Monday, January 17, 2011

OMG!!!! Madison is pregnant with Ryan's Baby!!!!

I can barely contain myself!

(Not really, Fronsie.)

Please! Mr. Brian Frons! What the HELL is NOT going on on your gat-damned show! I am so BORED I could SPIT! You got some good actors coming round - puh-leeze! Put the camera on them - Ms. Cara, Mr. Scott, ANYTHING Ins-Annie - and remove it from ANYTHING Bad-ison, Ry-ass or Yawn-lee. Please. For the love of God, Frons-hole! For the love of God!

On another note..... You are warned, beloved listeners. I had the damn gain on the mic all the way up for the first 8 minutes or so of the podcast. Please - turn down your personal listening devices for at least the first 8 minutes or so. We cannot afford to pay anyone's ear doctor bills.

And if you're not too mad at us for partially blowing our your eardrums, feel free to post a thing or two here. We'd love to hear from you, and hope that you can actually still *hear* after listening to the 'cast this week. Truly.

xo!

1/14/11 Podcast

151 comments:

Shadow said...

"Frons-hole". Ha! I love that one. Finally, a satisfactory nickname for the tool in my avatar. Thanks Ashley! And I can't wait for cardio tomorrow so I can listen to the new p'cast.

Shadow said...

Couldn't Biggest Loser contestants at least shave their backs and undermoob before the weigh-in? It just seems like the polite thing to do.

Ashley said...

You 'da shit, Shadow!! So I have Real Housewives of Bev Hills, Celeb Rehab and Idol (of course) on my DVR.... I'm truly thinking I should add Loser, Shadow. You're hooked, right?

DancingElf88 said...

The podcast isn't working for me. Anyone else having the same problem?

Ashley said...

Should be up very shortly - more than a few technical difficulties this morning.

Ashley said...

BTW - LOVE the pic, DancingElf. You should send it to Judy Blye Wilson!

Ashley said...

Should be working now.

DancingElf88 said...

Thanks Ashley! That's Jake Silbermann...I'm kind of in love with this man. Can't wait to listen :)

Anonymous said...

It's not up on iTunes!

Mel Got Served said...

Yay new podcast! And I've actually watched the show!

Mel Got Served said...

I started the podcast a little- sounded like the mics might've been a little "hot."

Anonymous said...

Ugh? Not on iTunes!!!!

DancingElf88 said...

Anon...it is on iTunes. Try subscribing to the podcast and it should show you the new episode and click on Get to download it.
Ashley and Jordan...I missed you both. I was laughing my ass off throughout this whole thing. Honestly I'm a bit bored...ok alot bored with AMC...hopefully they pick it up soon. You know what they should do? They should kill off that Randi via tragic photo shoot and have her donate her corneas to blind!Angie. I'm LOVING Daniel Cosgrove as Scott.
Still catching up on OLTL but dark!Marty and dark!Matthew rule. I could use less of the Fords though OOFA

Ashley said...

Yeah, Mel - I'm EMBARRASSED at my continued challenges with my mac and with Juan Pablo. (The new mic.) I THINK I've got it down now - the input has to be set yo Juan Pablo, the gain know has to be somewhere in the middle, the direction needs to be "omni," and the garage band volume settings need to be adjusted. I suck at this.

(And the funny thing is, it was easier to record with my PC. The machine ate one out of every 3 podcasts, but it was easier to record. ;)

BTW -the "heat" should last only about 8 minutes in.

Thanks for bearing with us!!!!!!

Ash
xoxoxox

BTW - What's the word on Ricky Gervais on the Emmys? I didn't see it, but I effing love that man.

Mel Got Served said...

Thanks Ash! I listen on the train so have to crank my volume high, so now I know I can listen to the first 8 minutes walking and the rest on the train. Man, technology's a bitch!

Dani Austin said...

I subscribe to pvp on iTunes and always listen to it after it downloads. Great surprise to see a new one this a.m. Thanks Jordan for not only referring to Jesse and Angie as the first Black supercouple but the "only" black supercouple to date. That's a fact and there is no sugarcoating it. And also I do not know why anyone should celebrate the possible return of McPiggish as the head writer. She will come in with a big storyline, the last time was Michael Cambias' rape of Bianca. Which leads to plenty of headlines and a slight ratings boost but over the course of her runs you also get the Erica unaborted fetus, Josh/Crazy Dr. Madden storylines. And let us not forget the "romance" of Special Johnny and Lily. By the way, speaking to McPiggish being such a vindictive person, Walt Wiley spoke out about that storyline and was then backburned for several months. I am not sure if he also spoke out against the Bianca rape storyline too. Greenlee fans should not be happy because she really started Greenlee's downfall and I think she was one of the reasons Rebecca left, not that I minded since I am not a Greenlee fan. She also helmed the horrible return of Ryan which is yet another reason for me not to like her. But I think she may have some friends backstage in Cameron and Susan who liked her storylines. I shudder just thinking about McPiggish returning. As for current storylines, I am enjoying Annie's storyline and think that AMC made a really good move in getting Lindsey Hartley, the girl can act. And yes, Jordan I as a female viewer am sick of the double standard about weight issues. Michael Knight needs to get himself in shape if we are to believe in this coupling with Cara. Heck I got back to Thorsten Kaye's not so firm physique while Alicia looked like a good Santa Ana wind could take her away. C'mon Fronsie put those appearance pressures on your male vets (Knight, Paul-Goldin, etc) too.

Anonymous said...

Jordan, I agree, Laura Wright is fabulous and amazing and will always be my Cassie Winslow, BUT General Hospital is a hot mess right now. The small moments are good, but they are few and far between.

As for AMC, it IS boring, but boring does not equal bad. And I am mystified, but there are all kinds of people on Twitter saying they want Chuck Pratt back. Stockholm Syndrome?

It may be two soaps too late, but that hideous wretch Barbara Bloom may have been fired from CBS Daytime today, if Nelson Branco is to be believed. Now we just have to get rid of Frons and Soap Operas may be in a better state this time next year.

There is a lot of stuff I don't like on OLTL, but while the writing is not perfect, they do write for the vets as often as the young people and the stories effect each other. Y&R is the only other soap that is doing that, even if they aren't doing it well.

And what is with the younger people leaving soaps all of a sudden? Finn and Shannon left AMC, and now we have three people that left Days.

Jen said...

CBS VP Barbara Bloom was fired..so who's Brian Frons jobbin' to keep his?

Jen said...

And the walking papers are continuing in soaps, rumors have it, Rebecca Herbst has been let go by GH.

RazzleDazzle77 said...

I'm not sure if you know this, but the podcast cut off midsentence =(

Anonymous said...

Jen, I'm not a big GH fan, but when I was watching I liked Liz. And I was watching when she was cheating on Lucky with Nik.

I have a feeling the ratings for Fronsie's flagship show are going to crash and burn if Twitter is any indication.

Jen said...

It's everywhere, every soap forum is talking about this and pointing the finger at two people.

Some fans at Guza

The one's that know what is going on and what really changed for GH lately know it's Brian Frons. How do you write off a legacy character and a fan favorite, this isn't Cam Mathison, or Rebecca Budig, this is Rebecca Herbst. The LIZ! She carried a legacy teen couple by her lonesome w/ three different actors playing the same part.

This again how is Brian Frons still allowed to be employed. LOL who's naked pic does he have?

BTW Cara please you're a doctor, bun up the hair! and stop looking like a pornstar, I feel like she's about to strip, LH com'on girl you're better than this.

Jen said...

No people srsly watch Cara in the next AMC epi. dressed in her doctorly attire, doesn't she look like she's gonna stick her finger in her mouth and strip while doing hip movements.

Anonymous said...

They are definitely overdoing Cara in the hair and make-up department. But the acting is good enough to make me overlook it in the short term.

And there is a rumour that since McTrash doesn't want to come back to AMC, Fronsie may be after Barbara Bloom, the woman who brought Port Charles (the soap, not GH) to its knees and let two soaps die under her watch. To which I have to wonder why this idiot still has a job. He has not only run his shows into the ground, but he brought down an entire cable channel with shitty programming decisions!

And I have to blame Guza, Phelps, and Frons for firing Rebecca Herbst. This was a mistake tantamount to getting rid of Dixie on AMC, or killing Maureen Bauer on GL. The fans love these people, the characters and actors. And if memory serves me, Phelps was behind Maureen's death, too.

Mel Got Served said...

I'm only a sporadic GH watcher and I only started a couple years ago (though I did see bits and pieces as a young child), but before that I could name four General Hospital characters: Luke, Laura, Lucky, and Liz. That's saying something.

Terry in Toronto said...

The podcast couldn't come at a better time! I stayed up way past my bedtime enjoying you guys.

Thanks Ashley & Jordan

Anonymous said...

As a new AMC viewer, I have to ask if anyone else absolutely LOVED the AMC rerun today where Tad slept with half the cast? I loved seeing Binks as a bitch and Kendall the good girl. And Opal punching Erica has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

Anonymous said...

Hi guys, I'm so glad you're still podcasting!
I have to say I'm enjoy Danial Cosgrove as Scott and even though I still don't see the purpose of Marissa I think she's much better than BA.
I'd like to see Madison stay on the show but they need to give her back her cajones and pair her up with Frankie- stat!
Sorry Ashely, I have to agree with Jordan, I'd rather have these writers then MCTrashy.

elyse and Susan in Toronto said...

OMG the "fans" episode all I have to say is REAL LIZA!!!!!!!!c

Ashley said...

I remember not loving this eppy when it first aired, and I still don't love it. I'm not sure (even then!) who all those women were that wanted Tad to sleep with every woman in the cast. BUT.... I LOVED seeing a "classic" (so to speak!) eppy, and I ADORED seeing Myrtle slapping Tad in the ass! (Of course, our Brooke on air is ALWAYS a beloved event!)

More "classics," more "classics"!!!!

Ashley said...

Was this a McTrash eppy, btw?

Elyse and Susan in Toronto said...

Hey,
Thanks for braving the cold and bring us another podcast. it really brightened another cold winter day. Though we cannot always understand or pretend to understand the decisions made by TPTB at AMC, we don't feel that many soaps would have hired JR Martinez who has blossomed into a very believable actor (unlike randy), we hope they keep him around because a triangle with him Madison and Frankie would be VERY enjoyable.

ASh thanks for leaving the babies and Jordan thanks for skipping hot sauna action to bring us this. As two of your 22 listeners, we are very grateful and we know there many more than just 22 people who listen to you. As the podcast reaches its 5 yr anniversary we are sure that good things will come as a result of it, because th talent you display every week should be reaching a larger audience, I'm still holding out hope for a sirius xm deal for you two.

Mel Got Served said...

Another one! Brittany Underwood, who plays Langston on OLTL, is leaving the show. SOD says "The exit is storyline dictated."

Anonymous said...

Why are all of these people leaving ABC soaps instead of BRIAN EFFING FRONS?!
I HATE him! I'm wondering if Becky Herbst leaving really had anything to do with that idiot Guza after all.

jeN said...

THAT MOTHER FUC.....................

SOMEBODY FIRE BRIAN FRONS ALREADY!!!!!!!

THIS SH*T ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!

Jen said...

Yes that was me, I was so out raged I forgot to take the caps lock off.

FIRE FRONS!

FIRE FRONS!

FRONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize it until today, but Sarah Glendening REALLY looks like Melissa Archer with that red hair. I have to wonder if that is intentional.

And I have decided that any tweet I make in regards to soaps will have the hash tag #FireFrons included. What? It helped get rid of that Pratt-hole.

TheGhostofVerlaGrubbs said...

Debbi Morgan has Lyme disease, papers are saying that's the reason she left. It's not fatal and she hopes to return in a couple months. She's had it for 15 years.

Anonymous said...

If this is legit, our beloved InsAnnie is leaving Pine Valley. :(

http://www.melissaclaireegan.com/forum/index.php?topic=1254.0

Those Pratt Falls gals found and posted it on Twitter.

Stacy said...

So upset about MCE leaving. I hate Brian Frons with all of my heart. What stupid has-been are they going to try to lure to AMC to fill the void. BUMMED!!!

Mel Got Served said...

F***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I hope MCE books a huge primetime gig. Charlie's Angels reboot?

Anonymous said...

If they do recast Annie, one person I think would do a decent job is Liza Hubber. She was one of the few people on Passions that could act, and she is the daughter of our beloved La Lucci!

But yeah, I'm very sad to see MCE go. She was one of the few truly great things about this show.

Courtney said...

What is going on at ABC!!!!

Anonymous said...

Um, I'm going to retract my suggestion of Liza Huber. She is a good actress by Passions standards, that much is true. I just forgot how low Passions standards were...

She's still better than Denise Vasi, though.

Jen said...

Unbelieveable, this hurts, I invested 10 mths. into this S/L and to have that...it's not fair.

Shadow said...

ABC: "I'm sorry, but we have to let u go." Actor: "But why!?" ABC: "It's storyline dictated." Actor: "How so?" ABC: "We aren't sure yet."

Shadow said...

AMC REALLY needs Chrishell now. Hope she makes Frons-hole show her the $$$$ now!!!

I wonder if MCE will depart #AMC by coma, plane crash, head wound or breakfast food?

This is ~nothing~ against Melissa Claire Egan, but it's sad when someone who has only been with the show 4 years seems like a 'Vet'.

Well, at least we'll get to watch Melissa Claire Egan in the AMC opening credits for several years.

(Fake) Breaking News: AMC 's Denise Vasi & Julie Carruthers sign 10 year contracts.

Shadow said...

More (Fake) Breaking News! AMC's Ryan & Greenlee moving to Llanview whereupon they discover the Ford Bros. Were all fathered by Ryan's abundant sperm donation years ago.

Shadow said...

This Just In: AMC's Marissa sets up shop in Port Charles; Finds out she's actually not an E-Babe. She's a Quartermaine!

Shadow said...

On Tuesday's AMC Fan Fave Tad said they "weren't going to worry about plots making sense or staying in character". And that's different how?

Shadow said...

AMC Fan Fave Opening: The Book, The Poem, beloved Dr. Joe, Hayley, Palmer, Marian, Real Liza, Myrtle, Maggie. Harder knowing MCE's leaving.

Brooke's in the #AMC Fan Fave?! How's it possible to be so thrilled AND feel like I'm being stabbed at the same time? Damn you Fronshole!

Jen said...

This is not an easy night for any of the Annie & JR fans, definitely sucks for both characters fans individually.

As JR fans hate Marissa
Annie fans hate writing Annie BSC to exit

Jacob Young was rumored to be upset w/ TIIC, I wouldn't be surprised if that was true. Why do I have that feeling this is just the warning shot, that it's going to be more names. So far in the span of 3 mths. what is it 5 AMC actors sent packing.

Who knows, Shadow I definitely need your humor at a time like this, thank you for that. I'll add one.

Natalia leaves PV keeping baby #4 from Ryan.

Does anyone think AMC really is getting cancelled?

Mel Got Served said...

I will only accept Annie leave if her beloved crowbar returns for an encore.

Ashley said...

I think the crowbar got fired, Mel. Craputhers said it was "storyline dictated." Sucks! One of the best actors on the show. We'll miss you #Crowbar!!

Mel Got Served said...

F*** this!!! NO CROWBAR? I'M OUTTA HERE.

DancingElf88 said...

THIS. SUCKS. BALLS. Imagine my surprise when I found out yesterday that my MCE is leaving the show. FUCK THIS. She is my favorite actress and favorite character and the only reason i watch this damn show. This really hurts. Now I'm all emo and uber bummed.

Laura said...

Back to the blog after a long absence. Enjoying the podcasts. Upset with the news Insannie is leaving. And praying Cameron M. goes to replace Regis. Get the Sperminator off my show!

armless-phelan said...

I think Cameron Mathison would LOVE the opportunity to host LIVE! He wouldn't have to work nearly as hard, probably get more money, a more stable gig, and not worry that his thongs would show up on air.

And then we might get a leading man on our All My Children who isn't a chauvinistic a-hole.

Shadow said...

Dancing Elf Said: THIS. SUCKS. BALLS.

I cannot tell you how much I wish that was the headline on one of the soap mags. Classic.

It's been like 12 hours and nobody has been "dictated" yet. That's like a record! Wish they would "dictate" Fronshole and Crapputhers.

Stacy G. said...

People I have to tell you, the storyline dictated talk is all nonsense. What you are witnessing is the end of All My Children. The show is over budget, they can not afford these talents. There are also rumors that Jacob Young is deciding to opt out soon and so is Debbie Morgan, enjoy VI b/c he too is taking a long break after this SL arc. Frons is losing SoapNet in 2011 and AMC/OLTL is in trouble.

Stacy said...

I can't get over how sad I feel, as this is really driving it home for me that AMC is on it's very last legs. Shadow...thanks for the laughs..I need them. So...speaking of the crowbar, even that is a freakin re-write, since that was Janet's weapon of choice. I mean, how lazy is that, the writer's can't even give Annie her own "weapon?"

Shadow said...

So I'm sure you've all heard about Jamey's report at DC that one of the soaps gave had it's budget slashed 50%. It won't surprise me if it's AMC, but I sort of expect it to be GH after they let RH go. Frons has tinkered mightily with OLTL & AMC, but so far not GH. I sort of suspect the AMC writers may be trimming some extraneous cast members in favor of those they see as their own creations or those who, at least in their minds, form stronger family ties. They didn't "get" Finn or Carmen Thomas and just blew that all off until he decided to leave. Drives me nuts K & S are getting any credit when Lorraine set it all up before they got there and thrust Fat Caleb on us. They pretty much are reinventing GL on AMC with all their favorites and just enough help from Lorraine to try to make it feel like we aren't getting fucked. Anybody who watched the Tad fan fave on Tuesday can see how it's changed. All the characters, the actors, all the subtext, the brilliant ensemble, gone. I know AMC is over budget, but if they cut more cast they will have to rename it "My Only Child".

So it won't surprise me if Frons noticed that GH was heavy on staff, burdened by a pricey Brenda, dogged by low ratings, strapped by Franco & sweeps & told them to cut that shit down to the bone. It also won't surprise me when Bloom reports to work at one of these shows. By the way, have you seen the horseface on that woman? I bet when people introduce themselves she actually says "NEIGH" in reply!

Anonymous said...

The first time I saw a picture of Barbara Bloom, I thought I was looking at a really bad drag queen. And I offer my sincerest apologies to drag queens.

And I think GH is the one getting the cut, since they already have the largest budget and aren't doing much better than AMC and OLTL in the ratings. They have a HUGE and expensive cast, all kinds of explosions, and I'm sure the barware Sonny Corinthos breaks in a year costs more than Susan Lucci.

But you know what would save even more money? Firing Fronsie. How I hate him.

Stacy G. said...

GH isn't getting cut. It's AMC. GH is making money, they over budget but AMC is in red zone territory. They just dropped 6 actors, w/ more to follow. Everyone there is on borrowed time. MCE is just the first of many that AMC will lose. Everyone over at AMC is hush hush right now.

donna said...

Stacey G,

Any hints about the 6 actors they've cut?

At this point, wouldn't that be about a quarter of the cast?

Damn. Dark days ahead :(

Jen said...

They already cut them.

Canary, Mayfield, Allen, Wittrock, Egan, Kane, Stause..it's called cost cutting, they are in redzone land.

VI and DM are not resigned.

Debbie is rumored to being courted by Y&R

The past few days since Jacob Young's S/L would pretty much end w/ Egan leaving has brought up if he doesn't resign, which why would he, he reportedly wasn't happy w/ the writing staff via SoapTown USA, he has respect and adoration for his co-star in MCE. That's starting to bring whispers of Jacob also heading to Y&R or B&B.

Alicia Minshew is rumored to be out by April, her hubby is in NY. She's playing out her contract. Rebecca Budig might end up on the one soap ABC would keep which is GH. Cameron Mathison w/ Kelly Ripa or some talk show.

Stuff is rumored to be getting serious for AMC soon. Frons and Carruthers F'd up. The only thing Carruthers got right was green lighting Annie/JR w/ Lorraine Broderick's touch ofcourse, and ABC never really promoted them, which didn't make sense, only an idiot would think for 6-8 mths. rotating RB/CM/AM/TK/VI on frontburner would add to ratings. This is what led to AMC's inevitable demise.

This is all whispers right now, that are starting to turn a bit loud.

BTW wanna hear something that would have ABC pissed. How about the possibility of Y&R landing 4 underused, multi-talented emmy winning, scene stealing capable actors.

Debbie Morgan
Melissa Egan
Jacob Young
Rebecca Herbst

All free agents. How would ABC take that news.

Shadow said...

Canary quit. They replaced Mayfield & Allen with more popular, more expensive actors. They BEGGED Stause to stay on contract, but she opted for recurring. Wittrock got screwed. Kane really does have a little film buzz & a new Midea movie to promote. Honestly, I think she screwed ABC which gave her time for her movies. Egan is too smart to leave without a backup plan. I'm expecting to hear something soon. Could just be a game of chicken, but there's a reason their pushing Marissa. Young may not like it, but the show is pimping him as the next Canary. He isn't leaving that.

donna said...

Jamey gave a final clue on Twitter about the soap with the budget slash:

@SoapStud79 Ok, one last clue: It isn't the only daytime soap on a net's lineup.

4 minutes ago via Mobile Web in reply to SoapStud79

That rules out Days.

I believe it's AMC, and I honestly don't know how they're going to survive much longer :(

Stacy G. said...

Shadow, unfortunately what Jen said is correct, there is more cover up than anything. There are three talk shows lined up for ABC ready to go. I hope you don't get pissed, this is shocking to me as well.

AMC is on borrowed time. No AMC actor is signing extensions b/c there aren't any. The news that will pretty much come out soon, which will hit the fan, not now but soon is all 3 ABC soaps will have thier plugs pulled. AMC will likely be the first to go. There is a reason there are 3 talk shows in waiting.

One for the 1 o'clock timeslot
One for the 2 o'clock timeslot
And eventually 1 for the 3 o'clock timeslot.

Disney is pissed at Brian Frons and ABC b/c they aren't making them any money. They pulled out. Ea. show will go slowly, GH will be last to go and last as long as it's making some money. Which they are, which is why ABC pushes them and has them on the ABC covers weekly, they have the most fan interest.

Donna you are correct. But yeh the ABC soap lineup is in severe red zone. They likely all will be gone by 2012. Expect to hear more firings and quittings. And MCE will not be the last to quit on AMC.

Stacy G. said...

For those of you that don't think the 50% cut isn't AMC. I'll leave you w/ food for thought.

There's an actor overpaid, in a pairing that continuously drives away viewers, the actor has been pushed by ABC as the end all be all star of ABC. is making over 1 million dollars on contract, has not taken a paycut, this show went to another actor and asked them to take a bigger salary cut, the actor instead quit.

Wanna guess who's these actors are and what show it is?

donna said...

I'm going to take a crack at that, Stacey.

From what I've heard on DC and other places Rebecca Budig is making a million dollars a year under her most recent contract.

Could she be the one of the actors in question?

Anonymous said...

If AMC did ditch Greenlee, I don't think it would hurt the ratings much considering so many fans hate the character right now. But she does need to take a pay cut, because La Lucci is the only person on that show deserving that kind of cash.

Bianca is a popular character in Pine Valley who is being played by a fairly recent (and probably cheap) recast, and with rumours of Alicia leaving the show in a few months, they really need to start giving Binks more story.

I still think something ABC Daytime could do to get costs down is fire Frons and give Frank V. from OLTL the head of Daytime. He has the cheapest to produce soap on the air that has ratings right alongside those of AMC and GH. Yes, I'm mad at him for kidding rid of Kish, but something tells me he was just the fall guy for an order from that a-hole Frons!

Anonymous said...

Kidding rid of Kish? I think I meant "getting rid of Kish." Blah.

Mel Got Served said...

Dr. Castillo is one hot piece, but seriously, what hospital allows the doctors to wear a scrubs top and JEANS?? Put on those scrub pants, Dr. C- show us what you're workin' with!

Stacy G. said...

donna, I will not answer that, but do the math.

Get ready guys. Expect more announcements this coming week.

Anonymous said...

Mel, I love that Kendall is being set up for a triangle with Griffin and Reverend Ricky. Two hot latinos. A Doctor and a Holy Piece of Ass!

That is my name for Ricky: Holy Piece of Ass. Feel free to use it. ;)

I think as long they avoid cutting Erica, Tad, Angie and Jesse, there won't be the mass exodus GH is looking at. Still, I like AMC, and don't want to see anymore soaps leave the air so soon...

Aaron said...

I can't wait for the next podcast!

Jen said...

MCE has multiple movie deals waiting for her.

That's a big kiss my ass ABC. Not 1 million dollar material this. LOL

brtedi said...

Wow! There are actually some things I genuinely like about AMC, lately:

1.) Daniel Cosgrove, as "Scott"--At present, "Scott" has a bit more of and edge.Thank goodness, he holds his own with Greenlee.

2.) Marissa 2.0!--I love the recast of "Marissa" (No slight against the previous actress, but Olive Oil has left the building!

From the moment the recast appeared on screen, "Marissa" had arrived. Gone is the wishy-washy, training- bra- wearing character. She is now being written as a character who is more self aware--and more importantly capable of taking on "evil Dr. Dave" and deftly putting him in his place.

Mel Got Served said...

Was Scott ever in prison or just the visitor's room?? I think he lucked out. I've been watching Beyond Scared Straight and he's far too adjusted for a dude who just got out of prison. And not a single tattoo.

Anonymous said...

Mel, my guess is Scott probably went to the toughest guy in prison and said "keep me safe, my ass is yours." :P

I really don't understand all of the hate AMC is getting. It's so much better than it was under Pratt and McTrash (thank you, Youtube, for allowing me the comparison...) and Kreizman has gotten much better since his GL and ATWT days. Admittedly, he still sucks, but Donna Swajeski does seem to have reigned in his craziness quite a bit.

What the really needs, and it would be cheap to do so, is ditch some of the newer characters, like Randi, and recast some legacy characters. There are enough out of work soap actors that the show can get them cheap and fans can have familiar names running around, if not the faces.

But before Frons cuts Kreizman and Swajeski, maybe he should fire that bitch Craputhers and see how well the show goes.

Crystal said...

I dreamed Zack was coming back. He was being held prisoner by the 'bad guys' that blew up the plane.
sigh
WHY is he not on OLTL yet?!

Unknown said...

This is pretty cool--All My Children on Wikipedia--everything you ever wanted to know...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Valley,_Pennsylvania

Shadow said...

I agree with your last entry ArmlessPhelan. I would be willing to give K&S more time if they ditched Carruthers & went back to the core family tree & social set up. My problem with K&S is that they are too bent on creating their own characters and ignoring what has been placed in front of them that's good. Lorraine had Damon & Liza set up when K&S arrived & they blew it off, then when Finn is leaving they dust off her idea and rush it off to facilitate his exit. That Erica ep we loved was great, but choppy. Looking back it seems like something pieced together to accommodate the holidays-the way the characters time warp for place to place. All that aside, I'm convinced all that dialogue for Erica, the Tad/Damon/Liza scenes were all under Lorraine's care. Even the truly great Annie/JR stuff dates back to Lorraine. Under K&S it's been backburnered. Their stuff is so generic--could be Tree Hill, B&B, Days, whatever. It just isn't Pine Valley authentic feeling-not even under Palmer's watchful oil painted eyes. In fairness, how does a writer write when they don't know who will be there in 3 months or the network boss keeps interfering with story lines or the executive producer can't budget? Is Lorraine that good or were they just that hands off during the transition? She didn't have special effects or any of that shit. She took Pratt's mess and completely transformed it. Swajeski knows the show so maybe she deserves more credit than I give her for some of the current material, but it's like Ashley says. The show is better, but it's hardly must see tv. Keep the writers. Ditch the writers. But do something about Frons &/or Carruthers first. Who would be crazy enough to want to work for them? I cannot imagine any writer would come in so unaware of the unpopularity of Rylee and want to try to salvage that shit, but what can they do with Frons pushing them & everybody else's status up in the air? Can't or couldnt write much for Kane, Wittrock, Egan, Minshew. No wonder Cara started jogging the screen. I can say this--I don't want see McTavish back. She's done her best work with Wildwind, but I don't think she reached the limit of the damage she could inflict.

Shadow said...

...Cara started Hogging the screen...

Jen said...

Susan Lucci on "The Talk" ABC's competitor.

A BIG F U to ABCFronshole on that one from Erica Kane.

Shadow said...

Have to say that Looch on CBS surprised me. What did she talk about?

Jen said...

Hubby for 40 yrs. they were so cute, that and have fav moment w/ Canary was the foodfight scene.

Jen said...

Oh god.. I swear I'm competent but so much errors in spelling there. Lets do this w/ more attention.

Susan was on w/ her hubby of 40 yrs. They were so cute together, extremely. When asked what her favorite scene on AMC was, she mentioned the food fight scene w/ David Canary.

Anonymous said...

I don't know how I feel about the sweeps commercial AMC has been running. I like Cara. I like Griffin. HOWEVER, they have not been around long enough to be half of a main-focus sweeps story.

I really want to like this show, but all of the higher-ups are grossly incompetent. Lorraine pitching in every once in awhile isn't enough to save a sinking ship.

Jen said...

Now does everybody see why JY in December was upset w/ the writing staff? They pissed off a huge fan base and gave them the middle finger in this Annie/JR saga.

How many times these characters were ruined in angst plots for Scott, for Marissa, The Careys, the custody, JR doesn't come off as his father's son, he comes off weak, he should have been gotten rid of Marissa out of AJ's life, Marissa should have been the one he drove BSC, not a fan fav in Annie. Not many people like JR at all in this, I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to pull the same BS they did w/ MCE w/ JY, MCE's contract was coming up and they did this S/L to write her off. Asked her to take a pay cut, she said adios!

JY will go through the same and like MCE will give AMC the final middle finger. I applaud MCE for being given crap and spinning it into gold, and JY for providing the character of JR to have some vulnerability in his scenes w/ MCE's Annie. As for the hack staff at AMC, you all need a pen shoved high up your asses for this one.

Oh btw, insiders say Jacob Young has some movie deals waiting too and Y&R is interested in him, so I guess that spring 2011 cast list in inevitably going to be cut down even more soon. But AMC is just fine, they're just soon losing MCE, JY, VI, DM, AM, MN and eventually SL.

Jen said...

Oh and Jordan and Ashley, get ready your OLTL wish is coming true, it's gonna hit the fan when Tea finds out. LOLs.

brtedi said...

Honestly, I've wondered what Ted King would have done in the role of "Zach", if TK had been replaced. That would,imho, been a very good recast.

That said, I'm really looking forward to his work with Kassie
De Piva, on OLTL.

Shadow said...

A LETTER TO BRIAN FRONS FROM OUR FRIENDS AT PRATT FALLS. (And they need our help so click the link below!)

Letter to Brian Frons

DancingElf88 said...

Ok Just finally all caught up on OLTL. Not AMC though...I've just been so absolutely bored and the news that my girl MCE is leaving doesn't provide much incentive for me to keep watching. *SIGH*
I'm loving OLTL right now. Although I'm getting concerned about this influx of new characters taking away from the ones I rarely see now...aka my Evans family and Matthew and Roxy. That kiss between Matt and Des came randomly out of nowhere but IDC I liked it but then they're not on the rest of the week. That annoys me like...A LOT. Do Jess and Natalie have to do EVERYTHING together? I hope when the truth finally comes out Jess finds her inner Tess but I don't want her to split again. Tess is a part of her personality so i just want that to come out so she can smack those two down.
Loving me some badass Clint and Aubrey is kind of starting to grow on me.
I want Joey with Dorian and Cutter with Kelly. SMOKIN.
The Ford family can GO. GO GO GO off my screen. The redemption angle they're trying to work with Ford isn't working for me. And James...has this kid stopped whining yet? My GOD. Nate doesn't bug me as much. And while I don't mind Jessica Leccia I don't see the point of her character either.
Ok I've rambled enough.

Shadow said...

I was able to catched a little OLTL. This is obviously nothing particularly insightful, but Dorian & Viki make that how for me. Their dynamic is truly is riveting to me. It always has been. About the only time I really like Viki is when she reluctantly allies with or is altogether appalled by Dorian. Their relationship has always been superb. True frenemies. Whoever writes for them at any moment seems to get it. Every time I see them I think how sad it is that AMC has no equivalent for Erica and how unfortunate it is that Julia Barr is gone when she is willing and able to be a part of the show. Her presence last year raised everybody's game. One or two vets like her working with the cast makes the newbies and recasts easier to get accustomed to. If Brooke calls Jamie Luner Liza, it must be true. If Randi calls Luner Liza, well, that just makes me sad. The Kids were good this week. I like Cara but the cancer backstory is so needlessly labored. So many more credible ways to explain their breakup. Hard to believe Jake never knew she had Lukemia or knew her brother. Did she run and hide in the closet every time Griffin called her cell? I like the characters. I liked the back story until this bogus cancer thing. That part sucks balls.

kim fulcher said...

Jordan this is for you.. you have to do this!!

http://daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com/2011/01/29/oprah-holds-worlds-biggest-soap-fan-contest

Bxgal said...

JORDAN! PLEASE ENTER OPRAH'S BIGGEST SOAP FAN CONTEST!! THIS IS PERFECT FOR YOU!!!

Mel Got Served said...

I just didn't see why Cara had to have leukemia and not something else, only because JR has leukemia and that only came up a year ago. Can't they think of some other diseases to bring awareness to?

Stacy said...

Watching SAG awards. Didn't realize that Larry Keith had died this year. Once again, AMC missed an opportunity. As much as Erica relief on Mona, nick was the other calming presence in her life. How could they not have addressed his passing?

Terry in Toronto said...

Did anyone else watch Downton Abbey on PBS? Season one ended tonight. Now that's great soap, no pun intended from the last epsiode.

Stacy said...

Sorry for my above typos, " meant to say RELIED on Mona.

Guess wine and that touch keyboard on my ipad are not a good combo!

Anonymous said...

Ugh. The more I find out about the AMC sweeps, the stupider it gets. I hate Kreizman so much. Is it possible for this show to have a sweeps period without putting Kendall in mortal danger?

And has the show addressed Kendall's adopted family at all? That's another way they could tie Madison to the show and actually make me give a damn about her. And I was scared to death Friday with all of those pictures of Randi floating around.

I love Ron and OLTL, but they're really pushing my patience with all of these new characters. As awful as it was it died, ATWT always had the core family, the Hughes clan, present and active. The ABC soaps need to take a cue.

brtedi said...

Oh my goodness! If Chad Duell’s (spelling?) scenes with Steve Burton on Monday’s GH weren’t worthy of an Emmy nomination, I don’t know what was! Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of this latest recast of “Michael “, at first. However this kid has genuinely has been acting his face off. He’s won me over ---and that’s not easy. I was a diehard fan of Michael 2.0 (and last incarnation of “Morgan”, as well). In terms of the storyline, until recently, I was under the impression that we, the audience, were to infer that Michael was raped, due to standards and practices in daytime. Wow! Somebody really understood the dramatic impact of timing, as Michael’s traumatic experience is revealed.

Generally, in this fans opinion, things in Port Charles haven’t been hoppin’ this much for quite a while…Pretty much all of the actors have been bringing their “A” game, in recent months. I‘m one of those who feel soap actors can go toe to toe with film actors any day of the week. Just give them good material and let them do the work.

With the possible exception of “the Balkan” GH’s characters have been really well fleshed out.

Speaking of "the Balkan” what is with this guy, anyway? As I said to my best friend, yesterday, Wouldn’t a gangster with that much power have minions that would simply “take out” Dante and Brenda, instead of all of the cat and mouse gamesmanship? To me, GH’s writers have invented far more interesting villains in the past. But, then again, maybe it’s just me.

I would truly welcome any comments the rest of my fellow bloggers may have. :-D

Shadow said...

I hope everybody stays warm, isn't too inconvenienced, gets to sleep late, have a little sex, catch up on TV & gets paid for a snow day.

Michael said...

Brtedi, I have a schizophrenic relationship with GH these days. I love the actors, but nearly every single character on the show is a horrible person. I find it hard to route for any of them. I love a good villain. I like a character with shades of gray. But it seems that GH wants to feed us a steady diet of amoral characters, and then introduces characters that are even more horrible to make the regular cast seem less horrible. (Franco, Anthony Zacchara, the Balkan….) It has got to the point where I can not care about any of them anymore. When Dante and Brenda were talking and he pointed out she always saw the best of Sonny, she shot back, “Why do you always see the worst?” UH, BECAUSE HE SHOT ME POINT BLANK IN THE CHEST WITH THE SOLE INTENTION OF KILLING ME-THATS WHY!!!! No, he did not say that. Oh Sonny didn’t know it was his son, that’s right. That makes it okay. Geeze Loise! I think the writers can’t see how this dark morass has become so tiresome.

I also want to join in with everyone else in hoping to see Ashley, Jordan and Shadow jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch real soon.

Oh, I watched a clip of Greenlee’s very first scene on AMC on YouTube. It was with Scott Chandler (played then by Forbes March) -- tbey knew each another from UCLA film school. I forgot all about the history between the two.

Shadow said...

Every time somebody mentions "crazy" to Annie, I think "Oh crap, everybody down!" InsAnnie is going to s-n-a-p. Today Krystal called her a skank. Dr. Burke showed up at her door mentioning Dr. Sullivan (the thought of which makes me crazy) & JR busted Annie. I think it's safe to assume the shit's about to go down.

Shadow said...

Great moments the past couple of days:

Jake explained why he won't let Griffin treat David: "You see Dave, I think he's a little sweet on ya...

AMC works out a smoother transition between the opening & the new intro. That cutover had become choppy w/ the old intro.

Jake to David: "You know Dave, I'd start hoarding your pudding...".

Krystal to Annie: "YooHoo, Annie...lying little skank". Such judgment from Trailer Mama!

Not so great:

Anything with Ryan. As usual. Once again the writers have Ryan attempt some implausible, bullshit plan for Greenlee & Kendall. I wish he would have tripped & fallen off the building. I actually felt bad for Dave.

Kendall/Greenlee get spa treatments at work. How does Fusion make any money again? Poison perfume, accounting scandals, hookers & murderers for staffers, stripper poles, people stuck in the elevator, computer hacking, SEC inquiries, and Mo and Curly getting massages in the office hub wearing nothing but skimpy robes and getting vajayjay business all over everything? Can you imagine the next staff meeting? "Oh here, you can have my seat. Just let me wipe this off right here. Ok, there you go. Sit!"

It looks like Jessie is shrinking and Tad us growing. Fat Caleb is going to have himself a competish if Tad doesn't skip a few meals. They should have a week of episodes where all the characters deal with health issue realistically. For example, Tad joins a gym to lose weight & lower his cholesterol. The kids call Erica Granny & she has to have a Botox intervention. Annie seeks the advice of a mental health expert. Randi gets treatment for a herpes outbreak & and a vaginal wart. David does yoga to deals with anger management. Greenlee does a product placement for Excedrin saying something about how guilty she feels for taking the last 2 tablets after Ryan's aneurism explodes and he bleeds to death.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else want Ryan Lavery to die the most painful and humiliating death possible?

Maybe Annie, before she leaves, can tie him up and anally rape him with a red hot fire poker. Or does that offer too much dignity?

All I know is that every episode of AMC that I see makes me hate him more and more. And Cameron Mathison is not a very good actor. At all.

armless-phelan said...

Sigh. OLTL was wonderful today, and AMC was shit. I have to think being sandiwched between two terrible shows is the only reason OLTL doesn't have better ratings.

And where did this stupid drug theft story come from? Ugh. Someone needs to take Kreizman out and let him run around the farm with the other stupid cows.

THE FLYING NEGRO said...

^I agree! Ryan is way overdue for some surprise buttsecks!

This week has been absolutely disgusting! I had to stop watching!

Oh, and I can't stand Marissa...Sarah Glendening is awful.

She overacts, and the faces she makes are way too overdone. She reminds me of Natalie from OLTL.

She can't even deliver the line "Don't make me regret it!" without being overdramatic. Remember that show In Living Color with that woman who was a Black and White film star who overdramatized everything?

That is how I see Marissa. Sarah Glendening acts and looks like someone from the 1930s. I guess I shouldn't be too harsh, she is from a Musical Theater background, maybe that is why she overdoes everything.

Naaah, Ima be harsh!

Bitch this ain't Chicago! Tone it down!

J/K

Shadow said...

I think we have some new bloggers. Welcome to PVP. Glad you are all here during this heinous winter storm. What's on your mind as we head into sweeps? Are you ready for more hospital drama? Meh. How many near death experiences can one girl have? I don't want to see that damn scar anymore so I hope they get a good plastic surgeon to buff that thing out.

I would think the observant psychiatrist might noticed his patient fondling a shiny brass letter opener during treatment, wouldn't you?

Jack is starting to bobble again. Whenever I see Fat Caleb I debate with myself if he could be anymore boring and wonder how appalled Erica is going to be when she sees him naked. 'Come and get it Dorothy!'. Vomit!

I don't even know how Cara holds her eyes open with all that eyeshadow she wears. She looked like she got punched in the face today.

I find no pleasure watching David in these ridiculous scenarios with Marissa, who got a law license last week, supposedly defending him.

The one bright spot was Rev Rickey. I thought that moment was sweet. So, is he not Catholic?

Nice attempt to draw some sort of connection between JR, Annie, Dixie, Adam, the Oakhaven experiences. I don't know how successful it was, but at least they are trying to connect the dots.

Swajeski says Shannon Kane is off contract but not off the show. She said Brot and Natalia have a nice stirrings coming up and that Kane will come and go. Whatever. Don't care.

You know, some of your names are more entertaining than most of what happens these days on AMC: Ghost of Verla Grubbs always tickles me. DancingElf just makes me smile. But I have to hand it to The Flying Negro. That's a pretty funny surprise.

Hope you're all warm and tucked in out if this wintry misery. Conditions are making it hard for Jordan & Ashley, but they are trying. Keep checking back. And blog like nobody's business!

Anonymous said...

Shadow, I don't know if Erica has the gag reflex left to vomit at the sight of a naked Fat Caleb. She looks like she's been regurgitating everything she's eaten for the last 20 years.

I guess Jordan and I are in the minority because I think Sarah Glendening is doing good work. SHe's by no means a master actress like Alicia Minshew or Melissa Claire Egan, but she is holding her own up against these heavy weights. I am starting to see Jacob Young start to phone it in, however. And I'm not liking it.

AMC looks great. It's probably the best looking show in Daytime, with Y&R and GH battling it out for 2nd place. Looking good is clearly not helping it out. Cut some of the budget in lighting and makeup. Liza and Cara alone could probably save AMC half a million a week if they used only two thirds of their current makeup!

Anonymous said...

And remember to help the Pratt Falls girls with their letter campaign!

http://amcprattfalls.blogspot.com/2011/01/letter-to-brian-frons.html

Stacy G. said...

Sarah G. and Jordi V. are awful, they're horrible. Terrible, they can't translate from words to phrases. I disagree w/ Jacob looking like he's phoning it in, otherwise no one would be talking about JR on soap boards and that's not the case. What I see is less experienced, and poor actors like JV and SaG make a scene come off so choppy and horrible.

Yesterday VI had a scene w/ SL and another one w/ JV and he came off like he was phoning it in, like he was sleep walking, he's starting to whisper talk like Cam, don't do that! And on top of that he has no chemistry w/ the girl playing his daughter, you feel nothing in those scenes. The rooftop scene w/ CM and VI, please stop, these are awful, horrible!

I like Madison/Scott but I so want him w/ Greenlee if the show makes it.

THE FLYING NEGRO said...

Hi Shadow, thanks for the shoutout. I hear about PVP from a friend on Soapcentral.I hate soapcentral, you can't even cuss a cat over there without getting warned.

anyway, I agree that the Ryan-David stuff is apalling! I felt like we were watching Charles Pratt again!

Jordi Vilasuso is an okay actor, but he is not a fit for All My Children. I don't think he is necessary. Cara is the one that is fitting in with all the residents.

JV was hire for his abs and "Latin Good Looks". Soon they will say "Griffin Sizzles"

When you are Latino, and they start saying that you "Sizzle", that means your career is over, lol!

Shadow said...

I actually don't mind Sara Glenerama. I just can't remember her name. But saying I don't mind her means I think she is a marked improvement over the previous actress. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I'll give her some time. I like Scott & Cara. Madison seems like the weakest link to me, although she benefits from Scott's charisma. It was hot when she grabbed and kissed him-except for the thought of the little dude in there getting poked in the eye by Scott.

I hope Egypt finds a peaceful internal solution, but they better not be manhandling our Katie Couric.

Anonymous said...

I'm more worried about our Anderson Cooper, Shadow. He's already been attacked twice!

I tried e-mailing Kreizman and Swajeski yesterday, and both e-mails were rejected because the accounts didn't exist. Not exactly a good sign that Fronsie believes in them. And if HE thinks you're a hack, then the show can't be that bad under your watch.

Yesterday was not terrible TV, aside from having David running around doing the Lindy Hop and cartwheels while exclaiming he's too weak to go to prison.

And then that Ryass continues to be a terrible father by telling Annie he wouldn't take their kid, right in front of little Emma no less, just because his ex was in the hospital. I LOVED when Annie got in his face and essentially told him that they had a custody arrangement for a reason and he had to take Emma. So he did, acting like some great father, and then dumped her off on Scott and Madison in the next scene. Disgusting.

Shadow said...

Ok peeps, where are you all? I snow you aren't at work. This is snow day for school, and there is snow way you're lounging at the pool. What are you all watching during this wintry Snowcation?

Mel Got Served said...

From Nelson's Suds Report:

Melissa Claire Egan tells Soap Opera Digest that she actually quit in June and only signed a seven-month extension to wrap up her storyline! Like me, Egan was stunned the news didn’t get out sooner.

DancingElf88 said...

I'm catching up on yesterday's OLTL Shadow. Oh and watching this UK series Misfits. It's about teenage delinquents who get superpowers...it's really good. I am not amused OLTL. They show Matthew and Destiny kiss and then completely drop it. I still love dark!Marty and Rama and Vimal need to be signed to contracts. I love them.

Anonymous said...

I've spent the day watching AMC, which wasn't too bad, and OLTL which was fabulous except for the lack of a real cliffhanger. I do wonder what happened with Matthew and Destiny, though. I love them!

I'm a few months behind, but there is a free BBC produced radio soap that comes out 6 days a week and is only 15 minutes an episodes. The Archers. What I've heard is pretty good, but I've only listened to a few episodes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers

And the weather isn't too bad outside right now. At least, not in Ohio. It's supposed to be hellacious tonight, though!

Stacy H. said...

We actually had to work here in Massachusetts toaday, although I have heard another snow storm is on the way for Saturday. MCE was a surprise, they did a good job keeping it under wraps. Now it will just be the Ryan, Greenlee, Erica and Kendall show....yawn

Jen said...

And for 7 mths. MCE/JY made gold out of crap writing. I was told something unfortunately I was sworn to secrecy by someone, it's AMC related but you guys will see and I'll be able to dish in end of March. I'm sorry but a promise is a promise.

I'm betting also MCE w/ getting that extension seeing where AMC is today the decision was easy professionally but she won't say that on the record b/c lets be honest 7 mth. extension which was well worth it for AMC, unfortunately AMC will get hurt once she departs.

The good news is Jacob Young and Melissa Egan are getting early emmy considerations w/ the work they did in this s/l so it's not all for nothing. Sucks JR and Annie had years of s/l potential.


Cosgrove has the Ricky Paul Goldin kissing method, it came off disgusting. You can do better than that Danny, Cameron 1 Danny 0 w/ chemistry w/ Madison.

Anonymous said...

March is when the writer's contracts are up... I'm not fishing, Jen, just stating a fact. ;)

Arizonagal said...

Ryan'a bulging brow ridge is distracting. I don't hate the nu Marissa and that is a ringing endorsement for anything on AMC. JR'a hair-don't needs changin'.

The Jack/Erica break up dance is old and tired, they need some new moves.

Maybe AMC needs a dose of bollywood, it seems to have helped OLTL.

Yeah, AMC might be best looking soap, but that is not high praise if nothing else is working. OTOH Ryan's Hope looks cheap but damn good stuff going on there. Loving bat shit crazy Delia.

I know I'm in the minority but this Cara chaffs my ass, she's so manic and undernourished and wearing so much eye makeup I'm surprised she can keep her head up.

Anonymous said...

On this Wednesday(Feb. 9th) episode of Oprah. She'll do a soap-theme episode that feature legends in the soap world. Y&R'S (Katherine Chancellor) GH'S (Luke & laura) AMC'S (Jesse & Angie),(Tad the Cad),and (Erica Kane). The big surprise is to reunite Erica with all 8 of her husbands and yes including Dimitri. Day's (Bo & Hope) was suppose to be in this episode i'm guessing they couldn't work in their schedule.

Jen said...

Personal feelings towards the actress aside.

Marissa sucks!

Anonymous said...

Oprah is a huge AMC fan. I'm just sad she didn't bring on my Josh and Reva. And who wants to bet there'll be a surprise appearance by Miss Aggie? Every show about soaps does it.

Shadow said...

As I suspected, Soapgeist confirmed it was GH that received the 50% budget cut, hence the release of Herbst.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I saw that. GH getting the budget cut means AMC might still be safe for the near future. But something really needs to happen to the show to make it not quite so terrible.

You can tell who was headwriting the show at any time. When it's great, it's Lorraine. Good to boring has to be Swajeski, and the Prattish stuff is Kreizman. How I hate him.

Anonymous said...

Also, Nelson Branco reported that Kreizman is breakin gup Binks and Reese and hooking up our Bianca with an existing character with a new face. My money is on NuMarissa. It would get her away from JR, and I've wanted Marissa to be bisexual for ages!

Shadow said...

Marissa is just facilitating the divorce. I think AMC, which isn't in any danger of cancellation right now, is recasting a former love like Maggie.

AMC is much improved, though FAR from perfect. The ratings spread among the soaps is paper thin, but ABC has made it clear that the weight of its support is behind GH and AMC no matter how unfair it may seem with respect to OLTL. GH and AMC are both in LA with upgraded sets and studios, major cast changes, rehires, relos, new credits, lots of primetime promotion--DWTS, SWTS, Castle, Hot In Cleveland, etc. OLTL is in hand-me-down studios with old credits, non-HD, and virtually no promotion whatsoever. I don't wish it any ill. I'm not saying it's fair. OLTL is a fine show with very fine actors, writers and producers, but ABC is investing in GH and AMC while treading water with OLTL because it fits the budget. If 'The Talk' starts kicking the shit out of it on a regular basis, you can bet OLTL is going to be in trouble. If AMC and GH don't get it together, the whole soap block may be in jeopardized but I'm not sure we're at that point just yet.

ABC does some smart things with cross promotions and stuff, but they push all the wrong people. They promote who Fronse THINKS we should like or WANTS us to care about and IGNORES the people we genuinely come to adore. Who wouldn't love to see Robin Strasser on Castle, Cleveland or Dancing? She's such an entertainer! To some extent, ABC cuts its nose to spite its face. It doesn't promote some hot stars like MCE or Crishell, lets mega-watt faves like Herbst go. Losing Herbst and Egan is like losing one of the 4 main Desperate Housewives. AMC has a long haul if it wants to rebuild with the cast of unknowns it has right now. I get that some of these people have followings, but what it needs are faces that mean something NOW to us old gang. Bring in the vets. Of course I pick Julia Barr. My point is do something that generates buzz and draws some eyeballs. If the stories start popping people will start popping and maybe the audience will expand, but it's a tough hall to think you can bring in so many new viewers at this point. Get the households up and hope the demos follow. I think all 3 ABC shows are dragging each other down with morose, mundane formulaic storytelling. The kid who got raped in prison on GH? Vomit! I don't care how sensitively they portray that--I don't want to watch that. It's not that it's taboo or about two men or any of that osrt of thing. First of all the notion of rape itself just isn't pleasant, but some young person getting raped in in prison is just a whole other level of oogie. Where is the fun, creative, whimsical stories? I know OLTL does a good job, but it doesn't pull the numbers. GH and AMC are so reliant on the Daily Disaster, Baby Drama, blech. It's all been done to death. Look at Nurse Jackie? Where is that sort of thing in PVH or GH? Look at Sopranos. GH could do a better job. Look at Desperate Housewives. Not everybody loves it, but one episode of it seems so much more complete and whole than a week of AMC. I don't totally buy the bullshit that the medium is dying. I just don't think it is properly managed by people who are ready to make it work in the new age. Who ever that needs to be needs to have a savvy foresight to manage the creative and budgeting processes without disrespecting the artistic talent who have endeared themselves to the viewer.

Shadow said...

Forgive the auto-spell check corrections. I'd fix it all but I gotta go. Hope that made sense!

TheGhostofVerlaGrubbs said...

Armless, I've been listening to the Archers since 4/09 and I gotta say.... THAT is classic soap at its best. Yes it's about farming, and fields, and cows, etc., but it's a very low-key classic "daytime" drama. I have a 100 mile commute to/from work everyday so I can usually knock out 8-16 episodes a day.

Arizonagal....isn't Ilene's Delia pefect on RH for that type period while Randall's version of Delia's perfect for that stage in her life. Even though it was a recast, the writing was approrpiate for a character who grew in age but regressed emotionally.

Shadow said...

Ilene's Delia was fascinating to me. I was a kid then. I remember thinking how different she looked compared to virtually everyone else on daytime-sort of the original hot mess at a time when everbody looked like Mary. Delia was the first character who I understood was manipulating people & circumstances to get what she wanted. Of course, she always got busted and that was half the fun-to see what she'd do next. For me RH was 30 minutes to kill until AMC started. My interest level always spiked if Ilene's Delia or Jillian, the hottest woman EVER on daytime, were on. Frank and Seneca were cool too.

donna said...

A preview shot from tomorrow's Oprah, Erica and her men:

http://i54.tinypic.com/dexmy9.jpg

From left to right:

Phillip Brent
Jeff Martin
Dmitri Marick (sigh)
Adam Chandler
Tom Cudahy
Jackson Montgomery
Travis Montgomery
Mike Roy

Shadow said...

Thanks Donna. What a great group of guys. Regardless of marriages, I wonder how big Erica's 'number' is when you add up all the guys she's been with-Ryan, Nick, Jeremy...

Tom and Adam still look great. I appreciate Jack more now. Jeff is totally bald now? Phil & Mike Roy make me want run 5 more miles in addition to the 10 I ran earlier today, shave and get a haircut. And Travis was supposed to be Jack's brother. He looks like an elf. Of course, Lucci is timeless but now we know she's 98. Oh, I'm kidding. What a thrill to see them altogether. I'd love to see Tom & Adam back on the show. Richard Shofield is a good actor and still in good shape.

Shadow said...

From this picture I would never have recognized Dimitri. What a goofball.

Terry in Toronto said...

I'm looking forward to seeing all of Erica's men together but even more so I just want to see Jessie and Angie on Oprah so they can get some respect finally.

Can't wait to hear what Ashley and Jordan have to say about the show.

Anonymous said...

I so can't wait for tomorrow, even if Oprah did ignore my beloved GL.

I wonder if the reason there are no actors from P&G soaps is because they wouldn't grant Oprah the ability to show clips. They always were pretty uptight about their soaps.

And AMC was actually really good today. Loved the (wonderfully long) scene between Jake and Cara today. Yes, the drug cartel backstory is stupid, but Lindsay Hartley showed her naysayers that she can act.

I think the show would be in much better shape if they fired Kreizman and kept Swajeski on. Today clearly wasn't a Lorraine day, but it still had a lot of heart to it. I'm wondering if the two head writers don't alternate weeks or something. Because this two weeks good, two weeks terrible thing is getting old.

donna said...

Another shot from tomorrow's Oprah, with the entire cast.

Debbi and Darnell look fabulous, as does Genie Francis.

She's quite far away from Tony Geary, lol. I wonder if that means anything.

http://i55.tinypic.com/2in24y.jpg

Anonymous said...

Great Podcast, always really enjoy your show.

Anonymous said...

Loved the soaps episode of Oprah, even if I almost got one of my soap script writer friends in trouble with my infamous #FireFrons twitter hashtag.

I'm curious to see what the ratings for AMC, GH, and Y&R are going to be tomorrow.

#1 Daisy Fan said...

Oprah was fantastic! Susan was good, but Jessie and Angie got some long deserved props!!! Does anyone know what is wrong with Larkin Malloy? That kind of swelling in the face is not from weight gain.

Mel Got Served said...

What an awesome Oprah. I don't really watch Oprah much (though I love the new reality show about the behind the scenes), but made sure to watch today. What a beautiful tribute to daytime.

Terry in Toronto said...

Susan Lucci was awesome on Oprah! and Angie and Jessie were da bomb!!!!! Angie's hair looked so naturally beautiful that I couldn't help remembering all of Ashley's jokes about the weave. I loved that M. E Knight got his props too and that we got to see his sensitive side. All of those clips and all of the classic characters reminded me of what All My Children was like when I fell in love with it.

Over in Llanview the Buchanan wedding fiasco was terrific. I wanted everything else to just be put aside so I could watch the $#!T hit the fan. If only Roxie was there it would have been perfect. The writers did a wonderful job of building it all up so the payoff was relished to the last drop.

I can't wait for tomorrow's episode.

Shadow said...

On my HD flat screen I overheard one of Oprah's audience members say, "Does this mean we ain't gettin' no free Ugg boots? This is some bullshit right here. That skinny white bitch and her 10 husbands better be takin me to Honolulu, that's all I'm sayin'."

Terry in Toronto said...

Ha ha ha ha ha Shadow!

You speak for the masses.

;)

Anonymous said...

Oprah has a poll on her site. make sure you only vote for AMC. The GL & ATWT fans are letting their vois be heard LOUD!!

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Poll-Whats-Your-Favorite-Soap-Opera

Anonymous said...

I am one of the GL voices. I loved Springfield, even is spite of Kreizman's hackery during the final years.