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Posted

Just adding that Beyond the Gates is currently 6-7 months ahead in terms of scripts, which is about 2-3 months ahead of taping. Therefore, feedback won't be reflected on-screen until September at the earliest.

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Posted (edited)

taoboi I was looking for clarification with the time line so thank you. Errol also thank you I was hoping by mid September unless there are more postponed episodes that would be the case.

i don’t care for any housewives series though if they do a competition show I may know who they are. 
 

One of my biggest issues with the show is why is this happening and when will there be payoff? 
 

for example were Dani and Nicole old enough when the Articulletes (sp) were performing to know the other living members? did Anita go solo when the girls were kids? did she retire from singing to raise them? In one episode that seemed to be implied. but then why was the song Anita sang with  Naomi and Dani sound like something out of the late 80s or early 90s instead of late 60s or 70s based on the age of the adult grandchildren and being a girl group. I am not assuming they are supposed to be in the time frame of En Vogue but earlier.
 

At this point I fear this story is just an easy way to write Anita out if Tamara needs time off and provided her with a Daytime Emmy reel. I know I should not feel this way, but since it hasn’t rippled out to other people outside of Vernon…and there is no indication beyond one photo of Tamara in a cap with the group’s name that it will continue as the others aren’t regulars and the cast is already so large. 
 

For me it would be an easy fix, just tell us this is continuing later this year…I have been burned too many times with dropped plots in other series so I need reassurance. Why invest in the other singers in the group if they won’t get much attention? I mean something like we find out that one of the charities the Duprees support is suicide awareness and now we now why would also be something I would like to see.

Edited by ~bl~
Added sentence based on Errol commenting while I was typing
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Posted (edited)

Agreed. BTG is very character driven show but since the Ted affair was revealed the show's plotting has slowed down tremendously. I find myself going to GH for the latest on Drew & Willow at 2:00 instead. BTG has good characters and the energy, we just need some good dramatic plots to keep up the intrigue. 

I think the issue is plotting. BTG's plots are certainly more focused than GH's. It just needs clear progression points and interesting mini complications to fuel filler episodes. Y&R was really good at this in the 90s. 

Beyond the Gates is down to earth by today's soap standards compared to the larger than life plots on DAYS and GH. No mobsters, explosions, spy agencies, possessions or super villains. Just cheating, music groups, a secret love child and relationships. By the 90s onwards, Y&R and to lesser extent B&B and AMC have had their fair share of over the top plots but they were generally more grounded than OLTL, ATWT, DAYS, GH or GL.

Yes the aging is very off. For example it's hard to believe Martin is Ted and Nicole's child when he looks to be in is late 30s and his parents look like their late 40s early 40s. Moreover there's ALOT of Dupree family members. 

Edited by Planet Soap
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Posted (edited)

I frankly think there is such a focus on the show being 'down to earth' and slowly setting up its stakes, while also following the tried and true modern version of the Bell formula MVJ likely learned at B&B (a lot of grand pronouncements, and stating and restating dynamics and issues - I'm not saying classic Y&R was always like modern B&B, but there is a specific tone you get on those shows that isn't replicated on ABC or ATWT/GL), that a lot more overt and dramatic developments have yet to flourish. Which can be tiresome.

It's good that they made Eva pop so quickly, but the show is still finding its way. And I think part of the issue is they seem so dedicated to following the playbook MVJ learned from her years of guaranteed longevity at CBS while building out the family history, when I don't think more of that is needed. I think more action is needed, and less talk. And I frankly think pulling more of MVJ's compatriots from GH out of retirement would be welcome on the dialogue stuff, even if the Guza/Labine GH school of naturalistic dialogue is not fully in sync with the more portentous B&B/Bell style of plotting and recapping. At the same time, other dialogue is so hyper-modern (a la the Prospect Park soaps) that it's sometimes cringe. But audiences are responding to both.

I know that classical flavor (mixed with the edgier newspeak) works for a doggedly loyal CBS audience, and BTG gets a ton of healthy engagement on social media - from that alone you'd think the show has been on for 5-10 years. But if you made me choose between the Bell house style and bringing back a GH-style dialogue staff and tone, it would be the latter every time.

Edited by Vee
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https://www.instagram.com/p/DLlPNzwB20y/

July 1, 2025
sheiladucks
All this holiday week we’re doing a Take 2 on Week 1 so that first time viewers may see where it all started and seasoned viewers

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may experience the thrill of our historic launch all over again. UP TOP…Some BTS on our BTG opening: We shot our opening sequence during W2 of production. @juliehcarruthers and I divided and conquered @michelevaljean’s brilliant premiere episode with me going on location, Julie powering through the stages, and Michele in office weaving our upcoming scripts. We had from sunup to sundown to capture all the scenework and establishing shots for our first half of S1. FUN FACT…Fairmont Crest is actually a combination of 2 country clubs . Why? The homes needed to be spectacular and the Country Club needed to look Just.Like.This. After powering through 7 MD country clubs last summer (ok, sure, uninvited), the look was locked. The day was a series of hole-in-ones with @stvnwllfrd and @yorelfrancis’ expert choreography of drones, golf carts, cars, joggers, dog walkers, and stunts; and @albert.dickerson.18 keeping it moving. And in post, I was inspired to set our amazing footage off with The Best of My Love. How fitting. Stay Tuned…#BeyondTheGates @beyondthegatescbs

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted

What the show is doing is giving most of the characters a rotation on the front burner and that can slow down the pacing a bit. Repercussions have also been set up which is often a neglected device on soaps anymore and that can play a role in building suspense.

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Posted

As I said before, I think pacing is the bigger issue right now.

If you look at a Marland and/or Pam Long era episode of ATWT and GL in the 80s, you saw multiple stories going on and progressing at different speeds.  While at BTG, you have some plots and characters not shown for episodes so that any momentum/interest is muted by the time they do appear again.  

In regards to the Ted story, I think part of the issue was the changing of the actor that played Ted at a crucial moment of the story.  So not only are we seeing the fall out from the secret being exposed and how the relationships are progressing post secret reveal.. but we're getting to know a new actor playing one of the main characters in the arc.  We're seeing the actor finding his way in playing Ted, in playing scenes opposite Eva/Kat/Nicole/Martin/Silk Press Sheila.   

While this is going on.. momentum has slowed down because of this adjustment.. and since the show writes their scripts two to three months ahead of what's been filmed.. it could take weeks for the writers to adjust writing Ted to the actor's strengths.  It certainly took a few weeks for the wardrobe department to adjust the wardrobe for the new actor.

 

 

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Posted

Thank you. I have asked (and discussed with @Chris B) this once every few weeks to keep the fact in rotation until something more confirmed has been said so we all can be sure that when we hit the area when feedback should be reflected on screen, it IS a case of the writers ignoring what is being said by the audience vs we have not gotten to the episodes and therefore the audience is not being ignored at all. Chris also, if I'm not mistaken, also placed it around that time roughly. 

Ain't that the truth! I was happy to see that that is not the only time that I had happened with recasts on a soap either. 

 

THIS.

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Posted (edited)

Yeah I thought it odd that it took so long for the Ted wardrobe to be fitted in sizing/tailoring for Keith D. Robinson. It made me wonder if the recasting was abrupt?  But then again, there is speculation that it was planned all along that he'd get the role when he was available? Nobody knows although there are many theories.

Regardless of how long in advance (or not) they knew about the recasting, maybe they felt it to be tacky for him to come in for fittings while Maurice Johnson was still taping, so they opted to be respectful and wait?  But that's just more speculation, LOL

Don't know what happened there.  But the show is so intentional with most of the wardrobe that I can't believe they were careless with Keith.  So there must have been a valid reason to omit doing fittings in advance of him taping.  He's looking good *now*, so I'm happy.

Edited by janea4old
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I do wish the show would lean more 90s Guza GH than Bell B&B.

There also traces of early Santa Barbara, with the lack of urgency and payoffs. BTG is in better shape than Santa Barbara was after 4 months. On SB, nothing was working and the network was already forcing creative changes. It seems CBS is more supportive and is leaving the creative stuff alone. But the risk of boredom is real; BTG needs more oomph and craziness. 

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Yes, I feel like September is the likely point we can see any revisions. I'm excited to see where they take the show in the fall. They keep things so quiet on set (which I love) so we really have no idea what they've done. I'm very curious if there will be any cast additions. One I'm hopeful for is Dr. Carlton in a regular capacity.

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Posted

That's something MVJ learned working at B&B, cause Brad Bell does the same thing, we'll get something for certain characters, then all of a sudden they vanish for weeks to focus on something else, then they come back to it. It's jarring to say the least

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Posted

Some tinkering wouldn't hurt, but for a new show the initial wrinkles have not been overwhelming. The start was the Dani show, then it transitioned into being more about Leslie and Eva plotting then when that revelation dropped the direction shifted towards slowly processing that fallout.

Now we are seeing other plots step up as I we should be getting Martin's revelation very soon which will entangle with the other Richardson drama which may possibly include paternity shakeups later on. There is also the potential stalker story for Chelsea (Allison is giving creepy vibes, IMO) and Hayley/Leslie appearing to team up.

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Posted

I agree. I feel like the changes they need to make are more positive than anything. For example, audience has responded to Shanice so I think it would be smart to start fleshing her out and making her a more regular character. Same for Doug and Dr. Carlton.

The only real negative I'd like them to address is to find a way to justify keeping Ashley and Derek around. We know the show loves them but the viewers do not so they really need to find something that makes those characters work if we're stuck with them.

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