DRW50

Another 1982 clip that gives us a rare look at Pat Randolph. I've usually just seen Jacquie Courtney as being a bit old school soap actressy so it's weird to see how animated (even overanimated) she is in her scenes about moving in to Llanfair. She really really wants to move into Llanfair, people! I hesitated a bit when Viki talked about her childhood memories. I still kind of wish they hadn't done that retcon. Lots of other great scenes too, with Viki/Dorian/Clint, Viki/Clint, and Viki and Becky Lee. I wish they had brought Becky Lee back (I'm not talking about that racist con artist fiasco). She has such a calm presence. The show seems to have effortlessly integrated so many "country" type characters. I don't think they ever got credit for that. I always love the old clips where we get to see when Clint was much much looser. I couldn't believe he was sitting around talking on the phone with his left arm craned over his neck and listening from his right ear. It's not exactly a drunken sex orgy, don't get me wrong, but it just seems so casual in a way Clint wasn't later on.

You're right. I didn't even remember until I started watching the episode. I always think of him as Billy Walker. I guess he also looked different here because he wasn't surrounded by very tall actors. The first episode was a lot better than I thought it would be. Not fantastic by any means, but solid. I especially enjoyed the Hart mother, even if yanking off that towel was inappropriate. Who would have thought that an entrance like that would lead the man running down the hall to become one of the show's longest-running characters? I was surprised at the twist involving Duncan Hart. I was sure that the mother's friend was sleeping with the father (Farrington), and then what do you know, she's sleeping with Duncan! The other Hart sister, the one who wasn't a lesbian, got on my nerves. Was she around when most of the family was killed off? So what was the conflict between the Hart patriarch and his parents?

I guess it helped that EON always had high turnover. The show's willingness to hire people and move on meant a lot of fascinating roles. Ann Williams was on soaps for years but I think her Edge role, as Margo, which probably only ran a year or a year and a half, was her favorite. Kim Hunter is so fabulous as Nola. There are so many great scenes, even little moments easily overlooked. Here's one where Paige walks in and is horrified to find Nola off the wagon again.

I wouldn't expect anything more from McFadden than what you've seen. He tends to just sort of rasp through the days, and then he has some very good moments in pauses. The problem with gay bad boys on soaps is that it always becomes "They just want to be loved! Poor them!" And there's no real way to do that with Ben because I don't think the actor is suited to that type of complex material and there isn't any type of family bond that would make for any type of good contrast. You're just basically going to get Phil drinking and angrily whispering and shouting, and Shirley hovering. I also don't know if this will work with Ben because Santer conditioned viewers to see Ben as a bad joke, and as Phil's greatest burden. That is all he will ever be to many viewers. If he isn't doing drag balls by Christmas a lot of people will just say, "Bored now."

Peter Reckell and Steve Bond were considered for Det. Cutter on GL.

I think it's the wrong time to do this story and it's with the wrong character, a character many viewers can never take seriously, but oh well. It might be good.

This is from the July 1950 TV Radio Mirror. Initially I was just going to post the Right to Happiness section, but I decided to post the whole thing because I love the image of each radio soap having that little picture beside it. It's such a nice way to "see" the story, even if it's just one stock photo. It reminds us how much radio soaps were about imagination.

I found the first part. Let's see if I can find the rest...

From the June 2, 1987 Digest.

That photo with her husband is the closest I've ever seen her looking to her early 90's appearance. It's very easy to trade one addiction for another, but I hope she finds some peace. I also wish she'd return to Eastenders while Mandy is there. I was reading about News of the World...I didn't realize they were the ones who unwittingly drove poor David Scarboro out of the mental hospital he was staying in, which helped lead to his 1988 suicide. If you can find them, you should try to look for the Eastenders books that were written in the mid-80's. They're full of loving detail for every character, and generally the dialogue and the motivations are spot on. They will help you to care even more about the show's early years, which are some of the best drama ever produced for television. The book which takes place about a year before the show began goes into detail about when Mark first began taking drugs. It really made me care about and understand early Mark in a way I never really did while watching his episodes.

When was that character on Edge? Its last year?

Do we know who was writing The Doctors during the strike?

That's interesting. I didn't think most of the strike characters survive. I guess he was the only one who did...I can't think of any 1981 strike characters on any soaps who lasted. I guess there must have been someone though. A non-ending always sucks but at least it's better than being killed off.

I thought he was in one of the late December recaps, after Mona had already died. But you may be right. I don't know why I said Aldrich. I meant Dancy. Sorry about that...

I wonder why they didn't have him related to the Aldriches. He kind of looks like Luke. It looks like he was there to the end, or close anyway, according to some of the later recaps. I'm not sure what his last story was.

A migraine controversy leads Michelle Bachmann's people to violently shove a reporter. I guess this will just make the base love her even more. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/report-bachman-aides-shove-abcs-brian-ross.php?ref=fpb

Hays would have been a bit goofy but I would have liked seeing him with Susan, possibly. She had had so much heavy drama in the mid/late 90's and it would have been nice seeing her comic side. They tried to do this with Scalia but it just didn't work.

December 22, 1981 Digest. I posted the December 8 recap a while back.

According to some people who read the Mirror, Patsy Palmer is returning by Christmas. Here it is. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/2011/07/19/patsy-palmer-on-eastenders-return-bianca-will-have-a-softer-side-after-her-time-in-prison-115875-23281717/

Eban turned out to be a real headcase, and I think he took Ned hostage, but I don't remember now. Lotty broke free of him to marry Curtis but I guess it didn't end well for Lotty. I know that printing them out must be difficult when I have posted a lot of them out of order. I'm sorry about that. I have some more, I'm just waiting until more people have caught up with what I put earlier.

Sorry about the bad cropping on some of these.

Posting some articles for Maeve Maguire's upcoming birthday. 2/71 TV Dawn to Dusk.

Maeve Maguire tested for a role on Hidden Faces, was runner up, and a few days later got a role on Edge of Night.