j swift

I've been thinking about the lack of admission of guilt in the Dominion case and I've come to agree with their decision on a couple of levels. A. Even if Dominion approved of the wording, we all know that the delivery would be weak. B. Because Fox News won't cover it, audiences are forced to watch other channels, thus lowering Fox's ratings which is the true punishment. C. There's no way that Fox News wouldn't frame itself as the victim of another entity trying to impinge on its first amendment rights. D. Fox News admitting that they lied in order to pander to their audience will do nothing to sway their support because they still push the bigger lie that culture war issues matter more than civil rights. So, I think the admission of guilt is best left to MSNBC, CNN, and NYT in their scathing critiques of Fox management.

Well, the Post is trying it this week. They've chosen to highlight negative Twitter responses to her pairing with Mark for two days in a row (promulgating the fictional idea that Twitter has ever been an accurate gauge of mainstream audience response). Including, a totally erroneous headline about Mark responding to the "backlash" which was really an EW interview about how much he enjoyed his first day on air.

As a sporadic viewer, Valentine's character development is bizarre to me. We got that scene of Nina and Valentine checking in at the hospital. She's saying how things were rough with Willow but she's hopeful, and he's looking supportive, but the whole time I'm thinking, isn't this the guy who hired Sasha to pretend to be her daughter? He was a reprehensible madman who shot Nikolas in cold blood, and now he's a romantic hero? Wasn't it just a year ago that Brook Lynn was involved in a baby switch story partially motivated by her dislike of Valentine? Now, I enjoy the chemistry between the actors who play Valentine and Anna, and I think he's a huge bowl of charisma, but I seem to have missed any redemptive arc that would explain why Nina would want to reminisce with him in the hallway. Sidenote: whether or not it was deliberate, I enjoyed the symbolism of Tracey, Holly, and Felicia as the respective white, red, and black queens from Alice in Wonderland saving Ethan from having his head chopped off.

According to the Times it is one of the largest defamation settlements in history. I'm just glad it means the end to Giuliani's career as a political commentator. But, as always, it was never about informing the masses, or advancing a political cause, it was just about ratings

Also, where's the logic in Harris's lie? Bo said that he doesn't want to reunite with Hope, so if Harris was insecure about their bond, wouldn't it be in his best interest for Bo to reject Hope so that she'll come running back to him? I'm certain none of this will matter after tomorrow's episode. But if we're getting a character's return, I'd like to be able to appreciate all of the things that made me a fan of them in the first place.

My second soap pet peeve happened in today's episode. Hope is a cop, trained in interrogation. But, when she asks Harris what's wrong and he pauses long enough to have a flashback of an entire scene, which is the most obvious tell in the world, she accepts his lie without question. So, not only is she too stupid to insist that Harris (who was brainwashed until last week) stick by her side, (you only need to watch one episode of Law & Order to know that a cop always needs backup) but now she can't see through his lies - Hope should not be written as an imbecile. Only on soaps do they rely on these juvenile tricks to demonstrate to the audience that someone is lying, yet nobody in the scene notices. The classic is when two characters embrace, and the camera lingers on one of them with a cynically raised eyebrow. It is so dumb.

Oh good, I like them together

Has Ava had a scene with Austin since the day after Nikolas died? It feels like that relationship was the focus of February sweeps, but now it has been forgotten. It totally neuters the potential evil of Austin's cousin if he's only a threat every two months. I get that Victor's story is the central drama, but there are a lot of loose threads. Including why/where Blaze stayed in town after the ball, but nobody checked in on her.

so good, thanks

I don't recall if Holly and Felicia have ever been on an adventure together. I know Luke returned briefly for the culmination of the Aztec Jewels storyline when Felicia was first introduced, but by then he had reunited with Laura. Anna and Felicia were close when Frisco worked at the PCPD. And Felicia has shared adventures with Lucy when they are paired with Mac and Kevin respectively. But, can anyone fill me in if Holly and Felicia shared any significant interactions prior to this plot?

I'm on the other side of the fence about Nathan Parsons (he looked eternally in need of a bath and his accent work was not good). But, there is something very Ali-McGraw-in-Love-Story that the actress who plays Willow is so beautiful that the only way that they can visually indicate that she's sick is by having her wear a blanket in every episode.

I wasn't a fan of the character, backstory, or portrayal of Ethan, but I can always be swayed by a man with blond curly hair, so hope springs eternal.

Not to mention Wes Parmalee. I mean how many imposters could one family take?

That actually makes sense - thanks

I was just reminded on Twitter that this is his penultimate week (4/17-4/20). I recall that there was a report that CBS was going to replace him with a revival of @midnight, but I haven't heard anything since then. Does anyone have info on what will be in that slot three weeks from now? BTW - this is totally just an inquiry, I haven't watched late-night network TV regularly since Letterman ended.

A couple more lingering thoughts about today's episode. I like John talking to Brady about Rachel because John has a better rapport with Rachel and can help modify her behavior. But, I still wish John would reflect on his difficulties in raising Sami to help give Brady some perspective (alternatively it would nice to hear Brady reflect on what he learned from his difficulties accepting Marlena as a stepmother, I'm certain he wasn't her favorite after he threatened Belle with getting run over by a train or whatever he did back then). For a writing staff that is so beholden to the past, this feels like a missed opportunity. Just like it would be fun to explore how Brady's parenting style reflects some of the poor choices that he's made with women in his past (although it is admittedly bizarre to wish for character development on a soap that deals with age reversal serums and magic biscuits). As for the Alex/Marlena scenes, I can't help but be a little excited at how Marlena's relationship with Alex will affect her relationship with Maggie, given the rumors of behind-the-scenes drama between the two actors. It feels like DAYS is trying to recapture the dynamic that Marlena had with Will. But, he is her grandson, not a client, so it can't really be duplicated. I totally don't understand the gunshot/wine fake-out. Are we meant to think that Bo shot his gun and threw wine at the same time, that seems difficult? Or, in Greece does throwing wine sound the same as a gunshot?

I will withhold judgment on the Alex/Marlena relationship until they have more than one episode together (although she is terrible with confidentiality which is considered the cornerstone of the therapeutic relationship). I like the Steve/Bo interactions and how they evoke memories of their friendship/rivalry. It made me realize that since their initial time on the show, they've been like two ships passing in the night where one would return while the other was off-screen. So, it is fun to watch them act together again. The John/Brady scene represents my pet peeve about DAYS scripts. Much like the Stephanie/Tripp scene last week, it involves two people talking about a crisis, but as soon as they are done, they begin talking about their romantic status. It's like "my stepmom just returned from the dead (for the umpteenth time) and half of the town was just drugged by a biscuit, but what really bugs me is if I should kiss this girl that I knew in high school." The tone is just weird.

It would be awesome if Megan and Kristen exploit the EJ versus Stefan rivalry to gain control of the Dimera fortune. I wouldn't mind whatever silly idea would get them out of prison in order to see the interplay of those four characters (ok, I would mind it if they repeated that idiotic thing where everyone was just pardoned without consequence, but if it was clever I would approve).

Talia seems to have synthesized a drug that makes women horny and men hallucinate. I hope she gives Rolf a run for his money in the laboratory sciences. This makes me wonder, have we ever seen Kayla in a lab? Was there ever a story where she had to concoct some kind of antidote? Because if Talia is making LSD in a one-bedroom apartment, maybe Bo should've kidnapped her. Lastly, is it possible that the Beyond Salem crew is similar to us because they also don't seem to know what the Dimera and Kirakis family businesses produce? Rolf worked for Dimera in creating the youth serum, but now Bo wants to steal it for Kirakis, but do Maggie and Xander even know that their company manufactures pharmaceuticals? I think there's some irony, given the number of prescription drug ads on daytime, that they're even playing with this idea.

I'm interested in how few people watch Live's YT clips. It could be a function that 64% of the audience is over 35. But, Sherri and Jennifer Hudson's clips get more viewers every day, by a wide margin. Here's Wednesday's most watching Live clip Sherri had 16 times more views And J Hud got 20 x's more views The celebs were equally famous, and their stories were equally banal, so they were not driving views. But, it is interesting to see how a low-rated show could still make some revenue from YouTube. Even today's goodbye to Ryan clip got 20% fewer views than the Nikki Bella clip on J Hud.

To be honest I snoozed on Sloan's details about her parents, but was one of them a doctor? And thus could they have been involved in whatever forced Talia to leave the profession which might explain her motives? She seems to be setting up Sloan, but perhaps they are working together.

Today's episode was a clear example of the dynamic between ideas and execution. The twist resolves a lot of the initial questions about Talia's motives to work in a bakery given her history as a doctor. However, the puking, the revealing costumes, and the lack of insight of any of the characters (including those that had drunk drugged cocktails within the past month) was absurd.

There's something super love bomb-ish about Ridge's treatment of Taylor in this classic episode. But, what I really wanted to highlight is the overhead shot at the beginning of the episode and how it mirrors the overhead shot of Ridge & Taylor on the beach. Current episodes never play with perspective in this "arty" way, even though it was fun and creative.

Just being careful and respectful But, I have been wondering how many actual taping days it took to produce 15 episodes? It seems like very few days, but they change sets frequently, so I wonder if that took more time?

At least with Eric and Sloan we got some character development that explained their attraction. It has been made clear that they use each other as a distraction, guilt-free, but there's a hint that they would each like a bit more of a commitment. Jada and Rafe's attraction seems purely based on proximity. There has been zero time spent discussing what they have in common (besides being cops). I have no idea why she moved on so quickly after Eric. They seem like a rebound couple without any long-term prospects. Also, the dialogue is offensively bad. What lady of Chanel's age and upbringing uses the phrase "slap yo' momma good"? And, although it is the least of my criticism, what bakery leaves biscuit dough, at room temperature, in the kitchen overnight?