DRW50

Thanks so much to saynotoursoap. I'll just link the first two parts and you can see the rest on Youtube. Random Tony beefcake in the first clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2viJqAJhK5s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSi49wCdxh0&feature=autoplay&list=UL2viJqAJhK5s&lf=mfu_in_order&playnext=2

I thought Melissa was a little upper class, but she did a decent job. I think this is the first time I've seen any Patty but the last. The show has great pacing and structure. This is why I don't feel 15 minute soaps are too short. I really liked that scene with Bob Rogers and Jo. I liked that she was not pleasant, that she then realized how she sounded, and she broke down. It's so true to life. Jo just seems so real. The girl talking to Patty and Len, that was Emily Rogers who was later married to Len? I wonder when Louise Shaffer took over.

Thanks to saynotoursoap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cwmJsfprjI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

From the invaluable saynotoursoap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgvrSxtBlLA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bok_WtX5vZw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

I would have made her (Trisha) into a bitch. They were right to go with Tracy, even if it might have been fun seeing Morgan and Emma together.

That would have been interesting. I don't think Noelle/Trisha would have fit in on The City, but you never know.

James de Paiva auditioned to play Jamie on AW in 1986. A SOM from April 1996 talks about rumors of Emma Samms being cast as Morgan Fairchild's sister on The City.

I always forget they have off-year elections for NJ's legislature. There's also a recall election in several states - one in Michigan, one in Arizona. The Arizona one is interesting mostly because it involves Russell Pearce, who wrote the anti-immigration law that helped rescue Gov. Jan Brewer from sure failure, and which became a national lightning rod. This is the last election before the new maps, which Brewer is trying to have done in the most partisan manner she can, to the point of impeaching the chairman of the redistricting commission (Arizona, at least before Brewer, was nonpartisan in their maps).

One of the women whose name was sealed in the Cain cases has come forward. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67891.html

Elections today - Kentucky's state officers such as governor, treasurer, AG - thanks to Steve Bashear (Dem incumbent) being popular, and David Williams running a disastrous campaign (his closing act has been criticizing Bashear for participating in a Hindu ceremony for a new business venture in KY, leading Williams to tell people to come to Jesus), it looks like Democrats will win most of these races. Virginia - elections such as the house of delegates and the state senate. Republicans favored to win the senate and pad their majority in the house. Ohio - repeal of widely hated governor Kasich's union-busting law, which went as far as to even bar cops or firefighters from having unions. Polls show the repeal will pass, but you never know. The union-busting law is favored by most of the Presidential candidates, aside from wishy-washy Romney, who was for it, sort of against it, and for it. Mississippi - Personhood amendment on the ballot, which would likely ban abortion and birth control in the state. All major Presidential candidates in favor, including Mitt Romney. 50-50 chance of passing. I'd say it passes with about 54%.

The most recent polls show Cain slipping. Romney now has more of a lead, but the only one who seems to have seriously benefited is Gingrich, although Gingrich is still in third or fourth place. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67880.html

This is a good episode. Emily seeing John at Susan's apartment is classic. I guess they got away with this because James was supposed to be far over the edge at this point, but he calls Hank a very ugly slur. I am continually surprised by how much Marland and the producers of this era were able to push the envelope. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INsvzKxzZIo

Another promo that includes Lisa. I wonder if they were grooming her for a larger role. It seemed odd to me that she never returned and was never mentioned again. She got away didn't she? What did you think of Jess and Terry together, and compared to Brenda and Terry? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1alxHoTvb_4

January 1974 Daytime TV Stars. Deborah Channel reviews GL. THE GUIDING LIGHT - A SOUND SHIP...BUT IT'S OFF COURSE The Guiding Light is so well acted, directed, and produced that I think one forgets, perhaps willingly, that its story situations, at least these days, are repetitious and badly plotted. You'll notice that I'm not saying that The Guiding Light is badly written - as a matter of fact I always find the dialogue sensitive, often intelligent, and character relationships in terms of the writing, uniquely compelling. But it does have one of the dullest "plot cores" on daytime TV. It's utterly tiring to tune in every day and find at least three or four simultaneous subplots of marriages on the rocks, or marriages coming back together. So insensitive is the plotting in this respect that one begins to get confused about which marriage-going-downhill one is watching. It's almost like a Carol Burnett parody of a soap opera: at one time the plotters had the gaul to have Mike Bauer (Don Stewart) and Leslie (Barbara Rodell) fighting for their marriage, against the wicked pretenses of Dr. Jackson (her father, played by Stephan Schnabel), while wicked Charlotte Waring (his ex-wife, played by Melinda Fee) also fought to keep them apart, while Janet and Ken Norris (Caroline McWilliams and Roger Newman) were struggling to get back together after the lascivious Roger Thorpe caused jealousy between them, while Ed Bauer (Mart Hulswit) fell in love with Janet Norris and finally married neurotic and immature Holly Norris (Lynn Deerfield) on the rebound, while Charlotte Waring was also coming between Dr. Joe Werner (Anthony Call) and his wife, Dr. Sarah McIntyre (Milette Alexander), while Barbara Norris (Holly and Ken's mother, played by Barbara Berjer) was teetering on the brink of marrying Adam Thorpe (Robert Milli). It's all like one great big parody on the state of marriage, using every soap opera cliche in the book, and it simply doesn't work as good story because there's no meaningful variety provided by the plotters. The writers even have Dr. Stephan Jackson involved in a strained relationship with a bizarre ex-wife who has turned up on the scene. I think The Guiding Light is a good example of what happens to a serial which is too old and too good ever to lose its hold on viewers, but whose writers no longer have a grip on their creative inspiration. Characters on this show still have tete-a-tete scenes in which important human connections are expressed by competent and realistic words. But the higher creative levels of structure and story that produce the true meaning and worth of a serial, have all but disappeared on The Guiding Light. The ship, however, is a sound one, even if it needs some new commandeering and some new waters to float in. The Bauers will always be for me the classic American family, even more so than the Hughes of As the World Turns. The Bauers, in being second and third generation transplants from original European parentage, have always seemed more realistic. More than any other actor, Charita Bauer, who plays the mother, Bertha Bauer, deserves the credit for the continuity of the family mannerisms and ideals. One feels always a sense of confidence in watching Miss Bauer perform, even when you begin wondering how she can ever keep all of the various marital problems of the other characters straight in her dialogue. Her attitude and her abilities, to my way of thinking, is the best that afternoon television can produce...and that's saying a lot, for the shows can produce some very good talent, like Jacquie Courtney's for example. I could go through a detailed list of the other actors' abilities as well, but this is one show where the acting is on such a consistently high level that it would take forever to discuss everyone's talent in detail. Anthony Call and Milette Alexander, as the Werners, make great sense in every scene they play together...almost like the quality of romantic acting one always expected in the movies of the era of cinematic excellence, the 1940's. Caroline McWilliams is especially good in slow scenes with another person - her style of acting produces an almost slow motion account of what a human relationship between two people is all about, even though only reflected in a conversation. Barbara Rodell and Don Stewart are both able to project compelling characters individually - Leslie, for example, is a believable "sweetheart" type and Mike is excellent as the standard-bearer of the family name - although as a couple they seem to be somewhat less than comfortable with one another on camera. I liked them more when they were haranguing over the telephone on the subject of their impending marriage than as they are now as a couple, somewhat less than exciting and truly in love. I'm sure this is not the fault of their individual talents; as a matter of fact, it's my feeling that this is a deliberate trick on the part of the writers to create the believable seeds of yet another marital breakup on the show. Psychologically, as portrayed on the screen, Mike and Leslie were never meant for one another. Stephan Schnabel, like his famous father, pianist Arthur Schnabel, is an impeccable actor. One never sees his performance, only his character - and that, dear reader, is what good acting is all about. My congratulations to Melinda Fee for being able to cope with a character who should have been gotten rid of long ago - who, for that matter, should never have been allowed to exist. Actually, the writers of The Guiding Light, as well as all serial writers who like to fall into the cliche of creating black and white characters like Charlotte who are either all evil or all good, should pay more attention to the Watergate Hearings. They'll discover, as have millions of Americans, that some people may do terrible, evil things, but they are seldom completely evil and terrible themselves. There really is no such thing as a totally bad person and the kind of writing that produces a Charlotte type in the world of serials is really perpetrating a hoax on millions of viewers. The Guiding Light does have other cliches that are annoying. There is, for example, much too much head-shaking over problems, and dilemma-wrinkled brows. Granted, such "brows" are necessary in a medium where heartbreak is king, but only when these mannerisms are important to the story. Every scene need not fade out with a tearful expression and a sense of impending doom. Compared with other serials, this is a device which is overused on The Guiding Light. One last word of praise to Mart Hulswit and Lynn Deerfield, as Ed and Holly Bauer. Their quiet and impressive handling of a difficult story situation some months back - where Ed and Holly would meet and would try to lose their individual insecurities with other people in a relationship that was precious, fragile and seemingly doomed - should win them an Emmy Award, if the Emmy Award people were watching, which is doubtful. The Guiding Light is a good show, but it could be an excellent one. Let's hope it acquires, once again, creativity in plotting and story motivation.

A TV Radio Mirror from October 1976 again mentions rumors that Jeanne Cooper was going to be fired, and how no one on the set was talking. I wonder what was going on at this time.

Ted was a kinky bastard.

He was wearing a leather jock strap under his clothes.

A lot of people won't come forward unless some circumstance pushes them.

Initially I think they didn't plan to age Thomas and only did because of Janet Jackson's nipple.

Does anyone else think it's interesting how often in the last week some conservative voices in the media have been, as they used to call it, "playing the race card"? Ingraham did that again after Allred's speech. It looks like the defense of Cain is going to be race-baiting, and belittling the woman involved. http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/1688 http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/1687

I always wonder about why people go to her. Is it because they're scared of the media (understandable) and she knows how to handle them? Does she waive a fee, since she gets a lot of publicity? I do think she genuinely wants to help some of these women but sometimes it just becomes an ugly circus. It left a very bad taste in my mouth when I read about the people who went to the Scott Peterson trial and basically cheered certain people (Allred, the DA, etc.) and jeered others, and all the rest. This becomes some type of sporting event. Anyway, I don't think Cain ever had a chance, but this pretty much ends it, IMO. Some have said Gingrich will now become the next anti-Romney. The media has been itching for it to be Perry again, even writing a number of "He's back now, really, we swear!" types of articles over the last few weeks.

No, he would have been the right age. Maggie had been written out late the year before. They could have done something with him.

It's Gloria Allred time! http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/report-gloria-allred-to-kick-off-next-chapter-of-cain-saga.php

Valley's always seemed a little bland to me but he did a good job making Jack his own character, which the other Jack and Jennifer recasts never could. Not sure why Battaglia didn't get more work. I guess he's worked a lot, but it seems like the only show which had him on for an extended run was QAF.