Soaplovers

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.

Lack of affiliate clearance and ranking 3rd in the markets that it did air at 12:30/11:30 ensured that their days were numbered. When I was looking at the weekly ratings provided by Jason47, the switching of time slots for Loving/Ryan's Hope actually helped SFT some since there were a few weeks where SFT was close to ranking higher than Loving. Even in the fall 1983 episodes being uploaded on YT, Wendy is still shown as not being a complete schemer. She was shown feeling guilty over what she did to Suzi, confused over her feelings for Warren, while she still had a close relationship with Stephanie. She still resembled the nice ingenue Wendy, who happened to make a mistake and was trying to figure out a way forward. 1985's Wendy is basically whatever the plot calls for without any layers nor nuances that was plain to see back in mid to late 1983 during the Warren/Suzi/Wendy triangle (which loses steam with Cindy Gibbs leaving and her replacement not being up to the task). And the Stephanie/Wendy fighting over Bela story seemed very out of character given the many years of history where Stephanie/Wendy were a team against the world. They bickered, but you could tell that the two loved one another. Had the show not fired/driven Maree of the show.. I don't think the Stephanie/Wendy relationship would have ever devolved into the fighting over the same man trope..imho. During the Locher Room interviews with both Shaffer and Peluso (separately done).. when both were asked about working with one another.... it didn't sound like they had a horrible working relationship.. but that they both had to figure out how to develop a rapport with one another. All Peluso would say was that it was very different, but wasn't a bad working relationship.. while Shaffer said Peluso wasn't a bad working partner.. but could tell she was basically checked out and ready to go.

From looking at the character bio for Cecelia on that Loving website, I agree that the character wouldn't have stayed long term at least the way Staab appears to have played the character. If the dates listed on that website were accurate, Staab played the part for five months, Alice Haining played the part for about seven months, and Dion played the part for almost a year and half. There was a picture of Cecelia as played by Staab and wow.. she was a Madonna wannabe with teased blonde hair, tight black mini dress, and acting coy with Steve. The episode I saw of Haining's Alice had her wearing a black leather jacket with her hair styled almost like Trisha's.. and Dion seemed to be styled more like Ava in the episode I came across of hers. This was all due to the fact that the character wasn't an actual character.. but an obstacle trope. Staab's Cecelia was an obstacle/distraction that kept Steve/Trisha apart. Apparently her and Trisha had a catfight that resulted in both falling into the Alden pool. Another element that was in play was her relationship with her controlling father that owned the garage where Steve was working. Her fear of him finding out she defied his orders to stay away from Steve caused her to lie that Steve raped her. And the height of that story was in play in November 1985 when Staab quit the show to go work at Guiding Light as Jesse.. so I understood why the show panicked and had to quickly find a replacement over the weekend.. which probably explains why Haining was cast (who didn't resemble nor act like Staab whatsoever). During Haining's stint, Cecelia is less a bad girl and more tortured and feeling remorse over how her lie has caused trouble for Steve. Her main functions during her stint was trying to make up for her lie by helping Steve/Trisha.. first with warning Steve about his ex cell mate Spider and his plans for Trisha.. and then stealing to give to Steve/Trisha so that they could escape. Meanwhile, her father moves his abuse from psychological to physical by beating Cecelia for stealing money from his garage, but he ends up dying. The final leg of her stint involves her moving into Kate's bording house, pretending to date Spider in order to save her late dad's garage since he was working at the garage in order to help funnel drugs through there and to throw him off the trail of finding Steve/Trisha. Once Steve/Trisha defeat Spider while on the run and have returned, Dion appears to now be playing Cecelia.. and her Cecelia is back to being an obstacle for Steve/Trisha... and that lasts until at least the summer of 1987 where her schemes are exposed by Steve and he leaves her for Trisha. Her last few months involve her saving Steve/Trisha by taking a bullet meant for them.. and then briefly dating Rick before believing the rumors he's sleeping with Gwyneth and decides to leave for a new life. Most of her time on the show was basically an obstacle If Lorna Forbes into a heroine was a mistake especially when she totally could have fit in the slot as the obstacle between Trisha/Steve.. with the added conflict that the two girls were cousin... and it would have poured fire into the feud between their mothers Ann and Gwyneth. Instead of the being tortured by her controlling mother in law and Zona.. then standing trial for killing Zona, then going to jail, getting together with her far too old lawyer and trying to be a step mom to his resentful daughter. All of that story plays between March 1986 to January 1987 before Lorna is written off (and Susan Walters quits/fired in the middle of that story so I have a feeling the recast only was hired to finish the story and then be ushered out of town)>

I didn't mind the Dreaming Death story since there was actual high stakes with Hilary almost dying, the gothic way Lesley Ann passed away, and it gave airtime/focus to the Cedars hospital crew. Most of her convoluted stories did have some positives that affected the show in some way long term like the Dreaming Death story, the Tony/Annabelle cottage story, and the Largo story. And they were umbrella stories. For me, the biggest misfires were as follows: - Roxie having amnesia in Alaska story.. which introduced the Kurt character. It didn't involve anyone outside the Lewis orbit, didn't really have any long term implications for anyone, and it just seemed stupid. - Floyd being the killer of Andy Ferris, kidnapping India and being obsessed with Beth. And two smaller misfires: - Nolarobics - I say this was a smaller one because it wasn't offensive, but it just screamed we have no ideas for Nola so let's get her into exercise. The upside was that it did serve to bring characters in separate orbits together in one central location (i.e. Rick, Katie, Beth, Lillian, Nola, Annabelle, Tony, etc). - Dinah/Alan Michael/Cam/Dinah - I say this was a smaller misfire because I viewed this as Long's attempt at recreating the 4 Mouseketeers magic.. but lightening sometimes doesn't strike twice. The upside was that two out of the four characters were popular.. so it wasn't a total wash. I think he left the first time in spring of 1984 (I believe it was April or May).. and it was a shame he left because he and Beverlee had great antagonistic chemistry as brother/sister.. and their rapport was just getting explored when he left the canvas. 1) I think Jerry V said in one of the Locher Room interviews that he wore the dunce/idiot cap twice... one during his marriage to Carrie and during the Blake and the dual father twin story caper. I was surprised that Ross was devoid of any sex appeal during the Marland era because he seemed to have it in spades during the Pam Long/Nancy Curlee era circa 1984-1993 2) Diane was very sexual and was a feminist in her own right during the Dobson era.... sadly even her confident sexual aura was watered down during the Marland era. Why she couldn't have been sent to prison in 1981.. I'll never understand.

From what Rebecca Staab said in a Locher Room interview, Cecilia was supposed to have been a 6 episode stint.. and was more like a Madonna/Cyndi Lauper esque character. However, the show liked her and kept writing more episodes for her without wanting to sign her to a contract. She booked Jessie on GL and her agent told the show on a Friday that she would not be coming back to work after that day since she booked a contract role so the show had to scramble to recast the role since she was supposed to come back the following Monday to tape. I saw an episode with Alice Haining playing Cecilia.. and she didn't come across as blue collar at all. I never saw Colleen Dion's take on the character.

Wow.. Madonna softening with age? Anything is possible

I was under the impression that Hayley was still working at the law firm. Since she was bringing pick up meals to go back to the office, and there was one scene where she was shown working in his office at a separate area from him. I do like the idea of Derek/Hayley becoming semi friends and interacting on occasion with Ashley being bothered/insecure because she's afraid that Hayley is after her man LOL I think it was established that Vanessa came from money during one of her talks with Joey while Jan works at Vanessa's house (I assume as a servant).

Marland wasn't good at writing for complex female characters so it would make sense that he couldn't make heads or tails on Anne and the potential of the Anne/Lorna mother and daughter relationship. His writing of Gwyn/Trisha's mother/daughter conflict was basically a blue print for his writing of Lucinda/Lily. Except that in this case, Gwyn was in the wrong and Trisha wasn't an entitled brat. And I think once Nixon came back in mid 1985, she couldn't get a read on the Anne nor Lorna characters since they were changed too much by the Marland era so she leaned in on their romantic lives vs their professional lives. She probably found more inspiration from the Kate/Ava relationship and their dynamic then she did from Ann/Lorna or Gwyn/Trisha. I like your idea of a Trisha/Lorna/Steve triangle. It would have saved the show from creating Cecelia Thompson (a 6 episode character that ended up lasting a year and played by three completely different actresses).