Soaplovers

I remember Becca was just a trope and not a character. Although Abigail Spencer did infuse Becca with personality and a bit of a backbone.. she was able to hold her own against Greenlee and she did have chemistry with Leo. I think the choice to have Becca be uncomfortable with Bianca coming out was the final nail to the character because by the early 00s... you couldn't present naunce when writing social issue storylines unlike back in the earlier years of AMC. In regards to 'vertical scenes', TPTB were trying to get rid of those types of scenes as far back as the 80s. I remember Pam Long in an interview in 1984 said that she had so many requirements/mandates to provide plot that she would try to fit in a 'vertical scene' whenever she could in order to just show characters having a conversation.. but P & G was pushing to do away with those. That could explain why Pratt kept Nixon out of the writers room because she was probably insisting that those types of scene be included in the show.

Jasmen Darnell Brown wrote a great episode today and it was a nice relaxing day off from the ongoing dramatics of Dani (absence makes the heart grow fonder). Today we finally got some focus on Nicole and her family dynamics. Nicole is a warm and personable person, a perfect character to come into the matriarch position down the road if the show lasts many years. Kat turning out to be an unexpected foil for Eva/'Leslie' was a nice surprise... and I want to see more of her dynamic with Nicole since it appears as though Nicole relates more to Martin then she does with Kat. I also enjoyed getting to see more of Smitty, and I like the arc of him being an unfilled stay at home parent and wanting to dip his toe back into the workforce... and Nicole encouraging him was a nice touch. It probably stems from her watching Dani put her dreams aside for her marriage. Nice to see a bit more of Vanessa/Doug's rapport.. and it look as though his gambling addiction will bring about some unsavory characters. I have a feeling Vanessa will probably be losing some money down the line. Though her going gun ho over Diego at the club was a ballsy move since people do talk. Lastly, I enjoyed the breakfast scene with the three women gossiping and having fun like friends do. I love that we're getting a nice contrast between the haves and the have nots thus far.

The only soap I'd love to see come back from yesteryear would be Edge of Night, but only in half hour form like it was back in the day. You could have a close knit circle of characters that are connected to all forms of the law rather it's on the right side or the wrong side of the law. And no ultra wealthy families like the Whitney's unless they're written as being on the wrong side of the law.

Quint and Nola should have been like Nick and Nora Charles. You had hints of that dynamic during the whole 1983/1984 Annabelle Sims mystery where Nola was investigating clues with Quint going along while they bantered and balanced being newlyweds. It's a shame that they were written off in the spring 1985, when I think how much their presence would have made the 2nd half of 1985 a bit more light/whimsical to contrast the darkness of the Infinity story. In fact, I think Quint/Nola along with Tony/Annabelle could have fit in with the Infinity story due to their ties with Beth/Lujack...and the Lewis/Spauldings. Lastly, I found the weekly ratings for 1985 and I was surprised that GL didn't really suffer quite as badly as I thought they would in the 2nd half of 1985. Granted they usually ranked 5th or 6th on a weekly basis (out of 13 soaps), with an occasional jump in ratings up to 4 th (such as the last week of November 1985 which was the climax of the Infinity story). Rating didn't start falling until the first half of 1986 when Jeff Ryder was sole headwriter, which could explain why he was quickly replaced.

Didn't Bill and Hayley just close on their new place? Not enough time to go in and make it their own space yet. Or perhaps the lack of individuality in their space is done on purpose to show that their new union is just that... sterile and without warmth.

In a matter of weeks, hopefully a bright light will appear at the end of the very long dark tunnel of Ron C. He and Jamey G being hired on BTG is concerning

I think she'll be back tomorrow. Fingers crossed

Looks today's script writer was Judy Tate with Sara Bibel as breakdown writer. Today's episode seemed more focused with just Plot A and Plot B being focused on today (The press conference and the aftermath of Ashely/Andre being trapped in the elevator). Seeing the dynamics between Bill/Hayley and Bill/Dani really highlights the differences between both couples. The Bill/Dani flashback showed a partnership between a long married couple that seemed on the wavelength while Bill/Hayley is showing a couple not on the same page and not a team. When I look at Derek, I think back to a comment that we used to say to the hot guys or girls... 'Smile and look pretty'. We all know if there ends up being an Ashely/Andre/Derek triangle.. that Andre will be the winner. Either recast Derek, or get him some acting lessons. I wonder if the nurse will eventually join the gossip circle that includes Mona, Ashley's mom, and Dana(Leslie)? Would be a fun time seeing all four compare notes on the goings on behind the gate.

I wonder if Chelsea did livestream it on purpose for both views and also to stick it to her mother Dani a bit... and then plays innocent since she called attention to what she did vs someone else discovering it. Someone had stated earlier in the thread that they wished one of Bill's daughters would be more conflicted.. and I have a feeling perhaps Chelsea will turn out to be caught between both of her parents. I also wonder if maybe the show will paint her as as a chameleon, someone that changes persona based on who she surrounds herself with. I still remember the random scene between Chelsea and the guy at the bar where her persona changed a bit that leads me to that theory.

According to Karla in an interview, the production hadn't received all of its equipment for lighting and other modes of production at the start of filming.. so I think the improvement comes because they received those pieces of equipment.. plus some of the directors had never directed soaps before so they were also learning the 'soap opera technique'. Today was the first episode that MVJ didn't write, that honor went to Lynn Martin today.. with Ron C as the breakdown writer. It seemed less exposition then the episodes last week, but I have a feeling those first five episodes were written by MVJ while pitching the soap to the network. Sometimes creators have to provide a few sample scripts in order to set up the story and convince the network that the show concept has legs.

I've had my fill of Dani to last awhile... can we have a Dani free episode soon? No wonder Bill dumped her, Hailey/Hayley seems less high maintenance then Dani.. and people don't like high maintenance.

That scene really highlighted the different socioeconomical levels within Pine Valley. Phoebe had good reason to not like Dixie, but she and Enid should have just given her the cold shoulder and not trashed her within ear shot of Dixie. Enid is used to great effect into the mid 90s to great effect even when her family is no longer in town. She helped provide texture, and there were a few instances where she drew the line (i.e. during the whole Cindy situation, etc).

I think so... https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/peter-andrews-jr-obituary?id=51984408

I think I recall that the actor who played Cord had remarked at the time that the show kept doing the same story with Cord and Tina (Tina messes up, they break up, Cord meets a new girl, Tina schemes to win him back, they reunited, etc). He said when he saw that Mia Korf was hired and being paired with him in scenes, he knew that the same thing was going to happen and gave notice. I remember soap magazines in 1992 were confused over why Maggie Vega was being featured so much when the show had LK as Cassie that could take up the mantle.. and even remarked that Andrew had better chemistry with Cassie then he did with Maggie. I think originally Cassie and Andrew were friends that bonded because they were both single and she was comforting him over Megan's death and he was helping her with dealing with the Bo/Sarah situation.. and the show eventually paired them up in the summer 1992 with fun scenes while the Marty lying about Andrew being gay was playing out.

I think the show was desperate to get a veteran back that they didn't really have a plan for Josh when he showed up. TPTB had stated had Beth Ethlers/Mark Derwin not opted to leave, they would have done a Mallet/Harley/Josh triangle. There were some scenes when Josh first came back in 1993 where he visited Harley at the firehouse and she gave him a mouthful over the way he had left... and Mallet/Josh butted heads after the Dylan/Julie wedding went bust. It would have been a great story because there was definite acting chemistry between all three. After the Tangie/Josh story went bust in early 1994.. the show did try Josh out with some of the other women. He had a video blind date with Lucy, he was fixed up with Holly by Vanessa one time, and he and Jenna were at the Roadhouse one time flirting with one another. Jenna and Josh would have been a fun little fling, but I couldn't have seen them as a long term couple.

Vanessa as Dani's neighbor with the one liners/being the Greek chorus and being messy probably did more to lure in the non black fans in episode #1 then Ashley/Derek did. Just my two cents Guza is experienced with head-writing and he's worked with MVJ in the past so I think they will be a good team. See how memorable that 2 hour Port Charles movie was I remember poor Lucy hanging in the elevator shaft as well.

That was the thing about this soap, it still had some great soap opera stories even with the religious angle. In some ways, it heighten the soap opera trope of conflict and temptation... and showing the fallout of choices made. @dc11786The good stuff really gets going in the middle section of episodes (around episode 300 to 600).. though there are some interesting elements/stories that play out in the final batch of episodes that are cut short by the cancellation. Apparently, the announcement the soap was canceled came out in late August 1984 and were given only a few weeks to tie everything up. The cause of cancellation for this soap was the same thing that caused Edge of Night/Ryan's Hope/Search for tomorrow to be canceled... Affiliates.

I'm glad Guza will be helping with Head-writer duties since I don't know if MVJ will be objective enough to lead her own creation long term without some oversight and honest feedback to improve the product. Also, I've seen other soaps when they debuted (B&B, Generations, Sunset Beach, Port Charles, Passions, and now BTG), and I think that BTG was heads and shoulders above Passions and Generations in their first weeks/episodes... but it picked an odd place to start the story at least compared to Port Charles and Sunset Beach. With that said, the only things I would have done differently was to have held off on the Vanessa role playing snippets until week #2, and also chosen a better way to introduce Ashley/Derek other then a random scene in their apartment that was disconnected from the other parts of the canvas. And I would have cut out one of the Hailey groveling scenes, and maybe saved the Dani/nephew hook up for a bit later. Maybe after the Bill/Hailey wedding instead of before it. Port Charles had the benefit of a two hour Sunday night movie that aired the day before it debuted on the daytime lineup. It had a hostage situation, you got to know the interns, and the person holding the interns hostage read snippets from their files that gave the audience some backstory.. plus kick started some stories that carried over onto Monday's story (the aftermath of the hostage situation, plus the Scotty/Lucy/Kevin story getting some focus). Perhaps BTG could have had a tv movie that aired the night before? Or maybe that wouldn't have worked since tv movies haven't done well on network tv in awhile.

And I do believe we met Kat's love interest in episode 5, and she seems the most observant of the younger generation so I forsee her getting mixed up in a lot of stuff in the coming weeks.

The Adam/Dixie marriage had a gothic set up, with Tad sort of redeemed by being the one to rescue Dixie from the situation. I had forgotten about the Jackson/Julie flirtation.. but Jackson during that time was more of a grey character so it tracked that he would show Julie a bit of interest and vice versa. If I recall, this doesn't last too long and she is put in a different orbit before the end of the year. I heard that David Rampel was all looks with no personality... but if I recall, the younger set gets a few new characters that kind of pumps some life into that set.

I'm looking forward to a Dani free day because she's kind of exhausting. I'm more interested in the Nicole/Eva/'Leslie' story that is brewing and the nuggets being dropped regarding Vanessa and her role play fetish (an open marriage arrangement maybe?). Ashley has awesome best friend energy, but keep as support only. Hayley's arc is fascinating because she isn't written like the typical vixen/other woman...thus far. And sounds like her father is out there somewhere. Thank god they kept the one element from grandma's soaps....the Friday cliffhanger. And a gathering with extras, good interactions, and pretty clothes.

I viewed that talk as Vernon manipulating Dani and since she seems to be adrift right now, she falls for it. I think one of the reasons Dani is the way she is because she's never been able to live up to what her parents achieved and she isn't one to pretend everything is perfect. The Dupree family meeting really highlights that how it looks to the world matters more then the well being of each member of the family.

1) I liked the Dani/Bill scene and her interplay with both of her parents. It seems as though Dani has always been given the shaft by the family and might explain why she modeled at a young age. To get attention solely lacking from her family (not sure if accurate or based on her perceptions). 2) I would have held off on the Vanessa portion till another episode since it needed more focus. 3) I liked seeing the Naomi/Chelsea scene and getting some insight into how Dani's angst and Bill's selfishness has affected both girls. Naomi appears to have been close to Bill and Chelsea to Dani. I hope to see more scenes of Dani as a mother to both of them (the snippet we saw at the family meeting shows the control Dani has over Chelsea). 4) So far, Hayley has been written in atypical way and I like that. I wish we had seen the dynamic Hayley had with Naomi/Dani and what drew Hayley/Bill to one another to begin with. 5) The Have Nots scene was a good scene, establishing the downstairs counterpart to the upstairs (Duprees). 6) The final minutes made me realize we longer are watching grandma's soap where nothing happens on a Wednesday. 7) Martin seems to be taking Smitty for granted and I wonder if the lack of chemistry means they aren't end game.

From reading the back pages, it sounds as though Sally S structured the show exactly like a Bell soap with two families linked together by past, present, and future events. Like what happened to B&B, one of the families took off (Marshalls) while the other family basically was scaled back with only one member taking off (Sam). Seeing Marla Adams as Helen made me think maybe she should have been Rebecca instead at the start of the show. She had a commanding presence and she could have played out the corporate and more romantic aspects of Rebecca's character. And she knew how to play mother and daughter angst. And I do agree that Ruth and Doreen were an important element to what made the soap work. And my late mom was pissed at the final episode where it was left open if Mr Marshall was alive or dead. And I do agree that recasting Chantal and Mr Marshall was due to getting bigger names, and I have a feeling it was also due to story dictated decisions. The Chantal real father story needed a proven powerhouse and with Mr Marshall looking in Doreen's direction..you needed someone a bit more sexy (the daddy version of sexy) to make that work.

I guess a punch in the face made Hayley less logical since she visited Nicole as if all was well. I'm guessing Dani is going the Betty Broderick route because I sense either a murder, or attempted murder on Bill with Dani as suspect. It looks like the nurse, her mom, and Eva and her mom will be the Have Nots. I'm guessing the lack of chemistry between Martin and hubby is due to trauma from his dreams and also from hubby putting his career on hold.