FrenchBug82

I saw a Beyond Salem ad banner that had Ciara alone on the foreground and Ben next to her in the center and the other characters in the background. Clearly DOOL thinks they are a draw which is why they were included in BS even briefly.

This bugs me more than Chelsea/Johnny because one of Adam's thoroughline was his bitterness at Victor choosing not be in his life during his childhood - despite Adam having a loving replacement father figure in Cliff. You'd think Adam of all people would consider it important to have a relationship with his biological son regardless of whether he has a loving adopted family.

This is great news But it is worth inquiring what the other shows are doing. Because NLG is so vocal, we all focused on GH but I feel the other shows are crossing their fingers no attention is directed at them to know whether THEY are protecting their crew.

Agreed but that's on the writers, not AM. She could play bitchy-but-fragile very well but the writers did exactly what you said and made her basic. It is a story as old as time on soaps and has happened many times before: writers often do not know how to sustain a "bitch" type character over the long run without softening them. They seem to think a woman can't be tough and complicated and a romantic lead we can root for without dulling her edges almost to nothing. And when it is a recast they feel very free to change the nature of the character (see Y&R Victoria for a similar trajectory) Which in turn is why Erica Kane is such a tour-de-force because that's one of the rare that managed to sustain herself over decades without becoming dull for the sake of being more likeable, which Erica often was not.

Wait. Had been announced for a cameo and I missed it? I don't know if this is going to sound rational but while I don't feel amazing chemsitry between the actors either I like the chemistry between the characters in that they are a good fit and their flirtation is written well so far. So I am fine with it... if they manage to write good story out of it down the line.

Interesting. Had never thought of it this way. Thanks for answering

"Do you really? Gosh!" This is Krista Allen level of acting that Rinna is doing now.

I liked CBL fine but she wasn't really given anything memorable enough for me to judge her the best over ED's extraordinary run. So genuinely interested why you preferred her? Any particular reason? Did you dislike ED? Was it the storylines? Or is it just one of those je-ne-sais-quoi things?

At least now we have a plausible explanation for her "having to work with unvaccinated actors" tweet since none of her usual scene partners were known to be one of *those* and I wasn't looking forward to add another anti-vaxxer to the list. Now I can pretend she only meant Ingo.

"Use vodka and black underwear like everyone else!"

I don't want to be unnecessarily negative but this has a very strong stench of "I didn't want to return to Beyond Salem because I am above this now but let's schedule a public event right after it airs to make sure I can still stake my claim that I am Sonny just in case people like the new guy".

Honestly I'd like a long-term soap to do a story like this but this wasn't the right one for that. The audience loved Bianca way too much to accept that cruel situation long-term.

I don't mind it. Good that they introduce new names in the repertoire so that they are not stuck with a Victor Jr situation where they later have to randomly change the name because they didn't think two steps ahead.

That Jax fling thing... Not that I wanted it to lead anywhere but I am surprised zero seems to come of it. I think it would make sense for "Mike"'s return to being Sonny one way or another to be November sweeps. I really like the latter idea too (the Amanda Young option). I wouldn't be that bothered with Ryan having a secret kid since it is not impossible that there are gaps in what we know of his history since he was off-screen for so long BUT I also agree with earlier comments that I am tired of soaps thinking the only way to get the audience to react to a new character is to make them relatives of someone else. It is particularly tedious when it involves a lot of history rewriting or plausibility-stretching but more importantly it is lazy because often writers rely on that trope to avoid having to do the hard work to make the character compelling on its own merits. If they are related to someone we already know and care about then they assume the audience will automatically transfer this interest to the new character. Much easier than, you know, write good original new characters and do the hard work to make them popular.

Interestingly too, she still manages to do so much great face acting which is rare in actresses with face fillers. As I noted the other day, I was so impressed with all the emotions she was conveying without saying a word during Peter's soliloquys.

Well if the finale has aired, seems like the reunion should be happening now or won't be happening. Coz I bet everyone wants to move on from this season and forget it happened so I don't see them doing it in six months.

I third this. And I'd add, as we discussed a few weeks back, that Sonny's likely resentment of what happened with Jason and Carly when he was "gone" might help fuel the messiness and why he might give the Nina flirtation more than a chance despite her betrayal. But on paper at least it still feels like it would be somewhat out-of-character. Sonny usually would hold grudges, wouldn't he?

Sonny and Nina are obviously never going to be the end game but I do hope that they push it a bit further even after Sonny gains his memory back and is in PC again, if only for the drama of it all. That said I find it hard to believe that Sonny - especially Sonny - would continue on once he realizes she knew who he was all along.

It is (understandably) rare that actors get to mock a colleague's acting style openly on-screen (Peter Bergman's Jack needling of Eric Braeden's acting ticks is the only other example I can think of off the top of my head) but if one of the upsides of MB being "the star of the show" is that he can get away with doing this one, I am all for it. But seriously though this is just so excruciating that noone is sitting him down. Unless at this point he is doing it knowingly just to piss the audience off thinking he is "in on the joke". What a disservice to all the great actors doing great work around him though.

I definitely 100% think this is the right parallel and this is where it is going. With the caveat that by the time Ron was writing David and the character was just a shell of what he used to be, a pathetic cartoon, TW had completely checked out and was going through the motions. Paul T. is still giving it his all so I am not quite at the stage where I loathe the character yet but the trajectory is definitely clear if they don't remember what made Xander interesting wasn't just his abs. Oh and btw Gwen is a bust. That initial story arc with Chad and Abby was hateful. Her killing Laura in such an undignified and unpunished manner is a disgrace. And without Abby, Jennifer (and soon Jack) around, whatever "comedic" fling she has with Xander is really not interesting enough to keep around. I have yet to find anything likeable about her, chemistry or not. I will make an allowance if there is a chance Sarah might come back - in which case I'll let them play out the triangle. But otherwise I think she can be fairly declared a bust and the show should cut their losses.

100% agree. Especially if that friend has a long history of posting a lot of inflammatory statements on social media.

And for what it is worth the trailer leaned pretty heavily on Will/Sonny and the gay stuff. Add to that the Jackie Cox role and they clearly think there is a LGBTQ+ fanbase worth attracting here. Which isn't wrong and I would say bode well enough for their return in the not-too-long term if the Sonny recast is well-received.

I imagine to create tension between him and Allie and explain why she'd start turning more and more to Chanel. With the added benefit that if the spoiler posted earlier is correct I can see them spicing up the triangle that way. Not sure I'd be captivated by it but it is pretty classic soap.

I do not mind either of them so what I am saying is not directing at them but "low-balling" is in the eyes of the beholder. What feels like low-balling when you are still within a successful three-year turn on a soap might turn out to be a generous offer when you remember you are just one of thousands of attractive young actors looking for work in Los Angeles and nobody outside of Y&R knows who you are. I wish them the best on their career but I wouldn't be surprised if they came back. And I will say this: unlike many delusional young actors who left a soap after one contract convinced they were on the way to stardom and never to consider a soap role ever again, both of them seem to be speaking highly of Y&R and have genuinely considered staying. So it would be less of a leap for them to come back once everyone has reconsidered what they can afford to pay and to be paid. This short visit is proof they are on good terms after all.

Yes. I agree with this. There are kernels of stuff here and there that tells me the fundamentals are still there which makes the dreg we are watching even more frustrating. I mean I am not going to say I am fully sure which era I "prefer" since I detest both. Ironically this might turn out to be the very phenomenon we were talking about whereby the reason I am placing the current show below is because I am mad it is what is currently on my screen but in a few years with the benefit of hindsight I will see more benignly because it is entirely true they are doing very little that is damaging long-term creatively, contra the 2006 era. But, man, getting us to a point where we just don't care anymore might be an even worse fate for the show long-term even if it later becomes better. I have moments where I miss the rage I felt at how horrible some of the character developments of the 2005-2015 show were. If they had Sharon marry Victor now, I am not sure how much I'd care anymore. And THAT is sad.