detroitpiston

This last month has been absolutely terrible man. Went from consistently being my favorite soap to barely getting through episodes. They’ve centered things around Zoe, Vicki, Nigel, Harry and Ravi in these miserable, thinly plotted, predictable and repetitive storylines and its making for an awful watch. Every initial fear I had about Wadey based on his past work has proven true. 😔 I’m going to stick around for Sam’s return and the flash forward episode but woof, I hope someone is hitting the panic button and making changes BTS.

See I don’t think they dislike Brooke Kerr or Portia. They just treat her like the one Black character they can reliably dump into endless “harboring a secret” storylines because they know BK can sell em. It’s lazy, and it lets them keep the rest of the Black cast stuck in that virtuous, sanctimoniously boring box. Portia deserves actual nuance, real backstory, and family of her own on canvas instead of being glued to Curtis and his snoozefest orbit. I noticed that the dialogue has gotten very heavy on story regurgitation and telling the audience what is about to happen as opposed to just letting us see it. If they spent less time on writing scenes like endless plot recapping and more on actual plot and character development and understanding you’d have a much more interesting show. I got a good chuckle out of Lulu and Dante having to watch their son be carted off to jail the same way Michael was after they convinced him to confess to killing Claudia. Good use of Finn Carr and the legacy grandkids with this lab plot. I should have known Ric and Sonny trying to make amends was only so he could screw up Rocco’s case lol. I still have no use for Britt and it feels like she’s on everyday and in every storyline 🤢 is this how the Carly haters always feel? 😂 They missed an opportunity to tell a whole storyline with the Mayoral campaign competition. I get that Genie takes a vacation but having the whole election race take place offscreen until it was debate and voting time was a misstep. I want Laura to lose for her allegiance to Sonny. I also expect Daniel Cosgrove to be revealed as the person Jacinda was really with the night Drew was shot. Speaking of Jacinda it feels like Frank grabbed the first cheap bland and blonde actress he could find and slotted her into Sasha’s place on canvas (who was useless herself until they finally dumped her). The scenes with Michael/Nina/Willow/Drew have been fun though. Is it bad I kind of want Michael and Nina to end up hunching? RG and CW have good chemistry. Lucas acts like a petulant immature teenager, I’m glad Carly told him how stupid he is for moving into Wyndemere and that she whacked Josslyn for convincing him to do it too. I like Sidwell and the teases of him and Ava but I still have no idea what the hell his villain purpose actually is. Every thing just feels very vague and he’s been on canvas for over a year at this point trying to get those docks with very little actual movement.

Dupe post

They really missed an opportunity with Monica’s will especially given how long she was moving about off-screen. They could’ve revealed that AJ was secretly alive and hidden away again, or brought back Keesha with a secret Quartermaine heir, at the very least the will could’ve been used to shake up the family dynamic like forcing Drew to move back into the mansion. I loved seeing Erika Slezak and Tracy having the house feels good, but there was definitely more story that that could have played out and had stronger long term impact to the status quo. I like the Quartermaine’s we have on the canvas currently but it still feels like there are some missing pieces. Whether that’s Dillon, AJ, another Ward, a gold digger IDK but they need something.

Bringing this into November, I’ve enjoyed every minute of this arc with Erika Slezak as well. Its especially cool seeing ES in scenes with fellow ABC vets she never worked with before (she and JE have been electric of course but her scenes with Genie Francis, Finola Hughes, and Cameron Mathison were pretty strong as well). The OLTL reunions have been special as well. I know some fans hate the references but I loved the shared ABC soap universe so I’m happy whenever we get a wink wink nod to it. 🤷🏾‍♂️ Lulu’s scenes the last few weeks have been strong IMO. I love her home set and taking Tracy in after Ronnie kicked her out has given us some great material. I cringe at this Britt and Valentin circling Rocco and Charlotte stuff but I do like how they’ve used it as an engine of story for her family unit. Those scenes with Charlotte and Rocco lying about Rocco having dinner with the weirdo Obrecht’s had nice chemistry and made me want them to get moving on putting Lulu and Dante and that whole family back together. Also loved Lulu talking it over with Laura. Lulu and Nathan reuniting was also interesting I could dig a potential pairing their if the show wanted to give it a go. CM has really leaned into playing the villain as Drew and I love it. Same way RG plays Michael as someone intense and willing to play heel if it means protecting his family makes. Its made Michael 100x more interesting, loved him forcing Nina to hire Jacinda and circumventing Nina’s loyalty flip attempt with a devil smirk the whole time. I enjoy the messiness of Portia’s storyline and she has slid into one of my favorite characters. The scene where Isaiah snatched her wedding band off before d’ing her down at work was hilarious, I’ve been a stan ever since 😭 and I can’t stand Curtis or Jordan sanctimonious asses. I’m glad Carly is finally on to Brennan but yuck at Valentin’s involvement: This story should only end with her putting a bullet in Jack. Sonny and Brenda bot 1300 🤢 Molly and Cody 🤢 Britt and Jason take the cake on yuck factor couples though. I don’t get this pairing. She is a completely unpleasant character and actress to watch. Carly is nasty to other women but she’s never talked down to Jason and none of his romantic pairings ever have. Its super hard for me to buy his interest in her. The excuse that she’s being so awful on purpose doesn’t wash away her being hard to like or watch. I’m pulling for this to all end like the last actor Steve Burton begged Frank to hire back (at least you got another Emmy JJ) One thing I’ve noticed about the writing since the episode Willow got arrested for shooting Drew is that they’ve gone back to scripts with endless plot regurgitation, flashbacks, telling instead of showing, and characters spinning their wheels until the next convient plot movement. Anna’s already figured out Faison is back pulling stings but instead of taking action she keeps meeting with people and about to burst into tears while mentioning his name. I didn’t care for the way they used Gio and Lois reuniting to rush him to a revelation of giving Dante and Brook Lynn a chance again either. Why have Nina and Drew suddenly been reset to their 2024 dynamic is beyond me as well. If these writers would remember they have 5 days a week to play every beat of a storyline even with the ridiculous scheduling their material could be so much more compelling.

This is well deserved for the work he oversaw with the studio move IMO. I honestly enjoy Bold in its current state.

The music is still different. My last hope is that Paramount restores it for a physical release set like they did for Charmed.

Not going to lie, I’m definitely missing Clenshaw at the moment. The Joel storyline was actually pretty well done and I’m enjoying every minute of having Zoe back and the Slaters running The Vic, but honestly, most of the other stories right now just aren’t hitting. The drug plot feels like someone binge-watched Top Boy and couldn’t think of anything else for the minority characters to do. Okie was so miscast that I can’t take any of it seriously, and I really hate how the Knights only seem to exist to push Harry’s story forward. Don’t even get me started on what they’ve done with Ravi and Kojo or George, Gina, Teddy and Nicola running around like idiots — the whole thing just reeksz I’ve never cared much for the Ben/Callum/Jay crowd, but this Johnny and Callum pairing is a new low. Johnny only worked when he was cleaning up after Linda — now he’s written like a straight-up weirdo, especially with Lexi. Callum still brings nothing; the actor is like a wet sock at this point. I was hoping for a Ben recast tbh but wheb the last actor returned for the funeral and break up cameo I realized at least he brings some energy. Honestly, I’d rather watch him raising Lexi and dating than sit through another second of the other two on screen. The Nigel stuff has gotten tedious as well. I laughed when he ran over Gina and Jasmine, but Julie’s dramatics are wearing thin — it’s all she ever gets lately. And speaking of Jasmine, I am curious about her possible connection to Cindy, but that interest died the minute they paired her with Oscar. He still grates on my nerves every scene he’s in. I’m still watching, but my enjoyment has definitely gone down a lot.

I had no idea about the remaster until I randomly cut on an episode on Paramount Plus, first impression the show looks amazing! I thought we’d be stuck with those piss poor quality syndication versions forever.

I think sometimes we jump too far ahead into what the inevitable conclusion of a storyline will be instead of just enjoying the journey. They still have time to add more colors to Hayley and there is still so much for her to do before being exposed.

This Hayley reveal was excellent. Bill getting played by her the whole time is hilarious especially with how arrogantly he flaunted her in Dani’s face.I love the way they laid out the flashbacks to show how Hayley has schemed over the duration of the show so far. A lot of interesting places they can take this storyline I’m curious to see how this goes. The story shifts the last couple of weeks have been very good. IDK if this is Tracey Thomson’s influence or just the ability to finally respond to audience feedback but the show has been on a nice run.

Ed Scott, Wendy Riche, I would even have taken JFP over Julie tbh. I was so disappointed when her name was first announced as an EP. She’s the type of producer who allows writing, acting, editing, music etc to be all over the place quality wise with no definitive tone and do nothing about it until someone higher up gets involved. I know Frons and various writers over the years played a huge part in AMC’s demise but I just remember how the show would get so bad multiple times under her tenure for months on end, and it never feeling like she was doing anything to elevate material or set a better standard. I fear BTG is headed down a similar path. With Y&R I agree that their budget is being ate the hell up by having way too many tenured actors. EB, MTS, and PB are one thing but you’ve got people like Josh Morrow, Sharon Case, Michelle Stafford, Jason Thompson, Amelia Heinle, Melissa Clare Egan, Christel Khalil, etc who are going on 20-10 years at minimum, I’m sure they aren’t cheap. I wonder when the time will come that somebody gets over there and does a real cast purge.

I wish it was Julie Hanan Carruthers 😢 BTG has the same inconsistent vision and poor quality control across all departments that PC and AMC exhibited during her reigns. I think one thing BTG really needs is a producer who will set a firm direction for the acting, writing, and production style. Right now it feels like everybody is free styling and they all end up clashing. I would like to see what Phideaux Xavier could do if given the chance, he often directs the stronger episodes for me.

Happy for Sally, she has certainly put in the time but until JG is gone this show will continue to limp along.

I don’t think Jen Jacobs is a terrible actress but she has 0 charisma and a bland on screen presence. That’s not an actress you cast to be one of your main heroines and its been a severe detriment to the show tbh. She should be a one season wonder cast addition on a Dick Wolf procedural, not whatever the hell they’ve attempted to make Ashley. Martin’s reveal week was so good because the men on the show finally got to be active, we’ve needed more of that on a consistent basis. I agree that Bill is the only one who’s always interesting to watch, the other men feel like wallpaper for the women. Vernon should be played with more edge, same with Martin. Jacob is decent as the good guy cop but he needs out of the boring marriage with Naomi. Tomas is a complete casting failure, and I don’t think Andre’s actor choice works with what they constantly tell us he is. If they are serious about Ted they need to push him to be darker as well IMO, the last few weeks have been the most interesting turn for him since the recast.

The last scene of today’s episode was so beautiful. Michelle Ryan and Jesse Wallace are great examples of actors who stay locked in regardless of what the storyline is, so when they’re given the really good stuff they hit you right in the heart. Salute to all the Slater women 🫡

They have given Leslie too much power to the point it makes the Dupree family look pathetic. The only home she should’ve been able to get in Fairmount crest should’ve been right by the gate entrance and been one of the smallest in the neighborhood. She should’t have access to the country club either.

The best weeks of the show so far have been premiere week with Dani’s descent into madness over Bill and Hayley’s wedding, Ted and Nicole’s anniversary getting crashed by Leslie, Martin’s secret reveal and now Chelsea’s kidnapping. When they center the drama around a Dupree and get the whole canvas involved the show just seems to hit the right stride. I especially liked the way they folded Joey’s escort service into Allison’s manipulation of Chelsea and got the whole family involved. Using it to bring Bill back into the Dupree fold in a peaceful way was a great choice as well. Timon KD is the best male casting on the show by far and he’s done really good work with this material of trying to get back into the good graces of his children and the Dupree’s. He and Karla Mosley’s chemistry has been fantastically naturaI slick need Dani and Bill reunited. 🥷🏾 One major problem I’m having atm is they need to rework the couples on this show, very few have rooting value at this point. Derek and Ashley still have 0 chemistry or on screen charisma after what, 8/9 months of episodes? Even worse they’ve already started repeating storylines for them, and she keeps being indecisive over him and Andre. Call a chop a chop and send them on their merry way please, my goodness. And why should I care for Andre and Dani when he keeps fawning over basic ass Ashley? Its clear someone upstairs is very invested in Andre’s actor but I think his casting is just as bad as Ashley and Derek’s tbh and Karla Mosley ends up doing a lot of leg work for their scenes. Him trying to get buck with Bill was laughable. Am I supposed to still be intrigued by Kat and Tomas when you’ve told us they have no sexual chemistry and Tomas keeps letting Eva trash Kat and manipulate him just to get at her? This little switch to villain mode for Eva has made me like her a lot less as well. How can I still be invested in Ted and Nicole between the recasting which zapped away the chemistry (Keith is my guy but I have to be honest this recast is a flop for me), him showing a severe lack of effort in making things right with her until recently by doing the absolute bare minimum when it is clearly too damn late, and the rest of the Dupree clan are openly mocking his attempts? Martin thinking one little hunch session would erase all the lying he’s done to Smitty was hilarious. They need to play up Martin’s entitlement and audacity a bit more. With the Joey/Vanessa/Doug triangle I only truly like her and am rooting for Joey to kill Doug, Randy to pop Joey or send him to jail and Vanessa to take over all of Joey’s businesses somehow and become the town mob queen. Jacob and Naomi are boring and chemistry less (I’m enjoying the break from nutty ass June and hope they get the ball rolling on pairing Jacob and Kat instead) Madison and Chelsea are cool but the writers rushed them to soulmate status so fast its hard to even take them seriously (I’ve seen lesbian relationships move at this speed but they still could have slowed things down a bit to develop Madison more because that actress is a find IMO) I guess we have Anita and Vernon but they don’t have an actual story of their own at this point so… I’m in agreement now with people who feel Hayley is underdeveloped and the actress isn’t helping. She comes across too air headed, and I don’t understand Naomi not exposing her for the convenient miscarriage. This plot with Tomas and Caroline to make Bill jealous is just…dumb. I did get a good chuckle out of Caroline openly telling her she already survived one ex wife and brag that she’s seen Bill behave at his worst. They need to develop this character more because the actress is decent and I’d much rather watch her than the wonder-bread service workers. I’m used to teenagers being played by 30 year olds so that aspect doesn’t bother me but Kat disciplining Samantha looked absolutely ridiculous lol. I know they wanted to avoid child labor laws but I wish the young lady who plays Tyrell’s love interest would have been cast as Samantha instead.

Agreed. I also like that all of the current CBS shows exist in the same universe (or at least they all exist in BTGs). I hope they play with this a little more.

I’ve been about three months behind consistently since Daisy left and but I saw that Carl ends up sleeping with DD’s brother lol? Hilarious and exactly what Abi deserves. I can’t stand Kevin tbh but cheating with his brother while he’s going through cancer and Debbie’s fighting dementia is just trash.

This was my initial thought when I saw Tamara Braun’s casting and now this lol… Roger Howarth helped secure Jill’s GH promotion back in the day and we know how loyal she is (until you get in contract talks and get tired of being overworked). Definitely feels like JFP flexing and putting the other shows on notice that she’s back.

Is this the first time TB and JFP have worked together again since GH? I hope for Tamara’s sake they at least give her a legacy character to play. I probably will tune in when she starts airing.

Honestly Alfie still seems pretty pathetic to me, barely able to discipline Tommy and keeps leaving it to Kat, the weak partnership with Harvey, and now with how he just lied about his cancer coming back to hide the mess with Zoe. 🤦🏾‍♂️ I hope Kat dumps him soon tbh and really wanted them to pair Kat with George (but at least they slid Nicola his way).

I hope more markets move it back, I wait for the Hulu uploads now but when I watched it on broadcast airings I’d wait to catch the ABC NY airing so I could watch Beyond the Gates before, made for a better soap lineup viewing.

I’ve heard people say this was Maxie’s best love interest so I’m curious in that regard but wow they’re making sure Britt and her family are anchored heavily on the canvas.