Vee

Speaking of Death Stranding 2: Another DAYS star, Christopher Sean (Paul), dubs Japanese pop star Gen Hoshino's musician character for the English-language version.

I think that was almost totally dropped after he was SORASed, which is a shame. They were a duo who were inseparable for awhile. As annoying and twee as Molly in particular could get back then, they had very specific personalities and relationships. Carlivati from what I recall couldn't care less. I barely recall them ever sharing scenes once Brydog arrived. The Guza team would not have forgotten that. And yes, Michael and Kristina were also close which is why I still have a soft spot for whenever Michael calls her 'Krissy.' You could tell they were actually dancing around pairing them when Drew Garrett was there, because they were not related by blood.

Neither would I! Cannot tell them apart.

I would kill her so fast but you know they never can because she's named for a beloved dead GH staffer.

I frankly think there is such a focus on the show being 'down to earth' and slowly setting up its stakes, while also following the tried and true modern version of the Bell formula MVJ likely learned at B&B (a lot of grand pronouncements, and stating and restating dynamics and issues - I'm not saying classic Y&R was always like modern B&B, but there is a specific tone you get on those shows that isn't replicated on ABC or ATWT/GL), that a lot more overt and dramatic developments have yet to flourish. Which can be tiresome. It's good that they made Eva pop so quickly, but the show is still finding its way. And I think part of the issue is they seem so dedicated to following the playbook MVJ learned from her years of guaranteed longevity at CBS while building out the family history, when I don't think more of that is needed. I think more action is needed, and less talk. And I frankly think pulling more of MVJ's compatriots from GH out of retirement would be welcome on the dialogue stuff, even if the Guza/Labine GH school of naturalistic dialogue is not fully in sync with the more portentous B&B/Bell style of plotting and recapping. At the same time, other dialogue is so hyper-modern (a la the Prospect Park soaps) that it's sometimes cringe. But audiences are responding to both. I know that classical flavor (mixed with the edgier newspeak) works for a doggedly loyal CBS audience, and BTG gets a ton of healthy engagement on social media - from that alone you'd think the show has been on for 5-10 years. But if you made me choose between the Bell house style and bringing back a GH-style dialogue staff and tone, it would be the latter every time.

We talk about this all the time and it's still valid lol. Morgan is straight dead and people barely acknowledge it.

Easily one of the best things ever posted on this forum.

Knowing how this has worked so far, it'll just be back up w/no warning in 24-48 hours.

Jim Shooter was a controversial figure, but he had Marvel running like a swiss watch BITD and shepherded a lot of great work at the company as well as making many mistakes. And his original creation, Valiant Comics, was a huge staple for me as a child during the early independent boom in the '90s. The Valiant universe and continuity, from past to present and far-flung future, was tight as a drum, disciplined, and told complex and often very mature and daring stories with all sorts of imperfect, fascinating and unique characters. I still miss the original Valiant and books like Harbinger, Solar, etc. Even his brief Valiant also-ran, Defiant (sued out of existence by the majors IIRC), was a unique company with very strange but beautiful body horror sci-fi hero books like Plasm and The Good Guys, a youth team populated entirely by kid contest winners who wrote in. He also left a profound mark on the Legion of Super-Heroes as a young boy that can never be forgotten. It's insane that guys like Peter David, let alone Shooter died struggling. You'd think that with how big these comics have become some reforms would be put in place.

The Joss/WSB story feels like an afterthought, frankly. Granted I only watch some days/weeks but when I am watching consecutively it does not feel like A-story in the way they used to try to push Eden very, very hard. That started to cease last year.

Oh, I think there's loads to fix about the show. I don't think this silly preemption week is on the show, I think it's on the network. He never likes to own that part or take accountability for that kind of vile speech. If you confront on him on the details as to why he personally thinks MVJ is anti-Black or a 'bootlicker' he's outta here! Can't talk right now! Gotta go! We used to ban for that kind of trolling.

As long as it gets canceled for not hiring him and using his fanfiction, that's what matters. As it is, BTG is already renewed halfway to outlasting Generations.

Now you've done it.

I'm just pleased they got those couple of lines in on GH a few years ago where Kevin and the visiting Nora made it clear Marty was sane, well and out of trouble, practicing medicine again. (We'll just blame that murder of a shrink on the tattoo people.) Kevin is her friend and colleague, it seems.

IIRC someone posted a lot of clippings in the last year about Tonja's initial 'exit' in summer '91, which came right as Gottlieb was coming in. I think it was in the wind even under Rauch as they were turning her psycho over Bo and Laura Bonarrigo's new Cassie before he and his team exited, and I'm not sure who executed the famous Loon Lake remote. Pretty sure it was Gottlieb. Much was made in print of how Tonja's final scenes were to be either right after when she was apprehended or very shortly thereafter in custody, and how that changed on a dime. That happened because Gottlieb reversed this in very short order and Alex was back onscreen in jail while Bo fretted about getting her to confess, etc. maybe a week or two later on-air. Initially she was announced to be out alongside people like Nicholas Walker (Max #2), Hunter Guthrie and Andy #1, Rika Price, et al. Then a week or two later (per soap press) it was Tonja is staying and James DePaiva is back as Max after all. I think Tonja was great on the show and rewatching her in the early '90s you see both how funny and terrifying she could be, but she has always been a little bonkers. I remember the years in online chats while she was off the show in the 2000s where she insisted Lindsay Rappaport had to be violently murdered (specifically, this) in order to make space for Alex again. While he was (briefly) here, Giles was also the one who said Thorsten Kaye and Susan Haskell declined to go on the record (and Thorsten refused to return in '11 to cameo because of the acrimony around her firing) but said he was told by someone who would know that Susan gathered the whole cast around on her last days in 2011 and said she'd never been treated so poorly in her career. That's where that anecdote comes from.

There's definitely a touch of a "Mad World" montage in his eyes.

You're welcome. I had to dig up the old promo.

People were viscerally pissed about her being an unctuous, proudly homophobic busybody, not just on LGBT issues but re: pushing her way into Deception, etc. They were also pissed Ava took the blame last summer for exposing Natalia's own words. However bigoted some of the audience may be in their everyday lives, onscreen among the characters they've watched grow up or cared for they just wasn't there for it. I do think Natalia the obnoxious, overbearing stage mom and schemer had a short shelf life but was worth watching if she'd actually gotten up to more trouble sooner. The problem is FV clearly wanted it both ways shortly after hiring her, to test her with Sonny, etc. whereas I think Mulcahey (or whoever was in the mix when she was first hired) had intended her to simply be exactly what she appeared to be initially, and ended up as.

I don't think he had any even idle interest once the writing got into Natalia's bigoted comments on the recording tbh. Which is ironically right at the time when FV started trying to save the character in the most tone-deaf way possible lol. It became clear by fall Mo just did not want Sonny to touch her, because it was taking too long (by Sonny standards). Like, I'm pretty sure Sonny was more affectionate with Angel Sorel in 2001, a story and pairing Mo publicly and proudly tanked. I thought they might push harder once Natalia became Sonny's heart whisperer early this year, but that died too. I wonder if Mo finally said it's never gonna happen, or if they just needed the money so Eva was out.

It was way back in the Primetimer/PTV archives. I'll see if I can find it. Chad's expression is hysterical. Meanwhile, these are a thing of beauty. I have absolutely been drunk texted like this.

My best screencap since lascivious Fluke lusting after a deeply uncomfortable Chad and Ryan Carnes' Lucas with his arms around them.

This is honestly just what I needed after my last year of hell. Noted Bigot Natalia groveling for Sonny's imaginary love while Sonny/Mo ponders the added cost of her Uber Black. Van Hansis is real lucky Ryan Carnes allegedly went antivaxx/hippie/whatever and didn’t want to sign a new contract. Although I’ll admit it is refreshing to see clearly LGBT actors becoming much more common in these roles/stories, and they're both decent and work well together. I do think Hansis also has great rapport with LW, Becky, etc. even if he's not my ideal choice in the role. I wouldn't dump him or anything atm, but it would depend on how much heavier story he could carry. I thought he was a comical mess hamming it up after Sam's death. It's a shame Portia is clearly the disliked heavy in all her stories when BK is the only one in this tired love triangle that can act.

I do really look forward to diving deeper into Princi's years. She is quite impressive, and more nuanced than Robin often was in her 2003-2013 run (because Robin was frankly hurt and scared that she would be let go again if she didn't run at 200%, and said so repeatedly). But I'm waiting for the rest of '91 to go up. It's a great book, and very, very candid. There's just enough in there about the middle years from JFP to Carlivati for me.

I transcribed a lot of this stuff when the book first came out, much to the ire of Jeff Giles. (I really should've done less.) I was overenthusiastic about the book. I do remember the Marcia anecdote. Giles explicitly said in interviews he came back during Carlivati's run, and was much less interested in exploring the in-between years from the '80s/'90s til '07/'08. He also said Robin (among a few others) was a handful to talk to, and was not keen on a long interview. Which is typical of Robin, really. I think Princi did wonderful work from what I've seen, but it'll always be Robin for me even at her loudest. I don't fault her for her reentry being a little shaky, but for most people outside of here Princi seems to be a footnote.

There is no universe in which BTG staging or remotes look (or should look, IMO) anything like Peapack.