Contessa Donatella

Gail Kobe Joe Willmore Ellen Wheeler Paul Rauch Michael Laibson JFP John Conboy

Luke will not be at Jackie's Memorial Service. That's really mixing metaphors. Tony/Jackie ... Luke/Bobbie. Anyway, not able to make the trip.

Greys shut down & they're next door. Friday morning of the Emmys Finola tested positive. Monday morning I was told that both Frank & Jane tested positive & some other unnamed folks. They're on hiatus now, as of last Thursday. NLG said she was sick enough to wish she had her mommy but that she tested negative. There's a lot of respiratory ick going around, as well as this current strain of covid and the flu.

Looking forward to the JZ/Bobbie doings & like the sound of the way they handled it. However, I am thoroughly annoyed that I won't be able to see the primetime special until the next day. I don't care for the way they're handling that when it comes to those of us who see GH on Hulu. If Hulu can't do simulcast, ABC ought to throw open the gates to all.

Oops you misspelled Conboy and Weston! Fixed it for you.

At one point in time I suggested that Spencer be tested for testosterone deficiency!

https://www.llbean.com/?/&qs=3158075&dclid=CjkKEQiAs6-sBhDmwND30uTt2M0BEiQAiWxdoALAsKFDSogU2P05xs_IeQ0B0njcRXlmEcisyapFKV_w_wcB Is this happening to anyone else? No matter what or where I click I go to this website. Okay. I FINALLY got past it.

I have no interest in Buzz hatin' joinin' but I'd be proud to attach myself to any Conboy hatin'! Double up on it if Weston is thrown in for good measure.

I think they had plans & stratagems for some stuff & not for other stuff. But I am sure that you're making an excellent point about their logistics, which I think technically would be called NIGHTMARISH. When they were in the studio, when they were in Peapack, where in Peapack & whether it was snowing to beat the band, etc. And, then the editing, which had become such a major task. They did some editing immediately after taping & other editing later, in post as you'd expect. How did they keep from editing the previously edited material? And, so on. Personally I was just so very glad he was dead. I'm not sure if I know of any character so universally despised.

Well his work here recently has been excellent!!! Thanks for pointing him out.

I looked him up on wikiwand. He's directed at Hollywood Heights, at GH, at GH:Night Shift & here. So, back when I stumbled on Colleen's new/then podcast with Dano she talked about the day they had just taped & said it would air on 12-26, which was yesterday, and, oh boy, what a day it was! Did you see all that stage combat?!! WHOA. It was as good as GH last year with Ava & Esme & that parapet! Do you think CZ & MTS had stunt doubles? Also, dialog, superb. Everything at the cabin! All of the Newman family in support. Even the "idiot son". (I have a feeling that is gonna stick.) So, I am guessing that yesterday Nikki was faking being drunk, right? No, not any other time, just yesterday. I am now a happy camper soap fan newbie! The writing, directing & acting is very fine as of yesterday. 🤏👌😶🤣 For now, I'll be sticking around. My watching schedule is this, The Doctors, GH & DAYS. (I'm also watching JULIA & I cannot get over how incredible Judith Light has been!)

Oh my god, we thought we saw someone starving. So sorry.

And, I imagine most of us understand why EW began wanting Peter Simon, although we probably disagree with endlessly waiting.

Basically CBS canceled the last of the P&G soaps at the same time. Yes, literally, they were different dates but it was known that as one went, so did the other. They could've flipped a coin to see who was first. The claim about GL being the only soap actually making (some) money was in an article in Digest. And, exactly who said HUGE MONEY MAKER? Right, no one.

I may just have to call this another Minority Rapport. I actually liked Phillip's return.

Okay I got it from Carolyn Culliton, this past year, communicating on UglyX (formerly Twitter) & she must have meant the origins of Carolyn the gorilla & not the revisitation at the finale. That's the only way it makes sense. I'll just take it on myself that I misunderstood. Obviously Carolyn, her mate Richard & her handler Sam all harken back to the gorilla in the 80s & Sam was often credited with writing the comedy & highjinks. Mea culpa, sorry, folks, I now know nothing about who put it into the finale. I have unfairly besmirched Sam & Gary. And, thanks for the heads-up, Robb.

And, it's not just the actors. Also crew, staff, etc. I agree that they didn't suffer from some stigma. Yes, they did suffer because they worked under hardship conditions. And, I believe working with the threat of cancellation carries a serious level of stress, too. But, when push comes to shove, obviously people would choose to continue working. In fact, they actually did choose to. And there was an article, either 2007 or 2008, that indicated that GL was the only soap making money. Clearly, that's a double-edged sword. They were working on such a hardship budget, on the cheap, that that is what it took to be profitable. Yikes.

People who were there said Kim cried all the time, too.

Uh, what would be the point?

I wondered if you were really saying DK! David Forsyth is a great suggestion. I know he could play it. Personally I was not fond of Gentry. If only we could tweak the past. There was a meme that went around that said that the Bennifer wedding reset the timeline to 2004. With that set of circumstances what would you change? On GL I would fire Bradley & Frank & keep Jerry on contract. Also when everyone but Kim took the pay cut I would've fired Kim. (Unfair to the others not to.) I would've done away with both the island principality & the mob. (Gotta fire David, too, no need for Edmund.) Danny Santos would be discovered to be a long lost grandson of Mike Bauer. I would've recast Rachel Miner & Bryan Buffington. There would never have been a Grady or a Cyrus. I would have never hired Marty West. There would have been no baseball diamond set. Ellen Weston would have never been propped by co-HWs. I don't care how much fun Carrie Nye was BTS, there would have been no Maryanne Carruthers story. It goes without saying the words "sock puppet" would never be uttered. I would still tell the stories of Otalia & Jami. OH! Ben Reade, not a sex worker & no suicide. Find a way to keep Aubrey Dollar. So, 2004, what would you change?

I continue to agree that they should have recast Ed. But I can't think who "DL" is.

So, I'm curious, what made you pick up the DAYS habit? Didn't have enough "back from the dead" in your life? I saw that flashback as a teenager.

I liked Bogue, thought he was a good actor, although I can't argue that his Mallett wasn't ... different. I also really liked Branson's Shane when I didn't care for Branson on AMC & where I hadn't liked any Shane in such a long time.

I've been watching a long while & I didn't tumble to Johnny having a glass eye till last week!

I understood what your point was, completely. As soap fans we find it frustrating to churn through a lot of story elements & then POOF the original situation vanishes & it's like Dorothy back home in Kansas! I have given you what my understanding of the situation was from BTS information at the time. Naturally, you can credit it or not. At the time I lived in Brooklyn & was close to the Digest GL Editor & one of the HWs & actors & other soap journos. I mention that only to give a source for BTS information. Otherwise it seems to come out of the blue. I also have not checked episode counts but I believe that KZ & GA were both operating with guarantees of 4. I'm sure RN had to, also, but mostly we just considered that he had to be KZ's scene partner as opposed to having story of his own. I know people here tend to think of Harley as eating a lot of front burner. But, Phillip had children with Beth, with Harley & Spalding doings, always. Anyway, you might consider it a theory.