Forever8

27 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

If they were smart, they'd have Cam go head to head with Carly over Jason, which would cause conflict between him, Joss and Trina, which is desperately needed for that trio.

I'm ready for the teens to get at least more adult material then they're currently getting at the moment. 

1 hour ago, victoria foxton said:

 Off the top of my head. I could see Pam totally getting complex bad girls like Emily, Barbara and Julie. And of course Queen Lucy. I think Pam would've deep-sixed the Snyder clan. And brought in her own southern clan. She would've still done business stuff. But not on the level Doug did. All the families would have been front and center. I wonder if she would've cared for Holden & Lilly? But ATWT under Pam would've been zesty and passionate.

I'm not sure how Pam would've written Duncan and Jessica? I could see her bringing in Shannon in earlier. She probably would've have had a better hold on The Snyder's too. And for the Hughes something tells me she would've done well for Kim and Nancy for some reason. I could also see her possibly bringing on a recast Frannie. 

4 minutes ago, YRfan23 said:

Let’s just be thankful we will never have to deal with Eddie Winslow again,  and his sandwich making ways!

The best audition in years ... Oh Paul Rauch!!! 

1 minute ago, yrfan1983 said:

I shudder to recall the awkward couch lovemaking that led to this character's conception

Thanks for reminding me of that nightmare. 

4 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

Long on ATWT could've been good. Instead of the wonky dreariness we got. 

Which characters you think Long would've done well by writing wise? I'm curious to read others thoughts on the matter.

6 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Another forgettable storyline.

 

I did love Eric Steinberg and thought Kim Ji-Min was such a charismatic, smart and sexy character, who could of been viable individual, separate from a pairing.

 

Why is it that anytime there was a hot pairing for Jill, the guy just disappeared or got killed off?

So many poor choices, it's incredible.

 

I don't know if this was part of that same scene but I also remember a throwaway "joke" Colleen had made about her ability to gain weight just by looking at food. That was the comment that made me wonder how she felt after uttering it.

They get rid of Eric Steinberg's Ji-Min Kim. But the show kept putting Jill back with Colin even when he made her look like a buffoon which should be the direct opposite of Jess Walton's Jill Foster-Abbott. Though I know Jess liked working with Tristan Rogers at the same time the writers didn't have to make her look dumb by association as well. 

I remember Colleen talking about how she gained weight since she either stopped doing ballet or left New York or something like that if I remember correctly. I wonder were they heading into a eating-disorder storyline with Adrienne's Colleen.

I think Lily was originally going to develop one possibly when she had first started modeling and Chloe had said something about her having too much dressing on her salad. 

17 minutes ago, Cat said:

 

I liked Adrienne Leon too! She was one of my fave recasts. Unfortunately, we got the reliquary SL, as you say, which involved Brad Carlton killing a bad guy with the strength of his manly man-thighs. We also got Colleen's romance with her 30-something professor which was a NO for me. Not that he wasn't cute, but the power dynamics alone... Finally, the show did Adrienne so dirty by firing her and claiming it was because of her weight (!!) when in fact rumors abounded that an Alleged Sony Benefactor wanted AL replaced with some random Aussie poptart that Sony Music was trying to launch in the US. (!!!) 

 

Re: creating a new character, sometimes I wonder if TPTB should just settle on a cardboard cutout and one of the producers voicing the lines. I remember really liking Eric Steinberg as Ji Min Kim back in the day, but Y&R just wanted a day player who was going to be killed off a few months later.

I did like Adrienne Leon too as Colleen. . I recall the character mentioning about putting on some weight since she came back to town.

So that's how allegedly we got Dani Sutherland from Home and Away because they were trying to make her a pop star?

Funny enough Tammin was starting to come into her own as Colleen for me about a few months before the character was stupidly killed off. I would've preferred she ended up in a coma until in about three months for a recast. 

Who killed off Ji Min? Was it David Chow? Some of the time period of YR is fuzzy to me. 

30 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

 

NO LIES HERE lol. I agree completely. Kristina is irrelevant and not needed (a better actress would own the role and Kristina should be Sonny Jr. but they aren't interested and Ainsworth likely couldn't sell it). Donna was REALLY not needed. We all know they'll drag Morgan's ass back when they get bored. 

 

I think Donna was meant to give Sonny and Carly a new biological child that tied them together on the canvas and they wanted to name her after Donna that they lost behind the scenes. It was strange and not really needed. I get honoring her but Sonny and Carly did not need a kid. It's like a bad joke at this point and they know it lol.

 

This is what happens when babies are plot devices and you end up stuck with them. I miss when babies mattered. Not just a sweeps stunt or a lazy story idea that gives you an easy 9 months.

 

Ethan not being Robert's irritates me so much. It made more sense to have Ethan be Robert and Holly's, but nope. Had to prop Luke. It was stupid. I guess they still could say he's Robert's. In my mind he is LOL.

 

Also agreed, they should have given Jax and Brenda a kid to tie them together. I don't think Valentini has any interest in Brenda but who knows? I've given up the idea of her coming back anytime soon. But I guess we'll see where the Sonny amnesia stuff goes and if Carly and Sonny are finally imploded or not. They seem to be clinging to that pairing and it's not working. (They should have tried Sonny and Kim but they seemed afraid to go there, likely because Mo and Tamara have chemistry).

 

I feel like they keep itching to "go there" with Jax and Carly again but don't seem to want to pull the trigger.

 

This really is the perfect year to bring Brenda back. Just saying.

Kristina should be Lucky Santangelo who should be getting involved in her father's organization as a way to take back her control after being in Dawn Of Day. She should be challenging Jason stating she is Sonny's daughter meaning she should be the one to take over. But right now Kristina is a glorified legacy day player along with sister Molly. I would rather see the younger Davis sisters on canvas daily than Willow and Sasha. 

RE : Brenda 

Her goddaughter, along with her second family The Q's being revitalized at the moment too. She could definitely help shake up that house too if she decided to stay there on behest of Lois who is worried about Brookie and her grandchild. She also could be there to help her old friend Lucy with Deception. As well as her and Carly going at it but understands what she is going through with "losing" Sonny too. 

Though I wish they would recast Lois who would be all over her pregnant daughter despite her being an adult now. 

19 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Dru needs to set Sharon straight about Adam..and than rough him up verbally 

Most definitely!!! 

4 minutes ago, MinnaH said:

Y&R: Cricket and Nina, Sharon and Dru

 

B&B: Stephanie and Sally (also an iconic rivalry), Brooke and Sheila (which obviously didn’t last) 

I forgot about Sharon and Drucilla!!! I miss their friendship so much. Sharon could use Dru right about now. 

28 minutes ago, Cat said:

According to Wikipedia, Rachel Kimsley was up for the role (!) but when Ashley Bashioum left the role of Mackenzie, Kimsey got that instead.

 

Kimsey, Heinle -- seems like Y&R was not looking for big names or Emmy winners to play Victoria. This also reminds me of a period of time in soaps in the 2000s when every time a female character got recast, the rumor was that Jamie Luner was up for the part.

 

Back in the day, I wanted Gina Tognoni or Cynthia Watros to play Victoria. There was a rumor that GT was up for the part but for whatever reason it did not go to her, or she had scheduling conflicts, or something.

I think GT was going back to OLTL at the time and didn't want to relocate to the West Coast. This was before Villy 1.0 happened. Now that you mentioned I remember hearing about Rachel Kimsey too and I was like okay... I also heard Jamie Luner was up for Carly after Tamara Braun left GH. I also believe Megan Ward and Jenna Gering (Galen Gering's wife) were contenders for Carly too. 

1 hour ago, Cat said:

@Forever8 From what little I have seen, Amelia Heinle was great on Loving. She also had her fans from her stint on AMC. IMO there were a couple of factors at play which all came together and resulted in AH being recast as Victoria.

 

Firstly, the ABCfication of Y&R. There was a fear that Y&R's audience was aging out and they were losing some of the younger demos who had tuned in at the height of Billy/Mac's romance and the Brash n Sassy years. Those teen SLs were petering out. 

 

Secondly, there was already a shift in how writers on soaps were expected to write women. The strong businesswomen of the 80s and early 90s were going by the wayside. Pretty faces were being sought out to play archetypes (to use one of Mal Young's favourite words).

 

Thirdly, Heather Tom. Such a strong performer and Emmy-winner. Y&R and CBS did not want to be seen to be pushing her out -- but they did want to cap her pay and her guarantees. I think there was a general feeling that Tom did not have the traditionally pretty looks of a 'standard soap heroine archetype' (that word again) and TPTB did not know how to write for HT's character. By that, I mean multilayered. Contradictory. Emotional. Rageful. Heather Tom's Victoria struck me as someone who had this rage bubbling just below the surface -- rage at having to prove herself, rage with regards to self-esteem issues. Rage towards her parents. That rage wasn't 'pretty.' It wasn't the kind of female stuff that soaps wanted to portray. Bill Bell was happy to write Victoria like that back on the day because he was fascinated by people's psychology and why they do emotional, unpredictable things. I have the feeling Jack Smith was under pressure to 'modernize' the writing, pick up the pace, and keep things simpler. Including characterization.

 

Consequently, Amelia Heinle ticked some boxes, in that she was considered more attractive that Heather Tom, she had ABC soaps under her belt, and it was likely that she would play Victoria in the way TPTB could more easily conceive her to be.

 

This leaves us with the question: could Heinle play a more complex, layered character if she had the writing? Or is she happy to stay in her comfort zone and do her work as written? IOW, do we blame the actress for the way Victoria is currently portrayed, or the writers?

 

Answer (IMO): it is a bit of both. I personally feel Heinle, as sparky an actress as she once was, just does not have it in her to play ranges of emotion all at once anymore. When I see her onscreen, it feels so one-note and dour. Her 'business' SLs are so boring, and for that we should blame the writers 100%. But she seems so cold, blank and one-dimensional in those. Sometimes, even with very limited material, a talented and experienced actor tries to make the content more interesting that it actually is. Eileen Davidson is that actor. Melody Thomas Scott is that actor. I'll even give it to Sharon Case, Michael Mealor and Eric Braeden. Amelia Heinle is not that actor.

Does anyone know who else was up for the role of Victoria in 2005? I know Carrie Genzel (Skye # 3 on AMC) was a contender. Sally Sussman and Kay Alden were the only ones who was able to write her as Victoria with strength which made me take notice of her in a scene when she was going off on Juliet in that tiny Brash & Sassy set. Although, I wasn't keen on them writing her as a "Suburban Soccer Mom" who couldn't balance motherhood and business. I'm like you have five-hundred-million dollars go hire nannies for each child. 

18 minutes ago, BoldRestless said:

In those scenes where she did her presentation to Ashland she was just so bad. Couldn't pull off either the business part or the flirting. It just looked goofy.

 

I always thought it would play to her acting style if they wrote Victoria as developing anxiety or an eating disorder. She has kind of a nervous energy. It would work in her history of sex therapy dating back to Ryan and the more recent JT abuse stuff not to mention all the Billy BS over the years. If we're supposed to buy her as the superwoman who runs an international conglomerate, is a romantic heroine, and an involved mom, she's just not believable. 

Well her character on Loving did have an eating disorder...

Retro TV to Air the Premiere Episode of 'The Doctors' for First Time in 58 Years | Michael Fairman TV

It's sad when you go back to watch Amelia Heinle on Loving as Steffi Brewster she had so much charisma and potential as an actress it makes you do a double-take. 

Brenda & Lois - GH 

Brenda & Lucy - GH 

Brenda & Robin - GH

Theresa & Whitney - Passions 

GT's Phyllis and Hilary - YR 

Sharon & Michelle (Susan Tully) - EastEnders 

25 minutes ago, FrenchBug82 said:

I don't want to be unkind but I notice a pattern of Alan announcing surprising gets that end up not "being able to make it" on the actual date, a mere week or so after the announcement.

Once, OK, things happen. But this isn't the first time that the unlikeliest announced participant ends up not participating.

11 hours ago, NothinButAttitude said:

 

I watch the Eldorado documentary about once a year too. I do think BBC might've been premature in cancelling the show as people who I've talked to (on forums) that watched the show said the ratings were starting to swing crawl back up. The show was apparently regaining its footing. 

 

I am assuming that the other soaps being pitched at that time might've been along the lines EE, Corrie, or ED hence why Eldorado probably got picked over the rest due to the locale and original idea Tony Holland had suggested. 

 

I think the best thing for the new soap would be to start it off 2-3 nights a week over a LONG time before even imagining doing it 4-5 days a week. Personally, I feel like soaps worldwide need to trim their schedules to 2-3 days a week along with a hiatus around Xmas like Aussie soaps. I think this would prevent shows from burning out quickly, the budget not being so bloated, and stories being tighter. 

It seemed Corinne Hollingworth was the right person to turn Eldorado around. Though they didn't give her much time correct all of the problems but did overall a herculean effort to make the ratings rise. She was one of my favorite talking-heads in the documentary instantly taking notice of what was wrong with the show. 

I think soaps in the states going on break would help creatively as well as financially too. Maybe the Christmas/NYE episodes could end on a cliffhanger and it'll be resolved when it came back in a few weeks. 

From the LLB TV Insider Interview 

It was fun seeing Victor [Eric Braeden] and Nikki’s [Melody Thomas Scott] wedding. Chris and Paul’s [Doug Davidson] honeymoon in Nevis was so much fun. I was begging them to play all three days of the Masquerade Ball [from 1991]. Why not keep going? I would have shown more consistency. Maybe do a full week in a row of some shows because they’re all so good.

I wish they would've shown a full week of stories instead of random episodes. It would've given a fuller picture. Instead of randomly getting an episode from 1986 to end the week with 2015 episodes. 

1 hour ago, Sindacco said:

I had no idea who Jackee Harry was before she joined DAYS so I have no reason to care or go gaga over her character.

 

They seriouly have the baby christening at the park bench (or as they call it on the show "the private" part of the square) set. Sad.

 

So tired of RSW's acting and his compressed screaming of lines.

Jackee Harry is best known for being a sitcom star and popular force in pop culture who got her start on the long-running now defunct classic soap opera Another World as Lily Mason. I believe she was the first black actress to win an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy for playing Sondra Clark on the 80's sitcom 227. 

10 hours ago, victoria foxton said:

Anna & Finn's scenes were really lackluster. As were Nina and Jax's. It's nice to have Amanda Setton back. I like that Gladys is back. She's a hot mess. And has more personality than her son Brando. 

I like Anna and Finn separate from each other, but as a couple, they never did much for me. Nina and Jax had potential early on, but plenty of reasons why I don't want to see them paired up anymore. I like having Amanda Setton back too. But I wasn't pleased to see Gladys; or as I like to call her "Fake Mo Collins" back on my screen. She can take Brando, who I did like when he first premiered but not so much anymore, and leave town for good. 

7 hours ago, NothinButAttitude said:

 

Yeah. Someone posted a video of the set on Youtube about a year or 2 ago. Him and his friend snuck in under the pretense that they were paintballers, but they were really there to record how the set looks. It is still VERY much intact and looking good. It always boggled my mind why BBC didn't keep that set and rent it out for other possible shows and location shoots. Especially, when they love to send soap characters to Ibiza or somewhere else in Spain. Here's the video below:

 

Honestly, I feel like the general gist of what Tony Smith wanted Eldorado to be, a village of Brits expats living abroad, could be something interesting in this world climate. Especially, with them leaving the EU and everything else going on in the world. 

Thanks!!! That Eldorado documentary is fascinating to me. I watch it once a year. I think if the TPTB didn't heavily interfere with what Tony Holland initially wanted. I think it could've been an interesting premise for a soap. And when they were talking about the ideas for shows; it made me want to know what the others were about?

I think the new soap(s) might fall in the line of Casualty, Holby City, and perhaps Red Rock; more than a daily series i.e. Corrie, Emmerdale, EastEnders. 

41 minutes ago, NothinButAttitude said:

Kudos to the BBC (and British TV in general) for seeing that soaps can still be profitable. 

 

However, I agree with everyone that they need to get EastEnders in check first. 

 

I just hope this soap doesn't flop like Eldorado did...

 

Speaking of Eldorado, why didn't BBC just revive it? I mean the set is still apparently there and is a paintball park now. I think it would be nothing for them to purchase it back, right?

It's a paintball park now? Wow!!!