Soaplovers

Dorit would make a wonderful 'friend of'.... imho. She is quirky, in her own little world, and her fan girling over JLC and her charity would make a wonderful audition piece to keep her as a 'friend of'. If she were a friend of.. she wouldn't need to align with the Coven nor with the Garcelle/Sutton/Crystal grouping... she could be Switzerland... though her stints on WWHL are a treat with her trying to spin the train wreck that is Ericka.

Apparently Lauren and Diane were friends when both were dating/married to Paul and Andy. In fact, Lauren in 1986 convinced diane to come back to win Andy back from Faren. Since Diane's 1996 return, no mention that Lauren and Diane knew one another..even.after Lauren married Michael..and he was friends with Diane.

He's aged very well I remember when he was on AW in 1997... he was cast to be a spoiler for Paulina/Joe, but was quickly written off. And he did the best he could on Passions. Shame he couldn't have been a recast when Richard Burgi was let go.. he seems to have that aura moreso then Robert Newman did.

Ellie was cold and manipulative. During her scenes with Digger, she seems to enjoy toying with him a bit as Jock looked on in jealousy. While I liked that Pam sometimes was Switzerland, I did love anytime she would spar with JR and the rest of the Ewings. In fact JR vs Pam was the central conflict... shame that the producers undervalued her and let her walk away without at least trying to give Victoria Principal what she wanted.

Y & R: Danny/Traci and Danny/Lauren Nina/Victoria and Nina/Sharon

Depriest is the one that created Nola Dancy, and she does a great deal of focus on the Joan Dancy right to die story.. which leads to an interesting plot to remove Matt as Chief of Staff (and I believe Mona Aldrich is on the hospital board, too). She's the last writer that tried to keep the focus on the hospital.. before Marland came in and changed the fabric of the show for the worst.

Nina grew up in Austin Tx...so she has to have some quirkiness... since the motto in Austin is 'Keep Austin Weird'. Stansbury and Aylan had moments where they liked one another...but Aylan tends to misread what people say..becomes defensive and insults the other person..and then surprised when they won't talk to her. And I think the divorce threw Stansbury off between LOL and Dubai.

I read friend of Taylor has been bringing it during the season..way more than production assumed she would. There is talk she may possibly be bumped up. Also, I heard Tamra has been making Emily work for her orange. If so, about time she earned her keep on the show.

Paige was more of an anti-heroine than a heroine or vixen. It's a hard character to write for, but had it not been for Nicolette Sheridan.. Paige wouldn't have been such a presence. When she first came in, she seemed to fill the Diana void of the troublesome daughter that caused angst for Karen and family. Since she wasn't related to Michael, it made sense for the two to hook up.. causing even more conflict for Karen/Mac. The one relationship never explored was the Karen/Paige relationship... they got along, but it wasn't a warm relationship... and it was interesting seeing Paige not fawning over Karen as the wise one like everyone else did. I did like Greg/Paige together... but I always thought that deep down, she knew that Laura was the love of his life.. and that was part of the element that kept the two from truly making a go of it because she would always be #2 in his heart.

Olivia had such potential..and her final season sort of skimmed the surface of that with Gary remarking that she had inherited her mother's natural business acumen...but had ethics. I could have seen Olivia staying on in season 12 free of Harold...and maybe interacting with Paige/Linda at Sumner Group...since she had rocky history with Paige and would have made Linda miserable for hurting her cousins..plus was Greg's stepdaughter. Some of Kate's stories could have been given to Olivia (except the Gary relationship in season 14). Lotus Point was a great secondary location...like Seaview Circle, it was a gathering place for the character rather working or using the facilities (swimming, parks, restaurants, etc).

In the real world, Val would end up with Ben...and Gary would end up either with Abby..or be chasing women like Cathy. I do recall Cathy and Gary having closure of sorts at the start of season 6...but sadly are not in one another's orbit much going forward.

Candiace and Ashley carrying yet another season while Robyn/Giselle just coast as usual.

Nicki has never watched the show if she didn't know about Candiace's razor blade mouth. That usually cuts Ashley every single reunion.

Season 5 was a quieter season for Val in a way. She had a new relationship with Ben, was a supportive friend of Karen/Laura and a supportive daughter to Lillimae. However with her being pregnant with Gary's baby..you knew season 6 would be when it was Val's turn for drama. Season 5 and to a lesser extent season 8 were nice calms for Val storywise...usually when she was at her best (i.e not treated like a victim or the village idiot).

So Lorie was actually a cousin to Snapper/Greg...and was Liz's niece? If so, that isn't ever brought up or explored. With Bill Bell, he never did storyline crossovers...but I think off screen..characters interacted. At least that became the case when Alden took over. I recall once Alden took over, Nina and Sharon started interacting on screen as if they knew one another for years. Same with Vicki with Neil/Drucilla....I even think Neil/Ryan would talk about Vicki and Nina..but we hardly saw Neil/Dru around Vicki or Nina all that much onscreen till Alden took over.

Which is a shame because they had different personalities and places on the canvas. I think had Nathan #1 not left, Bill Bell wouldn't have lost interest. Why is Maura West not on this list? She was a bad fit for the show no matter what character she played. And Michelle Stafford would get an award for biggest letdown since she hasn't gotten a hold of the character since returning this past time. Gina T.and Sandra Nelson had a more intense and scary vibe when they played Phyllis

Dubai: None of the women are likable. Obviously Stanbury did not watch housewives or she would have held off on fillers till after it was filmed (i.e. Vicki getting plastic surgery pre season 8 of OC). Aylan is fake and people fawning over her makes me laugh because she wouldn't give most people the time of day. Also, overly sensitive Lesa should thank her hubby because without his experience in finance, her line would just be a novelty line without actual sales backing it. Sara...not sure who the real Sara is. Nina..beautiful dress..but not sure what she brought to the show. Brooks...wear that crown...closest she'll ever get to one. BH: Too many bullies

I liked Griffey's in the early years as the teen hangout...and the Bikini Bar was similar in the 90s. And I even liked the charm of the Logan house in the early years..and liked Bill's penthouse overlooking LA. And Spectra had that converted to warehouse look...that showed the outside the box approach of Sally Spectra..and her hunger for success and respect. And loved the Stella Dallas esque mom/daughter relationship between her and Macy. She would have done anything to ensure Macy had the respect from the wealthy that she never had.

I miss the days when the women wore casual outfits to the reunion.

I remember Jack coming to the ranch and finding Nikki in a pool of blood..being frantic and cradling her in his arms as he called Nikki. You're right..soaps don't do these beats anymore. @Taoboii think Bell was trying to introduce a new family the Dennisons through Jill. It worked in the early 80s with Jill so why not try again...but it didn't work sadly. Kay Alden made the sisters matter..not sure how she did it..but she did. Tricia alone became an important character..and her slow descent into insanity started because of her guilt over getting pregnant with Ryan's baby by scheming..and when she miscarried, the guilt was the spark that lit the insanity fire for her.

I think the Joshua/Veronica story..plus the Dennison clan was a sign Bill Bell was declining. To Alden's credit, she quickly sped through the Joshua/veronica story..and provided purpose for the Dennison sisters..and put Jill back in Kay's orbit. But no fall out was played out. 1st sign of the decline of Y & r

I would have had Diane leaving Jack for Victor in 1997 as revenge against Jack for how he played with her emotions in the 80s. And I would have kept Diane and Victor as married for business reasons with certain agreements in place that he violated when he divorced her for Nikki....and in exchange for her dropping her contesting of the divorce.. he gives her a seat on Newman's board. Original Diane could have so played that convincingly...not sure if Susan Walter's could have pulled that off.

@Cat @Faulkner I kind of think because of the huge rents of NYC, it seems to have diluted the more artistic sector of NYC sadly. Tinsley worked because she was something different/unique to the RHONYC experience.. and along with her came Dale as a fun supporting character. Dubai is interesting to me because I think with Aylan being to over the top, we've lost out on some little nuggets with Nina. If I recall, Lesa has stated that based on Nina trash talking Stansbury for so long, she hesitates to trust Stansbury so I'm intrigued to hear more from Brooks on how Nina is a side sniper. Also, I can understand why Brooks was pressed against Sara over things she said about her parenting vs Stansbury. Stansbury related her experience as a boarding school child without shading Brooks on her parenting.. while Sara was shading Brooks on how she parents her child. I do love the editors for inserting scenes of Sara doing exactly what Brooks was accusing her of doing.

I loved when anyone put that witch Kay in her place...and she did kill Philip..but also wanted to kill herself as well...she just managed to survive

9 years was a long time for Rena. She usually leaves after a few years..but I can't think of where to take Quinn...tbh