What's working and what's not working...

[MarkSinacori]

What's Working:

Claudia is working. I think Stansfield is gonna go after her somehow and someone is gonna protect her and kill him. Maybe Cristal? I think he killed Willy.

Sammy Jo and Joseph are funny!

Fallon and Michael together is good.



What doesn't work:


Jeff Colby. Monique Colby. They haven't got a lot to do.

Fallon's "business" she keeps talking about. We are going into episode 8 now and NOTHING.



I hope when they bring Cesil Colby on things get better with Jeff and Monique. They should be dropped from the show by now.

 

[ChrisSumner]

Cristal in no way works for me. I enjoy the writing for her but the actress is terrible and can’t sell anything they give her. The other thing that doesn’t work are The Colbys. I do think slowly it’s getting better, especially now that Jeff has more to do and is interacting with Fallon more but this family needs to be built a little better. I love the actress who plays Monica but she literally has nothing to do.

What DOES work is everything else. Each episode is getting better. I like the call backs to the original and that the story is still fresh and full of surprises. I love the new Claudia, who was my least favorite on the original.

Sammy Jo is more entertaining than the original IMO. She’s the scene stealer so far. I love Heather Locklear but she rarely had good writing on The original. I love the new Michael and I also love Steven. On the original I wish Steven had left years before he did because without a love interest his stories were so limited and repetitive. We don’t have that issue here. Grant Show is sexy as hell and an excellent Blake. Love Alan Dale as Joseph (HATE when they call him Anders or Michael “Culhane”).

 

[TheWorldaStage]

Cristal in no way works for me. I enjoy the writing for her but the actress is terrible and can’t sell anything they give her.

I was probably very alone in this but I thought I saw some potential - some nuance - for her in the beginning. However, now it is like she only reads her lines outloud with some "emotion" and is not naturally staying in the moment.

Which is unfortunate because I have seen her other work and thought she did well.

The other thing that doesn’t work are The Colbys. I do think slowly it’s getting better, especially now that Jeff has more to do and is interacting with Fallon more but this family needs to be built a little better. I love the actress who plays Monica but she literally has nothing to do.

What DOES work is everything else. Each episode is getting better. I like the call backs to the original and that the story is still fresh and full of surprises. I love the new Claudia, who was my least favorite on the original.

I find Jeff kind of, I don't know, too normal? I know not every character has to have a schtick, but even in the original I found Jeff more interesting in the beginning! And he was classified as a bore (well, to Fallon).

Also, the moment they announced actress Brianna Brown as Claudia, I absolutely knew she was a great fit for the role.

Sammy Jo is more entertaining than the original IMO. She’s the scene stealer so far. I love Heather Locklear but she rarely had good writing on The original. I love the new Michael and I also love Steven. On the original I wish Steven had left years before he did because without a love interest his stories were so limited and repetitive. We don’t have that issue here. Grant Show is sexy as hell and an excellent Blake. Love Alan Dale as Joseph (HATE when they call him Anders or Michael “Culhane”).

I like Michael but in the sense that I do not "not" like him. I feel he is very different from his predecessor, which I do not expect everything to be the same, but I also have mixed feelings. The predecessor had more ambition in the sense that he would do what it takes (without a strict ethical code). Right now, I feel Michael is in a "Fallon" box - though I am aware he did share some scenes with Steven and Joseph Anders, as well as got another love interest.

I can see why some people do not care for this Steven, but I like that at the heart of it, he retains the same characteristics and values. So I am good with him (for now).

I agree Grant Show is a good modernized Blake.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

Claudia is brilliant so far! So much more feisty than in the original, can hold her own and isn't afraid to go up against the Carrington's either.

Cristal, meh, I'm not so impressed with her, I hope she improves.

Fallon can do way better! But she can be funny at times, as for Michael and Jeff, I have to say I'm.on Team Michael he's much more of a rounded character who genuinely wants the best for Fallon not just as a lover but as a friend and I quote like their relationship too, Jeff is just blank for me, but Monica I think needs to be used more.
Blake is good, I'm glad he's still sinister and as for Steven he's ok but not blown away by him, I'm liking the banter between Sammy Jo and Joseph they are funny.

 

[Willie Oleson]

(HATE when they call him Anders or Michael “Culhane”).

I think they also did this on Downton Abbey?

However, now it is like she only reads her lines outloud with some "emotion" and is not naturally staying in the moment.

The restless camera work sort of prevents that. I wish they would focus every now and then, so there would be a moment.
I also wish they would stop using that finger-snap music as it tends to dominate the tone of the scenes.

I found Jeff more interesting in the beginning! And he was classified as a bore

OldJeff was conservative and naive, and it worked well for the story. NuJeff has a much juicier storyline but I find him boring to watch.
Maybe this is just a matter of miscasting, although I liked the tension between him and Michael in the first episodes.

I'm liking the banter between Sammy Jo and Joseph they are funny

I had hoped this would be a little more sinister. I'm allergic to funny banter, especially if it continues for a long time.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

I also wish they would stop using that finger-snap music as it tends to dominate the tone of the scenes.

Yes, that's actually the worst thing of the show to me. I'm so rolling my eyes every time this "song" comes up again and again and again and i just HATE it!

 

[TheWorldaStage]

The restless camera work sort of prevents that. I wish they would focus every now and then, so there would be a moment.
I also wish they would stop using that finger-snap music as it tends to dominate the tone of the scenes.

Good observation! Now that you mention it, I suddenly notice what you mean about the camera work.

OldJeff was conservative and naive, and it worked well for the story. NuJeff has a much juicier storyline but I find him boring to watch.
Maybe this is just a matter of miscasting, although I liked the tension between him and Michael in the first episodes.

Total agreement that I find NuJeff kind of boring and that OldJeff had something more to offer.

 

[Alexis]

Yes, that's actually the worst thing of the show to me. I'm so rolling my eyes every time this "song" comes up again and again and again and i just HATE it!

It sounds like it should be on a comedy show. It does ruin the mood or tone of the scenes. Makes things less serious.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

Yes, a comedy show or something like "Myth Busters".

 

[AZLiam]

I think they also did this on Downton Abbey?

The restless camera work sort of prevents that. I wish they would focus every now and then, so there would be a moment.
I also wish they would stop using that finger-snap music as it tends to dominate the tone of the scenes.

I am totally on board with your assessments. With so much restless camera work, I feel like the show is designed for people with ADHD. It doesn't feel like a drama but like a low-budget reality show and that makes it harder to focus on character-driven moments.

 

[Alexis]

Yes, a comedy show or something like "Myth Busters".

They could recycle it and use it on a reboot of The Adams Family instead. It would work there.

 

[Alexis]

I can not stand the quick cutting and restless camera work that most primetime shows have these days. TNT Dallas was the worst I actually got motion sickness watching a few scenes and got confused as to who was saying what in conversations.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I didn't notice it when I watched NuDallas, and those characters definitely got their moments. Many, many moments.

 

[Alexis]

I didn't notice it when I watched NuDallas, and those characters definitely got their moments. Many, many moments.

I recall they also liked to lop off the tops of peoples heads in frame. The camera work on nuDallas was hideous.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I recall they also liked to lop off the tops of peoples heads in frame

Well, a close-up is a close-up, and it looks different in widescreen.

Movie widescreen:


TV widescreen:

Close.


Closer.

The camera work on nuDallas was hideous

http://www.soapchat.net/threads/tnt-dallas-for-beginners.2881/page-3

 

[tommie]

I don't mind Monica not having a lot to do at the moment - she is, after all, not a part of the main cast and by not defining her too much it means that she can be used in whatever storyline they need her to be in instead of having to write in a new unfamiliar character. But I might be alone in that.

 

[Willie Oleson]

She isn't even entertaining in all the things she doesn't do. She has no personality at all.
If someone is going to die in a cliffhanger, I want her to be the first.