Aback

Same. Good point on the streaming factor.

He’ll be broody for the first two weeks and then fade into the background like all Noahs have. If any writer could save the Noah non-character that’s definitely NOT Josh 😂

We're so careful with titles or even 'next on' videos not being posted in the Discussion thread and then this is the first thing you see when you open any discussion forum here:

I’ve been tuning in to see the new writers’ material, but it looks like that won’t be hitting our screens for a while—so I’ll try to be patient. In the meantime, I can’t help but find the Kat actress’s acting choices a bit distracting. It’s like she’s channeling Jennifer Aniston, but her timing feels completely off for this medium. I’m not saying she’s a bad actress—I actually think she’s quite good. The problem is, she’s performing as if she’s in a sitcom with a live audience. Her rhythm doesn’t match the pacing and demands of a multi-camera soap taping, and it puts her on a completely different wavelength from her castmates. It just comes across… awkward.

Where can I see his script notes? :0

I agree, re: Ted. I AGREE. 💯 The actress playing Alison is doing a decent job, but the story itself is Passions-level silly. What even is Alison’s job? How much disbelief are we supposed to keep suspending? Everything is moving so damn fast, I fully expect a spaceship full of aliens to land by December. (We’ve had Kat mentioning that her paternal grandmother had a sixth sense. In hindsight we know this show thinks it’s clever with its foreshadowing so I’m dreading what that line was hinting at…) The only thing I actually liked was how multiple storylines converged in the Dupree living room a couple episodes ago. That was cool. But at the same time, it was a missed opportunity—having characters find out major plot developments in the middle of Chelsea’s kidnapping scene diluted everything. For example, Bill finding out about Chelsea’s sexuality and Dandre’s relationship while the kidnapping was still happening robbed us of the chance to see a proper emotional reaction. Back to the kidnapping: Of course Alison has an alias—Edie 😂. I swear this show is obsessed with aliases. We’ve had Dana/Leslie/Sherry, Randy/Sammie, Tyrell, Samantha/Cecille, Tyrone (?), and I’m pretty sure Vanessa used a fake name when she met that guy back in episode 3. It’s getting ridiculous. And while this show drives me crazy, CBS reruns drive me even more insane. I hate them. I hope they stop for good. Also—what exactly is a “fixer” in the writers’ minds? Bill is a softie who wouldn’t hurt a fly. They keep inflating his ego by having people say he “needs to fix things,” but he hasn’t fixed a single thing in 100+ episodes. He’s just shared threats—and that was unfortunate. Now Nicole thinks she’s the fixer? Again, what exactly is she fixing and how? lol. Please tell me they’re actually screen-testing Kat and Jacob. We need mess. Real mess. As for Ted: I have no idea what his plan is, but I’m sure it’s both stupid and nonsensical. The writers clearly have no clue what to do with him. Keith’s portrayal doesn’t help—he makes the character come off as cold and unsympathetic. He highlights every flaw in Ted’s conception. Anyone who’s taken a basic writing class can see Ted is a non-character. He has no fatal flaw, no real desire, no internal conflict. His entire profession was just a flimsy excuse for a forgettable subplot. Not to mention he spends more time with his nephew than with his son.

Why did Allison's grandma have a bookshelf with a hanging pan, mugs and cake molds? In her bedroom, of all places! Oh, and I haven't been able to screencap it but the Duprees have A CHAIR right in front of their silly little staircase...

I love that ChelseaKat's glasses and plates are facing upwards. Perfect for collecting all the dust they could ever need.

Is this the first time it’s not Brad Bell speaking to the press? I wish it meant something having Michael Minnis as the spokesperson for the show…

I never watched GH before - I was kinda put off by the whole concept of the hospital and the mob scene - but I'm loving it.

Oh my, how long is this victim mentality going to continue? We get it: you love the show and hate seeing criticism. There are plenty of positive threads out there (apparently), so why focus on this one?

Same. I'm like: they have 200+ episodes to fill. Are they this confident to come up with interesting material to fill them? The only explanation here is that they wanted a ratings bump and that's why they rushed to overhaul the status quo. That's exactly the point. He's a non-character. There's nothing substantial about him. He's just a plot device. Even his profession is an excuse to develop that ridiculous Kenny plot. Well said. That's what I expect and desire from a soap. I also loved @BoldRestless's suggestion on how to tighten the story and extract as much value and drama as possible. Alas, missed opportunities all over.

I’ll keep it brief. While I like the idea of Leslie being Barbara’s daughter, I can’t fully enjoy the scenes with Anita because everything happened overnight—it’s simply too soon to care or to believe it. If I wanted light-speed storytelling, I’d watch a primetime soap. I also wonder how fast they’ll move from this reveal to the next one, whatever it is There are a million weird things about this storyline, including how Peaches showed up, dropped the bomb, and left like nothing happened. And why was Peaches marketed as Leslie’s worst nightmare…?! (See attachment) [oh and remember that convoluted backstory we had at the beginning - when we were struggling to get familiar with all the characters - where Eva was pretending to be Leslie’s foster child? It was all worth it because now Eva got a throwaway line saying “Oh but your story with Peaches is the same story that you had me sell when we moved to town!”] Also, I’m extremely uncomfortable with the S-word being thrown around so often. Television writers should know that openly discussing suicide can lead to increased cases. That’s why suicide is often handled delicately in the news. This is a soap—there are countless ways to address it without being so blunt every time. I’ve seen similar comments on Reddit, with people finding the June storyline pretty offensive from a foster child/parent perspective. The writers need to understand that social issues can’t just be thrown in as random plot devices. As for Kat: she keeps saying Tomas is bad in bed, but what’s her benchmark? What experience does she even have to make that judgment? She was a virgin before Tomas. Here’s hoping a Kat–Jacob affair comes out of this, because we need MESS—and that Jacob–Naomi duo is absolutely sleep-inducing.

I actually like the Barbara reveal (although it was so rushed). It’s the Vernon angle that drives me insane. Hopefully it’s a red herring but this show has never fed us any red herrings so far (on the contrary, they’ve hit us on the nose with B&B-esque foreshadowing dialogue) so I find it unlikely.

Then they did a really lousy job of portraying Leslie as someone who didn’t know her biological parents and drawing a meaningful parallel with her daughter. But that takes us away from the main point of the discussion. Barbara being Leslie’s mother isn’t the issue—in fact, it’s actually kind of cool. Vernon being her father, if confirmed, is where the real problem lies.

I’m honestly appalled by this latest development, and if I’m not stopping watching, it’s only because I promised myself I’d give the show a full year before passing final judgment. Honestly, MVJ is coming across more like a soap hack than a soap fixture like Bill Bell or Agnes Nixon. The reason people might be turned off by this whole Leslie/Barbara/Vernon fiasco is that it reeks of a last-minute retcon to save Leslie. They’re clearly propping her up—and it’s just not fair. I don’t care that they gave her a throwaway line about losing her virginity to the Articulettes, or that Anita foreshadowed to Eva that she’d never be a real Dupree. They saw Leslie’s popularity, swept her crimes under the rug, and came up with this unnecessary plot just to keep her relevant. What I especially dislike is that we all know this will fizzle out like everything else. Sure, the reveal might be mildly exciting—but what about everything in between reveals I’m still waiting for Nicole to deal with the fact that her parents hid Martin’s truth from her. She was supposed to “pause her anger” for the Articulettes concert, but instead she just forgot all about it and was suddenly Anita’s confidante the very next day. Too many characters. Too many people connected to the Duprees. Too many male cheaters. Too many aliases. Too many convoluted, desperately overcomplicated plots.

Agreed. BTW why is she doing everything she does? What makes her tick? She seems like Y&R's 90s Cricket - without an office though. Big agree. It's a nothing-burger of a story, much like Dani/Andre's reveal and most others. They're burning through story too fast and skipping interesting beats. Big agree on everything. They should have had some extras at Uptown doing the class. And Allison is the umpteenth external foil threatening the precious Dupree bunch. How many of those will we have during the show's run? It's almost as if they're playing all their cards just in case the show gets canceled. Reminds me of young filmmakers filling their debut film with all the ideas they've harbored in film school. Love the idea. And this black sheep should also be like 'I'd never wear those purses, thank you'. Good writing would have made Hayley an interesting character, so to make the triangle rootable. Instead they have to bend over backwards to convey the message that Dani is the best Bill could ever have.

I swear MVJ is obsessed with giving aliases to her characters. The only explanation for these stories is to prop Dani. BTW let me quote a tweet I’ve seen: who needs enemies when you have family like Naomi and Jacob? 🤢

It's a convoluted mess and it's not the first time it happens. (remember Nicole saving Sherry from jumping off the terrace and then Sherry being left by herself...) Weird ending. And OMG Devon is like watching paint dry and has been like that since 2003. Please keep him away from BTG. He was supposedly returning Hayley's belongings but yeah, it was dumb and perfectly in line with the rest of this convoluted mess of a story lol

It must not be easy to plan when your network is constantly pre-empting your show. On another note, does anyone else find the latest use of flashbacks to be very B&B-esque?

He'll bring the excitement...LMAO

I had to roll my eyes at Hayley’s recounting of the events. She got that scare then she refused the sonogram then she faked the sonogram, then she tripped and fell, then she lashed out at Dani with blood on her hands, then she rushed to the hospital (?) and rushed to her sofa as rapidly. Sorry, this is TOO CONVOLUTED for words. What are the writers smoking? This is not the way you plot a story.

First of all, I have to say the show has improved a lot in terms of pacing, lighting, and direction. I’m seeing new camera angles, and there’s been a less suffocating use of the usual hangout sets like Orphey Gene’s and Uptown—which is definitely a step in the right direction. I’m still not sure this story rotation model is really benefiting the stories themselves. Elon and Jacob are suddenly back to talking about Kenny’s death, but emotionally it fell flat to me. It feels like we’ve already moved past the point of being invested in that storyline. What’s most frustrating to me is how the writers seem to struggle consistently with character motivations. Especially when it comes to plotting, they keep creating story holes, often completely unnecessary. The latest example is the storyline around Hayley’s collapse. Why did Randy have to invent a fake name? (These writers are obsessed with fake names!) Why didn’t he take Hayley to the hospital—especially when we know she likely has an accomplice there? (Remember that female doctor we saw once?) And then we suddenly see Hayley on the couch in her living room… Why would she let Naomi into the house right after a supposed miscarriage? So many of these gaps could easily be avoided with more careful writing.

I’m actually quite liking the show. The lighting, the blocking, the directing have improved tremendously. Even OJ's and Uptown don’t feel so overused lately. I love the way characters are mingling and gossiping all the time. Some things still don’t work: - Andre does not come across like a world traveled player. His intentions are unclear and he seems underwritten. He’s getting the Tomas treatment. - BTW the whole ‘Dani/Andre affair reveal’ was a nothing burger. We all could tell that the characters would have just gone ‘oh well’ with it and moved on. - Hayley’s motivations, whatever they are, are not going to sound plausible. - Naomi is my least favorite character. I want Jacob to investigate her and have her disbarred. - To me the show does not play all the beats at all. It’s actually missing a lot of beats. Carlton being Ted’s partner has not been discussed in ages and should have been mentioned more in the last few episodes. - The show doesn’t know what to do after a big reveal. Martin’s story has fizzled, much like Leslie and everyone else. It feels like in 6 months the show has burned through so much story (sometimes even repeating tropes like the 'mysterious phone call' ad nauseam) that I worry for the next 6 months.

100%!