carolineg

Yeah. I am definitely not saying she's the best actress to ever be on daytime, but there was something much more subtle about her portrayal. She has some talent. I just think Drake almost de-elevated her or she just gave up because her and John ham it up all the time. And I know they are milking their fanbase with their nonsense, but DH could do a lot more. I mean I just really assume she's like [!@#$%^&*] it at this point and cashes her check.

I like Kevin/Laura. It's def not fire, hot passion, but it seems right for 2 people that have been through it with crazy love interests. I guess both characters might deserve more, but it feels like a natural evolution of the 2 characters.

I actually do get what you are saying. And a lot of times I do feel sorry for Roman. John/Marlena use the pub to make out and have sexy dinners and that's gotta still burn. I just wish Roman had more layers and JT was allowed to play some of that. I think Ned from GH was iconic and then sorta fell into 3rd tier and recurring. He wasn't Roman level, but he definitely led stories. I don't like Bo/Hope either. I find KA/Hope pretty annoying and unlikable but that's not a popular opinion. They are fine. Just not my particular favorites. I do think viewing 80's couples you see a lot of misogyny that doesn't age well.

It actually pains me to see what Roman has become. Roman is an awesome character. I get Dee and Drake have amazing chemistry and it makes Roman slightly redundant because John/Roman are basically the same character, but it's a shame. Wayne's Roman basically built the Brady family. Roman running the pub and being a talk to is such an epic failure for the character and it's NOT all JT's fault. There was just something quirky, likable, and sexy about Wayne that Josh doesn't possess. And, again, no chemistry with Marlena which should be the first thing you look for when hiring a Roman. I get he's Corday's bud and I am sure he's a really nice guy, but it such a disservice to the Roman character.

I am going to assume they dislike one another. Where there's smoke there's fire usually. I just gotta side with my girl Dee because Marlena >Carly. JT was fine as Dylan's dad. I don't think he's the worst. He was decent as Chris. I just think taking on such an iconic character and the fact he doesn't like to enunciate his words is a failure. Nothing about him has ever reminded me of Wayne's Roman. And if they were going to go all out and hire a new Roman, make sure he doesn't have anti-chemistry with Deidre Hall.

I don't want to talk about that Nicole one night stand. Everything about JT's Roman is wrong. Try to picture Wayne doing any of the things Roman has done in the last 20 years.

JT and anyone is a little gross. Especially considering how hot KA was. WN has a quirky sex appeal that could really work with Billie in my mind.

My bad. I am going to be honest I went from watching Brenda return on GH to Days after she left. It helped me get over Vanessa leaving when I heard Marlena would be back, so I missed a bit of Days. GH was always my #1 soap, but I honestly think I watch Days more now. *I have to giggle that CC was out the minute DH was back in. I still think they hate eachother from the 90's.

Yeah, my bad. I sort of conflated the two in my mind as being another Bope obstacle, but they didn't overlap.

WN/LR probably would have been amazing together. For some reason, I can see them together easily even if it would be messy with Bo/Marlena. You are probably right about Carly being gone when LR came back. I thought she was still around, but I was not an avid Days watcher at this point. It took me a long time to get over the DH's firing. I probably was more upset about it than Deidre was.

Days is so hard to find online. Unless you are looking for specific characters (John/Marlena seem to have to most complete set of vids) you can't find anything. LR's Billie's return was a bust. It's like the show wanted to capitalize on LR's housewife fame, but had no idea what to do with her. I can't remember a single story, but I want to say the show was very Carly focused at the time and at the end of the day Carly/Billie do fill similar roles on the show. Greg Vaughn is an interesting case. He's handsome, capable, and likable, but he doesn't seem to inspire writers. He's played iconic roles and no writer seems to want to do anything with him. ETA-I hate Carly Manning. I have never known why she or CC were a thing. If there are any Carly lovers out there-explain it to me.

I feel like Eric was always the forgotten twin. Honestly still to this day. Sami is just SO MUCH and Eric tends to be an afterthought (which is obvious since it took the show years to age him). JA was a find and he was wasted his entire run. I don't think the show ever had a clear idea for Eric. Early Nicole was a snooze. Kudos to AZ for making a nothing character work. Nicole being a leading heroine in 2022 certainly wasn't on my bingo card in 1998 lol. Bo is a really great character. He's one of the few characters from a supercouple to make other pairings work. Marlena obviously would be the other one. I think all Bo's pairings (Carly, Billie) had followings. Billie was such a cool, unique character. It's a shame she is pretty much known for just hanging around Bo, waiting for his crumbs. I thought KA was okay as Billie. She certainly was more sexy and a little porny, but it was the writing, not the actress that failed. I thought LR was great in Beyond Salem. It took about 5 seconds for me to be like-the real Billie is back. There really is no other Billie. I know people rag on Lisa Rinna for all the right reasons, but she really does have a certain charisma that lights up the screen.

Frankie was always my thought too for Billie! Shame they never tried that. I remember thinking JA's Eric and KA's Billie had chemistry. I feel like JA's Eric was mostly wasted as well. Considering how iconic his character should be he never did much. See, I liked their breakup. Billie left with her dignity intact. It was coming crawling back to Bo time and time again that hurt the character.

Sorry! I wasn't personally trying to diminish your point, which is valid. I just think @Khan and I were saying we thought PC was a larger town. Anyhow, Lol! at Joss being a mini beast. I don't even think Joss is that annoying just very, very boring. She literally has the worst characteristics of Jax/Carly and that's saying a lot. I just don't feel bad for her. If it happened to me, sure, it would be awful. But her crying about it is lame. I would rather she owns it and starts selling those tapes herself for profit. Joss has been through a ton in her lifetime. This feels like small potatoes compared to half the things that have happened to her.

I honestly would say this is Dee's best work (I do want to make a plastic surgery joke here but will refrain). The aftermath was chilling and her breaking down on the stand telling Don she was raped is probably the best Marlena scene ever as far as acting. My love for Marlena rivals my love for Brenda Barrett, but I do think at times Dee was underrated. I think her OTT portrayal of Marlena in the last 25 years underscores the fact she does have actual ability.

I am not sure if it made the most sense for Hope to be a cop, but she showed a desire to be one early on. I definitely don't think she should have been the head of police, but I thought the overall idea of Hope as a cop worked. Obviously, KA is beautiful, but it never made sense for her to be a supermodel. I think the show was just jumping on that 90's train were 1 character had to be a model on the show. My point with Billie was she showed a lot of passion for her cosmetics work. She had that little kiosk in the town square to sell the face cream she made and was so excited when Alice gave her money. There was never a clear trajectory for her to become a cop after she built Countess Willemia from scratch(I have no idea how to spell this so bare with me lol). I didn't mind Billie as a slinky spy in Beyond Salem, but it doesn't seem like the most natural progression for the character. It's not Carrie changing careers 1000 times, but it just feels 'weird' for Billie, who I think it's just naturally more glamourous and into fashion and cosmetics.

I didn't mean it that way? 99% of the women on soaps are beautiful. Hope is a cop and stunning, but it worked for her character fine. Billie played by LR invented cosmetics. That was her passion. It's weird she changed careers so wildly and the show stuck her in an awful, unflattering uniform. I am not saying every woman on soaps should do fashion or sit at home waiting for her prince charming lol, but it makes no sense with what we knew about Billie. Just my opinion. YMMV.🤷‍♀️

Outside of being a rapist, Luke wasn't hot. TG is great. Luke is iconic. But Kin Shriner is so much hotter and also an obvious choice on paper. A fairly nice, handsome young lawyer that loves you or a man that raped you and works for the disco/mob. I know in GH land mobsters are hot, but Laura is kind of dumb on that.

It is so weird that Dougie was never brought back. It's Hope's brother. It's not like story wouldn't be there. I always thought it was weird they never brought Julie's brother Steve back either. The show was always oddly dropping the ball on Hortons, but found dead Georgia suitable to bring back lol (I like Chelsea, but really?)

You know Albany does sound about right actually. I think any vaguely populated upstate New York town works. It's not like Lake Placid, but Albany, Rochester, Buffalo all fit the bill. I don't think it's like Salem USA that grew into a more "populated" town throughout the years. I always thought PC was a medium sized city.

If the show didn't actively name check Rochester I would have assumed that's basically what Port Charles was. I don't get small town vibes from it at all just due to the major hospitals, airports, college, trade, etc. they have there.

She was just weirdly boxed in with Bo as his other love. The show was able to transition Kristen elsewhere, so I am not sure why they couldn't do it with Billie. I guess they did have a sizable fanbase and she was always used as a foil for Bo/Hope. The writers just never got Billie after LR's initial run.

LR was fabulous as Billie, but I don't think anyone could make her stay. She was super popular. She beat my queen Vanessa for best newcomer at the SOD awards. She clearly had other offers and if we have learned anything from RHOBH, Lisa Rinna hustles lol. It's weird they kept trying to pair Billie with other halves of supercouples like Roman, Patch, even vaguely Jack. KA got that hottie VW as Nicki Alamain, but shared him with Kate and slept with her daughters boyfriend lol. I just don't think they ever gave Billie a fair shot with a viable love interest, but it may have been more a recast issue than a Billie issue.

Yes! It worked well with the Hattie story. Andrea Hall is less refined than Deidre in mannerisms and as I think @beebs pointed out, she can't really act and misses her lines constantly. It worked for that story and it's a shame it went nowhere because it had potential. I thought RKK's Bo and LR's Billie were fire. Loved them (secretly more than Bo/Hope, but I don't like Hope that much). It's weird they really never tried Billie with anyone else.

🤣She's fake killing Tony/Andre here. Although I do think Marlena is awesome enough to perform her own botox on herself. They look like siblings not even twins. And they don't even have the same mannerisms. Like someone pointed out, their voices are different and it's true. Don's an idiot.