Khan

I agree, and I say that as someone who is lukewarm about Sprina, too. "Willow Chase" sounds like a gated community, lol.

Every couple has its' fans. That's why it's stupid when TPTB choose to cater to them rather than do what's right for the entire show. If everyone is blaming Ned for the whistle-blow to the SEC, then I have no doubt that Tracy will get to the bottom of things and clear her son's name.

John Pleshette once made a very good point: just because they're your neighbors, that doesn't mean you're intimately involved with them. You might wave hi and bye to each other in passing, or share small talk across the hedge about the weather and so forth, but you don't ever really have much to do with your neighbors, and they hardly ever have much to do with you. I think that, more than any other factor, is what makes season one so uneven in terms of quality. You can see almost immediately that David Jacobs and his staff are struggling with how to make the four couples interact in ways that make sense and carry some impact on the stories. Having Gary work for Sid at Knots Landing Motors is a smart way to have the Ewings and Fairgates interact, but what about the Averys and Wards? Richard's an attorney; Kenny's a record producer; Ginger and Laura are a kindergarten teacher and housewife, respectively. How do you bring them into stuff that's going on with the other two couples or at KLM without making it seem like you're shoehorning them in? You can also see right away that some couples are just easier or more interesting to write for than others. Gary and Val are good for stories, because of their past history, as established on DALLAS (even if the episodes where J.R., Lucy and Kristin visit are among the show's very worst, lol). Richard and Laura are also good for stories, because they are the quintessential middle-class couple that's disintegrating under the weight of the husband's ambitions. They personify Jacobs' vision for a Bergman-esque marital drama better than anyone else on this show. Karen and Sid are a bit harder to write for, because Karen is so loud and shrill compared to Sid, who often fades into the surroundings; but, as the older, anchor couple, they lend to KNOTS a gravitas and stability that Gary/Val and Richard/Laura can't. The hardest couple to write for, therefore, are Kenny and Ginger. Not only are Jim Houghton and Kim Lankford unevenly matched, IMO, but there's just nothing about the Wards that's interesting or sets them apart from the others on Seaview Circle. I think this is because Gary and Val's presence in the cul-de-sac makes Kenny and Ginger redundant. You can't tell any good "young couple" stories with Kenny and Ginger, because Gary and Val, as spinoff characters, have that covered. And while you can tell stories about the lengths Kenny will go to to be a major player in the record industry, they're gonna feel awfully similar to stories about Richard doing whatever it takes - even pimping women! - to pull himself and his family out of middle-class mediocrity. So, what is left for the Wards to do? That's why, when they leave after season four, you don't miss them. (In retrospect, I think making either Kenny or Ginger black, thereby allowing for opportunities to explore the issues that an interracial couple living in Southern California in the late '70's and early '80's would face, would have been a good way to avoid this problem, even if it would have been way ahead of its' time, lol.) I look at season two (and, to a certain extent, season four) as what could happen when you let Aaron Spelling or his sensibility run a non-Spelling show. Nothing that happens is properly motivated; characters are too venal, and emotions are too big. (I still laugh whenever I think of drunk Gary pounding on the glass and yelling to Abby that they are "RUINING LIVES!!!!," lol.) Again, Ciji's body washing up the shore is probably the moment when the "new" KL rises from the ashes of the "old." It's hard to explain, but you just feel like that's the moment when the show has finally figured out what it wants to be and how it wants to get there.

I don't understand: the jury says he's liable for sexual assault but not for rape? Aren't the two one and the same?

KL experienced very big growing pains in seasons two and three. David Jacobs and his team recognized after season one that the original, "'Scenes from a Marriage' x4" concept wasn't going to be sustainable, but I don't think they were comfortable yet with ramping up the storytelling. That turning point wouldn't actually arrive until halfway through season four, with Ciji's murder. IMO, that's when the KL we all knew and loved was born.

I agree.

I love you, Shem, but you really need to think twice about dressing up as the Unabomber for your social media posts.

IIRC, their original choice was Sophia Loren, but when she turned them down, they asked Gina. Also, IIRC, Gina said she was enthusiastic about getting the part, because she was always getting parts that Sophia had turned down (not knowing, of course, that that had happened again).

Watching one alcoholic beg another alcoholic to stop drinking and go back to AA is intense stuff. It's the sort of stuff that Y&R and daytime used to do so well. I miss those days so much. Sigh. I don't know why Bill Bell thought it'd be a good idea even back then!

I don't know what Alana was so freaked out about. At least his ass wasn't ugly. I dare any show to try that [!@#$%^&*] today.

And my first thought (before suggesting Rush and Malone) was Claudette Colbert, lol.

Something told me the Jump Seen 'Round the World was improvised.

"227" was getting sillier even before Jackee was forced off. (Sondra hosting a talk show? I don't think so.) I think I've figured out who the other, Jackee-related guest star is: it's Kia Goodwin, who played Rose's daughter, Tiffany! It's 35 years later, and Tiff has finally finished her homework!

Y&R did it first; Conboy was just copying.

I feel the same way about Gloria Loring on '80's DAYS, and Patty Weaver on Y&R. I think it helped that KL was not a show that was tied to one business or industry the way DALLAS, DYNASTY and FC were. DALLAS and DYNASTY focused on the oil industry, so having a character pop up every episode to perform musical numbers would have made no sense. FC tried to incorporate music for awhile, I think, through Apollonia's character. However, I don't think they were successful. The difference between DALLAS and KL: one show was about archetypes; the other was about characters.

Man, I hope it's not Linden Ashby/Cameron Kirsten. IIRC, that story between him and Sharon was so ugly and brutal. If Linden wants to come back to daytime, or to Y&R, I'd much rather it be as a new character.

In a way, I wish Ric Hearst had played Matt all along. He's certainly a better actor than Eddie Cibrian, lol. I'm sure I hated the Carter Mills story at the time, because I've NEVER been fond of stories where characters can deceive others through plastic surgery. (No one's looks change THAT much, lol). But, if I were to compare it to Y&R today, I'd probably reconsider it as being among the show's very best, lol. ETA: I do remember liking Sabryn Genet's work in that storyline, though! I don't always like when a female character goes insane; I think it's cliched and very misogynistic. But she played the full-tilt-boogie-crazy stuff very well, lol.

My money's still on Matt Clark.

Well, Marla Gibbs has been on the show already, so that wouldn't be much of a surprise. And Alaina Reed Hall and Helen Martin are both RIP (sniff). Ooh! Could it be Regina King? Or is this related to "Sister, Sister," like one of the twins or Tim Reid?

Melissa Peterman? You mean the girl who played Barbara Jean on "Reba"?

Maybe they wrote him into a corner and still don't know how to write him out?

You would think this show was being sponsored by Pillsbury.

And Eric Martsolf is portraying John and Isabella's son, even though he's past fifty. Trust me, @carolineg, it ain't that big of a deal, lol.

I really don't think we are -- at least not anymore. Again, I get the intent, but the execution is all wrong.

I don't know. Mark Lawson is certainly yummier to look at, lol. But I don't think either actor has much to draw from for their acting besides their All-American, clean-cut, good looks. Even Steve Bond and Brian Patrick Clarke had more going on behind the eyes BITD. Chandler will never forgive you for straying, lol. It probably wasn't Frank's choice.