Contessa Donatella

Update! Genie is back & has been, taping, for a week now.

Sorry, John, I have no idea. If I find that out, I will definitely post.

Of course, when push comes to shove, she cannot be forgiven for the ultimate sin. She was the one who decided that under no circumstances would Frankie's murder be changed to some soapier version where she could actually be brought back to life. Out of everything that was bad at AW, this was the absolute worst. Maggie the Beast committed the Unforgivable Sin. MDP & the Murder of Frankie Frame is on a par with McTavish and the UnAbortion.

For the first time in my life, I am watching a soap in a group. Zoom watching GH at 2:00 every day, followed often by a lovely post mortem. Interesting group. All Carly, Jason, Jarly fans. Some hate Kristina. Some hate Molly. All hate Sonny. Fans of Korte. Most of us, most of the time, enjoy the show, every day. Now, I think we all hate Violet. Most hate Liz. Donna, we believe is a child who should never have been born. Michael, to us, is really a child of Jason. CarSon is over, dead, buried, never to come again. We, too, are terribly bored watching Lucky just play cards.Tracy better explain herself & it better be good! Laura can't get back fast enough.

The different Nicoles, perfect example of what you're talking about!

This is the interview with Anne Heche on one of the special cuts of the 1995 British movie WILD SIDE, with Anne, Joan Chen & Christopher Walken. Rare. https:// *R*** .com/v5ftijo-wild-side-1995-rare-interview-with-anne-heche.html https://www.facebook.com/shallotpeel/videos/2770216453152974/?idorvanity=3144711669180711&notif_id=1726938712512271&notif_t=video_processed&ref=notif

Indeed. Conboy fixed it. He spent, they say at least, money that he did not have to spend, leaving Wheeler with a "deficit spending budget" whatever the hell that is. Besides Paul Rauch retiring just at that oh so convenient moment. MADD herself, also retired. And, when she did, as we know, P&G for some god forsaken reason decided AT THAT MOMENT, not a minute before, to do away entirely with the position P&G's Executive in Charge of Production. IOW, the literal go between, the only buffer, between show EP & CBS's HEAD OF DAYTIME!

I'm not sure that the lessons of PSSN are of use to any other venture. So much was just about James Reilly. And, of course, the execs at NBC thinking he was a miracle storyteller. Their expectations were amazing & basically showed that they didn't know anything at all about beginning a new soap & that it would take time to grow an audience. I do not expect this to be at all like that was.

JJ has been in the studio, taping. Alexa Havins also has been in the studio, taping. KeMo also was back in the studio, and taping. A new photo day has been announced. All cast are invited. Supposedly they taped a scene between Laura & Aiden about his being gay. Gio is still NOT having scenes with Trina only with Joss or Lois. Marty is back, accent gone, beard gone, & a really bad haircut. Sonny hired him as second best attorney, for Alexis. He of course keeps #1 Diane for himself. Ric has discovered that Heather may NOT be suffering from cobalt poisoning, after all. There goes his hefty pay day. But, I wonder if Portia tampered with those lab results! Lucky hallucinated & it was LIZ in his dream. Holly told Anna that Sidwell's security procedures are unbeatable. Sidwell, also called Ulrich. Tracy is still upset about Sonny & Carly being in her room. Tracy also is being really aggressive toward Sasha. Is Tracy jealous of Cody's affections? What in the world is going on with Tracy?! James saw Willow & Drew kissing but he has told no one. Sasha, however, has discussed the whole thing with Willow. Sam took Kristina to the hospital to see someone about her badly crumbling mental health. Felicia met with Krissy. PTSD & post partum depression are words that the show has now spoken. It's not just the fans saying it, now. Nina told Drew he could use her for his campaign.

This special print edition is jam-packed, full of great pictures. One of its co-editors is Mark McGarry. When I lived in Brooklyn, I new him, liked him, he was a really great guy, at that time he worked for Mimi at WEEKLY. He was a good solid soap journo. I was pleased to see his name on his masthead. Now, about their countdown, here are the 50 in order. I'm sure there are many here to disagree about. Their #1 is sadly totally predictable. Someone posted yesterday asking me who was #1. I replied, Who do you think? They guessed it, of course, but I continue to ask the question: Can a couple truly be iconic if it begins with a violent rape? Might as well count them down. Then we can disagree in earnest. 50 Sprina 49 Bill & Katie 48 Ethan & Theresa 47 Nina & Cliff 46 Patrick & Marty 45 Lance & Lorie 44 Roman & Marlena 43 Bob & Kim 42 Thorne & Macy 41 Liam & Steffy 40 Bianca & Maggie 39 Lucas & Sami 38 Jason & Sam 37 Clint & Viki 36 Cruz & Eden 35 Mac & Rachel 34 Duke & Anna 33 Justin & Adrienne 32 Jack & Mary 31 Bo & Nora 30 Jack & Phyliss 29 Lucky & Liz 28 Hayley & Mateo 27 Phillip & Beth 26 Alan & Monica 25 Ridge & Taylor 24 Jack & Carly 23 Mason & Julia 22 Greg & Jenny 21 Jack & Jennifer 20 Jason & Liz 19 Doug & Julie 18 Sonny & Carly (LW) 17 Robert & Holly 16 Patch & Kayla 15 Stone & Robin 14 Neil & Drucilla 13 Tad & Dixie 12 John & Marlena 11 Holden & Lily 10 Nick & Sharon 9 Todd & Blair 8 Ridge & Brooke 7 Jesse & Angie 6 Josh & Reva 5 Frisco & Felicia 4 Sonny & Brenda 3 Bo & Hope 2 Victor & Nikki 1 Luke & Laura And, there you have it. My first objection: AW Steve & Alice, where the hell are they? My next objection: SFT: Are you kidding? NO ONE?! My last objection, I've already stated, that Luke & Laura began with a violent rape. I just can't get past it. Also where is Jeff & Penny? And, you can't tell me that Doug & Julie don't belong in the TOP TEN! Also, if there is to be only one LGBTQ+ couple represented, to me it would NOT be Bianca with Maggie. Now, it's your turn. Tell me what do you think?!

I cannot ever say enough good about Maureen Garrett. Also she is smart & savvy, a great citizen & one who believes in the stewardship of the earth. She was one who was outspoken about the changes to the show. She described the process as if the actors were herded like cattle. I don't know how she stood at least 2 of her final stories. That ridiculous kidnapping of all of the kids and then Roger's son, Sebastian, who locked her in a cell & then tried to kiss her.

Louise Shaffer stopped by my FB soap group. First because of a post about WHERE THE HEART IS. Now about ALL THAT GLITTERS. Her insight about working on these shows is amazing, also a lot of fun. This is about the first episode.

I would just point out, although I am quite sure it is something obvious to most of us soap fans. Going from 1970 when there were 19 soaps on the air, to a point where 12 were, on down to now, when there are four, soon to be five, more people who once worked in soaps, after their show was canceled did not find comparable work available to them in daytime. That does not say anything AT ALL significant about them. It's just the reality of the situation. not nearly enough jobs to support the numbers of people who previously worked in this industry that we love so much. Yes, it's true, FACTS matter.

Awhile back I read an account by Matt Bomer about his time at Guiding Light. If this does not chill you to your very core. I have no idea what else anyone could say. https://michaelfairmantv.com/matt-bomer-recalls-ben-reades-dark-storylines-on-guiding-light-revealing-he-told-writers-just-throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-me-and-they-did/2015/06/27/ Next, Matt told a hilarious synopsis of the storylines of Ben Reade during his year in Springfield, when he told Seth Meyers: “I was a trust fund baby who bet my fraternity brothers that I could deflower the town virgin. I fell in love with her, but she found out about the bet and dumped me. Then, I met a new girlfriend, lost my trust fund and was embarrassed to tell her so I became a male prostitute .. that’s what you do when you lose your trust fund. (Laughs). So I had all these cougar clients that that were these women I would meet at 6 in the morning and by 9am we would be in the bed making out together for five minutes. Then my girlfriend found out I was a male prostitute, dumped me of course, and then I went crazy, killed five people, kidnapped her to a remote cabin in the woods, confessed to her that I’d been molested by my middle school teacher, and then committed suicide in front of her, her father, and her new boyfriend. Then, hung on for one day in the hospital to confess my sins!” The biggest laugh was at the end of Bomer’s recanting of the story of Ben on Guiding Light when he added, “My favorite moment is when the writers came up to me at the end of it and they go, ‘Listen, if you ever want to come back, we’ve got it figured out.’ (Laughs). Matt always wondered just how they could do that! Evil twin?

Talk about your really low bar! I don't know if that is true, exactly, but he should have been fired for financial malfeasance. Budget, didn't have one, so what? If there is some way to spend when you don't have money to spend, apparently some people have a way with it.

Detested ConWest & what they did to Ben Reade is emblematic of just how bad what they wrote was!!! It's fascinating to me how many former GL fans I meet here & there who ALWAYS pull out Conboy, Weston, the baseball diamond, Marty West, Maryanne Carruthers, sock puppet, BEN READE!!! OY. And, the show lasted 4 years longer than it would've otherwise, because of Wheeler. Those of us who appreciate those extra years thank her & her team for that. P&G and Televest sure as hell did not assist. Nor, of course, did CBS. CBS mandated & required things that P&G refused to pay for, what a mess! Ya know P&G had two people shadow Chris Goutman to learn the EP/P&G ropes from him. One was Scott McKinsey. The other was Ellen Wheeler. With either of them, P&G was picking a level of inexperience & MADD retired & they stupidly opted NOT TO REPLACE that position, effectively throwing their newly hired "baby" into the deep end of the pool without even an adviser to help them battle the big baddies at CBS. Both Goutman, at ATWT & Wheeler, at GL, suffered not having an Exec in Charge of Programming between them & CBS VP. Ah, Mistakes P&G made so many hundreds of them ... 🎶🎵🎼🎹🎷🥁

But, Johnny is so boring! Someone that boring it's their own damn fault they don't have exciting challenging story!!! And, Chanel is stuck with him, so that taints her with the bor-ing brush, as well. If Johnny didn't have his looks, no one would even give him the time of day. There they are, two fairly pretty people, just stuck & at an age when they ought to be living it up. And, Johnny actually has a gooey moral center. He nails his father on less than ethical things fairly regularly but does ANYONE appreciate his ability to express high ideals?! Are you kidding me? Tripp & Wendy were more interesting, at least some of the time, anyway. And, Chanel was a much more interesting person with Allie than she is with Johnny. Since Gabi got out of prison, she went to see her daughter once, right? No mention since that early day, correct? So, y'all promise Connie's gone soon, huh? I absolutely positively cannot wait! I am frankly amazed at how bad her story got before finally coming to this somewhat distressing conclusion!!! Was she created by scabs or by Ron? I don't post as much now because I'm on a totally different watching schedule. By the time I watch today's episode, tonight at 11-ish y'all have long since done a whole post mortem on the day, so I am waaaay out of synch. Just saying hey today.

DAYS Re-watch 1992, Wed., 1-8-92 Roman - on the phone with Brian. One of them has been injured. Victor & company are onto them. So, now, the bug is no good. Also checking on a stakeout. Roman sees Marlena - Hey, you're up! Coffee's ready. Bo asks Carly about Isabella Carly - Well, she's better, but not great. There's no way she can go back & testify again. Bo - Doesn't matter. It's been postponed. Bo - I'm planning to keep Roman company at the museum event. Carly - I can rearrange some things. Bo - Why would you? Carly - To go to the museum, of course. Bo - NO, you're not. You're staying far away from Larry. Carly - Don't be ridiculous. Opening - This is MacDonald Carey & these are The Days of our Lives John - staying close to Izzy all of the time. Isabella - Sees John going into that trance-like state & tries to get his attention. Can't do it. When he finally snaps out of it, he says he was up all night, probably just fell asleep. Boy, is he ever tired. Izzy - No, something is happening to you. Something wrong, John. John - Okay, I'll go to Marlena & tell her about these .. things if you will get back in that bed for me, and stay there! Carly - I am going to the museum event. It is important that I show strength, never weakness. John - I have a bad feeling about this thing tonight but I have no choice. I have to go. Ivan - talking to Lawrence about taking risks. Lawrence - If I weren't sure of accomplishing this I wouldn't try it. Kimberly & Kayla are now spending time with Izzy. Izzy asks questions about the California nursery school abuse situation & we all find out that Kim has made up her mind, to take Jeanie & Andrew & go to California. She is sure she can help & her old friend, Pat, there has called again. At Marlena's office, to John, How are you today? John - Again with the water sound & image & I keep blanking out like I'm in a trance or something. I want to say something but can't. I want to scream, but can't. I am paralyzed. Marlena - Is there a trigger that causes this? John - It's this ring, Doc. Roman - I need to talk to Bo. Roman is upset about one of his officers. Roman had moved the Victor bug set-up to a safehouse & this cop was on duty there & Victor's goons beat him up, very badly. He's in Intensive Care. Roman has people tailing his whole family. Victor, with one of his thugs - Do you want me to get rid of the bug? Victor - Now it is time for us to go to the hospital & visit my daughter there. Roman on the phone - Victor knows about the bug now, so it's useless. Carly - About Victor, I just want to put it all behind me. Roman - I can't let it go. Not now. Isabella - (About Victor who is there at her hospital room) John, let him stay. I have some things I want to say to him. Victor - Oh, nice. But can I go first? I miss your smile. Family ties. I look at you & I see your mother. Isabella - What I said in court was a mistake. I was manipulated into saying things that I did not mean. As soon as I get out of this bed, I'm going to tell the court the truth. Victor - Was it a lie when you hugged me & said you wanted us to be family? The truth will always come out eventually. Always does. Carly - What about Marlena? She's going crazy. You don't even seem to care about that. Roman - I'm sleazy & underhanded. Victor - Your fault. I am a sick man. Lawrence - 3 people get their due from getting the codicils. Marlena - I saw the policemen. I did some checking around & found out about what happened to that officer. Roman - I'm taking care of things. I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone in this family. Kayla - You guys really make a difference in my life. Kimberly - I need to speak to you about Pat Crane in LA. It's become a nightmare. The parents are freaking out. I'm going to have to go back out there. It won't be forever. But, I have to go. There's something inside me telling me that I must go help them. I think I can make a difference. Shawn & Caroline leave the room to go get Jeanie & Andrew. Kayla - I know you can make such a difference with those kids. Kayla - I want to go with you. Bring Stephanie. Help you unpack & get settled. Take care of you & the kids. And, I'm not going to take NO for an answer! Marlena - One of your men is in Intensive Care! Roman - I know you don't like that. Neither do I.

Did you happen to see the TV movie where Billy Warlock played one of the two brothers, years back?

Wheeler's first big mistake was putting Jerry on recurring instead of Bradley or even Frank. BUT, moving him from contract to recurring was NOT GETTING RID OF HIM. This is not rocket science, folks, we should all understand these terms. No one at Guiding Light GOT RID of Jerry verDorn. Period. Ever. Wheeler called him to book him for 2-3 days per week for 3 weeks & learned that he'd been offered a contract by OLTL that very day, thanks to Mark Derwin. Of course, she hated losing him but also could not help but be happy for his good fortune.

It is quite interesting to me that as far as I am aware, there's been not even one peep out of NLG about KeMo. Makes me go hmmm. Or, come to think of it, about ANYTHING since Pullos was released from jail. She was there, waiting. So were her parents. If you saw the pictures there was more affection & hugging in the Pullos/Grahn photo than with her MOM.

She is one of my Fave 15 & she is alive. But, she's not working & she hasn't been. What an incredible waste that is. I love the fact that when TPTB decided to put her & Stephen & "Jimmy" Reilly together as co-HWs that they immediately didn't trust that, thought they were pitting them against one another, because they had such totally different writing styles. SO, they banded together & flipped the switch, making them the US versus that Them. I am definitely not a Jim Reilly fan, but when he wrote with the Demorests, i do not find the flaws I find when he writes by himself.

And, why can they write such dynamic, dramatic, all encompassing writing for those ladies. All they can manage for TJ is writing him consistently as an excellent doctor, but no more. I don't get it. Is it harder to write for black guys than gals?!! I just said something stupid. The gals in question are white. Only TJ, in his immediate group at least, is a POC. D'uh.

But, if they go with that, then, there is no nobility in the act, at all. Just a waste, a sorry sham of a huge honking big wasteful act. I would prefer NOT. Of course, as we all know, they don't ask us what it is we would want.

Which reminds me NOW on GH of poor TJ, who is really not at all up to the ladies in his life. He has what we call a problem with the writing for him. IT LACKS!