DOOL's Digital Series

[Chellfairy]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

Drake Hogestyn has never been and will never be a master thespian, but he could always bring it with family/emotional material (losing Isabella as one example). Remember when soaps were about love and family? I wish the writers did.

Drake’s best skill used to be that one eyebrow up look. Don’t know if it’s the Botox, but haven’t seen that in ages. Miss that.

Love and family! I remember.

Days can’t, or won’t, do it anymore. 🙁

Edited September 10, 2021 by Chellfairy

[tribeca]

The actor playing Will seems to be really enjoying being in this show.  His joy made me so happy lol.   
Chad was really in his element in the drag queen contest.  Wonder if he will tell Abby about this trip.  
 

[buffynut]

I wasn't expecting to be able to watch these eps, so maybe being able to has possibly biased my opinion a bit, but I'm enjoying them. 

Love seeing Shane again. 

Happy to see Carrie and Austin, but still have trouble getting used to nu-Austin.  (I'm an unapologetic Patrick Muldoon fan. LOL)

Liking nu-Sonny way more than I thought I would.  And really like the new ISA agent.  He's definitely easy on the eyes.

The storylines are campy, for sure, but do seem like there was some thought put into them. One more to go...

Edited September 10, 2021 by buffynut

[Harmony233]

This is random but with all the almania stuff I just remembered Jake was an Alamain lol.

[rwlevin]

1 hour ago, buffynut said:

Happy to see Carrie and Austin, but still have trouble getting used to nu-Austin.  (I'm an unapologetic Patrick Muldoon fan. LOL)

I think it’s a whole second Becky thing. At least they use either Patrick or Austin for Austin and don’t hire someone new.

This show is a riot. I guess Freddy didn’t feel like leaving Florida to film but I was getting tired of his acting anyway.

[buffynut]

1 hour ago, rwlevin said:

I think it’s a whole second Becky thing. At least they use either Patrick or Austin for Austin and don’t hire someone new.

That's true, and they're lucky to be able to get one or the other when they need an "Austin". I haven't even seen PM as Austin in forever, so might not even like him anymore. 

1 hour ago, rwlevin said:

This show is a riot. I guess Freddy didn’t feel like leaving Florida to film but I was getting tired of his acting anyway.

I read somewhere that he was done with acting, but time will tell, I guess.

[4evaQuez]

16 hours ago, RedElf said:

Was tipping the table a Real Housewives reference?

 

9 hours ago, MsTree said:

Yes, I believe it was their homage to Teresa Guidice (RH of NJ), who is famous for flipping a table after an argument with Danielle Staub.

There's the table flip as MSTREE mentions, but they were mostly referencing an extremely popular - dare I say iconic - moment from RH of BH between Lisa Rinna, ED, and Kim Richards linked below:

 

3 hours ago, buffynut said:

Happy to see Carrie and Austin, but still have trouble getting used to nu-Austin.  (I'm an unapologetic Patrick Muldoon fan. LOL)

Liking nu-Sonny way more than I thought I would.  And really like the new ISA agent.  He's definitely easy on the eyes.

I find it funny you call him "nu-Austin" even though he's been playing the role (off and on) since the 90s. I'm pretty sure he's even played the role longer at this point. However, I do agree that PM was the better Austin.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. Oddly, my favorite part was the ending with the family photos with John/Marlena/Carrie/Anna/Austin/Tony. I think that's everyone. With the exception of Austin - who at least has been in the role for decades - it was nice to see the original actors who'd been in their role for decades interact. It honestly felt like the actors' genuine affection for each other, especially John/Carrie who are by far by favorite parent/child parent of the Black/Evans/Brady bunch. I even really liked the John/Tony/Austin photo and how John still calls Austin "Kid." For me that was definitely the best part of this series. So much history in that room, and that's something you earn and is not given.

The Miami crew was there. I think it would have been better if Chanel was there. Right now we have Paulina and three straight men. Even Ricky, Ethel, and Fred were allowed to get in on Lucy's wackiness, so it didn't always seem like she was performing to the cheap seats in a different stadium ten miles down the road. The show needs to inject more personality into the people Paulina mainly interacts with - except Chanel - because I think it forces the actress to go even bigger because they are giving her nothing to play with.

How many times have we heard Ben confess to Ciara that he just needs to be better? These need a different story.

I liked Chad, and that's the first time that's happened since 2016. I still dislike Will. Nu Sonny is okay. Leo is still an obvious decade - at the least - older than everyone in the room.

I like that so much came from the 90s Day history. Days often over glamorizes it's 80s history, but the early 90s was an amazing period as well. So much talk of Lawrence and Carly but no talk of their son. Interesting.

Last thing: While Rinna's Billie is definitely my favorite, I found it hard to see her as Billie. I know her Billie was 30 years ago - I'm not counting her short lived return a few years ago where she did nothing - but it still seems odd that her world weary, drug addicted, forced into porn, terrified of love, the only person she could trust is her brother, Billie would be this lighthearted, silly, and airy. She felt like Lisa Rinna reciting the history of a character she barely knows - a lot of the history they refenced for Billie was during KA's or JP's history, and I felt that showed. She seemed to have no connection to the character, and that's important since Billie was the connective tissue for the storyline.

All that being said. I enjoyed it, and I hope it got great numbers for Peacock. I'm shocked how much effort NBC/Universal/Peacock/and even Sony put into marketing this series. I hope they can get a bigger budget and more in the future.

[Harmony233]

Did they mention how Sebastian was repeated to the Alamains?Also shouldn't Nicholas be the heir of alamania.

[norcalgal]

17 hours ago, RedElf said:

That's Adrienne Frantz as Sophie, and her real life husband, Scott Bailey, as Miles.

 

Thank you!!!  I couldn't figure out where I saw her before...and didn't see the credits so it was bugging me how I knew her.

12 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

This is soooo bad, I'm glad tomorrow is the last day. I thought seeing the old timers would be a blast, but I don't think they've been working on their craft much over the years. Bad writing, bad acting. Except for Eileen Davidson, of course.

Yeah, I tuned in for the nostalgia factor, but felt the execution & stories were underwhelming. There was so much campy vibe to this show, and that's not really my cup of tea.

[Panopticon]

Look, I know Paige was a boring failure of a character who had to go. But I have never been able to get the image of that innocent girl strangled on the floor of her dorm shower out of my head. It's one of those things that just hits a nerve. It makes me sick every time the show brings it up, and the fact that most characters take the position that no one should be mad at Ben because he doesn't kill young women anymore doesn't help. I know Ben himself doesn't think that, which I guess is something. But not enough. I wish the show would have kept Ben and Shane separate for this mini-series so we didn't have to have the "is it okay to hold a grudge when your granddaughter is murdered?" debate again.

[bunnyblue]

I'm still catching up so my thoughts are kind of all over the place.

JFC, yet another trashy-ass dress for Ciara. I could see her black thong through the see-through dress and if she hadn't been wearing some sort of skin-toned bra I'd have seen her nipples too. Her outfits in this series look like they came out of a street walkers closet.

I've always hated Kristen, but at least with Eileen Davidson in the role I don't fastforward her scenes because I can love to hate Kristen. Her Kristen is unapologetic in her awfulness, unlike Stacy Haiduk's version who acts like if she cries she's not really evil or crazy. And ED is just a far better actress than SH

This is the first time I've seen Leo and I think he's a hoot. I loved his line about relationships having "their tops and bottoms" instead of ups and downs. I've never seen this loose & fun side of Will and Chad. I need to finish watching episode 4 so I can see Chad in drag.

I loved John's greeting to Carrie: "hi, pumpkin". Awww, I'll always have soft spot for John & Carrie. I also love seeing Carrie with John, Anna, and Marlena - so much history and complicated relationships.

What kind of female agent (be it FBI, CIA, or fictitious ISA) dresses in short skin-tight dresses while her male partner is in a suit? They're not even trying to make this Billie realistic.

Edited September 10, 2021 by bunnyblue

[RedElf]

There is no US Ambassador to Switzerland.  The position has been vacant since January.

Carrie and Kyle's relationship sure progressed over a three day weekend.

Where was Billie while Austin was being booked, if Graham was there?

I'm kind of disappointed there was no Alamain banter between John and Sebastian.

 

[WendyCR72]

Whether fair or not [because of Stefano's machinations], John and Carrie seem to have the closer, more loving father/daughter relationship than Carrie has with Roman. Still love that. [As wrong as it may be. Still remember Tracy Middendorf's Carrie first appearing on "One Stormy Night", not knowing about all that went down. If I recall, she said, "Hi, Daddy!" to John and, once she did find out about everything [on the main show], had her meltdown and tried to seduce Lawrence at one point, in which John saved her from herself.]

Carrie obviously loves her mom and dad, but John and Marlena are like a second set of parents.

[tribeca]

3 hours ago, bunnyblue said:

I'm still catching up so my thoughts are kind of all over the place.

JFC, yet another trashy-ass dress for Ciara. I could see her black thong through the see-through dress and if she hadn't been wearing some sort of skin-toned bra I'd have seen her nipples too. 

Considering the party they went to she was dressed perfectly lol 

[DanaMB]

7 hours ago, 4evaQuez said:

Overall, I enjoyed this series. Oddly, my favorite part was the ending with the family photos with John/Marlena/Carrie/Anna/Austin/Tony

I loved that too. 
 

I was actually disappointed the show was over. Sure, it was cheesy but I really enjoyed it. 

6 hours ago, Panopticon said:

But I have never been able to get the image of that innocent girl strangled on the floor of her dorm shower out of my head.

I really wish they would retcon it somehow. It’s just awful. And I actually like Ben. 

[CanaryFan98]

They should've gone for the Ben had a good twin storyline and brought back RSW as the good twin if they wanted to keep the guy. I don't care how hokey it is at least it would've been less damaging to the show and a ton of characters. GH did this with Ryan/Kevin and has provided decades of stories we still see today. 

Ciara could be paired with him without me thinking she's an embarrassment to her gender. Will wouldn't see so bad.

 

Eve wouldn't have been ruined nearly as badly.

I think the only character who has no use for Ben and hasn't been ruined because of it is JJ but he's not on the show anymore so that helps tremendously.

[Swartz]

Hmm, I found most of the series too campy and cheesy.  It felt like they were trying to be edgy and with that they missed any heart or romance I watch soaps for 

[CanaryFan98]

I think that this being 5 days a week and old returns made this a lot better than it was. However I think if the show dragged as long as OG Days does I think we'd still see the same problems tbh.

[Giuseppe]

9 hours ago, 4evaQuez said:

Leo is still an obvious decade - at the least - older than everyone in the room.

I don't remember...was it ever established that Leo was supposed to be the same age as Will and Sonny? If not, I don't get why this is always brought up. There've been much bigger age discrepancies amongst characters who are intertwined in triangles. So what if Leo is older?

Anyway, I get he's supposed to be a despicable character, but they didn't have to have Chad acting SO homophobic about being in bed with Leo. As comfortable as he is hugging and kissing Will and Sonny, you'd think he'd be a little more relaxed about that whole situation. I just think it could've been played differently with Chad being more amusedly skeptical than all out in freak-out mode, especially given what he knows about Leo.

Anyway anyway, I did enjoy this, bad acting/writing aside. I feel like this series drew on and discussed more show history than the main show has in years. I wasn't even watching during the whole Alamania/von Loeschner (sp?) stuff with Carly and Lawrence and all of them, but I appreciate the show reaching into that well to tie everything together. This actually could've been a good umbrella story for the main show since it encompassed so many characters, as long as it was paced right and not drug out too long.

Worst explanation ever for "White" house. Paulina had to have been misleading them on purpose about that. Not that I ever believed she was really talking about Michelle O.

That fight scene at the end with Drew/handsome agent/John/Marlena over the peacock was soooo badly choreographed. They shoulda rehearsed that a couple more times, lol.

Oh, and the peacock being programmed to control space lasers that would destroy cities around the world was dumb. Sounds like some Q anon conspiracy theory, lol.

[Harmony233]

Funny thing is GR character on YR is actually ZT characters uncle lol.

[DanaMB]

9 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:

I don't remember...was it ever established that Leo was supposed to be the same age as Will and Sonny? If not, I don't get why this is always brought up. There've been much bigger age discrepancies amongst characters who are intertwined in triangles. So what if Leo is older?

Even if he is supposed to be their age, I don’t care about the actor’s real age. I just love how funny Leo is. He entertains me. 

[Harmony233]

12 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

Even if he is supposed to be their age, I don’t care about the actor’s real age. I just love how funny Leo is. He entertains me. 

Lol me too.

[FnkyChkn34]

13 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

They should've gone for the Ben had a good twin storyline and brought back RSW as the good twin if they wanted to keep the guy. I don't care how hokey it is at least it would've been less damaging to the show and a ton of characters. GH did this with Ryan/Kevin and has provided decades of stories we still see today. 

Ciara could be paired with him without me thinking she's an embarrassment to her gender. Will wouldn't see so bad.

 

Eve wouldn't have been ruined nearly as badly.

I think the only character who has no use for Ben and hasn't been ruined because of it is JJ but he's not on the show anymore so that helps tremendously.

But plenty of other characters have done bad things and everyone either forgets or forgives. Hope, Marlena, John, Jack, even Kristen named Billie's bad deeds... they all use the excuse of mind-control or mental illness or who knows what else and get away with it later.  So why not Ben too?  I don't get all the hate for him - this is classic DOOL. They do this ALL the time, yet people only now finally care? Just go with it. 

This "show" was so ridiculously horrible. The acting was especially bad! I'm not sure what it was, but it was like they all gave up by episode five. That episode was exceptionally bad!  Other than that, I don't mind campy, but this wasn't even well done camp. Ugh. 

[DaphneCat]

55 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Other than that, I don't mind campy, but this wasn't even well done camp. Ugh. 

At the end, with the peacock laser thing, I kept waiting for someone to raise their pinky and demand "ONE MILLION DOLLARS,"  I liked seeing some of the vets, but the whole thing of Billie, Shane and Graham magically transporting from one city to another halfway across the country or even across the world (apparently within minutes - just so they could show up at the exact right moment) was so ridiculous it completely took you out of any semblance of a story.

[rwlevin]

13 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

Anyway, I get he's supposed to be a despicable character, but they didn't have to have Chad acting SO homophobic about being in bed with Leo. As comfortable as he is hugging and kissing Will and Sonny, you'd think he'd be a little more relaxed about that whole situation. I just think it could've been played differently with Chad being more amusedly skeptical than all out in freak-out mode, especially given what he knows about Leo.

I didn’t see it as him being homophobic. I saw it as him being A) disgusted that he may have cheated on Abigail and B) if he did cheat, it being with Leo. I mean, Leo. The guy had been hitting on him hard the entire time and he was taking it in stride. How would you feel if you were told you just slept with someone you found absolutely despicable?

[buffynut]

On 9/9/2021 at 8:29 PM, RedElf said:

That's Adrienne Frantz as Sophie, and her real life husband, Scott Bailey, as Miles.

No idea whatsoever who they are. 

23 hours ago, Panopticon said:

I wish the show would have kept Ben and Shane separate for this mini-series 

I wish they had kept them separate as well, because though I think those scenes needed to happen some day, I think they should have happened on the real show, not the streaming one.

On 9/10/2021 at 12:56 PM, 4evaQuez said:

I find it funny you call him "nu-Austin" even though he's been playing the role (off and on) since the 90s. I'm pretty sure he's even played the role longer at this point. However, I do agree that PM was the better Austin.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. Oddly, my favorite part was the ending with the family photos with John/Marlena/Carrie/Anna/Austin/Tony. 

I think I was on a Days break when Austin Peck took over, so I never really saw him in the character much, so he'll always be nu-Austin to me. LOL

I also loved all the pictures at the end.  Family is what Days was always so good at, so it was great seeing them all together.  And Drake is so good when he's in Dad mode around the kids.

[CanaryFan98]

3 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

But plenty of other characters have done bad things and everyone either forgets or forgives. Hope, Marlena, John, Jack, even Kristen named Billie's bad deeds... they all use the excuse of mind-control or mental illness or who knows what else and get away with it later.  So why not Ben too?  I don't get all the hate for him - this is classic DOOL. They do this ALL the time, yet people only now finally care? Just go with it. 

This "show" was so ridiculously horrible. The acting was especially bad! I'm not sure what it was, but it was like they all gave up by episode five. That episode was exceptionally bad!  Other than that, I don't mind campy, but this wasn't even well done camp. Ugh. 

I disagree about now caring there are many who had issue with Jack still being on the show and given a love interest/family after he raped the show's beloved heroine at the time in Kayla Brady. However Kayla was allowed to not be comfortable with Jack and nobody told her she was wrong for it.

I never got past Andre being an SK and then people acting as if it was no big deal. I didn't like Stefano being like everyone else when they brought him to live in Salem.

I don't like Kristen being like everyone else and rewarded with having her rape victim's baby.

Ben is an issue now because he's the current example well its so overkill that they're trying to make him a victim in all of this.

Eve isn't a terrible person for wanting Ben to suffer for murdering her daughter yet she's in jail and we're supposed to think she's worse than Ben. Although Eve has done messed up things she's not a killer.

I actually liked Ben before they tried to turn him into the Salem version of Jason Morgan. Its ok for other characters to hate him and not be villainized for it.

Edited September 11, 2021 by CanaryFan98

[Harmony233]

Leo should go visit the hollyoaks village the gay guys there will sleep with anybody lol.

[RedElf]

1 hour ago, buffynut said:

No idea whatsoever who they are. 

Adrienne Frantz used to be on Y&R and B&B. Scott Bailey was on Guiding Light 

[Panopticon]

4 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I disagree about now caring there are many who had issue with Jack still being on the show and given a love interest/family after he raped the show's beloved heroine at the time in Kayla Brady. However Kayla was allowed to not be comfortable with Jack and nobody told her she was wrong for it.I

And that subtext STILL gets played every single time Kayla and Jack are in a substantive scene together 30+ years later. That’s definitely due to Mary Beth Evans and Matt Ashford rather than the writing, but it’s a thing. 

[norcalgal]

6 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

At the end, with the peacock laser thing, I kept waiting for someone to raise their pinky and demand "ONE MILLION DOLLARS,"  I liked seeing some of the vets, but the whole thing of Billie, Shane and Graham magically transporting from one city to another halfway across the country or even across the world (apparently within minutes - just so they could show up at the exact right moment) was so ridiculous it completely took you out of any semblance of a story.

ITA!!!  And for me, I was watching Beyond Salem and DOOL concurrently, so it was soooo weird seeing certain characters BOTH in Salem, but also in another city (Elani group in Miami and Chad in Phoenix). 

[CanaryFan98]

They could've timed this a lot better. Chad wasn't needed in Salem and instead of Elani arresting Bonnie it could've been Shawn(who would've been a better choice since Bonnie was his MIL).

[Giuseppe]

9 hours ago, rwlevin said:

How would you feel if you were told you just slept with someone you found absolutely despicable?

Depends who it was, but if it were Leo? I, personally, would react with bemused skepticism, like I suggested. I certainly wouldn't be jumping around and freaking out like I woke up with spiders crawling in my hair, lol. Chad was being over the top, IMO.

[DisneyBoy]

Thanks to someone here ;) and someone random on the interwebs I was finally able to start watching this series. I finished episode 3 and..

 

...guys, I'm really trying to enjoy it but yikes, does Ron understand he's writing for adults? Or even for other people? It really feels like he's just making himself happy. 

I felt more embarrassment over watching this than enjoyment 😳 Yes, there were appreciated nods to history but the tone is so....silly/hokey.

Positives? Billie having a negative reaction to Ben and caring that he killed her nephew. Yes! That's how a normal person would react. Thank you.

New Sonny acting well and looking good. Upon rewatch, I saw actual tears in his eyes right before he punched Leo, believing Will to have cheated. Wasn't expecting that much intensity. Guess the newbie wants to prove he has chops, which I appreciate. It's also great seeing Will again.

Anna, for whatever reason, is really enjoyable here. She's still dim and a bit grand, but I like seeing her with Carrie.

The sets are decent. I really like the Miami house and the lighting makes you feel like you're near the beach.

Shane! Real Kristen! Ahhh they're great.

 

....negatives?

 

Why wouldn't the ISA just shut down the auction before it even started? They have the authority. All those scenes were pointless. 

Why would these grown adult people think Carrie would require a huge expensive necklace to forgive Austin? That's...preschooler logic.

Why would ISA agents agree to involve Ciara at all? So forced.

Also - Ciara reaching new lows with her acting and attire. No girl, you can't do anything and everything. You aren't a secret agent and you look like a hooker and are proudly married to a broke serial killer...but sure...make him buy you useless jewelry.

Paulina being so annoying and OTT I was rooting for her to be shot in the face. Lady can't act. And the way she suddenlyrushesherlines! makes me crazy. That's not acting. It's not funny either. Neither is the "I know Michelle Obama!" joke.

99% of the Billie stuff. The hitting us over the head with the Lisa R jokes. Ha...ha?

Giving Billie a wooden love interest and a sudden, groan-inducing 8 minute dance sequence. How....romantic?

Leo being a huge gay stereotype. The sheer amount of gay stuff in this miniseries feels like the opposite extreme of what's shown on the show. No one would tolerate being around Leo if he flirts this hard, every minute, with every man.

...poor Eileen D having to literally hold her nun's habit together with her fingers so it wouldn't fall off her head. Seriously? No one could make sure her outfit fit?

And then we have the bootleg Meleose Place title sequence and over abundance of stock footage...which cheapens it all even more.

 

...there's just a startling lack of taste here. It's bizarre that experienced adult professionals are putting together a product this lame. They expect this to succeed? NBC to want more?

Sigh.

Edited September 13, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[boes]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

Thanks to someone here ;) and someone random on the interwebs I was finally able to start watching this series. I finished episode 3 and..

 

...guys, I'm really trying to enjoy it but yikes, does Ron understand he's writing for adults? Or even for other people? It really feels like he's just making himself happy. 

I felt more embarrassment over watching this than enjoyment 😳 Yes, there were appreciated nods to history but the tone is so....silly/hokey.

Positives? Billie having a negative reaction to Ben and caring that he killed her nephew. Yes! That's how a normal person would react. Thank you.

New Sonny acting well and looking good. Upon rewatch, I saw actual tears in his eyes right before he punched Leo, believing Will to have cheated. Wasn't expecting that much intensity. Guess the newbie wants to prove he has chops, which I appreciate. It's also great seeing Will again.

Anna, for whatever reason, is really enjoyable here. She's still dim and a bit grand, but I like seeing her with Carrie.

The sets are decent. I really like the Miami house and the lighting makes you feel like you're near the beach.

Shane! Real Kristen! Ahhh they're great.

 

....negatives?

 

Why wouldn't the ISA just shut down the auction before it even started? They have the authority. All those scenes were pointless. 

Why would these grown adult people think Carrie would require a huge expensive necklace to forgive Austin? That's...preschooler logic.

Why would ISA agents agree to involve Ciara at all? So forced.

Also - Ciara reaching new lows with her acting and attire. No girl, you can't do anything and everything. You aren't a secret agent and you look like a hooker and are proudly married to a broke serial killer...but sure...make him buy you useless jewelry.

Paulina being so annoying and OTT I was rooting for her to be shot in the face. Lady can't act. And the way she suddenlyrushesherlines! makes me crazy. That's not acting. It's not funny either. Neither is the "I know Michelle Obama!" joke.

99% of the Billie stuff. The hitting us over the head with the Lisa R jokes. Ha...ha?

Giving Billie a wooden love interest and a sudden, groan-inducing 8 minute dance sequence. How....romantic?

Leo being a huge gay stereotype. The sheer amount of gay stuff in this miniseries feels like the opposite extreme of what's shown on the show. No one would tolerate being around Leo if he flirts this hard, every minute, with every man.

...poor Eileen D having to literally hold her nun's habit together with her fingers so it wouldn't fall off her head. Seriously? No one could make sure her outfit fit?

And then we have the bootleg Meleose Place title sequence and over abundance of stock footage...which cheapens it all even more.

 

...there's just a startling lack of taste here. It's bizarre that experienced adult professionals are putting together a product this lame. They expect this to succeed? NBC to want more?

Sigh.

Well said.  

I really only enjoyed Anna and Shane.  The look of the show was better than the network's - lighting, et al.  It had it's moments.

But, as  you say, 

Quote

Leo being a huge gay stereotype. The sheer amount of gay stuff in this miniseries feels like the opposite extreme of what's shown on the show. No one would tolerate being around Leo if he flirts this hard, every minute, with every man.

He grated on me from beginning to end.  Calling him a stereotype is kind IMO.  The crap he pulled would have justly been called harrassment if it's been men/women but that over the line stuff is okay because it's gay men?  Not to me, not anymore.  Ron C. needs to take a look at the 21st century.

[peachmangosteen]

I finished Beyond Salem last night. Loved it. Pure cheesy, campy goodness.

The stuff with Will/Chad/Sonnny/Leo was my fave. The drag show was so fun. Chad and especially Willl actually looked great. I just loved the new Sonny and I think they should bring him onto Days.

I also liked everything with Billie. I thought Lisa Rinna was great tbh and I wouldn’t mind Billie returning to Days. Also, ED was awesome in her very brief appearance.

I skipped the Ciara/Ben stuff unless someone else was involved. The both of them continue to just be terrible in every way. RSW was kinda funny when Ben was talking about Tom Cruise though.

Austin was hilarious when Carrie and Billie were talking about Graham. Otherwise though, everything with Carrie/Austin and John/Marlena was mostly boring. Anna was the best part of all of that.

The Miami stuff was boring and I skipped a a good bit of it but I did lol at the reveal of Michelle.

[DaphneCat]

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Anna, for whatever reason, is really enjoyable here. She's still dim and a bit grand, but I like seeing her with Carrie.

The sets are decent. I really like the Miami house and the lighting makes you feel like you're near the beach.

Shane! Real Kristen! Ahhh they're great.

 

Why wouldn't the ISA just shut down the auction before it even started? They have the authority. All those scenes were pointless. 

Why would these grown adult people think Carrie would require a huge expensive necklace to forgive Austin? That's...preschooler logic.

Normally, I find Anna somewhat amusing/interesting but this whole thing just made her so over-the-top stupid that I found her more annoying than anything.  If everyone is going to go along with the plot that for whatever reason John HAD to purchase the necklace for the ISA is anyone REALLY stupid enough to believe that they will be able to keep it just because they bought it?  Is Anna really THAT stupid?  If they would have simply written that John couldn't tell Anna why he wanted it, and Anna really just thought he was buying it for Marlena it would have been mildly amusing watching the auction.  (Though, because the number that actually "won" the auction was registered to John, he legitimately could take possession of the necklace - it doesn't matter if he physically held up the paddle or not - his number won.)

[tribeca]

This was campy but fun.  
I did not know mr. Sheffield had a twin.  He did seem off and Marlena did seem to notice but did not say anything. 
Ciara should go train far away to be a agent.  

[DaphneCat]

2 hours ago, tribeca said:

Ciara should go train far away to be a agent.  

Her parents were both cops.  Her father rode a motorcycle.  By watching them (no training, no education) she apparently learned how to ride a motorcycle, conduct an interrogation and go undercover.  Does the girl have DNA or what! 🤣  I'm guessing by watching TV or movies she also knows martial arts and quantum physics.  No training necessary!

[DisneyBoy]

On 9/10/2021 at 3:10 PM, bunnyblue said:

I loved John's greeting to Carrie: "hi, pumpkin". Awww, I'll always have soft spot for John & Carrie. I also love seeing Carrie with John, Anna, and Marlena - so much history and complicated relationships.

I read your post before watching the episodes - thank you for pointing this out. I would have missed it otherwise...it was such a quick moment, but a genuine one.

Carrie really should be a main player on DOOL...under a different head writer.

[Pearson80]

On 9/10/2021 at 3:10 PM, bunnyblue said:

I loved John's greeting to Carrie: "hi, pumpkin". Awww, I'll always have soft spot for John & Carrie. I also love seeing Carrie with John, Anna, and Marlena - so much history and complicated relationships.

 

Rojohn/Carrie was the best father/daughter team in all of daytime.  The show put so much effort and time in nurturing their bond as father and daughter for years.  We saw a bewildered Carrie rejecting Drake's Roman because he had a new face and Marlena who was always a healer was the one who brought them together as father and daughter and to see that be taken away with a stupid retcon has always been unfair..

[CanaryFan98]

6 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

Normally, I find Anna somewhat amusing/interesting but this whole thing just made her so over-the-top stupid that I found her more annoying than anything.  If everyone is going to go along with the plot that for whatever reason John HAD to purchase the necklace for the ISA is anyone REALLY stupid enough to believe that they will be able to keep it just because they bought it?  Is Anna really THAT stupid?  If they would have simply written that John couldn't tell Anna why he wanted it, and Anna really just thought he was buying it for Marlena it would have been mildly amusing watching the auction.  (Though, because the number that actually "won" the auction was registered to John, he legitimately could take possession of the necklace - it doesn't matter if he physically held up the paddle or not - his number won.)

Anna isn't that stupid well the one I grew up watching however like a lot of 80s characters who were great and nuanced once upon a time they are caricatures of their former selves. 

I still like Anna but I hate how they don't have her more grounded because to me she was always that despite the messes/shady stuff she got herself into.

4 hours ago, tribeca said:

This was campy but fun.  
I did not know mr. Sheffield had a twin.  He did seem off and Marlena did seem to notice but did not say anything. 
Ciara should go train far away to be a agent.  

Yes I'm glad the show remembered Drew however I never understood why Shane/Kim named their son after him then again this show had Roman name one of his kids after his uncle Eric who we later learned molested Kim.

[Pearson80]

3 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Anna isn't that stupid well the one I grew up watching however like a lot of 80s characters who were great and nuanced once upon a time they are caricatures of their former selves. 

 

Anna was never stupid and she can be very wicked. Remember when she had Carrie hypnotized against Roman in their custody battle..

3 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Yes I'm glad the show remembered Drew however I never understood why Shane/Kim named their son after him then again this show had Roman name one of his kids after his uncle Eric who we later learned molested Kim.

To be fair, they had no idea that they were monsters.  Rojohn should have changed Eric's name since he was a baby when the truth came out about uncle Eric.  Uncle Eric showed up to Roman's funeral and Kim had a bad reaction to him...

[MsTree]

16 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Thanks to someone here ;) and someone random on the interwebs I was finally able to start watching this series. I finished episode 3 and..

 

...guys, I'm really trying to enjoy it but yikes, does Ron understand he's writing for adults? Or even for other people? It really feels like he's just making himself happy. 

I felt more embarrassment over watching this than enjoyment 😳 Yes, there were appreciated nods to history but the tone is so....silly/hokey.

Positives? Billie having a negative reaction to Ben and caring that he killed her nephew. Yes! That's how a normal person would react. Thank you.

New Sonny acting well and looking good. Upon rewatch, I saw actual tears in his eyes right before he punched Leo, believing Will to have cheated. Wasn't expecting that much intensity. Guess the newbie wants to prove he has chops, which I appreciate. It's also great seeing Will again.

Anna, for whatever reason, is really enjoyable here. She's still dim and a bit grand, but I like seeing her with Carrie.

The sets are decent. I really like the Miami house and the lighting makes you feel like you're near the beach.

Shane! Real Kristen! Ahhh they're great.

 

....negatives?

 

Why wouldn't the ISA just shut down the auction before it even started? They have the authority. All those scenes were pointless. 

Why would these grown adult people think Carrie would require a huge expensive necklace to forgive Austin? That's...preschooler logic.

Why would ISA agents agree to involve Ciara at all? So forced.

Also - Ciara reaching new lows with her acting and attire. No girl, you can't do anything and everything. You aren't a secret agent and you look like a hooker and are proudly married to a broke serial killer...but sure...make him buy you useless jewelry.

Paulina being so annoying and OTT I was rooting for her to be shot in the face. Lady can't act. And the way she suddenlyrushesherlines! makes me crazy. That's not acting. It's not funny either. Neither is the "I know Michelle Obama!" joke.

99% of the Billie stuff. The hitting us over the head with the Lisa R jokes. Ha...ha?

Giving Billie a wooden love interest and a sudden, groan-inducing 8 minute dance sequence. How....romantic?

Leo being a huge gay stereotype. The sheer amount of gay stuff in this miniseries feels like the opposite extreme of what's shown on the show. No one would tolerate being around Leo if he flirts this hard, every minute, with every man.

...poor Eileen D having to literally hold her nun's habit together with her fingers so it wouldn't fall off her head. Seriously? No one could make sure her outfit fit?

And then we have the bootleg Meleose Place title sequence and over abundance of stock footage...which cheapens it all even more.

 

...there's just a startling lack of taste here. It's bizarre that experienced adult professionals are putting together a product this lame. They expect this to succeed? NBC to want more?

Sigh.

You're putting WAY too much thought into this fun/campy 5-day series.

I enjoyed it for what it was, and hope there are more mini-shorts in development.

Edited September 14, 2021 by MsTree

[Panopticon]

6 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

To be fair, they had no idea that they were monsters.  Rojohn should have changed Eric's name since he was a baby when the truth came out about uncle Eric.  Uncle Eric showed up to Roman's funeral and Kim had a bad reaction to him...

I can sort of give them a pass on Eric’s name. They didn’t know  when they first chose it. By the time Kim made her revelation, Roman was dead and I can see Marlena not wanting to change the name without him. By the time Rojohn was “revealed” as Roman the kid had been answering to Eric for over a year, and Uncle Eric was nowhere around to remind anyone of where the name originated.

As for Andrew, that was Shane’s father’s name as well as the evil twin’s name. Since they thought Andrew wasn’t biologically Shane’s when he was born, giving him a name repeatedly used in Shane’s family made a certain sort of sense. 

[chediavolo]

13 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

Her parents were both cops.  Her father rode a motorcycle.  By watching them (no training, no education) she apparently learned how to ride a motorcycle, conduct an interrogation and go undercover.  Does the girl have DNA or what! 🤣  I'm guessing by watching TV or movies she also knows martial arts and quantum physics.  No training necessary!

Yep!! She just jumped on a Harley & knew how to ride. What a crock of shit!! I can’t stand Ciara.  And she dresses like a streetwalker not a biker chick.  Been there done that, it’s unrealistic. 

[DisneyBoy]

Having now finished watching all the episodes of Beyond Salem, I can definitely say that there were a few things I did really enjoy seeing.

Chad hanging out with Will and Sonny was long overdue. I've always liked them as a trio....although I found it kind of weird seeing not only Chad but the show's card-carrying gay couple acting completely terrified inside a gay club. I realize Will only kinda-sorta participated in gay culture at the outset of his coming out story - and even then not so much - but it felt really weird having him look panicked and out of place in a gay environment. It was definitely overdue for them to visit a gay club. It was fun seeing him gradually start dancing in the background. I think this makes a case, however, for going out of your way to cast gay actors in gay roles because Chandler did not look especially at ease, either in drag or voguing. Not saying all gay men are, mind you, but still...he read as straight and clueless and ten years after coming out (approx) he wouldn't be.

The new guy playing Sonny didn't look especially comfortable either, even though Sonny canonically was out for years before meeting Will. The big surprise here was Chad.  Billy really pulled it off, didn't he? Sorry, poor choice of words. I could hardly recognize him in his Marilyn look. Whoever did the makeup and hair and styling did a really good job. 

Wasn't the original Chad openly flirty with Will back in the day...? Hmmm. Maybe Chad is one of those closed bi guys who acts macho publically but privately has feelings for other guys..? It's interesting to me how easily Chad feels up Will and Sonny when he's with them, but then how awkwardly he acts in the gay club surrounded by men who are touchy-feely with each other, LOL. 

Moving on, I couldn't believe how incredibly stupid the climax was. Making the peacock some kind of trigger for satellites with death rays from space? 🙄 Give me a freaking break.

Everybody who thought it was over-the-top to have John's father be this crazy Ra's Al Ghul guy unleashing a plague and brainwashing him and Paul had better be up in arms about this equally stupid, completely temporary threat to humanity. It was a nice twist for Leo to have pocketed the real emerald, but I seriously think they could have wrapped up the whole adventure without pretending that that idiotic statue or its gems were capable of destroying planet Earth.

Of course, I loved every second of seeing Eileen Davidson back up on the screen. Flawless delivery. The table flip was really dumb however. Easily, one of the worst "action" moments in the show's long history - you guys weren't exaggerating! Obviously the script called for the table being flipped, because it was a Real Housewives meta reference, but it was just stupid all around to pretend 2 ISA agents standing two feet away from Kristin were thwarted by a table even though one of them was barely pinned by it and the other just stood and watched the whole thing happen. And then Kristen was so stupid she dropped the necklace while fleeing? Seriously? Why would she even have had it on her in the open the next day? Just dumb.

Eileen, however, was radiant. I really wish they hadn't made her say "crotch". I don't think anyone on this show has ever said that word before, not even Sami when she was aiming at that guy's Family Jewels all those years ago. It's an ugly, awkward word.

I feel Eileen only returned because she got to work with Lisa Rinna again. Speaking of which, was Kristen around for any of those things that Billie did? I feel like she was already locked up on Sex Slave Island when Billie lost her baby and blamed Hope for it and then later slept with her daughter's boyfriend, which I didn't even know about...was this Gabi's Nick?

And how hypocritical is it for Kristen to say to Billie that it's gross for her to sleep with her daughter's boyfriend when Kristen went from presumably changing Brady's diapers and teaching him to call her "Mommy" to sleeping with him and having a kid with him? The writing was just off there.

Do I even need to say again that she looked incredible? She looked incredible. Damn girl. Keep it up, whatever you're doing. I especially liked the black and white dress split down the center. 

I'm not, however, saying Eileen should come back onto the show full time. I hope she doesn't because the writing for Kristen is the absolute pits. Until Ron is gone and there's a clear path for the character to come back and be layered and nuanced, I don't want Eileen having anything more to do with it. But for brief return, this was satisfying.

Of course, if I were the show's producers, I would have cut Paulina screen time down by more than half and given all of that to Eileen to have fun with.

I totally forgot about Shane's lookalike. Especially that he was his brother. When was Drew introduced? It was way before my time clearly....but I recall he popped up a few years ago in a Jennifer storyline.

The reveal that Billie's new boyfriend was secretly an agent with his own plans was pretty clumsy. The actor having to put on that accent really didn't work and felt like a step too far. But then again before that happened, I was thinking it was ludicrous that they'd introduced a love interest for Billie and had them essentially fall in love and become a committed couple in the span of what felt like a day and a half. Billie deserves a real love interest and now that they've wrapped up this guy's story, it clearly won't be him. Maybe she can find someone on the actual show, though I hope if they do, they prioritize giving her a slow burn love story...and not bring back Lisa. I just don't think she knows how to act realistically anymore....and I'm not sure she would look the correct age next to ageless Kate since they both have had considerable work done.

Carrie and Austin need to return. They were great. We need to meet Noah as well.

So is the idea behind the plot that Kristen was trying to get the necklace just for herself as a keepsake or to sell? I know that the guy that looked like the Bond villain who threw his hat around was escorted out of the auction and worked for her...are we to believe that Kristen has become a jewel thief now to survive living on the lam? That doesn't seem very likely.

(I believe this is the first time Kristen has ever impersonated Sister Mary Moira. Seriously.)

I also had a hard time believing that Ciara would in any way hesitate to be involved in a swingers party. She seemed entirely too comfortable tying that guy up and being dominant around him in her sexy dress. I think it would be kind of an interesting avenue actually for Ciara to sexually dominate Ben since he's usually the one who's used to tying women up and being aggressive. That's probably the only angle they could take that would make the relationship remotely interesting towards to me. Maybe.

I liked that they bothered to write in that beat about Drew not having any particular issues with Ben as a tip-off that it was not Shane. Clever. Charles did a great job of showing Shane's disgust at Ciara being with Ben while at the same time, basically telling her "Girl, if this is the path you're choosing, good luck". He said a lot with very few lines. His eye contact was terrific.

Of course, all this now seems to indicate to me that Ben is going to join the ISA to prove his worth to these men and become even more the Hero of Salem. Don't do it, Show. Leave him at the car garage.

I do hope we see more digital series like this, and I do think that there was a lot of fun elements in this one, but I also think that an element of reality and low-key drama is missing from these. If they just focused on Anna and Tony spending time with Austin and Carrie, that would have made for an interesting five episodes all to itself considering those relationships aren't explored on the main show and have such deep history to them. 

I know I'm preaching to the choir here.

Some good stuff but really a missed opportunity. I'll leave it at that.

Edited September 15, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[CanaryFan98]

Yes Kristen was around for Billie's miscarriage but not for the Nick affair. 

 

Yes its Gabi's Nick before he was ruined for stalking Melanie.

[Pearson80]

1 hour ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Yes Kristen was around for Billie's miscarriage but not for the Nick affair. 

 

Yes its Gabi's Nick before he was ruined for stalking Melanie.

Kristen was not around for Billie's miscarriage.   Kristen never had scenes with Billie#2...

[DisneyBoy]

Woah...Nic stalked Melanie?

Dude had issues.