DRW50

I guess in later years they just changed it to Erica fleeing town due to personal problems (when she worked as a waitress in Sea City, or that weird thing when she was a showgirl). So I wanted to ask my Natalie question. Do you think the character was as interesting after the rape storyline? I know Kate Collins didn't seem that thrilled about what the show did to Natalie and Jeremy.

Erica was there? That's kind of like an awful foreboding for Erica's own rape story. I wonder what her dialogue was. "Ceara, you can't die! Who else would I have to show me just how out of style clothes can truly be!"

Thanks for finding that. It's striking sometimes just how tough they were on Opal back then - they also disliked her friendship with Erica. It's a credit to Jill Larson that she made this work, as I think a lot of fans never believed Opal with Palmer. And there's more of that biting criticism of Ceara which I remembered when Genie was going around recently saying her Y&R writing is the best since her Agnes Nixon writing. It's a shame they got rid of Brainard and Van Eman after this. I wonder why they did.

May 1989 episode is up. This has a lot of followup, and a few B-stories, but is very entertaining. The best part for me is we get to see some of the fallout from Hal, Barbara, Nancy, Bob, and Kim over the truth about Adam's paternity. I especially like that we see some of the stern, old school Nancy in this. Some nice Barbara/Hal moments in this too. Other stories feature Lily trying to play rebel princess. This story was done to mature Lily, but it seems a little silly to me. I do like the casting for the rebel, and Sawyer. Lucinda is wooed by Niles Mason - as we know, he's up to no good, but Charles Keating and Liz Hubbard have a very natural spark. Caleb has a meltdown over Lily. There's a funny scene where Lily calls the farmhouse "my farmhouse." Indeed... The B-story in this, cut off from just about everything else, is the feelings Nella has for Beau, and how this ends the last of the Beau/Pam relationship. Marland didn't waste any time at all in getting Beau out. I wonder why. I can see where he may have seemed superfluous (the canvas already having so many young, sensitive men), but the actor had a very strong presence, charisma, and it was nice to have a character who had no major ties to core characters. I also like the actress who plays Nella. I wish the show had done more with them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9DUPKkltqs

Well at least it's a pretty photo.

I thought they were still married. I guess that 50% rate hits soap relationships too. More like 75% with soaps...

February 1977 TV Mirror

February 1977 TV Mirror

March 1976 TV Radio Mirror

Do Natalie fans prefer her before the rape story? To me she seems fascinating in the earlier stuff I've seen, but after the rape story it seems like she becomes more like someone that things happen to.

It always seemed strange to me that Joanna had been such a major part of the Chandlers lives for years before they arrived but was written out a year or two after they started on the show. I wonder why that was. A Digest best/worst 1984 issue had praise for her.

Helga wasn't sinister? I thought she went nuts and went off a cliff or something.

Wonderful photos. They make Paint Your Wagon sound very dirty. I love that cheesy photo of him in the Western. Couldn't get away with that now... I didn't know he was in the Turning Point. I'd never seen that Where the Heart Is photo before. Robyn Millan looks like an alien and Diana Walker seems terrified. Diana van der Vlis is like "What the hell is this?" Too bad they didn't put a photo of him on the show - there's one with his siblings.

Heather is being written out. It's too bad they never matured her - it made her unbearable. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a340859/eastenders-star-cheryl-fergison-to-leave-soap.html

I think it's been mixed in recent years, but I meant more in the late 90's - well, Jake as soon as the awful Lowry fell out of that damn tree, and then Tad a few years later. It used to drive me away from the show for periods of time. That was also when the whole Adam Chandler evil father stuff started kicking up, which I thought was too obvious.

Thanks for figuring that out. I don't have them at the moment, I don't think, but if I do I'll post more.

So Ted Tinling. Thanks.

Thanks. I'm not sure why he looks familiar to me.

Beyond letting so many leave, I think what they did to Tad and Jake (so self-righteous and unpleasant) also damaged the family. There was no real warmth there as time passed.

Just great. Beautiful photos. Who is the first guy, on the left?

That's why it's so important to keep "normal" characters like the Martins. I truly think the damage done to that family was AMC's biggest failing.

Wow that's great. I love all the color photos, in character. It's so weird seeing Kevin Spirtas dressed that way. I think I may have posted all the Rituals recaps, but I'm not entirely sure. I love the covers too. Poor MBE - epitome of the 80s. The guy looks so familiar to me. I'm not sure why. He reminds me a little of Bill Beyers.