2 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Yes, this was the storyline where Greta slapped Emily outside of the courtroom after yelling "Whore!". The funny thing is how Emily kept it moving, as if determined not to let Greta see her react to it.

 

From a writer's perspective, a character like Greta is best used sparingly, in short arcs, or the character can easily become unsustainable. In order to make the character a regular part of the canvas, the writing would have to make her more like everyone else to fit into the canvas or the writing has to increasingly "up the stakes", in which case the storylines and characterizations become more over the top, at risk of making the character cartoonish, a frequent problem on soaps, which has cost the genre credibility, imo. 

You can't realistically write a character like Greta consistently, over the long term, unless you devote huge amounts of time to writing storylines especially focused on exploring deeper psychological aspects of the character, in order to both humanize as well as prevent the character from becoming stale, and what then becomes of the other characters on an ensemble show when you devote so much time an resources to one character? Then you get a Victor Newman-like situation, unhealthy for the show.

That's why a character like Greta is more likely to appear in a script for a movie, where there is a definite beginning, middle and end, than a serialized show.

 

I know..but she sure is fun..and really, she could have just gone across town slapping practically everyone but Nancy Hughes and calling them "Whores"!!!

1 hour ago, Mitch said:

I know..but she sure is fun..and really, she could have just gone across town slapping practically everyone but Nancy Hughes and calling them "Whores"!!!

 

She definitely left a memorable impression on Emily (her cheek, to be precise) with a good old fashioned soap slap, which hadn't been delivered in a couple years, since Babs, Margo and Lily, Iva and Sierra seemingly all retired from slapping folks.

On 5/11/2021 at 10:57 PM, Soapsuds said:

 

 

Kind of sad the edge Emily had during Melanie Smith's portrayal was taken away with Kelly Menighan in the role.

2 hours ago, Liberty City said:

 

Kind of sad the edge Emily had during Melanie Smith's portrayal was taken away with Kelly Menighan in the role.

 

All nuance eventually wore away as well.

6 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

All nuance eventually wore away as well.

 

Which is unfortunate.

Kelly was another fail recasting on soaps but who lasted for years.  Great actress, wrong role.  Melanie was so Susan like. They had a gold mine with that actress and could have found a similar replacement.  I never liked the character after Melanie left.

10 minutes ago, RavenWhitney said:

Kelly was another fail recasting on soaps but who lasted for years.  Great actress, wrong role.  Melanie was so Susan like. They had a gold mine with that actress and could have found a similar replacement.  I never liked the character after Melanie left.

 

I don't think Menighan was the problem. It was the writing for her in the role.

I don't even consider Melanie's Emily and Kelly's Emily as the same character. 

Can anyone guess what's different about this episode? If your a long time fan and paid attention to every "word" you'll get it.

 

51 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Can anyone guess what's different about this episode? If your a long time fan and paid attention to every "word" you'll get it

 

Got too distracted by a young Scott Bryce.

2 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

Can anyone guess what's different about this episode? If your a long time fan and paid attention to every "word" you'll get it.

 

 

I'm still watching it, but the repartee between John and Lucinda where John asks her "Can I borrow your bathtub?" sounds like incredible foreshadowing. I also chuckle whenever I see that, in the midst of the verbal jousting between them, John still finds the time and wherewithal to tell Lucinda how good she looks. More breadcrumbs.

 

Just as an aside, I always found it cute that John and Dusty had that special "too much to do" handshake.

Also, when exactly did John find out that Lucinda was Mary Ellen Walters?

 

I wish there were more episodes with Steven Weber.

 

For a moment, I thought Heather was going to grab that check right out of Marie Kovac's bosom but Heather kept it classy.

4 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

Can anyone guess what's different about this episode? If your a long time fan and paid attention to every "word" you'll get it.

 

The dialogue doesn't sound very Marlandish. I wish there was more of the Doug Cummings saga. The stuff with Doug is giving me Henry Slezar/EON vibes. I didn't realize John already knew Lucy's real name. Years before DM did her origin story. It's nice to see Jay still around. Also like seeing Jay and Heather playing  supporting roles. In the Cummings story. Marie was a hoot. The show felt very vibrant and edgy.  And not stuffy like it became later. 

Edited May 14, 20214 yr by victoria foxton

13 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

I'm still watching it, but the repartee between John and Lucinda where John asks her "Can I borrow your bathtub?" sounds like incredible foreshadowing. I also chuckle whenever I see that, in the midst of the verbal jousting between them, John still finds the time and wherewithal to tell Lucinda how good she looks. More breadcrumbs.

 

Just as an aside, I always found it cute that John and Dusty had that special "too much to do" handshake.

 

Iva must've been stalking Lucinda for months, as it was several months before she was revealed to be behind those phone calls.

 

I could see how penny-pinching P&G might have thought the cast needed to be culled. Those Halloween party scenes are chaotic.

Edited May 14, 20214 yr by DramatistDreamer

18 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Iva must've been stalking Lucinda for months, as it was several months before she was revealed to be behind those phone calls.

 

I could see how penny-pinching P&G might have thought the cast needed to be called. Those Halloween party scenes are chaotic.

I liked Iva in 1985. She had some Nola in her. Later on she became wimpy and boring.