Faulkner

Nick and Sharon kinda don’t work anymore for me. I don’t feel like they’ve preserved that chemistry and spark. It’s weird: They should be more involved with their kids, but especially JM reads so much younger (in spite of his greying beard) that I don’t find him credible as a paternal figure. They are also hanging on to him as a romantic lead, and he does look great, but Y&R hasn’t really allowed these characters to evolve. Noah should be dominating stories the way Nick did at his age, and he’s just not. Structurally the show hasn’t allowed for that to happen. They give these characters all these kids for a short-term story peak, then don’t know what to do with them down the line. A writer really needs to come in and do a rethink on the Newmans, and it’s unlikely to happen given the state of the show and CBS Daytime.

Orlando from Brazil 🇧🇷

Some interesting dynamics here (ALEX MCCORD!), but why so many returns?

Diana is a one-and-done officially:

I always loved Rex as Katherine’s partner and Danny and Gina’s reformed dad. QR made his evolution from a wily rascal to an elegant pillar of Genoa City work. I also loved what I’ve seen of his DAYS work.

Caitlin Reilly has paid tribute to her late father on the second anniversary of his passing:

Labine: comic-relief animals (Foster & Annabelle on GH, Todd’s parrot on OLTL); kooky female supporting characters (Lucy, Lois, Maggie, May Merisi); elevated, erudite dialogue; mob intrigue; dead children. I’m sure there’s much more I’m missing.

The Christmas songs are gone, and Taylor’s back at No. 1 with “Anti-hero,” which at seven weeks ties “Blank Space” as her longest-running Hot 100 chart topper. And, look, Beyoncé’s “Cuff It” has jumped into the top 10:

Lame of them not to post the new season to Paramount+.

Josh from Dallas 🇺🇸

Prakash Amritraj from Tennis Channel posted a photo of a very preggers Kaley Cuoco and her partner Tom Pelphrey (GL, ATWT). Ashley Jones (B&B, Y&R), Kaley’s BFF, is also seen here:

“I try to do RIGHT, I TRY to do RIGHT. Because I only got, only got, only got, only got…”

Yeah, OLTL’s theme/opening also felt reminiscent of the classic ‘80s theme in a subtle way. It felt very in keeping with the show and its identity.

Grant Goodeve 🇺🇸

I always hated that ER-style AW opening. I remember the soap press gushing about how sleek and modern it was, but like you all said, it’s pretty generic. And cold. The music sounds right out of a stock library. (There were so many cheap, ugly, nondescript daytime openings in the late ‘90s and into the ‘00s.) Say what you will about that stylized Crystal Gayle/Gary Morris opening: it was memorable and distinctive. I suppose AW was in its do-or-die stages after so many years of neglect, and JFP has a good way of selling her shallow visions to upper management by using reference points (the big NBC primetime hit of the day) that will resonate with them.

The time for Sally/Nick was when Sally was feuding with Phyllis. This “romance” is a several days late and dollars short.

Boss from Thailand 🇹🇭

Looks like something Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos would produce…

Good to know…