DRW50

I remember that - it was around the time I first started watching, because I remember laughing at Hayley in the car. I'm surprised they got that through, especially the scenes where Arlene would sort of flee, and he'd grab her. And the scene was totally clothed... That story was pretty shocking. People criticized the cliches of soap for years, but sometimes they work, and the jolt of Hayley's mother nailing Hayley's husband, the hate sex, ending in him trying to kill her, was just addictive to watch.

Oh yes, he's mentioned in FrenchFan's recaps. He seemed to be with Betsy. She seemed to be in her own story separate from anything else on the show. Either Betsy or Melanie.

I was reading a Digest from April 1984 and they were talking about whether Search was getting good again, praising Sunny's rape story. They also praised Ellen Barrett, and said, essentially, the last producer had only cared about personal publicity, not the show. Wasn't Mary Ellis Bunim the producer before Barrett? I was shocked at such an upfront slam, especially since Bunim was still in daytime at that time (ATWT, or on her way to ATWT). Or was that Joanna Lee?

I didn't like Brooke with any Pierce (I just didn't buy that they'd have a relationship and she seemed like someone who wouldn't interest him) but the first was definitely the best. How long was Rick around?

Susan Ward's in the last minute or so of this.

I know - I wish we could see it. And when Julie left again and they recast with Dorian LoPinto, they just didn't mention it.

You're right. Claudia was John's dead girlfriend wasn't she? Julie Montgomery left, and they said her character had a car crash and needed plastic surgery (replaced by Susan Keith). When Julie came back later that year, they just said she wanted to look more like herself, and she got surgery again.

June 1978 Digest

June 1978 Digest

I wish they'd bring back some old characters who could believably come back (played by someone who wants to come back). I guess they did that with Malcolm (what do you think of his return?). Do you agree with him about the sets? Sheree Murphy was a lot of fun in the few episodes of Hollyoaks I could stomach from 2010. I think she might grate on viewers but Neighbours seems to have a lot of crazy, ditzy humor, so she might fit in.

What was Travis in Oakhaven for?

That's great! I guess this is before Ilene was put on recurring. I liked Riley. You're right, it does fit, especially with Viki's last shot. Confession: I prefer the instrumental to Peabo's version.

Aside from Eastenders, in a scattered section of PBS stations, none of them air over here. They'll probably just vomit up over primetime shows that are already covered to death. And I'm sure we'll hear about the latest Kardashian Kontroversy.

I found the 1983 Digest scans I was missing. November 22

I think they went too far with the bomb storyline and I think they should have worked harder on redeeming Janet instead of building up the crazy (there are some little moments but not enough). Other than that there's really nothing OTT on AMC at that time, and most of the story worked. I think one of the bigger problems may have been struggling with what to do with longtime characters who had run out of story (Brooke, Palmer, Adam, Jack), and what to do with various popular, happy couples (Erica/Dimitri, Edmund/Maria, Tad/Dixie). And that continued to be a struggle even under Broderick. The show had also failed to bring in a lot of good fresh blood (I guess the most popular new characters who stayed around more than two years were Edmund and Maria, who were soon ruined/squandered by the endless babymaker melodrama). It's interesting though, when Marlena and others praised AMC for going back to its roots, because, as you mentioned, there's still a lot of hysteria in the writing. I think this worked to great effect in the Michael Delaney story and the ripple effect it had. Other times, it was just ugly (like Papa Santos going to have Anita's hymen checked).

I think Seabone came back mostly for the Del story, and I guess Will. Wasn't he also involved with Opal briefly? I know Marlena de la Croix complained about the show becoming too OTT - a lot of focus seemed to go on Janet getting the experimental plastic surgery as a way to get out of jail. I think a lot of it just had to do with network pressures, more than anything. Broderick was in no time at all heaping up horrific wacko stories, some of which she clearly fought against (she was one of the reasons they backed out of the Janet-is-Brooke storyline).

I think Seabone left in summer 1995. I can see where AMC had lost something of itself by early 1995 but I mostly put that on the Janet story sort of spirraling out of control. Aside from fixing the Janet story, and bringing back Liza in a good soapy fashion, I'm not sure if AMC changed all that much, in terms of improvement. The show mostly seemed to move away from OTT stories for about 5 or 6 months, which was a good idea, although the teen influx canceled some of that out. But I was surprised when I finally got to see these episodes at how OK they are. I thought that AMC was in some type of hell in McTavish's last 1995 months. Now I can kind of see why the ratings didn't really go up after she left, and actually declined. I wonder if she or Broderick "got" Noah and Julia better. I'd say I prefer him more in the McTavish episodes, but that may just be because this was before he really took off. There was a lot of arrogance, and huffing and puffing, in his last year. I thought most of his last year of stories sucked a$$, aside from the very last one, with Leslie Uggamms and Randy Brooks.

Did you get to listen to the interview with Claire Labine and Kate Mulgrew?

Oh, I'm not disagreeing - I think she was at her best on GH and RH and she left a real legacy. I'm just saying that I do think those who feel ratings fell due to depressing material may have a point. I wasn't watching at the time so I can't really say for sure. I just remember reading SOD at that time (around the time I first started) and they mentioned ratings falling by almost an entire point in late 1994, even though this was during the Puerto Rican remote which seemed to be well received by fans.

That's the divine Sarah Felder - I loved her at that time, saying and doing the wrong thing at all times. I actually kind of like the idea of the Will double story, Janet haunting Dixie with her past. It was a way to give Dixie and Tad problems without more affair or breakup stories. I do think Janet may have had a little too much boiling over at that point. I have an article somewhere about Daran Kelly's world travels. I don't know how fans felt about him, I mostly remember him for the story Julia Barr told, where he constantly complained about the role, and even put rouge on his cheeks to signify (this was in her dressing room I think) that he was a puppet.

Luna had been dead for almost a year. The other ones rarely appeared, aside from Ty, who was on before Dylan, and was played by Casper Van Dien.