Soaplovers

Both Dani and Haley lack self worth

It's weird that I was ready for Kenneth and Martin to make out, but I know that isn't what I'm supposed to be feeling. Only proves you can't manufacture chemistry.. and a shame the actor wasn't cast as Derek. I hope the nugget revealed that Bill's mother passed isn't the show saying that Bill is a toxic masculine men because his mom passed...because if so.. so predictable. Especially since we've already witnessed that Naomi, and to a lesser extent Chelsea, have thrived because of his parenting to offset Dani's domineering tendency (inherited from mama Anita). I hope Nicole/Eva aren't revealed as mother/daughter because I think the complexity of their relationship is richer and having them slowly rebuild their former closer relationship and the success of that slow rebuilt will be richer if they aren't mother/daughter... but alas the show will probably pull out the soap opera trope that they're mother/daughter... same with Leslie/Kat.... when both pairings have created such interesting and strong scenes with the parent/child relationships already believed to be fact (Nicole/Kat and Leslie/Eva). Dani only has changed feelings toward Bill since the stroke only because she views herself as physically stronger/dominate over him. I doubt Dani is capable of actual unselfish love... due to the fact that she probably didn't get true parental love from at least Anita (who probably sees herself in Dani).

What weird uppercrust Transatlantic accent is she using today?

I think OC could do that and it would work.. because it's the OG so it would be going back to their roots. On the OC, I remember Gina and Heather going back to the East Coast since both were from there... and Gina's parents were warm and sweet while Heather's mom was.... well... you understood why Heather was the way she was LOL

I think P & G are only using BTG as a way to advertise their products... but aren't super involved in the day to day decisions of story/cast. Perhaps had P & G agreed to co-produce their soaps with another company and/or network.. maybe the budgets wouldn't have been cut as drastically and the quality would have been maintained a little longer.

In regards to the Chelsea/Madison story and people saying that the two are moving too fast, there is a stereotype within the LGBTQ+ community where when two cisgender females start to date.. that date #2 or date #3 will involve a Uhaul. In other words, F/F couplings tend to move at a lightening speed so I'm not at all surprised that the two have quickly moved into girlfriend territory... and Dani isn't helping that at all with her OTT fawning over the two. What would be an interesting element to take with the Chelsea/Madison story is to really lean in on the statistics that I've heard in regards to F/F couplings... which are that divorce rates are higher for F/F marriages and that domestic abuse is higher in F/F relationships then in M/F and M/M relationships. So I hope that the vibe I'm getting about Madison being 'too good to be true' does come to pass, but I have a feeling the show might not want to go there because there's little to no representation of LGBTQ couplings on daytime tv. And so far, the soap seems to be playing too safe, but it's also a brand new soap so I can understand them wanting to play it safe until they get more momentum. And also, Kat wanting to wait before sleeping with Tomas is actually more the norm for Gen Z women in 2025 so I do applaud the show for reflecting that reality... and having Eva basically indicate interest in Tomas will hopefully result in something happening with the triangle in the coming weeks/months.

If what she wrote about Ellen was true about crying, I don't blame Kim for being annoyed with that. You're the boss... you need to keep it together.. or else you need to resign so someone competent and in control of their emotions can take over as EP. And Kim's statement about preferring a male EP is more typical then not for women. I know that in the tech world, females younger then me will switch jobs in order to work for a male boss.

Housewives back in the day would sometimes only feature one, or two, housewives on a vacation without the other women. I think I recall on RHOBH, Camille in season 1 would be in Hawaii with all of her friends.. and she was so fascinating that it worked. I remember on RHOC in season 4... Tamra would go on trips with her hubby to see family, Gretchen went to a college reunion in Texas solo, and Vicki/Jeana would go on trips to Mexico with the kids.... and it was a lot of fun. So if Miami wants to feature Lisa/Larsa having a girls trip to Milan.... I say I'm all for it. Isn't there a rumor that they had a falling out during the season? If so, it's nice to see the fun times before the drama hits the fan LOL Poor Julia.... she is such a newbie when it comes to reading and/or stirring the pot. As Cynthia once said on Atlanta 'You gotta make sure the reads hit the people that need the reads... not all over the place.'.... Julia is aiming at the wrong person.

Locher has the knack for interjecting his cringe comments during odd terms of the interviews... especially when the person being interviewed is in the middle of telling a story, etc. And usually what he says hijacks the momentum of the interviews. The best interviews are the ones where the guests are interesting and/or conversational. One of my fav interviews was the one with the actresses that played Lesley and OG Morgan.. where the two hadn't worked with one another.. but were both very interesting and quirky. The most recent one he with the four performers from BTG was just so awkward and I had to exit watching the interview a few minutes into it. I thought to myself 'Alan... please find a different because a Youtube is not your forte.

It was about time the show gave Clifton Davis something to do beyond being a purse holder for Anita or giving speeches about the Duprees and family pride. Insecure people tend to talk about empires and kingdoms. Power corrupts and we all know that Vernon and Anita probably did some stuff that wasn't good in order to get that power. As the old saying goes 'Hate the game, not the people playing the game'.

I think the Dani/Bill/Hayley/Naomi/Chelsea situation has potential.. but it isn't giving 100 % because we're seeing the aftereffects of the story without seeing the build up nor climax. Going back to old school B & B, it would be like the show debuting right before Brooke/Eric were about to walk down the aisle without seeing the almost 4 years of backstory that lead to this moment. Just based on the few flashbacks we've gotten... Bill/Dani seemed to have a good rapport... Bill had a close relationship with Chelsea, etc. What we haven't gotten in flashback form is Bill/Hayley nor Hayley/Naomi. Contrast that with the Nicole/Ted/Eva/Kat/Silk Press Sheila story. While there was a lot of backstory/history to it... the show started the story off in the right place with Silk Press Sheila catching sight of Ted and start to form her plan in the first week of the show. The problem with the story has been the recasting of Ted.. which happened what after the anniversary party so we never saw NuTed and Nicole in a happy relationship in order to root for them to get back together. I view it as observing what happened to her aunt Dani.. and now what she's seeing her mother going through that has made her even more caution/fearful.

There were a few elements during Long's brief OLTL stint that reminded me of her style. There was a bigger focus on the newspaper and a lot of crowd/social gatherings. And she created Lindsay Rapaport and established her as Nora's rival though the two were not actively fighting.. but were on a ceasefire. Long paired Lindsay with Clint.. even had them elope and showed her trying to find her place in the Buchanan family. The moment Pam Long was driven off the show.. Lindsay/Clint broke up and Lindsay became fixated on ruining Nora.

That was why she and her friends were about to watch GL in Chicago at 9 AM central time. Most of them started work at noon so GL was the only soap they could watch live. My mom and her friends all watched other soaps, but the only one all of them watched to discuss was Guiding Light.

My first soap opera memory happened in December 1985 with two particular events on GL: Reva's jump off the bridge attempting to kill herself and Lujack dying in Beth's arms. My first primetime soap opera memory was Pam opening the shower door revealing Bobby taking a shower. I only recall that memory because my parents spent the whole summer fighting over if this was really Bobby or a lookalike with my dad guessing that it was going to be revealed that Pam dreamt Bobby's death and my mom saying only a moron would do that story.

Kat/Tomas is giving me shades of Steve/Alice on AW with Eva looking to potentially be playing the Rachel part. 1) Rachel/Alice were sister in laws that didn't like one another pre-Steve while Kat/Eva are recently discovered half sisters that don't like one another. 2) Alice kept Steve at arms length in part due to what happened to her sister Pat when she went all the way (abortion and murder trial)... while Kat is keeping Tomas at arms length in part due to the men in mom/aunt's lives cheating on them. 3) Rachel enticed Steve until he succumbs to her advances... Eva has already made one overture to Tomas.. who is remaining strong.. for now. A traditional soap opera trope can be used in 2025 if the acting is good and the character motivations check out. Chelsea/Bill/Hayley were a good combo today. June and Hayley have to be related... they sound alike and kind of act alike. So hot busboy seems kind of shady... but having Jacob's dad and partner involved in what happened to Martin makes me think perhaps maybe Joey could be involved also?

For me, I was a small child home during the summer of 1991.. and I turned the tv onto All My children and found myself loving Hayley and thinking she was hilarious... and I became an AMC fan. The Natalie well story was far fetched, but there were two long term effects of that story... the introduction of Dimitri & Janet becoming pregnant with Trevor's child. Considering that we had Stuart hiding in an attic, the whole Goldie/Silver story, and Erica yelling at a bear.... it wasn't as if AMC wasn't a little wacky pre Nat/Janet.

The backstory of Doug III's dad's conception in the 70s was interesting (Doug III's dad was conceived via IVF)... and I'm glad the show in the few years has been going back into the history to resurrect some stories/character threads. Chanel is a wonderful example of the classic female ingenue/heroine of yesteryear.. and her popularity shows that this type of character is as welcome in 2025 as in the past. All one needs is decent writing and a strong actress to play that type of character.

My late mom and all of her GL watching friends in the Chicago area loved Jeffrey/Reva as a couple... that they thought he seemed to accept her for her without wanting her to change. I think they related to her because they were in the same boat/close to the same age as the Reva character... and most of them rolled their eyes at the Josh/Reva coupling. What's funny was my mom went on a rant when the show was ending about how Pam Long ruined the show... and I asked her what characters/couples she loved on GL. She said she loved Billy/Vanessa (told her Long created that coupling), she loved Tony/Annabelle (told her Long created that coupling), she loved the 4 mousekateers (told her Long created that), she loved Fletcher.. and his couplings with Claire, Maeve, and Alexandra (told her Long created those), and she even said she loved Reva's siblings Roxie and Rusty (told her again Long created them)... and then when she mentioned loving India + Lujack/Beth.. she said 'let me guess... Pam Long created them). While I think Pam Long/Gail Kobe did damage with some of their decisions... the ratings remained in the top 5 (hitting #2 in the summer of 1984, and #4 during the climax of the Infinity story in November 1985). And part of why the ratings didn't faltered too badly was because she wrote compelling/interesting stuff... some in a trainwreck sort of way.. others in memorable ways. And it seemed to appeal to the under 35 viewer at the time. Now had there been more then basic cable as an option during that time.. ratings would have probably been weaker for all soaps... so GL could get away with some of their decisions because the options weren't as vast as they are nowadays.

I think no adjustments have been made in terms of the character of Ashley or Ashley/Derek. I think Ashley being a Mary Sue/eager beaver was always meant to be a facade.. and that what we're seeing of Ashley now is the real Ashley getting a rude awakening that the vision she had of her life/future isn't turning out the way she thought it would. Now had MVJ and writers written more scenes of Ashley with her mother Jan, or even scenes where Ashley mentioned more about her childhood... it would have helped the viewers get more of a sense of who she is. I also think Ashley has a lot of conflicts brewing in her head... she thinks Derek is who she should be with... but her heart really feels something completely different.. and it's causing her to lash out. Maybe she knows who her father is, and if it's Joey.. it makes sense why she would intentionally go for someone like Derek. Someone the opposite of her father, and also thinking she wouldn't be like her mother....but I will say that Andre wouldn't be a bad choice. The episode from earlier this week where Dani expressed doubts about her/Andre and that she fears he'll hurt her is classic foreshadowing on a soap opera. I have a feeling Ashley will realize she might have feelings for Andre.. and Andre will feel torn because he only went with Dani because Ashley wasn't available to him. It's sad that I can think of more avenues/motivation for Ashley then the very people writing her.

I think Jessie was a red herring If I recall correctly, Dinah had originally been adopted by Jessie's uncle and aunt (her father's sister).. but they were killed in a car accident and she got passed around to different families before working in the carny. I think Dinah came onto the show in mid 1986 looking for her foster sister Dorie... who was being adopted by India. While that was going on, Ross/Vanessa were looking for their daughter and they thought that Jessie was their real daughter (probably because of her father being the one that handled the adoption)... and I don't know how it came out that Dinah was their daughter.. or if she was meant to be the daughter.. or if one of the writing regime changes made it so.

I also think that what we've seen of Dani for the past 75 or so episodes is probably something that Nicole and her parents have laid witness to their whole lives. While I agree June looks 30+ years old, she's also lived out on the streets for awhile without access to skincare, make up, etc.... while Hayley looks as though she loves to shop and pamper herself all the time.

The two sound alike, act alike, and kind of look as though they could be sisters... and it would give Hayley someone to interact with that's family outside of Bill and the Duprees

I have to second that. They had a lot of chemistry I actually think Andre has a rescuer/hero complex that probably stems from the loss of his parents. Hence why he's taken on such a protective/rescuer vibe with Dani and always is there for Ashley when she's going through angst. It's the only explanation I can think of for why he has a busybody type of thing when it comes to both Dani and Ashley. Perhaps that tendency was why he was previously a 'ladies man'.. though we saw no evidence on the show of this only comments from other characters alluding to that.

I do recall the Reva being sighted on an Italian travel show.. it was when Josh/Harley had become engaged and were ready to take the plunge. And Nadine lets Billy into WSPR to get a copy of the tape, and I think he also thinks it could be Reva... but isn't sure. I think Robert Newman was leaving so this was the shows way to write him off, also to throw a bone in by mentioning Italy and having Josh go to Italy since Guiding Light was hugely popular in Italy. I remember he went off alone, then weeks later wrote a letter to Harley telling her not to wait for him.. then Josh has Sarah bring the kids with her to Italy while Hawk remains as the guy running Company through the rest of 1991 (he even had a few scenes with Bridget.. trying to keep her in line because she was being mischievous at Company) before he stops appearing on the show.

They were actually in her story bible when the show was being developed... but I view them as the 'token' happy couple that are perfect for one another on paper... but in reality, the two are not as perfect for one another as one would think. I predict that they aren't end game and were never meant to be end game (i.e Brooke Logan and her first boyfriend Dave Reed on B & B were never meant to be end game... and I think Derek/Ashley will be like that as well... if the show hurries up and breaks them up completely.. that is). @TaoboiIn regards to Joey/Vanessa/Doug.. my little heart is happy to see them on this week.. but I was hoping for at least one episode last week where Vanessa talks to Nicole/Dani about Joey and basically admit they were right and maybe she could have participated in the pottery therapy session. It would have made the last two episodes make more sense with her renewed confidence and trying to get back into the drivers seat after being played by both Joey and Doug.