DynamiteKiddo

I started watching the NBC soaps the summer before 8th grade (2000)... "Passions" was obviously its own thing, but it had quite a bit in common with "Days"... emphasis on families and grand romance with sci-fi/adventure elements.

In high school, I dropped "Passions" but started all the ABC soaps except PC.  ABC soaps were WAY more "hip" and quick in every way.  And the gritty element that others mentioned was definitely there.  But GH, OLTL, and AMC were really different.  GH and OLTL had very distinct identities then... GH, then at least, was mostly mob/crime and tried to offer the counterculture drama alternative.  And it was overtly dark; so was OLTL.  But "One Life" felt very urban--they fully embraced the cultural, racial, generational, and socioeconomic diversity in Llanview... for me, that was what defined that show.  In the 00's, I'd argue that apart from the SatC-inspired Fusion stuff that dominated '03-'08, AMC did not know what it wanted to be and lacked a real identity.  And as lovely as that last summer by Lorraine Broderick was, it was not representative of AMC's last decade at all.

2 hours ago, te. said:

The way those pictures have been hung in the "Paris" apartment is pissing me off.

I like Abby's gallery wall a lot, lol.  I know that in decorating, salon style walls seem to be very love or hate.  I remember TomSell giving Abby an art background from college; it was a plot point when she was mixed up with EJami.  The apartment felt like a nod to that to me.

Re. Wendy's prediction about Justin/Hope... Dena Higley tried that 10 years ago and it didn't work.  But tptb never commit to anything Justin-related.  I'm afraid RC is dropping Steve/Hope anvils right now, but hopefully it's a fake out.  Even temporarily, that would be pretty sacrelig'... but we do have Justin/Kayla right now, which should honestly be way more shocking than it is.

8 hours ago, victoria foxton said:

 

  

At the very least, my $$ is on Vivian for who's poisoning Abby.

4 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

 

 

From what I recall SSH said in her book that a young blonde ingenue who was unwilling to heed the advice of those older and wiser and who eventually departed for prime time (Charlotte Ross?) and another young female who would sit in the makeup trailer discussing the bar fights she'd been in the night before (no idea who). 

Thanks!

The thing with Brady & Kristen is... ugh, just ugh.  Can't get behind them as viable couple, and not just because of TomSell or J&M, but because of what RC wrote just SIX months ago!  I know in Salem time, it's been 18 months, but for the viewer, this is a BIG ask.  Brady protecting Kristen is fine for all the reasons the dialogue is listing, but what doesn't track was her confrontation with Victor.  If he really "taunted" her about Eric, the wedding, Theresa, MaskNicole, and her history as a raging lunatic, I could accept her "snapping" and stabbing him... but the fight was tame and for Kristen, she pretty calmly and lucidly stabbed him.  This is a big miss in an otherwise fire story.

But the show has mostly been so good lately.  The only thing I have zero interest in now is Justin/Kayla/Steve/Hope and, honestly, any form of J&M's involvement in it.  I get it's a thread that should be included, but I so want to move on from this whole mess.  I prefer J&M in the Orpheus orbit, which is such a surprisingly hit development for me.  I'm even interested in Rafe because of it.  I will say, though, even though I don't like the triangle--I appreciate the issue of Kayla's autonomy re. Steve... this was brought up in 2015/16, but I like that they are revisiting it... I just want it to go somewhere and not be a blip story beat.

Now with the two new stories this week: Jake and Abby.  I'm definitely paying attention to the Brandon Barash story and I'll sit through Ben because seeing this through his eyes IS a smart narrative move... I wouldn't rush this, which happens too often now.  I can't wait to see Kate Mansi & BB work together.  Now Abby... thank God Ben has finally been brought up, and F Ciara.  I HATE her.  Glad Abby is being drugged and not relapsing, but again, they could have stretched out that reveal... hope this leads to something juicy.  Even if it's obvious and it's Gabi, it's still juicy stuff... but it doesn't have to be a character who's on canvas right now.

7 hours ago, teplin said:

 

It was ... and yet I kind of liked her Alex Carrington-esque businesswoman incarnation, with the big hair and the big shoulder pads, the flirtation with Victor and the affair with a younger man. It was a stretch from the Julie we knew and loved but SSH played the heck out of it.  

I LOVED her with Eve!  (It really should've been Eve instead of Chloe butting heads with Julie at Doug's Place.)  Once J&J and Frankie & Eve finally got together after the rape trial in '91, Julie quotes A Midsummer Night's Dream to signify the mixed up couples getting it right.  Wish I remembered the quote.  Anyway, I love her in the J&J-centric edits I've seen of this era.

What's the story with SSH and Charlotte Ross?

4 hours ago, te. said:

 

Perhaps, but Tyler Christopher was born in 1972, so I think at least originally Stefan was supposed to be in his mid-to-late 40s, but after Gabi/Stefan took off I'm surprised they didn't change that. With that said, DAYS just needs to stay away from dates as you said. Ideally I would've had the DiMera's have a mausoleum, but the budget probably wouldn't allow them to build such a specific set for what'll end up being a few scenes.

 

Still, I have hard time thinking the DiMera's would have such simple grave markers.

They have that set, and it's pretty good by current standards.  I know this sounds really creepy, but I love a mausoleum set on soaps lol.  Anyway, it got heavy play a couple years ago--after Andre was laid to rest there (I wanted to type "buried" lol), they played ISA scenes with John and Billie there, and Will & Paul were tied up there or something.

But last year, I think Gabi mentioned not wanting him there.  I'm assuming it was the budget?  If the show weren't at "Rachel's" grave so much recently, I doubt Gabi would have even got this scene.

39 minutes ago, te. said:

 

Especially considering Barash was born in 1979. I get that age of an actor and character doesn't necessarily correlate, but it seems unnecessary to age the character into his mid-40s.

 

With that said, I'm sure they'll forget about his birth year about a week into him airing.

Honestly, after rewinding to confirm, I wondered if the props dept. may have really screwed up and it was supposed to be 1984 and no one caught it.  Lol.  Who knows with this show.

As a soap fan (esp. a "Days" fan), I totally accept how insane time works and constantly tweaking people's ages... but because RC "loves history so much," specific dates and decades are being mentioned in the dialogue frequently, esp. for the supercouples.  You can't do that and have time be so dynamic.  It's particularly evident with J&M's many children...  Just stay away from dates lol

So per yesterday's ep., Stefan's gravestone says 1974-2019.  Surprised they're establishing him as being, give or take, 15ish years older than Abby/Chad/Gabi.  I know age is incredibly flexible on this show, though.  Lol

EB, WTF???  Lol 

For personal reasons I won't go into here lol, this week's New York made me uncomfortable.  I felt like LuAnn (really raw confession from her... those kinds of moments really ground these shows and helped to round her usually-superficial character) as the sober spectator.  I've been Leah/Tinsley/Sonja more times than my alcohol-soaked brain could ever remember, but that $h!t easily could've turned... Leah and Sonja legit. trashed Ramona's yard (with something flammable) and their drunken antics fight could've quickly ended relationships.  Drunk or not, if someone holds you accountable, you have to accept the consequences for saying/yelling things you can't take back.  Not trying to be judgey (I relate to this all too well), but I totally understand why Leah doesn't drink.

Were they testing Elyse for an apple?

Oh and re.: Will and Maggie... his overemphasized concern for her doesn't bother me. But what bothers me about it is that he hasn't referenced Lucas once through any of this.  A decade before Brady's addiction story, it was Lucas who had the close AA relationship with Maggie and that helped to really integrate him into the Horton family back when he was still Lucas ROBERTS (still salty about that lol).  Bringing it back around to that would make it make sense.

Sadly, I think Will and Marlena aren't sharing any scenes because Chandler and Dee aren't scheduled on the same days for the massive block tapings.  Ron seems to love that relationship.  Make it work, Meng/Alarr!  Lol.

Edit: Sarah... um... I try with her because I think LG is one of the better actors to be on this show ever... and her chemistry with Xander is one of those happy accidents that gives me life.  But she truly is the new Belle/Melanie... as insane as the sympathetic writing for Kristen has been, I cheered on Thurs. when she said something like, "WHY is everyone so worried about SARAH'S feelings?!?"  This is ridiculous, and she's really erratically written--they say she's an angel but she's actually really pretty mean and unfair.

39 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

 

His relationship with Brady has never made any sense either. Honestly, Victor should have been written off years ago.

I like Brady's place in the family.  Right when he was soras'd in 2000, Tom Langan clarified that John made sure Brady and Victor had a very close relationship because of Isabella... it's like Brady represents all of the loss from Isabella and Bo for Victor.  But I appreciate they've struck a better balance between Brady being a Kiriakis AND a Black/Evans/Brady in the last couple years.

After his relationship with Kate truly ended in 2001, I think Victor only hung around because of Philip (and, to a much lesser extent, Nicole/Brady).  Then Magic happened and between Dena Higley and TomSell, the Kiriakis family finally became the integral, core family they were always supposed to be.  But I totally understand that after the early 90's, one could make the case Victor wasn't needed... but I love him lol.

32 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

Agreed on all of this. Ciara needs a friend who isn't Ben. She barely interacts with Hope! lol. I always thought Allie would make a better rival for Ciara than Claire. They were semi rivals as kids and it was hilarious. Ciara just isn't a well defined character and that hurts her a lot. I really like VK in the role and see SO much potential but it's being wasted on a stan-bait couple.

 

Like when the show dumped Brandon Barash, I think it was a mistake to drop Lucas Adams. Especially now that Casey Moss is gone.

 

The bubbles folks are in is so bad. I know a lot of it is budget/scheduling dictated but it's terrible. Why hasn't Will interacted with Marlena? Yet he's sitting around wringing his hands worried about Sarah and Maggie. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. It shouldn't be either/or. He can worry about them and still have scenes with Marlena.

 

We need to see friendships. I mean, Lani and Abe barely interact. What happened to Lani and Kristen's friendship? Shouldn't they have bonded over 'losing' babies?

 

Agreed on Tony and Anna to a certain extent, but in reality, they should be the patriarch and matriarch of the DiMera clan. They don't need to be leads, just strong supporting, which is lacking on this show. And DAYS used to do SO well about this. It's one of the reasons fans cared so much about Shawn, Belle, Philip and Chloe.

Ya Allie vs. Ciara was great when they were kids lolol.  I loved the irony of Lumi's daughter being "good" and B&H's "bad."  I would love Allie & Johnny on the show as Ciara's contemporaries... round out the Hortons, Bradys, and DiMeras and mirror the Sami/Eric twin thing.  But I feel like Claire and Tripp really deserve a second chance and I know there's only so much room.

I just do not understand dropping Casey Moss.  Maybe I'm too biased but he is part of this show's heart for me...

I think we all want Lani/Kristen back.  And, ya, why aren't she and Abe interacting?  It kills me that we FINALLY have Lani in such a strong spot and they're not playing her.  With the diversity on the show dwindling again, it's so important.  Rafe/Gabi is important, too, for the same reason.  The show doesn't need to be a PSA, but it would be good to have a very connected canvas AND let the characters have cultural, sexual, socioeconomic, etc. identities.  I am asking for too much here, lol.

I guess I'm having trouble seeing Tony & Anna as the non traditional DiMera "patriarch & matriarch" because... they're great and absolutely would work to counterbalance Chad and Kristen... and Julie works great as an "anti-matriarch" for the Hortons, but I think, for now, I like Tony, Kristen, and Chad having to wander for a while and figure it out without their Stefano anchor.  When it comes to contract spots, I think I'd prefer to give it to someone else.  But, I completely agree that strong supporting presence is required.  Right now for the vets, we have a lot of "leads" with very little screen time and a simultaneous aversion to transition them into true supporting roles.  But I very much so hope to keep seeing Tony & Anna come in and out.

Is Brandon Barash's Jake a nod to Billy Miller's Jake from GH??  Oiy lol.

20 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

I like Billy Flynn more than most seem to but I don't understand the desire to keep him over say, Kate Mansi (I'm guessing she doesn't want to be on contract and wants to be able to come and go like Sweeney). I have no desire for another crazy Abby story. None. But he's not called ReRon for nothing. Chad will have no purpose. Who do they pair him with? They don't even give him scenes with Will and Sonny anymore. I'd rather have Tony around. Chad/Abby work best together right now as a couple. 

 

Nicole's wardrobe has massively improved this go around.

 

I love Kristen stabbing Victor. YES PLEASE.

 

Ciara needs way more "family" time. She's way too isolated with Ben and it's really hurting her as a character, but "Cin" stans don't care about her as a character. They give Ben way more interactions than she gets, IMO. Why the [!@#$%^&*] hasn't Theo been brought back? At least it seems Claire could be back later this summer.

I like Billy Flynn a lot... I mean, the premise of Chad changed when he took over from Casey D, but Chad is a solid character... he is in desperate need of non-DiMera interactions, though... he's become way too insulated in that bubble.  The Chad/Sonny friendship is so special and, kind of like Nicole/Chloe, is a nice grounding touchstone for the show.  And tptb absolutely want Kate Mansi over anyone in that age range--it's her choice to not be on full time.  Billy Flynn's job shouldn't depend on her, but I don't know how you viably keep him without her after EVERYthing that has happened.

I like Tony & Anna a lot... and this'll probably be unpopular here, but I like them as pop-ins.  Less is more with these two, imo.

Nicole's styling has improved incredibly, lol.

I just don't like Ciara.  VK is great, but ever since she was soras'd for the 50th, I haven't been on board.  I want to say she needs to interact more heavily with Hope and the Bradys/Hortons... but when Josh Griffith & Dena Higley basically swapped Jenn/Abby for Hope/Ciara as the center of the Hortons, I hated it.  I think I just don't like her.  But there is still time to salvage that age group... bring back Theo... he has so much going on with the shooting, paralysis, and Autism... before she went psycho, Claire's insecurities were interesting and incorporating social media into the show is smart (it just has to be less overt and lame)... and Joey can have all kinds of $h!t going on post-prison ( the rehabilitation story Ben never got) and Lucas Adams was great as Tripp.  And I'd like Johnny and Allie to be their age--it was lovely watching them, Sydney, Ciara, Theo, and Joey grow up together during TomSell.  I'm not saying bring them all back, but it will only help Ciara and they're gonna need a new young crew soon.

3 hours ago, MichaelGL said:

Now would be a good time for a whodunnit involving Gabby, with her losing her company and vowing revenge against the DiMeras. Wouldn't have to result in her death, but it'd be a good mystery right now.

Post-baby switch, THIS is THE story that could keep the show firing on all cylinders without resorting to another short-term Sami story.  But it's not gonna happen with BB back and I've come to really like Gabi as a fixture on the show... it just took me nearly 10 years lol.

I'm not here for Abby going nuts again.  But it looks like they want Billy Flynn with or without Kate Mansi, sooo... if they really are doing this, I hope it'll reinforce the real, serious harm Ben, Gabi, and Stefan caused her (and others).  I have a gut feeling this will be a let down, though.

Re.: Victor.  This makes me uncomfortable to watch in a way it didn't with Julie (after her Gabi fall and heart attack) because, clearly, John Aniston isn't in nearly as good shape as SSH... and after so recently losing Joe Mascolo, Frank Parker, Peggy McCay, John Clarke, and Bill Horton on-screen... this is too much for me.

And they missed a huge beat in Kristen and Victor's confrontation by not bringing up the Brady & Kristen wedding (one of the few truly iconic moments of the 2010's)... if Vic got what he deserved, then Kristen is also getting what she deserves.

And get Ciara OUT of these scenes.  This is some more nonsense to make her happen.  And the only reason she was ever involved with the Ks was to provide Ben conflict.  And keep Ciara, Shawn, and Claire away from the Ks--the whole point is that they're Bradys and Victor has to live with the pain of Shawn Sr., for want of a better term, "having" Bo (and Caroline).

But after all this complaining, I've gotta say this week (esp. Wed.-Fri.) has been on point af.

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

Sarah's Paris room was Marlena's purgatory room with Gina and Andre. 

It's the "Chad and Abby in Paris"  set.  Didn't realize it went back to the Dee Hall special episode.

SUCH a good show today!  I esp. loved Chad & Abby arguing about Kristen.  Thank God someone finally mentioned Haley Chen in all this.

And even though I was really enjoying the scenes with Li Shin and Gabi and later Chabby, I was thinking the DE business story was sorta not "fitting" in an otherwise baby switch-centric ep.  BUT those scenes were the clue all along to where Sarah took Mickey/Rachel!  The daily structure of the episodes keep getting better and better.

Was I reading too much into Nicole's silence/shifty eye contact being a nod to when she pulled a "Sarah" with Sydney?  LOL 

12 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

 

I’m hoping it’s only temporary and they eventually revisit the family.

 

It actually would be nice to turn Orpheus’ family into the next pariahs in town. The DiMeras have sort of normalized now with Kristen being partially sane and Tony/Chad being normal. And the last we saw off Stefan he was no longer obsessed with mentally ill women, even though I’d be okay not bringing him back. Poor random character created out of the blue.

Stefan was DOA for me and Abby/Gabby really sealed the deal... and his blind loyalty to Vivian is ridiculous.  I can't get behind him and Gabi (because of the Abby elephant in the room... Ben/Ciara have the same Abby elephant in their room, too lol) even though BB & CB have great chemistry.  And GMAFB about how mischaracterized his & Gabi's "great love" is and the nature of his death (it wasn't an accident, he took a bullet for his mother who was on the run for 2x attempted murder).  It's nothing against Tyler Christopher and Brandon Barash, they did very well--it's the stupid character premise and the real misfires with the writing.  If they insist on keeping the DiMeras on the forefront, Peter is the obvious solution but Missy Reeves is allegedly holding that hostage.

Kate and her kids as the "other" family will always be my favorite... but I am ALL for giving this Orpheus family a real shot.

Ditto on Kristen & Lani.  They were the hit of the TJ and it's SO disappointing that Lani is not part of the baby switch.  (It's SO disappointing that Kristen wasn't at the Eli/Gabi wedding and that there was little fallout/follow up with that "climax"... so glad to have that story pick back up today.)

I was inititally against the Orpheus/Evan connection because it felt like that left field RC history thing he did at OLTL (Alex's kids being Cutter and Kim and that Aubrey bs, for example) and GH (um EVERYthing he did there lol)... but now that KT is revealed as the daughter... this is, dare I say, really working for me so far.  They don't need to be temporary--this family could be the "new" blood we could really use.

I am deadset against KL as Rex (I preferred when it seemed he & Cassie were retconned out of history), but this is a great use of "extended" canvas... I remember this working great with Faye, Anna, and Calliope during Sami/Nicole's babyswitch.

The writing for Ben is definitely Jason/Sonny level.  I don't know what's going through their heads here.  Kristen was getting a similarly absurd treatment this week, too.

I saw an interview with RSW on the DOOL app (it was about Ben and Sami's execution stories) and he seems about as deluded about Ben as Ron Carlivati.  It's too bad because post-Necktie, he could have easily become a fan-fav. recurring villain/psycho.  THIS is nauseating.  WHO thinks this is working??  I remember how frustrating this was when I watched GH, and how puzzling it was to me that the audience eat that $h!t right up.

They sorta kinda put Cameron & Alexis together on GH, right?  During Ned/Skye... gosh it's been so long, that was a bad period--Emily's cancer and Mob Four.

Brandon Barash is so hot. 

For various reasons, I just can't get behind Stefan, though.  And on GH the character took some turns I wasn't down with, but I'll always love Johnny Z.