BTG: February 2025 Discussion Thread

[wingwalker]

Overall that was a good first episode. Got me hooked. Show looks beautiful.  The white couple were the weakest part and most boring. There seemed to be a ton of commercials, but that's what's paying the budget, I'll deal. 

[Maxim]

This makes me sooo happy. This first episode had some many sharp lines and witty comebacks... And so much soul and LIFE in it. So much energy. MVJ is a MASTER. 

Happy 1st EPISODE Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Liberty City]

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• Strong lead; the use of music is outstanding. Yes, the lighting is better than the previews we got, and I think I know why. You don't want to overcast shadows on actors that are unflattering.
• The alternate opening?! It slayed!!
• The sets, camera movements, etc. feel rich. It's brilliant. Pure brilliance.
• The drama is drama-ing. It really is! And the mood music sets a supporting tone instead of drowning out the scenes (ie: GH)
• So far, most of the cast works for me. The only one I have yet to vibe with is Ben Gavin (as Derek Baldwin). If they have to recast, he's the one to be recast.
• Marquita Goings (as Hayley Lawson) is going to be a standout from the "new" cast. I'm calling it now.
• Lauren Buglioli (as Vanessa McBride) is where it's at; she's a gossip. I feel it. But I also feel she's loyal to the Duprees.
• Oh Bill is devious. So devious.
• Dani's anger/rebelliousness from the previews feels more fleshed out in this episode than it did in the previews. I'm understanding the why of how she's feeling, and it's valid.
• The vibe of the Dupree family is everything. A family. A unit. And it works.
• The difference of commercials is refreshing, as well. CBS Media Ventures is doing their thing.
• Dani, Anita & Vernon all stopped before Hayley, as they walked away was everything.
• Removing Karen Huger's hand snap was disappointing, but I get why they did.

[janea4old]

I liked the ten minutes I saw on the CHCH east coast live feed on their website.  I'm over here in Pacific time, so it was amazing to catch even ten minutes with all you Eastcoasters. 

I wonder if CHCH has a Pacific time feed?  Depends on how my internet picks it up.

I don't have TV so otherwise I'll have to wait until the episode is uploaded to CBS or paramountplus

Edited February 24 by janea4old

[BetterForgotten]

Makes sense and it’s her baby so she would want to set the tone well before anyone else helps out. It’s also the benefit of her being in the industry so long and having experience in every soap writing position - scripts, editor, breakdowns, and as a HW. 

Edited February 24 by BetterForgotten

[Maxim]

I will have to wait too for it to be uploaded since I missed the beginning. But I'm so happy.

The fact that we'll get another episode in less than 24 hours seems UNREAL to me.

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[te.]

This is actually one thing that made me happy about it lol. It just came off as parody in the previews, which isn't a good thing for a soap that's trying to play it straight.

[Liberty City]

Material is already giving, cannot wait to see what else comes!

[YRfan23]

True! They should have them on there. 

[SFK]

Welp. Let me go renew my Paramount+. I'm off on Mondays, so watching live on CBS was a treat.

I'm in the Maryland 'burbs and our local news is doing a story about the show as I type. They had a sneak peek of the pilot in D.C. and interviewed some of the actors. They are saying that Fairmont Crest is in Prince George's County, as I guessed. For decades, the county with the largest concentration of wealthy blacks in the U.S.

[Chris B]

This was a very strong Part 1 (as I like to call it) to the pilot week! They did a great job from the beginning introducing us to this new world. The location shoot of Nicole driving up to the country club with a song we all know was classy. The transition from that scene to the interior set was seamless and I thought the lighting and directing was strong. The set design was excellent, the sets were large and there was room for movement. 

The writing also is knocking it out of the park from day one. I get a clear feel for what this show is about and I found it easy to get to know the characters we were introduced to. I recently started watching Sunset Beach from day one and it's like night and day comparing their premiere to this. Starting the show in the middle of the drama with Bill having already left Dani made it feel like we were jumping in at a good point for things to kick off. 

The only thing I found a bit concerning were some of the performances. Chelsea and Kat were cute and I can see them settling in nicely once they get used to the pace of soaps. Naomi, Jacob and Martin were all strong out of the gate. The weak links were definitely Ashley and Derrick. I've seen Jen Jacob in other things and she can act, so I can only imagine he's dragging down her performance. I'd go as far as to say he is so bad that it's the type of scenario where you'd do an emergency recast.

The strongest out the gate were definitely the Core Four. Each actor felt perfectly cast and they had a nice chemistry. Dani and Nicole genuinely felt like sisters and watching Dani with Martin gave off true Auntie vibes. I also must say, this is a Karla Mosley like I've never seen her and it's pretty amazing to see so much of the show rested on her shoulders and she's doing so well. 

All in all, I'm in, but going forward I'm going to Paramount Plus. I can't do these commercials lol. I haven't watched a show live in so long! 

[janea4old]

Did this flash on the BTG screen?
Or is an old graphic?

I never saw Guiding Light but I gather this is a reference?

[YRBB]

That was a very good start! It built so nicely to that final confrontation. I hope it's a sign of great times to come!

 

[dragonflies]

[adrnyc]

Initial reactions:

LOTS of exposition. Which is to be expected. But, if I still had any hair, it'd been blown back by all the information being thrown at me.

The vets are, unsurprisingly, solid. The newbies will need some time to learn how to shoot 80-100 pages per day. The sets, the clothes, the hair all look like MONEY!!!

I agree about the white couple but, as long as that man is shirtless in most of his scenes, I won't mind a bit.

Who do we think is going to be murdered at the end of the week?

P.S. I'll definitely give it a year to see where it all goes.

Edited February 24 by adrnyc
to add the P.S.