DynamiteKiddo

21 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I think Gabi has been lost ever since CB quit before the pandemic and then came back.  She hasn't had a clear direction, but she isn't necessarily dependent on having a partner.  And I like Gabi.

John was the leading man of the show in the 90's and I think if Deidre left there would be no John.  Marlena still has scenes with other people, but John could pop in once or twice a month and not be missed.

I genuinely don't think other couples suffer as much.  Perhaps Steve, who doesn't tend to do a lot outside of Kayla while Kayla has the hospital.  Even Roman gets more solo scenes lol.

When TomSell wrote him out (twice, iirc—once was story-dictated, the other time was bc of an injury or health issue of Drake’s) I was honestly fine with it.  But Marlena was insanely back burner then and basically back with Roman(!!!), which I was also fine with.  That was a very strange time for the vets… Kayla was single and recurring, they didn’t know wtf to do with Hope (even once they got her with Aiden), I remember a single Adrienne having a steady presence, Justin was mostly MIA, Doug & Julie were rarely used, Joe Mascolo’s health prevented him from appearing much… they only seemed to be really invested in Jennifer and Maggie (because of Daniel omg lol).

This orchid story is a total flop, but RC is the first writer since Reilly Round II to show any real, meaningful love to J&M.  And I love that Roman & Kate are being written as endgame.  But unless the plan is to transition Kate to an anti-matriarch supporting character, I wish this reunion would’ve been saved till closer to the series finale (which will hopefully be in the distant future!!!), because we’re all thinking that she’s gonna f it up and hook up with EJ or someone equally scandalous!

10 hours ago, Cat said:

@DynamiteKiddo @carolineg That was a great discussion you had with each other articulating the different nuances of both Rinna -- and her history on this show -- and Kathy.  I've had a lot of difficulty putting my feelings into words this season. Maybe it is because the show has exhausted me with what seems like 85 episodes this season. Maybe it is the repetitiveness of the Coven once again by any means necessary (and I do mean ANY MEANS) trying to destroy its designated target.

These quotes stood out the most:

In the finale episode -- as in so many episodes over the years -- I had a difficult time believing that Rinna cares about any of this. She oozes insincerity. But she is determined to troll the cast AND the audience, and if some of the mud she is throwing somehow sticks? So much the better (LVP never fully recovered from the dirt of Munchhausen-gate and S6, even though Rinna and Kyle were both up to their necks in that one). But now her scheming has turned on her. As you say, she has no credibility with anybody and her words have no weight -- and therefore no power to shock anymore.

"Sold her soul for the show" is a phrase that comes up often on this thread -- @DaytimeFan has mentioned it a few times. I 100% feel that phrase. This soulless emptiness comes off Rinna in waves. In he early days, she was self-deprecating and peppy, but now she is akin to a glammed-up hologram projected on a wall.

LOL yes the Munchhausen mention. Totally agree. 

Rinna's very first words on BH were to acknowledge her primary character trait, which was that she was a hustler -- hustling on every work opportunity coming her way and enjoying every one of those opportunities, big, small or embarrassing. Apart from a brief stint on the Days Peacock special, and putting her average offspring through copious amounts of plastic surgery, I have seen zero evidence of this hustle on RHOBH in recent seasons. That to me encapsulates how far she has gotten away from who she used to be as a person. Has she bought into her own hype or is she not-so-silently screaming to get out? Unclear.

Oh Amen. I don't think Erika should be allowed to get away with her bad behaviour this season and lowkey targeting of Garcelle, amongst others. In the Reunion trailer, apart from a few quips (likely scripted by Mikey), she is noticeably silent and still, seemingly letting Rinna take the brunt of it. Will be interesting if their unholy alliance lasts the course.

Dorit hissing at Kyle under her breath about not making a big deal with Rinna was a red flag to me. She is loyal to the Coven and trying to get Kyle to stick to the game-plan, which this season was always going to be about toppling Garcelle and Sutton.

I always love reading your posts!!

Ya, Rinna has lost her hustle, among everything else lol.  I always loved one of her early interviews when she said something like, “I don’t say no very often, I say yes.”  Lolol

Ya, I wonder whether Dorit will try her best to preserve the alliance, or play the fence like the Denise reunion.  I do think this is her audition to stay on as a full-time hw, so she has a lot to lose.  Sadly, I think we’re stuck with Erika until there is real resolution with all the lawsuits.  I foolishly thought that after last year, Bravo would have to cut ties with her because of PR, but alas…  This is Rinna’s reunion, so we’ll see how she handles her final moments.

I do think it’s super telling that even after Kyle got in line and threw Erika under the bus and firmly told Rinna to back off, Kathy is still not speaking to her… she’s just f’d.  I would have thought I’d love seeing Kyle, finally, in an unmaneuverable situation with high stakes consequences after a decade+ of wiggling her way out of everything, but this just sucks.  Sorta shades of NJ’s s3-5 era… just total damage that is too real.

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

I totally agree Lisa Rinna always does have some truth on her side!  But.....I do think she completely overexaggerates and can't articulate anything correctly without looking like a troublemaking b*tch.  There's no proof of what happened exactly and Rinna has a long history of being an unreliable narrator.   If she had any sense, she would have aligned herself with Kathy after this and ensured her place on the show.  This is some weird fame grab.  Rinna closely aligns herself with ERIKA, but draws the line at Kathy saying mean things?  You lose credibility right there.  Why would anyone believe her when her morality scale is so out of whack?  I actually like Lisa Rinna for the most part and think she just plays the a**hole on TV and isn't a horrible person, but she does seem like a very dumb person who has a very distorted view of her importance on the show and in life.

Agreed.  I used to love Rinna from “Days” and Soap Talk and she & Eileen revitalized BH after a disastrous s4, but she has sold her soul for this show and for all her “oawn it!,” she is incapable of taking real accountability.  Even if she just copped to very knowingly using Kim’s relapse as content for the show and if she finally spilled that LVP and Kyle put her up to Munchausen, it’d go a long way.  Too little too late, but own it nevertheless lol.

How stupid was Kathy for doing that in front of Rinna?!?  Lol!

BH:

Wow……….

I basically agree with everyone’s thoughts.  Rinna has it coming.  However, I still see the forrest through the trees—I think Kathy did do and say all the $h!t Rinna said she did.  And anyone who disparaged the entire cast, called for their firings, and puffed themselves up as the star of the show would have to answer for that.  (While literally yelling, screaming, jumping up and down, and breaking their stuff.  Not to mention going after your own sister and her family, which Kathy has done before!) It’s just that this is bigger than the show… the real BH drama has always been Kyle/Kim/Kathy and I’d give anything to hear the whole story about how that mother f-cked them all up so hard (Kyle is our only shot, as Kim and Kathy will obviously never spill).  And while Kyle had reconciled selling her sisters out in years prior for fame and fortune, she seems to have reprioritized her family.  And the price is absolute and unwavering loyalty, which usually means silence re.: Kim’s drunken life-destroying antics and, now I guess, Kathy’s wrathful, singularly-focused malice. I also feel sorry for Kyle for the first time.  All this time, she was carrying a heavier burden than I gave her credit for.

But Rinna is not the right messenger and her delivery has been more overwrought and insane than anything even Sutton could conjure up, lol.  And her social media HAS been horrifying.  She got caught in her own damn trap and she’s about to get cooked.  Considering she IS going down, I really hope she’ll “mention it ALL” (but she won’t lol).  She and Erika not only underestimated Kathy, but they underestimated everyone else’s ambitions to align themselves with Kathy Hilton… and they didn’t realize they had lost ALL credibility with the audience and that no one would ultimately care about anything they had on, well, anyone.  Maybe this is one of the reasons Rinna has always been bitter—I do think she’s always had the truth on her side with Kim, Yolanda, LVP, and Denise, but she always blows the delivery and is rendered a hateful b!tch.  I also wonder if it was Erika’s publicist or Kathy’s wrecking machine trying to do damage control.

I also question slithery Dorit’s motives—is she doing the right thing by sticking by Kyle, or is she just reading the room and doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of this?  Anyway, it was lovely seeing The Coven implode.  Kyle finally made the right choice, lol.

I do hope this doesn’t monopolize the reunion, though… there is so much important stuff to unpack with Garcelle’s son(s) and Erika’s Aspen meltdown.

13 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

I'm still baffled as to why he had zero scenes with Kate and Marlena? He shines with them.

I hate Allie to be honest. Let her solve her own bisexual problems.  She's become a whiny b!tch!

I’m assuming the actors weren’t in the studio on the same days of block taping.  This happens all the time, and it can be super glaring, like in this instance.  It’s a horrible byproduct of the production model.

Ali is such a disappointment—she was such a shot in the arm for the show when she debuted two years ago and now she’s zzz.

5 hours ago, carolineg said:

If you just started watching in 2000 Maggie was random.  In fact, I am not even sure why she had a restaurant.  I don't remember that being of an interest to her previously, but I honestly can't recall any jobs Maggie had really.

I loved the glamour of those formal restaurants!  I never really thought about the practicality of it lol.  It does seem a little excessive now to put a suit and ballgown on to go to your local Italian restaurant where you basically are dining with the same people you see everyday, but I wish they'd bring it back.   Days always kept changing locales of these fancy restaurants too-The Penthouse Grille, Tuscany, Chez Rouge (Vous?).

I know people like that 2000-2002 ere of Days, but I absolutely hated it.  So much of the teens and I hated pretty much every story John/Marlena and Bo/Hope got (except the baby switch).  So much time spent on Father John/Gina and the baby's father for it to be Bo.   I don't think I have ever hated an introduction of a legacy child more than Brady.  He's fine now, but I swear he seemed borderline psychotic when he was introduced lol.

I recall everything fondly till like Greta’s coronation (I even liked Virtual Eden! )… then everything really sucked till Brash & Cwikly, who I think were the best head writing team of the 2000’s, even though I didn’t co-sign everything they did (mostly the Billie/Bo/Hope/Larry story and the Gemini twins).

Langan’s writing for J&M, B&H, and J&J was really hateful, no doubt about it.  And while the Brady story was sooo hateful, I will say it is a time when Marlena had a lot of agency and an identity with AND separate from John, which I can still appreciate.  She had the revival of her radio show, which incorporated her messy relationship with Roman at the time, dredged up the Samantha stuff + Hattie/Rolf, and created a feud with Nancy.  And, of course, she had alllll the family drama with John, Brady, and Belle.  In all the years since (except for TomSell, but she was sooo back burner then), she’s suffered from the 1/2 of a supercouple curse.  (I guess she had a real moment under Sheffer when John was “dead” for a min.) But Langan obviously had a lot of contempt for the super couples and he esp. seemed to resent Marlena and Jack.  This was, overall, one of the worst periods in the show’s history, despite my nostalgia for some of it.  But what I look back at most fondly was that with Langan as ep and hw, it felt like the show never had more $$… almost everyone had a home set and there were so many public spaces.  Salem really was a complete town.  This continued with Brash & Cwikly, but then they were fired for budgetary issues (too many big sets and all cast events with long hours, iirc) and Higley did obviously economize the show.  I remember a lot of sets being used when Reilly returned but it was never the same after 2002.  A lot of people hate on Steve Wyman (he did have some bizarre aesthetics with all the color/b&w manipulated freeze frames and flashbacks), but I think the show always looked good under him.  Obviously, Ed Scott’s “Days” looked the best (even with only half the sets of years’ past) and was sooo different from the show’s normal aesthetic… it’s a shame he was one of the first casualties of what would become the massive budget desecration.

On 9/30/2022 at 10:42 PM, carolineg said:

I remember all that.  John was openly mean to her before that whole Brady situation blew up.  None of the Brady/Marlena issues were Maggie's fault and it's very odd he took it out on her specifically. Sure Maggie's a gossip, but why would John care that much?  I thought it was the most random thing as they previously got along perfectly fine.   Brady's shooting had nothing to do with Maggie.  It was pretty much Marlena/Roman's faults.  Maggie's entire restaurant got destroyed because Brady/John were being idiots.  John was acting like a complete jerk to a lot of people during that time period though.

Anyhow, that's just my opinion.  Maggie is annoying and I have no problem with people yelling at her, I just felt John's anger really was a strange development and out of character considering the two characters non-problematic history for the previous 20 years.

Maggie was so random during this era, lol.  This is basically when I started watching (summer 2000), so I recall it fondly.  Tuscany was so wild—when I was 12, I thought it was completely normal that all these characters of totally different socioeconomic backgrounds and ages were going to a restaurant in full formalwear lolol.  This was when we had a REAL budget, henny!

On 10/1/2022 at 10:03 AM, jam6242 said:

Her mom is Anne Schoettle.

 

I loved her & Richard Allen’s hw tenure from what I’ve seen on my J&J edits.  I also think it’s really cool and interesting that so many years later, they had her write the script for J&J’s exit episode, which also (only) featured the big Claire paternity reveal with Philip/Belle/Shawn/Mimi (which was also Jason Cook’s last day as Shawn).

For DAYS:

Tamara Braun is sooo good but she hasn’t been given anything to sink her teeth in since Ava’s first run.

Judi Evans is also a powerhouse but Bonnie is just not the role…

For GH:

They’ve been on auto pilot for well over a decade, but LW as Carly, NLG as Alexis, and DH as Dianne are sooo effective.  And of course GF as Laura.

8 hours ago, carolineg said:

I basically agree with everything you said.  Although I do think Jack's position on the show is stronger than usual because Gwen is such a RC favorite.  Arguably stronger than Jen's at this point. 

Cady just has a coolness about her portrayal that feels disconnected. And just a complete lack of chemistry with Matt.  Missy has a likeability and warmth when she plays Jennifer that Cady just doesn't quite have.  Again, this is strictly based on Missy as an actress not anything about her beliefs or personal life.

I didn't even notice the extensions lol.  The voice and diction I did.  Feels way too proper for the way Jennifer usually speaks.

Do you think if they ever recast Marlena I would never have to see an ugly boxy blazer/pantsuit again?

Even more than with Matt, I really noticed her lack of chemistry with Marci and Casey Moss.  Probably because Missy had such an amazing connection with them (and Kate Mansi).  She really, really excelled at the maternal stuff.  Speaking of Marlena—I think Dee usually has great chem. with her on-screen kids… I don’t always feel it with the boys, Greg Vaughan and Eric Martsolf, and she can go way overboard with Chandler… but whether it’s loving, disappointed, protective, etc., she usually nails it with Ali, Martha, and Christie.  There is so much to be said when we can really see and feel these connections, usually fostered over many years.

And Cady’s diction choices were never more ott than her voiceover for Abby’s eulogy!  Like Michael said, I think Cady IS going for Viki Lord or something!  Lolol.  It has been in the writing, depending on the hw, that the Hortons can be upper class WASPY snobs, but none of the actors have ever played it that way really before.  Even if Julie and Maggie are trying to be overly judgmental or fancy, SSH and SR can be so campy that it never reads steely prim and proper.  But if you’d ask, like, Eve, Anne, Bonnie, or Gwen, they’d tell you they’re all elitist hypocrites.  Meanwhile, I actually like this critique of the Hortons and wish it were served more often, esp. from someone like Kate.

And I get what you’re saying about Jack being safer because of Gwen, but RC has always been known to just give up on his “pets” when he feels like he’s finally reached an impasse.  It’s crazy—look at Sarah… she went from being the central heroine in 2019/20 to a complete afterthought.  And I can recall OLTL’s Stacy, GH’s Kate/Connie, etc.  Unless he can successfully pivot her soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gives up on Gwen, who has the worst retconned backstory ever!  And it’s a shame because for the first few months, Gwen was one of the better things to happen to this show in a long time.

5 minutes ago, Michael said:

I loved Cady as both Dixie and Rosanna, which were VERY different roles, and I liked her fine during her original stint as Jennifer (minus that horrendous-but-hilarious flashback episode where she played 90s Laura Horton as... Colonel Sanders?). 

She's been tougher for me this go-round. Some of it is being flung into heavy, heavy story that she has no history with; she didn't play much with Abigail, nor did she play the original pill addiction storyline, so she's coming at those from a much more generic angle than Missy might, and she's gone for melodrama in a way that (as pointed out very wisely unthread) MR rarely did. The two things throwing me the most are the hair extensions (bad) and the voice she's using, which sometimes sounds like she thinks she's playing Victoria Lord, and Jennifer is very much NOT Victoria Lord, even though the roughest sketches of her biography might hint at them being similar. 

LOL!  It is funny how different the styling is from recast to recast (Abby being the most glaring)… it shows wardrobe has very little commitment to infusing characterization in the clothes and is probably letting the actors mostly decide.  Like, I think Kayla’s mostly horrible long, baggy coats are her signature, but if the role was ever recast would we see her in form fitting power suits as University Hospital’s chief of staff?!?  Lol

19 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I really appreciate your opinion and take as a Jennifer fan.  I never thought Missy was a bad actress.  I just couldn't recall any particular highs or lows in her acting.  It was very clear MR was so much of Jennifer especially when Stephanie Cameron took over.  The spark was entirely gone with Jen and I am probably the only one that doesn't think SC was horrible.  She just wasn't Jen.

I also find your take on wanting Jennifer regardless really nice.  I don't think I would want my favorites recast at all.  I would rather have my actress and my character or not bother.  It's great as a huge fan you can still see past that because I am too petty for that lol.

Saying all that, I have never really taken to Cady in any role.  I found Dixie the most annoying, but I can appreciate her talent.  So that could completely cloud my judgement.  The bottom line is Cady as Jennifer is very low on the list with my problems on Days.  I just find her acting very uneven a lot.

I just think that she’s too vital a character as one of the show’s lead Horton anchors, alongside Hope.  I also think it has a lot to do with her taking over the house after Alice died… it felt so right, after living there in high school with Tom & Alice (and considering Bill & Laura had no part in raising her).  I think she’s a necessary tent pole at this point, and I think Cady does a perfectly fine job… but the history and the connections/chemistry aren’t always there.  (I’m looking forward to how she does with SSH today.) I think I also really want this for Matt Ashford—as one of, if not the, most disrespected lead actors on this show, I want him to stay around this time on his terms (and without Jenn and now Abby & JJ, that is tenuous).  But if it weren’t for the emergency Covid recast in Cady, I may have felt the same way as you—forget it lol.  But seeing it work, I 100% prefer Cady as Jenn to no Jenn (and Jack!) at all.  But I agree that she rarely feels like Jennifer Rose, which sucks.  But I wouldn’t ever advocate for recasting, like, Hope for instance—that does feel like Kris or bust.

And I mistyped—Missy has been playing her off and on for 37, not 27, years!

As for Cady—my experience with her really began during her 2005/6(?) return to AMC, and, I’m probably the only one, I loved that iteration of Dixie.  I know her longtime fans thought it was character assassination, but I thought it was a very interesting black sheep turn for one of the show’s premiere heroines.  I can see why one would find her annoying, though.  Lol

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

I don't either.  I remember Missy crying, but nothing truly hysterical.  But..I am also not the biggest Jennifer fan and can't remember everything she's done.  But I don't believe she was hysterical when she got raped, when Peter "died", when Jack died several times, etc.

@TonksadoraI am sure if Missy wanted play Jen she could.  It doesn't appear that she wants to do full time.  I don't fault Cady for taking the role, but I do think it's fair to critique her in the role.

As a huge Jennifer fan lol, I can only recall Missy really letting Jenn lose it after the bridge blew up and JT fell out of her car during May Sweeps 2001.  She was wild with grief in scenes with Matt Ashford and she & Kris Alfonso did great work when Hope absolutely railed on Jenn.

I don’t think Missy is a bad actress—I think she actually makes a lot of really purposeful choices and one of those is to keep Jenn really grounded.  I know some people think it’s a lack of interest, but I think she brings this super haunted, quiet tragic aspect to Jenn, which nicely contrasts her bubbly effervescence (which I know also bugs some people at her age).  And, ya, playing her off and on for 27 years (since she was so young and opposite all the show’s heavy hitters) has really blurred the lines between Missy and Jenn, too obviously.  But I appreciate her subtlety; daytime is filled with actors who lean heavily into histrionics, including this show’s two most acclaimed actresses, Mary Beth and Judi Evans (who I absolutely both love, esp. JE!).

I will always want Missy (despite my opinions on HER public opinions), but I want JENN… so I’d be thrilled for Cady to sign a deal if it means we’ll have Jenn full time.

15 hours ago, Liberty City said:

They were a forced-woke, trope-driven series with no underlying character connection/compassion/emotional pull. Re-watching the pilot from the 2000 Showtime series you just felt some kind of natural, emotional pull with the characters... you got NOTHING with this reboot.

I actually think the “woke” aspect of the show was the only thing that worked… sure, the characters realistically would’ve faced more adversity in the face of being so othered, but it felt so refreshing to just have diversity in so many forms be featured, celebrated, and treated pretty authentically.  But, ya, there was admittedly a lot of wish fulfillment on the flip side.  And QaF was always a show that fearlessly faced bigotry, it didn’t pretend it didn’t exist (or minimize it).

My problem with this reboot was that it was on f-ing crack.  They did EVERYthing in 8 or however many episodes.  Literally burned through almost every couple combination and no one had to sit with any consequences from their or others’ actions.  That’s where I totally agree with your “no underlying character connection/compassion/emotional pull.”

Also, it was a mind f having the Michael/Lindsay amalgamation character in Ruthie!  Lol

1 hour ago, cassadine1991 said:

Isn’t this the second time Clyde stabs Sonny 

Yeah.  The first time was in early 2015, during the beginning of the Will/Paul/Sonny triangle.  I always thought he could be “finishing the job.”  But he, like everyone said, is not a surprising “twist.”  Maybe RC thinks the twist is that since he was the first one exonerated, we wouldn’t suspect him?  I wonder if they’ll connect him killing Abby to Ben?  RC went through so many hoops to isolate them in an effort to make Ben’s “redemption” work…

And there could be another twist tomorrow?  An accomplice maybe??  Lol

I understand why they held out for him for so long, because his 2007 return proved how great he was… but this time was a disastrous letdown.  Of course, after the initial Shelle/Phelle round 10,000 tease (which was good, imo), the writing really sucked with his D list story with Chloe & Brady… but he undeniably flopped all on his own accord.  It was shocking!

JPL was really bad.  Like, I even thought Kyle Brandt’s Philip was way better lol.  But by the time they were writing him out, he kinda grew on me… I remember lmao at his and Kate’s commentary through Lucas & Adrienne’s doomed wedding.  However, it was time to end that experiment.

I’d love to for the show to find a solid recast willing to commit.  But they ought to remember the Claire connection, which is a great way to always keep him in S&B’s orbit without the perpetual triangle.

I remember (and just confirmed on an old Daytime Confidential post lol) that in 2008, Josh Duhon, Jon Prescott (ex-Mike, ATWT), and Dylan Bruce (ex-Chris, ATWT) all auditioned for Philip if JKJ hadn’t re-signed during down to the wire contract negotiations.

30 minutes ago, Jdee43 said:

I tried watching the final episode for history's sake. Caught the pre-empted parts online. Excuse me but that was trash. Pathetic as a regular episode; disgraceful as the final episode. 57 years and those are the characters they end it on?  Wow. They couldn't even do something as small as insert a picture of Tom and Alice at the end that said something like "thank you"? Again, truly disgraceful.

This was something they VERY easily could have done.  Even a little, few-second “thank you to the fans” feat. cast members like Bill & Susan Hayes, Dee Hall, and Jim Reynolds (since we know they filmed those Peacock ads).

Jason47 has this info on his site, and I love comparing his actor to character stats.  Like, the top 57 characters would be a different list—not wildly different, but different.  Like Jenn would beat Alice, Roman would be very high, Steve would be a lot lower, and Abby, Mike, Billie, and Will would have been included.  Among other changes.

2 hours ago, JAS0N47 said:

11/8/17.

Yes, Mary Garripoli (a special ed teacher in real life) played Mary the maid from 9/16/08-7/6/11.

She actually arrived before Harold, whose first appearance was 3/19/09. They both worked at the DiMera Mansion at the same time from 2009-2011.

Thanks!

3 hours ago, Gray Bunny said:

Hahaha... always thought the same. Lazy. 

Side note: I wonder when's the last time Ron Leath appeared as Henderson. @JAS0N47 ? lol 

When I started watching, it was Henderson for the Ks, Marie was the receptionist at Titan, and Eliana was the hbic at DiMansion.  Then at some point it became Harold and they’d always mention a “Mary” watching the DiMera kids, iirc?  Did we ever see her?  Lol.

I could care less about this poisoning situation.  Also, considering the episode guarantee situation, I think it’s a lot to have this going on concurrently with Abigail/Sonny… they can’t even make one disaster front-burner!  Lol

11 minutes ago, Michael said:

I get the limitations, I really do, but one thing that drives me insane -- since we're on the subject of staging -- is how people walk into the DiMera living room and say things like, "Harold let me in" as if the foyer isn't six feet away. Whoever was in the living room would hear the doorbell and whatever exchange happened at the front door that's right there. It's less glaring at the Kiriakis place right now since they're using that ugly study, but when they use the full living room (if they ever do again), it's the same issue with the foyer being right next to it. 

Ya it’s crazy lol.  I do hope we see the full K mansion again (I want to say they had actors in it for one of those YouTube q&a’s a couple months ago, which made me think we’d see it sometime soon… then I heard RSW was gonna play Alex and I figured THAT’S why the set was back—they wanted to give him something more substantial to play in lol)… speaking of Harold, I do hope we see HIM again one day!!

I’ll never unsee the angled hospital beds lol.  I actually like both iterations of this hospital set.  But I remember the pre-Tomlin one, when it was fully assembled, was HUGE—multiple lobbies (including the one with the information desk where Sami worked lolol) and hallways, a big cafeteria, a terrace, and a roof.  We had it so good back then lol

I understand the limitations now… but if you have to angle hospital beds to expedite filming………. lol.  There’s also parts of the sets we rarely see the actors in (all the stairwells basically, the hallways at the K mansion and J&M’s townhouse, etc.) because the actors always have to be in the direct center of the damn room!  Like, instead of people just showing up in the DiMansion living room, it would go a long way to follow a character from the exterior door, through the foyer, and into the living room.  Time for things like that need to be allowed because “Days” always just looks like a play that’s been filmed for years now.

9 hours ago, j swift said:

It's just so odd when there are classic memories attached to certain sets, like when Marlena terrorized Maggie, the door was stage right, and the Horton Christmas tree was always next to the door on stage right, and Tom would home through the door on stage right.  Now with the door upstage next to the stairs the only icons that establish it as the Horton living room are the color and the fireplace.

BTW, is Alex a presumptive heir of the Jack's Devereaux trust given that his mother was Anjelica?  I wonder if they'll pursue that side of the story?

They actually changed it in 2018 from the sage green (which could read as lime green or yellowish depending on how bad the lighting was!) to a very muted blue-gray.  So in theory, I think this is sacrilegious, but I think the light refresh, which also included swapping the white wall-to-wall carpet for “hardwood” and some new art, is a huge improvement.  Believe it or not, this set has come a long way since its reintroduction in 2010.  Like Michael said, this set returned different… and bad.  Before, I thought it was a really rich set, but in 2010 it looked like straight cardboard, it became SO angular for the forced perspective, and the new “art” was a joke.  When the lighting got really dark in late 2015/16, it helped a lot… and with the 2018 refresh, I like it, except for all the Home Goods decor.  But I started watching in 2000, and I never remember the foyer being necessarily different.  I also love that Jennifer lives there.

Speaking of Jenn, Monday’s eppy was actually the first time Cady really felt like Jenn to me.  I appreciate her very much and I don’t dislike her, but Missy really embodied that part and the recasting made it clear that Jenn’s connections were so strongly based on Missy’s chemistry with her screen partners, most notably Matt, Marci, Casey, SSH, and Bill.  I thought she did great with Suzanne and I think it helped that this was about Jennifer’s history, not Chad’s pain, not the Gwen messiness, or not that insane Jack/Kate hookup.  And it really, really helped that this was at the Horton Home, where they should have had Cady at as much as possible from the beginning to anchor her to Jennifer’s meaningful history.  I was also impressed that she had a Tory Burch bag!  Lol

I also love your idea of connecting Jack and Alex through the Deveraux trust!

Anyway, I haven’t seen today’s wedding episode, but I actually thought Friday and Monday were really strong overall episodes, dialogue included.

4 hours ago, j swift said:

To be fair, it is her third house beside her mansion in Encino and her estate in Palm Springs

Oh absolutely, I was just being a b!tch.  Hey, I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my brother and niece and we’ll probably be here forever because of rent control in San Francisco and we’ll likely never be able to realistically afford anything else.  Lol

I do think you’re being very generous with your descriptions of Kyle’s other properties we see on the show, lol. Also, I’m sure they own other places, including the LA townhouse they allegedly let Kim live in.

Did anyone else notice that Kyle’s Aspen house is a . . . duplex . . . ?

I thought something looked off about it, so I looked it up because I knew she listed it a few months ago.  I mean it’s a multi-million duplex!  I just felt like being a b!tch lol.  It is surprising to me that with Mo being a real estate mogul, Kyle never fully gets it right with her houses… it’s either the wrong location or the design is somehow lacking or just wrong.

Anyway, I was waiting for this to be THE week!  Lol.  What a letdown.  Kathy is getting a bad edit… but I don’t think her behavior is any different this year, it’s just not novel anymore for the other ‘wives and production isn’t giving her Housewives’ most glowing edit ever anymore.  Which I think is fine—this woman is obviously problematic af.

Watching what Diana and Erika did to Sutton was very difficult.  However, Sutton DID question the validity of Diana’s medical situation after her miscarriage.  But right after, Diana could have told her she crossed an irreversible line and there would be no moving forward.  This was such egregious bullying and gaslighting.  And I don’t buy Diana, she came in hot in the beginning for Sutton.  I think Rinna or maybe even Crystal(?!?) put her up to it.  It gives me Yolanda/Erika/LVP vibes.

Kyle is a damn mess!  She is so lazy this season, kinda like Rinna… which is shocking, because this show is their lives(lihoods).  Kyle has created some seriously nasty, destructive situations this year that have had nothing to do with her, then she skates accountability or worse, plays victim (like this week with Instagram/Sutton/Garcelle/Erika).

I can’t wait for Erika to self destruct next week.  I am so curious what her rhetoric will be because the preview suggests she’s keeping it 100 and just fvck!ng puts it ALL out there that she’s only in survival mode and she won’t feel bad or apologize for it.  It will hopefully be WILD and irrefutably show her for the garbage person she is.