29 minutes ago, Broderick said:

I saw an interview with Sheila Ducksworth (exec producer) a while back, and she made the comment [paraphrasing here] that one of the greatest challenges in launching a daytime serial in this era is determining how to tell the stories in a way that appeals to traditional viewers (those who are accustomed to most of the beats being played on-screen) without exhausting the patience of the 18-49 demo, who've become accustomed to faster paced developments.  She didn't get way down in the weeds with it, but clearly it's something that's constantly on their minds in the writing room and in the production offices.  

First problem is they need to stop catering to that demo when clearly CBS and their soaps skew way older 

I like Cady's weird character but I know she's a very acquired taste lol, especially in this bizarre role. I think they need to bring on her family/kids, I'd much rather be watching them than Derek and Ashley.

I think Vanessa is a star and should be hooked to a Dupree or Dupree-adjacent male quickly.

14 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

First problem is they need to stop catering to that demo when clearly CBS and their soaps skew way older 

CBS' core demographic for all of its shows is Adults 25-54, with the network selling the vast majority of its ads for its three soaps with an emphasis on Women 25-54 rather than Women 18-49, though it performs better than the other networks in the latter as well.

Really enjoyed the Ted/Andre/Dani scene. It felt real and genuine. It felt soap. This is something I feel this soap has struggled with, but I loved Dani reading Ted down and seeing Andre's facial expressions as he's caught in the middle. 

NuTed has more chemistry with Leslie than he does with his own wife. Although, in the actor's defense we've hardly seen NuTed have much interaction with his wife besides watching Nicole put him down...rightfully so tho. 

I love that Bill put those Duprees in their place. He was absolutely right. They need to stop acting like he's the scum of the earth and then want him to clean up their messes. It really frames the Duprees as comolex characters that are flawed. I think coming into wealth has given them a superiority complex and they have built these walls as defenses to keep others away that may want to take advantage of this wealth and status. It's probably why they see all the non-Duprees as less than while the Duprees can do no wrong. Bill, Ted and Jacob have all mentioned this in one way or another.

 

It was stupid for the Duprees to even consider trying to revoke the trust because that would make Leslie even more unhinged. Anita seemed the most accepting of the fact that she messed up badly and that it is coming back to haunt her.

Nicole is going to go off on Vanessa for selling Leslie a house, but I think Vanessa will do it anyway because she needs new revenue to try and cover up the money laundering.

-- Dani needs to see something from Andre before becoming FWB and more? OK, but let's not pretend Dani didn't set the limits and the rules before this. She acts as if Andre should know where she stands and what she wants, but that's just not so.

-- Is Dani over Bill? You know she's not. Meanwhile, I hope she feels superior about throwing shade at Ashley all over the place.

-- Ted should stop allowing Leslie into his room, period. As I've said repeatedly, I do not want Ted to fall for her. I won't believe a man who's been married to Nicole for about 3 decades would be interested in someone like Leslie.

-- Leslie's first check was for $1M. I wish they'd let us know how many millions are in that trust fund. And Jesus, what kind of deposits was Anita making over the years??? Meanwhile, Sharon and Tracy struggled? Uh....OK.

-- The Duprees -- or should I say THE DUPREES -- have all that power and money, yet the only lawyer they can call is Bill Hamilton? LOL Sorry, but that's embarrassing.

Haha!!! Let Andre know! Dani Dupree ain't NO ONE's background player. Especially to the beigest nurse that ever beiged. BLOOP!!! 

1 hour ago, GLATWT88 said:

I love that Bill put those Duprees in their place. He was absolutely right. They need to stop acting like he's the scum of the earth and then want him to clean up their messes. It really frames the Duprees as comolex characters that are flawed. I think coming into wealth has given them a superiority complex and they have built these walls as defenses to keep others away that may want to take advantage of this wealth and status. It's probably why they see all the non-Duprees as less than while the Duprees can do no wrong. Bill, Ted and Jacob have all mentioned this in one way or another.

 

Whether I'm supposed to like Bill or not, I like him a lot and I agree, I loved him putting the Dupree's in their place and demanding respect today.

3 hours ago, Vee said:

I like Cady's weird character but I know she's a very acquired taste lol, especially in this bizarre role. I think they need to bring on her family/kids, I'd much rather be watching them than Derek and Ashley.

I think Vanessa is a star and should be hooked to a Dupree or Dupree-adjacent male quickly.

I've acquired the taste and I like her too!  

 

3 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

-- Leslie's first check was for $1M. I wish they'd let us know how many millions are in that trust fund. And Jesus, what kind of deposits was Anita making over the years??? Meanwhile, Sharon and Tracy struggled? Uh....OK.

-- The Duprees -- or should I say THE DUPREES -- have all that power and money, yet the only lawyer they can call is Bill Hamilton? LOL Sorry, but that's embarrassing.

I thought these same two thoughts.  I also LOL'ed that her first (paper) $1M paycheck came to her, delivered, randomly at OG's.

So it sounds like what I mentioned yesterday. An irrevocable blind trust fund. I do like the touch of them getting a lawyer to tell them.

44 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Haha!!! Let Andre know! Dani Dupree ain't NO ONE's background player. Especially to the beigest nurse that ever beiged. BLOOP!!! 

Andre will wear Dani down soon enough.

I am loving Dani shading Ashley though.

Dani's insults about Ashley remind me of how Erica used to insult Brooke, except Erica usually did it to Brooke's face and Brooke was a far better character than Ashley is.

11 minutes ago, kalbir said:

Andre will wear Dani down soon enough.

I am loving Dani shading Ashley though.

I admit...I liked their scenes today. And like Dani, he now has an opportunity to win me back to his side.   Fight for your woman. Don't be a TED.

 

5 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

Dani's insults about Ashley remind me of how Erica used to insult Brooke, except Erica usually did it to Brooke's face and Brooke was a far better character than Ashley is.

I can see that. But I would bet money that Dani ain't scared to say it to Ashley's face. If I remember correctly, when she interrupted Andre and Ashley's date, she was subtle, but pointed with her Ashley shade. Ashley didn't bring it up until after her and Andre walked away (with voice-over while the camera stayed on Dani), but I felt she got that Dani was coming for her. But like you said...Brooke was a far better character than Ashley is. Brooke would have called it out right then and there. 

4 hours ago, Broderick said:

I saw an interview with Sheila Ducksworth (exec producer) a while back, and she made the comment [paraphrasing here] that one of the greatest challenges in launching a daytime serial in this era is determining how to tell the stories in a way that appeals to traditional viewers (those who are accustomed to most of the beats being played on-screen) without exhausting the patience of the 18-49 demo, who've become accustomed to faster paced developments.  She didn't get way down in the weeds with it, but clearly it's something that's constantly on their minds in the writing room and in the production offices.  

Interesting. I was thinking about that when Peaches came with the DNA proof that she'd matched samples from Leslie and Barbara's hairbrushes or something, and then Anita called her lawyer and they confirmed it all. That certainly wouldn't fly legally... there's no proof that sample was actually from Barbara. If this were Bill Bell's Y&R, they would have spent a week having Leslie petition a court to exhume Barbara's body, lol. It felt like BTG was trying to satisfy both the savvy soap fans who want DNA confirmation but without dragging it out too long for the newer fans.

 

It is crazy this particular reveal was so rushed. This is a huge shift in the canvas. First of all it would have been better to have Leslie face the consequences of her actions first, then have the Duprees do something unfair to her, and then drop this bombshell when she's at her lowest and we're rooting for her (shades of Jill Foster or Sally Spectra).

 

As I was falling asleep last night I was trying to re-write it in my head to make it tighter but still something that could play out as a short-term arc, maybe 4-6 weeks. Peaches would come to town and we'd establish her adversarial relationship with Leslie. We'd learn a few episodes later about the trust. Meanwhile, Anita would be contacting her lawyers looking for Barbara's family so they could secure the rights to Barbara's vocals to lay them over the Articulettes. We, the audience, would figure it out well before the characters and that's the joy of soaps. 

Peaches would dribble out information and Leslie would learn about Barbara's sister who was on her deathbed, the last heir. Leslie would go visit her and learn the tragic secret of how Barbara died. She'd be angry. She'd get a lawyer... maybe Tomas, maybe a new character... who would represent her with the trust and negotiating for the vocal rights. Eva would be digging into her grandmother's past, find some old diaries where she talks about Dante (and maybe a one night stand with a civil rights legend passing through town...?) and start to piece things together...

Anita would learn Barbara has a daughter and wants to meet her, but the lawyer insists she remain anonymous, and Anita is respectful, feeling guilty and thinking the family blames her for the suicide. They finally sign a deal and plan a big concert/launch party with Barbara's heir agreeing to attend... Anita is thrilled and hoping to make peace... and THAT'S when Leslie reveals herself.

I do love the show, so engaging in this kind of spec is just fun, not trying to diss the writers.

Edited August 22Aug 22 by BoldRestless

It's been clearly established that Anita set up the trust for Barbara's family because of her guilt. Anita blamed herself for Barbara's suicide and for allowing Dante Green to convince her and the other members of the group to drop her.

Sharon & Tracy are still very much alive and that makes Anita creating the trust for Barbara plausible IMO.

I get what Sheila Ducksworth is saying about trying to strike a balance between the traditional daytime viewer that's accustomed to seeing all the beats of a story play out, and trying to keep the very limited attention spans of the under 34 crowd.

This is why pacing is so important because if you have multiple stories, you want to pace them differently so that there is always a climax, fall out, and build up going on the same time.  So far, the soap seems focused on solo stories when they climax while other stories are not shown (I.e. SPS exposing Ted as the father of Eva, Bill/Hayley wedding with Dani pulling a gun, etc).

Now my thoughts on today's episode:

I view the Duprees as the antagonists of the show, but I love that they view themselves as the victims.   There are skeletons in those closets of theirs that we've yet to see.

Eva has good sense by trying to reign in SPS from spending the first check... but I understand SPS's POV.  The one thing I do wish the show had done was given SPS another child in addition to Eva... perhaps she had a son with Eva's step dad... and there could be resentment/jealousy that he feels toward Eva for being favored over him.   And there could have been a forbidden Romeo/Juliet situation with Kat that would have been interesting.

All these comments about Tomas being bad in bed by Kat just underscores her inability to take ownership of the choices SHE made.  No one would forced her to lose her virginity to Tomas.. that was all on Miss Kat.  The reason she isn't into the sex is because she wasn't ready to have sex and she isn't in love with Tomas.   I bet Tomas and Eva would have a good time in the bedroom because there seems to be mutual interest and a friendship between the two.

Andre and Dani's conversation underscores that they seem to have more in common, even if the connection isn't healthy.  At least they could work on making their interactions/relationship more healthy unlike the situation between Dani/Bill and Andre/Ashley.

Lastly... thinking about over past episodes of Silk Press Sheila, I totally get a Gina Demott vibe from her.  The scenes of SPS modeling her wigs, being in disguise, being eccentric and over the top were vintage Gina Demott circa 1980s.  Gina being a thorn in the side of the Capwells is like SPS being a thorn in the Dupree's side... a story that writes itself.  

Edited August 22Aug 22 by Soaplovers