Soaplovers

Considering that a soap opera hasn't been launched in over 25 years, I think the show is doing well. In 2025, you're not going to get a soap opera on the level of soaps you watched before the 1990s for a variety of reasons. - All scenes are filmed out of order. No longer do shows do the live to tape process. - No longer are there rehearsals before filming the episodes. - Most of the greats retired/passed away without teaching a lot of the new generation how to produce or write a soap opera in the pre 2000 way. Also, this isn't filmed where soap operas were filmed so the show is using local talent that is hitting it out of the park. It reminds me of the CBN soap Another life that used local talent in the Virginia beach area. Lastly, soaps take several months to get going.. and I think the show is in good shape after 56 episodes (at least compared to other soaps that started in the late 80s and 90s like Generations, SunSet Beach, Passions, etc)

Actually.. I thought she restored Katie back to her more fun loving/self deprecating spirit after being watered down by Marland. Even the actress that played Katie puts the blame more on Gail Kobe than Long. I think I understood what she was trying to do with Nola.. but it didn't work. She was trying to write a character that gets her happily ever after with the man she loves... but struggles with the reality of living in real world after getting her happy ending. However, the way she went about it was all wrong. Trish, she wisely made the peacemaker of the Lewis family.. though I could understand the actress probably growing restless with being the pragmatic peacemaker by 1985. Unpopular opinion: I actually think Beth should have stayed dead. I think it made his embracing of the dark side of Spaulding more realistic once she was dead.. and as we saw, it did affect his relationship with Chelsea during that period.

Charmed and Party of Five didn't do too good with the diverse concept... I doubt 7th Heaven will either. Perhaps maybe do a diverse show about a female minister and her husband and call it something other than 7th Heaven. I know it's going out on a limb to actually come up with something different and to title it differently.

The writers need to reign in Vanessa' character... I can see the actress is trying to reign in the character.. but the writing isn't helping her in her quest. Dani has been going on and on and on about being insecure since the end of her marriage for 55 episodes.. and I'm sick of it. She's in bed with a younger attractive man and she won't shut up about her insecurities. I want to tell Andre that the sex isn't worth being tied to this emotional vampire. No wonder Bill cheated on her (and I do sometimes side with the cheater). I'm really hoping Derek/Ashley are breaking up soon because she's been a total witch and he can do so much better. Have him in another scene with Hayley or even a 1:1 with Shanice. I think that's a Danielle Paige quirk. Her novels are all about symbolism, and she did say that Claire Labine mentored her at Guiding Light.

The only Camden kid I liked was Mary... and I don't know if Jessica Biel would want to go back to playing that character or not.

Oddly.. Chase and Steve seem to have both vanished from the canvas in December so the Estelle return loses impact when two of her kids stop appearing shortly after her return (and I assume TR leaves in early 1986 as well). The Steve recast doesn't work... but it's odd that he has a long scene with Teri with Cagney looking jealous.. when the majority of his time on the show previously was a relationship and engagement to Stephanie (who he barely has a scene with in the episodes I see). Your idea for Wendy/Bela/Stephanie sounds just like what Ryan's Hope did with Michael/Kim/Rae... and considering Louise Shaffer was playing Rae and Stephanie.. it would have been a lousy redux of a superior story on another soap (that had months of build-up) I think Quinn becoming assistant to Stephanie was Mayer/Braxton... but not 100 % sure. I don't know if Mayer/Braxton was setting up Sarah as a bad girl disguised as a good girl.. but the actress (Joyner) was playing the scenes in that manner.. and Tomlin wisely tapped into that when he took over.

I don't mind Dani in this mode, she fits best in a supporting role vs the main attraction. Dani being thrown into the Doug story just reeks of Reva Shayne in the late 90s/early 00s where she was involved in every storyline. Nothing makes me hate a character more then when a writer/producer shoves a character down the viewers throats. There was a brief scene between Pamela/Doug/Vanessa where Vanessa was being Vanessa.. and Pamela was giving her a look that wasn't too friendly (not a look of dislike, more a look of someone that is looking down on someone else). I think the divorce/split between Jon and Cady was friendly/ not messy.

Her voice reminds me somewhat of the late Carrie Donovan (best known for Old Navy commercials).. but she was big in the fashion world I believe.

In an interesting turn of irony, when Somerset came onto the airwaves in 1970... it ran against Dark Shadows and beat it in the ratings fairly quickly. Then when Edge of Night moves to ABC in December 1975 and put against Somerset, the slow ratings rise that Somerset was allegedly having in late 1975 is derailed. From reading the write ups of the final year, the show dropped the May/December romance.. which viewers enjoyed and was getting the show some good press... the original cast member was sidelined due to medical issues, and the show featured pure crime stories without any balance. I think the crime focus was an attempt to compete with EON. However, people that were into crime stories/mysteries weren't going to tune into Somerset for their fix.. not when Edge of Night was known for that.. and that show was running on a high quality wise when the network switch occurred.

The Perkins family had potential to be a nice alternative to the more dysfunctional Capwells and wackier Lockridges... but I think a few factors did in the family. 1) Recasting of Joe Perkins 2) Bad casting of the Perkins Patriarch, and the one note writing for that character. 3) Lack of antagonistic interaction between the Capwells/Lockridges and Perkins. (There was no awkwardness between Jade/Ted.. or CC disapproving of his son being friends with that Perkins girl, etc). 4) Wasting of Jade thus wasting the potential of the actress (which was realized on Days of Our Lives). She had more potential than Laken oddly enough. The only member of the Perkins family that had appeal and a somewhat thought out story arc was Amy.

If NBC could have for seen the ratings of Lovers & Friends (the replacement for Somerset).. they would have for sure kept Somerset on the air longer. https://jason47.com/days/ratings1976.html (ratings for Somerset in the final year) https://jason47.com/days/ratings1977.html (ratings for Lovers & Friends short run...getting as low as a 2 rating).

Alan not reading the book was probably wise because he didn't interrupt as much and the five guests (Caryn and Tom especially) were all talking to one another with little to no input from Alan. I think Caryn was pretty honest about the common bond of being young, new to soaps, and venting about the confusing structure of their stories that bonded them together. And she was right that the stories changed left and right... her character alone had several stories/love interests during that two year period. Kin was also a bit bitter and I can't blame him considering he was forced on the soap.. and the show really didn't know what to do with him and Rauch made him feel unwelcome to boot. I'm sure he enjoyed hanging with everyone when not at the studio.. but I think he doesn't view his time there fondly.. and I can't blame him.

The post 1795 present day stories started out promising once Victoria came back from the past and she was trying to make sense of the past.. while adjusting to the present. The scene where she and Liz find Peter's grave and she expressed guilt over her actions in the past causing Peter to be accused of her crime and ending up being hung was well written and acted. It would have been perfect had she mentioned that two men that were important to her were now dead (Burke/Peter). And Angelique invading the Collins family in the present day was a result of Victoria's visit to the past and realizing that Barnabas was out and about in the 20th century started promising with her causing Liz to become paranoid about death (a call back to her paranoia over 'killing' her husband Paul).. and Victoria instantly knowing who she was and trying to warn Julia. It's a shame that shortly after those first episodes back in the present post 1795 ended up becoming too focused on the ghouls/monsters... and downplaying the more soapy elements.

From the episodes I've seen during the last few months of the shows run, the show wasn't in a perfect nor horrible place. It was decent. The highlight of the judge story was Ann Flood playing a completely 180 character from her Edge of Night days. And Stu/Jo having good focus. I think the Ireland story was an attempt to hop on the bandwagon of 80s location shoots.. and solidifying the McCleary's as the second major family outside the Stu/Jo combination family (though killing Suzi off was misguided.. especially considering Terri E had this likable everywoman element) I also see that Tomlin came back to headwriting again in late September/early October 1985... and the first thing I noticed was the mask was off Sarah and the gloves were off with Wendy. The two had good antagonistic chemistry.. and Tomlin was misguided killing her off and deep sixing the Sarah/Wendy/Quinn triangle. The alternative for all three proposed by Tomlin didn't seem any better with Wendy being put in a Suzi/Warren redux situation except it was her mother Stephanie and her new boy toy Bela. The move was plot driven and not character driven. Meanwhile Sarah is killed off just as she figured out the weird Bela/Wendy vibe and threatening to go to Stephanie... and Quinn has this sudden fascination with working class Evie that made no sense. As Marcia McCabe said during the Locher Room interview she had... she said each EP/headwriter would come in and remake the show and this done too often. And seeing the episodes from 1983/1984/1985 posted... she's correct in that view. For example, Wendy and Suzi's friendship was threatened by Warren and their mutual interest in him... but that seems to fall by the wayside due to the numerous Suzi recasts. Then a random character Justine comes on.. and the show spends months building her up as the antagonist... establishing a potentially good rivalry with Wendy. And in fact, Quinn/Justine are tested in the spring of 1985 before she leaves/is dropped.. and Sarah is introduced. Sarah is a character with no history with Wendy... and the show spends weeks setting the foundation of a rivalry between former schemer Wendy and new schemer Sarah while fighting over Quinn. Then just as the foundation has been laid down.. poof Sarah is killed off and Wendy is sleeping with the man her mother is seeing. Typing all these whiplash changes makes me understand why viewers were confused/unattached the show.... and all I typed was Wendy's situation (we won't even go into the Liza and Sunny whiplashes during that same period of time).

Dani seems the type that blew through her trust fund before she hit 30.. so she probably doesn't have any liquid assets... and neither she nor Pamela seem like they're money smart. Vanessa seems to be into experimenting. I think she and Doug both have addictions (his to gambling and her to the thrill of sex and/or getting caught). The breakdown for the episode was ok, but some of the lines were a bit off (except during the Anita scenes and the Smitty/Bill scenes) Bill/Smitty have chemistry.. shame they don't play for the same team. The messiness if they did. Kat proves one doesn't need a romantic nor sexual partner to have an active role in a storyline. Though I hope Eva/Tomas/Kat is revisted soon. June and Hayley talk alike, act alike, and even kind of look alike facially. They better be related or why the casting for both actresses?

I view the Duprees as being very insecure and paranoid about losing their status so they proclaim 'I'm a Dupree' just as much for themselves as their enemies. I swear Nicole is the Marilyn Munster of the Duprees. And the lack of in-law interactions on the show has always baffled me. When my parents were alive and we would visit family... my mom had close ties with both of her sister in laws (i.e. she and two other women were all married to brothers) and my dad got along well with his brother in law (Both of them were married to sisters). So I'm glad that we're starting to get some in law interactions because those relationships are just as valuable as the ones amongst the actual family members. Jacob/Smitty/Bill/Ted should all have some history/interactions with one another... though I admit I wish there was a hetero Dupree male because than we could have a daughter/sister in law that might not gel/get along with the other Dupree women and is closer to the Dupree men/male in laws.

I actually view Ashley as deeply repressed and not in touch with what she's truly feeling, needing, and wanting. She's more OCD/repressed than 'Type A'..imho.

I remember my late mom express passionate love of the show (being that we're Irish Americans and how Johnny and Maeve Ryan reminded her of her grandfather)... and that she viewed Jillian and Mary as role models. When the show ran on SoapNet years ago, I remember watching the early episodes and having debates with my mom over how strident and militant the show was... especially in regards to feminist issues. And how I found Mary to be a hypocrite (she's a reporter... yet can't suss out that her father and brother are both toxic and controlling)... and Jillian to not be quite a good role model (yes, she's a lawyer.. but she's happily waiting for Frank to divorce Delia and then after the divorce.. waits for him to win elections as she silently waits on the sidelines). My mom did admit that in retrospect, she did find the show to be a bit strident and explained that it was the 70s and feminism was a huge passion for her and others like her. And that was when I learned to view soaps without a modern day lens... and eventually I did find enjoyment on the show (and their St Patrick's day celebrations were always a fun tradition).

We're getting an actual personality and flaws for Ashley... so it's a good start. I'm guessing that Derek is her first serious relationship and I think she's falling out of love with Derek.. just hasn't accepted that realization as of yet. I agree that the show was diving headfirst into an Andre/Ashley pairing in the first handful of episodes, but they backed off of it and I have two theories: - Andre/Dani had a rapport/chemistry. Probably more so than MVJ or the writers anticipated so the show is probably exploring that avenue. - Based on the character template that Ashley was created from... having her stray with Andre would have been out of character and caused the audience to hate her so the show is now weaving in reasons why Ashley might be looking Andres way (i.e. grass is greener on the other side, inexperience, Derek being too basic/vanilla).

Today was definite a good episode day with surprising 1:1 scenes between Bill/Silk Press Sheila & SPS/Kat. And the final long scene between SPS/Kat with the close ups and cliffhanger reminds me so much of old school P & G/Bell soaps. It fits since Judy Tate (script writer) wrote for P & G soaps for years and Zimmerman (breakdown writer) worked on both Bell soaps. I even liked the Ashley/Derek scenes only because it feels as if there is a point to the scenes (lead up to a break up perhaps). Andre/Ashley having a scene tells me that the show is still testing them out.. and I think showing the growing disconnect between Derek/Ashley will eventually lead to the two possibly dating. NuTed.. he seems more humble and less boastful/confident than the previous Ted. Perhaps the show felt the previous Ted couldn't play remorse/humble.. and they made the switch. Time will tell. Lastly... it was a Dani free day

@j swift @carolineg I was looking at some scenes on YT of Shelley's take on Stephanie.. and her 2007/2008 take on Stephanie was very spirited, bold, and confident. I often think her ordeal in 2009 when she was kidnapped and kept in the morgue by that creepy guy probably did change her.. but I don't recall the show ever focusing on the after effects of such a traumatic event. In fact... her novel/manuscript should have been loosely based on that trauma in a fictionized account. Maybe the rest of the manuscript will involve some of that.. but I doubt Ron C would ever think to include that event in a constructive way to explain the current behaviors/motivations of Stephanie.

Thanks to the benefits of watching the last weeks of Sherry's stint as Liza and the start of Louan's stint as Liza... I can safely say that Liza would have remained the lead heroine had Sherry stayed on as Liza. Charisma is a mighty important element that makes someone watchable and likable... and Sherry had that. No disrepect for Louan because she was a good actress.. but to me, she played a more passive/neurotic Liza vs the more confident/decisive version of Liza. I think the Liza vs Estelle over TR story would have had more impact with Sherry in the role..imho.

The actress playing Stephanie seems more passive and indecisive than the previous two actresses that played Stephanie. Shayna's Stephanie had a lot of spirit and a more daredevil attitude.. while Shelley's Stephanie had this stoic confidence where she seemed like a pushover, but would push back if provoked (i.e. her interactions with Melanie). I do hope that Paula/Jeanne figure out how to write to the strengths of the current actress playing Stephanie and also play her more in scenes with Patch/Kayla where they have heart to heart talks and also delve into the father/daughter dynamics with Patch. The previous two Stephanie's kind of had Patch's temperament while this Stephanie doesn't seem to have either Patch nor Kayla's temperaments.

I remember when Andre was shooting that documentary, there was a snippet shown of Nicole where she mentioned three times that Ted hadn't been there for her. She mentioned one of the times was when Martin was ill, and the miscarriages was the second thing.. but I don't recall what the third thing was. Also, didn't Nicole/Ted say Kat was their 'miracle' baby? We assumed it was because of the miscarriages/difficulties in having a second baby.. but what if Kat had a twin that 'didn't make it'? And that twin could be Eva.

Very rarely a recast will be accepted on the first day. You have to give the new performer a bit of time to get into the groove of the character and putting their own stamp on the character.. and the writers then adjusting their writing to play to an actor's strength. Interesting that tone of voice can affect how a character is perceived, but it is one factor that can make someone be accepted as a recast.. or rejected as a recast. For instance, my late mom despised Eden playing Bianca on AMC because of her Minnie Mouse voice.. and the moment the recast debuted, my mom said 'wow.. so nice to have a more commanding tone of voice now'.