DramatistDreamer

Happy New Year. It’s not that serious folks, if Kozlow is interested neither party seems to have expressed any interest, what’s stopping them from having her return? Surely I can’t be the first person to propose bringing the character of Margo back to the canvas? If I am, then, what are folks even doing with their imaginations?

No problem, agree to disagree. From a writing perspective, it was missing beats (where was the reversal? Who played the part of the red herring in the piece? Where were the rising complications?) I was thinking of what @Khanmentioned about the way WJB layered his characters and stories. Claire seemed like a very basic archer and Jordan (despite the yeoman’s work put in by CZP to make Jordan entertaining) seems like a caricature of JG’s recent villains. Although, at this point, I half expect there to be some odd sort of jailbreak where Jordan goes, on the run. The performances were good but the story itself felt predictable and fell very flat. JMO though and I tend to be a tough critic.

Who said she’d be a villain? Margo was more of a vixen than villain. Wasted in the sense that she only got to show a fraction of what she’s actually capable of as a performer.

I haven’t watched B&B in ages, so technically I’ve got no right to suggest it but I will anyway, lol. Since CZP’s talents were wasted on Y&R, why can’t she appear on B&B as a recast Margo Linley? Even a brief story arc could engage Eric in something besides the next health crisis.

Taking time to lay the groundwork for a story is not a budget buster. Much of the groundwork for the story should have been laid before we even saw Jordan. It was done at top speed and all we are left are caricatures. I don’t get the feeling of any genuine love between Jordan and Claire from how this story was told. Claire comes off as a tool to be used at will by Jordan, for kicks, is what it looks like. It makes me question what Jordan is actually doing this for, because the writing gives me nothing in terms of any real connection between Jordan and her sister Eve Howard. The one thing, and I mean the only thing that I find interesting is whether Cole will stick around and if this whole thing was a means to bring he and Victoria back together. We all know that Victoria stays having a new relationship. I guess we’ll always have our memories of the classic Y&R storylines @Khan. And I still think CZP’s skills could have been better served as a recast Margo Linley on B&B. I am not sure where the character of Eric Forrester is these days, I don’t watch the show anymore and I have only somewhat read the rumors, but in any case, a brief visit by Margo could have been good.

If it is indeed pressure from an executive, it really means that JG can’t stand or won’t up for his own (or better) ideas and writing as the master head writers of old, which, I don’t know if that gives him more or less culpability. It just makes him seem like a “hired gun” without a backbone, just willingly writing anyway he’s told for dollars. This may come off as harsh but, people will treat you the way you allow them to treat you. I remember an interview a soap actor on a different CBS soap did a few years ago where he talked about how the network executives would try to pressure that HW away from certain material and the HW would nod and say yes and then write the story he wanted to anyway. He never got fired and that was during the heyday of daytime soaps when competition was fierce and he could’ve been replaced. He wasn’t replaced because he knew how to write good stories (at least for the vast majority of his tenure) and he fought to tell them. JG has shown a long-running problem of truncating stories in the oddest way that cheapens an otherwise decent story, he did it with Lauren’s “Unfaithful” storyline, he’s been known to do this with Sharon’s umpteenth redemption story. He has definitely made it a consistent way of how he tells stories. At this point, I don’t believe these writers are following what they believe viewers want, they seem to believe any story they tell, if it involves popular characters and actors fans want to see, will be accepted and it usually is because die-hard soap fans are desperate to see their faves get a story. They very much take their viewers for granted, that if they give just enough material that is pleasing to fans, the rest won’t matter much. I think you do indeed have a point about the confines of keeping CZP around longer than is allocated in the budget but good writing could have kept Claire navigating and cultivating the Newmans for a few more weeks before injecting Jordan in the mix. If there was any build up of intrigue before Claire went ham and Jordan entered the mix, I must have missed it. If she was groomed to believe Victoria was her mother, why did she not at least try to spend some time finding out about Victoria, maybe slyly try to engage Victoria into talking about her relationships with her family, namely her kids? Was Nikki getting any strange phone calls before Jordan appeared? It seems like they could have written her as getting hang up calls that she at first deems wrong numbers and dismisses until the calls she receives become odder and more cryptic. They wouldn’t need CZP for that in the beginning. More thought going into how these stories are laid out might actually help the budget, rather than bust it.

Please don’t ask me how, but in a weird way, I knew this was a possibility. The accuser’s identity didn’t come to mind though as I was thinking exclusively of So You Think You Can Dance. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/paula-abdul-sues-american-idol-producer-nigel-lythgoe-over-sexual-assault-claims/ar-AA1mebPv

Filler material. It’s giving, that JG overshot his A storyline (I.e. the “Whatever Happened To Baby Eve?”) and it wrapped in such a time frame that he needed something to fill the lull. I guess he figured that nothing would succeed like a soap wedding (or vow renewal) of a couple with a vocal fan base (however large or small that fan base might be). The fact that JG couldn’t even write enough material to extend this storyline beyond a, what six week or so stretch? SMH. He needs to go back to the basics of writing out a storyline projection.

Wilkinson was great in an understated way in In The Bedroom”. Tap dancing great and the other Hines Brother Maurice Hines has passed away. https://variety.com/2023/film/news/maurice-hines-dead-cotton-club-1235858674/?cx_testId=49&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s

It never seems to get old, there’s always somewhere new to direct my attention. Does anyone know who the couple is in the final frame?

Fox 5 in NYC should have had something about Bobby Rivers since he was a very prominent part of their Good Day NY morning team. https://nypost.com/2023/12/28/entertainment/bobby-rivers-dead-food-network-host-vh1-vj-dies-at-70/

Yes, you’re right! I got them mixed up as I had no use for either on ATWT.

During their vow renewal ceremony Lauren told Michael that they raised two extraordinary sons. I only recall them raising Fen. Surely, they’re not trying to rope in Scotty into the mix?

Make way for the Mickey Mouse inspired fan art and non-Disney merch. https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/mickey-mouse-public-domain-disney-copyright-lawsuits-1235844322/

Which one of those actors were once known as the CBS soap killer?👀

In the meantime there needs to be drama, not just couples or else where does it go from there? I’m just saying that particular triangle may satisfy some desire but otherwise doesn’t make much sense logically. I know that on soaps, logic has gone out the window ages ago.

It’s insane. Phyllis pretty much became a human wrecking ball for Danny’s romantic relationship prospects. I don’t think we even heard of Danny having a serious romantic relationship after this era. He really only need be civil to Phyllis when Daniel’s around, it would be more interesting dramatically if Danny could barely conceal his bitterness under his nice guy/zen persona. To me, it would be more realistic if he even were to be torn between rekindling a relationship with Traci and rekindling a relationship with Cricket. And the fact that even Daniel is saying any relationship between Phyllis and Danny is a terrible idea is really telling. Seems like the folks at Y&R are now set on this absurd triangle between Cricket/Danny/Phyllis. Has Danny even had a conversation with Traci since he’s been back in town? Surely, he and Lauren must have had a coffee or something, right?

Didn’t Y&R try to do a reboot of this last year or so?

I can’t see how Danny could even look at Phyllis if he truly loves his sanity! Phyllis was such a venomous creature that was pretty much a human wrecking ball for his prospects for a loving relationship. Did he even have another long-term romantic relationship after that? Even Daniel knows how bad his mom would be.

Thanks for posting @janea4old. Interesting article despite the typo about his appearance on the “Ton Joyner show”. And to think, he was sent a Cease and Desist letter, because of his AMC updates , clearly they missed out but at least then, some folks at CBS were smart enough to put Sanders’ talents to good use! That sense of forward-thinking seems to be in short supply at CBS/Sony these days because Sanders had to reach out to them for the 50th anniversary?! Clearly, he had to remind/educate them on the importance of “Clarence” to the show’s history. Wow.

‘In a Genoa City minute’, that could work. What you wrote makes me think that someone at CBS/Sony should revitalize that promo. It’s more interesting than what they’ve got going now. Looks that the masks have fallen off where Kyle and Audra are concerned. It doesn’t look like their relationship can go on from here. So Kyle dumped Summer for this? What a dope. So basically, instead of being a relationship of equals, Audra will be at Kyle’s mercy? No bueno.

Billy Magnussen is part of the cast of the upcoming Netflix movie Lift starring Kevin Hart.

And added onto the tagline should be “…but you’ll still end up with added subscriber fees “. What programming does Byron Allen actually do anyway? All I can think of is those odd programs featuring random clips of celebrity interview with inserted canned music. What else has he done? There could be an entire documentary about the series of missteps and bad business decisions that various BET CEOs and executives made that caused BET’s slide downward. It began with good intentions but what is BET actually about now?

South Korea is really harsh on drug users. Whereas, in Europe and increasingly, North America, drug use is treated either as a recreational or medicinal activity, in addition to viewing its abuse as a disease as a disease, South Korea treats it as a crime and uses the threat of punishment, even jail time as a result. With Lee Sun-kyun being a high profile celebrity, the charges against him were treated as something of a scandal and he likely believed he would be made an example of. It’s really sad, and S. Korea really needs to change the national tone to reduce what seems like overwhelming pressure to conform to societal expectations. It seems that when people in South Korea take a fall from grace, even if a small one, it’s viewed as if there is no way back from it. Truly tragic.