Soaplovers

Ally Mcbeal...poster child for toxic femininity.

So basically OC (numerous 1 season wonders)

Y & R: Diane and Lauren were friends in the 80s when both were with Paul/Andy. In fact, Lauren had Diane come back in 1986 to win Andy back from Faren. When Diane returned in 1996, Lauren was on B & B... but I would have thought with Michael being friends with Diane and Phyllis... that mention of Lauren being friends with Diane would come up. Paul/Nikki had years where they didn't interact (from 1984 till late 80s..when she went to see how he was after being accused of killing George Rawlins. And then not again until the late 90s/early 00s when she cautioned him about Isabella). And then off and on after that. Paul/Lauren I was surprise they stopped interacting... though didn't they interact again briefly when Sussman headwrote? AMC Gillian/Erica

I think the Cathy/Ben affair could have worked had the show kept up the Cathy and Gary connection after season 5. She could have been conflicted about Gary wanting to see the twins, but also felt loyalty to Ben as well...and maybe she could have resented Val for 'stringing' along both men. It could of worked and given back some of Cathy's agency had the writers in season 7 did their homework. And Val/Ben could have spent season 8 making their marriage work after the Cathy affair and after the emotional affair Val had with Gary. And they could have had Ben leave the show after they realized they couldn't move beyond it...or had Ben be presumed dead when he went on a work assignment (and she holding out hope he's alive like before).

Adair infused Jill with a sense of warmth/optimism that had been missing from the character since the mid 70s.... but her Jill was a crafty one.. and used that warmth/vunerability to her advantage.

Holden and Emily... blame the performers for that because they were married and said they requested not to work together so much. Y & R: Danny/Traci/Lauren. While Traci/lauren still interacted on and off through the years... After 1986, Traci/Danny didn't interact as much (other then at his concerts), and after 1987 Lauren/Danny stopped interacting as much (other then at his concerts). GL: Nadine/Holly: They were co-workers/friends in the late 80s/early 90s.. but by 1992/3.. Nadine and Holly ever interacted with Nadine trapped in the Cooper bubble.. and Holly in the Thorpe/Springfield Journal bubble. Holly/Michelle: They were close in 1993/4... drifted apart until 1998 where Michelle/Holly had coffee on occasion at Company.. and then stopped interacting with one another again until the mid 2000s during that weird Sebastian story (though I did like that the show had Claire and Holly had a scene where both discussed their shared connections with Fletcher and michelle). Hilary/Josh: Oddly the two of them were friends pre Reva's arrival in Springfield. In fact, they were on a friend date when Reva made her debut in Springfield... but then they stopped interacting thereafter.

Afton's keen instincts and observational skills were established in season 5 (her first full season on the show) when she pointed out to JR that Clayton was in love with Sue Ellen.. which he wasn't even aware of himself. It was probably the only time a character actually listened to what Afton had to say and acted upon it. I think the fact that no one really listened to Afton kind of enhanced the class structure set up of the show. In most of the characters minds, Afton was just a naive girl from Bioxi that everyone assumed just used sex appeal as her only asset... and that she had nothing else of value to contribute.

I decided to put this under the Another World discussion since this particular project was done right after Robin Strasser left AW. It was a low budget horror movie called 'The Bride' or by other titles (The House that cried Murder or Last house on Massacre Street) that she filmed in mid to late 1972. She would have been an effective horror movie actress based on this movie had soaps not called her back in the mid 70s..imho.

I attributed that to being kidnapped/held hostage by Barnabas... then having her memories wiped out by Julia via hypnosis. A good soap opera writer could have mined stories from Maggie resuming her life post trauma.. but she was just a void (almost like she was walking in a daze... which I assumed was because Julia didn't bring her completely out of her hypnotic stage).

wasn't the actress who played Laura pregnant during season 8 hence the reduced presence that season?

Maggie did have a personality in the first year (i've been watching it on Tubi).. she was a brassy/sarcastic waitress with a heart of gold with an alcoholic father. She walked around in a daze after the Barnabas story.. but I always attributed that to Julia's hypnosis to wipe out Maggie's memories of Barnabas kidnapping her.. and Maggie never came out of the trance. After the initial Paul Stoddard and the Laura/hit and run stories wrapped up.. Roger/Liz became just props. And Carolyn inherited the Victoria Winters mantle in many ways (except with even less drive/agency then Victoria at her worst..imho)

From what I recall Annie was recurring and was made a contract role. Her backstory was confusing because she mentioned an abusive ex possibly being out on parole..then it came out she was a recovered alcoholic when she went to a meeting Ed was at. In fact, when it came out she and Rick had been married in the past, Ed was hurt she never told him. So while Annie was being fully formed/developed, Josh was being tested with some of the women (Jenna, Holly, Lucy...and some viewers believed he was being tested with Vanessa in early to mid 1994). I think Annie was thrown with him as a test..and they had chemistry so the show went with it. Their conflicts were initially the kids (because Josh was going to declare Reva as dead), Hawk and spirit Reva (originally it was written she was just a figment of his imagination, and then it turned into her being a ghost). I also remember when spirit Reva was leaving..she was walking toward a light of sorts..she stopped and paused then it cut away. I think McTavish was head writer when Reva came back the 2nd time and they were trying to figure out how to do so...and I don't remember how they did it but I think she had been in a coma..or had hit her head so she was a wandering spirit..but I don't remember 100 %. Until 1997, Reva/Josh and Annie/Josh fans were 50/50 till they made her crazy. Before she went crazy, some fans wanted her with Philip (they had good chemistry) when he came back in 1996.

I do remember Sussman had tried to showcase some of these elements with Lauren's department store struggles..and joining in with Jabot as a way to save the company..with Phyllis helping with social media/web page updates for Fenmores. As always..story was dropped.

The slut of Springfield speech episode seemed over rated...but it pinpointed the toxicity of their relationship to me. When I watched the full episode, the b scenes between Jim Reardon and Hilary Bauer kept my interest (perhaps because we all know she was killed off weeks later). But I felt their scenes were a nice contrast to Josh/Reva in terms of communication and trying to meet one another halfway

Early years of soaps (50s, 60s) took place in the living rooms or kitchens of the main characters residences...with maybe one restaurant set, one hospital and police station set. Difference was that the writing was probably better in those earlier years.

When Reva drove off the bridge, they did play up Josh's intense grief over It...locking himself in his room, etc. And he didn't deal with the grief, he did transference of his feelings to Harley. And he up and left with the kids because of a possible sighting of Reva on an Italian travel show. No one in their right mind would have done that. And he cloned Reva in 1998 after she was presumed dead because he couldn't bear to be without Reva..original and clone versions. Difference in that scenario is that the writing tried to make him sympathetic and Reva unreasonable for being upset with Josh for cloning her.

My theory why the killing pool story was so good was because Reilly probably helped her pace the story. Sussman seemed to have good ideas, just was lousy at pacing the stories.

I do recall Sally's initial story at Days was the Killing pool story...which was an interesting story. However, after that concluded...she struggled at Days (except for the story where Sami was framed for killing Franco on their wedding day...where she was blamed for a crime she didn't commit.) Generations didn't really start to gel until the last 6 or so months of the show...and I have a feeling she might have had help behind the scenes.

It'll take time to find its footing. OG night court took 2 seasons or so before it hit its stride.

It was interesting to me that Reva did well on the show sans Josh...while the writers kind of struggled with Josh (other than the rebound Harley relationship in late 1990, and hitting pay dirt with Annie in late 1994). I wonder why it was easier to write for Reva as a character apart from Josh...but not Josh?

From watching the Steven/Ashley marriage episodes, they were a realistic married couple. They had arguments like a couple did, and neither coddled the other. Blade/Ashley.. was an odd choice for a marriage because it seemed to come out of nowhere. However, the only explanation I could buy was that she married Blade to show Traci that she was out of the running for Brad (they were estranged at the time). Only positive that came out of that random marriage was the introduction of Mari Jo.. but the character could have come on with Blade/Ashley as a couple without a marriage. Cole/Ashley thing never made sense except he was the only one to generate chemistry with Shari's Ashley.

I could see Beverlee opting to do that as Iris...because Iris was a daddy girls and always wanted center stage..and talked just for the sake of talking. It made sense for her and Jerry to do Bobbie's show since she was a Dallas local and good promotion for Texas

The original concept of AW was basically a more psychological study of the traditional soap opera format/tropes... or that's what I got from the bible I read awhile ago. Sadly, Irna was the not right person to bring that aspect to life.. which is why the show floundered for the first couple of years until Agnes Nixon was able to right the ship. Harding Lemay in the 70s fashion AW like a Masterpiece Theatre for daytime tv.. and I think the sudden rise of GH due to action/adventure threw all of daytime in a panic.. and AW suffered. The 90 minute expansion, moving the timeslot, and removing Iris also eroded the show, as well as not having a headwriter that could successfully continue the Masterpiece Theatre identity. Corrine J was an attempt to maintain that element, but she gutted the show instead of enhancing the show. Lemay used elements already in place and just expanded upon them (he also learned the rules of soap opera writing from Iran so he understood what rules he could break and what rules he needed to maintain). I truly think by the late 80s/early 90s, the show had managed to find a happy medium between glitz, action, and character... but a show that's a balance can sometimes blend in instead of becoming popular. In JFP's defense, when she entered in the mid 90s, the show had no clear identity anymore (Swajeski was long gone by then).. so she figured changing the show might entice new viewers to come... but it ended up driving away the loyal viewers that had been attracted by the version of AW that had been the constant since 1988/9. I do think the final months of AW did show that there was still a bit of life on the show (though by then, everyone was isolated in their own story bubbles with little to no overlap in interaction.) during the Mac and Mitch triangle. I remember during Leah Laiman's stint in the final years that they smartly played up the reformed bad girl seeing through the tricks of the newest social climber with Lila putting on the southern girl act even calling Rachel 'Mother Hutchins'.. and Rachel just stands there with an expression that said 'oh you're good, but I was way better then you when I pulled this routine' LOL

I think GL was due for an update by 1983, and I think the 1st 18 months of Pam Long's 1st tenure was pretty good. A nice balance of Bauers, Reaedons, Spauldings, and Lewis'. Fall of 1984 the structure started changing and by the end of 1985, it was a new show. An interesting show, but not the GL of before. The 2nd tenure in 1988 to 1990 was much stronger (and even used some of the history to boot).

Problem was most of the NY housewives either had nothing going on outside the show (Sonja), didn't want to share it ( Ramona), or amped up the dramatics to compensate for Covid protocols (Leah, Luann). Eboni came in at the wrong time, focused more on lecturing/preaching then actual going with the flow. There were moments Eboni was fun and warm (with Sonja)...and she/Ramona had the most interesting of dynamics where they kind of liked each other..but were on totally different communication approaches (and Eboni was trying to bait Ramona too much probably with Leah's blessing...and Ramona would put her foot in her mouth as well lol). Now that NYC is somewhat back to activity....would be nice to see a post 2020 NYC and how the women are navigating it.