ranger1rg

-- Yeah, I'm confused if that was a poisoning. I thought she was just doing an OD. -- Those "word salad" texts from Natalia to Marco were actually laughable. None of that resembled drunk or stoned texting. And yeah, she would have voice-texted. But you know how it is when plot convenience matters most of all. -- I've been highly critical of Natalia/Eva LaRue, but she was good today. Those scenes with Sonny were hard to watch, though, because Maurice Benard was so bad. I mean, yikes. He comes off as a weak old man who gets alerts on his phone to take his medication.

According to Wikipedia: For its entire NBC run, it ranked as the No. 1 soap among girls aged 12 to 17 and women aged 18 to 24. The show also ranked at No. 2 among women aged 18 to 34, and even overtook fellow NBC soap Days of Our Lives for a short period during the 2004–05 season. In the crucial 18-to-49 demographic, Passions usually ranked No. 7, ahead of CBS soaps As the World Turns and Guiding Light. The highest ranking Passions ever achieved in the 18-to-49 demographic was fourth place in November 2002 and once again in January 2007.[

"Reaching too high in the back story" is a real thing here, and it was a mistake. They made Anita a star -- an EGOT winner, for God's sake. Regardless that the Articulettes were hits a few decades ago, any return would be all over the media. An EGOT winner going "back on tour" with the Articulettes? Maybe that wouldn't play out with a tour like Beyonce's, but they would be able to fill many dates in big venues. Diana Ross is in Europe right now and is getting huge crowds. Obviously, we're not going to get a huge stadium concert on BTG. That's the problem with reaching too high in the back story. If we get anything, we'll get the Articulettes performing in some intimate club, which doesn't make sense. Any return by a huge group headlined by an EGOT winner would attract attention all over the world. Bottom line is that I can't believe they didn't see any of this when crafting the story.

I wonder if this "They will get back to it" idea hurts the show. We've heard it mentioned time and time again that BTG seems to plant a story and then drop it. Then we mention it was dropped and -- voila -- it's back. I can see doing this occasionally, but I don't think it works all the time. Vewers are conditioned and viewers have expectations. Always delaying the return of stories seems counter-productive to me.

Timmon is a really strong actor -- one of the best on this show -- but I agree with you about that "fixer" line. There's no need for hammer-to-the-head dialogue. I am lost about this. He was not only using a cane, but was moving as if his mobility was limited. In one day, there was no sign that he'd gone through anything. Were scenes taped out of order or moved around? There's no continuity. It's just odd. They seem to be doing that so others (like Leslie) see them and can confront them. I know that builds conflict and makes some interesting scenes, but wouldn't Jacob and Kat be a little less obvious that they were making all these plans? It also begs the question as to why Jacob would spend so much time talking to Kat about any case.

That doesn't work for me as an excuse for not having outdoor scenes. This is a show that had huge flowering bushes outside the windows of different sets in week one. Exactly. While I agree Naomi and Jacob deserve more than a bedroom, I don't think Ashley's set is all that great. I still can't believe that tiny bed that we're supposed to think Ashley slept in with Derek, nor can I believe it's up on that platform. It looks like a hospital bill waiting to happen.

Agree with all of this.Even a couple exterior shots a week would open up the entire show. Those week one exterior shots were very nicely done, yet didn't look like they'd be that time consuming or costly.

I think it's pretty much heresy to suggest Deidre should take a step back. She centers the entire show. Plus, her acting is fine, and I don't see anything diminishing there.

Thanks for this information. BTG seems to be doing really well here.

But that first week spoiled us with the Emotions' "Best of My Love" opening it up and with those location shots. It's clear now that there's no time and money to continue doing that. I admit I was also hopeful we'd get more "real music" and location stuff after that first week. -- As far as BTG not appearing on the Paramount+ streaming top 10, neither do Y&R or B&B. GH and DAYS are now making regular appearance in the Top 3 and Top 5 of their streamers, so there is NO WAY the CBS soaps shouldn't be in the Top 10. I have to believe daytime is excluded from the Paramount+ lists, which is absurd.

-- Martin is being written as really impulsive and even stupid. Why is he running around between the casino and the club? Does he even know? He is not acting like a member of Congress or like anyone with a brain. -- There's no reason why Martin hasn't been told what really happened two years ago. -- This "plan" developed by all the town's power brokers is actually hilarious. "Get out of town and here's a bag of money and oh, this guy will kill you" is a plan? 😂 -- And why in the hell would Kenny sit in that casino back room after taking a payoff and count that money? Make it make sense. -- The cliffhanger was weak. No one is getting shot. -- Get Mobster Joey and his white pimp sports coat off my screen. -- I was disappointed in Madison for immediately leaving when Alison showed up to talk to Chelsea. I realize she returns, though. -- Leslie was softer with Eva today, but I'm not buying any of it. Everything with her is a form of manipulation.

-- Damien's body is fire! Keep Jermaine Rivers shirtless. -- Ditto for Holden, because Nathan Owens is a stunning looking man. -- Victor is beyond annoying. -- I know Chance is doing nothing on the show right now, but it's really short-sighted if they kill him off. -- People are discussing a murder in Nice, yet previews show Cane already having coffee at Crimson Lights.😂

I agree with every word of this. Soaps lose me when they write like this. -- Stephanie's novel should be trashed as a story idea. It's just terrible, and now it's compounded by hearing how embarrassed she'd be if people knew she wrote sex scenes. -- Xander and Philip scenes continue to be interesting and enjoyable to watch. Paul Telfer and JPL are really good together. It took JPL a while to get control of his character, but now he owns it. -- EJ/Johnny scenes have also been very well written and acted. Carson Boatman has improved a lot since his early months on the show.

Why is Nikki's hair styled like Oompa Loompa?

I'm glad to hear Chad Duell is so nice regarding Rory replacing him. I guess it's cool that people are complimenting him for his honesty in interviews as to why he left, but I really think that's burying the lede. He was bored? Sorry, but I don't think there's any excuse for sleeping through your scenes. Was he given lousy, non-challenging material for years? Yeah. But at least TRY to look engaged, TRY to make it work. Not doing that is just unacceptable.

Crew Morrow is no Giovanni Mazza, but he did look good. Still, the whole caper was so stupidly planned that I wanted Luna to shoot him. There was no game plan at all. And why was Will wired up like that, wrapped in all that? Surveillance on this show is from The 1960s.

-- I do not want to see Gio get with Lulu. That wrecks both characters, IMO. -- That kiss Curtis gave Portia couldn't have been any less romantic or sexy or passionate. Is this another actor with principles and morals? Or just a guy who doesn't know how to kiss? -- Natalia needs a doctor and meds for believing that Sonny wanted anything to do with her. -- Why would Sonny's henchman leave Natalia unattended? Oh, I know, convenience.

I think most of us know that the ratings of a 50+ year old soap do not have an apples-to-apples comparison with a brand new soap. Y&R ratings have nothing to do with problems BTG has. Do you realize how many problems Y&R has? Maybe you should ask why people continue to watch that dreck. This week of repeats is not about retooling -- unless you know that production has shut down for a week so this retooling can take place. Gates tapes about 3 months ahead, so there's no reason to run a week of repeats to "retool."

-- A week of repeats this early in the show's run is nuts. That's just clueless. -- Ashley. Does. Not. Work. I feel bad for the actress, but she doesn't fit, and someone at this show insists on forcing her on us. She has ZERO chemistry with Andre. That conversation today with Andre was CRINGE. He fed her ONE LINE and she gave him back those puppy dog eyes and said he always Iknows what to say. What the fck. -- So stupid that Andre hangs around that nurses desk all day, and that Ashley -- who's supposed to be working -- has all this time for extended conversations about dating. -- I like Eva vs Kat, but i do wish the entire setup of running the office was better written. None of this "Kat will show you what to do" stuff is believable. And didn't Eva completely overhaul the system for NIcole to the point where Laura was lost??? Now Eva is clueless. OK. -- I liked Anita being OK with Dani dating Andre, but I thought some of the language from Dani was disrespectful to Anita. She was THISCLOSE to saying "I ride Andre's Big D every night." -- I might be alone in this, but I really struggle listening to Chelsea's baby girl voice. Make it stop. -- Glad to see Smitty and Martin kiss. Still waiting for that sex scene.

I gave that a side-eye. Makes no sense, and I want to throw out both ratings from the averages.

Regular readers here know I've been criticizing the music and especially the editing of BTG since the first episode. -- I don't know what they're going for with those silent quick-cuts to commercials, but it's all awful. Many times it seems like someone hit the QUICK FADE button by mistake. It ruins what we've just seen, which may have been a great scene. Cliffhangers are often ruined, too. What is going on? -- As I've said repeatedly, going against what the other soaps do is not in itself a good thing. I'll take those old-fashioned scene ends on DAYS in a heartbeat. -- The background music/soundtrack has also been a mess. Sorry, none of it seems progressive or edgy or new. You'd swear the person in charge has a really limited music catalog and can't use it. -- When looking at these ratings, I think it's clear that Y&R and B&B are pretty much immune from big ratings drops. It's a shame, and I don't understand it, but there it is. Much of it is habit and older viewers who will watch until the wheels fall off. -- BTG doesn't need to chase the elderly, but it can't chase them away either. To someone (like me) who's watched soaps for a long time, the editing and music on Gates is jarring. The show hasn't been on long enough to engender the loyalty other soaps have.

So many complaints about GH today -- and all of them valid, all of them on the mark. Let me add: Those pool scenes today were AWFUL. Every one of them. The drunk we've never seen before who hits on Lulu? And she needs Gio to come to her rescue? Awful. Lulu was never in any kind of danger, and the entire scene was laughable. Gio yelling "The pool is closed" for the first of many times was ridiculous. Then the guy falls in the pool. OFF CAMERA. Then we here a story that Gio had to rescue him and had to be thrown a flotation device by Lulu to do that. We also got a ridiculous Metro Court guy telling Gio he did a great job. Ugh. Gio's and Lulu's hysterical laughing over this was really hard to watch, and none of it played as genuine and natural. BTW, how do you close the pool and then allow yourself -- an employee -- and a guest to dangle their feet in the water? And don't get me started with Rocco's and Danny's antics at the pool on their first day of work. When did these teens ever seem THAT clueless and irresponsible? It was all completely absurd.

I agree. Shanice and Hayley could have interesting talks. I'm kind of worried that they're evolving Shanice's character too much -- making her so professional that she can't be the nurse who loves the tea and spills the tea. I miss the Shanice from the first couple weeks.

-- I'm not on board with the fake Hayley pregnancy, either, for all the reasons posted here. It's been fun to watch, but doesn't make much sense. If she's really a gold digger, she's an awfully dumb one. -- I was howling as I watched Hayley in that hospital bed wearing those big ass earrings and that tight party dress, all the while hooked up to an IV. Then New Doc says "You can leave now." Garland Memorial is a special place 😂 -- Nicole was hard to take today. The Dani/Andre hookup is just none of her damn business.Se was entirely too sanctimonious with Ted, but I'm OK with that. We need to see Nicole as a real human with flaws. It's also good to see Ted make a decent argument instead of just standing there muttering "I'm sorry." -- I'm still not buying Andre as a playboy. Nothing about him screams f-boy. -- All these town elders trying to protect Martin and take care of his problems? That's fine, but why do they not realize what a loose cannon Martin is when he knows so little yet is all over town dealing with his trauma? -- Tomas in those slacks....I don't care that he can't act.

I was going to complain again about Taylor groveling before Ridge with a proposal, but that was trumped by "Let's Catch Luna on a Lipstick Cam." We're supposed to think the people who came up with this plan are intelligent?