DRW50

That's true about Maggie, as her intro scene was saving someone. I felt like they got away from that later in season 2 and Andrea got all the "struggling for empowerment" material. I don't see Carol and the little girls ending well either. I think one of the girls will be disturbed, and Carol won't know how to handle it. Or one will kill the other. Sneak peeks (one was shown on Talking Dead last night) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4l_orKjaI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j7wSFYD2PY

I forgot to say that I like how Maggie keeps being included in the stuff that, in the first two seasons, would have been "men's work." I wasn't sure if they would keep doing that since her story has become about whether she wants a baby.

Very good episode. Once again Andrew Lincoln gave such a nuanced and heartbreaking performance. I should be bored with "Rick loses his innocence...again," but darn it if he didn't get to me, especially the scene where he was sacrificing the pigs to fortify the prison. And A+ for the scenes of Rick putting on his gun belt and taking off his shirt. I knew Karen was probably just there to die, but they faked me out by having her survive the initial zombie attack. I had grown to like her so I'm glad I didn't have to see her die. I still didn't have any investment in the Tyreese/Karen relationship, as we saw none of it develop, but the actors were doing their best to sell it. The opening scene was sweet. (he should have known not to sing her - Beth sings and her boyfriends die) And then the next scene where Karen was making her way to D block was chilling, more like a horror movie scene than most of the moments on the show over the years. I hope they won't kill off Sasha too. That would be so cruel for Tyreese, and I think Sasha is needed on the show. I like having someone there who is tough and who knows what has to be done, and we don't really know that much about her. We know so much about some of these people, and we're starting to learn more about Michonne, and I feel like there need to be people who are not extras but also aren't an open book. And the actress has good presence. She just fits into the show very well. I laughed when Michonne said those angst-ridden songs Beth loves aren't appropriate for a baby. Then I wanted to cry when she held Judith. After the way Michonne was repeatedly almost sacrificed last season, I was very happy to have that moment where Maggie and Carl risked their lives to save her. And the little scene at the start with Carl, Rick, and Michonne - the hat being addressed (I don't miss it, sorry), Rick's small smile when she said she'd be back soon. It feels like she has a real place in the prison now while still having her own identity. Poor Carol must see Sophia every time she is with those girls. Too much of them will be annoying, but we sort of should be seeing their perspective, especially since Carl is now becoming too old to be in the "child affected by a world on fire" storyline. Carol was so intense with Carl. I used to hear people say that she should become his mother, but this episode reminded me of why that wouldn't quite work. She's just too heavy and he would have problems with that as time passes. I'm glad they included the short scene of Glenn taking the photo of Maggie, with Maggie grimacing at the whole thing. I prefer these sweeter moments to all the Glenn/Maggie angst. Had we seen that doctor (Caleb) before? I thought he was kind of hot. He'll probably die... Glad they included that quick scene with Daryl and Rick. I wonder if the show will get any complaints for those pig killing scenes.

That's very pretty. Sometimes black and white really does suit a moment.

I've seen articles from years later and then writeups in some soap books of the time, but nothing that mentioned the good and the bad. Soap magazines in this era, the ones that were trying to stand out from Daytime TV or Afternoon TV, were willing to be vocal and critical (Afternoon TV became more critical later in the 70s). They had respect for the genre and wanted it to grow and change. Now the soap "press" is just trying to stay alive, and then, websites, that should be more of a voice, mostly see soaps as a joke, a guffawfest. The more hilarious the better. It's "soapy goodness." If they did a hilarious comedy version of the story where Ben was almost raped in prison, they'd get raves. From everything I've read it sounds like Claire Labine and Paul Mayer worked so hard to turn the show around. It just wouldn't be allowed today. I wish that material was available. Since most of it isn't, at least we have these articles as a time capsule.

February 1975 Daily TV Serials

The farm was the source of much of the character development we've seen ever since. I mostly remember Dale for pompous speeches. Glen Mazarra or someone else said that Lori's behavior was written in a way to get a reaction out of viewers. I think that was often the case in season 2, and led to confusing inconsistencies like her urging Rick to kill Shane, then being outraged when he did.

It depends on how much they deviate from the comic. I think Daryl is the main draw for many now so I think he'd survive over Rick. In Shane's case, he lasted quite a bit longer on the show than he did in the comic. Beyond that, there was also the whole Frank Darabont issue (most of the actors who worked most often with Darabont pre-TWD are gone...the one left is Melissa McBride). Speaking of McBride, there's a two-page interview with her in the new Sci-Fi Magazine (December issue).

I think the networks also began to believe more and more that viewers, especially the young viewers they coveted, were idiots, and the writing had to be dumbed down. So Kim just became Nick's stricken wife/Betsy's stricken mother, no identity of her own.

You can see why fans were so upset when Margo had that miscarriage. If anyone needs a laugh go watch the part in the 1991 episode where Larry tells Frannie he will now love her all the time. He looks like such a psycho. It's a good episode. The best part is Lucinda, juggling therapists, meddling in the Jessica/Duncan relationship, obsessing over Holden/Lily, etc. The Jessica/Duncan relationship seriously was a risk for the show. It's to their credit that they pulled it off.

I think that was the Dobsons.

Another actress (Kasi Lemmons...or she might have been on AW by that point). I've never seen any of Rowell's ATWT appearances.

Watching this and when Ambrose, the most stable character on the show, revealed that he'd been in therapy for seven years, I thought of Mitch and laughed. You really weren't kidding about the therapy overload on the show at this point.

Yes, she was (there's an episode on Youtube where they sneak out to a club). I don't know if Marland was that interested in Dusty though.

Thanks for the info on the actress. I don't know what Marland would have done with Deakins. I definitely can't see her with Holden. Someone put up an April 1991 episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP2pj4up_UQ

So would I. I can't imagine a Gillian Spencer character being a wilting flower, although she must have been a more traditional heroine than Kim. I guess that role was left to characters like Carol, who did seem very popular with fans. It's just a shame that when people talk about ATWT's past they often just classify it as stodgy until the Dobsons came in. There are so many complex female characters in those years.

I think he's too popular unless Norman wants to go. I think he might even survive over Rick.

One of the things that interests me about ATWT is that for a show known as a conservative bastion, they had some spiky and very direct heroines in the 60s and 70s. I know Lisa wasn't a heroine until later into the 70s, and perhaps Kim was more passive earlier than these clips we're seeing, but Kim is such an unusual heroine compared to some shows at this point. There are less of the dramatic sighs and the angst of it all. She suffers, but she also seems tough, and realistic. Penny is the same way, in the limited material available of her run. The only "traditional" heroine of that era who seemed popular is Ellen. I wish I could see more of women like Liz Talbot, to know how they acted. I wonder if that's one of the reasons why a lot of viewers struggled when someone like Annie was put at center stage.

True. It feels like Forsythe didn't age all that much from the early 60s to the early 80s. I feel like there was such untapped potential with Ellen and David. It's ironic that even as the Dobsons had little interest in much of ATWT's history (or P&G didn't), they did care about Ellen and David.

I remember hearing over and over and over about how brilliant Ken Cucinelli was, and that libruls feared him because he's a true conservative who knows how to win! He could still win, even with the polling deficit, but if he does, it is apparently because of his great pals and their shaking down of the far right fringe. They include the Duggar family, and Florida AG Pam Bondi, who did one of the most thoughtless and pathetic things I've ever seen a major elected official do. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ken-cuccinelli-virginia-governor-race-98548.html?hp=f1 http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/execution-rescheduled-to-accommodate-pam-bondi-fundraiser/2140891

It took a while in these clips before I remembered that David was Annie and Dee's father, not grandfather. When Dee first returned I kept thinking Dan was her father. Bruder got to wear it down for a little while in the early 80s, but apparently the show got letters from fans saying this was inappropriate behavior for Ellen. I guess she decided to screw it and just cut her hair.

Those stars are generally about who can afford to pay for them. At this point the main one who probably could is Kim Kardashian, and she would be a laughingstock if she got one. Teresa might be going to prison soon...why would a star be her big priority?

I guess that was partially because Sabrina was seen as a golden child, in some ways, whereas Barbara had become tainted. I just wish Melinda had been there to see Barbara become a schemer. I wonder if she was ever even mentioned again after her death.

Dee seems to be a little more upbeat here. Not much, but some. After the Dobsons she seemed to be out of it most of the time.