carolineg

I don't really see a difference in the non Beyond Salem shows. Obviously, it's all the same show, but the episodes featuring that side of the cast seem to be a little better done. I really haven't loved the Bo/Hope stuff, but I am willing to wait it out before calling it an entire loss. They haven't even seen one another yet.

I just was wondering the same thing about Days and Leo's gossip blog. Does anyone care about how Chloe Lane feels about her on/off again boyfriends daughter? Sam did have a tv show a while back so some people might still remember that, but I thought it was much more effective when they just showed everyone entering and their outfits and who they came with in a little montage.

No one on here mentioned there was John/Marlena sexy time on today's show which makes it an automatic win of an episode for me😂 The Eric/Sloan scenes were muffled today. Otherwise everything was awful. Chloe screaming at a child was so odd. Even if that child is demon seed Rachel. I often forget Chanel was married to Xander, but I like them together as friends. I don't like Xander much at all, but Paul Telfer does have decent chemistry with most of the ladies he interacts with.

I have always found the Nurses Ball cringey, but enjoyable if that makes sense? There is a lot of second hand embarrassment for me in the acts and the red carpet, but it seems like everyone is having fun and it's something different. I wish they go back to the vibe of the early years where it was clearly amateurish acts and not supposed to be an actor's demo for a record label though.

It's weird how quickly he drops out of the Sonny/Brenda story because in the beginning it does seem like they are setting up a triangle and there is the hilarious scene of Sean Kanan and Mo playing basketball aggressively after Washington D.C. And then AJ just isn't really part of the equation anymore. This scene is never not funny. From the height disparity to the fact Sonny is in a suit.

I always assumed AJ/Brenda/Jason was the original intention for Brenda. Perhaps in a similar way that Keesha was used, but with more airtime lol. I don't think Labine was going back to the Jagger triangle, but Karen/Jagger were leaving so it's a moot point regardless. I know they tested her with Ned as well, but Ned seems older than Sonny at that point and dated her sister so I think that would have been weird. Sean/Vanessa have the best chemistry since I don't think Steve/Vanessa have much until he becomes Jason Morgan. Idk, it's interesting to think what would have happened if they didn't throw Sonny/Brenda into a couple of scenes together. Sonny probably would be a distant memory and Brenda would have been in an entirely different orbit in the 90's. @BrendaB Many of us have wondered why Sly never returned. He would have been a perfect fit in that late 90's teen scene with Lucky, Liz, Emily, Nik. And, no, the stuff with Paul being a serial killer never made sense. He was a villian before Jenny, but not in a psycho killer kind of way.

I don't disagree that bringing the OLTL characters in at first worked. It just sparked my concern because it was clear it was going to be RC's show. The focus was heavy on them, but the OLTL characters did fit okay. It was reusing them right away that was the issue as you said. I do think there is a way of capitalizing on a fanbase and not alienating GH's core fanbase and I think that line was crossed. It felt very focused on OLTL characters when I had really no affection or care for them as that was never my soap. It was all risky IMO. I probably would have waited to introduce them because obviously it was a legal mess, but it could have been done without such a clear agenda.

The sci-fi stuff he did on GH didn't really work for me. I still side eye the Lulu frozen by Stavros nonsense and the masks. I can see how people would love Ron in the beginning too, but I already had my antennas up when he started on GH with him bringing the OLTL actors over and having Brenda fake sleep with Michael. It worked fine, but it felt like he didn't get GH or the characters exactly and was doing what he wanted. I actually agree with pretty much everything else you said. I can tell he loves and knows the genre. I can tell he does his research, but as @titan1978 said in their thread sometimes the use of history is just thrown around and not organic. But I do think he is sadly one of the last good talents to write in this genre in the last decade or so.

Brenda/AJ were sorta the villians here so I can see how they slut shamed Karen. Jason is coming from a place of hurt, so they were all wrong, but they all eventually back track on it. I would suspect AJ/Brenda were the pairing that would have happened if not for Sonny/Brenda. I always felt they were slow burning to that up to the point that AJ/Brenda went on dates and AJ was pretty jealous of Sonny/Brenda. He fell out of the equation quickly, but I suspect that might have been more due to SK's own personal issues. In my mind the only pairing Bill had with any legs was with Julia. Holly/Bill was just bad. They needed to get Bill out of Luke's orbit completely and Holly/Mac raising Robin felt more natural even if I don't think ES and JJY had much chemistry.

KSu was definitely also a hilarious train wreck. I can't unsee her retelling of her rape/Trey's conception with the physical gyrations and hysterics lol. I remember people touting her Broadway background and she sure was acting to the cheap seats on camera. It was watchable in a car accident like way, but I really remember thinking it was going off the rails quickly for Ron there and it just kept going. Yes, Ron probably could have been okay with a co-writer, but I could say the same for Guza. If they had people reigning them in they could have been (more) successful. Days is so wacky on its own that I do think Ron fits better. It's more his vibe. That's not to say he does a great job, but a lot of his ideas feel like they actually could work better than they do and often shows are very watchable. They are often very unwatchable as well. I just feel like Ron comes in guns blazing and gets tired and lazy quickly which is common with soap writers. I mean, how many times can Marlena beat death or John has to fight the crazy supervillian? I just do think Ron used his best stuff immediately to save GH-and he did, but then was running on empty reusing old ideas and had no real plan for longevity.

Dang! I keep posting in the March thread lol I guess I'll paste here Given Marlena's penchant for coming back from the dead and the fact it would be really bizarre for Hattie to be in John's house in Marlena's robe, it was a little dense of Brady to think it was Hattie. But Brady is dense, so whatever. The scenes were fine, but EM was weirdly over dramatic. The Andrew/Harris scenes reminded me of how Jason Morgan would react if he got his memories back and realized he was a hired killer. I am sure that is what Ron was going for, but it's really a struggle for me to differentiate the two characters. The episode was decent. I wish Shawn was more involved in this and are Ciara and Ben gone again?

Thanks! I figured I missed something from Fridays show about that.

I can only speak for 2011 because he's also listed as HW for 2008 briefly, but I have no idea what was happening at that time. I thought it was okay after Guza. I think it was slower paced and felt temporary. I remember liking some things like the way Sonny was written, and I think he finally ended the Lisa story which is great, but I think there were a lot of things that just ended up dropped like Shawn/Carly and both Abby/Siobhan getting killed off lol. I hated the Franco/Sam/Jason honeymoon stuff, but I was interested in where he was going with Robin's HIV and Jason's illness. But then he did things like make Johnny Claudia's son which was ridiculous. I think it's just hard to say because it was so brief, but I still hear people say they enjoyed his stint. I was pretty indifferent though.

I somehow blocked out Luke's DID. That might have done it. I only said Kate/Connie because that's where I think the tide started to really turn for Ron as far as fan/critical praise. I think Ron really struggles with execution, but I see how his ideas on Days are decent in theory. I don't think his ideas toward the end of his GH run were even passable. I am not even sure Ron was ever the right fit for GH, but the beginning of his run was fantastic and exactly what GH needed to survive at the time. I agree about Guza. Guza just ran out of ideas at the end and I think botching the Brenda return was really the final nail in the coffin for him. But at least things happened and the show had excitement even if he was literally ripping off his own greatest hits at the end lol.

I have said this before, but I think Ron would have lasted longer if the Kate/Connie story was a bit more successful. That story took up so much time and was so unpopular I think that was the opening needed to can him on top of the other issues. I have yet to find a person that has a single positive thing to say about it. I know MB hated it too, but ironically, it actually made Sonny look pretty good (until he killed AJ obvs lol)

Given Marlena's penchant for coming back from the dead and the fact it would be really bizarre for Hattie to be in John's house in Marlena's robe, it was a little dense of Brady to think it was Hattie. But Brady is dense, so whatever. The scenes were fine, but EM was weirdly over dramatic. Did Kayla give a reason as to why she called Stephanie over Steve? The Andrew/Harris scenes reminded me of how Jason Morgan would react if he got his memories back and realized he was a hired killer. I am sure that is what Ron was going for, but it's really a struggle for me to differentiate the two characters. The episode was decent. I wish Shawn was more involved in this and are Ciara and Ben gone again?

Oh! Thanks! That makes much more sense lol. But John didn't even call Brady to let him know? Rude.

Hattie is back? UGH! Thanks for the warning. Marlena/Brady scenes tend to always ring false to me. I never really buy their closeness even though they should be close lol. Brady should have just been there when Belle/Eric found out. But I haven't watched today's episode yet and am dreading it now I know Hattie's on.

Thanks! I would assume the show was not planning on using JA much or at all given his health, but weren't expecting to write in his passing either. I don't really know where this story is headed, but I think it could end up being a nice tribute to Victor. Too bad Peter didn't get to see JA before he died.

Yes. When he first separated from Carly he said he was moving back into his old penthouse as in the one from the 90's and 2000's. I think it actually contradicts the fact Sonny said he sold it years ago, but it's not even attempting to be the same layout or concept. And it totally does look like a doctor's office waiting room-complete with that weird art lol. Like @Vee said, fans know these sets, make them look like they could be similar or have a door in the right place. It's not like we didn't see Sonny's penthouse for nearly every episode for 10 years or anything.

Agreed. I think it's a combo for me, but the artwork is worse than the colors. The previous version of the penthouse felt brighter with lighter decor. It could be just because it was spread out more and had a bunch of windows though. I am not sure why the show felt the need to say it was the old penthouse. It could have just been a new penthouse he rented/bought. Can't you just say congrats or nothing at all? Oh Ron......

I think Cody lives at the stables. I believe there is a small apartment in there. Or at least that's what I remember hearing when he took the job. I miss people living at Kelly's too. It was an easy way for characters to run into one another. Characters like Sasha, Chase, and Willow should have lived there when they first came to town. Sonny's penthouse set is bad. Not as an actual set, but in the fact it's supposed to be the same penthouse. It absolutely looks smaller than Sam's and they don't even look like they would be in the same building. They don't have any similar aesthetics like they did before. Is it still supposed to be across the hall from Sam/Jason's? It's also really dark. I know Sonny's a dark guy and all, but that decor is depressing.

I figured that was the most important takeaway of the episode for the majority of those on this thread😂 He's on with Hope/Harris

The hell was Bo talking about? Lol. This is a stupid plan and very unnecessary. I am sure others have asked this, but when was this filmed? After Beyond Salem 2 or more recently? Did the show think they'd be able to use John Aniston? I liked the Jarlena scenes of course. I guess they'll tell Brady later. Burn. I laughed when Megan called Hope "Frowny Face"😂 Good episode. I do think the Hope/Harris stuff is a little dull though. Nice to see Andrew. I liked the fact we are legitimately supposed to think Bo killed Kate. I keep waiting for her to pop back up. Is she just stuck on the island now?

I had to laugh a little when Alex said he had a face people liked to punch😂 So true. I freakin hate Xander and Maggie together. I know it's supposed to be a nice friendship, but Maggie likes him better than her own daughter for no real reason. Tripp was cute lol. What uber driver would drive a 7 year old to a prison and what guard would not contact her non-incarcerated parent before allowing this visit? That is actually ridiculous. That's also an exceptionally complicated plot for a child to pull off even a demon seed like Rachel. I don't care about Leo's gossip column so I don't want to give it much thought, but would the medium to large size city of Salem's residents care about this group of 20 people's petty problems? Are they important? Is Chloe Lane like a well know figure in society?