DRW50

Knowing that the actors and fans are grieving Leslie Charleson, Denise Alexander, now Tristan Rogers, and we haven't even said goodbye to their character yet...it's a reminder of how long ago that late '70s/early '80s glory age was for them and for fans, but still sometimes just feels like a moment away. I know that's the consequence of a show being on the air this long, but it's a heartbreaker. I can't imagine what they are going through. Or the fans who have been there all these decades, loving Robert, arguing over Anna or Holly or Katherine as his soulmate, willing him to come back in all those years away.

I think if she didn't for Freddie she may never be. I am glad she didn't return for this as I didn't need to see another rape revisitation (and the show had two other rape stories going on at the same time in 2023). Little Mo was great those first few years but the second rape was a terrible choice, as Louise Berridge to her credit acknowledged. You're right. I think I mostly liked Elaine Lordan and those dour EE can appeal to me. I liked Garry too, in those first years. The Beppe story (then given to her ex because the actor quit rather than finish out his plot) was going nowhere. Then that stillbirth story she had was so bleak, worsened by us knowing about all of Lordan's real life troubles that led her to be written out.

Lynne was my favorite of the sisters, along with Kat. I know she was a misery though.

@detroitpiston Luckily we have our answer for Sharon now. And you have a good point about the black cast at the moment. I do like Patrick's involvement in the mugging but the focus is more on Oscar. @BetterForgotten Thanks for sharing the high quality version. I can't remember the last of these trailers but this is a great throwback. The way they film the opening with Kat putting her lippy on, cutting to Zoe in the rain, reminds me of late '90s/early '00s styles in movies or ads, which is a great tribute to the 25th anniversary for the Slaters. I love those types of moments for Kat in general. It would be cliche to call them Elsie Tanner moments but that's how I think of them. I also like how unnerving the sunshine Walford is instead of just having a light and dark contrast. Seeing Patrick there does make me wonder if Anthony will have a notable involvement in Zoe's return. With the abrupt ending, I was left wanting more, which is always a plus. Great song choice too. I've heard "Dedicated to the One I Love," a million times, but it never gets old.

I wish I could remember the quote Claire Labine gave about half-hour soaps. I think she was right on the money. Some days I even prefer 15 minute soaps, as I think the GL and Search available from the mid '60s had perfected the format. Some writers could excel in the hour format, like Marland (and probably Bill Bell, among others), as they used the time for more introspection, but you have to have a strong core to do so. I haven't been able to see most of AW's first years at an hour, but from synopses and Lemay's book I get the impression they just decided to start amping up the melodrama until they could barely take it much further. One of the reasons shows like AMC seemed to do fine moving to an hour was because of that strong core and also because they had a number of quirky, entertaining characters, like Erica or Phoebe (and a few years later, Opal). They also had many strongly defined characters. When I try to watch AW episodes from 1980 the longstanding cast members are still worth watching, but the show itself is so drab due to many of the newer arrivals and the general malaise. Even people who are great on other soaps. Of the newer hires Richard Bekins, Laura Malone and Susan Keith are among the few who don't get caught in drudgery. I don't know if AW really manages to make the hour format easier to get through until Cass, Felicia, Donna, etc. arrive.

Apparently he hasn't. Aaron mentioned him recently. Some Robert fans believe he hasn't mentioned Seb because he's too ashamed and doesn't think he can be a father. Who knows. I've seen some fan speculation that Isabel won't return after she has her baby. I would hate to see Victoria go due to her being the only Sugden who has stayed around, along with them inventing another son of Jack's just to make him a serial killer, but I won't miss Victoria as her own character. I really wish they would bring in more Sugdens while Robert is still there. I saw that the old Emmerdale Farm channel is no longer putting up episodes due to them not being complete years. I respect their choice but I'm sorry for those scattered '80s episodes they had that we'll never get to see.

Stefan Dennis will be on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

It's unfortunate to see Stella used that way. They seem to go out of their way to degrade Trina in this relationship.

Given how many came and went on AW in those years, I can't imagine so, especially Donna, who was initially just there to cause problems for Peter. I give credit to the actors but I suppose it was also writers and the viewers who were supportive. There was such a void in the show at the time that once they figured out how to write Cass and Felicia (not sure if it was Culliton or the Pursers), it was easy for them to become important to viewers. I'm glad the show did not get impatient and dump them too as had happened so many times. That also seems to be when humor returned to the show, as so much I've seen of 79-82 is a misery, aside from Cecile being a camp bitch.

Being married to a Quartermaine must be the most thankless role for a partner (aside from being involved with Sonny or Carly). If Chase does sleep with Willow, I wonder if they will have his sterility cured and she gets pregnant. Maybe she passes the kid off as someone else's (if she and Drew hook up again).

Emmerdale has the same problem. They killed one off last year and just barely even show any of the rest and they still have too many.

I do think the show needed and still needs a dark family not tied to the mob. If there was a way to reconfigure the Cassadines it would be worth a try.

Donna, Cass and Felicia arrived at the end of Rauch's run. The Pursers and Richard Culliton seem to be the writers involved (Culliton more for Vicky and Marley), although Corinne Jacker was still headwriter when Cass arrived.

Good catch.

Was the character dynamic or was the performer? Recasting Michael and giving him a bit of agency made him more dynamic, for a while at least, but the many connections Michael has also helped. Spencer has his share of connections, but they are all more fraught for the show. As @Vee said, Sprina is a likely no-go, and then you get to the broken down state of the Cassadines, now mostly Alexis. And you have Laura, who at least got to blast Liesl recently after doing the usual Laura enabling of recent years, but how long before Laura is just used as a reason to bring back Esme and coddle her some more?

Meghan Markle is in the thumbnail and pilot. Oh I see this was written by Chuck Pratt. If it had been picked up he never would have trashed AMC.

The main way I can remember is because of Lemay criticizing Val Dufour for ruining Susan Sullivan's big moment (never mind that it was Dufour's last moment on the show).

Thank you too @jam6242

Thanks @slick jones I never would have known of Raver or Peters passing without your post. I wonder if Raver had any ties to anyone at Y&R - seems like all her soap work was through them.

@Ryanc2 Thanks for the podcast summaries. It definitely sounds very interesting. I never understood why the show didn't do more with having a hot model playing Reese. At least he had fun backstage... This clip didn't go how I had expected. Kathleen Noone truly did play every single scenario possible during her time on soaps.

A pilot Grayson McCouch did while on ATWT - I assume this was why he left the show for a while, or one of the reasons.

Thanks again for finding a bit more Catlins.

@dc11786 Wow. Another completely rare find! So glad you found this while it was still available.