DRW50

I really think Anne was suited for daytime (or what daytime used to be). It helps that she was softer then, but beyond that, I think the pace and the wide range of material and the relationships built with other cast members helped her really grow and put herself into so many different emotions. She has had a very hard edge in a lot of her work after AW. In many ways I compare her to Sarah Brown. I've never quite understood why they made Jamie the father either. All I can think of is that they had already decided they were going to turn Jake very dark and they didn't want to saddle him with a child. Jamie as Steven's father could have had potential if they'd just built Jamie up again as a character. It made me sad when I read SOD saying, after Laurence Lau's firing, that they might as well just kill Jamie off, as he was played out. Jamie should have been the heart of the Cory family, and of the show.

Thanks for the article. It does seem like it came pretty close to being picked up. I wonder what would have happened if it had been, if they would have been able to build the show up again. I've seen that photo of Gale and Braxton getting ready for bed, and it is always very evocative, striking. I have never been overly impressed with what I've seen of Gale elsewhere. I wish I'd seen him in this role. The Afternoon TV cover is of ATWT (I posted that in the ATWT thread at one point). The OLTL contents are mostly, I think, an interview with Gillian Spencer. I posted that here.

Days after the fact, I found another Eileen Herlie article. This is from a fall 1982 Digest. Sorry for the bad quality scan.

Yes.

I was reading a TV Radio Mirror announcement of KT Stevens' arrival as the Prentiss mother (no name given at that time I don't think). They said she was a similar type of character to Katharine, and that there was some speculation Jeanne Cooper was going to be dropped, as her contract was almost up. They said Jeanne was worried because she'd only worked five times in the last month. Do you know anything about this? At the time did you ever think Vanessa was going to replace Kay?

I know what you mean. I was listening to a few of the Nora Drake episodes and was quickly drawn in, although the writing style is very shallow - Nora has a "friend" who basically is there to bludgeon story through, and in one episode constantly demands that Nora tell her everything and every secret and be honest with her while Nora is just trying to play the piano. I was hoping Nora would tell her to eff off. I'd like to know that about Agnes too. I assume she left in fall 1966 or early 1967. You may want to go through this channel as there are some GL episodes and also some interviews with big radio players like Larry Haines (best known for Search and the Odd Couple). http://www.youtube.com/user/scifiradioguy Here's a 1945 episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jOFytHrkEU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

A lot of cheap jokes, and Kristen Wiig pulling faces? I just watched that Goodbye Erica video. That "raging bitch" line gets better every time.

Is it as bad as the rest of SNL these days?

Not sure if this was already posted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucoYvuw3UoU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOUK2dokjw&feature=related

Did you hear these? They're a few from 1940 and 1941. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb3IlLYbiBw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snQiTXSXx9c

The 1974 and 1976 episodes are on Youtube. The versions I saw of the 1964 episodes were those where you have to turn your head and strain your eyes, although the audio is OK. That was on a tape, a number of years ago. There's also a Lemay episode where you have to turn your head and strain your eyes, which features Robert Delaney destroying Iris' bust of Mac. I have most of the other stuff on DVD/tape too but never can remember where most of it is.

The elites are pushing for Chris Christie again, the bestest governor ever - he'll yell at everyone and America will fix itself. Another article about this Congress and how it can't do anything. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64330.html

I still haven't ever gotten to see the original show. Netflix is good for zip.

There's a lot of talk about "The Arena" and a shady underworld figure, Jordan Scott (not to be confused with the melted-face time traveler of later years), and he pulled in semi-reformed bad girl Blaine, ruining her marriage to Jerry Grove, who is very young to be playing a cop turned lawyer (Kevin Conroy, who is good in the role, is now most famous for doing the Batman voice in a lot of cartoons). Blaine is constantly hounded by her ex, Buzz, who stays on the show for long periods of time for reasons I don't quite get. Jerry has one of those mothers from a 40's diner film, tough-talking, big hair, loud clothes, but good-hearted. I like her.

That's true. So what made you think of AW again? I've been watching some of the 1980 episodes, and what I guess was the start of the parade of the new families that came and went from AW in the early 80's. Three men are in love with dull Kit (Joey Perrini's runaway heiress wife), and she has a cadre of friends and rivals, and a father, and Judith McConnell in a role I get confused by (at first I thought she was Kit's mother [she's not] then I thought she was involved with Kit's father [she doesn't seem to be]), and boring filler scenes are devoted to these people at poolside talking about Kit and plotting against Kit. There was an amusing scene where one of the nice guys who is in love with Kit is standing around in a skintight Speedo that is the color of lettuce. As the scenes go on, he finally seems to realize just how much he's showing on national TV, and starts awkwardly putting his hands in front of his crotch. There's also a lot of freaking out over the book that was written which Janice used to poison Mac, and this book is coming out, and Rachel has to do anything to stop Mac from learning he was sterile at the time the drug was given (which it says in the book), and the author appeared on a talk show and Rachel has to stop Mac from seeing the tape, and Rachel tries to get Russ and Ada to pump Mac or Jamie for info and stop Mac from learning the truth (Ada, hilariously, is bewildered and annoyed when Rachel expects her to tell Jamie she's suddenly interested in novels). The most interesting thing of this is seeing Russ heavily in Rachel's story, which he did not often seem to be. I wish they'd carried on with the idea of Russ and his wife adopting her baby (Matthew), as it had great potential drama. The most interesting thing in these episodes is Cecile being a stealth bitch and Mac being too nice to get it. There was a great scene where Gwen/Dorothy Lyman (just about off the show by this time) immediately knew what a liar Cecile was but also quickly realized Mac would never believe her.

This is a fantastic scene. Just wonderful, and especially good dialogue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXYtcueB4QU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

I guess if there was a difference it sounds like Irna chose big melodramatic plots from the start, instead of taking time to build characters.

Her GL writing seemed to follow more of the format of the strong (if neurotic) core family, the various heroines and up and coming heroines and their problems. AW seemed to have more of a mixture, like Rachel and Ada. In the GL episodes I've seen there were no characters like that - everyone was pretty much middle class.

I wish more of Agnes' AW run was available, because it seems like a lot of the characters who started under her pen, like Lahoma and Lefty Burns, were very new to soaps. To have them be fairly regular (or in Lahoma's case, very popular and central) characters, instead of just there for one or two stories, was groundbreaking. And Agnes also seemed to be testing herself, as in her GL episodes, there's nothing of that sort.

I think a lot of the issue may have been down to Irna wanting heavy control over her shows. Betty Corday probably let Bill Bell do what he wanted, as she had a family, her husband had just died, etc. Bill Bell also heavily relied on the stability of his cast, and Irna had huge problems with this early on at AW, seemingly firing some actors on a whim.

I don't know why I didn't realize that was Penberthy. At least P&G still found some roles for their talents, even small roles, up to the early 90s. Maeve Maguire had a short role on ATWT in 1992. I'm sorry that was discontinued. I would have liked seeing more of Adelaide. They could have brought her to Oakdale after Kirk/Ellie broke up, especially since that started a long dry spell for Kirk. She would have been more interesting than characters like Aunt Mary. Thanks for the newsletter. At first I thought Lauren Martin Harkins was Laura Leighton and wondered what Leighton was doing at an ATWT event. Scott DeFrietas started becoming very handsome around the late 80s and that certainly never changed, and hasn't today. He was also a decent actor and represented a part of ATWT which Goutman and the later CBS and P&G people and Sheffer/Passanante never understood. And of course, the brilliant John Valente. Seeing AMC's end just reminds me again of how little anyone at P&G or CBS gave a damn about the end of ATWT. I get very annoyed when I think about that damn cast photo which was chopped together and poor Kathleen Widdoes wasn't even in. You could sense some of the sadness and anger from Don Hastings in that Mental Floss article.

You're right, only a few people booed. But there was no negative reaction towards this. Santorum's answer essentially validated the negative reaction. He got a huge positive reaction. Can you imagine if Democrats in a debate booed a soldier, never properly addressed him, etc.? The idea that the military shouldn't have any sexual activity is either a blatant lie or some type of fantasy. What he meant was the military should not ever have any homosexual activity or discussion of homosexual activity. If he feels that way, fine, then say it. They only want people to stay quiet when those people are saying what they don't want to hear. Of course they want gay soldiers to not talk about this. But the coarse reaction this man received shows how ugly our culture has become. And it makes me very wary of what the GOP will do if they get even more control of the government. That reaction is pretty much what you get from today's Congress. You get knee-jerk anger against the idea of gays in the military - people who were trying until the last minute to block repeal. Nothing will ever change their mind. What bothers me most is the increasing feeling I get that those in this base see anyone who is not like them as being subhuman. Whether it's cheering executions, cheering the deaths of the uninsured, or booing this soldier - it just makes me worry about what is next.

That would have been great, especially if he was a damaged influence on JR, but there was some possibility of redemption for both. It would give a lot of material to all of them.

I may just forget clips if I hadn't seen them in a while but some of the moments in here I haven't seen before. I love Dorian's pose against the door when she sees Viki (great soap moment), and Asa's reaction to learning about Joey/Dorian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lABcbD_jpYk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdFzTxE2E10&feature=related

Sadly, with soap finales, I gave up thinking, "There's no way..." quite a while ago. But I'm glad she's back, mostly just because I want to see her reconcile with Viki.