BTG: March 2025 Discussion Thread

[te.]

It's grown on me a lot. It's not the among the greatest themes where I'd be gutted if they changed it, but I do like it now. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I am one who liked it immediately & still does.

[1974mdp]

I felt the same way. When those two characters appear, you can feel the energy of the show grind to a halt. I didn't miss not seeing them at all.

The young actress playing Samantha is a keeper. She's a natural and is out acting some of the 20ish cast members. They need to sign her to a contract to keep her around.

[Aback]

I’m glad you all came around about the theme. I’ve liked it from the get-go and said it deserves a TikTok dance routine. Hoping the Gen Z castmates get on it.

Another thing I hope we can all agree on is how much the current Ted actor sucks. He’s a caricature. I can see why TPTB might have liked him initially, but his line delivery, facial expressions, and posture are laughable.

Here are some random thoughts on the general discussion from the last couple of weeks:

• Two cheating husbands? It’s repetitive, uninspired—I don’t like it. BUT it absolutely does NOT send the message that Black husbands are cheaters. Let me remind you: we have Vernon, we have Jacob—both adore their spouses—and heck, even Martin, who might be a two-faced politician, hasn’t come across as a cheater. You have to look at the bigger picture when judging the men on this show.

• I have to laugh at people praising the pacing like it’s the result of some complex study on modern content consumption. No. The show isn’t designed for binging. This is just normal pacing in 2025, when you’re juggling multiple sets. Look at international soaps. It’s the other US soaps that are stuck in the 1950s with their endless talkathons.

• BTW, the pacing can be wildly inconsistent. You’ll have things happening over breakfast that somehow drag into nighttime. Two examples: Hayley getting ignored at the club during breakfast and still complaining to Billy about it that night. And: Martin being invited to breakfast by his grandparents, Smitty overhearing them talk about Martin running for President, and later calling that moment “earlier tonight.” Yikes.

• I’m shocked by how snobbish this show—and some of its viewers—are about background music. It enhances the story, adds value for sight-impaired viewers, and signals when to pay attention for those of us who watch while doing other things (cleaning, ironing, working, etc.). Look at primetime! The biggest show right now—White Lotus—is notorious for its glorious soundtrack.

• I roll my eyes every time I see the hospital set and the convoluted excuses they use to bring characters together there. In real life, nobody wants to go near a hospital, and they’re so big you never run into anyone.

• I’m not big on credits, but I think my favorite director on the show is Steven Williford.

Random takes on characters and storylines:

• Stefania is a keeper. She’s gorgeous and a genuinely good actress.

• Wasn’t Mike Bill’s best man at the wedding?! I was surprised when Tomas had to bend over backwards to explain who Mike was to Kat, instead of just saying “he was Bill’s best man.”

• I see they’ve been infected with the Bell Shows Virus when it comes to Chelsea’s purse™ designs. Every time a character starts a new project, it’s always “splendid,” “bound for success,” “revolutionary.” I wish just one person would say, “Man, these purses are ugly.”

• Who the f—k is Lorinda?! Or whatever her name was. She just popped up out of nowhere with Billy hugging her, talking about how she’s lying to her husband. I was like—did I miss an episode?! Weird.

P.S. Browsing this board from a phone is AWFUL.

[Liberty City]

Nah. The one thing I do love about this soap is how it isn't reliant on background music at all. It's refreshing that scenes are allowed to breathe without music drowning everything out. Takes it from cheesy (like the other soaps) to mature (like this soap).

[Aback]

I kind of see that as contempt for the genre - especially since primetime shows are not subject to this kind of judgement. Music is an art form as much as writing, acting, directing. But we’ll just have to agree to disagree. 

[Chris B]

I do think when keeping the US soaps in mind that the show is definitely being designed for binging. A big reason they created BTG is that The Talk wasn't successful on streaming. I love the lack of endless recapping which should've been a thing across the board a long time ago. Of course the overseas soaps have been doing this for years, along with many other things I wish the US soaps would adopt.

This is the weakest part of the writing. They have a continuity person and a script editor but these errors continue to appear in episodes. 

I can appreciate scenes without music but I must admit I do love the background music here. I don't think they overdo it and the show has it's own style and the music doesn't sound cheap or cheesy (think DAYS). 

I feel like the weirdest thing is the design of the set and how much Andre, a photographer is there. A hospital set on a soap is common but I wish it was designed more like what GH has so you could easily see Ted and Nicole's offices which would give people more reason to be there. 

[Liberty City]

Because, unlike American daytime, primetime television does not use it to sell its drama. It supports it. The music on Beyond the Gates, when used, is supportive of the material. Whereas the other four use it to sell the material. View it as contempt for the genre, but that's on you, not on me.

[janea4old]

I am slightly hard-of-hearing.  I appreciate it when there isn't too much background music.  I use closed-captioning when needed, but I appreciate when I don't need it.  I like it when the musical cues swell at certain moments, but I also like the drama of occasional silence.

[Maxim]

I am one of the people who love background music-done right. I find that there are times where background music can enhance a bad actor's performance. And... sad to say - the show has more than a couple of bad actors... who need backup. I even commented some episodes back how there were scenes where... the background music was not there where it should have been... it was too silent and unnatural feeling. Made the bad acting all that more apparent.  Some other times the background music is spot on. And I've given them credit for it.

Compared to some of the strongest actors in the show... he's meh... Compared to Martin or... Tomas... he's okay. But I really don't get the over the top reactions to his leaving and people acting like he's can't be replaced. He can. And he was. 

Can't agree more!  And I also agree about the pacing in the other shows being lacking... and many other points. I love reading your takes every time! Gives me food for thought. 

[te.]

Yeah, I agree with this. He's okay so far, certainly not the first I'd be thinking of replacing. But outside the core four, the only ones I'd feel upset at them replacing would be Silkpress, Kat, Eva and Vanessa (in that order). They're the onces who've been excelling imho. I feel "meh" about the Ted recast, plus it there might be more stuff coming up that makes it more obvious why they replaced him.

 

I do think they have a general issue with the storytelling at times where they decide to tell rather than show. Same thing with Ashley and how they had every character remind us how nice and what a dedicated nurse she is. In general, I do think they've had a lot of clunky dialogue tbh and that's definitively something they should work on as I feel it sort of makes some of the greener actors worse since they can't really sell some of it. 

[Maxim]

Mm-hmm. I second this about telling us things all the time. It's time we let go of this technique or use it more seldomly. It was okay the first few episodes, since they were still building up who is who... but at this point... I would rather see examples of things. I don't need to listen to how Dupree women are amazing every single day. Show me how they are amazing. Get me to this conclusion by myself.  

And I also think that the dialogue varies from day to day. I've been too positive and forgiving at times, because it's the beginning. I will still continue to be for at least couple of months. Because when it WORKS... it works. The fact is - the core is GOOD and you can feel that MVJ has a grip on things... and is controlling the overall quality. Compared to Bold, for example... BTG is giving masterpiece material every other day. But of course... Bold is like the lowest point of the abyss, so I will not be using it as a comparison a lot in the future. 

[detroitpiston]

This last week was very good. I think a lot of the cast has finally settled into their roles and the stories are moving at a good pace.

Really enjoying the setups for Bill vs Naomi in the courtroom, Dani’s continued spiraling, Jacob dealing with corruption in the police force, Joey’s cat & mouse games with Doug & Vanessa, and Leslie and Eva’s unhinged revenge plot.

Eva, Nicole, Kat, Leslie, Dani, Bill, Anita, Vernon, Nurse Shanice, Vanessa and Joey are the stand out characters for me after this first month. Their actors deliver good performances consistently and feel the most fully realized as characters. Naomi, Jacob, Chelsea, Hayley, Martin, Smitty, Tomas and Ted can be uneven acting wise but I’m invested in their storylines. I didn’t realize Andre, Ashley, and firefighter weren’t on until @Cheap21 pointed it out, I hope this is a sign and their airtime continues to decrease going forward.

Has anyone else started to think Nicole might actually know about Ted’s affair and maybe even encouraged the abortion payoff? The mention of Kat being her and Ted’s miracle baby makes me wonder if Nicole could have given birth to twins and Leslie may have actually stolen Eva too. I’m locked in for wherever this story goes either way, by far my favorite of the show.

I don’t see how preferring a show not have all of its scenes and dialogue drowned out by their background music means contempt for the genre or being snobbish. I love a good musical score but there is a thin line between enhancing a scene and overpowering it, current day GH and DOOL for example don’t have a good balance at all IMO. I appreciate that BTG has allowed for quieter moments. It allows for the acting and dialogue to breathe and gives BTG a unique feel to the other US shows, reminds me of the UK soaps.

[Vanguardian53]

I think the month of May is when we see ALL of these plots concluding and/or adding more layers for continuation. 

I hope they don’t have Nicole pulling some form of a "Betty Broderick" type move when she learns of her husband and every single one of his lies. The calm, cool, and collected psychiatrist loses it in a moment of shock and betrayal to which she never expected. Dani, sordidly, would feel even more vindicated wouldn't she?

I think we'll learn about Martin's nightmares during this time as well. Will Tyrell's bullying result in him taking his abuser out for May Sweeps? Like pop, like son so to speak?

The casino stuff will result in something I think. Someone or perhaps more than one individual will die in that plot. Maybe Randy dies trying to save Doug somehow? He really seems to care about him too!

Anita the cougar for May Sweeps? I haven't forgotten her rather interesting interaction with Elon, the younger sexy bald Chief of Police.

When will we see Ted at his private practice along with the friend/business partner who works with him running it? Me thinks that aspect has probably been dropped or somehow changed.

Remember Andre Hamilton? So far, the show has acknowledged him only as Andre Richardson, unless something is still coming on that front.

Edited Sunday at 05:31 PM by Vanguardian53

[Soaplovers]

I don't mind background music, but realistically the background music should be placed in locations where such a thing would be a thing.  Music plays when at a restaurant, coffee house, a club, etc.. but the type of music should vary based on the location.  For instance, the country club could have a more muted instrumental music queue, a coffeehouse more of an acoustic music queue, a restaurant/Club could have standard top 40 or other mainstream type of sounds playing in the background.

Normally as a scene fades to black after a story twist is revealed could be another place where background could come into focus.. but this show seems to do quick flashes to the next scene so that idea is out the door.

And sadly.. it looks as though Ashley/Derek/Andre will be on next week.  I haven't missed them at all... and their triangle is what I call bathroom and fast forward material.

I wonder if the show is making any sort of adjustments/modifications behind the scene as the episodes air (i.e. if two random characters have chemistry, will future episodes be written to showcase that, etc).