Vee

She's right, but I still think it was a dumb fakeout. It's a great, candid interview and people should read all of it.

I would argue that Kelly was more than established as a household name by the time Regis left. Do I think they could've fired her anyway? Yes. But it's egregious any way you look at it. She'd been with the network since 1990, she'd done years of Live as well as Hope and Faith, and they were still treating her like that.

Kelly Ripa (Hayley, AMC) talks pay disparity with first-time actor husband Mark Consuelos in Variety, but her treatment at ABC overall for many years seems outrageous:

All officially renewed (Lower Decks is now renewed to Season 5).

As I've said in their threads, GH is in a unique position in that they've either lost or pushed out certain vets and now, suddenly, as if by osmosis or fluke accident they have a very strong core of older veterans whose characters all have very close friendships which we watched onscreen for decades and who are still regularly featured onscreen. If you'd told me ten years ago and especially fifteen that Mac, Felicia, Kevin, Lucy and Anna's various longtime friendships would form the backbone of the show's veteran corps I would not have believed you. But people watched Felicia and Anna, Mac and Kevin, Felicia and Lucy, etc. all become beloved friends for decades. They know those relationships are 100% real. And they are serviced very regularly onscreen. That's a rare thing and I think it's at least half by accident due to other actors who have been lost and needing JJY/KW, Finola, Lynn, etc. to shore up the vets. To say nothing of Laura, who while her role is not perfect is 100% central and integral across the whole canvas today. Every other day people are talking to Laura, taking Laura's orders, Laura is running the town, etc. Y&R hasn't been able to do anything like that, and it's sad.

I'm of the opposite opinion: If I had to slash and burn the show's budget and reinvent it again (which should've been done some time ago) for a streaming platform, I'd put Braeden and Melody on recurring and let them come in and out for stories when they can be integral. As it stands now, just floating around the characters are burnt out. Most of their family is. Victoria would be gone, possibly for good. I'd phase a lot of Newmans out, probably leave Nick and Sharon parked somewhere if on contract at all (probably not). They would be tentpoles if they hung around. By contrast I'd definitely keep and marry Jack and Diane as a tentpole senior couple, cement the old/young generations of the Abbott and Winters clans (including Rowell) and focus there for the time being along on the young ones with new people. I'd kill Billy. I think many of the other young Abbotts have more viability. Over half the cast is tired. It's time to cull. Bell did it several times.

I assume folks have seen this joke tape made by the producers during the show's run already (I didn't watch it all as it goes beyond my viewing time), but the 'added' gag scene(s) include Laura/McCashin and Ciji/Hartman going in for a kiss around 3:11. "Kenny and Ginger do the smart thing and move away."

While I hasten to add I have not secured any new KL source, I will say I am 6 eps from the end of Season 5. Ep 24 ("A Man of Good Will") is Latham and Lechowick's first episode as staff writers and it is solid work with a lot of character vignettes; you can tell there is a slightly different voice, although it's in keeping with the loving and detailed character work KL has always done. I will discuss the last handful of eps sometime soon when I have the time and energy to run through it all, but I will say I was not expecting the end of this episode: Galveston leaving the Ewings everything. That was a jawdropper on par with Abby one-upping Galveston and telling Gary all about Val in Shula. Abby's face when Gary gave her the news about the inheritance was priceless.

I take your point but I am not watching the whole of this show, lol. I have enough on my plate with Knots, my occasional skip around through Dallas, other contemporary shows and IRL. I will check out the pilot and some bits and pieces of the first few seasons though.

Out of somewhat morbid curiosity, as FC seems perpetually troubled and the also-ran: If someone was, let's say, terminally bored and looking to play Lorimar completionist, what FC material could he skim briefly to get a sense of the show? The pilot? A couple eps in Seasons X or Y? I am def not looking to pick the show up full time, I'm just mildly intrigued and I know I shouldn't limit my perusal to the very strange final season with the super-atmospheric opening and the OTT action-packed makeover.

Ron must be bitter about that second one. I wonder if like all the rest they're back in 4-6 months. O'Brien will have Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding sequel to keep her company.

Lord! That is Ken Foree, horror legend from the original Dawn of the Dead, etc. with Bill above.

I've always been curious to see more eps focusing on Lorie's book scandals. There's a handful of those years available but I never know quite where to look.

I try not to do summaries, but I do try to write about the show intelligently and not too ponderously. I have a couple more in queue to knock out, I've just been so busy with IRL life, work and other films and shows. Then I'll await the return of the show wherever I can watch it next.

It had to happen eventually. I'm grateful for all they do when and however they can. I hope those in the know will keep some of us apprised (not in the public threads) when it quietly pops up again.

Like I keep saying: 'Good' characters are rarely allowed to just cheat or have affairs (let alone just fùck because they want to) anymore. They have to scramble and pretend Joss did not cheat on her boyfriend on the way out the door. For what? Is it really that serious? Sure, Joss is a polarizing and overpropped character, but she's not some whore; she is a young, confused woman who slept with a man not her boyfriend hours before breaking up with him. It was a bad thing to do but it's not the end of the world. Why pretend it didn't happen? Why is the show so overly concerned about it? Joss doesn't need to be a saint. Saints on soaps are boring.

John's family aside, this is a shitty thing to say about an actor who literally just had a malignant tumor removed. You wouldn't tell them to cart Dee Hall off to Shady Pines if she has a cancer scare.

I warned people!

a.k.a. Trevor St. John trolling his way through half of his run at OLTL, and at times seeming to do the same to me at Y&R.

They better mention the Drakes - Epiphany was close to Patrick and Robin and they were all integral and together on that part of the canvas for years. It would be nice to see horny hospital nympho Kelly Lee reappear for the memorial too, I remember her being part of the hospital firmament in those years. But I can't see that happening.

I'm not sure what we're referring to because I've never paid that much attention to Fetterman, but I'm all ears.

I was not making a disparaging remark about Trevor Donovan's politics, which I know nothing of. I was simply making a disparaging remark about his gorgeous Aryan looks, lol. To the best of my knowledge Donovan is no Nazi, he simply looks exactly like one, which was off-putting for a rare Jewish Horton character.

It's hardly an either/or. One doesn't have to love Fetterman to detest Sinema. I certainly don't.