Soaplovers

In this day and age, kids are moving back in with their parents along with their kids. It would be interesting to see Val as a grandmother and in the Lillimae position. And perhaps Betsy is somewhat well adjusted..but maybe one of her kids reminds Val of their grandpa Gary. And instead of alcohol, maybe the addiction would be perscription pills.

I think the Paula/Anne scene just before Paula's departure was foreshadowing in a weird way. If I recall, the final season with Anne involved her in an unhappy marriage to Greg.. and going to a plastic surgeon because she felt she needed to look younger. From what I recall, wasn't Teri Austin playing Gary's mystery woman during the end of season 10? If so, that could be why she was better off screen LOL I saw Peyser in other roles, and I thought she did a good job.. so I think it was a combination of an underwritten role and perhaps the primetime soap format wasn't a fit for Peyser.

I do think Abby's final season story was out of character for her. I noticed that Donna Mills really leaned into her facial expressions in order to give Abby some depth and humanity. During the Ted/Abby scenes in the final few episodes, I took note of Abby's facial expressions.. and you could see there was fear on her face as Ted was confessing. I think Donna Mills did that to show that even though Abby was expressing that a line had been crossed, she still wanted to show that Abby knew lines were being crossed by her facial expressions. Same with the final scene between Abby/Olivia where you saw Abby's expression after leaving Olivia's apartment.. where she felt sorrow/sadness after cutting her daughter off. I think she did the right thing cutting Olivia off, and I also like that her early working class life was mentioned. It showed that Abby didn't want her daughter to struggle like she had, but realized deep down that Olivia needed to struggle in order to understand what she was saying. I did like the final exchange between Greg/Abby where they both realized that their 'marriage' lacked communication. Even though he and Paige were good together.. his true love was Laura.

Agree, but I feel she is only revealing all of this in an attempt to take away from her and her nasty-ness.

I would have either Val or Karen still living on the Cul da sec.. and one of their children and/or grandchildren decide to move in with them due to the economic situation going. As Val or Karen sit back, they see how their kids/grandkids fare with the neighbors that are in various states of life stages (gay couple, newlyweds given the house by a wealthy family member, an immigrant couple that has obtained enough wealth to live on Seaview Circle, etc). And it would be interesting to see how Karen, a liberal feminist of the 70s/80s, would react to a younger more progressive feminist.

I do agree that Latham didn't understand really what made Abby, Val, nor Laura tick. Val wasn't a village idiot, nor a victim, in the way that Latham wrote her. If anything.. Val was a survivor and truly the little engine that could... and she was perceptive and could read people. Abby would have figured out a way to do the right thing without implicating herself nor revealing her part in the event happening. Laura.. she was too layered of a character for someone basic like Latham to tackle. Although her character has a large impact on the canvas all the way through the reunion movie.

If we're talking Brandi Glanville, then why doesn't that predator go away?

I kind of like the early season version of the theme.. where it has a light disco beat I have to say season 4 is probably my favorite because it combines the best elements of season 1 to 3 and the best elements of the soap opera format. Lathams seemed more into surface instead of substance.. which seemed to fit with the late 80s/early 90s vibe going on in the world.

Sorry... Gary was just a sperm donor. He hadn't proven he was mature enough at that time to be a dad.

You would think he worked his way up to success.. that he would use his platform to help other up and coming writers/producers. Shonda Rhimes and Aaron Spelling used their production companies to showcase up and coming talent. With that said, like you said, the key will be execution of the ideas and who MVJ hires as her breakdown and script writers will be make or break

So I wasn't a fan of Monica and I was glad the show tossed her ass out there. However, it seems as though the newbies are just as toxic/vile as Monica.. so I'm not sure what the producers/Bravo goal was for season 5.. because if they were hoping to not be toxic.. I don't think they succeeded.

I viewed Val being naive at the start of Knots Landing as not out of character. She was in a new state and different way of life. While she could read JR and others like him in good Ole Texas, California was a whole different ballpark... and I think she didn't suss out Abby right away because she was usually around men moreso then women in Dallas. And women operate differently then men.. especially back in the late 70s/early 80s. The one thing I noticed in the few episodes I watched in season 7 vs season 6 is how the show is presented Ben/Val. In Season 6, Ben/Val were slanted as 'end-game'.. with Val seeing Ben and gettting her memory back, Gary telling Val that they tried marriage and didn't work, and also when Cathy is singing 'We Belong'... the focus was on Ben/Val.. while Gary/Abby were happily in love as they found out they inherited Empire Valley. In Season 7, Ben is presented as put out that Val is putting the twins over him.. and Gary is being presented as this 'wonderful father figure' for the twins. It's sickening because Gary is a loser... hot.. but still a loser. Also, I wonder how different the Joshua/Cathy story would have gone if the same creative team were in place in season 7 vs in season 6. It totally switched gears and became more violent quickly in season 7

The Val baby story was an example of character over plot.. because Val had her first baby taken from her by JR.. that having it happened for a 2nd time, and no one believing her was the straw that broke the camels back. The little touches of Abby telling Val about the babies harkens back to when Val showed a letter from Olivia that told Abby where her children were in season 3. And then the country music playing during the car ride... chef's kiss

I think Holly and Reva worked when they interacted since both were more of a man's woman...and were different enough from one another that they wouldn't be threatened by the other. Plus, both actresses kept wanting to work with one another going back to the late 80s.

Val and Ben are so good together! I said what I said...she was too good for Gary. Downside of the show becoming a primetime soap was the 'endgame' couple. Gary being 'shot' did seem a perfect cliffhanger. Season 3 and 4 each had 22 episodes so it makes sense season 5 also was to have 22 episodes. Writers nowadays crying that plotting a 13 episode season is hard make me laugh. KL in season 4 proved 22 episodes could be high quality with little to no filler. Even season 5 with the added 3 episodes was also well plotted and paced nicely. You had the Chip/Diana story winding down, Wolfbridge building all season, Val becoming pregnant by Gary, Gary/Abby's stormy new marriage, Karen's pill addiction story, and Greg/Laura becoming a couple were all plotted well and paced to run at different speeds. Modern day writers could learn from 70s/80s/90s primetime soaps/dramas.

She was the final girl in Friday the 13th: Jason Lives in the mid 80s. A few reaction channels have remarked that her performance was very showy and almost hyper.. compared with the acting of some of the other people in the movie. Problem was that Kelly/Morgan weren't an interesting couple.. no matter who was playing Morgan. I didn't think the two had chemistry at all. And Geraldine Court... she was very lackluster on GL. Although I guess she would have been a decent Ann.. one that was blind to her husband's infidelity with the newscaster. Also.. Marland seemed super toxic and controlling. He should have just came up with the overall story/outlines.. and let his writer write the scripts.

Season 5 is really where insufferable Karen really comes into play. She was more well rounded in the first four seasons and also had a sense of humor.. which goes away after season 4. Come to think of it.. Is Karen the Karen of all Karens?

Jane Elliott was/is a good actress... but sometimes a good performer just doesn't fit in on a show. She just didn't fit in with the vibe/atmosphere on GL. Someone in a previous message described her acting as intense and I think that could be why she just didn't fit into GL. I still am amazed that not only did Mart H get fired as Ed, but that Peter Simon was hired without him even knowing he was going to be replacing Mart as Ed. He didn't even know who he would be playing until right before he started on the show.

Season 4 retained the original 'Scenes of the Marriage' concept/atmosphere mixed with the soapy attributes it became known for later on. Kenny/Ginger were actually used to great effect with Kenny/Gary partnering up to help Cijii.. with Ginger feeling neglected in work and life by Kenny. Abby/Gary made a great power couple. Richard/Laura's marital issues come to a head when another venture by Richard fails as Laura continues to be supportive yet thriving in her role in real estate. Mixed in with the pseudo triangle with Cijii when Laura/Cijii become emotionally close with Richard left out again. Val finally having enough of being strung along by Gary in the first half season 4 was awesome... and I kind of understood her backside a bit when it came to Gary. Karen finally getting closure in regards to Sid, plus her new relationship/marriage to Mac is a new lease on life for the character.. and we start to see her character start to morph into the know it all without a sense of humor that we become accustomed to in later seasons. @titan1978 I think Annie could have come back.. but the show thought Diana and later Paige filled the role of the wayward rebellious daughter role. Annie at Lotus Point would have been interesting. Lastly, seeing season 1 through 3.. it is so apparent that Val and Gary were not going to make it as a couple. Gary was too hot and cold.. while Val was too clingy... and Gary wanted more while Val just wanted a typical suburban life. I often think Gary loved both Abby and Val because of the functions that both gave to him. Abby encouraged him to not wallow in his self-doubt while Val was supportive of him whenever he failed.

The only noteworthy thing about the Jessica Walter episode was that this helped jump start Diana's obsession with NYC and fashion designing..reasons provided when she moves there at the start of season 6. Looking at the Paige character...wouldn't it have made more sense if Annie Fairgate have been on instead of Paige? Other then Paige's brief fling with Michael..every other story given to Paige could have been given to Annie instead.

Dallas is 'on demand' on Freevee... Dynasty is free to watch on Pluto TV. I think this is a first step for KL to see if it can obtain some interest in the streaming era. They were successful in reruns back in the 90s/early 00s on TNT.. and even did ok on SoapNet... but no attempts at streaming have been done in the states that I could see. In this method, you make a bit of coin showing it on a loop on the Primetime Soap channel.. and if something happens.. then we'll see it on a streaming format like Freevee On Demand.. or something like that.

I forgot how well Val was written and treated in these early episodes. The Lie just played.. and while it was a great showcase for Laura... Val had some great scenes throughout the episode.. and the best scenes were where she wasn't saying anything.. it was all in her expressions. Lots of subtext... something the Latham's would know nothing about.

With Knots Landing debuting on LiveTv, I watched some of the final episodes of this series. Season 9 truly felt like a different show that happened to be called Falcon Crest without the charm and family atmosphere of previous seasons. It seemed sleek, cold, and devoid of any personality. And having Richard marrying that non-descript woman and raising the children bothered me. He was rewarded for his bad behavior while his poor late wife Maggie drowned and died. Pilar was not a bad character.. but she was no Melissa. Melissa/Lance should have been the end game.

Jersey: For whatever reason, the producers have always seemed unwilling to do cast changes even when things get boring, stale, or downright toxic. Dubai: From what I'm hearing.. Aylan thinks she and her 'team' (Stanbury/Taleen) won the reunion.. while Lesa was delusional thinking she was best dressed. Lesa's hubby is a saint being married to her. OC: While season 18 is a strong season, I do see the same element that has hurt Jersey brewing on this show. Tamra is too evil and I think she needs to exit after this season.. and she can take Gina with her. NY: Brynn, acting quite the ditz on WWHL, did state that Jenna/Erin were the MVP's of season 2... and I'm hoping that means Jenna is finally playing with the other cast members instead of pulling that whole 'oh I'm so shy and awkward' persona last season. I still hate that abusive Ubah was allowed to come back when she should be kicked off the show.

Rick and Abby should have been the next tent pole couple.. but the show didn't really know how to write for tentpole characters. Abby wasn't all perfect either.. she was a hot head and would defend a friend no matter what. Even Reva had to calm her down a few times when Abby was in defense mode. The show just didn't know how to write for her, and the actress had enough presence that people did grow to like her.. and with Rick too boot.