NothinButAttitude

RIP, Marla. I am glad that she snagged a long-awaited EMMY before she passed. She will be missed. I do wish that soap operas would do special episodes for their actors (like they did Kristoff) when they pass away, as a nod to their legacy more often. It'd be refreshing and welcomed by the audience if they did one for Marla and Meg.

I meant Maeve. Sorry. Dakota was created by Millie Taggart and Tom King. They expressed that he was created to assist in them putting the Ryan's back centerfold. The actor says that when Claire came back that's when he saw the shift in Dakota's character and he started to veer off until Claire cast him aside. And it isn't disclosed that he was younger than Frank, so now it makes sense. IDK but I am feeling critical while reading this book with all the actors, directors, and producers' commentary on the matter. While network interference is a major issue in the downfall, I am questioning some writer choices too. SN: I adore Claire Labine, but I do find a lot of her choices wacky.

Oh wow. I haven't gotten to the part of the novel where they address Ben's background. I am right at when Claire has taken over (again) and introduced Ben to the canvas. They've addressed the stuff with him being Jill and Maggie's brother (and Bess' son) but they only talk about him being a hot-head artist. I do see where they allude to Johnno being like Delia/Frank where they bring up his whole affair with Concetta and that leads to Lizzie/Johnny battling for custody of Owen. And then Jill was incised at the time b/c Dakota was messing with Delia at the time. At times, I wonder if Claire knew if her heroines (i.e. Jill, Mary) were perceived as grating at times. But I guess different time and era. I'd imagine if the show lasted much longer, Jill would've annoyed more modern audiences by being the preachy heroine, who was a homewrecker herself. But I digress. I don't get why Claire didn't like Dakota either. I mean I do but I don't. Yes, he made the sainted Johnny Ryan look like a cheater, but wasn't Dakota conceived prior to Mary's kids?

What were everyone's thoughts on Johnno, Lizzie, and Ben? I need to go and look some clips up on this trio. It has to be odd being in a pairing and not being liked by your female lead. Sorry, I am on the chapter where Ash Adams stated he and the actress that played Lizzie didn't get along too much.

Can I ask, how did you go about obtaining them? Did you get them from an auction? I love when one of us gets our hands on soap material as it is so scarce.

I am hoping all the Marvel easter eggs lead to more animated series. I really hope this shows wins an EMMY for best animated series. The writing for this show is just too good.

Paul Avila's kids said that the story bible that he and Claire wrote (that they lost a copy of) was very detailed and went back to the Ryan's ancestors in Ireland. So I am assuming that EJ and Barry might've always been part of the plan.

@Vee your commentary is one that I am always eagerly awaiting on this show. While I occasionally read the comics, I am not a massive comic bookhead as most. I have a few in possession but not too many. I always loved X-Men for the original cartoon and Evolution, the toys (as a child), a few graphic novels, video games (SN: X-Men Legends 1 & 2 are some of my all-time favorite games). I am seriously thinking about subscribing to Marvel Unlimited to delve into a lot of the comics that I didn't get around to reading. But I love to hear your viewpoint and jot down what arcs I need to brush up on. And I wish Storm was in this episode too, but I think she's going to possibly show up in the next three episodes. At least I hope she does. I was hoping she would've been the one to save them when they were battling Trask, but I did love Cable popping up. It was glad that Scott realized that Cable was Nathan. If only the show would finally address the Havok situation... (SN: I am wondering if they'll also address Vulcan too as he was alongside Deathbird in the last episode).

Ellen basically said that she birthed Annie, so she can say whatever she wants to her. 😂 I posted the vid in the Y&R archives thread too, friend. 😊

That makes sense. But per the book, there were no younger Ryan leads, so it made sense for EJ to be shoved down viewers' throats as she was the only other Ryan on the cast besides Maeve and Johnny. However, I have found that an issue could've been that all the younger Ryan women took on Mary's characteristics. Even Siobhan lost her spunk and became a Mary prototype. You can tell that Paul and Claire grieved the loss of Mary and never truly got over it.

My Rogue got BUSY this last episode. She decimated a base that held the Incredible Hulk at one point. She disarmed Captain America's do-gooder ass. She put Gyrich in a coma, which made it easier for Bastion to kill his ass. She killed Boliver Trask like a gangster. And we got to see her tender side with her brother, Nightcrawler. *sighs* This show is so damn good. My only gripe is why can't the episodes be 1 hour long?! And only 10 episodes?! Jean stepped up this episode. Fanting Jean appears to be gone! When she tossed half of that building in the harbor, I gagged. 😂 at the messy triangle with Jean/Madelyne/Scott. When he thought she was alive and it just turned out to be his other bae (in the comics), Emma, I gagged. Then Scott shedding a tear and Jean being there to wipe away his tear despite it being for her clone. Just good soap opera goodness. And I knew it was too good to be true with Sunspot's parents. Per usual, it all came down to the bottom dollar and them worrying about the company's stock. I get this inkling feeling it'll be a situation with Jubilee being in peril where he'll end up having to use his powers to save her and then being shunned by his family. And we all figured Magneto wasn't dead, but what the f*ck does Bastion want with him?!

Why do I feel like the cousins point is something that should be unpacked and assessed on its own? I am over here trying to rack my brain throughout the history of daytime to combat your statement but I am drawing blank @Chris 2. I do agree with @DRW50 that Jack seems to be the only one that pops up as a success. But I think we have to put that on Labine/Mayer b/c it does seem that they didn't really flesh Barry and EJ out much. But they didn't have to be boring. Cousins should not be hard to write for as they can have an almost similar relationship with an aunt/uncle as their own child. Were Barry/EJ even in Maeve and Johnny's orbit much? I am getting the impression in the book that they were somewhat removed from the Ryans, which could've been an issue.

I hate Keiarna is not being brought back. The girl took a glass to the head and got a gash from it to only be cast aside. I think Bravo is stupid for not bringing her back because she is bridge to bring all the women together. Keiarna is close to Wendy, Gizelle, and Karen. Ashley will not be demoted because production loves her. Ashley will stir the pot for them. Hell no. Robyn needs to be put on ice. She brings NOTHING to the show. And Gizelle needs a season or two where she is forced to contribute just as much as the rest. I am glad Robyn is gone because with the remaining cast, they are going to make Gizelle work. Mia already gave y'all hints she's gonna spill Gizelle's tea, which she did at the reunion. Mia is about to make the girls work next season.

TVDeets is saying that these five are returning. Nneka is out. Keiarna isn't being offered a flute. Shooting is supposed to start next week. I say take this with a grain of salt...

Y'all heard about the alleged beef between Lisa Barlow and Mary Cosby that Page Six supposedly released? Production or Lisa leaked that Mary called Lisa's youngest son the "r word." Mary put out an IG post saying that Lisa spoke about her son first, which suggests the comment was retaliatory. These women are going to end up like Dallas. Season 5 and done. Idiots. All because you have too many people trying to be the top dog.

The book didn't outright say it, but it was implied that the audience felt EJ was too Mary Sue and it was at the expense of Delia, who always came up short when they were at odds. Richard Backus felt his character should've had longevity too. I surmised he felt that once they removed him out of Delia's orbit, he was doomed. I am enjoying the book for the most part. I didn't expect there to be so much tension and drama behind the scenes though. I guess because it was a smaller production, I assumed it would've been less drama. It seems like a lot of people were agitated that Claire was hung up on Kate Mulgrew's Mary. And a lot of people didn't take to either Lela Swift (director) or Ellen Barrett (EP) at times. Helen Gallagher got some critiques for being cold at times too.

Yeah. I just got past the Barry part the other night. I am on the last few pages of the Charlotte Greer era of the book. I should be in the Greenberg era by tomorrow. Richard Backus and Trent Jones both seemed open to remaining on the show if given the option. Glad to see both of them went on to have successful careers in writing on soaps. I didn't realize my beloved Maureen Garrett was on the show as Barry's sister. I might need to go and look up some clips of her time on the show. I am interested to hear what some of you all thought of her time on the show. Per the book, it seems the character wasn't well-received b/c it was at the expense of Delia. I didn't know Will Patton was on RH too. But it makes sense from watching Search for Tomorrow how so many actors that were previously on RH pop up on that show (i.e. Louise Shaffer, Peter Haskell, Will Patton). Plus, I always said that the McCleary family seemed like a Ryan's family knockoff. Now knowing Ellen Barrett was EP at SFT at one point and Paul Avila Mayer was there for a stint too, I am wondering if this was devised by them.

I have only seen the actual ape story on YouTube and while it was shot beautifully for its time, I can see why many of the actors felt the story was absurd or how quickly it was wrapped up. It is the aftermath with Delia supposedly thinking about some past life and it causes her not to connect with Roger, which is odd for me. It saddens me to hear how each actress who played Faith expressed how they hated Faith being a drag. But I am concluding (and someone please correct me if I am wrong), that is because Claire only made all roads lead to Mary in a sense.

@Cat @DaytimeFan, why is our girl out here acting like a menace?! 😂

OK. I am halfway through the book and some of my opinions are changing on Claire as writer. Do I think she's still immensely talented? Yes. However, the Merit Kara plot and the ape plot... Yeah. I can see that Paul was the one that kept her grounded at times. I think without Paul, Claire probably would've crumbled to the network long before she did.

Sorry to take a slight detour, but I wish more clips from this era would pop up. I would kill to see the Liza/Steve arc fully play out with the death of Steve. Search for Tomorrow from the mid to late 70s from reading about it seems like must-see TV.