Episode #598

[Michael]

Episode #598 is now available!

In this installment: It's several weeks since Claire, Brent, and company returned from New Hampshire -- and there is more news about Loretta... Now that she's back home, Molly reconsiders the future of her marriage to Brent... Travis and Ryan set a plan in motion to make Elly and Danielle reconcile.

Thanks, as always, for reading! Look for things to pick up in July as we celebrate our 600th episode and participate in the 3rd annual Webseries Writer Swap.

Please note: The above link will take you to our Current Episode page. For a permanent link to Episode #598, go here. All previous episodes can be found in our Archives.

[Dallas]

What a treat Michael! I love the small gathering for Travis' grad. Plus, it was perfect timing as kids are out of school this time of the season.

Danielle / Elly -- I like how you're not wrapping it up neatly in a bow with Elly not quick to forgive & forget Danielle. It will take a long time to earn the trust again and even start to forge a relationship. It's being done so much better than say, Y&R's Paul & Heather. So kudos. I like that Ryan and Travis worked together, I'm interested to see if that continues or not.

Claire -- More and more I'm just dying for some kind of reconnection with her and Tim, especially now that the Loretta scam has been exposed. I'm still waiting for Loretta to do something else too. The climax was almost too easy for her. Something's gotta give.

Molly -- Asmuch as I like Molly & Brent together, I still want her to explore her budding feelings for Philip!

Another nice read Michael, looking forward to the next!

d

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Dallas

What a treat Michael! I love the small gathering for Travis' grad. Plus, it was perfect timing as kids are out of school this time of the season.

I really try to keep Footprints in 'real time,' which sometimes causes me a lot of headaches, but I like the feeling of a daytime soap that it gives. I had to do a time jump to catch up after that Passions-esque long weekend, so jumping to Travis's graduation seemed like a good way to situate us in time and touch on a necessary event.

Originally Posted by Dallas

Danielle / Elly -- I like how you're not wrapping it up neatly in a bow with Elly not quick to forgive & forget Danielle. It will take a long time to earn the trust again and even start to forge a relationship. It's being done so much better than say, Y&R's Paul & Heather. So kudos. I like that Ryan and Travis worked together, I'm interested to see if that continues or not.

Really glad you're liking this stuff. It was supposed to wrap up much more neatly, but I found myself struggling with this episode because it was all too pat and clean. Finally I was just like, "Look, this all feels fake, so why don't I dirty it up and let it play out more naturally?" I scaled back the episode a lot, but I think the result was more effective than what I'd been working on.

There will definitely be more on Tim/Claire and Brent/Molly/Philip, though perhaps not in the ways you're hoping!

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond!

[Ira]

Fun episode! Having gone to private schools my entire life, I always forget that public schools graduate in June, so I was wondering why you hadn't jumped that far ahead. As it was, I know you were struggling with how to present this, but I thought it turned out pretty great. It wasn't as if any time had passed, and what did pass during it seemed pretty natural to me.

I like that Elly is in town, I have no idea for how long, and I have a feeling she may end up at King Bay's with Travis and Landon, but I like how there's still some tension between her and Danielle. I don't know how it's going to be solved, but I feel like it could go on for quite some time between them. And as long as its still written well, I'm along for the ride. I also love the idea of Travis/Ryan joining forces. I can't wait to see how Tim reacts to that.

Two episodes until #600 -- I'm hoping Loretta has something planned for the celebration!

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Ira

Fun episode! Having gone to private schools my entire life, I always forget that public schools graduate in June, so I was wondering why you hadn't jumped that far ahead.

You guys got out before June?! We always got out like the second week of June, and then public schools were at the end of the month.

Originally Posted by Ira

I like that Elly is in town, I have no idea for how long, and I have a feeling she may end up at King Bay's with Travis and Landon, but I like how there's still some tension between her and Danielle. I don't know how it's going to be solved, but I feel like it could go on for quite some time between them. And as long as its still written well, I'm along for the ride. I also love the idea of Travis/Ryan joining forces. I can't wait to see how Tim reacts to that.

As I said above, I had this idea in my head of rushing the whole thing to a conclusion, but it obviously wanted to spread out a little and be messier, so I'm going with that. The ideas haven't really changed, but I'm being a little looser with it now.

Thanks for the feedback! Glad this one wound up working for you.

[Ira]

Originally Posted by Michael

You guys got out before June?! We always got out like the second week of June, and then public schools were at the end of the month.

I have never ended a school year post-May! The Midwest for you, I guess.

[Andy Eckles]

We never got out of school till about the third week in June. Awful. But glad I was done before they started the horrible year-round schedule they adopted later.

As for this episode, it was a quick, informative read. I was glad to have it touch on the Danielle/Elly predicament again. I appreciate that you didn't follow suit with daytime soaps and have the estranged mother & daughter fall right into an unbelievable relationship. Too many times this happens on TV and I think "What? How can it be that easy to accept?" So again, I find this much more believable. I can understand where Elly is coming from and why she is angry. But still, I would like to see some mother/daughter moments at some point in the future, just not too quickly!

I'm with others in that I like Brent and Molly as a couple, but I am also interested in her with Philip. This has the makings of a great triangle, if you chose to go that way. Make that quadrangle, since there's this dynamic between Brent and Claire as well. There's a lot of history there, and circumstances could take the story in so many directions as opposed to just throwing a group of people together and letting them battle it out for some contrived reason.

Great episode Michael. The time jump seemed very natural to me as well.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

I was glad to have it touch on the Danielle/Elly predicament again. I appreciate that you didn't follow suit with daytime soaps and have the estranged mother & daughter fall right into an unbelievable relationship. Too many times this happens on TV and I think "What? How can it be that easy to accept?" So again, I find this much more believable. I can understand where Elly is coming from and why she is angry. But still, I would like to see some mother/daughter moments at some point in the future, just not too quickly!

It drives me insane when TV shows do that -- especially the daytime soaps, which have gotten really lazy about "insta-families." I keep thinking of Billie and Chelsea on Days, who were thrust together in such a ridiculous and rushed manner. The thing is, if you gloss over all of that adjustment period, you're giving away a huge chunk of your potential drama! What's funny is that Danielle and Elly were very close before the reveal, but now, as mother and daughter, they've barely had any interaction in almost a year.

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

I'm with others in that I like Brent and Molly as a couple, but I am also interested in her with Philip. This has the makings of a great triangle, if you chose to go that way. Make that quadrangle, since there's this dynamic between Brent and Claire as well. There's a lot of history there, and circumstances could take the story in so many directions as opposed to just throwing a group of people together and letting them battle it out for some contrived reason.

That's great to hear! I thought this quadrangle (pentagon, if you count Tim...) would play out as the Loretta investigation went on, but as that story unfolded, it became clear that the romantic angle of the story wouldn't become prominent until the investigation was over. So now, as we move past Episode #600, those interpersonal relationships -- which have had a lot of groundwork laid -- will take center stage.

Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful and helpful feedback, Andy!