DRW50

Now I want to see Ione and Iris together. Iris: ::sigh:: I just don't understand what Daddy sees in that woman. Ione: The Good Lord told me there is a reason a father is a father and a husband is a husband. Iris: Exactly what are you implying? Ione: I have floors to clean. Find your answers in His Word. <as Ione leaves, Iris pensively stares at the Bible> Iris: I think I'm just going to have a cocktail...

I will post those in a day or two. I wonder if they should have cast Nancy or MJ or Cheryl as Laken Lockridge. I love your ideas. You have a real passion for these shows. Thanks to your post I went back and watched another episode from August 91. August 23. You can see how far behind I am. I really don't like Spencer much at all. I do like the Frankie/Ryan friendship. They're very believable. I don't like Michael's paternalistic attitude towards Rachel. I love the scene where she insists she's going to see Carl whether Michael likes it or not, and then she tells him he can drive, and she throws the keys at him (given her visions problems the idea of her driving scares me anyway -- it would remind me of Simpsons Hit and Run, with Dean muttering "Ladykillerladykiller" as he goes over the windshield). And then her locking eyes with Carl as she knows he tried to kill her. Then her attempt to hide her fear when he threatens to get close to Amanda. Victoria Wyndham was fantastic in those scenes. I missed that fire in Rachel in later years. Did it seem odd to you that Marley thought Jamie had feelings for Paulina? Here's McConnell. It's always tough for me to remember she was in her 30s when she was on AW and ATWT. She looks older to me. http://www.igs.net/~awhp/1miranda.html

I know I've asked this before, but did Turner want to leave or was she let go?

Poor Jacqui, having to get in this old tired "sell yourself to save your man" story (the guy even sounds a bit like Andy Hunter from EE). I also don't believe Rhys is the "love of her life." Interview with new character.

Thanks for posting that. For some reason I had remembered it as them showing her firing on people. I would have enjoyed that even more I still never understood how Julia became such a criminal mastermind, but it was a good surprise twist. I'd forgotten Vicky was still there for the third season -- I guess she must have left early or midway? Her husband started sleeping with his ex wife in the third season I guess. I thought it was the second. Joe Lambie managed to be dull and hot at the same time.

I keep meaning to start up again before they're taken down. I was wondering if you or anyone else would be interested in any of the stuff when Ellen Wheeler and Tom Eplin were together in real life; they were interviewed and on the cover, in 1986. I didn't know if someone might feel that was too much about their personal lives and are only interested in the characters. If there are any actors you're interested in let me know and I'll try to find something. I was going to ask you, were there any AW actors you wished had been on Santa Barbara, or vice/versa? How many actors did the shows share anyway? It doesn't seem like that many.

Thanks for posting those. I agree with the fans who wonder why there hasn't been more promotion for the upcoming episodes, but considering the BBC has a limited budget they usually seem to do a good job coming up with promos and things to get our interest.

I've heard a few others say Anna would be better off without Eddie, but I think that might just further isolate her. I don't see why they decided that Graeme needed to be "normal." He was popular with fans because he was weird. I don't believe the actor can pull off serious material and Tina just seems to be there to help him along. Don't they remember what happened to Curly when he became "normal"? I can see why they have decided to extend the story with John, because it is one of those weird things which can go on and on as it was odd to begin with, and Graeme Hawley is an underrated actor who has always given his best to this silly stuff. It seems like they keep this up because they have to stretch to 5 episodes a week. But it has become so ridiculous. I just wonder whether any of this will ever affect anyone on the Street. It's such an isolated story. I really wonder why Tracy needs to be back. I get that she's Amy's mother but I think people need a break from Becky/Steve stories. All of Tracy's relationships seem played out (especially the one with Deirdre) and Kate Ford isn't a very good actress. The only way I would be interested in her return is if she made life hell for Carla, and I wonder if the show will even remember Peter and Tracy were close. When was Jim last seen? After he was beaten up? I guess Izzy's father and sister were supposed to make up a new family, but I don't think they click. I don't understand why they cast such an incredibly dull actor for a role which was supposed to have some type of spark. The story with Liz seemed to be scuttled quickly, as Bev Callard vanished without much real explanation. Corrie used to be great at creating new characters. Even Kim Crowther had some like Mary. I wonder what has changed. If Collinson is ashamed of creating silly new characters, surely they are better than dullards. The show has a lot of characters at the moment who do nothing and who are played by actors not talented enough to drive story. The show seems afraid to get rid of them or somehow lulled into thinking that this is just what Corrie is. But beyond that the show has become so cordoned off that even if characters who are supposed to be major suddenly disappeared, I'm not sure how many would notice. Corrie used to be a very character-driven show. It was about people interacting, not as much about their stories. Now it's very plot-driven, but as a result, the show no longer has any tone and you get really weird things like Steve barely noticing that a tram crashed or a building blew up or that one of his friends died. Not to mention how many characters shrugged off Rita being found after a week in the rubble.

How do you feel about Brendan, and about the way Mandy is being written? Looks like Clare might be on the way back. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1406707

Thank you for finding this! I don't know very much about Kate Lodge. Was she the only one to play the role? How long was she on the show?

I think it's better off and worse off than Eastenders, because they didn't really have any big reveal that had to be kept secret until their live episode. Stacey killing Archie was kept secret from a lot of actors and they clearly had barely planned out the aftermath -- the episode where Stacey and Max talked about the truth was written on the fly. On the other hand, Eastenders, at least on paper, had several big stories which were supposed to take up the slack (Chryed, Lucas). That didn't really work out, but the idea at least made sense. I guess Corrie's stories could work out, but to me they seem to be very thin. Tracy returning again -- her last appearance wasn't exactly a great success and I think a lot of fans are tired of Becky and Steve. The "love square" is seriously compromised by the poor work from Ben Price and the character assassination of Leanne and by Carla's overnight obsession with Peter. The story about baby Jack doesn't affect that many people and the show doesn't suggest they have any real ideas or hope for this storyline. What else is there? Gary's PTSD could be interesting I guess, if they stop with all the special effects and actually have faith in the actor. Lloyd and the wooden stripper and her boring ex is dull. So is the Stape silliness. So is everything with the snoozeworthy Charlie Stubbs knockoff. Then there's the great idea of bringing in Chris Fountain as a Duckworth when all of his relatives are gone and he could have had a few last scenes with his grandfather if the show had planned it differently -- but then, if the other new characters are any indication, I guess Fountain will just spend months standing around with his mouth half-open.

Thanks for finding this. I have seen so little of Kathleen Turner's soap work. She seems very cold here -- then again perhaps Nola was supposed to always be cold. When exactly was she written out? I don't care for the announcer or that tinny music.

That was true more for the 2005 era of the show. Santer's era was campy and self-important but also full of ugly issues they were unable to treat respectfully, like rape and child molestation. They were just good at hype, and Santer was good at kicking the can down the road, with others taking blame for his mistakes. I do think the show has a lot of problems, and frankly a lot of stuff on the show is just weird at the moment, but I also feel like Kirkwood was already written off before he ever started. It reminds me of Anita Turner on Emmerdale. She was not very good but she was also basically written off as soon as she arrived.

It's nice to see you posting again. I'd like to see Ena, Elsie, and Annie again too, but sadly that won't happen At least we have our memories. What I'd really like to see is all the episodes made available, not just a select few. Did you get to see the DVD special Curly was in earlier this year? How as it? I haven't watched tonight's yet but I read that they had a montage. Groan. Between that and the Peter death fakeout and all that, it seems like the show is running away from most of what made it unique. I know Tony Warren has praised Collinson but I wonder how he really feels when he sees those cheesy montages and sound effects and gimmicks about "4 funerals" when only 3 people died. Now when a lot of people think about the anniversary they will wonder why the show misled, for no real reason. Why not just have Maria choke to death on her extensions or something. That's #4. Jean Alexander feels the show has lost its identity. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a292473/jean-alexander-corrie-lost-its-identity.html

I'd never heard of the pilot at all until I read that (Janice's pilot). I hope someone knows more about it. If you have a scanner we'd love to see some of the stuff in the magazine. If not then just summaries are great too. I love those things, they're a good memory jog and give details you often don't find in a soap history book.

Is there a town called Peapack in Australia?

Yeah, I've heard people say that Ashley and Claire had to go because there was nothing you could do with their characters, and I laughed, because a) why do you have to "do" something with characters, and b ) take your pick with this show. It doesn't help that the new hires over the last year are generally so bad. It does not fill me with confidence about the show's priorities. Keep the worst of the old and bring in new who are as bad or worse. I agree about the last scene. I think Alan Halsall has done a good job most of this week but that wasn't great, and also not a great way to end the episode. Apparently the ratings were about 13-14 million, which is pretty good, since this episode hasn't been heavily advertised so much as the entire week has.

The actress who plays Izzy can stand for short periods of time. That's also how I felt. I thought it was all very cynical and also kind of overproduced. I'm glad they have given Gary a story but I felt like they had no faith in Mikey North because they kept on with all the smoke and mirrors and his own work was in the background behind the machine gun sounds and such. They also kept cutting away from him so quickly. The show seems to lack characterization. Everyone moves based on what the plot says. David HATES Nick. It's not a sibling hate where they are still close when they need to be -- he really hates Nick. I don't believe he would run hysterically to greet Nick. I wonder if that was originally something they scripted for Gail. I also don't believe Sally would go in there to comfort dying Molly. The whole thing with the deathbed wedding and Peter flatlining over the credits -- it's a good way to get people to stay tuned in, so kudos to them there, and most of the actors did a fine job, especially Jane Danson, but I don't believe he will die, and generally it does the characters no favors. My jaw dropped when Leanne essentially asked Nick PERMISSION to marry Peter. And noble Nick agreed. How considerate of him. Between this and those scenes of poor poor Graeme pouting about Ashley as Tina tells him that identifying a body is just too much (never mind that she identified her own father's body at the start of the year -- I guess the show forgot this), the women were certainly kept in their place in this episode. That seems to be a running theme in Collinson's tenure. Allison King is a good actress but I don't really buy that Carla has any genuine love for Peter. I think she just wants to be dramatic and twist herself into knots and all the usual histrionics. The scene where she ran out of Peter's hospital room because she couldn't take it confused me because I have no idea why she was in there in the first place. Everything with Becky and Steve and her pointless sister had no business being in this episode. Or any episode. I have no idea what this story is supposed to do, it just seems like they have no idea what to do with Becky now, or Steve, so this is marking time. I guess this is waiting until Tracy returns. Why not just have them in supporting roles for the tram crash? Instead they barely seemed to notice that there was a crash or an explosion. Other than a few scattered scenes here and there, these episodes lacked a community spirit, and the Steve/Becky stuff is a big reason why. I did laugh when John Stape realized Charlotte was still alive. Apparently this is being played as comedy. I guess? I did like the scenes with Claire sitting in the Rovers, hearing Ashley's final message to her, and I liked that they remembered Audrey's closeness to the family. That and a few performances from other actors are probably what I remember most from the episode.

I loved the last Janine/Pat scene in today's episode, and Charlie's performance - the disbelief, the little girl lost, allowing herself to cry, and then the cold anger. Those scenes encapsulated everything Janine is and Charlie really connected to the material in a way I haven't seen her do that much on her return. It was like having the old Janine on again.

Thanks for posting that. In a lot of ways, although she has been given some terrible material, Sam Womack was lucky, in terms of timing, because she came on and was heavily featured during a time when EE was endlessly hyped as brilliant. Now Jessie Wallace is back and already getting a lot of flack for somehow ruining EE or being on too much -- even though none of the stories people complain about the most have anything to do with Kat.

Shockingly , the repeal failed to get enough votes. http://gay.americablog.com/2010/12/breaking-loss-for-dadt-repeal-as-senate.html I can't help agreeing with those who feel that Obama wants this policy to stay around, as does the Democratic Party, both because it's easier for them and also because they figure it will make activists blame Republicans and turn negative attention towards them. What I hate most about this is how this basically validates McCain's bitterness and open contempt for everyone, including top military leaders, who do not parrot him. The media has also gone along with this. The media always seems to make sure they find, and broadcast, voices that will tell us all about the dangers of anything which is not anti-gay. http://mediamatters.org/blog/201012010015 I also see that "moderate" Scott Brown voted against repeal. Big surprise there. I tend to remember him for his comments about gay parents, so anything else he does along these lines is just being true to what he's done all along.

I guess I tend to see this happening whether there's a DADT or not.

The Senate might be having a vote today on whether to have a vote on repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. It looks like Harry Reid might have screwed it up again, although Republicans don't seem interested in repealing anyway. I don't think either party cares about repealing DADT. It suits their purposes to keep it around. http://gay.americablog.com/

I was surprised, and happy, that Dennis/Linda made it on the list at all. I guess Corrie hasn't had a ton of sibling relationships people will remember but it was still a nice surprise. To be fair to Sophie and Sian fans it wasn't just that which annoyed me as being too modern -- there were other things like the godawful Michelle being best barmaid (or near the top anyway). I guess a lot of fans haven't seen very much of the earlier years. To be honest I wouldn't have put Blanche at #1, I think Annie/Ena/Elsie were all more deserving, but compared to some of the others, I'm glad Blanche made it. I just wonder sometimes if people appreciate how special those early years were. I guess the man who came along and started dumping actors left and right in 1964 to somehow modernize the show might have had the right idea in the long run but I think those first few years were superb and I wonder what might have been if he hadn't come in and fired great characters like Martha and Harry.