Wendy

And right there, AI already mucks it up: Melissa is Sarah's sister, not aunt. I just don't like or trust AI. All of this is amusing to read, but it's so sterile, without human emotion driving the dialogue, etc.

I haven't watched SVU since S5, but I believe you! 😄 (Even the scarce promos I see for the show now seem...overwrought, to put things kindly.)

Well, she did also do the requisite Law & Order guest role as defense attorney Michelle (Shelley) Kates in "Paranoia" (Season 6, Episode 6, if anyone wants to watch it on Disney Plus/Hulu! (Edited for the correct streaming service; Peacock does have the show, but only S13 to S20, I think!) Duncan's sparring with Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy was entertaining!) The L&O Wiki also says she played a judge - another character named Virginia Farrell - on SVU in 2014 and 2015.

I recall reading that, during RKK's first stint on Another World as Sam Fowler, he threw a chair at Sandra Ferguson (Amanda), and that is why Charles Grant's Evan Bates and Amanda started their affair, as she no longer wanted to work with him (RKK, obviously!). Gee, I can't imagine why! Which makes me disgusted that RKK continued to get roles after s.hit like this.

I remember that reboot! Didn't last long, though. 😋

Oh, we all know they want to rush this. But I'd think - if Dems do retake Congress this November - if it does go through, the next step could be antitrust moves and demanding this be broken up. Happened for AT&T. Then again, the corruption wasn't as blatant. Guess we'll see.

Even if they don't, it could be full steam ahead. See Alex/Stephanie and Brady/Sarah as other examples. (But considering Hank Northrop's familial legacy, I hope the show is actually starting to invest in Liam.)

I think it's obvious why Jeremy was brought on. To be a red herring/obstacle to the boring, snoozeworthy Stephanie/Alex pairing. Just a straw man, instead of exploring Jeremy in his own right.

Michael Roark is actually a good actor, his character is part of the show's premiere family, and his Jeremy could go in many directions. And he even resembles Roark Critchlow's Mike Horton. So, of course, let's cut him and keep boring Alex. And this show wonders why viewers don't stick around.

😊

I think "yawn" covers it. Although, it's nice to see Liam again.

Not a B&B viewer, so I can't comment on the stories themselves, but...I think ALL soap writers reuse their own material! While before my time, I know Bill Bell did a mother/daughter triangle on Days of Our Lives with Doug Williams, Addie Horton, and Addie's daughter, Julie (which is how Doug's daughter with Addie Horton, Hope, has half-sister Julie also as her stepmother. LOL!), and, as I recall from SOD, was basically done again with Brooke, Deacon, and Bridget. And the whole Victor Newman on a farm saga with Hope on Y&R was done in the early '70s on Days with Mickey Horton and Maggie Simmons, introducing the latter character to the audience. (And Suzanne Rogers still endures today!) I can't think of a head writer that doesn't recycle stories. For good or bad.

Wow, this is great! Thanks so much for tagging me!

So, CBS apparently told Stephen Colbert that, under no circumstances, could he air his interview with Texas candidate for the US Senate, James Talarico, on his show. And was told he could not even mention that CBS forbade him. Well, Stephen Colbert is already fired, so he spilled all about CBS trying to silence the interview, what their lawyers have said, everything. And he (or his intern!) has posted that interview on the show's YT channel, and The Streisand Effect wins again. So, in the name of democracy, feel free to share far and wide and watch it.

I was thinking of "Debra London" transforming into Flame Beaufort on Santa Barbara. That was a direct copy of Lucy's transformation, but still well done!

I was born in 1972, but I did read about Art Linkletter's daughter, Diane, who had jumped from her kitchen window in October 1969. So, I'm frankly shocked that Art Linkletter didn't take some time off after that and was instead promoting a new show. But maybe working helped him.

Regarding the writing and pairings, etc., I recall reading...somewhere...as one example, that Paula Cwikly was all in on Brady/Sarah and Xander/Gwen. All well and good. But the trouble is, the audience doesn't seem to be. Other boards (sorry, SON! LOL! But I still love you!) used to have pages of discussion. Now, if there are five posts, it's note worthy. Add in that some have said that Days isn't always in the Top 10 at Peacock these days, and something has to give. I hope Noel Maxam can light a proverbial fire under things. Right now, everything and everyone seems so aimless. There are no stakes, no reason to tune in. This is not to say I want Ron Carlivati back, but there must be a happy medium between the joke of an atmosphere under Ron and the boring slog the show has become with the current writing team. Which brings me to another issue (spoiler)... And with the exits already mentioned, I would have actually kept Jeremy and allowed him to be reinvented (which, in a way, he seemed to be. This Jeremy didn't 'read' as horrible stalker/domestic abuser!). The show has so few male Hortons, and he could have been paired with someone. I'll even be controversial and say this EJ has been treading water. Dan F. (I won't even try spelling his last name) seems like a cool guy, but EJ doesn't seem necessary as of now. I'd cut him, hell, most of the DiMeras, IMO. To me, they should have never become a main family. Spoiler box within again for character mention... But Jeremy Horton is, to me, just another symptom of the main issue: Hiring people without any real plan, wasting them as they linger with no real direction, then discarding the actors with some actual potential while keeping characters that are long past their 'sell by' date, so to speak. Another example? Peter. Never a big fan of the character, 1.0 or 2.0, but he did have the history and potential. Instead, after decades away, he returns in a blink and miss moment and is then presumably killed. What was the damn point there?! Do I have all the answers? No, obviously. But then, I'm not being paid to. These people behind the scenes, on the other hand, are. And they need to figure things out. Fast.

Or revive the old MTV Celebrity Deathmatch Claymation skits, and do an edition with a clay Dee and Suzanne.

Yeah, for Susan Seaforth Hayes' sake, and the audience's, TPTB need to stop putting Maggie and Marlena in the same room if all Queen Dee Hall is going to do is be an unprofessional diva. At least Suzanne Rogers tries to do her job, even if she also has issues with Deidre. But TPTB either have to have a come to Jesus chat with Hall if these scenes are to continue, and remind her that she is supposed to act, or just stop these. As they are, it's just uncomfortable to watch.

I thought I read that Jada and Shawn would be reconnecting? This Theo does zip for me. Steve/Kayla are nice, but they deserve an actual story. And Brady/Sarah should be bottled as a sleep aid. But the Chad/Billy stuff is sweet. Now get off my lawn.

A hell of a way for Today to have its ratings rise, but I guess it was inevitable.

Awww, thanks! He was also on the series finale of Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the episode, "To The Boy in The Blue Knit Cap", as an ex-pornographer, Rex Tamlyn. He seemed to have a blast playing someone so sleazy! And, in that same episode, he acted opposite Thad Luckinbill as twins (and victims!) Thomas and Parker Gaffney! (Thinking Thad's brother may have played the other twin's body, although he wasn't credited!) And, to round up the soap connections here, Richard Bekins played Thomas and Parker's father. How's that for daytime connections? 😉

Oddly, I know James Van Der Beek best from his guest role on the series finale of Law & Order: Criminal Intent when he played an ex-pornographer, of all things, and he seemed to have a blast playing someone so sleazy. Forty-eight is too damned young to go. May James Van Der Beek rest in peace.

Love Pink and her music. This ought to be great!

Another election, another Democratic win! This time, in Louisiana, which was a +13 Trump district: