Soaplovers

Quite frankly, I welcome the sudden shift in Janel because I'm sick and tired of seeing young vibrant couples saddled with a baby when they still have a lot of avenues and conflict they could explore before being saddled down with a baby. Given his chaotic upbringing and parentage of EJ/Sami... it's realistic he would have second thoughts because of his fears of how he would be as a father. He should sit down and talk with Chanel about this because it would be interesting to get both of their perspectives since I don't recall Chanel having a typical upbringing either. While I'm happy Shawn D and Belle are divorced (never thought they had chemistry), I'm confused as to why she's drawn/in love with EJ. Does she not remember the toxicity that he brought into Sami's life? Does she think it'll be different for her because she's Belle and not Sami? I've heard of Jada, but I'm never seen her in action. It makes my heart happy when I found out that her father was Marcus Hunter He and Patch had a great male friendship back in the late 80s and it's nice to see that Marcus lives on with his daughter Jada being on the show. I don't see chemistry between Jada and Rafe.. but I saw chemistry between her and Shawn D. I've watched some Youtube scenes and episodes with Xander/Sarah.. and I still don't understand the appeal. In fact, I don't find that either of them have much acting talent, although I didn't realize that she had been on B & B as Caroline (where she had much prettier hair, was blonde, and had a nicer wardrobe). Kristen is too one note.. at least as played by SH. I've yet to see her play the layers and vulnerability that Eileen did when she played Kristen.. though her Susan is so much than Eileen's. Still trying to get use to the newer Gabi since I had a fondness for Camille's take on the character. The new Gabi is a good actress, but she has a slightly more whiny princess approach to playing Gabi vs Camille's more intense take on the character.

Unpopular opinion: I liked Dixie/Craig together as a couple... even liked that one male character that the show was chem testing her with during the Prospect Park AMC revival. Tad/Dixie breaking up and making up diluted their appeal eventually.

I wonder if anyone is tweeting MVJ, or the other powers that be, regarding their odd choice of keeping Ashley/Derek in a separate universe.. and when that issue will be fixed. If they were forced to create and write for them due to network mandate.. they need to do a better job at covering up their resentment of being forced to write for them. Also, I also echo sentiments on the overuse of slang terms for Tyrell and Samantha. Sometimes I've sat at a local coffee house to do work and there are a bunch of teens that come in during their lunch.. and all of them hardly use slang words when speaking to one another.

I always think if you're going to try out someone in the head writer position that's never written for soaps, they should be paired with someone that has soap opera writing experience as a co-head writer. Even Harding Lemay listened to Irna Phillips and said he learned from her the foundation/structure of a soap opera so he knew what he could do and not due as head-writer. Perhaps Doug Anderson needed a strong co-head writer to show him the ropes so to speak.

Good episode today in terms of character interaction and an update on the delusional three female associates wanting to take over Bill's law firm and ruin it. If I were Bill, I'd hire Joey to take out Mike for putting his law firm in that position. I've seen nothing from the way the three female actresses have played their characters to convince me that they have any sense of logic or business acumen. I do notice that this soap is a little too pro feminist, but I've yet to see much evidence to show that all the accolades the characters are given the female characters is justified... except for Naomi and Nicole so far. Both of those characters are showing their abilities and acumen. I don't feel annoyed seeing Derek/Ashley being shown because it's so apparent it's sabotage by the writers isolating them from the rest of the cast. Out of the two characters, Ashley has the most connections to the canvas.. but the writers seem unable to actually show her character in consistent scenes with those characters.

You can't have misandry on a show without a little misogynist to balance it out.

So the episode was overall fine with a lot of emphasis on Kayla, but I'm confused over people shipping Xander and Sarah. They seem to lack chemistry and her mousy hair and punch-able face makes me seriously question the decline on casting beautiful and appealing women to play characters on the soap. I think the change in head writers will first be noticed in the initial day to day episodes, but I don't think a change will be apparent in the long term story plan for awhile since they have to finish off Ron's story threads that are ongoing. Is the show thinking of pairing Chad/Cat?

My mom actually bought one of the products Lar Park Lincoln was selling on QVC called the Freedom Bag back in the day... my mom swore by it. I know that was one of the reasons she took a step back from acting. I also knew she had been battling breast cancer for years as well, but I had figured she was in remission because she had been doing interviews and stepping back into acting in the last few years. RIP

The fault of that scene not being the cliffhanger falls on the breakdown writer (Ron C) since they're in charge of outlining the events of the episode while the script writer fills in the words spoken by the characters.

That's the one consistent trait that Stephanie has had when played by Shelly H and now this current actress. It's logical since she grew up with Kayla never quite ever finding purpose/agency in her life after Patch 'dead' and even when he returned from the dead.. Kayla kind of lacked agency. Maybe the new head writer could explore that.

Olivia did have a strong friendship with Jenna, even advising her on how to navigate men and sex.. when it came to Dean. She also did have a good working relationship with Matt/Jake/Dean at the record company. Ironically, the last months of her stint with the pregnancy and her scenes with Marley while discussing the pregnancy and possible adoption were pretty good scenes. Plus, the fact that the real father was Dennis thus her baby would have been Iris's grand daughter and a Cory. While Hossack opted to leave at the end of her contract, it's a shame that the show didn't think to later recast the character and bring her back to the show with the baby and having to deal with Iris as a pesky presence in her life. Aunt Liz would have certainly gone up against Iris for sure.

Today was firing on all cylinders.. and yes I'm including Ashley/Derek in that as well LOL Joey/Vanessa had some fun double entendre talk as they discussed business.. amongst other things. Doug/Vanessa... didn't know they had it in them I have a feeling this suddenly coming together isn't due to their love for one another, but transference. He's an adrenaline junkie and she was left hot to trot from her talk to Joey. Dani... one step forward.. two steps back? Jury is still out, but it was nice to see Dani not in Bill/Hayley's orbit.. and forging a new life with Pamela as her business partner and Andre as her FWB. I'm intrigued that Chelsea's way of letting off steam is to hook back up with the couple... me thinks she inherited more than just walking a runway from her mom. Derek/Ashley were kind of cute, and I'm going to assume that these scenes are foreshadowing for the day that the two end up breaking up. At least the show realizes that the two don't really connect. I do still wonder if the hints dropped a few weeks ago about Laura and the potassium will be tied to Ashley or if that scene of Ashley melting down over making an error on a chart was just a throwaway scene. Eva vs Silk Press Sheila was a good end scene for the episode.. and a musical montage as Vanessa/Doug and Ashley/Derek share some happy time in the sack I'm excited for tomorrow.

I had no idea J. Michael Straczynski wrote episodes for this show! I'm surprised that he was a writer since he seemed more attuned to the sci fi world than the cozy mystery vibe that MSW offered. I have to admit that one of his penned episodes in season 9 'The Wind Around the Tower' was one I enjoyed watching with my parents when I was a kid. I remembered being proud because I figured out the killer and it was due to one small action that they did that made me say out loud 'They're the killer'. And as it turns out, that minor action was the method the killer used to kill their victim. I'd forgotten that Peter Fischer had left the series after six or seven seasons. His vision of the character was a merging of Miss Maples with Agatha Christie.. and I can see traits of both individuals in Mrs Fletcher. And seeing that his last written work was the quirky Dead Man's Island with a huge cast of the who's who of the 60s and 70s did kind of remind me of an extended episode of MSW with Barbara Eden playing a more urban variation of Jessica Fletcher (who was a journalist instead of a writer).

I don't know if I would ever say that MSW was a procedural. It was more like a cozy mystery that the whole family could watch and it helped that a likable actress was playing Mrs Fletcher. When watching the show, I'm struck by how much warmer the vibe was on the show during the 80s and very early 90s. I noticed as the 90s commenced, the warmth was stripped away and it felt more like a standard procedural then the cozy warm atmosphere that the show during the 80s. Trial By Error is one of the more popular/liked episodes because it had an interesting mystery, you had the various individuals with different motives in the jury, and you got to see the process where some of the jurors put together different parts of the puzzle before the verdict was read. Also, it had so many well known guest stars that it appealed to a large segment of the audience that enjoyed prime time and day time shows. What other episode would have Dr Tom Horton, Thelma Harper, the older son from Family, and a former cast member of WKRP in the same episode. It was a guest star buffet Was it due to the 90s being more minimalist and the 80s being more ornate/expressive? Or was it just a result of a show aging and maturing.

It always fascinates me seeing a soap that's firing on all cylinders like GL was in the summer of 1984 (where they ranked #2 or 3 consistently during that summer) shoot themselves in the foot so quickly as they did during the fall of 1984. Killing Hilary off in September, Writing off Mike in September, Bert ending up being off canvas due to Charita's quickly declining health starting in late 1984, sidelining Nola/Quint with that Jonathan story, Jim making eyes at his sister in law Annabelle, Reva/Billy/Josh/HB eating up airtime, etc It was a miracle that the show maintained a #3 or #4 ranking all the way through the summer of 1985 before ratings started a slight decline to #5 during the fall/winter of 1985 (only hitting #4 at the climax of the Largo story) before settling at # 5 through the start of 1986. Once Long left the writing staff and Ryder was sole head writer, the ratings really took a nosedive.

I liked during the Kat/Hayley/Bill scene that Hayley basically paid Kat no mind and resumed doing her job. I'm continuing to be fascinated by Hayley ,because she seems like she looks at the world more realistically than Bill and the Duprees do. And there have been instances where she's observed details missed by Bill (i.e. the picture frame, the bottle of wine, etc). In regards to Tomas/Eva/Kat: I recall my late mom talking about the iconic Steve/Rachel/Alice story from the late 60s/70s on AW and what she said about that triangle seems to be apply to this trio. Eva/Tomas both seem to have more in common in terms of their more working class humble beginnings.. and both striving to be join the club of the Have's. Tomas may feel drawn to Kat because of her personality.. but I do suspect it's also because she is part of that elite club that he's wanted to be a part of. Deep down, he probably is drawn to Eva.. but at the same time, knows that Kat is the safer choice. Eva is getting annoyed with Silk Press because she's realizing her mother is a loose cannon and knows that if they play their hand too quickly... they'll be out the money (for SPS) and the family (that Eva is craving).

Tudor probably would be persuaded to come back on TV for a quick stint more so than Peluso.. if her statements during her Locher Room interview still hold true. She basically said she was happily retired doing real estate and that she enjoyed her acting career.. but she knew it was time to retire.

The other soaps that debuted as an hour soap (Texas, Santa Barbara, Sunset Beach, and Passions) all had to do a soft reset of sort within the first few months of their debuts so I do have faith that might happen with BTG as well soon. We have to remember that when the show was debuting, they had about 60 episodes in the can. We've just reached 40 episodes aired so I have a feeling we're going to be seeing some minor tweaks coming along in the next weeks. I do have a feeling Ashley/Derek/Andre has been scaled back with Andre/Dani now being focused on while Ashley is now the support to other characters at the nurses desk. Pacing is the toughest thing to get right for any soap opera, and I imagine it's tougher for a brand new soap right out the gate. However, if that Instagram story shared earlier wasn't a joke, but a reality then there needs to be someone stepping in and saying 'Everyone.. we need a little less talk and a little more action'.

A lot of the higher rated episodes were some of my favorite episodes of the series. I admit I got a kick of the Sicilian Encounter episode because it was a little different than the typical MSW formula.. and Dierdre Hall was a great guest star.

The show had a promising start with the Silk Press Sheila using her daughter Eva to go undercover as Nicole's temporary assistant, Golden child Martin has some secret his grandparents are covering up, and there seemed to be a criminal element brewing with Joey trying to make a move at first chance at getting behind the gates. However, instead of properly pacing this stories so that we don't go days without them, the show is introducing stories for others that can wait awhile (i.e. Samantha's moderling, Tyrrell's bullying). I would kept both Samantha and Tyrrell off canvas and introduced them later on. I also would have scaled back on Dani's airtime since at least 50 % of her airtime is wasted and could have gone to focusing on the other three plotlines that have potential/legs. Her character is too one note, and the show would probably function better if she was written out. I think the day to day scripts have been good at establishing character relationships.. but we've not seen much progress at any of the stories. We get strong starts to these plots.. but the middle part of each plot if lacking at the moment. I'm still hanging in there.

Apparently this is still a thing with the casting for Pamela Voorhees. Interesting choice for the iconic mama of Jason. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/crystal-lake-peacock-a24s-friday-173345251.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

I think MVJ and company envisioned Dani to be the main draw of the show. This is the downside of the show early filming 60 or so episodes before the first episode dropped. I've not seen many positive comments about Dani.. so I'll be curious if MVJ can accept feedback and can adjust based on what viewers want. The initial focus of the show should have been Naomi and her feelings about the betrayal of her father and her best friend.. while Dani/Chelsea are off canvas and not on the show. Have weeks/months of conversation about Dani, talk her up, and then introduce her down the line once the show is firing on all cylinders. MVJ obviously never watched Dynasty or Y & R.. shows that knew to keep the vengeful ex wife off canvas until just the right time. Today's Dupree 'Pick Me' event was fast forward material for me. I was more interested in the Eva/Tomas scenes and the Leslie/Jan/Mona scenes... and yes even the Joey content was more interesting then the Duprees.

I saw that Danielle Paige was the script writer, and I was pleasantly surprised that she had previously done Locher Room interviews about her time on Guiding Light before she became a novelist. The two things she mentioned in the interview she did on that channel was the following: 1) She mentioned Claire Labine was the one to give her a chance at writing a script.. and was taught about soap opera writing from her. 2) She mentioned her first task when starting her soap writing career at GL was writing extra scene if the script ran short on time so she would write the 'filler' scenes that were strong and interesting. She cited a hot tub scene with Alan/Claire.. and an intense Beth/Lillian scene as her first solo scenes she wrote on an episode that Claire loved. Today, seeing the Eva and Tomas scene & the Have Not scenes really show her talent at writing those type of scenes.

Kenya would have thrived in the original concept of the Housewife franchise when it was more about their day to day life vs contrived gatherings and beefs with the other women.

The oh too short scenes are a weak point on any soap opera. Just as I'm getting into the scene, it flashes to the next scene. The whole Dupree 'Pick Me' scenes were flash forward for me.. while the other scenes sparked my interest. Is the casino Silk Press Sheila mentioned the same casino as Joey's? I wonder if one day soon, we'll see her there interacting with Joey and/or Doug? Eva and Tomas are so cute in scenes together.