NothinButAttitude

@DaytimeFan, I think this might be the first time we won't see eye to eye. I found the premiere to be what it always is--everyone making it about Teresa. Melissa couldn't even focus on her daughter going to college as she had to toss in that line about Gia to spark a reaction from Joe. That wasn't lost on me, and I know what she was doing. This is why I don't like MeHo. She's sneaky as f*ck. This is why I keep saying Tre needs to make amends with Kathy/Rosie/Rich, which I think she has, and usher them out on camera to get them to expose MeHo and Tiny Tim. I am not stunned that Marge the Puppet Master tried staging a coup before the reunion. It now makes sense why that whole reunion went awry. It was all part of Marge's plan. What she didn't bet on was that Jenn Fessler was going to expose her for doing it. I don't get why Jenn F. or Jackie aren't full-time. Much like Miami needs to do, just have a cast of 9 women. I think had Jackie and Jenn been full-time, it could have shifted the tide and made the show more bearable. And Paulie arguing with all those men was pointless. Paulie was talking like an adult with logic, and of course, Joe Gorga's puppet, Magilla Gorilla, got hostile. Furthermore, I find it odd that he's trying to lord Tre going to prison as something to put him in a moral high ground. Dude, you "allegedly" sold drugs and got in trouble for it. You're no better. If you want people to not address your past, you should do the same. Bravo/Andy is going to have to make a hard decision going forward. Teresa or MeHo/Tiny Tim. Quite frankly, I'd pull a RHONY and reboot the entire show with all-new women. This show cannot move forward in its current state.

This isn't new though. Every housewife in every city leaks stories to their favorite bloggers. I don't get why the SLC women got mad at Monica, I never understood why Candiace spent all of season 5 whining about Monique getting ahead of the story, and I won't care if the NJ women try to come and Jenn and Tre for doing it. They all do it. It is just a pointless, stupid argument.

I broke down and updated last night as they offered me an update for only $75 versus the real price.

Eww. Why?! Do they not see how DAYS and Y&R are pure sh*t?!

I know she played Sharla on AMC. I was saying IF Ryan's Hope had continued, she would've still possibly left for Martin, which would've resulted in that era still suffering from the cast departing and numerous recasts.

I can concur that Final Draft is buggy as hell. I think that's part of the reason why I haven't updated mine to the latest version. The only reason I am considering it is b/c of the Grammarly extension you add to it.

It would've been more compelling for Lauren to grow feelings for him over time and then have them kiss. Then have regret. Then have Lauren reach out to Whit (even though she is offscreen) and confess the truth only to lose Whit as a friend. Then some more regret and backlash. Then put them together. It's like a dance. You must hit all the proper beats. But we already know they are just going to slap those two together the second Shona exits.

I would be all for this, but we all know how this'll end--Keanu's dad will become the villain of the moment and then be killed off either Xmas or NYE. He'll spend his whole time stomping around the Square, getting gaslit by everyone, and then being killed. And I saw the clip of Lauren/Zach--really, EE?!! Are there any female friendships where they aren't trying to bed their friend's man? We already have this story with Stacey/Denise.

But would they had been able to accomplish that type of effective storytelling had they still been on air is what I am wondering. B/c I'd still imagine that if all were still the same, RH would've just taken a major blow by the early 90s with Yasmeen leaving for Baywatch and Tichina leaving for Martin. And given the show's constant recasting, I think fans still would've been annoyed by it. But it is nice to think "what if." @j swift didn't they say in the book that RH started taping out of sequence when ABC took over? Or was it when Ellen or Joe became EP? (re: @Paul Raven comment)

OK. I was wondering that when reading the book--it was never really mentioned what defining characteristics the two had. They brushed over Johnno waffling between Delia/Frank traits (which would've been smart), but it seemed to be more about who was going to bag Lizzie between him and Ben. And I don't think they mentioned anything about Ryan's characteristics. Her stories just seemed to be about her being a young bride or yearning for a man. I do wish they would've divulged more about the college arc that she was investigating. That aside, I think had RH continued, I think many of the veteran actors would've probably departed. At least, Ron Hale and Michael Levin. Both kind of gave me hints in the book that they would've left once they got comfortable.

I think they just need to squash this story at this point. I'd think it'd be more compelling if they just wrapped it up with Dean and the women (and other people who know) keep it a secret for years to come. Then in about 5-10 years, have Jade return to the Square, unmask the truth, and go on a rampage against the women that are still in the Square at that time.

@j swift I saw we responded again at the same time with similar responses. 😂 But Catherine was in a somewhat successul family drama here in the U.S. called 7th Heaven that ran for 11 seasons. She played the matriarch on the show, so she had moderate success post-show. But I found her anger the same as most--that Claire only cared about Kate Mulgrew and the character of Mary. I understood their frustration as the show is meant to be an ensemble and yes, the Ryans are supposed to be front and center, but what about the rest? And not all the Ryans seemed to get much content unless you were Mary, Maeve, or Siobhan. Frank seems to have gotten a lot, but it seems (from reading) it was always about chasing Jill or battling Delia. Poor Pat never got tossed a real bone post-marriage with Delia. I understood Malcolm Groome's frustration and him leaving numerous times; his character lacked layers. I did like that Malcolm dropped that gem that Pat was supposed to be a lothario in I guess Claire's bible or summation but it changed. I think they should've played that as Pat would've been a contrast to Frank like Siobhan was to be to Mary. Making all the Ryans be righteous would not have gone over well with audiences and the 90s onward where gray characters are preferred. That's a good question--had RH made it past 89, do you all think it would've lasted as long as Loving/The City? Where do you all think the show would've went?

She was mentioned in the book, but she did not interview at all. Everyone who discussed her said the same--that they saw star potential in her from the start. Michael Levin said he loved the Zena story but didn't care for Jack's parent arc.

Agreed. Soaps need to revert to punishing rapists. It makes Linda look just as bad as Dean at the end of the day; however, we know all of Walford will justify her actions. I still don't get the gist of this Keanu murder crap because Linda was justified in killing him. He was literally about to choke the life out of Sharon.

Wow! That episode was crazy and a lot to digest. We got tons of cameos from Silver Samurai, Omega Red, Dr. Doom, Spiderman, etc. I hope the Spiderman cameo shot is like an easter egg/hint to the revival of Spiderman'98. Again, I hope this leads to a new age and comeback of Marvel animation shows with mature writing much like this show. On to this show... I knew Trish Tilby was too good to be true. When Bastion dropped a line about the human sentinels going on a date and then being able to transform and eliminate mutants, I knew Trish was one. And poor Hank got his a** handed to him in that scene. He is one character that I hope gets a larger arc in the second season. Wolverine fans were probably thrilled with this episode. I was happier to see Kurt in action. The fight sequence between Logan/Kurt and the sentinels was perfection. Then Professor X showing up at the end and summoning "his X-Men" warmed by heart. The Summers scene and getting the backstory on Bastion were great too. Jean and Kurt's heart-to-heart of what the definition of family was touching. I love how Kurt loves his sister unconditionally. That relationship is one I hope remains a constant. I keep forgetting that Jean didn't interact with Kurt in the original X-Men run. I keep thinking of X-Men Evolution at times. As I am gradually becoming versed in Bastion's history, this helped. I did not realize that Nimrod affected his father, thus leading to his birth. Am I processing this right, but weirdly, Bastion is an oddity like mutants too. Does he ever realize their similarities? Parents being affected by something... that something mutating his genes... not average and having a special gift... etc? Roberto's mother is trash. A punch of purple-looking men come flying through your window after your son and you hand your child off? I can't. I hope he writes her a** off for good. I am so ready for Storm to come and save them next week. This show is just too good. I can't believe there are only 2 episodes left. This is my soap opera!

Those taglines are horrid.

Why doesn't Bravo see that production is the issue. Not necessarily the casts. I feel like we're watching daytime TV all over again b/c Bravo shifts producers between shows. There was already the rumor that Eric Fuller might be producing RHONY this season on Twitter. I think Bravo feels like BH is the darling show now. Personally, I think BH is passable at best. The last time I fully enjoyed a season was season 5. Seasons 7, 11, and 12 were good (too), but they had dips where it got monotonous. How they treat RHOA supports Nene's claims about how they get treated versus shows that have a predominately white cast. RHOA gets sh*tty promotion. Their intro credits are rarely updated (Potomac, Miami, and Jersey are right on bar with them). Bravo just needs an overhaul behind the scenes. Out with the old and in with the new. These shows need a fresh pair of eyes.

I'm glad that Tre is putting her foot down and is no longer allowing the Gorgas a free ride. You gonna work for those Bravo checks on your own accord. I see the Fudas are going to try, but I doubt Tre will give her much action.

It is being said on Twitter. I am taking it with a grain of salt; however, given Bravo's recent track record, I wouldn't be shocked. Bravo seems to be stuck on stupid at the moment.

@Taoboi plz don't get me started on the debacle that is RHOA. I am so livid with Bravo with how they are handling the crown jewel (RHOA). Without the success of RHOA, there would be no other cities. RHOA put Housewives on the map. I think it should be top priority of Bravo to get this show up, running, and filming in time to air by November/December. It is criminal that we have no cast outside of Kenya & Porsha. Meanwhile, Porsha's world is going belly-up and we are missing it. @Cat Bravo is stupid if they don't have the cameras up for Miami. And they are already pissing me off with regards to that show b/c they are rumblings that they want to get rid of Julia and Guerdy. That's stupid. Miami is the best cast on Bravo. The only casting alterations they need to do is bump Kiki, Marysol, and Adriana to full-time and get rid of the "friends" aspect of the show. Messing up this group of 9 women will cause Miami to spiral into the depths once again. Did they not learn from last time when they messed with the season 2 cast?!

@j swift I love your review of the book. I don't think it could be summed up much better than this. Our viewpoints aligned on the book. There was a lot of tea spilled, BUT a lot of stuff went unanswered too. The drama backstage seemed to be juicier at times as to what was not being shown onscreen. And if I had to guess who the leaker was that you mentioned, I'd put my money on either Ron Hale or Michael Levin. Both of them gave the hint that they did not like being on the show after the first few years. I cracked up about Bernie wanting to be paid more to be shown in the opening credits. That makes sense why the last few years of the show, he only got one shot compared to Helen, who had about 2-3 shots in the intro. Oh, I forgot to mention last night that it boggled me that Cali didn't enjoy her time on AW as she did on RH. It all boiled down to how Paulina was written. IMO, she played Paulina at her best. Paulina was the vixen that she whined about wanting Maggie to be. That confused me b/c she constantly talked about how she hated Maggie losing her edge when she was paired with Dave. Speaking of Dave, I am shocked Scott Holmes didn't contribute. But I am guessing he wanted to put that behind him and knew his character wasn't liked much on RH.

So I just finished the book tonight. Shockingly, a lot of the younger and newer cast were upset about the cancellation. I think many of the original cast that were still there were numb to the situation and not shocked by the news. I get the feeling that James Wleck, Ash Adams, and Brian McGovern would've stuck around had the show remained. At least that is what I get from their interviews. Chris Durham, Gerit Quealy, and Lois Robbins seem like they would've stuck around if given the option too. I felt bad for Chris & Gerit, both of whom were heartbroken they weren't invited back for the finale. But both played characters that Claire did not care for. Dear God, they took Agnes Nixon and Loving to task. I don't think anyone spoke highly of the show--whether it was an actor or someone on the production side. Not even Ilene, who had a short stint. I am assuming maybe Bernie Barrow, if he were still alive might have a different opinion of Loving (as he won an EMMY on the show), but we'll never know. While I think Agnes had pull, I think their anger should be directed at ABC more than anyone. Another thing that kind of unnerved me was the constant mentioning of RH having "heart" but not the other soaps. I think all these shows have 'heart' (some more than others--I think P&G shows exuded 'heart' more than any other soaps, but that's my opinion). No one will deny that RH did kitchen sink drama like no other U.S. soap. But again, I think all the traditional soaps exude heart at the core. They lost it along the way... Overall, the book was great. I felt like it provided me with a history of the show and first-hand commentary. I hope more books on the genre come out.

Yes! Please read it. I find it to be good and insightful. I sparingly would watch RH when it was on SoapNet, but I never could fully commit as I was in college at the time. I just know that it was a soap that my paternal grandmother adored (she loved ABC shows and DAYS). So reading this has been like an odd way to connect with her.