Cat

RE: ATL, @Cheap21 hit on it when talking about Drew. LaToya, Fallyn and Drew all seem to be putting on an act. It makes 'the drama' which they instigate feel inauthentic. Obvs I am aware that there is scripting/production planning going on, but you can recognise real connections between some of the women. Drew seems to have ben cast according to BH procedure, i.e.: let's get a professional name actress in there who will play the game (no pun intended). RE: RHONY. Leah giving us some details (maybe too many?) on one SL this season. Looks like there will be a Who is More Woke face-off between her and Heather. Which -- judging by what Miss Mouth is implying -- Heather lost. Ramona must be gleefully watching all this from Mar-A-Lago, sipping on a Covid cocktail. 💀

That was Phelps & Pratt's doing. PB was a pro and rode it out. IMO it was the character of Victor who was ruined more by this SL. PB did comment about it on the Y&R YouTube channel, apparently: In an interview with co-star, Melissa Claire Egan on the Young and the Restless YouTube channel, Bergman talked about the Marco storyline, insinuating that he was not a big fan of it. “I didn’t like it that much,” Bergman said, as reported by Daytime Confidential. “You know, it was so kind of outlandish that there was this guy in Peru that looked exactly like Jack, that Phyllis [then-Gina Tognoni] wouldn’t know it was another guy in bed.” He also noted a weird aspect of the storyline in which Marco was attracted to Ashley, Jack’s sister. He and Eileen Davidson made light of the creepy matter. “I mean, there was lots of things that were—my favorite thing about it was that Marco had a thing for Ashley,” he continued. “And I used to literally scare Eileen Davidson coming on to her, because she played my sister for so long and suddenly I’m doing scenes where I’m hitting on her. That was great fun.” https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-young-and-the-restless-peter-bergman-says-the-marco-storyline-was-outlandish-but-he-had-a-favorite-thing-about-it.html/

Don't get me started on Stafford's whispery, Valley girl 'nunciayshin! 😬 Braeden, I can forgive as he's like 93 and originally speaking German-inflected British. Back in the day, I thought PB's careful, well-spoken reading of the lines was perfect for Y&R, such as it was back then. Written by Bill Bell and his longtime writing team, the dialogue was classic and erudite. PB's delivery fit that considered style and his WASPy character. I personally could watch old episodes written in this style for hours. They cast a spell over the viewer. In later years, PB started to stand out as the writing teams changed significantly, and the writing got dumbed down. That is not his fault in any way. PB continues to imbue gravitas in his speech. He is a tentpole character -- and tentpole actor -- on this show, and leans into that role. But there were times when it really stood out with some of the hokey stuff (like Marco).

How's his nose? I miss ole Dwight sometimes.

Can Marge stop attacking Jennifer for saying the damn truth? And can she stop playing victim? She wants to make Jennifer bringing up the guys' conversation the issue, when really the issue is: Marge and Joe have been talking out of turn about the Evan rumors. We can all sense that Marge is trying to cover her ass.

Those mad poetry skillz. Deep Thoughts by Jackie Goldshneider. I don't get it and I im not 100% sure Teresa did, either.

Is that soooooo? 🤭

I also teared up with the Nonno flashbacks. We have 'grown up' alongside this family. It rounded out Teresa from a one-dimensional Joisey Gorl to second generation American who had familial/cultural obligations to stay in her marriage and succeed financially. The Italian connection has always been one of the more fascinating components of RHONJ. Nonno was a factor in the Giudice-Gorga standoff we got in S3-5. Even though I hate that Teresa instigated the gossip about Evan (which was spiteful), I find myself easily Team Dolores-Teresa-Jennifer. What is it about these three together, so comfortable and relaxed? They 'get' each other. Cooking together in Dolores's kitchen (Jennifer with no make-up, Frank Catania puttering around) was the best thing ever. With Teresa + Dolores & Frank, you can tell it goes way back. It's not often that Teresa listens and is reflective like she was in that kitchen. Also in the car when Dolores was talking about how Teresa needed someone to take care of her and sweep her off her feet, Jennifer in her VT said "I wish Dolores could see what her friends deserve, she also deserves." 🥰 I love that. Team Marge-Melissa-Jackie friendship feels more superficial, like 'our kids play together/the two Joes love each other/I love your dress.' I think Melissa needs people around her who affirm her looks/amazingness on the regular. Jackie does, too. Marge knows this and obliges. Marge is smart. Sometimes I really dislike her because she is so strategic and trying not to show it. And she is targeting Jennifer (HOW DARE HA). However, like @Gray Bunny I still like her humor. I don't know if it's the pandemic and we've been in a year of, like, semi-isolation but I am really liking hot Bill Aydin ! Jackie. OK. I feel like she expected this season to go a certain way and it... didn't. She jumped on the chance to play victim and bring down Teresa. The problem is, she didn't have the back-up she expected. She set down the 'I refuse to film with Teresa!' gauntlet in an effort to edge Teresa to the periphery. Both Melissa and Marge were like "We support you, honey! We're just going to Teresa's pool party where the cameras are." Looks like Marge was talking out of turn, too. No wonder Jackie has that sour expression. She was nervous showing up at Dolores's and coming face to face with the big T-Rex! I almost felt sorry for her.

Same. I thought she'd be around forever. A larger than life yet subtle and elegant actress. Incredible in Play Misty for Me. She completely stole the show at Arrested Development.

Absolutely. It would make a character like Jack feel a bit untethered, losing that last link with his parents. Past and legacy is so important to him.

Add me to the list of people wanting the age difference to be addressed. If it isn't going to be, why not? For fear of inadvertently insulting Peter Bergman? The fact is, there are RL marriages out there -- in our own lives, in the public sphere -- where the age difference is sizeable. It is a talking point. It prompts tons of gossip. Sometimes these marriages end up working. Sometimes they don't. All of this to say that this is natural fodder for soaps. Is this a real romance? Is she a gold-digger? Is he being a creep? What do his kids/ex-wives think? Will this eventually lead to a pre-nupt forced on both of them by the Abbott family/Jabot board members (to protect their own financial interests) ? I think a SL like this would allow PB to give one of the finer, more subtle performances of his career. Look, I've often had issues with PB's over-enunciation, his belabouring of certain dialogue in the old-school style. I cannot deny, however, the dedication and feeling he puts into his job. Bergman considers himself a torch-carrier for Y&R. He is a company man always promoting the show, and that's not a bad thing. And he can deliver performance-wise. He works to elevate the material wherever he can. One thing PB does well is nostalgia, looking back, coming to terms, having a reckoning of some kind. I could see Jack falling for Sally because she makes him feel young, and excited in new possibilities again. She energises him. Behind all that, though, is the realization that Jack is not getting any younger. The ole bounder scrapping with Victor. He ain't 90, but he is past 50 and with that comes reflection. What does Jack want out of life? Is it the same thing he wanted 20/30 years ago? What does he want in relationship? Can he trust this new person entering his life? What are her motives? Courtney Hope has smarts and maturity about her and in some ways that helps to understand why both Sally and Jack might be drawn to each other. If she was just some 22 year old brainless valley girl, it just would not be believable to us (the audience) as a pairing.

I may be ranting right along with you!

Am watching The Fall with Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan. The latter actor surprised me with his creepy, restrained performance. Have finished S1 which was genuinely tense. Am getting into S2 and sensing that something is off in the writing/it's just not the same. Nevertheless, I do want to know what happens and these UK seasons are super short (6 episodes). The Crown S1 and 2 is next on my list.

They had really strong chemistry, but I was put off by the professor-student thing. I always found that whole thing icky in college -- a personal bias on my part! Eyal Podell was hot, and Y&R seemed invested in the Colleen-Korbel romance, but when LML was replaced by MAB, Colleen-Korbel was backburnered. AL was replaced by Tammin Sursok which messed up the Colleen-Korbel chemistry. Korbell slept with Amber from B&B who was in a crossover with Y&R at the time (!!!) and so he and Colleen broke up. Lord, I can't believe some of these stories actually happened. I always liked that AL was a sexy, curvy babe while her friends were bobbleheads. But I guess Y&R felt differently because they replaced her with the bobbliest bobblehead of them all! I have to imagine Y&R got this decision foisted upon them, because it really did seem like they were gearing up for a Traci-esque eating disorder SL with Colleen. Which of course they had to drop with Tammin Sursok because that poor child looked like she had never ingested a complex carbohydrate in her life. And to turn around and blame AL for 'weight gain' when the Traci issue was what some of the scripts were hinting at... I thought it was unconscionable on the part of the show. Yep! That was the rumor at the time! Alleged Sony Benefactor eventually got Sursok on Pretty Little Liars too. LOL, I remember her briefly on Home & Away! Yes, David Chow killed Ji Min, and he died in a car crash with Victor's angelic European wife, Sabrina. They gave him an Asian surname, but he turned out to be a hitman for the Mafia. (!!!!!)

NRA keeps pushing the line that we can ALL be law enforcement if we have a gun. "It's not guns that kill, it's individuals!" Sometimes it's like they want us to be living in the Wild West.

I am always excited for my RHONY! I loved seeing Heather -- which makes it all the more sad that she left filming and is DONE with Bravo and the whole show. 😥 Eboni looks like she is ready to get in. What really surprised me was no sign of the Ramona-Eboni friendship the tabloids were teasing during filming! People going after Luann having a boyfriend is a little harsh. Luann can't even exhale sometimes without Sonja or Ramona taking it wrong. I'm not getting a clear picture of the SLs this season, and that was the case with the past two years' RHONY trailers, too. 🤔 I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or Bravo tamping down on leaks, which apparently they have been doing more of in order to preserve an element of surprise.

I liked Adrienne Leon too! She was one of my fave recasts. Unfortunately, we got the reliquary SL, as you say, which involved Brad Carlton killing a bad guy with the strength of his manly man-thighs. We also got Colleen's romance with her 30-something professor which was a NO for me. Not that he wasn't cute, but the power dynamics alone... Finally, the show did Adrienne so dirty by firing her and claiming it was because of her weight (!!) when in fact rumors abounded that an Alleged Sony Benefactor wanted AL replaced with some random Aussie poptart that Sony Music was trying to launch in the US. (!!!) Re: creating a new character, sometimes I wonder if TPTB should just settle on a cardboard cutout and one of the producers voicing the lines. I remember really liking Eric Steinberg as Ji Min Kim back in the day, but Y&R just wanted a day player who was going to be killed off a few months later.

The solution is simple and yet so difficult to achieve. Remove guns from daily life. Ban weapons. Unfortunately, we are hamstrung by the Constitution. And if legislation were ever passed (passed!) making it more difficult to purchase and carry weapons, I honestly think there would be war out there. NRA-loving gunowners would go apesh*t and it would be states-wide January 6th all over again -- but with military-grade automatic weaponry. And one side would definitely by armed to the max while the other side... not so much. So the US is being held hostage, once again, to the potential threat of violence.

Bingo. You've hit the nail on the head. When i saw that the final two for the role of Victoria were Rachel Kimsey and Amelia Heinle, I was shocked. Y&R was not looking for big soap names to take this role over. The show had already cut Heather Tom's pay and guarantees the year before, and that's why she left for OLTL. Y&R was looking for relatively cheaper second-tiers who skewed younger in their demos. With Bill Bell having bowed out, Y&R was in effect looking to revamp, and CBS (was Barbara Bloom already there?) was making more creative and bts decisions which soon led to Lynn Marie Latham. I think it was around the time that HT left in 2004 that SC, who was on a short hiatus while her salary negotiations were ironed out, returned to Y&R. Around 2005, when AH came on board, there was further shuffling of the deck chairs on the deck. The actor who played Larry was let go and any SLs featuring Jill were backburned. Lauren Woodland (Brittany) left, perhaps for pay reasons. Y&R seemed to be trying to cut costs on the periphery without jeopardizing what it viewed as its core. But there were a fair number of departures and recasts. For example, Adrienne Leon as Colleen came on board in 2006.

I stand corrected. 🙂

@Gray Bunny I bow to your superior taste. FallON *is* the definitive spelling. One of these days, we've got to get Candiace spelled correctly. It's CandAICE. Or Candace. Or Candice. My phone now auto-spells it as Candiace though. ETA: 'Bethenny' ain't right either.

She is from Brooklyn (unlike Sofer) and is clearly comfortable with NY/NJ accents. But as an ex-New Yorker, I'm here to tell you that she was playing it up, lol. IMO the definitive Italian-American Brooklyn accent out there is Dr. Fauci. 😷 Listen to him if you want to perfect your Brooklynese.

The gif isn't ready yet... but ask and ye shall receive a clip of the event! I am two episodes behind and I already cannot believe that FALYNN -- who barely made a PEEP on the Isle of Palms -- is doing her best Monique Samuels impression! And LaToya is channelling Candiace's DRAG ME MONIQUE !

I can't even process that. Heather Tom won three Emmys as Victoria on Y&R and I can actually picture the scenes/SLs for which she won. Sarah Brown would have been a really strong recast IMO.

According to Wikipedia, Rachel Kimsley was up for the role (!) but when Ashley Bashioum left the role of Mackenzie, Kimsey got that instead. Kimsey, Heinle -- seems like Y&R was not looking for big names or Emmy winners to play Victoria. This also reminds me of a period of time in soaps in the 2000s when every time a female character got recast, the rumor was that Jamie Luner was up for the part. Back in the day, I wanted Gina Tognoni or Cynthia Watros to play Victoria. There was a rumor that GT was up for the part but for whatever reason it did not go to her, or she had scheduling conflicts, or something.