Soaplovers

One of the strengths of the show was the community feeling amongst the citizens of Pine Valley. On the Y and R board, the strength of that show was the lack of character interactions...where people lives ran on separate lanes. So I often wonder if Bill bell could have written AMC...with it's strong emphasis on community and all character interactions.

I recall back in the mid 90s when FX started..they showed Home and Away from 1988 for several months..and it did quite well. I Loved Carly.. Roo was such a little schemer trying to keep her dad and future step mom from marrying..and trying to keep Frank wrapped around her finger. And I loved that the core family was a married couple and their foster kids.

I agree about the OC. Lizzie was introduced during the ugly sweater party...and we had three or four of the women having small talk, laughing and having fun. It felt organic..and not so staged either...since it was an actual party..and not a contrived party for the show.

Anne heche had the ability to make her Vicky and Marley two completely different characters...even in the ugly wig era. Her Vicky was impulsive, emotional, and scheming...dramatic. Her Marley was more restrained, repressed, warmer, and her voice was slightly more cultured and slightly snooty...since Marley had been raised in wealth.

How did letting 3 housewives go on RHOC after season 8 help refresh that show for season 9....yet when NY did the same thing after season 4...it stumbled? Was it because the three that left OC were not integral to the show? We're the replacements better? Plus, Id rather Jill come for visits...i don't want her back full time...though she is at least married...and her daughter is grown and was game for filming. I do think Dorinda worked because she knew the women. It's sad that kristen fit better then either Jules and Tinaley have.

Interview with Donna Swajeski in early 1991.. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-03-31/entertainment/9101290167_1_soaps-victoria-wyndham-donna-swajeski I f orgit about michael/stacey...grand romance it wasnt...and she explains the Red swan story suddenly ending

It seemed like they were pairing Reese with unhinged Andie..and we're starting to flesh him out when the show got cancelled. I will still say I liked kim zimmer...on the show. She played a convincing cop, but had Pam Long still focused on the capwells..and tied the walker family more with them...it might have not have been as bad. I also wonder how Pam Long would have written Augusta. Shame we will never know

I know dean/jenna was her idea...she patterned their courtship after her and her husband's with certain liberties. What I liked with her writing of Olivia was that she wasn't some psycho obsessed with Dam. She had a career as a dancer plus was good friends with Jenna..even helping her and Dean out when they had fights. It was a shame that future writers d idnt bring Olivia back..since she had a child with dennis...a Cory.

Lorna still had her edge during the Felicia alcoholism story. She got watered down due to recast more then the writing.

Probably better then his brief stint at The Doctors in late 1981/early 1982. He would have had a field day writing for Rita, Holly, Elizabeth, and Amanda...and hope/Alan would have been an interesting marriage...romeo/Juliet jut with an adult twist since the Spauldinga and Bauers were neighbors and didnt get along. Those were characters Marland had trouble writing..imho.

What confuses me is that I heard Donna Swajeski wrote the shoe during the strike in 1988 (which I hear was disjointed/uneven)...so I'm confused why NBC/P & G allowed her to stay on the writing team? Also, lemay seems pigheaded and stubborn...and I think he wouldn't have worked long term had he remained in 1988..unless he shortened the scenes a bit..and varied the conversations so they wouldn't the same thing day in, day out. Though at least his conversations were more realistic sounding then a lot of Marland's were. In my view, the Red swan seems like a Swajeski idea..and it d idnt seem to work..other then helping to bond Rachel/Iris. I do think Swajeski helped evolve Iris in a way that I don't think Lemay would have..imho. Plus, she created Lorna and had her be Felicia's daughter...a genius move..imho.

Didn't Pam Long create Lindsay rappaport as well? I think she was the one to have Lindsay and Clint marry..and it was a promising story....then all of a sudden..they broke up..and I wonder if the sudden shift in Lindsays character had to do with Pam Long leaving..and Jill being the defacto headwriter?

Do you think that LK being cast caused the show to shift her from business tiger to trainwreck? I don't think SS's blake would have been threatened by Amanda, slept with Rick, or got mixed up with Ben (maybe as unholy alliance...but not the toxic thing that ended up happening). I think LK could play cunning well, but she had more of a comedic/zany vibe that writers focused on too much down the road. When ss played blake, she was equal Roger and Holly...cunning like her dad and a dry sarcastic wit like her mom. LK's blake was neither Roger nor Holly..

makes me sad heather didn't come back...just to see another Lydia vs Heather scene...but Shannon vs Lydia will do. I love Lydia..and I hope her mama has some glitter to throw around

There was a few weeks between SS's last day and LK's first day. But I recall LK tried to mimic SS and it didn't work. It took a little time for LK's to make Blake her own.

I'm taking it this is the start of TJ/Kelly.. I figured that started once RE left...but I guess it began a few weeks before her departure.

All I recall about ATWT was that Marland left a complex bible but that the scans burned through it right away.

Would you say Nene was a little intimidated by Kandi? Omg just waiting for July and the OG of housewife shows to come back. Im concerned 7 is too much on the OC...theyve always had 5 and 6 in the past...and it was always more family oriented. I hope having 7 won't dilute the family element of the show.

Do you guys think the 1988 writer strike kind of derailed Marland a bit? I recall as a small kid how glued my mom was to this show in 1986/1987...but kind of lost a little interest in 1988/1989 when her focus turned to Another World/Guiding Light. Being that I don't know the contents of 1988/1989...im curious if there was a tonal change or if the cast got too big during that time.

I thought he quit cause the two didn't get along.

Researching the blackout episodes from 1992...am I right to assume Bridget caused the blackout? I miss early Bridget..full of spunk and confidence. By 1996...i was praying for her to leave town..careful what I wish for since we traded Bridget for Cassie...ugh

Reading this makes me even sadder that Buzz is soon to arrive and cause Nadine to become isolated from the canvas. Nadine vs vanessa was good..and I even liked the unlikely friendship between Nadine and Holly.

Who would everyone say was their favorite non Roger love interest for Holly? And who would everyone say was their favorite non Holly love interest for Roger? In terms of story...id say Ross and holly were decent together...though in terms of chemistry...i did like Holly with that ex convict...that got cut short. For me...I liked Roger with sonni...especially since Sonni and Blake were clashing a lot. It was a shame that got cut short.

What you said about Bethenny is in the money. She does have entitlement issues and thinks she's above all the other women. What was fascinating was that she couldn't pull that with Heather...since Heather had her own business, was married, and had a legit career at Sean John well before the Housewives..plus was a slightly more nurturing alpha then Bethenny could ever be. If I recall, Bethenny grew to respect her by the end of the season. With that said, it was nice Bethenny just let Ramona hang herself out to dry...like Heather did numerous times in season 5 to Ramona (remember her following Ramona grinning lol). In some ways, I think Bethenny and Ramona are more alike then either would like to admit....its just that Ramona is crazy and drunk more.

I know Carolyn hinsey (soap columnist) is not liked..but I give people the benefit of the doubt..but she was upset that soaps weren't being shown due to comey testifying being shown live as she shared on her Facebook page. Seeing the replies to her rant made me pissed...and I said this is way more important then a soap episode not being shown. She said that it will be old news by the time people get home from work. You c ant reason with stupid..I guess In my view, Trump basically revealed his guilt..or knowledge of corruption (even if he didn't do it himself) the day he fired Comey as well as the day he tried to tweet a threat to Sally Yates.