Soaplovers

I'll be honest... the show was just fine without Anita so either the writers get to work on making her character more interesting.. or maybe it's best to write her out and let Vernon lead the family instead.

The break out character for me in today's episode was Vanessa. She made Dani likable, she had a good rapport with Vernon, and her scenes with Joey are still a winner in my book. Even though she wasn't the lead character in today's episode, she added so much to each and every scene she was in.. and I hope to see how she continues to fit onto the canvas. I have a feeling she grew up with Nicole and Dani since it was mentioned in the past that she grew up with money and that marrying Doug was her first taste of being rebellious against her upbringing.

The only thing that would make this interesting is if Martin was going to whereever he was going to meet up with a hook up and/or a male escort from Joey's business... and Kenny was either the escort that attacked Martin for being gay and Martin defended himself. The only way that this would look bad on Martin was if he's trying to portray himself as a gay male that is about family values... and didn't want it to get out that he actually was hooking up behind the scenes. However... that would be just another affair story when the show already has those in droves with Dani/Bill, Ted/Nicole, and Vanessa/Doug.

While not a huge day for plot movement, there were some good 1:1 scenes today between Smitty/Jacob, Bill/Vernon, Hayley/Ashley, and also a bit more light being shed on the newest obstacle in Chelsea's quest for love.

An interesting twist would be Hayley has been faking a pregnancy, but turns out to actually be pregnant. I've been satisified with the Hayley/Ashley scenes... something I've waited for since the early episodes wondering the backstory on Ashley's thoughts on Hayley pre Naomi/Hayley friendship breakdown.

Why?

How MVJ writes/presents the Duprees is exhibit A on how working for years under Brad Bell's B & B can dilute the talent of a good writer since her structure of the Duprees as being in the center without a strong 2nd family is quite like B & B's continual reliance on the Forresters without a strong 2nd family that isn't ultra tied to the Forresters. Difference though is that B & B is a half hour show so that structure can sort of work on that show.. but BTG is an hour show so there should be a 2nd family that isn't related to the Duprees. Also... The Duprees are as delulu as the Forresters.

This explains why Anita and Dani don't tend to gel with one another... because of them suffer from main character syndrome. I still remember the looks Anita gave when she saw Vernon coddling Dani instead of giving her his full attention. If MVJ is truly serious about doing her own version of the Supreme mess... then she needs to really work to develop the other two women since OG Mary and Florence were talented individuals that were overshadowed because their bestie Diana Ross had the more mainstream look/voice (and willing to sleep with Berry Gordy).

I actually find the Transatlantic accent kind of charming and quirky... and I'd prefer to the vocal fry/valley speak of nowadays LOL

I don't get why Michelle Stafford gets nominated when she seems to only do weird acting tics/quirks that make watching her a very uncomfortable experience. I truly hope when BTG is eligible next year that finally she, Laura Wright, etc will finally stop getting constant nominations just because of the lack of competition (although they'll probably nominate Karla M instead).

Finally.. the show is finally having Hayley interact with other characters outside of Dani/Bill... with her and Silk Press having a conversation and Hayley/Ashley interacting. Dani/Pamela was something new because of their focus on the modeling business.. but Andre/Dani = Yawn. I know MVJ seems to think Dani should be featured.. but she's been on 4 days in a row and she really wasn't needed on 2 out of the 4 days. Nicole finally losing it with Silk Press had more impact because it's been a long time coming. MVJ and writers... you kept Nicole off the air all this week and it was welcome seeing her. Perhaps try that with Dani instead of insisting on giving the character airtime. Ted should have trained Eva instead of leaving Eva to rely on Kat considering the way that Kat has spoken about and toward Eva. Eva vs Kat is still giving some great energy Ashley is getting an attitude this week.. and I have to say that I'm liking it. Please make Ashley embrace her dark side and keep the Mary Sue routine in the past.

Dani was making cracks about Ashley and her being a nurse that came across as classist, and while I think the scene/dialogue as written did show Ashley didn't read the situation... but Jen Jacobs played it as though she knew what was going on.. but opted not to say anything out loud. And Ashley did get up to use the bath and then say that she had an early shift so they needed to cut the evening short. That could explain why I like Vanessa/Joey together.. because Lauren B plays Vanessa in the same vibe/way that Lynn played Lucy.

Who knew Ashley would be the most secure person in a scene, but Dani has the ability to make everyone else seem more secure then they really are. Unlike Dani... Ashley actually had to work for her career and managed to do so without having such a stellar last name as Dupree. The only loser in that situation was Dani.

I think had Andre not reassured Dani that he wouldn't do to her what Bill had done to her... then Dani wouldn't be flipping out so much. He made it seem as though he was open to things becoming more exclusive then just the No strings attached arrangement they had been enjoying. I'm hoping the Vanessa/Doug/Randy/Joey dynamics continue to play out once the episodes credited to Guza conclude. And I'm hoping we continue to see the gradual slipping off of the mask that Ashley's been wearing. Part of the mask wearing is due to Ashley being sheltered/isolated while her single mother worked together and the other part of it is due to perfectionism. Maybe that perfectionism is a way for Ashley to keep her darker side in check.. and her melting down is her darker side finally wanting to come out in the open. Anything is better then the weird magazine quizzes, and awkward co habitation drama that we witnessed between her and Derek.. and her dependence on Andre for emotional support even though Derek is a teddy bear and a symbol of what she should go for.. not what she really wants/crave.

Maybe that's the long term goal for Ashley... her gradual descent into the dark side.

Dani at the end of this episode is why I don't like her. She's a 12 year old trapped in the body of an almost 50 year old and it's unbecoming. Derek lit up when interacting with Shanice.. and it only proves that some positive reinforcement isn't that difficult.. except if you're Ashley or Dani. Dani/Bill/Hayley.... yawn. I'd rather see Nicole/Silk Press Sheila/Eva/Kat in scenes together over the boredome and played out vibe that the D/B/H scenes/story is given off. Smitty/Martin... I think it's time to sit your son down and watch a Lifetime made for tv movie from the 90s that stresses the dangers of online chatting and inviting people you meet in a chat room into your home when you're home alone.

I think it would have been more in character for Amanda to have been conned out of her money by a con artist man that happened to own an escort service.. then for her to have owned and happily run an escort service with glee. Amanda could have been embarrassed to have Alan and the rest of the Spauldings find out that she hadn't really changed and was still gullible like she had been back in the late 70s/early 80s. And I don't think the Amanda/Ross/Blake thing was a horrible idea.. but the execution was all wrong. Blake still could have been jealous of Amanda... but needlessly so.. and that jealously causing Ross and Amanda to reconnect as a result.

Shanice did tell Ashley in the early weeks that she'd be happy to comfort Derek if she lost interest in him... glad to see she kept her word

I have a feeling that perhaps Paulina's mother might have been alive and a former flame of Mac had Watson not passed away so suddenly. Rachel/Mac had been happy for some time as a couple so it was time for someone to shake up their happy union.. and perhaps with Rachel being jealous of this woman.. she might have sought comfort from Mitch thus making Felicia jealous.

If the Joey/Doug/Vanessa story along with the Martin secret are Guza contributed ideas... then I'm going to miss him because those are the best stories right now. It seems like old school soap with a bit of sleaze/darkness without the earnestness of the other parts of the soap.

Marland was highly over-rated during his time at GL. His first year was coasting on the strength/momentum of the Dobson's.. and most of his late 1981/1982 stories seemed too complex/cold. His style was a better fit at ATWT... a show that also had a colder/reserved element.

I remember when Lucy first came on in the fall of 1993 that the show seemed intent on pairing Lucy with Alan Michael.. but by the following summer of 1994.. that pairing seemed over with Lucy being tested with matt and Alan Michael first trying to pursue Eleni again.. then teased with Gilly before the short lived triangle between him/Tangie/Alan. By 1995, once Lucy's raped... then the show began the process of slowly pairing the two together. The only reason the coupling had any legs was because of the chemistry between the actors... once Michael Dietz takes over as Alan Michael.. the coupling loses any momentum.

Such bitter shrews LOL A lot of Gen X women loved Morgan E as Dylan... and he was a much better long lost son of Reva then that freak Jonathan was later on.

The 1984 Bauer BBQ was pretty good since I think it was one of the first ones (if not the first) because it had Bert, Hilary, and Mike still on the canvas... and it just looked like a fun time. So if 1984 was the first Bauer BBQ then I guess that's another thing Pam Long created that became a hallmark of the show. The 1988 Bauer BBQ was funny because Mo was busy planning Fletcher/Maeve's wedding and she didn't tell Ed that he had to pick up the meat since she assumed he could read minds (sometimes she was such a pill)... Johnny and Reva had a heart to heart after Roxie's breakdown, while there was fun banter with Alan Michael/Rick not realizing that they needed to dress up for the wedding as Chelsea looks on laughing.

I've heard a lot of different things in regards to the show since the change of writers... Has everything between the end of April through now been due to outlines laid out by Ron C with the new head-writers only having control over how the day to day episodes flow... or has everything since the new writers taken over been all of their own work? I ask because the whole Sophia/Melinda thing seems like a Ron C move... and I wonder how the head-writers will either fix it and/or make the storyline flow differently? And while I think Doug III and Ari have a nice rapport.. it seems as though he's more interested in hooking up vs Ari.. who seems more interested in more then what he's willing/able to provide. Or perhaps I'm misreading the vibes/situation (wouldn't be the first time I did that LOL)