j swift

22 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I was thinking they'd have like a Vivian/Philip kind of relationship.

Oh, do you mean the type of relationship where she never mentions him once he's an adult, until he's recast for the third time, and they need to remind the audience of his origin story?

@AbcNbc247 But, if Kristen goes for the Black family trifecta and tries to seduce Tate, I might lose my lunch...

@AbcNbc247 I think that's exactly where they're going.

Tate is going to get butt hurt when Theresa leaves town, and he'll rebel against Brady, which will cause Nicole to restrict Holly from dating him, but eventually he'll rescue Holly (or Nicole/Eric's baby), so Nicole will relent, and Brady will never be called out for missing most of the first 18 years of Tate's life in order to live in his father's spare room and chase girls that he loved in high school.

But, once again, I ask: Are Tate and Dick Van Dyke going to be roommates in Rachel's old room?  And wouldn't DVD be more comfortable back at his old place?

8 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

One thing though, we got a little more evidence that what we all suspected about Alex may be true and I hope it is.

Oh boy, that was heavy-handed!  Did we need to literally see flashbacks to Theresa and the letters!  I expect she'll be musing aloud to herself in the town square later in the week about Alex being Victor's son when Nicole will happen by, and she'll cover by saying, "Alex got too much sun" (snort)

8 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

They spent years telling us about how she’s such a good mother, how she’s raising Tate on her own, etc., yet she barely gave him the time of day today.

This was exactly my issue.  What gives Brady the dominion to say how Tate is going to be punished?  Theresa sacrificed a lot to raise Tate, and today she's portrayed as if he's a burden.  And what kind of fire alarm causes $5,000 in damages?  Brady should call Sloan and get her to make a deal before accepting liability.  I mean, they sent their son there as an 8-year-old, and he came back 18, the least they could was discount the remodeling fees.

3 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

There are many past plots that could be mentioned in relation to current stories but are not so why bother with glossing over the Bill/Laura rape?

I thought the point of Maggie's dialogue was more about how Micky was devoted to Mike even after he found out that he was not his biological father.  The circumstances of Mike's conception has nothing to do with that relationship, nor was it ever an issue for Micky in terms of his affection toward his son.  Although, it might have been less controversial if she made the same point about Micky and ether Melissa (who at one point Linda tried to trick him into believing he was her father), or Sarah. 

Lastly, it is so silly that characters need excuses to go see each other.  IRL, who returns flowers to their son because they learned that they're not the grandmother.

5 hours ago, Franko said:

I'd love to know if anyone else was considered for Peter. Something that I think may have slightly hurt reaction to the storyline was that it aired around the same time that Atkins' older woman-younger man movie, A Night in Heaven, came out. It's like, why am I seeing the same story twice?

According to the National Enquirer, the part and plot were written specifically with Atkins in mind (can't link, it's from press clippings in an eBay auction).  And for me, I need nothing more that those speedo and crop top scenes to stay tuned into the entire season (along with the campy hilarity of Peter and Lucy's disco jeans modeling commercial).

I think if we judge the story from Sue Ellen's perspective and not Peter's, it makes more sense.  She had been humiliated by JR prancing around with women half her age, and part of her healing process was to throw that right back in his face.  After all, she never received any effective counseling in order to assist her recovery.  There's also the interesting detail that JR's resolution was that he wanted Sue Ellen back in his bed now that she was desirable to other men.  She hurt his ego by sleeping with him while thinking of Peter, which was probably her most effective form of revenge.

It is remarkable given the number of episodes per season that we don't get more character development from Sue Ellen in order to understand her further romantic motivations.  For example, I have no clue what attracted her to Nicholas Pearce (aka Jack Scalia, an equally untalented actor), or Don Lockwood.  To me, it always felt like she was drawn more to Clayton than Dusty (how juicy would an Ellie/Clayton/Sue Ellen triangle have been?).  It was one of the issues with Dallas, that even with the amount of filler episodes we got every season, they still have trouble balancing stories for characters that didn't live on Southfork.

Also, wouldn't it have been interesting if they kept the anxious personality trait for John Ross brought on the trauma of the fire?  Having JR deal with a son who was coping with mental illness could have been such a dramatic source of conflict. 

So, I guess my rather long-winded point is that Peter didn't need to be a charismatic actor because it was much more about the idea of desire, rather than personality. 

18 minutes ago, DaytimeFan said:

A very tasteful home:

I adore the classic crescent shaped patio around the pool and the bathrooms.  But, I don't like the kitchen and too much mid-century furniture always looks kitschy to me rather than tasteful (e.g. if you've got a sumptuous dining room, do you really want to see danish modern chairs?).  Now, would I take if they offered it to me?  100%  But, I hope Bill Jr & Maria strip some of the wallpaper and chose decor pieces that are more timeless, and less specific to a particular trend in decor.

I still get a chuckle out of Maria referencing the home as a jewel box, and I'm fascinated that it was originally built for Eleanor Parker (aka Baroness von Schraeder in Sound of Music). - thanks for finding the link.

12 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I get the point of view and I agree, however, I don't think Sam nor Sasha could have instilled the fear into Gladys like Sonny did, knowing what Sonny does for a living. He just put that fear into Gladys to try him. So, I see the why of including Sonny. Do I wish it'd be more Sam/Sasha? Yes. I do.

Yeah, it could've been as simple as having Sam tell Sonny what the appropriate punishment should be, that would have given her more agency in the episode.

That's easier than questioning why female characters on GH aren't created to be able to instill fear unless they are romantically undesirable, like Heather or Selina.

@Skylover Yeah, as we learned from the WGA strike, streaming services often don't release audience numbers either publically, or to productions, in order to maximize their bargaining leverage.  And, of course, because it is funded both by subscriptions and advertising, the old network ratings rubrics are not as important for making scheduling decisions. (great screen name BTW)

@DaytimeFan I would argue that peak Gwen was when she took over The Spectator and was in scenes with Xander.  That was a fun time for the character, but it was dropped quickly.

Are Tate and Dick Van Dyke going to double up in Rachel's room at Marlena's townhouse?

And where's Theresa going to live while visiting Salem?

4 hours ago, JAS0N47 said:

All of the soaps had 10 additional telecasts in their telecast column between 10/12 to 10/26, so that confirms there were NO full preemptions of any soaps during the missing week of 10/19/87.

Interesting because 10/19/87 was the date of a historic stock market crash, which would have been reported during the day.  Also, 10/17 - 10/25/87 was the last year that MLB played daytime games for the World Series, and it was broadcast on ABC, but the games started at 3pm EST.

The Springfield Country Club was a hopping joint!  Especially when Alexandra wasn't performing a monologue, or one of Holly's rivals wound up dead in the pool. I love the interpretative spin that extra in the black strapless dress gave the dance. (Gen Z doesn't know what they're missing by not having party outfits anymore).  At first, I thought this was when Dylan was blind, then he flipped up the sunglasses, so it was either foreshadowing or a weird costume choice.  But, it made me remember when soaps had real pop songs as background music.

And, in one minor scene they have coverage from three different angles (close-up, long shot, and mid-range), which meant it had to be shot in multiple takes, you wouldn't see that on a soap filmed by robo-cams in 2023!

I believe the post about the recast of Bo from Robert Kelker-Kelly to Peter Reckell is incorrect.

According to @JAS0N47 synopsis on 7/24/95

Bo and Billie get home only to get a call from Abe who sends Bo to go and get a man in Jackson who jumped bail. They are both disappointed, and Bo feels it would be the worst thing in the world to leave Billie on her own right now. She reassures him she’s fine, though, and he departs. - This is the last episode in which Robert Kelker-Kelly appears in the role of Bo Brady

Then on 8/1/95

Billie gets home and finds that Bo has returned. She tells him about the shambles at the wedding, and then tells him about her trip to New Orleans, Bobby Lee and the bracelet which gives Gina’s true identity as Hope Brady. Bo thinks Bobby Lee is a liar. She tells him about the puzzlebox which will prove that Gina is Hope, and he reassures her that even if she opens the box, it does not mean Gina is Hope and that he will continue to love her. - this episode marks the return of Peter Reckell

So, it wasn't as dramatic a shift.  Although in the same week Gina opened the box and realized she was Hope.

With regard to Theresa, it was EOB's acting choice to tug at her spanx (as well as the leopard print dress, and those dark roots) that made her seem "trashy" to me.

5 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

The Theresa wig was bad, but so was Theresa, period. I know EOB can put her own spin on Theresa, but that was MILES away from the Jen Lilley Theresa. EOB came across as a Vegas gold digger to me. Yeah, I know it was only a 30-second reveal, but that did not work for me.

I thought the wig looked better on camera than in still photography.  But, I can't see Theresa showing up at her son's boarding school wearing a silver leopard print minidress.

OK, one more thought after a chaotic week.

I was just watching the preview for next week and there's something amusing about the amount of discourse about Emily O'Brien's accent, especially given her side hustle as a voice actor for videogames.  Meanwhile, Robert Scott Wilson is running around Salem with such a thick South Boston accent that he sounds more like a longshoreman than a boarding school educated CEO. "After I ate a durty wuder dawg, I got a real classy nameplate for my desk from dems over der"

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the absurdity of Harris and Ava's discussion about Bayview today.  Does Ava think she can just walk back into her mandatory treatment, and they'll welcome her with open arms?  And did the UK air heal Harris of the emotional issues that got him into the psych hospital in the first place?

The whole love story of these two people with serious mental illness verges on offensive.  Because we all know if they were written as having a serious physical illness like cancer, and they were avoiding treatment, it would be handled with more sensitivity.  As it stands, it looks like a strong set of abs can save you from hallucinations and delusions. Steve Burton may believe that, but we shouldn't.

My objection, as a feminist, is that Sonny got to make the final judgement on what happened to Gladys, and he even had the balls to make Sam leave the room.

Sam solved the case, she got Cody into the hospital, and arguably Sasha wouldn't have been saved without her.  She's also wealthy and powerful enough to threaten Gladys and make it stick.

I mean, if ever there was a case for character favoritism, it is this.  Sonny gets the totally unearned triumphant monologue about Gladys using Mike and shaming Brando.  Whereas, the one time that Sasha gets the upper hand, she immediately is portrayed as a victim once again. 

I agree that kooky character switches are part of DAYS DNA, but it is jarring every time.

I feel like the character of Chloe has been ill-defined as an adult.  A goth girl who finds self-confidence through the expression of singing talents and her first romance with Brady & Philip is interesting and unique.  But then upon each subsequent return, the character maintains none of that original conflict.  This Chloe who couldn't find a job and lived in a 2-bedroom flat while flirting with a kidnapper was a miserable facsimile of the spunky teen we once knew (and that's a lot, considering her foray into prostitution and drug abuse). 

Where was the mental fragility?  Why did she barely talk to Belle and Shawn?  And most importantly, what motivated her decisions?  Certainly not making a better life for her son.

And it makes the breakup of Gwen and Xander make even less sense, because those two had chemistry and story potential.

The whole show feels like it is going through immediate reset - following the reset from last fall - preceding the reset we'll get from a new producer, and culminating in the reset inevitably brought on by the scab writers shows that we'll see this winter.  As I've said, I really enjoyed this week for the amount of exciting reveals.  But, I could sue for whiplash from the twists and turns that came suddenly after weeks of treading water.

It seems like a missed opportunity that once they returned to Salem, Kate never spoke to Dimitri again.

We also never learned the circumstances of his birth. 

There are a lot of loose threads there that could've been covered if he didn't spend weeks going on a honeymoon to Iceland.

What do you think?  Is there a non-stop flight between Salem and Alamania, or do you need to change planes on that island that Orpheus held Marlena?

4 hours ago, Liberty City said:

That's how it was for Martha Byrne and part of why Rose was killed off As the World Turns.

Not to go too far afield on this (although it is the weekend), but I wonder how it worked when Kristen was pretending to be Nicole?  Practically, the actress didn't need to be in more scenes, and I don't think she ever had to play two characters in one scene (like with a green screen).  Given Ron's proclivity for masks, I'm going to assume that it doesn't cost any more money for a character to pretend to be someone else (because she was still playing Nicole, it was just Kristen as Nicole).  So, bonus pay is only required if an actor needs to assume two different roles at the same time.

OK, I watched it and at the risk of once again going against the grain, I thought it was hysterical and a bit thrilling.

The Gwen/Theresa switch seems much more like a production stunt than a writer's idea.

But, come on, the wig, the turn to camera, the fact we barely heard Theresa speak, the meta use of Gwen's goodbye mirroring the fan response, the classic DAYS use of characters talking to themselves aloud in public while none of the extras look at them like they're nuts; this is classic Salem behavior.  I dare any soap fan to watch that and not get a tingle. 

It wasn't well written.  The monologue was clumsy and not in character (I mean, why does Gwen suddenly have insight?).  It is a totally undeserved Scarlett-O'Hara-tomorrow-is-another-day moment for a character who was never in the love-to-hate category.  But, that airport scene will carry me through the weekend on a high note.

I wonder if it is a contractual issue?

IIRC at one point if an actor was playing multiple roles then they got compensated twice. 

So, maybe they got rid of Gwen in order to only pay EOB once?   If so, that is even more nefarious toward Jen Lilley.  Obviously, this is just speculation and I have no idea how DAYS contracts work.  But, it was the first idea that came to mind.

It made as much sense that EJ's hitman was like, "oh well, as long as I'm still getting paid, then I'll just leave...", as it does that there are multiple hitmen on call in Salem 24/7.  Is there a DoorDash for hitman that EJ uses?

I mean, wouldn't Xander want to capture him before calling Rafe?

Also, I've totally forgotten why Xander kidnapped Susan in the first place?  Did someone hire him? 

I believe what I'm saying is that the repercussion fits the offense.  And given how rare it is that there is justice in our random and chaotic universe, it is comforting to watch from afar.

If you say that you can produce your show without writers during the strike, then try to do that after the strike is done. 

Of course, others will take the job.  But, that just proves why a union is necessary.  Because of the scarcity of opportunity, people would be willing to be exploited if they didn't negotiate together.

Cheers @Vee

It doesn't matter who made the decision, Drew chose to go front facing and basically say that her show could carry on without writers in two different videos.  No other talent in a similar situation did that.  Even Bill Maher only released a statement, he didn't try to glean sympathy from his audience.

On a purely human level, what self-respecting writer would go back to work with her?