j swift

Rest in power - Minx (all debates on the logic of the recast should be suspended for at least a month, in her honor) 😉

Few roles, not few actors 😉 To be more specific I should've written, 'one of the few roles for older gay actors on soaps...' Also, while I don't want to engage in who was f%*$ing whom, I still think there is an interesting discussion to be had about what percent of closeting was the actor's choice, versus the production's choice, versus the soap press's choice. Because I don't believe that they were equally complicit. Furthermore, I think each case was very different.

That's hysterical. From the Videotape Update to some random kids in a mall, it was damned by faint praise. I mean, “the actors seem like real people” is hardly an endorsement.

Perhaps in 2024 we need new idioms rather than closeted? There has to be a difference between a public official like David Dreier or Jim McGreevy who were outed because they were elected based on a political platform which was antithetical to their private lives. And actors who lived openly, but whose love life was obscured by PR. I feel as if I've made this point throughout this thread, but James Mitchell is a perfect example. He lived openly as a gay man from his time as a dancer on Broadway in the 1960s. It may not have been obvious to viewers of AMC, because in a world where every song, painting, and poem is about heterosexual love, it is not top of mind. Those “in the know” may have lamented that one of the few roles for LGBTQ actors in soaps were the twisted villains who were a barrier to young love (which, in hindsight, was an ironic projection on the part of writers and producers). But, I think it is unfair to judge actors of that time who were not given the opportunity to talk about their lives. Or, the fans who assumed the norm because few other examples were available. And to continue to treat being gay as a gossipy datalounge-issue secret doesn't feel as if it fits the vibe of modern culture.

I think she knows too many secrets to be gone for good (or bad, depending on how you look at it).

I don't anticipate a primetime premiere, but it would be great if the first episode gets replayed on a Friday or Saturday night when CBS's programming is sparse. Also, having interacted with you for years, I trust that you don't find my reply pedantic, because the pathology that causes people to infer personalized put-downs feels inescapable.

On the other hand, a history of sex work was not always a barrier in Bay City. Some of the most respected cops, journalists, and designers started off in the oldest profession. Unlike Peyton Place, a gal (or guy) with a checkered past could wind up involved with some of the wealthiest families in town.

I've never heard that before, but how nuts is that? Susan Seaforth Hayes went from acting out her mother's scripts to then working on her husband's scripts. I recall her talking about in interviews that it was difficult amongst the cast when her mother was writing. So, I wonder what it was like when Bill pitched in?

Or my favorite, people who get angry because producers and writers didn't read their minds (or their social media posts), which must indicate that they hate the fans. All that being said, I cannot wait to see the first episode. I remember as a kid watching the first episode of How to Survive a Marriage, up through the premiere of Santa Barbara, and The City. Each time it was such a thrill to experience being there at the very beginning. Even when it was disappointing, like watching episode one of Texas, it was still exciting and uniquely different from watching a primetime pilot. I wonder, with the loss of interest in linear cable, if it will seem like as much of a big deal for me to watch it on Paramount +? For example, will it be reviewed both by traditional media and sites like Vulture? I know from reading about it here, that soap stories get a lot of traction online. But, I am curious to see how wide the coverage of the first episode will be on various platforms.

Totally only directed at ABC's use of the free version of Paintshop Pro, not @Liberty City who put together a nice backdrop

They all look great, as expected, but the editing used to make them all the same height distorted some of them. For example, look at Kelly Monaco (aka Sam), her head looks enormous considering that it starts at the top of Maurice Bernard's head and ends in the middle of his chest. Just nitpicking on a Sunday afternoon.

May I ask for a prediction? What percent of forum posters will instantly reject The Gates after the premiere episode because they were disappointed after months of hype in this thread? My guess is 60%.

Or, just as likely, I tuned out after Chase asked the head nurse at GH to track down some paperwork for him, and didn't make it to the end of the episode 🙈

I am not a fan of the show, and I struggle to understand the praise it has received. The culture hardly needs two shows focused on the life and career of Joan Rivers. While The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel draws inspiration from Rivers' early career, Hacks seems to borrow from her later life. It's reminiscent of the redundancy in yet another Batman origin story. Much like nobody asked for a fourth show about the downfall of Truman Capote, I think there are more interesting stories to be told. This is coming from a long-time Joan Rivers fan, who enjoyed her work on *The Tonight Show*, her daytime talk show, QVC, and *Fashion Police*. The episodes are highly repetitive. Deborah Vance (a stand-in for Rivers) does something insensitive, learns a lesson, everyone gets emotional, and the cycle repeats in the next episode. Given its platform on MAX and its target audience of boomers, the show also derives humor from a lesbian comic who is often too "woke". As well as, the overly capable gay assistants who are portrayed as lonely and easily distracted by sex. Moreover, Deborah’s on-stage performances are not funny. The jokes feel outdated, and her ignorance of modern culture makes her appear unintelligent. The costumes and scenery are great. But, it is not enough for me. And as a longtime LA resident, I hate that they casually go from Downtown to the Westside in the same evening, which is only happens on TV. If anyone can defend this, I am willing to listen.

I know there's been some discussion about the lack of attention to cliffhangers recently on GH, but today's episode was especially egregious. Rather than ending on the shootout at the coffee warehouse, the episode ended with a discussion about mental illness and mens rea? There are two shooters in the warehouse, but we need multiple scenes about Chase getting his father's death certificate from the hospital? Aside from the content of the story, the structure of the episode made very little sense.

I said it last month, and I'll repeat it again; I am 100% convinced that Ava is going to accidentally kill Harris while trying to shoot Clyde. Which means that there's a 25% of that happening. I am simply going off of the two heavy-handed flashbacks of Ava telling Steve that she would take care of Clyde whenever Harris talked about capturing Clyde and bringing him to justice. I'm also eager to know why Clyde would've allowed himself to be convicted if he knew Abigail was alive?

Did you have the same reaction about how weird it looked to see Marlena from that angle in the hotel room? If it was an artsy representation of how Bobby was looking at from the bed, that would've made sense, but it was earlier in the scene.

Who directed today's episode? There were some especially odd camera angles. During Everett's intervention, Marlena's close up looks like it was shot from the floor up her nose. It was weird to see the transom above the hotel door, but I guess that is the only way that they could shoot four actors on that tiny set. Then, in the town square, Eric gets up from the table to talk to Rafe, and apparently they couldn't re-set the camera because he was also shot from a weird and unattractive angle.

I am 100% convinced that Ava is going to accidentally kill Harris while trying to shoot Clyde. Which means that there's a 25% of that happening. I am simply going off of the two heavy-handed flashbacks of Ava telling Steve that she would take care of Clyde whenever Harris talked about capturing Clyde and bringing him to justice.

7/10 - Good episode structure, bad dialogue - I am pleased that we're back to seeing multiple advances in several plots in a day, rather than a whole episode of cutting back and forth between two simultaneous conversations leading to nothing. I liked the Marlena and EJ scene, although it was a bit awkward when she said that he had been a good dad to “his other children”, rather than acknowledging them as her grandchildren. I also enjoyed the Melinda and Rafe interplay, specifically her saying that he never looks for motives. But, I hate it when the script necessitates a button for the character, like when Melinda said out loud, “phew, I got out of that one”, when we really only needed a look of relief. Today was also a day when a few actors required a second take. Eric messed up his line to Leo about the goose and the golden egg, and Sloan messed her line about a baby showing up in her home. The Sloan/Nicole scene was good, I liked the twist that Sloan begged for forgiveness and then tried to turn it around on Nicole. However, I wish Sloan had lead with her strength and told Nicole that she had information which could implicate EJ, if she didn't help get the charges dropped. And when Nicole said that she felt bad for Sloan after her miscarriage, I thought that must've happened off screen because I don't recall any scenes of Nicole feeling sorry for Sloan. Also, Nicole turning her back to call the police (on her cell phone) so Sloan could have a chance escape was way too soapy. The BobEtte stuff is ridiculous. Why does he get a headache when changing personalities? How could Marlena tell his blood pressure from feeling his wrist? And what was the point of her carrying a doctor's bag like it was 1965, and she's doing a housecall? The only thing I liked was Marlena's navy windowpane blazer with the elbow patches, one of her better jackets. Finally, where's Eric's black eye? Hair and makeup at DAYS sucks (e.g. Rafe's dyed black eyebrows), but at least keep up the consistency from day to day. He was just hit two days ago in Salem-time.

Ethics aside, it is intriguing to think that the scabs had to come up with a BobEtte story with just the scraps of character background that had been established between his debut on 10/30 and when RonC went on strike after writing the December episodes. If you think about it, all they knew was that Jada knew him as Bobby, he had an affair with Stephanie, and there was a missing part of his timeline. Unlike the baby switch, which was already in progress (minus the Leo/Dimitri stuff), and the Tate and Holly romance, the DID story was not foreshadowed. So, I guess we'll never know the original plan, but it struck me what a difficult task it must have been for the scabs, despite their self-interested, non-labor, willing-to-throw-others-under-the-bus mentality.

I feel dumb for admitting this, but I just realized that Kristen is not EJ's aunt. I was wondering why he doesn't refer to her as Aunt Kristen, because Susan is his mother (whom he did not call on Mother's Day, or tell that his baby is alive). But, then I remembered Susan is just Kristen's doppelgänger, they're not related. Which I guess makes Kristen his half sister? From the silly question file, did Lucas fly to Montana in his monk robe, or did he pack it just in case he needed a disguise? Finally, why does it feel like there's no exit story in mind for Theresa? I thought she was temporary, but it feels like even when the fraud is uncovered, she's got a viable reason to stay in Salem with Tate. I mean, Harris's exit story seems to be heavily foreshadowed, meanwhile Theresa and her wig feel like they'll be around all summer.

I am surprised that Nina appears in the bible, given that she didn't premiere until nine years after the show began.

Goldman needs a bread delivery once a week? That's a lot of dough (pardon the pun). Also, are we to assume that Jada just carries around her own gluten-free buns in her purse and then subs them out as needed?

Isn't Raven also drinking while holding the baby during that whole discussion? I recall she was either drinking or smoking, and it was so funny to see that being so casually displayed on daytime TV.