DRW50

Is there any real reason to keep OC around? I watched the first few episodes and I thought they were very stilted and generic and fake (the husband and wife, all the frozen faced blondes terrorizing their kids). Did the show pick up from then?

I also have to say how entertaining some of the "please he can't go back to Hollyoaks that would ruin JP/Craig forever" stuff is. I have loved some soap couples, although it seems like a long time ago now, so I guess I can understand that, but to me that dud reunion and the way Craig behaved during the affair were more damaging than any offscreen breakup could be. I don't know if James Sutton would even go back to Hollyoaks if asked, although I doubt they will ask him. I wouldn't mind seeing the old, fun JP again, with the twinkle in his eye, especially if he replaces Bart, the world's oldest teenager who has ZERO connection with the McQueens, but considering Mandy's disastrous and Lee's forgettable return, it might not be for the best. I do hope he goes on something which involves nudity...

This was predicted for a while, and the show has never really used Sutton. I think that Blyth was happy to have him because he was a Hollyoaks name - and I do think this probably did help bring new and younger viewers to Emmerdale - but that he had no idea what to do with Ryan. All logical stories for Ryan ended when they killed Mark off. I don't believe that it is down to wooden acting, that's not exactly tough to find in starring roles on any soap. I think they just lost all momentum for this story a long time ago. I wonder how much longer Declan will be around. They rewrote his personality to bring in his family, a forgettable daughter and a horrible wife and father. None of them serve any purpose other than to point out that Home Farm has become a dinosaur. I struggled to emotionally connect with Emmerdale during Blyth's time as producer and I think that now the bottom has fallen out because the stories he produced - which generally had good moments in the short term but no real long-term planning - have faded, with nothing to replace them. I really would love to know the idea behind the Katie and the evil cop storyline. Everything about it has baffled me. Giving such a story to mediocre actors, making it so obvious, killing off core characters and then shrugging at their deaths, and finishing with what will probably be a whimper. How many times has Katie had this story and I still don't buy it.

I think that Carol would have worked as a reminder of Tom's past and as a contrast to Margo. Like the story with Taylor and Tom while Margo was with Hal. Taylor was so dull and yet she was supposed to be a vixen. Wouldn't it have made more sense if Tom had had to help Carol and been reminded of his past? This would have also been a good way to help introduce Scott Holmes to viewers. Or later on, when they had the difficult transition while Ellen Dolan was gone and Tom ended up quasi-flirting or whatever with Dawn, which was an awkward story. Carol might have fit in there.

I didn't mind San Cristobel for the first year or two - I think where I started to get tired of it was when they wasted Tim Adams as Rob Layne, and for whatever reason, I really loathed the stuff the Labines did with Beth as Edmund's thrall (which wasted the genuine chemistry BC and DAM shared), Cassie losing her late term baby, etc. I sort of felt like, at the time at least, that Wright did manage to play a slightly trashy character, in how she was styled (mainly her hair) and in how other people treated her. For instance there was always the sense that Josh saw her as unworthy. I imagine they did plan for a trashier character, what with the initial plan to have Zimmer play dual roles, and all the stripping, but as others mentioned I'm not sure how trashy anything would get on the bright white GL of the Rauch era. I think at the time I was still so annoyed by the damage Dinah had inflicted on many of my favorite characters that I was happy to see her move into the bitch role, and I thought Moniz, who was such an unsympathetic and affected actress, suited the crazy bitch role very well.

For a blast from the past, 1 of 9 videos featuring Shane McGann, who played the patriarch of the doomed Reynolds family. I didn't know he was Paul McCann's brother. They were even in some early 80s pop band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmonBAnGUz0

I never really had a problem with Cassie - I sort of lost interest around 2003 or so but before then I usually liked her. There was a certain warmth in Laura Wright I think she carried in all her soap work until around then, and she's been much harder ever since. Something that I loved about GL was they mixed the everyday and the crazy. I had my sister shows, ATWT and GL, and ATWT generally was best at more down-to-earth moments, while GL had more of a bite. And yes they did have such a naturalistic acting style, which continued even with sometimes crazy material. Just look at the work Maeve Kinkead did early in her run and how she was as fabulous at that as she was at the more solemn Vanessa. I might have some of what you mentioned with Annie on tape, if I ever figure out how to upload to Youtube. There are some 1997 episodes here, although they might be after what you mentioned. http://www.youtube.com/user/IIheartbreakerII

Y&R The strong female characters were a big strong suit for GL, and most importantly, these were women who were complex, sometimes nasty, sometimes evil, but also often very empathetic. You felt a connection with them. I started watching GL around the time Reva "died" and although I had a big soft spot for Ross and Billy, it was Nadine, Vanessa, Maureen, Alex, Harley, Holly, Blake, Mindy, who drew me in. JFP's decision to center GL around unpleasant male characters was a big mistake. GL was the show I had the most complex emotional reaction towards - as the years went by it would often infuriate me, outrage me, yet I would still come back, hoping for better and more. I often wonder whether I would have been better off if I hadn't started watching when the show was so good, if my expectations were too high. I still miss the show a lot, yet I can't go back and watch as easily as I can with other soaps. In some ways it's too painful. GL is the show I always had the most connection with, it always had such a jagged edge and was so unique. I miss it a lot.

I never posted there or read the forums - the most I remember reading was some of the opinion pieces. When I first went there I wanted to see the old soap themes but had a dial-up so would have to watch them sssssslllllloooowwwwllllyyy. I would also make a valiant effort - hours and hours - to get to watch an episode of something. Unfortunately by the time I got the high speed Internet, they had moved to pay, although I think before then I did get to watch the SB earthquake episode and the ATWT episode where Whit McColl's killer was revealed. It does sound like a fascinating place. At least a lot of that insider info seems to have been passed down even if WoST is gone. I'm sure that era of GL must have been full of some strange personalities - I remember SOD's 30th anniversary issue mentioned a story where an unnamed actress slapped a SOD staffer in the face. I wish ATWT had brought Carol back. She would have been a far more believable spoiler for Tom and Margo than boring as hell Taylor. I have seen nothing of Tom pre-Deas, and I don't even know what it would be like, because it is one of the most obvious reboots I've ever seen. Aside from his Vietnam years, NOTHING of Tom's past before 1981 or so was retained. The only other character I can think of who had so much of their past history excised is Ed Bauer on GL.

That's interesting. I never knew that. I think I read he was the one who had the policy of bringing back a lot of past characters to GL.

You've probably already seen this, but someone uploaded a 1979 gag reel from GH, featuring most of the cast at that time. Jane's scene, with David Lewis, starts at about 7:45. It's a lot of fun. (the reel has some strong language...mostly from Kin Shriner).

Classic Margo freakout. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIK4xrmgYNA&feature=related

The woman who played Galen Henderson on AMC initially tested to be Gloria. Jessica Collins/Dinah Lee auditioned to be Ally on Living.

These are great ideas. They could have cast Wesley Addy as the man Mona and Nola both had ties to.

They have moved him out of Eric's story for a while now, but I wouldn't be surprised. Why give a story to an interesting character when you have a Tang-covered 30 year old trying to be a teenager?

I didn't know she was on the Doctors for 7 years or GL for 5. I thought it was around 3 for GL. Was it 5? She had quite a career, as actress and director. That was so nice of Ruth Warrick to help her out that way.

That sounds very good - who was playing Jason by the end, was there any issue with his work that made them write him out? I hope the recaps aren't running into any familiar territory yet. I think I have about 3-4 more, perhaps a few more than that, but unfortunately not all of them.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'd also never seen this for Loving (as there was no Loving book) so I thought someone might enjoy this. Gary Warner had a great touch.

Actors talk about backstage moments. Lauren-Marie Taylor says on July 16, 1991, she went into labor during a morning rehearsal. She worked to the last minute, then went off to the hospital where she gave birth at 12:40, right in the middle of a commercial break for Loving. She had a TV in the room. James Carroll - When he and Susan Keith were rehearsing a love scene, her husband James Kiberd walked over to him and said "Those scenes are great!" James panicked as he realized Kiberd being at AMC meant he could watch their every move, but Susan said he was fine. Now Carroll knows it's true. Lisa Peluso praises the hairdresser, Russell Latham. Robert Tyler - One Christmas, Trisha gave Trucker some fancy leather gloves right before they sat down to kiss in front of a campfire. They smelled smoke...the gloves had caught on fire! Christine Tudor Newman - Her most fun was having a catfight with Ann, played by good friend Callan White, with the Rocky theme playing in the background. Nada Rowand - Kate always called Ava "honey girl" because Nada's mother had used that term. One time Minnie called Egypt "honey girl". Lisa Peluso spoke up, saying she thought she was the only "honey girl", and the line was changed. Susan Keith - As an April Fool's joke, 7 of the women on the show went to the producer's office to announce they were pregnant. The production assistant believed them. Laura Sisk - Paul Anthony Stewart made her cry during the scene where Casey proposed to Ally, when he gave her a bottle of melted snow from the church outside Trisha and Trucker's wedding. The script said she kept a stiff upper lip, but Laura couldn't. Michael Weatherly - He's late to work all the time. One time he got in a cab so he wouldn't be late, but the cab driver hit someone! The producer tells him "Go to bed at 11" He tries, but just stares at the ceiling until 4 AM.

May/June 1993 Episodes. Loving's 10th anniversary. The first page I didn't scan, as it's just text, saying the original show purpose (blue blood, Corinth, etc.) and that after over 2,500 episodes the show is entering its second decade in stride.

Well it did have a bigger budget than GL did at the end, but I do think the show looked good towards the end (The City), aside from some glossiness on the camera. Did you know that Jessica Collins originally read for Ally? I think I read that. And that Laura Sisk gave her the cold shoulder at first because she thought Jessica had been hired to replace her. They made up when Laura realized Jessica was playing a new character (Dinah Lee).

July 6, 1982. Paul Raven summarized the recap after this (July 20 or 23) on page 12.