Unpopular Opinions

[Vee]

I liked BMH's Father Joey a lot. Malone was clearly trying to pattern him after Andrew Carpenter and it made a lot of sense for the character. But the minute they put him with Jen/Jessica Morris (who Malone very foolishly tried to make into a new iteration of Marty Saybrooke, right down to dialogue from Nora and Andrew saying "you remind me so much of Marty Saybrooke") it was over.

[vetsoapfan]

 

 Although many core families have been gratuitously slaughtered on soaps, it still surprised me that ABC allowed the Quartermaines to be completely gutted. If Stuart Damon had chosen by himself to leave, fine. But killing off Alan was not justifiable in any way. Axing the Hardys, Webbers, and Quartermaines has left GH in shambles. Of the current cast of characters, I would seriously want to eliminate 90%.

 

I'm glad you also liked BMH as Joey. Fillion was my favorite in the role, but you are right: Hall did have a sweetness about him that was appealing. Do you remember Marty West on TGL? He was far from a great actor, but he exuded an innate sweetness as well, which made me feel kind of guilty when I would roll by eyes at his performances. Both Hall and West seem to have drifted off the radar.

[ajsp35801]

 

Well, you're an equal opportunity hater. 

 

 

[vetsoapfan]

 

Oh God, I had completely blocked Jen from my mind, and now she is back, giving me a migraine, LOL. But I'm happy to see a third viewer giving BHH's Joey a thumbs up.

[Gray Bunny]

 

Unpopular opinion: I like Bryton James. But strictly for his looks. 

 

On a similar note: Based on aesthetics (i.e. HEIGHT), I always thought it annoying how DAYS would play up Lucas as the loser underdog in every fight with another guy over a woman. There ain't nothing wrong with a 5'7" man gettin' the job done....

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[DeeeDee]

 

Some of us have always said he was a solid actor, he just can't carry a show.

[Soaplovers]

I think the problem with BMH as Joey wasn't the actor himself.. but a host of other things (I also thought he was a good choice to play Joey).

 

Part of the problem was the BMH had played dorky Reese on Passions... so people couldn't buy  him as a non nerdy character so soon (some viewers have trouble separating character from performer).

 

The other problem was that instead of gradually introducing him as Joey.. they instantly threw him into a coupling with Jen (who I didn't actually mind as a character just that I think she was featured too much too soon).  I think had the show gradually introduced him.. interacting him with his on screen family, Dorian, etc.. then they would have gotten use to him as Joey.

 

 

[Faulkner]

For me, the problem with Nick is that it’s hard to get excited about a character who feels so passive, and JM’s performance can so often feel like the human equivalent of a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Like @DeeeDeesaid, Y&R expects that to carry an entire soap a lot of the time. JM can step it up when required, but the writing does him no favors.

[ajsp35801]

 

JM has never been asked to carry a show, though. I don't recall a time where the show was ever centered on him alone. When he got so much feature, it was always next to SC or MS or both. 

[MichaelGL]

Yea I was a huge fan of BMH as Joey. Yowza. 

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Jen didn't bother me as much either. I guess that's a unpopular opinion? I liked it when she was portrayed as a schemer, anything else rang hollow. 

 

ETA: Goodness, now that I think back to early 2000s OLTL, they had a ton of hot male actors. I'll save that for another thread though. 
 

[Soaplovers]

I didn't like the super couple craze soaps moved into in the late 70s and never ever got out of.  

 

Give me single people navigating through life, work, and family.

 

Give me couples trying to navigate relationships with each other, their families, friends, and their kids.

 

Give me a couple that realize they love one another but break up because the toxicity of their relationship is affecting their kids... and not keep reuniting and breaking them up.  Show me how their kids react to the break up and how it affects their dating and social life.

 

Don't give me make ups and break ups.. don't give super couples that have to be together all the time.. that aren't individuals but joined at the hip.

[Faulkner]

Really, that’s all I want from a soap. And it’s shocking how rarely soaps really given it to us, at least in the past few decades. I was watching the much-heralded Eden rape storyline from Santa Barbara, and, while much of it was done well, I was stunned at how little her story involved her family beyond Cruz. Made it far less compelling than it could have been.

[Paul Raven]

Re Bryton...to me he presents as bland middle age man... different strokes etc

[j swift]

The creators of most soaps currently on air did not intend for them to last this long and I think the audiance's perceived rigid adherence to history is a contributor to killing the genre.

 

The idea of soap anniversaries and multi-generational storylines was really a creation of 1980's soap producers.  While it is an incredible feat to keep a show on air for more than 30 years, we have all seen repeated plots, characters who lack development, and tired old sets.  We are nostalgic for the golden age of soaps and maybe we keep watching with the hope that those times will return.

 

In the 1970's producers were more creative with developing new soap operas.  There were interesting experiments, spin-offs, and many flops, but it maintained a freshness that seems to be lacking in today's shows.  Every network tried a new soap so there were a variety of entry points for new fans. 

 

I often think that if Chuck Pratt got to create a new soap about mobsters we would have appreciated it more than trying to make GH into The Sopranos.  Similarly, if Linda Gottlieb had an opportunity to create a contemporary soap from scratch with Michael Malone's writing it may have been amazing.  I also think it would be less jarring for the audience if soaps ended and new ones began every few years.

 

Instead we get ingenues in their 40's, on their 18th marriage, with an audience who demands that writers, who weren't born when the characters were introduced, maintain their personalities and recall every detail of their history.

[Faulkner]

I’m sure the costs of mounting and especially marketing new daily soaps for a shrinking, aging audience are prohibitive, which is why it hasn’t happened in this century, but I would have preferred seeing new visions instead of writers contorting themselves to reinvent shows created during the Cold War. As fans on this very board have said, it’s tiresome for some villain to kidnap Marlena every year and not have John think, “Hmmm, I haven’t heard from Doc today. Maybe she’s been abducted again?!?!” It’s all very boring.