DRW50

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/hillary-clinton-email-press-conference-115947.html?hp=t1_r I swear it's like we never, ever leave Bill-land and Hillary-land. 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Nothing changes with these confusing scandals always made worse by incompetent, media-hungry aides.

Shane Richie talks about how he and Jessie Wallace were affected by this. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a634590/shane-richie-jessie-wallace-did-not-speak-for-five-years-over-mistrust.html

She didn't look that much like Kate (to me) at that time, but maybe I didn't notice. I don't think Mary should have been recast.

Those old rumors of Lucy Benjamin and Steve McFadden having such a bad breakup that she was written out of the show and that when she returned briefly in 2010 they couldn't share scenes together came back to me when I read this - he was called to testify for her in the phone hacking scandal. He says he was going to propose to her, but didn't because he thought she had a big mouth...only to realize later that their phones had been hacked. He also says the whole thing did real damage to her as a person and destroyed her career. The whole thing is so sad it makes me a little emotional. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/s2/eastenders/news/a634528/lucy-benjamins-career-ruined-by-phone-hacking-says-steve-mcfadden.html

I think part of it worked, but Luke waving the sword and David hiding behind the shield...I cringed. A lot. Tristan Rogers is always so much fun in the stuff from Robert's first few years. It's too bad they made him more dour later on.

Whoever directed that was an ass man (or woman)... Seriously, you can see why the directing team of this era revolutionized soaps. That last shot is perfect - a quiet, simple-but-satisfied ending to all that yelling and hysteria. God bless Norma Connolly, one of the most underrated actors ever on soap, for adding just the right amount of believability to the whole thing. How long was Emma Lutz around? She's a lot of fun. If this story had been a hit I wonder if soaps would have become even more ridiculous in this era. Look at those last fight scenes - it's all coked-up frenzy, something that never should have left a pitch meeting. The best part is the Flash Gordon/Moroder score, which is so effective and pulsating. No wonder they kept it for nearly another decade.

I don't think Sally's level of camp would have worked on Y&R. Camp and heart...Sally was a very unique character. In some ways it felt like she wrote herself.

Media darling Tom Cotton helps the Senate Republicans make international fools of themselves yet again. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/03/09/the-misguided-condescending-letter-from-republican-senators-to-iran/

Well, this looks quite stupid, and dated. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a634183/eastenders-spoiler-pictures-rebecca-fowler-to-get-surprising-new-look.html I want more Fowlers on the show but everything with Rebecca, Sonia and Martin, together and separately, has made me have an extended cringe.

If he ever did come back it would probably be for Mark Jr. stuff, or, as you mentioned, Sharongate, although knowing DTC, he'll fall in love with Shirley instead...

They bore me and I don't especially care about seeing endless closeups of their misery as in previous seasons.

That's a good ad, although it made me start thinking, "Now is the time, ABC is the place." It's nice to see so many characters, even if Theon is yet again MIA. I noticed Ramsay there... Was that Brienne at the Wall? Nice to see more of Stannis. I was all excited for the Dany stuff but I really need Daario to get roasted in episode 1. Happy to see almost no Tyrion or Arya. Sansa looks so much like Catelyn now. I will say it looks like the show decided to

Today's episode will be on...today, so I may as well blather out my review of last week while it's still somewhat fresh. The show has so many different stories going on. While I don't really love most of them, most are decent, and are building along at a solid pace. I'm glad to get various plots that use a large chunk of the cast, especially since I don't think the "big" stories on the show are all that exciting at the moment (with exceptions, like a few of the post-Katie episodes). So, ranking from the stories I felt strongest to weakest... - Andy's grieving. I'm not much of an Andy fan, never have been, but I think Kelvin Fletcher is in his best range in this type of plot. Little scenes like Andy crumpling up Sarah's drawing without even realizing it, thus pushing her away, pack a big punch. I also like that we are seeing there is no "right" way to get him to move on, no matter how much some of his family is insistent on trying to control his grief. The scenes with Bernice and Tracy were extremely unpleasant, and clearly not just Andy trying to get a leg over, regardless of some how fans spun it. I just hope the story won't become entirely about "saving" Andy from Tracy. - Diary of a Maurel Housewife. This is one of those stories that works in a slow buildup, and Charlotte Bellamy is a very good actress who can play all the beats. Getting people to lie for her, not wanting to drink but not being able to stop herself, being so happy about a potential new job only for Marlon to fall asleep during her presentation, further showing the distance between them. I like that this is not based on some big melodrama where she sees him cheating or whatever - he's being nice, by Marlon standards, but there's so much going on and she feels worthless and has nowhere to go but down. I also love seeing Ashley so friendly with his ex-wives. Ashley is a good man with a kind heart - we need more of those on soaps. - Alicia aftermath. I would have put this at the top if not for the OTT, horrific way Chrissie was written on Monday's episode, and the decision to close the investigation so early. I think these writing choices sent a bad message to rape victims and the Chrissie material felt like cheap, poorly acted theatrics. Everything outside of this was very strong, especially Leyla convincing Alicia to wear her regular clothes and not be ashamed, and Alicia trying and failing to have sex with David. Natalie Anderson, Roxy Shaidi, Matthew Wolfenden, and the boy who plays Jacob were all on top form throughout the week. I'm so glad 98% of the village supports Alicia and that David also supports her, instead of this being a question mark just for a few screamy teary scenes. I wish Collinson had done this in that awful domestic violence story with Tyrone on Corrie. - Val's HIV. I could have done without the days of coughing and the life or death hospital scenes. It was all just a bit overdone, although Chris Chittell (Eric) was much better than I'd expected in the hospital scenes. I thought Friday's episode was much more true to Val and to her family, and I think the message of the story (trying to deal with your HIV instead of ignoring it) is necessary. Paul's visit was believable and added to the story (and I'm so glad to have finally gotten to see him with Bernice onscreen), and I really liked the connection between Finn and the nurse, Darren. Joe Gill is hit or miss in dramatic scenes but he had some moments here, like talking to Darren about Val being his mother figure. And the scene where she teased him for pulling while she was on her deathbed was perfect. - Tracy and Kerry. It gets a bit tiring to see Tracy exist solely as some slapper the entire village hates or tolerates and she moves from set to set being sour. I hope this isn't going to continue to be her only purpose, especially now that she's with Andy. As much as some of the scenes with Kerry and Tracy felt repetitive, Kerry had some hilarious lines (my favorite was the one where she confronted Dan about eating with Tracy, reminding him that they'd hooked up over a pot noodle - when he said they hadn't, she just said, "Oh. Must have been someone else then" and awkwardly changed the subject). - Pearl pissing her money away. This is the second time she's lost all her money through silly schemes or through addictions, so I can't say it's OOC, but it's not all that interesting to watch. I like Pearl, and Meg Johnson, but I prefer her as a comic supporting character.

The arrival of the psycho army mate is such an old cliche, pure melodrama, but it works perfectly as a dark mirror to Grant, and the strong direction gives us knife's-edge performance. The scene where he wanders down the stairs, in a daze, only to be taken by surprise, is something that feels very real, compared to the overused, stale, very badly acted hostage crisis of the month on soaps now. It isn't difficult to see why Grant was so popular with viewers, in spite of the many horrible things he did - Ross Kemp was the epitome of raw charisma in his first 5-6 years on the show. The character was never the same when they settled him down further post-Sharon, but even then, he was mostly effective up to his late 90's exit. He was a shell of his former self in 2005-2006, and I think some part of Kemp realizes this and may be why he stays away (and if that is the reason, kudos to him). That alternate theme worked really well for cliffhangers.

I agree to a point, but the actors are likely given an idea of what they can or can't say. If she knew this relationship was supposed to be obsessive and unhealthy, or if Hardwick did, then I think they would acknowledge that. Instead Rick's behavior toward her is being pushed as a healthy romantic connection by at least one of the actors involved. So unless one of the producers has an interview where they talk about how Rick's behavior is disturbing and inappropriate, then I am not going to have an idea of how we're supposed to interpret it.

I would praise TWD for telling a story about Rick being on the edge and becoming dangerously close to Shane in taking and taking because it's what he wants...if I hadn't tuned into Talking Dead and seen the woman who plays Jessie talking about "connection" and how Rick needs a strong yet vulnerable woman. Rick doesn't need a woman, he needs counseling for PTSD. That was not the behavior of a man finding a beautiful connection with a new love. Yet apparently that's what it was supposed to be. I'll say one thing - this episode cured me of going on and on about Rick/Michonne. If her standing there uncomfortably as Rick is kissing her and staring at her like she's going to go on his wall is anyone at TWD's idea of a bond or a connection, I'll skip it, gladly.

March 27, 1991 episode. I'm just posting the first part so as to not clog up the thread, but they uploaded all the other parts too. video gone

I could swear Jesse says "[!@#$%^&*]" at 4:07... I haven't ever seen much of this Skye. She sounds more Australian than British. I love her relationship with Stuart. They really were setting up a Jesse/Angie/Jeff triangle. I wonder if fan backlash over the race issue ended it, or just that people wanted to see Jesse and Angie happy. That ending - oh Erica. And Brooke gawking on in fascination/horror. Priceless.

I don't really know what they have in mind for her - I know their social media has been pushing her, and the actress has said she wants Jessie to be what Andrea is in the comics (of course I guess she would say that as she wants to have a big role). I don't expect Rick to be a monk, I just don't think this is true to his character. I guess we'll see. I never felt like Maggie's story in 4B-5A was all that bad - I enjoyed a lot of it - I just think they should have had her mention Beth a few times. Once, even.

I do, mostly because it's so contrived. I don't believe that Rick would let someone he doesn't know come at him with scissors. I don't know why viewers are expected to be caught up in this relationship solely because she's an attractive blonde. I don't believe Rick would ever be with a woman unless he knew her for a long period of time. He's not Abraham. He has kids and he has huge trust issues. Even if Michonne weren't around I'd feel that way. I think it's just a big cliche. It reminds me of stuff on episodic TV dramas 40 years ago. The whole thing irks me, because Rick's one of my favorite characters and now his story is veering into stuff I tend to cringe at. It's the same with Maggie. I would have been less annoyed by Daryl's endless sad panda faces if I didn't feel like it had been at Maggie's expense. For me this show is about characters and the integrity of characters. I know people make fun of TWD and say the writing for the characters is awful and it's rare that the show doesn't suck, but I don't think that's true. I think they have some brilliant characterizations that you can't find anywhere else on TV - Carol, Michonne, etc. So when things like this happen, they bother me.

I wasn't sure if the poster wanted that spoiled, but I was the one who brought it up and it did air months ago, so... I do think they were pushing Daryl as the only real person in Beth's life. Not necessarily just for shipping (although that was part of it - Daryl having to go try to rescue his women, the endless baiting on Talking Dead and in press interviews), but also to build up the idea that Beth was Daryl's world and without her he'd lose hope and slowly melt down, as he's been doing ever since the hospital. I think they decided in order to sell this story, Maggie had to be out of it. Maybe they also just forgot about Maggie's relationship with Beth until near the end, but I wonder. Whether it was intended or not, it wasn't much fun to have to spend a year hearing fans call Maggie a bitch and a slut and a whore whose only purpose in life is Glenn's dick. And I still hear people say this. I guess it's a good thing no other character on this show is imperfect.

The thing is, none of that was about Maggie or her character. I don't agree that they disfavored all human life. Remember when Glenn was going to stay in the tunnels with Tara even though he would have died? Or when he kept Tara's secret (even to Maggie, whose father was murdered because of Tara's group)? Or when Maggie realized she needed to be with Sasha and Bob rather than keep going off on her own and shutting herself down? There was a wonderful scene with Maggie and Sasha when they saved each other's lives. None of that was about Glenn. I can see why it annoyed people, because it annoyed me too, but I don't blame the character. I can't. It was OOC, [!@#$%^&*] writing designed to put a spotlight on woobie prince Daryl Dixon. And again I just didn't see it with Glenn at all, other than his wanting Tara to go with him. Even then, it was her choice. I guess we can agree to disagree.

One of us really should write a fic where Tommy comes back with a vendetta against the Sugdens but eventually becomes their friend...

I agree. Didn't Pat have another child in her early episodes who was forgotten in her return?

That's a great story