DramatistDreamer

Maybe it's because I listen on headphones but the sound for BTG still sounds atrocious to me.

FWIW, I went to high school with someone who had a very Greek name (first and last) and whose family ran a Greek-style pizzeria but was not only blonde and blue-eyed but bore a slight resemblance to a young Meryl Streep.

From what I remember of B&B in it's debut year, the show definitely had the imprint of William J. Bell Sr.'s storytelling at the root of it. Sure, they had a number of actors that could best be described, in the words of Douglas Marland as "hair models" but they had the strong presence of Susan Flannery, Jim Storm and Johanna Johnson and Lauren Koslow (and for the material she was given Nancy Sloan was pretty good) in that cast to pull the weight for the others. Looking at all the preemptions that BTG has had in a short stretch of time, I don't remember B&B dealing with so many preemptions. I feel like Bill Bell Sr would have threatened to take his show elsewhere if they had. Y&R was only its way to become the top-rated soap and sandwiched between Y&R and an Emmy award winning show at that time, ATWT --no doubt, he had a strong hand.

The only consistency with BTG that I seem to notice is that Thursday seems to be a very weak spot for them in terms of ratings.

That is a character they could have just left in the realm of Andy Richards. Just create a whole new character and keep it moving since what they did made no sense.

Completely understandable. FWIW, the genre (although weakened) has outlasted Moyers. So, there's that.

Same. I won't let Y&R get my hopes up again. They said they would bring back Amy Lewis but they don't bring back the beautiful Stephanie E. Williams? When I found that out, I didn't bother with it. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Do tell @Khan 👀 What a weird title for an article though. Irna Phillips was something of a b*tch, we know but she wasn't wrong about the effects of these production companies like P&G trivializing the genre and what lasting effects it would have. I blame P&G for not recognizing what they had culturally and artistically, beyond being a cash cow. Daytime soaps could have been prestige television but production companies and networks didn't think the minds of "housewives" could process more. In the midst of great writing and great performances, these execs always had to force cheap stunts and cheap tricks. And they're even worse today.

That's fine because I am speaking for myself. As a Black woman, I am used to standing alone. Referencing another hospital head administrator on a P&G soap, Rex Whitmore never took a paternalistic tone when speaking to staff. Even if it got messy. Perhaps they are setting up this new admin for the next murder mystery. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Let's not go crazy, I didn't say I loved him. I can better tolerate him, in small doses away from Ashley. BG, AA and BC are all weak links afaic. On a separate note, the hospital administrator comes off as something of an overseerer-- not a good look during Black History Month. Just calling it like I see it.

Agree to disagree. It smacks of the same gaslighting as tptb writing as though Leslie didn't sexually assault someone. Having a therapist friend co-signing that narrative smacks of gaslighting to me.

I agree. She's gorgeous, has some flavor and doesn't flub her lines.

Let's not force dull Ashley on more folks. I think it would be a stretch for Caroline and Naomi to hang out, given the dynamics of Ashley being the boss' daughter and also considering the hints that Dani gave about Caroline covering for Bill's multiple infidelities. Although I don't put it past these writers to write an affair between Bill and Caroline, imo, it would make Caroline look like a dummy because she knows it's going to be a waste of her time in a dead-end physical entanglement, especially seeing that she knows what kind of man Bill is as far a romantic partner goes. I'd sooner see her with Derek, who has become more tolerable away from Ashley. It needn't be a forever relationship but an opportunity to see Caroline away from the firm. Even go on a date with Carlton or Kial. This show needs to mix things up more, it's really predictable in terms of pairings.

Oftentimes it feels like the writers, producers and execs have little to no regard for daytime drama fans but personally, it irks me to my core when they insult my intelligence. Instead of working so hard to gaslight us into the retcon that they are doing for Vanessa (as if we didn't all see her have sex with her husband, exchange pillow talk and while the sheets were still hot, slither to Uptown and immediately hook up with an escort🙄) where Vanessa plays the role of an abandoned wife, this show ought to focus on coming up with some actual storylines that have a beginning, middle and conclusion. Hayley's hairbrained scheme is treading water and I already don't care about this poorly written blood plasma storyline. What was the purpose of having Nicole march into Ted's office to urge him not to judge her? If she has really moved on, she wouldn't care what he thinks. Unless there are residual feelings, that entire scene makes absolutely no sense and it is utterly unjustified. Caroline needs a friend outside of the firm (and it's not Hayley). Ellie Wang is one of the very few actors who have never done daytime soaps that can actually deliver her lines without stumbling over dialogue (I'm looking at you, AA and BC🤨). It would be nice to see the character fleshed out a bit more.

I am glad that the writers are not trying to write either Carlton or Kial as the next love of Nicole's life because let's face it, both are fück bois. Upper middle class ones but fùck bois nonetheless. It's not that deep.

Didn't we discuss this a few years ago? And with PGP in particular?

I do agree with you on the question of whether Joey really needed an apartment but in this case, I just think it's lazy storytelling. They could have sequestered a darkened corner and stuck a sign that said "Hospital Staff Entrance" and had Ted and Shanice find the man splayed out in front of a door. Ted and Shanice are checking for a pulse as the scene goes black. That could have actually played out on a Friday and by Monday, had the man on a gurney on the main floor of the hospital and had the rest of the action play out there. As for Jacob and the informant, use of the area that looked like it was in front of an abandoned warehouse (where Jacob spotted Marcel taking a bribe from Joey) that was used in Season 1 could have sufficed for their rendezvous. As for Jacob and Smitty, they're in-laws, they could go jogging together in the park and it would be unlikely to raise much suspicion. But yeah, building Naomi an actual office or at least a bedroom for Anita (who might actually need a bed to lay her head with her health needs) would have been a much better use of money than a place for Joey and Vanessa to get it on (especially when they have shown their preference for the craps table in the back room of the casino they normally use). Is the fact that Leslie has such broad access to Ted's suite going to finally push this show to give Ted a proper apartment, somewhere away from Leslie? This storyline is an insult to everyone's intelligence.

Is this show going to keep telling us, or are they going to show us? This plasma story is not off to a good start. The informant and Jacob were sitting at Uptown and talking about things that we should have been seeing play out in real time (things that bitd, we would've seen play out in real time). And I cannot bring myself to care about any of it, at the moment. Finding that man, unconscious at the doors of the hospital was a dramatic moment that should have played out onscreen, even if we didn't have enough information to piece together the connection at the time it happened. Hearing Shanice and Ashley casually chat about it over cocktails really diminishes the impact that it could have had in this story. Today's episode was about Anita and Mona for me. Anastacia is obnoxious but at least the actress is good at portraying snippy and obnoxious and her back and forth with Tamara's Anita kept today's episode interesting. Mona's exchange with Randy was interesting. Mona was definitely flirting with Randy. With the way Mona was batting her eyelashes, I thought Randy was going to catch a cool breeze. I thought Randy had a girlfriend but perhaps he was just referring to the mother of his child? I'm intrigued as to where this could go. I wish Mona had a house because I have a feeling we'd see more of her with Jan and possibly Laura and who knows...Randy? The rest of it for me was...meh.

Seeing Anita and Vernon makes me happy. They have an easy chemistry. Even as Nicole is in bed with Carlton, she is still weighing her options.🤣 Me, watching Eva and Izaiah fight over nothing, thinking "Where is pretty Laura Peterson at?" 🤔 Introduce them, please.

So. much. exposition. There was some good dialogue between Vernon and Bill but it seems repetitive. Bill (maybe under the truth serum of whatever Hayley is giving him) admits he has regrets about leaving Dani. It made me wonder whether he also regrets having multiple affairs during their marriage because he also did that. It's not the clothes, it's the writing that makes Dani seem utterly immature. I'm looking forward to seeing Leslie ruin yet another one of Ted's relationships. Maybe then, he might realize that he cannot build nor maintain a friendship with someone who sexually assaulted him. I am honestly bored with the Kat/Eva tussle. Put someone else in the equation with Izaiah. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Can't wait to see what's in store for Black History Month.

Sly Dunbar, one half of the genius musicians/superproducers duo Sly & Robbie passed away (Robbie Shakespeare passed away in 2021). Rest in power, Riddim King 🕊️ https://people.com/sly-dunbar-dead-reggae-pioneer-was-73-11892874

Respectfully, people have the right to be wary. If 2024 has taught folks anything, that should have been the lesson.

It will be cool to see Clifton Davis, Tamara Tunie and Eric Braeden interact in their roles. Bryton really fit in well with the cast, so I am glad Devon is making the trip again. The one character I would love to see make a long-term crossover is Anna Hamilton, it's not as if Y&R is using her or Loren Lott. I would love it if she were related (on her dad's side obviously) to Mona or Laura. Having a friendship between Anna and Laura would work because it would be nice to see a friendship between two Black women who are not related on this show.

This show is really risking alienating the very viewers that MVJ claimed to be courting, having stated that daytime has traditionally neglected. I understand that they are trying to placate the new bosses at Paramount/Skydance but the onscreen shifts are very very noticeable and I hope this doesn't portend the beginning of taking Black viewers for granted, some are new to daytime soaps and of those, a number have already dropped off since the debut and others are barely hanging on.

I was hoping BTG would bring the twins on before they killed off poor Doug. But yes, I thought last summer might have been a good time to introduce the twins and maybe have them as having known Samantha and Tyrell during their formative years. Maybe it's because soaps today seem ill equipped to write good storylines for the under 25 set (and in some cases, under 35 set) they don't seem to bother much with creating story for them but if BTG intends to do a decent story about Samantha's cotillion, they can't do one without giving her at least 3 contemporaries that don't include her brother's girlfriend. As it is now, I'm seeing calls from people to eliminate Samantha and Tyrell, some viewers seem hostile to their very presence but having a viable younger set was how soaps used to lure in younger viewers and build viewing loyalty in the long-term. It feels like most daytime soaps have given up on this concept and BTG does not appear willing to try. Deanna could have even brought in some intrigue if Tyrell had a crush on her in the past and she reappears on the canvas, causing some conflict between Tyrell and his girlfriend. I would also like to see Deanna give Vanessa real cause to worry, that we can see, rather than just hearing Vanessa whine about it. In the past, daytime soap fans would complain about the younger set taking up too much screen time but written judiciously, storylines for younger characters can be entertaining and provide a good buffer between other storylines. Unfortunately, that seems to be a lost art.