Soaplovers

So I'm finishing up season 4... and I can totally tell there is a new show-runner in charge. The pacing, stories, and out of chracter behavior is apparent throughout the season. Is season 5 as bad or is it an improvement? 1) Jo- You guys weren't kidding when you talked about Jo changing.. and this is most apparent in season 4. Gone is the independent, no non-sense girl with a biting wit and big heart. What I'm seeing in season 4 is a woman trying to stay with a guy who turned to her when Jane admitted she didnt love him. The Jo of old wouldnt have fallen for his charms and I bet she would have popped him one! P 2) Friendships/character interactions: This season is the start of characters only interacting with characters in their own stories. Sometimes it felt like watching three different shows (i.e. D & D gang, Richard Hart Designs gang, and the Wilshire gang with very rare crossovers). Almost no Jo/Allision interaction... Brooke hardly interacted with anyone outside of Allison/Billy/Amanda (twice with Jane, once with Jo, and twice with Jake)... I would have had Brooke/Sydney interact.. either as partners in crime or trying to one up each other in some respect. Plus, the fact you have Kimberly moving into the very building she blew up would have created a boatload of interesting character interactions (i.e. with Jane, Sydney, Jo, Matt, Amanda, etc). 3) Amanda/Sydney: I totally loved these two interacting... Though in the reboot, they seem more evenly matched in terms of outwitting each other as opposed to this season where Amanda outwits Sydney at every turn. It seems like there were a lot of good ideas, just very poor execution (i mean amanda/Sydney as room mates should have been featured more.. the comedic potential alone.. oh well.. dare to dream). How does season 5 fare in comparison to season 4?

Totally unrelated post.. but I think gosh for netflix so I can relive the show again After watching most of season 1, I had forgotten how down-to-earth the show once was. It kind of reminded me of old school Knots Landing. I do agree with writing off Rhonda as the show evolved into a prime-time soap because while she fit in perfectly during the first half of the season, once it started evolving, she didnt fit. Now if you had Halle Berry and/or the other Vanessa Williams in the part, they would have so fit in. I do agree that Jo's arrival was the initial spark that gave the series some life.. and Heather Locklear was the gasoline that lit that spark. What is done to both of their characters in later seasons is very sad, indeed. WIth that said, I think the one aspect of the first episodes that worked was the vast amount of interaction between the characters.. once the 2nd half of season 1 starts, everyone is seprated into their own story orbits with very little interaction, imho. I'm wondering if the season 5 story where Jane goes crazy and stalks Allison/Billy intended for Jo? I heard somewhere that Daphne Zuniga wanted a stronger Jo.. and the producers basically said that for that to happen, Jo would have to go crazy so she quit.

Regarding Pam Long's year-long stint on the show... was there any established character that anyone felt she actually wrote well? Of all the established characters, I think the character she wrote the best was Gina.. but since Gina was an OTT character, I think that could be why. I remember reading an interview with Pam Long during her stint that she did have plans for Terri Garber's character Suzanne.. but shortly after that interview came out, her character was written out. So I wonder if she was fired, or if the actress just chose to leave? I remember she was tested with Ted... then she fell off a cliff after being terriozed by that weird old lady and then left town as soon as she came out of a coma (I certainly hope that wasnt waht Pam Long meant when she said she had plans for her LOL). That said... i thought the Ballymoor story had potential when it started out... and then just became stupid as it went along. I do think that Pam Long was trying to evolve the show since a lot of the popular actors had departed.. but I think she went about it the wrong way.. and in some cases... went too fast with all her changes. The one character that I did actually like that Pam Long created was the Lisa character.... she was such a great bitch.. especially to Lily... a win imho

I remember it was suppose to a short-term affair and then they were to be paired off with other people... I wondered if Josh/Vanessa were the intended goal...imho, I think it would have been interesting especially if Billy returned after they hooked up.... what coud have been LOL I recall that Lucy and Matt were suppose to be paired... or at least were tested (i remember several scenes where Matt/Lucy bickered and annoyed each other.... and then it was dropped... I even think they tested Lucy with Josh briefly as well.) Michael, Holly having a down syndrome baby was created by Mctavish.. and at the time, the plan was to showcase parents raising a down syndrome children.. ... I think the regime changes put a kibosh on that...and I think Holly becoming the nursery rhyme stalker was a result of her being a horrible mother to Blake and Meg. And they did mention Meg a few times in early 2000's.... and I hear there were suppose to be scenes between Fletcher/Holly in 2009. but they didn't happen for some reason

I like the show but it seems like they kind of rush resolve some of the aspects of the show without any long-term fall out (i.e. the harvard hustler, fake Amanda leaving, and Lydia being spirited off). While I like the revenge aspect, I certainly think that the other plotlines need to be fleshed out so that the concept of the show is carried out long-term...

I cant help but disagree... SB was an awesome show.. even in it's final year, it was leaps and bounds above the dreck that shows present to us nowadays.. The only weakness SB might have had was a lack of a strong, long-term b-story... It was like the show was both traditional soap opera and a telenovela... if that makes sense. While Cruz/Eden, Mason/Julia, C.C/Sophia stories seemed to span several years... other stories like Brick/Amy, Flame, Cain/Andrea, Quinn/Robert, etc. seemed to last a year or so then vanish without leaving any trace of their existence... Not to say that those b-stories were horrible because they were fantastic.. but perhaps these hybrid might have turned off traditional viewers. Just a thought.

This is actually funny.. but I was visiting my mom and the video for 'Edge of Glory' came on.. my mom was on her laptop and like a minute into the show she looks up and stares at the tv.. then turns to me and says 'does she realize how much she sounds like Madonna?'. I explained how Gaga was saying how her music is unique and ground-breaking, etc.. and my mom said 'she is totally mimicking Madonna from music to vocal stylings to the point that I thought it was Madonna singing before I looked up and saw that meat girl on the tv screen'. If I dare broach to a hard-core Gaga fan that she is mimicking Madonna.. I get looks of how dare I compare Gaga to that inferior creature.. and I'm like 'um, I can look at any gimmick that Gaga does except the meat dress and know instantly when Madonna did it first'. Now, I'm not saying I don't like Gaga because she does have some killer music.. but I think she goes too far sometimes with her over-the-top stunts. Plus, I think she does more harm then good for the gay movement.. an honest opinion from a gay dude.

Speaking of Ferananda.. she was the grand marshall at Pride this past Sunday... She looked ever hotter in person then she did on the show/reunion. Seeing her on the reunion made me understand why she was cut. She wasn't a train wreck waiting to happen. Granted that would have been nice to have this season but it appears as if the powers that be disagree... oh well

Adele only has one good song... I think the problem is hype. If any other artist released Born this way.. it would be viewed as a nice tribute to the 80's. However, since it was Gaga, it got over hyped as the cd of the decade. So when you buy it, it will disappoint, no matter how good it is.

Yes... Cat was right on the money when she dressed down Luann on WWHL.. do you think it had any effect on Luann when Cat did that? She did kind of look a little freaked out. I like when others outside of the show calls Luann out on her [!@#$%^&*]. If I were on a show with her.. I'd say 'it's been my experience that classy people never go around proclaiming they are classy.. they just live their life.'

The soapnet reruns are getting close to when Catherine Hicks takes over as Faith. Just wondering if CH had a lack of warmth as Faith, too. I noticed FC played Faith like a shy, awkward girl.. that NB played Faith as more grown-up but still a little unsure... and that KMB was a bitch. So how did CH play the part?

Oddly.. Rachel/Carl being a couple did come out of left field but it happened over several months.. plus everyone was against it especially her kids and Iris. It was done slowly and over a period of year or so. Nowadays, they would have been thrown together without playing the beats of the story and everyone on the show would have accepted it due to being plot dictated as opposed to character driven. Watching episodes from 1988-1992 reminds me about how truly good the show was! Sure there were some weak parts of the show, but for the most part, it was fairly character driven.. even after Swajeski left in late 1992, her associate headwriter took over till late 1994 so that the consistency was still there. I think Phelps coming in did signal the start of the end sadly. What surprises me is how decent Swajeski was as headwriter. Yes, she might have started writing out Lemay's outlines but no way did his outlines last for four years. How she could have done well at AW and fumbled so badly at AMC confuses me to this day.

I could easily have seen Rae being inserted in several of these stories especially in regards to Max... I could have seen her dealing with Jacqueline/Maggie, etc. From what I hear... Dee was played by Robin Mattson during this time and that is wrong on so many levels.. Robin Mattson is too confident/sarcastic to play Dee properly, imho. I do agree writing out Faith was a good idea... there didn't seem to be any place for her on the canvas at that time, but where were the Ryan's family in 1984? What was Pat, Johnny, Maeve doing at this time? 1984 was more of a downfall for the show then 1982 was by a long-shot!

Very possible since back then, writers did draft one to two year bibles for approval ahead of time. I do think that stories that happened circa 1990-1992 were more likely Swajeski stories... I know that Jenna/Dean was her idea based on interviews back then where she stated that.. and I bet Lorna/Felicia being mother/daughter was her idea as well...

When did the Labine's stop writing RH in 82? I notice in mid-summer 1982 that several stories seemed to shift, etc... though I notice that one of Dee's schemes actually succeeded eventually (i.e. regaining air rights to Crystal Palace due to blackmail tape she had made in regards to paternity). I fail to see this period as Kirkland's hope since Pat, Faith, Dee, Rae, Kim, Seneca, and Siobhan had ample story. Though the brief serial killer story came out of nowhere plus Johnny being angry with Maeve taking dance lessons.. what was that all about? Strangely, I think this brief time that the Labine's didn't write the show seems very intriguing where different characters/situation came out... Pat had a new girlfriend, Faith had a new boyfriend.. Dee schemed, etc.. Imho

Ah... the Hughes house set! A much nicer set then that awful Snyder set

I'm curious as to what TPTB define as boring... from what I've seen, she's seems like a real sweet girl.. and quite frankly the show needs someone nice on the show. Plus, she isn't totally blonde and plastic either LOL

I was curious about Fernanda.... was she suppose to be a full-time housewife and TPTB changed their mind? The reason I'm asking is because I thought her story seems interesting... plus her being a non-blonde helped too LOL I liked that Lynn came back.. she seemed interesting but is Jeana back for a visit or did I miss it?

I uploaded a video of my thoughts of Lady Gaga, Judas, and how it compares to Just Dance. Gaga Thoughts

Yeah, i remember Cain with that Vietamese character... glad that story ended quickly. I wonder what the other writers for other shows said post 1988 strike.

Maybe the show was looking to change Faith's character and figured the stalker/breakdown was the way to do it to explain a recast. Of the actresses that played Mary after Kate Mulgrew left, which was the least offensive? I read that Labine wanted to kill Mary off but the network didn't want to go that route at first. However, even though the recasts didn't work.. I think having Siobhan/Mary's sibling discourse shown on-screen and having Sibohan's husband Joe inadvertently responsible for Mary's death did drive story for quite awhile.

Did they fire the original Faith because they wanted to change the character from fragile to more strong-willed? The soapnet reruns are now in June 1976 era and the original Faith had her last airdate not too long ago.. the show was laying the groundwork for her becoming a more mature adult.. but the original Faith still was playing her too meekly. I'm anxious to see Nancy Barrett's brief turn as Faith plus see Catherine Hick's stint as Faith. So I can do a comparison since I've only seen the first and last Faith in action. Plus, the first Frank isn't all that bad... he plays a very thick, one track minded guy very well. I know that I should be able to see the 2nd Frank before SoapNet goes off the air then I can do a personal comparison. I've seen the other three Frank's in play.. even though he played Frank too serious, I like the fourth Frank's portrayal (circa 1983-1985) the best so far.

Probably been discussed but I was most interested in the year 1981 for Ryan's Hope since it seemed to be such an interesting year story-wise. It seemed to be broken up into 3 parts (pre-strike, strike, and post-strike).. Just wondered which part did everyone enjoy? Looking through old youtubes, I was fascinated by episodes from 1983... most of the stories were very interesting (i.e. Rae/Charlotte/Frank, Jill running for office, Leigh Kirkland, Siobhan acting more herself again, and that cute actor playing her police partner). I always wondered how did Rae exit? Was she fired? Did she quit? Did she leave in 83 or 84? I think Rae was a great thorn in the side of the Ryan's and the episodes I saw of 1981 (pre-strike era episodes) that she was an island character along with Kim/Michael... When did she start to interact with the other characters again? For me, the one problem Ryan's Hope seemed to have was that supporting characters left after a year or so (i.e. Nell, Reenie, Rose, etc). It would make growing attached to a show hard, at least for me.

At least Long tried to write for Nola/Quint... and she got Nola better then Mctavish and the other writing team. I noticed that within several months of Long's arrival that Amanda/Morgan/Jennifer/Kelly/Hope/Justin/Helena were all written off the show. It was like if they didn't fit into her idea of a Texas based show then they wouldn't kept on. That's the impression I got from the characters chosen to be written off... granted the argument could have been made that the character's ran their course but I disagree. There was lots of fall out with Amanda/Morgan/Jennifer after that one con artist dude was killed... plus Justin just left somewhat after the paternity secret was revealed.. not understanding why when years of story could have been generated.

I always wondered about the writer that was there before Marland... i think her name was Susan Horgan? I believe she was there for several months... was wondering if she was an interim writer until they hired Marland.. or if she was suppose to be meant to be long-term? I saw a few episodes from her regime.. and it was a very well-written show.