Faulkner

A certain studio based in San Diego with the initials “S.C.”

These folks haven’t even been acting like human beings, much less in character. (I did tune in for the Carly/Nina fight.)

Ken, a fitness trainer from Indiana who will be familiar to many 🇺🇸

And Kimberly’s bitchy little haircut haha…

Obviously Tanner Novlan is nice to look at, but c’mon Finn, there are occasions when it’s appropriate to grab a shirt. I guess he wasn’t expecting to see Sheila there, but does Finn do anything but surf? Like isn’t he a doctor?

This was also a decent scene. Robin could be very smug:

Those are some HITS she wrote. She also co-wrote “I Love Me Some Him” by Toni Braxton, which is a fave.

The gangsta Noo Yawk accent starts coming out. “Little PRINCESS!”

Oh it was horrible. They were still doing it even with LW in the role, which was more than a decade after the original story. But, as politically incorrect and bigoted as it was, it felt somewhat in character for Carly early on, I dunno.

Billy Miller also had a man-child innocence that was right on the surface. Jason Thompson doesn’t have that same vulnerability, even though Billy is still extraordinarily immature. (I don’t know what they were thinking with Burgess Jenkins, who looked like Peter Bergman’s contemporary.) Y&R has an adult-male problem and has for many, many years. All of the dudes feel a bit “arrested development.” Remember when Cane, Billy, and Nick were all “finding themselves” at the same time during the SSM/Mal Young days?

Back in the day, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how Kim McCullough, who had eternal baby voice, could go toe to toe with Sarah Brown. SJB could smother an entire room with her intensity, but KMcC had a quiet dignity that could withstand and diffuse the hurricane coming at her. After the heavy AIDS story and Stone’s death, her rivalry with Carly really solidified Robin as an adult presence.

Ah ok! So it’s not auto-embedding yet, but good to know, thanks! (Pasting the embed code was turning up an empty iframe in the past for me.)

Adele is reportedly dropping her new album this week, so expect fireworks.

I thought it was light and fun. Nothing groundbreaking and some of the directing was disappointing (oddly the drag scenes played flat to me), but I’ve been watching old episodes of Santa Barbara, and it gave me somewhat of an updated SB vibe. Mostly it made me nostalgic for a time when soaps could use extras and had comedy. Chandler Massey as a bearded lady voguing was a kick. As was Billy Flynn doing high glamour with his hairy pits. Sad that Eileen didn’t get much to do, but she effortlessly brings Kristen to life. The Miami stuff started slowly and limply, but I was surprised that I came to enjoy it. Jackée and James Reynolds have a delightfully warm old-sitcom rapport. I like Ciara when she’s doing capers and not mooning over her serial-killer lover. My favorite scene was her “seducing” the Havisham dude. Glad Shane had the opportunity to lash out at Ben for killing his granddaughter.

I agree with that. And I liked that she was transparent about her and Peter’s financial issues, which many HWs sweep under the rug. Robyn on Potomac feels like an analog. Not in terms of personality, as Robyn is harder and more aggressive, but in terms of what they bring to the show (seemingly a lapdog for an alpha, sometimes feeling a bit stuck, but contributing commentary as well as the rougher edges many HWs smooth over). Cynthia’s first season with the wedding just rang false to me. Not that the emotions were false, but it really felt staged in a lot of ways that killed some of the necessary illusion. That scene with her mother and Malorie and the marriage license still makes me cringe. There was a lot of that with her. She eventually settled into something more effortless.

Shhnobi, a trainer from Ghana 🇬🇭 via Houston 🇺🇸

How did you get that to embed? Are IG embeds finally working?

RHOBH has probably been lucrative for Lisa Rinna, but it’s a shame that she’s disgraced herself on it. She’s luminous here as Billie. Will and Sonny come across as such stiff country bumpkins in this drag bar. Adrienne Frantz looks good.

Another week at No. 1 for “Stay” (sixth week). Lil Nas X scores three top 10s off the back of his album release.

I’ve always run hot and cold with her—some of her stories have felt REALLY forced—but she developed into a pillar of the show. The show definitely needs some new dynamics, but you don’t get rid of someone like Cynthia unless you’re absolutely certain the show can stand without her.

This is my go-to karaoke song. I love this:

The funny thing about this story is that it’s not even remotely as shocking a gimmick as Bradley Bell thinks it is. It actually comes across as rather goofy and retrograde. I find it hard to get up in arms about its racism (which is real) because it’s just so laughable. It says a lot about the state of soaps that this is “pushing the envelope.” (This is the guy who thought pairing a mentally disturbed Thomas with a mannequin was oh so entertaining and potentially viral, when it actually tanked the ratings IIRC.)

Oh god nooooo. He’d eat the show. With JG at the helm, he’d be on twice as much as Jason Thompson (who is already overexposed).

Cynthia is officially done on ATL.

Not the cast departure I was expecting. (I had to look up Lauren Holt because I couldn’t remember who she was. Basically ersatz Aidy Bryant.)