GL: December Discussion

[DaytimeFan]

What's interesting is that your screencaps of Dinah in the bar really resemble what a British soap looks like. In fact, all of the screencaps look SO much better than the actual show does on my television!

[MarkH]

Exactly the same for me. It looks good (even fullscreen) on my laptop.

On my 42" LCD...yuck. Some of that is due to my awful local affiliate. For non-HD broadcasts, they have a terrible signal. (For HD, at least with my cable provider, they switch to a network feed...and that is much better).

It makes me think Wheeler really was aiming for something that looked good on the computer, because she figured that was the shape of things to come.

[ian]

still not believing that Reva is prego....

My God.

[UKBoi]

It looks like a British soap circa 1995. Still, I need to commend them on working out the kinks in this production model. It's getting better every day, I just wish they'd work on the lighting and maybe tweak some of the sets. Also, I dont get why they're not using any of the sets they built in production offices anymore, it just seems like a huge waste of money.

[Greg's GL]

Eh. I caught the show today. The camera work wasn't bad, but with the snow outside, all you could hear was the clunking of melting snow on the ground/camera cover. I'm glad they stopped using some of those "sets" that were also offices. The "Cross Creek" set/production office sucked. They were way too small and yes, EW wasted a good amount of money on this wonderful "plan" of hers. An experienced EP would have realized the offices were too small to shoot scenes in; once you get the actors, cameras, lighting and sound guys in the room they barely had room to move.

However, I do like the guy playing Shayne. Good recast IMO. The downside is that EW/DK are yet again rolling out the "angry at the world" story for a returning character. Can't they come up with something else? I betcha that they just re-used some scripts from when Bill came back to Springfield. Everyone was asking him "What happened to you over there?!?" just like they are now asking of Shayne.

At least they were capable of casting the role correctly. He does look like he could be Josh's son IRL.

[rsmith2k2]

If it's anger you want then Branson's definitely your fella.

[P.J.]

OMG...it's bad enough Mallet and Marina are getting married at Company. But do all of the assembled guests have to stand behind them?? I know the sets are smaller, but JHC, it looks like they're crammed into some invisible hallway.

[MichaelGL]

Let's see...

I'm not invested in Mallett/Marina, Jeffrey/Reva, nor Coop/Beth/Alan.

But this Shayne Dinah story is intreguing.

[AllAboutAngst]

Mallet and Marina are so dull they're likely to put someone into a coma, but I too have to question why of all places, they got married at Company? They were all basically standing on top of each other.

Did anyone notice the inconsistency in yesterday's show? When Mallet first saw Dinah outside it was raining, and the ground was just wet. In the very next scene it was snowing and there was like 2-3 inches of snow on the ground, wtf?

I will say that Dinah and Shayne are just about the only interesting people on the show currently.

Also, I am beyond sick of Frank (and Mandy Bruno's Marina), I wish Buzz and Coop would pool their money and buy him a hooker or something because he's got the biggest stick up his ass I've ever seen.

Can Wheeler and company please give Rick and Alex something to do?

[Vee]

Is there anyone in town Dinah has not fucked or at least attempted to [!@#$%^&*]? RJ, maybe? Oh, wait, he's gone. Rafe? It's a matter of time. Why should I care about Shayne being the latest "rough-looking, crazy !@#$%^&*] type" for Dinah to bang? I've seen it all before. Not that Shayne was ever that type before anyway.

And Mallet and Marina married? Really? Really?! Wooowww. Okay. Uh, Alan-Michael and Eleni say hi jooguyz.

[P.J.]

I was just thinking Dinah really, REALLY needs a good [!@#$%^&*]. After this summer of pseudo-oedipal issues with Bill, and that nasty almost stuff with Grady...she's really really overdue. I can't even name the last guy she had...and if it's Mallet...well, that's just sad.

And sadly...we're probably just one SORAS recast away from getting that pairing.

[MichaelGL]

That goes along with my point, that ever since DK took over, just about everybody has shared the same bed, well if your on contract that is. I mean when DK pairs a couple together, it's a blink and you miss it thing that moves incredibly fast, usually starting out with a ONS or an arranged marriage type of thing.

[JtSmarts]

It seems that women on GL love sharing the same men as their mothers, aunts, daughters etc. Now Beth and Coop are having an affair.

[UKBoi]

I've come to the conclusion that it's not the new production model that's making the show suck. In fact it's starting to look quite good considering the budget the show has is peanuts. Some of the newer sets (the new Cross Creek which is out in Peapack, the convenience store) look very realistic and the acting is for the most part great. I noticed in a few recent episodes that more traditional sounding background music made a reappearance and the guitar-y stuff they're using doesnt sound so bad either, it's as if they're getting a handle on the music editing.

The writing, on the other hand, is all over the place that it's hard to follow. Some storylines move at a glacial pace, not really going anywhere, some are being rushed through and their potential being squandered, and it really screws up the pacing of it all. Not to mention a lot of the attempts at being a 'slice of life' soap has led to some pretty pointless conversations (most of which contain Ashlee) and the complete lack of melodrama means that there is no suspense, no 'OMG I need to watch tomorrow' which is really hurting the show. Like they'll do something with Lizzie and Bill that really heightens tension and then instead of ending the episode there, there'll be a final scene with Ashlee talking to someone about V8.

Still, it's showing signs of improvement and with any luck there will continue to be improvements with the big return and the rumoured casting shakeups.

[Phoenix11]

I agree that the writing seems to be all over the place. There doesn't seem to be a lot of continuity, more like, "okay, what can we write today". I like the Coop/Beth thing, but mostly because of the way Coop is playing it. He's falling hard, but Beth isn't in the same place. Love Bill/Lizzie, but would like for them to just be happy for a while. Liked Jeff/Reva before the pregnancy storyline, though it'll always be Bud as far as I'm concerned. Don't want Josh/Blake, would rather see Phillip/Blake. Let Josh be alone for a while. Interested in seeing where the Olivia/Natalia storyline is headed. I think they are both developing feelings for each other, but not realizing it yet. Of course, CC could have chemistry with a mannequin. Liking Shayne/Dinah too, but she belongs with Mallet. GT, like CC, could have chemistry with a mannequin. HATE HATE HATE all things Marina. Hate Grady. Hate Daisy. Like Ashlee, but old Ashlee. Really like her interaction with Doris. Miss characters like Wanda and the Spaulding maids. Excited about Phillip's return, just hope they don't botch it. Would love to see more Billy/Vanessa and an Alex/Buzz/Lillian triangle (though I miss the Alex/Lillian friendship). Wouldn't mind seeing them bring Fletcher back and throw him into the mix. Oh well, one can dream!