Maxim

Last night I started Season 4 of OC. The biggest shock for now is how people looked pre-Ozempic and fillers. I love it so far. 😁

"Angela" on The Bold And The Beautiful was pretty spooky!

I totally forgot mentioning something that really made an impression on me. The change in the writing for Luna is like night and day! Yes, you could make an excuse and say that she's grown... and that she's a brand new woman now that she's basking in Max's "love," but honestly, it's like we're dealing with a whole new character here. The comedy (she was one of the few characters that actually made me smile now and then, because I could totally picture someone like her saying the wild stuff she used to) and her quirky charm have practically vanished, and she's morphed into this typical soap opera dramatic lady. You know... less the sidekick and more leading type... she's sweeter, sugary. I almost find myself missing the wacky Luna of last year... the one who would ramble non stop and make me crazy. I didn't know I liked it till it was gone! I can't wrap my head around why they decided to turn her into yet another heroine who’s all about love and men... but man, that’s just a letdown. That other version was waaay more modern and daring. The actress has so much more to offer than being stuck in love triangles! I really hope they don't restrict her to crying about Max and suffering about love dramas in the future. P.S. It feels like the whole show is taking on this Josh Griffith vibe too... I can't help but notice. Not that it's a bad thing right now... it’s just that Malone usually has this intellectual flair (loves his long, meaningful dialogues)... he’s way less melodramatic... and now I’m sensing that the episodes are getting a bit more soapy and over the top at times. The heroines are crying in corners more. But hey, at least the cliffhangers are getting better. Again, not a critical comment. It's a good mix... for now. The show feels more feminine and there is this operettic scent of cheap perfume that wasn't there back when it was only Malone writing. When he was alone... it was a little more rough and raw (which I like). Who knows, maybe it's all in my mind. But it's different.

OMG... this is the trainwreck I needed for a good laugh today. 😂😂😂😂😂 (Of course I know it's a deflection tactic on the pig's part.) But yeah... in the end pigs are going to eat each other. Dostoevsky said it best in his novel "The Brother Karamazov" - "Viper will eat viper, and it would serve them both right!"

The Goldfinch - 250 pages in already... Some of the best stuff I've ever read. I think I'm hitting literature jackpot these days.

I just thought of him! P.S. I don't know why but this conversation reminds me of people who left soaps to do "bigger" and "better" things and then did nothing more famous or known than their soap role.

God I'm watching the 2007 episodes while they premiere on youtube... and Brooke is such a hardcore ho. I mean... she's on another dimension.😂 Basically trying to jump Nick every time she sees him. If this was happening in this day and age... with the current social media craziness and tik tok... the audience would have flipped and went crazy. All of this reminds me how... boring 2025 is. Brooke's vagina in 2007 was more daring then the entire 5 years of writing.

I forgot today there is no episode and checked the cbs site. 😂

Such a gem. Thank you!

Yes. Many people think soap operas are Joey Tribbiani's Dr. Drake Ramoray coming back from the dead on Days of Our Lives, with his evil twin and exaggerated acting. Unfortunately, they are not wrong - some soaps have indeed been like this for a long time. However, they are incorrect in believing this is true for ALL soap operas. This stigma ignores decades of history that will likely never be revisited or recognized (as much of the material has been lost, taped over, or destroyed), focusing solely on the trashy period of soaps, especially after the mid-1990s, which has turned into a punchline. Many people deny enjoying soaps, even if they do, just to fit in with their friends and peers opinions. I doubt soap operas can shake off this negative image completely. Some of them even seem to embrace it and push it further, parodying the genre in itself. Yet, there is hope IMO. In a world where nearly everything seems to be declining, even films are getting worse... it seems soaps might not be so bad anymore (I think the new punchline are reality shows), and there is a veeery slim chance for them to innovate and create a new legacy.

I most certainly will! 🤗 P.S. I am already waiting on the next SLC episode. I want it now... I miss my weekly dose of Lisa calling her husband waking him up with screams on the phone. I want to be that man's therapist for a day. If he has one. He definitely needs it for living with Lisa. 😁

I remember a time when I stumbled upon a forum (while I was on some sort of late night google deep dive) - it seemed like a typical "macho" space where men discussed cars and sports... and then there was a topic... which was about soap operas. While reading the responses, I was quite shocked to see that nearly 90 percent of the members were mocking soap operas, claiming that "everyone on these shows is so terrible and fake" and things like that and the emphasis was on how particularly bad the acting was. I felt an urge to register and share my thoughts... but then I realized... for these people who have likely never truly "watched" soaps... aside from glancing while their wives or mothers are doing it... (maybe there are those watching in the closet, who knows)... THIS is their perception of soaps - a disastrous spectacle of poor acting and melodrama. How would they react if I told them that some of the finest performances I've ever witnessed... have come from soaps? They would probably laugh at me. This is the kind of stigma that irks me to no end... and it only worsens when those in charge hire people who seem almost... intentionally chosen to undermine the genre. It feels as if they don't take the show seriously, so why should we... it's a vibe I find unsettling. And It's not only that they hire bad people... they keep giving them dialogue like crazy. They place them center stage. (For reasons that are beyond me.) Aaaand here I am... watching my OLTL episodes from 1992 and witnessing and experiencing acting... not just in soap operas... but in general - in the highest level. It almost feels like indulging in a hidden treasure that others overlook or don't know about. It's such a strange feeling at times. Yet, can I blame them for their negative perceptions of soaps when I see the trash on television? Sadly... I cannot. Maybe I need to register in that macho forum if I find it again and just tell them - sh-t up, turn the sport channel off, go to youtube and type - OLTL 1992 and then Thank me. They'll probably ban me right then and there. 😁

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Now I have even more food for thought... thank you soooo much for the recommendation. 🤗Thank you to all three of you @Soaplovers @Cheap21 @alwaysAMC. I have a feeling I may jump into 4, just for the hell of it.

That's a great suggestion. Thank you. 🙏 I may do this... since I don't know if I'll be able to watch 20 seasons one after another. Another great suggestion. Thank you!!! Now I'll have to think more... let it sit in my brain for a bit before I decide. A part of me wants to start at 17, per @Cheap21's idea... but I also heard that the first Tamra seasons were interesting too. I'm a bit thorn, but I'll just go with the instincts when I open the app.

Listen... I'm against all forms of stigma... and there are numerous preconceived notions that come up when people consider the genre as a whole... however, I can't help but partially hold the creators and producers responsible for perpetuating this negative image. (Primetime has this issue but to a lesser extent too.) You can't bring in 0 experience models or nepo babies who can hardly speak and THEN expect talented individuals, who truly have what it takes, to feel proud when their colleagues struggle to even SPEAK their lines. And some of these people get more airtime than the actual talented ones, which is just ridiculous. I mean... there's a whoooole wide range between the likes of Susan Flannery... Erika Slezak... Debbi Morgan... Tamara Tunie and things like this... and this... which get more and more airtime. WHY? And don't tell me that talented actors don't get lost in the midst of the junk, because that's not true. Acting against/with someone who can barely speak drags everyone down, including the one who CAN act. It's embarrassing how some really great actors have carried deadweights their entire careers, scene after scene after scene. I'm sick of that. Talent should be treated with respect. This is not an amateur acting class where wannabes come to learn from the legends. It shouldn't be like this... America is full of starving actors who are not nepo babies or models... who CAN do the work needed. Give them a chance.

Anything connected in any shape or form to Luna on The Bold And The Beautiful. I think in 10 years we'll cringe at what Bradley Bell did with this character. Hell... we are cringing now.

F-ck cancer. I pray for his full recovery. 🙏 That early detection message is so important.

I've never seen even 1 episode of Orange County. What season should I start... ? Are the first ones even worth it? 😁

And then has a Brooke Logan "mistake" with Derek. ❤️😅 Bingo. I would prefer they are not "endgame" too. It's been done to death in soaps - men cheat on women time after time again and then these women take them back the moment their new younger wife/mistress/whatever is out of the picture. It's 2025... the endgame should be something different. Women should stop defining themselves with men who are pigs. I'm not saying Bill shouldn't get down on his knees and beg her to give him a second choice... (that karma needs to happen, but in a way it already is happening since he is living with Catherine Medici 😅) and I'm not saying I won't be thrilled if Dani even thinks about it for a day or two... maybe even walks down the aisle just to say "I can't." But I hope to God we don't see a Dani/Bill marriage in the coming year or two.