Khan

I still cannot believe recreational axe-throwing is a thing, lol.

Yep, get ready for Chase and Brook Lynn's Red Wedding, lol.

Just now, Vee said:

I've said it a dozen times, but it is ludicrous that Maxie has one child, let alone three. She has never been a character built for that. It was very realistic when she was just fobbing off Georgie (an accidental child) on Mac and Felicia for years. Two more is insane. But that's the way the show has operated for years - babies, babies and more babies in lieu of story, because it eats up airtime and is 'safe'.

I shouldn't say this, but I think we're long overdue for another school bus accident like the one that killed B.J.

51 minutes ago, Vee said:

She's come a long way in the last month-plus with the writing change.

I agree!  I just wish her character wasn't saddled with so many kids.  It's like watching Doris Day in "With Six You Get Eggroll."

1 minute ago, BetterForgotten said:

I think it also helps when you take care of yourself, have a good diet, and exercise regularly. Angela took great pride in maintaining her overall health - so any cosmetic enfacements probably looked more complementary vs. most people. 

10 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Did Angela's 'face refresh' coincide with the NY move?

To tell you the truth, @Paul Raven, it's so subtle that it's almost hard to tell when she had her, um, face refreshed, lol?  Whoever she paid to do the job was a true artist.

14 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

On the other hand, I get the distinct impression that Lansbury did not align with David Moessinger and disliked the writing for the season he was showrunner. 

It's very telling how Lansbury, who usually had a pretty good memory, blanked on his name in that Archive of American Television interview, lol.

5 minutes ago, applcin said:

Depends who you ask, lol. 
And with a name like yours, I just can't help it...

LOL!!

(A man named "Khan" who isn't into ST.  Isn't it ironic, don'cha think, lol?)

40 minutes ago, DaytimeFan said:

On the other hand, I get the distinct impression that Lansbury did not align with David Moessinger and disliked the writing for the season he was showrunner.

Well, I can't say that I blame her, lol!

Again, I wouldn't suggest that S8 (or any other season) is unwatchable, but it's probably the most un-MSW-like of all 12 seasons.  Even the Cabot Cove-based stories are grittier and "sexier" than they should be; and the guest stars' performances that year are also among the series' all-time campiest, too.  It really is like watching Dean Hargrove and his team of trusted writer/producers try and produce a more cerebral mystery show after years of action-driven fluff and meeting the mark only halfway.

On the other hand, seasons 9 through 12 restore some of the classiness that was missing from S8, but the mysteries also become rather bland - to the point where, by the final season, MSW itself is becoming less like a mystery show and more like a travelogue (that never leaves the Universal Studios backlot, lol).

15 minutes ago, DaytimeFan said:

Lansbury said in her Archive of American Television interview that Jessica having an apartment in Manhattan was her idea and that she wanted Jessica to be more sophisticated - you'll notice that her wardrobe gets an upgrade when she moves to Manhattan and Jessica starts the pantsuit era that she sticks with through the end of the series. 

Start at the 25:00 mark:

David Moessinger did not last very long and when he was out after 1992, Lansbury took full control of the show through her Corymore Productions banner.

Thanks for posting that, @DaytimeFan!

I could be wrong, of course, but I suspect Lansbury butted heads more with Moessinger than she did with Peter S. Fischer.  Say what you will about the first seven seasons of MSW - especially in the last two seasons when, to quote Fischer, Cabot Cove was getting too cute for its' own good - but they did retain a "literary quality" that Moessinger's lone year as showrunner lacked (J. Michael Straczynski's scripts notwithstanding).  Which isn't to say that S8 was a terrible year!  Moessinger and his team certainly broadened Jessica's world and put the show back in the Top 10.  But whenever I watch reruns from that particular season, I often feel like I'm watching a Dean Hargrove-produced series (like "Matlock" or "Diagnosis: Murder") rather than classic MSW.

2 hours ago, DeliaIrisFan said:

I'm still struggling to know or frankly care who many of the newer characters who pop up every so often are.  In fact, having watched every episode since the new writing team has been credited, I swear I'm still seeing characters that are actively involved in (what on another soap would seem like) major stories for the first time every week: like the guy who hired the thugs to beat up Jagger for Sonny, who's also apparently dating the deputy mayor?  WTF?

I feel the same as you, @DeliaIrisFan.  I'm a big Douglas Marland fan, as most everyone here knows, so I should be used to a storytelling style on a soap that involves a large number of characters.  Yet, there are so many characters and storylines right now on GH that I'm struggling to keep up with. 

As much as I think EK/PM are doing fantastic jobs as Co-HW's, I still believe the time is now to start pruning this cast - and yes, that includes the recurring and off-contract players - and start zeroing in on those who are grabbing the most attention.

On 4/19/2024 at 10:04 PM, applcin said:

The 3rd season is usually regarded as having the preponderance of the worst-written stories along with the smaller budget. Plus, the show got moved to the kiss-of-death Friday night slot. But the long-term result was that the show gained massive popularity in the syndicated reruns which, in turn, led to the franchise becoming the behemoth that is still going to this day. Many of us who grew up on those 79 episodes watched them over and over again, even the clunkers, lol. And most, or all, of what came after, with varying opinions. The Trimbles' efforts set the wheels in motion.

A side comment, or opinion about Roddenberry. As one of those who fell in love with the show during its syndication I, of course, admire what he accomplished. But as the years passed and the franchise grew, he continued to hold on to his basic vision and, essentially tied down some creative hands. The TNG characters had to all be upstanding folks who got along with one another. DS9 didn't happen at all while he was alive because he totally rejected the concept. He seemed to be a combination of forward-thinking in some ways and not so much so in other ways.

I must admit, @applcin, I'm not a Trekkie - or is it Trekker, lol? - so my knowledge of all things ST is extremely limited.  But I definitely thank you so much for this information!   

This is truly devastating news.  May she RIP.

14 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Most of me is for Alexis becoming a lawyer again. Then there will be a moment where you see how good she is at the Intruder.

Who says Alexis can't have both jobs (unless, that is, her/the writers' intention is to become D.A.)?

Whoever said MW's 'do reminds them of Linda Evans was bang-on, lol.

6 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Miller has already got a strike against him, imo for that dreadful animated version of Good Times that his company is a part of.

As if the original, live-action GT wasn't cartoonish enough, lol.

19 minutes ago, Vee said:

until Guza got fired, there was always the suggestion of something very dark there.

Well, in that case, why does it have to be Stavros?  Why couldn't it have been Mikkos?  That's even darker (if that's even possible)!

46 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Yeah, all the years we waited for Sam to even ask about her dad and...Julian Jerome was the choice. 

At the time, I don't think I criticized it too strongly, because, I thought, maybe it'll lead somewhere.  But, here we are, years after the fact, Julian's back to being a misty, water-colored memory, and little, if anything, is being made out of Sam's connection to another mob family.

5 minutes ago, Vee said:

I still believe it was Stavros.

But wouldn't that make Sam a product of incest?

I mean, in order for Stavros to have fathered Sam, they'll either have to retcon him back to being Mikkos' cousin, or retcon Alexis' own biological father.

6 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I always thought Alexis worked pretty well fitting into the cast, but in a lot of ways her identity wasn't quite as tied into being a Cassadine.

Honestly, I don't even know why they made her a Cassadine, lol.  And then, on top of that, she has a child with Julian Jerome?  I think that's entirely too much baggage for any character.

(If you're reading these boards, Mr. Mulcahey and Ms. Korte, I would seriously consider retconning Sam's paternity.  Just saying.)

6 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Stefan/Katherine was such a weird pairing.  I get the idea of it all, but it truly didn't work. 

Didn't Stefan shoot Katherine the first time he met her?  Oh, yeah.  That's exactly how I would want to launch my show's next big couple, lol.

25 minutes ago, Vee said:

I suspected during the strikes we might be in for better news - GH doesn't have any flags around it for cancellation that I know of and hasn't in some time, and previously-dismissed 'old TV' like soaps, long-running sitcoms, etc. had begun to be seen as more reliable programming in the wake of the strikes and the larger streaming crash. I thought all these factors might trigger a reexamination of the genre business-wise. Did I think it would happen quite like this or this fast? Nope.

Not to get too political or anything, but I think you also could look at real-life events from the last eight years or so and argue that this is a reaction to all the social and political upheavals that have been going on, both in this country and abroad.  For many, the world might be changing too fast, so now they want to retreat to what is tried-and-true and familiar - which, in this case, means network soaps.

4 hours ago, carolineg said:

Did you like Nik's intro story via Lulu's illness or did you dislike all of it? 

TBH, I had difficulty accepting that Laura had had a child that she told no one about, because I knew of the pain she herself had endured when she met Lesley - plus, you can't tell me that the same Laura who pulled a rifle or machine gun on Mikkos Cassadine and his henchmen BITD is suddenly so afraid of his idiot son and wife - but I think Bob Guza did an okay job justifying Laura's actions.  However, once Stefan's initial arc or whatever was left of it was finished, that should have been the end of him, and of the rest of the Cassadines (save for Nikolas, of course).

For me, the problem with Stefan/Katherine was that TPTB were obviously hoping to recapture the magic that SN and MBE had had as Patch and Kayla, but DAYS was a different show, Patch/Kayla were of a different time, and Stefan and Katherine were much different characters.

2 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Berman did some Hallmark films and in watching them I found she lacked acting skill.

No offense, @Liberty City, but I wouldn't judge someone's acting skills on a few Hallmark movies.  Those concoctions don't do anyone any favors, lol.

If only the Prospect Park dudes had gone behind the scenes beforehand and observed how soaps are produced.

12 hours ago, Vee said:

When you put it all that way, if someone had told us any of this around New Year's I doubt any of us would've believed it lol.

I know I wouldn't have believed it, lol!  Going into 2024, I was so sure that this would be the year when soaps were done.  But, the sun also rises, lol!

32 minutes ago, DaytimeFan said:

I am not convinced that Sony and a private equity firm purchasing Paramount Global (and therefore CBS itself) is a positive.

Yeah, I'm concerned about that as well.  You're right, @DaytimeFan, in that "consolidation fever" has been going on for awhile, but it seems like the recent SAG/AFTRA/WGA strike has triggered the entertainment industry in a big way.  Hollywood is definitely living in some interesting times at the moment.

12 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Maybe I was too young but I actually enjoyed and loved Grayson McCouch as Dusty Donovan on Atwt. I don’t get the hate he got  

Grayson was one of the better actors at daytime back then and I loved with so much between 2005-2008

I don't think it was so much Grayson as it was that his Dusty was an entirely different character from Brian Bloom's Dusty.

3 hours ago, carolineg said:

I liked Stefan, but I also liked the whole gothic vibe of it all and I agree it might not be right for daytime in this particular era.

Frankly, I didn't think it was right for daytime even back then, during the late '90's and early '00's, when the soaps were taking beatings from the O.J. trial and the rise of those trashy talk shows, and when the genre as a whole needed to get back to basics.