Contessa Donatella

I disagree in part. I think there are plenty of people to root for. I do not think the canvas is overrun with dark characters. I do not think most of Salem is evil. I do think that it is time to get a different HW. And, frankly, I don't believe you've watched enough of the show to put forth all the opinions you have. And, I don't mean to be rude saying that. I just think it's observable fact. There's been a lot of excellent dialog even when there's a perhaps undesirable plot point going on. I think the writing for Eric & Brady & Gabi & EJ & Nicole is strong & within character. So, I don't think a whole generation is being short-changed. I do think they screwed up with Challie & Allie but they are writing amazing dramatic scenes with excellent dialog as they split them up.

I agree. The things that are bad were bad a year ago. The things that are new are good. And, yes, often things don't make sense. That's not new. Pacing & balance & use of personnel, bad, also not new. Sometime the show is chock full of history. Other history is ignored. I think that's true of every soap. Being selective about what history you use is really a choice that is valid. The thing that I think is new that's bad is that they completely ignored the family dynamic of grieving that was needed to make this psuedo-death work. These people are inter-related & they're being written like they barely know each other. Anna's visit to Roman was great & there should have been a lot of people visiting the three men. Instead they did cellphonegate.

This past weekend was the BAFTAs & in their In Memorium Anne Heche & Ray Liotta are included. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpxv4dRJcmE

Remember Holly Gagnier? Most recently Jennifer Smith, on DOOL & OLTL back in the day? She's an Acting Coach at GH.

Yes, MADD & Goutman kind of scouted Sheffer & then kinda recruited him & MADD just thought she'd offer him the option, pick one. He picked ATWT even though he said none of the men seemed to have their manhood intact, or something like that. That's a polite paraphrase. Many people call Hogie's time at ATWT a Renaissance.

Well said.

Okay. I surrender. I talked to someone. Heather is going to be the one, the only, the original ... HOOK. Doesn't make sense. The writers just made it up as they went along. I'm disgusted. I want to take back every nice thing I have said about GH for the past 2 weeks. 🤪

She said Henry was with them already. She said she was flying that night because that's when their plans were.

Well, we believe that they told her specifically, go younger & cut the size of the cast, it's too big. And, I'm sure they told her more but the set was her doing, I believe. She stated that she didn't understand who people were or where they were. So, she conceived of 4 locales - cop shop, hospital, newspaper & Carlino's Restaurant & made a block of them & spent a million dollars on it & then it drastically changed the writing because most stories had to take place in one of those locales. The studio had very little room & the show probably didn't have the money that was spent on it. It was like everything she did had a cascade effect from it. Early on she fired 3 people & one of them was Christine Tucci & Paul Michael Valley was her fella & it made him mad so he quit & she said if he was gonna quit she would just kill off the character, and so forth & so on. Her whole tenure it was as if she'd do one thing & it would have 4 results. I believe she ended up firing 11 people. And, Anna Holbrook & Charles Keating both got Emmies but were both fired after they won them. When going by history & story Paulina should have been with Jake, well, they needed to justify the restaurant being important, ... oops. But, this was at a time when just about anytime a new exec was hired, they'd be given a mandate for change. But, change just for the sake of change is rather random, as opposed to change that was to solve some specific problem.

Now, when fans said JG needed a co-HW and when fans said that RonC needed a co-HW, .... this was not what they had in mind!!! 🫵🫰🤪🤣

And, we have to assume that Allie touched base with a whole slew of people before going 8000 miles away. Lucas? Nicole? And another thing, did anyone mention to Wendy that the people she's been freeloading off of have fled the premises?

Another thing I really loved was Spence's dialog. I don't know who wrote that but it was inspired! His speech to and about Trina was like a breath of fresh air.

Thanks for filling in those details. Now can you tell me why in the world Allen Potter didn't see the incredible potential of the "3 Carries"?

If I understood what I read, they were really happy at GL & wanted to stay on but P&G asked them to swap with Marland & them take ATWT & let him take GL. He was mad & insisted that he had to have a month off in between, so they wrote both shows for one month & didn't want to be at ATWT in the first place. And, at GL, they liked P&G a lot. "We got a lot of good, basic advice on drama & story from Bob Short & Ed Trach at Procter & Gamble." - The Dobsons 2000 interview SB was just a whole 'nother ball game from the moment they called them & said, what if you could be in complete control of whatever you wanted to do, ... it was a dream they never knew to dream. Of course, things went awry. "It was impossible for Anne Howard Bailey to get inside my head, and I could not get in her head. She has a darker view of life than I do; I think she thinks of me as Pollyanna, and I think of her as Darth Vader." - Bridget Dobson about the writer they wanted to fire off of Santa Barbara And, at GH, well that was her parents turf & they never thought she did well. I think their persistent disapproval of her is one of the sticking points of her life. Possibly GL was especially good because it was the first time on her own & not under them.

From Another World Memories on #SoapTwitter On 2-21-1985 Richard Steen played his last day as Ben McKinnon. Now, I'm just using this to jump off, ... why did they get rid of Ben McKinnon? I thought he was a perfectly useful young adult, good enough actor, good looks, great family, ... I never understood. Was it either/or where we could have Jake OR Ben but not both?

I just now got to see the kiss & I completely agree. It was one time when the commercial break just jerked us out of the moment. It was an unusual reaction for me. Also I liked the detail of seeing her have to stand on tippy-toe.

Not only story but perks, perks that it was questionable whether the show could afford. It was very strange. Jensen did not want to come back. She wanted to stay at home with her very young children, a desire many woman have at one point, but most can't afford it but she could. And, she could have gotten back into soap work later. Meanwhile Ellen Wheeler was available & interested in coming back as Vicky/Marley. But, someone was just intent that they HAD to have JB. I never understood it myself.

It seems to me that most soaps were very different in the 80s than they had been in the 70s. Like the whole genre & lineup went through stuff from clothes to music to montages to supercouples, although AW didn't do that so much. I think culturally we went through changes & I think pop culture influenced soaps & soaps were themselves a big part of pop culture for once. When I think about the shoulder pads we wore I sorta cringe. Although musical montages became very popular, I think, and I have always enjoyed them.

I have this odd little audio file I play. It's called "A Cast of Thousands"!

Well, that is just clever, the kind of "stunt" shows that soaps should do! Eddie is a very good, long time friend of mine & I sent him a "settle an argument" email: Frankie: Psychic or not? And, I am willing to abide by his reply!!! Which was, ... yes, but not as much as Lisa. So, I stand corrected! 🫵🫰🤪

Just finished watching GH on Hulu & I am not convinced that Heather is the original Hook! I'll be stubborn & wait & see. And, I don't think the people clutching their pearls are necessarily senior citizens. Meanwhile I'm one & I couldn't be more progressive.

Oh, yes, I remember her! Excellent. Very interesting little tidbit. So, was she really giving a reading in the scene?

I have complaints about all 4 soaps & what is odd about that is that I only watch 2. But, right now, you can honestly & I think objectively form some conclusions about soaps going by what the fans, mostly intelligently speaking, are saying! That said, I watch GH & DOOL. And my complaints honestly are the same danged ones I had a year ago. They are not experiencing a learning curve. Right now GH just happens to have me by some happy strings so they're gettin off easy. But I haven't forgotten! As for DOOL, I honestly think they need a new HW. Well, that's my opinion of Y&R, too. It's time.

I never thought Frankie was a psychic.

This is not a Spoiler but it comes from a mag. What I would call it is WILD speculation. SoapHub opines, (1) what if Allie is pregnant & Alex is the father & she is fleeing to get away from him before it is noticeable? And, (2) also what if Stephanie is pregnant & Alex is the father & this drastically changes his life. Such as it is. GMAB! Yuck. Ptooey!