j swift

There have been many scenes from the final season posted on TikTok recently and it got me thinking. Alexis seems to be wearing a lot of Chanel in those episodes and I wonder if (a) it was actually a Nolan Miller knockoff with Chanel accessories, or (b) if it was actual Chanel because it was cheaper to buy off the rack in the final season than have Miller's couture house whip things up. I did some googling, a ready-made Chanel suit in 1989 was $1800.00, in comparison Mr. Miller's costume budget for the 1984-1985 season was $30,000.00 per episode. So, if budget cuts necessitated that Joan Collins could not appear in every episode of the final season, it would stand to reason that they also cut the costume budget. There's a distinct change in wardrobe from the fantastical creations of the pre-Modavian season (like Dominique's all white entrance ensemble) versus the final season where they all seem to be wearing suits that one could buy at a high end department store. And, most disappointing, Alexis goes entire episodes without a single costume change. I mean, does anyone expect me to believe that Alexis wore the same suit for both lunch and dinner?

As I recall (and I'm certain someone will correct me if I am wrong), the history was that Bradley was a writer's intern at Y&R when he pitched the story of Lauren's stalker Shaun, who wound up burying her alive. The summer story proved to be a ratings success, even though it was out of character for Y&R at the time. Which is why when they developed B&B, they gave more responsibility to Bradley so that he could allow it to have its own style.

I think it is a credit to the NY retail economy of the 90s that a costumer could find that many different styles of trenchcoats. As I survey the photo, no two are alike.

I liked Claudia as a character, and I appreciated the opportunity to see Kathleen Noone play against type given her time on AMC, but her backstory made no sense. Greg spent a couple of seasons trying figuring out his paternity and the impact of Paul Galveston on his life. But, apparently, he had a sister the whole time whom he never have consulted? Then, when he needed to offload Meg, he gave her to his high school buddy rather than his sister? And, Claudia didn't keep up with Greg during his entire rise to power until he needed a kidney? Yet, they shared enough genetic material that their daughters looked like twins. Also, Mac fathered Paige while he was growing up with Greg, so wouldn't Claudia know her mother Anne from their younger days together? And, Paul Galveston manipulated Greg's career through an elaborate multi-national crime syndicate for years, but never interfered in the life of his other son with Claudia?

Remember when magazines, networks and production companies had actual photographers take cover photos?

I am fascinated by Gizelle. How does a woman develop that much confidence and not get the respect she deserves from men? She is a study in contrasts. She is clever, funny, and gorgeous, but she only dates losers. The women listen to her opinions matters, but she is a total mess when it comes to relationships. With all three of the men that we've seen her date she never set boundaries or expectations and, in turn, they disrespected and did not support her. She is the first to call out her friends when she feels that their men have been disloyal, but she has literally written a book about having been cheated on by her husband, who has umpteen other kids outside of their marriage. I am also amused by her daughters who are so unlike the Gudice girls in that they aren't trying to be sexy or grown up. Gizelle seems to have instilled values of self-respect that she does not follow herself.

So, just to clarify, we're supposed to believe that a woman was capable of gestating triplets while in a coma? That's as hard to swallow as a mafia boss, who refuses to import drugs, setting up shop in a town whose major industry is shipping!

You know it's a fantasy when a couple is able to get from Beverly Hills to Malibu in April before sunset

I love this scene because social class was so rarely discussed in primetime soaps. It was assumed that as long as one accumulated money they had access to the same privileges as those who were born with wealth. I admire the writing that allowed Abby's motives to always be grounded in how difficult it was for a single mother, regardless of how many pairs of earring you owned. She didn't want world domination, or to be the leader of an elite group of business spies, she just wanted what she felt she deserved and had been denied. kl.mp4

I know Drag Race has evolved from the Logo days when it was essentially a parody of Top Model and Project Runway (partially due to the fact it has outlasted the source material). However, I can't help but believe every time they refuse to eliminate a queen that they are intentionally f-ing with the audience. I think it is part of the joke that it is still considered a competition. I mean when Ru quoted the rules on All-Stars and punctuated, "of which there are many", that was funny. There are no established rules or standards for drag excellence, so the random nature has always felt like part of the campiness of the show itself. I also think that fans that get too caught up in spoilers and the drama of the eliminations are missing the point of the show. It is a silly variety show, much like when Donny & Marie had Charles Nelson-Reilly on their show while ice skating to disco music (perhaps too old of a reference, but hopefully my point is still clear).

Iris asThe Boss is a masterpiece in comparison to Reginald as The Vulture. First of all there was foreshadowing and a buildup to Iris's return once Amanda was SORASed and had a child who would inherit the Cory estate. Reginald randomly appeared one day, and nobody ever explained why his name was not Brandon (as Donna and Peter called him when they were introduced). Then, the idea of tying in the reveal of Iris's secret to the murder trial of Jason Frame was a brilliant way to involve the entire cast (and seems very Lemay to me, but who knows?). Reginald immediately told Mary that he was using the name LaSalle to escape his enemies, and the secret that he killed Elizabeth wasn't revealed until right before his death and had no impact at all. Iris's return faced the enormous obstacle of the death of Douglass Watson within eight months of the start of the plot. Yet, they were able to pivot and work the loss into the story. Reginald's return was met with huge cast shifts including the recasting of key roles like Donna, Vicky, Vince, and Nicole which halted advancements in the plot and necessitated breaks like Reginald's heart attack or the search for Donna when she escaped the asylum. Iris's return revitalized Rachel and the Frames who had been sidelined by the Loves. Reginald's return was tied into the McKinnons who were not as popular, and most of those characters left before the end of the story. By the time Mary and Vince pack up to visit MJ, Kathleen was dead, Cheryl went off the college, and Ben had disappeared, they had no kids left.

Can anyone recall the details of Richard's racetrack? Was it actually built over the vineyards of Falcon Crest? Did it survive the earthquake? I recall it was the centerpiece of a season and then they never really used it afterwards, but I could easily be incorrect. Also, in retrospect, wasn't it random that Cassandra was the mother of Richard's son? She was so quickly forgotten after her death, unlike Laura on KL. And yet, the fact that Richard had a son was an important detail in the story.

I'm sorry for starting this whole thing about Tuscany Valley fashions, but they usually dressed Maggie correctly as an ex-urbanite except when she had to wear a hat. The FC costume dept had a bad time with hats

If that's not the most classic Housewives trailer, then I don't know what is. Of course, they all turn on Kathy after she had a premiere season that endeared her to the audience. At this point the housewives, (and by extension the audience), should really gain some insight about the cycle of hyping people up only to be disappointed that they aren't everything we wanted them to be. Never forget, Kathy Hilton disinvited her six year old niece to her daughter's wedding. Also, bless production for making sure that every time a housewife breaks down they are in a costume or wig. If I had to go to all of these theme parties in one season my closet would look like a thrift store exploded inside of it.

I just re-read 1986-1988 on AWHP and it struck me that in addition to poor writing, there were casting issues that plagued the Reginald story. Donna, Nicole, Vince, Vicky, and Gomez were all recast within the first year of the story which must have affected the pacing of any planned plotlines. Sexual assault during this period is treated very poorly. For example, Donna lies that she was sexually assaulted by a stranger on the docks in order to cover for the fact that she innocently fell asleep on John's boat, because she is afraid that Michael will leave her if he finds out that his brother raped her as a teenager. Just as Adam dumped MJ when he found out that she was forced to do a porno film as a young woman and was too guilty to tell him, so she leaves town without an exit scene. Also, just for good measure, Lisa and Felicia are also victims of childhood sexual trauma which causes them to be apprehensive about intimacy, and is all the excuse that their boyfriends need to cheat on them with other women. Dawn's HIV story seems written very deliberately to be a palatable social message, and yet is actually very offensive in retrospect. Not only does Jamey (who didn't wear a condom when he cheated on his girlfriend, but is never tested for HIV or other STI's) disclose Dawn's status to her boyfriend and her brother without her consent, but they are constantly reminding us that she is an innocent victim because she contracted the virus from a blood transfusion from her drug addicted mother; not by sex or intravenous drug use. She is filled with self-pity, despite marrying one of the wealthiest and most handsome guys in town, and then dying on her honeymoon in Venice, after experiencing barely a cough before her elaborate wedding. And if people hate the number of masks on DAYS recently, try Cass, Vince, and Reginald all having doppelgangers within the same year.

It feels like a lot of change, but, one wonders if the effect of COVID was that rather than replacing failing shows last fall, productions were allowed to continue until the development and sales of new series could be put into place? Also, wow, how the mighty have fallen. Remember when Entertainment Tonight got higher ratings than the network evening news? The Oscar's red carpet is going to be like walking through a dead mall within five years.

Are you asking about Brett Lawrence? @divinemotion https://www.soapcentral.com/guiding-light/whoswho/brent.php

The wig with a hat is especially heinous - I see your cheekiness @FrenchBug82 and raise you another cheek But, at least Angela was kind enough to share her fur collar with her daughter

I was referring to this awful grey wig from the unaired pilot As opposed to the one from the series Neither are great

Unless everyone in Llanview came down with a sudden case of glaucoma, it takes a huge suspension of disbelief to accept that anyone would mistake Sam for Olympia simply because they wore the same outfit. It is like when nobody in Metropolis recognizes Clark Kent without his glasses.

I am also a big fan of his food and his crop tops

Your point about Chinese ownership of French wineries is really interesting and could be its own soap. I agree that the letter was lazy. However, in reading your post it struck me that it was completely unnecessary because as Douglas's son, Richard had enough motivation to want the full FC empire, not just the newspaper. It was also another example of my soap pet peeve when adults start calling someone "mother" two minutes after they found out their maternity. While Richard's use of the term was at times sarcastic, it is still so unrealistic that it always distracts me as a viewer. And, Joseph would have totally been gay in the re-boot. His great-grandmother was Lana Turner, he wore elaborate baby clothes while living on a farm, and his stepfather's last name was Cumson ('nuff said).

Didn't the Love Mansion catch on fire a couple of times to explain the changing set? According to AWHP, the Love Mansion was remodeled in 1986 when Reginald took possession of the house. But, I have no idea how Michael wound up owning the stables. Like @Paul Raven I recall the entry being stage right on a landing that descended down into the powder blue living room which was much more tasteful than the room in this episode. But then again, that was when Victoria 1.0 was on the show and she didn't look the same age as her mother Donna; like this imposter does. At the beginning of the episode, when Reg refers to her as Rachel Davis, I half expected her to say, "yes, and I remember when your name was Vic Hastings"

After reading these comments I went back to watch S7E01 of Falcon Crest and I have some thoughts. First, I think FC was the best when it came to season opening recap promos. The YouTube compilations of season ending and opening recaps are thrilling. Also, it really maintains a sense of humor throughout. I also realized that I've conflated my memory of FC - Richard's parental history with KL-Greg's Sumner's backstory because I confused Lana Turner with Ava Gardner (easy mistake). In comparison, Ava Gardner was far more compelling. So, while Jacqueline must have known that she didn't give birth to Richard, do we ever get the reason why she lied to him years later when they met? Also, there is something to the idea that wine has inherently lower stakes than oil, so it is kooky that all of these international criminals want to rule the valley, when the business is constantly affected by uncontrollable resources like unionized labor and the weather. That being said, it is shame that they abandoned the idea of the annual harvest as a means of organizing the season, much like Dallas had tent poles like the Oil Barron's Ball and the Ewing BBQ. Finally, much like B&B, it is a lost opportunity that a soap set partially in San Fransisco didn't have one gay character. I mean after more than one of Richard's sexy female assistants screwed him over, shouldn't he have hired a stylish guy from the Castro?

There's two sets of photos which may be the source of confusion in the answers. In the b&w that is definitely Ken Meeker as Rafe, but, in the color photos of the ball itself, it looks like Clint in the bottom photo to me. Although if the whole town on Llanview couldn't tell a 20-something Samantha from a 50-something Olympia due to just a wig and a mask, who am I to tell who is under that disguise?