detroitpiston

The attacks on other actors have been very nasty to see and the time would be better spent advocating for Kelly as opposed to spewing such venom. The exit has gotten pretty decent coverage they should be taking advantage of that. Frank has a history of pettiness when contract negotiations go awry (Steve Burton, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hillary B Smith, etc) so I could see killing Sam off being both a way to show the cast they need to fall in line with the budget cuts and finally rid the show of whatever headaches KeMo and her fanbase have given them. I just think killing Sam off is too harsh an exit and if you’re gonna do it at least let it be in a blaze of glory. The rumors going around sound so lackluster. Also if it is a budget issue why not do a big stunt and kill a few more people, this all just feels so personal in a very icky way.

Ric is such a great character to have back on canvas, his scenes confronting Alexis over her Kristina support bias did not disappoint. I liked how the writers had her own it unapologetically and allowed them to both get good digs in at each other. Then we got Ric interrupting a really sweet moment with Carly and Elizabeth reminiscing about their past which was just excellent. The way him and Carly kept trading barbs while he tried making googly eyes with Liz was so good lol, all three actors did nice work there. Ric becoming Heather’s new attorney was also a nice twist even though I still don’t care about her freedom crusade or Portia being the only one trying to put a stop to it. Molly and Dex’s scenes were also pretty good, it was cool to see her able to vent to a non familial face and the play on his family backstory was kind of interesting. I was really glad Molly and Alexis had it out and were able to come to an understanding at the end, KV and NLG did excellent work once again. Now what really surprised me was the Dante vs Tracy scenes. Tracy was right, Lulu absolutely lost a lot of her zest and spark after getting with Dante but him calling Tracy out for promising Luke and Laura to get Lulu the best care possible and ultimately failing was HARSH. The way Jane Elliott played the heartbreak on her face in that moment was devastating, great work from her and Dominic Z. Laura and Nikolas scenes testing for the liver transplant and finding out he wouldn’t qualify as a donor were also pretty good. I think my issue with Adam Huss is he just lacks that moody prince vibe needed for the character but he and Genie Francis were solid overall. Another good episode from this “new” regime so far.

I really don’t get the need to constantly bring up Tyler Perry comparisons. Those character breakdowns for The Gates sounded pretty decent to me and I actually think Tyler comes up with okay dramatic concepts, its his scripts and overall execution that usually stinks. The creatives behind this show have much stronger track records.

Oh wow. Its clear the assumption of there being BTS beef with Kelly is valid. Budget cuts were just the excuse needed to finally get rid of her. This is a nasty spin tweet from Hinsey I’m glad she’s being fried up in the quotes. It makes me wonder though if this is how TPTB feel about Kelly and why this exit was done like this.

Tuning back in after not watching for years I could not for the life of me understand why the show used her so sparingly. From the time she came over from Port Charles she has been one of the faces of the series and now she feels like a supporting bit player. Lindsay Hartley popping up as a temp last week during very important scenes just felt like a bad sign, but I was expecting to hear she’d be a permanent replacement soon, not that KeMo would be dropped and the character killed off, yikes.

I mean we all could see the writing on the wall but I still gasped when I saw this. Great scoop @Errol

@Sapounopera @Antoyne I don’t care much for Adam Huss as Nik either. I’d like an actor with more presence in the role if they keep him on canvas. I’m so glad to have Jonathan Jackson back. They seem to be writing Lucky more adventurous like Luke which works for me. I really liked his dynamic with the new doctor as well. I liked all the hospital stuff with Laura getting the info on Lulu’s diagnosis from Porsha and getting the ball rolling on a liver transplant. Dante and Sam’s scenes were also pretty good, can’t wait to see how Lulu puts their relationship to the test. Jane Elliott is such a master, Tracy overhearing Chase and Brook Lynn discuss Lulu while gardening and then running off to the hospital to visit Lulu at the end was so good, glad they didn’t forget their dynamic. Brook Lynn recapping her history with Lulu was good history play as well but made me miss Adrienne Leon a bit, not gonna lie. I wonder what secret they’re hinting at her wanting to tell Chase. Could Gio be her kid from the time she was offscreen in the 00s? Speaking of Gio, I liked seeing him encourage Lois and the slightly cockier dialogue play they gave him but Lord they’ve got to come up with something better for Rena to do lol, I was hoping this accent insecurity would wrap up after last week. It was cool to see Robert and Anna scenes though I hope Tristan Rogers is alright. Glad Robert got on Anna for her Valentin obsession. Brennan and Carly continue to have great chemistry. The idea of Jason working for the WSB is also much more appealing than seeing him be Sonny’s flunky again or moving coffee bean bags. Looking forward to Alexis vs Ric and Tracy giving Dante some lashings tomorrow.

@ranger1rg I don’t see a bandwagon here specifically, just people who watched the scenes and made the same observations and shared them. I haven’t seen people here comparing KV and Mansi in every scene either, in fact plenty of us have praised KV without doing so and mentioned both of their work as outstanding collectively the last few months. When it came to this specific episode however many felt KM didn’t measure up to what her costars brought and I think its perfectly fair to mention that. 🤷🏾‍♂️ Now I do agree that I see a lot of people elsewhere revisioning Lexi Ainsworth as this great thespian who should never have been recast just because of dislike for Kate Mansi as a person, and I find it so disingenuous lol. I’ve found Kristina grating no matter who’s playing her but Mansi has been solid moving the character into a real lead for the show. The comments on her lack of playing any vulnerability with the role are absolutely valid as well though.

Yeah I felt Mansi got outshone in the graveyard scenes. She goes for hammy acting choices often and it works in her favor sometimes (Kristina’s crying outburst during the funeral, the freakout over Sonny beating Dex) but it can ring very false in other moments. She didn’t take me out of the graveyard material completely and it all kind of worked if you lean into the idea of Kristina being a selfish drama queen…but Vaganos, NLG and even Rick Hearst & Tahj B with few lines were performing on one level and Kate wasn’t matching them IMO. I wouldn’t have those in my Emmy reel if I’m her. @titan1978 the comparison to people like SJB and Maura West is a spot on example of what’s lacking in Mansi’s Kristina portrayal for me overall. Those actresses understand how to infuse a layer of complexity and reasoning behind their characters actions in every scene and Mansi isn’t really doing any of that, she’s just playing whats on the page. I’m not gonna begrudge her for that too harshly but I think going a little deeper and maintaining that would help with the likability problem.

Molly dragging Kristina and Alexis to hell and back was so pleasing for me, she got to express every grievance the audience has had with Kristina these last few months. Yet another truly standout performance from Kristen Vaganos today. I love that they included the flashback montage to really highlight Kristina’s hypocrisy and plotting. Loved Molly apologizing to TJ for not listening to him in the first place and her ending scenes with Ric. The contrast with him encouraging Molly not to just cave in and forgive her sister versus Alexis telling Kristina to do the opposite was solid writing. The way they used Alexis relationship with her own sister was also good history referencing, also liked how they used Jordan to recap Ric’s past on canvas to Porsha and Curtis. Porsha seemed real intrigued by him I wonder if they’d let her have a lil fun on Curtis, Brook Kerr definitely deserves a saucy story of her own. This ep might be the first time I’ve bought Jordan in mama bear mode and I hope we get to see her go after Alexis and Kristina too. The Lulu liver drama was pretty good as well. Poor Laura breaking down to Elizabeth, I enjoyed their scenes and how they used it to set up the Lucky return reveal. Kirsten Storms was also great in the scenes with Maxie talking to comatose Lulu. I wasn’t watching when she landed in the coma so I appreciated the slick recap of where the character was story wise at the time. Dante’s scenes with Chase were also nice. I would watch Rena Sofer read a phone book so for that reason and that reason alone I enjoyed the Deception stuff but it was definitely the weakest link of the episode. I wish Lois had a better storyline. This was another solid week for the show overall, I’m curious to see whats ahead with Lucky and the rest of this Kristina vs Molly drama.

They have a lot of conspiracies lol. I think her and Becky Herbst fan bases are nuts in both good and extremely negative ways but it does seem like their characters get sidelined as an act of retaliation either against said fans or in Monaco’s case, some offscreen behavior that caused chaos for the show bts. I agree that if there really is a bias Frank should just go ahead and fire them at this point because its glaring and strange. Not to get too personal but this comment kind of gut punched me but you certainly have a right to feel the way you do about it. Its just when you spend months and months preparing for a child and right when you get to the finish line the life is just snatched away…that’s a pain that is very hard to deal with and having a proper burial and name is one of the few ways to heal and memorialize a life that never got to fully exist but one you had built so much hope and dreams for. These kind of ceremonies are also very important in religious black families so I’m glad they took the time to give the Ashford clan this kind of showcase. My only issue was that we had a similar plot with Lucy messing up and Sasha having to carry the presentation a few months back. That tells me they have very few ideas of what to do with this side of the canvas. I’d rather just…not see any of it tbh.

All of the baby Irene funeral drama was great today. So happy to have Ric Lansing back and glad he immediately called Alexis out for pretty much ignoring Molly. Poor thing really had nobody in her corner for real. Kristina pissed me off standing up when Jordan was supposed to speak but her words about baby Irene were actually beautiful and Mansi did a great job delivering that speech, so did KV reacting to it in silence. Vernee Watson gave another stand out performance as well, loved Stella’s speech. Now where Kristina really got me angry was calling the baby Adela during the burial ceremony. How dare you woman, I was so happy Molly heard her and read her the riot act. She was totally right the baby is dead because of Kristina’s recklessness so to flaunt being the surrogate carrier in Molly’s face was a nasty dig all things considered. KV and KM really killed it there and deserve some Emmy recognition when the time comes, can’t wait for the continuation tomorrow. Lindsay Hartley as temp Sam was a nice surprise. She fits so well in the role that when Alexis and Sam alluded to the backstory with Ric it all still worked for me. She also has good chem with the other Davis sisters and DZ as well. I do wonder whats going on with Monaco… Joss and Trina’s make up scene was nice and I liked the Michael and Willow’s scenes as well. I felt bad for Lois getting crapped on for her accent but glad she still did well with the Deception presentation. The Natalia and Maxie scenes were kind of interesting but I still could do without this side of the canvas. Cody and James was also a snoozefest for me. I enjoyed the SonnyAva/Jagger scenes, once again its clear Jagger is headed off the rails. If he really ends up trying to off Ava like Sonny expects I’m gonna laugh, no subtle character sacrifice at the altar here with this writing regime. 😂

Yeah I keep seeing people talk about SG like she 100% has the role but no credible source to back it up. I’m expecting whoever they cast to just pop up on screen with no warning sooner than we expect.

@carolineg I’m hoping you are right and Kristina comes to a realization eventually. The character has also been through enough trauma this year and overall that I could see them using a breakdown to try and restore some likability. I do think she’s always been this chaotically selfish and messy going back to her teenage days. Its why I laugh at some of the Lexi Ainsworth stans acting like Mansi has ruined the part. LA must have built up a lot of good will playing c player with little airtime for all of those years because I found her version to be just as grating when I watched previously, Mansi is just a more believable looking adult version.

Today’s episode was outstanding, I might even say the most entertaining one since I started watching again. So much soapy conflict and confrontation. One scene ended and shifted to another just as interesting. First of all I’m glad Trina finally stood up to Josslyn when it comes to Ava. I hated the way the previous regime had her show such little loyalty. Both Joss and Trina got to make extremely valid points and I loved Ava walking right in the middle of it. Joss telling Ava if she had been the one in the hotel suite instead of Kristina she wouldn’t be the one flying out the window was more of the obnoxious bitchiness I expect from Carly’s daughter. Then Trina making Ava tell her the truth of what happened was good to see. Loved TJ and Molly naming the baby after Stella’s sister and the family gathering together before the funeral. Vernee Watson was definitely the MVP to there and brought some real emotional heart to the episode. Kristina continues to piss me the hell off being mad about Molly and TJ naming their baby. I still loved how Molly and Alexis protected her from Jagger’s raggedy self trying to bring her in for questioning. Molly finding the paperwork of Kristina trying to keep custody of the baby was a great gag and once again Kristin V is just wonderful at playing soapy realization moments like that. Sonny and Jason vs Anna was 🔥 I loved every moment. Valid callouts from everybody. I’m sad Jason chose to end his partnership with Anna when she made him chose between her and Sonny but enjoyed him calling her out for compromising herself for Valentin and her letting him know he’s actively choosing to be in the corrupt lifestyle and can’t hide behind the youth, naivety and his accident anymore as an excuse. Great acting from FH and SB. Then the Sonny and Ava confrontation at the end, whew. The way he tried to corner her but she never coward and then him presenting her with the option to be spared was chefs kiss. Just a good soapy episode. I was sad to see Deception story in the previews.

Welp, men lie, women lie but the numbers don’t. GH has been more solid the last couple weeks and the ratings are jumping back up before the returns even start airing. Curious to see how much of a jump happens after Ric, Lucky and Holly debut.

Yeah I was not happy to see Cyrus again but his scenes with Laura and Kevin were fine. So Lulu has Liver failure…I guess we’re headed for a transplant that wakes her up. Once again I much prefer watching Laura fighting for her family as opposed to the Heather crusade. Loved the scenes with Dante and Rocco, they should use Rocco more often he and Danny are the best of the teen bunch IMO. I enjoyed seeing Sam back in the mix. I really need them to get over whatever Kelly Monaco bias they have because she makes the Davis girls dynamic more interesting. Same with Dante, Jason, and Drew and her lack of presence is felt badly IMO. Jagger is really going under the bus man, oh well lol. Alexis and Sonny made a fool out of him in court and he looked crazy having a meltdown in front of the judge because he was too stupid to put evidence together before Kristina’s arrest. Then that last scene with Ava was just creepy. I enjoyed Ava and Nina’s scenes but it makes no sense for Ava to admit to her she moved evidence around after Kristina’s hotel window flight into the pool, or for Nina to be such a willing ear after Ava helped isolate Sonny at the end of Nina’s marriage to him. Its obvious thus regime just wants to reset them back to friends. I peeped what MW and CW did with how they played the beat of Ava telling Nina she knows she’d never hurt a mother and child and kudos to them for selling the material as much as they could. I’m glad Molly and TJ fully addressed their issues too those were good scenes there. I also thought Sonny and Kristina scenes in the opener where he took responsibility for Jagger going after her because of his predator behavior with Karen were good and the stuff with him and Alexis in the courthouse and at the end at her house taking care of Kristina. Really solid episode overall the show is working much better as a whole.

That’s unfortunate if they bring back Madison because I’d much rather see a recast.

I will watch these clips later but he was awful as Noah on Y&R and coasted in a similar way to CD for years there so my instinct would be a hell no lol.

B&B definitely owns this thread lol, so many gross stories mainly involving Brooke and Ridge too. Sonny and Emily on GH was nasty considering she dated his stepson and he knew her as a child. NL and MB didn’t have the chemistry to sell it either despite how many times he talked about her reminding him of his wife. EJ and Sami on Days getting together post rape made me stop watching for a while, same with Todd sleeping with amnesiac Marty on OLTL and keeping her in a room for ages. That DID story with Jessica. reverting to her teenage self Jessica and sleeping with Ford was another sickening story and when Ron brought similar trash to GH and brought back creepy Franco with Roger Howarth in the role I tuned out of that show too.

I forgot all about Abby lol I liked her though. I watched Chad Duell’s interview with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson a while back and it was clear his heart isn’t really in acting anymore which is why his performances are so lackluster. He’s competently saying the lines but that’s probably all they’ll ever get out of him so I’d recast the same way they did for Kristina. The son of Carly, AJ and Sonny with his backstory shouldn’t be so mediocre, IDC what loyalty Mo, Burton and LW have to him. He did perk up when talking about comedic material which is why I’d make Michael a sloppy drunk and see what he could do with it but I’d still rather see a new actor takeover.

So based on Parry Shen’s SOD interview and Cassandra James twitter feed they were given their scripts and shooting dates two days in advance, Frank directed the scenes himself and they were filmed August 2nd. Smells like Frank put a plan to answer potential backlash against dumping Blaze before things could get fully ugly. 🕵🏾‍♂️

Thanks for sharing @LostinHarmony and @Liberty City Love that the show will be filmed in a newly built studio. All of the news we’ve gotten so far has been indicating money being well spent to set the series up for success and high production value. I never thought we’d see a new soap let alone a black lead one getting this kind of effort.

Exactly. It provides a nice demarcation so if I’m behind a few episodes I could stop reading the thread after a certain point to avoid spoilers and get a sense of where the discussion viewpoints are based on. Their line readings are very unnatural and almost take me out of the viewing experience. They sound like people trying to remember and spit out dialogue as opposed to people just having a normal conversation. A lot of the cast hired post Frankie V taking over deliver their lines like this and its really hard to listen to. I agree that the show has been more entertaining overall. I thought the character work and dialogue during PM’s tenure was much stronger quality wise but these last few weeks have made for an easier, mindlessly soapy watch that suits FV’s producing capabilities better. I expect to be bothered by the contrived plotting that’s already reared its head sooner or later but I’m not as ready to drop the show like I expected to be.

IDK I kind of like the credit posting as a signal that a new episode has aired and about to be discussed. 🤷🏾‍♂️ Jagger has gone full throttle with the vengeance today. I laughed so hard at him arresting Kristina and saying she could bring the wheelchair, he’s ice cold man I wonder how much longer he’ll stick around and how far the writers take him off the ledge. Molly’s scenes with Jordan were good even though ole girl playing Jordan is a very robotic actress. I’m glad Jordan confronted her about abandoning TJ and the fam while they packed the baby nursery and it was nice how she and an offscreen Robert still had Molly’s back but checked her for visiting Ava in her cell. Molly finally got to vocalize her doubt in Kristina’s being innocent in the Ava hotel confrontation too. I much prefer watching Laura worried about her kids as opposed to running around with a cape on for Heather Webber. Her scenes with Anna and Dante were good today and I’m curious who she found in Lulu’s hospital room. Jason telling Anna and later Sonny it was Valentine behind the med tampering was good but man I wish he wasn’t back to being Sonny’s lackey. I mentioned Jordan’s robotic acting but Brad and Terry gave her a run for her money, my goodness. You can tell CVE is back in the main seat when these lame recurring players start popping back up. I could’ve done without all the Brit talk as well I hope they aren’t hinting at a return for that character.