Maxim

I decided to do something like a resume post where I will state some positive and negatives from the episodes I've seen so far. Don't hate me. It's just a very primitive overall feel of things. You guys know I love this show, but now... I can also compare it to other shows I've gotten into and make some notes. POSITIVES 1. The writing. When it's good - it's AMAZING. The dialogue makes you bond with the characters. There is development and nothing happens JUST LIKE THAT. We see the glimpses of emotion, then we see it evolve and grow into something big. Love is not written like a fast-cheap-meal like most soaps these days... but a struggle, a path, a learning process. Example - Sharlene and John's emerging relationship is the pearl in the show for me. It's done perfectly for my taste. The writers really LOVE to write for them. They give them dark and light. Beautiful and troubling moments. They make them grow together, but also put distance between them. It helps that the actors are so damn good. 2. The acting. This show impressed me the most in the beginning by how realistic and NOT over the top the performances are. Vicky... Sharlene... Iris... I can go on and on. Even Rachel has some amazing moments. Even though I think they are yet to give Rachel some more powerful stuff. She doesn't have a storyline other than defending her family and being a hawk that watches over them. Few exceptions - Donna Love - the recast actress. Not the real deal. Not my cup of tea, although I know she is good in other shows. Here... I find her incredibly 1 note. 3. The production values. The show is just beautiful. Yes, there are some moments where things are a bit cartoonish, especially when they are in costumes or having a ball, but overall Another World in this era (1988-1989) feels posh and sophisticated. The lighting is so flattering. So cinematic. If you don't know... you'll think you are watching a Hollywood movie at times. 4. The music. I'm very drawn to the soundtrack of this show. I like how the dramatic moments have this drippy, slow, building suspense music, that is so 80s... but still tasteful and powerful. Music if very important for me. It can make or break scenes. 5. The overall magic. It's just a symbiosis of things that make it work... Not all the time, don't get me wrong. The show has it's irritating and lacking moments. And that is something I'm going to delve in right now. NEGATIVES 1. Slow pace in some episodes. Especially since Swajeski replaced Lemay. There are episodes that nothing moves. Nothing happens in terms of plot or action. It's just beautiful dialogue and that's it. That becomes a problem at times, especially for my husband who is prone to fall asleep when he is bored. He loves the show, but I've also woken him up plenty of times. He really starts drifting off at the 5th minute of Vicky and Jamie talking about how Jamie still loves another woman. I like slow pace. But compared to All My Children, where every episode something really interesting happens... AW is really slow at times. Again I'm talking about the particular period I'm watching. 2. Not good enough cliffhangers. The episodes regularly end on a positive note... and then the next episode has NOTHING to do with the ending of the last episode. I am not a fan of this technique. Some may like it. I'm not one of these people. I like a shocking ending or an ending that makes me want to tune in next time. People watching from a window happily in love is not cutting it most of the time. 3. Too much LOVEY-DOVEY moments between couples. NOW... if there is a reason I desert this show in the future - this may be IT. I can't stomach seeing all these people constantly kiss and be happy together. It seems the show has this non-stop cycle of bickering and making up of couples. Of course, this is typical soap opera. But here in AW, compared to all the other shows I've seen - it's too much. Maybe the writers don't know what to do with some couples and that's why they write the same stuff every day. I get extremely bored seeing Amanda and Sam tell each other how much they love one another... when I know they will bicker in the next episode and then REPEAT that same stuff about love and caring again. At times the show is like a commercial for a dating service. Everyone seems so happy and merry, I get reflux. 4. The show seems confused at times at where is going. That's a storyline-plotting critique. There are periods where I've felt that not only the pacing is wrong... but overall the storylines are not going anywhere. There are positives in this - you can build characters, write fascinating dialogue... but still. My husband starts asking - so... when is Iris going to do something. She's just talking about it and nothing is happening episode after episode. I always tell him - TRUST THE SLOW BURN. But still... sometimes it doesn't feel like a slow burn, but just... confusion. Still I consider it a slow burn and trust it. 5. Felicia Gallant. The more and more I watch... the more I struggle to see how this character fits in the show. She's just like an odd man out... I'm not saying you can't have a character like this, but she is really out of place for me. Her storylines are not connected to the other characters as much... and she seems like an All My Children character that got lost in sea... and ended up in Bay City. I still love her... but... still - she feels like she doesn't belong in the show. Maybe that will change in the future. Maybe not. We'll see. And I'm also struggling to understand why her Joan Crawford wardrobe is always worn in kitchens and these incredibly domestic settings. I swear I remember seeing Felicia have breakfast in a MET Gala gown. It's cute... but I'm also... split about it. Can't decide how I feel.

Elliot is SOOOOO tasty in this period. He's so wicked. One of the reasons I stayed on with the show when I began watching.

Amanda is not my cup of tea. That's all I'm gonna say. She's repetitive and childish. She acts like a brat with her parents and has this constant "I'm not satisfied or happy" look on her face. The actress is okay in my opinion. I'm not impressed by anything I've seen her do so far. But she's okay. BUT Amanda's repetitive scenes with Sam are the ones that I want to fast-forward the most. They just have 2 topics they like to talk about... and it's always "You are infringing on my right to be a powerful career woman! I need to be outside dating men for a job, so I can WORK and prove I'M NOT A RICH GIRL ONLY!" and he's like "You and your family are buying me a career and I don't want it! I WANT TO BE ABLE TO STRUGGLE and be poor and you guys ARE denying me the opportunity by giving it all on a silver platter" This is their main storyline for me... and it's just annoying when it's the same every single episode. It's a fake struggle that I don't buy. These people are so spoiled by this point and have everything... don't make me suffer listening to them bicker how amazing their life is, so they are unhappy about that. Just a personal view. I'm not saying THIS IS the situation. My view is also restricted, since I'm only 4-5 months into the episodes.

The Curse of trying to Pre-empt Silkpress Sheila.

Ugh. This storyline is such a flop.

It's shocking to see Steffy look down on anyone. She was the new generation HO for years. I mean... she was nasty and using sex to seduce married-engaged-in-relationship-men all the time. She was embracing it fully. Bradley was accenting on the fact that Taylor's daughter had become Brooke 2. I remember how disgusting it was when she was using Hope's virginity to her advantage and offering to f-ck the guys that wanted Hope. It was ABSURDLY nasty. Then couple of years ago Bradley decided we should forget about it and made Steffy BECOME her grandmother. IN AN INSTANT. There was no build up to it. Which aged the f-ck out the character and made her unbearable. Because it's one thing to see an actual matriarch, older woman doing these things, being a moral judge... but it's complete joke to see the ex-ho acting like this. Ex-ho that is still incredibly young and has no right acting like she is better that anyone or... a moral JUDGE. Steffy and Hope's personalities got swapped!!! That's the irony of it. So any time these gang-style of fans come attacking Hope... for acting like a "slut"... I pinch myself - their HEROINE Steffy was doing this HARCORE. Are these people oblivious or just pretending not to remember. How can you stan a moral judge... that attacks "sluts" and also stan the same type of behavior you are attacking... years ago. How does this happen. But I repeat myself at this point. I agree with everything you said 100000 percent. It's the truth. At least in my eyes.

There is a time... till the old storyline is cleaning up... where it's still kinda annoying. For me it was. That's a personal opinion. But in 10-20 episodes more... you'll find yourself enthralled. It's not even begun. I'm so glad to hear your reviews! And excited of what's to come for you!

1000 percent agree.

So far the only interest I've seen from Evan to Amanda has been listening to Iris's orders to go and seduce her. So far he hasn't been successful... but who knows. Amanda is unbearable at times. Entitled, spoiled... idiotic. Iris... so blatantly manipulating her and Amanda takes the bait. But I guess... when she gets in trouble... she'll have a chance to learn. That's what makes these shows so interesting. Oh, no, don't worry. You haven't ruined a thing. Evan has not been on my radar that much... he was not one of the characters I was caring particularly... so nothing much has been changed for me. I don't think he has the stuff to ruin Rachel's life. He's just a pretty guy that can follow orders. Iris on the other hand... is dangerous. 💀 P.S Maybe Evan will surprise me. Who knows.

The show has gone back to 10/10 entertainment! I'm glad that I was right in feeling that what were experiencing were growing pains. I'm sure they are not over yet, but I'll know that we always comeback to quality drama. I think it's going to be a hell of ride (in a good way) from this moment on. BTG has that magic that not a lot of shows have. I'll update more... when I'm done catching up.

I'll even go further... I'll make her re-think BeLief and create a new patent. Brooke needs stuff to do. Anything other than beg or be in her panties. We need her to be creative. But sadly Bradley has a very low opinion of these characters. To him Brooke is nothing more than sex and scandal... or a pathetic doormat. Ridge is nothing more than a chauvinist pig that needs to pit women against each other to feel like A MAN and Steffy is nothing more than her father's guard-dog. I don't even want to open my mouth about Hope. She is such a fiasco in my opinion... I will not suffer if they kill her off. Bradley pooped on her character and now it's too late to fix it. Annika is great and I would hate to see her go, but slutty Hope was not her thing. The vibe was missing.

I've seen Jason interact with Mitch and annoy him. That's as far as I recall. I didn't even have a slight idea that Evan had a vendetta against Rachel... That came as a surprise to me. I thought Evan was Iris's dog and that's it. Now he's definitely more interesting.

Thank you for the tag! It's always a pleasure to see these little pearls of memories.

I can't wait to see him.

Add me to the group of people who think that Brandon has improved. He has. There's no doubt about it. Especially compared to the beginning. And he's improving in a way that... it makes me think that he realizes what the issues are and is addressing them. Of course, he's no master of acting at this point... but I don't cringe as much as I did. And I've seen people in Bold... I won't even have to name names, because everyone knows who they are... who are becoming even worse than what they were offering in the first place. So... I'm happy that in BTG... people are actually blossoming and improving. It surely means that the atmosphere is creative and nurturing talent. BUT and it's a big butt... his relationship with his husband is still so lacking and ghastly. I am craving to see more action from these guys. I want to see Smitty's character. If he has any.

Thank you. You guys come to the rescue again. I'll take a look later. Thank you for the info!!! Now I find myself less confused. You and @DRW50 are amazing.

I'm back! We are back! Me and my husband are finally back at our favorite hobby! How could I postpone returning to this amazing show for so long??? What was I thinking??? Another World - February 2nd, 1989 The dead will revenge the living 💀 Bay City better be ready, because I'm back! At Vicky's apartment she is once again drowning in doubts and jealousy. Deep down she realizes that her dream wedding will be a farce and nothing can change that. Bridget tries to calm her down, but the heroine is determined to suffer. She is not hearing any positive thoughts. She doesn't believe Jamie will marry her. At the Cory Publishing building another farce is in process. Iris, once again pretending to be the angel of love and sisterhood... is telling Mac and Rachel some wonderful news. When Iris has good news, you really need to look out for yourself. That's when things are bad. So what are the news? Miss Devil has put Amanda up for an award! Mac is smiling from ear to ear, and Rachel is suspicious. Maybe that's the effect Iris is looking for. To once again accent on the fact that Rachel doubts and criticizes her daughter. Iris will do anything to destabilize their relationship. She is like a cancer. Back to Vicky! Jamie is at the door. Looking like a sad puppy, he has come with a surprise. No, he is not gonna leave her and her unborn... Not yet. He has bought her earrings. Sad face. How nice. NOT. Victoria, of course... manages to break one of them the moment she touches it. Bad premonition maybe? She was back in hysterics. It's not easy to trap a man into marriage. Then you have to live with someone that didn't want you in the first place. We were introduced to a new character (to me at least she is new) - Cass's sister - Stacey. She is giving me "hidden skeletons in the closet"-vibes. Love a girl like that. Stunning actress. I like her. The highlight of the episode was the strange and creepy reveal of Evan the escort... hugging someone named Janice's grave. I remember she had an issue with Rachel... and Rachel killed her in self defense I think... It was hinted in prior episodes, but I lack the context and story. I just know that everyone at the Frame house was mad that Rachel killed the bish. But I also got the impression that this Janice was sick in the head. So Evan is now talking to her grave and telling her he is going to ruin Rachel's life basically. Oh, Evan... I liked you better as a sexy gigolo. Overall - 10/10 - how can I rate it lower when I haven't watched in months!!! ddddddddddd.mp4

Thank you ❤️❤️❤️

I've never seen a trainwreck like this in my entire life. 5 pencils and 3 dolls?!!!!!!!!!!! (this little moment starts close to the 7th minute) WOW. THIS IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who is this diva? ❤️

THANK YOU SO MUCH. If there was any way we could sticky this post or make it so we don't forget where it is. I'm going to bookmark it for sure! AND WOW... Season 15 - nearly a whole month of skipped episodes. LOL.

I think they should skip out words more frequently in these spoilers. It makes the show sound more interesting. 🤣