All My Shadows

Erica's modeling theme! In pristine condition!

A reminder that the final season's Christmas episode, "Tis the Season," will air on MeTV today at 3:00PM (central). I don't have a DVR and probably won't be able to watch, so hopefully someone puts it on YT. *** Actually, I just checked, and the episode IS on YouTube already, but it's not a very clear copy. Hope we can get a nice, pristine copy from today's airing. I'm kinda mad they decided to air it on Christmas Day and not earlier on so that more people could watch. Really, I'm just pissed that they scaled back their holiday offerings after two great years of a nightly Christmas marathon. They could've easily aired all four of Family's holiday episodes. Or, you know, they could just air the show regularly.

I agree with DeeeDee. Viki would have obviously become that type of character had the show went on and ES and the character aged, but she didn't quite make it. We never got to see any of Viki's grandchildren reach adulthood and turn to her for advice, comfort, etc. like we saw with most of the characters DeeeDee mentioned, and IMO that's one of those things that takes a character from being "mom" to "matriarch." Alice Horton, Nancy Hughes, Kate Martin, Bert Bauer, Lila Quartermaine, etc. all presided over large families of offspring. Viki had five kids - one of whom died nearly 25 years ago and two of whom the show didn't really invest a lot into over the last few years of its run - and a bunch of grandbabies on recurring. The comparison to AMC's Erica or Brooke is spot-on. Had their show gone on for a decade longer, maybe they would be seen as matriarchs (which would have been fun because you know Erica Kane would NEVER be the Alice/Nancy-type of family matriarch), but they never got that chance.

I was watching random cast crawls from the 80s and 90s, and came across Bill Christian playing "Officer Rick Frye" in July 1990. All this time, I've only ever seen him listed as joining the cast in 1991, and never have I heard of Derek being called "Rick" early on. I'm assuming he was originally meant to be a short-term character.

I've been watching a good bit of classic GL from throughout the late 70s through the early 90s, which is something I've never really done that often in the past, and I'm truly enjoying seeing characters I've always read about but never actually saw plus just understanding the show's different eras. One ep that I've ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS heard about and have seen people discuss in great detail here (with complete transcriptions) is Maureen confronting Ed about his affair with Lillian. What an amazing hour of television, and now I finally see why the firing of Ellen Parker is still seen as one of soap opera's biggest mistakes. The comparisons to Charita Bauer are spot-on - Maureen confronting Ed had a lot of the same fire as Bert confronting Bill's mistress back in 1966. It's insane that JFP thought it would be a good idea to get rid of her. I've also watched a few from 1977-1979, and dare I say it, I think I might actually prefer GL of this era over ATWT. GL's focus was already shifting to newer characters/families, but GL seemed to go more gradually (yet willingly) into the new direction. ATWT held out until 1980-1981, and it was a complete shock to the system.

This was used over the closing credits for AMC's Christmas episode in 2004, specifically starting at around 1:13. Every time I hear it, I get chills remembering how much I enjoyed the show at the time. Oh, if we'd only known...

I have the original Fox release, too, and the general packaging was gorgeous. The CBS cover looks almost the same, but the original Fox release used the actual Dynasty font and the photos of Blake, Krystle, and Alexis were displayed in a way that kinda alluded to the opening credits. I hate the fact that CBS dropped the ball on extras after the S1 had some pretty good little special features.

I know Degrassi's fight song is NOT the theme from Monty Python #gtfo

I'm finally running through DNC season 2, and after a rough start, I'm loving it. The racism story with the volleyball team produced some good moments early on (I LOVE the girls playing the Northern Tech team!), but it got way too heavy-handed by the time of the 60th anniversary celebration. I wish they wouldn't have decided to "go there" in the midst of the anniversary stuff, because, yes, they should have given a bit more focus to the returning alumni. I know that they have a current show to develop, but by then, the story felt too done anyway. I did love the alumni's appearances for what they were, though. I'm on episode 8, and I never thought I'd say this, but the season has improved a lot since the focus moved back to the run-of-the-mill romance drama. I am LOVING LOVING LOVING the Miles/Tristan/Winston/Zoe foursome. I really need to go back and watch all of Tristan/Miles from DTNG, because they're a great tentpole couple here. They've always had strong chemistry, and now that they've moved into the more mature couple role, it just works. They're cute af! I'm so glad they shut down the Maya/Peter possibility right away. Peter was always a mess, but it would have just been a hatchet job on him to have it go there. I like him as a mentor for him and their working relationship. Zig is such a dumb meathead, but he's hot, and I can't deal. His stripper audition was classic Degrassi slapstick. Vijay annoys the hell out of me, and I'm going to need for him to either get a real storyline and stop leeching off of everyone else or just fade into the background. I didn't realize they were already renewed for seasons 3 and 4. Awesome! They've done a FABULOUS job developing the ensemble over the first 2. Oh, some other things. Hunter is crazy af, and I feel as though we're only in the midst of his complete arc. This feels like a classic, slow-building Degrassi story that just goes up and down with the wind, and I love it. The Hollingsworth family adds a great dynamic to the show. Tiny is a fantastic character, and I'd love to see more from his point of view. In regards to the alumni: as always, just more evidence that an all grown up Degrassi sequel would have been awesome a few years ago. Emma and Spinner's marriage is still something that perplexes me, and I don't like it. Spinner belongs with Paige, period. I'm not sure who Emma should be with (NOT Sean! That's Ellie's man), but I hate that what was essentially a rhetorical joke has become the real deal offscreen. Ugh. My baby Craig was SEXY as usual, and Tristan knows damn well he wanted some. Marco and Paige were the image of Degrassi royalty, as always. Paige is just...*sigh*. I've always loved her, but my appreciation and attachment has grown so much in the last few years because she just represents so much and evokes a ton of nostalgia in me. Lauren Collins has my heart forever.

I was always pretty positive that they indeed purposely wrote the Merricks out. Not that I know too much about it, but I feel as though that era was all about disposing of the show's past and creating a "bigger, better" show, playing essentially into the notion that the "daytime" years were utter boring sh!t (which, of course, I disagree with - that's the Emmerdale I'm most interested in). I was researching after watching the Sarah's death episode, and yes, Samuel Skilbeck should be on this show, in his early 30s. I hate it when shows randomly dig up old characters to bring back, but if these UK soaps can throw together a whole new family and put them on the frontburner right away, why not at least make the family an offshoot of established characters who once were the center of the show? It's a simple matter of continuity! Emmerdale Farm was not a show filled with babies, weddings, and funerals, so the few opportunities that are there to make connections between its past and its present should be exploited.

Wow, this was an excellent watch. Thanks for sharing. I don't think I've ever fully watched an episode from 1975-2010. I know nothing at all about Emmerdale post-1970s (and, honestly, I only vaguely know things from after Jack first left), but I do know that Sarah was around for a pretty long time, so her death (and the affair with Richie) must have been polarizing for viewers at the time. The actress did some great work in her final episode, though, and I've always thought Clive Hornby was stiff whenever I'd watch little clips of him, but now I can kinda see how that was just the character. The most surprising thing to me is how "farmy" the show still was because I've always been led to believe that it shed a lot of that after the early 90s.

She did lunge at him once when he made a particularly hurtful remark about her not being able to have any children, but it was the classic "Oh, what have I done??" type of thing. I read that Jane Danson wasn't too crazy about the story "at first" because she, too, thought Leanne was too strong to let a goddamn preteen terrorize her. I don't advocate hitting kids, but the second he raised his hand to her, she should've slapped the hell out of him.

I haven't watched Corrie in ages, but I remembered reading that they'd made Simon Barlow into a lil sh!t, so I went hunting for clips, and Jesus CHRIST how embarrassing for all involved! Every scene is basically the same - Leanne whimpering about something he's done, him being a jackass about it, her finally getting some guts and attempting to discipline him, and him grunting rather loudly and attacking her. Over and over again. And again. And again. Lord. And he's supposed to be 12? She can't whoop that ass?

This guy does a fantastic job playing a lot of the old organ/piano soap themes, and he recently uploaded a video of one of the most ubiquitous pieces of soap music: the Hughes family leitmotif from the 50s/60s (and into the 70s?). If you've ever watched just ONE black and white episode of ATWT, you know this music. ETA: How could I forget - they were definitely still using orchestrated arrangements of the Hughes family theme until at least 1979, per the segments posted by We Love Soaps. It just blows my mind that something can exist in a TV series's canon day in and day out for over 20 years and suddenly just vanish, never to be heard ever again. A subtle, modern version of this theme should have been used to open any Bob/Kim scene.

That's one of my favorite episodes as well. The show really lived up to its name - they did a great job of just addressing so many "family" issues and relationships. Willie is one of my favorite TV characters of all time simply for the timelessness of GF's portrayal. The kid who's grown up in a pretty strict environment who must now make his own decisions about his own life but can't because he doesn't know how to handle autonomy. A sweet, good-natured guy, but he has no clue what it means to be an adult. Oh, to be able to see how his characterization changes in the later episodes. I always forget that "Rites of Friendship" was co-written by Bethel Leslie.

A huge disappointment after last year, IMO.

It was set in Pasadena. I own the first two seasons on DVD (patiently awaiting the rest...) and absolutely love it. The whole cast is great, but Sada Thompson was so effortless as Kate, always walking that fine line between maternal and domineering with the children, especially wayward Nancy. There's an awesome clip on YouTube, I think it's titled "Kate has Nancy's number," and it's a fantastic showcase of the relationship between the two characters. They also did one of my favorite early LGBT stories on TV in the second season when Willie's friend Zeke comes out and stays with the Lawrences for a while. It's such a good, quiet show, though, and I'd love to catch at least one run-through of the entire series on Me-TV or INSP or whatever. One of the holiday episodes will air on Me this year on Christmas Day, though, so that's something.

Thanks. You just gave me the 'OK' to skip everything from 'January 1972- last week'. I hate playing 'catch up'. I mean, if you've been keeping up so far, I say keep watching. I get what you mean, though, because always being "slightly behind" is annoying. In addition to Mona first appearing, Mike and Toni have just gotten married in the same episode, so it is a good time to jump in. Has it aired yet? Yes, it aired last Tuesday.

Thanks. You just gave me the 'OK' to skip everything from 'January 1972- last week'. I hate playing 'catch up'. I mean, if you've been keeping up so far, I say keep watching. I get what you mean, though, because always being "slightly behind" is annoying. In addition to Mona first appearing, Mike and Toni have just gotten married in the same episode, so it is a good time to jump in.

Let me check. I got back into watching this week, just picking up with where they currently are, which is July 1972. I have SO little time to watch anything anymore, and it drives me crazy. Had this been available ten years ago when I was a wee lad in high school, I would have been so heavily invested in everything. I desperately want to go back and watch those episodes from 1968-1970. I think the general consensus was that the show was kinda weak in 1969-1970, but still. I'm enjoying where we are now, and what a pleasant surprise to see Mona debut this week.

My fave seasons were three, four, and five, with 4/5 having a slight edge over 3. Favorite characters were Sean, Paige, Manny, and JT. Favorite couples were Sean/Ellie, Manny/Craig, and Paige/Spinner. Favorite stories would be the Manny/Craig/Ashley triangle, Marco's initial coming out drama, the Rick drama (and aftermath), and JT and Liberty as expectant parents.

It goes without saying that "Hilder" is one of UK soaps' most legendary characters and perhaps Corrie's most iconic. She and Stan really were pioneers on the show and helped develop its identity after the first four years, bringing that almost absurdist level of comedy that stuck around for years and became a Corrie trademark. It's possible the show would have died out decades ago if not for the new tone they added. But like was already said, they were still real people, and they were written as such, not as cartoons. You just can't throw that type of thing together in a few weeks/months time - it builds and builds over years of developing the facets of a character. That's why Stan's death was so heartbreaking and her departure was, too. And to watch interviews of the meek, mild-mannered JA, you knew she was a fantastic actress to bring someone like Hilda to life so well. Carl, I'm interested - it's obvious that she often hit it on the nose in regards to the show's recent years, but what were comments she'd made that you disagreed with?

That's actually one of my fave DVD covers precisely because of Joan's expression