DramatistDreamer

Dang, so sad to hear about Michael Blake. He genuinely became the most accomplished actor besides Stephan James and Dayo Ade, in terms of pure acting credentials. The Degrassi documentary debuted yesterday at TIFF. I wonder when it might make its way stateside.

I wish I could have "attended" the livestream, because I would have asked Finn for a bit more detail on the circumstances around her departure from ATWT. I know she mentioned that storyline for Sierra was dwindling but I wonder if it had to do with Scott being off the canvas for such a prolonged period of time (even though we know 'Craig' survived the plane crash and figured he would most likely return to Oakdale eventually) or was it a result of the Writer's Strike and those writers deciding to focus on other characters. There didn't seem to be much attention on whether she had any reassurance that it was a temporary issue, rather than a phasing out of a character. I can't imagine that Marland would have wanted Finn/Sierra to leave. Again, I'd love for both Bryce and Carter to talk about what happened to their characters. I remember Bryce saying that when he decided to leave the show in '89, Carter came in for that short story arc just to help usher him off the canvas.

How much of that can be attributed to the writing though? As a Black person who grew up watching daytime soaps, it has been very interesting speaking with other Black people who have no history with this genre. I get the sense (actually, I don't have to sense anything...people have flat out told me that their interest in the show is waning) that some are torn between wanting to support this show, watching with the hopes that their loyalty will be rewarded with a better show or do they just cut their losses. I too am tired of watching the seeming sad sack demeanor of Doug and Ted. I mean...the writing and characterizations on this show is not great. Yes, the actors who portray Tómas and Ben are struggle actors but the writing is not doing them any favors. And although I really think Jon Lindstrom is a talented soap veteran, I am tired of watching Joey Armstrong play puppet master in the lives of this supposedly powerful and influential family. Maybe with Guza gone, Joey Armstrong will recede into the underworld from whence he came.

Hey Vee, I have been discussing this show mostly with people who have never watched a daytime soap before (ooh boy, do they have thoughts on the quality of this show!) and they used to refer to Maurice's version of the character as "Temu Ted"🤭 so they consider Robinson's interpretation of the character as a definite upgrade.

It was mentioned but unfortunately, not much detail, that aspect kind of get swept into the time period that seemed like it was a frenzy of professional activity that eventually led to the beginning of a run toward a period of some personal turmoil. After her time on ATWT was discussed, it seemed as if Alan kind of mentioned some of her other work (MSW included) before diving into Tremors. Finn mentioned that movie she did with Anthony Edwards (How I Got Into College, I think that's the title?) and how she felt insecure in getting into movies as it was so different from how things were on the soaps, but how she'd had to learn how things moved on a soap after only having experience on a stage, mostly as a dancer- I still can't get over how she was part of one of the Ailey ensembles! I think it might have been Ailey II but she got very little opportunity to really delve deep into her time as a dancer. Maybe when she returns and if Scott is up to joining, they can both discuss their respective stints on MSW, that would be fun to see them compare notes on their experiences.

🤗 I got a chance to see Finn's reunion episode and I am always being reminded of how much better these reunion discussions are when the person being featured guides the discussion. Did anyone catch how when Alan started to mention Martha, Finn mentioned how talented she thought Lucy Deakins (it would be great if someone could interview her about her life on ATWT, movies and then law) was and wondered how she was doing? I don't think she was trying to curve Martha because she did double back and mention how professional she thought Martha was at her young age. I think she probably had a nice rapport with Deakins. And I thought it was interesting (and made perfect sense) that Finn had a bit of a crush on Scott when they started working together, it seems like they have an enduring friendship. She has definitely had some struggles and she acknowledged the reasons why but it was really good to see that she is making her way out of them. At various points, she seemed genuinely taken aback by how much people care about her. I really do hope she does pursue some theater work, Massachusetts and Boston has a really solid theater scene, a lot of Broadway-bound plays and musicals often get tested in Boston.

I am sorry to hear that life has been rough. If it’s any consolation, it’s been challenging for many of us (myself included).

I wish I could have watched live but thankfully the weekend is almost here and I can watch the replay.

I was listening to a podcast where the journalists were saying essentially the same thing. That orange Menace completely overshadowed the finals and left a lasting impression. Almost no one was even focused on Alcaraz and the women’s finals seemed to be in the rear view. I think the USTA shouldn’t be let off the hook, there ought to be an investigation into why and which broadcast networks they were trying to force into censoring their coverage. Was it just in the U.S.? Or was it international broadcast networks as well?

Unfortunately, many seem afraid of him…as to why, I don’t know.

The USTA absolutely deserves all the criticism and blowback coming their way after urging broadcast networks to censor their coverage of the U.S. Open. I heard about this and made the decision that I would refuse to watch, as I am disgusted by the thought of that reprobate sitting his orange rump in a stadium named after Arthur Ashe. https://sports.yahoo.com/article/usta-faces-heat-muting-trump-200056553.html

Well, you know I will be tuning in for sure. Thanks for this update!

Heyyy guys! I have been trying to catch up with some of these threads, it’s going to take a minute, especially since I am not checking as often as I used to but it’s wonderful to hear from you both! I’m so glad that you’re here to check in with when I log on. I hope you’re both doing well.❤️

Thanks, I hope you both and everyone else is doing well, or at least hanging on as best as we can during these difficult times. Believe me, I understand about limiting engagement with news and politics these days. Nobody can blame us for doing what we can to preserve our mental health and stability.

Hey, just checking in to say Hello and I saw this episode and for all the reasons described (mainly that Scott Bryce took the lead and told his own story) it was a very poignant livestream. And my 80s Craig and Sierra loving heart loved the surprise guest!😍

Hey everyone, it’s been a minute (or a few months, but who’s counting?) I have been reacquainting myself with the site (kudos on the typeset/font on the SON banner @Errol @Toups) and I didn’t see this being posted: 300,000 Black women have left the labor force in 3 months. It’s not a coincidence. Definitely, not a coincidence, especially since 92% of us voted for Kamala Harris.

I think I need to save my writing for the creative writing process, put it to good use. I am still very very angry and I think it’s probably best to take a break posting on the message board. I may return in January or February, whenever BTG premieres or maybe I will wait to see how it goes with that show (sorry, I still don’t trust CBS or P&G). I won’t be checking PMs but take care of yourselves. Bye for now.

Well, I must be honest but as a Black woman, I don’t feel as if there are any allies to be had in this country. I have felt this way for some time, so I feel,angry,but unsurprised. Donald Trump is America, there is no way else to look at it. If this was a referendum on democracy, the majority of adult Americans are not in favor of democracy. It’s as simple as that. A select group of Americans staged a coup, and paved the way for a fascist racist sexual predator xenophobe to get back to the presidency. There really are no positives from where I stand.

I was definitely referring to white GenXers. Still, the numbers aren’t good among many ethnic groups.

God bless VP Harris and God bless AG Letitia James but from what I am seeing people are still intent on relying on Black women to carry democracy on our backs. It won’t turn out the way people think it will down the road. I have been talking to many all day and…well, people have plans but the idea of inclusivity may be a thing of the past.

Shockingly yes. But a lot of people are going to discover the hard way that elections have consequences. They will also find out the definition of FAFO. I just hope there are no SARS, H1N1 or the like lurking next year or America could be in for tragedy. Again.

You haven’t seen the latest exit polls, have you? I will wait for confirmation on whether these numbers are accurate but GenX may be the problem this time around.

Someone posted a Twitter post (man, I can’t get away from Xitter no matter how hard I try!) from Matt Walsh laughing and saying now that the election is over, he can finally admit that it was always about Project 2025. It’s not the economy, stupid…it’s Project 2025, stupid.

VP Harris did all that anyone can do, given the situation she faced. People need to cease the Monday morning quarterbacking. White supremely is intertwined with America, that’s a strong barrier to try to break.

I don’t know of any soap that has done that. Even Scandal had its own rules for that world. I am not even sure what that means by real life politics.