Soaplovers

BH has always been surface and kind of tacky. Moreso then dare I say the OC and SLC... but the OC has that soccer mom tackiness that warms my heart and SLC has that over the top quirkiness that amuses me. SLC is what BH wishes it were.. but it always come across as trying without actually just being.

For her, she had a job with MP till 1997 and it was her breakout role. I would say that's a downside lol

That ending... a nice soap opera twist that elevates it above a cute quirky cozy lawyer show

Dianne Kirkwood would have served as a good Abby replacement instead of going through the effort of creating Claudia and bringing back Anne as a full time cast member (who worked better as a character that would come and go). Sadly, as previously mentioned, she was viewed as a plot point instead of a character that you could write and keep on full time. You could tell that Lotus Point being dropped in season 10 really affected the show because losing Lotus Point took away another gathering place for all of the characters to interact at. Dianne could have been someone from Karen's past that perhaps found a way into getting a position/job at Lotus Point to stick it to Karen. She could have even been introduced to other characters and also had her back story fleshed out.

He had chemistry with everyone... He managed to be in four fairly popular couplings with Diana/e, Izzy B, Marlena, and Kristen. And he and Marlena were settling nicely into the patriarch & Matriarch of DAYS. RIP

The Heather of season 1 is a far cry from the Heather we see in season 5. I think Heather in season 1 was more her authentic self.. and the Heather we've seen since season 2 is a Heather that seems to be in on the joke. While that's an interesting choice to make, on a reality show... I want an authentic housewife. Someone like Lisa is a delulu.. but is generally harmless, that we know of. So I enjoy watching someone Lisa out and about because she's so delulu that it's enjoyable to see her interact with the world. New girls.. too soon to tell.

Minus Sheridan... she wanted to leave originally after season 13 and the show convinced her to stay one more season. If the show had opted to continue into S15, Devane/Sheridan leaving would have freed up the budget... but there would have been another revamp of the show for sure. Most likely, it would have been more like a combination of a family drama and/or legal procedural in soap opera format.

All performers struggle to play a role when they resume playing a part. Illene K, Brenda Dickson, and I believe Eileen Davidson had mentioned it took awhile to readjust playing the part after someone else had played it (Ellen Wheeler also indicated learning to replay Marley at first because of what Anne and Jensen brought to the role). A lot of times, the writers have to adjust how the character is written based on how the performer plays the part. Robin S tends to play more broad whjle Elaine P had a more sedate elitist way of playing roles. Elaine's Dorian had the potential to be lethal...while Robin's Dorian was too campy to take as a threat.

And Robyn Griggs was a recast to boot. Although I liked her on AW though... so I think maybe it was an ill written character. The show wisely moves Kevin into Leeann's orbit later in 1991. When I look at Dorian in 1991, this was as good of recast as one could have as Dorian. In fact.. it answers the question of what Robin Strasser would be like if she actually knew how to not chew scenery and acted more subtle.

Laura Bell Bundy... god.. too Broadway and OTT. There is a reason I don't see plays or musical on stage.. too OTT for me. Kimberly J Brown was the best of the Marah's... and I did like her brief return and it was a shame that the show didn't think to have her come back for more visits played by Brown. Mckeon had a snarky cynical take on Marah.. and I thought that was an element that the show didn't utilize more of.

What I thought was interesting about Tommy's blog was that he asked Richard Gollance if they intended to reunite Gary and Val...and he said 'nope..they would tease it..but ultimately wouldn't reunite them.' Claudia and Kate could have easily been cut to ensure a season 15. I recall a female POC was introduced in season 14 named Toni..and it seemed like more was planned for her. She was going to work with Mack and Peggy as an attorney and was shown in one scene on a blind date. What could have been

I decided to watch season 8 on Plex.. and I have to say it isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Anyone surprised at Jill going off the deep end at the end of season 9 shouldn't be since the groundwork was set up going all the way back to the start of season 8 with Jill declaring nothing more to her then her relationship with Gary... then she loses his baby, has to contend with Abby then Val as the 'annoying' ex wives of Gary, loses her brother Peter to murder, and continues to cling to Gary as the one constant. The only problem with the Jean Hackney story was that it dragged too much and took up most of the season. It should have been resolved earlier in the season.. and then left more episodes to deal with the fallout between Ben/Val, Laura/Greg, and Laura/Val. Karen is mighty annoying in this season.. that I wouldn't have blamed Mack if he did cheat on her with Anne.

Heather's 2nd stint on OC has been, like her acting career, lackluster. Time for her to go over to RHOBH where the witch belongs. Jenn and Shannon have carried both season 17 and 18 on their backs with little to no help from the other women.

For OC, build the show around Jenn P and Shannon.. and cut all the other women out. Cast other women that are connected to Jenn and Shannon and start anew for season 19

I think Depriest was hired more due to her previous work on Days then because she was a fit for AW. Days was more plot driven then character driven so her style of writing worked better there then it did on AW. She was the writer that paired Sam/Amanda together, plus started the Lisa/Vicky/Jamie stories. Otherwise, her stories were decent in the moment without any sort of long term payoff (sort of like modern B & B and Y & R) Her year long stint on AMC was vastly better then her two headwriting stints on AW...imho.

The only reason my mom (in her 30s) and her friends watched DM was due to Van Dyke and Victoria Rowell. She didn't think the stories were as good..but had attachments to both leads. Matlock..same thing...she had an attachment to Andy Griffith cause of the Andy Griffith show..and also grew to like his rapport with Nancy Stafford's character and later Brynn's character (cause she was from soaps). My grandpa always watched DM as well...never missed it on Fridays

Salt Lake City: Lisa is Lisa... and I accept her for who she is. Even if I didn't, she accepts herself enough for the whole world. Angie with the scroll... I think that tops Jessel's journal from RHONY... but not quite on the same level as Monique's binder on Potomac. Whitney uses her trauma sadly to play victim. Meredith is obsessed with baths... so why not have bath line. That makes more sense then Whitney having a bath line. Usually the first episode is much calmer and introspective... but I guess this show is ready to start out guns a blazing LOL

Lesa needs to be humbled on occasion so bravo Stanbury for throwing some Ladies of London moves onto the reunion. Aylan... anyone with a quick ascent will always have a quick fall... human nature. For season 3, maybe downgrade Sara to friend status..and add someone new. I always love a housewife show that never keeps the same cast more then one or two seasons. Jersey, Potomac, and Atlanta wouldn't be in slumps if production would actually remove or downgrade housewives more often.

I do agree Jessica had a different vibe in season 1 then in later seasons. It also sounded like there was less room for collobaration in the early years...and that might have been why Jean turned down the part.

From what I understood about the Mckinnon backstory was that Mary was thought to be dead.. and that MJ basically became the mother figure for her younger siblings.. at least when MJ # 1 was playing the role.. and it appeared as though Cheryl had no memory of Mary.. so she was basically parented by her dad.. and MJ to a lesser extent. Instead of the boring romance with Scott... I think the more interesting story/focus for Cheryl could have been adjusting to having a mom long dead come back into the picture.. and feeling conflicted. And she could have conflicted over whether to go to Mary or to MJ for advice. If viewers tuned into AW in 1988 for the first time.. they would have little to no idea that Mary had come back from the dead a year or so before that. It would have appeared that Vince/Mary had both raised Cheryl since birth.. not that Mary had just come back from the dead on Cheryl was about 18. Lost potential for character development..imho

The actress said the new people in charge (Kobe) wanted to move the show away from the Gothic elements that the Dobsons/Marland had created and enhanced. Oddly, Pam Long was able to write gothic scenes elements quite well in her first stint. Lesley Ann's death was so eerie and dark...plus the Tony/Annabelle cottage story had gothic elements in it at first. Reva and the Lewis family was as southern gothic as you could get in 1983/84.

Potomac Wendy has always given off an air of insecurity. And she obviously compensates with her talking about her four degrees, being the youngest female professor at John Hopkins, etc. I want to say to her 'Show us, don't tell us'. I still remember the way she spoke to the designer on the Project Runway special really showed the kind of person she was... someone thinking they were superior to everyone. And the kicker was that she was vague about what she wanted in her outfit.. then got mad when the designer didn't do what she wanted.

You just described why Dr Nicole is good for the show.. but also is too good for the show. She doesn't need the show... and I think taking a season off is probably good for her. Lord knows the other women would pounce on her since Housewives tend to lack empathy. Look at what happened to Vanderpump during her final season. I have someone I actively dislike on each of the housewife shows.... Larsa is that person for Miami. You don't need to stir up trouble... you have Adriana for that job.. imho

I remember when Val was pregnant with the twins being so excited about Nashville Junction.. and being disappointed to find out that the book was basically a flop. And also I recall that once she did the Verna story/twins were returned.. that sales for Nashville Junction increased. I do recall in season 8 at the start of the season that she was supposed to be writing a screenplay... and I don't know if it was an adaptation of Capricorn Crude.. or if it was a new body of work. That whole arc in season 8 would have been a better story arc then the Jean Hackney story...imho. Or maybe Val could have been hired to write Sumner's book in season 8 instead of season 13.. while Ben is working on a story to expose him on Empire Valley dealings. This way there would have been organic conflict between Val/Ben due to being on opposing ends as they work to repair the marriage after the Cathy affair and Gary emotional affair. And Laura/Val's friendship could still have suffered tension as well.

I don't blame her if she isn't back... she is too good for the show and these women. Meanwhile.. you have vile trash like Larsa that continue to come back when she should be canceled