j swift

2 hours ago, Ryan Mason said:

If I remember right, that was where both he and the confrontation with Mason ended up, but for him to get there, Sophia had to talk him out of his initially more homophobic reaction. I think he was on the verge of having Channing's belongings burned in disgust and she talked him out of it.

Sophia was still in her drag king era, and hadn't emerged when Mason outed Channing.

1 hour ago, dc11786 said:

I don't think that Sophia's role as murderess was made public was it?

It's an excellent point because I don't even think that an issue was made of Sophia's return, in terms of publicity.  She was a society matron, and later we know she was a well regarded actress, but her return from the dead got no publicity as far as I recall.

1 hour ago, dc11786 said:

Then again, with Brandon's custody, I imagine that the paternity became public, but maybe I am wrong.   

Well, certainly by the time of Brandon's kidnapping, it was public knowledge that he wasn't Gina's biological son.  But, I still think his paternity was not common knowledge outside the family.  In fact, I'm willing to bet that Ted never knew that Channing was Brandon's father.  But, then again, Ted didn't know a lot of things about his family.

Just now, carolineg said:

the only kid Mimi is raising currently is her daughter with Rex.  It would be interesting if Tyler/Pocket came back though. 

Right....

That's why Bonnie knew that Sarah was pregnant because she went to see Mimi, the baby, and Rex in Chicago.

On 9/20/2023 at 5:42 PM, dc11786 said:

C.C.'s vision of Channing, Jr., was not the reality. In the aftermath, maybe even have Sophia become involved with an AIDS charity with possibly Sophia's involvement infuriating C.C. over Sophia wanting to share her connection to the disease through Lindsay which would make very public Lindsay and Channing, Jr.'s relationship. Maybe have Mason handle the legal end of the charity work with Mason siding with Sophia. 

It would have been odd because as I recall the reveal, CC got angry at Mason for outing Channing.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I think he yelled at Mason for thinking that he was humiliating Channing, but he affirmed that nothing could destroy the love that he felt for his son.  It was one of the few times that I enjoyed that version of CC because his response was so unexpected. 

I get that all social issues stories on soaps need an antagonist to portray the social implications of the cause.  However, it would've been unfair to CC to make him be the face of the bias toward the disease.

Speaking of which...

I always forget that Phillip has a kid with Mimi.  Has he had any scenes with Bonnie, who saw the kid over the summer, to inquire about his well-being?  It's a little creepy if his son still believes that he's dead, that he is prioritizing Victor's funeral and getting ordained for a wedding at the pub over reuniting with his son.

Also, I get that Rafe is not bright, but how is he planning to arrest Ava in a foreign country?  This feels like the jurisdiction of Andrew and the ISA, rather than bringing half of the Salem PD to the UK, and leaving the policing duties back at home to drunk Shawn D. and that extra with the mustache.  

I liked the use of flashbacks to thread together Charlotte's story. But, it is hard not see her as a little girl rather than a big threat.

And while I enjoy the misdirection that this whole caper has nothing to do with Pikeman (directly), or Curtis's shooting, I can't help but be distracted by thoughts of whether this was the initial intent of the story, or if it was a punt on behalf of the scab writers. (I might be using the incorrect sports terminology, that's not my forte).

I pray to St. Laura of the Discotheque that this whole plot is not a device to unite Anna and Sonny romantically after they inevitably break up with Valentine and Nina.

22 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I have never heard anyone praise JT's portrayal of Roman ever.  

Hard to believe, but Josh Taylor has been playing Roman on and off since 1998, which if I've done my math correctly, is five times longer than Wayne was in the role.

But clearly, first gen Roman had much more appeal than clam chowder Roman.

Except that it is fictional, and they need to maintain tension, why isn't Valentine directly confronting Charlotte about entering Anna's room?

I cannot imagine another scenario where a parent who was concerned about their child's behavior would choose to be coy about their suspicions and not provide support for this young girl who is clearly reacting to the trauma of losing her mother.  Does Valentine want his daughter to grow up as emotionally stunted as he did?  It's believable that he could shield legally, after all, his entire family has done zero prison time for worse crimes (except Spencer).  But it is unfathomable that he wouldn't get her some help,

And if you were Anna, wouldn't you rather be told that the threat you've scared of is actually a little girl, rather than being frightened by your shadow?

Finally, what's Nina motivation for staying silent on this information?  She saw Anna today, and there's no reason for her not to say something.

The daytime ratings dip during the summer, which was traditionally a strong period for soaps, does not bode well for anyone hoping for a change in the writing staff at GH who were on strike at the time.

As we all know from history, changes in writing staffs are usually driven by ratings, not creativity.

Given that the scabs could never join the WGA, be eligible for WGA awards, and SAG would need to exempt the production from using non-union writers, I think the chances of the GH scabs being hired full-time are pretty bleak.

Even if awards didn't matter, it is poor optics for a network that just negotiated a new contract to hire scabs. 

So, they may be creative, but the scabs disloyalty to the union is unlikely to be rewarded.  And, due to the fact that there was no significant increase in ratings while the scabs were writing, there would be no motive for change.

However, that obviously doesn't dissuade GH or DAYS from hiring the thousands of other writers who stood with the WGA, so hope springs eternal.

1 hour ago, Dion said:

I'm a couple of days late to this but isn't the image you posted from the south side? In the plaza area between the old and new buildings?

yes

Also, wasn't Kin Shriner complaining about not getting airtime over the summer, only to appear on today's episode?  Perhaps JJY's health issues made them re-write the scenes for Scotty, but it is getting to be a little bit like the soap vet who cried wolf over there.

I totally agree with your points that both men are popular actors, and it makes sense from a business perspective to promote what the audience favors, even though it can feel heavy-handed.

I guess what I am reacting to, and get tired of hearing, are criticism that focus only on the head writer.  He is one part of a large machine, and it grates on my nerves when fans assume his motives are lewd.  Especially when we now know that there were other forces behind the scenes that were much more egregious. 

Again, please note that I don't mean to disrespect our little community.  It just feels reductive.  There's enough on-screen to critique that I don't find it necessary to create false narratives about the headwriter's motives being anything else than wanting to draw the highest ratings possible.  And, if you are reading this and thinking that you don't imply about the writer's intentions when you post, then this is obviously not meant toward you.  But, you wouldn't have to scroll back very far to find examples of what I am talking about.

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

Can't recall the whole Kim story.  I think it was just switched paternity tests not anything to do with Victor's sperm count lol.

Yeah, you're correct.  I looked it up, Shane's ex switched the paternity tests, with the aged old soap logic that he would instantly reconcile with her once he found out that Vic had slept with Kim.  Of course, later he revealed that he had also slept with Kim's mom, but reformed romantic rouges are a staple of culture in Salem.

BTW, I was thinking about the fan-based conspiracy that the headwriter has a thing for RSW and that inspires him to keep writing stories which benefit his characters, and I wondered why don't fans say the same thing about Paul Telfer?  Xander has done many awful things, but he is still written as a romantic hero, and I assume the audience is meant to be on his side in the Sarah story, so (rhetorically), why don't people write about RonC having a crush on Paul T?  I mean, Ron didn't create either Ben nor Xander, so the whole conspiracy has always rung false for me.  I'm not harshing on anyone who does believe it, I'm just suggesting that it strains credulity.

Wasn't there also a thing that when Kim thought that Victor might have fathered her son Andrew, part of the solution was that Victor was impotent (aka soap talk for low sperm count, not ED)? 

I could be getting the whole thing wrong, but wasn't that also part of the reason that Phillip was conceived by IVF (and then gestated in Vivian)?

I don't know about using SOD as a qualifier for what is or is not a primetime soap.  Because I think other tropes define the genre, including, but limited to, cliffhangers, serialized plots, and the use of melodrama.

For example, I don't think they did synopses for Savannah, which was definitely a soap.  Although I recall, SOW did some features on the actors and the plots.

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

Yeah, forging Angelica's letter is harder to explain, but Brady made a huge point about how much money Theresa spent on food so maybe she quickly hired some sort of shady notary or something and paid them through the hotel under the guise of extravagant food.  That seems like a real stretch, but I could see Days sloppily explaining it like that.

I agree with the prediction that the actual heir is Xander

However, it may p#$* you off when EOB has to play Theresa for the flashback about how she changed paperwork

@AbcNbc247 I don't think it was Drew because he hates the DiMeras not the Kiriakises. Also, I think that the writers would include more obvious foreshadowing, like Drew not knowing Theresa's nickname, or giving bad advice.

8 minutes ago, carolineg said:

How she would do that from a hotel room in a small amount of time is questionable,

Especially because she would've had to change both Victor's will and Angelica's letter.  Although I was a master at changing the handwritten grades on my report card at 9 years old before my parents got home, so anything is possible...

I still wonder about the coincidence of Shane happening to drop off the briefcase in Greece, rather than giving it to Andrew to bring to Salem, but I think that is supposed to be irrelevant. 

5 hours ago, Joseph said:

LMAO!!! Well I guess it was the shows own montage then

This is from when the LA Mayor renamed it LA General Hospital from LA County + USC Medical Center this year, because so many people just reference the building as General Hospital.

Just for the sake of argument.  If it sticks, it creates an interesting dynamic between Alex, Xander, and Maggie.  Now, Alex and Maggie have to work together and share power.  But, Xander is Maggie's favorite, so there's a natural tension there.  As well as with Chad, who was Maggie's second in command.  So, there is a ton of story to be mined.

I'm for any story that gives Maggie something to do.

I wonder how much chaos Vivian created after her one day at Titan?  I hope she changed all the passwords, replaced the break room with a trap room, and ordered a new office dress code.

I assume when his parents named him Jamie Martin (like the character on AMC), he was destined to act on a soap opera.

IRL it looks a little different now @Joseph

OK, they got me.  I wasn't expecting the letter to be signed by Angelica.

I would agree with @AbcNbc247 about Bo and Phillip being cut out of the will.  My only justification would be that Bo never wanted his money (and he's paying for his care), and Kate said Phillip had a trust fund.  I would've argued that Justin should be pissed, but I assume we don't know what Justin's father left him when he died.

Also, why is Sarah still in the hospital two days after giving birth?  Does she have gold-plated medical insurance?

4 minutes ago, kalbir said:

I'd say kids off school. There's also boosts for spring break and summer.

But, they are not reporting the ratings for people under 18....

I think it is an interesting discussion about what gets called a Primetime Soap.  Especially after the failure of The Colby's and all the press about the death of soaps in primetime.

For me, the best example is Thirtysomething.  It was a continuing drama.  It used cliffhangers.  And, it focused on the romantic lives of couples against a backdrop of advertising.  But, Thirtysomething premiered in September 1987, six months after the cancellation of The Colby's, so ABC would never market it as a soap.  Even though, arguably, it was much more soapy than Hotel.

I thought this bit of news brought some additional insight to the topic of 1980s ratings

Starting in 1987 Nielson dropped the ratings diaries, which required households to manually log their TV habits, and began digitally counting what people watched.  The article notes that there were many changes in the data that fall because there was less bias in the passive data collection. 

I couldn't find any immediate follow up to see if ABC actually dropped the Nielson system, but given that data is available for 1987 and beyond, it seems like they reversed their decision.

CBS & NBC were similarly sassy