DRW50

It's not that I want her to be unhappy, I just thought that someone who had been forced into a role of being whatever Victor wanted her to be and then went on to have longrunning, exhausting relationships throughout her adult life - having her stand on her own and take a breath (without it being painted as a failure on her part, as it was with Higley's tenure) - it's what I would have liked. I do see what you're saying, and I appreciate you still taking the time to try to point out the bad and good of that era's writing when it's easy to just dismiss it.

I see what you're saying. I never really liked Ron Carlivati's writing - maybe I never gave it a chance, I don't know. I just didn't like it. Frankly, I just don't like him, period. I had already separated JvD's Clint from "my" Clint, because to me there was zero resemblance, but that story just took too many leaps for me. If they hadn't forced a reunion with Viki I could have accepted it a little better, but it just shouldn't have happened, IMO. There was no need for her to be back with him just because the show was ending. The show started with Viki alone - I wish it had ended that way. At least the PP version did.

Chrissie's father is bisexual, although I think he suppresses the side of himself that wants men. He was involved with Edna's husband many years ago. Edna had him put in prison. He went on to marry Chrissie's mother and they were happy until her death. Robert flirted with him to get a stronger position in the company and get close to Chrissie. After that, things between them got very nasty - Robert called him a pathetic old poofter, and Lawrence faked a heart attack to ruin the memorial for Robert's adoptive mother. Robert staged the breakin at Home Farm (which is when he started getting close to Aaron) to be the hero and win Lawrence over to his side. It's not so much current Emmerdale writers as it's a lazy, debilitating culture in British soaps that started with the Richard Hillman story on Corrie 15 years ago. A character accidentally kills someone, there's a frantic coverup, and generally, unless they're on Hollyoaks (where everyone is a killer...), they start killing other people and leave the show dead or in prison. Robert can take three paths... - the Carl path, where you get away with everything for many years because you're popular with viewers and everything you did can sort of be explained as not your fault (Carl accidentally killed a friend, murdered his father in a rage, and a woman he was in love with was run over while going to the cops to turn him in for his father's murder - there was an implication that maybe it wasn't entirely on the up and up) - the Cameron path, where you murder someone and then start murdering other people until you're dead in a ratings stunt (Cameron murdered Carl, then a farmhand, then Chas' sister Gennie, before taking various people hostage in the Woolpack and dying of electrocution) - the Cain path, where you just do whatever the !@#$%^&*] you want because you're you, and it never really sticks

I just felt like Clint was made a plot device to help push many failed characters and pairings. What he did to Nora (to help us cry for the Fords) and to Shane (to help us cry for Rex and Gigi) was handwaved because he had a heart attack and isn't that sad. Add in that they were probably going to give Matthew's heart to Clint after he'd also helped destroy Matthew's life, and the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not a puritan and I've been invested in many nasty characters over the years, but none of this ever made any sense to me. The last story of his that sort of did was with Kim, because as much of a cipher as Kim was, Setton and JvD worked well together.

It's a shame they didn't go further with Ellen's estrangement from friends and family. Isn't that the disease that would later kill Dan?

I'm not sure where the song is being played. I've heard it on music channels every blue moon, and I'm sure it's played at arenas. I don't go to games, I don't watch sports coverage, so I rarely hear it. Have you contacted your local sporting arenas and asked them not to play the song anymore? Or your local radio stations? What are we supposed to be doing about it?

Clint Ritchie + Erika Slezak - one of my favorite soap couples of all time Jerry ver Dorn + Erika Slezak - didn't work for me, in any way shape or form, sad as that is to say. Not getting into Viki, a victim of sexual abuse, getting together with a man who nearly had a close friend raped and murdered. That's just "soapy goodness," so who am I to criticize.

For me Max and Luna were boring after that silly gambling story. She got pregnant and, as Susan Batten said at the time, spent months folding laundry. Cord and Luna would have been interesting for me mostly because he'd just been with Blair, who had feelings for him even as she also had feelings for Max. It would have been very messy on all sides. And I thought Batten and KDP worked well together so that could have been explored.

Well, I liked them for their first year or so. The gambling story should have been goodbye time, and they should have put her with Cord.

A lot of the hissing and clawing was focused on a handful of personalities (Star, Baba, Elizabeth, Rosie O'Donnell) and couldn't be sustained. It made the show look like trash, but worse, delusional trash that still thought it was some type of public service. They ate away at whatever meaning the show was supposedly supposed to have had, and what was left was a slowly rotting corpse. They can bring in a few bimbos from Fox News or MSNBC and have them scream at each other, but people can see that anytime, anywhere.

Today they would probably say that isn't a "big" exit, and she would be killed off or go to prison or whatever. There's a real sense of loss and heartbreak throughout the breaking of all her relationships on the Street, yet - much like Elsie years earlier (even though Elsie had a happier exit) - we know she'll be fine, because she has herself, and ultimately she's only survived because of herself. I do wish they'd bring her back for a bit, as the show is so sparse on vets and no longer has a sense of identity. Bring back the living Rovers waitresses (I'd say landlords/landladies but it's just her and that awful flop Stella) for some ceremony.

Norman Reedus is on the cover of the new EW.

Oh I agree. I don't want it to happen either, especially since I wish they'd explore Lawrence's sexuality. If he ended up falling for Aaron (imagine Robert's reaction...) or hooking up with Finn or maybe Ross, it would be something different. Or if he ended up hooking up with Emma (who did seem eager to get into that wedding) and she causes all sorts of problems at Home Farm.

I saw one of the videos from their channel said "Robert pushed Katie through the floor," which he did, technically, but that wasn't his intent. The whole thing was confusing, as he was menacing, yet they didn't have him deliberately kill her. I'm not sure if they were being ambiguous because they don't want him to be taken too far, or if they're still going to act like he's the great evil. I have a feeling he'll end up killing Chrissie's father too.

Lee's Kelly's father, right?

Declan stayed for 4 years until the actor wanted to leave (I was actually shocked he stayed that long, especially since most of Declan's stories kind of blew), so that wouldn't bother me too much. A Cameron exit is what I dread. I think if written properly this could be much better than the Lucy story, as that had zero effect on anyone, short or long-term, but it feels like a ratings stunt to me. I keep seeing people compare it to Tina's exit on Corrie and claim it's a knockoff. As I didn't watch that story, I can't say. I'd love to tell you you're wrong, but I can't. It's just...it's hard, because I love the character a lot and I really like the actor too and I feel like I'm disloyal if I stop watching. You know what I mean? It's just so annoying because they don't have to go this road. They don't. The saddest part is when I hear fans speculate that if Ryan hadn't been so wonderful, they would have 100% made Robert a stone cold killer. Imagine if someone like that guy who plays Lee on Eastenders was in the role. They might have just without any ability to go back made him a complete lunatic. Even now we have to somehow cling to a teeny tiny vine in a flash flood that it won't happen. I wish I could just walk away...

I broke down and watched the new episode, and they did have a lot of scenes of him being guilt-ridden. I wish I could believe this meant they won't go full panto psycho with him, but it's difficult to believe they will be able to resist the easy temptation. I hope if Hawley wants to stay, they will find a way to redeem Robert, because he's done such a tremendous job in the role. Even in that interview he was so polite and wonderful, in spite of that idiot woman who didn't bother to do one bit of basic research. The whole thing just frustrates me so much. If they don't give Robert the many, many chances Andy and Cain were given, it's just a huge joke. I do feel sorry for Andy sometimes (I thought Kelvin did a good job today) but most characters would have been long gone after what he did to Jo.

Gary Glitter is widely known in the UK, and his career was destroyed there. Gary Glitter had one hit in the US. Many years ago. I would imagine 99% of the people in the US listening to that song have no idea who sang it. If they did, maybe they'd demand it be pulled. They don't. I'd venture to guess most people go to these games don't know anything about the people who sang the songs to begin with. Do you think if you asked someone at a game to tell you who sang "Who Let The Dogs Out?" they could tell you? Hell, most of them probably don't even know who sang "We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You."

Thanks. I read that he lost a lot of weight. I guess they weren't kidding. Michael and Elsa. Thanks. I remember Michael came back briefly a few years ago. And then Elsa was mostly just the woman who took Kathy's niece/daughter figure and Kathy wanted to fight for custody but finally decided to just go live with them. It seems like they'd well and truly run out of material for Kathy, and the show had changed so much, but I still felt a little sorry for the actress (and Kathy's fans). It always seems wrong to me that Nick got that type of exit... I wonder where he went when he was released. Poor Archie. Killed because he ran out of the Woolpack after someone mocked him as being gay. I guess that's one way to get people to realize it's not the worst thing to have someone say you're gay.

That second one is really good. Sad to say it was better than the story (or most of Brenda's stories by this point) itself.

Wild and crazy times for the teens of 1990 Emmerdale...Nick, Rachel, Mark, and whoever else.

Enjoy a depressing movie with Glenn Ford and the son from Family, a candy ad with plenty of cheesy Motown coverage and coverage for fans of lady rumps, and a scary mask collection of Paul Simon, some keening woman, Berlin, and from Twin Peaks, the hit song by Julie Cruise.