j swift

Ryan is an interesting conundrum. I liked that he started as sort of a intimacy addict. He slept around with many female characters, and I appreciate when a soap is willing to have a promiscuous male character who is not menacing to the women in town. Then, he found love with Gillian and he became more of a traditional romantic hero. While I enjoy soap characters who evolve over time, (like Brooke who went from a selfish party girl to a impassioned truth teller), I kind of wish Ryan had reverted to form after Gillian. Rather than seeking another romantic relationship, I think it would have worked if he and Erica were always into each other just for the fun of it, and then driven apart because the realities of their families made it too difficult to remain just f#^&-buddies.

I've watched the British version over and over and I think it still is relevant. That soundtrack is great and the instrumental theme is a real earworm. However, I also wonder if using the title for a completely new set of characters and stories is a setup for lazy social media critics to bemoan the lack of adherence to the original. As Voltaire said, "a foolish adherence to consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

Not that there's anything wrong with it, but, Erica would have been a generation older than Tad given that she was already engaged once while he was being kidnapped by Ray. So, it got me thinking from Charlie Brent to Ryan Lavery, which of Erica's love affair would have had the largest age difference? (btw grateful for the blocking feature)

I guess I should be more modern and not try to pit women like Phoebe and Mona against each other, especially when there is privilege and wealth to consider. However, I can't help but be amused by the idea that Mona was in for the long con on getting her hooks into Dr. Tyler.

The fact that Afton was Mitch's sister and they did so little with that connection seems like a lost opportunity.

The latter seasons are given short shrift, but I enjoyed a lot of the post-dream stuff. For example, I think not enough credit was given to the characters of April and Michelle. I'm sure many would bemoan the fact that they pulled focus from the Ewings. But, I look back and think that it is remarkable that they appeared virtually from thin air, they were really charismatic, and they represented a more modern woman than either SueEllen or Pam. If the show was going to sustain long term, they needed the fresh take that those characters provided. I also really enjoyed Carter McKay's wife Rose. She was allowed some complexity that provided some depth for a character that could have just been a prototypical bimbo younger wife. The undercurrent of S&M seemed so taboo at the time, and I wished she stayed longer. On the other hand, I could have done without any story related to Cally or James. Cally seemed as if she was from a totally different decade with her sweet drawl and country clothes. I know she was raised in a rural town, but by 1988 most young people were far more informed than Cally. Her willful innocence made it seem creepy that she slept with JR.

I don't recall whether there was any rivalry between Mason and Jeffrey, because Pamela had an obvious preference for Jeffrey. I mean she never tried to kill Julia because she was jealous of Mason's attention. And yet, Mason yearned for Pamela to need him, he even bought her a house.

My first reaction in reading this was that Lane wanted his character to be more like Keith. He is saying that he wanted to be more of a lovable schemer (like Keith) with a pairing more akin to Keith and Gina. But, I think Mason had a much richer backstory of maternal neglect which informed his future relationships. In part, he was attracted to Mary and Julia because they provided the motherly love that he was missing as a child. Mason didn't need to be further indulged, as CC did in order quiet his demands and avoid his depression. He needed someone to chide him for envying his step-family rather than embracing them. He needed someone to start a family with in order to care for a child in the ways that he wished he had been. When he avoided those desires and pursued women like Gina, Sasha, or Tori, he found that he was unable to provide the stability they needed which plunged him further into depression and alcohol. I guess what I'm saying is that some actors never learn to appreciate what they've got.

I've grown to dislike the reunions because (1) they just rehash everything that they've already said on twitter, WWHL, and those YouTube after-shows (which I enjoy), (2) they effect the following season but the cast can't directly mention the reunions, so they either say "the last time we all saw each other" or "when we were in New York", and (3) so much happens in real life between the taping of the reunion and the airing of the reunion that gets lost and never discussed. Here's my idea. Have one reunion of just the producers, highlight the funny editing, tell some backstage gossip, and discuss how the season was put together (sort of like the RHoBH lost episode special when producers discussed the Richards sisters limo scene). Then, have a second episode with just the peripheral players, like the guy in Salt Lake who is driving the van, Theresa's real estate agent, the various psychics, and hopefully a waiter or two in order to discuss their take on the action. At this point I've heard enough apologies, promises to be closer, and threats for the rest of my life. So, refresh and take things in a different direction, while maintaining a distance between the cast and audience that preserves the voyeuristic nature of watching their lives, which is what I find appealing.

@danflingsuggestions for the casting of Linc Tyler made me think about how Phoebe was not given enough sympathy nor understanding at the start of the series for drinking to cope with the loss her son aka Chuck's father. BUT, record scratch, I was today years old when I learned that Charles Tyler II was the son of Dr. Charles Tyler and his FIRST wife Alicia. Which means Chuck was Phoebe's step-grandson. It was awfully nice of Phoebe to be so motherly to Chuck. Even after her divorce, she was always supportive of Chuck and his kids. Suddenly I am a Phoebe-stan and anti-Mona, I mean Erica didn't become brat out of thin air, and Mona's past on the cabaret circuit was always a bit suspicious. Phoebe left her proverbial cards on the table, whereas Mona was hiding a secret in order to bag the big bucks from Dr. Tyler.

Can we talk about Johnny's love of fencing for a moment? First of all, who is the 20something that practices fencing in 2022? I checked and there are only 44 university fencing programs in the US, mostly due liability and lack of popularity. Second, he carries a prop sword that one would wear for a pirate costume, not a proper fencing sword that would have a long handle covered with grip tape. Third, a fencing outfit is stiff, for safety, and scratchy, so I doubt that one would be shirtless underneath.

In other news, as a man over 40, nobody has hired me to model in Paris or Milan for the past nine years, so I will no longer be a supermodel - thank you

I recently read that during the McCain era the producers abandoned the legendary morning meeting where the hosts develop the Hot Topics because it became too contentious, and now each host is briefed individually based upon how much information they want ahead of time.

Am I going to have to be the jerk who mentions the pink elephant in the room? What is up with La Lucci's eyebrows? She is giving very much evil queen energy...

I'm conflicted by the cultural response to Holocaust comparisons. One the one hand when people like RFK Jr make comparisons between vaccination efforts and the Holocaust, I usually write them off as being hyperbolic and ill-informed. As a Jewish man with relatives effected by the Holocaust, I don't think it belittles or denies their experience if some cultural/political figure is stupid with their choice of words. On the other hand, I researched the study that set off Whoopi's comments on The View. They were discussing a small school district that had considered a ban on teaching about the history of the Holocaust. In contrast, The View cited a study done in 2020 (linked below) that 63% of those born after 2000 could not correctly state that 6 million Jews died as a result of the Holocaust. That made me think of the Satayana quote, "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it", which makes the context of Whoopi's misinformation all the worse. Obviously, Whoopi's actual remark was more nuanced than the headline. She was making the point that it was not about race, but man's inhumanity toward man. And, Adam Feldman had an interesting take that calling Jews a race, as opposed to an ethnicity, is part of the hate-filled reasoning the German government used for the mass extinction. However, some boundary must be set about how much misinformation any network is willing to support. Therefore, I agree with the suspension. Although there is also a suspicious side of me that thinks it is mighty convenient that during February sweeps, while the View is competing with the Olympics on NBC, Whoopi will return right before the end of the period, which will probably draw more viewers. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/survey-finds-shocking-lack-holocaust-knowledge-among-millennials-gen-z-n1240031

Hillary was not my favorite character because she was always a bit of a butt-in-ski. She was clearly the third choice for most of her romantic partners including Kelly, Floyd, Jim and Fletcher. She also lacked the sex appeal of most of her female rivals like Nola, Katie, and Morgan. In fact, I have a theory that Marcia Clarke must have had a sexy headshot which is why casting agents from both GL and OLTL cast her in such vixen-esque role as Hillary and Tina. But, once she appeared on screen there was very little spark (no pun intended given that Hillary died in an explosion)

Come on Janet's management, they're assembling the cast hhttps://nypost.com/2022/02/01/taraji-p-henson-cast-in-the-color-purple-movie-musical/?utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=SocialFlowttps://twitter.com/nypost/status/1488585981846560773?s=20&t=s3bX6Cnh5N6vzv1NKuowXw

🎼 It was Allison (Perkins) all along 🎶

Speaking of Capitol, my three performers that I wonder about are all leading men of short lived soaps. First, David Mason Daniels aka Tyler McCandless #1, a guy with a face built for soaps, cheekbones so sharp you could chisel a diamond, but lacked some charm in comparison to his co-stars like Nick Walker. Second would be Robert Tyler aka Tucker, he seemed destined for a big career in entertainment. He had the looks and persona suited for action/horror movies in the 90s, but I've never seen him in anything post-Loving. And third, a bit obscure, Grant Wilson aka Biff from A New Day in Eden, as I recall he was involved with Gail Ramsey who played big parts on GH and Generations before being a Christian minister. But, Grant had a career as a teen actor on Facts of Life and Foxes, yet, according to IMDB, he hasn't worked in TV since 1987

To me this is the definative answer as I agree wholeheartedly with each choice of this list

Ooo, imagine if Janet played the lead in the film of the musical version The Color Purple? Or, if she could originate a role in a Broadway musical, that could be great for her.

My take on Bert is similar to Alice Horton with her sons Bill and Mickey. Ed and Mickey were such screw-ups that it just made Mike and Bill easier to love. It is not that Bert, nor Alice, didn't adore their more affect-driven, alcohol-dependent, unlucky-in-love sons, it just meant that their brothers created less worry and strife for the family.

I'm getting major deja vu over Donald May's death because I thought he died last summer. Does anyone recall another EON star that died last summer that I may be thinking of? Joe Lambie isn't dead and Forrest Compton died in 2020 (although the pandemic years tends to merge together in history). Were there other recent passings from the show?

I do not like JT and I do not wish him well. I think he is headed into his flop era as he has lost credibility and relevancy to his audience. Janet, on the other hand, just needs a new producer and a hipper sound. Look at what Kygo did with Whitney's Higher Love, he made it seem current and reminded young people of the beauty of her voice. I predict Janet still has a few more hits yet to come, but she should refresh her act. I wonder if she got any money from her marriage? He was reportedly very wealthy and one tends to think that with that type of wealth she would not be engaging in Lifetime retrospectives with her brother. So, I hazard to guess that the acrimonial end of that relationship (along with supporting her mother and siblings) has eaten through some of the large amounts of cash she had in reserve.

@Errol I think there is an under-reported story about their YouTube engagement that does not correlate with their ratings. Their videos average under 500 views, whereas The Wendy Show gets thousands of views per day.