Manny

Days really crashed there between 20 Feb and 27 Feb.. and I guess they will just continue to free fall, considering they´ll be hitting 5s soon..

Ummm, so Billy finds a hangover Jay in his office with an empty bottle of vodna next to him and learns Jay has been dating Ketamine and then what he does is takes Jay out for a beer to the pub... right... I did like Jay/Lexi/Billy/Honey/Ben scenes where Lexi says she wants to scatter Lola's ashes around the square.

I finally caught up and then I had my vacations and now I missed the passed two weeks, so now I have to catch up again lol Watched 16 and 17 October and now watching 18 October now. I am kinda enjoying this Panesar drama with Nugget and his new mom. The new sister of Nugget is a bit too much. Her coming onto Martin and Zach was a bit icky. The other stories in these episodes are a bit boring. I don´t care about Rocky, or Sharon/Keanu. Jay storyline is okay, I guess... I think this is an issue with these cast/story rotations. Not all stories are equally entertaining and when we get into a period of less interesting stories/characters, it is not as fun to watch. So I wish they would cut their cast and focus more on the more interesting people. EDIT: Seems like they are putting Priya into Peter´s orbit.. and Peter is now talking about his kid.. of course he has a child.. everyone has a child on this show.. I forgot he has a child with Lauren.

Thanks for the clarification I guess that explains it haha I guess I wouldn't mind it so much, but I feel like so many characters have storylines which revolve around their kids. Stacey was dealing with Lily, while Lily is dealing with her baby, Jay/Ben/Calum are dealing with Lexie, Whitney is dealing with fostering kids, Sonia is dealing with in-vitro, Sharon and Keanu are fighting over a kid, Ravi's son disappeared.... it seems because so many characters have a child, a lot of them are dealing with children in some way at the same time. And while all of these storylines are different and they are also all dealing potentially with some other stuff, I am not saying it bores me, but I notice a very children heavy or children focused show sometimes And with young characters, it kind of then limits their story potential and just like in real life those people tend to grow up faster than they would have without kids. So that's why I would hope that they don't saddle young characters with kids early on, because we could have some variety in storylines with those characters and leave the kid-related stories to older folks.

I just finished this week's episodes. I am so sad for Jay. When he punched Callum, I was really surprised. With him agreeing to seek help, I wonder if he will relapse. Because I am pretty sure Ben finds out first and goes crazy... Sharon vs Karen in the Vic was funny lol Sharon was vicious! Also, Keanu kissing Sharon during the boxing fight to seduce her... I mean, she cannot be that stupid, right? She should see through to him that as soon as she says she's leaving the country that he is into her suddenly. I was bored by the Rocky gambling story. The pacing is really interesting. I cannot say I am annoyed by it, but it is really jarring when they just stop showing certain stories and switch to something else. But so far it is okay for me. But the problem is that some other stories were much stronger than what was on this current week. At least for me. What's frustrating for me is the pacing is too fast at times. Keanu and Taylor come up with a plan for him to seduce Sharon and take the child away on Thursday, but by the end of the episode, Keanu has already kissed her and seems to be gaining her trust. All in one episode. Or Rocky has been seen gambling beginning of the week and by the end of the week, he's like a full fledged gambling addict (maybe they showed him do this already before August, when I started watching, so maybe that's on me). So some of this is happening too fast, where it is not as believable.

I am all caught up! Yay! The Stacey/Freddie/Theo drama was so good! I really loved how they made the tension with Stacey watching TV and the silent still camera shot of her eating pizza and drinking wine, combined with creepy shots of Theo walking in the dark streets and walking around her house. And then suddenly he's inside. OMG! Freddie coming, the fight.. all great! But the following episode with the fallout from the fight was really intense!! Everyone did an awesome job! I am glad Theo didn't die because: a) well I don't want another person (Freddie) to be a killer b) it would have been too easy for Theo to get off for what he has been doing. Whereas for the rest of the storylines, I am into the Beales storyline. Sonia/Reice storyline could be interesting. I wonder where it will go. Whitney foster storyline is meh, mostly because I don't care about her. Jay and his prostitute storyline is meh.. But I love Jay so I am curious where it will go (and based on the cliffhanger of yesterday, not good for Jay ). The missing Nugget storyline is okay. I wonder if and how Denise and Suki will find the evidence against Ravi. I really don't care about Taylors (this thing with Keanu trying to get his kids from different women.. yawn). I skipped your post earlier, cause I was not all caught up yet But I went back to read it now I have enjoyed the Stacey storyline quite a lot! Some good intense drama! But OMG, I wanted to ask if it is normal in UK that kids are having kids Because Stacey is a grandma and she's not even 40! And Ravi looks super young to have such a grown up son. Ben having a 11-12 year old daughter etc. Oh it's a shame you don't like Bobby. I find him quite cute and I like his journey and find him interesting as a character. But I agree about Ian. I never liked Ian. I am opposite from you again, I don't like Kat and Phil at all! So I cannot wait for the truth to come out about him cheating (and about Alfie's cancer!) I forgot to mention that I was shocked at the twist that Alfie really does have cancer! I was so sure it was just used as a plot point to get Kat closer to him, so Phil can have an excuse to cheat.

Oh good! Not that I want such anger be pointed to poor Bobby all the time, but I just find this to be a good drama source.

Happy to hear I am almost caught up. I am starting October now. I liked Cindy confronting Bobby for a short second. It was a very real conflict. But it seems it has been sorted out in 2 min. Shame. I hope Cindy is only pretending to have forgiven Bobby. It's quite a natural conflict between all the Beales that should remain. It is funny that they spend more time with Cindy finding a business investor than dealing with her daughter's killer who is her current husband's/boyfriend's son. I kind of only enjoy this Ravi storyline because I like watching him, since he's very hot hahaha

Through the years, I've seen Cento Vetrine (Italian soap) meaning "Hundred Windows", and is set in a shopping mall, if I remember correctly (hence the name ). There was also Incantessimo (Magic spell), which is also an Italian soap. That was hugely popular in my country. Obviously I have watched Croatian version of Germany's Verbotene Liebe. This was Croatia's first attempt at having an ongoing soap opera and it ran for several years before being cancelled. I was into it for a bit, but finally I gave up on. Cast was changing so fast, it was annoying. Also, coming from Croatia, we can watch also Serbian channels, so I have seen some of their soap Srecni ljudi (Happy people).

I reached episodes which focus more on Chelsea and Ravi... The only thing I know about Chelsea is that she is Denise's daughter. But now I see she has a son and she is dating Ravi, who I wanna say is Gina's dealer? If I remember correctly, there was that short scene where Gina goes to him for drugs. Anyway, Denise is against the relationship and she just found a video on some old laptop Suki gave her in which Ravi seems to be (shocker!!) killing someone?? If someone can maybe share what this storyline is about, I'd be grateful The Bobby/Anna/Freddie thing has been revealed quickly. I wonder how Bobby and Freddie will move on from this. I loved Gina punching Ian at the pub after he reveals that Anna slept with Freddie. Alfie/Kat/Phil/Lola's mom storyline is okay.. not so much into it, but it's fine. I liked Kat finding out about Alfie's cancer scare and I liked Shane Richie's acting when he finds out he does not have cancer. I like Alfie and Kat. I hope Kat and Phil don't get married.

Ooooh, I know people said here they don't like Stacey storyline, but I just watched Stacey learning Theo is her stalker while Lily was giving birth!! It was exciting!! Lacey Turner was great, but my God, the girl playing Lily is a real find! She is so believable!! Awesome job!! Anyway, I am enjoying this Stacey storyline so far. I mean, the cops just questioned Theo and said: Your word against his.. but I mean.. they could ask others if what he said was true.. lol I mean, he claims him and Stacey are couple in a fight, but if they ask anyone, they will know that's not true So I guess that story beat is lame, but otherwise I enjoy the performances. Lets see where it goes Also, I decided my people to root for as Jay and Bobby.. well so far.. I really like Bobby. Yes, he killed his own sister, but he was a young and it was apparently an accident, and he's really sweet now.. so I am rooting for him. And I have always liked Jay. This last episode, he was watching a video of Lola talking to Lexie and he was so heartbroken. It was so sad!! Almost made me cry!! Jamie Borthwick is awesome!! Speaking of Lexie, she had her first day at school and claimed it was great. But it isn't, I am sure. She was weird. I'm surprised none of them picked up on that.

They really need some positive good people. And not just one! Oh btw, there was a short scene with Fatboy in that flashback episode for Cindy. Was that his short cameo? I hope he comes back full time

I am really liking Cindy's return to Walford. So soapy and choatic. Gina overdosed, Anna slept with Freddie, Kathy makes Ian choose between her and Cindy (and he chooses Cindy), poor Bobby... some good drama. The issue I have is that everyone seems to have killed someone at some point or at least tried to kill someone at some point. It's too much. Feels like there is no good characters, everyone is just vile (or was at some point)... I find it hard to root for majority of them.

Oh I love Lauren and Jacqueline Jossa (is she who will play Lauren again?)!! Cannot wait to see her back! I wish, Max, Tanya and Abi were also there.. I loved their crazy dysfunctional family dynamics I am still catching up. Just finished September and OMG, love the Cindy being revealed to everyone!! So soapy!!

Not a daytime soap, but still soapy... Gilmore Girls... Stars Hallow looks like a charming little town, and people there are always fun, goofy and lovely.

So far seems good. I forgot that the storytelling flows much faster, so I assume that they have time to rotate every throughout the year. I want to catch up with current episodes of EE, so I will try to see another episode today 😀 B&B was always the worst soap to me.

Yes, indeed, I remember that there would be these story cycles (and they still do them), I just didn't remember the cast being so huge back when I used to watch But indeed, it can be good. Like my first week back, it was dominated by Freddie and Knight sister storylines. They are now no longer on and it felt good to take a break at that point. So I like it. Re: Stacey/Eve, I see. It makes sense. And nice of Stacey to do this. It is quite a big favor to do for someone, getting married to them. I have always liked Stacey from back in the day. Haven't yet read what she has been up to these years while I was away from the show. And reading a bunch of other characters' stories, I am worried I will end up hating her lol Seems like everyone just had some very dark periods. OMG, that's horrible (re: Ben). According to what is happening in August episodes, I would never have thought he was such a villain. Because now he is such a vulnerable guy, not knowing how to deal with the trauma he had and in desperate need for support from his loved ones. And not knowing his past, I would feel so bad for him (and I kind of still do, probably because I never watched all the bad things he did, so it is easier for me to forget it and get into the current story). But I would hate it if I had watched all of it. One of the reasons why I dropped GH back in the day was I could not keep watching the Sonny/Jason propping all the time. So I guess this is how it feels for Ben as well here. And it is sad. I really like Max Bowden and I am even starting to like Ben and Callum together after watching August 9 just now. Re Martin, this is why they should not let actors give suggestions for storylines I watched August 9 now and I really enjoyed the structure of this episode. It was a very understated episode, with several couples having important conversations about them/their relationships. I really enjoyed it. Whitney/Zack - don't really know him, but as I said before, I never really cared for Whitney. Always found her a bit whiny and boring. But I did enjoy their conversation. I think they both brought valid points about their view on adoption and fostering and now since they could not agree, I guess it is break up time, even if they agreed not to make this decision tonight. Patrick/Yolande - this was such a sweet couple. It brought such a smile to my face when Patrick took out his phone and played a song and they danced. So cute! Sonia/Reice - While I thought their conversation was important to have, I do not enjoy this couple and I still get a creepy vibe from him. I feel like he will snap any time now and just hurt Sonia. Ben/Callum - His history aside, I did enjoy their conversation. Ben apologizing for what he said earlier (which was really too much), and then tell Callum what has been happening to him. I did not realize his eating disorder has been happening for so long either. So I was like Callum, reacting to it in surprise lol I am curious where they go from here. Oh, I also really loved Kat/Ben scenes at the gym. I know I read Kat is married to Phil now, I cannot picture that since they did not yet have any scenes together, but that just seems weird to me.

OMG, so I watched August 8 and the scenes between Ben and Callum were very well acted. It started soft and then when Callum brought up Lewis (I was like: Who?, but then realized it was a guy that raped Ben.. I read something somewhere about it, so luckily I was able to figure it out). But my God, Ben said things in this fight! Wow.. It was sad. So I went to EE Fandom site and read Ben's history since he killed Heather. And OMG... He's a full on villain!! Now I have completely different perspective. He killed Heather and then upon being released, he just became straight on gangster! Kidnapping people and trying to kill people... wow! Horrible! And speaking of that, he got Martin involved.. I don't know why but I thought Martin was a good guy! I don't know Martin at all, since he was not there when I used to watch. But for some reason I thought he would be a good guy. I read some article where they say how EE used to be about every day life and grounded storylines, but if you only look at what happened to Ben in recent years, wow, not really everyday life stories at all lol Ben was never a "good guy" character, I get it. But I just didn't expect him to become all of this. I guess they made him into his dad. Sad.

I hope you all don't mind me just continuing blabbing my thoughts August 7 2023: So we finally move away from the Knight sisters and from Freddie's storyline (it was nice and I liked it, but it's nice to see other storylines a bit). So it is the court day for Jay to become a guardian of Lexi. It all happened so fast, but I could tell that something was wrong with Ben since the first time I saw him several episodes back. I had no idea it was the eating disorder 😮 They are really throwing everything at this character But earlier in the episode, Ben seems to not want to go to court to give Jay the guardianship role? Why would he not want that? From what I understand, Jay has been Lola's husband, so he was already in Lexi's life. And on top, Jay is like his brother, they grew up together. Obviously I don't know if they had some fall out during the years I didn't watch, but based on what happens later in the episode, it does not seem like it. So I was a bit confused about where the conflict is coming from with Ben's hesitation to go to court. And then they had Anna and Gina's dad give Ben advice and push him to go? Why would they choose him? From what I have see Knight family came to Walford in June, this is beginning of August. Does he even know Ben to be able to give him such advice? I guess this is one of the pacing issues I mentioned where UK soaps just go too quick and establish some character connections too fast. Anyway, Ben goes to court and Jay is the guardian, quick! Family celebration at the pub, I really loved those scenes. Ben's speech for Jay was lovely, I got teary eyed. I love Ben and Jay! And was good to see Phil, even though he barely said anything. Jay and Lexi's scene was hilarious, where she wants him to be the mommy in the relationship LOL And all the talk about her period And then Honey realizing Ben's eating disorder. I mean she explains how she got there, but that was some good catching on, because I noticed something was wrong, but she was able to catch it was an eating disorder. Good on you, Honey! It was nice the way she talked to Ben through the doors. The other storyline was Sonia and Reice (is that how you spell his name?) Anyway, she's not pregnant, but we learn he cannot have kids, which is why he was acting out and she concludes that he does want kids, but not with her. I hope they break up. I would like to see Sonia with someone else. She doesn't seem happy in this relationship. I am liking the show more and more as I get to know the characters again!!

Saw now August 3 2023 Oh poor guy, Freddie... It was really sad seeing him in his bed crying at the end of the episode. I really like the scene he had with Gina at the rooftop and their conversation. Are they setting the two of them up romantically so that's why they had this bonding scene? I hope not. I could like them as friends, but not as a couple. Maybe it was just again the juxtaposition of Gina getting the drugs and then not using it, and Freddie eying the dealer's door and maybe getting drugs? I hope not I like Anna and Gina's talk too. And Anna convincing Gina to dump the drugs into the toilet and then cancelling the mom search. However, I wonder what will now propel the storyline further if it won't be Anna who finds the mom. Is Ian just going to come back to town with Cindy one day? I suppose not... and I wonder if Gina is fully done with drugs. Another bonding conversation I liked was Anna and Bobby, where he talks about killing Lucy. What was actually the reason that Bobby killed his sister? Sonia's potential pregnancy... I don't really get what she sees in this guy. He's really creepy and disgusting. On a shallow note, who is the hunky car mechanic?

Oh a shame I missed Kim's storyline then. I really enjoy her! I am used to seeing her in usually funny storylines. This was quite different. But I am sure I was interesting. Oh yay, Fatboy might be back? Yay! Looking forward to it Saw August 2nd now. I am quite enjoying the Freddie storyline. The young actor is quite nice. I loved the look he had on his face when he met his dad and his whole face lighted up. I like that they didn't just immediately have this important conversation on the street and decided to meet up later. But uh-oh, now that Kat & gang told Freddie the truth, I am curious where it goes next. Is Freddie not going to believe them and still want to spend time with Graham? Btw, I was always fascinated by the difference in US and UK soaps in terms of speed at which the story is being told. I mean, in only two episodes, Freddie has found out who his dad is, met him and learned that he raped his mother. Sometimes this speed hurts the storyline, I feel, because you miss some beats, but sometimes it is quite good. US soaps really drag on for too long sometimes. There was a Jay sighting! Oh my he grew up! He was such a kid when I watched. lol Anyway, in order to not bother everyone with questions all the time, I looked it up and learned he was married to Lola (I know she died, I read that somewhere earlier this year). So I guess they are going with Jay and Gina romantically next? Is the guy that Gina visited her dealer? I guess so, she just got more news from Anna about their mother, so she must be stressed out. I wonder where this will go with her addiction. Ben is here, he looks different, but I am okay with this actor so far. And he's married? And raising Lexi? Okay.. Ben has changed quite a bit, I guess. Didn't he kill Heather? How is he out of prison? But I always liked Ben, so I hope I will like him now. I enjoyed Kat yelling at poor Bobby, trying to get him to tell her where Freddie is. I like Bobby and Freddie's friendship. This episode was alright. I am already warming up to these new characters!

I see. Seems like a lot of bad choices were made here.

Victoria and David??? I don't know if I would have liked that either. lol I better stay away from Emmerdale indeed hahaha

OMG, thank you so much @LondonScribe!! So kind of you!! I know I could just go to wikipedia, but I am trying to avoid spoilers, so thank you so much!! I realize now I don't know how to do this nice quoting of part of the response, so I will just reply here LOL Ok, Elaine, Linda's mother... got it! Makes sense that she would be running the pub. Last time I tuned in for a bit, the Carters were running the Queen Vic. (I was in London and I realized our TV had BBC, so I made sure to tune into EE at least once or twice hahahaha).... Ooh, so Cindy Beale is the mother in question!! Okay, that makes it interesting! Now I am interested in this very much so! Interesting that they made Bobby discover Islam! Hm, I like that. I always loved Jane, so I am curious to follow Bobby's story (even though I don't really know is character, I know Jane...) To be honest, I am glad that they didn't make Stacey gay, just because I've see Stacey with so many men, it would be hard for me to swallow that she's now suddenly a lesbian. Not that it does not happen in real life, but I just couldn't buy it with her. But they did an OnlyFans story with her?! Now that's a storyline I would not enjoy to watch for Stacey! Glad I missed that! I like her with Martin. I am rooting for them. I am sad I missed Lily pregnancy storyline.. Was Ryan there?? I loved Ryan back in the day... Oh Freddie storyline now also is more interesting!! I realized how many of my favorites are not on the show anymore... Max and his family... (I saw they killed Abi!! OMG!).. I loved all of them! Max, Tayna, Abi, Lauren...; I miss Dot (I know June died ), I miss Jane, I miss Masoods (they were so dramatic!! Zainab was awesome). I miss Carol.. I miss Fatboy!! Is Kim still around? Anyway, thanks a bunch for your answers!! Sorry for all of my questions!! After not watching for so long, I am confused haha Ooh thank you very much as well!! I did NOT get that vibe from Sonia storyline at all!! But it certainly sounds soapy. But he sounds like a horrible guy. Feel bad for Sonia I never really cared for Whitney. But it was nice seeing her still there, I guess.

Oh so icky! Was it a good storyline to watch at least? I mean, interesting and dramatic?