DramatistDreamer

I completely forgot about Pluto TV and their Y&R/B&B channels. I remember when they debuted, people were complaining that the episodes weren’t considered genuine classics as they didn’t go far back enough. Is this still the case?

Ah, I see your point. As for the music of Wakanda Forever, that sounds like something for HooplaDigital where a School of The Arts student can access it for research with a library card, but yeah, not exactly the stuff of subscription drives.

These protocols need to be changed. It was my understanding that in many countries, applicants must show up in person to the embassies for visas. Why can’t these embassy officials simply take really good scans of passports and allow applicants to take their original documents with them? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/world/africa/sudan-us-embassy-passports.html

Why oh why couldn’t some of these that produced soaps have gotten together and done some sort of FAST platform? I have been wondering this for years. From what I have come to understand over the years from sitting in on conferences, it’s not as difficult as people may assume. Every individual effort seems to fizzle out at some point. I hope that these folks can see things through here, if only to break the cycle of soap fans being perpetually left in the lurch.

Geez, I read about this earlier and completely forgot about it. Is Tennis Channel discussing the newest developments of l’affaire Halep at all?

While I recognize that Pullos needs therapy and counseling, damn girl, you shoulda stayed your behind at home, you could’ve killed somebody!

This famous photo. Only the youngin’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remains among us.

Oh okay, I see. Although interesting at the time, I don’t really see the point of bringing him back. Didn’t we already cover that ground of Sharon being tormented with Matt Clarke’s reappearance? And unlike Matt Clarke, Cameron was a one-off character who had no genuinely deep ties to any characters on the canvas.

When the show first led off with Sharon’s klepto-tendencies, there seemed to be a degree of logic to why the character was exhibiting these tendencies. With each time the writers decided to go to that “well” of mental instability, they made the stories more outlandish and lacking in logic until the purpose of making the character “crazy” seem more and more purposeless, there was absolutely no purpose for it, it had just become a device, and a dumb one at that. Isn’t Cameron Karsten dead though? What would be the purpose in bringing him back. I know the actor who portrayed him is married to Susan Walters in real life, but I don’t see a purpose for bringing him back. If anything, I agree with the posters who suggest Grace and to be honest, Grace has enough of a perverse personality that it would make sense for her to try to send Sharon a bottle of champagne, thinking she could repair the broken friendship after all that happened between the two of them.

This should really come as no surprise. https://www.pcmag.com/news/people-are-spending-less-time-on-twitter-since-elon-musk-took-over

Will some of these shows end up on FAST platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku etc.?

And the professional tennis bodies are to blame. They have only made tennis less accessible over the last 15 years and have strived for a cookie cutter assembly line of anyone who emerged in the wake of the Big Three of the ATP. Anointing of hoping for the “next” Roger, Rafa or Novak is self-defeating as it diminishes the aspect of having diverse personalities. I suspect that they reluctantly accepted a late-career Serena and they want a WTA player who has the winning record of Serena without actually being Serena. At the heights of its popularity, tennis had enough players with swag that could at least carry the rest who didn’t. Now, not so much. I knew we were headed downhill when I started to hear commentators exclaiming a player had a “good day at the office“ or a “bad day at the office”. I never aspired to work in an office in life and I don’t care about seeing it in my entertainment (nope, never got into the sitcom, not even the original British version). When commentators and tennis media are going on and on about work ethic and grinding out matches, is it any wonder ratings have plummeted over time. While I am certainly no fan of pickleball, my guess is that no one is droning on about grinding out matches or putting in another ‘day at the office’, they’re probably too busy talking about having fun. Tennis world seems to have forgotten that players play and sport is actually supposed to be entertainment. I could go on in even more detail, don’t get me started! Tennis needs to make changes because the current model ain’t it!

Maybe it’s an function of my mourning/grieving period, but there’s nothing that currently interests me about tennis at this time. I guess I may tune into RG, only because I actually have Peacock this year but if I had to make the effort to actually find a match, I likely wouldn’t bother.

Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes is planning a Congressional run. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/olympic-gold-medal-figure-skater-sarah-hughes-running-for-ny-congressional-seat/4339019/?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_NYBrand

There’s not much that can surprise me these days, but I admit to being somewhat surprised by this. Still, when I had to do a focus evaluation of some NYC news anchors, Ken Rosato probably rated toward the bottom of my ranking. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/abc7-anchor-ken-rosato-was-fired-for-hot-mic-insult/ar-AA1bfIkl

As a someone who got a M.F.A concentration in writing for the theater, this made me chuckle. Also, I pretty much gave up on the Tony awards ages ago.

If this storyline with Nate’s infidelity doesn’t lead to the genesis of Elena’s villain origin story, then what is this show even doing?

I find myself inventing stories and subtext for this show, as it is severely lacking. The only interesting aspect of Daniel’s clash with Summer as it illustrates, writ large, the argument of “nature vs nurture”, with Summer being a product of being raised by Phyllis, while Daniel (exhibiting some sense of conscience) is obviously a product of being raised by Danny Romalotti.

What’s missing is a storyline with an actual purpose. What’s showing up onscreen doesn’t make much sense. Phyllis, a character once portrayed as usually so cunning that she was generally steps ahead of everyone else, didn’t think beyond a revenge plot against Diane to consider that she would jeopardize her own freedom and future by colluding with a known criminal and partaking in criminal activities?

I really tried to get re-engaged in this show but it is proving to be a tough slog and the entertainment level is very low.

In Jacklyn Zeman’s obituary in the New York Times, one of Zeman’s daughters mentioned how poignant it was to see some of the nurses who cared for her mother in her final days saying how much Bobbie Spencer had inspired them to become nurses. So many soap stalwarts who made these stories compelling passing away in the last few years, it feels so very sad.

Mine too. I have always had a special place for her as she was really integral to the time when I gained a great appreciation for the theatricality of daytime drama, namely ATWT. I hope she can weather this loss as she tries to navigate her own recovery. It seems as if her father had been dealing with health problems over the last few years.

The NYT obituary for Hodding Carter III, who has ties to the world of daytime drama, via his daughter Finn. Hodding Carter III, Crusading Editor and Jimmy Carter Aide, Dies at 88

Hodding Carter III, journalist, former Assistant Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter and father to Finn Carter (O.G. Sierra Esteban Montgomery) has passed away.

You’re welcome. I thought you might find that interesting.