DRW50

I wonder if they were mixing that up with Liz taking the drug that led her to be comatose and Nick proposing to her. I agree about the stories we never would have known of...interviews mentioned things like Althea's amnesia, but still, so vague, and I don't remember hearing much about characters like Ed Stark, or John Rice.

The horror of those high-wasted pants.

I never knew they were married. I posted a Maureen Mooney article a page or two ago if anyone wants to read it.

She's with him now because Ronnie questioned her. She's a brat who is lashing out at her sister. That boring flop Charlie shaming her just exacerbated it. I know some think him raping her or confessing to the rape will be caught on Ronnie's webcam. Personally I'd rather they just have Dean leave town and never have any of the story mentioned again. Yes, "justice" is important, but none of it will be about Linda anyway, it will be Shirley tears and Mick looking constipated. Who gives a [!@#$%^&*]?

I guess it helped that there weren't that many of them around, although I think Marland significantly toning Tony and Nola down was probably a factor as well.

To me it's just dull, as is the Amanda/Mark/Jennifer triangle. A waste of potential in that case. I don't know. Lesley Ann and Reva were on the show together for at least some months, although by that time Lesley Ann was married to Warren and Josh was "good."

I made a lot of comments the first time these videos were up, so probably wouldn't know where to say all that again now, but Jane really is superb in these episodes, playing the "good" Carrie underneath the "bad" Carrie. It's not just an Erika Slezak or Sally Field or what have you knockoff, it's fresh and its own performance. It's unfortunate that some of this material is surrounded by such a slog (Morgan/Kelly/Josh/Lesley Ann/et al.).

Here's May 1. If I ever find the other two I will try to put those up too.

I guess if they're replacing Kim as well as Yolanda, and then the Brandi replacement, one of them could. I think they should just cut their losses...

I'm not much of a fan as I think he's often wooden, but I did think he was very good last night. I think the episode would have been even worse otherwise, because those scenes were so melodramatic. The one with Buster and Dean I thought was particularly well-acted. He wasn't as good on his own or with the always mediocre Rita Symons.

I can say tonight’s episode was well-written, and well-acted (and reminds me again that Matt di Angelo can play the material when it’s there for him), but the basic core of this story just disgusts me and seems to be collapsing further into a pool of its own sick. I had no idea where they were going with Shirley’s past memories with Buster. All the talk of giving herself to drunken men…Buster going on about how perfect she was when he first saw her at 13. Apparently some other fans were as disturbed by this scene as I was (frankly, it sounded like grooming), and other fans replied that Buster and Shirley are around the same age, so that wasn’t how it was intended. It is almost like a parody at this point - more angst and pain for Shirley, more and more, in lieu of character development or direction. Now we seem to have the same for Dean. Pain and woe and angst, and yes, there are hints he will eventually be found out for what he did to Linda, but it’s all months too late. Nor do I believe it was meant to be stretched out this long for some type of “realism” - I think they stretched it out this long because they erroneously believed it was good fodder for the anniversary (the whole “Is Dean dead?”) and created a story that damaged a wide swathe of characters. This seems like their belated attempt to add some depth to the character and material, and to tie him into other isolated, poorly drawn stories. The sad part is he and Roxy actually have a great deal of chemistry (far more than she’s had with Charlie), but who is going to ever want to see him in a relationship? What I dislike most about this story is the repeated statement that Roya has CF because of “punishment” to poor poor Shirley and poor poor Dean. For a soap that is patting itself on the back for realism and being praised by a charity, this is a horrendous, offensive, shallow way to treat a serious condition. The idea that children are magically punished with a debilitating illness so that their parent or grandparent can have an extended pity party is heinous for their many sins (sins that they never really feel that bad about - not when it counts) it’s cheap, and it makes me feel dirty even watching this show.

Speaking of Bet, I mostly remember the Jack and Vera scenes from this (probably because they were shown in clip packages over the years), but hadn't seen the Bet ones that much. The bit where she warns off Steve (near the end) is so camp, but also so perfectly delivered, the way camp should be - just right on the edge of being too much. Her hair at this point is truly horrendous though. (I could swear she was almost flirting with Betty...)

Considering that Chrissie and her family are Rape Apologists'R'Us, I can't judge any of the men she is with as being inferior to her. I can't blame Cain for his reaction. He's in all this mess about Charity's baby, then he hears from the grandmother of a child he never wanted, asking him to pay up, which he does...only for her to show up in the village a day later needing more money, reminding him of a past he doesn't like facing, etc. It's not a pretty reaction but it's believable enough to me, especially since he's barely had any time to deal with it. I'd rather see this than more of Saint Cain. He's a lot more interesting this way. Joanie is Kyle's adoptive grandmother. The parents who adopted him died in 2013. Amy wanted him back and this led to a lot of drama and a kidnapping before Amy left near the end of 2013.

I'm not sure about the last two but I have May 1. Do you want me to upload it?

I think everything with Brandi became a loop - poor me, you're mean to me, I'm trashy and fun but I'm sad and lost too, look at me, look at me, you're a hypocrite and I'm real - and this had increasingly less impact, yet it was still heavily featured in episodes. The decision to make it such a major part of the show was likely another reason the ratings for the last two seasons were poor, even though season 5 was hyped as a comeback and as fresh and exciting. And the buzz of the early seasons with Brandi mostly became toxic incidents like what went on with Joyce, the friendship with Kim, etc. Everything involving her just felt desperate. If not for Andy being fond of her I wonder if she would have left a few years ago. I hope she may take this as a chance at a fresh start. There's no reason it can't be, if she pulls herself together.

I might. If I do I'll post it. Do you know what it's in? Is it TV Dawn to Dusk?

About 4 years ago, Cain had a one-nighter with Amy, a tearaway teenager who was living with Eric and Val. She got pregnant. He paid her to have an abortion, but she pocketed the money. After much self-doubt, she gave the baby up for adoption. In late 2013, she nearly ran off with the boy (Kyle), but she changed her mind at the last minute, returning him to Joanie and leaving town. Cain has never wanted anything to do with him. Kerry is Amy's mother so I imagine she will be involved in the story as well. Cain and Chas were raised as full siblings, via Faith and Shadrach. Only about 12 years ago did Cain learn that he was Zak's bio son, via an affair with Faith. Charity and Cain are cousins...the show has never specified how distant.

I would guess that the show moved her from supporting to lead role due to her popularity, although it seems like they never went into overkill mode or made her a bad self-parody, like what happened with Becky. Of course the show had an actual ensemble in those days. I remember one of the Corrie history books talking about the Raquel/Des/Tanya/Curly quad being the featured story when EE and Corrie clashed in 1994, and when Corrie won out, to the surprise of some analysts. They had a review that praised the episodes in particular (this is when Raquel caught Des in bed with Tanya), especially Bet comforting Raquel. Yes - Tanya's exit was running off with a trucker Bet had been dating and even moved into The Rovers. (I think he also dressed up at Elvis at times, or maybe I'm mistaking him with someone else).

I haven't heard of him, but he seems talented. I just wish the show was better written. Timothy West is a wonderful actor and 90% of his scenes were still crap because of the writing.

I still have no idea why they brought Sarah back to the show. She's as dumb as she was when she left, and the show is already awash in superfluous female characters in that age range. Anyway, I think some of you are fans of this era so I have tried to upload some of the 1994 episodes I have. I thought all of this era was already on Youtube but there's a lot of 1994 that isn't, so I am going to put what I have that isn't already up. Poor Lynne Perrie in that first one. She looks like she borrowed Rachel Dolezal's tanner. The second one isn't as bad but she still struggles to speak. I always liked Ivy but it's not hard to see why the producers lost patience. Reg gets on my last good nerve. You can see why Eva Pope was so fascinating to viewers. These days I wonder if a female character like that would be created. And she's a perfect contrast to Raquel. The New Year's episode is so somber, but without wallowing in misery or endless OTT anger like you'd get now. Sad to think Tommy had more value as an offscreen baby than he did during Chris Fountain's entire run.

Lee was off the show for about a year, or two, wasn't he? I think they said the whole family died in a boating accident.