j swift

Speaking of Olympia, isn't Rafe's role in all of this rather interesting? He holds Olympia against her will and there are never any legal (or relationship) consequences. Then, he winds up married to Samantha and presumably inherits her divorce settlement when she dies. And then he hooks up with Deliliah and gets half of her settlements from both Asa and Bo's divorces. If he was written (or played) by anyone else Rafe would have been seen as quite a mastermind...

Remind me of the timeline. Was the Masquerade Party when Olympia was revealed? Or was this their engagement and Olympia was revealed at the wedding? I was confused because in a scene released a few weeks ago I first saw that Asa and Samantha's wedding reception happened at LLanfair, with Dorian hosting, so I wondered how Olympia got over there? Because I recall the wedding going on for weeks, and I recall that's when Bo found out that he wasn't Asa's son.

I was recently watching an old AW video on Youtube and I came to the conclusion that David Canary was not a bad recast for Steve Frame, although the dialogue and plot given to him to play were inferior. And since this is the unpopular opinion thread, I figured that I would make the case herein. The build up of a new company coming to Bay City with a mysterious CEO was actually reminiscent of Adam Chandler's introduction on AMC and his prior role on Bonanza made sense for him to be chosen as a recast. Now, the Alice(s) he played against were not very charismatic or interesting. The sidelining of Mac, rather than engaging in more of rivalry between the two characters was a bad choice. His step-daughter was not well developed, and Sally's motivations during the story were all over the place. But, David Canary was always solid and believable as Steve.

Good to see Ben is working hard to find a career and provide for his family (ha ha)

I adore @Franko's idea of making it interactive, so I would include a dramatic entrance exhibit (The Jack Deveroux Room) where after traveling through computer generated rain, wind, and snow, one could play out their return from the dead fantasies Followed by a strob-lit stop motion dramatic exit exhibit (The John Black Room) where visitors could try their best "smelled a fart" face. And finally, the Dr Rolf Room where using facial recognition software fans could see what they would look like if they were recast. After the computer generates the image they would hear the iconic, "the role of you is now being played by..."

Jan's baby is doomed right? The soap gods wouldn't allow it to survive. Either it will be switched with Ciara's, or Jan will fall, or something will happen so she'll never give birth. And why would Belle be so unempathic? Shawn was basically sexually assaulted by the devil that she was just exercised from last week. Days has a weird thing with male consent for sex.

Thank you, I was searching the TV Guide archives and it was driving me nuts. Actor's egos are something to behold. The guy not only successfully moved from daytime to primetime, while still at a viable age, but also had a fragrance contract with Este Lauder/Aramis, and messes it up by whining about being the third wheel. Ben had potential to be paired with multiple other people after Val, and his role as a muckraking journalist could have easily played into future stories with Greg. He had some further success with sitcoms, but, according to IMDB, he hasn't worked for the past 20 years.

The only reason that I have a mental image of the car chase in San Diego is that it was the thumbnail of the 20th anniversary show that was on YouTube for a long time. It seems especially odd since I googled it and the 20th would have been in 1984, two years after the writer responsible for that story had left. Now, it is reasonable to assume that AW did not have a lot of action sequences prior to 1984 that could be highlighted, but it is such a bad piece of history to memorialize. As I recall, the voiceover also was written in an overly hyperbolic tone that did not really fit with the personality of the show. Between that fiasco, VW's anniversary featuring the short-lived red-haired Amanda recast, and the re-writes for characters like Gwen that spoke dialogue clearly written for actors who could not attend the 25th, AW did not have good luck with anniversaries. BTW I have fond memories of the 25th, (ghost-Steve et al) but the opinion remains that production-wise the anniversaries were unfortunately marred.

I know its thirty year later, but self-contained episodes are what bugs me about the Dynasty reboot. It gets so repetitive that every week two characters have an argument and then makeup in the final act. I need a nighttime soap to leave me with a cliffhanger so that I am motivated to come back every week.

I was trying to remember if it was Sam Behrens (Danny Waleska) or Doug Sheehan (Ben Gibson) who gave a stinging exit interview to TV Guide when his character was written off of Knots. I know it was an ex-GH actor. He basically said that there was no room for a new male character because the women were the focus of the show and the existing male actors were unwelcoming. It all came off as very bitter, despite the fact that both characters were the center of a lot of drama. But, since we rarely saw either actor after their time on the show, I cannot recall which one said it. I think of it as a real "don't bite the hand that feeds you"-type of lesson.

I think there were lots of candidates for the "next gen" JR including Michelle and James (although the casting of James was atrocious). JR should have served as a mentor, allowing the development of new scenarios that could have further expanded the Dallas universe beyond Southfork. Sort of like what Falcon Crest tried with the racetrack and Knots did with the other employees at Greg's company in season 13 once Abby left the show. In my opinion Dallas was too conservative in sticking with the remnants of the original seasons rather than trying to maintain a contemporary voice, and as a result there were too many repetitious stories. I mean look at the preview above, how many times could Sue Ellen confront one of JR mistresses at a BBQ?

Jill had particularly bad luck when choosing friends because David and Sven also turned into psychopathic killers. It is no wonder she's got trust issues. Who was the handsome divorce attorney she befriended after her breakup with John? I think she took him to the costume gala? - not Mitchel Sherman, he worked for Kay

It would be interesting if they made Kyle a bit shadier (as the song suggests, although I assume it was used for the "guess who's back" part). Kyle was usually a good guy. But, his past with both Theo and Tara suggested that while he was away from Genoa City he got into some shady activities. Fans hypothesized lots of backstory with Kyle that was never actually played out on screen, so it would be fun if his breakup with Summer caused his naughtier side to emerge...

I liked Floyd's sister Katie, but as I recall from will81's soap news thread, she left town just as good ol' Floyd was arrested for Andy's murder. Was her first exit really to a "fat farm" as described in her Soap Central bio? And don't forget he was a loser in love with Lanie as well. Was she Ross's sister?

In a half hour show they often gloss over too many details, like how is Sheila surviving in Los Angeles with no job or viable means of support? Is she getting a pension from the Nursing Union?

Does Pluto play Julia & Company, or Julia & more Company which were filmed once she moved to Santa Barbara? Speaking of themes, they end with These Foolish Things which is my favorite. BTW, isn't fun to see how limited she was by the grocery supplies of the early 60s. I still recall her tip to laminate frozen white bread dough to make croissant, which seems very much a product of the times. In 1980s there are so many more European imports (and tools like Cuisinarts) that just weren't available twenty years prior.

Oh, I think Julia's story is very interesting both in terms of how her life of privilege, and unusual height, influenced her choices about gender norms and her impact on television. Yet, like so many other celebrities, the tale has already been told numerous times in other formats such as biographies, novels, films, and documentaries. She's the Spiderman of TV chefs now that her origin story has been told this many times.

Given that every young actor feels the need to show post-workout pics on Insta, gyms have to start investing in more flattering lighting

It is analogous to The Eyes of Tammy Faye playing up the one time that Mrs. Bakker said anything kind about the AIDS epidemic while still consciously grifting old people. The producers seem to be using the casual homophobia to humanize Julia and suggest that she was a product of her times that, again, seems unnecessary.

Little known fact: Miguel's duties as Major D'omo of the Newman Ranch included stylist, hairdresser, and drug pusher...

On Twitter the General Hospi-tales account posted a collage from the 50th anniversary show. Does anyone else feel like this happened tweleve seconds ago, not nine years ago? I still recall all of the discussion about the opening re-mix, they did a fine job. https://twitter.com/Port_Charles1

I watched the first three episodes and it was good. However, I was reading the press and David Hyde Pierce did an interview about Paul and Julia Child's homophobia. He was careful to say that Julia became more accepting as she aged, and the death of a friend to AIDS in the 1980s made her re-examine her beliefs. Yet, the part of the interview that stuck with me was Hyde-Pierce discussing the dialog in the script which uses derogatory language for gay men such as "fairy." I was saddened by the acknowledgement that as a gay man, and an actor, Hyde-Pierce had to say that on camera. While it is a somewhat unfair comparison, one doubts that racial minority actors would be cast to say terrible things about their own identity. So, while I appreciate the historical accuracy, I can't help but wonder if this detail was both unnecessary for the story and painful for the actor to portray?

Why does the devil want the Dimera's company? Is he especially interested in young women's fashion? It would make more sense if Johnny still wanted to direct and the devil wanted to implant subliminal messages in his film to control the population. Rather than wanting to takeover a family business, once run by a psychotic twin, that doesn't seem to be international like Kiriakis, or produce anything worthy of being evil. The devil should stick to ruining award shows.

Will Packer's interviews today were cringe worthy. First, he goes on GMA, and when they ask about why people clapped for Will when he won, Packer says that he has a "unique perspective" because he "knows these people" and "above all they respect talent." Oh really, Will? Did you meet Nicole Kidman while you were producing the Wendy Williams bio-pic for Lifetime? And did you run into Dame Judi Dench while making Jamie Gidden's Ambitions? Or do you vaguely know Jada Pinkett because she was in your movie Girl's Trip? Let's face it the Academy hired Packer because nobody else wanted to be associated with a show that fell 50% in the ratings last year. It wasn't like there was a choice between Spielberg and Packer and the Academy went with Packer. Then, they asked whether Will was told to leave the ceremony, and he says that he "wasn't a part of that conversation." So which is it? Is he connected enough to know everyone in Hollywood or is someone who was lucky to get the gig, but not powerful enough to consult with when an emergency occurred?

This tweet indicates to me that was "the twist" that's never been seen before...