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The key factor here is the same as so many stories like this where a character goes against Sonny. They clearly do not view Marco as a villain, just rash and naive. Unless they are a total black hat like Sidwell or Cyrus (both of whom still get weak attempts at pathos so FV can keep the actors as long as possible), the angle is always the same with this storyline: This poor fool is misled, they are lashing out/have bad information and are allying themselves with the wrong people, etc. Marco blames Sonny for his mother's death and couldn't listen to reason, and now he will ally himself with his criminal father and Go Too Far because he didn't listen after being abducted and held prisoner at gunpoint. Only when it all goes wrong will they learn what a fool they were to lash out at Sonny, Jason, Carly, etc. and apologize. The show has done this story so many times, particularly in the last decade, and this is among the lamest of them all. Even Elizabeth Hendrickson's embarrassing ADA character had a variant of it.

I always wondered what happened re: Sheridan. Maybe McKenzie Westmore pissed him off, or maybe St. JER just got horny for some younger face. It is astonishing to me how much they initially hung around Grace when Dana Sparks was one of the worst actors on a remarkably bad show. That also seemed like a course change given how much Grace and Charity were built up, but I doubt it was about her acting ability because he never cared much about that. I do think Ethan and crazy Theresa were always meant to end up together. But I think Miguel and Kay were a course change, as possibly was Sam and Ivy, where JER let his very tortured relationship with his faith and his concept of good vs. sin/evil transgress, break the rules and let the 'bad'/more 'fun' character get the man. The longer the show went on and the older he got, the more frankly depraved the work got and his past, proto-puritanical sense of ethics faded away. That's not to say the original couples were any better, just that his outlook had clearly altered and grown much more coarse.

The last time the show made a serious attempt to challenge that status quo they ran the HW out of town on a rail, so I don't see it happening again any time soon.

I think @carolineg and I have both said we think GH would take a hit if Mo was fired. I think it is probably too dangerous to do in the current ratings environment, otherwise I'd do it easily. Which is why instead we both so often invoke The Brenda Solution, where they are married off and VM/Brenda then takes up the bulk of their story. That keeps Sonny around but neutralizes a lot of this tired bullshít. He can still scheme and glower and threaten people but he can do it in a more conventional, classically Victor Newman-esque way, where the power and threat is implicit because of his history. You can toy with the tease of 'oh, will Sonny go back to his old ways?' but keep it in check, so we're not seeing situations like this crazy shít with Marco and Lucas happen every few weeks while half the canvas trips over themselves justifying his latest thug behavior. It is just so old and tired, everything about the current mob/crime setup feels like beyond an afterthought, and Maurice seems barely awake.

These Lucas/Marco bedroom scenes yesterday are pretty intimate. I am impressed they took the time with someone who isn't a throwaway weenie like Brad. Marco is more superficially masculine than soaps often allow most LGBT guys to be, and Van Hansis' Lucas is at the different end of the spectrum in a way we also don't usually see on soaps unless it's a borderline caricature like Leo on DAYS or Felix, who also straddled the line. (OLTL did pretty well with Kish, but they did have a whole hetero-centric baby storyline) There's just a convincing sexual charge here with two IRL gay actors.

It is wild that Obrecht is still giving Liz shít after all the insane illegal fúckery she did to her and everyone else. Yes, I will keep evading the censor on swearing.

Yeah, it's time for Tomas to get it from both girls and end up dead by/at November sweeps.

Time for Tomas to get the Joe Perkins Special!

Oh, that is beautiful. Thank you so much. I'll tag @DRW50 on this as we both go way back with Dark Shadows. Highly doubt it's remotely on her list of interests, but I would kill to see KLS on a soap one more time. Lovely mention of Susan Sullivan too.

Yeah, that's growing pains for you. I wouldn't be shocked to see some quiet retcons on some of this in the year to come.

It would take a Herculean effort for Days to fully pull back from that Reilly-adjacent shenanigans and tone, and I frankly don't think even the stronger elements of the Higley, Tomlin, etc. years ever did. Any creative team who tried in the last 20 years didn't last long. If the new team can it could be a way forward.

Oh, I know Donna, Diana, etc. I'm just saying, we all know when New Jack Swing was big and when these singers dabbled in it IRL. So based on current show info the career timeline is all wonky, unless Anita was doing a cover of someone else at karaoke. ETA: NVM, I see it was definitely said to be an old Articulettes song. That's wild, doesn't make sense. Unless it was a totally new arrangement.

Just what I said. 😌

If BTG sticks it out for another re-up (and given this DAYS renewal) I think there is a slim possibility ABC could revisit the old catalog at half-hour intervals in future, though I'm not super expecting it. But they'd have to plan for how to budget it and do it differently for the 2020s, and that means a different format and schedule if they want it to last on streaming. It's not as simple as plopping AMC, OLTL or whatever back on network TV. I think this supposed Lifetime movie deal re: AMC is far more likely. I do think a heavily revamped GL (or EON) could do well on streaming at Paramount, but that company is nowhere near ready for that kind of venture in their current dire straits.

Back to OnlyFans.

A few months back I just figured Anita's dabbling in New Jack Swing came late in her solo career, like Aretha, etc.'s flirtations with it IRL. I'm still behind so if they're now suggesting it was a full-on Articulettes thing then the timeline is totally shot lol. Since Ted King commented on the IG post above, I will again reiterate he is a dude this show could use. Just sayin'.

Ted is someone that show could use.

There are potential characters Konefal could play on GH - Lucy's daughter Christina by another name, maybe even the dreaded Lila Rae Alcazar (sorry, caroline! I don't want Skye back full time ever either) or others I can't think of offhand. Sasha is not one of them but I don't think there is any actual credible rumor that VK is coming to the show. I think it's spec or fanfic run amok, and I think it is simply not happening. I would have no issue with boring ol' Sasha making visits. I am surprised they didn't let her go out with a bang or play out this babynapping plotline with her and Daisy (ugh) there, but maybe money was that tight. I could see bringing her back many years from now back in her old schemer mode once the kid is grown, but probably with another actress lol.

I think Frank never wanted to get rid of her, but nor do I believe it was all 'her decision' given the insane stretches to keep her last year. That's a very common face-saving PR move. I think they had to cut for budget and off she went. I think the door is open for her to come back and waste more space for years to come, but I also wouldn't be surprised if she never did, or if Sasha just made guest appearances in future because Frank loves SM. But I highly doubt they will recast. The character has no real drive on canvas. People just offload their fanfic to various spots online and know it will get picked up, or you have spec getting spun into 'rumor'. "How can they cut Sasha when she just had Michael's baby? I know, she'll be recast!"

Linda Borgeson's Alice is one of the worst performances I've ever seen. The other recasts (except Harney, who was passable) were all weird but wow.

Emergent scream queen Mckenna Grace (ex-Faith, Y&R) looks like she's getting the Drew Barrymore slot in Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

Yeah, that came down to a management change at Amazon and the big streamers simply not understanding the long-term haul investment of soaps despite craving the same long tail of dedicated viewership for their existing sitcoms, dramas, etc. which they regularly acquire. Maybe they will eventually, maybe they won't. But even now it doesn't like seem Neighbours is definitely dead and may resurrect in one form or another. My biggest concern for BTG is the effects of the Paramount merger and the anticipatory obedience every major conglomerate is offering towards Trump. Amazingly the show has largely escaped the notice of the online right, and may well continue to do so and hopefully it never becomes an issue. Or, at worst, BTG makes it through to the midterms, the makeup in Congress changes and Trump has bigger problems (not that he doesn't have some now).

I think if the last decade-plus has proven anything it's that soaps can survive, and thrive. But we're all right that they have to modernize more, and I still think streaming a la the PP/Hulu soaps (and Days on Peacock) is the future. And I'll say again I think the model will still come down to seasonal arcs, a la Port Charles or Linda Gottlieb's plan for OLTL (or the one Prospect Park attempted to enact when they ran out of money lol), which would save money. And yes, probably down to 30 mins unless you have a special episode or something.

They said soaps were dying 15 years ago. Here we are.

This show would never go for it based on how they've been hyper-focused on some of the characters' bonds and integrity, but I'll say it: Nicole and Bill is an option. But then TD has major chemistry with both sisters.