Soaplovers

I do think Macy and Thorne would have still happened had Norcross stayed on.  In fact, more would have been done with the Deveney/Angela story had Norcross stayed on as Thorne.  

4 hours ago, Franko said:

Yes, that's correct, Paul, Suzanne had signed with CBS. She was scheduled to start production on her comeback series (playing a flight attendant, not sure if this was "Suzie") the day after the first special aired. It ended up not making it to the 1982-83 season. Suzanne claims that ABC put pressure on CBS, saying they couldn't reuse any of the Chrissy Snow characterization. Which you would think would inspire the writers to want to come up with something different for Suzanne, but I digress. Anyway, in the end, Suzanne ended up having two annual specials ('82 and '83) before she moved on.

And here's most of that first special ...

 

Also on YouTube is the pilot to Goodbye, Charlie, from 1985. It's okay, with Suzanne as a womanizer reincarnated as a woman and John Davidson as his/her best friend. The premise dates back to the original Broadway play starring Lauren Bacall and the subsequent Debbie Reynolds movie, but the physical comedy definitely wouldn't be out of place on Three's Company and for whatever reason, I'm getting a Daryl Hannah in Splash kind of vibe.

(I certainly didn't expect to be talking so much about Suzanne Somers tonight, but here we are.)

 

Maybe CBS should have done a variety show with Suzanne.  She was an entertainer and would have gotten ABC off their back.

Pilot.was kinda cute.  I don't think it would have had legs long term, but she definitely wasn't playing Chrissy Snow in it.

Sally in these early episodes was much more grounded and a threat... not used for comic relief, or the butt of the joke.  When Macy was first introduced, there was sort of a Mildred Pierce vibe going on between the two that quickly got dropped.

Shannon coming back from the dead on ATWT in the 90s.

Throughout the episode, Duncan had an argument with Jessica because she was at a protest.  He gets a call that his wife is in custody so he goes to where she's at.  And he looks in shock and the last frame was Shannon's disheveled look before end credits..and on a Friday 

25 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

OC  

 

OMG!!! Not that wannabe of a musician's daughter leaking reunion pictures!!!!

 

 

AND...

 

Thoughts?

 

 

I like what they're wearing.  It seems realistic in terms of what women would wear in their day to day life if going to a company party, or a night out on the town.

Emily's dress would look better without those poofy things on her shoulders.

Gina isn't a housewife and should be demoted next season.

I've said NJ has needed a shakeup for 2 seasons.  They need to add someone new subtract someone out every season.

OC may have issues, but at least you know that the current cast configuration changes season to season.

On 3/9/2022 at 3:26 PM, DRW50 said:

Sadly, not a surprise.

 

I've read that some of Congress want a breakdown on what the previous allotments have been spent on.. and I don't think that's out of the question.  Where are we going to get all this money, because I'm not seeing anyone asked nor answer this question.

And Covid will always have variants, so lets ramp up treatment development and capacity so that the people unable to benefit from vaccines can be helped.

8 hours ago, Khan said:

The exact same thing happened to "Murder, She Wrote."  As long as CBS kept them on Sundays at 8/7c, the show was a powerhouse.  But, the minute Les Moonves moved it to Thursdays (because it skewed too old and he wanted it gone), the ratings sank like a stone.

KL worked for most viewers at 10:00.  It was their opportunity to unwind and watch something enjoyable before their local news or bed.  That's what you call "appointment television."

One of the reasons KL survived into the 90s was because of that timeslot of Thursday 10 PM.

It was a consistent 2nd place in the time slot from the 87 to 93, plus their ratings didn't decline from their lead in (in fact, in the 1988 to 1989 seas9n..their ratings were a lot higher than any show CBS placd in the 9 PM time slot).

Salt Lake City: 

Little girl is too smug.  We need a replacement for Mary...one that keeps her in check.

Meredith's look of disbelief after hearing Lisa's reason for the hot mic moment was hilarious.

Orange County:

Our dear Meghan king is now a reaction channel 

40 minutes ago, Khan said:

The ONLY way I could see a 90-minute soap MAYBE working is if you were to split up those 90 minutes into three 30-minute blocks, with each block focusing on a particular set of characters, but all under the banner of ANOTHER WORLD.  Even then, however, you still have the risk of viewers watching only the blocks that interest them and tuning out the rest.

Didn't they do that with Somerset originally... even titling it Another World: Somerset? 

2 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Donna was probably the most interesting of the Logans to me and the most modern in her day. Her character was openly ambitious, wanted better for herself and it her happiness was never tied to one man. I can't figure out why the decision was made to take the character in the direction she was taken in the third year and beyond.

 

Bill Bell seemed kind of impulsive in his writing.  He probably decided to refocus the show on Spectra vs Forrester... and just dropped the Logan family.  

Only reason he probably kept Donna was because she was more connected to the concept of the show due to her being model, etc... then the other Logans.  I think it was a shame that they dropped Nick and also dropped the Donna/Bill mentor relationship... but I did think it was wise to tie her to the Spectras via her friendship with Macy (fulfilling the void left by Katie) and being a model for their brand.

And it worked to further the dislike Stephanie had for the Logan's because she viewed Donna working for Spectra as another black mark she had against that family.  I just didn't like that the show had her fall for Thorne when I think she could have been viable with her own story/focus over on the Spectra side.

I also don't think Bill Bell was capable of writing a modern woman without tying her to a man.. and I think that's what he tried to do with Donna in year 3 with Thorne before having her just floating around with nothing to do in year 4 except be the talk to for Brooke and a recast Storm.

20 minutes ago, Khan said:

I think Ann Marcus had a target on her back the moment she walked onto the FC set. 

Earl Hamner liked her and trusted her and wanted her to have a more active role BTS, but Robert L. McCullough was out to remove her and anyone else he felt threatened his security on the show.  That's what Marcus meant when she referred to a producer who had Jane Wyman's ear or whatever. 

Moreover, according to Marcus' autobiography, "Whistling Girl," she knew she was in trouble after she defended an actor (I suspect Mel Ferrer) whom Wyman had made disparaging comments about.  After that incident, things cooled between producer and actor.  Ergo, I suspect Wyman herself played a hand in having Marcus removed from the show as well.

And then there are the rumors that Stephen Black and Henry Stern were fired after S3 because someone (Wyman again?) found out they were gay and living together.  (Although, if the rumors are true, then how did they get back onto for S8?  Unless it was McCullough or (...gulp...) Hamner who found them disgusting?)

Between DYNASTY and FC, it's truly a contest to see which primetime soap's backstage life was messier, lol.

I tend to believe the OTHER story that I've heard/read over the years: that Ana-Alicia was fired (and Melissa was written out) before her contract was officially over; and that they brought her back as Samantha rather than pay her for episodes she wouldn't have been in.

From what I heard, she got paid for two contracts in season 8... the Melissa one, and the contract for playing Samantha.

I do sense in the early episodes Beth/Eric were end game especially with the original actress playing Beth.

Interesting that in the bible that Caroline was only meant to be short term.

And while I agree with phasing out the Logans, I do think that Brooke being the sole Logan and being focused on did hinder the show.  She was kind of a limited character in terms of story avenues.

On the other hand, Donna had a lot more avenues to have explored with being a model, working briefly at Spencer Publications, and having that pseudo father figure Bill....her story got short shafted by year 3..and becoming tied to Thorne in year 3.

16 hours ago, BetterForgotten said:

This crap may as well been a new show entirely, or a spinoff. And whoever thought the visibly Italian-American Kristian Alfonso should play a character of Mexican heritage needs to be stoned.

 

I don't get why they didn't create an Italian American character for Alfonso to play.  Someone back with an axe to grind against Angela due to her family losing their land, etc.

17 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

I respectfully disagree. I sincerely thought Heather was trying to include Ryne and make him feel comfortable and not silenced because Jen was a drunk mess and was not handling the situation at all.

The scenes did make me wonder if Ryne is potentially neurodiverse. He did not seem to be picking up on conventional social cues.

I partly think Ryne is an introvert, but seeing how Jenn acted after drinking too much...I think he shuts down because of how verbally abusive she gets.

On the surface, you would be right about Heather...but she's a classist.  A modern day Karen.

Rhoda was good..when she was married and it was like a Mad about you for the 70s.  When they broke up, ratings did fall and the show became a pale version of Mary Tyler Moore.

Phyllis had a good start..but having a lead actress murdered in real life after a few episodes had filmed was an omen.  Had that not happened..I think it would have lasted beyond 2 seasons.

One the issues with spin offs is that the character is watered down in order to be the lead.  Rhoda, Addison on Private Practice (when she would visit Grey's, she was her old self), the Ropers, etc. 

5 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Family Matters and The Facts of Life were my favorites.

The Facts of Life also had a lot of attempted spin-offs which never materialized...

• "Brian & Sylvia" – A season two episode in which Tootie and Natalie go to Buffalo, New York to visit Tootie's Aunt Sylvia, a black woman (played by Rosanne Katon) who has recently married a white man, played by Richard Dean Anderson (the future star of MacGyver and Stargate SG-1). Ja'Net DuBois of Good Times played Ethel, who was both Tootie's grandmother and Sylvia's mother.^[28] The episode never developed into a series and in the season five episode "Crossing the Line", Tootie mentions Brian's and Sylvia's interracial marriage and says that the two have recently gotten divorced.
• "The Academy" – A season three episode set at Stone Academy, an all-boys military school that was near Eastland. In this episode, the girls at Eastland attended a dance with the boys from the military school. The boys included actors Jimmy Baio, Ben Marley, David Ackroyd, Peter Frechette, and John P. Navin Jr.
• "Jo's Cousin" – Another season three episode, in which Jo visits her family in the Bronx, including her cousin Terry, a fourteen-year-old girl (played by Megan Follows) going through adolescence in a family full of men. The family included actors Grant Cramer, John Mengatti, Donnelly Rhodes, and D.W. Brown.
• "The Big Fight" – A season four episode set at Stone Academy, a boys' military school. Natalie comes to visit a boy who tries to impress her with his boxing. This episode includes the same cast from the season three episode "The Academy", with the addition of '80s 'nerd' icon Eddie Deezen.
• "Graduation" – This spin-off was to revolve around Blair and Jo's life at Langley College.
• "Big Apple Blues" – A season nine episode in which Natalie spends the night with a group of eccentric young people living in a SoHo loft, and decides to remain in New York to begin her life. Two of the tenants in the loft were played by David Spade and Richard Grieco.
• "The Beginning of the End/Beginning of the Beginning" – The two-part series finale sees Blair buying Eastland to prevent its closing. Blair finds that the school is in such dire financial straits that she is forced to make the school co-ed. Blair then essentially adopts the Mrs. Garrett role as she presides over the school and is forced to deal with the trouble-making students in a plot line that is highly reminiscent of the season two premiere. The new Eastland students included Seth Green, Mayim Bialik, future Oscar-nominee Juliette Lewis, and Meredith Scott Lynn.

I would have liked the Blair buying Eastland concept if Jo was the teacher working there..and the two having to be co Mrs Garrett's.

I remember the show started hinting at pairing Drew and J Chamberlain...but Ethan Erickson quit.  

regarding Cain... I think Pam Long had created his character with the intention of pairing him with Reva.  However, she left the writing team in early 1986 for maternity leave and then was on SFT.  So I don't know if Cain would have ended up psycho...or if she would have used him as a worthy obstacle once Josh came back in late 1986.

Mr Lindsey: Holly's 3rd husband during her Switzerland years.  Blake and him didn't get along..and the marriage caused friction between Holly and Blake.  Shame no writers thought to bring him on during the late 90s/early 2000s for Holly.

KL should have made her a mini Abby in training.  Imagine Karen raising a mini Abby (Diana) and Abby raising a mini Karen (Olivia).

The idea was touched on some with Diana going to Abby for advice/comfort...while Olivia would go to Val and, to a lesser extent, Karen.

I'm glad the show remembered Olivia and Val's bond...where Olivia went to Val for advice on her marriage.  A small scene..but showed how close the two were even if not in scenes as much in later seasons.

I also liked seeing the day to day things all the characters did...Lilimae and Val at the grocery store...Abby/Gary taking Olivia and Brian to a fast food restaurant.

Also one time Abby knew how to make fries..and Greg asked how she learned it..and she said 'I worked at a fast food restaurant' when I was young.  Showing Abby still had a bit of working class in her.

Those little moments made them more relatable.  Could you imagine Blake or Krystal at a fast food restaurant..or Alexis at the supermarket?

OC:

Heather isn't perfect, in fact, she's probably the most insecure housewife I've ever seen. And she covers her insecurities by looking down on others. She isn't any better than Ryne.

And I wonder if Ryne shuts down because of the way his wife drinks.  She seems emotionally abusive and holds her profession/education over his head.  If the roles were reversed, people would be all on her side.  Double standard.

NJ

Can I say team no one?  I wouldn't be friends with any of them....well except Jackie (only to see Evan in a swimsuit).

Bet these women wished Meredith were still not engaging lol

RHOSLC

With Mary now gone, I'm curious who the next target will be.  

And I believe that Mary had the same function on SLC that Kim Richards had on BH....and her absence will create a void like Kim's did on BH.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

I love that even David Jacobs can't tell us exactly what the Wolfbridge Group did, lol.

IA that Abby was someone who was, at least in part, motivated by her love and concern for her children.  She wasn't just out to get rich; she also wanted to secure Brian and Olivia's futures, so that they wouldn't have to make the same sacrifices she'd made when she was younger. 

DYNASTY tried to paint Alexis as having that same sense of self-sacrifice for Fallon, Steven, Adam and Amanda, but it never felt convincing.  No matter how much Alexis claimed to love her kids, you know that if Abby had been in her shoes, she wouldn't have left (or been forced out of) Denver or the Carrington mansion without them.

Agree.

Look at how Abby managed to convince her ex she was in love with him, and then filed a court order barring him from being around the kids.  All because he took her kids and hurt her.

You know she would done anything to get her kids back...and I think had she been in Alexis' shoes...she would have married someone with as much power and wealth as Blake in order to get her kids back.

Not only did Paper Dolls get placed in a shaky timeslot, it was also preempted due to the World Series.

Dallas or Knots Landing could handle that..but a new soap needs to be on every week in order to get people hooked.

@te.I would have dropped the Harper angle since the wealthy family angle was already handled.  

Dack Rambo could have been Wesley looking for a model for his cosmetics company, Blair could have still been the 'aging' model, and the red headed lawyer could have been legal counsel for Racine's agency..and her boyfriend could have still done the story on Racine.

You needed someone strong willed to lift the weak writing for Frankie....like how Linda Evan's did that for Krystle