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Posts posted by j swift
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I don't know how Leon Russom identifies his sexuality, but he was married to Karen Grassle (Ma on Little House on the Prairie) for many years, and there are easily google-able stories about him marrying a second time to a woman who is the "love of his life."
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Kudos to DAYS for walking the fine line between being sentimental about the passing of an actor, while still showing what a monster Victor had been. I was worried that just like that terrible uncle that we've all known, who was suddenly canonized after their death, they'd try to make Victor into a saint after his passing.
In recent years, John Aniston had filled his portrayal of Victor with humor and wit. Recently on TikTok, someone uploaded the very funny scene where Carly passed out at the front door of the mansion, and Victor stepped over her to grab the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Victor was a vile man who abused women. His relationship with Kim and Carly was gross, and difficult to watch. He was cruel to Kate. And, unlike Stefano, he usually escaped any mortal consequences for his actions.
So, it is good to see in these flashbacks that they've found a balance between demonstrating the skill of the actor, with the barbarism of the character. I'm equally hooked into the mystery of where Victor was going at the time of his death and how we'll resolve those questions. As well as, what his will reveals about the future of Maggie as CEO of Titan.
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Foremost, I completely appreciate that you've begun to post these regularly. I feel like ever since I changed grocers to one with walk out technology, I never get to see the content of print magazines, and I miss those headlines.
However, if SOD is equating workplace harassment at DAYS with "backstage drama" then they are seriously out of touch with the cultural conversation on this topic. To my ear, treating the humiliation of actors as gossip or "tea" is neither respectful nor informative.
SpoilerAlso, not a huge surprise that Sloan is going to miscarry. It was pretty obvious that we'd never see Jessica Serfaty in Linsey Godfrey's hand-me-down pregnancy belly.
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I found this to be very interesting reading
For the first time, cable and broadcast makes up less than half of TV viewing
In July, linear TV made up less than half of all TV viewing, according to Nielsen. Both broadcast and cable “each represented record low shares” of total viewership, the firm’s report said, making up just 49.6% combined. Meanwhile streaming services, such as Netflix and YouTube, grew last month to a record high of 38.7% of all total TV watching.
Broadcast viewership dropped 3.6% in July, making up just 20% of all TV viewership, and cable viewing dropped 2.9%, making up 29.6%. Year-over-year, broadcast viewership slid 5.4% and cable TV dropped 12.5%.
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So, let me get this straight. At this point, Ned not only believes that he is Eddie, but he has begun dressing like Eddie. Did he use Ned Quartermaine's credit card to buy the clothes? Did he use Ned's driver's license to drive to the store? Like, wouldn't that cause some question about his identity? And does Wyndham's Department store have an aging rocker section?
Meanwhile, Curtis, a nightclub owner, and Portia, a doctor, don't seem to have sufficient disability insurance to pay for adaptive home renovations. And Anna's homeowners insurance has yet to find her decent housing. Maybe the scab writers are doing a meta-commentary on the WGA benefits?
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4 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:
watch the real Days. Victor’s storyline makes it worth watching today
I just watched today's show, that ending really got to me. That is the power of watching a show for years. Very well done and respectful.
BTW case in point about not using current events for an episode filmed months ago, the Madonna on tour dialogue. G-forbid if anything unfortunate had happened to Madonna, they'd have egg on their faces.
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Usually, I'm neither bothered nor concerned that DAYS tapes so far in advance. It doesn't affect the entertainment value for me that some scene was filmed last week versus last year.
But, lately it is distracting that they are clearly responding to cultural events from a few months ago, that are no longer news. For example, Abe's mayoral press conference had obvious inspiration from the John Fetterman campaign. And, while I would generally object to the trivialization of Senator Fetterman's medical issues by comparing them to a soap opera brain injury that will be magically healed by Christmas, it also feels like irrelevant at this point.
DAYS is generally too silly to try to take on social issues. And I feel like they risk taking an issue that may have been resolved or reinterpreted since a story was pitched if they use it in the world of Salem's current events. For example, the recent debate over the main character in the Blindside, or that little girl from TikTok who got hacked, those stories changed within moments of their original reporting, and DAYS risks being on the wrong side of history. So, before we see a story in six months when Rachel's death is falsely spread by Leo's gossip column, I think it would be wise for DAYS to find other sources for inspiration.
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Now that was both a juicy and classy exit interview! Obviously, her foray into HR (Is recruitment HR-related?) has paid off in terms of knowing how to balance those objectives.
My overall take-away is that once again, acting is a humiliating profession. Can imagine any other job where they tell you that you're fired, but then don't allow you to say goodbye? It's like if Marty the cashier at Target was let go, but his manager just told his co-workers that he went on a long bathroom break...
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There are people who've had entire threads frozen because they created a hostile environment with their gatekeeping and gutter sniping. And somehow their wishes should be catered to, while the excitement of a rabid fan who feels that she's found a community is supposed to be offensive?
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They seem to have derived all the humor from today's show based on the old adage that Greenland is cold and Iceland is warm. I get that Leo is too dumb to know this, but Gwen was also conveniently unaware.
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The malls in Los Angeles are being subjected to daily flash mobs stealing designer goods. Everyone is shopping online. And, Gen Z won't know their shoe size if they never shop at a department store with those old school Brannock foot devices?
So, can't we do away with this out dated system of sizing and just buy shoes based on the actual length and width of our feet?
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@Toups Between the Top 10 songs and films, the right is certainly spending a lot of money and time this summer to be at the top of the charts. My only wish is that waste so much money buying out cinema screenings that they don't have anything left to donate to presidential candidates.
It's almost as if they can't rig an election, so they'll just try to rig the charts...
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I wonder if the character of Morgan lasted longer, whether we would've seen more interesting generational stories? My main problem with Sonny in 2023 is that he is still cast as a romantic lead. Currently, he is the father to a toddler, he is planning a big fancy wedding, and he is struggling to find his one true love. However, the optics seem weird that this old man is still motivated by the allure of courtship.
I would think that thirty years later, Sonny would be focused on managing the succession of his empire. He should be coming to terms with who will be suitable to maintain his company. Given that Sonny has always escaped justice, I'm not looking for someone to finally send him to jail for importing coffee. But, it would be much more interesting to see how Gen Z gets groomed to run the business.
There was a perfect setup of Michael, the business minded one, Dante, the moral compass, and Morgan, the impulsive ne'er-do-well who all represented parts of Sonny's personality. But, now with just Michael and Dante, there's nobody interested in continuing the mob in Port Charles. The Godfather and Goodfellas taught us that organized crime depends on a strong family. But, Sonny has nobody who wants to back him up.
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I guess this is now my morning routine:
- play wordle, (send it to my group chat)
- check in to see if @AbcNbc247 liked the DAYS episode, (avoid the trolls and gatekeepers)
- drink a cup of iced coffee, (try to get the correct foamy top consistency)
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13 minutes ago, Neil Johnson said:
It doesn't mean I do not respect Beverlee.
Of course, I would never infer your comments as disrespectful, and I know how much you value valid historical documentation of soap history.
It was just remarkable timing that the exact issue being discussed was commented upon by the actress herself in an unrelated posting on Instagram.
I confess that I am a sucker for any actor's performative dynamism of simultaneous benevolence and braggadocio. Such as her spin that she didn't want star billing for only herself, but to set a precedent for every actor in daytime. But, did anyone else feel like she was making a subtle dig at Victoria Wyndham?
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The brilliant Adam T. Ghani posted this today. So, perhaps Beverlee herself was the source, right or wrong, and we should respect her fight for proper credit
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18 minutes ago, danfling said:
In it was in between those two times, then Erica could have been in inspiration for Rachel and both Ada and Rachel were based on Erica and Mona.
It could also be that too much is made of the comparison between Erica/Mona and Rachel/Ada. We know Agnes Nixon was often influenced by classic movies. So, it is equally possible that they were inspired by Mildred Pierce (1945) a classic tale of a hardworking mother and her spoiled daughter.
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For me, the most interesting part of Heather is that she was in this high profile marriage, with a guy who didn't appreciate her, and when they split she got thrown out of the church, even though many of the doctrines seem engrained in her identity. They allow very little space for her to express how her fall from grace has affected her new friendships.
One assumes that when she was married to Billy, she would have had the power to exclude newcomers to the faith like Lisa. So, it would be interesting to hear her express some of her anger at having to beg for acceptance from these women who once would have sought her out for her status in the church.
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Harding Lemay derives a lot of humor and sympathy out of his portrayal Irna as a tyrant in his memoir. But, that was only his experience, and it is easy to empathize what it might have been like for Irna to work with this guy who had never written a soap and was so critical of the source material that she created.
I barely recall Ken Corday's book, but obviously he didn't interact much with Irna, once he took over as a producer.
And, I've never read Bill Bell's memoir, or watched all of his Academy interview. So, what was his experience with her as a mentor?
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30 minutes ago, Michael said:
The Whitney/Heather drama is NOT working
Just based on the trailer, it looks like Heather continues to make all the wrong moves.
We know that Heather and Whitney only found out that they were related shortly before shooting. Her real history is with Lisa Barlow from their time at BYU (party girl era). Heather exudes excluded-from-the-cool-crowd energy, which she could use to gain sympathy from the audience, even though her marriage was worth more status than Lisa's. But, saying anything about Jack going on a mission will definitely backfire. Despite, Lisa's many unlikable qualities, she is funny and seems to be gaining popularity in the last season. Heather would be wise to try and align with her, rather than oppose her, to win back the audience support she gained in the first season.
It feels like Heather let social media go to her head, while Lisa has remained an authentic (if still annoying) presence, and I think the fans are always drawn to authenticity.
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This is reductive, but as a fan of 1980s AW, it often felt like NBC daytime lacked an identity.
ABC seemed like it was for younger viewers, with an emphasis on romance with a backdrop of social morality, adventure, or mystery. CBS felt more mature, with the Bell soaps having a particular look, and ATWT and GL focusing on the long-standing tradition of soaps. But, NBC was rudderless.
It is ironic that their marketing department coined the phrase love in the afternoon for use in marketing, because their later efforts were disparate and scattershot. At times, they emphasized humor, and at other times they aped the adventure of ABC. From year to year, the character of NBC soaps changed so much that it was difficult to define what constituted an NBC show.
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17 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:
The second time was 24 years
Thanks, bad math on my part.
But, with John Clarke not appearing after 2004, and the time in the early 1990s that Maggie spent in New York, it seems shorter
It's hard to believe Melaswen was almost 20 years ago. I still recall when they replayed Maggie's "murder" at the Cinerama Dome, as noted in the article they spent $100,000.00 to show it in the theater. But, even then, the press was always about how they were on the verge of cancelation.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-03-et-keck3-story.html
And who would've thunk, two decades later, Maggie and Bonnie would share a house and a secret?
Finally, does Titan only own one jet, or did Maggie fly commercial to see Sarah?
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To me, the missing body seems like an obvious ploy to set up a Friday cliffhanger and extend the story. If anything, in soap terms, it seems more respectful to tell Victor's passing over the course of a few episodes, especially given that the actor was unavailable. This allows for multiple flashbacks and melodrama from both Maggie and Justin.
I am pleased that it will really be Maggie's story, given her anniversary with the show. I was reading her wiki and trying to do the math. I wonder if her current 12-year relationship with Victor was actually longer than any of her marriages to Micky? Given their separations within Melaswen and all the other issues that tore them apart over the years (edit - Micky & Maggie were officially married 9 years, the first time, and 14 years the second time, but the second time was filled with out of town separations).
The downside is that I assume the memorial will be in their living room, just like every wedding and other significant event. But, perhaps Bo's coma is useful in not having to explain why they won't attend.
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1 hour ago, Liberty City said:
I just hate how they've removed anything dark about the series. A subtle dark-tinting of the clip would bring much more richness back into the scene
That's an interesting point that I hadn't appreciated before you mentioned it.
Seeing the Ewing Oil offices raised a question - Do we ever see Jock going into the office of Ewing Oil? I wonder if JR took over Jock's office? Or, if they kept one for him down the hall? I was also thinking about what Sly (or whomever was the receptionist at the time)'s relationship was like with Jock. I just have no memory of Jock on that set.
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ALL: Characters Who Were Married Many Times
in Discuss The Soaps
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Victoria Newman McNeil Howard Carlton Hellstron Abbott Abbott Locke