Cat

Feeling the bold in particular very strongly. Abby is a good example of this. Things happen to her, but I'm not even sure what kind of personality she is supposed to be.

Yes, I get the impression everything builds on everything else and you just have to keep watching. Like a soap, some would say.

I need to watch this show, I have heard sooooo much about it. Downloaded S1 Ep1 -- worth a look? Or should I skip to a later season.

@Forever8 From what little I have seen, Amelia Heinle was great on Loving. She also had her fans from her stint on AMC. IMO there were a couple of factors at play which all came together and resulted in AH being recast as Victoria. Firstly, the ABCfication of Y&R. There was a fear that Y&R's audience was aging out and they were losing some of the younger demos who had tuned in at the height of Billy/Mac's romance and the Brash n Sassy years. Those teen SLs were petering out. Secondly, there was already a shift in how writers on soaps were expected to write women. The strong businesswomen of the 80s and early 90s were going by the wayside. Pretty faces were being sought out to play archetypes (to use one of Mal Young's favourite words). Thirdly, Heather Tom. Such a strong performer and Emmy-winner. Y&R and CBS did not want to be seen to be pushing her out -- but they did want to cap her pay and her guarantees. I think there was a general feeling that Tom did not have the traditionally pretty looks of a 'standard soap heroine archetype' (that word again) and TPTB did not know how to write for HT's character. By that, I mean multilayered. Contradictory. Emotional. Rageful. Heather Tom's Victoria struck me as someone who had this rage bubbling just below the surface -- rage at having to prove herself, rage with regards to self-esteem issues. Rage towards her parents. That rage wasn't 'pretty.' It wasn't the kind of female stuff that soaps wanted to portray. Bill Bell was happy to write Victoria like that back on the day because he was fascinated by people's psychology and why they do emotional, unpredictable things. I have the feeling Jack Smith was under pressure to 'modernize' the writing, pick up the pace, and keep things simpler. Including characterization. Consequently, Amelia Heinle ticked some boxes, in that she was considered more attractive that Heather Tom, she had ABC soaps under her belt, and it was likely that she would play Victoria in the way TPTB could more easily conceive her to be. This leaves us with the question: could Heinle play a more complex, layered character if she had the writing? Or is she happy to stay in her comfort zone and do her work as written? IOW, do we blame the actress for the way Victoria is currently portrayed, or the writers? Answer (IMO): it is a bit of both. I personally feel Heinle, as sparky an actress as she once was, just does not have it in her to play ranges of emotion all at once anymore. When I see her onscreen, it feels so one-note and dour. Her 'business' SLs are so boring, and for that we should blame the writers 100%. But she seems so cold, blank and one-dimensional in those. Sometimes, even with very limited material, a talented and experienced actor tries to make the content more interesting that it actually is. Eileen Davidson is that actor. Melody Thomas Scott is that actor. I'll even give it to Sharon Case, Michael Mealor and Eric Braeden. Amelia Heinle is not that actor.

Heck. If I was a 70-something/80-something Hollywood icon, the first thing I would do after my vaccine doses had settled would be to organise a singalong at Liza's swank Bel Air abode! Joan is so spry at 88. Look at her in her skinny trousers and (I presume) high heels bopping away.

Well, Brenda Dickson did study at the Lee Strasberg Institute, according to her Wiki. I can believe it -- you only have to watch some of her clips from the 70s and 80s to see what a strong, subtle, natural (and underrated) actress BD was. Yes, she went down the Alexis Colby route in 1986, but she embraced it so completely then, too. Living well was Jill's best revenge on everything she had lost a decade before! OMG Hunter Tylo's accent was meant to be British? I thought she was supposed to be Dutch! That was the accent she put on when Ridge looked for her while she was holed up in the Prince of Morocco's palace, right? (The actors who played the Prince, along with Mustafa, his right-hand man, were very good, I thought, and gave sympathetic portrayals of what were initially conceived as 'foreign, exotic' characters). Totally agree with this. I love me some Rena Sofer, but that 'Brooklyn' accent was way OTT, even more OTT than Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. It was like Shannen Doherty (Brenda on 90210) playing Laverne the 1950s waitress at the Peach Pit.

I read a description that said: it was as if someone has put a coat hanger in Margaret's mouth to widen/stretch it. Now I cannot unsee! Jackie is totally milking this for EVERYTHING it is worth, and definitely production is a-ok with this rivalry as a SL. The amazing thing is how gleeful Teresa is. She is like BRING IT B!TCH. Even though she started it. I did feel bad for Jackie for a hot minute there, but it is clear to see that she is keeping this rumor alive to justify her place and be the Anti-Teresa. I am still LMAO about this tweet: Girl! GOWRL. My show???? You know that was done to play up the Rivalry. I have a fondness for Jennifer & Bill, I don't know why, I find them cute together? Also, Jennifer's disdain of Melissa never gets old.

WELL HELLO! 💅 In a weird way, and as OTT as that accent was, it worked for me. It worked within the confines of Y&R as one of the most glamorous, lush and old-school melodramatic soaps on air. It worked in terms of Jill pretending she was to the manor born when the audience knew full well she was not. It also worked when things went wrong for Jill and there was this comedic aspect to it. I personally loved how committed Brenda Dickson -- and by extension, Jill -- was to keeping the accent going, even in intimate scenes with family. It was like Jill had reinvented herself root and branch in order to 'make it' and there was no going back to Jill Foster.

It's horrific. We know all about this poor little church-goin' manchild who had a bad day, but still nothing on the victims, not their ages, not who they were, nothing. Just some faceless, dehumanized women. Plus one male. What kind of day do you think they were having?

This week was episode 10. I have to imagine we only have 2-3 more episodes until reunion. ATL was on episode 13 this week -- I'm guessing we got 3-4 more episodes of the actual season left? Agreed. Mama Dee seems eternally disappointed in D'Andra, mainly because she didn't turn out exactly like her. In fact, DAndra was on Danny Pellegrino's latest podcast and she explained that throughout her childhood, she was in and out of the hospital with health problems. So she was never as robust health-wise as Mama Dee (who seriously looks like she could be in her late 50s with that face lift). Maybe Mama Dee saw this as 'weakness.' D'Andra also mentioned that Glenn Simmons was the one constant parental figure in her life who would stay with her in hospital and drive her to school and hug her, so it doesn't sound like Mama Dee was always there for her. D'Andra seems to be searching for purpose, not very focused, not a business brain, and someone who needs a lot of nurturing, perhaps because her mom was not all that maternal growing up. I could see D'Andra doing well with Stephanie's lovely mom. In a way, it is nice that Mama Dee genuinely likes Tiffany. I imagine that when Mama Dee went in for her 5th face lift or something, Tiffany was there for her and kept her calm and upbeat. Procedures can be scary. And from there they bonded. I get a real kick out of Kameron and Court. He refers to himself as the hobbit! Re: the episode: Give Mama Dee a star already. She is the biggest pot-stirrer on earth and she knew D'Andra would lose it. I believe that D'Andra chose the name Simmons for both reasons -- because her bio dad was drinking heavily and not in her life, and she considered Glenn her dad. And also because Simmons the name would open doors. When you imagine that Glenn left his money to D'Andra over his other children, it really adds an extra layer, especially with Kam talking about Mama Dee being a bit of a gold-digger. Also, if Kary wants to get into party-planning, she might want to rethink that. A 'Moroccan-themed' party? Where? It was a bunch of balloons in a backyard! Mama Dee looked bored throughout, and she also looked at Brandi like she has her number. Especially when Brandi called D'Andra her "sister in Christ." I suspect Mama Dee wanted to give Brandi a lesson in the true art of starting drama.

IA -- no way will she be at reunion. It's almost as if -- *gasp* -- she knew this video was about to emerge when she decided to quit! My guess is she also didn't want to answer questions about that or the adoptions. Plus I'm assuming she pulls some more passive-aggressive sh*t on the show which she knows full well makes her look bad. I feel bad for her that Budget David Beador is checked out and screwing around -- never did like him -- but nevertheless I wish she'd put her big-girl boots, go to reunion and deal with some of these issues head-on. Reunion would be her opportunity to speak her side of things.

I agree with you for this very reason. I want people watching to have a similar reaction to the one I am having, asking questions of ourselves and how we might unconsciously act. Last week's episode showed so well (rather than told) what it must be like to be in Tiffany's shoes. I felt very keenly for her. Seeing this is a much more effective tool to illustrate microaggressions and passive racism. I also appreciate that Bravo is not hiding this footage or editing it a certain way to make it ambiguous.

I think the show flirted with a possible Christine & Michael pairing because CLB became a breakout fan fave (I admit, I was a fan too, I thought CLB and his character did great during those later Bell years) and because CLB and LLB had natural chemistry together. But I also agree with you that a romantic relationship was a couple bridges too far. We can talk eventual redemption of a character, or even Christine accepting that Michael might be repentant for hiding in her walls with the intent to rape and kill her. (A big ask). Joining his practice was a wrong move, but I also recognise that soap mores back then were very different, and rape was often used and twisted for story in a way that would not fly today.

OMG, I cannot wait to watch this! Even with all the criticism of Dallas I have at the moment regarding Brandi's inclusion and Tiffany forced to be the apologist for her behavior, I am weirdly compelled to watch the show? I actually enjoy it. I appreciate that Tiffany is such a bright light and bringing racism and microaggressions to light. I appreciate that she is exposing the other women. Honestly, Brandi and Stephanie (the package deal/lynchpin friendship Bravo pinned their hopes on) could be cut from the show after this episode and I wouldn't miss 'em. That's right. I'm ready for Stephanie to leave before Kary. Kary and Kameron can stay for now. The problem is that Dallas's ratings are not great and honestly, I think it might be on life support this season. I think that's a shame but I know I am largely alone in the RH viewership regarding that. First of all, that footage of BRYAN! This explains why Brandi got the hell out, hid behind some baloney religiosity and doesn't want to attend reunion! Was that footage featured on the episode? We been knew. The red-headed babies who look exactly like Brooklyn and Brinkley... lorrrrrrd. Secondly, I cannot wait for Mama Dee and LeeAndra's soapy face-off. You know I have been a fan of these two for a while. I really think they bring a lot of old-fashioned soapy goodness to the franchise. OK, I will watch later and post my thoughts. I also have to catch up on ATL! I want to see LaToya turn! Like @Antoyne I am one of those people who does not like Kenya. She is a polarizing figure -- the 'bad girl' on the show who says she just wants to be accepted and loved and all that. That sounds like a soap archetype, lol. And then she can't get out of her own way, or she goes after someone hardcore in order to bring them down so she can build herself up... I admit, her very presence brings the drama.

High. I don't want to base my feeling on something as superficial as hair, but his neck beard reminds me of some of the January 6th Capitol Hill peeps, and his shaved back and sides is giving me white supremacist vibes. Once again, some guy in a rage grabs his gun (which substitutes for his d*ck) and decides to gun down a minority group which is also female. And workers at a massage parlor, on top of that. Like, are they really a threat to his way of life? He picked weak links. The rise in anti-Asian sentiment and all that 'China virus' BS from DT spearheaded this. Never mind that 4 of the dead have been confirmed as South Korean nationals. Also the killer is apparently on suicide watch, but he still got the cops to go get him some Burger King. So he wasn't too suicidal to eat. Can you imagine if someone of another color instructed the cops to go to Dairy Queen to get him a shake? I hear that the killer was active in his local church. I'm not saying he wasn't radicalized online, but given that churches are now power players in their own right who can urge their flock to vote a certain way -- and have done since the late 70s -- can we just agree to investigate these places to see just what kind of hate talk and stirring up these places are doing? And once and for all, can we stop subsidising 'places of worship' and start taxing them? All places of worship -- churches, temples, synagogues, Scientologist audit centres etc. etc. There are people out there hiding behind 'religion,' collecting far too much money and power from the gullible and God-fearin'. I say this as a lapsed Catholic and 'believer' of sorts.

I rewatched the scenes just now. Back when they first aired, I remember, angrily, thinking how this felt less like character development for Paul and more like a shock-and-awe SL for Y&R, i.e.: Emmy bait. I was also watching GH at the time which was a Guza-penned celebration of angry mobsters and the doormats who love them. I did wonder if all the soaps -- certainly the ABC soaps, but also maybe some of the CBS soaps -- wanted to jump on the GH bandwagon and portray their male characters as tough guys who 'take matters into their own hands' on the regular. As a result, I hated Y&R's SL twist and I wasn't the only one. The outcry was such that Y&R had to swerve, and the show sort of pretended it didn't happen for a long time. I'm not sure but I feel like Paul and Christine went on the backburner/recurring from here on in. Now when I rewatch it? It is still coarse and violent and shocking in every way. However, I feel like it attempts to tackle the issue of 'grey-area rape.' IMO rape is rape, but how many instances do we hear or know about rape occurring in the home, the issue of consent being blurred, the idea that women might question whether it is 'really rape' if it is that nice guy you love? This debate is still being had, and I remember the debate raging on Y&R's official site which published viewers' e-mailed reactions to the show. So yeah... I still find it uncomfortable and the genesis of the story a little suspect, but I also appreciate what Y&R might have been trying to trigger as a conversation. And I give kudos to LLB for playing this unambiguously.

I love Upstairs Downstairs too -- Downton Abbey would likely not exist without this show! The cool thing about Upstairs Downstairs was how feeling it was about human beings, as life whirled around them in a tumult. You never got the impression that the writers did not care for every character. Also, the show operated with basically two sets -- the 'front entrance' and reception room of the wealthy family, and the kitchen operations where the staff congregated. And yet, I never felt hemmed in by those boundaries. The capabilities of the actors and storytellers to express life in multi-dimensional ways within those sets was A+. Yaphet Kotto! I remember him from Homicide: Life on the Streets and obviously the wannabe-blaxpolitation Bond film. Always felt like he and Laurence Fishburne should have played father and son in a movie.

Toya's financials are a SL again -- for Devilishly and Quad.

I've thought about how i might act if my husband was accused of having affairs and if (a) it was true and I wanted to hide it, and (b) it was false and I wanted his name cleared. Overall, I think l would act pretty similarly, which is angry AF. Having said that, the second birthday party for Evan is too much. He looked like he was not really feeling it, and she only did it to stick it to Teresa, which shows you how shook she was. The problem with Jackie is that she can be smugly insufferable, and its hard to root for her (except when she's talking with her lovely little brother). She is very focused on singlehandedly keeping this rivalry with Teresa going, and she referred to RHONJ as "my show" last week, I assume in a bid to trigger Teresa on social media. The irony is, other than Teresa beep-beep-beep-beeping all the way down Marge's driveway in Ep 1, I'm not sure she thinks about Jackie all that much, certainly not as much as Jackie thinks about her. That is a great article by Vice, by the way, thank you for posting it. Tiffany has been dropping hints for some weeks that she is not sure she would do a second season, and in this article does not diverge from that view. It would be a shame for me as a viewer because I think she has been a game changer for the franchise and she is one of my fave newbies. I don't usually warm to newbies this fast! She is smart, accomplished, self-deprecating, and not afraid to show her own vulnerability. In doing the latter, she has exposed some of the ugliest traits of her cast members, unfortunately. However, as a human being, I completely understand her wanting to step away from a toxic environment and prioritise her vocation which means a lot to her.

PK has a history of stabbing business associates and former friends in the back, so why is he so butthurt about LVP and Ken giving him the cold shoulder? He knows what he did to warrant that. Meanwhile, he stays trying to shop some PK-Mauricio 'project' that nobody asked for. As for Rinna, she rejoices in other people's misfortune, and that's an ugly quality (like hounding Kim on her sobriety for +5 years). LVP's financial problems and lawsuits are public knowledge, and PUMP has been closed since March 2020. I cannot think of one restaurant or bar in North America which hasn't taken a hit during the pandemic. LVP lost both her BH and VPR paychecks, but she worked to score new projects. Meanwhile, Rinna stays in her wig closet Instagramming. That Budget Hadids show she planted in the press prompted the swiftest denial from E!/NBC Universal I have ever seen. Even struggling E! wants no part of it.

RHOD: As high achieving as Tiffany is, I find her vulnerability and self-deprecation her best qualities as a HW. She is a little socially awkward (doing the robot to distract from her tears) and embarrassed by her emotional responses, but i find her reactions very relatable. She isn't arrogant or bitchy. I really like DTM and hate that Brandi was trying gaslight her. Even Stephanie was like 'That's enough going after the newbie.' Still have yet to hear any remorse from Brandi about how she may have hurt people, but she sure has an awful lot of self-pity for herself. D'Andra is winning me over with her whole attitude, and her friendship with Tiffany. Weirdly, I'm starting to like Kary a little, too.... she had compassion for Tiffany and listened to her. Mama Dee is a breath of fresh air (and that new face looks fresh too). Pointing out the stress DTM must be under trying to save lives, especially in these Covid times. The other women are so wrapped in themselves, it never actually occurred to them. I still think Dee should be a cast member. Shaman Darrin and his hair-extensions-grooming past was another welcome guest spot. RHOBH TBH I'm actually stunned any restaurant can pay taxes at the moment. This is no surprise given the yearlong pandemic, but LVP has scored 3 new shows (VPD, the dog judging show, and Overserved), so she is clearly trying to keep maximise revenue streams. I saw that on Page Six. Ramona seemed keen we all know about her new friendship. Actually they went shopping and looked like they were both having sone fun!

You came up with something in a few seconds without breaking a sweat! It really wouldn't have taken much to try something out.

Technically there was not, in the sense that there was very little material at that time for the Winters et al. However, knowing how popular Mishael had been (I think she was off the show when he passed away?). Seeing Victoria Rowell imbuing the screen with feeling and purpose. I honestly felt inspired by what a part of Y&R's canvas could be like? People involved in the episode spoke beautifully and meaningfully and, seeing him on the screen at his peak? Yes, it felt like we had lost somebody really special and important... and the state of Y&R was not in a good place... but seeing past and present actors talk about Kristoff, it just reminded me of the potential. The history of and links between these characters. It activated what little imagination I have! It was a lovingly put together episode, which made me hope it might have inspired TPTB too. 😥

KSJ's passing may have severed the thread between Y&R's most loyal black fans and the show. Y&R lost a huge tie to its illustrious history. His presence alone in scenes elicited warm feelings from the audience. He was a tentpole character. When I think of the 'core black cast' on Y&R, I can only really think of 3 people -- Bryton James, Mishael Morgan and Christel Khalil. Youngish though they are, and as vibrant and popular as some of them might be -- 3 flitting in and out is just not enough.

I must have been doing a long, slow blink during the Chase/Willow scenes with the sugary background music. You're right, I take that back. I was at least awake during the Finn's Family scenes.