DRW50

Thanks @Maxim . An issue probably bigger now than it has been in a while due to all the 'racial purity' types who are so high in government and culture (and then there are many like Hank who may not be from that world but still have their own reasons). Hank and Nora are always a good watch as they can call each other out like no one else...and the show doesn't ever try to hint about putting them back together so you can appreciate them without any ambiguity. Then you have Rachel, who at this time was such a compelling and unique and intelligent character.

Thanks again @Maxim Sometimes I forget how wild Stephanie was by the end.

Interesting to hear such detailed talk of the whole Sky era. Do you think Sheldon did a decent job with Sky and Raven?

Thanks again @Maxim . This is a benefit to them releasing all their episodes (which all the soaps should be doing). Slaps and catfights can be fun but there's nothing like a good verbal sparring, and the Mulcahey-penned Brooke and Taylor scene you posted is in that category. They both gave as good as they got, even if I'm always likely to side with Brooke. I loved her line about the "death of a deathbed marriage." And saying that Taylor is just like Stephanie and will end the same way as her (if only she'd known Taylor would become Greenlee). Yet Taylor wasn't wrong to point out the revolving door of Forrester men and in-laws, even if Taylor herself was also involved with just about all those men... (I'm not sure if she ever took a ride with Deacon) It was interesting hearing Taylor do all that therapist-speak. Once upon a time they would just remind us she was a therapist by having her wear big glasses. If Bradley Bell let Mulcahey flow that way I can see why he stayed as long as he did.

Thanks @I Am A Swede @Maxim I had a vague memory of the truth coming out but wasn't watching by then (I don't even know if James was doing guest shots at that time). If that had come out in the '90s it would have been electric but by 2006 both ladies had been so degraded by Brad Bell. Is this before or after Taylor ran Darla over?

I'm not sure if we're counting primetime soaps, but for Knots Landing, John Pleshette wrote a number of episodes, as did Don Murray and James Houghton. Michele Lee, Joan Van Ark, William Devane and Kevin Dobson directed episodes. For Dallas, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Steve Kanaly, and Ken Kercheval directed episodes. (I believe Linda said they weren't going to let her but Larry fought for her)

I hate soap stories where people rut while in avalanches or in cave-ins or whatever else. I would much rather just see people cheat because they openly admit to wanting to without the justification. I can't even remember if Ridge found out. Didn't she "die" before he could? Something else - and I may be wrong as I haven't watched any of this since it first aired - that was dubious to me was the leadup was a story about how James had been abused as a child and this led him to avoid sex. Afterward, he seemed to enjoy sex just fine (I remember a very fun sex scene he had with Brooke where she was in some costume), which would mean Brad Bell was doing one of those "making him a real man" stories in 1994. Then he was just cycled through various women until being written out (I can't remember if he was ever paired with Lauren - probably not). The one I would have enjoyed him with, aside from Brooke, was Sally - I think he could have been good for Sally.

That looks more like Betty Buckley in a wig than Maureen Garrett.

Thanks. I didn't watch those scenes so I don't know if they were very passionate or not but as you said it's nice to see someone who wants to push the envelope a little. Nice to hear of how supportive Laura Wright was to her.

This is likely what helped get him his guest work as the villain of the week in "Buffy." I remember his performance getting a lot of praise.

Thanks for the extra info.

Jamie certainly tried. The infamous Lady Blue...and that guest run on St. Elsewhere which just showed again she couldn't act but was at least memorable (and she got to work with Bruce Greenwood at his wicked best).

If you mean the biggest names, those come to mind. Actors who had their moments but weren't long-running stars on their soaps - I'd throw in Sheree J. Wilson (Dallas to Walker Texas Ranger) and Sasha Mitchell (Dallas to Step by Step).

Even Cinemax is pretty much gone now. I guess people can try to comb through Passionflix, if that's still around. I do think the reasons you give for faith-based films are the reasons why some like Dean Cain trawl in them.

It is, although Grammer is very religious so I suppose this may just be where he wants to go. He was involved in that Jesus Revolution a few years ago which was a sleeper hit. He also produced and maybe appeared in a short-lived US version of a popular British sketch show. A shame it didn't take off here as the sketch format is just about dead outside of SNL. I kept meaning to watch that Julia shows as Sarah Lancashire is such a good actress. If you ever have time, try to watch some of her work as Raquel on Coronation Street.

Thanks for the photos. What a striking presence Dorothy Lyman has always had. She has had a solid career but when you look at her even here you think of what she could have been in an industry that properly respected talent and charisma. Any time I see that photo I find it remarkable how young Matthew Cowles looks there.

I guess that's better than nothing, but I can see why Norman Fell was still clearly unhappy over the whole thing by the time of the E! True Hollywood Story. (reports on toxic backstage atmospheres don't hot the same without that show - imagine one for The Good Wife)

I really enjoyed the first few years of Remember WENN, until the male lead left. Even then I tried to watch when I could. I never forgave AMC for not letting the show have a proper ending.

And of course Mary's two failed variety shows, airing not long after the other, both featuring Michael Keaton. Keaton also had two short-lived sitcoms in 1979 and 1982. All four of these shows aired on CBS. Once Night Shift became a hit I envision whoever was pushing him at CBS simultaneously feeling proud and pissed as hell. I watched the three episodes of her first variety show earlier this year and it's a very odd experience. I'm not sure if they are on Youtube or not. A year or two before she had also done a very odd special, in parts a late '60s hangover, the finished product being the result of unhappy network changes. Among other things I have no idea being her idea or their idea is hippie chick Mary dancing to a fiddle, Mary as a German Axis dominatrix, Mary gussied up as a Follies lady to struggle with "I'm Still Here," and the Manhattan Transfer leading us through Hell, Henry Kissinger, and a nuclear holocaust. Mary's Incredible Dream (1976 )

GUIDING LIGHT-- A Terrible Thing to Waste, part 10

Donna had a very rocky history. She first arrived on the show in the mid '70s as a teen prostitute. I think she was beaten by her pimp. This is where she met and fell in love with Chuck. McTavish was writing for AMC in 1993.

I'd forgotten he was on CSI (then again half of Hollywood were/are - is that still on?). I might also count Woody Harrelson, if True Detective counts (much of a crackpot as he is, he seems to know it's smart to leave that role at one season only). We could count Kirstie Alley on Veronica's Closet, although I don't know if the show was ever actually well-liked.

Someone else can go into better detail but she did genuinely love Palmer, even as his real love was his ex-wife, Daisy. After she and her ex-husband and great love Chuck had sex while stuck in an avalanche (I hate when soaps do that), it was all downhill. They also had a baby, who died in a fire in her dressing room just for an added morbid twist.

Thanks @Maxim . That's an odd scene in that it feels more like a fantasy for Max than real life. We do get various sides of Luna, including stronger sides, in the years to come, but I think she and Max always seemed like a reach (and I think in the long run they would have become tired of each other).