DisneyBoy

Wait wait wait...they do shows during the lottery?! WAIT WAIT WAIT...On the Town is closing!?! I need to sit down. When's it close? Edit: Watched it. Officially on team O'Hara now. Not that I wasn't before, mind you...but yeah...wow.

Hey wow - I forgot how excited I was about this performance from Ellen Greene and how much I'd hoped to catch a bootleg! Skimmed it but was impressed by Jake's Seymour. He really brought out the awkward dopey guy and sang decently. I was worried his "star wattage" would outshine the production, but I don't think it did. The real star was Ellen and BOY did the crowd let her know it. Seems a few lines of dialogue were different here and there (or is it just that I know the film better?) but otherwise it was pretty much exactly what we were hoping for: Ellen back as Audrey! I LOVED that for the final bows Jake sort of snuck away, likely suspecting Ellen didn't want to stand out alone, and forced her to accept the love the crowd was giving. And then she just sneaks away sheepishly to the wings :) Oh Ellen. I may very well have to check it out. As long as Ethan Freeman is there as Jafar, I'll want to. But to answer my own question...hmm...Hunchback definitely needs a glamorous overhaul. The recent production with the wooden pub-like set didn't do it for me at all. I want to see big sets and dramatic lighting! Ditto for Evita! The original show looks like it had really minimal sets and the revamp once again had a boxy pub-style thing going on. Whenever it next pops back up, I want to see something interesting and very different. Fifth? Sixth? Whatever - you get the point.

Where did you hear all this? I have to say, I'm not surprised by the notion that the previous directors weren't giving their actors many notes - you could see them phoning their performances in, or just getting lost in all the circular repetitive dialogue. I'm stunned that any director would just skip, you know, directing his cast! Yup. Very irritating.

Oh, I loved Gabe and Lorna too, but I don't remember too much of it. I know Gabe's first wife was Cindy's sister and he lost her and their child in a fire which Cindy did nothing to stop (or did she set the fire? I think she just watched them burn, wanting Gabe for herself). But MAN did Gabe and Lorna have chemistry. It's no surprise they kept the topless shot of them in the opening credits for a long time after both had left the show. I was only mildly bothered by the shift between Alicia Coppola and Robin Christopher's Lornas because at least she had a good love interest in Gabe. Wonder why they didn't keep him alive on the show longer? Grant and Cindy were GOLD. It was so twisted watching him abuse her, then get rescued by her and vice versa. It's almost fitting that the show ended shortly after Grant was offed because I can't imagine another villain lasting as long or proving as interesting. Irlandesa you're making me want to find a way to watch all those old episodes with Anne as Vicky/Marley. I only caught the end of her run, as Ryan became a main player and fans to this day rave about her performances. I liked Jensen B a lot, but as her Vicky became the centre of the show in the years that followed I got annoyed. And I never saw Ellen Wheeler as the original Vicky/Marley so when she came back in 1998 I was mostly confused. Anne really owned those roles. I don't remember Gabe and Josie being "fucked up" as you put it :) He was her commanding officer/teacher...other than that, it seemed pretty kosher. Well, until after the recasting. I agree that Josie 2.0 was quite a find - the actresses even looked alike! - but Gary 2.0 wasn't as successful. I seem to remember reading in the 35th Anniversary book that Gary 2.0 had auditioned for another part originally - Nick Hudson? - and then ended up being Gary. Fun fact: He and Josie 2.0 got married in real life. ...can anyone remember if it made sense for Gary to have a brother, based on how he was introduced and the personal history the show set up for him? I remember being really thrown when Cameron showed up and turned out to be his brother. And the less said about the Josie/Cameron beach affair the better.

Woah - so there was a MORE bizarre ending for Sonny that we didn't see? Dodged a bullet there I guess. In my mind, there's no reason for Sonny to be emotionally tied-up in two such idiotic guys. Will, I can understand to a degree since they got married. But still, Will's been deceptive, hostile and unpredictable for months now (a year?) and they only got married a little more than a year ago. Not good. And it's not like they've been up against too much as a couple, other than Gabi going to jail. So...cripes dudes. Time to end it. And Paul is pretty overrated as a character. He was introduced as John's son but they've done practically nothing with it. It's like they have Drake and Deidre available for two days of shooting a month or something. Marlena hasn't even had a scene with Caroline since the stroke, has she? And wasn't she Paul's therapist? And yet he's AWOL now too...annoying. I think I actually caught those scenes by accident one time while channel surfing. It was nice to see someone play devil's advocate instead of just saying "Sure Hope, move on, the other actor is unavailable so let's just trash him." I wanted to ask you guys: is anyone else really annoyed that THREE of the show's male leads are basically saying the exact same things to their women? Steve, John and soon Bo are all going, "darling, I've made mistakes and kept my distance from you for years...but I'm devoted to you and fixing this." *eyeroll* It's one thing for ONE leading guy to do it, but for THREE? Oy. It's this kind of writing that makes girls/women stick with their crappy husbands/boyfriends out of a sense of duty so long as they say those magic words once every three years or so, just when the divorce papers are about to be signed. Did anyone else like that the writers at least gave Marlena and John a moment - brief though it was - of acknowledging that their biggest problem has been how they treated each other within their own marriage? I liked that. ...of course I still want to hear Marlena tell John he's a freaking horny scumbag idiot for thinking sleeping with Kristin would save Brady. But now that it's the 50th Anniversary, they're going to try and sweep that under the rug and make us all swoon at the Freedom 55 rehash romance. Why am I not surprised John gave Marlena a blank book? Pretty apt metaphor for John Black. And for the record: I think it's awful the way they discarded Serena like she was a day player. The actress was great, had good chemistry with Eric and was utterly wasted. I'm going to miss her. Hope she lands a play or a primetime show or something.

Listening to the nerdiest recording with ASP from during the fest. Man - she's energetic!

Saw Jeanna De Waal as Glinda in Wicked a few years ago and she was having a rough night. Interesting to see how her career has taken off (or at least continued). What are her strengths as a performer, Qoass? I didn't get much of an impression of them when I saw her... Are there any "blockbuster" type musicals in the works from what you've all heard? I didn't catch Gigi but folks were saying the sets and costumes were a throwback to the blockbuster days...think we'll see another Phantom or Sunset Boulevard anytime soon? I know budgets and financial realities make it less than likely, but there's something about those types of show that really grab me...at least if they're done right! Oh, oh! Fun game: pick a show you've seen (either in person or online) that was in need of an upgrade and tell me where and how you'd spend the money to make it more lavish!

Boes, you are hilarious and on-point. I don't quite even know how Abifail qualifies as a supporting player from Toy Story (rather insulting to the toys, dontcha think?) but hey, it made me chuckle. What show was this today? The scenes had a flow to them, following one character reacting to a situation established in the previous scene...it was almost like actual storytelling! A dead body is found and cops are there to investigate and make educated guesses as to the killer...! Hope and Rafe almost sounded intelligent there...crazy! Honestly, I was impressed. I didn't catch the whole show, but it did seem like there was a lot happening today. Liked Aiden proposing - he and Hope have chemistry and charm together, something she's been lacking for a while - liked Caroline and Kayla chatting (Caroline's her mother? Okay. Never knew!), Julie and Hair had a decent scene together to tease the anniversary ("This is the biggest thing to happen in Salem in a long time!" - we get it ladies. We'll tune in!), Patch coming back AND Bo being teased??! That's a lot of fun. I will say that I hate how Serena, Xander and (apparently) Aiden are going to be/already being thrown under the bus by the writers. They all were good actors who fit well into the show. Xander could have been great with Nicole, and Serena temporarily made Eric bearable. Letting him kiss her isn't much better. Seriously dude - WTH is your problem? Marry her or cut her loose already! (Still not over his "plan" to cheat on her with Kristin for Brady's benefit. What a tool!) Harold needs to quit period. The poor guy gets no screen time! Has young Ciara already disappeared from the show? Are we going to get to see her reaction to Aiden's proposal?

I don't know what the in-story reason was for Bo to ditch Hope. Did they even have problems in their marriage, or did he just leave because of work stuff? If they plans to bring Bo back and kill him off and have Aiden also leave the show, either by death or arrest or moving away, that'll just leave Hope alone, right? So what's the point in that? If they kill off Bo, then at least Aiden should be there as the new guy, right? They have chemistry and there's story potential moving forward. I can get why PR wants to move on - no one wants to be on a soap forever, right? - but it sucks that his and Hope's storyline has been so affected by that.

Woah wait...the stuff I saw today when I randomly tuned in was Sonny's goodbye arc? What? I was so bored with it I turned it off in about two minutes. Justin and his wife are still in the same place. Will is still being awful and demanding and an ass...and Sonny is telling his ex who slept with his husband that he still has feelings for him? *facepalm* No kidding "absolutely nothing happened". Cripes! I hope if Sonny returns it's with a "screw you all" attitude. After Mopey Eric the Priest and Brady the Bozo, I'd like to see one guy just have some fun and cut ties with idiots and move on with his life. Sonny's the guy who deserves to do it.

I liked the twist of Macbeth marrying Demona, but intensely disliked the animation in that episode. Definitely subpar, and that's a bummer considering it was the episode that really introduced Angella to her mother. As for MacBeth...I didn't really care for him as a character or villain. He wasn't especially interesting outside of the "City of Stone" arc and whenever he appeared it usually just meant a lot of fighting.

I watched...three...episodes, I think. Perhaps also one with the minotaur? I really disliked the narration, the pretentious title ("Goliath Chronicles" how, exactly?) and the tone shift. Here, the clan was much more prone to violence and the show's moral compass seemed way out of whack.

Thanks for that summary - I never had a chance to read the comics, and this really highlights why I heard so much negative criticism towards them. I agree it's nutty for Elisa to suddenly pull a 180 regarding Goliath immediately after kissing him, and I can't wrap my head around how Elisa would "force" Goliath to date Delilah (creepy much? She's a clone of Elisa, right?) And as we're already stated, Elisa and Morgan are never, have never and could never be a couple. Nothing romantic there. And Jason definitely wouldn't be in the position to give Elisa advice on her love life...not given how they've barely known each other for two weeks. Strange that her brother and Maggie were going to conceive though. I know Gargoyles have different features and such, but wasn't her brother a mutant, whereas Maggie wasn't? I don't know...the whole "people experimented on and turned into half-animals" interbreeding concept gives me the ick. If a goat man mutant conceives with a gargoyle, what the heck would their child be?? Confusing. But then, I was always confused by all the endless clones mutants and cyborgs on the series. Hmm, good point! Never thought of that.

Woah - thanks for this recap! I, too, missed the whole explanation. That's a messed-up backstory, though. Did we get to see any of it, or was it all Aidan telling Hope how it went down, without any flashbacks? And how/why did the son shoot her? And how wasn't it reported?

Maxine is definitely a valuable supporting cast member. But I guess with all these returns they're pinching pennies? I suspect she might return at some point, since she doesn't really have a storyline and can pop up whenever they need a nurse around at the hospital. I'm going to miss little Ciara. I haven't been watching in months, but from what I remember of her she was a real pistol. New, older Ciara has big shoes to fill. How...gross is it that this is the material they use to audition with? No sooner do they have the pre-pubescent actress off the lot than they recast her character as a self-pimping vamp. Ewwww. I can't blame the actress for being blasé in tone because that's really uncomfortable writing right there, even if she has no idea she's replacing an 8 year old.

I like the concept of aging Dick into Nightwing, but have never seen a good story where Nightwing is compelling or fun or pitted against a cool villain of his own.

I'm bitter that I seem to be the only member of the Kristin Fan Club left, after all the awful writing Eileen Davidson had to endure. Dontwannabe....allll...byyyyy....myyyyselllffff! Anymoooorree!

Okay, I'll get the ball rolling. I loved Sally Fields as Abby's mom and wished she'd made another appearance after the birth of Joe. She finally seemed to be taking better care of herself, and it was wonderful to see her help Abby through that whole messy ordeal. But then - poof! - she was gone. I was rather annoyed when Abby and Luca didn't have a real wedding either but had a pretend TV wedding with coworkers in a magical loft (really? Who DOES that?) because it was cheaper than actually hiring new actors to portray Luca's family or bring back Sally Fields and the guy who played Abby's brother. Oh! And Dubenko - he had a special needs sister that appeared only once, during a Christmas montage where he gave her a present. My heart kind of broke for him and I assumed we'd see more of this subplot. Nope! The sister was never mentioned again, even when he briefly ran off with Skye to do some adventuring. OH OH! And Abby's father! They totally DROPPED that one. There he was, and then poof. Never to be seen again.

WOW - so much to say about this topic! I too loved Sam, but felt she got the narrative shaft after killing her Ex. They briefly introduced Joe Magnanello as her cop love interest, and had her living with that Rich Guy who needed home assistance (though I don't remember ever seeing her actually living at his house - it all happened off-camera), but then it was like a bunch of new writers came in and shipped Alex offscreen and stuck her with rage-aholic Tony and I didn't buy it. The show was lame the last two years in many ways, but especially pertaining to Sam. Carter and his wife's unending PTSD over the Cartus was understandable but so irritating. When she came back for the finale, I wanted Kem to either cut Carter loose or love him with a smile. The dude almost died, lady!!! And he didn't feel like he could call you and tell you about it!!! That's pretty lousy. So get divorced and scram or give him a hug and tell him you love him and things are going to work out. I really liked Kem in the beginning, too. But then she just became all about the lost baby. I really liked Neela for the first couple of years but then when the writing went to heck (season 14?) I couldn't stand her anymore. Brenner was a terrible addition because we all knew they were just stalling on her and Ray hooking up. In fact, I was really upset - physically upset - when Ray returned for Halloween and she had the gall to say "I feel badly that I wasn't there for you" after he admitted he contemplated suicide. I realize the show's producers were the ones who didn't hire Ray back for an episode where she could be seen visiting him, but seriously Neela...don't fish for him to say "Oh that's okay Neela. Gee, you're so perfect even though you promised me in the hospital that you'd be there for me and then weren't! Let's kiss!" Cripes. It just made Neela look like she was so full of herself she thought she could bat her eyes at Ray and he'd just be wrapped around her finger again. And by extension, I think she used Brenner, because obviously she was in love with Ray and just stalling. So yeah - Neela was great, until she wasn't. Me too! They really did a great job of writing him into the series and creating an interesting conflict there. But his breakdown was never followed-up on. I couldn't figure out why. Did John L piss off the producers or something? I don't remember viewers hating his character...you'd think he could have come back for that final year or something. This probably isn't an UO, but Stanley Tucci's character had the worst writing, didn't he? He was barely introduced, then slept with married and drunk Abby, then vanished to "take care of his son" who we barely met, and then came back so Luca could punch him. What an arc!

Wow - this business with the guy who plugged in his cell phone is really idiotic, from start to finish. How could you NOT know that the stage was off-limits??? When you go to a monster truck rally - or whatever this meathead enjoys - would you go up to a monster truck and plug in your cell phone? Nothing against monster truck rallies, but really now.... And his apology was laughable. I get that he was probably nervous and in awe of what a big deal it turned out to be, but his attitude was terrible from the start. The media jumped on him, so I feel a bit bad for him there, but honestly, he deserved to be grilled a bit. They were making fair points. I can't imagine the theatre would have done this as a publicity stunt though - am I naive? And now Patti Lupone has taken someone's cell phone during a performance. I feel her frustration - I do - but I see this escalating without improvement. It would be a huge shame for her never to perform again (if she's really that riled up about this) and I agree that we shouldn't be dealing with cell phones during shows. But how can we really stop it? Have ushers running around throughout the show kicking people out? :( It's a lack of respect issue. I feel her rage. Very shocked to hear about Roger Rees. If there's a bootleg recording of The Visit, I'd be even more interested to see it now, knowing he was well-received in it. I know him best from Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He was a memorable performer!

I'm bitter Sami didn't get to smack the **** out of the little girl who dared to sleep with her husband. I mean really show? This is SAMI. Who doesn't she smack?

I briefly tuned in today for five minutes. LIKED...SORTA -Theresa and Anne scheming to get the baby nanny fired. Such silliness for two grown women...and yet, in keeping with their enjoyably teenager-ish antics. -Adrienne (Judi Evans can SELL a scene) DISLIKED -Abigail's blouse. It looked like a spotted hospital gown in close-up. And her acting isn't great either, obviously... -Lucas offering to help out Will at the drop of a hat. Let him suffer Lucas! He deserves it! -Nicole and Tan. Oy. I feel really badly for you guys who watch this show on a daily basis because...there isn't much to get into anymore, is there?

Would it be too much to hope that Andre kills off Abigail? That would be great. So long as Sami gets to trash her once more during her brief stint in town...

Well, hand it to them for bringing back people you wouldn't expect them to... I never saw her on the show, so have nothing against her. I'm just waiting for some more Susan Banks. Asking for too much? I hope not.

It'll be interesting to tune back into the show in the late fall and see if it has shaped up at all. Actors returning does not mean the scripts will improve. Considering how badly they've handled all the characters, the younger set included, the show can't hope to earn back the trust of the viewers or build anything interesting. I'm putting high hopes in Patch and Kayla's son to be the start of an interesting new generation of characters.