j swift

Once again my criticism of the RC mysteries remains the same. Nobody seems to be actively investigating the murder and gathering clues. Poor Chad's got to run a company, raise two little kids, and solve his wife's murder at the same time. Events just happen, nobody is actively engaging in debating theories about the murder, or gathering evidence. We just wait for characters to tell each other their secrets. That's not how Jessica Fletcher solved a case. It goes back to my idea that part of the animus that Ron faces from fans is that he is always trying to trick us with red herrings and out of the blue motives rather than creating a plot that is well paced to keep us intrigued.

It also doesn't help that they are nostalgic for a very specific period of DAYS history; which was arguably not its best. They tend to like the supercouple era as opposed to the more melodramatic stories by Bill Bell. We get all of the 1980s references of Renee and Megan, but I would bet we'll never see a salute to Linda Phillips, Susan Martin, or Amanda Howard. For lack of a better term, it feels masturbatory to write fan fiction based mostly of work created by Thom Racina, without any modern take on the stories. I mean how would a modern character feel about her father having kids with dozens of different women, without supporting them or helping with childcare? And how would a contemporary person react to their father's will that demanded that they be married and have a child in order to gain an inheritance? Just resurrecting people for the purpose of seeming clever is not good writing, if they have no creative purpose to exist in 2022. To me the webisodes bring back memories of the primetime movies that DAYS and AW produced to coincide with the summer daytime award shows, but very little of that period is ever referenced.

While Chris now runs a chain of gyms, let's please never forget Shenanigans and its infamous backroom/basement. IIRC it was once home base for both Nick Correli and The Pawn/Roman/John.

I know people get defensive about collegiate snobbery, but it is hard not to notice the effect of education (and gender) on opinions about Trump from today's NYT polling when almost twice as many people who didn't complete a university degree still believe Trump's big lie.

I am always pleased that we can at least point to the diversity of modern casting as progress over the portrayal of Tonio Reyes, Sierra Estaban, Felicia Cummings (the Aztec Princess), and Paulina Cantrell (daughter of Maria Hernandez DeSilva) all by white (mostly blond) actors.

I think it's a classic example of "good pitch, poor execution". Of course, Vicky would be conflicted about Michael versus Reginald as a father figure. Reginald promised unconstrained access to everything she missed growing up, while Michael was not consistently available. It grounded and propelled the Michael v. Reginald feud, without relying on the destruction of the character of Donna. I mean, if the recast was popular, most of the victimization of Donna by Reg could have been given to Vicky, and the resolution would have been the start of their closer maternal bond. But, then you add the murky retcon of John and Donna's sexual past, an unpopular recast, and writing that failed to mine the depth of Vicky's psyche and the whole plot just comes off as a mess. And, while I find Larry Lau a capable soap actor, I hated the direction of Jamie under his portrayal. Prior iterations of Jamie were so much more like Rachel, a little f-ed up, prone to jealousy, and more emotionally than intellectually driven. Imagine if Jamie, who was envious of Sandy's paternal relationship with Mac's was paired with Vicky who coveted Marley's relationship with Donna. Now that's a dynamic duo! I always prefer a pair of damaged souls to a bad girl trying to dupe a bland romantic hero.

It just feels like such a cruel use of "culture wars" to distract from the congressional hearings, in order to not have the people who were so easily mislead by conservative social media for the past decade realize how often they've been conned into voting against their own civil and economic interests.

Did they ever reference Amanda's mother again after Models Inc? IIRC, there was scene where Amanda told her mother never to contact her again, which explained their lack on interaction between the two shows. But, I stopped watching before the final seasons when they derived stories from Amanda's youth, so I was wondering if they talked about her Mom?

To be fair it is also his wedding suit (despite being very ill-fitted in the crotch).

Speaking of odd language, can the Jan 6 committee (and all government entities) stop using the term "gentlewoman"? Given that it is derived from gentleman it doesn't make it seem as politically correct as intended. Perhaps they could just refer to all members as the "elected official" from where ever? It has the same number of syllables and it is much more gender neutral.

Today we learned Trump is calling witness (probably Pat Cipollone) directly to intimidate them into lying to congress. Even Stefano Dimera had henchmen to do his bidding... Also, Pat Cipollone has 12 kids and helped convert Laura Ingraham to Catholicism

In retrospect, I wonder about the creative choice to make Winter go mad? It has been said that EON had a tradition that justice would always be served, so I guess Winter could not have maintained a life in Montecello and a relationship with Logan, if she was a murderer. However, the madness absolves her from any malice in the killing of Wade. Winter was not a cunning woman who plotted to murder Wade in order to get away from his constant threats, nor did she act in self-defense fearing a physical threat from Wade. Yet, as I recall, there was no foreshadowing to her decent into madness during the trial, nor was there any obvious indication that she was lying. So, I guess, given the times, madness was the only acceptable excuse. It also makes Logan's closing theory about the fur collar in the videotape a very lucky observation, because the witness testimony from Wade's nosy neighbors was hardly the only evidence that Mike and Draper had against Winter.

Eberhardt was a character in 1995, (after SFT) she was a hitwoman hired to threaten Jake over his gambling debts. Jake got amnesia while capturing Bunny, which is when he was thought to be dead, and he returned to Bay City in drag as Bunny in order to sort things out. However, by the time he recovered Paulina had moved on for good with Joe. from AWHP http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com EBERHARDT, BUNNY Marcia McCabe, January 19, 1995 - February 22, 1995; April 18, 1995; August 2, 1995. Hit woman. In jail. IIRC, this plot and the earlier Who shot Jake? plot were both planned around the actor's contract negotiations when there were rumors that he may not return to the show. Bunny and Cass as Krystal Lake were very similar plotlines of straight guys being "forced" into drag to escape the mob, who were somehow too stupid to see through their disguise.

Wait, are we forgetting that there was a reboot in 2009 right around the time of the 90210 reboot?

I think it is a cute nod to the idea that Eileen plays Kristen on the webisodes, but not on the flagship. It assumes that the audience is savvy enough to know the difference. However, as for the character of Chris, it seems a shame that a guy who was once both an attorney and an alternative fuel inventor now works at the front desk of his gym. I hope he'll own a chain of gyms and he's doing an undercover boss thing.

In 1999 Wlcek starred in the Walker Texas Ranger spinoff Sons of Thunder. To your point @danfling it was not a big success, and was cancelled after one season, but the entire network series was based around his character.

I wonder if due to the budget they had to cut the scene right before this one where the entire party went to Target to buy their pride gear? Or are rainbow tank tops like tuxedos, every guy in a soap town owns one regardless of wealth or status?

In retrospect, It would be fun to see if Ellen's Marley became more mannered and high pitched once the idea of Vicky was proposed. The change in vocal tone between the twins always reminds me of this classic scene.

It is undoubtedly part of deal, but also IIRC, she has had to change lawyers because the original crew all quit, and finally, it is not unusual to cop a plea just prior to the hearing because frequently the prosecution will drag their heels, or be preoccupied with other cases, until the date of trial.

I completely agree. Not only were there times when Rachel was sidelined, such as when Sally became the romantic lead, or during the emergence of the Loves, but even in her heyday she was most popular in an ensemble story. The Rachel/Steve(n)/Alice triangle involved the entire Matthews family and the Rachel/Mac romance was notable for the utilizing complex female counterparts like Cecile, Blaine, and Iris who could each be considered leading characters.

I'm a fan of Ryan and the way she reinvigorated the character of Jack. Although Rick's exit story to go to RADA was ridiculous, I liked the contemporary nature of Chaz as an ambitious yuppie. But, it is hard not to remember her time as a young adult without thinking of the unwelcome additions to Johnno's storyline of Lizzie and Nancy Don. IMHO, Lizzie was one of the least appealing heroines in the history of daytime. To this day, I still can't understand what Johnno's motivations were in that plot. Was he a philandering jerk? Was he seeking stability? The fact that he was sacrificed as a hero in order to prop up Ben was a shame. I would predict that if RH had continued they would have recast Johnno, and much like Frank, eventually found someone more charismatic, with more audience appeal, for the part.

I've been thinking about @watson71's comment that Paulina should have been Nancy, and while I think Cali Timmons was best suited as Paulina, I agree that Judy Evans would've served the story better as Nancy, and Paulina could've just exited as being convicted for shooting Jake. On a similar note, there is such a difference in characterization between this Vicky and this Vicky that I wonder if Jensen should have been cast as Nicole rather than Victoria? Before she went off to prison, Nicole was a romantic heroine, and more likely to be chosen as a potential political partner. Does anyone recall the trivia that Lauri Landry's Nicole left Bay City to explore med school options? Yes, Nicole was a high fashion model/coke addict/designer/potential med student. It's a stretch but it would have tied Nicole to Grant's early medical issues in way that never seemed logically justified between Vicky and Grant. @OzFrog retweet amazed me that the reveal of that story didn't happen during sweeps, and made me wonder if the original plan for Marley was always for her to be a twin? Certainly there were a lot of early clues that she was Donna's daughter from the time of her introduction. Within Marley's first month on screen a drunk Peter says that one of the Love kids is illegitimate. The David Thatcher/Royal Dunning murders were obviously written with the revelation in mind. However, Ellen's very mannered portrayal of Marley also seemed to foreshadow an "evil twin" plot. I am terrible at tracking writers, but I think Marley was introduced by a different writer than the one who wrote Vicky's introductory plotline. Yet, I can't help but wonder if those were acting choices or writing choices that lead to such a distinct difference in the portrayal of each twin. Finally, with regard to @watson71's reply about Pamela Davis. It is a shame that they never revisited the character, because she was poorly fleshed out in her original incarnation, and was therefore just a Rachel wannabe on a riverboat in Somerset. But, there are such interesting contrasts that Rachel was a woman who craved male attention while raised by her loving mother and absent father, while Pammy was a woman who craved male attention due to inconsistent boundaries set by her neer-do-well father. The differences in their origins could have made for fun conflicts between the two sisters, especially if they were in a love triangle with Carl. For the hat trick, perhaps Carmen should have been Pam rather than Iris?

Noella, Kelly Dodd, and Cindy Barshop are all examples that you can't have a housewife with no friends or alliances on the show; except for Kenya

It's one of the soapist troupes to have characters casually talk to the 8X10 headshot of their loved ones. How'd they get the photo? When it was posed for? Who knows? But, they've always got one lying around the house.

According to this summary, Shane only got rid of one of the three prisms when flying over the Atlantic. Given that it was found eaten by an alligator after the first time Shane threw it in the ocean, it could still be found in the ocean by a passing sailboat. Perhaps one navigated by Ben and Ciara? https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/soaptv/summary-of-the-three-prisms-storyline-t157.html My question is, given the modern political atrocities, does anyone think that they will mention that the prisms were discovered by a Russian scientist? Also, I wish they'd bring Larry's legal lover Gwen Davis back, she was one of my favorites...