prefab1

I believe the proper term is "straight-passing" rather than "wooden." But seriously I agree that Lucas doesn't have as much chemistry with Joe as he had with Marco. But still it's early days in their storyline, and unless I've missed some important scenes, Joe still hasn't come out as gay to Lucas or anyone else.

I think this is something that really hurt the show creatively in its last decade on the air. It clearly needed to be telling stories about the next generation of characters in these core families. But a bunch of those young characters like Chris Hughes, Adam Munson, and Alison Stewart got ruined with recasts and rewrites that basically erased whatever personality the character had in earlier iterations.

I'm the same way; I thought Ben Warren was too sleazy to even work as a compelling antihero. And I didn't think he had much chemistry with the women in any of his GL pairings. But he really worked for me as Craig (although it probably helped that he was my first Craig). He generated real sparks with Carly and Rosanna, he had a good sibling dynamic with Margo and Katie, he served as a much-needed counterbalance to all the show's stolid good guys, and his machinations drove the show's major plots for years.

I've got to agree. This is a hard period of GL for me to watch, and it got even worse when Labine came in. I couldn't start watching regularly again until Lucky Gold took over as HW. He might have had stories about characters time-travelling by stepping through paintings, but at least they focused on characters I cared about!

Really interesting watching an event episode like this that used nearly the entire cast. It makes me nostalgic for days when soaps had the budget to do this. Still, it's telling that the best scenes--the ones where, when watching out of context, it's easiest to care about the characters and their dramatic situation--come at the Hughes house. At the ball, we get a lot of short, polite, small talk conversations that are boring enough to replicate an actual charity event. Thank god for Susan and Lucinda, as Susan's clear disdain for Royce, Lucinda's brief emotional moment with Lily, and her amused reaction to the Hutch/Evan fight are some of the liveliest moments in this episode. Although I liked the Linc/Debbie scene at the end, I was really struck by how bland the younger characters were, to the point where they almost seemed interchangeable. I didn't get into ATWT until 2000, and when I briefly caught scenes from it in the mid-90s, it always seemed dull and impenetrable. Watching this episode now, I have a greater appreciation for what the show was doing well at the time--especially in its use of its veteran cast--but I'm also struck by how it provided very few compelling "points of entry" for new viewers, unlike Guiding Light, which hooked me almost immediately when I started watching it in 1994.

I wouldn't say BLQ is the bad guy here, but I do think it's her own damn fault for marrying Himbo Cop Chase. She should have known that in a game of FMK, he's an F or maybe a K, but never an M.

I agree that GH could use more internal conflict, and I'd also add that they overrely on "bad guys of the month" (which is why I've been FFing most of Hudson's scenes). But in this case, I'll give them a pass, because writing Chase as an idiot seems totally in character. He's convinced himself that he's just being a "good guy" and his flirtation with Willow is "totally innocent"--and he completely lacks the introspection to grasp his own darker desires (including his own resentment at playing house-husband to his richer, more powerful wife in her family home). I think that's realistic, and not every character has to be self-aware and conflicted. But it would certainly be helpful if more of them were.

Hey, maybe this can be their way to finally give Liz something to do! She can take care of a bunch of characters who've fallen sick with cyclosporiasis. And then she can discover they all have eye mites as well.

They kept trying stuff for Jacinda (e.g. her rivalry with Willow, her job as Nina's assistant, her flirtation with her boyfriend's sister) that probably would have worked if they had a stronger actress in the role. So I can understand if they now want to cut their losses, but I wish it was being handled a bit less clumsily.

I generally agree, but the trial scenes in Thursday's episode aren't half bad. It helps that most of the focus is on the arguments Molly and Martin are making on behalf of their clients. Molly's closing speech is especially on point. Overall, the episode is pretty good today, with a very strong Jason/Tracy scene. But it really gives you the sense of a show in transition, with Jason and Sonny announcing major life changes, plus Jacinda clearly on her way out as Serena takes her place as Michael's love interest.

I think it really helps that they've started writing Lucy better recently. Her scenes today--where she's scheming about getting her shares back, but then also worrying to Felicia that she might be pimping out her daughter--felt very in-character, showing the different dimension of Lucy.

I agree that the writing has a big part in this. But I do think that a different actor might be able to add some layers to the performance that would enable us to sympathize with Curtis or at least view him as a misguided tragic figure.

In theory, I get what they're trying to do with this whole Curtis-on-trial storyline. It's supposed to be raising questions about justice, especially since there's a child in the mix, and putting Curtis in prison for assault would deny that child of his father. But in practice, with the ways Curtis is written and played by Donnell Turner, I just want to see that arrogant SOB locked up. Curtis is so obnoxious and fundamentally unlikeable that it totally undermines the whole moral quandry the show has been trying to set up with this storyline. And again, I think a lot of that has to do with Turner's performance choices, since it's totally possible to play a character who's both arrogant and somewhat likeable (e.g. Rory Gibson's Michael).

Some of the behind-the-scenes decisions on this show are baffling to me. Yes, McKenna was terribly miscast as a replacement for the character Mesure originated. But even though it's taken 18 months, they've finally found a place on the canvas for him that really works. The Jack/Nina relationship is one of the highlights on the show right now.

NuEthan is back, and now he's in Norway? 🤔 This storyline is just getting weirder and weirder.