j swift

The neglected/unexplored Augusta detail that I've been thinking about when watching the first year episodes was the idea of how beholden she was to Minx. Lionel did not have job, he spent a lot of money on his travels, and Minx held the purse strings. As we saw when Augusta seduced Joe, she didn't live in the owner's suite, that was reserved for her mother-in-law. So, really Augusta's life was bought and paid for by Minx. When Lionel was thought to be dead, there wouldn't have been a large inheritance for Augusta because Minx was still alive. Julia never made it seem like they were born into generational wealth. And when Bunny died, I don't think there was a lot of his money left to go around. So, it seems like a missed opportunity to tell the story of a woman who always had to depend on the kindness of others to survive. In contrast to Sophia, who had men throwing money at her left and right, or Julia, who made a good salary as a lawyer, or even a hustler like Gina who came up with a million get rich quick schemes; Augusta had nobody to rely upon. I wish they had explored the effect of her need to please Minx, and others, in order to afford the life she had become accustom to, as well as her anxiety over whether they would continue to fund her needs. It would have created more motivation to oppose Brick, as he stood in the way of her getting more cash from Minx. It also would have been an interesting source of conflict with Lionel and created motivation for him to aspire to have his own source of income. Or allow Augusta to have her own base of power, like a boutique to sell Gina jeans.

I guess what we'll never know is whether they wrote Mary into a corner and then had no choice but to kill her off, or did they start writing into a corner with the desired outcome to write her off? Because, one could argue that once Mark was introduced, and provided context for Mary's entrance into the nunnery, there was further background to explore. Why Mary chose men like Mark and Mason after growing up with abusive men in her family? What did she gain from relationships of trying to fix broken men? And, how could she have emerged as her own woman after learning those lessons? But, that's not very SB, which was a little too caught up in fantasy romances, wish fulfillment, and the idea that the rich are more screwed up than the rest of the 99%.

Thanks @Wendy I was also thinking about the lack of balance, in terms of the focus on the Capwells at the expense of every other family in town and I would propose that it was due to the fact that they had too many children. If each Capwell heir represented an archetype then we have Mason (the ne'er-do-well), Ted (the romantic hero), Kelly (the damsel in distress), and Eden (the sob looking for her daddy's approval). By the time you add a love interest for each kid, and a person to serve as a spoiler to true love, that's 12 characters, not including CC, Sophia and their spoilers. Not many one hour soaps could balance more than 14 characters, leaving very little room for other families or settings. Coupled with the huge expense of the Capwell living room, which meant that most of the interactions had to take place somewhere within that set, there wasn't a lot of literal room left. It may have been poor planning, (who knows if Eden was part of the original pitch or if she was added once Marcy Walker was cast?), or just the result of the need to make changes on the fly after the initial ratings failed to attract a large audience. However, it goes without saying that the lack of expansion of stories beyond the Capwells damaged the potential longevity of the soap. For example, look at Y&R, they pivoted to new families after their debut and it sparked years worth of stories. Yet, I've come to believe that SB was never able to successfully expand because they were stuck with too many Capwells.

Sure, what the heck, you can call me honey, just don't call me late for dinner (yuk yuk) However, according Variety, since 2008, DVD sales have declined more than 86%. So an N of 1 is not a great indicator of need Poor Shane not only had a doppelganger twin, but his ex-partner Gabrielle also had a doppelganger, identical twins were popping up like flies.

All they would need is a time machine back to a period when people had DVD players and purchased physical media (lol)😉

It was amusing that they showed clips from the first season (when they re-used the set from The City) because it looked like they were sitting on top of each because the table was so small. The new table is huge, but it is also way too high for Whoopi and Joy who seem to struggle to get up in their chairs, and and Whoopi needs a box under her feet. Also, Whoopi noted that three hosts have left and came, Sara and Joy being two, but she refused to say Rosie until Joy clarified the record.

It seems like it has been always been a debate whether or not she quit or she was fired, because she certainly went on to high profile work in films soon after her departure. I've read people say that she didn't want to come back and that was why the ending was so final. But, as all fans are well aware, we never know how those decisions are truly made, and whether the actor or the production initiates that discussion. However, from a structural point of view the character of Mary had been written into a corner. I vaguely recall that she was pregnant by either by Mason or Mark after her rape. Given the times, a paternity story for a nun would have been unseemly and that child would have extended Mark's story which rightfully ended after his trial. The much later comeuppance for Mark was a creative failure and very unpopular in the soap press. Her family was mostly written out by the time she died and given that they could hardly balance the Capwells and Lockridges, there was little need for a third family.. There were no church characters to create conflict with her religious background. CC liked her, so there was no conflict to mine with the Capwell family. If they had expounded upon her nursing background and made her a medical professional, there may have been some story potential, given how often people fell into comas in Santa Barbara. Yet, Kelly and Eden cornered the market on women in peril stories, so she was redundant in that regard. So, the only story would have been Mason constantly sinning and repenting, which would have gotten very old very fast. And, Mason would not have survived as a source of conflict if he settled down in the second year of the show. Thus, it seems like there was no where else to go, but off the roof.

To my eye what looks odd are the male hunks of my youth as they age today. !990s male soap stars were so tan and angular. However, it is true that as you age your nose and ears continue to grow. So, today men like Steve Burton, Ronn Moss, and even Don Diamont are all cheekbones and sun damage with huge ears and long noses. It reminds me of the old ABFAB line, "your entire face just hangs off of your cheekbones." Many of the women that we've looked at in this thread have plumped things up. However, the men just look hollow cheeked with single process dye jobs, like a deflated black balloon at the end of a New Year's Eve party. I do not envy anyone who has to age on screen, everyday, with magazine photos of their younger days all over the internet. It is no wonder that they go to such extremes.

I know this is a bit of a "hot take" and I am not one to speak ill of the dead, but, are we just going to ignore the reasons that Greg and Nene divorced? He was using her money, trashing her in radio interviews, and seemed envious of her fame and status. He may have atoned, and she forgave his trespasses, but I don't perceive him as being as much of a benevolent force as he is being portrayed. I am sure he was beloved, and will be missed, but I don't like it when a public figure's death is meant to absolve them of their past.

So, poor Belle and Shawn just have to stay in Salem and don't get to go anywhere on vacation?

I was referring to the time when Jefferson Brown tried to pin Gunther #1's (I've forgotten name of Gunther's identical brother) murder on Gavin and he was hiding out in the theater, Nora was the one who spotted Gavin and called the police.

I would suggest that Amandas are a question of taste and everyone has a preference. Sandy Ferguson made the role popular and played a good romantic heroine. Her Amanda was well-bred, independent, and (in my opinion) was kind of like what Iris would have been like if Mac paid more attention to her as a child. I am in the minority that I enjoyed Laura Moss (another redheaded recast like the aforementioned ill-fated Nina). Her portrayal was nothing special, and the plot of her trying to seduce/betray Carl seemed out of character, but her scenes with Rachel during Victoria Wyndham's anniversary episode made me sympathetic to her as an actress. Christine Tucci was an odd choice of casting. She looked like Rachel's daughter, given her dark wavy locks, but her Amanda lacked agency and was stuck playing second fiddle to Vicky. Amanda was a wealthy, self confident woman, and writing her as a third wheel in a triangle did nothing for the character. Finally, when Sandy returned, and had to play out the Lumina story, Amanda became a farce. For years, the image of Amanda in her debutante dress was shown in the opening sequence and now to see Amanda looking older in a hoop skirt and bun was not a good look. As for Ava's, you have to have a memory better than mine to remember Patty Lotz (Ava #1). After that it is a toss up between the late Roya Megnot and Lisa Peluso. Roya played young Ava with an urban verve and gave her a balance which kept her from being a true villain who stole her cousin's baby and tried to ruin Jack's marriage. On the other hand Lisa's southern romantic portrayal of Ava gave routing value for her pairing with Alex. The character changed so much with the recasting that it more a question of which plot you preferred versus which actress, and I prefer the Clay/Alex story. I faded out after that so the other plots with Paul and Carly are not as relevant to me.

Ian was part of Henry Slesar's final story for Edge of Night. This is from memory, so it is a little hazy. After Jefferson Brown got plastic surgery to look like Sky Whitney, and was then assassinated in Switzerland while trying to kill Raven, the real Sky came to Monticello to visit his Aunt Geraldine and reclaim the family mansion. However, now there was a group of men who wanted to find out the identities of other spies that worked with Jefferson Brown. Brown had stolen the list while he worked for Senator Dedrickson, who later committed suicide after being falsely accused of spying and stealing the "phonebook" (an uninspired name for the list of other spies). Later, his son Jim came to Monticello pretending to be Jefferson Brown while Brown pretended to be Sky, but that's another story. For now, tru-Sky was inadvertently in possession of "the phonebook" somewhere in the Whitney mansion. Ian Devereaux wanted the phonebook, as did his enemy David Cameron. There were two big twists. First, Nora Fulton was murdered. She had a huge list of enemies, so it could have been caused by almost anyone in Monticello. Nora had drugged Miles with hallucinogens, she ratted out Jody's boyfriend Gavin, and blackmailed Gunther. However, it turns out that she was killed by David Cameron when he caught her listening to a conversation about the "phonebook." Second, Ian had been a rival to Sky so he wooed Raven and tried to frame Sky for espionage in order to get the phonebook. But, (in a move partially lifted from the 1980s Matthew Broderick movie War Games), it turned out that the phonebook was not a physical book, but a computer disk with a digital chess game for a password. Raven faked a romance with Ian, figured out the chess game, and freed Sky. Ian had become more sympathetic to Raven when he described how the loss of his wife motivated his search for the phonebook and that David Cameron was the true villain, so he was allowed to escape when Raven solved the mystery. In the end, the purpose of the story was to unite Raven with tru-Sky who had rejected her after her romance with Jefferson Brown was revealed. Sky fell for Raven during the caper and they went on to solve other mysteries together. Unfortunately, it was the end for Slesar. Producers reportedly felt that the story had been too drawn out. After all, this was the continuation of a string of stories that could be traced back to the Mansion of the Damned plot, which begat Draper being framed for Margo's murder, which begat the Clown Puppet Murders, which begat the Bryson Clinic where Jefferson Brown got his surgery, and other plots that required fans to have a complete knowledge of a complex cannon of plots. Stations began to drop EON to play cheaper/more profitable programming like local news. And eventually EON fired Slesar in order to achieve shorter stories and try to attract a younger audience. Which, of course, failed and tanked the show. But, that's a tale as old as soaps in general.

Welcome While I appreciate your grasp on the history of GH, my point may have been lost over time. I was suggesting that if the same story was told today we might have more empathy for Heather. After all, it takes two to tango, so it is difficult to "trap" someone into pregnancy when everyone is responsible for their own birth control. Jeff was a doctor, and son of the chief of staff at the hospital, who after being sexually rejected sought comfort in the bed of a younger woman. He then used his status to persuade everyone that Heather had nefarious motives and his indiscretions were never questioned. Meanwhile, Jeff had romances with patients, nurses and other doctors that would seem unprofessional at the very least. He then left town as soon as Heather found out she was pregnant with very few options but to sell her baby, only to return with a new face and a new virginal girlfriend to help solidify his reputation. It was enough to drive a girl insane, with or without LSD laced tea. In summary, I was trying to say that hindsight gives us new perspectives on old stories.

I've said it before but nu-Jeff with his post-ayahuasca space enthusiasm is one of the wackiest stories in soap history. They seem to avoid saying the drug, and Jeff just referred to it as a "spiritual journey" when talking about with Dom, but it is a proverbial trip. I also appreciate the amount of actual Chanel and Gucci that Jeff and Fallon wear. The wardrobe budget is remarkable. Even Liam was wearing Zegna when he went hiking.

Liam and Fallon demonstrate the soap couple storyline that displeases me the most: He: is self involved and unavailable (leaves town to investigate a story, goes to cabin the week her best friend OD's), but fighting for a moral cause; therefore good, She: is self involved and slightly unavailable (arrives for dinner one hour late) but fighting for her company, therefore bad. Liam is cute and romantic, but also an unevolved poseur. After all, it was Anders who actually figured out the crime around his father's death, while Liam (who still doesn't use his real name), maintains access to the Van Kirk estate without doing anything to preserve that dynasty.

Am I the only one that just got the joke that her company's name is Fallon Unlimited, aka FU? I kept thinking it was such an odd name for a company until I got the humor of it. If I was writing the show then I would pair Colin with Amanda in order to further her alienation from Fallon. However, nobody's asked me, I don't own Final Draft software, and my spelling is atrocious. So, there goes that plan...

Someone wants $920.99 for this and they still won't pay for shipping?

The repetitive nature of sin and redemption for Fallon is getting a little old. 14 episodes in a row, she doesn't listen to someone who loves her, then gets in trouble, her loved one forgives her, there's some sad music, and then next week it starts all over again as if she's learned nothing. Why is there no character development? Why is everything resolved each week? Why do people like Fallon if she keeps ignoring their feelings every time she gets stressed out?

We were discussing this recently, but I didn't get a chance to go back and watch the scene, so please remind me of some of the details. 1) Had Dylan been menacing Kelly prior to that evening? 2) Were Kelly's loved ones aware that Dylan was a threat? 3) Did Nick know that Dylan had nefarious intentions or did he think Kelly was to blame? 4)Was the audience aware of the fact that the murder was on video prior to Gina getting the tape? 5)Was there a plausible reason that the SBPD would not believe it was self-defense? I'm trying to figure why Kelly needed to go on the run (except for the fact that Robin needed to be written out to film Princess Bride) when it was clear that she was not culpable in the crime?

That was the highlight. Beemer wore one of those sleeve tattoo skintight shirts that they sold at malls in his tour d'force performance as Owen's nefarious brother Casper, who was never heard from again.

Agreed But, can we also talk about the bizarre Owen storyline that seems to be highlighted by the YouTube channel? The thumbnail is a shirtless pic of Owen in 75% of the videos. Every week he and Jackie do a photoshoot, while Whip encourages him to look sexy and Bridget and Nick discuss fertility. The conflict seems to be that Owen objects to these sexy photos, but he never refuses, and Jackie easily persuades him to continue. A. What is Owen's objection given that he has no reputation to preserve, and no other viable means of support? B. How do they use these photoshoots to advertise a boutique in Beverly Hills given that they don't wear clothes from the store? C. Why do they need to do a new photoshoot every week and why do they shoot them in Nick's office? D. Why does a small boutique/clothing line hire their own advertising agent/photographer/marketing agency? Owen starts as a someone with mysterious motivations, but once they establish him as a good guy, they seemed to have no other ideas except having him strip. It was an odd period of the show and understandably unpopular.

I would add that dementia is also not very visual, so it is difficult to portray on screen. Of course, you could write a few scenes of someone being forgetful, but most of the experience is internal. The cruelness of the disease is that once people see the decline, there is too much damage to have an effective treatment. So, it really becomes a story about those around the person with the illness as opposed to showing the issue itself. On the other hand, pseudo-dementia which is a symptom of geriatric depression would be an interesting story and an educational oppertunity.

Victoria was addicted to "pills", after stringing Mason along, and creating a roadblock for Julia, the truth came out that it was Cruz's baby, and then she left town to go to rehab and gave custody of the kid to Cruz and Eden. I guess she had that good Screen Actor's Guild insurance because apparently she either forgot her kid or stayed in rehab for the next five years. Even years later when Cruz sent his kids to live with his family while he went on the run to protect BJ from being tried for murder (even though it was clearly self defense, and she had a father who was married to a wealthy family to pay for a good attorney) there was no mention of returning Chip to Tori.

Am I correct that each episode is under 20 minutes? Because it seems like we have unrealistic expectations for a show that is hardly longer than an extended commercial.