DRW50

The new opening is great. Very 60's. Vicky being very immature. True to her character though. I love all the warm moments of friendship leading up to the wedding.

I always wonder if for a while she played Rachel nastier than Robin did - Robin's work has so much more vulnerability, from the little I've seen.

Didn't recognize Julie at first. I do remember this from DTR. It is just raw pain. I can see why Mimi Torchin said this death was far more powerful than BJ's.

It's always so tough for me to know how to respond because I've seen so little of Robin's Rachel. The little I have seen is great, as she plays up that vulnerability and that clawing. I think Wyndham played that too, especially when Rachel felt cornered, but I can definitely see where she was a big change for the character. Robin was so OTT in OLTL's last years but she did love the character. I think Wyndham said she mostly only stayed at AW in those last years for the fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNHWmey0kiY&feature=autoplay&list=ULvLy5vzzWR48&playnext=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83YJTL2e0b8&feature=autoplay&list=ULJNHWmey0kiY&playnext=2

Barbara had the worst hair ever.

Rauch and Strasser had a bad relationship at OLTL, which she said she mishandled (of course he won't say that). Her airtime and wardrobe steadily worsened, with her last story being one where her daughter stole Dorian's boyfriend. Robin quit. A few years later Rauch met with her for lunch and they mended fences, but she declined a return.

I never understood the issues Lemay and Rauch had with Strasser, as I thought she only returned until they could find a replacement. You'd think she was some burden they were stuck with. Margie Impert was before their time wasn't she?

That seems so cruel to fans.

I think they should have never had them get close enough to a relationship before she found out who he was. I think it would have been a little more interesting if she'd learned who he was, then slowly accepted him, and perhaps they had a relationship. I know SOD felt they lacked chemistry, but then I think Julia mostly just had that with David Canary, and then sometimes John Callahan. I would have had Josh's arrival shake Brooke up a little and take away some of the suffocating qualities the character had at that time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKS0ycFQNec&feature=channel&list=UL

Too bad they couldn't keep Taylor with Prince Omar - always hated her with Ridge, always will. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLhPteJZcN0

So the BAFTAs reward the message that women asked to be raped and that women shouldn't report a rape because their lives will be destroyed and the rapist will be acquitted anyway? How nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vPKigvkNCs

And NBC never had ratings on that level for their other new soaps, did they? Not for long anyway. Maybe with the 90 minute expansion NBC should have just revived Somerset. Georgann Johnson was still working on P&G soaps at that point, and they could have brought Nic Coster back, I'm sure others too.

For what? Best shitpile?

Longtime Michigan GOP Congressman apparently couldn't be bothered to get enough signatures for the ballot. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120526/OPINION03/205260374/1361/McCotter-foul-up-risks-GOP-hold-on-delegation

FrenchFan has posted some summaries from the early 70's as well. I can't tell you where they are at the moment. I have some Daytime TV summaries, although those started in early 1975, so you may have them.

David Winn (ex-Steve Williams, Y&R) auditioned to be Constance's physical therapist on the early 80's primetime soap Flamingo Road, but they told him he looked too much like Mark Harmon. Meg Bennett was seriously pursued by GH to be Luke's new love interest after Genie Francis left in 1982, but she ultimately decided to pursue primetime.

I think that theatrical type of acting can be an asset to soaps - and it suited some ladies of that era, like Louise Shaffer. Was it only ever Robin Strasser who showed up on Somerset? What did you think of Robert? Did you prefer him on Somerset or AW? What did you think of the Jingles the Clown story? will81 has been posting some Laub synopses from 1973...maybe he has some Somerset.

toml, I have Laub's paperback book which covers 1976 - a lot of it is probably already in the Digest synopses but if you are interested in anything in it let me know. Which AW characters would you have spun over to Somerset permanently? Do you think they chose the right ones? I wonder why they didn't spin off Lee, instead of killing her.

I guess AW did this again with Texas, bringing the characters in first. It sounds like it worked better with Somerset. I always thought Marie left for her theater career. That's a shame they let her go. She was such a striking and very different actress, no soap should have let her go. I wonder how people felt about Lahoma's stories. You never hear a lot about them.

video gone

These are some clips leading up to Laura's death. I know the clip of her leaving the house has been around but I think this is the first time we've seen Josh's lead up. I never actually even knew they showed this part of it - I always just thought Josh was some bit player who happened to run her over. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLPFHkJ4a30

Wow, I'd never heard this. That's one of the most insane reasons to quit a job - she didn't seem to do a lot of acting after this, did she? I appreciate all the analysis on the show's early years, and the cast list. I didn't realize they had so many AW crossovers, or that we saw Liz so much (what was Liz doing in 1971, since Missy was gone by then). Do you think they should have recast India when Marie Wallace left?