DynamiteKiddo

Love that Laura is popping back in, but I really wish JLB wasn’t the defacto Laura.

Ohhh ok lol

I just read on soaps.com John Lindstrom is temporarily replacing Matt Ashford as Jack?!? Sounds like it could be for love scenes... https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/comings-and-goings/586815/general-hospital-jon-lindstrom-temporarily-cast-jack-days-of-our-lives/ This is getting a lot with the recasts!

Totally agree about Kristen—everything involving her is NUTS and her history is being really contradicted to not only make her pairing with Brady work, but her friendship with Lani, too. But the Allie/Tripp story would be irresponsible anytime, but right now there is a cultural reckoning to hold men accountable for their sexual transgressions against women and to dispel this attitude that women have anything coming to them for being drunk or “promiscuous.” This story is literally about a girl who was too drunk to remember who raped her and who’s now falsely accusing the wrong guy who needs to be vindicated. It feels like a controversial response to the #metoo movement. Much like that Blue Lives Matter story with JJ/Theo, I have NO idea why THIS is what Ron is going for.

I was disappointed by the Horton Christmas Eve eppy. I loved that Eli & Lani got so much focus, but the rest of the episode was devoted to Ben's pain! And I noticed that they didn't include ANY interaction between him and Jenn, not even a look. Wonder WHY?!? And the writers were acting like Ben had no idea what happened with the ornaments . . . Ben was there celebrating with Abby before he went necktie psycho! God, the lengths this show goes to for Ben?!? I also thought the Rafe/Nicole stuff did not belong in this episode, but I guess they snuck in his connection to Hope to make it work? And I get that Shawn & Belle would skip the party after their wedding, but I was disappointed that Abby, Chad, Lucas, Will, Maggie, and Sarah weren't there. I hope it was because of Covid and not because of misguided priorities. The Brady episode was nice, but still no Shawn. I hadn't realized just how depleted this family has become. The Allie/Sami scenes were intense. Even though this story is providing great emotional moments, it's still so tone deaf and irresponsible. On today's episode, Marlena, a psychiatrist, rape survivor herself, and Allie's grandmother, coaxing John to cut Steve slack was really mind blowing. It made it look even more insane that later in the episode, she was consoling Allie. Ron is SO all over the place with this story. Anyway, I'm not sorry to see Joey go, but I'm very glad they tied up this loose end. It would've been nice to see him and Claire interact to give a nod to the 2015 teen scene--she could've mourned Ciara with Joey, not freaking Ben. Always great to see Val. Why isn't she on full-time?!?

The Gwen storyline really requires us to suspend all logic. All Abby, Chad, Jenn, or Jack would have to do is talk to each other and they’d figure out she’s playing them. But this is a soap trope and I’m willing to go with it because, for now, the actress and character are really working and bringing a great new energy to the show. If today is the Horton Christmas show I wonder who’s at Nicole’s door? Unless they’re gonna break from their one family a day theme, I have to assume it’s Lucas and not Rafe? I believe they’re picking right back up on that thread today. I am bummed that Shawn and Lucas seem to not be at Jennifer’s house for the tree trimming!

So far I've really enjoyed the Christmas episodes. As insane as all the DiMera stuff was, I fell for it and really liked seeing Chad, Kristen, and Tony together. The K episode was a ton of fun, esp. Victor shouting, "absolutely not!" when he saw Chloe. lolol. The scene where Vic was talking about Justin and let Bonnie stay was super touching, and I even loved Justin & Bonnie's kiss at the end. But f those Kristen fantasy scenes, ugh lol. The Black episode was nice . . . the wedding was nice but underwhelming and didn't really capture Shawn & Belle and their relationship. The scenes with Nicole/Allie and Will/Allie were really strong. And I'm loving Charlie and Ava for what this is for now, but they got an awful lot of focus in what was supposed to be a special episode for J&M's family. And I obviously agree with everyone about that insane Will editing. Was the Will/Allie/Brady scene shot separately or something and the background was green screened??? It's the only explanation I can think of for HOW he could have been missing from the rest of the episode and no Will/Marlena scene?!?

I look so forward to the Horton Christmas Eve every year!

Ya Brandon Barash is sooo hot! So is other Brandon B! 😍

If the premise really is the reporter and Kane vs. Santos, I expect to only see Susan, Eva, and Sarah Michelle back with Kelly & Mark as guests. Maybe Darnell & Debbie, too, because if it's a mystery they'll need a cop and Maria could use a friend at the hospital. Everyone else I imagine will be new, recast, or quick cameos from the really notable actors/characters. There will not be much room in this format for too many characters. I didn't see Grand Hotel but from this thread, it sounds like I didn't miss much lol. It's a shame because the original Spanish version is probably one of my favorite shows. That was a nighttime (period) soap that worked but that show had a LOT of episodes and they were able to feature a pretty big cast, but it was still very focused in comparison to daytime. That's one of the problems with transferring one of our beloved daytime dramas to primetime--you don't have the scope available to tackle everything that you can with a 5-days-a-week show. Past its production values, I've never had anything positive to say about B&B, but that's the only daytime soap I've seen that has the kind relatively focused canvas and message to make a transition like this viable without losing SO much of itself. Still have to wait and see, though. Regardless of how this turns out, or if it even makes it to air, this is good news, imo--interest in the genre is only positive.

I want to say so much but we don't have enough, or any really, information yet. But my gut is telling me it's really unrealistic to have any expectations that this will resemble AMC as we've ever known it.

The set designer is creative, lol. Ava's apartment is Craig & Nancy's New York apartment from "The Last Blast Reunion" . . . it's most of Chad & Abby's Paris apartment redressed and they attached Nicole's kitchen to it. Lolol. Even though I'm making fun, this is one of the better sets they have, so I'm glad they've been able to use it past the webisodes. Speaking of Ava . . . this is insane af. WHY?!? But I absolutely LOVE Tamara Braun! Rafe's return has been such a non-starter, but I enjoyed his scenes with Kate today. Lauren Koslow always brings out the best in (most) of her costars. It's really a shame that Xander & Sarah have turned into such a flop, imo. They were RC's happy accident and worked so well for a while there. And I hate to admit it, but Jay Johnson still hasn't settled back in as Philip. Granted his story with Xander & Sarah sucks, but I think he hasn't readjusted well to being back. I've only really seen him be HIM opposite Martha, Brandon, Nadia, Bryan, and Lauren. I guess he was pretty good with Tamara Braun, but it's hard for me to handle anything Ava-related. But I love that Mimi figured into his money problems--really random, but cool thread to tie in.

If Louise Sorel was unable/willing to return and this is super short-term, I'd skip it if I were RC. I love Linda Dano but this is Louise's role at this point, especially for visits. But since this is happening, I'm curious af to see how this'll work out! I think Dano could do something really interesting with this part. I'm especially excited to see her opposite Lauren Koslow. Needless to say, this has to be better than Robin Strasser's turn. I LOVED her as Dorian but that was a hot ass mess!

I think Kate can and should get it. I just have a feeling this is going nowhere and in the aftermath of it, she's gonna be age/slut shamed by everyone including, and especially, Chad and Gabi (who are supposed to look up to her). I don't think what Kate is doing is degrading, and I certainly don't want to see her degraded by the other characters for it. That's all. As for EJ, I was just pointing out it's a very similar setup. Kate really suffers from retreading and most of the situations (because they're not real stories) they put her in end similarly and have very little long-term impact. Btw, Kate is one of my favorite characters. I just want better for her. Noted that you don't think that's Roman lol.

I’m fine with Kate being with a guy Jake’s age. It’s just that this is being played for thrills, will amount to nothing, and inevitably degrade Kate. And didn’t we basically see this 14 years ago with her and EJ? Kate/LK is amazing and deserves longer-term planning. I know a lot of people don’t like Josh Taylor, but her reunion with Roman writes itself and I’ve always felt they’re totally endgame. However, I acknowledge that once they’re actually together, this can and likely will go the way of Victor/Maggie with gender reversed lolol.

This is promising! Hope she won't just be played for laughs like Sheila.

It adds SO much to this J&J story. Seeing Jenn at the Horton home wallowing gives it all so much more weight and poignance. However, I'm confused about who lives there now. That was Jennifer's house since shortly after Alice's death in 2010, and then Doug & Julie temporarily moved in to help Jenn through her recovery in 2016 (and then I guess never left?) . . . but on the Thanksgiving ep. it was played as Julie's house?!? I thought Jenn being "the steward of their family home" (like Maggie called her one TomSell Christmas) has always been perfect. To think of her living in Peter's father's house was SO wacked out. Also, seeing Cady in the Horton set goes a long way in making her feel more like Jennifer. So far, Cady's Jenn has been pretty stuck in the DiMansion bubble.

Yeah, the Qs and Georgie on GH own this thread. Tony was a casualty of that virus Feb. Sweeps, which I think was the Sweeps to really kick off JFP and Guza's string of "BIG" Sweeps (or maybe it was the train wreck that started all that?). It was unnecessary to dust Tony off to die, but honestly that didn't bother me like Alan being sacrificed for the Metro Court hostage crisis, who was very much still in play on the show. Zander dying in 2004 at the alter of Nem still burns me, and that was AJ-level destruction. Guza (and Pratt) had so many unnecessary deaths, but Ron is responsible for AJ's unforgivable second death and Kate's (both connected) was bad, too. And I am still beyond shocked Ron & Frank killed off Cole and Hope weeks after his & Starr's HEA on the ABC OLTL finale (just so Kristen Alderson could be freed up to be paired with Michael?!?). And on OLTL, killing off Jared was horrible. All for freaking Jolie. In contrast, a death that wasn't unnecessary and spring boarded so much story was Nash (even though that really hurt). Jared's death served no purpose except to cut short one of the most successful parts of Ron's early OLTL run. Recently on "Days," Adrienne's death was totally unnecessary. It served a very, very short-term time jump purpose and she was an incredibly important legacy character, who was the glue that held the Johnsons together. And now it feels like Bonnie is Adrienne-lite. While it's great to have Judi on still (esp. after her horrible year), why kill Adrienne if Bonnie is literally filling her void??

I only pop in on GH here and there now for years, but when I do, I'm super surprised that the show has such a visual point of view. I'm not saying it always works, as this sounds bizarre. But they're always working angles and try to use all parts of their sets. And the camera MOVES, a lot. Being a "Days" viewer where their cinematography and direction is so static (and they have no aesthetic), GH's style is appreciated by me. But maybe I'm giving way too much credit as I'm not even close to a regular viewer? I agree "different" shots should feel purposeful, not random.

Oh I love the pic!

Gene Brisco! I loved how there were so many ancillary characters back then, that we actually saw and had speaking roles--Gene, Marie, and Henderson for Titan/Victor, Eliana for Stefano, the blonde waitress at the Brady Pub, Dr. Bader and Nurse Brenda who always gave Sami a hard time at University Hospital, etc. etc. etc.

SO down for Dorinda on Heather's podcast.

Langan was knee-deep in who's the daddy. Between Greta, Chloe, and, of course, Zach. And I think it was always obvious Abe would be revealed as Brandon's father. The most disappointing was never finding out about Greta, who I guess confirmed John wasn't her father when she left. The Greta character had a lot of disappointments, from that to dropping her & Austin . . . I think it was a big mistake to dump her after the Jack debacle because she had SO much story left and was a breath of fresh air, esp. during that period, despite some extreme writing with being a forever virgin and Virtual Eden. I'm surprised RC didn't bring her out for the recent Gina mess. But Craig being Chloe's father was total WTFery. And frankly, so was Bo being Zach's father. I LOVED Brash & Cwikly, but those were two sloppy retcons to make fans happy.

Thank you! This was amazing! I always loved their friendship . . . prob. my all-time fav. on RHoNY.

OH $H!T!