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Black Character Portrayals in Soaps Today


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You are, indeed, right about that one. How the Gannon family started out (which, incidentally, was around the time that I'd started watching the show) is a far cry as to how they went out in the end. One would think that the prominence of Nora would warrant the existence of Hank, Rachel, and RJ, but nope, not a thread of consideration.

How dreadful.

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I'm one of those who never minded DW's boisterous scenes - especially when it came to how Jesse related to his daughter, as overprotective as he was.

I was much more interested in Natalia as a cop, so while I was thankful to see her get a thin slice of airtime, this Fusion model subplot didn't grab me as much as I'd wished that it could.

xtr, I could've been on board for Cristian/Vangie if they hadn't made him such an insecure jackass to prop Frodd that it was ruined for me. As for McBain, well, I couldn't root for a 'ship that consisted of a guy that would place Vangie third in his life. I'll admit that RJ and Vangie had chemistry, but I simply couldn't get with a smart and accomplished lady getting with a criminal (even if he was charming).

The less I say about whatever they were trying to pull with Vangie and (shudder) Frodd, the better.

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I hope this question belongs in this thread (please let me know if it isn't, since I'm relatively new) but:

Has anybody heard about some interview Kristoff St. John is supposed to be doing with Nelson Branco? If so, are there any links to read this for free?

I don't don't subscribe so I admit I have to rely on the kindness of strangers to read it. Although, I don't need to read the entire article, just the juicy bits. Although, knowing KSJ he'll probably veer away from anything remotely controversial.

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And another thing...wink.png

For all the props AMC gets for the Hubbards, let's take a look at the characters who didn't fare as well: The Fryes and Reggie Montgomery.

Livia married Tom Cudahy they adopted Jamal then everyone slowly disappeared and Livia only got dragged out when someone went to court. We only saw Tom a handful of times after that.( Usually only on show anniversaries.) Derek was the police chief, a thankless position on any soap, bumped for Anna then got his job back only to have daughter Danielle attacked by a serial killer as a way of getting her off the canvas after months and months of clickety-clacking around Fusion doing nothing. Jamal somehow came back to town and got a job at Confusion without his mother knowing about it then he...disappeared again. (I honestly can't tell you what his storyline was.) Do I even need to discuss the hot mess that was Mimi's return and the Dragon storyline? Which only led to Mimi exiting stage left.

Reggie, played by an actor with real chops, was adopted into the core-iest of core families: the Kane-Montgomerys. MBJ had phenomenal chemistry with all of his co-stars and could act the hell out of anything so of course...he had to go. Reggie went to basketball camp where he remained for FIVE YEARS (I'm pretty sure he should be playing at Lebron James levels by now) and they didn't even bring him back for the end of the show. At least they asked Leven Rambin. So neither of the children Jack chose to bring into his life were around for the end but who did we have? Greenlee. That skinny plot-point brat was treated like the be all and end all of Jack's universe even as she treated him like trash. Greenlee, who ate up frontburner time even as Natalia languished on the backburner. Greenlee, played by Rebecca Budig whose return to the show was simultaneously promoted with the return of Jesse and Angie because they were apparently on the same level in the eyes of ABC.

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Well I can't blame him although I'm sorry we never got to see him share screen time with Walt Willey. They were wonderful together but it's not like I've never seen him again.

It can't escape anyone's notice that once black actors leave the genre they decide to stay gone, Victoria Rowell notwithstanding. I give Shannon Kane credit for continuing to use AMC as a temp job between movies. I give her more credit for saying upfront that she wasn't interested in renewing her contract. If AMC hadn't been canceled, I have no doubt at all that Cornelius Smith would've given them the middle finger as he walked out the door too. But you aren't going to see these actors doing soap reunion events. There won't be any Loving Llanview for Tika Sumpter.

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I don't disagree that soaps' treatment of minorities is shameful, but KdlR seemed to be a spoilsport similar to the way GH's Tyler Christopher was in '11. KdlR enjoyed a decade of significant prominence on OLTL. And he became one of the show's two premiere heroes (the other being freakin' Micahel Easton) during FV's time as EP. Until DH created and fell in love with Nash, he & Jess were shoved down everyone's throats and the A/J/N triangle dominated the show for two years. Additionally, he lasted longer than Forbes March. I think it's unfortunate that RC didn't have a stronger commitment to the Vega family, but it really felt like KdlR wasn't willing to play supporting. And I never liked him better then when he was with Talia (too bad that '08 Carlo Hesser development wound up being such a letdown).

I think SS is a whole different story. Keri was a trainwreck of a character, though her death and the years of impact it created was so sordid.

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In retrospect, I marvel at how Oprah was jusggling Brewster place and her daytime show among other things at that time. BP was filmed at Harpo in Chicago, maybe they did so during the summer when her daytime show was on hiatus?

I can only recall one episode of the series and it really stuck with me. It guest starred the magnificent Beah Richards. She was sort of a "not all there" prim and proper elderly lady who I guess was raised with a little white girl. Over the years, Miss Beah's character somehow became deluded and convinced herself that she was also white. Of course the women of Brewster Place are perplexed by this, and at the end of the episode, BR breaks down and snaps back to reality crying about how pretty her white friend was and how she hated her own brown skin that looked "like dirt". It was powerful and heartbreaking stuff. I mean, I don't have to tell anyone who's familiar with Beah Richards that whether it was Punky Brewster or Designing Women, she could flip a sitcom into Masterpiece Theatre. Lisa Gay Hamilton did a wonderful documentary on her: http://www.documentarychannel.com/movie.php?currID=9398&t=Beah:-A-Black-Woman-Speaks

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