DRW50

It's a shame Nancy Pinkerton was never interviewed about it. When Elaine Princi was in the role Dorian seemed to be more like a gnat to Viki - I guess Robin and Erika had more of a theatricality in their work together (I do think that Elaine was fantastic though). It was a surprise to me to learn that Dorian and Viki were close for most of the mid-80's. I think they work best when they're not too hostile or too friendly. This was already posted too but when the reporter bothers Sloan, he shows a closeup of Dorian's tabloid column, and a little drawing of her. I'd never seen that before. I guess this wasn't too long before Robin had them end Dorian's tabloid career. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql7w-CvLnPI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

It's a fearless performance, and it really works. I always like how compassionate Dorian is even as she has no idea what she is unleashing. I started watching the show at the end of this, when Viki turned herself in for Victor's murder. I remember that Viki and Dorian were sort of close at this time and was sorry to see it undone. I'm glad the show ended with the two of them on a good note. I wonder how far in advance they had planned the Victor abuse story and how far back Erika knew about it. In one of those episodes after the superflu, or whatever, there's this weird scene where she is whimpering and wakes up and starts talking about a dream with Victor. It's about 30 minutes in. I hadn't watched this in a few years. It's the first scene with Princess. The way Jean knows what's going to happen, closes the doors, and tries to control everything as best she can and wait for Princess to leave again, it's very chilling.

This is the first time I've seen a full episode of that infamous scene where Dorian tells Viki. I just love that weird music cue they used every time Viki or her alters were going to break. I think it was used to best effect in those scenes where Jean had a complete collapse after she was reunited with Viki's childhood doll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2JyucGSfhI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSRgLqwlfBo

What are your memories of her on Secret Storm?

That's a shame. I guess it gave the woman who played Pat a lot more to do.

Was that when they had that Crystal Ball (or whatever it was called) for a few years? When I first got into Dark Shadows, one of the books on the show mentioned Louis being on AMC. At the time I assumed he must have a big role, but now I realize by then he barely featured.

At least later in the episode the Mary/Jeff scene had some dialogue (not sure why they showed the scene with and without dialogue but who cares). The way he looks at her, with such starry-eyed devotion, I can kind of see why he was the only Jeff fans liked. I also wonder how much real life feelings between the actors were bleeding into the scene. Wow there's a Paul/Anne clip too. Wasn't expecting that. What a feast this must have been for viewers back then. I can't even remember what they did for the 30th anniversary.

I think I first read that book a few months after it came out - I got it at the library. That was my only real window into AMC, along with a VHS weddings tape. It's such a great book. That seems like a whole other universe, doesn't it? Was this Langley's last episode? In that last bit he seemed a little envious of Verla Yeah. That's the January 6 episode. It's around 24 minutes in. At first I thought the snow was part of another flashback! I'm trying to remember when that fox hunt story was. Was that when Alex Hunter was killed?

I guess in the context of soaps, where so many insane things happen, and are forgotten, it's strange to me that it was still brought up so often, especially since the show had made Will into the evil of evils and Janet seemed more sympathetic. This episode also has a flashback to when Jeff proposed to Mary. That must have been 1973, 1974? Is that episode out there? Was it ever on WOST? I loved seeing the brief moment from Erica's disco. Phoebe and Langley dancing the night away while Charles and Mona sedately stroll. I think I asked this years ago but don't remember the answer. Did Kate Collins ever do Mirror Janet?

Definitely not, it's just weird how they would go on about Janet as her worst nightmare, etc. That scene with Billy Clyde and the machine gun is so hilariously WTF. 1989-1990 seems like such a weird period for the show.

It's weird how, in the January 6 episode, Michael Brainerd's Joey is being so goofy, a little similar to RPG's take on the character (although nowhere near as hammy or tic-laden). He's so believable as the bratty little brother. Those flashbacks of "scary" Eddie Dorrance kind of cracked me up. Based on his other soaps it's tough for me to see him as a villain. I know that Dixie loved Will, but wasn't she on very bad terms with him when he died? Why was Janet such a trauma to her for so many years? Wasn't a part of her relieved Will was gone? How far did the Janet/Tad thing go?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_IzXXChfsU

Thanks for posting that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnMNXrItS48

I don't ever know how that worked - I thought they'd brought him back for her exit, but it sounds like they got married again, he left, then she was on her own for a while until he came back. Here's their exit (notice how Caera and Jeremy are almost extras - not too shocked they were both out not long after this) I still don't really get the Emily Ann psycho story. It was fascinating to me to read that AMCHistory interview with Michael Brainard where he said he and Liz Vassey had no idea of the psycho storyline either, and she wasn't trying to play it that way, that they literally had no idea what was going on. Very bad writing, if you ask me, and such a waste. That last scene in the January 5 95 episode where everyone's getting ready to stay the night, singing "Let It Snow", throwing pillows, and you see Ruth and Joe looking out their front door, it's just exquisite. I'm so glad I finally got to see this.

Alexis and Sable is one of those underrated rivalries. I didn't know about Stephanie's cancer battles either. I'm sorry she doesn't do more in the US - she was on a real run there until the early 90's. I'd love to see her pop up in some sitcoms or dramas.

The scenes where Pat remembers Angie/Jesse - her acting is so good. I wish we had seen her again. It was very interesting the way Tad goaded Enid about never hearing from Greg. I'm sorry they never brought Enid back when Greg made his 2008 return. Did you catch that scene where Daisy hit Palmer on the back and he almost fell over. Something tells me that wasn't scripted... I love seeing Erica trying to mingle with everyone else - like her giving Ruth a photo of herself, talking about Paul teasing her, the scene where all the women cleared out of the room and she talked about her relationships with women over the years.

I was trying to remember - did Tad and Jesse still have a close friendship at the end of AMC? I'd love to know why Angie wasn't in the anniversary episodes (aside from clips) - I wonder if they just didn't see a point, or if she still wasn't returning to AMC at that point because of the circumstances in which she left (and they still had the same producer at that time).

Wow. Aside from one or two bad angles, Joan looks the same as she did in her Alexis heyday. So does Stephanie Beacham. She looks exactly the same! Sable is so underrated. I'm glad she gets to come back, for an ad, if nothing else. I was reading some Digest from around 1985 and they talk about the speculation of whether Joan is Alexis, whether she pretends to be Alexis, et al. They mentioned various stories about her. One was that she had a scene with Catherine Oxenberg where Amanda confronts her and the scene ends with Amanda having the upper hand in their argument. The scene just wasn't working, so Joan suggested that Catherine, at the end of the scene, take a piece of candy and pop it into her mouth. Catherine did, and the scene was great.

Then this would be her last appearance, as the Loving stuff was 93-94. The actors make all this reunion stuff seem so natural, I guess because it was a reunion for them. I love the way Donna says she just can't help hugging Benny, and all the laughing and joking with everyone. Yet they also include some who will never get along, like Stuart and Enid. It's so beautifully done. I think it's easy to forget at times that AMC did have this big heart, it's just that the last decade didn't always show that (although I guess that lived on through Bianca, at least for a while).

I had a question about some of the 1995 anniversary episodes. Towards the very end of this, the black woman in the purple dress who gives a photo to Ruth and Joe - is that Pat Baxter? Was this her last appearance? The black woman in this episode, who doesn't have any dialogue but is seen going outside, running with the kids, etc. did someone say that was Nancy Grant? If so, she looks great, it's a shame she wasn't used more often. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MPdaQAFrAw The man in the early scenes in this episode, joking about Phoebe the chaperone, is that Charles Frank as Jeff? Obviously he'd aged, and had aged even more by 2005, but I wish the show had brought him back as Jeff instead of bringing in John James. Frank, even here, has a natural charisma. Someone really did a number on Cecily's hair and wardrobe not too long after this. I'd love to know the backstage plans for her character at this point. I just end up skipping the Edmund/Maria stuff in these - I never know if I never "got" them as a couple or if I just missed their best days. At least they aren't talking about babies.

There's an interesting controversy surrounding Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi until recently (he served his two terms). On his way out he pardoned hundreds of people, some of whom committed very serious offenses. This is the man who has been breathlessly hyped for years as a true conservative, the ideal Presidential candidate if only people didn't have an issue with Southern Republicans with somewhat tainted racial history - he was one of those, along with Mitch Daniels and media darling Chris Christie, who were pushed and pushed by the press and the GOP elites. http://swampland.time.com/2012/01/14/barbour-at-peace-with-pardons-but-scandal-rages-on/ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71374.html http://www.wlbt.com/story/16522312/family-reacts-to-barbours-news-conference Some have said, "Bill Clinton did the same," but I am not sure conservatives want to be the new Bill Clinton.