BTG: April 2025 Discussion Thread

[ranger1rg]

Yep to all of this.

[BoldRestless]

This was all filmed before it made it to air though... the new Ted was already filming when the show debuted right? So hopefully they've already started to make adjustments.

[Cheap21]

Oh thats too bad bc Ive been loving it the past week and a half!

[Liberty City]

Karla Mosley has stated as such: the tone and pacing, as far as production/filming has gone, has mellowed out, and they're doing about an episode per day, sometimes even an episode and a half. So they've definitely worked some kinks out between November and now, which is a promising sign.

I agree; there's only been a few episodes where I've been left wanting something, but overall it's been a genuinely solid ride.

[Antoyne]

I am going to miss this fine ass man.

You had so little faith in him

Too little foo late for me.

Ding ding ding.

It legit makes no sense that they didn’t just swap the best friends.

[Soaplovers]

I've actually liked it better the last week or two then I did the first week or so of the show.

I do agree about the background music and how it can add to a scene.  The link is an example of background music that ended a scene and/or episode.  Days and Y & R used to be masters of background music to either start an episode or to end an episode.

Today's episode did have some background music during the scenes at the country club with Vanessa and Nicole.   I also think the final scene with Bill and Naomi would have been even better if there was a music queue as he realizes that his hand is numb with a concern Naomi looking on.

 

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[janea4old]

I like the friend pairings and how they are opposites.  Nicole grounds wild Vanessa but without judgement.   Pamela grounds wild Dani but without judgement.  

Edited April 4 by janea4old

[Cheap21]

I gotta disagree with both of you.Today was the first episode that I bought Vanessa and Nicole as friends. They showed us instead of telling us. It works for me, makes perfect sense and they explained it eloquently today

 

The only thing that makes me disconnect from Pamela and Dani is the age difference. I wish they had cast someone thats closer to Karla's age bc  Cady looks the decade older that she is. I actually wish she had a black best friend. None of the women have black best friends. Nicole has Vanessa, Dani has Pamela. Naomi has Ashley. Hayley has Caroline. The closest is Kat and Chelsea but they are cousins

Edited April 4 by Cheap21

[Vee]

I also think last week was pretty good. I didn't find it boring.

I do think the recurring issues that are endemic to people who spent years working at B&B are a major factor with how BTG functions and feels, and I guess at this point I'll get to talking about and the larger last month-plus at the end of this week's shows vs. last week's.

Edited April 4 by Vee

[Chris B]

Sheila Ducksworth said that the stuff they were filming for the final week of April is must see and Karla Mosley has mentioned Anita has a big story coming up so I believe this month will be the month we start seeing change, heading into May sweeps.

I haven't found the show to be boring but they've definitely slowed things down from the big opening weeks. I think that was necessary to give viewers a chance to get to know the characters but there are definitely kinks they need to work out. 

From a writing standpoint, I definitely feel like the script editor and continuity person needs to do a better job. There have been silly mistake like forgetting if its day or night, calling Martin by the incorrect title, Naomi holding business meetings in inappropriate places, etc. They should be catching that.

I'd also like them to figure out the Richardson family unit. Martin 100% should've been Anita and Vernon's son and he's written as such. We never see Martin or Smitty with Kat, Ted or Nicole. Throw in the fact that it makes Nicole a grandmother and it makes no sense. Perhaps they could reveal Martin is from an affair Anita or Vernon had and they gave him to Nicole to avoid scandal.

Not a big deal but I do wish they'd implement more location shooting like the first week. It doesn't have to be anything major but that scene with Naomi and Bill (the first scene they ever shot!) was one of the strongest they've had and I do think letting them get outside of the studio opens things up and modernizes the show 

As we go into the summer Im curious if they will make any changes. Will there be a summer set, whether indoors or outdoors? I'm thinking of how GH has the summer pool set when I mention this btw. I do think it would be nice to have a set where the majority of characters can mix and let their hair down. I love the clothes but it would be nice to see everybody more casual at time, plus it doesn't hurt to show a little skin on a soap.

[Vanguardian53]

The first two weeks were on point. It has definitely now slowed down and the ratings have dropped. I meant what I said a long time ago about momentum and pacing. 

 

Edited April 4 by Vanguardian53

[Vee]

I think it's also about pacing out the run-up to May sweeps, which I expect to get pretty hectic. They could not have kept up the blistering story pace of the first 2-3 weeks (nor should they) for two straight months. I was fine with that pace, but I saw other people here complaining they were burning through too much story. Clearly that wasn't the case.

There's dud stories or characters here and there and all manner of kinks to be worked out, but that's all typical of any early soap. What's most impressive to me is how it seems to be holding onto a new or lapsed audience online with a vise grip, even if the numbers from week to week fluctuate.

[Paul Raven]

Please no fake 'outdoor' sets. I would hope to see them set up a terrace at the Country Club to be used over Summer. Surely there is some way of creating that at the studio.

I think for some viewers  the initial excitement is  wearing off. The pace and attention grabbing scenes have slowed down, we now know all the characters and decided who we do and don't like and the sets have become familiar and maybe repetitive.

If you're not a hard core soap viewer the boredom factor might be seeping in.

Also, not having a stirrer like Leslie onscreen so far this week is a misfire.

[1974mdp]

Even as a long-time soap fan, I've found the past two weeks a bit of a bore and a chore at times. I'm still watching every day, but if someone wasn't a big soap fan to begin with, I could see them tuning out. It doesn't mean stories have to move at a lightning pace, but I feel like I could have missed all of last week and not missed a thing story-wise.

It today's world of 6, 10, and 13 episode seasons, you have to pick up the pace and/or have more twists along the way.

Edited April 4 by 1974mdp

[Soaplovers]

I understood why the first week or two had high octane stories/scenes because they wanted to grab viewers and keep them coming back.

However, the incessant focus on Dani/Hayley/Bill  during that first week or two at the expense of developing the B, C, and backburner stories is kind of biting them in the butt.

The biggest issue the show could run into in the long run will be pacing.  Back in the day, soap operas had multiple plotlines going on at the same time and were going at different speeds.  For instance, while Story A is climaxing, story B is in the build-up to the climax, story C is being formulated.. while the characters not involved directly in those three stories are recapping, having their characters being developed, and/or planting seeds for their next story.

So far on this show, the pacing is all off.  While we celebrated Ashley/Derek/Andre not being featured all of last week, we now are faced with other characters barely getting any focus this week (i.e. Silk Press Sheila, Smitty/Martin) or getting too much unneeded focus (i.e Dani).  

This week basically was a rinse and repeat with Dani/Bill, Hayley being snubbed, Dani/Andre hooking up, Chelsea/Dani, etc.  All of the scenes I mentioned were already done before in the previous weeks and done better.

This week, I would have had a Silk Press Sheila/Jan/Mona dinner.. and maybe Silk Press Sheila sees Kat or Nicole.. and tries to avoid being seen.  Or perhaps Smitty's new assignment would involve Joey Armstrong and the potential corruption going on with the police department.  Or we could have had a Hayley scene at the country club being snubbed again and she interacts with Diego... or sees Diego/Vanessa together.   

At the same time, I'm still watching and enjoying the process of seeing a new soap unfold and I remind myself that the soaps I saw debuting back in the day (Port Charles, Passions, Sunset Beach, and Generations) had shaky starts so I'll continue to watch with anticipation daily

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