DramatistDreamer

It is not unimaginable. This is what America has always been, especially to people who are considered to be on the margins. Those of us who bear no illusions about the kind of society we have been living in for decades, historically since this nation was founded. Years ago when George Floyd was executed, I warned that this wouldn't stop at "just us" Black people, this would eventually touch white people as well. I had a non-Black friend who I had a disagreement with post-election 2024, when he insisted that things would be alright and we'd get through it "together". I said "no...there is no together when some of us voted for harm reduction and others voted for people they find "unworthy" to face obvious and certain harm". And I said, things would only get worse. I was very angry but I wasn't speaking out of anger. I was speaking out of awareness for what this country has always been and the predictable path it would be on, once it became clear that some people wished harm on others that they found unworthy of protection and some opportunity to live in dignity with some type of fairness. Until people are ready to face some truths about where were are as a society, it's only going to continue along this bloody path.

If somebody with some interview skills could interview Lucy Deakins about her time on the show, her movie career and then leaving show business for a legal career-- that would be really interesting imo.

This show better be landing somewhere with this Plasma Ring story because right now, I don't care. Even if Carlton turns out to be the head honcho (something that would actually make him and his spray-painted on beard interesting), I am not sure I will care. I would care about Jacob solving the Laura Peterson case though. We all know that since Kat tampered with the evidence, that might be Leslie Dana's "get out of jail" card...eventually and that crooked cop Marcelle could actually find the evidence to prove it. Dig up that shady lawyer who once worked at Bill's firm to defend Leslie and you might have an honest-to-goodness classic daytime drama umbrella storyline. During the trial when it seems like Leslie might actually do serious time, (after witnesses appear on the stand, including some very interesting witness testimonials. The revelations which cause the jury to decide not to convict, due to reasonable doubt. Leslie eventually walks, but not without losing a substantial chunk of her inheritance to legal feels and a civil suit brought on by Laura Peterson and her recently contracted lawyer...wait for it...Naomi Dupree Hawthorne. The story practically writes itself (or I could write it, for a fee 🤷🏾‍♀️) I miss soaps that knew how to utilize all their characters, including the minor ones from the past. Characters on BTG are going 'a wasting. I vacillate between being reasonably entertained and being frustrated with this show. The elements are already there but the writing is resisting them, probably in favor of placating Paramount/Skydance.

Wasn't Diggs doing that series All American just a couple years ago? I mean, he was never Poitier or Washington. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Taye Diggs (Guiding Light) is dipping his toe into the emerging world of "Vertical Drama". Yahoo EntertainmentTaye Diggs Is Hollywood’s Newest Vertical Drama Star, Pla...Taye Diggs is entering the vertical drama space, a growing industry around content made to be watched on smartphones. CandyJar, which bills itself as the first microdrama streaming platform out of the

And for this reason, I genuinely posed the question about if daytime soaps inc. has any reason to be worried. It looks a mess now but I expect it to evolve, meanwhile most daytime dramas don't seem to evolve much, except superficially. Not to mention that none of the current daytime soaps have a decent grasp on how to use technology to their benefit (I mean, someone couldn't come up with a better Photoshop of Anita and Vernon's early years together on BTG?? Not to mention the horrendous "Green Screens" done on some other soaps in the last few years). I honestly dislike the concept of A.I. soaps but if the technology continues to evolve, along with consumer taste (if the millions of views of A.I. slop videos on YouTube is disconcerting), I think that this form of entertainment could catch on and become another thing that draw eyes away from traditional daytime soaps, which are holding on for dear life at present time.

Carlton gives me the creeps. What's his backstory? Is he divorced or has he just been lying in wait for Nicole all these years?

This looks rough now but I wonder what A.I. soaps will look, sound like in a few years. Should the soap industry worry about this?

Who said I was talking about money? I'm talking about the Black card that gave her entree into the community. Her friendship with Nicole and Dani wouldn't be enough to do that with the wider community in Fairmont Crest.

My brother died from pancreatic cancer three years ago (next month), so I know how deeply triggering Anita's storyline can be. Therefore, I made the decision that I would only watch sporadically for now, especially since this show has decided to focus narrowly on a few set of characters. In the very beginning I was discussing this with another group of folks who were watching the show (some have stayed, some dropped the show) that I thought that they should either connect Mona and Laura as relatives or give at least one of them some sort of family. I would love to see Loren Lott be family to either Mona or Laura and Loren could hit the ground running due to her previous experience on a soap. But this show desperately needs another Black family that is not directly related to the Duprees, either by blood or marriage, because the scenarios on this show do feel claustrophobic. And there ought to be some other storylines besides illness (Anita, Peaches), gangsters and the world of sex work and Leslie who is obsessed with the Duprees and their world. There is plenty more that they could be giving us and I really hope that we will see this very soon. This show needs to go on ahead and have Vanessa admit that she never loved Doug and that she used him to get a foothold into a community that it is unlikely she would ever gain access to without him. Instead of trying to have her straddle two sides of the fence, which is not working anyway, have her go full villain. Also, we know she doesn't care about those kids.

A lot of people will claim that hey, with the likes of David Canary and Erika Slezak there just wasn't a lot of room for other actors to grab awards but it still doesn't make sense to have a world in which Kathryn Hays never even got nominated once, Elizabeth Hubbard never won for her portrayal of Lucinda Walsh (especially when she specialized in the kind of OTT performances the Daytime Emmy voters often loved to reward), Colleen Zenk didn't get a single nomination until the '00s and Hillary Bailey Smith was virtually ignored until she went over to One Life To Live. The men had slightly better luck but it was somewhat laughable (or merely coincidence?) that Gregg Marx, Julianne Moore, Brian Bloom and Ellen Parker all held their Emmy statuettes in their hands when their presence on their respective shows were in the rearview. All that I could've overlooked if Kathryn Hays had gotten even one nomination in damn near 40 years of solidly strong work. I mean, Kim Sullivan Hughes was the last character ever created by Irna Phillips. If Hays' performance as Kim isn't a metaphor about the lack of regard for daytime soaps, I don't know what is. Yes, it's probably also P&G's fault as well, which is why I still don't trust them when it comes to any soap opera.

I am hoping that the N.A.T.A.S. voters no longer have that bias that they once seemed to have against actors on P&G, especially since P&G is only a "partner" and not actually producing BTG. It would be great to see Tamara Tunie be acknowledged for the work she has put in.

Agreed. Doug was a flawed but basically decent human being. Joey is a flawed and amoral individual.

Who is the heck is writing Joey Armstrong as some sort of sexy lothario? Nothing against Jon Lindstrom but it is unbelievable that Joey is as magnetic as the writing would try to convince us as being. It's also diabolical that we are going to see more of this character who uses Black men as brainless muscle to be ordered around. Not to mention, how Armstrong is portrayed as some sort of omniscient, omnipotent force who has all the agency in every situation, except with his new bleach blonde kitten Vanessa (they're both trash, at this point). Someone needs to challenge Armstrong's dominance and it ought to be the Feds (how is the actor who played Doug McBride doing these days? Wouldn't mind if Doug has been working with the Feds this entire time).

I have decided to catch up with this show (on the last few episodes). The show has improved but I hope it will improve some more going forward. Tamara Tunie is getting an opportunity to flex her thespian skills, even though the storyline is making people wonder if Tunie will be on the show down the road. This a public service storyline but it will also be a storyline that provides an Emmy nomination. There are still a lot of characters with no stakes storylines, who are just there. Dropping Ben Gavin's status was a good move, they need to do the same with Jen Jacobs. There is nothing for her really to do, and she and Sean Freeman have no chemistry that I can see. Carlton is dull. When I first saw the character, I thought he might have some connection to Leslie and Eva because of that odd encounter between he and Eva on the night of Ted and Nicole's disastrous anniversary party. There was something about the tone he had towards Eva that seemed "paternal". It got me wondering if there is some twist to Eva's paternity, like Carlton is her actual biological dad and Carlton and Leslie have been "low-key" keeping it under wraps to pursue the people they have been after for decades (Nicole and Leslie). Leslie has been known to play the long game where Ted is concerned and Carlton has practically been lying in wait for an opportunity with Nicole (did Carlton ever get married or have kids?). It would zhuzh up this quadrangle, or whatever it's supposed to be. Also, this thing with Vanessa and Joey is spinning its wheels right now, with no real stakes. Vanessa is openly trying to play a pimp at her friend's family's (Black-owned) country club, there are no stakes at this point because neither she nor Joey much care about anything. Time to bring in the Feds to apply some pressure to their money laundering operation. I hope this is what we will see. If we are to believe these two are living dangerously, show us the danger. Months ago, I complained/suggested something in a past BTG thread and I am seeing traces of it onscreen. I won't mention what it is 🤭🤐but I am somewhat interested in seeing where it eventually lands. There is still too much awkward exposition in scenes, rather than allowing for flow with the dialogue that sounds distinct and more natural to the character.

You've never been to the New York Sports Club in Harlem, have you?🙃 That place had scenes Beyond The Gates wished they could write!

I have been in the Classic Soaps thread a few times but I am not on nearly as often as I used to be. I'm not sure how often I will be posting going forward but perhaps I will post every now and then?

This is my first time visiting and posting on the board since the major update and I am sincerely liking the look. I especially appreciate the native dark mode on the site, as this will be so much easier on my eyes and I just prefer the look overall. Great job @Errol Congratulations! EDT: Also, I appreciate the use of the "white space" on my screen. No wasted screen real estate on my 16" laptop, the layout makes great use of my screen resolution/dimensions.

I am shocked that no one has mentioned Courtney Simon https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0792404/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_in_0_q_Courtney%2520Simon And Douglas Marland (who was often referred to as an "actor's writer") did a bit of acting work, including a stint on The Doctors before becoming a headwriter for daytime soaps such as As The World Turns.

Speaking of AMC, this interview with Debi Morgan was recently posted with WPIX (Channel 11 to those of use who grew up in the NYC Metro area) .

I enjoy reaction videos and have always wanted there to be a daytime soap edition. I wish more soaps would do these types of video reactions by the actors. Now that P&G has dipped their toes back into the world of daytime drama, I wish they would allow that with some of their clips from their classic shows. Hm.🤔

Unfortunately, Heather's storyline drove that character right out of Oakdale. I remember there was a scene with Frannie, Sierra and Roy (presumably in the lounge at Oakdale U.) where Roy was discussing what how things fell apart between he and Heather and wondering if Frannie had heard from her. There was a sweet moment between the two where Frannie was trying to comfort Roy with words of encouragement. It was an understated moment of grace. It's a shame because I thought they could have been a good friend group and I was sorry that Heather/Tonya was no longer on the canvas.

I thought Tonya Pinkins and Julianne Moore had believable friend chemistry.

Heather Dalton arrived on the canvas around 1984, no? I don't remember Heather being a confidante of Frannie Hughes until Julianne Moore was in the role in 1985. Before that, Heather was closer to Betsy and Steve since Heather and Tucker were dating and Tucker was Steve's friend and business partner. Then, when Betsy and Sierra became friends, it seemed as if they were going to be a trio of girlfriends but I guess, after Tucker left town (I don't even remember the circumstance, does anyone else? Strange), and as Marcy was leaving the canvas, Heather was shifted into the friend group with Frannie and Kevin.

I think that might have been Susan Bedsow-Horgan, who I wish they would have lured back to ATWT as a HW after Marland's sudden passing.