teplin

I understood the logic of introducing Texas characters on AW, but it was mostly annoying to me -- the exception was Kevin Cook's flirtation with Pat Randolph, since it gave Beverly Penberthy something to do. I watched Texas for one reason: Beverlee McKinsey. Unfortunately, the show was not worthy of her talents, and the fact that her character was shoehorned in was all too evident. 

Anna Holbrook (Sharlene, AW) has a small role in tonight's season eight premiere of Homeland on Showtime. She looks great. 

2 hours ago, edgeofnik said:

So strange that it attributed @DynamiteKiddo's quote to me.

Sorry, I just clicked "quote text" and didn't pay attention to the quote attribution. I know you and I are in agreement on LH's talent!

6 hours ago, edgeofnik said:

Stefano was right about Anna being annoying. The way she was going on and on was grating.

I would gladly watch Leann Hunley "go on and on" for hours. There's a reason she's one of the very few Emmy winners the show has produced in 55 years. It's true, the writing does her no favors these days -- but she was one of my favorite characters of the 80s. I always love seeing her on screen. 

I never saw much of her work but I read a lot of her interviews and she seemed like a great lady. I hope her post-soap life was filled with love and light. 

Something was surely meant to come out of those mentions of the Martins and the introduction of the Martin House. I assume there was some behind-the-scenes reason it all disappeared so quickly. 

Variety is reporting that Procter & Gamble wants in to the streaming business, and has contracted with a production company to "launch a long-form scripted series aimed at boosting themes of gender equality, diversity and inclusion."

I can think of a format that would be perfect for that.

Anyway, if this is successful -- and the production company says "we're planning to do many of these" shows with P&G -- could streaming of the P&G soap library finally be on the horizon?

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/procter-gamble-streaming-video-stone-village-1203483777/

3 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Maggie is ruined. She killed two people. 

A show that positions a serial killer as a romantic hero likely doesn't give much thought to what causing the deaths of two innocent people does to the viability of a character. But unless they're planning to keep it a secret from her for eternity, Maggie would not be able to live with the guilt. She'd drink herself to death in very short order. 

8 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I'm liking it, but it does seem like Maggie, Victor and Xander are being written into a corner

18 hours ago, Antoyne said:

And since when is Stefano Kristen's birth father? Is this another retcon like Stefano suddenly being Andre's birth father as well? 

Unless I misheard, Stevano referenced Kristen's adoption yesterday. 

The decision to split Jake & Paulina and saddle her with dull Joe still mystifies me to this day. I can only suspect there was some backstage maneuvering going on -- like, perhaps, Jensen Buchanan demanded a Vicky-Jake pairing in addition to a helicopter?

On 12/18/2019 at 9:21 AM, jam6242 said:

Fran Heflin (Mona, AMC) was the sister of Van Heflin and aunt of Marta Heflin.

Which makes Fran's daughter, Mady Kaplan (Bobbie Gerard, EON), Van's niece and Marta's cousin.

That article mentions a new emphasis on "outdoor/on-location filming." I don't remember much of that during the time period. 

It was such a grim time for the show. I liked many of the characters that were written out and exactly one of the new ones – Gloria Loring's Liz. And the plots and writing were deadly dull, especially in contrast to what the ABC soaps were doing at the time.

4 hours ago, jcar03 said:

People are not consuming TV the same way anymore. 

Correct. But soaps are consistently characterized as "failures," here and elsewhere, even though every single one of their network counterparts has experienced similar (if not more precipitous) ratings declines. 

1 hour ago, Gray Bunny said:

No way, 11 million can't be right.

Reuters: Jimmy Fallon’s debut as the host of NBC’s “Tonight Show” drew 11.3 million viewers, network NBC said on Tuesday, making it the second most-watched episode of the late-night talk show in the past five years.

The first full week averaged 8.5 million viewers. It's been (steeply) downhill ever since. 

7 hours ago, ironlion said:

so it seems only big draws like Rosanne, Stranger Things, etc are getting the huge numbers.

And even those "huge" numbers are just a fraction of what they once were. This past Tuesday, Roseanne pulled a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and attracted 5.68 million total viewers. That's a much steeper drop from last season than any of the four soaps.

7 hours ago, SteelCity said:

t's not like NBC doesn't have the money, they just refuse to spend it on DAYS. Not when they can give it their rotating Today Show idiots.

Or to Jimmy Fallon, whose Tonight Show audience has decreased from 11 million viewers to less than two million five years after his debut -- that's roughly the same as DAYS! But the network continues to pay Fallon a mammoth salary and spend endless amounts on Tonight Show promotion while giving DAYS the short shrift. 

Leon Russom (Willis, AW) appeared in the latest episode of Showtime's Shameless, playing a prison inmate. He used to be all over episodic TV, but I hadn't seen him in awhile. I never would have thought he'd be one of the few (only?) AW actors of the '70s era to establish a "mainstream" career -- good for him!

Jason47 posted in another thread:

"If it helps any, I've heard they did similar stuff in the past for those long breaks they've taken. That contracts would lapse during the production break and people would then sign again once the show went back into production."

I don't know if this is the proper place to post this, but Michael Ausiello at TVLine is reporting that DAYS has released the entire cast from contract:

"Because Days shoots eight months in advance, the show will have enough episodes in the can when it stops production at the end of November to last through Summer 2020. If NBC does renew Days, production is expected to resume in March. But by releasing the contracted cast members from from their commitment to the show, producers have no guarantee who — if anyone — will return.

“It’s actually a shrewd — if cynical — business move,” sniffs one insider. “If Days gets picked up, [Corday] can offer the actors new contacts at a reduced rate and with a ‘take-it-or-leave’ it attitude. Worst case scenario, they lose half their cast. Best case scenario [for Corday], everyone agrees to return at a lower salary.”

https://tvline.com/2019/11/12/days-of-our-lives-cancelled-cast-fired-season-56/

I've long heard that Harding Lemay planned to bring back Pat Matthews when he returned to the show in 1988, and that she would get involved with John Hudson. 

Sadly, that's one story thread Donna Swajeski didn't pursue.

Interesting -- I think Carmen went "over the top" far more often than Beverlee did. Beverlee was ice and Carmen was fire. I never bought Carmen as Iris, but I did come to like what I saw as a completely different character.

Condolences to his family, friends and fans. John was never flashy or showy in his role, but he displayed a quiet strength and dignity that used to be prized in soap leading men. Mickey's initial courtship of Maggie was a great story -- nobody who watched it will ever forget the red dancing shoes. 

A more recent article on Sheffer:

https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/columnists/mike-argento/2019/10/15/york-mark-hogan-sheffer-screenwriter-soap-opera-world-dies/3917041002/

29 minutes ago, Donna B said:

Did she go then to that Mediterranean doctors show? "Going to Extremes"?

She went to "Dark Shadows" first, then "Going to Extremes."

I agree, Swajeski was a mid-level soap writer who was fortunate that AW was blessed during her tenure with a talented, appealing and cohesive cast.