Romalotti

I wish I had fancy clothes to wear because I’m crazy enough to do this. Although I think the cotillion is going to be on multiple shows so I may not want to get dressed up for three or four nights straight. I’m really looking forward to this week for the first time in a long time. Possibly the first time since the anniversary party episodes. I love the show but it’s hardly been riveting these past few months. There was last year’s Chelsea kidnapping story but we all knew Chelsea was gonna be okay so the dramatic stakes were low. But this week we have Bill probing into Hayley’s past, the cotillion drama, the climax of the plasma ring story, and that mysterious spoiler on Friday about the McBrides. This better be good! I really hope the writers don’t blow it.

I wish they would write a truly suspenseful storyline with lots of twists and turns but I’m afraid they may be incapable of doing so. Something like Sheila’s original run on Y&R that took over two years to fully play out. They tried with the Allison stalker story but that came out of nowhere and was over just as quickly. I just want a good, long, classic soap story that makes me excited to watch every day. Maybe a murder mystery? They’re gonna need something big after the plasma storyline (which seems to be wrapping up now) and after they finally conclude the Hayley/Bill storyline. I just want to know the writers are capable of giving me some of that old-fashioned, layered storytelling.

Can anyone tell me why Smitty is interested in talking to Lynette Wise? He apparently didn’t know she left town so I can’t figure out why he cares enough to grill Tomas about it. Maybe I missed something?

Please share anything you have! I am a huge fan of the show. Although I admit, I don’t think I’ve seen a full episode since 2009 or 2010. However, I’ve been watching from the beginning on the new app. It’s the best 22 minutes of my day!

Good idea! I was thinking along the same lines recently. How hard would it be to send your B-crew out to shoot some establishing shots to use for the show? I can’t imagine it would cost much money at all.

That’s awesome! Imagine being able to find some of these out in the wild! Great collector’s items!

Yes! I remember her funeral. Well, both of them. I took a break watching the show for a few after Ridge and Brooke’s wedding (the one where Sheila popped up during their honeymoon) because I didn’t have regular access to cable television. I couldn’t believe it a short time later when I’d heard Taylor came back AGAIN. I really thought she was dead. I’ve never seen the episodes where she returns but I’ve seen a few insane clips of Ridge digging up her grave. I hate when shows do obvious retcons. Taylor should have stayed dead but I can deal with it because I love seeing Hunter Tylo onscreen.

If I had to pick one regular/recurring cast member to bite the bullet in the plasma storyline, Derek would be the most obvious choice. He doesn’t have a storyline except as Ashley’s friend and he occasionally spars with Leslie. His character has “heroic death” written all over him. And if the “Hayley trying to kill Bill” storyline needs a casualty, the writers MUST use the opportunity to kill off Tomas.

Wait, WHAT? I saw the whole storyline but I don’t even remember Tricia having many scenes with Victor. I remember her connection with Matt Clark but that’s it.

What show are you watching?

That was the first soap death I’d watched that really hit to me. I’d started watching the show around the time Ryan and Victoria were first dating. Ryan just seemed like he’d always be there and the wedding was really built up after years of Ryan and Victoria being apart. I will admit it was really good television though! Whatever happened to Tricia? Did she go off to jail after she shot Ryan, never to be seen again or did they bring her back on the show later?

I started watching in 1992 when Sheila was mailing the puzzle pieces to Lauren and continued until I’d say 2009 or 2010. I missed a few years from like 96-99 though. And yes, Lauren was really wasted on B&B. She was a regular cast member for a few years and the only two storylines I can remember she was involved in were her affair with Eric (leading to the picture in the Bible at Eric and Stephanie’s wedding) and when the writers made it seem like she was a lecherous cougar out to snag Dylan (but then it turned out she was only testing him). How do you get Lauren Fenmore on your show and then relegate her to C-storylines? I don’t even think she interacted with Sheila much when she was on the show in the late 90s. It’s been a real joy watching from the beginning. Plus this show reminds me of watching with my mother. We’d videotape the episodes while we were at work and school, then we’d sit and drink coffee and watch them late at night (after my blowhard dad had fallen asleep so we could enjoy them in peace).

Hahaha yeah that was funny! I’d always heard about Caroline but I didn’t watch the show at the very beginning so I’d never really seen her before. She surprised me by being likable. I expected a slightly vapid. naive person but Caroline is remarkably nuanced. And, of course, Joanna Johnson is a stunning beauty.

I agree with all of your points! As far as the plasma story is concerned, you’re spot on about how they should have built a set for the clinic and had Jacob and Smitty meet somewhere besides a brick wall. I know budgets are tight but come on. For example, why is the set for Caffeine Fix so sparse? I’ve seen high school drama clubs stage plays with more intricate sets. Maybe they should call the local community theater troupe to come to the studio and spruce up the sets for Caffeine Fix and the infamous brick wall set. I’m sure they would impress us all with their frugal ingenuity.

I watched this Diagnosis Murder episode when it first aired ONLY because of the Y&R crossover. Don’t remember much about it except that the writers gave Victoria Rowell some clever meta scenes about actually being on Y&R in real life.

I’ve been watching from the beginning and I’m currently on episode 65. The big party at the Forresters’ place just happened. Ridge drove Caroline home after the party, then he stayed in her living room area to finish watching a TV program while she went to bed (assuming he would just let himself out after his show). But Ridge DOESN’T leave. Instead he waits until morning to crawl into bed next to her, dressed only in skimpy red underwear. She wakes up and there’s an uninvited Ridge in her bed, nearly naked. WOW. The previous night, he was literally chasing her around her apartment, begging for sex. I know it was the 80s but damn, was this kind of behavior considered “flirty” back then?

I agree. Two decades of marriage and she seemed to give up quickly. I think when she found out he slept with Leslie again, she just turned off any idea of reconciling with him.

Emma isn’t in the finale? I’m on season 7, the beginning of what seems like a steep decline in quality. I already know about some of the upcoming deaths and I know that the final season is fairly awful by all accounts but I can’t believe they gutted the cast so thoroughly by season nine.

I think the writers are going to go in that direction. Andre was acting muy shady about the photo shoot with Forrester Creations. I’m sure we were supposed to pick up on that. But since it seems we have only one or two major storylines on this show at a time, the writers are waiting to develop the Andre story.

I’d rather have whimsical fantasies than the usual-as-of-late “sitting around Orphey Gene’s talking about how important family is to the Duprees”.

Oh yeah that’s right! My memory is spotty, having not seen those episodes since they aired. I do remember it was a fake-out because they really made it seem like Lauren was dead as the episode concluded.

B&B — Lauren and Sheila duking it out near the jacuzzi. The confrontation had been brewing for months/years and it finally all came to a head. I may be mistaken but I think the episode ended with Sheila murdering Lauren by holding her head under the jacuzzi water. It felt with all certainty that the writers had killed off Lauren Fenmore in an epic battle. I remember I was so pumped and also somehow drained after the show ended, I snuck a cigarette in the upstairs bathroom. I was like 17 or 18 and not allowed to smoke in the house. But I NEEDED a smoke after that! Ultimately, Lauren’s death was only Sheila’s dream/fantasy, but to this day it is still my most vividly remembered soap moment.

Some days I love the languid pace of the show. Some days it’s nice to just hang out with characters you enjoy. BUT there also needs to be some days with high tension and drama. I have some ideas on how to improve the show. Maybe I’ll write them out later (I’m on my lunch break at work right now) just to see if anyone agrees with me. But yes, this show NEEDS to have more than just characters casually having lunch together and discussing the SAME things over and over. And if the writers want me to care about Martin’s political campaign or the plasma story, they need to stop simply “scratching the surface” with these stories. I don’t know diddly squat about Martin’s politics, I don’t know his opponents, I don’t even know what political party he belongs to (okay I know why the writers won’r disclose his party, but still). Should the audience really care about Martin winning the election when the totality of the story has been Martin and Vernon talking about how dangerous it would be for him to run, and that’s it. I wanna see Martin’s opponent being underhanded, sending a cute male secretary into Martin’s office to seduce him and create a scandal, or to steal important campaign papers, ANYTHING.

Here’s my idea for the resolution of the “Hayley is a fraud” storyline: The producers need to find the money for a small location shoot. I know it’s not the 80s or 90s anymore but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility either. The perfect place would be to film in St. Barts, since Hayley is always bringing it up and the characters already have a reason to go there (Bill bought the property there last year). Anyway, I think the climax of the storyline should occur in St. Barts. Maybe people are on to Hayley’s scheme and she is forced to improvise, pushing Bill off a cliff or setting him up to drown in the ocean. The characters who are on to Hayley (Kat, Dani, Jacob, Naomi, whoever) are racing to St. Barts to stop Hayley and save Bill. Imagine how exciting that would be! An alternative is they could have Hayley use the St. Barts property to hold someone like Tomas. Let’s say that Tomas figures out Hayley’s scam but is subdued by Randy before he can warn Bill. Randy and Hayley take Tomas to the St. Barts property and chain him up there until they figure out what to do with him. Meanwhile, Fairmont Crest is abuzz over Tomas disappearing. If they did it right, they could drag things on for months and every episode would be suspenseful. You could even build a “St. Barts cottage” set and film everything in studio (except for any outdoors scenes). Idk, I’m not a producer and I have no idea about budgets and stuff like that. But this show NEEDS this storyline to be memorable as it reaches its conclusion. If these writers are good, they would drag the climax out for months, leading us through various twists and turns. I just have a sneaking suspicion they’re going to bungle the landing on this one because while the writers are excellent at writing dialogue, their plotting overall leaves much to be desired.

The massage table set is a great idea! You would have the option to have characters who don’t usually interact with each other, getting massages in the same room. And yeah, how expensive would it be to build a small set with two tables and some candles and curtains? Sometimes I feel like the show should be trying just a little harder than it is. And yep, the treading water problem is getting worse. Last year, I felt a lull after Chelsea’s kidnapping. I thought maybe things were quiet because we were gearing up for some big Winterfest spectacle but then Winterfest came and went without so much as a raised eyebrow. Since the new year, we have the plasma ring story (which, sadly, has been horribly executed) and Anita’s cancer story as the main plot elements. Hayley poisoning Bill is still going on, half a year later with no real forward progression. All the other “storylines” are barely storylines at all, like “Madison gets sued” or “The Duprees are worried about Joey even though Joey has done nothing (but the Duprees still talk about Joey’s favor non-stop). I don’t know why the writers are stuck in a holding pattern. My litmus test on whether this show will last is how they end the Hayley/Bill storyline. This is currently the “soapiest”, most high-stakes story the show is doing. They’ve been building it for a long time. If they bungle the climax and ending of this story, I may stop watching the show. I love spending time with the characters but I want to watch a show where at least OCCASIONALLY something happens that makes me EXCITED for the next episode. Right now, I’m not excited. I enjoy it while I’m watching it but I don’t think about the show when I’m not watching it (compare this to how I felt watching Lauren and Sheila battle it out in the 90s when I couldn’t wait to get home from school and watch the episodes I’d videotaped). I know there’s apparently a “big” event that is coming up next month so we’ll see what happens. Although I think the show is missing a HUGE opportunity to do something like an “Explosion at the Cotillion” storyline. If you saw an advertisement showing teen girls running around in fancy dresses while bombs go off, wouldn’t you HAVE to tune in? Haha.