Soaplovers

So basically the whole episode was just focused on Anita and her cancer journey? Count me out until the show starts featuring more than just one plotline per episode.

I'm intrigued to see if there will be any new breakdown and script writers that will be joining the show for S2. I ask because I recall that Ron C, Chris Dunn, and Lynn Martin are all leaving the writing staff (as announced back in July 2025). I also wonder what the arcs for season 2 will be other than Anita's cancer story and am curious about how the co-head-writer thing between MVJ and Tracy T works... if they split it 50/50 or if MVJ comes up with the ideas and Tracy T has to implement them, etc.

Gary and Val breaking up at the start of season 4 was always supposed to be permanent because the two were incompatible as a couple as adults. That was basically the point of their remarriage and original arc on Knots Landing was to show them trying to start again as adults... except they had the same baggage/issues that had befallen them as teens. By season 8, Val had finally managed to achieve a healthy interaction with Gary, but he was still caught in that toxic mindset. And unpopular opinion, I think Val was right to keep the twins away from Gary since he had proven himself to not be up to challenges of being a husband nor father. He was a better step father to Olivia and Brian than he ever was as a parent to Lucy.. and Val seemed do a good job parenting the twins once she got them back at the start of season 7 until at least season 11.

Nancy's career definitely afforded her some story opportunities that probably were considered progressive in those days. Even during the Lee Sheldon era, Nancy is served well in her role as a journalist and even given a rare chance at being an author. She also played a strong supporting part in the dismal campus mystery and probably would have been involved in helping her step daughter try to regain her life and find her son.. and probably would have been involved in the rumored Nicole lookalike plot that was going to happen had the show continued into 1985.

If the show only got a one year pick up, I'm hoping they've mapped out the year with two possible outcomes (if they get a season 3 pick up or if they have to resolve all the stories) much better than they did during season 1. With the advanced film schedule and even more advanced script writing schedule, it does make shifting course more difficult especially if something isn't working out. I think that the producers and writers should be watching the episodes as they're filmed in order to see what is and isn't working and make those adjustments vs waiting until the episodes air and the audience isn't happy. Had the writers/producers done that, I have a feeling Dani/Andre would have become an actual couple much sooner and the whole Andre/Ashley thing wouldn't have become written as end game like it was during the first 120 or so episodes. I wonder if we'll get a season 2 preview from MVJ and co to let us know what to expect in the coming weeks of the season 2 plot-wise. I hope it's more than just the Anita story because that's a story I can't watch due to personal circumstances with a family member.

I remember how insightful and intelligent Dinah was during this era... it was a shame that the writers kept her as a loser in all aspects in order to prop up Saint Cassie.

You get a front view and a nice preview of the back thanks to the wonderful technology of a mirror :) Win Win

She has repressed anger at both of her parents... she just isn't able to recognize that because that isn't the Dupree way so she's taking it out on her husband. I say this because my cousin went through the same thing when her father/my uncle cheated on his wife/my aunt. Before she married her now husband, he stated that they all needed to go into counseling because he didn't want to be punished for the mistakes her father made. Naomi/Jacob going to couple's counseling is a good first step.. but Bill/Dani also need to be in counseling with them because their back and forth has caused internal issues with their eldest daughter.

The show kind of had a potential couple/s that had decent amount of stakes. Tomas/Eva - They had a good rapport and the stakes were high because Eva was an outsider, his girlfriend Kat was Eva's half-sister, Kat and Eva hated one another, and it looked as though Tomas would have gone for Eva if he didn't have a need of moving upwards in the socioeconomical ladder. Once they hooked up.. Eva/Tomas were done while Tomas/Kat are in a relationship for all the wrong reasons. Dani/Andre - There were stakes to this unexpected coupling... but now everyone seems to be accepting them without much conflict too quickly now. Joey/Vanessa - This was a toxic coupling that shouldn't have been compelling.. but the two had a good rapport and chemistry with one another.. A dark romance if you will.... but the show dropped the ball. The only potential coupling that has potential to be high stakes is SPS/Leslie and Marcel... and I have a feeling that Marcel will find evidence that ties her to Laura's hit and run accident... but she'll also find something that ties him to either the Kenny situation or to Doug's death. So it would be one of those type of couplings where they have something on the other while playing cat and mouse with one another yet also liking the thrill of the game. It could be like a darker 'Intolerable Cruelty'.. a classic 2003 film starring George Clooney and Catherine Zeta Jones

I think they should. They've referenced B & B and Y & R already so why not mention some of the other P & G shows. ATWT and Y & R were in the same universe (Amber and ATWT's Allison were friends) so references to the fictional cities would be nice. Monticello, Henderson, Springfield, Bay City, Somerset, etc... would be nice to hear.

A lot of 1:1 scenes in the episode today. It's nice that there are mentions of Donnell and Deanna, but I'd like to at least see Deanna and see how she and Vanessa interact with one another as mother/daughter. I think not having Donnell or Deanna on in a recurring basis is doing Vanessa a disservice because that would be a great way to add some layers back to the character again. SPS/Leslie and Joey do have a nice rapport and they could be an unholy alliance.. but I can't lie when I say that I like her vibe with Marcel. If these extra layers and interactions are a result of the new co-headwriter.. then my hats off because it is moving her character beyond being hung up on her Teddy Bear. Nicole/Carleton seem like they could be more friends with benefits. Eva/Izaiah... I see potential with them.. but I also want to see the conflict and stakes raise a bit. I think Jacob/Naomi not being keen on Eva is a good start.. but I'd like to see what Papa and Mama Hawthorne think about Eva.

India's 1990 stint was far more successful than her 1998-1999 stint because she was used more effectively in that 1990 visit with her sparring with step mother dearest Alex, having a position at Spaulding, and I think even had a few toe to toe scenes with Roger as well. Her Christmas 1990 good bye to Phillip/Beth was so in keeping with their history with Beth hugging India and then India saying that's why she has to leave in order to avoid that becoming a regular thing. Her 1998 to 1999 stint seemed tacked on with her primarily only interacting with Ross, Blake, and Ben with occasional interactions with Beth and Alex. She and Ron Raines had a nice rapport and the show did seem to be setting up the two possibly teaming up and/or becoming involved before she stopped appearing on the show. Her 2002 stint was short, but very sweet.

It wouldn't be a P & G soap without establishing the holiday traditions. I'm hoping 2026 will be the year that a 2nd family will be established with their own stories and traditions... and that Darlene Hawthorne is introduced on the show to get her perspective being a Boy Mom. Does she favor Jacob? Does she favor Luke? Does she favor Izaiah? And would she approve of Eva dating her youngest son or the refreshing twist is that she approves of Eva and doesn't approve of Naomi.

I remember mention of the two families being neighbors at the Bauer Barbeque in 1991 when Michelle wondered over to the Spauldings with Mo trying to find her with Blake causally mentioning she saw Michelle next door at the Spauldings. Shame more wasn't done or mentioned about the two being neighbors when Jenna won the company and mansion in 1993 and than Roger marrying and moving into the mansion in late 1993. Would have been a lot of awkward encounters between Ed/Holly & Roger/Jenna had the fact they were neighbors was mentioned.

I wish that The Articulettes backstory and drama had borrowed more from the Klymaxx backstory instead of the Supremes. There was a lot of tension/strife in the Klymaxx that still plays out to this day in that group long after their time in the 80s. I could have seen Sharon pull a Cheryl Cooley.. which gets Anita and Tracy back together to fight her while their late band-mate could have been a Bernadette type or even a Joyce type that had passed away after being kicked out of the group.... which would have given SPS/Leslie more motivation to be a thorn in Anita's side as a way to pay back the woman she viewed as driving her mother out of the group and out of getting her cut of coin.

The moment Madonna hooked up with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake was the moment when she surrendered being a trend setter and following the trends. Rumor has it she's doing a COADF Part 2 for her 2026 album drop... time will tell if that will work. What COADF so good was that she used two of her favorite things from the 70s (Abba and Saturday Night Fever) and updated them into the 2000s. I wonder what her inspiration will be for this sequel to that album.

I wouldn't call myself a Swiftie, but I have known and listened to her going all the way back to 2006/7 when she was country lite. A few of my fav Taylor songs through the years (20 years in 2026 since she came onto the scene). All five of these songs have played in my head on and off over the years.. and that's how I can determine if I like a song or not :)

I always viewed two major events that changed Alan Michael into the scheming and torture individual that we saw in 1992 to 1996. 1) The kidnapping and torture he endured when he was kidnapped on his honeymoon with Blake. Yes, this was introduced due to a recast needing to be done, but I remember Alan Michael being more intense in the weeks/months after that ordeal than he was before that. 2) Finding out that not only did Blake cheat on him, but that she lied about being pregnant with his child. So he naturally divorced her and left Blake with a nice settlement. For awhile, Alan Michael/Blake did hook up while working toegether in 1991/1992... but I also remember him being tested with Eleni. In fact, Blake ended up being the one responsible for Eleni/Alan Michael's green card marriage and once Holly spilled the beans on that.. Blake's sights turned from Alan Michael over to seeking revenge against Holly by seducing Ross. And once he saw that Eleni was truly interested in Frank, his scheming Spaulding side kicked in and he became less of a nice guy and more like a Spaulding.

While the show hit pay dirt with Dani/Andre... they best not over-use them at the expense of other characters.. or the show will truly be like Santa Barbara and their over-reliance on Cruz/Eden and the Capwells at the expense of other characters/families. I have to wonder if some of these shifts had to do with the show not being sure if they would get a season 2 pick up hence why Hayley's con artist past was exposed, Derek's 'deception' was discovered, and clues being planted that SPS/Leslie would be exposed in her part in Laura's hit and run were done so if they didn't get a pick up, the show could tie up the plots... but once they got a season 2 pick up.. the show had to pivot (hence why the Winterfest didn't end up revealing anything major). I have a feeling Hayley switching gears and listening to Joey ensures she can stay on the canvas longer, SPS looking Marcel's way ensures she doesn't get fixated on Ted, and I'm sure Tomas trying to get Kat to commit to him more is going to lead to him being written out once she realizes she only stayed with him to stick it to Eva (who has since moved on). I'm hoping for season 2 that Eva/Kat don't fight over another guy (Izaiah) and that they co-exist in a truce of sorts... while Eva has to contend with the disapproval of Izaiah's family while Kat focuses back on her business with Chelsea and has more work related stories.

The first few months of Texas is the show realizing what was working and what wasn't working and starting to course correct in December 1980. Originally Dawn/Dennis were supposed to be the Romeo & Juliet love story with Dawn hating the Wheelers for stealing their house and causing her father to kill himself while not realizing that Dennis is actually a Wheeler. Paige seemed designed originally to be the anti-heroine and her character seemed designed to be the antagonist in Terry and Clipton's relationship... but the show realized that wasn't working and moved Paige into the Iris/Dennis orbit and being the one Iris despises instead of Dawn.

My mom told me about another tv movie starring Suzanne Pleshette called Fantasies about a killer that stalks and kills soap performers on a show that might be connected to the head-writer played by Suzanne.

I can't fault Marj for going where a contract was going to be offered. Soaps save money keeping performers recurring, but they also risk losing them if said performers get another job that offers a contract.

MVJ did work on B & B... so wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that happens a long way down the line.

Falcon Crest is now on Tubi, which has less ads than Plex.

When it comes to Madonna, I found after Ray of Light.. her albums had two or three songs I loved with the rest of each album being Eh LOL My non-single fav Madonna songs: