Soaplovers

I like that the families are still in the opening. This and NJ were always more of a focus on family. In fact, RHOC was a concept that combined Desperate Housewives with the OC....so the teens always had a focus. Plus we have seen Heather and Shannon's kids grow up on the show...I like that we sometimes hear from them about their moms. Last night we met the newbie Jennifer...and she is exactly an OC prototype. Messy older kids, hectic life...and lips that are..wow. only thing missing is the sky top lol

Newman was lured back in 1993.. and the plan had been originally to do a Harley/Mallet/Josh triangle.. but I'm guessing between the time the show was trying to pure Newman back and him agreeing.. both Beth E and Mark D opted to quit the show. I remember Josh first coming back with him coming to Harley and she basically letting him have it for basically dumping her and then expecting to come back like nothing happened. Plus Mallet/Josh butted heads because of Julie/Dylan's busted wedding. However, the back up plan for Josh (Tangie) didn't work.

From what I read the actor opted to quit so he just vanished without explanation. You could almost see that Chase/Nina seemed to be end game during the whole David Kimball story... though I could have seen young Victoria having a crush on Chase thus Chase/Nina/Victoria could have been a thing

Diana wasn't thrown under the bus for Leo... because Diana was never given an actual character other then what Genie Francis infused into the character.. which changed quite a bit. Genie Francis spoke about how it was frustrating to play Diana because the show never gave her an actual character to play. In fact, she said Diana was a bit part that they expanded once Days secured her. And she did leave mysteriously by slicking her hair back, putting on a wig and leaving in the night. So maybe what we saw was the real Diana

Only if Wigs moves her brood into a townhouse again like in the good old days.

This is basically the same cast as season 14 and everyone I knew said that the cast just didn't gel. So when I heard there was no shake up at all, I knew this show was in trouble. I don't think Nene/Kim Z is the answer to fixing the show because neither one of them are the same people that they were in the first seasons of the show. I'm going to be honest and say that they shouldn't be filming together.. and that instead maybe show us their lives with their jobs, friends and family. And hell no to Kim Fields ever coming back. That is one toxic condescending woman... and I don't think she bested Kenya at the reunion. It was a draw..imho. Now that I'm thinking about it, anytime someone semi famous does one of these housewife shows.. I end up not liking them anymore (Rinna, Kim Fields, Heather Dubrow, Eileen, and Garcelle/Denise Richards is on my side eye list). Maybe actors/actresses shouldn't do these shows if they hope to have a long lasting acting career LOL

I remember reading back in early 1994 that the reason Jagger/Karen left suddenly together was due to a few things. Sabato Jr only signed a 2 year contract while Cari S had signed a 3 year control... so when he opted not to renew his contract, the show was trying to decide how to proceed. They had considered having the two break up with Jagger leaving and Karen staying.. but Cari S had hinted she probably wouldn't renew her contract in a year so the show opted to write them out together rather then try to introduce a new love interest for Karen (which shows how much the show probably realized that Karen wasn't as important to the show as a character). Brenda probably benefited from both Jagger/Karen leaving and was given more attention/focus since she would be staying on so she had to become more then just a chip on her should vixen.. she needed to have more layers to her. And I think the show could move on from the Sonny angle easier since Karen was off the canvas. Had she not had chemistry with Sonny.. I truly think both characters wouldn't have stayed on long term. I always think of Julia/Brenda on GH in the same vein as Casey/Nikki on Y & R. Career driven/over responsible individuals with issues/trauma from their parent.. that shielded their younger wild child younger sibling from the parent... and both of them trying to help their younger sibling from being self-destructive... and both of those said younger siblings end up becoming iconic characters on both of their soaps while their older sibling ended up leaving after a few years.

Marland did say that GL was the easiest soap for him to take over...that the Dobson's left it in such great shape. And a lot of his first year on GL was finishing out some of what the Dobson's had written. I did read a rumor once that in 1985, he was given a choice of GL and ATWT...and he picked ATWT. Not sure if true..and what his reasonings were for choosing ATWT at that point...other then ATWT had somewhat been fixed by Horgan Bledsoe while GL was knee deep into the Infinity story (which maybe Marland didn't want to touch with a 10 foot pole lol)

What I never understood was why the show didn't just write off Josh/Reva as leaving town instead of having Reva drive off the bridge... especially since he ended up leaving within 6 months after she did. That way, the show wouldn't of had to do all the stupid things they did later in the mid 90s

My guess is that ABC ended up getting younger viewers (high school and college aged) that didn't want to watch soaps that their parents watched (which were P & G).

Nick and Sharon.... yuck B & B... so basically lather, rinse, and repeat

I view The Willows to be a rough draft for Nola/Quint at Thornbury Hill. If you think about it...you had the 'anti-heroine' needing a break from conflicts in their lives, they stumble into a gothic location, and become friendly with a mysterious man that we aren't sure is a good or bad soul. Had Marland stayed on beyond those 13 weeks..he might have done more with the Willow story.. or he maybe used it as a stop gap for Grant/Lisa until he could get Joyce back onto the show.

Agree to disagree about Aydin and Margaret having more shelf life. Aydin is just unwatchable to me...If I had money I'd pay for Bill's divorce lawyer so he doesn't have to be married to her.

NJ this past season is what happens when producers don't pull a OC season 9 fix. Season 8 of OC.was fun...but it was starting to feel played out by the end of the season...with a revived Gretchen vs Tamra..and Alexis basically being iced out of a lot of events by the cast. Producers saw how season 9 would not work with the cast in tact..and they dropped Alexis/Gretchen...with Lydia quitting. Doing that helped usher in Shannon and Lizzie...and season 9 felt fresh. NJ needs to either drop Teresa or Melissa.....and Aydin or Margaret..before it comes back another season. Don't ignore it like Potomac seems to do

Problem was that his 13 weeks was too stodgy with not a lot of action. Granted, the 1980 to 1983 period of trying to modernize the show was almost too far in the opposite direction.

Either the money was good...or Samantha won't be humiliated in her cameo. And helps she won't have to be in the same space as her former co workers. Lesson to all to always know your worth.

When Eileen's Kristen came back in 2011, her friendship with Jennifer and her bond with young Ciara helped make her more human. I think on AW, you had a former 'bad girl' befriend the current 'bad girl'. Paulina/Cindy were a good example in the late 90s.. where you saw scenes of Cindy being conflicted helping Grant with a scheme he had against Joe/Paulina because of her friendship with Paulina. But the weirdest friendship duo I ever saw was Nicole/Chloe on Days. Both of them were sworn enemies that became unlikely friends... and there were moments where one was the voice of reason for the other. It was such a bizarre friendship that actually worked. And during the Sunset Beach era, when persumed dead Maria came back.. she was often the voice of reason/sounding board for Annie.

I sometimes liked the scan written episodes better so I hope they don't go dark (unless actors strike and then it will be moot).

I think Brenda Barrett on GH would kind of count. She was introduced as the wild child younger sister to type A Julia and was just a spoiler to Karen/Jagger for the first several months of her stint. Interesting..but nothing really indicated in those early months that she would be a leading lady...maybe an anti heroine. Then the show knowing that Jagger and Karen were leaving the show, started to test Brenda to see where she would fit (in fact, I think it was a dream sequence of Brenda with most of the men)..and she/Sonny had chemistry..and the rest is history

That's part of the problem with reality tv....pretending for the cameras. Drew is afraid to let it all hang out....she needs to take lessons from Shannon Beador on how to be a housewife (i.e. being raw and not pretending).

The thing I liked about the mini series and the 1st full season with Pam was that she may have pulled herself up by the boot straps by working at the department store and marrying Bobby.. but there were times we were reminded that in her heart, she was a Waco girl... and had a coolness/strength that radiated. Sadly.. that was lost as the show pressed on... though she could deliver a slap that packed a punch (i.e. Katherine when discovering she forged a letter to Bobby, and JR a few times). Katzman didn't understand that the show was about JR and Pam... not JR and Bobby.

Latham was not known for writing actual characters... only character achetypes. And Pat was complex like Laura was..and played by a likable actress so Latham and Co were lost how to write for her. And yes... Ms. Sheridan had such a unique presence that she made 1 D characters like Paige and Edie (from DH) so rich and likable/

I think Kristian Alfonso would have been a great asset to the show, had the show provided her with a character that wasn't a Melissa replacement. KA was always cool, sarcastic with a hint of ice cold bitchiness... while Ana Alicia was more of an emotional tidal wave of emotion. Two very good actresses... no way that either could be the replacement of the other.

I wished that Pat and Abby interacted more..if at all. I could have seen Pat and Abby having the same dynamic as Abby and Laura did. She seemed like she could have easily filled the void left by Laura's departure. She would have served the same function in Val's life as Laura had (not enabling Val like Karen did). And I recall one of the conflicts between Frank and Pat was the fact she wanted to go back to being a doctor under her new alias...while Frank kept saying that would blow their cover..pointing out that he became a lawyer instead of a cop like in his previous life. Pat's death actually hindered any story potential for Frank and Julie..more then opening up story potential. Since the show was more female driven...perhaps Frank dying at the hands of Danny would have freed up Pat for more story opportunities.

And one element that made the Melanie being Carly's daughter story interesting was that Vivian had formed a bond/relationship with Melanie before that fact came out... and Vivian felt conflicted over what she should do.. and ultimately decided not to kill Melanie. There also were a few scenes where Vivian and Mia didn't like one another... which was another red herring.