Soaplovers

As Alexandra Spaulding of GL fame once said 'I'm sure this time it's forever' LOL

January 2025 is far enough into the future where TPTB can get that Bible written, casting, sets, studio space, writers, and a strong EP/producer between now and then.

At first, when Sandra F came on as Amanda.... Depriest did seem to make an effort to provide some layers to the character of Amanda. She had Amanda/Rachel have mother/daughter conflict with Amanda not wanting to do the traditional things all girls with money did which drove Rachel a bit crazy because that was all she had wanted for herself and wanted to provide for her daughter. And I think Amanda wanting to develop her identity beyond being a Cory was promising... as well as her relationship with the more working/middle class Sam helped with that. I think the 1988 writer strike really kind of derailed that characterization of Amanda.. and she never really had much direction as a character. I think Sandra F's take as Amanda was probably best and infused her character with some sort of spark/character.. which got lost with the two other recasts. Reason I thought Judi Evans would have made a good Nancy was because her version of Paulina eventually evolved into a more Ada-like character. Fiesty, fighting tooth and nail for her family.. worked at the Italian restaurant.. was the advice giver, and down to earth.

I would have kept Cali Timmons as Paulina.. and brought on Judi Evans as Rachel's half sister Nancy. That way both actresses would have had a place on the show.. and co-existed since both actresses put something special. Not recast Lorna... Once Alicia C opted to leave... I would have kept Lorna off canvas. If they insisted on hiring Robin Christopher.. have her darken her hair and have play a recast Lisa (Robin's Lorna seemed more like a Lisa type then Lorna).

That would be a logical link from the original show to this new show... Jo's son coming back into the picture. I do admit to being curious to see how Amanda, Sydney and Jo would fit in... since the three had some actual history with each other.

I didn't know about Martha being considered for Michelle. From what I recall..Beth Bonner and Sabine Singh were in the running. I think Sabine would have been a good Michelle recast.

Tom/Brooke both said that there was an elitist attitude from the directors that the only true actors were on Broadway while people like Kelley/Brooke were not real performers. Just typical NYC elitism rearing its ugly head. One of the reasons I thought Sam was a great character was because of Brooke and how she played her. She had a lowkey and naturalistic take on the character... and she had a dry sense of humor that contrasted nicely with the dramatic takes of both Lucinda/Lily. Sam and Sierra served the same function. If I recall, post Caso.. the show/P and G did three waves of firings in 1995/1996/1997.. and I think Brooke/Sam was the 2nd wave in 1996. And I think Sam would have survived beyond 1998 had Brooke come back to play the part... and I had a feeling so would have the character of Georgia.

I think Katie was better written in her first year or two on the show when she did have scenes with Margo...when she was a little schemer and wasn't written as a heroine. It seemed once she and Simon became well liked as a couple is when the show started propping her up. The only time I liked her in the later years is when she and Reid were friends..and they bantered with one another. It was what she and Henry should have been..but weren't.

OC was fine when Dubrow wasn't on the show and the show would be find without her on it. In fact, I think some of the OC's more scripted/rehearsed elements really took off when she joined originally in season 7. She would be more at home on RHOBH.

I guess the rumor that TPTB were thinking of recruting one or two OGs to be in the cast with the newbies on NY was just that. Yeah... Ubah/Jenna should have been downgraded or cut because neither worked for me. I would add one new person because there was a lack of that spark that would have made the whole thing pop.

She and Dorit did not click so I could see them revisiting their initial dislike of one another. @AntoyneKaren can go back to dragging Ashley now

Larsa needs to go. Adriana and Alexia can do the villianess thing with likable moments better than Larsa. I would add someone new in order to keep the dynamic from growing stale.

Gizelle without Robyn will be interesting to see.

It was a crime that Jackee kind of got shoehorned into the Sandra Clarke role. Her role in this mini series showed she could play the dramatic beats as well as the comedic ones. She did end up doing a tv movie where she played dual roles...and was believable. The 1990s had mini series, but they seemed to be either two or three parts. Anyone remember The Ten Kingdoms from the early 2000s?

Potomac: Great reunion looks. Karen's situation isn't a surprise. I have always viewed her as extremely insecure and dealing with a lot of demons. Generally people that are overly confident and lean into labeling themselves, such as a 'Grand Dame' are trying to compensate for some deep rooted insecurity. I hope she gets help. Beverly Hills: Ann Marie not coming back is not a surprise. Mid season new arrivals have it difficult already because you don't usually get time to slowly be worked into the show. Now...we need Ericka, Dorit or Kyle to also be shown the door next.

I always chalked it up to the mental breakdown she had, her stay in a mental hospital, and never really dealing with the trauma of Steve cheating on her and never really looking for her too much. The show dropped the ball not having the breakdown and stay in a mental hospital as a way to explain the change in Carolee.

St Elsewhere was one step away from being a primetime soap. I viewed it as such because even some of the patient stories were multi-episodes.

I wonder if the original intention was to have Hotel be a hybrid soap/anthology show... but when Bette Davis wasn't able to continue on.. the show got reworked into more an anthology show.. with a few soapy elements thrown in later on the show. I guess the slow burn love story with Christine and Peter was one of the long running threads on the show.. but the hotel take over attempt didn't happen till much later. A question I have is this... were there any dramas in the 80s or 90s that you could have see becoming more primetime soapish?

Irna Phillips had envisioned Mary to be like Nancy..only with more shades of grey. She had lost her importance when Liz was reintroduced and given more position with Pat, Russ, and Alice then Mary was.

RHOM Reunion: Maybe because I'm an adult... but the sight of grown women acting like toddler doesn't really appeal to me. It's actually not a good look for women, and allowing Nepo Baby to speak on the women during International Womens month is very counter productive... especially when he lacks the charisma and talent of his father. I know all of you are happy with the current cast of Miami... but I think it is time for Larsa to go. Lisa and Adriana can easily slip into the villianess mode and also add a newbie next season as well. I'm not surprised most of the other women had no idea about Kiki and her life... because she doesn't trauma dump nor do the women view her as a real friend. After all, she's just a 'friend of'.. not an actual co worker (in their eyes anyway). RHOBH reunion Kyle is a Robyn Dixon with some Gizelle mixed in... she isn't lead character at all. Why else did she bring on both Kim and Kathy this season... because she knows she isn't the main attraction. Kim had a few memes/gifs done about her during her brief cameo this season... and Kathy was at the reunion and getting more attention then Kyle. On the surface, Sutton buying a horse and going on blind dates isn't front burner material... but she presented a lot of context that helped make those events more interesting. She talked of her past marriage, how she was the typical hostess wife, how she had to find herself after the divorce, and then realized that she was ultra controlling as a defense mechanism from her years being controlled by her ex. Lots of subtext and backstory.. which makes people want to watch and root for you. Kyle lacks that ability to offer context and backstory.. she comes across as fake and performative... she lacks the over the top quirkiness of Kathy nor the little engine that could element of Kim... nor is as funny/witty as LVP was during her time on the show.

Now with streaming and other online platforms, affiliates will have less power in terms of a soap making it or not. Affiliates in the past caused the declines/endings of numerous soaps: Edge of Night Love of Life Search for tomorrow Ryan's Hope Generations Loving Port Charles Those are just off the top of my head. I also think Days doing well on Peacock has helped a bit with networks being interested in soap development becoming a thing again. I wonder if it will be a half hour or hour long soap...and I assume filming would be either in Calfornia or even Atlanta perhaps.

I'm hoping if this is successful that P & G looks into reviving one or two of their properties (Edge of Night would be my choice for a revivial).

JG was never a strong headwriter...his strength was in character driven scenes and making others creative ideas work within a soap opera format. At the same time, who else would want the job? Anyone that would have been good has either retired or passed away. Still...4 more years will ensure the genre survives well into the late 2020s

Why reward Porsha with a spot back on RHOA? She needs to be walking around with a scarlet letter on her...I would be the letter and it stands for Idiot. Miami: I know all of you want the cast to remain the same...but this combination is a bit stale. Drop Larsa, upgrade Kiki...and hire a new friend of in order to keep things from getting stale.

Vanessa was a good actress, but she played Rhonda as too earnest and optimistic. The show needed to have cast someone like the other Vanessa Williams for someone bitchy/sexy.. or even a Robyn Givens type for the character of Rhonda to have survived into season 2. I do recall Rae Dawn Chong appeared for two episodes as Rhonda's brief roommate from hell.. and I think she would have fit better on the show once it went soapy in season 2.