Soaplovers

I'll be honest that I have felt that Chelsea has gotten the short end of the stick in terms of focus and character development. Her character has generally been written/presented in relation to other characters like Dani, Bill, and Kat without really showcasing who she is at her core. When Friday ended, I liked the cliffhanger of Chelsea waking up chained to a bed without us seeing how she ended up there.. but I also felt that the lack of beats played could potentially make viewers not care about what she's going through. After watching today's episode, I liked that we finally got to see Chelsea's inner thoughts and really kind of showed us who she is. We learned that Chelsea is adaptable and that trait is what is going to keep her alive and to buy time for the Dupree's to rescue her. When we first got a view of Allison's man.. and Chelsea going off together.. and I wondered if there would be a stalking and/or some underground sort of trafficking in her future. So I amend my original view and accept that the snippets and lack of showing the beats of her story in the first six months has made her being taken prisoner by her stalker all the more a surprise... and yet it makes total sense. Still... I do think the Allison scenes seem almost dream-like.. and there was one brief snippet where Chelsea was wondering why Allison keeps disappearing. Also... Madison seems very insistent that Allison is the stalker and she did also confess in a bashful/awkward way that she had been following Chelsea for awhile on social media. So I am wondering if there will be another shoe ready to drop or not because the way Madison was acting made me think she's trying to push off suspicion off herself. Just based on how the actress was playing it today.

@Taoboi Other then Friday's episode where Chelsea asked Bill how Hayley was doing, the 'miscarriage' story has vanished without a trace. This is exactly the issue that I hope BTG can get a better handle on in their second season episodes (It took B & B about nine months or so before it really hit its stride so I have faith BTG is getting to that point). And I was actually enjoying the Hayley story because it was so confusing.. that I almost wonder if she really was pregnant and actually miscarried. Why else would she go to the doctor and Bill went into the examination room with Hayley... and not have it revealed that Hayley was never pregnant.

RHOC: They need to do a major revamp because the current cast is not working. I also think this constant gossip and trying to ruin one another is a format that needs to retire, and we go back to the original concept of the reality show. Only problem is that most of the women aren't interesting enough to have solo segments that pop.

Jenna was much better in her first year on the show circa 1992-1993 before she became watered down in her final months in her first stint. She was more like India then the weird soccer mom they turned her into in her 2nd stint.

I'm wondering if Chelsea is being held hostage due to a beef the kidnapper has with Bill and/or the rest of the Duprees? Nah... that would be interesting and the most likely person that is holding Chelsea hostage is Allison and/or Allison's creepy ex.

I assumed the 200 episode pick up was due to starting a little later then the initial season start... so I'm curious if season 2 will have 250 episode seasons or not. I also wonder if we will be getting future 1 week episode pre-emptions through the end of 2025 during the holidays? Labor Day is right around the corner so we shall see.

I attribute this to grief over John... and also a way to 'get justice' for all the crap Kristen pulled on her and John back in the day. So I think this was in character for Marlena. It's also why you shouldn't counsel people that you have a personal relationship with because your objectivity is cloudy.... to say the least.

I don't quite see Silk Press Sheila as a Veronica, at least yet. I still say SPS gives me Gina Demott.... I mean this classic scene/fantasy scene of Gina winning on the Wheel of Fortune is so something I could see SPS fantasizing about.

Silk Press Sheila continues to entertain me with her little nicknames for Kat.. and this have not is beaming when a have not gets to move into the same circles as the elitist families like the Duprees. I'm always team Have not over the Haves Finally we get a Bill/Chelsea scene.. long overdue since he seems to have most of his scenes with Naomi and Dani with Chelsea. Finally a good Friday cliffhanger

I get what Sheila Ducksworth is saying about trying to strike a balance between the traditional daytime viewer that's accustomed to seeing all the beats of a story play out, and trying to keep the very limited attention spans of the under 34 crowd. This is why pacing is so important because if you have multiple stories, you want to pace them differently so that there is always a climax, fall out, and build up going on the same time. So far, the soap seems focused on solo stories when they climax while other stories are not shown (I.e. SPS exposing Ted as the father of Eva, Bill/Hayley wedding with Dani pulling a gun, etc). Now my thoughts on today's episode: I view the Duprees as the antagonists of the show, but I love that they view themselves as the victims. There are skeletons in those closets of theirs that we've yet to see. Eva has good sense by trying to reign in SPS from spending the first check... but I understand SPS's POV. The one thing I do wish the show had done was given SPS another child in addition to Eva... perhaps she had a son with Eva's step dad... and there could be resentment/jealousy that he feels toward Eva for being favored over him. And there could have been a forbidden Romeo/Juliet situation with Kat that would have been interesting. All these comments about Tomas being bad in bed by Kat just underscores her inability to take ownership of the choices SHE made. No one would forced her to lose her virginity to Tomas.. that was all on Miss Kat. The reason she isn't into the sex is because she wasn't ready to have sex and she isn't in love with Tomas. I bet Tomas and Eva would have a good time in the bedroom because there seems to be mutual interest and a friendship between the two. Andre and Dani's conversation underscores that they seem to have more in common, even if the connection isn't healthy. At least they could work on making their interactions/relationship more healthy unlike the situation between Dani/Bill and Andre/Ashley. Lastly... thinking about over past episodes of Silk Press Sheila, I totally get a Gina Demott vibe from her. The scenes of SPS modeling her wigs, being in disguise, being eccentric and over the top were vintage Gina Demott circa 1980s. Gina being a thorn in the side of the Capwells is like SPS being a thorn in the Dupree's side... a story that writes itself.

I viewed Marc Cherry like Ryan Murphy... a one trick pony. Desperate Housewives was only super strong in the first season before the tone deaf second season.. and even though season 3 was an improvement.. the show never recovered fully from that huge misstep. Devious Maids was decent, but it seemed more like a Desperate Housewives in maid uniforms then anything different.

Anita... karma is calling and her name is Silk Press Sheila. When I watch Silk Press Sheila, I realize that there are times that she reminds me of Gina of Santa Barbara fame (MVJ got her start in soaps at Santa Barbara)... and I think having SPS be to the Duprees what Gina was to the Capwells is delish. It's also been nice getting a break from Dani. Her domineering/controlling ways stifled Chelsea.... look at her wardrobe for today.

I think I read in one of the interviews given by MVJ for the 100th episode that Febreze and Tide will be coming back vacation soon

Maybe she's trying to be like her cousin Kat... but Kat's looks just work for her.. can't say that this attempt is a winner for Chelsea.

I think the fact that Another Life wasn't airing on a network is why they were able to explore/tackle issues and out of the box situations. Who knew that a Christian station was less intrusive then a network and/or P & G.

Leslie and Eva would be nourve riche... which in the eyes of the Duprees would still be 'have nots'.

Remember the 13 week cycle rule, but I agree that it would be a disaster if all of those performers opted to leave when their contracts are up for renewal. I do think that the actors playing Vernon and Anita have different contract terms and outs that some of the other performers do not have.

MVJ should have watched how Bill Bell wrote Sheila on B & B from 1992 to 1995 where she had moments where she was human, acted rational, but would sometimes veer toward acting up if she was threatened. And she wasn't campy at all. How Sheila Carter was written during those 3 years was exactly how SPS should be written.

With all due respect, perhaps you should think about watching Hallmark Channel movies since you'll be guaranteed to have the heroes win and the villains pay. Soap operas haven't been about the villains getting their just dessert since the 90s, unless they become completely unhinged... and she isn't quite there yet. And quite frankly, this soap doesn't really have any heroes.....Vernon and Anita aren't heroes to me. I view them and the rest of the Duprees as the antagonists/villains.

Silk Press Sheila could stay on the soap for a few years before her crimes are exposed. It has been done before, so if the writers were smart.. they would keep SPS as somewhat over the top with human moments mixed in. In fact, Sheila Carter lived/existed on B & B from 1992 to 1995 without her crimes from Y & R being found out. There were periods in that 3 year period where she was almost exposed, but something would interfere with her being found out. The only reason she was finally exposed was that there was a breakdown in contract talks so she was exposed and carted off to a mental hospital.. then returned months later for another few years. However, I don't know if BTG can keep SPS on for three years with the way they're burning through story. It would help if the show focused on her life outside the Dupree bubble a bit more.

Also, based on the recent twist on Friday in regards to Derek/Ashley/Andre... I think MVJ also seems to love doing the Passions route of no plot movement. Derek and Ashley broke up.. now she feels guilt so she'll try to nurse him to health while Derek will eventually be able to walk and will pretend he still can't walk in order to keep Ashley close to him... while Andre will go back to Dani with his tail between his legs and continue the abusive situation that he and she have been in. It seems as though Andre/Ashley are being set up as the star crossed lovers with Derek and Dani conspiring to keep them apart. That's my theory on the next stages of this plotline will go... with poor Shanice being kept on the sidelines.

I do agree that the Barbara reveal was always planned to be the twist to keep Silk Press Sheila in the mix, but I think the show made a miscalculation by actually showing her as the one to run Laura off the run instead of keeping that all off screen. @Cheap21I don't think Vernon is the father, I just fear that the show might go there in order to provide a 'twist' instead of going the logical route of Dante being the real father. It sounds as though Dante played a big part in Anita's life in a not so great way so having his daughter SPS/Leslie be a thorn in Anita's life would be interesting. I think the show does a great job at writing a climax and revealing a secret... it just needs to work on hitting all the beats of the story post climax/secret reveal.

I don't buy that Monty caused the destruction of daytime. She managed to figure out how to save a show from the brink of cancellation.. and the ratings were sky high in the early 80s on GH. I think what really destroyed daytime was a variety of factors such as cable, more people working outside the home, the OJ Simpson trial, and the final nail was actually Reilly when he did the Marlena possession story (ratings increased.. but only for a short few years). In terms of AW, I think the issues involving their decline was partly due to the 90 minute expansion, losing Iris to a spin off, writing bland stories, and casting non descript performers.

While I don't think MVJ should be run out on a rail... she is nowhere close to Agnes Nixon nor Bill Bell. She needs a strong co-head writer that is an outsider and can be objective. She's too emotionally invested in the show and can't be objective (most creators have that very issue) about things that aren't working. Guza was only there short term to help her launch it, and I don't think his replacement is a strong enough creative to give her a dose of reality when something isn't working. As for the show, here were my thoughts on today's episode: - The one thing the show has managed to do is provide throwaway lines that might be foreshadowing. Case in point with Silk Press Sheila mentioning how she lost her virginity to The Articulettes.. and now she's revealed to be Barbara's daughter. So I have a sinking feeling that Anita and Dani's elitist comment to Eva about never being a Dupree could foreshadow Vernon being Silk Press Sheila's biological dad. If that happens, it makes all the male characters the bad guys (even though I don't blame Bill for cheating then dumping Dani)... and it continues to add only female Duprees when male Duprees are needed more.

Trying to make Sophia a viable spoiler for Tate/Holly is like trying to get oil and water to mix.. it's an impossible task. The show did have a viable spoiler for Tate/Holly in Doug III, but our newest headwriters decided to 86 his character instead of just cutting their losses with the Sophie character.