j swift

As Ricky Ricardo would say, "they got a lot 'splaining to do." Was there no body in the alley? Is Sheila being tried without habius corpus? And doesn't he need more than a wet cloth and a heart monitor if he's been shot? I know times are tough, but at least give the guy some oxygen.

It seems like any main character in a soap town should've been famous amongst its citizens. In Pine Valley not only were they renowned doctors, socialites, and moguls, but they were also involved in murder trials, multiple weddings, and annual charity balls that must have been written up in the Pine Valley Bulletin. That's why it is always ironic when they have to introduce themselves, often by full name, to strangers, hostesses, and shop keepers. As if when Brooke English enters a room the common folk of Pine Valley wouldn't think, oh that's the lady whose Mom was an international drug dealer, and not only did she marry a couple of local billionaires, but she dated bad guys Pierce Reilly and Jim Thomasen. The scene with Mike Roy and Erica tries to establish that he isn't impressed by her fame. But, in hindsight, the guy had to be a jackass to accept a gig editing a memoir, and never have done any research on the main character. And, while it was change of pace to have Erica attracted to a man more humble than she, perhaps she should have thought twice about becoming romantic with someone who would have questioned her credentials.

That is a thought provoking question. On the one hand, in the age of pre-internet/mass culture media, a model like Erica might not have had fame across ages and gender. Much like Christy Turlington, she had a recognizable face, but men who didn't follow fashion might not have known her name. Later in life, she would have also been well known in Pine Valley for her talk show, but even a local morning show host like Lee Phillip Bell wasn't considered a legend outside of their city. On the other hand, the ex-lover of titans of industry like Adam Chandler and Brandon Kingsley, as well as ex-football star Tom Cudahy, would have had some fame, like Ivana Trump. Also her well publicized murder trials might have made her a subject of interest like Jodi Arias, and her autobiography came on the heels of the Kent Bogart trial. Finally, consider the source, Mike Roy was hardly tuned into to pop culture, just look at his wardrobe.

I hope Melissa got a bit of the profit from the sale. Did Linda get anything in Bob's will or did she gain her Madame X fortune from off-screen pursuits?

I've been following the trial, and I find the article about misinformation interesting. However my query remains, because it is a civil trial, and he would have to prove damages in order to win. So, if the public perception is that his ex-wife is a con artist and a liar. than how could her statements damage his reputation? E.g. - if a known plagiarist wrote a bad critique of a novel on Amazon, the author of the novel would have no standing because everyone knows that the plagiarist is an untrustworthy source The best defense against slander is the truth, but this trial based on defamation. If Mr. Depp wants to re-claim his reputation, I would have suggested a fluff piece in GQ magazine, not a trial with videos of him overweight and stumbling drunkenly around his kitchen.

My lingering question on Depp case is - If public perception is that she's lying, how can they prove defamation? I mean if "all of social media" questions Amber's validity than how could an obscure article that she wrote have ruined his career? It seems like an illogical approach

Magazine photoshopping must play with an actor's self-perception. When Steve Burton looks in the mirror does he see the image on the cover of SOD, or this one? Please excuse my postings today, feeling sassy before my second booster

Wait, why did the brides wear boho wedding attire with no sparkles and flowers in their hair while their guests were asked to wear disco attire? And why wouldn't they have just raided Jill Abbott's closet full of work wear ensembles from that time period?

Taylor Miller et al, I continue to be amazed that all of these soap stars may get a few wrinkles, but their superior bone structure remains. Those cheek bones could slice bread.

I remember that ironically when Mimi Torchin was interview on Daytime Confidential's podcast she was amazed that people remembered the photos in SOW. She mentioned that she had previously edited the ABC-owned (and long forgotten) Episodes Magazine which featured lots of glossy editorial photoshoots with soap stars and given that SOW was published as a tabloid, she felt that the photos were often subpar. I would greatly disagree. I think we didn't know how good we had it back then when actors would pose specifically for the magazine. The final page with photos like Kelly Ripa as the green fairy are imprinted on my memory. And where else could one reliably find ads for Princess Di collector plates, realistic (and spooky)porcelain baby dolls, and ponchos that doubled as a cape?

I've tried to suppress my impulses for two days now, but I feel it is not cool to speculate on an actor's sexuality. This is not Datalounge circa 2005, that type of gossip is considered passé, and, IMHO, in poor taste. I am all for celebrating those in the arts who have come out as a proud member of community and I don't want to focus on the regressive messaging associated with assuming that people are not out because it will damage their image. Look at politics and the lessons learned from last week's NYTimes article on Ed Koch. There are only a few examples of out politicians who lost elections within the last decade. Public support is lost when politicians lie about who they are because it indicates to their electorate that they can't be trusted. So, please, let's try to re-focus on actors who support the community rather than speculate on whether an actor was gay because they had a cute haircut, took a picture at a bar, or could tap dance. We all know sexuality is much more complex than the age old binary would suggest.

@soapfan770 & @NoelI wonder about a couple variables beyond content that may have affected the subscription rates. (1) The sale of SOD's publisher might indicate differences in marketing. American Media aka A360media has gone through a number of acquisitions by investors who do not necessarily care about sustaining print media. The fall out of Ronan Farrow's book on the company must have had an impact on the bottom line, and they may not be solvent enough to market to such niche consumer base. (2) I don't know if these Wikipedia numbers reflect digital subscriptions. When SOD began to become unreliable in terms of being mailed on the same day every week, I switched to the digital version through Amazon, which was much cheaper because the subscription was bundled with other magazine for under $6 a month. But, since the subscription was through a digital media service not owned by A360, I don't know if those numbers count. Now, I am not saying that 90% of readers dropped off in the last decade only due to digital access and poor marketing, but those could account for some of the variance.

1989 is one of my favorite years due to the kidnapping and Robert Barr stories. I agree the 1988 was silly and trying a little too hard to be comedic. However, I appreciate the character growth of Kelly in 1989. Beginning with the kidnapping she showed a spark and a sense of agency that differentiated her from damsel-in-distress Eden. In fact, I would say that developing the individual characteristics of the Capwell daughters was one of the main themes of 1989. As I've previously noted, there was so much regression when the Dobson's returned. Due in great part to their ignorance of how Kelly, Mason, and Eden had grown in their absence. Also, never listen to people on Facebook, it never leads to anything positive.

Yowza! They've lost almost 90% of their readers in the last decade. As for Carolyn Hinsey, her book was total trash. Not only was it terribly organized, cheaply printed, and filled with dumb lists, but it was mostly a regurgitation of her prior articles. As if anyone on earth was asking for a literary compendium of her writing. It was like reading a fourth grade book report where some kid added a bunch of fluff in order to meet the word count. Talk about not holding up over time, she makes a tacky joke about how social storylines aren't used on B&B because they don't translate well in other languages. She stupidly remarked that it would difficult to translate for South Africa, because nobody knows how to say "Lithium in Swahili." It is not enough that the joke is offensively unfunny but I remember that B&B is broadcast in South Africa and translated into Afrikaan because I read about it in an article about Brandon Beemer visiting South Africa in Soap Opera Digest, which proves that she never read any other part of the magazine beside her own column.

Looking forward to it But, I'm calling for a moratorium on soap actors of a certain age dying their hair. Men in their 60s, with a receding hair line, don't naturally have a mop of dark black hair.

It raises two additional issues 1) They must have lots of extra cash on hand now that Steve Burton is gone 2) The recent hiring spree has got to lay to rest any rumors of Jason's return from the dead (for now, at least).

I find Howarth to be compelling and it feels like a writing, not a production issue, that they haven't found the right character for him. I mean the doctor son of Jimmy Lee Holt? Not by a long shot. However, I co-sign your take on Michael Easton. Ever since DAYS I can't watch him before driving because I may get too drowsy.

Speaking of speedos... Remember the Abbott and Newman pools on Y&R? Just before Independence Day, you could always count on a pool party. Up until the millennials of Nick's generation every guy wore a speedo. But, the sets were always a pool deck, with no pool, just the sound effect of splashing. B&B had a pool at the Forrester Mansion, and I wonder now, looking at the early years of the show, if they played so many scenes poolside because of the expense of building a set that could hold water. I also recall Ian Raine in the Cory pool on AW, but that pool was so small he had to wear a speedo just to fit inside.

To be fair, isn't it like any other workplace where, as a manager, if you have an employee who you experienced as easy to work with, you might hire them again at another company? I understand that there are many talented performers, but I think favoritism is a natural instinct in a business where one does not have the luxury of testing multiple actors for a single role. I also get that if, as a producer, you were forced to let go of an entire troupe of actors for reasons beyond your control, you might feel responsible and want to give them another chance in the future.

I imagine that there are many soap scripts written with the same stage direction. Kyle (opening the door to see Diane😞 Yippee (sarcasm)

Steven was fired, Cristol and Alexis were recast, it is a lot of cast changes for an audience to accept. One wonders if after the fiasco of three Cristols in 3 seasons, the network and production were reticent to recast more rolls. And, given that they filmed in Atlanta, it wasn't as if there were an infinite number of actors just hanging around (except at Tyler Perry's pool house, but I'm not one to gossip).

I think it is one of the best denouement of a show, but in the end it was the timeslot, changing tastes, not the creative choices that killed The City

They fired the actor, but then the production staff that fired him was fired, so we'll never know. To be fair, it was a re-imagining, not a continuation, so they recast all of the roles with a multiracial cast, and redid the old storylines, so there was no place for the old cast.

I have mixed emotions. I think the idea of the re-boot was excellent. Diversifying the cast, correcting some of the errors of the past storytelling, and retelling the plots within a modern context were great ideas. The sets and costuming was some of the most appropriately extravagant stuff I've ever seen on TV. Jeff Colby should be wearing Gucci, and Fallon should be wearing Chanel, not some Nolan Miller knock off where somehow everyone in Denver looked the same (forgive the hot take). Also, the humor was totally underrated, all of the winks to the audience about the ever changing Cristols was fun. However, in the past two seasons with the change in writing and production staff from season one, there seems to be an insistence on self contained episodes rather than long canonical stories. I blame its popularity on Netflix, because I think story arcs loose their appeal when binge watching a series. If you're going to watch five episodes in a row you want them to get to a conclusion, not keep stringing you along as you might enjoy if the episodes were weekly. As a result, the episodes became so repetitive. Fallon works too hard, Liam berates her, she promises to do better, rinse and repeat. In the end, maybe this isn't the right atmosphere for a primetime soap?

I'm honestly surprised that people think Dorit's home invasion was a scam. There have been a number of robberies in Encino and Beverly Hills this past year, including the Avant murder and many follow-home attacks. In fact, shockingly, there were two non-family-involved murders in her upscale neighborhood since January. Perhaps what we are witnessing as being unusual is that Dorit has had to repeat her story for the cameras which weren't able to record her immediate response; so it seems a little rehearsed or forced because she's had to re-tell it so often? I get that PK owed money to suspicious sources, and they may have wanted to either recoup their losses or scare the family. But, I doubt that Dorit or PK would plan anything to happen while their kids were in the house.