Vee

Yes, but you have thought that re: Republicans for almost every cycle on this site that I can remember. I also don't see any Dem win is automatically close but a Republican win would naturally be a mandate/blowout. That's just Politico thinking to me. Wouldn't a close election (if the polling matches the turnout, which I doubt) dictate that a win for either would therefore be close? For me, the facts remain we're up in most polls by one number or another, and turnout is up as well - those numbers have not changed. Then you have these internals, which are pretty rough for the GOP period across the board. I am not seeing a major Trump comeback or likely win/sweep there. YMMV. For me, it's feeling like 2022 (and others have mentioned '12, but I am not there yet). But it could be bigger. Anyway, here is a gift link for a NYT piece re: the Dem ground game vs. Trump's.

I don't see that at all.

Wow. These are allegedly GOP internals. And no, I don't think this leak or these numbers are some masterful GOP psy-op to misdirect Dems. They haven't been that smart in over a decade. If these are legit (and they appear to be, as Politico has picked them up) I am reminded of 2022 all the more.

Thanks. I don't dislike the original track, even with the rather obvious lyrics (it's still an important issue). I thought she did well with it live, though I thought Edge of Seventeen was fairly rough. Her voice has come down quite a bit since I heard her do Gypsy on AHS, or maybe it's just she can't do the heights of Edge anymore. Still, I'm very glad she got to perform.

I mean, overall the polls really haven't moved (even the NBC poll, I believe, cites that). The media is just bored and hopeful for a long night/Trump win, and people are tired and stressed.

Well, that timeline doesn't exist anymore because Barnabas and Julia prevented it by stopping Gerard and Judah Zachery. I think you have to reboot DS at this point, but I too will always adore the originals.

Which is typical of this show.

Except I don't think GH (unfortunately) has that much of a new generation of fans over the last 10 years, let alone the last 20. And Jonathan was just as popular the last time he was back on contract. So I don't see a reason not to utilize a strong core actor. YMMV. My issue is far more with the creative output of the show itself.

More dishy Nuzzi/Lizza business (albeit a bit too sympathetic to Nuzzi, it is a good background primer for both).

I think they're underestimating Dems - again.

I think JJ's return has been pretty well-received from the general audience from what I've seen, it's the story/execution that has been found to be at best mediocre. No amount of irate Liason stan accounts trying to astroturf reaction against Lucky on Twitter has managed to alter the positivity towards the actor. It's one example where FV ignoring Twitter comes in handy for once. I don't think anything is going to change re: the Lucky/Liz trajectory, and I think the show is far better with him than without him.

The irony of course being what we talked about before re: Dark Shadows, which is that somehow no one who's picked it up since has managed to make it work long-term. I still feel that's because the market has such a glut of DS-like shows now already, all its imitators. EON is maybe even more optimal but there's also many shows similar to it, though I think it could still easily succeed since it kind of straddles the ideal line between soap, horror-themed mystery show and procedural. In many ways I feel what EON became in the '70s is what DS could've and should've done had it hoped to survive long-term.

I think certain shows like GL or AMC (or OLTL, for different tonal and content reasons) are endlessly malleable and renewable, particularly because GL and AMC are kind of quintessentially Americana. GL in particular had so many eras that the core families themselves are less essential than the specific tone. Edge of Night is perhaps an even more evergreen property for its own reasons that has sadly been left on the table. AW or others, I can't see it without maybe very light ties to the past or those families, maybe a focus on publishing empire or aspirational stuff like Lemay's class divides, and similar deep familial or Oedipal conflict with all-new characters. Beyond that I think it would need to be a whole new thing.

I'm not up to date on finishing the past season at all, but I don't really think it is. The YT outrage merchants love to claim it's at death's door to fuel the woke wars, but in reality I think even if Disney didn't renew it (and I don't think that's likely, yet) the BBC would still continue it on a tighter budget.

My angle on undoing Sonny has always been to let the Scorpios put together an airtight, Wire-esque case which ultimately goes sideways for mob war reasons - maybe Sonny and Ava finally annihilating each other with more family casualties (though I'd probably let Ava end up insulated by the Cassadine empire or something). Then after a brief stint in prison which goes equally awry, Sonny ends up destitute and the forgotten man on the streets of not only PC but adjacent soap towns (like the haunted burg of Corinth?) for six months or more, unmedicated and pushing a cart or something. Maurice of course gets a long break and/or lighter schedule during this period, the Tony Geary vacation. A schedule which would probably continue down the road, along with block taping which is how they used to cover TG's vacations. You build him back to civilization after that as part of other story he gets woven into as a bum who stumbles upon key drama, and he eventually ascends back to a white collar well-to-do persona (for Brenda, etc.) but he's never the same again. That is pretty brilliant.

As am I. I think it'll have to sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. Ncuti Gatwa apparently lets it slip that he's filming his third series next year, which then gets scrubbed from UK media.

That's them flooding the zone with junk polls, the same thing they did in the midterms (and 2020).

The Alex Thompson/Frank Luntz/Dave Weigel ouroboros - Weigel seems unaware or uninterested that he himself has been drifting rightward back to his libertarian roots for years since his Bernie Bro period (and his chastisement for sexist behavior at the Post which caused him to exit) and that he and Thompson (who breathlessly RT'ed an anti-Harris oppo clip out of context) are essentially cut from the same cloth:

From the very reliable Jon Ralston: I definitely don't think things are perfect or that the campaign is necessarily doing everything right, but I think they're doing quite well. I think more can be done but I don't think polling is going to move much. The only time we'll see the truth (and I suspect bigger numbers) is on the day.

That piece just feels like Pierce having a 2016 encounter group moment to me, and I like Charles Pierce. But it doesn't mean anything to me. As marceline said, it's the same race it's been for weeks and the same October doldrums. And no, I don't think Trump is actually gaining much ground - I don't see any substantive or credible evidence of that. I believe even Carville himself (never known not to be a crank when he wants to be) said that the other day on a podcast - the race hasn't moved much and everyone is getting paranoid because there's nothing else for onlookers to do. Do I think there is more to be done campaign-wise? Of course, always. But no matter how much RCP or Politico, etc. tries to wishcast it there is no sign of a clear 'shift towards Trump'. Even the reputable pollsters are saying we're being flooded with junk polls or nonsensically-skewed stuff like today's TIPP numbers. So barring that it's just stasis.

A solid thread:

Felicia's 2012 return or rather the rehabilitation of her character was pretty superficially written IMO, which was common for Ron Carlivati at that time - all callbacks and exposition, all short FV-style scenes. But they did put in the time with keeping her around, having people talk about things at least and hold her accountable, etc. and that did enough for me. They made her part of the fabric of the show again and it redeemed her in full. I just thank God things went as south as they did with Jack Wagner BTS, because otherwise Ron might have legit tried to reunite Felicia and Frisco and leave Mac in the dust again. I couldn't have forgiven that. I'm still mad as I think it was RC who began the modern practice of having Maxie call Mac anything other than "Dad" regularly again, though I may be imagining that.