Faulkner

The most famous Night Court ensemble continues to dwindle. Just Larroquette and Warfield left of that core group.

@Soapsuds:

Same cancer that Christian LeBlanc has. So many untimely losses in the NYC news market this year.

I actually think, of the two brothers, Nick needs the break more, although that’s a minority opinion. I feel like Adam’s return—a total “In Case of Emergency Break Glass” move that previous regimes had been avoiding—was in part to give Nick something to do, as he had been flailing for years. Instead of dealing with the problem of defining Nick as an adult pillar of the show, no longer the dimpled studmuffin, they’ve defined him as the anti-Adam. He hasn’t quite worked in most of his romantic pairings, try as they might (aside from Sharon, which feels a bit lackluster). The Sally pairing is so painful that I regret having suggested that he hook up with Sally when she was beefing with Phyllis. He’s not given opportunities to be a father to his young kids, and he seems more like an older brother to Noah than a dad. He does shine as Faith’s dad, but the show doesn’t feel committed to Faith either. In relation to Victor and NE, they can’t decide whether Nick is the vengeful son or the ambivalent outsider. Whereas Adam is defined almost to a fault. Mark Grossman has chemistry with several people and Adam is an active, dynamic character who can drive more story. I’d love to see all the Newmans go, but I think oddly Adam has more potential on this low-budget version of Y&R.

Not that I’m defending the story, as it’s lame, but I think soaps have to allow people to do horrible things, even if they “set a bad example,” as these incidents surely happen IRL. Victor is a horrible person who had Phyllis raped, etc., so it wouldn’t surprise me if he pulled something like that. I think we’ve gone so far that mere dramatization of ghastly behavior is seen as endorsing it. Sometimes soaps cross the line into glamorizing horrible stuff (like the violence on GH), but that’s poor execution. The other characters should be the ones taking Victor to task. The problem is after a week or so they’ll be back kissing his @ss, in the same way Phyllis has suffered few real consequences for faking her death. There’s no stakes because characters come through stories completely unfazed. She’s been the one the show has considered most expendable until VERY recently. I suppose Audra and Claire Grace have given her new life.

They keep covering the same ground. Mark Grossman is solid but if this is what they brought Adam back for, it wasn’t worth it. They need to move them off the hamster wheel or consider taking some of them off canvas if they can’t find other things for them to do. It’s boring.

More of Nick:

Monfils just won his first title (a 250) in a few years. Meanwhile…

Choices were made re: fashions.

I’m glad I’m able to just watch the Lois stuff because RS rules, and she has a great rapport with the actors she’s working with. The rest of the show? Zzzzz. If anyone else were playing Lois? Zzzzz.

Wow. That’s super sad. An icon of resilience and reinvention in a tough industry.

My first experience with the great Piper Laurie (and I’m sure a lot of other Gen X/Xennials):

I’m almost feeling like there isn’t a place for Nick anymore. He’s been essentially drifting for the better part of 15 years. He’s never made sense at Newman. His bar and Dark Horse were massive failures. He hasn’t had a successful pairing since Phick 1.0 and the repairings with both GT and MS have all flopped. His kids have no place on the show except for Summer, whose relationship with her mom drives more story for her. He’s the dictionary definition of a character that’s coasted. Everyone just wants him back with Sharon. I personally think he’s taking up space and money on a show that could use more dynamism, especially in his age group.

Karen is so casually hilarious.

Looks like Vanessa Marcil is finally gonna do Maurice’s State of Mind:

I think I’m a bit off the Housewives train in general (has become a parody of a parody of a parody for me—I couldn’t even get into the revived Miami), but NuRHONY wasn’t hittin’ for me. I do like RHUGT for allowing the women to almost totally break the fourth wall and discuss themselves as “Housewives,” although Gizelle’s contrived fûckery last season ruined it. I’m also still drained and disillusioned from the last season of Vanderpump Rules, which was great but intense and ugly.

And not poly? Haha.

The gay viral hit of the fall. I’m sure most of you have seen this, but sharing it because it seems like it hit a nerve. @Taoboi @Gray Bunny @Soapsuds @AbcNbc247

Grigor

Agreed. That’s a huge event that might even grab some long lapsed viewers. I’m not a regular watcher and I’m certainly tuning in to see Lois.

Yeah, Burton’s face looks really harsh there. He didn’t look quite as rough on GH. The lighting on DAYS might not be as forgiving or his appearance changed in his brief time away from soaps. In any case, a woman would never get away with looking like that, of course. No matter how banging their body is.

Wow. Another shocker. Used to watch him all the time on Food Network. Was being treated for an allergic reaction and died from anaphylactic shock. I don’t know if I knew about his sexual harassment allegations. There have been so many cases.

You’re welcome. Someone posted the various streaming services that have his films. Benediction is on Hulu:

Unbelievably sad. What an underrated giant. His last feature-length film, “Benediction,” is a powerful gem that somehow got slept on.