4 minutes ago, TEdgeofNight said:

Do you not understand that Kate Hall has said that she will NEVER be headwriter? She does not want that job. 

I had never heard that. 

2 minutes ago, John said:

I had never heard that. 

She has stated in her social media that she is a dialogue writer. She does not want a headwriter job. she writes dialogue. She does not sit in story meetings. Her job is to write dialogue. That is all.

Why is Carly telling this man everything?

26 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

Why is Carly telling this man everything?

This has been happening for months. Carly goes over there and spills everything the cops are doing to Brennan. Why? She looks like a total idiot but it seems like it's all about them chemistry testing LW and flailing wildly because they know her and Steve aren't working. Carly constantly spilling everything to this dayplayer bad guy is ridiculous.

Edited July 16, 20241 yr by Vee

I would have loved for this show to go full villain on Valentin. Anna leaves, and Valentin drops the charade, pulls out a tarot card, and we realize that he used Victor’s conditioning to get Charlotte to “make peace” with Anna, knowing it would throw her off.

1 minute ago, Vee said:

This has been happening for months. Carly goes over there and spills everything the cops are doing to Brennan. Why? She looks like a total idiot but it seems like it's all about them chemistry testing LW and flailing wildly because they know her and Steve aren't working. Carly constantly spilling everything to this dayplayer bad guy is ridiculous.

I like the actor and I see a place for a calculating gray character on the show right now. But this is not the way to do it! She looks so foolish. Carly is impulsive to a sometimes dangerous degree, but not this stupid.

Carly and Brennan would've made a good couple in another life.  I think they have chemistry.  I liked seeing Willow and Nina on better terms today.  You just never know who is reading your posts.  One of the actors actually replied to one of mine.  It was so random and unexpected. 

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

7-5

I thought that was another good week. 

I doubt I've ever said this before but I love these long-handled posts of yours!!! There is just so much there there!!!

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

In fact, it goes back to what I said yesterday about a clear A story with all the other stories filtering around it. I don't like that the center of that story was Natalia, but I feel the reason it's been so good and juicy was the Natalia expose impacted so many people I do care about (though side-note loving Eva in that white dress and she's been breath-taking to watch): Maxie (KS has never been better than when she was in Boss mode), Kristina/Blaze, Lucy, Scotty by Lucy and his connections to Ava, Sonny, Nina, etc. It has had a domino effect that ripples out. From Natalia of all people. A newbie. But again, it does connect to the other stories going on from Sonny vs Ava, whatever the writers (or was this PM's plan?) planning for Ava...cuz her list of friends/allies has been gradually shrinking and with her on the outs with Trina...RED FLAG for me...how Deception is affected aka woooooow a business story...Alexis's choice to leave the Intruder. I saw so many possibilities and all of this because Ava recorded Natalia and blew her out of the water...which in a way could be seen as sweet revenge on her for c@ckblocking her from Sonny. Heck, it even touched on what PM was setting up with Natalia vs Kristina/Blaze.

Which I LOVE the Kristina vs Natalia scenes. I felt it has been a long time coming. And KM was giving as good as ER was. It felt very gloves come off. And yes, I thought the Blaze actress did great with her reveal scenes as well as the scene when she found out about her label dropping her.

Isn't it funny, Natalia is so deservedly hated because as Krissy said, she is choosing to be a bigot, dragging her feet all this time & NOT making any progress, at all, on adjusting to the new normal Ali has presented her with!! However, it made for such good soap! I agree about Kristina v. Natalia, also about Kirsten Storms & I am loving her line readings & how she dogs Lucy, which no one else would be allowed to do. Lois, just by being herself, is driving Lucy crazy & I find it hilarious. New appreciation for Lois, Lucy Irritant. Also agree about Jacqueline Grace Lopez who I believe has grown considerably in this role & is now able to hold her own. She's a different actress than she was a year ago. 

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

 

And speaking of it since I've mentioned it above...Ava, Ava, Ava. Even through all of this, they could never make me hate a good villainess and I feel that's to the strength of the powerhouse that MW is. And I really love that she's been doing some disgusting things. Alexis and her license. Blowing Natalia out of the water. About to gun for Sonny. And yet she was still given a moment to be a human being on Monday when she saw the comments about Kristina and Blaze and MW allowed Ava to show humanity at the consequences her actions brought. But still...moving in an actual direction again. I really love that. To the complexity of the femme fatale she is. And just like Sami on DAYS OF OUR LIVES circa late 90s...she still has one last trump card to play. And I was right there with her as the wheels started to turn in her head when Scotty mentioned that all she needed was for Sonny to lose it in a public setting cuz the truth about Sonny's meds being messed with STILL has not come out and that Ava knows. 

Me, too. The instant Scott said "have a breakdown in public" I knew she'd try to think HOW Could She Just Tip Him Over & since Ava lives in a fictional universe & thought maybe she'd find a way. Correct! Hilarious how Clement the Rx is so afraid of her. Ordinarily I'd think the pharmacist just wouldn't do it, or even worse, return Sonny to full dosage, but I think he is too intimidated by "NotMrs. Corinthos" to do such a thing, to do anything but placebo him. 

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

Why oh why do they let Drew shave? LOL!!! But seriously, he was not giving his usual hotness. Meanwhile, Curtis been working out because he was looking beefy. Mmmm. lol.

Don't you think it was for the political campaign?

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

 

So they really have done a great job building up Drew/Nina. From hating each other to lusting for each other, but STILL hating each other. And now their respect growing over the last month and a half. Another story I feel that PM made full of win. And Willow makes three it seems at a glance above. Classic soap. And I do love it when I call it. 

 

I continue to like the meet-cute between Trina and Gio. And seeing Trina missing Spencer. Cuz that scene with her and the art book was good. And now Trina humming around Gio and him just letting her. Nice. Thank God Dex and Joss kissed because I was not sure what their status were and her circling Gio is a NO for me. 

 

I will always live for Sonny/Dante scenes. 

 

 

____

Like I said clowning. As in speculation. Anyway...

I know, right? Some of us actually do speculate all of the time and it's a great feeling when as a fan you hit a bullseye.

 

For me, I called Drew/Nina and the hate sex from a mile away. So it's good to see I was right on the money.

 

And I think we all call out the undercurrent between Willow and Drew from a mile away and we all were speculating...or clowning about it then...cuz Michael's head would explode if the writers went there. And judging from some of the comments that I did a quick glance out since you know me and my level of spoilage...I want to get there myself. Lol. Sounds like we were all on the money about that, too. Sadly, it also sounds like the writers are already trying to rush through it. 

Amen.

 

Exactly!! Like I've mentioned, the best thing about Jason's return has been that he's interacting with his kids after decades of putting Carly above all.

 

Yeah, I think they are overdue some friends for sure. 

 

2 hours ago, Liberty City said:

What we needed is what we got (Patrick Mulcahey), and anyone choosing random names are living in delulu-land.

I agree. But that is a big alas now. 

52 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

Why is Carly telling this man everything?

Because Carly is Carly-ing. lol.

 

25 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I would have loved for this show to go full villain on Valentin. Anna leaves, and Valentin drops the charade, pulls out a tarot card, and we realize that he used Victor’s conditioning to get Charlotte to “make peace” with Anna, knowing it would throw her off.

I like the actor and I see a place for a calculating gray character on the show right now. But this is not the way to do it! She looks so foolish. Carly is impulsive to a sometimes dangerous degree, but not this stupid.

Perhaps once. But I feel with the audience...or just here...that boat has sailed on full Villain Val. I thought he has been good at it and I was enjoying the cat-and-mouse with Anna, but I was hoping for others that it led to an exit. 

 

Oh, Charles Masure is great at that kind of character, which is why I felt they should put him where Valentin currently is. He has chemistry with both Carly and Anna. The potential is there. 

9 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I doubt I've ever said this before but I love these long-handled posts of yours!!! There is just so much there there!!!

Isn't it funny, Natalia is so deservedly hated because as Krissy said, she is choosing to be a bigot, dragging her feet all this time & NOT making any progress, at all, on adjusting to the new normal Ali has presented her with!! However, it made for such good soap! I agree about Kristina v. Natalia, also about Kirsten Storms & I am loving her line readings & how she dogs Lucy, which no one else would be allowed to do. Lois, just by being herself, is driving Lucy crazy & I find it hilarious. New appreciation for Lois, Lucy Irritant. Also agree about Jacqueline Grace Lopez who I believe has grown considerably in this role & is now able to hold her own. She's a different actress than she was a year ago. 

Me, too. The instant Scott said "have a breakdown in public" I knew she'd try to think HOW Could She Just Tip Him Over & since Ava lives in a fictional universe & thought maybe she'd find a way. Correct! Hilarious how Clement the Rx is so afraid of her. Ordinarily I'd think the pharmacist just wouldn't do it, or even worse, return Sonny to full dosage, but I think he is too intimidated by "NotMrs. Corinthos" to do such a thing, to do anything but placebo him. 

Don't you think it was for the political campaign?

 

Thank you!!! I think for me it's just that it usually takes me forever to play catch-up. I feel I haven't been this caught up since Patrick M. came on. So I'm sure as soon as his name falls off the screen, that won't be the case...though I'm looking forward to Fall. 

 

You are hitting it on the nail, too!!! There was so many moving parts and nuances going on in the Deception scenes. Lucy and Lois having a good back and forth. How Lucy was totally trying to get her lick back on Natalia so that video dropping worked for her. And Lynn did so great with so little, but she's great as an actress in the background of scenes doing reactions. Always has been so she's always fun to watch. 

 

Yes! I was blanking on her name so glad I was thinking right. But agree. I don't think Jacqueline Lopez could have pulled off those scenes a year ago. It's why I pointed them out. Especially her falling to pieces when her label messaged her. You could literally see it all over her face. Music has always been her thing. And it was like her heart had been ripped out. She really did great with that. As an artist if I've been told I could not do what I love to do, I would not know what to do. She conveyed it beautifully.

 

This show has needed the old school villainess, so I love that Ava fits right in. And while the writing was on the wall that she might be written off, I felt that with Dante's talk to Sonny on the 7-5 episode, they might give her some wiggle room. She should stay like this. Just don't write her into a corner. That said, I feel the writers have more reason to find a plausible reason for her to get out of her corner versus Valentin who has definitely been written into a corner. And any way out of it would not at all be plausible for him.

 

Me talking about Drew and his scruff is just part of the continuing running joke on the threads about how CM's Drew has always been more interesting and hotter when he has his scruff vs shaven. 

55 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

I agree. But that is a big alas now.

Mhmm. He was brought in under the wrong executive production team, as well as a horrible time to be under the over-controlling eye of Disney-ABC Television.

On 7/14/2024 at 10:42 PM, Vee said:

Oh, you!

Originally, it was an innocent comment connecting the drinking of beer to Aiden's cupcake obsession. Then I realized the connotation and went with it. I figure those of you who read my endless rants deserve at least one cringe comment every now and again.

21 hours ago, DRW50 said:

@dc11786 What a detailed rundown of the current show. I always appreciate how you offer suggestions and analyses to plots that often just aren't what they could be (on old soaps or now). Your rundown reinforced for me that there are a few genuinely decent or possibly even good stories on the show right now even with the myriad issues. Meanwhile, there are others I just do not care about and never will (like Sonny or Sonny/Natalia or whatever is going on with Ava) that tend to get much of the fan focus, often very negative (the other being the stuff with Gio/Trina/Joss/Dax that is as you mentioned severely underwritten and marred by casting issues and agendas).

I never thought the show would pull the trigger on a Cody/Tracy pairing, even if Mulcahey had stayed, but it would definitely add a lot of layers if Sasha does end up being drawn to Michael again. And it would be a first for Tracy - I guess there was Paul, but no matter how attractive he was meant to be he was just a cardboard cutout. It's more like the type of fling Monica used to have, if only Leslie was able to get to react to that part of the story.

Thanks. There is a lot of potential that just wasn't utilized, which is a shame. I know some of us have discussed the need for more action, but I think if the show's scripts were stronger, the emotional confrontations would carry the show. I just don't think that level of writing is being achieved by the staff. I think someone like Richard Culliton would be spitting out gems for Jane Elliott the way he would for John Aniston on "Days." And Melissa Salmons would have elevated that Nina and Ava confrontation back in May to another level. The current crop of writers don't excite me.  

I didn't think about the Monica angle with Cody and Tracy, but that would have been nice. Monica's response to the Heather Webber stuff would have also been noteable I imagine. I realize that Charleston doesn't seem to be available due to health reasons so I respect her absence, and appreciate Elliott's presence even more. 

21 hours ago, Vee said:

I've been catching up as well. I think the promising stories and elements are fading fast and I'll be dipping out soon (til Jonathan Jackson shows up), but I am glad Willow/Drew/Nina is still a thing for now. Sasha will never be a compelling option for me for Michael though, and frankly they need to write him out for a few years and recast.

I do think there was something there with Cody and Tracy under PM - both early on when she began using the stables more and more, and then when she actively compared him to a young Gregory. I can't see the network or FV going for it these days though.

I liked the suggestion someone made about turning Michael into an alcoholic. I can't remember if someone else suggested it, or I expanded on it in my head, but I would have let Michael become paralyzed in an accident and milked the paralysis to keep Willow by his side torturing her.

I think I'll try my best to stick it out for the summer since I am off from school, but unless Drew / Nina / Willow is still in play or they have committed to the Stella / Tracy friendship I don't see myself committing to Carly's musical love interests, the on contract / off contract romances, and whatever else is in play. 

6 hours ago, Vee said:

I think they were doing a fair bit with both sons under the recent regime until the Jason/Pikeman story totally stalled (they then had Jake and his teen buddies try to get beer at the local bar and have Jake bust Finn to Elizabeth for being out drinking with a random floozy), but this would indicate a change if Jake does go overseas for awhile. I think part of the idea under Mulcahey, etc. was to build a contrast and possibly rivalry between the sons/half-brothers, a la Jason and A.J.

I didn't feel like there was a true commitment to the younger set. There were a handful of scenes back in March/April that seemed like they might, but I don't really remember a whole lot in the past few weeks. The younger set seemed to stall the week they recast Aiden and then none of that group got much outside Jake's bar trip (to reveal Finn's affair) and Danny and Jason bonding to fuel Sam's need to learn what the FBI has on Jason. 

6 hours ago, Vee said:

No, we're not 'clowning.' Some of us actually suspected an undercurrent with Cody and Tracy for months now. You don't have to agree with it.

I know we have talked about it several times. I remember thinking after Terry suggested that Tracy might have depression stemming from all of the loss in her life, including her husband Luke, that she should take up a hobby. If I recall, Tracy showed up in the stables and Cody was shirtless. The Cody is like Gregory line also stood out to me. It's possible Cody / Tracy was just built in order to maneuver Cody into the outskirts of the Gregory story to propel him to tell Mac, but I think someone wanted to try at something more than just friends between them.

1 hour ago, Vee said:

This has been happening for months. Carly goes over there and spills everything the cops are doing to Brennan. Why? She looks like a total idiot but it seems like it's all about them chemistry testing LW and flailing wildly because they know her and Steve aren't working. Carly constantly spilling everything to this dayplayer bad guy is ridiculous.

It's one of the reasons I have no use for the Pikeman story. I think the psychological element of it was interesting with Sonny off his meds, but I don't get the sense that Bernard is interested in playing that. 

1 minute ago, Liberty City said:

Mhmm. He was brought in under the wrong executive production team, as well as a horrible time to be under the over-controlling eye of Disney-ABC Television.

I still believe what we have discussed on this and the PM thread briefly. There was (is?) some BTS drama going on that we are not aware of. At least publicly. 

 

Just looking at the last month and a half...what stories appeared to be IMHO PM...were hitting the middle of their arcs...revealing why those stories went in THAT direction in the first place. And that goes back to me discussing stalling on some of the stories in order to have a fast reason (ratings) to get rid of PM. 

2 minutes ago, dc11786 said:

but I would have let Michael become paralyzed in an accident and milked the paralysis to keep Willow by his side torturing her.

The irony of that with them given what they did to Chase would be delicious. 

 

5 minutes ago, dc11786 said:

I know we have talked about it several times. I remember thinking after Terry suggested that Tracy might have depression stemming from all of the loss in her life, including her husband Luke, that she should take up a hobby. If I recall, Tracy showed up in the stables and Cody was shirtless. The Cody is like Gregory line also stood out to me. It's possible Cody / Tracy was just built in order to maneuver Cody into the outskirts of the Gregory story to propel him to tell Mac, but I think someone wanted to try at something more than just friends between them.

We did. Often. There was quite a lot of clowning around on it and speculation.

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, dc11786 said:

Originally, it was an innocent comment connecting the drinking of beer to Aiden's cupcake obsession. Then I realized the connotation and went with it. I figure those of you who read my endless rants deserve at least one cringe comment every now and again.

They're wonderful rants!

Quote

I didn't feel like there was a true commitment to the younger set. There were a handful of scenes back in March/April that seemed like they might, but I don't really remember a whole lot in the past few weeks. The younger set seemed to stall the week they recast Aiden and then none of that group got much outside Jake's bar trip (to reveal Finn's affair) and Danny and Jason bonding to fuel Sam's need to learn what the FBI has on Jason.

They've definitely lessened any focus on Danny and Jake over the last few months, as PM's influence waned.

I don't think SLs were stalled as an excuse to deliberately tank ratings - I don't think FV operates like that in terms of the bottom line, ever. I do think stuff like the now-endless Pikeman saga, etc. stalled out due to BTS turmoil and likely different people at the show being at cross-purposes over stories or actors, and possibly other issues (like May sweeps vs. July 'sweeps', PM wanting to cut the cast and allegedly not being allowed, and the rather salient point that Jason and Carly, who seemed primed to be reunited, have zero romantic chemistry). Now we see the Willow/Drew/Nina story (which I suspect would've ended with Drew/Nina as endgame far down the road) likely coming to a swift and nasty end prematurely as Mulcahey's tenure wraps, and that's probably not by his own hand. We have Ava out on her áss vs. playing Sonny, and we have FV favorite Valentin's place in things remaining very murky as Anna catches feelings all over again.

I do think Jacqueline Lopez was very good in her monologue eviscerating Natalia. I just still don't see much of a character behind Blaze, and I don't need to watch one more minute of Natalia period.

Edited July 16, 20241 yr by Vee

6 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

And even if they are gonna push Jason/Carly, wouldn’t it make more sense to include his kids in the storyline in order to add another layer to it? 

I don't see them abandoning Jason & his kiddos. I mean, why would they? The set-up with Danny is excellent. Jake is at a very good point but we may be losing him which might be temp, who knows. Sam, of course, may continue to add conflict about Danny. Good soap, right? 

Oh, yeah, of course, it bears repeating that chemistry is 100% a subjective thing. Some see it, others don't. Writing & characterization & tradecraft  have to be used & are. 

Edited July 16, 20241 yr by Contessa Donatella
more

58 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

I still believe what we have discussed on this and the PM thread briefly. There was (is?) some BTS drama going on that we are not aware of. At least publicly. 

Just looking at the last month and a half...what stories appeared to be IMHO PM...were hitting the middle of their arcs...revealing why those stories went in THAT direction in the first place. And that goes back to me discussing stalling on some of the stories in order to have a fast reason (ratings) to get rid of PM. 

Oh, completely. And I always suspected post-May Sweeps storylines would begin shifting into what the regime was planning, and that is playing out right with [some] disastrous results, due to Mulcahey's exit.