DRW50

Some more Another Life clips, from 1982. Who was Jill and what was her story? She's not fantastic but there is some raw talent. The only really bad work is from the man in the jail scene - shocking. And she's being wooed by Al Franken! The makeover is way too Small Wonder or Darla from Little Rascals.

Oh, and it's kind of tacky for Trisha to upstage Jeremy's funeral and lecture everyone about appreciating their memories. I wanted someone to smack her. I remembered Gilbert being in this but for some reason I just thought he was at the funeral. I didn't know he had some lines. AMC and OLTL ads - boo hiss middle-aged Bobby and Anita.

On the first or second clip? I didn't realize just how much they did try to acknowledge Jeremy's Pine Valley past when he died. I remembered that Gwyn called Erica (offcamera), but I didn't know he had mentioned Caera. I wish they'd gone into the PV stuff a little more, and his relationship with Angie (I didn't know they were close), but at least they did try. I kind of laughed when they kept pausing the tape. Poor Jeremy! Christine Tudor's work in that story was just spellbinding. The mention of Soho was very clunky, but generally the City characters were well-integrated into Loving's final months. Noelle Beck is very good here. I wonder if they ever asked her to go to The City. Ugh I still can't stand Tony.

Episode from towards the end of the Corinth serial killer saga. When were Jeremy and Angie friends? I guess they mean because they were both from Pine Valley? Were they close on AMC?

Yikes bad hair day for Nikki. video gone

Wow, someone has put up some more Loving from 1987. Only about 8 or 9 minutes, excluding commercials, but it's still great!! Christine Tudor was very theatrical as "bad" Gwyn, wasn't she? Ann is dressed like a Solid Gold dancer. It's so weird seeing Burke Moses as Curtis. I don't know if he quite suits the role. I most enjoyed him as Bulge on OLTL. And it has Matthew Cowles as Eban Japes. Do you think he played the role similar to Billy Clyde? Kate <3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_pELXcEJxQ

Whatever pays the bills, Tom. It's nice to see him again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhJ8QUFUfW0

I guess Corrie isn't done turning Violet into an adulterous, abusive homophobe. Can't wait. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a322752/coronation-street-actress-jenny-platt-to-return.html

I wish I could see Susan's parents. So they were around again when Susan returned? When she returned in the late 80's they were never mentioned. I love hearing your praise for Marie Masters. I'm glad she stayed to the final episode but I agree she never gained enough recognition. I think she is a wonderful actress, in that she can convey vulnerability underneath toughness and she has such a wry sense of humor. She really isn't the typical Doug Marland actress, yet in the late 80's episodes you can see how he initially brought her in just for the anniversary, and clearly something in her work, even though Susan was just back as the acidic deadbeat mother, made him bring her in permanently. In 1987 and 1988 it's fascinating to see Susan go from this brittle outsider, commenting on the haves of Oakdale, to slowly befriending Bob, falling in love with John even though he would never really want her beyond convenience, the love affair with Bob, which was never written as Bob somehow being seduced by her, then finally her relationship with Larry, where she finally got to have her own identity and own relationship for the first time ever. You usually just hear some of the bad of ATWT in the early 70's but it sounds like there was also a lot of good. I wish some of these characters from the early 70's, like Liz or Paul, had stayed a bit longer. What did you think of Paul? I saw an interview with the last actor from when he was still on ATWT, and he had this awful, awful toupee. I will have to scan it to show how bad it was. After he was fired and killed off, he did another magazine interview (I posted that a while back) and he finally showed his natural hair.

Oh good. If there's one thing I felt Emmerdale was missing at the moment, it was nasty, hostile females in the 18-34 range. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s12/emmerdale/news/a322842/emmerdale-casts-feisty-newcomer-rachel.html

Thanks again for telling us all of this. So Ellen and David weren't written out at this time? This sounds like such heavy stuff - Dan really went through pure hell for months and months. I wonder if viewers felt cheated at not seeing more of a resolution. I never knew of this Peggy. I wonder what happened to her, and to Susan's father.

I think he's very attractive, although that was mostly when he got a better haircut and I realized what a nice ass he had (points to him for choosing tight trousers instead of the horrible pirate getup they wanted him to wear). Anyway, I do love Nina and I'm sorry she isn't getting more recognition for her performances, which are so riveting and also embrace the melodramatic, theatrical elements without going too far (as Becky on Corrie does). She also has such believable relationships with the Masoods. It's even more amazing when you realize what close friends they all are in real life. The most interesting part is that generally the Masood stories only heavily involve the Masoods - when other characters come in it sometimes feels way off (like Phil's involvement). It's what Eastenders tried to do with the Ferrieras, family drama based on the customs and beliefs of their world, but failed miserably at. It annoys me when they are onscreen for a week or two and people say "Enough." The family has gone for months on end without any stories - in some cases, years. They're one of the best parts of the show at the moment, along with Janine and a few others. I do hope they can get good stuff for Kat soon too. I was reading some comments from Kat fans and they said they'd given up watching. I guess I can't blame them.

It's OK. Some feel it glamorizes prostitution but really anyone who sees this as a real example of prostitution is too stupid to leave their home. The main story is a bit weak, but Billie is OK and the guy who plays her boyfriend is good. The most interesting thing is the guest parade of johns. She even got to nail the Doctor (Matt Smith).

It's great to see you posting her again. Thanks for letting us know more about the taping schedules. Wow that must have been a real headache having to tape so much in mid-1973, since the show was going through a lot of upheaval at the time. Were you watching when this episode initially aired? I was also going to ask about something I read from Marie Masters. She said that when John Colenback wanted out to do a play, they brought the entire family in and fired them. She said it seemed funny now but at the time she wasn't thrilled. This was, what, 1973 or 1974? Then she said she returned when they recast Dan. Did they also fire Ellen and David at this time or did she just mean they wrote out Dan, Susan, Emily, and Betsy?

I thought he was very attractive (and not very well used) on the Sarah Jane Adventures. It was so bewildering when I realized he was on Eastenders, although he makes the characters seem very different. He was also in some Secret Diary of a Call Girl episodes, as Billie Piper's favorite john.

Interview with Nina Wadia and Ace Bhatti. I love seeing Nina interviewed, she's so entertaining and down to earth. Ace is so very very shy - it's adorable.

I can't believe he's still pretending he's going to run for President. Palin looks so awkward around him. The whole thing is such a stunt. It's damn pathetic the way the media pants over these carnival barkers while the country burns. Palin has said nothing and is basically just wandering around the country, and yet the media can't get enough. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56062.html

I like the relationship between Dot and Fatboy - my only real hesitation is that Dot's stories in recent years have kind of gone in a depressing loop. Hopefully they will help each other. I like the idea of Lauren and Ryan, although it seems rushed, but I think that this story is going to be overshadowed by the real life scandal Neil McDermott was involved in. I would have considered giving this story to Lauren and one of the new Moons. I wish they didn't so often limit Max to the same few stories with Tanya and his daughters. So much fondness I had for the character last year has ebbed away.

I like Tamwar and Afia, but not as dramatic characters. She just seems to be acting, and he looks gormless. He's better with some wry humor and she's better with quirkiness. I know they are at the center of all this drama so we have to see their reactions but I think they were much better at moments like the scene where she got him to dance with her in the Argee Bargee (however it's spelled) - it was such an honest little scene, awkward, and the first time I believed they loved each other. It makes me sad but I wonder if they fired Mercy because of her appearance, which often seems to get negative remarks. With better hair she would look great. I will miss Mercy, she has such a thoughtfulness and basic sweetness which the show never properly used. People go on about how she weighs Fatboy down, but it was his love for her that helped define him in the first place. Without her I'm not sure what he will be. I also wonder sometimes if she was fired because they may have somehow felt they'd reached a quota for minority actors. I hope that isn't the case, as minority actors are, along with a few greats like Janine, basically the main ones keeping the show going as EE continues to struggle with how to write for Kat, Jack, Michael, and Ronnie. I wish they'd just cut their losses and get rid of Phil...

I never thought of the first season as gritty realism anyway. It was more real, yes, and the characters were less one-dimensional, but it still had howlers like Krystal's bridal shower where all the ladies oohed and awed over the rich man outside her apartment window.

I thought Monday's episode was one of the best in months. Every scene worked, with the exception of the Masood/Afia/Tamwar stuff (Hamesh Patel and the girl who plays Afia are NOT good in dramatic situations) and the idiot plotting of Phil suddenly getting a job in Dubai and hating Yusef because Yusef inexplicably won't help Phil out. The episode was full of intertwined stories and moments, and effortless character interaction - it should have seemed forced for Dot to have deep conversations with relative strangers like Christian and Shirley, but it felt natural. Her shame when Grace spoke to her about Jim was a tough moment but the most painful was when she had wandered around the empty living room before finally curling into a chair. I know this has been a part of Eastenders for a long time but I feel like Kirkwood has added more of these silent moments which speak volumes. This was June Brown at her best. This isn't exactly a popular story but I love Fatboy's devotion to Mercy, who has been pushed into all of this without having time to process. I still think there was a place for Mercy on the show and I think she brings out such a kind side to Fatboy, instead of dragging him down, as many say she does. Fatboy also looked so incredibly handsome throughout this episode. Syed and Zainab, their talk was everything I want out of their relationship, all sides. The love, the tenderness, memories of the past (which were beautifully written and didn't ever sound like lines on a page), regret and fear for the future. I was especially surprised when Zainab joked/admitted that she had interfered in Syed's life. Nina Wadia is best at this melancholy; having Zainab as more than just the shrew who is duped by Yusef makes you care more. It's this type of shading which poor Masood never gets. What can I say about the Syed/Christian scenes? On the one hand, I think Christian is a very insecure man and I don't like the way he essentially pouted and played the brat when Syed wouldn't rush into accepting the proposal. I can't see this relationship lasting. On the other hand, after I spent much of 2009 and 2010 resenting/hating/being annoyed by this couple, I've grown to accept them, especially compared to the horror shows at Hollyoaks and Emmerdale. They actually talk to each other and since Amira left have not been laden with ridiculously overly melodramatic stories that are forgotten about overnight and show how hollow they are. Even if John Partridge is a bit overdramatic, he and Marc Elliot work incredibly well together, building up a strong bond that carries through their scenes even when they were heavily censored. This made the bed scene seem surprisingly natural. This was a hugely groundbreaking scene - a male couple on the nation's most talked about soap, in bed together, clearly in the afterglow, both shirtless (breaking the Hollyoaks rule), kissing - yet there was no OMG THIS IS SO SHOCKING!!! tinge to the scenes. The BBC is going to catch real hell for this and I applaud them for their guts. I also think Marc Elliot has given his absolute best performances in the last few months. I also didn't realize what a nice ass he had! I have to admit that I wasn't sure if Daran Little would be able to change his style to Eastenders, as some of his first scripts were almost like a parody of Eastenders. He's gotten better and better and these last two episodes were just superbly written. Among many other things, I love the way he writes for Kim. She's loud and crude but she's also strangely graceful and subtle. Little moments like her birthday celebration, or crying at Fatboy's wedding, are what I love seeing on soap opera.

Interview with David Essex. Looks like he might not be around for long. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s2/eastenders/interviews/a322231/david-essex-eddie-moon-eastenders.html

The credits are a lot of nothing. That basically represents today's Emmerdale, sadly, but it's not very pleasant to watch. I can't believe they started off with the car ad. Why?

Why am I not surprised that we see no farmland anywhere? It starts off like a car commercial. It's not a real advertisement for Emmerdale. The theme is OK, but it sounds like one of those old, dirty records that skips, and loops back - it repeats itself several times for no apparent reason. At least foot fetishists will be pleased.