DramatistDreamer

A song his dad would have taught him. I like that. I had written a bit more, leading up to JT’s discovery and Tracy’s finding out, and soon after…Lily. And the start of the mystery of whose heart beats in Victor’s chest.

No doppelgängers, no Dr. Frankenstein-ish clones, simple medical malpractice (okay, maybe not so simple). I would have done it years ago though. You may not have been on this site years ago when I wrote a treatment for the story. It was when Reed Hellstrom was still on the canvas and got into all the trouble. I had him managing to change his mandated community service to a charity run rehabilitation clinic where he becomes fascinated by a patient with some form of “locked-in” syndrome. The administrators ( a few of whom are nuns, no less) discovered that Reed is a musician and allow him to participate in the music therapy program. Of course, Reed spends a lot of time “serenading” this particular patient and he swears that she is responding to the music. At first dubious (as this patient has had fits and starts for years, a few times mumbling incoherently, once even what was believed to be a word or two), one therapist begins to see that “Jane Doe” is indeed responding. Victoria and JT (this would have been before JT went off the rails emotionally and mentally) are impressed with Reed’s newfound sense of purpose and his commitment to his community service. JT is particularly intrigued by what turned Reed’s mindset around. Reed doesn’t get into details but describes how he has witnessed an apparently miraculous transformation of one particular patient. JT quips “What’s her name?” Reed says, “I dunno…Jane Doe?” As Reed begins to spend more time at this charitably-run convalescent hospital, Victoria begins to become concerned that Reed is spending too much time with this apparent “lost cause”. JT questions why Victoria is so dubious that “Jane Doe” can recover. Victoria says she will be relieved when Reed’s community service mandate comes to an end. Reed overhears this conversation, of course and when his community service is complete, he begins to stall, not admitting that his has ended. When pressed, he lies and claims that he is no longer going when he is, visiting Jane Doe and serenading her with song, which Jane Doe is responding to, more and more and making progress. One day, on a hunch, a suspicious JT decides to follow Reed but is stopped at the front desk by an administrator as JT doesn’t have an ID badge. JT tries to explain why he’s there and identifies himself as Reed’s dad. The administrators gush about how dedicated Reed is and how much his music has meant to the patient. In the room nearby, Reed takes out his guitar and begins to play by Jane Doe’s bedside. Reed asks Jane Doe to say a few words the way she did at other times and also asks why she has her back turned to him today, but she says nothing. JT requests to see his son. The administrator won’t allow JT to enter the patient’s room but allow JT to go just outside the door, where JT calls out to Reed, who immediately looks at JT and gestures for him to be quiet, points to Jane Doe in bed. JT says “I need to talk to you Reed”. As Reed walks toward JT in the background, camera closes in on Jane Doe’s face, which we really haven’t seen before. As we hear JT’s voice trail off as he asks Reed for an explanation, then saying “we’ll talk about this at home”, Jane’s Doe’s eyes suddenly open no she springs up in bed, takes a big gasp of breath, as if awakening from an intense dream. Jane Doe is revealed to be Colleen Carlton. She looks toward the door. JT and Reed are gone.

Now this is too funny. https://spoutible.com/thread/10070723

Yeah, Lyndsy or Adrianne are the only choices that would really work and I would lean more towards Fonseca because I thought she and Thad had incredible chemistry on Nikita a few years ago. I actually would hope that any story that would bring Colleen back would be much more detailed, it would be nice if Victor ended up being shocked that he got someone else’s heart and seek to find out whose heart he actually got but I wouldn’t have him be the one to discover that Colleen is alive, give someone else a chance to be involved in a story, possibly a newer character who doesn’t know Colleen. I know how I would write it but I am often told that today’s viewers wouldn’t have the patience for all that.

It feels like with this being the show’s 50th year, tptb want to squeeze in every character that they can who has been part of the show’s history, whether in flashbacks or in actual scenes. Honestly, at this point, especially since the kids that he and Victoria share aren’t even shown onscreen these days, there isn’t much reason for him to return. Now if they were going to find a legit reason to bring Colleen back, that would be a very compelling reason to bring JT back to the canvas. I mean, that heart transplant storyline never made much sense. Surely, Victor must have received someone else’s heart, right? There could be a worthwhile mystery for Chance to investigate there. 🤔😉

Well, I no longer have an account with Twitter so I haven’t been able to read tweets. https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/1/23781198/twitter-daily-reading-limit-elon-musk-verified-paywall I am not sure I believe his explanation though.

Oh wow, congrats to Chris Eubanks. And yes, you’re right @Faulkner is really good on grass so Eubanks must feel encouraged by his successful run in Mallorca. Just out of curiosity, did Rafa make an appearance?

When you see/hear the phrase “Soaps In The Summertime” what comes to mind? Are there memories of watching on school holidays? Are there any specific storylines on certain shows that spring to mind? Does a certain soap/network promo that aired during the summer live rent-free in your brain? Or do you have thoughts/critiques concerning summertime storylines on today’s soaps? You’re welcome to share your thoughts on what soaps in the summertime mean to you.

I missed most of the show’s time with Amanda but from what I heard, the character wasn’t befitting of MM’s natural charisma. Even when Hilary was alive I used to want her and Jill to mix things up, after seeing even one seen of their scenes where they are being subtly combative with each other. Could you imagine if tptb would’ve found a way to move Devon and Hilary into that mansion (instead of isolating them in that penthouse) with Jill living there? That would’ve been gold. Add Nina and Chance into the mix. These days there’s an interesting dynamic going on in the Abbott house with Jack, Ashley, Diane and Tucker mixing it up and I find myself enjoying the messiness of those scenes because at least there are signs of life there. I would like to see them find a way to bring Hilary back, preferably a way that doesn’t insult our intelligence. There are ways but I don’t see JG coming up with any.

There’s a really fine line between consumer spending decreasing enough to bring down interest rates (how many people will actually be in a position to make those big ticket purchases that usually benefit from lower rates, is another question) and consumer spending being so low that businesses can’t expand or they must layoff workers due to cost cutting measures as a result, putting the economy in recession. Then there’s the aspect of some food prices still being elevated. I think there will be many industries affected by cutbacks in spending. Biden mentioned that the GOP is still trying to find ways to make their trillion dollars tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, even though they have yet to actually pay for themselves. At least there would be a higher likelihood that student loan debt forgiveness would have paid for itself in consumer spending and greater entrepreneurship. Now the Supreme Court is going to deliberate on a Second Amendment ruling involving guns in a domestic violence case. I don’t have much hope that this ruling will be conscientious either. Also, this: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-arrest-barack-obama-home-3872a7dbbd65605704d9a77f62b6b127

There’s nothing going on between Daniel and Lily at the moment, so maybe someone decided to try to inject some energy into that dynamic? As someone who put Bloom’s return out there before tptb decided to do it, I will temper my expectations on this one. Come to think of it, Heather’s a lawyer, so I wonder if her initial return would be business with a side of the personal? I know Michael will be representing Phyllis but I wonder if Daniel contacts her at all for some legal advice?

I see what you mean but these are some severe rude awakenings though. There is is a disturbing element to the aspect of voting, particularly for the midterm elections. There are actually people who still believe that having a divided Congress is somehow keeping the democratic process in balance by keeping the Executive Branch in check. Why does it seem like this only matters when a Democratic president is in office though? I agree with your sentiment about we the people oftentimes needing to save ourselves. It was weird to hear some actual members of Congress claim that Biden alone could do student loan debt forgiveness on his own (I’m looking at you, Elizabeth Warren) without any specific details on how he accomplish this. Unfortunately media never had any follow up questions when she made these statements in interviews, buts that’s media these days.

Striking down Affirmative Action based on race isn’t going to change the admissions process because it doesn’t deal with the other types of Affirmative Action such as legacy admissions, and the students who have connections or the students who can get admitted through some “extracurricular” activity like being on a private school’s rowing team for a semester. It will just result in those who have the means to game the system burrowing deeper in order to find creative ways to bend the system to their advantage. The same people who are complaining might see some marginal gains, while the numbers will decrease for Black and Hispanic students at elite colleges and universities. Maybe they will find another scapegoat now. Many colleges and universities are already said to be changing their admissions policies by downgrading standardized tests as a factor in admissions in favor of essays and personal experiences. As for Student Loan Debt Forgiveness, I don’t have any verification on that but I am already hearing that Biden is working on a Plan B. At the very least, the dummies who have been saying that Biden can grant student loan debt forgiveness with the mere stroke of a pen, should now realize that this was never the case and may just get to work on helping get enough Democrats elected to e able to actually get these initiatives passed through Congress. It’s bad to say, but I think there will be a whole lot of defaults coming up. I also suspect that there will be a noticeable drop in consumer spending. On the one hand, that could help drop interest rates but it will be at cost to other aspects of the economy, like to any industry that relies on the sale of goods and services to earn a profit.

Couldn’t Y&R have hired a day player to portray a lawyer (Sharon’s or Cameron’s ) to present Sharon with Cameron’s personal effects? IN 1986 when Frannie Hughes (Julianne Moore) on ATWT found out that she had been bequeathed Douglas Cummings’ fortune after he was killed, she found out through a lawyer (who also happened to be her older brother). 1980s ATWT fans will know that of which I speak but this Y&R story has a faint echo of that ATWT storyline when Douglas kidnapped Frannie and Kim Hughes, with explosives going off in the distance, which finally ends with Douglas being killed. In the wake of Douglas’ death, and Kim’s eventual indictment for Douglas’ death, Frannie finds out that Douglas has left his entire fortune to her.

Thanks. I am seeing actors from both coasts so I was trying to place the era.

Regis & Kathie Lee show. What year was this @Soapsuds?

Someday I’ll really get to the root of why this show has made zero investment in the character of Noah Newman. I was reading the history/backstory of Audra Charles and it seems like her entire relationship with Noah took place offscreen? It actually could have been an interesting one for Noah. Even seeing this triangle with Adam, Sally and Nick, I can’t help but think it would have been more interesting if it were Adam, Sally and Noah. Putting casting quirks for a moment, because no matter who portrays him, the pairings and stories for Noah haven’t been good since he reached adulthood. I guess this show has really given up on cultivating a new generation?

ICYMI:

Maybe. From what I understand though, Amanda is no vixen. There could be room, though to reconstruct Amanda to be more Hilary-like, especially considering what Devon did to Amanda during her last stint in Genoa City—that could be a basis for turning her into a vixen-ish character. With JG at the helm, I don’t think he’s capable of writing the type of imaginative, detailed and elaborately written story required to bring Hilary back without it descending into the type of stereotypical back-from-the-dead storyline that garners so much mockery of soaps in mainstream culture.

The WTA worked out a deal for pay parity for the 1000 and 500 tournaments— the catch, it won’t be completed until 2033. Pay Equity Is Officially Coming to Tennis. Eventually Steve Simon, for all his faults as a head administrator, knows that today’s WTA tournament has a problem with recognizable faces at the top of the rankings.

Wow, that sounds like such a different show than the one on now! Ihave come to the conclusion that in recent years, Y&R just doesn’t write vixen well. Hilary was the last genuine multidimensional vixen and that was more down to her ability to work the material, which was just interesting enough to hold our attention. But the unceremonious exits of Juliet Helton and Mia Rosales proves that Y&R just doesn’t seem to know how to make vixens work on the canvas.

Yeah, that was a very quick sequence of scenes. It was kind of odd because, they had that screening interview via video link between Elena and JT, where JT turned down Elena’s request for the podcast. Then afterwards, I believe that Elena was trying to think of a way to lure JT to Genoa City. That was the last time I heard of it before Elena quit the podcast. I think Brytni Sarpy’s expressions were giving a darker undercurrent so I had hoped that would be explored and even joked about it being her villain/vixen origin story.

Saudi Arabia has been trying to find a way into tennis for a few years, particularly men’s tennis. Remember when they tried to hold those exhibitions which resulted in backlash against the participating players? The tennis establishment as greedy as they are, must of gotten envious of the overtures being made to the PGA and decided to allow the Saudi Wealth Fund to court the ATP.

Had the show managed to entice Jess Walton to assume a more consistent screen presence, having Hilary and Devon move into Chancellor mansion with Jill still residing there would have been gold. Hilary and Jill’s clashes, neither one willing to compromise or concede that they may have more in common (industrious, smart, cunning and calculated, often woefully underestimated, big appetites for success) than they are willing to acknowledge. Add Nina’s occasional visits, trying to be a peacemaker. They could’ve even written Jill convincing Chance to move into the mansion, trying to use the argument that it is his birthright, while her real motive is trying to cultivate her grandson into being a necessary ally in the house. Then think of where these characters could be today, even if all the other things still occurred (Hilary’s tragic demise, Chance and Abby’s marriage, the surrogacy, the birth of Dominic, the affair between Abby and Devon…the stories would likely be richer, if all these characters had a stronger history with one another. Didn’t Elena quit the podcast because it was a Newman Media entity? JT was supposed to be part of that podcast. I think that’s when Elena thought she and Nate still had a relationship worth salvaging. It didn’t come across as a revenge plot, more like a plot to distract Victoria while she got Nate back. She doesn’t appear to want Nate back at all, at present. I know I’ve said this in the spoiler thread but, during the entire time I was watching Sally’s stillborn baby story, I couldn’t help but think that this is the story that Hilary should’ve had, when you consider the fact that Black women are 3x more likely than White women to suffer eclampsia resulting in mortality-(maternal, infant, both). I guess Lily got a vehicular manslaughter/jail time story from it but Y&R missed a prime opportunity to be ahead of the curve in storytelling and they didn’t take it. Then again, I have been repeatedly reminded that the soaps believe that their viewers don’t want anything to do with reality, just fantasy.

R.I.P. Nicolas Coster, one of those actors that, no matter what major U.S. network was a soap fan’s favorite, would have inevitably become familiar with his work on a soap. It’s an entirely sad that soap fans are losing so many of these actors that were the vanguard of the daytime soap’s ascent into massive popularity in popular culture (often even among non-soap viewers). And at a time when daytime soaps are severely diminished and there are no visible attempts to preserve the vintage episodes.