Soaplovers

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.

Is the BH reunion two or three parts? Perhaps 2 part reunions need to come back in style again for the housewives.

RHOA: Kim got a verbal lashing, and it was long overdue. However, all the women on Atlanta are just a step better then Kim. I find there is no one to root for on this show except maybe Cynthia (she's beautiful and actually seems like a nice person outside of the group). With that said, I'll never understand how Phaedra got fired.. but not Porsha? Porsha was the one to blurt out the Kandi rumor on camera.. so she should have been sacked as well. I just don't get what Porsha has on Bravo/Andy that she is allowed to keep being employed. She is vacant, unmarried, no kids, and really has nothing to bring to the table except for the inability to fight with words. RHONY: I'll say this again and I'll be preparing to duck.... I don't get the Dorinda love. She has issues with alcohol, an abusive streak that comes out when drunk, and is harsh in her manner of speaking. Also, I think she could darken the hair because the almost white/platinum hair makes her look older and washed out. A darker color of blonde would warm her and soften her hard edge looks. Again.. why is Tinsley on the show?

Lujack died on screen.. and it didn't make sense to bring him back alive again. At the time, GL was more about realism then fantasy. With that said, I did like Nick and KS' Mindy together... even grew to tolerate Eve/Nick together... but when the two recast Mindy's came on... the show should have wisely had Mindy/Nick go their separate ways instead of trying to keep them together just because of contrived conflict between Mindy/Alex (both recasts without the history). I did like Susan.. and thought she and Nick were good together.. but by the mid 90s.. the show was changing and they didn't seem to fit anymore.

That's what Marland wrote when he took over in late 1985... but before he took over.. it wasn't shown for sure what caused his suicide.. and Lucinda assumed it to be Whit's fault.

I think BH is a lost cause. The reason the first season worked was because they were themselves and weren't acting.. per se. The second season was pretty good, but the other women were trying to upstage LVP.. the breakout housewife from the first season.. and Camille was muted due to PR/shock of going through a divorce. I am intrigued to see how OC will fare in season 14... it seems like Tamra/Shannon are still buddy buddy (Tamra even got some Bass Lake comments on her instagram for hanging with Shannon in Philadelphia right after Eddie got his 4th heart surgery procedure... you know the show will flash back to season 4 with her saying that if her spouse was in the hospital.. she would be at his side no matter what LOL).

I'm dreading the Marland era especially if it's true he alters the DNA of the show by focusing on the Aldrichs, Dancys, and Powers.. instead of the actual hospital. I prefer the hospital element and the majority of character being doctors, nurses, or work at the hospital. On the other hand, The Doctors is his first head-writing stint so maybe he realizes after this show that he can't alter the DNA of the show.. or write off a lot of the characters (his stint involved writing off a lot of the characters on now.. and introducing a slew of characters that had nothing to do with the hospital). Time will tell. I'm also not a big fan of Marland's writing anyway so I'll make sure not to look at the credits by mid 1976

I was bummed that Roseanne was only a half-hour... and even more bummed that the Middle wasn't on last night after it... and it was some new show starring the dude from Scrubs. Upside is that the Middle kept more of Roseanne's lead in when it follows it. Any theory on why the other three sitcoms following Roseanne barely rate about 5 million viewers? With that said, I would have held off Bev coming back till next week so that more time could be devoted to David (since he's only on for one episode this season). Also, I'm glad the show was smart to know that David/Darlene shouldn't have ever been end game.

To be honest, Cenedella's stint is almost a complete 180 from the Pollocks... which is both good and bad. The Pollocks also axed a few characters they didn't want either when they first took over (Anna, in particular who announced one day that she got a job in New York.. had a two day goodbye ceremony and was off the show). With that said, Andy was dead weight and that Joe character didn't really fit in either. The good of Cenedella: More character driven scenes, which the Pollock's seemed incapable of writing especially in their last months as writers. He quickly bought back Mona and involving her in the Steve/Carolee/Karen custody battle.... he quickly moved Ann out of Steve/Carolees house (plot driven move by the Pollocks imho given Carolee's jealousy issues and no woman in her right mind would allow her husbands ex wife to move in even if they didn't have feelings for one another)... he is writing MJ and Penny with more depth and made Stacy less of a trainwreck of a character. The bad of Cenedella: The Pollock's were heavy on plot and action.. and light on character driven scenes.... Cenedella is the complete opposite. Other then the Steve/Carolee/Karen custody batte.. which is getting some movement/action... there aren't any other plots going on... just a lot of scenes of characters talking. Since the previous writers/producer drove the actress playing Lauri off the show, he did at least provide a reason as to why she isn't on the show (and to be honest.. it fit the character though it would have been nice to see on line).. and I get why Mike had to leave.. but it didn't fit how he was written off. It has caused the Toni/Alan characters to stall... had the Pollocks not killed Margo off, it wouldn't have been a problem. With that said, I'm not sure about the Scott/Althea coupling... it does answer for me which writer created his character and Eleanor/Wendy. So while I like the more character driven stuff, I do think some plot lines/actions would have been nice as well. I can see why Depriest was hired, tbh.

The 1983 episode was interesting... but I could see why long time viewers tuned out because there were a bunch of characters nobody cared about on the show. I assume the lady talking to Bob as they drank a glass of wine was the recast Lisa? She seems decent and if Eileen had never returned, I could have been alright with this actress playing Lisa long term. She and Bob had the friendship chemistry... though I wonder who thought Bob/Miranda would have worked as a couple... a fling yes.. but as a married couple? Thank gosh Bledsoe Horgan had the wisdom to reunite Bob and Kim.. and bringing back Chris/Nancy full time. Did Nancy ever meet/interact with Miranda? The actress playing Frannie was cute and all american, but my favorite of the Frannie's wasn't her nor Julianne Moore.. but the final Frannie.

My mom used to tell me that Nikki was a model for Jabot.. but I never saw any proof of that... this episode proved she was at least a part time model.. and Victor is trying to dictate Nikki's life even back then. I know that Nikki/Victor were a popular couple back then, but I often think once Nikki married Victor.. she was basically isolated to the ranch with little to no interaction outside the ranch. Perhaps her staying as a model at Jabot would have kept her from being isolated so much. Ashley finding out that Brett was her father started the mental instability of the character. Before that, Ashley was fairly confident... but finding out she isn't an Abbott threw her for a loop. I now understand why the show resorted to Ashley having nervous breakdowns because Eileen could play a melt down like no one else. Brenda and Shari (when they played Ashley) were too strong willed and I couldn't see them playing Ashley having a mental breakdown. I didn't realize Jill/John were still married at this point... when does John find out about the affair between Jill/Jack? Traci... she struggled in the early years... who knew she'd be the one to hold the family together in the later years (she's one of the few characters that never backed down to Victor).

I remember an interview where Zimmer said it was a combination of menopause, quitting smoking, and stress over the show that caused her weight to balloon. The sad part was that the show dressed her quite badly when for years, Reva had been known for being a clothes horse. Even though she was still heavy when she was on OLTL, the show dressed her in blazers and professional outfits that made her look less heavy then the crap GL put her in.

I loved Nadine Pam Long had a knack for creating interesting female characters and Nadine was anything, but boring It's a shame that Nadine was watered down by pining for Buzz... and the actress eventually quit so she obviously wasn't happy with how isolated her character became even though she had a lot of ties/histories with characters that basically got forgotten once Buzz came onto the scene. Nadine/Ross was an interesting pairing that ended before it really got going. I know Jerry V Dorn had said in an interview while still at GL that he was sorry that the pairing wasn't explored as fully as it should have been.

When I was growing up, my parents weren't into religion. After my mom passed away, my dad found his way into religion and I was surprised when he started praying before a meal because he'd never done it before nor had expressed much interest in religion, etc. Maybe if the show had Darlene expressing surprise that they were praying, etc... and maybe Roseanne clarify that she and Dan found prayer and God during hard times (recession/almost losing the house, etc)... then I could have bought it. What's even funnier is that neither Dan/Roseanne know anything about words, etc... yet know how to use smart phones.

One of the reasons people were upset the show had Roseanne say spanking was a valid use of punishment was because it went against the character. In the original show, Roseanne was against spanking and the one time she did spank DJ.. she felt horrible and tearfully said she was sorry for losing it on him. I will say that Roseanne is fairly balanced in terms of showing both liberal and not so liberal ideals thus far. There are a lot of my friends that won't watch the show, and they're aghast that I would watch it.. but I remind them that my family growing up was essentially the Conner family (right down to the safe sofa though we replaced it in the 90s with a nicer sofa)... and that I grew up right next to the suburb that inspired Lanford. I did watch a few episodes of Blackish.. and it's a good show.. but it's in a bad time slot up against CBS on Tuesdays. ODAAT... I loved the original when it was rerun.. and I kind of wished that this show had taken a different title because it's a completely different show then the original (it's a victim of being a remake... and we all know the stigma of remakes even if they are decent).

In the final years, I loved Erica and Annie's verbal smack downs.

About time Carole contributed something of substance. Speaking of which, why was Tinsley invited back? She seems sweet, but seems very vacant (light on upstairs, but no one is home). I think dropping her wouldn't have hurt the show going into the season (heck even introduce one or two friend ofs as well).

Just started to watch the series... After watching 10 episodes, I can see why this took off.... well written characters, lots of character driven stories.. and I can't believe that Betty was going to be killed off so early when she's fascinating to watch.. neither good nor bad.

Oddly, I think killing Reid made sense at least in the context of the history of the show. If you recall, Irna Phillips was known for killing popular/long term characters on her soaps and this particular soap did that in spades back in the 50s/60s/70s. Did I agree with the show killing Reid? No, of course not.. but it is realistic and part of life.

RHOC was reborn in season 9 when the show unloaded Alexis/Gretchen and Lydia quit... so maybe RHOBH could benefit from some pink slips being handed out... just so long as they don't do what they did to RHONY in season 5 (they pink slipped the right people..but were lousy in how they introduced the newbies.). Also, there comes a time that if you are struggling to come up with stories to tell, or if your life is hitting a snag... maybe you should exit stage left.

I think the problem Roseanne is having is that she hasn't acted consistently on a sitcom and/or tv movies for many years.. and has gone back to doing stand up. So I think she was working off some of the rust and adjusting to acting on a soundstage vs stand up. I often think going between two different mediums can be an adjustment (I've noticed stage actors are usually very OTT when they act in sitcom/dramas.. but eventually settle down the longer they are acting). With that said, I noticed in this latest episode she was yelling a little less and was getting back into the swing of things. With that said, even in the 1st episode of the reboot.. she's a lot less stiff then she was doing the 2 episode guest stint she did on Cristela a few years ago.

Felicity La Fortune was a good actress.. but the 1990s type of soap wasn't a good fit for her. She was much more at home with the 1980s type of soap, which was upper class/larger then life in terms of structure and character.