DRW50

The ‘choice’ I was referring to was Sansa’s choice to marry Ramsay and walk into that room. She feels marrying him is a vital step in reclaiming her homeland. I'm not sure what else "walk into that room" would mean but knowing she would be raped and going through with it for her plans. If I misread, I guess that's on me. They have repeatedly had this writing choice with Sansa. At the end of season 1 we saw her strength as she stood up to Joffrey. We then had that beaten out of her and she was nearly raped for good measure. At the end of season 2 we saw her trying to soothe the worried women during Blackwater and we saw her happiness at getting out of her marriage to Joffrey. By early season 3 we'd learned this was for naught, that she was still silly and a dreamer, and would have to marry Tyrion. By the end of season 3 we saw her trying to cope with this and trying to cope with her family's death. In season 4 we saw her believing she was safe only to yet again have the rug pulled out from under her with Lysa's madness. By the end of season 4 she had adopted a new look and had managed to lie to protect Littlefinger, her mentor/perverted manipulator. Now we're in season 5. She again thought she had everything together, she was cold and distant toward Reek/Theon and Myranda (which some take to mean the show wanted her to be seen as a bitch who would be put back in her place - I hope they're wrong, but given this show's views on women...), and she was raped. She is once again in a terrible place, and something will likely happen at the end of the season that will strengthen her or seem to give her room to breathe, before it's all taken away yet again in early or mid season-6. We've already seen the Joffrey retread scenes (Joffrey/Ramsay being arrogant and delusional as Sansa cuts her eyes or smirks at him where he can't see; Sansa being warned by those close to Joffrey/Ramsay just how dangerous he is, but continuing to put up the face of reserve). We've now seen him rape her. The story is once again about her suffering and enduring. I guess we could see this flipped on its head and it all turns into Sansa the hardcore gameplayer who gets Ramsay wherever she wants him to go and triumphs, but if that is the way it's going, then having her cry out and scream as Theon cries at the sight isn't the best start. There's also Brienne waiting and watching - unless they have yet another scene where Sansa turns her away, then presumably she is going to end up rescuing her or trying to rescue her. What else is there to know about Sansa we don't already know? She overcomes. She suffers nobly. She's a victim who may, someday, sometime, get the chance to shine. And the rest seems to be stalling, with some shock value along the way.

Rape = empowerment or strength is how I take the quote. She's a "hardened woman" who will do whatever she has to do. It wasn't enough that we already saw her suffering and overcoming. We had to go this far just to really know. She's been growing into that person since season 1. That's why this all feels so flat to me - she already had this story with Joffrey. We already saw her cope with abuse and violence through Joffrey. We already knew she was strong. We already knew she had to placate dangerous men in order to survive. There's no real reason as far as I can see why we needed a retread of this, especially if she just ends up suffering until saved via Brienne in yet another comic book action biff-bam-pow scene. If they had nothing new to do with Sansa I wish they'd just done what they did with Bran and write her out.

I don't know if we do, but if not you should create one. It would be fun to see what people have to say about the show. Adebisi was a great character, and he never got boring or really had a bad story. I don't think anyone was surprised - they just didn't want to see it, as the character of Sansa had already spent 4 seasons being victimized and they hoped things were changing. Not to mention the implication from the writer of the episode that being raped is just all part of Sansa's strength and will make her stronger, which is a trope I don't really think is very healthy.

Joe Gill interview. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s12/emmerdale/news/a648301/emmerdale-star-joe-gill-emma-barton-could-turn-against-finn.html

Paula Tilbrook interview. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s12/emmerdale/news/a648239/emmerdales-paula-tilbrook-im-overawed-by-betty-exit-plot.html#~pdbTpEihjwnJeM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ITV#1979_dispute

I just can't take her awful whiny voice. This story is one I'm about to start skipping.

4 minute promo for the pilot's BBC2 premiere.

About 3 minutes in there's a little segment on Corrie quickly returning to work after the 3-month strike that crippled ITV in 1979. Julie Goodyear and Peter Adamson talk. I wonder if that commercial they did to catch viewers up is available anywhere.

I'm sorry about the photo. Cool story though.

A TVS bumper at the end of this clip.

Media darling Marco fumbles yet again. And as always, the Beltway, which has been pining for him for nearly a decade now, tries to get him out of it. Countdown to him blasting Chris Wallace as part of the great lamestream media conspiracy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/05/18/this-is-the-most-painful-180-seconds-of-marco-rubios-presidential-campaign-so-far/

I don't know who made this but it makes me laugh.

I would have agreed with the second if it hadn't been more about Theon bashing and repeating the bizarre claim that he was Sansa's "brother." The Mary Sue is very brave to make that choice, as they likely get good ad revenue from the show.

They both got the label. It just shows how much the show and the press are stuck in this show's past and how they have struggled to create new characters. The most interesting part is her talking about Dynasty as a cartoon and how UK soaps aren't like that because they can't reach that market. I wonder what she would have thought about when UK soaps did start trying for that (I guess Emmerdale was probably the best at it).

There were tabloid claims that he cheated. I don't know. It's hard for me to imagine what they're like in real life.

It wasn't a big personal slam but he was upset because (I think - it was a Daytimers interview I posted last year if anyone wants to check) he felt that they let her change her lines to espouse feminism, but he did not get to change his lines.

From Monika.

From Monika

August 1976 (I think) Modern Screen. This amuses me, given that he badmouthed Dorrie in an exit interview.

Worst of all is that they're billed as some supercouple. At least they've stopped being called the new Jack and Vera.

Summer trailer for Emmerdale (really just the next 2-3 weeks most likely), which has this hot photo of Michael Parr Here's the trailer itself: http://livesy.tumblr.com/post/119281675151