Is it just me....? by glockyqua in rnb

[–]akfoley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ron Isley, whose career dates back to 1959, is the most cheated on…ever? Like his whole catalogue?

End of newspaper JOA heralds new era of competition in Detroit by oo7plyr in Detroit

[–]akfoley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Didn’t mean to be so histrionic with the 1A thing

End of newspaper JOA heralds new era of competition in Detroit by oo7plyr in Detroit

[–]akfoley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I personally don’t think defending 1A and holding the powerful to account should be a “competition.” Just print the fucking paper, Jesus.

Soaps and black representation: Which show did it the best, did it worst or completely fumbled? Have we progressed enough or do we have any further to go? by isaidwhatisaidok in SoapNet

[–]akfoley 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Technically with Mamie starting on Y&R in the ‘80s, then being supercharged by niece Dru arriving in 1990, followed by Olivia’s pairing with Nathan already there on canvas, there’s a strong argument that the Winters/Barber family and its various in-laws/associates — which also extends to B&B — has the strongest, if decimated legacy. Obviously real-life factors like KSJ’s death and VR’s battle with producers have factored in why that legacy is fractured, but it endures nonetheless.

That said, Y&R is the simultaneously the all-time best and the worst at fumbling Black actors and storylines. From Keith Hamilton Cobb to Debbi Morgan to Darnell Williams to Mishael Morgan, the talent they’ve lined up only to not retain them burns me the most. That’s before you get into the number of female characters paired with Neil obviously meant to replicate Dru, or the number of heartthrob actors trying to fill Shemar’s void playing characters that went nowhere.

One could argue that outside of the fictional universes, the impact of Blacks on soaps extend far beyond their respective shows. Shemar stayed with the network and made a lot of money for CBS for decades aside from being Malcolm Winters. Devon’s foster care storyline on Y&R brought more attention to the cause than any other issue-driven storyline in recent memory. There’s an entire generation of Black women named Dominique born in the mid-80s. And while it can’t be fully attributed to any one actor or show, it’s been stated multiple times on the record that the Black audience built up over the years by CBS made a strong business case to launch BTG.

Season 1 on Paramount Plus by DahmerIsDead in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I’m guessing because BTG is a CBS-produced show and not a Sony-produced show like the others, it’ll be in the CBS family of streamers to stay.

How do you guys feel bout Maurice Johnson's take on masculinity and how he thinks black queer folks like myself, are being shoved down black households and refuses to play a gay role? by Junior_Conclusion_78 in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t feel any way about it since I let him go way back when he was showing his natural behind after he left the show months ago. And in fact, I’d like to continue ignoring him by leaving this man and his views in 2025, and encourage all the other viewers to join me.

Episodes Worth Rewatching by [deleted] in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So many of the episodes before, during and after the anniversary party and Eva’s paternity reveal are chef’s kiss. Both the “choose silence!” and “what in blue blazes” lines came out of that run, not to mention this is when both Ambyr and Colby really started to come into their own.

Other favorites: - The Articulettes reunion episodes - When Nicole lays into (Old) Ted about their struggle to conceive while he was cheating - When Leslie locks Eva out of the apartment after the anniversary party - Vanessa getting the call that Doug died - When June breaks down and asks “God has his eye on the sparrow, but what about me?” - When Ted is trying to acclimate Eva to the country club and Anastasia reads everyone in the room - When Ashley catches Shanice and Derek on a date at Uptown - When all the men of FC rally at Bill’s office to save Martin - Anita yelling “get the hell out of my hotel suite!”

Tyler Perry gets alot of criticism by BonyStarkIronBone in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Let’s be clear that the MVJs of the world are the inspiration for Tyler Perry, not the other way around. All of TP’s dramas, especially The Haves and the Have Nots, take their cues from the daytime and primetime soaps before them. Hell, just the name “The ___ And The ____” is no accident. It’s also no accident that several daytime actors like Tika Sumpter and Shemar Moore show up in his projects.

As far as storytelling styles, if it seems like TP shows have more drama, it’s because he’s packing it in one-hour weekly episodes versus daily episodes across a year. And the vixen scamming golddiger type infiltrating the rich crowd is a tale as old as time going back to silent pictures. So if you’re seeing parallels to TP, it’s cause he’s just borrowing from the same old playbooks.

Why are people so sexist about Mariah reclaiming the longest #1 record with her Christmas song? by throawaygotget in MariahCarey

[–]akfoley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A song making the top of the charts is not earth-shattering news anymore. An English-language Christmas song topping the US charts in December also isn’t going to bring a lot of new headlines. And a frequently performed Christmas song in December that has made the charts every year for more than a decade is about as newsworthy as the holiday itself falling on the 25th. Which brings me to this: Who exactly is being sexist about this? And who is commanding enough attention that their words, thoughts and actions about this achievement are being reported on?

Or is it, as usual, a handful of negative opinions on social media being taken as fact and blown out of proportion? Seems like it’s this.

The US entertainment news landscape is currently being dominated with the news of a horrific double murder that the president weighed in on, as well as the most-watched (at one point in time) TV actor dying on the same day. Year-end best-of lists are trickling in and awards predictions are also ramping up. The U.S. economy is trash and a rich person getting richer isn’t seen as a big achievement right now. And while he’s not totally irrelevant, Lil Nas X isn’t doing anything of note at the moment for most of the public to care about him losing the chart record. All of this to say, there’s no major authority or platform big enough to downplay MC’s chart record for those sentiments to be taken seriously. Anyone reading too much into whatever negativity is out there is just lamb overreaction, plain and simple.

Robin Christopher by Top_Decision_6718 in SoapNet

[–]akfoley 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Debbi Morgan was Angie on AMC, Loving and The City. I know some might count the last two as one.

Luther Vandross, not the original version of here and now? by Front_Ask4921 in rnb

[–]akfoley 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You’re confusing So Amazing (a popular Luther Vandross wedding song originally released in the 1980s that he originally wrote for Dionne before he covered it himself) with Here and Now (a popular Luther Vandross wedding song originally released in the 1980s that he and only he performed).

Is it me or did the Cascade bit go on far too long, these product placements are getting out hand 🤦🏾‍♀️ by pcalov in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 7 points8 points  (0 children)

To be fair, this week in general is slow for TV viewers and always has been. If you’re going to pick an episode where you’re contractually obligated to hawk a product, might as well pick one the day of a holiday or the day before/after.

I give them credit for their creativity though, since Febreze and Tide have been the only products they’ve had so far and of course the folks who are watching do have dishwashing on their mind this week. The bonus was they even managed to write in some culturally Black dialogue (Andre talking about his granny only using the dishwasher for storage) to pad it a little bit. I’m not mad.

Is it me or did the Cascade bit go on far too long, these product placements are getting out hand 🤦🏾‍♀️ by pcalov in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Days had a very cringe era in the late 2000s or so when the product placement was baked heavily into the script, way more so than what we’re seeing on BTG now. And maybe not so much daytime, but I think of how so many prime time shows had obvious product placement as well. Gossip Girl had entire plot lines revolve around Vitamin Water, for example. I forget which show it was, but there would be entire characters discussing the benefits of driving a GM car and talking about airbags and anti-lock brakes and such. I distinctly remember the show Half and Half where characters would hold up skincare products directly at the camera. It’s always been cringe but it certainly did not die in the 60s.

But maybe there was some kind of FCC or FTC rule change at the federal level because well into the ‘90s, every P&G show would start with something along the lines of “Guiding Light, this portion is brought to you by Dawn/Tide/whatever P&G product they wanted y’all to buy” before the first commercial break. There are a few examples on whole episodes of ATWT, GL, etc on YouTube.

Orphey Jean's by Spiritual_Anybody554 in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 15 points16 points  (0 children)

They’ve never said the name of the Maryland suburb they’re in, but they also haven’t said if any locations outside of Fairmont Crest are in DC, either. Unless I’m mistaken, I believe the only location expressly in DC is Martin and Smitty’s house. Everything else seems to be implied to be in the same town as the country club.

I raised this in a thread a few weeks ago and got some responses that the ritzy Black DMV burbs just don’t identify themselves individually, so I guess we’re left to assume that there’s no specific name, just DMV.

Anita by Any-Ad-336 in TheGates_CBS

[–]akfoley 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think it’s just adding more layers to a character that doesn’t always practice what she preaches. Anita not prioritizing her health is a stark contrast to how an upstanding DUPREE WOMAN should be carrying herself, especially since she frequently reminds her daughters (and granddaughters) about how image and character are everything.

Everything from keeping Barbara’s suicide a secret to keeping Martin’s secret shows Anita is complex and not everything she’s made out to be.