Faulkner

I did like that Paris was not intimidated by Quinn’s huffing and puffing. That was a nice touch.

I think it’s good for Dorinda because now there’ll be actual clamoring for her return after this dreadful season. We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out, but I’m curious what, if any, cuts will be made. It’s funny: so many of the Bravo franchises have hit the skids recently. Meanwhile Top Chef just pulled off one of its best seasons ever after becoming basically irrelevant. Very different format, of course (easier to pull off a cooking competition in a COVID bubble than a slice-of-life reality series), but just an interesting turn of events.

I also want to hear about the unproduced romantic-comedy screenplays Nancy wrote. She mentioned taking meetings with Nancy Meyers (she of the upscale older white women movies).

I’d like to hear more about balancing general outlines and longterm story with allowing for serendipity and the ability to change direction when you see two unexpected characters spark. I know novelists have spoken about that (outlining vs “pantsing”), but there are so many moving parts on a soap (demands from the network, cast, and producers; actor contracts and departures; etc.). I feel like soaps these days are the worst of both worlds. Longterm story feels nebulous at best, yet the writers seem beholden to sticking with failed or uninspired pairings, etc. I’m sure a lot of that’s down to not even having the freedom to shift direction.

So Ons Jabeur was so nervous she *vomited* on court before beating Muguruza? LOL!

Leah *should* be a villain, but they are playing her like the heroine. And Dorinda could be mean before, especially to Luann and Sonja, but we all know Luann has some sharp claws herself and has delusions of grandeur that lead her to treat people callously. And Sonja, while ultimately a good person, has some pulled some sh!t in her years on the show, especially with the press. Those seemed at least more justifiable. Tinsley was an innocent (at least on screen), which made Dorinda’s attacks on her more bewildering. Her situation with Scott, even if it was not completely above board, didn’t seem to warrant such nastiness.

I love Dorinda, but I totally get why she was sidelined for a season. She was so gratuitously vicious to Tinsley for reasons no one really understood at the time (it’s one thing to disdain someone, but it’s a whole other thing to take out a flamethrower to kill a gnat). Plus, even after Tinsley left, she seemed like she was spiraling, and on social media, she often doubled down on her bad behavior. For me, I was like, take a year, get your [!@#$%^&*] together, address your lingering grief away from the cameras a bit, and come back triumphant. Even though I love her and hope she’ll return in 2022, I’d be ok with Dorinda’s absence if this season wasn’t so padded and poorly paced, which it is. They did need to bring back someone, which they attempted with Heather (unsuccessfully).

From Houston 🇺🇸

Mia had potential, but she was almost a caricature of the fiery Latina. Still I loved watching her light Abby up.

Oof. Alan. Can’t with him stepping on people’s stories. While she’s clearly complimentary towards Jill (and they are still in touch), there’s a lot of subtext to Nancy’s comment about her and Jill being ambitious and “emotions running high.” Love Nancy’s story about Harding Lemay telling them to go read Middlemarch. These people really had such respect for the genre. Stephen’s comment about a pebble dropping in a pond rippling over to the other side of town… love that. They also have such love for their creations. Nancy dramatizing Eleni and Alan-Michael’s meet-cute really showed her affection for their characters. I feel like Nancy was going somewhere with her story about Maureen’s death and what happens to the canvas when you “blow the heart out,” but Alan just had to interject.

Watching now. They just seem like warm, lovely people.

Monique Samuels doing an IG chat with Tami Roman: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQy1IKfDK8e/?utm_medium=copy_link

Sally/Jack/Tara triangle? I shudder at the thought. This show is such a mess. And yes they should try and rebuild the 30-and-under scene, but any characters they’d bring in would be so bland… I wonder if they’d try an emergency recast for Kyle, especially as it seems odd he’d leave town without Harrison. Not that recasting Chance is going so swimmingly….

KMcC mentioned the scene in which Alan tells Robin she’s HIV+. That was incredibly powerful work from both actors.

Can’t wait for the 4th of July fireworks! And again, Donna is a huge missing element from both the Justin and the Eric/Quinn stories.

Reposting in the correct thread: It’s almost weird to see Victor with Abby, but he’s pretty much the only Newman she’s had contact with over the past few months. Weird that they’ve struggled to find things for her to do, yet have kept her isolated from her families, who are both embroiled in story. What a waste of an Abbott/Newman.

It’s almost weird to see Victor with Abby, but he’s pretty much the only Newman she’s had contact with over the past few months. Weird that they’ve struggled to find things for her to do, yet have kept her isolated from her families, who are both embroiled in story. What a waste of an Abbott/Newman.

I thought she was. I could be wrong. I think I saw her talking about how the collapsed condo was not far from where she lives.

And I guess Meghan is in D.C. and Ana is in Miami (?), so it made sense to keep things remote, but still, it’s starting to get late in the game.

Basically every guy who’s body’s worth seeing is shirtless today (Xander, Eli, Ben, Tripp).

The ratings haven’t been good either (some of that is natural erosion after a tight election year), so I’m sure the network would welcome some changes. (I see they fought to keep her reportedly, as she keeps them in the headlines. Still the show feels stale.) Joy is older and Whoopi has health issues, but they’re also one of the few remaining talk shows that has yet to return to a full, in-studio production. (Even though they’ve done a decent job at not making the show look too Zoom-y, unlike The Talk.)

More Nishioka, who came off that tough five-setter against Isner yesterday.

I know her name was floated. @BetterForgottencould probably confirm.

Not a shocker. You could see it coming particularly in recent episodes. I know people like Ana Navarro, and she’s a good personality with a lot of humor, but her opinions don’t vary enough from the other ladies. They need a sharper, more mature conservative woman than Meghan (who’s still willing to surface uncomfortable topics that should be addressed by those on the left). Sad that no one immediately comes to mind.

Bev was irreplaceable. You couldn’t just plug in Random Grande Dame (Constance Towers, Barbara Rush, and whoever else was in the running) and not lose something essential. And I say that as someone who wanted Marj to succeed initially (before I realized she was miscast—she was glorious on AMC, though).