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In your humble, honest opinion, what are the issues with the 4 current soaps on the air and how can the problems be fixed?
Y&R: Get rid of Anthony Morina and Josh Griffith and put a strong headwriter and EP in their place who’s gonna provide the viewers with thrilling storylines and couples. The only storylines I’m liking is Diane’s return. Susan Waters is killing it so far and Victoria/Ashland.
B&B: Brad Bell should give other characters a chance to shine like Quinn, Eric, Donna, Bill, Katie, Shauna, Wyatt, Carter, Paris, and Zende. I hate that Finn is dead it really bothered me he’d give Steffy a good man only to kill him off. What a damn shame.
Days: I was for the whole possession storyline, but now it’s dragging too long. It’s time to end it. It jumped from Doug to Marlena to Johnny to Allie and it’s time to bury the hatchet and bring us thrilling storylines to sink our teeth into. Come on Ron Carlivati give us something daring. Everyone knows Days has always dared to go where other soaps won’t go. I am loving characters like Eli, Ava, Nicole, Gabi, Jake, Kate, Rafe, Chanel, Lani, Paulina, TR, Marlena, Belle, Shawn, Belle, Kristen, Victor, Chad, Abigail, Will, Sonny, Leo, Craig, Nancy, Chloe, Brady, Ben & Ciara, Maggie, Xander, Gwen, and Julie. I hope Sarah gets her right mind back and her and Xander get back together.
GH: My only issues with GH is the mob stuff and Sonny and Carly hogging up all the airtime and Roger Howarth and Michael Easton have played 3 characters each in a 10 year period and killing kids to win Emmys. I actually like characters like Ava, Nikolas, Spencer, Bobbie, Lucy, Kevin, Elizabeth, Laura, Alexis, Ryan, Cameron, and Trina. Claire Labine/Wendy Riche’s GH is long dead. I wish Chris Van Etten/Dan O’Connor would come up with better material.
ReplyB&B: repetitive dialogue and the same storylines endlessly harm the show. I am only watching for the Sheila storyline at the moment. Why not bring back Felicia (Lesli Kay)? I don’t like enough of the characters to care about the show. Brad Bell’s writing is too spotty. Also, why are there no gay characters on a show set in the fashion industry?
Days: I am taking a break from this show. If Will and/or Sami comes back with a strong storyline I will return for their storylines but I only dislike Ron Carlivati’s overall storyline arcs – individual scenes can often be well written and/or acted but the overall stories are terrible. I dislike the possession story and how dumbed down all the characters are on this show. I love the performers and watch for them but I need a break from all the stupidity on this show. I dislike E.J., Rafe, this version of Ava and Nicole, the way Tony is treating Anna, Jake and Gabi as a couple… I love Maggie the most. Craig’s return – while well acted – feels so wrong to me, destroying the rich history between Craig and Nancy, what made them so special as a soap couple. A mature storyline about the subject matter would have made for a great groundbreaking soap story but it’s been dumbed down by the inclusion of Leo Stark. (Michael will surely disagree with me!) (;
General Hospital: my only issues are a dislike of the mob stuff, putting Sonny and Carly at the center of the show (all scenes that Carly are in are pretty much my least favorites), and Cameron Mathison as Drew. There are some other minor quibbles but otherwise I really love this show the most – it’s the one I watch every single day and look forward to it. The overall storylines mostly really work but they do need to move on with Elizabeth’s story – seems like they will now that Chase is on the case (I still think Elizabeth is the culprit). It’s nice to have a break from Jason but I do miss Jax, mostly because he would let Carly have it in almost all of his scenes! The teen set is the best on television.
The Young and the Restless: haven’t been watching much but I find this show’s writing really terrible (watch it when yet another writing Emmy, right?). I love Sharon and Mariah the most. Really dislike the Faith recast. Devon is a snoozefest and puts me to sleep in every scene he is in. I am tired of the Abbotts these days. Headwriter change is desperately needed.
ReplyCopy URLB&B: repetitive dialogue and the same storylines endlessly harm the show. I am only watching for the Sheila storyline at the moment. Why not bring back Felicia (Lesli Kay)? I don’t like enough of the characters to care about the show. Brad Bell’s writing is too spotty. Also, why are there no gay characters on a show set in the fashion industry? Days: I am taking a break from this show. If Will and/or Sami comes back with a strong storyline I will return for their storylines but I only dislike Ron Carlivati’s overall storyline arcs – individual scenes can often be well written and/or acted but the overall stories are terrible. I dislike the possession story and how dumbed down all the characters are on this show. I love the performers and watch for them but I need a break from all the stupidity on this show. I dislike E.J., Rafe, this version of Ava and Nicole, the way Tony is treating Anna, Jake and Gabi as a couple… I love Maggie the most. Craig’s return – while well acted – feels so wrong to me, destroying the rich history between Craig and Nancy, what made them so special as a soap couple. A mature storyline about the subject matter would have made for a great groundbreaking soap story but it’s been dumbed down by the inclusion of Leo Stark. (Michael will surely disagree with me!) (; General Hospital: my only issues are a dislike of the mob stuff, putting Sonny and Carly at the center of the show (all scenes that Carly are in are pretty much my least favorites), and Cameron Mathison as Drew. There are some other minor quibbles but otherwise I really love this show the most – it’s the one I watch every single day and look forward to it. The overall storylines mostly really work but they do need to move on with Elizabeth’s story – seems like they will now that Chase is on the case (I still think Elizabeth is the culprit). It’s nice to have a break from Jason but I do miss Jax, mostly because he would let Carly have it in almost all of his scenes! The teen set is the best on television. The Young and the Restless: haven’t been watching much but I find this show’s writing really terrible (watch it when yet another writing Emmy, right?). I love Sharon and Mariah the most. Really dislike the Faith recast. Devon is a snoozefest and puts me to sleep in every scene he is in. I am tired of the Abbotts these days. Headwriter change is desperately needed.
I think Y&R deserved that Emmy for Faith reacting to Sharon’s cancer diagnosis it was beautifully written. I agree with just about everything you said.
ReplyCopy URLI think Y&R deserved that Emmy for Faith reacting to Sharon’s cancer diagnosis it was beautifully written. I agree with just about everything you said.
Yes, the writing of that particular episode was strong but that’s the problem I have with the Emmys – the show itself was poorly written in 2020 overall, with a few stellar episodes, the same for 2021 – I don’t believe that a single strong episode is enough of a reason for an Emmy win, the whole year must be considered – which is why I think GH deserves to win the writing Emmy, since it is consistent and the overall storyline arcs are much better than the other 3 shows.
ReplyCopy URLYes, the writing of that particular episode was strong but that’s the problem I have with the Emmys – the show itself was poorly written in 2020 overall, with a few stellar episodes, the same for 2021 – I don’t believe that a single strong episode is enough of a reason for an Emmy win, the whole year must be considered – which is why I think GH deserves to win the writing Emmy, since it is consistent and the overall storyline arcs are much better than the other 3 shows.
You and I both know that’ll never happen. I don’t think voters have that kinda time to watch over 250 episodes of each show that’s why the NATAS gives each show a chance to submit two episodes for peer voting (4 for half hour shows) and whomever pick the best written episodes wins. The Emmys will never go off a year’s work it’s too much of a hassle. I actually like either the prenomination round or the way they doing it now with the nominees just submit their full reel and whomever had the best moments in that 15 minutes wins.
ReplyCopy URLY&R has had some interesting things happening lately, most specifically Diane’s return, but it never seems to know where anything is going. Any time I’ve thought that something might draw me back into the show, it’s generally fizzled out before I tune back in. The show needs a stronger overall direction.
B&B seems to love producing big, exciting moments and then swerving back to its status quo. I was so intrigued by Quinn/Carter story last year, but before long, the show had Eric and Quinn back together and was shopping Carter around to Katie (blech) and Paris (blech). The events of the last few weeks have been thrilling, but ultimately having Sheila shoot Finn and Steffy seems to have put us back on the Steffy/Liam/Hope merry-go-round, which I cannot support.
GH tends to focus on character interactions and developing relationships and storylines, which is great, but sometimes the show will sacrifice what could be very exciting in favor of being almost too grounded. For example, the fallout from Nixon Falls could have been a lot of fireworks with Sonny, Carly, Nina and Jason, and while there were some great moments, what felt like it should have been a dynamic triangle with Sonny, Carly and Nina amounted mostly to a lot of complaining to and each other. The show is also running a number of stories I don’t care about, either because I don’t care enough about these characters on their own (e.g., Sasha and Brando, Marshall) or because I have no real reason to care about the outcome (e.g., the ice princess business). Also, the care taken in building stories sometimes means things are happening just too slowly. I’m in favor of storylines that unfold over a long stretch of time, but they need to be actually unfolding, making some degree of progress. And Austin is a total dud as a character. He’s not a good love interest for Maxie, is doing nothing with the Quartermaines at the moment despite technically being one, and is just an irritating presence. Killing Franco was a mistake, and having Austin in his place just compounds that mistake.
DAYS has a number of issues, and I think many of them come from lack of proper oversight. Yes, some of Ron’s ideas are bad, but I’ve been astounded several times that those bad ideas make it to air. Killing Adrienne with the intention that you could just use Bonnie to fill that gap was a terrible idea. The show also overcommits to a bit or a character sometimes. Kristen’s reign of terror with those masks last spring, with absolutely no effort to make it make sense, is a good example. People will accept the farfetched, but there can’t just be five types of farfetched in the same story. Every soap has been guilty of getting too attached to characters who don’t work, but DAYS has been the guiltiest of late, in large part because they are many months down a story road before knowing how the audience feels about, say, Gwen’s vendetta against Abigail. So they not only keep the characters but have no opportunity to try to remedy what is making people dislike the character to begin with. Also, there’s too much of a revolving door. While I appreciate that we can see people like Alison Sweeney who wouldn’t be available full-time, the show certainly suffers from thinking it can write some characters off screen for long stretches of time without running into the problem. It bothered me so much that the show had Jennifer in Boston dealing with Laura’s estate for a year! And by constantly going back to transient antagonists like Kristen, Vivian, Orpheus and Clyde, the show misses chances to build more character-based story dynamics with more satisfying payoffs.
LOL, Freeman, I don’t totally disagree about the Craig and Nancy story. The writing of it, especially in the first couple of weeks, was abysmal and incredibly dated, but I think after getting over that initial hurdle and bringing and bringing in Leo, the story has been much better and a lot more fun.
ReplyCopy URLI agree with a lot of what EmmyLoser said. Some of my main thoughts (and sorry for repeating what others have said)…
GH: Far and away the best soap on the air. Sonny Corinthos has been one of the characters on daytime that I loathe the most, so I still think it’s a miracle that the Nixon Falls storyline made me warm up to him. However, Carly continues to annoy me terribly, and I hate how the show keeps propping her up. Agree on Austin: boring, useless character, and it really was a mistake to kill off Franco when things were going so well with Elizabeth.
DOOL: I actually don’t mind the revolving door that much because it’s a way we can get to see a lot of characters that we might not be able to see regularly due to budget issues. But I am completely sick and tired of the devil and the masks — ENOUGH ALREADY! Also agree that the periodic visits of Clyde and Orpheus are terrible. I roll my eyes every time I read that either of them is coming back. I’m over Ava and Jake and would get rid of them. And Gwen — ugh! There are no words for how much I’ve hated this character from the beginning.
B&B: It really sucks the way this show focuses intensely on a story to the detriment of the rest of the show, and then drops the ball. The perfect example being the Quinn/Carter/Eric story. And another round of Hope-Liam-Steffy?! Seriously?! UGHHHHH… Half the cast of this show isn’t being used, and they really should bring back Rick, Maya and Felicia. B&B produces great moments and episodes but they are way too attached to love triangles that no one cares about anymore.
Y&R: 🙁 How I miss Bill Bell’s Y&R — the show that got me hooked on soaps. Genoa City is unrecognizable to me now. The Devon/Abby/Chance storyline has done a lot of damage to the character of Devon (and it was preposterous that Victor and Ashley had nothing to say). Billy Abbott is truly a ruined immature character. I’ve never liked the character of Chelsea and would get rid of her. There are very few storylines I care about. Agree with others that Susan Walters’s return has been good so far. And I smile every time I see Nikki, Jill, Nick, Lauren, Mariah and Michael. Watching Y&R is just a really sad experience because I can’t help but remember how great it once was.
ReplyCopy URLI agree with a lot of what EmmyLoser said. Some of my main thoughts (and sorry for repeating what others have said)… GH: Far and away the best soap on the air. Sonny Corinthos has been one of the characters on daytime that I loathe the most, so I still think it’s a miracle that the Nixon Falls storyline made me warm up to him. However, Carly continues to annoy me terribly, and I hate how the show keeps propping her up. Agree on Austin: boring, useless character, and it really was a mistake to kill off Franco when things were going so well with Elizabeth. DOOL: I actually don’t mind the revolving door that much because it’s a way we can get to see a lot of characters that we might not be able to see regularly due to budget issues. But I am completely sick and tired of the devil and the masks — ENOUGH ALREADY! Also agree that the periodic visits of Clyde and Orpheus are terrible. I roll my eyes every time I read that either of them is coming back. I’m over Ava and Jake and would get rid of them. And Gwen — ugh! There are no words for how much I’ve hated this character from the beginning. B&B: It really sucks the way this show focuses intensely on a story to the detriment of the rest of the show, and then drops the ball. The perfect example being the Quinn/Carter/Eric story. And another round of Hope-Liam-Steffy?! Seriously?! UGHHHHH… Half the cast of this show isn’t being used, and they really should bring back Rick, Maya and Felicia. B&B produces great moments and episodes but they are way too attached to love triangles that no one cares about anymore. Y&R: 🙁 How I miss Bill Bell’s Y&R — the show that got me hooked on soaps. Genoa City is unrecognizable to me now. The Devon/Abby/Chance storyline has done a lot of damage to the character of Devon (and it was preposterous that Victor and Ashley had nothing to say). Billy Abbott is truly a ruined immature character. I’ve never liked the character of Chelsea and would get rid of her. There are very few storylines I care about. Agree with others that Susan Walters’s return has been good so far. And I smile every time I see Nikki, Jill, Nick, Lauren, Mariah and Michael. Watching Y&R is just a really sad experience because I can’t help but remember how great it once was.
I agree the whole Nixon falls story made me warm up to Sonny a little and omg Carly is in everything going on. The writers should really put her attention elsewhere.
I always thought the fake masks were a horrible idea (Nicole/Kristen). I actually like Ava but I’d like for her to be in the grey area personality wise. I actually love Jake but keeping him and Gabi apart is crazy. I’d like the Gwen/Abigail rivalry if it made sense. I am interested in the Jane Spears/Shawn/Belle baby storyline. The devil possessed storyline should end. It really should have ended when Marlena’s exorcism. I don’t mind Sami, Orpheus, and Clyde’s visits they are good. I’d definitely love to see Louise Sorel come back as Vivian to shake Salem up and her and Jake can take Salem by storm. I love Victor Kiriakis and his one liners. John Aniston is long overdue for a Emmy.
I’m baffled at Finn’s death. There was really no reason to get rid of him. If Brad Bell thinks the audience wants to see a rehash of Hope/Liam/Steffy then he’s nuts. I’d love to see a Quinn/Eric/Carter rehash but its gotta go differently this time.
Y&R is so unrecognizable these days. I don’t mind Chelsea but I’d love to see a Adam/Chelsea/Sally triangle and its gotta make sense. The whole Abby/Chance/Devon storyline is crazy to the point where it makes no sense. They should have just shared custody and been done with the whole damn thing. The only bright lights on Y&R is Diane/Jack/Phyllis/Allie/Kyle story and Ashland and Victoria. Billy needs to cut it out with his shenanigans the fans are over it. Somebody at Sony really needs to get rid of Griffith and Anthony Morina as HW and EPs.
ReplyCopy URLNot going to comment on GH because I don’t watch nor care for it…………
B&B: I was mad at Brad Bell for killing off Finn and now we have Steffy having Amnesia and thinking she’s married to Liam…….seriously??? It seems like he’s going back to Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle. It’s great to have Sheila back but they need to do MORE to her. Some of the storylines are like blah but like Y&R, they know how to submit for Writing at the Daytime Emmys………….
DAYS: They need to get RID of the possession storyline and QUICK; it’s no wonder why Passions got canned because of their good vs evil and some of their dumb and silly storylines. Craig & Nancy storyline is OK; I don’t mind Craig being gay but not be Leo’s fiance. They only thing I really like is Ben & Ciara (the FUTURE Bo & Hope) but I did hear we won’t see much of them after Ciara gives birth. I do wish they stop resurrecting characters from the dead. It’s no wonder why they along with GH can’t win Writing at the Daytime Emmys.
Y&R: The storylines are NOT bad, just BORING; JG just needs better or juicy ideas to the storyline. I’m surprised Diane returned since Y&R usually don’t resurrect characters from the dead but happy to see Susan Walters back. YES, I agree about Devon/Abby/Chance/Dominic storyline; I was wondering where was Josh going with this and I will agree that they are ruining Devon like this. I will give Melissa Ordway credit for her acting 👏 Josh also needs to do more with Chelsea………I’m hearing rumours that her and Sally could be the next Katherine & Jill and I think that’s a great idea but study past episodes with Jill & Katherine first to make sure you get it right. I’m liking Adam and Sally and I am also liking Allie, I just hope they doesn’t ruin her. Really would like them to do more with Nikki, let’s revisit her MS storyline. We’re seeing bits of Michael & Lauren and would like to see MORE of them. Why kill off Rey??????? 😭
MOST of the times, I question why I am living in the USA. Love the international soaps especially the British soaps. I would rather watch them than our US soaps. I’m EVERYTHING IRISH too.
ReplyCopy URLI don’t think GH is the best soap on the air. Just like the other three it’s mediocre at best. It has its flaws too. To be honest none of the soaps on the air is must see tv. Sony and CBS really needs to get rid of Josh Griffith and Anthony Morina. I’m sure they see this shyt fest that’s on our screens at 12:30/11:30 and I know damn well they aren’t pleased with the end result. I know the actors who are playing these characters and reading these scripts are like WTF IS THIS? Y&R probably won’t be Bill Bell or Kay Alden’s Y&R again but I’d accept something close to it and this ain’t it.
Brad Bell knows how to fuq a wet dream up. He had a good thing going with Finn and Steffy and now he kills him? Where’s the sense in that? It makes no sense to me. I don’t get it and now Steffy thinks she’s still married to Liam? Omg I can’t take another Steffy/Liam/Hope triangle. I just can’t.
Days just had to let the devil possession storyline go. It was fun last year, but this year not so much. Ron Carlivati had ran this storyline into the ground.
GH been doing the whole mob story since 1993 and it’s kinda outdated. I honestly don’t see a couple in Maxie and Austin. Like the guy above said it’s no wonder GH and Days can’t win a writing Emmy. Y&R and B&B will continue to dominate that category for years to come.
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