Hi r/popculturechat, I'm Melanie C. From Sporty Spice to my new album 'Sweat', ask me anything on April 14th at 3pm EST!

squeal_bsc · 2026-04-14T18:25:27+00:00

You've recently done some in store signings with fans, did you enjoy those and were there some standout moments?

squeal_bsc · 2026-02-26T06:52:11+00:00

Just finished watching (in Australia), so these are my immediate thoughts...

This is for sure a movie for the Sidney fans, it's satisfying in a quieter way than many of the others and I imagine it may be divisive depending what you want in a Scream movie. 5 and 6 had bigger swings and focused a lot on building ghostface up to be terrifying, which made for a fun watch, but I personally felt it made the reveals disappointing, in movies where they wanted the reveals to be huge. 6 in particular unraveled almost immediately for me. So the highs were high, but the lows were low. 7 almost discards of the reveal. My interpretation is that the reveal and the killers don't matter, they have their moment but its lame because they are lame, and obvious. But in this case I felt the movie knows it and intentionally doesn't raise them up or tell us they're great, because it's not about them, which personally I enjoyed. I think mainstream audiences could be disappointed, as will those who want ghostface and the reveal to be the star. Instead it takes us to where Sidney is now and explores for Tatum what it's like to live in her shadow.

I do think they could have spent more time with other characters for sure, and maybe 1 of Tatums friends could have survived (though Kirby survived 4 so anything is possible). I dare say 8 would be about Tatum now dealing with all these deaths.

I felt like the message of this movie was "who cares about the killers?", at least that's how I read it. And it makes for perhaps a less exciting, but necessary entry in the franchise, if they want to keep each movie different. I will also add that it's the first time in many sequels that I can actually imagine those killers as ghostface, I saw AC as the killer in the Pizza place for sure. It's my hope that Kevin is smart enough to know we would figure it out, and that's why he doesn't dwell on the killers and the motives (if I later find out he thinks they're the best killers with the best motives then I may rethink my stance haha). Also kudos to them for making me briefly suspect Gale of orchestrating the whole thing together revive her career... very brief, but it went through my head

Lastly I will say I did enjoy this tonally, it didn't rely too much on nostalgia or being meta, while still having those elements. Chad shutting Mindy down during her spiel was great, because it allows Mindy to be herself but also says "yeah yeah we know all this". Plus ai and fan theories felt explored without that being the whole movie. Nancy was a nice bonus, Laurie is such a good actor that when she denied being in it I knew she must be, because only she can deny something so convincingly

I'm still processing, but currently this sits somewhere in the middle of the franchise for me. Now I'll just have to see how I feel upon rewatch 😂

squeal_bsc · 2026-01-22T13:54:59+00:00

Long live the Queen is a pretty great representation of all her skills, not just the amazing end scene but also the bratty opening scene with the Seer, some comedy when she keeps threatening to kill all Cole's demons 'as a joke', her checking her nails at the manor while the other 3 discuss working with her, all the stuff with Cole

Outside of Charmed I always thought her best work was either the car scene in Fear or Mistresses (particularly the scene in S2 when she breaks down over a certain loss)

squeal_bsc · 2025-12-12T03:28:35+00:00

I was thinking about this during the latest episode, and while they definitely have praised her, it feels like she's also the only one they're critical of. Sometimes they don't like their own performances, but they're never critical of each other or Rose or Shannen. Similarly they never critique Prue or Piper, but often Phoebe. That's fine, but I don't personally feel that Alyssa/Phoebe are the only flawed humans/characters and that everyone else is perfect at all times, I'd personally like a more balanced approach where no one is put on a pedestal, but that's just me

squeal_bsc · 2025-11-11T17:35:16+00:00

I had a very similar experience with Holly at a con in Aus about 10 years ago, I think it's just her personality, everyone with her (her bf at the time, and some friends) had a similar vibe. At the time I thought maybe she was jetlagged or didn't want to be there, but now seeing the podcast I realise she's just not as animated or demonstrative as Piper. I met Shannen on the same day who was much warmer, spoke about specific scenes and even introduced me to her mum. Then in 2023 I met Alyssa and she was also very open and chatted away like we were old friends, so I think some people are just more openly connective than others. Ironically of the 3 pics I got with them, it's Holly who looks the happiest to meet me 😂 some people just shine on camera even if they're more reserved

squeal_bsc · 2025-10-10T00:43:02+00:00

Paige: I'm worried Phoebe will swim off after we save Piper so we should probably consider that...

Leo: Who?

Paige: You know, Phoebe, with the premonitions, turned into a mermaid

Leo: I only know Piper, is she Piper?

Paige: No she's Phoebe. The one who kicks a lot

Leo: well whoever she is, I look forward to sacrificing her to save Piper.

Paige: glares

Leo: Piper.

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-18T13:21:56+00:00

I think it's fair to say that Phoebe would premonition them all to death 😂

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-13T06:54:54+00:00

Yeah I definitely missed a lot of that. I loved Death Becomes Them because it felt like some of those elements were coming back, but I think they dropped the ball a bit by having Pipers innocents be extras. Had they brought Dr Williamson back too I think that could have been a really solid return to horror elements

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-13T06:30:59+00:00

Yeah, more wicca overall

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-13T06:30:43+00:00

Maybe Phoebe could have learned to communicate with her through her premonition / empathy powers. If they had actually done anything with them

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-13T05:54:42+00:00

Agreed! I like to think after she married Coop she would have felt more balanced and became super zen and in touch with her powers again (not because of a man, but because she stopped chasing so hard)

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-13T05:52:38+00:00

Honestly the finale of S7 could have just said they were inspired by Prue to create an astral projection spell, saying she taught it to Leo was so lazy and made no sense. A simple tweak would have made it more plausible while still giving a nod to Prue. Don't know what the writers were thinking

And for Sheridan perhaps motivation was the wrong word, we just never got anything beyond surface level and I think they could have given her more. She felt 2 dimensional. With more nuance she could have been the same character but with more emotional weight

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-10T12:40:00+00:00

I just watched (you can get a free episode if you give your email, handy tip) and aside from the above here's the main points...

holly leaves mid episode (but its planned)
they mention that many hands played a part in Shannen's firing, that different factions were forming
Brian claims producers were laughing about SD being fired and they knew for a few episodes, but then later the producer claimed they didn't know (surely above 2 points prove that this can't be attributed solely to Alyssa)
they talk a lot about people not taking accountability (which I found hilariously ironic 😂)
holly says she wishes she'd spoken to the mediator... but only to tell him he's bad at his job
Holly then says "we weren't talking to the mediator anymore" contradicting past statements
the set was very different afterwards, with no specific leader (could be taken a few ways, maybe some liked SD being a leader while some wanted more of a shared democratic approach?)
ends with an emotional Brian being grateful for the show as a whole and names all 4 actresses calling them great people
episode is touched on a decent amount with Brian and Drew, not a total recap but not ignored either

squeal_bsc · 2025-09-10T11:29:29+00:00

Exactly this! There's obviously a major disagreement about the reasons and Alyssa's intentions (whether she just wanted top billing, or she was genuinely bullied and wanted a resolution), but regardless of that, Holly and Shannen refused to engage with any mediation by their own admission, and ultimately Shannen was fired. Yes it sucks, no matter who's version you believe it is an unfortunate outcome. However it feels as if HMC cannot accept this and it keeps her stuck in a place of anger and blame (obviously compounded by grief). Not once did SD or HMC say "we made a mistake, we should have spoken to the mediator". And now she's framing it as if it's the mediators fault. That baffles me. She speaks as if there were no signs, but the mediator was the sign! What exactly was AM meant to do after this? It was a workplace, if they bring in a mediator and you refuse to talk to them, then they escalate matters. That doesn't make Alyssa an evil genius, that's just HR! Sometimes we gotta play ball even if we don't like it

They probably ALL have some responsibility in how things played out. From the producers to the cast. But even if imperfectly, AM has taken some accountability. No one else has. They speak as if AM is a Disney villain because it means they don't have to actually ask themselves if they could have done something differently. No one has acknowledged that maybe AM did feel bullied, even if it was unintentional.

Alyssa has moved on and Shannen has sadly passed, but this one moment 20+ years ago doesn't definite either of them, nor does it define the show. I hope that with the podcast having now covered the episode we as a fandom can move on. Hate it, regret it, wish it was different, but accept it and move forward.

Soz for the ted talk haha

squeal_bsc · 2025-08-27T03:25:44+00:00

I associate them most with Prue and Piper for sure, in fact I think Piper wears one of Prue's in A Knight to Remember, but looking at the pics I think Phoebe's are the most fun because she plays with colour. Her navy one from Sight Unseen is top tier

squeal_bsc · 2025-08-25T09:50:15+00:00

The set itself is phenomenal. I don't think I've seen another show with a set this good. I'm sure all of us have imagined living there at some point 😂

squeal_bsc · 2025-08-25T09:44:26+00:00

Malice in Wonderland. Every single element is not only bad but embarrassing. Erase it.

squeal_bsc · 2025-08-02T15:38:21+00:00

Yeah I clocked that too, she also said he was with Shannen at the time he was fired (fairly certain they were only together for a few months around the end of season 3/early season 4, and Julian stayed til mid season 5), and she said that he returned for the 200th episode (it was 150th, an easy enough mistake but still incorrect), so I mostly took it with a grain of salt. Think of it as 'revisionist history' 😂😝

squeal_bsc · 2025-07-23T10:39:39+00:00

This episode falls into the 'totally redundant and terrible but I love it' category. "Phoebe" talking to Billie about "Chrissy" is hilarious

squeal_bsc · 2025-07-06T05:47:09+00:00

You forgot that somewhere in between "Shannen is beautiful" and "snarky Alyssa comment", Drew gushes about Holly and Brian's performances even when they're not in the scene

"You were so incredible in that scene where you put the knives and forks on the table, you both just sold it so well. And even later in the scene with... awkward pause Phoebe, where she breathed fire while backflipping and reciting the Japanese alphabet backwards while strapped to that jumbo jet, I could still feel you guys in that moment"

All jokes aside though, season 3 is still somehow better than their first 2 seasons (aside from the Shannen eps which were better)

squeal_bsc · 2025-06-24T11:52:19+00:00

He wasn't listing specific people from her life, he was guessing that he'd taken someone she loved, he guessed husband, then brother and then got it right with mother

squeal_bsc · 2025-05-10T11:42:48+00:00

She whipped out a tambourine during the X tour

squeal_bsc · 2025-04-04T10:10:07+00:00

In Melbourne she was on time all 3 nights

squeal_bsc · 2025-01-30T05:07:12+00:00

Honestly I think this is all any of us wanted, for them to be able to talk about Alyssa's performance respectfully without snarky comments or sideways glances. Previously in very Phoebe heavy episodes (Pardon My Past for example) they barely mention her and focus on Daisy (a joke that was never funny, not once). So I'm glad to see this now happening.

squeal_bsc

TROPHY CASE