FrenchBug82

I meant, legally. I am confused how that carried the day legally speaking. From the POV of the show it makes all the sense in the world. I fully agree with the examples you give. We also know that Kenya has had trouble with production because Marc doesn't want Brooklyn on the show.

They are establishing him as still suspicious she is going to cheat on him. But then it doesn't explain why he took her back - and they didn't explain why he took her back. Maybe we are supposed to believe it is a trap? But what does he have to gain exactly by proving Quinn is going to cheat on him again? Is this directed at Carter instead? But misleading Quinn to prove Carter is untrustworthy makes Eric what exactly? All the options I can think of are stupid and most of them make Eric look like an a**h**e.

Worse than a soap telling a terrible story (and Ciara marrying Ben is an awful story choice) but a terrible story told incompetently. Once they had made the call Ciara/Ben was going to be the end game, how in the hell did they think it made for good drama if *no one* in Salem opposed the union. Bo/Hope not being there, they should have had Shawn not being onboard. I am not suggesting this because I am opposed to Ben/Ciara but because it is such obvious drama and this is a soap! Having a wedding without any opposition is silly in the best of times but it is even sillier when the problem is obvious and it is right there on the table for pickings. They are so focused on selling Ben/Ciara that they are not even bothering to write the obvious story beats. For those who watched Another World, Iris' exit was a really sore point for me because it was beneath the character but at least I appreciate that despite everyone warming to Carl/Rachel - a couple similar to Ben/Ciara in that they had great chemistry but were an abomination when you thought of the things Carl had done - Iris steadfastly opposed the union to the end. That was consistent with the character and provided nice scenes and drama. That they are leaving such an obvious source of conflict on the table at Days is just incompetent writing in the service of a fanbase.

I am honestly surprised this argument carried the day. Noone forced her to make a professional commitment that required or benefitted from the twins being able to participate. How is that his problem? I don't have a dog in that fight and I ultimately think the twins should decide whether they want to be filmed but it seems to me "taking a job and then using that job as a fait accompli to force my ex to accept something he doesn't want" is a strange slippery slope.

Yeah I believe all that has been said about the dynamic of VP being outspoken about certain things and not interested in socializing having to do with why she was an island by herself within the cast, but I am pretty sure there must have been more to it in her behavior to explain why she was intensely disliked the way she was. It is hard to gauge without specific anecdotes though and it is interesting how few specifics have leaked over the years (vs for instance some of the stories we heard from Dynasty or Falcon Crest)

Have we ever had any gossip on anyone else being problematic or disliked on the Dallas set - regular or guest-star?

I think Maura West is fabulous whatever she plays but I fully 100% agree how incredibly un-Ava the writing has been of late - especially since the pairing with Nikolas has taken off. I realize to keep a character around she has to have likable layers and they had to pull her back a little from her early years where she could have easily been written into a corner, but turning her into a soft damsel in distress ain't it. Women can have multitudes, writers. You can be a bitch AND a lover. A go-get-em diva and someone with feelings. Afraid of the stalker and still ready to fight back.

I hate everything with this story since the affair was revealed. Eric's 180 was given ZERO lead-in. Quinn's motives for going back are not explained at all. There is no exploration of how everyone feels and why they do what they do. They are giving us zero beat or conflict. Just having things happen in a vacuum.

I agree with everyone. I am appalled they felt the need to mention Theo and Ciara didn't sleep together. How incredibly offensive and sexist. Just revolting. OK Spill the T. What makes you think he may be problematic in that way?

This is where the story leans towards bothersome rather than just boring. Because yes. Victoria dating him is stupid enough but rushing into marriage... is just credibility-of-the-character-destroying stupid. They really really really are writing her as generic naive heroine which is not what Victoria is. And if they try to build conflict with Lily by having Billy run to her rescue I am going to go from annoyed to pissed. Not because I care about B/L but because the damsel in distress trope is so tired. Of all of Victor's children, she is supposed to be by far the smartest and most capable. They SHOULD be establishing her as her father's worthy heir so that when it doesn't happen (maybe because of her gender) it becomes a huge story. Victoria vs Adam has so much potential to carry on the Newman story the day EB can't be around anymore. I am so mad at the show because there is so much potential in all that they have and this is the garbage they choose to do with it.

It is funny because in the past I was a bit put off by the Landers' reputation as being a bit attention-hungry but with hindsight I actually really liked Afton. She had a nice energy that balanced the awfulness around her and the show needed that more, I think. Yeah... That's why I don't think the story of her firing/departure was totally her being a victim of sexism. They definitely should have given her equal billing to Duffy BUT knowing what kind of energy she was bringing behind-the-scenes, I suspect denying her that was not just about sexism. It was also about sending a message to her, I believe, that was as much about her as it was about her being a woman. There is no question the trope about the same behavior being called "strong-willed" for a man and "difficult" for a woman is entirely true. But that doesn't mean that it is not possible for a woman to be genuinely... difficult and I believe VP must have been a pain in the ***

That's an excellent point. I initially thought these conversations were about driving home the "softening" of the Ava character (and her now multiple female friendships) about which I am ambivalent but I had not picked up on how these conversations could shape story on the Portia/Trina side later. It makes total sense and it is indeed smart writing.

I feel you there but then sadly I think this is a pattern that holds true to most soaps. Female characters that are established with a strong personality very rarely survive a super-pairing with their strength intact. As a matter of fact, I'd argue that even *regular popular pairings* are somehow tied in soap writers' minds with softening a female character to the point of non-recognition. See what they are doing to Ava on GH right now because the pairing with Nikolas is popular for instance. In any case, I believe you are right. But it was probably worth it on balance.

Good. Now, is all well with all the people he has come in contact with unmasked since he caught the disease? And is all well for those who came in contact with the people he contaminated? Laws of probability and epidemiology say: not for all of them, no.

Oh how I would wish for a proper Archive of American Television-style interview of Louise Sorel on her career. I'd even try to sneak in a question about her marriage to Herb "Stan" Edelman because that has always been one of my favorite tidbit of random three degree of separation.

I gotta say Nikolas being a s***y father does not strike me as out-of-character so I can accept it but him being stupid is and I am not feeling the incredibly hare-brained plan they had him implement. And while I am fine with them softening Ava some, having her being a victim of now TWO stalkers is laying it on a bit thick for me. If this story doesn't end up with her kicking some stalker behind, I am going to be very grumpy about it all. But I will take the journey until then. The nurse working for Ryan seems the likeliest culprit of the fire but maybe they have slightly more interesting in store.

I am not sure where that idea comes from (and I am dubious) but I'd be into it, despite how insane the rewrite would be. They certainly got a LOT of drama for Ava out of her death but as an Ava/MW fan I am all for her having as much family as possible AND that love/hate mother/daughter relationship was actually interesting. And Kiki could throw a wringer into the Michael/Willow snoozefest so why not? As long as they don't throw her Nikolas' way, because we have been there, done that I don't think it is Kiki, mind you but fun to speculate about.

A lot of people actually... I don't mind Morrow's acting as much as I once did - probably because he has so little to do that he can afford to be low-acting. But this is why I was mad they gave us another run of Phick. Sorry but there is no magic anymore here. I know those two love working together but their scenes bring out the worst in each other. Compare how interesting Stafford can be with Bergman (and I don't even like Phyllis/Jack that much but their scenes are so much more interesting). I really want them to explore Nick with someone else. Anyone else. Not Sharon, not Chelsea, not Phyllis. Someone new. Amanda was my idea but I am open to Sally. Nick is one character that REALLY needs a circuit-breaker.

Sign me up for this version. I wanna watch it 😉

I am just repeating what everyone else has said better already at this point, but boy would the story be a lot more acceptable if it wasn't completely and blindly boosted by all corners. If more characters were ambivalent about it and STILL gave it the stink eye. Even even if Ciara was feeling guilty at times about loving him but "I can't help it". Instead it is Ben worshipping and everyone cheering for them and Ciara defending him and it loses any rooting value. It is writing Eve as the *villain*. Etc. If you are going to go there, make it a shades-of-grey story. Telling us how much we should root for them is just insulting.

See, my speculation was going the other way in my head. I was picturing Sheila using Paris to drive a wedge between Finn and Steffy. But now that ya'll say it, it does make sense she would want to keep them together to have an excuse to be in the Forresters' lives. I guess it is hard to guess whether they are going to go with "Sheila enjoying being a Forrester in-law" or "Sheila getting more revenge". Kinda the problem with the writing for Sheila in the past fifteen years: her motives are not always consistent.

I am ambivalent because I really don't want it to lead anywhere but are they really going to play that one-night stand with Britt like they did her ONS with Julian and just play it for two days and then move on without any consequences for story? One of the reasons I am so angry at IR for turning out to be such a ... person in real life is that I, for years, have found myself nodding at almost his stances re: Carly, Jason, Sonny, Josslyn, even Nina. He is the most reasonable of them all! I can't find any enjoyment out of it anymore now that I know what I know but there was once a time where I would have defended keeping him around even without story just because he provided a nice level-headed foil to the whole mafia boosterism.

I have been wrong before (insert your own joke here) but my sense is that, when a soap bangs us over the head with a particular conversation over and over, it means it is going to be a plot point later. So I would assume something *is* going to happen to Josslyn. Maybe she is the one who is going to end up taking the brunt of whatever whoever (the nurse?) has planned for Ava? Just speculating but this would be my guess as to why they are being so repetitive.

Seems like strange timing to plant seeds there right at the same time they are introducing the Sheila story Me thinks the two threads are going to connect.

So far the performer unions have been on the side of protecting the "rights" of the unvaccinated rather than the protection of everyone, from what I gather. A bit like teacher unions were reflexively at first (and started to 180 after pressure). I'd be interested in whether the pressure comes from the backstage crew unions but it is hard to know: unions have been all over the place.