Soaplovers

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.

I rewatched the first episode that was available to stream at cbs.com...some thoughts: 1) Smart to introduce all the Duprees and show the bond/family loyalty before we get introduced to 'the Nemesis'. 2) Vernon has a bond with Dani (Anita seemed a bit jealous) while Anita has the bond with Nicole. 3) Dani's daughters seem to take after Aunt Nicole while Nicole's daughter seems more like Dani. I sense some friction between Dani/Chelsea (stage mom, living through her daughter). 4) I'm almost sorry we didn't see what led to Hayley betraying her best friend Naomi and Dani. A few people I know got Brooke Logan vibes from Hayley...too soon to tell if I agree with that or not. 5) Vanessa was the perfect gossip and bringing the mess. Apparently she has a story herself so we shall see what that entails. 6) Andre is a player and I have a feeling our new nurse will fall for his charms.

Susan Lucci had a generous vacation clause by the late 80s, especially when it came to her kids, who were in their pre-teen/young teen phase. April 1989 was the change over to Depriest as headwriter, and some of her decisions were positives that were kept till the end of the show. Depriest seemed to do better if she was only there six months or so (her stints on her 70s soaps were strong) or she had a co headwriter (like Days).

I hope/assume Dani's initial arc is her moving on from what happened with her ex. I have a feeling there will be tensions between the sisters and if so, finding out if there is a cause for the tension and if the parents contributed to that or not.

I actually think Marland and Pam Long could have tackled this show. She was a natural at writing strong/complex men and women, writing male and female friendships, and wasn't afraid to tackle tough topics while Marland was a master at pacing and juggling plots. And he loved therapy so I could have seen him viewing the religious themes in a more psychological manner with Long providing the warmth/community/crazy stories.

Pluto has some good offerings like Twin Peaks, Dynasty, Family Ties, Mama's Family, etc. I only have Hulu as a paid service..and I still watch some programs on there.

Actually how Ceara came across was typical of some survivors of incest and abuse. Her becoming a gold digger was her way of taking back control from what happened to her...and her lack of attachment to the men was another way to protect and cope. Genie Francis said she picked going to AMC out of several offers/meetings because Agnes Nixon had come with a character and what the story was going to be..and it appealed to her because she had a character and character arc to play unlike Days.

Lisa also had been close to Shannon..so her unease with Duncan and Jessica worked on different levels. Unease about Duncan moving on, plus the mixed race element. Interracial relationships/marriages and being against them is a whole different prejudice. My late great grandparents were a mixed marriage (Native American and White) and it was talked about in the family as a painful time for my great grandmother so seeing Duncan/Jessica play out as a kid spoke to as a kid.

Lenore kasdorf: Popular as Rita on GL, and a dud as Caroline on Santa Barbara Maureen Garrett: Popular as Holly on GL and a dud as EJ on Ryan's Hope Sofia Landon: Flawless as Diane Ballard on GL, but played an underwritten role as Teresa on ATWT (her body got shipped in a trunk by Lillith..I recall). Robert S Woods: Popular as Bo on OLTL, but played an unmemorable character on Days (named Paul). I know some people would put Genie Francis, but when I was a little..I remember first seeing her on Days as Ms Colville and she got decent press while on Days. She even got good reviews at the time as Ceara on AMC.

Infinity was awesome and it was an umbrella story that involved most of the cast...and Lujack dying with Beth crying was 😥 It was the mid 80s and that type of story was popular at the time. @Khan In regards to coincidences with the Philip story. I believe the only coincidence was Justin joining the Cedars staff where his ex flame Sara was working. Jackie made sure her father came to Cedars for treatment (her entry into the stort) because she knew Justin was there..and when she decided months later that she would remain in Springfield, she talked Elizabeth and Alan into moving to Springfield so she could still remain a part of Philip's life. She always knew the Spauldings had her baby so she became a part of their life to remain in Philips life. While I enjoyed how Pam Long revealed Philip's paternity and how she wrote the story from his perspective instead of the adults....I do think Marland should have revealed his paternity before Pickett left the show. In fact, that could have been how she was written off the show. She was rejected by Philip and decided to leave to regroup...and then the show could have taken time to either work something out with Pickett or found a suitable recast for Jackie.

Jackie was an unlikable and selfish character. Anyone giving up a baby out of spite to the man that cheated on you will never get my sympathy. Pickett being a likable actress is why Jackie thrived because you saw the regret and torture she infused into the character. Once Jackie was recast, the character became non descript. Marland struggled to write characters like Jackie. He tended to write some characters in more simplistic ways. Jackie, Amanda, Holly, Rita, and Diane lost layers when he wrote them. Diane in 1979 was worlds different then Diane of 1980/1981 in terms of layers and complexity.

I always viewed Jackie as a gold digger to be a result of being spoiled by her dad and wanting to be a Mrs MD. Plus, she was still angry/resentful at Justin for cheating on her. In a weird way, I think Marland killing Jackie off was the ultimate cherry on top of this tragic tale. She died never ever getting to claim Philip as her son and Philip would never get to love his real mother. It was karma because her actions were to blame for this whole mess. This was a moral tale showing how emotion and spite in the moment can have far reaching fall out. The Dobsons kick started a story in the 1970s, that had long term effects were felt all the way to the final episode of the show 30+ years later.

Angela did what most female tv stars did in the 80s, they played roles that were a departure from their tv role. She played dramatic (Rage of Angels, Shootdown), sentimental (Shell Seekers), and did two romance oriented movies (The love she sought and Mrs arris goes to Paris). Jessica Fletcher was a great character to play, but in some ways, the cozy mystery/procedural vibe boxed the character in...so I could understand why she did tv movies and stage work. She had the best of both worlds...a steady income and an outlet to continue playing new characters.

Having Hirson as Stephanie on EON was genius since she had a warm demeanor so I can imagine the twist of her being Nicole's stalker was a surprise.

Just the few episodes with Jean McBride available makes me understand why she was so popular. It does seem like during the Bonnie Bartlett era...Meg was less an obstacle for her Van. I wish the Judith story was also available.

There was strong demand and the numbers viewing it must be strong hence the plan to hide them behind a paywall. I wonder if Falcon Crest or Sisters will have that happen..or if this is just happening to KL?

I lived in Texas for a few years and I only heard an accent if I was in the Waco area, or in a smaller town that was isolated. Austin, where I lived, didn't have any sort of accent...but they certainly were into the bigger the better mantra. I lived in Texas in the late 2010s/early 2020s. Perhaps maybe there was a more pronounced accent back in the 80s in Oklahoma/Texas.

I think the Erica face scar story where she walked around in the phantom of the Opera mask was the final nail in the coffin for her character. It was as if the show had run out of stuff to tell about her...and just let her act delusional about her appeal.