Vee

He was always a wimp. Frank clearly lost all interest in Rylan earlier, when his and RC's rehash of the disastrous OLTL Teen Jessica story from OLTL was canned - the one where she debuted on Cassadine Island during the anniversary, came out of cryogenic freeze amnesiac and shacked up with Milo, etc. That was Ron Carlivati's go-to story to make 'boring' heroines interesting; have them lose their memories and become wild children. He did it multiple times at OLTL and GH and I believe he did it in several ways at DAYS (I think Sarah Horton might be the worst victim). It was also a vehicle to highlight Milo and probably try to make him a major player, as they were clearly obsessed with his body. The story was even more unpopular at GH than it was at OLTL because GH was the flagship of the network and Lulu was a more historically popular character than Bree Williamson's Jessica, so they canned it in like 4-6 weeks without anything really happening. And after that I don't think any of them had any real interest in Rylan.

She is. It's the show that I think is overdoing the obvious, innate elements of Lulu (which are in character, but slanted atm) because there's clearly a favored focus on Setton/BLQ, while Lulu is the heavy and taking the brunt. Setton's a friend of Frank from OLTL and so the show is acting like Brook Lynn and her relationships (Dante, Gio, Chase) are more central to the show than Lulu. Imagine that happening 10-15 years ago, even when they had Rylan in place. BLQ was a nonentity. I'm not saying I don't want BLQ to be a lead on the show, because I do. It was long overdue, even though there are issues with Setton. But it doesn't need to be a situation where one child of Laura's is backburnered and fired, and the other is just dragged around the pavement and given less positive focus than BLQ. Because the fact is one of them had a very popular couple in the last century with two very strong actors currently in that pairing, and the other is Brook Lynn.

Thanks a lot.

Brenda or a light, mature folks affair with Alexis are the only palatable options IMO.

Birds could pelt Natalia's car next and I'd be here for it.

No, but that never stopped Frank (or Ron). No! Drag her to the end!

If it was that, I agree. I do think he was probably 'putting her in her place' a bit. He and Ron used to do that a lot and then rehire people eventually when they came hat in hand. I would not be shocked if Mo has put out the Vanessa suggestion before. I don't think FV is trying to hear that. But at this point after he flexed on JJ I would not be astonished if he did it here too, just to make it clear this is his hospital lol.

Unlike the Guza years I don't think it's about Brenda per se, I think it's about any name Frank takes a shine to and gets excited to say he has on the show. Like ELR. I think FV and GH avoid the B-word like the plague. But, after the JJ debacle it would not shock me if (as I've said recently) they finally ask Vanessa back and then Frank straight-up fires her too in six months, just to show folks he can do it with both legendary characters he doesn't care for lol. It's clear he's riding high these days. And no, I would not be at all surprised if he brought Haley back someday. I've been lowkey expecting it. Not because I want her back per se - even if I find the recast mid I think Molly was tired long before that and needs to be off-canvas for a number of years - but because it's a common reaction he and the show have to an exiled fan favorite who isn't named Vanessa Marcil or Sean Kanan.

There were indeed Datalounge rumors about Marcia Cross going back 20+ years. I know because I was there (and I haven't been at DL in over a decade now, I can barely figure out how to read the board these days). I always assumed she at least went both ways, just saying. @DRW50 there was indeed a rumor for a long time that Bartlett had to awkwardly turn Ehlers down for obvious reasons. I think Kim alluded to it in the book.

It doesn't matter tbh. Anyone and everyone, same as Cyrus. They have literally xeroxed the exact same plot developments with both cardboard villains (secret family, eavesdropping on Sasha, bombings, etc). His primary target would've and should've been Lucky, but of course that didn't matter. What surprises me most is that ELR/Natalia didn't get further along with Sonny in a year. Frank usually pushes much harder than that. And he did push, right up to January or February it seems, but I suspect Mo stepped in and said to slow it down or vetoed overt romance, and then Frank lost interest later. I wonder what made Mo do that.

I seriously doubt they will recast Spinelli lol.

I'm just glad Finn Carter is apparently doing better.

He's done it so many times, though. Not just here but at OLTL, any time he gets a shiny new toy/hire he lavishes time and attention on forcing them regardless of audience response, then eventually they fall out of scope when he gets interested in someone else, then they become marginalized or are allowed to be torn down. I knew it would happen to Eva, but it did happen quicker than I expected. They tried all sorts of OTT rehab efforts with her already too. She went from hate speech and being excused for it to having insane heart to hearts with Kristina in a couple months. Then there was Sonny's Heart Whisperer, which was pretty recently. There was barely a plotline to speak of with Natalia, and the Sidwell thing was just the same dumb mess they pushed with Cyrus, etc. (secret family/villain pathos) so I just couldn't care less. We'll still be stuck with Sidwell for ages and the son probably isn't going anywhere for awhile. They happily mocked actors who defied them during the Carlivati era, so it doesn't surprise me if it's about Pullos. Still, I have my doubts they were shots at her particularly since I suspect GH may bring her back someday if they can. Or frankly they may have been done to put her in her place for that future. FV has done that before.

It's wild to me that it didn't even get that far lol. I don't think they so much as kissed yet they were still working overtime to shine Natalia up last fall at least, and she was Sonny's medical confidant back in January. Honestly I don't mind them kicking her while she's down, I loved Eva on AMC but Natalia has been so repugnant. I wonder when Frank finally quit - maybe to find pocket change for

That's what I find hysterical tbh. Sonny was giving her looks in that car like she was a difficult customer at Nordstrom's. It's such a 180 from the endless attempts to make us like her. When Frank loses interest he works fast!

The fact remains, she didn't lie. From what I remember at least, Kim said back then in the mid-2000s she wanted Jake to focus on school and being a kid vs. being sucked into a contract at ATWT. She stood by that in her book, and it's exactly what Jake said very recently himself. She admitted in the book she was also concerned about bigots coming at her kid, but her primary motive was as stated. There's plenty of messy behavior people can zing Kim Zimmer on, but I don't think that one's fair.

I read Kim's book repeatedly. I'm not a superfan of hers or anything and yes, it was obvious back then she got some dates, etc. fuzzy and elided some details like Bernau. I thought she was just being respectful, since it was only just after the end of the show IIRC. She was very candid about drinking on the job and being deeply depressed near the end of GL (and less candid about having a problem at the time IMO - she insists it wasn't serious, and I'm not sure I buy that), and she needed the money but I do think she was also telling the truth about not wanting to give P&G or CBS the satisfaction of her leaving. Both things can be true. Since I was @'ed in the last post, AFAIC Kim never lied about why her son left ATWT. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what's being discussed atm but I see no evidence of that. The rumor BITD at the time was that Kim pulled Jake from ATWT because she didn't want him playing a gay character, and that she was homophobic. This is untrue. She admits in her book she was concerned about backlash from bigoted fans, but said (then and in the memoir) that her primary concern was his schooling and being able to be a normal kid in HS. Jake has backed this up in recent interviews. There's no lie there. Kim Zimmer can be obnoxious, exhausting, hilarious or fun, but she always gave 110% onscreen even when I found her intolerable onscreen in the late '90s and early 2000s, and she shoots from the hip. Even when I agree or disagree with her takes or loudmouth opinions (some I do, many I don't) I respect that, and I thought she did great work in horrible conditions at the end of GL as well as in her return stint on OLTL. And her '80s work really holds up.

Thank you!

Setton has always been a solid BLQ recast. I was very excited when she came in to make the role a substantial lead finally. I think she's done a good job in this storyline. But the restrictions and issues have taken a toll not just physically but at times on how she plays the character and certainly how the show writes her. So if she can't see her way clear to loosening up with the material and how Brook Lynn appears, I would regretfully recast.

Don't speak that into life!

That is never going to happen. And I doubt they are doing more DID.

I have felt for a long time KMM(? we can't say KMc beause people have used that for Kimberly McCullough forever) has more to give than the saintly princess routine they had her doing for years. Willow's incredibly sharp, nasty edge with Nina during the Humiliation Tour era for the Nina character after she got with Sonny made me think about the whole faking cancer thing we all kept bringing up, and Willow's only gotten sharper since the Drew saga began. It's the flipside to her saintly act and it fits the deranged circumstances of Willow's upbringing while also echoing a personality type we all see everyday. Which is why I would absolutely let Willow go full woman scorned and become the next Susan Moore, Katherine Bell, etc. type on the show for at least several more years to come - a young, smart, scheming bitch on wheels. Probably blackmailing Congressman Drew Q into marriage after finding out he was schtupping her mother - and maybe shooting him first and framing Nina for it. Then when she gets backed into a corner she can really fake her cancer coming back! I wouldn't keep her around forever, but I do think Willow has several more years to run in the right environment with sturdy writing. I would never have said that before with the milksop character she'd been playing for far too long.

No, she just dresses like that on this show! Like it's summer '91 and she's about to hit the road with MC Hammer!

Putting aside just the love scene content which is actionable enough, they did those amazing reveal scenes with Gio and BLQ storms in dressed like Michael Jackson on the Dangerous tour. It's got to stop.

These strikes are ongoing and seem to be absolutely annihilating the highest ranks of Iran's armed forces and possibly larger regime. I have serious doubts that Iran has any workable nuclear capability, but I don't love taking that bet.