DRW50

I didn't realize they tied all of that into the square finding out Mark had HIV. Did they know Bill Treacher was leaving at this time or did they not know? It's always been a little sad to me that she wasn't there for his funeral.

Someone has put up some of the Grant/Michelle clips from the episode where they had sex.

I only have one or two episodes from these years left to upload, but I thought someone might be interested in this one, as it's one of those from Maureen Lipman's very brief run on the show as a stopgap when Julie Goodyear had to quit early.

I think someone once said no. I'm not sure.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-93643/The-Corrie-untouchables.html This is a strange article, in that they got all the firings right but the Grimshaws. I'm surprised that there would ever have been any plans to write out the Grimshaws at this time (spring 2002), as Jason and Todd were probably the only male totty for a lot of younger viewers, and Eileen was likely at least somewhat popular as well. Were there ever any plans to write them out? What went on with that Eve character anyway? Did they just give up on her after Jacqueline Pirie left? For a woman who was married to Fred and was landlady of the Rovers, she seems completely irrelevant. Even in a lot of the episodes I've seen from that time, she's just standing behind the bar.

I think by the time Josh finally arrived, Cooke was in the role, yes.

I don't think the 90-minute format was the beginning of the end for AW - I think it was the rudderless quality and lack of leadership during and after this period. Watching the 1980 episodes after they scaled down to 60 minutes, the show still feels incredibly moribund, with (for me) a small handful of characters (Blaine, Pat, Cecile) keeping things interesting. Wide swathes of the show were dry, assembly line (the truly tedious Kit Perrini storyline) or painfully melodramatic and old fashioned (the Rachel/Mitch shooting and trial), there were few, if any new characters who ever found a foothold, and there's just no real reason to stay invested unless you were a diehard fan. I also think the show's lack of identity did a great deal of damage. Rauch and Lemay took away most of what had been there before them, and most of what they created, sans Mac, had already pretty much gone by this point. AW didn't find its own identity again until somewhere around 1983. As for Lee, I do think her death was a mistake (the story also sounds incredibly depressing and strange, like an educational film gone wrong), but the show was drowning in ingenues at that point in time. Between Missy and Lahoma going to Somerset, Jacquie Courtney leaving for a year or so, Susan's exit, etc. I do wonder how much they ended up regretting it.

When they let Maureen have dramatic moments, I liked her, but all the silly girly fluttering was just irritating. Anyway, watched the last two episodes and Liz and Michelle are a poor double act. They're the same character, and they have reduced Steve to a level where I am expecting him to start sucking his thumb. Julie's exit was believable and bittersweet and very much true to her character. I can see where Katy Cavanagh would want to play new roles, but I also wonder if she'd had some of the writing she had in her last week, if she would have stayed. I like Todd the way he is at the moment. I hope they won't can him for the damage done to him in previous stories.

Thanks. That's a fascinating writeup.

Yes. I've seen some promos for it on Youtube that were annoying as hell. No wonder it didn't last. (there used to be a really annoying one that I don't see now)

Cruz had no Hispanic support that I can remember.

Is this Christine Jones in the Brim ad around 11 minutes in? I can't tell.

The main difference is you can tell many at Y&R have contempt for actress and character. I think DTC actually believes he's doing right by Stacey,

I kind of liked him with that Karen woman (Jack's ex), but I guess that was doomed. It seems like they never quite knew what to do with Joe, period. Is it true that Dolly and Matt remarried again after she left the village?

They're actually trying to target 60+ viewers? I can't imagine that in the US.

Thanks. So I guess she was around for a few months then. What did you think of the Hughes family? It feels like Joe is a little more of a Sugden central force than Jack at this time... I was surprised at how much I liked Sarah, and how lively she was. By the time of Allyson Spiro she seemed so somber. It seemed like Sugden wife recasts were put through heavy trauma before getting their new head.

The only time they sort of did was Kim Tate, although I'm not sure if viewers ever actually thought she was dead. I uploaded 3 August 1990 episodes today and watched them for the first time in a while. I wonder what the show was trying to do with Kate. She was a strong person, but not all that likeable, and there was no chemistry with Frazer Hines. There are two whole episodes with her longtime friend popping in to visit and being horribly snobbish, horsing around the farm like it's some type of tourist attraction, and Kate pretty much enables all of it. The friend was named Fran. Was she around for a while? I had also forgotten that Dolly was still around at this point. It's weird seeing her close with Frank and Kim and Kim talking about how much she'll miss Sam Skilbeck when he and Dolly are away. I never realized they crossed over. Anyway, here are the episodes: Sometimes I wonder why they got rid of Archie. He's an interesting character (and kind of hot). It never stops being weird seeing Neville Ashworth from Hollyoaks as the roguish seducer of Rachel Hughes.