ForeverPluto

Would people still watch a Kate Plus 8 style show now? It was one thing when the kids were still quite young. They are teenagers now and it would be weird trying to do a show centered around special trips, home life with a bunch of teenagers probably a lot snarkier and glued to their phones, etc. Unless she's aiming for a spin-off style show (a la Counting On) where the focus would be mostly on the kids' lives with occasional popups by Kate. Then again, no way would Kate take a backseat to anyone, least of all her own children.

Not sure. I've always gotten the vibe that the kids probably don't care one way or the other if they are filmed or not. It seems Anna does more than they do. I am curious why Anna hasn't just gone the youtube route the way that Joy-Anna, Jill and Jessa have in terms of releasing their own family content and updates there. She could even disable the comments the way Jill does in her videos. Or is the real reason because they might have to get approval from Jim Bob??

In a way, they did just this with Ruby all season. While the character herself became a bit of a nuisance after a while, Ruby's storyline tied more into Gerald's which, imo, made this season more about Gerald at times than it was about Don. I'm not complaining at all because as you said, Jason Dirden is a very good actor. He's so good in fact that he outshines many of his co-stars including the supposed lead, Sinqua Wells. As for the season coming back, I hope it does but as you mentioned, it wouldn't be surprising if it doesn't. I noticed there was not a lot of promotion for this season as opposed to Season One. I know the Covid-19 played a part in that but still, some of the cast could have done some Skype interviews on some of the morning/afternoon talk shows, etc. And if the show does come back, are we looking at yet another time jump? The pacing of this show gets weird at times. We're still in the 70s and while I like the 70s, I would love it if American Soul could cover Soul Train in the 80s and even the 90s when Don had to step down as host. I know the show's inevitable would be Don's death but at this rate, I don't feel like we'll ever get that far. If it is cancelled, I at least hope we get some kind of tv movie that ties everything up.

Agree with this! Even with the original TZ, I could never truly get into the hour long episodes. In fact, there were maybe a couple of those that I somewhat enjoyed. I think it's just as you mentioned above: the interesting plots seem to die a slow death. Either that or I just have a short attention span and I lose interest, lol.

True. Jason Dirden does act circles around Sinqua. At the same time, I just hope when American Soul ends, he doesn't end up typecast because I've noticed that there isn't much difference in this role he's playing and the last role he had (Basie Skanks from Greenleaf). He seems to play the villain quite well. But back to Sinqua, my biggest complaint with him is that I just don't feel like he's that strong of an actor to play someone as dynamic as Don Cornelius was. I assumed this was part of the reason why the show focuses more sometimes on the supporting characters as a way to distract from Sinqua. I thought Darius McCrary did a pretty decent job as James Brown. I would have loved to have seen a James Brown performance because I know he performed on Soul Train but I'm not if Darius could have pulled that off. The whole JT/Simone thing is getting tiresome. Simone is too childish and selfish acting at times. JT just has too much going on in terms of the drama in his life. Since he is in so deep with Gerald now, there is just no way he can be with Simone without putting her indirectly in some type of danger. I also didn't like the fact that he and Simone are trying to get JT's sister back. They need to leave her where she is, which is in a stable home with two stable parents. Neither JT nor Simone can offer that child anything.

Overall, not a bad episode! I thought DC YoungFly did a good job playing Sly. It also made me smile to see Don going down the Soul Train line with Mary Wilson. When Don can loosen up, he seems like fun! I must say though: I'm not liking Gerald this season, mainly because I don't like what he's doing to JT. From my view, he is using that kid. He's setting JT up all the while keeping his hands clean. I know that JT is supposedly taking the bald guy (sorry I forgot his name but he was the one stabbed by that Ruby woman some episodes back) place as Gerald's enforcer but from Season One, Gerald did most of his own dirty work while the bald guy was there as backup. I think Gerald saw JT as an eager kid who was down on his luck and used that to his advantage. Much like that casino Gerald was running in the back of Don's club. Finally, as much as I love the 70s Soul Train, I hope at some point they can flash forward to the 80s and ultimately the 90s when Don had to step down as host of Soul Train. I would love to see how Don navigates through the changes in music, the dancers, etc all the while still dealing with his health issues.

Watching Jessa and Ben sometimes, I can't help but think about how much they give future Jon and Kate Gosselin vibes. Not so much for the number of kids they will no doubt continue to have but just the relationship dynamic. We all know how the "love story" of Jon and Kate ended...

Since he's going to public school, this would also mean that he's going to be vaccinated or has already gotten his vaccines??. Not sure how it is in Arkansas, but for here, kids are required to have all their immunization shots up to date before starting school. Regardless, I'm happy for Izzy!! Wonder if they will put Sam in Pre-K once he gets old enough?

I agree with you about the kids being too old at this point. At the same time, the kids were a lot of the reason people tuned into the show. I wonder if Kate might try to do what Jim Bob Duggar (another TLC "talent") did with his kids: pitch the idea of a spin-off featuring the oldest kids with Kate behind the scenes as some kind of producer or something?

Exactly!!! If she were to become pregnant, this baby would have Franco's DNA. Interesting because like Oscar, Franco also had a tumor although in Franco's case, it wasn't malignant, no? Even still, this tumor caused a lot of very sick behavior which contributed to Franco's crimes. (i.e. the tumor made him do it, lol!) I can remember that for this very reason, Franco was so against having a biological child with Nina for fear that this tumor might be genetic or that Franco somehow would pass "evil" down to his son/daughter. If Kim does become pregnant, it should be fascinating to see how this plays out.

Another thing about the video: I never knew Derick or Jill played the harp. In fact, when I was watching the house tour clip, Mr. Forever Pluto commented on the "monstrous harp sitting in the middle of the office" He said it reminded him of those pictures he would see when going over our kids' homework where it says: Pick the one that does not belong here!

Given how much she freaked out in Danger America over the infamous shower rod falling, I'm a little surprised she would have this tour of her home like this. After all, Derrick is at law school and he's not very popular on social media, etc. In addition to that, she has a lot of followers and comes from a relatively famous family. It just doesn't seem safe to be showcase your (sloppy) home where some overzealous follower can probably find out where you live and show up on your doorstep.

I'm curious about Nicky. I wonder if Nicky moved in with Kevin at some point. I ask this too because Kevin's son told Randall that his dad went to get takeout. When Kevin went for takeout, who was at home with Kevin's son and Rebecca? I didn't see a nanny or any other caretaker. This is why I'm wondering if Nicky at some point moved in with Kevin, got clean, etc.

I was going to ask about the house and what becomes of it. I was going to suggest Ben and Jessa but it seems like they're not making much plans on moving anytime soon.

Not really. In fact, I don't remember a lot of scenes that really showcased Dick Clark in terms of the behind the scenes stuff with Bandstand. I do remember the few times Dick was shown, he was portrayed by Joey Lawrence. But again, not much emphasis was put on Dick Clark himself. As far as American Soul, I do know that Bandstand/Dick Clark was threatened enough by Soul Train's popularity that they put out this rival show to Soul Train called Soul Unlimited. Apparently, it was a bust because it ended as fast as it started!!! As for American Soul, again, I'm struggling with this show and why certain storylines are even portrayed on this show. Case in point: Flo inadvertently stopping the young man with the gun by making him dance with her. I doubt this happened so why even make it a part of the show? Also, I thought it was somewhat unrealistic that Simone and Kendall got left behind by the Soul Train bus and that they just happened to sing Motown tunes in a country western bar. Don is a real piece of work! I hate to say it but this show is not endearing me to Don at all. Don seemed like he was very difficult to work with and for! Not only that but he was a womanizer and not a very loving dad. I wish the show would focus more on Don himself and flesh his character out more. Maybe then I can get more an understanding of Don himself and the method in his madness! Speaking of Simone and Kendall, I'm not sure where the direction of this group is going. While the other two guys of Encore can sing, Simone is the one who seems to have more charisma and star power. Plus, there seems to be more episodes of her singing solo than it is of her singing with the group. The show needs to focus more on developing storylines that have more of a connection to Soul Train as opposed to some of the storylines like Briana and the soldier she moved into her home, Flo stopping the guy with the gun, JT's legal and family drama, etc. Finally, I wonder if this show does come back for Season 2 if they are going to flash forward to maybe much later in the 70s or even the 80s?

Well that explains a lot of the similarities now!!!

And this is the problem I have with Beth. She always caves to Randall. In all the things you listed above (i.e. William moving in, adopting Deja, buying the old apartment, Randall staying in the race when at one time, he decided to quit because he finally got it that his family needed him, etc), Beth initially was against all those things but for whatever reason, she ultimately caved to do what Randall wanted all along. My problem with Beth lies with her inability to really communicate what she wantgs and to stand by that. The episode with her mom gave me a lot more insight because it seems with the strict mother that she had, Beth probably did a lot of what was expected of her as oppose to what she truly wanted. Don't get me wrong, I blame Randall too but in Randall's defense, he is going off of what Beth is telling him when she changes her mind about things he ultimately wants. She should just be honest with Randall and let the chips fall where they may. As for Randall, I still have major concerns with this city councilman thing, as well as the other stuff going on with him. I think he sees Beth as his safety net. Randall does not handle a lot of pressure being placed on him very well, hence his past two breakdowns. Each time, Beth has been there to catch Randall when he falls or fails. With Beth following her passion, I think Randall is secretly threatened by that. I like that the show is finally showing the cracks in the armor of Beth and Randall's relationship. No matter how solid a couple may seem on the outside, there are real problems underneath the surface that should be addressed. When they aren't, as I've seen with Randall and Beth, it creates the perfect storm.

American Soul reminds me a lot of an older show called American Dreams, which oddly enough was loosely based on American Bandstand. Like American Soul, American Dreams had the same premise where there were multiple storylines going on at one time, some of which really had nothing to do with Bandstand. Then like American Soul, American Dreams featured current/semi-current stars portraying the musical acts of the time. For instance, Jennifer Love Hewitt performed as Nancy Sinatra. In another episode, Kelly Rowland played Martha of Martha and the Vandellas. It's been a while since I last saw American Dreams but the similarities in storytelling between the two shows is very similar. If American Soul is indeed following the American Dreams format, American Dreams had a short run which may not bode well for American Soul.

I've been watching the show and yeah, I agree that there are too many storylines going on. Dare I say it, I have to wonder if that is because these other storylines serve as a distraction from the actor portraying Don. No disrespect to Sinqua Wells but I just don't feel like he's a strong enough actor to pull off "Don Cornelius". If anything, I am more intrigued by the nightclub owner. Don't know his name but I recognize him from Greenleaf. But even here, I am not sure how his character connects to Soul Train other than the fact that famous musicians occasionally come through his club. Even the 3 teens, they seem to be focused more on launching singing careers rather than dancing on Soul Train. I did have a thought that these 3 teens or Encore as they call themselves might be based on the group Shalamar but I'm not sure??? I really want this show to succeed but at the rate it's going, I don't know if it will. I think it would have made a pretty good limited series or tv movie but a full on series? I just don't know...

I know it's wrong of me to wonder but can we really be sure she took those two kids to the doctor by herself? For all we know, Jana and/or Johanna was somewhere in the office just cropped out of the shot.

I agree. I think Nicky will turn up alive at some point in this series. I keep thinking for some reason that Jack could have meant that the Nicky he knew died in Vietnam. I know war can do a number on people not just physically but mentally as well. Perhaps Nicky had a breakdown or just the overall effect of being the war just changed him for the worst personality-wise anyway.

I agree. I don't think he would have been able to make it out with that broken leg. Interesting considering how he's always been the odd man out. Same case with this fire but this time, it ultimately saved his life. I do wonder if that plays into Kevin's feelings regarding Jack's death as well. I don't know if the right term is "survivor's guilt" but something in that vein.

I do!! I just wonder if he will still be a fireman or if he's moved up in the ranks? Perhaps by the time of the fire, he might be fire chief or even fire commissioner?

It's very possible he doesn't die in the fire but ends up with some injury that proves to be fatal as a result of the fire. What if Jack sustained some kind of head injury due to something falling on him in the fire? I've heard of stories of people who sustain head injuries and appear to be fine afterwards, only to end dying some time later. I remember there was an actress (can see her but I can't remember her name!) who died this way years ago, only it wasn't in a fire though. She hit her head while on vacation and she said she was fine. Paramedics were called out and she even sent them away. Some hours later, she ends up brain dead. Perhaps they all made it out of the house and Jack succumbed to this sort of injury injury later on?

I agree. I did notice last night that there was a lot of emphasis on that audition tape. It makes me wonder if it's the tape rather than the dog that someone went back in to get. I wouldn't be surprised if Kate went back in the house or even stayed in her room a little too long trying to retrieve that tape and Jack ended up dying trying to save Kate.