Soaplovers

2 hours ago, Xanthe said:

I was actually excited at the time for Nicole to be obliterated because Cass and Frankie were a much more appealing option. The character of Nicole in this incarnation was not interesting to me. Did she have any real relationship with Donna and Victoria or Marley? All I remember is her with Cass and Felicia. 

 

I remember scenes of Nicole with Donna (faux and real Donna)...and I think she had interaction with Vicky..because Vicky lent something to Nicole..that made Cass realize she was the killer.

1 hour ago, Liberty City said:

The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip

S02E01:

• The New York flashbacks really should've included "MENTION IT ALL!" because that was iconic.
• I'm not a Vicki fan.. but not using her "I'm the OG of the OC" tagline was a mistake.
• Vicki is such a negative f**king Nancy, and I'm already over it. She complains and she is two-faced... I'm over her already.
• I'm surprised Taylor has not joined Orange County for a crossover event, but, I guess since Tamra isn't there it won't happen, which is a shame.
• "It's very Brandi & Denise." Iconic line. Haha. And is the pullout couch going to be the new Shark room? Haha.
• Bluestone Manor has never looked more stunning. I'm here for it.
• "This tree has been here 120 years." Girl.. that tree ain't surviving this season. I'm calling it.
• I'm sorry.. we are on STREAMING... why are we censoring words?
• Dorinda feeding Phaedra is iconic. Ha. A long time coming from Sonja making out with everyone in Mexico and discussing anal sex. "No. I don't do that."
• Everyone trying to make out why S2 was horrible for Brandi because Taylor's husband committed suicide. And the voiceover to add Russel's name? Hilarious.
• Brandi's face is distracting. That is work gone WRONG!
• Now we know why this season got an extra episode.. this first night is so jam-packed with sh!t going on.

S02E02:

• Ah. The anti-vaxx episode. Here we go. This would concern me, too, not going to lie.
• The Dorinda flashbacks are ICONIC! We are HERE for IT! Iconic.
• "You need anal." CHILE! Iconic!
• Brandi, by episode two, has broken every single rule. No shoes upstairs, no food upstairs. And I eat in my bedroom... just not in my bed, haha.
• Here comes JILL!!!!! And, of course, the ladies are getting pampered. History repeats!
• And now Tamra has broken the no-eating rule.
• The infamous "How'd you know the lady's a lesbian?" moment! Yes!
• Taylor needs to leave the dark lip to Bette Davis or any other woman that can pull it off, because she cannot.
• Jill is living her life with Brandi, and I like it.

S02E03:

• NGL.. Marco is cute. Am I the only one crushing on Marco?
• And Eva LIVING for her dispensary trip has me living. I'd love to hang with her! Haven't seen her since Top Model, and I am loving her vibe.
• Vicki's negativity is as off-putting as Ramona's overall attitude to the first season.
• This Field Day is one I am LOVING!!!!
• Brandi's Lasagna looks like sh!t. I would never put that into my mouth. Honestly... no one is going to top my mom's Lasagna.

Marco is my dream boyfriend 

9 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Well tbf...have we not always said that you could put ANY of the RHOA Housewives in any of the cities, and they would come across as a strong personality...whether it was someone like Nene all the way to someone like...hmmm Deshawn? Especially versus something like take a HW from another city and putting them in RHOA (cuz they would eat Erika Payne alive on that show).

Kenya proved it with the first ALL STARS and it sounds like Shady Phae Phae and Eva the Diva are going to prove it with the second one. 

eva and Phae Phae are the Greek chorus.

Apparently Tamra was asked at the last minute because of Vicki having covid..but Vicki got cleared right before filming started.

And she shades Dorinda's BSM and the Berkshires...lol

13 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

The writing for Donna does seem to show that there was a lot of misogyny on the show during the DePriest's first run as head writer.

And it also seems like DePriest repeated that during her second run as well. Poor Donna became a nutcase again who was desperate for a man. I'm curious what would have happened if fan outrage hadn't caused her to rewrite her story and Donna had been the one that was killed off.

I actually think this fit Donna.

She was made to not be with Michael, forced to have Marley raised as her sister instead of her daughter, and didn't know she had Victoria.

Between 1983 to 1986, she had to admit Marley was her daughter, found out she had another daughter, had Michael come back, and then her long thought to be dead father comes back.... no wonder she flipped out.  

I always thought she was so cold and snobby in 1983 because she had love/happiness taken away from her so she became cold.  And any maternal feelings she had for Marley had to be repressed.

I think had Harding Lemay stayed in 1988, he would have delved into Donna/Marley's complicated relationship.  Marley's whole world and identity had to have been shaken...and seeing how those 2 learned to see one another as mom/daughter would have been interesting...instead of the tired good/bad twin trope.

Dubai:

Both Milan and Caroline are unlikable.

RHUGT

Brandi is displaying classic symptoms of an abuser.  She lashes out, gas lights, and blames the other person.  And shame on Eva and Phaedra enabling her.

2 hours ago, Cat said:

This is why I can't wait for season 2 Miami! I actually think Nicole vs Marysol is a lightly petty, gemeration-gap rivalry I can enjoy.

Let no-one be fooled by David Foster's A-List-lite snootiness! He loves Reality TV,  has pushed his children, stepchildren and then-wives to pursue Reality TV stardom, because it helps boost his own brand. Not surprised to hear about him holding onto Linda's co-writing talents. A lot of his output has a feminine touch and it's only in recent times when I looked into a couple of his songs that I realised DF's best work was usually with female songwriters -- he knew to work with some of the best.

Linda Thompson had an interesting life of her own.  I always assumed her first claim to fame was being with Ms Jenner..but my mom said she was a Miss Tennessee, was in a LTR with Elvis, was on HeeHaw for years...all before she married Caitlyn.

And two of her famous songs she co wrote with David Foster were 'I have Nothing' made famous by Whitney Houston...and 'Grownup Christmas List' made famous in the 90s by Amy grant.

Back in the early seasons, people used to wonder why she wasn't a BH housewife... but maybe she didn't want to be catty perhaps.

4 hours ago, Taoboi said:

RHOM

 

So they all woke up and chose violence?

 

Oh, this episode was great!!! Alexia's bachalorelette party. Alexia has been mostly background the last few episodes regardless of being the basis to the current Nicole vs Marysol feud. It was nice to see the pivot. I had almost forgotten about the wedding. And what happened that day.

 

Meanwhile, the rivalry between Adriana and Larsa hit a new level this week. From the pop shots at the start of the season to last week's bout to ignoring each other outside of Confessionals, it has been fun to watch. But right now...Julia is Adriana's weakness and even if Larsa felt some kind of way about how Julia voiced her opinion, she knew Adriana would see it as an attack and suuuuuure enough. LOL!!! I was looking forward to the 'IT'S LARSA!!!' moment because apparently it became a meme right before I watched so I hollered and rewinded cuz Guerdy was giving great reaction shots. 

 

To Be Continued? WHY??? Things were just getting great. Can't wait for next week.

 

ALEXIA. I should not have even doubted. Alexia is after all the Queen of this telenovela. And all Queens need rest so the minions can have the limelight. But here she is back again with the wedding. The foreshadowing with her and Peter talking about her mother reminded me how this was going to end. Le sigh. And I am sure she is side-eyeing Nicole who might be trying for her crown. Alexia is just a lightning rod for drama. And loving her at her own party so far. Cuz that penis was hehehehe.

 

NICOLE. Well darn, girl!!! You go right ahead and end Marysol. She gathered Marysol with the swiftness. She has been giving good so far in this feud, but so has Marysol. But she really was no nonsense about it and gathered Marysol flawlessly. No stutter. Nothing. I had no choice, but to be in awe. 

 

GUERDY. Oooooo how I've been looking forward to this drama since the trailer. It looked so flawless on her. I liked she was trying to mediate all the fighting that broke out at the dinner.

 

LISA. I also liked she was being fun again. And also trying to get everyone to get along. She was being more of a fun BFF than Marysol.

 

LARSA. I get it. When someone gives an opinion of you...one you might not like and it feels random on top of that, I would lash out a bit, too. So I liked Guerdy was trying to get Larsa to hear Julia out. However, I also see where Larsa was coming from. How random. And Julia's been nice but from Larsa's perspective meek. Given the rivalry going on with her and Adriana, she had the right to side-eye her. 

 

JULIA. I do think Julia was being genuine. After all, she has been mentioning her thoughts about what Larsa said since the start of Marysol vs Nicole during the 'Least Trust' game. However...she picked the wrong time to say anything. Especually in front of Adriana whom Larsa is feuding with.

 

MARYSOL. You lost that one. Sorry. Nicole ate her up.

 

ADRIANA. Started gathering and I was living.

 

Next week Adriana vs Larsa Round 3? I'm here for it.

 

One more episode after that and a reunion I believe. Sad it is about to be over for me. 

 

All Marysol vs Nicole boils down to is that Marysol is jealous of Nicole.

Nicole is younger, prettier and hasn't botched her face unlike that toxic Marysol.

David Foster always was a thirsty one.  I think the reason he stayed with Linda so long was because she was his writing partner.  Common interest beyond just superficial.

49 minutes ago, Broderick said:

I re-watched all the available episodes from 1979 to 1980 a couple of years ago, and I observed the four most featured actors were April, Draper, Logan, and Deborah Saxon.  All four actors left in 1981.  

 

I was crazy about Sharon Gabet and Larkin Malloy, but I agree with you completely.   It caused a certain "fragmentation" in the storylines.  (Also, a lot of Sharon's best work was opposite Terry Davis, Tony Craig, Joe Lambie and Frances Fisher, who left.)   

I do think Sharon stepped it up when Chris Weathershead came on as Alicia.  It had her play insecurity over not being good enough..and the two had good sparring scenes.

I think everyone hooking up in the inner circle might have been done to show how humans now equate sex with connection/intimacy.  With everything being so wired for instant gratification, it would make sense that sex would be the go to for connection.

Maybe this is a subtle commentary on how instant gratification and sex have replaced genuine connections...and why all of these characters seem so lost and unsatisfied.

6 hours ago, DRW50 said:

What reason was given for Tony going? He didn't seem to do much post-Edge.

According to an interview he gave in 2009, he was burned out and wanted out.  He did say the show offered him a 1 year contract plus options for tv movies, but he was feeling the burnout.

https://archive.triblive.com/news/ex-edge-of-night-soap-opera-star-craig-shines-at-pnc-park/

I'm going to say that Sky/Raven actually hurt the show since neither characters were involved in actual professions that were the hallmark of the show and they ate up airtime.

AMC seemed to have a great mix/balance between social issues and whimsy... it was almost a mirror of OLTL .. which also handled social issues.. but with a more gritty element.   Llanview seemed like a bigger suburb.. which had different socio-economic and diverse inhabitants.. at least in the pre-Rauch years... while Pine Valley seemed like a smaller suburb/town that maintained a small town friendliness (which would explain why Chandler and Cortlandt were drawn to it... lower tax base and more exclusive/privacy then Llanview).

Loving seemed to portray a college town realistically..  even when Alden U wasn't the focus, you could tell that the heart beat/economic engine was the University.  I briefly lived in a college town in MS (Oxford, home of Ole Miss).. and it had the same vibe that I imagine Corinth had.

15 hours ago, Taoboi said:

RHOA

 

OH, LORD!!!

 

Is it Reunion Time yet?

 

This is why trash should never be allowed a peach, or to sit at the big girl table.

Season 4 still had the Ingmar Bergman touch especially in Abby's Choice.  

The only story I liked was the Noah/Julian relationship...that started as two guys becoming friends and falling for one another with organic obstacles.

3 hours ago, Cat said:

 

Great episode, because it focused on the women and their individual stories. You could kind of tell that some of the Ladies of London production team might be putting this together -- use of poppy music, snappy outdoor segue shots, small groups of the women together, or just them and their families. I didn't look once at the clock.

Sara is a star -- our bridge between the private Emirati world and the ex-pat life. Talking about her two divorces and wanting to raise Maktoum a certain way is pretty brave considering some of the rules usually imposed on Emirati women. Sara seems so strong and fearless, I love her. Maktoum is the cutest, running to open the door to Ayan with his faux-hawk haircut. That chat with Ayan was incredible. When Ayan talked about excitedly packing her suitcase when her awful father invited her to travel with him, only for her sister to say 'I heard he might be trying to marry you off, so you'd better not go' ? 14 years old!  And how her husband offered her a feeling of safety that she never felt with her dad. Did you catch Sara also mentioning that she'd been physically abused in one of her relationships? It is this kind of openness which I did not expect to see on RHODubai.

I warmed to Nina this episode, even though (or maybe because) I know she might be the strategic chess-player of the group. I air-high-fived the All My Children and Like a Virgin references -- and I am lowkey waiting for Nina to adopt a little Erica Kane, you know what I mean?  Also loved her husband talking about his work and their courtship.

Lesa bringing out the Jamaican with her cooking, attitude and accent -- flove it. Lesa, Sara and Ayan giving me so much already. I honestly thought this was going to be the Stanbury and Brooks Show, but so far these three women are the standouts. I love how close Lesa and Ayan seem to be.

Did you catch Ayan's son Taj muttering sarcastically "Sigh... Yes Queen" when Ayan told him to open her car door at Lesa's house? 

IA, we saw old Ladies of London Caroline Stanbury this week. 

Brooks is talking out of turn about the women in her VTs. She's going to feel some heat at reunion (if we get one).

Honestly, I am enjoying this show a lot more than I did SLC when it first began.

 

@NothinButAttitude She continues giving me life this week:

 

She has good taste if she stans Kim Richards.

And she looks so much like Iman

19 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

Denise Alexander should have played Missy Matthews, Liz's former daughter in-law.    Missy's son, Ricky, could have come along with the package.   That would have provided more meaty stuff for Liz to play (since Liz intensely disliked Missy, but loved Ricky).   They could have paired Missy with both Jason Frame and Vince McKinnon -- two men Liz would never have approved of.   And Ricky, just a bit older than Jamie, could have mixed with the younger crowd and found a woman equally distressing to Liz.   

Reginald Love was AW's version of Stefano Dimera, but without the European class.  Reginald's moustache-twirling was literal. Poorly written and acted with campy humor.   Reginald did not belong on a believable soap-opera like AW.   

 

I think Denise A was a bit too old to play Missy... but I think she could worked as Liz's daughter Susan Matthews and could have moved into the Matthews house.. and started to date Vince, who loved her unconditionally.

Reginald could have been a patient of hers (since Susan was a therapist).. and she could have been caught between him and Vince... and she could have viewed Cheryl as a surrogate daughter since her adopted daughter Julia had been murdered a few years earlier.

Looks like 77 more episodes from early 1981 will be uploaded soon...the Sharkey/Bryson clinic mystery...Nancy's last good story before she was marginalized by Slesar/Sheldon, and P & G.

11 hours ago, Chris 2 said:

Restaurants are notoriously bad investments - Abby should have known that! She would have been better off investing in the used car lot

Season 7 Abby would know that...but season 4 Abby was still lean6ing about the ins and outs of the business world.

What's fascinating is that we're seeing the development of Abby...unlike Angela, JR, or Alexis where we met them once they were tops in power 

It seems to check all the boxes...but I'll give it a chance 

Bert Bauer started out being impossible and unlikable.. gradually softening to become a beloved grandmotherly type.  There was one scene where Bert was visiting Phillip in the hospital and after he told her what he did to upset Beth, she basically called him a jerk LOL

Maureen was a worthy replacement for Bert, but after she was killed off, there wasn't anyone to take over for Maureen.

6 hours ago, Cat said:

Real Housewives of... Chicago?

 

Not Chicago..the Chicago suburbs. 

Winnetka is north shore and fairly wealthy though Glencoe and Willmette are higher end than Winnetka.

Brooke was messy and noisy.  I remember she had a different sidekick Stacy in season 2/3 that was more of a follower vs Kelly in season 1.  

I do recall Brooke would always get called out..and in one episode she tried to be nice..and it blew up in her face.

RHOA:

I like the slow burn of the season so far.

Ms. Olympic:  Trying to have her moment with that strange conversation she had with Drew where even I was giving off the same expression as Kandi while she was talking.

Kenya:  She's been on her best behavior... for Kenya that is.  Judging by next weeks preview I'm guessing she and Marlo will fall out... again.

Marlo:  On the bike alone made me laugh

Drew:  Why does she hold a peach?

Sheree:  So her prison lover proved not to be Prince Charming?  Are we surprised?

I did love the shade Marlo/Sheree/Kenya were throwing on Drew's website being down.

RHOBH:

I'm not watching until Ericka/Rinna/Dorit are off the show.

We could have a strong show with Crystal, Sutton, Garcelle, Kyle, and Diana.. with Kathy as a friend of.. and maybe another newbie.  OC rotates out their cast... don't understand why BH holds onto dead weight.

What I liked about season 3 of KL is that it struck a perfect balance between being a soap and the earnest self contained episode format of the 1st season.

Even in self-contained episodes, you still were given little nuggets of ongoing plot.  The Abby/Val friendship becomes filled with underlying tension starting with episode 11 (Power Play) when Val has a look on her face when she responds to Karen's joke about knowing how Abby is... and that tension continues as a thread until episode 17 (Letting Go) where Val/Abby have the conversation about morality being for those with money/security. 

Speaking of the exchange between Val and Abby in 'Letting Go',  that one exchange near the end of the episode showed the difference in 'station' and status between the two at that moment.  Of course Val would talk about morality and doing the right thing because she knew where her next meal was coming from.  She already had her dream of living in suburbia with Gary accomplished, so of course she would be lecturing Abby.  Abby, on the other hand, was still working toward her dream and as Tess Wilder in Working Girl said 'You can bend the rules plenty once you get to the top, but not while you're trying to get there. And if you're someone like me, you can't get there without bending the rules.' so Abby was using whatever resources she had to ensure she got what what she'd always wanted.... to be part of the haves.

What made the Gary/Abby affair so interesting was that we showed the growing connection between the two for over a season before the affair happened.  You saw them instantly have a good rapport, have one anothers back at KL motors, and have the same mindset when it came to business.  They had a friendship/admiration for one another that sparked the attraction/love between the two.   And I have to admit I always like Gary/Abby better together then Gary/Val because there were so many different avenues you could go with Gary/Abby together as a couple vs Gary/Val.. who always seemed to work better apart than together.

And @Veethat Val/Lilimae tension will always be there even when they become close.  It never is swept under the rug or forgotten.  It comes up in season 5/6 during Val's pregnancy and her mental decline after the twins are stole, when Val's half brother Joshua comes into the picture.. and in season 9 when Lilimae is about ready to leave.   

39 minutes ago, RavenWhitney said:

The entire production staff was unemployed after 18 months. It seems odd to me that they would sabotage a head writer's work. Sheldon hadn't a clue how to write a soap, let alone EON.  His pacing was off. Dialogue was terrible.  Characterizations and backstory completely lacking.  I will agree that the casting during his brief reign of error was completely off (with respect to the new contract actors). Sandy Faison and Jennifer Taylor were terrible performers among the old guard actors who put their thin skills to shame.  The actress who played Shelly had potential and Sheldon could have easily made her Raven's half younger sister and planted her in the middle of many stories.  Instead, she was suicidal and cut after 6 months.  Chris Weatherhead was great as Alicia but her story sucked and she wasn't given a contract.

I actually thought Shelly and Raven were connected... they sized one another up on their first meeting.. and Raven would have hints of jealousy anytime Shelly would come to see Geraldine.  There wasn't a plan for Shelley at all.. she just floated around with no backstory nor long term story plan.  The only time I thought she was used well was when she disguised herself as Millie to spy on Alicia. 

And I agree about Alicia.. she was an interesting character that interacted well with all the principals.  I thought keeping her in Sky/Raven's orbit was a waste of a good character.