DRW50

One of the problems is Lucky had not been a leading character since 1999...I don't even know if he was in JJ's disastrous 2010 return. They could have done better with him, but ultimately, he should have been left to the past.

I saw more about Biden Old or the staged feud between Elon and Trump or just the usual distractions, but I will admit I don't stomach most of the news anyway.

There's been something of a media blackout, but beyond that the only reason it's getting any attention is because Trump and the Republicans and their sycophants in the press are trying to create riots to pave the way for martial law. And of course all the people who care more about setting fires and destroying property than anything else are happy to help them. I've seen more interest in people arguing about whether or not they should be waving Mexican flags and how American flags are tainted than I have in the cause, which just reinforces what a malaise we are in. Many who claim to care about immigration only care to the tips of their fingers, just like Palestine and the rest. But these policies what people voted for. As long as they personally aren't affected, they are eating all this decimation up.

For some reason I thought Sly had already passed. A true legend.

Oh so they did sleep together. The retcon was just the medical boards? That makes sense. I think Susan Pratt, while a good actress, was just an unlikeable presence onscreen and soaps wrote to that most of the time. There was some potential for more with her when she returned in that stint, as Pratt was at least interesting to watch and caused some conflict for the stifled Bauers. Instead of pairing her with Alan and then disappearing I might have had her hook up with Danny. I think there was a lot of flirtation with Bolger's Philip, but they never crossed the line.

Thanks for sharing. I imagine there were other reasons, but based on how part-time Lucky felt, I'm not too surprised that this was the biggest factor.

And this came out as the "feud" and the media pushing the protests in Los Angeles got all the media attention. They know the press and the public will not care or can be manipulated into approving.

Thanks. I do wonder if Rose was meant to be more given the caliber of actress they hired. I remembered Sara and Peggy staying longer as they were still on when Soapnet started their repeats. I wonder if that was part of the reason they brought Jake's brother in.

Thanks. That makes sense.

That would have made sense. Did all these characters get dropped when DePriest left or had they already been dropped?

Yes. And I assume he met Mary Ellen Stuart at GL.

Indeed. I may try to watch it in full sometime, but not anytime soon... Mark played Sean Baxter for a few episodes when Courtney married Andy. Burke was either on Broadway or at OLTL at that time, I suppose.

All the time they spent trying to make viewers feel sorry for Chad only for him to not even last that long. I wonder if they knew Richard Burgi was going so quickly. You're right about Josie replacing Cheryl. On paper, this should have made sense, given all the ties Josie had to the canvas, but I did prefer Cheryl. There was something very synthetic about Alexandra Wilson. I suppose even if she did have some fans they were just so used to getting rid of people left and right, so she was more collateral damage. As you said above I do wonder what the plans were for Peggy Lazarus. I think AWHP mentioned her once telling Peter that Peggy Lazarus wasn't her real name. Maybe she would have been another Carl moll... Rebecca Hollen never did get her due in her soap roles.

The woman who was the co-chair of Latinas for Trump is now complaining about his targeting immigrants that she thought were "safe." I also read a puff piece from yet another "insider" journalist who lives to normalize fascists - this one with a tech bro who was venting off the record because he thought voting for Trump was cool and would show up the Democrats and maybe we'd get Greenland, but now he's getting upset. These people still support Trump, and Republicans, they just want to make sure they get credit for being respectable. And they will get it.

I really do wish someone could. Just a few characters in very simple backdrops, with very real problems that are just a little larger than life, like the '50s and '60s. All the characters having a level of dignity or respect. And their inner lives are what dominate the story, even if there are outside forces at play.

The show made a mistake in not bringing in more McKinnon kids, specifically bringing back Ben. Kathleen was leaving, and while I like you am very fond of Sally Spencer as MJ, that didn't seem to be a common view. They also decimated the character in a truly sick storyline. So that just left Cheryl.

Between Gwen and Cat, the show often seems to side with those who cause lots of cruelty to Jack and Jennifer. I am half-surprised that the show hasn't brought Peter Blake back for more of the same. I don't really know if there is a purpose for them in Salem now, but I do feel a sense of stability and rightness when Melissa Reeves is back in the role of Jennifer and back in the Horton house, in spite of...well, a lot of offcamera stuff we all know perfectly well.

I remember seeing him briefly when Rick went to confront her about her blackmailing him. (I briefly forgot that Rick's sleeping with Claire at this time was a retcon - or her lying that she slept with him, whatever that story was). I wonder if he interacted with Kurt given that Mark Lewis later took his ATWT role. I tried to watch some of the full episode and it was all so alien and uninvolving. Roxy having a meltdown on that construction site for Mindy and Kurt's house that never gets built. Ed with Ross and Vanessa dealing with custody issues. Even Ross and Vanessa seemed flat, with Vanessa seeming oddly meek.

I can't speak for Sonni, but I thought Annie came off as neurotic from very early on. That's just how Cynthia Watros plays her parts, and the writing went along. I don't think Claire was mentally ill - they claimed she had a brain tumor, didn't they? I am never sure just why they made the effort given that she was leaving anyway.

They weren't in town, but Fletcher worked at the paper (and we saw anniversary Journal headlines for the 50th, although I don't remember if Roger was one of them), and I'd think Alex would have at least heard of him due to the damage he did to Spaulding only a few years before her return to the fold. I know I have to remember it's not real life, of course.

There probably would have been a good chance they knew of him, especially with his ties to Spaulding and his being involved in so much scandal (meaning there would be plenty of photos and articles around they both would have seen), but I agree the mask was silly, clearly just a TV moment.

When the announcement was first made, I did wonder if other plans were in the works. I guess we can always keep hoping, especially as the show has a small core cast.

RIP Wayne Lewis. (he sings near the end of the episode) https://deadline.com/2025/06/wayne-lewis-dead-atlantic-starr-founder-singer-1236426870/

Thanks again @Paul Raven Monica was completely without redeeming qualities at this point. I always found the whole Monica = Carly narrative regressive, as I don't think shows comparing characters so heavily is ever a great idea, but she's actually worse than Carly was. Was it the Pollocks who had Leslie have a miscarriage? Giving her a child, especially by rape, was not a good idea, but a part of me wishes they'd committed to it just to see what story it might have had in later years.

Not to go too off topic but if you ever want to see more of his Search run just look for SFT Summer of 1966 on Youtube.