BTG: March 2025 Discussion Thread

[wonderwoman1951]

i feel that way about so much that’s happened in the first two weeks. the first friday: a shotgun wedding and deliberate car crash. this week: a hostage situation; a character we’ve barely met targeted by a likely mobbed-up casino owner (whose name i’d have to look up) — oh yes,   how could i forget — a three-way! 

i’m exhausted just typing this:)

i know they think that they have to come fast out of the gate and maintain the momentum. but, maybe not… it’s possible this might prove counter-productive for some viewers. i’ve already see a few comments  — not a lot, but still — from people who are out: too much happening too fast to too many characters. 

wondering if they maintained this pace for everything already recorded. and, i’m really curious whether they have done (or will do) any market research  i’m painfully aware of the damage of what eileen fulton called ‘f*ckus groups,’ inflected in soaps. but, in this situation, viewer feedback could be useful. 

 

Edited March 9 by wonderwoman1951

[janea4old]

REMINDER -- 
USA/Canada changes to daylight(summer) time Sunday March 9th.
For anyone watching from outside of North America, your region might change clocks a different week.
For example:
Europe doesn't change to "SummerTime" until March 30th.

If you are trying to watch the Canadian feed live from Europe on chch.com, remember that BeyondTheGates will now be at 2pm Eastern DAYLIGHT time from now on.
Just use a timezone converter and select "2pm New York Time" starting Monday March 10th.

[BoldRestless]

@janea4old you are too good with all the reminders, nothing gets past you.

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Did you already confirm no March Madness preemptions? I think you did?

[janea4old]

I confirmed no UEFA soccer preemptions in March.

But there *will* be NCAA basketball preemptions.
Thursday March 20 and Friday March 21, all CBS soaps will be preempted for NCAA March Madness basketball.
CBS preempts the soaps every year on the third Thursday/Friday of March for basketball.
This is nationwide in USA, so chch.com won't have BTG in Canada either.

The basketball preemptions are already showing on the CBS listings on zap2it.com.  Twelve hours of basketball coverage on March 20.

Edited March 9 by janea4old

[BoldRestless]

Thanks again @janea4old

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I saw some misinformation elsewhere that CBS shows were preempted this week which sounded wrong. Bummer about the 20th and 21st though! All of the new BTG fans will have to suffer like we have been for years.

[kalbir]

Hahaha. In recent years I haven't minded the March Madness break though.

[Taoboi]

Very good to hear. I also feel that the show continues to build through leaps and bounds. And I fully expect the green actors to grow. If not...well...but I am willing to give them time. And NONE of them was that actor who played the guy that Chelesa hooked up with. 

 

Now do you hate Martin because of the actor or because the character of Martin is such a prick? 

 

I really love that Week 2 explored Nicole's world a little more and Week 3 looks set to do moreso of that off of the Friday cliffhanger. She's giving solid B plot for her sister's A plot for sure. 

Hahaha. Also thanks for the March Madness info @janea4old.

[Vee]

It doesn't feel like too much to me, because the pacing has largely been on point. To me it feels more protracted than it is. Feels like it's been on much longer, in a weird way.

Edited March 9 by Vee

[Alan]

I'm having BTG withdrawals! This might be the first time I have had soap opera withdrawals since I was a teenager. 

Thanks for the information about preemptions! @janea4old

[Chris B]

This is how I feel. Week 2 felt like the show had been on for a while and I felt it was paced in a way that I was able to easily follow it compared to week 1. 

I also get what they're doing with the pace. When people joke about soaps it's always about how slow they are and how you can skip months and come back to the same thing happening. If they came out with Passions pacing I don't think they'd get sampled. Plus with streaming, there is an ongoing chance for people to jump into the show. I know my younger sister is excited to watch it but she won't watch it yet because there aren't enough episodes. She's used to binging a series so she wants 20-40 episodes before she will even consider starting the show. 

As the show develops and has these moments, they will hopefully continue to catch new peoples eyes. When they see there's a backlog of episodes that is going to be a positive thing IMO. People get so upset binging a show and being done after 8 episodes. Another thing I think would be smart is for them to license the show to Netflix at some point. I'm not saying to remove it from Paramount Plus, but once season one is done they could license it to Netflix and I'm sure it would quickly be a top ten show there.

[Antoyne]

No for real. Two weeks in a row they’ve ended on a crazy cliffhanger I’m desperate to know the conclusion of. I genuinely get excited to watch this show live Monday thru Friday.

[Paul Raven]

It's going to be interesting to see how things progress  now that they have been set up.

What's next for Hayley? Will she try and establish a friendship group at the Country Club for example? Or reconnect with Chelsea(or was it Naomi that was her friend?)

How will Bill still be in the mix now that he's away from the Duprees?

One thing I want to see is the Duprees having a housekeeper and reference (at least) to staff.

Please no millionaires who have no servants. Someone who could join the gossip group. If not, at least someone we see occasionally so we know Anita is not scrubbing the bathtub herself!

And regular out of the studio shoots.

 

 

[Vee]

Naomi was Hayley's best friend.

[Alan]

I am wonder if Jan (Ashley's mom) cleans houses beyond the gates? I know she is supposed to work in Fairmont Crest but we haven't learned what she actually does there.

[Antoyne]

I’ve been getting caught up on Bel Air season 3 and I actually wish they had taken some set design ideas from there. I feel like the Dupree and Hamilton rich is similar to the Banks rich but some of the set design doesn’t give that same opulence. Also highly recommend Bel Air period.

Edited March 9 by Antoyne