DramatistDreamer

Grigor made me chuckle with this.

It would have been nice if there had been even half the news coverage on this as on that ridiculous event that happened in D.C. today.

You know, considering Bell's history of methodical, some might say "slow" writing, impulsive would not be a term that would normally come to mind when describing him but in this case, I think you may be correct here. In some subtle ways, B&B was a tad more "experimental" (filming of exterior/interior shots, etc) than Y&R, which had a more staid aura. With the Writer's Strike the previous year, it's clear why many aspects of the show seemed so uneven then but 1989 was rocky in some aspects that seem inexplicable. Clearly 1989 was a transitional year but the way some situations shift got wild! The way three characters (all happened to be male) got herded off the show in short order was really jarring. I guess there were reasons why the characters diminished or disappeared but the mechanism could have been more artful. I mean, didn't Rocco practically disappear? Nick seemed to have vanished. It was weird.

Does this come as any surprise to anyone?

Donna was probably the most interesting of the Logans to me and the most modern in her day. Her character was openly ambitious, wanted better for herself and it her happiness was never tied to one man. I can't figure out why the decision was made to take the character in the direction she was taken in the third year and beyond. Question: did Joanna Johnson opt not to renew before Caroline was ended? If so, I could see why. B&B seemed very wedded to the idea of endless love triangles even before the '00s and I can imagine that would become pretty boring after awhile.

Yeah, I pretty much gave up on the people in charge of the daytime soap genre giving fans what they truly want. It's always like Lucy with the football and soap fans as Charlie Brown.

The show should have tried Bill and Stephanie, at least for a brief affair, particularly as Eric begins his May/December relationship with Brooke. And yeah, loads of wasted characters. Nick and Donna barely scratched the surface and Katie was forever wasted in one deadend story or another. I was more than ready for Beth and Steven to go to Paris when they did as it was obvious that the show had waning interest in Beth since the recast.

He was also father to Broadway actor/singer and frequent former soap actress Sharon Brown.

There was a lot of filler in '88 for obvious reasons, but I feel like some of it continues beyond the strike into '89. I am seeing a lot of flashbacks in episodes and for a 30 minute serial, that is an awful lot of time. I get it, that this was a technique to get newer viewers up to speed but it has the effect of being somewhat of a drag, particularly for anyone watching in this day and age when you can watch back to back or binge. Also, I am seeing some serious plot holes in my viewing and I am trying to figure out why. Does anyone know what happened to Alan Hayes and why Nicholas Preston was unceremoniously dropped? When Dave and Brooke broke off their engagement, we basically never saw Dave again. When Thorne shot Ridge, it would have been a perfect opportunity for Dave to be the investigating detective, which would have added some extra dramatic complications. Instead we get a detective that Stephanie easily maneuvered. At least we were told Storm was going to San Francisco, though there wasn't even a farewell dinner with the Logan family. Soon Rocco will be unceremoniously "disappeared". My goodness, plot holes aplenty!

It just seems like YouTube is the most reliable and seamless platform for vintage soaps. We Love Soaps YouTube channel has some material from '79 or so. Now B&B has full episodes from the beginning. It seems like they are at least trying to give fans what they want. Y&R. SMH. Out of all the years that fans would request, the ones on Pluto are unlikely to even make the top 10 list.

On location in sunny Spain, Barbara Ryan believes that her love Gunnar has planned a romantic surprise for her. Unbeknownst to Barbara, it is not Gunnar but James Stenbeck who has plotted the surprise when he lures Barbara into a dangerous trap.

We're not getting sh*t more, are we?

If you know, you know.

Well, there is rampant racism in Russia and Poland. Russia has been notorious for racist attacks for years. Most sensible people know that, in the mix, are reasonable people. The United States is also desperately racist. So where does that leave us?

Haha, that's not what I meant.😂 I meant a romantic companion. In the end, Brooke became like Stephanie's "Whip". Even though these type of episodes read like filler, imo, these are the types of special episodes usually reserved for male characters, so in that sense, Brooke has broken a type of barrier.

Apparently, this is a partnership. I don't know what the duration is but in the past, Venus has done designs with K-Swiss, Ralph Lauren and her first collaboration was with Diane Von Furstenberg when she was with Reebok. Okay, so apparently, as brand ambassador, Venus will be repping/wearing their off court attire. Doesn't look like it will interfere with EleVen.

Every man was Brooke's destiny.🤣 Also, I'm really surprised B&B never pulled a "Samantha Jones" and gave Brooke a woman as a companion for a season.

Honestly, I wish these tournaments would dispense with the flags altogether. It's a recent development anyway. Most tournaments (outside of the 4 major tournaments) didn't even do this until after September 11, 2001. Before, you would see all the flags mounted up high on tournament grounds but not on court. After 9/11, every tournament started having these ultra-nationalistic post and sometimes pre-match ceremonies. Just stop. It takes up a lot of time that could go to warm ups, whatever other preparations players could use. Then ESPN and tennis pundits complain about the length of matches affecting the schedule. Well, maybe don't have a flag-raising before and after the first match and finals. The U.S Open is really ridiculous in this respect.

I remember an interview Ryan did a few years ago with Jane Pauley (CBS Sunday Mornings, I think?) and her time on ATWT was mentioned (they showed clips but those could have been edited into the segment in post). She didn't seem particularly fazed by it. She said had very little experience then. In a podcast interview, Scott Bryce told an anecdote about how when Ryan was leaving, he mentioned to Larry Bryggman that he believe she would make it big in movies and Larry had an incredulous expression, because he thought Ryan was very quirky (when quirky was bad, apparently). In the interview last summer, Bryce was like 'Was it right, or was I right?' Marisa Tomei has been very candid about feeling overwhelmed by the rapid pace and little rehearsal time of daytime soaps. The irony is, with all her theater experience, I think she'd be much more capable of handling the pace now.

Seems like Pandora's box has been permanently pried open and it's not just actors showing their intolerance. An Estee Lauder executive just lost his high-salary job after posting some racist and incredibly odd and embarrassingly unfunny meme.

Just proof of just how quickly things can change. Speaking of how things can change quickly, I wonder if that interview that Sam Elliott did (that is getting so much backlash right now) will impact Jane Campion and/or Benedict Cumberbatch? And if so, how much?

The last I heard, he got fined, other than that, I have no idea. On the Svitolina/Ukraine/Russia news. What about the ATP and ITF? In order for the neutral flag idea to work at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, etc., both Tours need to participate in this.

She looks to be in fine form. It's a pity if the show doesn't get renewed, they may have been a tad too late bringing her in. Sometimes timing is everything.

Speaking of propaganda-