DramatistDreamer

The writers need some help with dialogue for the young set. When Chelsea left her bag on the table like that, I just... I'm going to be diplomatic (as best as I can) and say that, there are better ways to have Ted express the feelings that he has been having that things may be moving too fast with Shanice beside writing him into the gutter with Leslie (who SA-ed him, some of us haven't forgotten). I'm starting to feel sorry for Keith Robinson. Trying to say something nice (lol), Anita's storyline is wrapping up and at this time, tptb are not going to write a cognitive decline storyline for Vernon, so there's that.

As someone who grew up with Ebony in my household and had a subscription to Essence and Black Enterprise for years, I know good and well the reputation that these publications have in the community. Reading provides a basis grounded in complexity, which is why any professional writing program will insist that a writer be a reader. If any BTG writers are active readers, I think it would show up in the form of more complex, layered characters but maybe I expect too much, it would've been nice though.

Essence Fest was heavily criticized. I did not attend and tbh, some of the criticism was overblown imo but there are some deep-seated issues within the community that need to be addressed. https://www.ebony.com/essence-festival-of-culture-2025-controversy/

This made me think of the cotillion but I seriously doubt any of the writing staff reads Essence, Ebony of any Black publication. 🤷🏾‍♀️ EssenceScandal at Spelman? The Co-Queen Decision Sparking Uproar...As dialogue surrounding the HBCU controversy heats up, we look at claims of unfairness, challenging tradition, the school's legacy and more.

If they were actually doing anything interesting with the sibling rivalry between Kat & Eva, I would say to keep it but we see the same conversations and bickering between the two. It's gotten to the point where it's become almost as boring as hearing Vanessa meow on about how Joey makes her feel alive. I stand alone on this and I'm fine with that but I think there is far more drama to be mined from going back to that scene between Eva and Carlton in season one and building on that. As for a Kat/Eva rivalry, you don't need to be biologically related to have enmity or rivalry. There's already enough to build on from Season one that doesn't even have to do with them being biologically related- Kat's classism toward Eva, Eva sleeping with Tomás, whatever friendship Kat has had in the past with Izaiah, the Leslie factor. Some of the best peer to peer soap rivalries involved people who were nowhere near being related.🤷🏾‍♀️

Yes! Why is it still there?? Some of us always had the notion that Carlton was one of those guys that are sitting around, waiting for their "best friend" to mess up so that he can swoop down, like that man under glass (do not break-only in case of emergency). Just sleazy. Having said that, I'm now more convinced than ever that the writers should stop trying to make Carlton some sort of heroic figure and lean into his scheming and connect him to Leslie and Eva, as Eva's real bio dad. That would inject some desperately needed dramatic twists. I'm not saying to write it as if Carlton knew all along but as though he might have suspected when Leslie came back to town and brought Eva with her but pushed it out of his mind because he knew a breakup between the Richardsons would give him a clear shot at Nicole. It would give some much needed layers to this story.

Just reading about the early box office figures from the Michael biopic and I am not surprised that Guiding Light alumna Nia Long has about 10 Million followers across social media but I was today years old when I learned that Laura Harrier (PP/TOLN OLTL 2.0) has about 1.5 Million followers. I figured that Harrier was popular but wow.

Martin ought to just lose his seat and move on and let that be the end of it. I know someone who is a political organizer and there is drama heaped upon drama and absurdity that has absolutely nothing to do with partisan issues. It's obvious that the writers/producers do not know how to capture that so they should just have Martin join his granddaddy within the ranks of former politicians. Most times the dialogue that they write for Brandon comes off as lacking in warmth and robotic anyway, so BTG should just let the "political dynasty" DIE (nasty?) with Martin.

Maybe Lynette will meet Doug and they hatch a Bonnie & Clyde revenge plot. Seriously, I liked the actors and now we've been told both characters are presumed dead without a physical body to speak of.

Now that BTG has secured a season 3 & 4, I'm going to need the show to spring for a dining room/table for the Duprees. I have a hard time believing that an illustrious, cultured Black family with alleged "soul" doesn't have big soulful (with drama) dinners, at least sometimes. And no, the country club doesn't count. As for today's episode. I got nothing.

Vanessa is all over the place. What is her goal with chatting up Leslie? Don't let your so-called "bestie" hear that you think Leslie is a swell kinda gal. Also, wasn't the selling point for Vanessa that she could accept Joey "as is"? It's moments like the ones at the casino where she's trying to force the issue of Joey having a friend. The dynamic is weird to me, it's as if she sees Joey as this lump of clay that she needs to mold somehow. Don't get me wrong, I don't care but why is this aspect taking up so much of the show when it makes very little sense? Is Dani doing modeling full time or is she still partner in the modeling agency? Either way, I don't see her actively working in either capacity. Instead we see her trying to carve out partnerships that don't make any sense, like trying to partner her daughter's handbag to the clothing line that she is modeling for, without even running the idea past the actual designer. I can't bring myself to care about this clinic, sight unseen. It's great that they decided to extricate Leslie from being a thorn in Ted's side but with all the sweet talk about Marcel, I can't help but think, if anyone bothers to solve the Laura Peterson case, Marcel will likely come in handy for Leslie, if she's trying to tamper with some evidence. There were some little moments of interest but it seems, nothing of significance. No general movement in terms of story.

And I remember the on call physician when Anita was hospitalized with the infection, that her regular physician Dr. Bauer was out of town. I don't know why my mind thought of Rick (Ed would be retired was my 1st thought). Probably because the by the time Mel was on the canvas, I was no longer watching GL.

@DRW50 asked me a question in the ATWT thread and it made me remember something that BTG did in Season One that, looking at it now...doesn't seem to make much sense. When June first appeared and seemed to have some sort of mental health issue (which magically disappeared), she told her personal story, that turned out to be Jessica Griffin's story on As The World Turns. In that context, Jessica was treated as a fictional character on a fictional show. The next season, Hayley is mentioning Barbara Ryan Originals as though it were a designer brand that she always dreamed of wearing. Is Oakdale real or fictional? Are the residents of Oakdale real or fictional? What are the writers doing?

That whole thing with June was very odd. Jessica was very much looked at like a fictional character but apparently Barbara Ryan is real? Sometimes I wonder if they know what they're doing on the show.🤔

You're welcome. These mentions do make me miss seeing episodes when ATWT was riding high. It's too bad P&G doesn't care about their classic soaps (other than bragging in ever PR sheet about how they were at the forefront of daytime drama).

When I saw that flashback, all I could see was Betty Draper looking for a smoke.

I hate it when others presume to know what people are thinking.

Apparently disease and frailty are the only topics these writers can think of to build storylines for older characters. How unimaginative. I could think of plenty of other storylines for Anita and Vernon that don't revolve around either topic. It would be a shame if they're truly going to go in this direction.

I'll just keep my thoughts to myself on that recent casting news.

Why do soaps these days always insist on making detectives look inept? I am old enough to remember a time where a detective looked reasonably capable at their job, even if their personal lives didn't match up to their professional competence. Back then police work/detective work solved actual crimes. Now, it seems like it's a mandate to make the police and detectives look like they have no idea to do their jobs.

Naomi had mentioned that deal that "ChelseaKat" made with Fenmore's and Hayley (being over solicitous) starry-eyed began to talk about how she used to window shop at Fenmore's then proceeded to talk about how she never imagined a day when she'd be able to wear something from Fenmore's or a Forrester Creations or a Barbara Ryan Originals!

Well, they acknowledged ATWT way back when June (who's strangely, not had any further issues with her mental health) was pretending she was Jessica Griffith.

Speaking of Paul Ryan, Barbara Ryan Originals got a mention on Beyond The Gates' latest episode. It made me think that I wouldn't mind seeing Colleen pop up there for a cameo. Had Scott Bryce not had to contend with illness over the past year, he might have made an appearance on BTG since he and Tamara are such close friends.

The nod to Barbara Ryan Originals was a nice touch and I wouldn't mind seeing Colleen Zenk pop up as Babs herself. That's it. That's all I got.🤷🏾‍♀️