27 minutes ago, EdibleFlowers said:

Passions is my fave soap opera of all time and JER is my favorite writer of all time. I’m blessed to have been alive to watch every episode from start to finish. What an experience.

Although I don't feel the same way as you about PASSIONS or JER, I am glad that both have had such an impact on your life.  That's important to remember as more and more of this genre disappears.

45 minutes ago, Khan said:

Although I don't feel the same way as you about PASSIONS or JER, I am glad that both have had such an impact on your life.  That's important to remember as more and more of this genre disappears.

Thank you. I was in the official fan club for a few years and got some cool stuff from it. I’ve also got some autographed photos of some of the actors and I’ve met Eric Martsolf (even though Travis Schuldt is the superior Ethan). And of course I still have my hardcover copy of Hidden Passions.

I also loved JER’s Days. The first run was excellent and the second started out great until Corday interfered and forced him to bring back the dead. But that’s a conversation for the classic Days thread. 

4 hours ago, Khan said:

There are soaps that I love to this day, and there are soaps that I am lukewarm about.  But PASSIONS is but one of two soaps that I have a seething hatred for.  Not only because the writing (or what I saw of it) was so awful, but also because it was racist, ageist and misogynistic trash that never should have seen the light of day.  JER was a hack who conned NBC into giving him too much creative autonomy, simply because he managed to "save" DAYS (in the ratings, if not creatively) with the few, the VERY few tricks he held up his sleeve.

On 12/11/2023 at 3:59 PM, Khan said:

There are soaps that I love to this day, and there are soaps that I am lukewarm about.  But PASSIONS is but one of two soaps that I have a seething hatred for.  Not only because the writing (or what I saw of it) was so awful, but also because it was racist, ageist and misogynistic trash that never should have seen the light of day.  JER was a hack who conned NBC into giving him too much creative autonomy, simply because he managed to "save" DAYS (in the ratings, if not creatively) with the few, the VERY few tricks he held up his sleeve.

The things you mentioned above were the things that ruined PASSIONS. I actually like it for a bit when I would watch it once in a while when I came home from work to each lunch...somedays it was fresh and funny and a riff on soaps when it first started and was more good humored..(at Christmas when Tabitha tried to get Santa drunk to screw her...or when they had pop up bubbles to have Tabby warn the young viewers not to do whatever ridiculous thing she and Timmy were up to..."NBC's lawyers would like me to tell you not to drive a motorcycle at midnight without a helmet, but I told them how would you be able to see my face...") but I never became invested in it..it was just a collection of skits tied loosely around a really bad soap opera. But then I tuned in years later and there was a lot of rape and serial killing and I missed the days of Tabby and Timmy fighting their "Friends in the basement," It just got mean spirited and I think mirrored JER's state of mind. 

It’s been 23 years since the oh-so-satisfying Christmas Eve episode where Ethan chose Theresa over Gwen while Sheridan showed up alive at the church during Midnight Mass and reunited with Luis. The double-whammy payoff was soooo good! 

I couldn’t stand the Gwen recast so I thoroughly enjoyed seeing that smug smirk wiped off her face. 

This thread ought to be for fans only. You can bash JER and my soap elsewhere. 

On 12/13/2023 at 8:18 AM, Mitch64 said:

It just got mean spirited and I think mirrored JER's state of mind. 

The conflict between id and superego was so strong in JER that it seems like he couldn't help but project it into every script.  For example, once you write a story about the Pope and a novice nun escaping an incestual relationship, maybe someone should have just suggested psychoanalysis, rather than giving him a writing contract.

To me, Passions was such a tease because they constantly contrasted images of sexy shirtless men and then punished women for looking at them.  It was the most juvenile depiction of sensuality for a network that just years earlier was producing much more deep explorations of women's desires on AW and HtSaM.

2 hours ago, Lye-C said:

This thread ought to be for fans only. You can bash JER and my soap elsewhere. 

In a forum, people are allowed to have dissenting opinions... so long as there is mutual respect between both parties.

I watched Passions when it was first came on in 1999.  It had a lot of strong elements/potential that sadly weren't followed up on or developed.

The Russell family had such a strong foundation with potential for years of story. 

 T.C had a steady job as a gym teacher, but was still resentful over the accident that caused him to give up a promising career as a professional tennis player.. and also had that shed in the backyard that he would go to.  He put all of his hopes and dreams onto his eldest daughter Whitney and kind of ignored his 2nd eldest daughter Simone.

  Eve was a successful doctor, wife, and mother.. but she felt something was missing in her life.  She had a less than stable upbringing, was a jazz singer, did drugs, and had a forbidden love/romance with Julian Crane that no one knew about.  So while she was giving her daughters the life she'd always wished she had growing up, a part of her still longed for the past.. and she was careful never to reveal her past and feelings to her husband T.C.

   Whitney was the straight A level headed eldest daughter that did everything by the book, and was driven to be the professional tennis player that her father wanted.. even if she might have secretly wanted something else for her life.  She had this drive for perfection and approval due to her parents seemingly happy marriage and her mother Eve's 'perfection'.

   Simone was the younger daughter, always feeling like she was in the shadow of her perfect older sister Whitney.  Deep down, she knew she could never be like her sister Whitney so she just lived her life.. while secretly wishing her parents loved/valued her as much as they did her older sister Whitney.

 

    These elements could have created years of stories for the Russel family that could have been done without repetitive scenes and hamster wheel stories.

3 hours ago, Lye-C said:

This thread ought to be for fans only. You can bash JER and my soap elsewhere. 

Wow!! A bit rude lol

 

3 hours ago, Lye-C said:

This thread ought to be for fans only. You can bash JER and my soap elsewhere. 

This board ought to be for grownups only. This kind of attitude belongs in kindergarten.

18 minutes ago, JellicleCat said:

This board ought to be for grownups only. This kind of attitude belongs in kindergarten.

I was instructed to come here. It’s supposed to be a safe haven for Passions fans. Since you’re trolling me, I’m adding you as one of my ignored users. 

Edited January 6, 20241 yr by Lye-C

3 minutes ago, Lye-C said:

I was instructed to come here. It’s supposed to be a safe haven for Passions threads. Since you’re trolling me, I’m adding you as one of my ignored users. 

You call that trolling?!   😆

Weird how they hate Passions but they can’t stay out of the Passions thread. 

Also weird that they don’t post on the main forums.

It is ironic that if one cannot respectfully engage with others, they wind up like a Passions character, alone yelling their thoughts aloud with nobody to hear them.

Edited January 6, 20241 yr by j swift

36 minutes ago, j swift said:

It is ironic that if one cannot respectfully engage with others, they wind up like a Passions character, alone yelling their thoughts aloud with nobody to hear them.

There was another thing with that user about her beloved Deidre/Marlena from Days and she already gave me Theresa Vibes lol No offense of course 

 

 

Edited January 6, 20241 yr by AMCOLTLLover