j swift

I just read the excellent recap of August 1989, and I couldn't help but feel that Millee Taggart & Tom King sacrificed Alex to prop up their creation of Clay. First of all, what is Alex doing in a Tempest vs. Amourelle business story? When he was first introduced, it was established that he wasn't very good at management, which was one of the signs that he was pretending to be Clay. So, why is he still in a business rivalry story two years later? Second, the writers contrast Alex as a paragon of virtue against Clay as morally ambiguous to explain Ava's attraction to Clay. Kate is defending Alex, the police allow him to kidnap his child, and he is trying to expose Clay. But Alex is the more morally ambiguous guy. Clay is just butt hurt that his family liked his imposter better than him. Meanwhile, Alex is an international spy willing to abandon his wife to hoodwink a wealthy family and manipulate their generosity. The contrast between Clay and Alex is an inspired and groundbreaking approach to a soap story. But Clay goes down in history as a character who changed his motives and intentions with every re-write and recast. Meanwhile, the character of Alex is poorly developed from a man of mystery to the most boring of all soap jobs; chief of police. I will never understand why Port Charles, Salem, and Corinth citizens were willing to employ ex-spies who were once suspected of treason as the head of their law enforcement agencies.

Perhaps to @MichaelGL's point, I don't think enough has been done to develop Stefan's character traits or motives to differentiate him from EJ, Jake, or even Alex. Is he a playboy, or is he looking for commitment? Is he like Vivian and obsessed with revenge coupled with a bit of humor? How does he feel about having no history with his family? He needs a buddy (like how they use Eric and Brady) to help flesh out the character rather than relying on the actor's charisma. That being said, I enjoy the dynamic between Anna and Nicole. She's like the mother she never had (on-screen). This team excels at writing friendship scenes (Eric and Brady, Xander and Chloe, and Leo and Gwen) over romance.

For the sake of discussion, how is the Talia and Chanel story offensive, but Gabi leading on Li Shin (or the millions of other golddigger plots in DAYS history) went without comment? I'm not implying that two wrongs make a right, but soaps have a long history of vixens using their sexual wiles to get what they want. I fail to see why the specifics of this relationship are any different. I think there is something progressive about adapting soap opera troupes to characters with more fluid sexuality. I see Talia telegraphing her ambivalence at manipulating Chanel as a means to rehabilitate the character in the future when Colin is inevitably punished for his evil deeds. I don't think the idea is groundbreaking or even that intriguing, but I also don't think it disrespects the LGBTQIA audience. Personally, it would be more offensive if Talia identified as bisexual and they used her intimacy with Chanel and Colin to imply that she could not commit to an exclusive relationship.

If there's a lesson to be learned from Trump's performance tonight it is that we would all be better served by refraining ourselves from name calling and try to express our opinions in first person personal in order to preserve a civil discourse.

To those who are confused about being gullible https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/07/25/rupert-murdoch-donald-trump-splitsville-00047748 https://thespectator.com/topic/why-murdoch-dumped-trump/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/dumping-donald-trump-is-just-the-start-of-rupert-murdochs-ugly-new-era

I thought Murdoch wasn't going to support Trump anymore, but good ol' Page Six came out with this headline the day after he was found guilty of harassment Melania is now fully on board with the campaign, after his daughter Ivanka Trump stepped back from the spotlight, and she wants to serve as first lady again. A source told Page Six that Trump is “really beaming next to Melania.” Mar-a-Lago is apparently abuzz that “the couple seems . . . more bonded than ever. Friends say that Melania’s stepping up — while Ivanka and Jared [Kushner] have stepped aside — has made [Trump] more confident than ever.”

To be fair, she bought the company so that she could control Mandy and get revenge on JR; she wasn't really interested in whatever Victoria's Secret may have been

Marcus Aurelius would have been a little "on the nose" given that his brother was named Roman, But, somewhere along the way they would've needed to explain why this Irish family named their sons after leaders of the Roman Empire. And if Caroline had named him Pericles, his Greek origin would've been too obvious.

The last time I bought SOD was in November 2022, on iTunes, to read on a plane. It was shockingly $4.99. I remember when the cover advertised that it was 99 cents. It was less than 30 pages. But it still had ads for those creepy lifelike baby dolls and vinyl handbags with tons of pockets; some things never change. I get my groceries delivered, so I don't see it in the supermarket anymore as an impulse buy. To @Errol's point it is remarkable that the websites are profitable enough to maintain them both. It must be costly because they employ separate writers and photo editors. IIRC, 30 years ago, when News Corp owned SOD and SOW they shared resources, like Carolyn Hinsey who wrote for both magazines. I hadn't considered that Soaps in Depth still had an internet presence until I read about it here.

There must be some logical reason why Bobby or Pam were dreaming about Donna Reed and Barbara Carrera.

Meanwhile, Never Say Never Again was playing on television in his hospital room, which explains why Bobby was dreaming about Barbara Carrera...

I like the prop that they used to hold the pathogen. Having a tangible item for an abstract concept made it much more dramatic. But, in the end, was the Ice Princess a critical factor in the plot? I know it had the coordinates, but everyone seemed to find the bunker with or without the diamonds. Mikos didn't reuse his password (ice princess is more than 8 characters, but it didn't contain a special symbol or a number). And I have no idea who has it now... To reiterate an earlier point, I dislike that we have two melodramatic plots involving the real illnesses affecting Willow and Gregory and this sci-fi plot with Valentin at the same time. It is a lot to ask the audience to suspend their disbelief that an antidote for a global pathogen can be magically produced by a single person in a 40-year-old bunker in Greenland, but they can't use the same magic to cure Willow and Gregory

The tradition of multiple soap endings seems more likely to be a PR stunt than an actual production choice once we break down the suspects. Just like when Dallas filmed every character pulling the trigger on JR, even though some would never be the shooter. It would have been odd if Cole did it, given that he was a red herring Chao-Li was never going to get such a significant role in the plot. Alternately, Angela, Lance, and Melissa were too big to be written into a corner like that. Richard's dialogue sounds uncharacteristic, and it seems like he is defending his father as a Nazi. Phillip and Diana were plausible suspects, as they weren't the main characters, but it would be a lot to believe that either of them would murder someone for the one that they loved. I recall being surprised at the reveal but going to the trouble of filming alternate endings seems superfluous. Also, concerning Lana Turner and Jane Wyman, the misogyny of primetime soaps dictates that only one woman of a particular age was allowed to be an antagonist. Dynasty had Joan Collins and Diahann Carroll, but arguably Dominique was a supporting character. So, even if Lana and Jane were best buddies, there was only room for one bitch in the Tuscany Valley.

Can someone jog my memory? Wasn't there a well-regarded set of scenes between Lucinda and Holden toward the end of his memory loss where they were locked in a wine cellar?

It is a red flag whenever an adult character's paternity changes more than once. Why is Victor so upset about Valentin's betrayal? They just met each other recently, and both are grown men who've lived entire lives before they knew they were related. I would bet that Victor knew Tiffany Hill longer than he's known Valentin, and he doesn't seem to carry a grudge against her. Also, not too long ago, the Cassadines were losing money, so Nikolas had to marry a rich girl, and they just lost Spoon Island to Ava in the divorce settlement. How can they afford to fund their army of henchmen in multiple countries? Their hideout, tech, and yacht may be old, but they have massive overhead when it comes to staffing. I guess the only excuse I would accept about the whole tale that Helena told of Valentin being the most dangerous Cassadine is that it was crafted by a writing staff that has been replaced at least twice since then (and wasn't Valentin already cast to be played someone else at the time?) Finally, after the recent interview in The Hollywood Reporter, I no longer expected Tony to appear. It was evident from their answers that he was not on set. If they wanted to keep his return a secret, they would have omitted the question rather than lie in an article to the non-soap press.

And why would the casting director be responsible for informing her of the producer's decision?

I gotta say GH does sweeps like no other soap on-air, but the in-between time is not always great.

It will be fun to see what they reference in the script as Marlena's 5,000th (given that they won't be self-referential to her number of episodes). Certainly not her 5,000th client or 5,000th day of marriage. Maybe they'll celebrate her 5,000th pant suit?

I think it doesn't help the cause that we hardly ever see them in the workplace. Show us, don't tell us, how EJ treats his employees. Is Stefan good at negotiation? Or, at the most basic, how does their company make money? On a similar note, I think they've dropped the ball on having Maggie as the CEO of Kiriakis. Yes, her interplay with Xander and Alex is an interesting source of conflict. However, I want to know how Maggie deals with Victor's prior more nefarious business endeavors. They mentioned the prisms three weeks ago, and now seem to have completely forgotten about their importance. Does Maggie know that her company is funding medical research in Greece? I'd like to see Maggie struggle with the ethical issues at Kiriakis and then use Xander and Alex to help decide how to keep the company on the straight and narrow.

Los Angeles General Medical Center will recognize our storied past while also launching us into a very bright future.” In the motion, Solis cited widespread confusion between County-USC and “the nearby Keck Hospital of USC.” She said research indicated “there is no consistent name or brand” by which the general public or even the patients and staff know the establishment, which was long known simply as General Hospital. Its image is still used in exterior shots for the long-running TV soap opera of that name.

What were the circumstances that led to a live broadcast (or does the YT title suggest that the episode is intact as it was first shown on TV)? I hope those the same demons who struck SFT forcing them to go live didn't make their way over to Corinth.

Just for the sake of discussion, (and not to be confused with defending the story), it would be odd if every young woman that Chanel meets is sexually fluid. I didn't see it as Talia being disgusted with the idea of a kiss, I thought she is hesitant to manipulate Chanel in order to please Colin. I interpreted her hesitation as some degree of apprehension which will be used to rehabilitate the character. I'm actually a bit more offended on behalf of Jada who is not only being sexually harassed by her boss (hyperbole), but also nobody is giving her credit for cracking the case so quickly. Left to his own devices, Rafe would still be staring at some bulletin board with Sloan's picture on it in July without a single clue.

I think it is an odd juxtaposition between sci-fi and melodrama because we've got Obrecht manufacturing the antidote for a global pathogen in a 40-year-old lab in Greenland, but she can't save her niece who is dying in Port Charles. They've created a universe where a surgeon can magically become a medical scientist but her powers are restricted to pandemics and not cancer. Given that the two stories co-occur within the same episode it is hard not to see the parallels in reality. Are we supposed to feel bad because Willow is dying or because she doesn't have a megalomaniacal uncle to kidnap people and force them to make a cure?

Yes, but I guess my point is that, unlike on Corrie, authenticity was not valued as much as being au courant in the AW costume department. It's not meant as a criticism, Margarita Delgado was the costume designer for AW from 1985 to 1994. She was fired by JFP and then worked for AMC and ATWT and won many Emmy Awards. But, if you Google her then you can definitely see a lot of her personal style influence on the women of Bay City.

Sharlene is perhaps the perfect example of this idea of a Mid-Western mom as styled by a Manhattan costume designer. Yes, she was re-introduced in 1988 wearing very little makeup and jeans. But, look at the accent on those buff shoulders, the immaculately plucked brows, and that blond hair; that color doesn't come from a box. And later look at this haircut, it is very sophisticated. It is meant to convey her independence and social mobility, yet it pings as inauthentic for both the setting and character history Now, am I saying that people in the Midwest aren't chic? Of course not. But, it is undeniable that female characters on East Coast soaps (regardless of class) looked like they were dressed and styled in New York. I don't mean it was expensive, but they look intentionally fashionable which seems inherent to New York street style. Older women like Ada, Beatrice, and Liz wore gabardine slacks and silk blouses that were obviously purchased at upscale boutiques. I recently saw an episode of Aunt Liz talking to Sally while wearing Chanel earrings, and I don't know many matronly receptionists who shopped on Madison Ave. And Ada wearing pants so often in the 70s seemed out of place for a grandmother, unless they were living in the East Village. Even Clarice and Lily were tacky but in a decidedly urbane way while wearing outfits with feathers and hats. Furthermore, I would cite Matt Cory. Yes, he was wealthy, artistic, and a world traveler but that slicked-back ponytail was way too edgy for Bay City and his coordinated high school clothes were hip-hop-influenced preppy that, to me, scream Manhattan in the early 90s (he'd make a fortune reselling that on Grailed today). Obviously, all tv shows are costumed, but it has always stuck out to me how Another World was heavily influenced by New York retail.