Soaplovers

The problem with the whole concept of a super couple was that writers, and viewers, were invested in two people being star crossed and being kept apart due to internal and/or external circumstances. Once the supercouple finally got together and had their storybook wedding, writers couldn't come up with suitable stories for a couple once they were together that maintained and/or surpassed the anticipation viewers felt. And viewers started having meltdowns if their favorite couple had conflict and/or were broken up. Josh/Reva were constantly broken up and reunited within a year or two... it lost it's impact after awhile for the non Jeva fans. Before the show was canceled, I think the writers realized that Josh and Reva needed to move on with other people...and had the show not been canceled, they wouldn't have been reunited so quickly since some fans seemed to like Reva with Jeffery (shame it wasn't Richard instead of Jeffery) while the show was trying to chemistry test Josh with other people (I recall the show chemistry testing Blake with Josh). Once the show was ending, the show spent time working Josh/Reva back together and even moved the timeline forward a year in the final episode since it made more sense to reunited them down the line then at that moment). Blake/Ross had three affairs between the two of them, although I will say I liked the twist of Ross being the one to cheat on Blake and the final showdown between Tory and Blake was done effectively (I got two of my college friends to become a view because of that story) Ross and Vanessa conflicts me because they had such good chemistry and an ease around one another so I enjoyed when they would give one another advice about their current relationships and/or work situations.... but I had wished that Ross/Vanessa were end game at the same time. However, I did like Billy and Vanessa together as a couple... but I did like that once they were broken up in 1994.. the two still maintained a friendship and trust with one another. I was happy with Billy/Vanessa as end game, but had it been Ross/Vanessa.. I would have still have been happy. I was just happy that Vanessa was served well and not neglected. Before Maureen came onto the scene, Ed/Holly were end game (seeing episodes from 1979 and 1980 where Ed and Holly were longing for each other made it clear that the Dobsons/Marland clearly set them up as end game). So having Holly coming back in late 1988 and being a threat to Ed/Maureen made sense since she was also a threat to Ed/Rita back in the day as well.

Actually the final months of AMC's run on ABC, there was a recast of Bianca and she was instantly accepted. She came across like an adult with a voice that didn't sound like she was a whiny Minnie Mouse. Twin Peaks: I was a kid when that show was on, and my parents used to host Twin Peaks parties with coffee and cherry pie for their friends. However, the episode where Laura Palmer's killer was revealed wasn't a surprise since my mom since episode 1 had guessed the killer correctly. What surprised me was that Poor Maddy was a victim of her uncle, and it was heart wrenching because she was such a sweet and uncomplicated girl (the direct mirror opposite of her deceased cousin Laura). I locked my bedroom door and window after that episode aired for many a week until I could trust my parents. Dallas: I was very little, but I remember the final scene of the 1986 cliffhanger with Bobby in the shower. As a small child, I didn't understand the significance.. but my parents spent the whole summer arguing over it. My dad correctly guessed that the show was going to play off the previous season as a dream while my mom said only a man would come up with that solution. And I remember the Pam car accident episode in 1987 and seeing that live as a child... and my mom stating 'If Victoria Principal leaves, I'm going to stop watching the show'... and she kept her word.

Guiding Light: Reva's whole return from 1995 to 2009 wasn't a success. Her very presence caused the show to adjust to accommodate a character and actress that really had no business being on the show after 1990. Beth's return in late 1997 was a failure... not because the actress was horrible (she proved to be a decent Beth in her first goaround)... but because the writing instantly established her as the heavy and the character never truly regained the spirit and essence of the character.. even though the writing did improve for Beth somewhat.

Dark Shadows not being owned by ABC nor a production company that undertook erasing tapes is a blessing in so many ways. We got to see a show change from a gothic soap opera to a supernatural Edge of Night to an interesting anthology-soap hybrid (which Port Charles tried to undertake with mixed success in the early 2000s). - Seeing the climax of the Bill Malloy murder case involving Matthew Morgan, ghosts, and Victoria Winters - Seeing the Phoenix story with a final battle between two 'mother's' for the very soul of a child - Seeing Barnabas Collins and his adventures - Even the less than stellar Levithan story was interesting and gothic.. if a little too fast paced.

Jo coming back isn't such a big deal since past housewives have come back for visits throughout the run of the show. That said, it's disgusting that Tamra gets away yet again with her vile and ugly behavior. She's the one that needs to be iced out, not Katie.

I've said this before, but I think Beth should have stayed died and not been bought back from the dead in 1989. To me, Beth served as Phillips salvation and conscience... so having her be dead ensured Phillip would gravitate toward the dark side... and the ghost of Beth would have haunted any, and all relationships he would have. I know the show tried to have Chelsea be a Beth replacement, but the show wisely ended that relationship during the writers strike and paired Phillip with mysterious Blake. Did any of you think that Phillip had chemistry with either Blake (Elizabeth Dennehy or Sherry)?

Unpopular opinion, but soap acting before the 1980s was almost like watching a stage play and/or a broadway show. I tend to find stage and Broadway performers to be subpar performers because you just know they're acting. Give me the understated performers that have little to no stage experience and are likable and enjoyable to watch.

Y & R: Nina shooting David Kimble point blank... and later David Kimble dying in the trash compactor. I was a small child, but I remembered the scene where he received a mysterious note with clippings of him with Rebecca with a note stating they know he killed her and would prove it. Before that scene, David had been on as Jill's personal assistant and even had a brief fling with Jill before he was dating Nina after she inherited Philips money so that scene with the note and clippings came out of nowhere and made the audience curious to find out more. GL: Reva driving off the bridge in summer 1990. My mom and her friends were on the phone after each episode wondering how Kim ZImmer was leaving the show. Reva jumping off the bridge in her teddy as Barbra Streisand's 'Somewhere' is playing.. and the gothic way we saw Reva in the water hearing voices and the cries of the children she would end up having. Lujack dying in Beth's arms Roger crashing Blake/Philips wedding and Ed pulling off his mask to reveal Roger with Holly screaming in terror at her nightmare coming back. As the World Turns: The chase between Frannie and Daryl in Switzerland... great music, great suspense, and a great cliffhanger when Frannie thinks she's outrun Daryl and he jumps onto the platform she's on. Bold & The Beautiful: Caroline dying in Ridge's arms was the one time Ronn Moss truly showed some acting ability and was more than just the hunky guy that looked fetching in his speedos.

I remember when she was leaving the show during the Christmas 1990 episodes, and Beth was being all sentimental and hugging India good bye. India turned to Phillip and said that was why she had to leave Springfield.. because of Beth being all friendly with her LOL I could see India tolerating Beth for Philips sake.. but never being girlfriends/buddies with Beth. Of course, the show by the late 90s didn't seem to know how to write a character like India so she was watered down.. just like her 90s counterpart Jenna was.

The Primetime soap I wish I could see that is little talked about is a show called W.E.B that briefly aired in the fall of 1978 for a few episodes that starred Pamela Bellwood (Claudia from Dynasty) playing a ball busting female executive at a television network (I think their inspiration was the movie Network from 1976). An interview with Ms. Bellwood about the show. https://texasarchive.org/2010_01470

Holly on GH during her 1992 to 1993 stint where she returned just after Anna had vanished and Robert was on his way off the show so the show first tried to make her and Mac Robin's guardians.. then she was paired up with Anthony Geary's horrid character Bill Eckert then they went on an adventure to a make believe country where Emma Samms played a dual role. She wisely quit the show in mid 1993 because her return was poorly written/planned from the start. Her brief visits since then have been more successful... which proves that some characters are only meant to be short term on a show. Damian on ATWT, who came back from the dead in 1997 as a monk/buddhist... then came back later as the heavy/homophobe when his son Luke came out of the closet while Holden was propped. Jenna on GL coming back in time for the 70th anniversary.. and at first her return was promising before she was watered down so much that she happily was working at the diner and became weepy over big bad Jeffery when the Jenna circa 1992 to 1993 would have made mince meat of Jeffery.

I had known from almost the start that season 1 had 200 episodes only because the actress that played Vanessa had gone on a podcast where she mentioned they were filming episode 60 out of 200 episodes. What bothered me was the lack of communication from the network over why there was going to be a week of repeats, and I also was bothered by MVJ's dismissive 'That's above my paygrade' response when she was asked about this sudden decision to air a week of repeats during the 4th of July week. To me, you're the creator of the show so you need to work above your pay grade because fans will be asking you on social media what the deal is... and since these fans are your bread and butter.. you better have an answer for them instead of doing the dismissive 'That's above my paygrade' BS line. Karla showed that she cared about the fans by answering the question and explaining her theory behind why they only had 200 episodes in season 1 and 230+ episodes for season 2. She shows that she cares about the fans by giving an actual answer (she answered my question about how many episodes were being picked up for season 2). So I blame the network, producers, and MVJ for not providing reassurances and/or answers about what was going on with these out of the blue holiday week repeats.

RHOC I was rewatching RHOC season 4 (the Naked Wasted season)... and I noticed that the season did have some drama and forced group outings, but there was a lot of personal narratives and focus. I almost think that with all the mini trips, forced group dinners and constant bickering.. the end of season cast trip isn't as exciting/interesting anymore. Perhaps for season 20 of RHOC, they could go back to the basics again and reserve the big drama for the end of season cast trip and cut down on the group interactions. I would prefer that for all the franchises because the constant trips, lunches, etc just isn't realistic and these are reality shows. Potomac: Oh goody.. the entitled one (Karen) is out of prison and I'm sure she'll be back on the show again even though her Grande Dame thing is so played out and so last decade. MiamI: I think a little cast rotation would be in order for next season. Marysol is played out, and the new girl is just not a fit. I'd like to see Alexia go it alone on the show without her sidekick Marysol on the show

The original plan when the show was wooing Robert Newman back was the promise of doing a Mallet/Harley/Josh triangle... but as we all know, both actors playing Mallet/Harley were leaving the show. No only was there scenes where Harley read Josh the riot act for dumping her the way he did... there was tensions between Josh and Mallet due to the Dylan/Julie/Hart situation. Newman and Derwin had great rival chemistry and it was a shame that it didn't get explored. Simms floundered as Mindy for several months of her stint because she came in during the end of the Will Jefferies story, she didn't have chemistry with Rusty, and there wasn't a plan for how her Mindy would fit into the soap so she was tested with Rick, Daniel St John, and Neil Everest before she hit pay dirt with Roger. I think her having the baby would have kept the character of Mindy on the show.. and would have tied Roger/Billy to one another while giving Alexandra a living reminder of the betrayal of not only Roger.. but Mindy (who she liked ) I know during the Locher Room interview with Sims and Curlee where they rewatched Billy finding out about Roger/Mindy... Sims said she really tried not to play Mindy as being vicious nor trying to age shame Alexandra. Curlee seemed like such a mean individual in her interviews and how she seemed to be the driving force behind the degradation of Alexandra's character... admitting that now that she was the older woman, she realized her error of her writing the story in that vein.

I think the show eventually created Barbara Montgomery as Travis ex-wife that was a thorn in the side of new wife Erica.. even if at first, she and Travis had a friendly divorce and things were platonic at first.

I had figured the 200 episode pick-up for season 1 was a start up to get the cast and crew adjusted to the rigors of daytime filming/producing.. and that we would be getting more pre-emptions. I think we've had at least 15 days at minimum (the two holiday weeks, Memorial day, and also March madness and the soccer playoffs). So I suspect Turkey week and Christmas week will probably result in pre-emptions for part of each of those weeks.

A talented writer could totally mine the whole Nick refusing to grow up aura... and having that be in conflict with Noah, who was forced to grow up due to his wayward parents being immature. Sadly, a talented writer is not on the helm of Y & R so Noah will be featured for a few weeks/months before fading into the background then written off.

From fall 1988 to late 1990, it seemed as though Curlee and Long shared co-head writing duties. We know that Curlee was the one to push for Mindy/Roger being more then just a one time hook up (Curlee had said in a Locher Room interview that Long kept saying that it would be out of character for Mindy to carry on with married man beyond a mistaken one night stand, but that Curlee's idea was taken... and all know Curlee hated the Roger with the mask posing as Adam Malick.. and that seemed like a Pam Long story.. which sort of made sense considering how Roger did wear disguises while in hiding back in the day). I suspect once Pam Long left the team in late 1990, that some of the elements she was focusing on were dropped/modified. Case in point, Harley was going to be paired with a designer that was part of a Jewish family.... and Mallet/Mindy were dropped pretty quickly once 1991 rolled around. I have a feeling that once Long was gone.. .Curlee and co shifted gears on some of those characters. I also suspect Dylan/Sam were a Long creation.. and that once Long was gone, Sam became more supporting before she was phased out in early 1992.

In this case, it worked.

Kat is a prime candidate for a Taming of the Shrew story... and having Jacob's brother come onto the scene could potentially make that a reality.

Stafford should be fired... lousy actress, unlikable person in real life, and just playing a character that has outlived her usefulness.

I like the Thin Man banter between Kat and Jacob and don't want to be ruined with a hook up. Between Jacob and Naomi, I could see Naomi being the one to cheat on Jacob because she feels 'unfulfilled' or that she wants a man that challenges her.

I always viewed 1998 to 2001 as Kay Alden trying to replicate Bill Bell's style with his umbrella stories, but with a somewhat quicker pace. I have a feeling that she was now getting much more interference from the network during this time as well so she wasn't allowed to really develop her style of head writing. The main element I noticed that Alden did that still plays out to this day was making Victor the main attraction where all roads ended with him. One of the reasons was that she was the one to write his character, his dialogue, etc.. so she understood Victor the most and really centered the show around his character. With that said, the 1998 to 2001 had some interesting successes for Alden with the glow up of Nina's character after her rock bottom in early 1998 with her moving on from Ryan, dating, writing a book, and enjoying her own company before she left for LA to adapt her book into a screen play. And lastly.. the Tricia Denniston arc from mid 1998 to November/December 2001 was quite a masterful arc with every beat shown and played. Alden took a character that Bill Bell created without a true purpose... and really made her a memorable late 90s character. That whole arc showed that Alden was listening to Bill Bell when she was learning the ropes on the show on how to write a character/story arc.

Part of the reason Andrea Evans wasn't accepted was the timing of her debut in the role of Patty, which was shortly before the huge confrontation scene with Jack where he ended up getting shot. Viewers spent over a year watching the character of Patty, as played by Lilabet, gradually change from a sweet and spirited young woman into a desperate woman trapped in a marriage that she had no idea would turn out the way that it did. The way she play Patty during that period was a look of desperation and franticness that wasn't over the top nor unrealistic. While Andrea did well in the scenes between her and Jack, had it been Lilibet... the scenes would have been even more top tier and memorable. I also think that the momentum of the story was hindered because of a new Patty and we didn't care as much about the story. Once the Jack story was over in the spring of 1984, her Patty was moved into the Danny/Traci/Lauren orbit... and she was more interesting... but the damage had already been done.

To me, the one story focus actually limits the scope of the show. If it were a 30 minute soap, I could understand doing one story focus episodes.. but an hour soap needs more then one story being focused on per episode. And to me, having Chelsea be the focus falls flat because the show has done a horrible job in writing her character and also of showing the beats of the story that led to this hostage situation. So I don't really care what happens to Chelsea because we haven't had any real focus on her character nor any development of her character outsides of being used by her domineering mother as a model/inflencer. The only thing I hope this story will accomplish is making Chelsea finally start to figure out who she is beyond being Dani's attempt at a mini Dani. Does she actually want to be an influencer, or is she doing it because of her family... and will Chelsea pull away from her family and Madison in order to process what happened to her.. and will Chelsea want to be out in the world... or take on a background role. I'm hoping the fall out will be better then the build-up.