DRW50

I also wasn't a fan of 1795, although that wasn't because of Angelique, more because I just didn't find most of the characters captivating, and the whole thing was very depressing. I also get tired of Barnabas angst.

1897 has ups and downs, because they stretched the story out several more months than they originally planned for, but it has some great bits.

The werewolf/Quentin haunting story has some brilliant showpieces. My favorite is when they hire the woman to deal with the ghosts of Collinwood, and Quentin locks her in a room and slowly drives her to madness and death. Then she appears at the top of the stairs, already dead, and tumbles down. Chilling, and I still can't believe they got with that. This story is also a very strong period for Maggie. They made Maggie much more smart than she's given credit for. I just wish that yummy Joe had had a better exit. Joel Crothers deserved better. The show wasted him.

My favorite of the time travel periods was 1840, at least the first half, before Daphne and Quentin took center stage.

I think Warren was a great bad guy, a rogue who also had a softer side. I didn't like the relationship with Louise (I didn't think they had chemistry and they dragged each other down) and I thought the character suffered when they tried to make us feel sorry for him. I think that first year was Warren's best year. My favorite time was when he was sleeping with Clare while being best mates with Max, and when he was sleeping with Mercedes and first got involved with Justin. There was such amazing charisma with him at that time -- he looked like he wanted to make out with every other person he was in a scene with. I wish they'd done a bisexual story with him, I think he would have been perfect, especially since he was so much about his image. He would have gone crazy at the thought of having feelings for Justin, or Calvin.

Oddly enough, considering he's a former drug dealer and woman-beater, I like Ste. I think Kieron Richardson is a great actor and he's done wonders with a character who shouldn't have been redeemable. I think there are some other young characters on the show with potential but the show sometimes seems to have a hard time bringing new characters in or knowing what to do with them.

Hollyoaks has always had that wank material mentality, which Kirkwood did help clear up (even with the calendars still being around) but in earlier years the show won awards for some stories, like the one about Luke Morgan's rape.

I think Kirkwood was the main force behind the fantasy sequences in the opener, in the past they had them at times but they also had more traditional openings.

Jamie's sister is Charley Webb, who plays Debbie Dingle on Emmerdale. She's brilliant, one of the hearts of that show now.

The last interview with Jamie.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a157274/ja...-interview.html

Russ actually had some good-ish stories for a few years. I never saw his storyline about testicular cancer, but his romance with Dannii, the destruction of their relationship as Russ' brother Sam and his friend became rapists, Sam blowing up the pub and killing himself as well as Russ' new girlfriend Sophie, Russ' relationship with Mercedes. I'm not sure why they stopped writing for him. He is, as you mention, gorgeous, and a good actor, and one of the few genuinely nice guys on the show. I don't know why they stopped writing for Russ and Justin, especially since they can't seem to stop writing for Calvin, who is so smug and self-righteous and not played by a very good actor.

There are many good actors on the show who don't get a lot of material (like Rhys).

I'm enjoying some of this week. I LOVE the cast integration, and Gemma Bissex is fantastic as ever, she plays the b&tch so well, she always plays her with vulnerability. I wish she could stay around. I'm even going to almost miss Warren, he's at his best with people like Clare and Justin. They shouldn't have moved him towards Louise and Sasha and Mandy.

The weird thing is these episodes were scheduled to air during the time of a huge football match in the UK, which means less people are likely to watch. I don't get that.

Here's a good article, although I should point out that Hollyoaks did have years of gripping stories before Kirkwood took over, it's just that the last few years before him were seen as poor.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandrad...ks-new-producer

Thank you. I'm not sure if calling this "Stunt Week" is a great idea. I was hoping for more with Myra, but at least she'll still be around. I was also hoping they'd do more with Darren than him making more mistakes.

I wonder who Spencer will live with.

The episode aired Christmas Day of last year.

I thought Charity's exit was superb, she got her own back on the Kings, but she still lost Debbie. Debbie always seemed to prefer Cain. Then Charity left to try to finally live without a man. They even used Eva Cassidy's "Songbird" instead of the normal closing credits theme.

What makes this story so good is they have built on years and years of history. The story started in 2002 or 2003, when Debbie was fostered and then she reunited with her biological parents. Even when Cain and Charity were gone, Debbie continued to have story, becoming wealthy and hardened even though she was only in her late teens, then losing everything and reverting back to her more vulnerable self during her reconciliation with Jasmine. Just in time for Cain to return, and Debbie to be torn between doing what he wants and doing what her instincts tell her.

The story with little Sarah has also built consistently ever since 2005. I don't like Andy, but I think Kelvin Fletcher is a very good actor.

Interview with Gemma Bissix. Spoilers.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a156248/ge...-hollyoaks.html

The rumors about Todd returning for a longer visit started after his well-received return in October 2007. The producer at the time left, and the new producer, Kim Crowther, doesn't seem to have any strong interest in the Grimshaw family, or gay characters (Sean is window dressing). I'll be surprised if Todd comes back. Happy, but surprised. Right now all the British soaps are at a low ebb in solid gay characters. Another problem is Corrie is having budget cuts, like all the other soaps, and Bruno probably comes with a good price tag. If they do bring him back I'd like to see him with Sean's ex, Marcus, who was adorable.

Ken eventually told Martha he was married. She was angry, but they couldn't stay away from each other, and she asked him to sail away with her. He planned to leave, and told Deirdre he was leaving. He left a note, and off he went...but he couldn't go through with it. He returned to the flat, and Deirdre, probably because she and Ken haven't had any actual love for each other in a long time (I would say never), took him back. Blanche was very angry at Deirdre's weakness and moved in with Peter and his little boy Simon.

Colin and Rita were engaged to be married. Then Julie's mother, Eileen's school friend, came to visit Julie. She finally broke down and told everyone in the pub that Colin had had sex with her when she was only about 14, and Julie was their child. Eileen bitterly turned against Julie, her mother, and Colin, and Rita broke up with Colin. Colin had a stroke. Julie, who never knew about him, tried to make a relationship with him, but her mother called the police to report Colin for what he'd done. When the cops showed up, Eileen went to the door. By the time she took them to his room, he had died of another stroke.

Complicating matters is that a few days before the big reveal, Julie and Eileen's son Jason almost had sex.

Thanks for all this info. I never knew Agnes came back to the show. I still wonder what could have been if they'd given the show a little more time, the cast and the stories were finally gelling.

Was Hannah the Rebecca Gayheart character?

Sad to hear about Roya Megnot.

Why do you think Doug Marland left the show? What part of the show was his influence? The Donovans? Did you miss them when they were phased out?

I just thought she'd want to even the score with Warren even more than Clare, since Warren wanted to kill her as well as his child (if he knew she was pregnant). Plus she went completely crazy.

I also wonder if they would have paid a visit to their old friend Mandy, and pay her back for the affair with Warren. Did you ever see the late night episode where they were supposed to go on holiday, then they ended up breaking down, they went to a trashy honky tonk bar, they broke into the wrong house and got arrested, then went to the right house and ran into Sean, the husband Louise had never mentioned. Someone was also hit in the head with a frying pan. This was with the first Clare, the one who was supposed to be nice.

This is an interesting article about the show, although it seems kind of out of date, and Kirkwood isn't entirely accurate (Justin was at the center of stories for years and years before Kirkwood showed up).

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_an...icle6260211.ece

What I never understood about Louise is why she had so many different personalities. She was Darren's holiday girl up for a good time, she was obsessed with Ben, she was the evil college supervisor, she was madly in love with the husband she'd never mentioned (Sean), then she was supposed to have feelings for Warren, then she fell for Calvin, on and on. I probably most liked her with Sean. Calvin was the worst, as he broke her spirit, as he does to all his love interests. Then she just became Warren's moll, and her story became about Warren's pain, which is just zzzzzz.

I think Roxanne was right not to return, although I would have loved seeing her team up with Clare to destroy Warren.

I wonder if this is the end of Spencer. I can't imagine who he would live with. He just seems to be taking up space.

Roxanne McKee has said she was originally asked to return, and said no. I guess that makes sense, but I still prefer Clare returning. I just hope Clare doesn't die.

Here's a promo for the big exit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmz8L04_uug...feature=channel

Wouldn't be Warren/Justin without at least one shot where they look like they're going to make out.

I hope they don't rebuild the Loft, I think that place has had its day, and they can use the money to make other new sets. I don't even know who'd buy it anyway. Probably Neville Ashworth.

I lost some interest after the Becky/Steve wedding shambles, and all the time Michelle and Liz treated her like trash. Apparently Liz is gone for a while. I'm sorry Beverly Callard is having problems, but I don't care for Liz. I'd much rather see Steve's twin Andy return.

The Maria/Tony story is too plot-driven for me. Quite a bit of the show is plot-driven. I think they do best when focusing on characterization.

The work from everyone in the fallout of Colin's secrets being revealed was brilliant, especially Sue Cleaver (Eileen).

I thought 2008 was very uneven. I wouldn't say sucked, but some key stories (specifically, Niall's time in town, JP/Kieron, Craig's return and JP's exit) were very plot-driven and short-sighted. Kieron's death had barely any impact. Kieron could have served more use if he'd lived, especially since the show has struggled at bringing in solid new characters for the past few years. Craig and JP barely talked about their issues before they left, and it seemed more like reuniting them only because of what fans wanted, more than any passion from the writing. The McQueens only found out about Niall being Myra's son right before he died, and he became such a nutjob that the years of potential storylines to be spun about his place in the family were all squandered. Even Myra choosing which of her children should die had little payoff. This was all big moment after big moment with no real substance.

The custody battle over Charlie was inexplicably dropped and Nancy spent most of the year in a bad storyline with Ravi, while Justin barely appeared, aside from a going nowhere relationship with Leila.

Fletch and Sasha spent half a year getting addicted to heroin, then Fletch is suddenly written out, never to return, and Sasha starts vamping Warren.

Why did Hannah have so little to do during 2008?

A secret kept for almost a year about Mercedes sleeping with Tony and aborting his child -- used only for a short-lived vendetta story between Tony and Jacqui. They've wasted Jacqui for ages, it's always baby, baby, baby. Remember how fun and sexy she was early on, and her moments of vulnerability with her family?

A secret kept for almost a year about Tina carrying Russ' child -- barely tapped into before Tina was killed off.

Rhys -- barely a factor after Beth died, even though Andrew Moss proved he could carry major story. Sarah, flitting from point to point for most of the year. I still don't know what the point of the story with her and Elliott was, or Hannah and Elliott.

Why did they bring Mandy back just for the affair with Warren which did nothing for her character? Was that the only exit they could come up with to get rid of Louise?

Why did Carmel and Calvin become nothing more than this joyless couple with Calvin always judging her? Then they built up a story for Calvin and Valerie, but she left (for maternity leave, I guess) never to be mentioned again.

The pacing was horrible last year, and I thought the only consistently good and relatively well-paced stories involved Steph's struggles and the money problems with Jack and Darren. I liked other stories, like Mercedes, Malachy and the HIV, but they were short term.

Once the "big" stories ended, nothing was left, and most of the new characters brought in haven't picked up the slack. Kirkwood knew how to do big moments, but with nothing in between. Now people seem to have deserted the show because it was all short term stunt and long term emptiness.

I can't wait to see Clare again, but I hope she isn't going to be killed. I don't want this to be like that Mad May return on Eastenders, big hype and then a fizzle. It was her relationships with Louise, Max, and OB which fascinated me, not Justin or Warren, so I'd like to see her outlive them. What a great story if Clare outlives all her enemies (except OB).

The show is very directionless now, although I don't think this is because of Kirkwood's departure, the show has been aimless for quite some time (I'd say since late 2007). Directionless isn't always bad, as there can be some moments of strength. I think Anita's bullying story is very well done, from what I've seen, and the core families are still there if HO ever wants to focus on them.

For many years I have had a memory in my head of Eden and Cruz on a boat - I think - and Eden talks about how she keeps seeing hands. I guess this was about a murder. What was that about?

Thanks for keeping this up, Huntress!

I'm glad Roman seems to be getting a new story on AWZ. He's a great character. If he's away from Deniz (a mouthwatering specimen of man, but a horrible $%$ of a person), even better.

The story is better than my description, but, basically, Debbie and Jasmine first met a few years ago when Jasmine moved in with her uncle (her parents left her in boarding schools most of the time). Jasmine was shy and repressed. Debbie, who had grown up in foster care and then when she found her parents, they used her and abandoned her, was just happy to have a friend and relive the fun years she never got to have. Slowly they fell in love, but Debbie's unbalanced father, Cain, who was disgusted by the idea of Debbie being involved with another girl, seduced Jasmine. Jasmine got pregnant, but to get revenge on her father, Debbie persuaded Jasmine to have an abortion.

They fell out, but a few years later repaired their friendship. They moved in together, and Jasmine started dating a crooked cop because she wanted to write an expose of the crime family he worked for. When he found out the truth, he tried to rape Jasmine. Debbie tracked them down and hit Shane over the head. A few minutes later, he came to and tried to attack Debbie, but a hysterical Jasmine beat him to death with a chair leg.

With the help of Debbie's cousin Eli (who was in love with Debbie), they covered up their crime and threw Shane's body into the river. At this time Debbie and Jasmine began to fall in love again, sharing several kisses. Eventually the body was found and after Eli realized Debbie and Jasmine were a couple and he sold them out to the cops. They tried to run away, but the cops got Debbie.

Jasmine hid out for a while, but eventually she turned herself in to spare Debbie. Debbie visited her in prison. She asked Debbie to move on with her life, and told Debbie how much she loved her; Debbie said the same. Then she gave Debbie her ring and said now they would always be together.

Debbie's a fascinating character. She's at the center of the show at the moment, and they're bringing her parents back, which should be great drama.

Eastenders has become all about stunts. Months and months of dead space until the next stunt. Unfortunately those stunts have very little payoff, or peter out through confusing storytelling. Why was the aftermath of Danielle's death about Peggy and Phil? They're useless. Aside from a way to get headlines, was there any reason to have Tanya bury Max alive? Or for the hit and run involving Max? They have ruined the Brannings. Why did they keep Billy and write out Honey? Why did they keep Patrick and write out Yolande? Why do they keep pushing dreadful Jack Branning at people?

Why did they bring Janine back?

When you watch some of the 80s clips which are out there, the amount of strong characterization and the complexity of the drama and how they mix comedy (so many different types of comedy) in with drama is incredible.

Now we get these big dour stories mixed in with Heather gawking at a yogurt lid.

I enjoy Emmerdale, at least what I see of it. I'm not a big Dingle fan but I don't think they're hillbilly caricatures. Debbie's a wonderful character, and Chastity is, when written properly, a fascinating character, a broken woman who desperately tries to be "good" even as she knows how hollow that idea is.

I also respect that they try to give story to their older actors, sometimes just comedy, but it's better than most of the gloom on other soaps.

The Debbie/Jasmine story was soap at its absolute best. And so was Matthew King's death.

You are right, Shawn, it was probably a blessing in disguise that the show was cancelled when it was and that it went out on such a high note.

If only the same were true of Guiding Light...

RH was coasting on fumes for most of the 80s. A high note might have been around 1980.

I think many soaps, even when they're very flawed, still have good qualities, so for this reason I'm glad RH still stayed around, and why part of me will always wish the show had had a few more years. Claire Labine dearly loved those characters and she'd barely had a chance to make her final return before the show was gone.

Nancy was so annoying back then.

Very, very, very good casting news.

They always have great promos now. Remember the one where Max was run over?

Those arms reminded me of the arms in that Doctor Who episode from a few years ago. Bad Wolf.

Sophie's desperate for attention from her family, but I don't think she ever really had any romantic relationships with men. Not yet. She's done several things to try to make her family notice her. Last year she sent herself threatening letters when Rosie was missing. After Kevin and Sally were near their breaking point, she admitted she'd written them herself.

Tony did kill Liam. He paid a man to run Liam down because of Liam's relationship with Tony's fiancee, Carla. Tony didn't know Maria was pregnant, if he had I don't think he would have killed Liam. Tony kept trying to get Jed thrown out of his home, Jed refused, finally Jed had a stroke and when he was sent to the hospital, Tony took his home. Jed was found in the hospital by Emily Bishop, whom he knew from when they both lived on the Street in the 60s. He went to stay at her place. He was constantly harassing Tony, and then he saw Tony meeting with the man who had killed Liam. He began blackmailing Tony. Finally, on Christmas Eve, Tony snapped and strangled Jed with lingerie. This was in the knicker factory. He had to stuff his body in a hamper, as the workers were returning. They had their Christmas party and danced around the hamper, not knowing he was inside. The next morning, Tony was surprised to see Jed was still alive, and he paid him to leave town.

If anyone wants to see some on-set diaries from the woman who plays Kirk's girlfriend Julie.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a149493/ka...gh-day-one.html

Sally used to be extremely snooty, and put on airs. She doesn't seem to be quite as bad lately. I really like Sally and Kevin, they're a very believable couple, and they do drama as well as the funny stuff.