Vee

Maybe instead of having to lie to ourselves or gaslight anyone, some of us just disagreed with you. Not that we have to justify ourselves to anyone who already acknowledged they couldn't even finish the second episode of the first week, two months ago. And frankly, the social media chatter and investment is much less critical of the show than any of us on this board.

Pretty much. And while I thought KS was actually okay as the wound-tight Kate in her early months, everything about her performance as Connie was totally embarrassing. But it's exactly the kind of campy, OTT 'tour de force' Frank and RC often loved. Until they got other stars (Maura West) and lost interest! Megan was wonderful as Kate but every time she's returned as Ghost Connie I've found her dreadful. In fairness the material is pretty bad.

Completely disagree.

Connie should never have existed.

The one good thing about that very late FOTH opening is that they did the beat with L&L's faces rising together at the end.

She's worse than all of them! Listen, people can feel however they want, but AFAIC Jordan has never had any personality including when Vinessa Antoine was in the role. She is a cipher who merely fills a plot space, she has no reason to be on canvas and it's only gotten worse with each actor. And then whenever people mention how bad TH is it's like 'oh, but she's so beautiful!' Yes, she's a beautiful woman. And I write but nobody's out here asking me to fly a passenger jet instead. I know my limits!

Not a chance that any of this is true. Jon Lindstrom is a dear friend of MVJ since GH, she personally wrote most of his defining material at that show and I believe he's said she sought him out for this part she wrote and created for him. Cady is also very close to her ex (Lindstrom) and ABC Daytime royalty. I do think Cady's role was a later addition and has rejiggered the positioning of the Vanessa character, but I don't think Pamela is a problem, just a character in search of a story. The problem white characters are Derek and Ashley, who do feel like a network requirement. While the gambling plot is silly and tedious to me, using JL is clearly a personal thing for MVJ. And the dumpy casino set is cheesy because it's just cheesy, not because it was thrown together last minute.

Vanessa is clearly in the Lucy Coe mold. MVJ wrote much of her and Kevin's material personally at GH. She's a comic character. I think it's a feature, not a bug. It works for me.

They are allegedly launching an Anita story at the end of the month, so I doubt Tunie's role will stay as it has. She has been more active in story lately. BTG has a very strong Twitter/social fan presence, which probably explains the demo numbers. It certainly has flaws and growing pains like any new soap but it also has people engaged, so however those issues work out I don't think it's going anywhere for awhile.

Murdering them both immediately would be fine by me. Jordan #3 and Dead Oscar are the two worst actors this show has ever seen.

Kat dressed like either Lois Lane in the '40s or something out of Batman 1966 is just a day ending in y.

Ranger wrote that, I didn't.

YouTube randos aren't for this thread.

This show is a very solid, classic episodic medical show - I think some critics realize this while others act like it is a major prestige revelation. It's not. In reality it is more a sort of neo-classical network TV for streaming - a kind of higher-end reversion to old form which I think we've just begun to see emerge (including, in a way, with Beyond the Gates) and will only see more of in TV/streaming going forward. Still, it's very well put together and I'm happy to see so many soap vets featured and doing great work. (Marci Miller is heartbreaking in Hour 8.) That said: Anyone who claims this is very different from ER is fooling themselves and needing to draw a pretentious distinction that isn't actually there. I am glad the show exists but Michael Crichton's widow is absolutely right to sue them, lol. Not only did they change the name and change Dr. Carter to Dr. Robby when they couldn't get the ER revival off the ground, but all the small talk, banter, side stories with patients, etc. are extremely similar to ER. It's ER with the hour-by-hour premise of 24, looser content restrictions, and that's it. That's why it's what I called neo-classical TV. But I am enjoying it a lot! And I am glad it's apparently making a new generation discover ER on social media.

I think the product placement already has and is a fun meme for a lot of the online social audience. Which I don't think is a bad thing, frankly. I don't think it's as much of a mark against it as, say, the Wanchai Ferry years. I'll pay money for someone to do a version of it. With the Febreze, too.

That goes back to the B&B school of dialogue for me. There's still too much exposition and grand pronouncements of the plot and character/social dynamics. Maybe it even goes back to very old school Bill Bell in some way, I don't know. I get why MVJ is employing that at CBS for a portion of that audience, but I cannot wait for the scripts to loosen up more.

A lot of soap stars (and people) have trended hard right over recent years, though there have always been many quietly conservative actors in soaps. With MB I think it has to do with her husband. I'll always enjoy and appreciate her performances, though I find her politics reprehensible. Hopefully someday she'll come to her senses, but I have no sympathy for her spouse.

Making Vanessa Nicole's BFF was clearly a lateral shift to make room for Cady/Pamela. I'm not convinced it works either, but I do think DD has good chemistry with LB. I do think Pamela can and should have a place on the canvas, as I think her family would be far more interesting to build out than Derek and Ashley. Hopefully it will get sorted out.

HBO/Max's The Pitt has employed another soap alum. In the latest sign of the inexorable march of time towards the heat death of the universe, Jessica Morris (Jen Rappaport, OLTL) is now somehow playing the mom of a teenager. I'm going to go preemptively bury myself in the cold earth.

I think if those cuts were meant to be gimmicks they wouldn't be so low-key. They remind me a bit of how many GH episodes last spring and summer would end very quietly bc the show was in constant BTS turmoil. I don't think that's the case here, but I do think they were experiencing clear early birth pangs at BTG in this period. The hard cuts to black and commercial are not new for soaps - the Guza II, Frank Valentini, etc. GH has practiced them for decades now. The only difference is that many of BTG's are currently on quiet or low-key scenes. I think that will likely change as the show gets more of its sea legs.

And Jesse was terrible on it!

I would literally bring it back unchanged. I don't care. Sax is back! Here's a clip:

That amount of talent allegedly in the mix with this show and the people they ended up with is embarrassing.

Oh good lord. It's got to come back. I'm done with the excuses, Frank!

They've really amped up the affection between Martin and Smitty (must we still call him that) while BC has improved considerably. They're genuinely cute together.