Khan

Why do I feel like TPTB (including the new Co-HW's) are overlooking a potentially good storyline where Cody and Sasha are named the Faces of Deception?

27 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

I’m not yet convinced that Mulcahey/Korte on GH will be much more than what Sally Sussman and Kay Alden were for Y&R, in spite of a few promising improvements.

I still would love to know the timeline of their hiring.  When did ABCD contact EK and PM?  Had they contacted anyone else beforehand?  And how much time did EK and PM have to prepare before officially starting?

My instincts tell me the reason why we haven't seen too many drastic changes yet (aside from longer scenes and deeper conversations) is because EK and PM didn't have a whole lot of time to sit down and draw up major plans OR so much of Chris and Dan's stuff had already been written in advance (and EK and PM are working off whatever Chris and Dan left behind) that dumping it and starting fresh would've been too costly or time-consuming OR a combination of the two.

Either way, I'm giving EK and PM time to figure out everything before (Michele Val Jean snaps up Patrick Mulcahey for her writing staff and) I pass any judgment about their work.

3 hours ago, Vee said:

At the same time, do I care about his health story or fate - not very much. Had he come on as a more vital mover and shaker or complex business tycoon figure, a la some of his '80s roles, I might feel differently.

TBH, I don't care very much about Gregory's health either, but only because I know that, in real life, ALS is incurable, so I know already how his story will end.  (If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: don't give your soap opera character(s) a disease that isn't curable or treatable, lol).  But I do get what you're saying, @Vee.

11 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Do you think  the move to NY and the criminology professorship was a mandate made to give the show a more (perceived) urban.youthful appeal?

Partially.  I also believe Lansbury herself wanted MSW to be more upscale, for lack of a better word.  Hence, the move to NYC.  (Of course, there was also the growing belief that Cabot Cove, as a main or recurring locale, was beginning to look ridiculous with all those murders occurring inside what was supposed to be a sleepy, little town in Maine.  I, myself, tend to look at that as a "necessary evil," like SORASing on soaps).

As for the criminology professorship itself, I suspect *that* was incoming showrunner David Moessinger's idea to justify Jessica's involvement in so many official criminal investigations, as well as provide yet another, new arena where fresh stories could be generated.  Personally, I don't think it worked, for three reasons: one, it seemed preposterous to me that NYU Manhattan University would have hired Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer with no real credentials in law enforcement, to teach a course in their criminology department and not in their English or Creative Writing department*; two, if you're still having difficulty after seven years with the premise of a mystery writer and amateur sleuth who helps the cops find the real killer every week, giving her a new side hustle as a criminology professor (who will also go into the inner city from time to time and hold creative writing workshops??) probably won't help (and maybe MSW isn't your kind of show anyway, lol); and three, any full-time teaching position would have tied Jessica down too much and prevented her from being able to travel, which, to me, was always a huge part of the show's charm.

The way I see it, Moessinger had only two real options: either maintain the status quo that had been established by Peter S. Fischer - meaning, roughly half the episodes take place in Cabot Cove, and the rest follow Jessica on her travels - or make a REAL change, have Jessica say adios to Cabot Cove and move to NYC permanently.  Instead, he (and Lansbury) tried to have it both ways - the home in Cabot Cove, the fancy, new apartment in NYC; the new gig as a criminology professor/creative writing teacher on top of all the continued traveling for book tours and research trips - and wound up with an occasionally confusing show.

(*The second episode of S8, "Night Fears," pretty much acknowledges this fact - and it's the point, I suspect, where the new team already concedes that they've made a mistake in giving Jessica a job she really wasn't qualified to do.)

The Tracy/Gregory material proves my point that there was nothing wrong with Gregory Harrison joining the cast as Chase's dad except that they weren't using him properly.

Wait, is "Gays of Our Lives" officially dead, lol?

I *just* rewatched "Death Takes a Dive" (a.k.a. the boxing episode) earlier this afternoon on PlutoTV.  Harry McGraw was a great recurring character.  Too bad Jerry Orbach's joining the cast of "Law & Order" put a stop to his appearances.

As much as I enjoy watching all 12 seasons of MSW, there are SOME things I would have done differently, had I been the series' showrunner.  For one, I think the move to NYC at the start of S8 was somewhat unnecessary, given how frequently Jessica traveled.  Between her home in Cabot Cove, her apartment at the Penfield and her trips both throughout the U.S. and abroad, it seems as if she never spent more than a day or two in any location, so why the need for the house AND the apartment, lol?  Especially when her second career as a criminology professor - which I've always thought was a mistake - fell by the proverbial wayside pretty quickly.

Trust me: all the parties involved - MVJ, CBSD, NAACP, P&G - will do their best to get this one right, if only because of the "blacklash" they will receive from the African-American community if they don't.

8 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

I'd love be a soap called "The Gays".

Uh, no, lol.

34 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

I know we’re pretty much all excited and it’s been fun proposing our casting hopes and dreams and ideas and such but I hope people will remember that this is MVJ’s vision and I hope people will allow her to kick off this series her way.

I agree.  I, myself, don't have any hopes and dreams for this show beyond just wishing the best for it and everyone attached to it.  (Although, a new title would be nice, lol).

Yippee!!

Firing the sole African-American breakdown/outline writer on staff might have been "bad optics," but I doubt racism was at play in TPTB's decision to release Shannon Peace from her contract.  Now, on the other hand, if Charlotte Gibson has been handed her pink slip as well....

1 hour ago, Chris B said:

Shannon Peace [...] has been fanning the flames since she left. It’s obvious she’s mad she got fired. After posting a bit making fun of Laura Wright, she tried to say the new writers aren’t committed to Black stories because of their episode counts in March. [...] The way she’s acted since she left speaks a lot about how she is and I can only imagine how she was behind the scenes.

Anything, I guess, not to have to admit that maybe her work sucked?  (I don't know, I'm just conjecturing!)

I'll say this much: if her objective is never to be hired again for any TV series, then she's doing a fantastic job.

4 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Do you have an idea for Dolly's Sunday @ 9 slot?

Believe it or not?  "Moonlighting."  I always thought "Moonlighting" was a Sunday night kind of show.  Something witty and fun to kick off the week with.

Other options: "Hooperman"/"The Slap Maxwell Story," or just program "The ABC Sunday Night Movie."

It sure beats the hell out of Carly berating you on a regular basis at the Metro Court.   

27 minutes ago, janea4old said:

Part of me wonders if anyone will address where Don Craig went after he mailed that letter?

I'll bet, if they do mention Don, they'll say, "I heard he moved to Santa Barbara."

I totally forgot that Gloria Stuart was once on this show, lol.

8 hours ago, te. said:

Whenever I hear how soaps end up over-indexing on AA viewers I always wonder if it's because AA viewers love seeing white people act insane

Alright, who blabbed?   

Welcome to the new age, Sondra!

I, myself, might have been tempted to schedule "Dolly" against DALLAS or FC on Friday nights, if only because both shows were beginning to decline in the ratings.

Anna: "My God, what happened to you?"

What does it look like, Anna, lol!?

So, does this mean Paulina will develop superpowers?

2 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Might just air TPIR repeats or LMAD

Hell, they could air repeats of "December Bride" and even that would pull in better ratings than "The Talk."

33 minutes ago, Planet Soap said:

It's a shame that the most powerful black producer/creator in Hollywood delivers a s*it product. His refusal to hire writers and seeming ignorance of how bad his work is is astounding.

I agree.  Unfortunately, there are too many people too willing to keep watching his TV series, movies and original plays.  Until that changes, and audiences start demanding better from him, he's not likely to evolve his craft.

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I keep having to remind myself we're still not even fully sure about The Gates getting on rather than just another talk show or game show or repeats.

I really hope we don't get another talk show anytime soon.  I think we scraped the bottom of that barrel the day we decided to give Drew Barrymore her own show.

"The Talk" should have been silenced years ago, lol.

But seriously.  Let's hope this means "The Gates" is at least one step closer to becoming a full-fledged series.