DRW50

Radio 1 will no longer play her songs as they deem her old and irrelevant. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2953948/Get-goove-Radio-1-bans-Madonna-56-irrelevant-old-teenage-listeners.html (no idea what a "goove" is...) She's obviously not at the center of pop music these days, but considering that older artists are increasingly dominating pop music, this seems silly and ageist.

Your mother and grandmother had it right. I was being childish - you took the time to upload those and comment on them, and I'm sure a lot of people love that era. Sheffer and FMB are the two eras I just can't really watch, for one reason or another. I know the last 4-5 years of the show were likely worse overall, but I can sort of tolerate them as background noise.

Ew Sheffer.

To a (hack) writer, I can see where a twin killing his twin might seem like great drama, but it just shows how little respect he had for the show or characters.

Yes. That's likely also the reason they had the pointless, silly Arsonist Alfie story. Honoring history!1!1! MAB style.

I loved that with Pam. I miss her so much on the show. I can't stand Graham Norton so it took her to get me to watch him.

I saw some fans saying Barbara Windsor seemed "off" in her BTO special with Pam. Did any of you see it? I kind of hope Whitney is the killer just so we can be rid of her.

I think it's more about letting Dot down than about feeling any regret for his actions. I think that would have been a strong death, but I'm also glad that it had to end with Dot there because his story was always Dot's story (aside from that disastrous 2009 return). I think it's going to be Peter or Jane or Cindy. I know some fans think Lauren is remembering herself doing it, which would be interesting, but doesn't seem likely.

He badmouthed and/or dismissed the cast throughout his tenure (the low point being when he went to the press to say they'd better shape up if they're going to work with Jamie Luner, or whatever it was), and he's upset he didn't get more support? The gay marriage story was an insult. An insult. Reese was craving cock before and after that marriage. What a great message to send out.

Thanks. Marland's last few years had tons of short-term characters. I don't remember as many in his first few years. That Alexandra Neil article Paul Raven posted mentioned how hard times are for actors in NYC. It just reminded me again of how many solid jobs for hungry actors were lost with the death of daytime in New York City. It makes me sad. Nice photo of Ellen and David. Given that the show already had one indestructible couple, long-term I do think it was a big mistake to put her and David together so soon.

I was wrong, and Dot heard me and mentioned Ashley the next day. Sorry Dot... Anyway, Friday's episode. This time, best to worst: - Nick's death. Overall, very strong scenes. I could have done without the history lessons, as it felt too expository, but Daran Little switched it up somewhat by having them talk about their feelings at the time. I especially liked Dot's line about how after he'd started taking heroin as a teen, his eyes had scared her. For all the talk of these supposedly exciting, thrilling new characters, the most genuine heart and drama on the canvas comes from Dot and her painful past. Strong praise for June Brown, and yes, to John Altman, who let the scenes be about Dot even though they were his last on the show, and who gave a credible performance. - Lauren's eye exercises. You could believe the walls were closing in on her, and while having her bug her eyes out at anyone or everyone who walked into a room with her was ridiculous, I think having Lauren, with her very traumatic, self-destructive past, struggle with this burden is very strong drama. I also liked her bitter words to Stacey and Max, which were true to the characters and relationships. The cop was annoying - if they are going to always write cops this way (sour and full of harsh quips), they need to find better actors. - Denise with Kim and Patrick. It was nice to see them at home, just having a normal day. Rudolph Walker is such an underrated actor. - Denise's home truths. Yes, she shouldn't have gone to the party, but she was right about Ian, and it's obvious that Jane didn't even disagree, only covering her true feelings because of whatever lies or plans she has going on. This would have nearly topped the Dot/Nick scenes for me if Denise had knocked some teeth out of Sonia's mouth for smirking at her that way. Sonia always looks like she doesn't have teeth anyway. - Catty cows grazing around the Beale home. Sharon didn't really say much of anything, but Linda and Sonia said more than enough. How rude to go into someone's home to celebrate their wedding and eat their food and drink their booze, and talk crap about them, bring up instances involving their murdered daughter, etc. I have no idea why Sonia was even there. And Linda continues to be utterly vacuous as a character when she isn't frowning the day away. Waste of airtime through and through. - Stan's shaming sessions. If they'd had Mick tell Shirley he still doesn't forgive her and is pretending for Stan, I could have bought it, but otherwise, this wrapup (Mick forgiving Shirley trying to kill him at birth, lying to him for decades, supporting his wife's rapist, moving said rapist into their home) is absurd. And it makes the stalling of last year even more absurd. All that, and the ruination of Dean as a character, for this and a shitty Christmas cliffhanger? Yet again DTC lives for hype and flunks at followthrough. And how is it that Shirley became the victim in all of this? This family is so drab and miserable and toxic. Why am I supposed to care about any of these people? They're terrible for each other and a huge drain on the show as a whole.

http://www.independent.ie/videos/entertainment/video-game-of-thrones-cast-give-election-advice-to-politicians-30983913.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/game-of-thrones-alfie-allen-says-conversation-with-domestic-violence-victim-made-him-realise-his-responsibilities-as-an-actor-10043214.html

Josie. Never liked that character, ever, although her friendship with Reuben was nice. Long is the one who built up the Rick/Philip friendship. For platonic male/female, she had Reva/Philip.

No Emmy for you here, Tracey... This makes me want to see that hilarious travelogue scene again with Lauren and Shawn driving through San Francisco.

I wish they'd kept Andy around... My favorite thing about Faren is that ridiculous Sweeney Sisters-style medley she did in a 1986 episode. Just pure cheese.

Long wrote friendships and strong male characters, which were a big part of AW's heyday. I think she would have been OK. Marland may have too, but AW never really suited his ingenue-type focus. The thought of Josie as the new Lily/Laura/Morgan makes me queasy, because I wanted somebody to smack her in the face 10 years straight.

Ed Fry was fired. They just had him cheat on Susan during his out of town job, I think. P&G/Valente fired a lot of the wrong people. Frankly I'm shocked they didn't fire Marie Masters too. I don't know how she hung on to the end, but I'm thankful she did. It always bugged me a little that Caleb slept with Carly not long before he and Julie left town (I'm not sure Julie knew) but those scenes of Julie and Carly working at the yacht club were definitely a torch-passer. I just loved Julie. She always got to me. She messed up but she was so vulnerable and she never meant to hurt anybody (after her early plans against Duke, anyway). It's funny because some of my views on characters then and now have changed - I find Iva and Shannon a little more annoying - but my feelings about Julie are exactly the same. I'm not sorry Seth spoke up, but I also feel like the family was too into the Angel/Caleb relationship to begin with, as Angel was too fragile for someone as volatile as Caleb. And then this was also set up for Seth/Angel. I liked Caleb's reaction because Caleb and Meg were the two main Snyders who felt most "real" to me, in their emotional range and how they could say terrible things but still love each other. I liked Angel too. She's a character who on many soaps, even back then, would have been a psycho, but Marland never went that cheap route with her. Holden really wasn't "dead" that long - just a few months. I guess I can see why people were bored of him doing slow-talk with Marsha and having wet dreams about her, but the rest of the story was riveting, and the payoff was worth it.

In the runup to the anniversary, I watched Thursday's full show. DTC has never been good at day-to-day episodes, but I was still surprised at just how lethargic and disjointed the whole thing was for the setup to an endlessly hyped week that is supposed to celebrate 30 years on the air. Anyway, worst to best... - Roxy/Charlie nonsense. What a lazy mess. I couldn't help noticing that Charlie never expressed one hint of regret for sleeping with his sister-in-law (instead just saying he'd needed a piece of her because he was so upset about Ronnie - classy guy blaming your wife for your whoring ways), nor did he say he wouldn't do it again, even when Roxy all but begged him to say it. They'll be [!@#$%^&*] again by springtime. I hear talk about how it's OK because Roxy and Charlie have such "chemistry," but I struggle to find it. All I see is Jack 2.0 - a passive, gormless loser who sticks it in the sisters at random intervals like his own personal porn movie. If Daniella Westbrook comes back one last time I think we can guess what her story will be. And how utterly pathetic he was to sit there silent as Roxy harangued his grandmother (please writers, don't make Rita Symons try to say the word "deliberately" ever again) only to then go back to Dot later on and say he was wrong. I hope Dot gives him a motorbike for his birthday. While I'm at it - this idiocy pissed all over what should have been a great soap moment in Ronnie waking up from her coma. Now the focus won't be on her recovery, but instead on her husband's penis and her slut of a sister. Awful awful writing. DTC does not get drama. This is parodies of soap trash. It's not drama. - Ian/Jane wedding. I don't give a damn. I haven't given a damn since 2007. I get the idea - Ian is trying to lull himself into happiness and Jane is trying to support him because she feels bad for him and/or she was involved in Lucy's murder. And we need them to get married yet again for a big anniversary week, so his world will come crashing down. It's just so washed-out. Ian has a hissy and various people react and Jane does his bidding. I'm sure if they stay together, we'll get more passive-aggressive Jane blankface sourness, more prossie visits, and more of Jane practically cutting open the bellies of random pregnant women. Thrilling stuff. I was never a Jane/Masood fan but she had more life with him in their brief conversation than she's had with Ian in a decade. - Alfie/Kat. Woo-eee. A man burns down a flat while his wife is sleeping inside, leaving her with significant burns and intense pain. What do we get? Of course, she has to shape up and go get her man. Whatever. I don't care how big a bulge he has in his jeans, he's not worth it. And I'm sure Kat has had much bigger anyway. This whole thing smells of rewritten/dropped storylines. - Donna the token disabled character needs a man. I guess Pam Coker is supposed to be "quirky" and "endearing," but if I were Donna I would have given her a slap. What a horribly patronizing person she is. This was pointless filler but was OK for what it was. I liked that she found a guy for some fun on her own, instead of going after Alfie. - Dot and the drug den. The dialogue was lousy ("Ma gimme a fix!" "Give me my fix!" - I think we get it, Jack Webb) and the whole thing is a rehash of a rehash, but June Brown was at her best, and John Altman was subdued by John Altman standards. We all know how this goes, but unlike other stories on repeat, the history makes sense and it doesn't just feel like a regurgitation. The scene of Dot wandering back into the place after being sure she'd driven Nick away were very very good - great camera work. It looked like she was wandering into Hell, which she was, given that Nick has always been her true punishment and Hell. - Lauren's secrets. Jacqueline Jossa and Lacey Turner have always worked well together, and that comes in handy here. Jossa makes the weight of the whole thing believable, instead of seeming like a stalling tactic. Stacey's very damaged past with lies and murder also makes her the right person to put opposite Lauren here. Points to the Ian/Max scene where Ian tells them not to come to the wedding, and instead of "right, get orra ma house!" and chest-thumping, Max just said, "Fine," and a confused Ian shuffled out the door.

Not sure of exact day or month but this must be 1999.

The ratings had gone up the last few years, so I guess they were happy. I do think 1992 was an improvement (although very dark), but yeah, they never should have let him do the Lily knockoff. I think he may have been leaving if he hadn't passed away (wasn't he trying to sell a soap of his own?).

That whole thing with the hair, funny as it was, doesn't seem that much like Marland at all by that time in his career. I wonder if the actors put it together.

So had I. I'd always wondered what happened to her. Seems like Marland spent most of later 1992 tidying up loose ends.

Thanks for finding that. A very good read.

Before Adam found out he was James' son, he and Ross had a bit of a rivalry over Katie. I don't think he's close to any of them, as they seem very insular. I'm surprised he's even friendly with James. The girl who plays Belle did a good job in her scenes yesterday, and I can't imagine how difficult this material is to play. I hope this is the end, as it seems to have gone on and on (some stories on this show go on and some are over in the blink of an eye). I still can't get used to seeing Cain as a hero, but Jeff Hordley manages to make it work. I really like Harriet. The Paddy/Chas/Robert stuff seemed a little rushed. I kept seeing some Aaron fans talk about how mean Adam was to him, but it can't have been much of a surprise, as he has no idea why Aaron is behaving this way. Adam's done much worse to Aaron in the past, surely... I do wish Aaron had one person he could talk to. Maybe he can talk to Gemma... I'm sorry they've gone the psycho route with Emma, but she does entertain me.

Is it customary to kiss someone on the mouth like that? I guess I get it with Scott and Margo (although I wonder if they were setting up a future relationship if Joe Breen hadn't had to leave), but Larry and Frannie were exes, so her kissing him on the lips is a little different. I don't remember her doing that in the previous episode. I also wonder if they were testing Frannie/Scott. The comedy with Margo's horrible haircut was a nice throwback to when her stories weren't so miserable for her. She really does not like Dana. The show seems to treat Dana as a joke and a loser altogether (Margo making fun of the name of her shop in the last episode). Weird, as I remember them treating her sympathetically during those endless months she was at Casa Crawford. Not all that interested in hearing Emily whine, but it's nice to see some of the Emily/Susan/Ellen drama, especially Susan going to Ellen to plead mercy for Emily. Odd imagining Edwina and Ellen as friends. Rosanna drab and the poor little rich girl flashbacks just seem lackluster. Holden drab as always. I do think the woman who played Marsha was a good actress. Surely Seth would have seen Holden? Who is playing Ned's ex? At first I thought she was going to make a pass at Seth. That would have made the Snyders even more incestuous... Why is Ned so interested in globetrotting? I wonder if they were stalling his relationship with Emma. Maybe they should have killed him on one of these trips. That would have made Lily and the Snyders even more angry at Lucinda (and Julie and Iva). Poor Julie so tormented. I loved Caleb blasting Seth over the phone. MDM Caleb was always one of the more realistic characters in the Snyder family.