Gray Bunny

I thought about that too. Was there a door to the far left of the cage or did I imagine that? Either way, that small tiny room could get stank real quick...

I'm a week behind, but that's just sad... What a letdown. Re: the Laura history re-write... they actually chose a good point in the timeline (1996) to put the history rewrite in, I'll give them that. It actually coincides with what went down that year. And gosh, they actually mentioned Peter Blake! Good thing Cady McClain is playing the role... I hate this new thing DAYS has adopted (as GL did during its final 5 years) where sets just change without explanation. I can excuse people's offices changing completely (Marlena's etc. at the hospital; Hope's etc. at the police station), but Rafe's kitchen used to have a door in the back that supposedly went off to the living room or wherever. Now it's been replaced with a window, and there's a door to the side right. Now, the kitchen is a weird small box with windows all around it. Meanwhile, Statesville Prison must be a one-room facility with only one guard. Wow, Kristen escaped so easily with nary a scratch on her, much less a bullet in her back as she tried to flee. Ridiculous. Won't her prison sentence be extended now? Stupid... I wish they'd cut Stacy Haiduk. Whether she's Kristen or Susan, it's just one big fail. Ciara's "glass" cage is so flimsy with those loose plexiglass windows; one swift kick will set her free. When she was writhing in "pain" from food poisoning, I thought for sure she just needed to let out a big fart and that'll calm her tummy. Side note: I had to laugh on Vivian's first episode back where she mentioned she gave birth to Stefan & Jake 30 years ago. Jake is supposed to be 30? HA!

Ask Dr. Kimberly Shaw from Melrose Place...

I watched the SLC reunion and it was fabulous. You know, I have to laugh every time you see Jen smirking about something, like when Lisa was talking and making points about something and you'd see Jen with a side smirk, basically letting us know Lisa was full of shi†. But anyhow, the venom towards Lisa was quite something, and like @Soaplovers said, you would easily replace Jen with Lisa as the show's villainess. And it really works. The Ice Princess, or Fabulous Ice (thank you @Taoboi), for as icy and cold as she is, her confidence and assurance makes her for a much better adversary than Jen could ever be. And, like Andy, I was waiting to see the ice melt at some point, and it finally did as she talked about her love for her sons. Mary gave me the giggles. Ooh, she wants to come back for a second season and I loved her blunt statements. I was a little surprised (as was Heather, but it was glossed over) when Mary casually said she doesn't think Heather likes her either. My one gripe, as with all post-COVID quarantine reunions, is that because everyone is so far apart, there are many times when people are talking at the same time, so their words get lost in the kerfuffle. The thing about Mary is that a lot of what she said isn't always taken to heart or it doesn't pack as big a punch, because she is removed from the group. It's similar to NYC's Alex McCord throwing out all those truth bombs at the season 4 reunion, but getting dismissed by the brunettes & redheaded Jill on the other side. The "but I don't WANT to be your friend. Don't you get that?" was hilarious. Meredith looked gorgeous. Whitney's new titties were nice but a bit too large for her small frame. I'm looking forward to seeing the Meredith/Lisa/Jen drama play out in the next part, and well really, I'm looking forward to all of it. SLC has given us a fantastic freshman season! I've mentioned this in the past, but I do know Bravo was casting for Chicago ("Real Housewives of The Gold Coast" working title) back in 2010. My now-husband was dating (okay, he was the young gay secret side piece of a "straight" married man) a very rich man at the time whose wife had been cast, along with a handful of other wealthy women, even though they technically didn't even live in the gold coast neighborhood of Chicago; they lived in one of the western suburbs. Anyhow, it fizzled out because the women they chose weren't bringing a lot of drama and were keeping their secrets locked down tight. Good thing, cuz my husband could've very well been outed as the wife's husband's secret gay black lover down the line!

Reva's stalker in early 2003 was supposed to be Jonathan (a year and a half before they casted Tom Pelphrey).

I am HERE for whatever Monique Samuels is serving!!! I love that "preview" clip. Well done lol. I haven't seen SLC Reunion yet, but I thought it was strange how Lisa's dismissal of Heather early on in the season (Lisa saying she didn't really know Heather and referring to her as a good-time-girl in college) was pretty much dropped after the luncheon event.

Wow, I didn't realize this Melrose thread has been so active in recent weeks! So, for the past 3 years straight, I've gotten into this habit of watching MP at work around January to February. It's become a tradition! Two years ago, I did seasons 1-2, last year 3-4 and started getting into 5 but stopped. Last month, I randomly watched the first season's Christmas episode which got me into watching the majority of season one all over again. I am loving the recent discussion because I echo so much of what's been discussed... - The reintroduction of Peter sucked the life out of Amanda. Indeed, she became a different character when he was around, and the majority of the time, Amanda Woodward seemed miserable with mopey Peter. - I 100% agree Alison was the heart of the show. Even as an ensemble in Seasons 2-3, there was a feeling until Season 4 that the focus of the series still revolved around her and her life struggles. Season 1 is basically all about her and Billy. The focus started shifting more towards Amanda as the lead in season 3 (see: cancer story) and continued that way in season 4 through the end. - I love season one. I love the innocence of it. Granted, if the show stayed the exact same way as it was in the first half of S1, I highly doubt it would've made it beyond a second season. The first season is why we rooted for the OG's so hard, versus the rush of new characters in Season 5 and 6. That first season established them very distinctively. Yes, many characters' personalities did a 180 eventually, which is why we cared so hard when they weren't written in character (i.e. Alison serving drinks at Shooters by the end of Season 4 and throughout 5, when she was so clearly established as someone who wanted to work her way up the ladder to become the very best she could possibly be). - Yes, these characters were friends, not just neighbors. But it's funny how there is a clear shift in how the show is presented as soon as Heather Locklear joins. Yes, the friendships are still tight (Alison/Jo, Jane/Alison, Jake/Billy, etc.) but they ditched the endless group party scenes or moments where the entire complex congregates to celebrate/mourn whatever is happening to one person (usually Alison, sometimes Jane). Once Locklear joins, it's immediately heavy on the Alison/Billy/Amanda story, then Jo/Jake and their ups and downs, and towards the very end of the season, then comes Jane/Michael/Kimberly. Rhonda and Terrence's story is backburnered, save for the 1-2 episodes where Rhonda's uptight former roommate (the girl that appeared in one episode between Sandy leaving and Jo joining) reappears as their interior decorator for the house they're about to move into. - But getting back to the topic of whether these people actually liked one another, I think Melrose suffered the same fate as many daytime shows or other primetime soaps, where eventually it just doesn't seem organic for these characters to be in one another's orbit anymore. You get that problem like daytime soaps have where you "have to" have these characters interact and/or hook up, because there's only so many people on the canvas. I can buy pretty much anything from the first 3 seasons, but starting in Season 4 and certainly into Season 5, you really have to wonder WHY so many of them don't move? Or why they don't cut so-and-so out of their life for good? (And really, WHY did Kimberly last beyond Season 3? That in itself was a HUGE stretch). @juppiter To answer your January 31st question, I'd push through Season 5 and see how you're feeling it... I find myself loving Seasons 1 through two-thirds of Season 4 as the golden years, and beyond that, it's watching out of devotion for the show (like a soap that's seen better days but you hope for a resurgence). P.S. It's ridiculous how they constantly rewrote Amanda's backstory and family upbringing. Did her Models Inc. mommy ditch her at the age of 6 or 16?

I'm down with that.

I think in the pilot episode of DAYS, Marie mentions driving down to Boston with her fiance. They gave a definite feel of being in Massachusetts or close by. But as mentioned, DAYS' actual location will always be a mystery. It's near mountains, rivers, has an international airport, but in more recent years it seems it's a simple drive away from Chicago. I didn't like when they set GL in Springfield, Illinois during the Conboy/Weston era of 2003-2004 because not only is that the state capital city, but they had previously established GL's Springfield as being on the coast of one of the Great Lakes (Lake Michigan most likely), so it'd make the most sense for GL's Springfield to be in Michigan.

Awww, of course it's Garcelle, and the Beverly Hills hags will always hate on the ones who don't really need the show to survive/thrive/feel pretty & popular. Looking forward to SLC's reunion. I love the winter wonderland set! I haven't kept up with their social media accounts, so I don't know what kind of drama has unfolded since filming, but there's always that insulated innocence of the first season of any housewives franchise that morphs into strategy and camera mugging as they start getting viewer feedback in the second year. Overall, this is a great crop of women (though Jen will have to go on an additional apology tour and keep her tantrums in check for Season Two) and I, too, see shades of Potomac potential.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffconway/2021/02/05/susan-lucci-and-her-heart-of-gold/?sh=18e49e033afb&fbclid=IwAR3gtoXrB5mv0LPMM8bUd56DauWEWmMUQFi846OvdOTylrX45BUltwrhc0Y Now if you believe you have seen the last of Lucci as “Erica Kane,” you may want to think again. There have been talks of a new primetime series being developed titled Pine Valley, which is the name of the fictional town All My Children was set in. Lucci’s friends and former AMC colleagues Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are said to be attached as producers to the project. When asked if fans will see “Erica Kane” live on another day, Lucci replies, “I certainly would welcome playing this amazing part of ‘Erica Kane’ again. Wonderful to have the opportunity to work with Kelly and Mark again. You know, it looks like it's going to happen.”

My friend/acquaintance Jeff Conway writes for Forbes and just completed doing an interview with La Lucci on Wednesday. A bunch of us asked him to ask her about the Pine Valley reboot and if she's been asked to join. I'm certain he asked; we'll know her answer soon

Lawrence St. Victor did a great job these past couple episodes. I couldn't help but notice though that as the Carter/Zoe confrontation came to a head, "the black storyline" *still* wasn't the leadout story to commercial breaks. Instead, it was the Liam/Hope/Steffy garbage where literally nothing progressed in their storyline. Hmm...

I follow his Instagram; he gives good workout advice. Very, um, inspiring... 😂

True dat. 30 years ago, the top 10 primetime shows were pulling in some 20-25 million viewers every week.

+1 on that

My thoughts exactly. "Oh this was written so Heather Tom has an Emmy reel." Quite honestly, I forgot Bill/Katie were separated. They way they've been telling stories since returning from quarantine, it's easy to forget where we left off with the other half of the cast.

OC: Definitely ditch Kelly Dodd. I've never understood her hype from the get-go. Just a crass, sloppy-sounding, ignorant woman. I'm over Shannon. Braunwyn murdered herself and I'm not sorry to see her go. If Tamra returned, alongside Heather (I'm down for that), I could see them keeping Shannon because Shannon and Tamra would no longer be the BFF's; they'd be enemies. Interesting to see Andy Coken (spelling error intended) chime in with the "reboot" remark. Clearly, big changes are in store for OC going forward. Good. SLC: On one hand, yes, it's sad to see the finale already happening next week. But on the other hand like @Cat mentioned, they really can't ride this Jen Monster Mess for anymore episodes. Other than Jen going batshi† crazy, I really liked the dynamic between Meredith/Lisa and Heather/Whitney spending time together. For awhile, I thought those two groupings would steer clear of one another, but Meredith and Lisa behaved like mature adults and accepted Whitney's apology and moved on and strived to have fun and *engage* together. The hypnotist woman was kinda kooky. And too many chachkis in her home. I wanted to shove everything off her crowded coffee table. Side note: I appreciated Meredith's confessional remark about why she disengages from intense confrontations; it triggers her upbringing, being in between two quarreling parents. Makes sense. Those lil nuggets of info help round out why they behave the way they behave. Now as for Jen, there's no excuse for her behavior, unless having cameras surrounding her trigger a cookadoodledoo response. I swear, she has blind rage and doesn't realize the things she says and does. She looked legit confused when Heather rightfully called her out on all the awful things she said and did to everyone single one of them. LOL at everyone boldly raising their hand saying they don't trust Jen. Anyhow, looks like the finale at Heather's opening will be good. Glad they included Mary.

Teresa's tagline is too long, lol... I liked Margaret's the best. Overall, they're not so bad, just very wordy. I'm actually looking forward to their return. Oh, if those walls could talk... I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Rinna. Her thirstiness is written all over these photos. Notable no-shows: Only 2 from NYC? Gosh, I miss Tamra. Can't believe it because OC always flies low on my radar but she is so needed.

Yup. So many characters are meandering or stuck in a stupid story situation. She is one of them. No reason to have her around. But let's not have her run off with the baby. Brady is already co-parenting with Tate offscreen.

LOL. He's giving us total sex face in that photo. And agreed on trimming up the beard.

Gotta add in my two cents on this. Now that's what I'm talkin' about... 😍

To me, the Elizabeth vs. Braunwyn blowup at the reunion came out of nowhere. And Elizabeth getting all butthurt saying Braunwyn is cooing about how great her ex-husband is literally did not happen. I'm not really feeling Elizabeth at the end of the day. A little too thirsty, and not naturally charismatic. They'll probably give her a second season, but I wouldn't miss her if they dropped her. I see Kelly was trying to pull another Kim Zolciak moment ("don't do that to me, Andy." i.e. "protect me here, dude!") with Kelly saying Andy was making things worse re: her social media backlash. Kelly Dodd and Candiace from Potomac are cut from the same cloth. They can be so bold and nasty on social media, and then backtrack and play innocent when called out in person. Not gonna work, ladies. Meh. Glad it's only a two-parter. OC needs a major retooling for Season 16.

I agree about showcasing the working class and different classes in town. It made it feel more real, especially when you have characters supposedly living in mansions versus others just scraping by. Nowadays no matter your economic status, you're all hanging out in the same restaurants, parks, etc. Back in the day, some characters would rarely if ever interact with one another because they were out of each other's orbit in life, which was realistic. And yes, I miss the usage of more sets, especially large, lavish ones. But more importantly, the variety of sets made things more realistic as well. We saw more homes of individual characters. Having so many characters living in interchangeable hotel rooms makes everything so generic. What's the drama in a couple breaking up? There's no broken home; no possessions to separate. Instead, you just pack up your one suitcase and move down the hall to another hotel room that's already furnished. And having more sets also meant you weren't suspending disbelief as often when it comes to people running into another, eavesdropping on one another, etc. by popping up in the same place at the same time. On DAYS, that damn park bench set seems to be the town crosswalk; everyone passes through to get from Point A to Point B.

Thank you Jesus. What a wonderful sigh of relief. I'll sleep soundly tonight