Everything posted by bongobong
-
HBO's Looking. A look back
Interesting, I was unaware that the mid-2010s gay blogosphere had such a hate-on for the show. Now I'm curious if the Brady character was an avatar for one (or all) of them similar to how Patti D'Arbanville's whacked lady mobster in season 5 of the Sopranos was styled to look like NY Post critic Linda Stasi who complained that season 4 wasn't violent enough. Life's too short for hate watching, so I stopped after the pilot for the latest QAF reboot. I'm only basing this off of one episode but I thought its box-checking approach to diversity made it less organically diverse. Like it was set in New Orleans with a Black majority population, but there was only one Black guy, and his family was white. Yet there was room for non-binary regulars of both biological sexes. The original UK version was the best of the 3 by a wide margin.
-
B&B: June 2026 Discussion Thread
I doubt it's intentional but, but at the moment Katie & Bill split both the Stephanie & Sally functions from the early years of the show. Katie is like Stephanie for the reasons you've laid out. Plus, as mentioned by others she's Brooke's best sparing partner, capable of going for the jugular. But she's also like Sally as she came from humble beginnings, and craves external validation from the queen bee. Bill is more outwardly like Sally as he is main Forrester antagonist who anchors the secondary setting, is flashy, and has bawdy sense of humor. Like Stephanie he runs on pure ego, has fraught relationships with his offspring because of his controlling nature, and counts tangling with psychopaths as one of his favorite hobbies.
-
BTG/Y&R: Landmark crossover event announced!
This is very smart. It's a more enticing hook to get people to watch than Victor leaving to give a speech at a fundraiser. Being spoiled might be annoying for daily Y&R/BTG viewers but this isn't really for them, it's to entice occasional, lapsed or never BTG viewers to tune in. @Errol 's hypothesis about why Y&R aired a rerun on Memorial Day was 100% correct. Victor's teaser was synced to get viewers to watch BTG the day of the action, if not in perfect chronological order.
-
HBO's Looking. A look back
Excellent show: the acting, writing and especially the directing were all exceptional. "Looking for the Future" is an all-time great episode of TV. Unfortunately, I think there was more apathy than hate for Looking. The show got vindication from whatever hate was levied against it though when people got their wish with the L Word and QAF reboots. Those shows were much more despised because they tried to be all things to all people. Patrick/Richie/Kevin was such a realistic 30ish triangle because of how unsoapy it was. You could buy Patrick's attraction to both men, and follow his reasoning to why he had problems committing to them both. There were only a few scenes where Richie & Kevin interacted (why would they?) and I appreciate that the show didn't write ridiculous plots every week to force confrontation. I do feel that the creators took too much of the Agustine hate to heart and defanged him too much in season 2. I did enjoy his story with Eddie though, even if I didn't fully buy his fast transformation. I though subverting expectations with Dom by having him date a 60 year old instead of a 20-something was clever.. As for the article...I'm trying to be diplomatic but there are parts where I question how closely he watched or understood the series. At I first wrote off the line where he stated "Agustín’s desire to add a third to their relationship" as just a clunky worded sentence. He wanted a threesome not a throuple. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but the line comparing Patrick to Carrie Bradshaw as being the central charterer in his friends' lives was a huge red flag. I don't think there was a single scene in season 1 where Dom or Agustine discussed Patrick when he wasn't onscreen. In season 2 Agustine gossiped with Eddie about Patrick's affair with Kevin, but that was to show their growing intimacy with each other, not a "where's Poochie?" moment. There's no question that Patrick was the main character, but Dom & Agustine had fully formed lives and their own desires. In the end, I think she show was hurt by being in the rotation with Veep, Silicon Valley & Girls. Those 3 were probably HBO's 3 buzziest half-hours post SATC, but their satirical tones were a bad match with Looking. If season 2 was paired with Getting On or Togetherness, it might have got another season or 2 because of lowered expectations.
-
B&B: June 2026 Discussion Thread
Brooke needing to buy another vowel today after all of Katie's hints & insinuations:
-
DAYS: June 2026 Discussion Thread
That's interesting, I didn't know that. It's possible that Peacock removed it from the top 10 because they deemed it a wasted slot, as very few subscribers who weren't watching Days already clicked on it.
-
ARTICLE: ‘Let’s Make A Deal’ Marks Season High Among Women 18-49, ‘TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle’ Tops Predecessors Among Viewers – RATINGS
Awful week for GH. Not counting BTG vs its first 2 weeks, this is the first time a soap lost viewers YOY since the January snowstorm. Y&R doubled it in W25-54. BTG dropped, but was the only soap this week to match its season average in W18-49. Bold continues its ho-hum May. The odds of it winning its first season in W18-49 are looking shakier.
-
B&B: June 2026 Discussion Thread
To be fair I don't think they're pushing that angle. Eric having a collection at Logan would absolutely cut into FC's brand equity and sales. Of course, they're putting the blame on Katie but the fault lies with Eric, Ridge & Brooke. Agreed, best scene in a while, and HT was a force of nature. I thought KKL was excellent too.
-
SCREAM 7
Finally saw this after it dropped on Paramount+ and congrats to Scream 3, you aren't the worst anymore! You are spot on, this is not only the worst Scream movie, but the first truly awful one at that. Neve's acting was good, and I'm glad she got her bag, but Sydney was such a moron in this movie. Really, she would run miles to her store instead of going back to get her car keys? Then not call the cops when she knew the location Ghostface & her daughter were at? Easily the worst crop of newbies of the franchise, Tatum included. Not counting Jimmy Tatra & the 1923 actress in the teaser (the best scene in the movie by far), only Anna Camp's son popped. I watched the movie yesterday & can't recall a single charterer trait of any of the other teens. I liked Chad & Mindy in the previous 2 and hoped they'd take a more prominent role with the sisters gone, but they were just tacked on (I guess to appease younger fans of 5&6). Having Joel McHale as Sydney's humorless husband was an odd choice, it would have worked better if he & Mark C switched roles. The Ghostface reveals made Scream 6's look genius by comparison. Ranking the franchise in tiers I'd go: Tier 1: 1,2,4 Tier 2: 5,6 Tier 3: 3 7 "deserves" its own tier below Scream 3. Glad to see there's going to be a new team for Scream 8, I hope for a return to form.
-
B&B: June 2026 Discussion Thread
It could be Stockholm Syndrome but RJoffrey has been an entertaining villain these past few weeks. Realistically, a nepo-baby influencer raised by Brooke & Ridge would turn out this way. Bill has been in rare form, which is most welcome. I like having Wyatt back as well, but wonder what he'll do. A Wyatt/Shauna/Ivy triangle would either be gold or pure torture. Seeing Ivy grudgingly try to make nice with Will could be fun. I'd like at least one character to admit that they stopped eating at Il Giardino because they can't lookey loo at Sheila anymore. Speaking of Sheila, what a dropped ball. We're pretty much at the point where her next appearance warrants a thread in the spoiler section.
-
B&B: May 2026 Discussion Thread
Three storylines in one episode? in this economy? Man, this show really goes by quickly when there's less regurgitation, I wish it was more common. Is Bikini a redressed version of the pizza place? I'm guessing Remy is Sheila's roommate. I wonder if she's been MIA for so long because they can't figure out a set to place her in.
-
LATEST RATINGS: May 4-8, 2026
Thanks Toups - shouldn't Friday's B&B W19-49 rating be 0.21 instead of 0.31? Otherwise it would have 0.22 rating for the week.
-
LATEST RATINGS: April 27 - May 1, 2026
Good for Bold, up YOY in every category. It even had a rare W25-54 increase.
-
All My Children Tribute Thread
I don't think you're wrong about that! I do think they could have complimented each other though. Broderick was better with character building & relationship drama but IMO when she attempted stunts/OTT stories (the Jamaica remote for example), which were being pushed at time, they came off sillier than when McTavish wrote them. Probably why her Days stint was absurdly short.
-
B&B: May 2026 Discussion Thread
To be fair, Brooke just needs to convince Ridge & Eric, and the latter has never said no to her. Also, as a phrase of the month: Not Propah >>>>>>>Co-CEO. Love seeing Brooke act this way too. The beauty of Brooke when she's written properly is that she justifies her selfishness to herself enough times that she actually believes she's being altruistic. I thought Steffy did a great job sticking up for herself and her accomplishments. I'm waiting for her to throw Brooke going along with Eric's retirement in her face. It won't happen, but Steffy cashing out and going to Logan would be a great twist.
-
All My Children Tribute Thread
It's hard to imagine a worse delivery system than what Pluto Canada is doing with AMC. Random loops of episodes instead of on demand...why? They should have started with 10, added 5 once a week and dropped the earliest 5 if they wanted people coming back with some urgency. And why begin in the post-Kendall/pre-Liza purgatory when its ratings tanked? Some random thoughts: -The Hayley/Alec/Arlene/Mateo quad is great. Ripa was never heavily praised for her acting, but she anchors this story well. She has chemistry with everyone. -I hated the Taylor recast as a teen, but from the bits I've seen now, I have to say the actress isn't bad at all. The writing is awful though, and she feels so out of place. I can see channel surfers in '95 watching one of her scenes and thinking it's JER's Days. -Adding Bobby, Scott, Laura, Kelsey & Anita pretty much all at once was overkill. Were any of the 5 actors offered a second contract? -Trevor wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but he's so distinct and very AMC. Can't picture him on any other show. -The white opening is awful. AMC went from the best to the worst opening credits with the switch. -I wonder what McTavish & Broderick head-writing together would have looked like....
-
B&B: May 2026 Discussion Thread
I'm guessing it's Remy in a wig who scared Dylan. I can't see the show wasting the opportunity to reveal Luna's return on a Friday cliffhanger. For the love of all that's holy please no more scenes featuring Katie talking about Electra with Will. Almost every part of that conversation rang false. Really, Katie wouldn't have any sympathy for Dylan at all?? At least it wasn't as bad as last fall when she told Will to lie about sleeping with someone else (before they knew what Luna did).
-
B&B: April 2026 Discussion Thread
Also hilarious that after spending all of 2026 so far meddling in her niece's life, she didn't bother to say goodbye, opting for one last round with Daphne instead.
-
LATEST DEMO RATINGS: April 6-10, 2026
Good for B&B its rare W25-54 win. Probably wasn't the best move that the show put the Sheila story on ice for 2 weeks and counting afterwards. It's surprising that Y&R lost ground in both demos the week of the heavily publicized returns.
-
B&B: April 2026 Discussion Thread
Remy showing up was a nice surprise. I fully expected Deke just to sit and listen to Dylan then disappear. I hope Remy sticks around for a while, the actors have good chemistry. The Quinn mention by Electra of all people was pretty random. I'd love to see Rena Sofer back but I won't hold my breath. Ivy & Daphne are such a fun pairing. I wouldn't have believed it a year ago when Ivy was floundering and Daphne looked to be a DOA character. If we're being generous and counting Hope & Liam getting married, it's now been 6 months since Steffy, Hope, Liam or Finn have done anything of consequence.
-
B&B: April 2026 Discussion Thread
I thought Deke still lived at the apartment he had when when we first met him and Remy moved out, but I could be mistaken. It tracks to me that Steffy would judge Sheila forever because she's the most judgemental character on the show, and Sheila gives the most fodder to judge. I do think it would be more interesting if they followed through with Finn softening towards her for the reasons you outlined. If they're going to keep Finn chained to Steffy, it would be nice if they had some conflict. Any conflict they've had for the past few years was very brief, and was some variation of Finn submitting to Steffy, but Steffy deemed it wasn't done quick enough. Deke being ambivalent towards Sheila would interesting as well. Not that he has to be a clone of millennium Decaon, but the character would work better as being morally grey instead of Hope with a dick. I do like seeing Li as Sheila's friend from time to time, so I guess that's a consolation. Anywhoo, seeing Sheila back in her Nurse Ratchet getup was a hoot. B&B is on a bit of a roll with giving us fun Friday cliffhangers.
-
ARTICLE: ‘NBC News Daily’ Soars In Key Demos, ‘General Hospital’ Up Among Viewers – RATINGS
The W18-49 holds YOY are OK, except for BTG (-38%). But yikes at the W25-54 numbers versus last year, except for Y&R which is just off a smidge: B&B (-24%), GH (-30%), BTG (-36%).
-
B&B: April 2026 Discussion Thread
Steffy was right to blast Taylor. Even if Sheila wan't crazy, it isn't kosher to bang your son-in-law's father-in-law in his house. That said, I agree with the above, Steffy attempting Stephanie's role on the show as the sex police doesn't work. At least 50something Taylor wanting to live with her grandchildren for a bit makes some sense. I suspend my disbelief a ton for this show, but I can't for millionaires Hope & Liam living with her stepdad who hates her. It would be one thing if the situation led to fun testy breakfast convos about Hope's role in the Deacon/Taylor situation or Liam's in Logan. But it's just so the show doesn't have to build another set.
-
ALL: The First Year of a Soap - Growing Pains, Teething Issues, etc...
More from a scheduling/production aspect, but NBC waited too long to launch Passions following JER's Days departure and the climax of his stories. By the time the show debuted in July '99, Days' big W18-49 advantage versus Y&R & AMC completely evaporated. Both shows beat Days in that demo the during Passions' first week. AW having a bit of a demo resurgence in late '96-97 (along with SB starting) probably played a role in the extended development time frame. But then AW's demos started tanking basically as soon as JER left Days, wasting the 2pm hour for 18 months.
-
B&B: March 2026 Discussion Thread
I was pleasantly surprised that Sheila clued in after seeing the pizza box, and we (hopefully!) don't have weeks of Sheila trying to figure out which of her employees is dating Taylor. That said, her first clue should have been seeing Deacon's car in the driveway.