Vee

I don't recall. I think they fluctuated on and off but it was really a distinction without a difference. They were barely there for years. I will not be shocked if Tabyana is dropped, but I'd be even more surprised if they went out and got someone new for her.

Once again I am reminded GH is wasting Alexa Havins out of pure favoritism.

No surprise there.

Samantha Eggar was mesmerizing in so many roles big or small, including a memorable turn on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I know her best from her terrifying performance in David Cronenberg's The Brood, as well as stealing the show out from Linda Thorson and other talented women in the Bob Guza-penned Canadian slasher classic Curtains. I recommend both films to everyone, but Eggar was good in anything. Even her dreadful role as Finola Hughes' evil spy mom on AMC!

Not featured on the live feed: Frank Valentini in the wings backstage, frantically trying to scrub Patrick Mulcahey's name* off the statue with steel wool and Borax. (* - I have no idea if their names are on the plaque, don't ruin a bit)

Congrats to GH for winning Best Writing for 2024 and Best Supporting Actor (Jonathan Jackson).

I'm sorry, but GH winning for last year (along with Jonathan, who probably didn't need it but still did work hard in that very weak return) just makes me chortle.

I'm not sure that is controversial tbh. I think the Black audience is largely responsible for keeping Y&R where it is.

I don't think it's CBS anymore so much as Sony or the show itself at this point. Les Moonves is gone.

I ain't even watching this but I'm happy for Susan Walters, who managed to become a part of the firmament again with this very storied character. She's come a long way from getting killed on the train tracks in the worst season of Melrose Place!

I understand the institutional concern up to a point, but I think the first soap that takes the risk on Victoria Rowell will see a ratings bump. AFAIC Rowell, Shemar (who is admirably loyal to the show but ain't coming back beyond guest shots) and Vanessa Marcil are maybe the only ones left who can generate that kind of heat and attention from the daytime audience. I am pretty sure @Darn will back me up on this. I don't think it's a matter of debate that 2000s Y&R post-Bill Bell was profoundly uncomfortable with the major cross-section of its identity as a show with major Black stars. Even as a little white kid, I knew Y&R primarily from Nadia's Theme (my babysitter watched it obsessively in the '80s and '90s along with most of the CBS line-up), and from Victoria Rowell, Shemar and Eric Braeden. I knew VR did double duty on the network with Diagnosis Murder and that seemed like a big deal to me. I always liked her. My first reference points for the show were purely and simply the theme, those two Black stars and Victor's mustache. That was it lol. And I think someone at the network or the show understood that brand identity and didn't love it. It also got in the way of their attempts (starting in the mid-2000s) to re-style the show like a contemporary ABC Daytime soap from the Disney or Brian Frons era. Which they're still largely clinging to today, what little hasn't been hollowed out. They also routinely dump or kill off new Black talent to this day. So I think even if they could bring back Rowell (and I think having her on after Kristoff's death is something that would not have happened 10-15 years ago, so I think some things have changed at least) they'd have no idea what to do. They aren't built to accommodate her presence anymore, and they're still uncomfortable with major Black story today. But they ought to try. What are the senior veterans who have issues with her going to do in 2025, two decades later? Quit?

Oh lord. Izaiah is fine.

Folks committing (justifiable) homicide and covering it up is just another day of the week on daytime. Smitty and Martin are no different.

I don't think Hayley's twist is so unearned or unnatural. This kind of dangerous con artist is a common character in soaps. I do think she is now going to be a finite villain, or maybe pop in and out from time to time when this story runs its course. She's made it clear she is prepared to murder Bill Hamilton for his money. That has a shelf life on any soap opera and eventually she's going to go. Leslie is more likely the long-term in-house antagonist, not Hayley (and despite freakouts from social media viewers unused to soap opera, Leslie remains a popular villain for the show). I'm fine with a short-term antagonist. It's a great twist and an exciting story, but I'm not looking for her to be redeemed or made sympathetic. Not every villain needs to hang around forever. Look at Janice Frame, who everyone has already cited.

I just don't think they've ever been firmly challenged on that, or given strong enough alternatives. But most of us here I think are realists and are not asking to write Sonny or Carly off the show at this point. There are ways to work with them on-canvas, or even reinvigorate aspects of those characters. The issue is that Frank is on cruise control on so many things, except when it comes to playing his favorites. So he doesn't bother.

Whose fault is that, though? Frank's the one who keeps every actor who ever brightened his day for over a decade, or anyone he worked with at OLTL. There are dynamic, edgy new characters you could create all-new or bring back. He doesn't want to because it's Uncle Frank's House of Friends. I still suspect Van Etten is the one heavily enamored of the campy, OTT Obrecht clan - he came up under Carlivati at OLTL, and sure those kind of characters can be fun in the right role on a soap, or in doses or literature (IIRC CVE comes from prose). But these specific characters, on this specific show, are not just a party bus of campy fun for the general audience. Certainly not when supplanting the actual core characters. Which is why I still think this and other issues with Britt's return will all end in KT going again. Followed or preceded by Frank finally grudgingly reuniting Lulu/Dante maybe a year from now, just in time to take one or both of them off-contract.

Yes. No.

I am pleased about holiday episodes, but I am here for Kermit Ted and Underpass June! Don't let that slip away in the next two months lol. Shanice has other options.

This hard sell is the worst part of Frank's usual M.O. and it's gonna bite KT in the end. Already is. GH fans by and large are just not here for it, especially not with a couple or core characters like Dante and Lulu. They're an afterthought a lot of the time and it's crazy. That and her behavior will finish her off.

She has a fanbase. Not a large one. The Steve thing is the only reason she's back.

I think several of us thought that. I'm not sure I recall any explicit confirmation of that though and I think what they're going with is they met in college. I'm good with it.

We have other characters for those kind of roles (or can make new ones). I have a feeling Hayley's lows will make Leslie look soft by comparison.

According to the family, Diane Keaton died of pneumonia.

Jackie was having work done for longer than that lol, but it didn't get real crazy IMO til the 2000s. She could still deliver reasonably til the late '00s, but she was rarely on by that point. I will say I think that when she had real scenes with TG she could still bring it, even in his last days. I remember her getting very real in some of their final scenes.

I think daytime has had worse exits/feuds and comebacks than the 2013-14 drama, and at least Ron is gone lol. Frank has also made nice with bigger burnt bridges in his past than Kanan before. I would def try to get him back. I'd recast again if I absolutely had to. Billy is great but I wouldn't go back there.