4 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

This firefighter that Ashley is talking to is 🔥  So hot, they need to keep him around.

Same. I look forward to drool...I mean seeing him on my rewatch.

 

7 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Same. I look forward to drool...I mean seeing him on my rewatch.

 

ITA. In one episode, that character had more spark than this whole time with Derek.

1 hour ago, ReddFoxx said:

Nicole trying to turn up was like watching Viki Lord trying to do the Wobble.

Hahaha

1 hour ago, Tisy-Lish said:

It's been my experience that long-term soap opera fans complain the most about the soaps they love the most.  It's like "I love this show so much, but I think it could be even better".  But we can't type that disclosure on every post.  So it's just kind of understood for most of us.  

ITA. As devoted fans, we love to pick apart the show, but we also LOVE the show!

One thing I'm thankful for when it comes to this message board is I can talk about and discuss soaps with people who love them as much as I do.

1 minute ago, 1974mdp said:

ITA. In one episode, that character had more spark than this whole time with Derek.

And in shorts. 

41 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

I thought it was telling when Anita made it a point to say to Vernon that the only man who hasn't cheated on his wife is Vernon. That immediately made me think he's cheated and they purposefully added that line because of it.

It certainly appears that this show has adopted a certain pattern. I suppose Jacob is next for infidelity?

45 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

I thought it was telling when Anita made it a point to say to Vernon that the only man who hasn't cheated on his wife is Vernon. That immediately made me think he's cheated and they purposefully added that line because of it.

See? I was thinking the father was Dante Green if anyone, not Vernon. But that might just be me.

1 minute ago, Vanguardian53 said:

It certainly appears that this show has adopted a certain pattern. I suppose Jacob is next for infidelity?

I mean, I sort of get where Ted is coming from. It did happen decades ago, and he seems to have been a great husband since. Sure, Nicole should be upset, but divorce...

But...

On the other hand, Nicole has zero chemistry with NuTed, and I would much rather see her get into a hot new romance with Michael from Dynasty!

26 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Same. I look forward to drool...I mean seeing him on my rewatch.

 

LOL enjoy it  

16 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

LOL enjoy it  

I will.

 

34 minutes ago, 1974mdp said:

One thing I'm thankful for when it comes to this message board is I can talk about and discuss soaps with people who love them as much as I do.

Amen.

I liked Leslie's scenes with Peaches. These are the layers she always needed. I don't think we had to wait until the eleventh hour to reveal details about her past, but with that said, I am fully rooting for her now; this week positions her as the Erica Kane archetype. Never really warmed up to Anita, so please drag her...

I still firmly disagree with having Leslie come between Nicole and Ted. Leslie and Eva have the same story; it should have been one or the other.  The story has damaged Ted's character so badly that I wouldn't pair him with either Leslie or Nicole. Nicole's writing since the affair reveal has been off the wall for me. I was too through when she left Anita's event to confront Leslie at the diner. 

More torn about her getting money more than I thought I would. I don't want to lose her edge and street savvy at all, which many other soaps have made that mistake. So I pray they're being wise with her journey. 

3 hours ago, Vee said:

A feint. I get why they did it, it makes her seem like less of an existential threat than she will turn out to be.

I hear you. 

37 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

See? I was thinking the father was Dante Green if anyone, not Vernon. But that might just be me.

I thought that maybe Leslie's dad might've been Dante Green too, but since Peaches mentioned that Barbara got pregnant after she was booted off the Articulettes, it doesn't seem likely. And I'm not exactly sure how this other scenario involving Vernon as the other possible father of Leslie works either. I could be wrong but I was under the impression that the other Articulettes didn't exactly maintain contact with Barbara after she left the group. How would Vernon and Barbara even know each other and maintain a romantic relationship long enough to even conceive Leslie? 

I think they clearly have Dante Green waiting in the wings.

42 minutes ago, Vee said:

I def don't think it's realistic or fair for anyone to demand the show's creator be run out on a rail in under six months though, lol.

We are in agreement.  

And regarding MVJ run out on a rail, Hell no!!  MVJ is brilliant, strong, and dedicated. She is the closest thing we have to Agnes Nixon or Bill Bell in 2025.  At least she loves the genre and uses her talents to support and sustain it. Who else is dong that these days??  In a year or two, I'll be ready for the premiere of MVJ's second soap opera.  

We should continue to critique BTG.  Is it perfect?  Of course not.  And some of the issues seem so easily correctable. But since the premiere, I have missed only two episodes. So obviously, I am hooked.  

15 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

And regarding MVJ run out on a rail, Hell no!!  MVJ is brilliant, strong, and dedicated.

I do think people are right that Val Jean learned some of the wrong lessons from working at B&B. I thought that very early on this year and I think I talked about it then. And to a point, I get how it happened and why she's adopted a lot of that house style: B&B and the Bell soaps are a dependable workhorse with a very, very loyal audience that has served them well even as their quality went south. You can see the stylistic similarities to B&B or older Y&R (and the differences from her GH) quite easily, and the even earlier classical Bill Bell, Irna Phillips-style expository dialogue or family material.

As I've said for months, BTG, even when it's not great, is a really fascinating mix of both very old school soap opera foundation work and fundamentals and very blunt and earnest social issue educational stuff as well as some very edgy or contemporary topics or dialogue (sometimes overripe or tryhard, sometimes good) a la the Prospect Park soaps. It's a bit like time travel in that way. I think it has a lot of good things and a lot of issues.

I do think it needs to find a fresher and more consistent and coherent voice, and to mix stronger veteran dialogue staff with its existing ones. I think it needs to go back into the GH writers' corps MVJ came up with, and move away from the B&B house style. (And I think some stuff, particularly with Vanessa going full crime moll, has been pretty good and also pretty redolent of GH.) But I can't argue that that style does not have an audience, or that the heavy audience engagement and interest is not already there online. It's been serving them well both in numbers and on social media.

Edited August 16Aug 16 by Vee