DynamiteKiddo

14 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

It's too bad Days is being preempted because it's been good this week although that's not saying much considering how bad it's been. The ratings might've spiked for the week.

They got SO unlucky.  This was DOOL's week.

2 hours ago, te. said:

 

To be fair, they probably only splurged on this "flashback week" BECAUSE of the time jump. I doubt Ron could convince Corday/Sony/NBC to let them keep this sort of extravaganza (for DAYS) for normal weeks.

Ya this is the week they want everyone to watch.  I think they have some new directors because some days look so fresh with the angles and composition... I hope they really get the car crash, births, and fall really right... to pull out something visually amazing would be a real feat for "Days."

When "Days" switched up their aesthetic for the 50th with the studio scenes (and much more primetime/film-like angles and tracking), I loved it.  I know it's not for everyone, but it provides the depth and space we have always lacked, especially since the '09 budget crisis.  The real problem is that some directors don't take the care to keep the shots consistent with the rest of the show, which can be incredibly distracting.  But I know, for me personally, Haley's death will feel so much "bigger" because of this.  (And I liked the aesthetic they were TRYING for in Peapack, but the actual product was a total fail.  AMC tried steadycams in '06 and quickly abandoned the new model; this rarely gets brought up.)

Anyway re. Judi/Adrienne... this burns me up.  The blow was softened for me when RC said Judi was mostly unavailable to appear, but reading this is crushing.  I love Judi and Adrienne--wonderful performer and I know many find the character boring, but she's a legacy character that really served as the heart (and basis) of the Johnson family the last ten years.  And the "drama" her death is providing will be wrapped up all too soon... aaand while this is a great twist, it's an awful big cloud to put over Maggie (and if Mickey is Brady & Kristen's, she'll likely be responsible for Sarah's baby not making it?!? ).

I am SO looking forward to the flashback week!

8 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

In the latest SOD there's an interview with Days production designer Tom early. about the new sets.

 

They wanted more space and versatility so Doug's Place became Julie's Place which is smaller and more current - think'farm to table' He wanted the decor and feel to be more contemporary.

 

For the hospital set, they eliminated an elevator so that another room could be added.

 

He talks about the blue room and how it was obviously the same room, even when when redressed.

 

So now there is a more neutral space with a window that is redressed.

 

Eli's apartment, Gina's lair and Basic Black are the same set.

 

Di Mera Enterprises is also John and Marlena's townhouse.

 

They have covers for the existing walls and it takes about 2 hours to reset the space.

Titan is definitely J&M's townhouse.

 I had no idea DE (which is the same set from "Chabby in Paris") was J&M's townhouse.

I understand that this is the second time Danielle has been the victim of a mob type (as Kelly Bensimon would say) "systematic bullying," but she can't get away with this after the Ashlee thing.  And this is the same woman who made those "veiled" threats in season 2.  Hopefully she's not actually dangerous, but maybe she's not full time because Bravo finds her an insurance liability?  She said on the after show that the other women should stfu about her because she carries a lot of secrets... hope she's referring to that garbage can, Melissa.

1 hour ago, ReddFoxx said:

Not sure if it's accurate, but I saw a spoiler that said that Evan is the father of Jordan's son.

That would actually be a good twist.

RS seemed salty that she wasn't going to be playing Vivian again when she made those comments about giving herself credit for the ratings going up or something.  I love RS but I don't think she always thinks before she speaks... aaand, she doesn't always articulate herself well... like years ago when she was in a pretty intense contract renegotiation and she very publicly threatened to walk over money... then she later clarified that her issue wasn't with taking a pay cut, it was that they were offering her significantly less than what they were paying some newer male "stars" (always assumed she was alluding to Trevor St. John and Michael Easton)... she could have just said that in the first place lol.  She's so fantastic but she seems to not catch any breaks but she never helps herself out, either.

It has to be Jan's comma dream.  Maybe Mimi's hangover dream?

What I loved about the first installment of Chabby in Paris was that it really effectively showed the continuing stories of Abby and Austin outside of Salem (they didn't draw Chad too well outside of work).  (Even when we went to Hong Kong in 2018, they did a nice job of giving a glimpse of Shelle living their life there.)

For this, I like visiting Craig & Nancy... but I wanted more of an update of Chloe's life in New York City.  Like, draw a picture of the continuing story outside of Salem. This was, at first, just a reunion... evoking nostalgia but nothing else.  Which is fine, but it doesn't make an 8 week miniseries.  Then it could have been a good mystery (maybe even soap horror) with Kevin's murder... but now this is nonsense and not how they could ever think of ending Chloe's story.  But the problem with it being Jan's dream is that she wouldn't have all this information given she fell in spring 2005.  We'll see where this goes...

I mean, RS shouldn't realistically be sore about LS being given first dibs to the role for little visits.  This is only good news.

I was thrilled to see Vicky implode.  I think she's a truly vile person and she shockingly got what was coming to her after all these years (usually evil people like that don't suffer such a humiliating public fall from grace).  And to think I felt sorry for her from a professional standpoint during parts 1 & 2.  I get that what production did to her was shady af after what she contributed to the network, but this all couldn't have happened to a more deserving POS.  When is it gonna be Tamra's turn??  Lol.

On 12/28/2019 at 12:36 PM, Soapsuds said:

And another blast from the past reveal on New year's Eve....this is the 3rd straight year. How boring and uncreative.

Oh I think the annual NYE party and return reveal is a lotta fun.  What's not fun is how sparsely it's attended lolol.

And is this gonna be Stevano faking being Steve???  As if this couldn't get any more convoluted...

I liked the Christmas Eve episode... nothing major, but a lot of good beats were played.  Since the cast was limited (budget) and they didn't capture a Christmastime feeling very well, I would've liked even more flashbacks.  The most effective parts for me were the subtle 20-something bits--Chad & Gabi fighting, Julie running interference between Chad/Abby/Gabi/Eli (and the subsequent looks they gave each other), and JJ/Gabi (really important beat).  It reminded me just how rich this peer group actually is, and things will get messier with Lani back and they should incorporate Sonny in all this given he and Gabi are co-parents, he's Chad's bff, and he's Abby & JJ's cousin.

J&J are my fav. soap couple so their bits were pretty much heaven to me.  But much to my surprise, and being honest... with the family scenes... as sweet as they are, they work better when it's either Jack with Abby or JJ, or Jennifer with Abby and/or JJ.  The messiness with Jack and the kids was really powerful during the amnesia story and Missy works SO well with those kids (she and Marci were great, too).  I LOVE that Jack is back and I love him as much as ever with Jenn and his kids (and his other longtime screen partners), but I really feel like Jenn/Abby/JJ have been the heart of the show since TomSell.  And the subtle calls back to 2 years ago with JJ's Christmas special were nice.  This family is pure gold, and even though I'm biased I really think that when they're presented like this they can't go wrong.

And I actually liked Eve crashing the party.  It was campy but I thought it was funny, though obvious and absurd.  I wish she went in on Jenn more--their rivalry has been one of the better things for both characters over the past five years, even if it's redundant.  I feel bad for the course of Eve's character, though.  They put her and Kassie through the wringer and it never quite worked out, no matter how many times they tried to rework her in.  Really glad Kassie is in remission and I hope she can pop in and out in the future.

And I still love Xander and Sarah even if they might be overdoing it ala Ben Weston... leaving him showing up as the cliffhanger was nice.  It was a low-key, but thorough, episode to me.

Christmas day was the disappointing one for me--way too much plot filler for Stevano, not enough actual Christmas.  I'm hoping all this Roman/Kate interaction is actually going somewhere.  The dynamics are here between Hattie/Roman/Kate/"Stefano"/Marlena/John/"Gina" (and Kayla/Justin, too sorta) if they figure it, which is sadly doubtful.

And I totally agree with whoever made the Abby/Gabi comment on Friday's show... even after all the madness, betrayal, and (what must be weird, confusing) residual love, they should not have gone that low (Gabi bringing up GabbY and Abby horrifyingly going after Ariana, who's also her relative) for "laughs."

48 minutes ago, John said:

Latest Rumor is that Maggie while drunk killed Adrienne. Victor & Xander set up Will. Will truly believes he killed his mother-in-law

Makes sense and would actually be a great twist.  I forget but in one of the first TJ episodes, Vic gave Maggie an AA chip... I don't know if that was supposed to be from when she relapsed after Holly (Hollie?) "died" or if they kept it vague because she relapsed again...?  If this rumor pans out, it'd be cool if that clue was imbedded in the writing that subtly.

However, this could just be spec. and it could still turn out that Will is covering for someone else that was drunk and blacked out... like Sonny.

I remember when Zach died and a lot of people thought there'd be a twist that it wasn't Chelsea texting who killed him, but a drunk Nicole (who was basically an alcoholic then and Ari was leaving for the first time).

1 hour ago, edgeofnik said:

@Dr Neil Curtis I had no idea Sami had 5 children. Since Will’s the only one on canvas, I do think it would benefit CM to give Will an edge. Im sure part of CM’s trademark smirk and inappropriate smiles is that he is just bored with the milquetoast material.

 

While he doesn’t have to go all dark side, some real gray would make him far more interesting.

 

More than that, it would help further the journey that treats gay characters the same as their hetero counterparts. It was laughable that Kate, of all people, would get all up in Sonny’s face about a kiss. That was an extreme overreaction, especially since Will pushes Sonny away. Better: Kate sharing her experiences with separations/troubles and asking Sonny if he really does want to move on from Will and what that means. 

I like that Will generally is the "opposite" of Lucas & Sami... however, they've given him bouts of being a hot mess and he's always portrayed as the unstable one in Wilson.  So, ya, he's just very poorly characterized.  I'd like it if they mentioned from time to time that he was also raised by Austin & Carrie and what effect that had on him.

And that's just Kate.  She was batsh!t when it came to meddling in Austin, Billie, Lucas, and Philip's lives... but after she basically became a DiMera (ugh) by 2010, that part of her character became way less pronounced.  After developing a very special relationship with Adrienne, though, Kate should be taking more of an interest in Sonny apart from the Wilson drama.

When TomSell were writing, they really pitted Adrienne against Sami... after Abby & EJ's hookup was exposed, Adrienne was all up in Sami's face telling her to let up on Abby and Sami, to prove a point about how her "friend" (really stupid plot-driven point) betrayed her, tricked Adrienne into thinking Justin & Kayla hooked up... weird premise, but the scenes really worked.  And in those days, Adrienne was always going on about how Will wasn't good enough for Sonny because Lumi were so dysfunctional and Justin reminded her that when they were that age, Vic thought she wasn't good enough for him because of her background.  TomSell wound up completely floundering at a certain point (elephant statue! ), but they could really GET the characters, which I want to credit Lorianne Broderick for.

Back to today's "Days"... I thought this was a solid episode that flowed well between scenes.  So nice to get a break from Nicole/Eric/Sarah/Xander.  But the writing for Marlena and Dee's interpretation are horrible--she's treating "Hope" like she knows she's Gina (lol) and she comes off very cold re. Mickey.  I did like that they put her with Brady--lots of good moving around in today's episode.

Thanks, Jason!

As Marlena would say, I SO look forward to this every year--it's definitely part of my Christmas tradition.  Bummed Ciara and "Hope" won't be there, and I was hoping for Shawn (and Belle), too.

Xander & Sarah!

23 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

Some of Kate's children (Lucas! Philip!) need to come back to Salem permanently so she can properly meddle in their lives instead. 

Hopefully since he did the app series, Jay Johnson will make an appearance as Philip on the main show.  However, and I don't know exactly when it was filmed so there might still be a chance, Austin hasn't shown up and he did "Chabby in Paris."  Which I don't understand.  It would be so nice to see him with Kate and maybe even say hey to Nicole... and WILL lol.

And speaking of "Chabby in Paris," I'm super surprised Abby hasn't been thrown back into the thick of it all since her return... she's been super isolated and not even mixing it up with Gabi.  Wonder if Kate Mansi gave them limited availability?

5 hours ago, Khan said:

 

Adrienne?  Cheating on Justin?  As!  If!

 

No, I've got two theories: 1) he mistook Bonnie for Adrienne; or 2) Adrienne was brainwashed.

Didn't she cheat on him with Emilio Ramierez?  Or did they not go through with it?  Was Justin with Angelica then?  Lolol.  I can't remember any of this stuff.

I am so disappointed RC killed her off... it just wasn't necessary and doesn't even provide THAT much impact considering she wasn't featured through most of 2019.  Evidently, Ron discusses this decision in the DOOL app podcast--I'll finally give it a listen.  But Adrienne is a legacy character, and even with her very reduced role, she was a wonderful presence and really kept the Johnson family alive.  It feels like RC thought she was expendable and sacrificed her for a VERY temporary Justin/Kayla romance that will only serve as minor conflict for the inevitable S&K reunion.  And it facilitates this ridiculous Ben prop fest Will is involved in now.  With the man who killed him!  And there were other ways to break up Wilson during the TJ.  I really hope there is a Bonnie twist down the line.  But I'm afraid we're just gonna get sporadic Bonnie appearances.  And speaking of Adrienne/Bonnie, my heart goes out to Judi Evans during this unimaginably horrible time.

But even though I hate the motivation behind this Will/Ben/Clyde story, I have to give props to production for the prison scenes (with Eve and Hattie, too).  During Hope's 2010/11 prison story, it looked a mess like the rest of the Tomlin produced "Days."  Then in 2017 when we went back to prison with Adrienne/Bonnie and Hattie, the sets improved... but now, the directors are finally taking advantage of the bars and the bunk beds and the lighting is so dark (even in the visitors room).  There is so much effective mood in this part of the show.  And the camera moves more in prison than in Salem lol.  Even with no budget and another seeming reduction of sets, production has seriously stepped up their game the last couple months.

Kristen and Lani initially reminded me of when RC put OLTL's Marty and Kim together during the blizzard on Llantano Mountain lolol.  They're the hit of the TJ for me.

And even though it was done to connect JJ and Kristen, I'm glad they remembered Kristen/Jennifer finally.  Although, it's so hard to imagine anyone having a normal conversation with Kristen after everything lol.  That's why this very extreme nun situation worked for me--it reset a DiMera criminal and Carver cop to actually have a very nice, completely surprising relationship.

37 minutes ago, chrisml said:

Am I watching the same show? I find Kelly Dodd funny. Shannon especially is a hateful and self-obsessed shrew. Can't stand her. Vicki participated and encouraged a cancer fraud. Kelly did nothing to help Bellino's lawsuit against Shannon and Tamra. It's just something for Shannon and Tamra to whine about. Do you think any sane lawyer is going to call her as a character witness? If anything, they would just use the show to prove how Tamra helps to spread rumours about people.

 

ATL: Why is Nene on this show? She looks unhappy and she brings nothing to the table. I've never seen a housewife look so miserable.

 

 

Kelly can be hella funny, but she is literally out of her mind.  No one is black or white, but she actually thinks she is a normally functioning person when she's a human wrecking ball.  She has zero self control and I'm waiting for her to lose her temper and get violent.  She's Tamra x10.  But I don't think she's wicked like Tamra or Vicky... Kelly indiscriminately lashes out in all directions because she can't restrain herself. Tamra and Vicky have deep, plotted desires to destroy people's lives and nothing gives them greater satisfaction.  Kelly is a cracked, rotten egg, but she's not THAT.

Shannon, otoh... I don't even know where to start with that wacko.  She is a spoiled, self-obsessed IDIOT who doesn't know anything about anything but can't shut her disgusting mouth.  One of the most offensive things I've ever seen on one of these shows was when Tamra said she was hysterically crying because she didn't know you had to pay for water while David was giving her, like, over $20 grand a month in child/spousal support (and she has her Bravo and family money).  Shannon is the problem.  F this ignorant, disgusting narcissist.  BUT she puts it all out there--she may be the most authentic housewife, and the fool can't even see what an idiotic nutjob she casts herself as.  She is pitiable.  It's hard to hate someone so clueless and sad.

These four deserve every bad thing that hopefully comes their way for the rest of their lives.

And even though I assume NY, NJ, and BH lean a certain way in today's political and social landscape, OC's cast has always been shockingly disgusting with their politics and "values."  Thank GOD that piece of sh!t Lydia is gone.  How she got out unscathed out of Bravo is mind boggling.

7 minutes ago, Cheap21 said:

Kenya gave Marlo the same energy she puts out. What Kenya did was light hearted and fun compared to the vulgar things Marlo has said below the belt about her mother and marriage. Just last week she was trashing Kenya's hair care line and making digs at her launch party. Besides I doubt the event was real and seemed like something Bravo put together just for tv. Marlo and Nene thought that the focal point would be on Nene as this would be her first return to an event with all the ladies but Kenya upstaged them both and she did that with producers help.

 

I dont think the wives of ATL are any worse than the other shows. Have you seen OC and the personal attacks Kelly Dodd has made on most of the women, even going so far as to hurt the lawsuit that Tamra and Shannon have against them? The Beverly Hills housewives regularly come for each other's hsubands and marriages, even affecting their businesses. The Pnotomac women cross all types of personal boundaries and will take rumors on the internet and make it into a storyline with little to no proof. This is just how the game is played

Fair enough.  Maybe Marlo's event was "fake," but it really puts in question the legitimacy of the businesses on this show then.  But if something like this happened on NY, NJ, OC, or BH (I don't watch POT or DALLAS), it wouldn't just be laughed off.

I think Kelly Dodd is a psycho and should be fired as she is a serious liability.  She's even more out of control than BH's Brandi.  And even though a lot of these women are unbelievable and I watched the very REAL life obliterating carnage that was NJ seasons 3-5, I still maintain the opinion that OC's Vicky and Tamra are the two most evil garbage person housewives out of the shows I watch.  If Hell is real, there is a very special place reserved there just for them.  And I know lines get crossed all the time (BH is a weird case as none of them truly pull the trigger), but ATL feels different me... there don't seem to be any relationships that last and the fallings out seem to be all about hate, not love, hurt, or even betrayal (except Kandi and Phaedra--that was insane).  Even the bat s stuff with Vicky/Tamra and Teresa/Jacqueline has so much unbridled emotion behind it. For instance, I don't see that with Nene and her conflicts with Kim or Porsha, any of the times it's fallen apart.

12 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

Speaking of Kate slinging hash, I remember around 2000 or 2001 she was down and out after Victor kicked her out and she was a waitress with Hattie and Fay, but I don't remember how she got out? Did John hire her to form Basic Black or something? Also, didn't she have "cancer" for a hot minute when she had blood streaming down her leg while serving? Oy... 

It had something to do with John hiring her at Basic Black.  The health scare, her "will-they-or-won't-they" romance, and friendship with Fay were all dropped.  I think she stayed in the background meddling in Austin and Philip's lives until Lucas came back in early '02 and then Brash & Cwikly FINALLY put her and Roman together for real after years of teasing.  I hope if the show ever has to end, Roman & Kate wind up back together by/for the finale.

I'm not very familiar with ATL... I watch a few episodes a year and keep up with the big drama, but I've only seen season 1 in its entirety lol.  But I have the gist on all the women and their histories... I watched this week's episode and despite what a hateful b Marlo has been, what Kenya did was unbelievable... tv show or not, she derailed someone's business launch and tried to steal customers?!?  More than even NJ, the 'wives on this show seem to have absolutely no personal or professional boundaries with each other and are not adequately held accountable for it.  MIND BLOWING.

F this Kate twist.  I hate any involvement with her and Stefano past sparring and contempt.