Vee

Whether it's a new Jax like we talked about (an idea I am still iffy on) or someone entirely new or a man from her past, I would definitely do it. Rena Sofer should not come back after almost 30 years and be relegated to clucking away as part of the coterie at Deception and Home & Heart. She spearheaded story at B&B for a reason and she can still do it here. Her coming back running from something would also be a good angle, even now if she needs a reentry after her brief exile. Of course a lot of women in her age range (Alexis, Anna, Laura) all need partners or story, so therein lies the issue - there's too many of them and that's not even counting Ava (or Carly), who at least have options already on hand. I would frontburner Laura again like she was a couple years ago - the treatment of her post-Sprina seems downright punitive at this point - but that's a whole other topic. Anyway, yes, Lois deserves a lot more. But at a certain point the show is spoiled for talented women of a certain age and it's begun to become a question of real estate and space. (Honestly, Alexis is my lowest priority lol)

I would have to assume it goes to the longtime salaries. I am sure every vet in daytime has taken major cuts, but one wonders if Y&R's status has empowered Braeden, MTS, etc. to take less.

I think Eva and Leslie fill that role to a point, but Leslie just came into money (from Barbara, the Florence Ballard analog of Anita's old girl group) and is also a villain. Ashley and her mother also are in that zone, but are deathly boring so far. I do suspect they may try for an Agnes-style kooky pairing of previously homeless June and lovelorn Dr. Ted though. Agnes loved her some hobos, hookers and carnie folk! And I honestly won't hate it because they do have chemistry. If crazy June can just stop babbling in tongues, handing people bills of Candyland money and crashing out every few weeks about how 'the underpass is where I lived, and I liked it there!' I'll give it a chance.

BTG's issues with some sets are pretty minor compared to what we've seen on DAYS, Y&R, GL and ofc the all Metro Court everything years on GH in the mid-2010s. Yes, I think they need a couple more and some of the meeting places are silly but that's been an issue at soaps going back at least 20+ years. Randy needs to stop having 'secret meetings' at Orphey Gene's though. "I can't let Joey know I'm back in town! Let's get a table by the window."

It's insane. And it absolutely should be explored. Any sensible soap would've run hard with that stuff over the almost 2 years she was back (not counting her recent absence in the last few months). And I still would. But I don't know if they've actually had a scene where Tracy got to properly rake Lois over the coals re: Gio. I remember her confronting Lois when she found out there was a child, but nothing after the reveal. If there was I missed it and would love to see it. Because the fact is Lois' pathological behavior re: the Qs goes back to the '90s and how they reduced her relationship there to that near the end of Rena's run, spiriting Brook Lynn away for years, etc., and her doing this to them with Gio is both in character for that turn in the character near her exit and also proves she learned nothing. And I say that as someone who wants Lois back full time, but it should be fully addressed.

I don't think MVJ is snapping at anyone there. Snapping is what Carlivati used to do. She's just engaging, a bit enthusiastically to correct the record lol. Do I find the speediness of Leslie's windfall and how she is flinging it around a bit silly? Sure. But yes, like it or not it is a soap. They say there's more money, that's good enough for me so I'll roll with it.

Kate Jackson, Ron Perlman and Lane Davies is a wild combination. Among others (Polly Bergen, Patrika Darbo).

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That was part of her pointless ONS and pregnancy with Julian, which led to Leo who didn't need to exist but I'm glad he does now I guess. She had a fair amount of on/off flirtation with Scorpio, as Robert/TR was Lisa's real life crush BITD and they also had great chemistry onscreen; they went on a caper together at one point and Ned got very jealous but I don't think much actually happened between them. I kind of wish the show had made more of that before it was too late - the new, kooky Quartermaine mistress of the house caught up in a strange affair with an older superspy. Since then, she hasn't had much.

They used Olivia pretty heavy in the 2010s and off and on in the last five years. I'm okay with them having a bit of a break though I love LLC, but I do hate that we see Ned so little lately. I'm also probably the only person who wants Lois back regularly (and Rena has indicated she will continue, which is good) after eating a ton of humble pie.

They've been acting it for enough years (and Olivia got pregnant so young) that they still pretty much pull it off. Unlike, say, June and Samantha on BTG where they cast a talented young woman as Samantha who looks the same goddamn age.

The scene of the crime:

It's true! Look her up! I know they're big on hiring local, cheap ATL talent but there's a limit!

I still don't understand how the "#1 soap' for however many decades running is relying on some The Room-level green screen for outdoors scenes and relegated to a couple sets while Frank Valentini's GH isn't. Say what we will about Frank but he'd never let it get to that point and that's why he's not going anywhere. For real though, how do they not have the money? The other problem, assuming for a moment it's obviously Josh Griffith, is what replaces him? McDonald seems like a convenient install and JFP (pushing Methuselah age) isn't exactly promising. We've seen her grand version which hasn't updated in 20+ years. A lot of her Y&R schtick included stuff she'd been doing since Another World, right down to the Courtneys.

I assume Jan rejected everything about Joey and his underworld life. Which, fine. It's a good story angle, the first Ashley has had so far. But again, I wish stronger soap vets were playing some of these characters like Jan, Sharon from the Articulettes, Peaches as opposed to a 30 yo in a Jeffersons wig, etc. They could really make some of this inherent drama soar.

Giovanni Mazza gushes about Jane. You could tell from those first big reveal scenes a few months ago (which he talks about here) how in sync they were.

I'll say it, BTW: I have little use for either character up to this point (at least since the Ted recast) but Ted and June do have chemistry. Anyone who watched AMC knows this is straight out of one of those kooky-ass Agnes Nixon pairings, where rich dudes would fall in love with hookers and rednecks and circus folk or whoever else. Agnes did this all the time! So I am willing to consider it. Maybe if they put June on some antipsychotics, she doesn't start babbling in rhyme again for another couple months and she doesn't make change for Ted in more of her fantasyland money with the smiley faces and shít on it.

I would've recast with Hayley long ago if they wanted her to compete tbh. I still might. But for me my focus is on Eva, Leslie, etc. in that sort of zone. Hayley feels like a speedbump, especially with the serious heat between Bill and Dani.

How about we wait for one of them to show up before we jump to that conclusion.

On an unrelated note: June (a.k.a. Eve, apparently) and Samantha now look the same age. Especially with Samantha's hair up.

Portia really came to this funeral dressed like En Vogue.

I don't think I ever suggested otherwise. I've been pretty pointed on what I feel are the show's major issues. But I do think they also have something that is simultaneously a unique advantage and a unique struggle given their new and 'untrained' audience. I don't think it will be solved by importing more of the B&B or off-brand Bell house style for the dialogue. I applaud having a majority Black dialogue staff, but I would be leaning towards more the GH voice vs. modern CBS. The scripts wildly vacillate between hypermodern that's either fresh and fun or at the point of cringe/therapyspeak, and just stuff that may be goodhearted but creaky, or ancient as the hills exposition. We completely disagree on Vanessa, but that's fine. I think she's one of the most well-realized and dimensional characters even when she's being terrible and I think LB plays every facet to the hilt. And while Joey is (intentional) scum, I think JL plays it well enough these days and Joey at least moves plot. Unlike a number of characters on the show. The storyline may not be to everyone's taste but Vanessa has had a real character arc onscreen that has been both externalized and discussed in her character building dialogue, with an actor who can meet the moment. Not every character can say the same. Many are static, and some have just done 180s. As for Hayley, I just don't think there was ever intended to be the kind of character there that people imagined for her sight unseen. She's always been just this. Could she be more, sure, but she's kind of an afterthought and plot device to me atm. I'm focused on the characters I feel have actual layers and strong performances, including Bill, Eva, Dani, Kat, Vanessa, etc. I think Martin has evolved too. And yes: No way CBS dumps the first Black creator of the first majority Black soap opera. There aren't enough MAGA trolls bothering with it (they have bigger fish to fry atm), let alone angry gooners. Nor should they. But I do think the writing staff and several stories need major changes, and I would not say no to another strong co-head. I remain unconvinced by Tracy Thomson. Hopefully she'll surprise me.

Yeah, it's just not realistic for anyone to expect MVJ to step down from the show bearing her name that she started less than a year ago lol. It would also be a PR debacle. Nor do I think she should, but I do think the dialogue staff needs an overhaul. I think a lot of the grand pronouncements and expository dialogue are straight out of the Bell school (or worse, Brad Bell), as I've said many times. It seems to work for a lot of audience that's either used to that house style or not used to soaps at all, but it doesn't work for me. I also am not impressed by Thomson, but hopefully she will surprise me. That said, I also think Guza's influence shows in what is easily one of the deepest and most richly characterized stories and arcs, namely Vanessa and her descent into crime with Joey and Doug. Unlike a number of other core characters, Vanessa is fully fleshed out in a way that reminds me a great deal of Guza's better work even as the underworld stuff is also very much in his wheelhouse. It's one key reason I don't have the issue with it other people do. Because it actually feels cohesive, well-performed and often decently scripted, even if the Golden Corral casino is hilarious to me. That really sums up the show's dilemma, which Ducksworth laid out explicitly a few months ago in an interview. BTG has actually succeeded in gaining a new audience for daytime and is cultivating it. The problem is a lot of that audience has no experience with watching a 5-day daytime soap, and expects one fast pace while the classic audience wants something else. BTG is struggling to marry these two audiences' tastes onscreen and it hasn't figured it out yet. Despite my issues with the show, I sympathize with that a lot. It's a totally new frontier - a good one for the future of soaps, but a very tricky situation.

The optimal solution for managing Sonny and relegating him to a supporting role where he can still be active (and I agree the show can't risk the hit of dropping him) will always remain Brenda. It doesn't have to be writing them off the show together. Humble him, reunite them, marry them off and she is on contract and takes the bulk of active story. Sonny keeps his hand in story and on the canvas but they'd no longer be desperate to find something for him to do and a good position for him to play on canvas or to stay relevant. It would be Mac and Rachel status from AW (although Mac Cory was not backburnered). Meanwhile the show likely gets a ratings bump from Vanessa. But Frank doesn't want to do that, so we have Mo romancing Sidwell's animatronic wife in a bad C-story Sonny has already played maybe 3-5 times.

A longer TV Insider piece with Erika.