Faulkner

I agree in practice—if they could quickly update the openings and make new cast members’ shots look as high-quality as those done in the original shoot, I’d be fine with them. (Some of the cheap insertions in those ATWT openings made me giggle.) But we know that rarely happens. And we’ve seen how long Y&R takes to get new cast members featured in their rotation. Sometimes years, if at all. And GH’s pinball machine roll call is pretty much useless and seizure-inducing. Just have a memorable theme, an iconic shot of the gates opening, and be done with it.

I loved that opening, including that little synth riff. Give me epic drama.

I’m just glad we’re finally starting the promotional campaign. Do we have a sense of where and when that promo will run? Today had a lot of preemptions and break-ins for the school shooting so I didn’t see it airing during CBS programming unless I missed it. I’m sure it’ll run before Y&R and B&B episodes on Paramount+.

Not enough to go on really but looks promising. Looks like we might get actual love in the afternoon with this. I hope they tone down TT’s hair a touch.

Stafford with a Y&R cast dancing montage to Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” (featuring Finola Hughes):

Debbi Morgan on Beauty in Black.

Soaps these days are constantly chem-testing to little effect. And the long-term couples they end up with up are the most milquetoast, shrug-worthy, chemistry-free pairings you can imagine. You end up with Willow/Michael or Curtis/Portia or bummers like Chase/BlazerLynn. The couples often feel so random and uninspired (like this Sally/Billy/Phyllis triangle or Abby/Devon 10 years and a recast too late) or better on paper than in practice (Kyle/Claire). Preach. That goes for all these soaps. Too many characters fulfill the same roles yet are broadly drawn to enable them to be moved around like chess pieces. GH is embarrassing with its Black characters. And has been for the last 30 years. They are third-class citizens who will always have a ceiling on their prominence and complexity. That Portia/Trina went like six months without sharing a single scene is laughable. They would never do Carly/Joss or Alexis/Kristina/Molly like that. I don’t think JG will ever willingly let Stafford go, but Devon/Abby are probably already one foot out the door. MCE remains to be seen. He has tried to force her into failed relationships so many times. Maybe it’s time to admit that the character doesn’t work and let MCE spread her wings in projects that better suit her (very real) talents.

GH feels written on the fly with *very* broad-strokes plotting, but the way the show manages time and actor availability really doesn’t help. It does need to structure stories so that they have momentum for more than two weeks at a time. Overall, I’d be happy with what’s been said thus far, but there should also be some elements of fun and family (chosen family) coming through. Not just all darkness and depression and heavy masculine energy all the time. Not every villain has to be murderous or psycho or the Big Bad. And it also needs sexy, romantic elements as well: maybe not as prominently as DAYS, but if it overcorrected a bit, I wouldn’t be mad. Y&R needs to amp up the melodrama and get up deeper inside the heads of its characters to expose their psychological states and romantic longing. (NOT like the stupid Billy stuff in recent years.) Some people may find it cheesy or outdated, but I even liked it when the characters talked to themselves. Lingering close-ups. The characters on today’s Y&R feel incredibly flat. It could dare to be a little anachronistic. The show would stand out more in a good way. I think Bradley *thinks* he’s doing a Spectra-like underdog story with the Logans as the foil, but that dog won’t bark. The Logans aren’t defined nearly as well, and the characterization of Hope is all over the place. And that’s another show that needs to learn how to do more than one-month arcs that don’t seamlessly connect to future storylines. DAYS: I don’t watch.

LOL. The ending.

Reminds me of “Built Tough” #iykyk

Brooke should’ve said, “Bye, bitch. Get the steppin.’” This show is a cartoon. Actually, most cartoons have greater complexity and nuance.