j swift

Can someone jog my memory?

Wasn't there a well-regarded set of scenes between Lucinda and Holden toward the end of his memory loss where they were locked in a wine cellar? 

It is a red flag whenever an adult character's paternity changes more than once. 

Why is Victor so upset about Valentin's betrayal?  They just met each other recently, and both are grown men who've lived entire lives before they knew they were related.  I would bet that Victor knew Tiffany Hill longer than he's known Valentin, and he doesn't seem to carry a grudge against her.

Also, not too long ago, the Cassadines were losing money, so Nikolas had to marry a rich girl, and they just lost Spoon Island to Ava in the divorce settlement.  How can they afford to fund their army of henchmen in multiple countries?  Their hideout, tech, and yacht may be old, but they have massive overhead when it comes to staffing.

I guess the only excuse I would accept about the whole tale that Helena told of Valentin being the most dangerous Cassadine is that it was crafted by a writing staff that has been replaced at least twice since then (and wasn't Valentin already cast to be played someone else at the time?)

Finally, after the recent interview in The Hollywood Reporter, I no longer expected Tony to appear.  It was evident from their answers that he was not on set.  If they wanted to keep his return a secret, they would have omitted the question rather than lie in an article to the non-soap press.

27 minutes ago, Toups said:

Who is Pam and why should we listen to her? 

And why would the casting director be responsible for informing her of the producer's decision?

I gotta say GH does sweeps like no other soap on-air, but the in-between time is not always great.

It will be fun to see what they reference in the script as Marlena's 5,000th (given that they won't be self-referential to her number of episodes).  Certainly not her 5,000th client or 5,000th day of marriage.  Maybe they'll celebrate her 5,000th pant suit?

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

I honestly don't know if we are supposed to take this Stefan/EJ stuff seriously or if it's supposed to be comedic and they are supposed to look like idiots.

I think it doesn't help the cause that we hardly ever see them in the workplace.  Show us, don't tell us, how EJ treats his employees.  Is Stefan good at negotiation?  Or, at the most basic, how does their company make money?

On a similar note, I think they've dropped the ball on having Maggie as the CEO of Kiriakis.  Yes, her interplay with Xander and Alex is an interesting source of conflict.  However, I want to know how Maggie deals with Victor's prior more nefarious business endeavors.  They mentioned the prisms three weeks ago, and now seem to have completely forgotten about their importance.  Does Maggie know that her company is funding medical research in Greece?  I'd like to see Maggie struggle with the ethical issues at Kiriakis and then use Xander and Alex to help decide how to keep the company on the straight and narrow.

Los Angeles General Medical Center will recognize our storied past while also launching us into a very bright future.”

In the motion, Solis cited widespread confusion between County-USC and “the nearby Keck Hospital of USC.”

She said research indicated “there is no consistent name or brand” by which the general public or even the patients and staff know the establishment, which was long known simply as General Hospital. Its image is still used in exterior shots for the long-running TV soap opera of that name.

What were the circumstances that led to a live broadcast (or does the YT title suggest that the episode is intact as it was first shown on TV)?

I hope those the same demons who struck SFT forcing them to go live didn't make their way over to Corinth.

Just for the sake of discussion, (and not to be confused with defending the story), it would be odd if every young woman that Chanel meets is sexually fluid.  I didn't see it as Talia being disgusted with the idea of a kiss, I thought she is hesitant to manipulate Chanel in order to please Colin.  I interpreted her hesitation as some degree of apprehension which will be used to rehabilitate the character.

I'm actually a bit more offended on behalf of Jada who is not only being sexually harassed by her boss (hyperbole), but also nobody is giving her credit for cracking the case so quickly.  Left to his own devices, Rafe would still be staring at some bulletin board with Sloan's picture on it in July without a single clue.

38 minutes ago, Darn said:

It's hokey and stupid but this virus story is very watchable. And I love how it's effecting the whole canvas.

I think it is an odd juxtaposition between sci-fi and melodrama because we've got Obrecht manufacturing the antidote for a global pathogen in a 40-year-old lab in Greenland, but she can't save her niece who is dying in Port Charles.  They've created a universe where a surgeon can magically become a medical scientist but her powers are restricted to pandemics and not cancer.  Given that the two stories co-occur within the same episode it is hard not to see the parallels in reality.

Are we supposed to feel bad because Willow is dying or because she doesn't have a megalomaniacal uncle to kidnap people and force them to make a cure?

Yes, but I guess my point is that, unlike on Corrie, authenticity was not valued as much as being au courant in the AW costume department.

It's not meant as a criticism, Margarita Delgado was the costume designer for AW from 1985 to 1994.  She was fired by JFP and then worked for AMC and ATWT and won many Emmy Awards.  But, if you Google her then you can definitely see a lot of her personal style influence on the women of Bay City. 

Sharlene is perhaps the perfect example of this idea of a Mid-Western mom as styled by a Manhattan costume designer. 

Yes, she was re-introduced in 1988 wearing very little makeup and jeans. But, look at the accent on those buff shoulders, the immaculately plucked brows, and that blond hair; that color doesn't come from a box.

And later look at this haircut, it is very sophisticated.  It is meant to convey her independence and social mobility, yet it pings as inauthentic for both the setting and character history

Now, am I saying that people in the Midwest aren't chic?  Of course not.  But, it is undeniable that female characters on East Coast soaps (regardless of class) looked like they were dressed and styled in New York. I don't mean it was expensive, but they look intentionally fashionable which seems inherent to New York street style.

Older women like Ada, Beatrice, and Liz wore gabardine slacks and silk blouses that were obviously purchased at upscale boutiques.  I recently saw an episode of Aunt Liz talking to Sally while wearing Chanel earrings, and I don't know many matronly receptionists who shopped on Madison Ave.  And Ada wearing pants so often in the 70s seemed out of place for a grandmother, unless they were living in the East Village. Even Clarice and Lily were tacky but in a decidedly urbane way while wearing outfits with feathers and hats.

Furthermore, I would cite Matt Cory.  Yes, he was wealthy, artistic, and a world traveler but that slicked-back ponytail was way too edgy for Bay City and his coordinated high school clothes were hip-hop-influenced preppy that, to me, scream Manhattan in the early 90s (he'd make a fortune reselling that on Grailed today).

Obviously, all tv shows are costumed, but it has always stuck out to me how Another World was heavily influenced by New York retail.

Just now, DRW50 said:

Hadn't Pat already moved beyond suburban housewive in 1979?

True, she did edit Brava, but I think you understand my overall point

When I look at that photo I think about how the costumes on east coast soaps were always more reflective of Manhatten than the Midwest.  I mean look at Pat, in 1979 there was no middle-aged housewife in suburban Michigan wearing such a chic bias-cut one-shouldered gown to a wedding or a work event.  Even Ada looked much more like she shopped at Henri Bendel than at Harmony House.

46 minutes ago, carolineg said:

John and Marlena have been married 25 years and Belle is about 40 now lol.

OMG has it been 25 years (40 in Salem years) - I'm SO old...

She's more of a Dear Abby than an Anna Freud - all advice, no analysis - makes me wonder if anyone on the writing staff has been in therapy

9 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Screwing John on a conference table is one of her least offensive actions. 

While I agree, (to paraphrase Rizzo from Greece), that there are worse things she could do, it did screw up Sami for many years

In other news, Marlena, who once f'ed John on a conference table during a party, in order to console him over the death of Isabella, within view of her daughter, and just last week avoided calling the same daughter to tell her that she is back from the dead because she was having canoodling in the tub, is advising Alex not to use sex as a distraction.

If Gabi moves to Down Under with Ari, Will, and Allie there could be a spinoff called G'Days of Our Lives Mate

I was confused when Belle said that she was in trial on a case.

We can assume she didn't mean Chanel's case because that was either dismissed or hasn't gone to trial.

In January it was mentioned that she and Shawn were living in South Africa helping their daughter, and we know she is not a member of the Johannesburg Bar Association. 

So, is this just an unnamed litigant or have I missed some recent detail?

Also, on Friday EJ was jealous about Nicole, but today he's flirting with Belle.  Is he just an F-boy like Alex or do his emotional connections change on a dime like his Aunt Kristen?

@Neil JohnsonI thought of you because you mentioned Jessie passing recently.  This was short but sweet and done close to the time of the actress’s death 

Why have we ruled out RJ?  Given Shiela's manipulation of Scotty back in the day, it seems very in her wheelhouse to seduce another one of her rival's sons.

Here are some of the most memorable of Ms. Hirsch's editorial errors over the years

The column I loved to make fun of for having the worst editor in the world is no more

Ms Hirsch was an institution to me and I read her updates every Saturday.  Whenever I made a mistake misspelling the town where Victoria Lord lived on OLTL or misremembered the names of Nick's kids on Y&R, I would recall that Lynda still called RSW's character on DAYS Zach and used the incorrect pronouns at least once per week.

The good news is that she'll now write daily, and she won't have to depend on her terrible editor.

https://www.creators.com/read/lynda-hirsch-on-soaps/04/23/lynda-hirsch-on-television-summaries-04b47

Biden's best lines at the Correspondence Dinner

They asked DeSantis if he has a mandate and he said no, I'm straight

&

Be careful, if you find yourself confused and disoriented you're either drunk or Marjorie Taylor Greene

Also, poetic justice that Lisa Vanderpump was there when the LA Times won an award for their reporting on the CA Bar Association and Tom Girardi "who stole $750,000 of his client's money to buy a pair of earrings for his wife, and another $350,000 for the down payment on a beach house for his mistress."