juppiter

I'm watching 1995 Days right now and absolutely loving it. I really think 90s Days may be one of the best soaps of all time. Unlike today when all of the soaps are basically the same, the show has a definite unique feel to it. I love how infused with religion it is. There are so many moments of people talking about their religion, like Alice deciding Gina is Hope because her bible opened up to a specific verse that day. They do such a wonderful job blending all of the generations and using their vets while also mixing in compelling younger actors. Ali Sweeney is just a force of nature as Sami. Her obsessive love for Austin is so well done and doesn't feel weird -- Reilly would go back to this well often (for example, Theresa on Passions) but I think Sami's the archetype of that character. When she drugs him, it's definitely a trashy moment, but they sell it so well that it doesn't feel as trashy as it should, if that makes sense. Days was definitely pushing the envelope with the storylines they told -- Sami drugging Austin being a prime example of that. But they blend the traditional with the envelope pushing so well that they always manage to sell it. The sci fi aspects like Marlena being possessed or Stefano playing mind games with people do not feel gimmicky at all. It feels very organic to the storyline and just what is normal to happen in Salem. Another thing I have to complement Reilly on is how damn good the day to day episodes are. There are ridiculous moments of delay in the pace, but it never feels that way, it always feels like the plot is moving and little things happen everyday that feel important even though they really aren't. He also does a great job of playing out all the beats and keeping a lot of characters involved all at once -- he is perhaps the most effective writer I've seen do this, perhaps even better than Marland. The one weird thing for me was seeing actors different from the ones I'm used to... Patrick Muldoon as Austin -- I didn't like him on Melrose Place and I don't really like him here. Austin Peck's Austin Reed was perhaps the dumbest soap opera male of all time, but in such an earnest, innocent, and endearing way that it circled back to likable. I can't wait until he shows up. Lisa Rinna as Billie -- I love her. What a likable character. And she actually looked stunningly beautiful back then... shame what she has done to her face. Robert Kelker-Kelly as Bo -- Actually I really like him in this role. He brings an intensity to it. Deborah Adair as Kate -- She does nothing for me. I want my Lauren Koslow. Mark Valley as Jack -- He seems like a different character than Matt Ashford's Jack, but I really like him. There is something so 90s about his characterization that is appealing. But yeah, 1995 Days was firing on all cylinders. I really wish NBC would make all of 90s Days available on streaming. I'd pay good money for it. It totally holds up.

Do we have a classic Days discussion thread anywhere? I’m watching some possession era and I’m dying to talk about it.

Man, Higley has been on and off Days so many times I've lost track. You gotta post what storylines went with each tenure. It's all a blur to me.

Good question. Even Megan McTavish was considered good at her first AMC stint, right? I wonder if Lethal Leah has always been considered lethal.

It was never consistently good, but it used to have like a 2 week period every 6 months or so where it was must-see TV. But it could never sustain anything because Bradley writes like he has ADHD. I pretty much gave up after one of the Sheila returns where she had a daughter (Erica) and they kind of just dropped it with no payoff, and I gave up for good for good when Susan Flannery retired. It cannot be exaggerated how awful the recasts are. I can't even tune in every once in a while like I do with DAYS because the B&B recasts immediately repulse me.

What a queen ❤️

I watched season 5. The first half was pretty bad. The second half I actually thought was pretty good. I'm sad to hear that they apparently don't keep that momentum in season 6. I just hate Jake/Alison as a couple so much, though they got more tolerable as the season went on. I'm glad drunk Alison came back. I really love Alison as a character, though I think CTS acted her butt off sometimes to make up for writing that wasn't all there. The Michael/Kimberly/Megan storyline makes no sense and drags on and on forever. Kimberly really leaves with such a whimper that you don't miss her at all when she's gone. They really wrecked Jane's character, to the point where I was relieved that she left. I definitely see what someone said upthread about them forgetting about the relationships that made the show great. Jane leaves, and Michael doesn't even get to say goodbye? WTF? With the way everyone is in their little storyline bubble, this feels like 3 or 4 disjointed shows. They brought on Donna Mills as Jane's mom for four episodes and gave her absolutely nothing to do. What a waste of Donna Mills. Sam is fine. But she and Billy together just seem like one of those couples that the writers put together because they don't know what else to do with the characters. I love Taylor. She's absolutely insane and Lisa Rinna is so fun in the role. Kyle is also a good addition. Laura Leighton was the MVP of the season. She ties everything together and finally bringing Sydney into the D&D world is magic and she's so good that you wish they'd done it 3 seasons earlier. It's so nice that she finally has a man that really loves her and how DARE they kill her instead of giving her a happy ending? It's so cruel. I might eventually watch season 6, but I've got some other shows I want to watch now, so maybe not for a few weeks.

Knots really is one of the best shows of all time. Writing, acting, music, everything. And the longevity of it means they could write things on levels that most shows just can’t. And I may be the exception, but I love the first three seasons. anyway, I’m watching season 5 of MP and... lol. It’s not great. The Sydney/Jane/Richard/Sam stuff could have been fun but it’s just missing something. They maybe needed more camp and they needed to do a better job making Sam the straight man in all this — it is kind of bizarre that she’s putting up with all this considering she literally just met Jane and Sydney five minutes ago. I HATE Jake and Alison together. It doesn’t make sense that Alison wouldn’t forgive Billy. It doesn’t make sense that Alison is still working at Shooters. the Peter trial storyline and Peter now having a backstory or changed identity or whatever is a snooze. I don’t think Jack Wagner should have come back after his initial arc in season 3. He’s just boring and I’m not buying any of this. Matt being on drugs is fun. Doug Savant is a really good actor. He’s definitely playing things that aren’t in the script by seeming strung out even when he’s not supposed to be. This show doesn’t deserve him. Lisa Rinna is weird and obsessed but seems like she might be fun later. We’ll see. I can see what someone said above about the show forgetting the relationships that made it great.

I just rewatched Melrose seasons 1-4. Season 1 is a forgotten gem. I love how fresh and young it feels at the beginning and it's a bit more realistic how they portray the young characters trying to make it in L.A. I actually liked Sandy better before she lost her accent. It's funny how in the beginning Michael and Jane seem the most removed from the group. Billy/Allison are a totally rootable couple. The 90210 crossovers at the beginning are so painful. If they were going to talk about nothing but the Jake/Kelly age difference, they should have found a better way to spinoff. Seasons 2-3 are clearly the golden age of the show. Anything with Michael/Jane/Kimberly/Sydney is just amazing. That has to be one of the legendary soap opera love quadrangles, because it's just so messy and amazing how these four people constantly cause each other such misery. The backstory with Allison being molested didn't feel like a retcon because it explained Allison's behavior. Any time Allison became a drunken mess was always fun. There is an obvious huge drop off in quality between seasons 3 and 4. They just shouldn't have had Kimberly blow up the complex. It was such a Moldavian moment and it wasn't worth it. It sidetracks her in a mental hospital for half the season and puts her in Peter's orbit and out of Michael's. Jane gets in Richard's orbit and out of Michael's. So we lose the core of the show which should have always been Michael/Jane/Kimberly/Sydney and the terrible things they do to each other. And Jane becomes kind of a villain, which I know Josie Bissett wanted, but it just doesn't fit. Brooke lost her bite and just became whiny. Should I go on and watch 5-7? I don't think I've ever seen them. I don't know if I want to continue. 4 was kind of boring.

And this is why you guys sometimes talk about storylines and entire characters/recasts from those last five years and I don't remember them at all despite the fact that I watched until the end. They really totally wrecked the show. Only the fact that the cast was so great kept things together.

What is a "token"?

LMAO! What?!?!

No offense Victoria Rowell, but tl;dr.

there would be a nickname decoder post once every few months. I remember Juicy = Lucinda. Can’t remember any others at the moment.

Can you please tell me how you're navigating it? I would love to re-read some things. I don't know why Google bought a usenet archive and then made it so freaking difficult to use.