DynamiteKiddo

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.

For "Days," I think this is a really good promo.  The recurring cast constantly rotating is seriously working for the show--Salem feels so much real and well-rounded this way.  I think this Ava situation is SO bat$h!t and unnecessary, but I love that they're tying up this loose end with Joey.  And yay for Tony & Anna!  I love seeing them pop in and out but, and I know this is an unpopular opinion, I'm glad RC doesn't have them on contract--they are very lovely but I think a little of them goes a long way.

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!

5 hours ago, ranger1rg said:

I say no to Kate with Roman. I don’t care how close they are in age, he reads a lot older than she is. A LOT. I don’t want her saddled with the mumbles guy.

 

This run with Kate and Jake works. She did this 14 years ago with EJ? So what??? It’s even more impressive now that she can hook a hunk and look so good doing it.

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.

33 minutes ago, pdm1974 said:

On a side note...it's nice seeing the Horton living room again. It's classic Days.  I wish it were one of the more permanent sets. There's certainly enough Horton cousins to live there.

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??

12 hours ago, titan1978 said:

That shot from above of Ned and Alexis- this is a professional, network television show.  Who is approving shots like this?  The tops of two middle ages actor’s heads, and the floor surrounding them?  Unflattering, and makes little sense with the conversation they were having.

 

Maybe a good idea if another character was supposed to be there and overheard them, but I didn’t need to see the top of the closet door for no reason.

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.

1 hour ago, Chris B said:

Much like the Black Lives Matter story, I don’t see how this story got approved. 

Seriously!!!  Tone deaf doesn’t even begin to cover it!

Ya, I was loving the Philip/Belle/Shawn/Jan story at first . . . but now, I'm really not into it because it's clearly a "fun" throwback short-term arc that RC was (in)famous for at GH.  I really want long-term planning for Shawn & Belle and this wedding is a. so cheap, inconsequential, and rushed and b. ties up all their loose ends and signals very limited story potential for them moving forward.  I know Shelle/Phelle has been done to death like four times now over 21 years, but it was working this time and they could have played it longer . . . they could have played all this longer like dayslover said.  Shawn & Belle used to be one of the premier couples and their wedding anniversary/remarriage shouldn't be a throwaway like this.  Just skip it if this is how it's gonna be lol.

In other Philip news, I NEVER wanted Ava back (now or 2015) but I really, really love Tamara Braun!  The Kristen friendship is hilarious because it displays what a farce Kristen's "redemption" is.  Stacy H played those scenes so earnestly, too.  Like, did she not read up Ava or something?!?  (And so much for Lani being her only friend.  And wtf about Jenn and Billie?!?)  I wonder if very much redeemed Nicole will get scenes with Ava down the line, too?  Anyway, with Cady in as Jenn, I embarrassingly feel compelled to confess that when Missy left in 2006, I actually wanted Tamara Braun as a Jennifer recast for a whole new take on the character lol.  And another embarrassing confession--I disagreed with axing TB as Taylor during the Great 2011 Purge pre-"Reboot."  Taylor was enough of a blank slate that she could've been taken in any direction and while TB's acting choices didn't always match up with what was written on paper, she was a LOT better than Natty Livingston.

Re. today (11/18): it was good!  This was a very contained episode insofar as sticking to one general overarching story, but the different scene partners' content really varied while remaining dynamic, not disjointed.  Jack's scenes with Roman were all about character-driven introspection, but also furthered the "filling in the pieces" function for the time jump Jack/Kate "retcon."  And speaking of exposition--Gwen's scenes with Rolf were great!  Forget character, this was all plot exposition . . . but RC and the scriptwriter had a great time with the OTT mustache twirling camp; it was like JER but totally self-aware/deprecating, not shockingly stupid.  Then the Abby/JJ and Jake/Chad scenes juxtaposing how different those sibling relationships are was very effective.  Abby/JJ are magic, whether it's Mansi or Miller.  And Brandon Barash continues to delight as Jake (the further away he or anyone is away from Ben, the better).  And I was legit lol-ing at Remington Hoffman as Li Shin--at first I didn't know if he was a very bad, confused actor in Chad and Abby in Paris, but he has to be in on the joke now with how campy his shtick is.

But clearly the MVPs of the ep. were LK/Kate and Cady/Jenn.  I have refrained from commenting on Cady because I am pretty ride or die for Missy's Jenn, but she has been doing a very nice job at picking up on a lot of Missy's tics while dually giving Jenn a whole new energy.  She is playing hurt so well . . . and, this one's a double-edged sword--she's dropped a lot of the saccharine stuff that Missy overdid, but she's missing the bubbly effervescence I associate with the character.  But better or worse, Cady's is a much more grown up Jennifer.  (Which is crazy to say for a 50-something y.o. character lol.) Considering how much history was played in these scenes, they were still very effective without Missy.  And Kate talking about Bill and her "place" in the Horton family was a treat--it's such a big part of her characterization that rarely gets mention.  And Kate (and the dialogue writer) nailed how self-absorbed, holier-than-thou, stubborn-to-a-fault Jenn is.  She rarely gets called on her flaws (like Jack always does), and when she does, it's by characters like Eve and Ann, who're supposed to not be taken seriously.  Jenn HEARD Kate, but at the end of the episode, she couldn't get out of her own way.  The irony that that's Jack's "flaw" was well-played.  But my biggest problem with this "story" (besides how random and stupid Jack & Kate hooking up is) is how Jack is reacting to everything . . . Jack makes huge mistakes and makes huge excuses . . . but he's usually filled with guilt--self-loathing and self-deprecation.  He's kinda pathologically trying to not take accountability here and they're implying he's a compulsive liar.  Jack's a lot of things but I don't think he's ever been that.  But I guess I'm super glad he's not the groveling lapdog he's been since Mark Valley assumed the role after the of late oft-mentioned missing year(s) after Abby got sick.  I am trembling in fear that Gwen is a Jack/Laura baby!  LOL.

One disappointment about today's episode was the director, Albert Alarr.  I was really impressed by Scott McKinsey's directing on Tuesday's episode--he really tried and I felt it.  While Alarr just went through the motions, and the contrast was super evident.  GH is the only other soap I really check in on, and while that show has been a dumpster fire for years now imo, it has a visual pov.  For most of the past decade, "Days" has had no visual identity . . . so when I see them attempt to use the sets and cameras to do something, anything different, I really appreciate it.  And Tuesday to Wednesday showed me how much a difference it really does make.

18 hours ago, Vee said:

I think Thomason and Hogestyn were both good, they just got virtually no chance to do anything on the show. CJ Thomason was excellent on the CBS slasher miniseries Harper's Island a few years later. That said, Carnes made the role his in the last decade by returning as a much more seasoned actor, and the way the show has consistently treated Lucas is shameful. I don't have any interest in Frank's latest [!@#$%^&*]-you move.

I loved CJ Thomason on Harper's Island.  I remember being so disappointed about the missed opportunity of his Lucas while watching HI on Netflix a couple years after it originally aired . . . that was when Lucas was off canvas for a few years and I had no hope he'd return.  Even though he's been so botched since his "return," I at least appreciate RC brought him back and there was an attempt at a gay triangle on GH.  However, we shouldn't have to appreciate crumbs that amount to nothing.

Bummer.  I like Ryan Carnes a lot.  But I also really, really like CJ Thomason.  Ben Hogestyn was my least favorite.

Anyway, Lucas is a huge missed opportunity.  So disappointing.  Considering he's connected to pets Carly and Sam, I'm surprised they don't use him more for those reasons alone.  I'd love to see him featured the way Lulu, Maxie, and now Brooke Lynn are.

1 hour ago, beebs said:

Yeah, but TomSell were also almost comical in their stubborn refusal to introduce extant legacy children, with the exception of Theresa. They would almost exclusively introduce all new characters and shove them down folks' throats (Melissa Archer's Serena, who everyone screamed should've been Sarah, the entire Ozark yokel family), or retcon their new creations into being the sons and daughters of established characters (Beige Paige, Paul).

 

Xander was just yet another, seemingly more blatant middle finger to the fans in that regard.

Very true.  However, they did JJ, who imo was the best introduced legacy kid in God knows how long.

The thing with Xander is still just so frustrating.  It would've given Justin & Adrienne great potential conflict and he could've MAYBE saved whatever that was with Morgan Fairchild's Angelica lolol.  Plus giving Sonny a brother on-screen and fleshing out the Kiriakis family in a way that wasn't totally random . . . we also had to deal with Daniel the godson and freaking Deimos during that general era, too.

Xander not being Justin’s Alexander is one of the more stupid things they did new character wise over the last 10 years.  And that was Tomsell, who were definitely more invested in Adrienne & Justin than any other head writing regime, save for maybe RC.

Oh I love the pic!

Ya this is Kate at her best.

7 hours ago, Antoyne said:

Ugh this post just reminded he'll be back. The cop station works just fine with Lani, Eli, and Shawn.

 

I actually liked the Rafe and Nicole friendship when the show bothered to remember it.

Rafe with Eli and Lani is one of the only ways I like him, lol.  But I completely agree the vibe of Salem PD works just fine with Shawn swapped in for Rafe.  (Wonder if Ron will ever reference Lani being obsessed with Shawn for 2 secs in 2016 now that he's seemingly sticking around.)  The one who I didn't like at the cop shop was post-Gina Hope--she never fit back in there after that.

I like Rafe & Nicole's friendship, but . . . I don't want a pairing, and not just because of Rafe.  For all her faults, Higley really understood what a dynamic character Nicole is and Tomlin & Whitesell perfected it . . . I remember in 2012 when they took over from DRT & MMcP, Nicole was back at the center of the show with really interesting relationships with all the men in her age range--her bff/sometimes love of her life Brady, ex EJ, fake baby daddy Rafe, and obsession Daniel.  (She's great opposite Lucas and Austin, too.) It's something that really works well with her--her male relationships.  But inevitably, when they romantically pair her with any of these guys, it kinda chips away at the integrity of the relationship and why they worked as screen partners in the first place.  It's why she and Eric work so well together--they've always been pining for each other so their pairing doesn't undermine their relationship.  What's nice about Rafe & Nicole is that it's such a surprising, warm, platonic relationship.  But I have no doubt this is exactly where Ron is heading for all the reasons already mentioned. 

AJ, AJ, AJ! during his 2005 return on GH.  It was completely insane, even by Guza & Pratt standards.  A close second from that era is Zander.

I actually really liked Kyler Pettis, I never understood why they wrote him out, esp. right after the shooting story.  Glad that Theo is back, but I’m disappointed he’s being recast.  And the new Claire still hasn’t grown on me... I assume he’ll be in a triangle with her and Allie?

Today was random, definitely.  But I liked it, except for Marlena/Ben.  There was an effective foreboding mood and I liked how DiMansion was filmed.  I'm so into Jake/Gwen/Chad/Abby, I really hope it doesn't get old too fast.  I was hoping for more Cady--weird how they paid her & Matt for only one act of the episode . . . I wonder if stuff got cut?