All My Shadows

I faithfully watched Cosby Show reruns when I was in like the 5th grade (and even then it was only the first three or four seasons), but it was always too damn bougie for us bayouside Louisianians. It's just not my thing, and I always felt like Sanford and Son (and to a lesser extent, Good Times) better represented the people I grew up around. I definitely won't miss the reruns. BounceTV was airing Fat Albert pretty regularly. I wonder if they still are.

I just started season 5 after taking time off to binge 50 episodes of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and 8 episodes of Gunsmoke, and again, I'm rolling my eyes at you haters because I am LOVING the ride. It's giving me everything I want from Dynasty and more. Dominique's introduction has been good so far, and I've taken to her and Brady. BDW really had that smooth, debonair thing down to a science. Also love how "Miss Deveruhhhh" (as per Alexis) is careful to mask her agenda but is still shady as hell around the Carringtons. Alexis coming for Blake via the mansion LOL Steven has become an A-hole. I'm hoping he is tempered a little as the season goes on and he gets another eggplant in his life. Was not expecting LB's SORAS already, and that kid is huge.

See, and the thing about that is because the one Cosby work that I truly stan hard for (The Bill Cosby Show) came way before his image as America's Dad, I find it easy to compartmentalize as well. Every time I go to the bookstore, I'm tempted to pick up the DVD set because it was such a great low-key comedy for its time, sorta this mix of Julia and Room 222, and I love that, but now it's just...ugh. It pisses me off that a person could do so much good while being so bad.

At this point, I figure you just move on. If his legacy is strong, it'll stand on its own, and there will be no need to say that "Bill Cosby started this" or "Bill Cosby created this." That might be hard, thought, because Cosby was the original Tyler Perry when it comes to plastering his name on every-[!@#$%^&*]-thing he created.

I've been making it a point to listen to more non-singles from my favorite singers/groups, and this Chic ballad has taken my heart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIl4odSpAfg Also, this instrumental from their first album. Has that great Local On the 8's sound that reminds me of going fishing on Saturday mornings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lME3we7zwT8

She wasn't expecting so many people to drag her dusty ass.

SON has been coming for me all summer, and if you think I give a sh!t -- I DON'T, BEWBEW!! What a very creepy way for this conversation to circle back to the topic at hand, though. I'm seriously gonna run by the university tomorrow or Friday and snap a picture of that poster. It's killing me that it's nowhere online.

All right, let's find that goddamn poster on the Internet. If Justin Bieber's (delicious) bare ass can make it, so can Whoopi the Librarian.

I've been trying to google that poster for a few minutes, and I can not find it to save my life. In the midst of searching, though, I'm just once again reminded of how far she's fallen. She was literally everywhere doing everything, and the public adored her, but now she's wearing tracksuits to the Oscars and looks like she can't be bothered to wipe her own ass much less entertain somebody. In regards to Bill...sigh. I've always preferred young, early Bill (I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show era) over the "America's Dad" and "elder of the black community" version. I used to like watching early episodes of The Cosby Show, and my grandma LOVED her some "Cosby" back in the late 90s, so I guess I get the "but think of the legacy!!" reaction so many people are having, but...eh. What value does that legacy REALLY have if this is what has been going on behind the scenes for so long? I'm going to have a really hard time either avoiding his first sitcom (PERFECT low-key, aid-back late-60s/early-70s comedy) or watching it without feeling total discomfort.

Whoopi has been massively depressing for at least 10-15 years now. The Whoopi Goldberg of my childhood was a true comedienne, one of those people on whom you could always depend to bring the laughs for audiences of all ages. In my university's library, they still had a 90s-era poster of her on the wall from a ad to get people to read more, and whenever I'd pass it, I'd wonder how she went that smiley-faced, frizzy-haired STAR to literally the definition of washed-up has-been. It's sad as hell. Somewhere, at some point, her career and/or life did not turn out the way she hoped it would.

FINALLY! Thank god this only had 13 episodes. I might be able to watch them all before they vanish. WB is good at wiping their shows out, and I always forget that this was a Lorimar soap, complete with "starring in alphabetical order" against a Jerrold Immel theme. The cast looks great. I feel like I'll be busy comparing this to what Scruples would have been had it made it to series.

I don't do Scandal, but I'm so happy for my baby Corn! It took some time, but I always knew he'd make it big. "Blood & Oil" sounds like Dallas 2.0 without the pressure. I like the cast (Cappie!), so I'll watch. ETA: I see Cynthia Cidre's involved, so that's EXACTLY what it is! LOL

Why has this crusty ass troll not been banned yet?

I finally caved and bought the complete series DVD set a few weeks ago. I considered just picking up with the first episode I'd never seen (so, basically, skipping the first 30 episodes), but I ended up watching from the beginning again, and boy, am I glad I did. I've been marathonning it like crazy the last week or so, and it's become my new obsession all over again, like 13 years after I watched it for the first time. I'm currently on episode #38, so there's still plenty, plenty left for me to devour, but my God, the first two months of shows were just fantastic. As I've said here before, this show found THE magical combination of absurd comedy and human drama. I honestly forgot who much of it was played as legitimate soap opera and turned out legitimately great dramatic performances. The Mary/Tom story could have easily been bogged down in superficial, repetitive dialogue, but they really did a lot with each scene between the two. Louise Lasser is definitely an MVP as Mary slowly deals with the fact that the man she's built her dreams around has become a complete !@#$%^&*]. Then you have one of the thottiest thots who have EVER thotted, Ms. Mae Olinski. I think they could have done more to show her loneliness and desperation, because they've hinted at it, and it makes sense, but maybe that's coming up. Another great dramatic performer is Graham Jarvis, whose character could have just been a complete punchline if GJ wasn't so natural in the part. He and MKP have the best chemistry, but he also works well in scenes where he tries to knock some sense into Tom. The comedy, of course, is so ridiculous and absurd, and it's absolutely perfect. One of the funniest running sight gags is George's "Hooray! Daddy's home!" hemorrhoid pillow. And it just doesn't get any better than Dody Goodman as the delightfully oblivious Martha. I'm SO glad I decided to purchase the whole series. It cost me $150, but for 325 episodes, it's way more than worth it.

Jennifer Salt (Eunice) has had tons of success over the last ten years as a writer/producer for Nip/Tuck and now AHS. Ted Wass (Danny) was Blossom's dad and then he went into directing sitcoms, which I think he stills gets pretty steady work in.

Various cast members from across the years got together to film the "It Goes There" special which airs later this month. There's a photo gallery. http://tvline.com/2015/06/30/degrassi-reunion-photos-original-cast-series-finale-special/ I know the old timers are still young, but, damn, they've aged so well. Eli is fine as hell when he's out of character.

Do you think it's just a weird mix of surgery and aging? He doesn't necessarily look unhealthy -- just really, really manipulated. Meanwhile, here's a Mary Hartman Q&A session with Greg Mullavey and Louise Lasser from March. Greg's voice has not changed one BIT since the 70s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3NDhmSOgZA

I think so, too, Carl. Emmerdale is the one surviving soap that I haven't regularly watched current episodes of, so I guess it deserve a shot one of these days. Y'all seem to be enjoying most of it. Meanwhile, I've finally made a dent in those 1974 episodes. I could just LIVE in the world of Beckindale at this time period.

Cast members from SOAP (as well as BENSON's Rene Auberjonois) gathered on Hallmark's Home & Family to honor Robert Guilliaume. I'm having a legitimately hard time deciding what I want to believe happened to Robert Mandan's face...

To be quite honest, I'm not sure if I'll ever be interested in watching the post-Farm episodes at all. The 70s/80s stuff I've watched is just so dynamic in its identity at the English country soap, and watching it alongside Take the High Road, the Scottish country soap, has off-and-on been one of my favorite UK soap-watching experiences. I hate to think of how much the show changed when it just had to compete with the other soaps. They killed off too many Sugdens in the late 80s and 90s. This is not to say other families couldn't have been introduced, but what exactly is the message that is meant to be sent when you write out most of the core family?

I honestly thought Denise "Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!" Nickerson was David Henesy for a second up there.

Looking at the thumbnail of that 2001 episode. Chris Gascoyne was well fit in his prime. Also gotta co-sign the JPS love above. His impression of Audrehluv was spot-on!

Ok yeah, once I realized Nick and Althea were married, I knew I had to go and find the wedding. Thanks for letting me know where it is!

One of my biggest soap regrets is falling so far behind on this. I just gave up and decided to start from whatever aired this past Friday. We're currently nearing the end of June 1969, correct? Just scrolling through the year of episodes I missed is making me hit myself because it looks like a lot of great things happened.

Lindsey Coulson as Carol is one of the reasons I even got into this show. Everything surrounding Billie's death was amazing.