her. I recall the other housewives shushing her.. but in that moment, I knew that the Sonja we saw in season 3 and 4 was probably a front put on for the cameras.. and that what we're seeing now is the real Sonja.

I almost think Vana was too strong willed to play Alice.. but she was loads better then Linda Borgeson. Seeing the year where Jacqueline came back as Alice made me understand why she was so popular in the 60s and 70s on the show... and was amazed at how she played Alice as strong and not so weepy and insecure like she was played in the early 70s when Harding wrote the character. I liked what I saw of Jennifer R as Sally.. and thought it was a shame she left just as she was starting a triangle with Cass/Peter with Donna ( newly arrived) not taking too kindly to her. I often think had Jennifer R stayed on... Cecile wouldn't have been inserted into that story, imho.