Soaplovers

If I recall, Hayley mentioned at the start of the series that she was an orphan and didn't have family... and a good con artist researches their mark and adjusts based on what they find out. So I could have seen Hayley playing up the poor little orphan girl routine because we all know the Dupree's are a gullible bunch that tries to help the little person because they have so much to give. Plus, she probably observed that Dani and Bill had nothing in common.. and she probably pretended she was into law in order to strike up a friendship with Naomi, and Naomi probably suggested Hayley work at her father Bill's law firm to help get her foot in the door.. and Hayley stated she wanted to become a paralegal because she was into law, etc. And it wouldn't take too long to become a paralegal. In regards to the paralegal position, my late mom was a paralegal and she started out at the company as a legal secretary and the law firm she worked at paid for her schooling. My mom opted for the associate degree route of 2 years, but there is a quicker track for becoming a paralegal. Quickest way, you can get hired as a legal assistant/secretary, take classes online and/or at night, get more duties, and once you complete the certificate program... can be promoted. The certificate program timeline can range from 3 months to a year and you can get promoted if you can prove your ability to handle the duties of a paralegal. Hayley could have followed that route and I also recall during the sexual harassment suit that one of the defendants had complained that she was passed over for the paralegal job because she wouldn't sleep with that one individual (who got fired by Bill) and it was given to Hayley.. even though she was more qualified/more experienced than Hayley. At the same time, there was one scene between Tomas and Caroline in regards to how odd it was that Hayley broke protocol on providing paperwork to Lynette.. and they had mentioned how by the book Hayley was before she got promoted to paralegal.

Not quite true. There was a random scene where Derek and Hayley ran into one another with Derek acting a bit uncomfortable and concerned about her. She had mentioned that at this moment, they would be a group chat about some sporting event and that she missed being around all of them. Derek stated 'Ashley and I had recently met you and were still getting to know you.' so that told me that Hayley was a newer addition to the scene (maybe two years or so ago previously). It was a throwaway scene, but I think the plan had always been to have Hayley be a con artist that entered the scene through an easy target, which was Naomi. And I think once Naomi had become good friends with Hayley.. she started introducing her to her others like her family, Jacob, Ashley, and Derek. Hayley's 1:1's with both Jacob and Derek wouldn't those between two people that knew one another for years.. but more recent. Also, when Bill had his stroke.. Ashley kept calling him Mr Hamilton and he gruffly said she could call him Bill, but she said 'I've known you for years so you'll always be Mr Hamilton to be.' What I have figured out about this show is that MVJ tends to leave little clues in scenes that feel random, but when a plot twist pops up... you can think back and think 'This makes so much sense'. I mean Hayley's 'pregnancy' and 'miscarriage' seemed pretty random yet it was paced so well that viewers knew she was not on the up and up.. but didn't know in what way.

Watching 1986 clips, there is a certain charm and spirit that shines through with watching them. I can understand viewers being confused over the tone of the show, especially if they had been long time viewers... but it's a show going through an identity crisis during this year especially. On the surface, the tone resembles the Kobe/Long tone minus some of the long term characters that helped ground it... but the follow up writers to Long didn't know how to write her tone so it feels like a big old mess. The only positive I could find in the show during this time was Reva, and I truly think it was because she wasn't suffocated by weight of 'Bud' and 'Always'. She could function as a character on her own without being judged by her 'true love'.

This is the same woman that backstabbed her friends and went solo, Saint Anita is anything but a saint. The way this cancer story is written and how TT is playing it, I think Anita deep down likes that everyone is rallying around her because the spot light is on her.

That's because Anita is a narc that has main character syndrome.. the very thing that Dani has inherited from her mother. It's why Anita and Dani aren't close because they both deep down want to be center stage.

I don't know if it was a re-write, but this brief snippet of an episode when Beth vanishes does kind of reveal that something valuable had been stolen from the museum so it's possible that it wasn't a re-write.

In regards to Vernon, I hate that the show can't quite figure out how to write for his character that isn't just holding Anita's purse. He has a long and varied history that can be mined for story.. yet the show seems insistent on focusing more on Anita then on Vernon. The only time the show actually used his character was when Anita was off on her tour and he was involved with the Martin secret. It was refreshing to see the men given some focus for a change. I think the one weakness that the soap still has is that the show is over-correcting for a problem that happened in the past. Too much focus is given on the female characters while the male characters are given less focus.. even though some of them have potential to be more interesting if given focus (i.e. Andre). Unpopular opinion, but Andre/Dani is basically just surface level. The hints about Andre's backstory tell me that there is a lot more than meets the eye and I wish the writers would focus more on that and less on Dani (who is kind of surface right now). I also wish the show would delve more into how Dani was as a parent because there is a lot of damage in her two kids that is as much her fault as it is Bill's fault. The writing would be so much better for Dani if we delved more into how narcissism and being coddled by Vernon affected how she parented her daughters.

Original Beth circa 1983 to 1986 was written as this shy and almost insipid character, but Judi Evans had such an intensity in how she delivered the lines that she gave Beth more of an edge then what was written in the script. The relationships she had with both Phillip and Lujack in her first stint were both very believable and very popular. When Beth left in 1986, it was after the creator of the character Pam Long had left the show so when she 'died'.. there was a lot of loose ends over Alan and how he handled, Reva finding something on the boat that pointed to Beth possibly being alive.. but it seemed to have been dropped. When Long came back and Blake/Phillip were established as a couple.. there was a huge red herring about whether Beth was dead or not and I think there was mention of some of the events from 1986 coming to light. There was a month or two arc where it seemed to point to Beth being alive due to paintings that looked as though they were painted by Beth. The cool thing was that it looked as though it was revealed to have been a hoax and a depressed Phillip having to grieve for Beth again.. and then at the episode, it's revealed Beth is actually alive. The problem with Beth circa 1989 to 1991 was that she existed purely as an extension of Phillip without much agency or individual POV... which was the complete opposite of how Beth was written/presented in her first stint. I heard a rumor that had GA opted not to quit at the start of 1991 that the show was going to have killed off Beth again because the recast wasn't as accepted. However, after Beth coming back in late 1997... it made her 1989 to 1991 seem like a masterclass of a consistent character vs what came after that.

Not quite as catchy as Hung up at first listen, but 'I feel so Free' definitely is a slow burn that will continue to play in your mind longer after that initial listen. Listening to the lyrics, it's so relatable and reminds me of how I felt going out to the clubs (straight and gay ones) back in my 20s and early 30s. I'm intrigued to see what the rest of the tracks are like.

You have no taste

Cheryl Ladd could play angst.. the cult classic movie Lisa really highlighted the angst ridden relationship between mother and daughter as the daughter prank calls a man that is actually a serial killer.

She's a good actress and has a likability/girl next door that most of Middle America loves. With that said, I think Nancy would have been a lot more likable than what the writers were intending..imho

Dani/Bill will always be linked, but she needs to figure out steps on how to not give into those old habits. Vanessa/Nicole flashback revealed that they understood one another and that there was more than meets the eyes. It was the first spark of friendship that grew over the years. That's my theory.

Problem is that they cast a commanding and interesting individual to play Lia.. so it's kind of sad that she couldn't just be a recurring player.

Originally when Mel's family officially appeared, the story was that they were residents in the town that we hadn't met yet. For some reason, Mel's mother Felicia was good friends with Blake and I think the father knew the Bauers for awhile. I remember Another World when Harding Lemay wrote the show had the Perrini's were mentioned for years as a neighbor of Ada's before Angie was introduced...so it was a shame that the show didn't really ever think to employ that technique on GL... especially during the Long era where she could have done this with either the Shayne's or Coopers.

I view those types of episodes as a way for the writer to share some of what was written in the show bible in a condensed way. And I always wondered what drew them together, although I'm still not sure why Naomi kept referring to Hayley as her best friend when Ashley was the primary friend in her flashbacks (encouraged her to go out with Jacob, lent her an item for their new apartment, etc).

Hopefully she'll be playing a new character, but if she is going to be Bridget.. the character is a doctor and could be a nice fixture at the hospital. If she mentioned she's been filming for two months, I wonder when she will first appear? Fall maybe?

4/13 Episode It's a shame that a short term/recurring character such as Lia is played by someone that can act and has presence. Ashley works so well in supporting realm and this episode highlighted it. I hate the Dupree propping. MVJ still hasn't shaken the stench of working in modern day soaps and constant character/couple propping. SPS works best when opposite someone that at least pretends to enjoy her company.. she becomes more restrained, secure, and able to show a fun side.

We found out about Greg Vaughn when season 2 pick up was announced last year because he was there.. so maybe lightening is striking twice. It does look like her.. tbh

With the long lead time in filming/script writing... multi season pick-ups are a must so I'm glad they did so for season 3 and 4 so that the writers and producers can properly plot their stories without having to guess if they're getting a pick up or not. Happy Hump Day Indeed :)

Oddly, a lot of people viewed RN as tha Josh being holier than thou with Reva tracks even with his player era circa 1981-1983 since he believed in the 'rules for thee, but not for me' mantra.

With the extreme long lead time in filming and writing (up to five to six months), they need to do two seasons or more pick-ups to ensure stories are tightly wrapped up. Glad they opted to do this for season 3 and 4.

I watched a few season 4 episodes of Charlie's Angels.. and it's still a pretty good show even after Jackson left. Especially the Caged Angel episode with Louise Sorel guest starring with a younger Sally Kirkland

From what I understand, it's supposed to be more along the lines of Confessions on a Dance Floor with the same producer. Unpopular opinion, but I didn't like her collabs with Mirwais as much

If I recall, Quint wasn't supposed to be a super long term character, but due to his chemistry with Nola.. Marland switched gears. Had Marland not thrown a tantrum and quit, who knows if he could have incorporated Quint into the main show long term since his story arc was ongoing when he threw his tantrum. However, Guiding Light seemed to have this issue with keeping characters on long beyond their expiration date such as: Quint (unpopular opinion, but I think Quint/Nola should have left town after their June 1983 wedding) Helena India (She should have left in 1986 once Phillip dumped her, not been kept on until 1987. Her 1990 stint was four months or so and was effective, her 1998-1999 stint made no sense, her 2002 and 2005 visits were short and satisfying) Jenna (Jenna 1st stint was perfect and ended at the righ time. Jenna 2nd stint started strong and her character was declawed). Reva (I'll always say this, but she should have remained dead after driving off the bridge in 1990). Richard Edmund Cyrus Grady For some odd reason, I didn't mind Olivia being on the show even though she had that regal vibe to her character that made her not fit into Springfield.. but she actually had a good run (Her briefly meeting India in 2002 made me wonder what could have been if India had extended her stay past a few episodes)