DRW50

A letter from a read in the September 24, 1985 Digest laments what has been done to Liza, her behavior with Hogan is out of character and does not compare to her behavior with Steve and Travis. They then say they were relieved when Sherry Mathis left because she no longer had to be subjected to what was going on, and they wish her luck in her future career. I wonder how many other fans felt this way.

I'll look in the bits I have and see if it's mentioned. I have one, you might have already seen it, where they interviewed Charlene Keel and she was not exactly fond of the version of Rituals which made it to air.

The show had quite a few from 2000-2004 or so didn't they? I wish they did more now, their cast is much stronger now than it's been in a long time. I saw the Michelle/Sharon two-hander when it was still on Youtube. It was very powerful. The early scenes were devoted to Michelle and Sharon laughing and talking about old times. Then Michelle told her, and Sharon was furious and devastated. Amazing acting, especially from Sue Tully. They didn't make up until Vicki had meningitis. The show did such a fantastic job with that secret and the long, slow impact it had - soaps don't know how to do that now.

Of all the weddings to return for, Ian and Mel. Odd. Diehards may already have so many issues with the show as it is, the show might as well take the risk. I think with time and care - if soaps can do that today - it would be worth hiring a good actress who would have chemistry with Dean and work in the role Michelle once filled, especially since there is no one like that on the show now. There are no quiet, strong women. I was just watching another 1985 episode, episode 49. This was on the heels of Sue being completely shut down after Hasaan's death, to the point where she let herself and the cafe go to ruin. She recovered because she held Mary's crying baby, and the next day she gave Hasaan's baby clothes to a disturbed Pauline. Meanwhile, Annie's crying was so constant that Mary began yelling at her to shut up, and finally, in a moment of madness, almost suffocated the baby. Can you imagine ANY of that being allowed today? All that brilliant drama, all kept off the air by censors and the press, while stuff like rape, child molestation, and constant violence are seen as no big deal.

I wish they'd recast Michelle. I really want to see the Fowlers on the show again. I don't mean Martin, as he bored me and I thought he was a drag on the family. I mean close to what they were again in the show's best years, 85-88.

If anyone's interested, I have some Digest synopses and interviews and photos, and a two-page roundup a Daytime TV Yearbook. I can scan or type out some of this. Here are some promos:

Corrie promises yet more degradation of women, which seems to be most of their output these days. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3354344/Maria-Connor-will-be-sexually-attacked-on-Coronation-Street.html

That would be a very refreshing idea. The show is so hated at the moment by some vocal fans that the idea would probably get a lot of backlash, but if the actors and writing is good enough it might work. It has to be better than thrilling storytelling such as American = drug dealer.

I wish they would just kill Fiz off. She's become so annoying and even John barely seems to be able to cope with her now. Sad that Claire's last episodes were mostly about other people pulling stupid faces. I was surprised at how terrible Craig Gazey was. Making Graeme a romantic hero still confuses me and I wonder if this is one of the reasons he quit. The best part was the very natural bond between Claire and Becky. The only one Becky had on the show (the stuff with Roy and Hayley doesn't seem genuine in recent years). Their last scene was beautiful. I don't understand why everything is fine just because she is going to France. Is this the France of the old Conehead sketches?

How do you think Susannah would have been as Sable? I wish they could have cast her in the role boring Katharine Ross played. That's a beautiful photo. It must be tough for Joan, as she's lost so many of those she cares about in recent years. Susannah was thinking of others to the end - there's a Daily Mail photo of her from December, about Christmas trees, and she asks that money be donated to cancer charities. I didn't know she was forced not to appear in 9 episodes of the last season. I always assumed that was her choice. Did they also push Linda Evans out? If they'd put Alexis front and center then they might have gotten some revived interest, since Alexis/Sable were a fun rivalry.

Love Crystal Gayle! I remember a sneering journalist once wrote a book saying she was famous only for her hair and sister and belonged in Vegas, and wasn't real country, but I think she has a great country soul and I also like that she doesn't rely on all that awful schtick like Gretchen Wilson and never tried to pander. Some of my favorite songs of hers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePnW-MxubNs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsdgOWC4JyI&feature=related

At the time of the oil spill I thought Bobby Jindal came across as showboating, and it looks like he was, even more than I'd realized. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/spill-report-accuses-jindal-of-showboating/?hp Why does this not surprise me about Anderson Cooper (or today's media):

I figured he didn't fire Terri, since she left around late 1984, but wasn't sure if she left of her own choice. It's nice to know she did. Jay stayed around until early 1986 so I wasn't sure with him. I still wish they'd kept him around.

At first all I saw of Jay was the brooding rebel, which is a bit dull, but the more I see his goofier side the more I liked him. Were he and Terri Vandenbosch both fired? I wish Marland had kept him around. I guess he wouldn't have fit into the whole Snyder era but you never know.

Do you know if Eileen Fulton had issues with him? I remember reading her say that she threw cake in his face and left the show. I never knew if she meant Lisa did that to Whit or she did it to him. Then she returned only after Whit was dead.

Yes, most people on the show know about it, which is why Ian said she had been "fiddled with by a paedo."

I can see why Joan wanted less to do in the later years, between the publicity and her side projects and the fiasco of Peter Holm she must have been exhausted. Weird that someone would be married to both Carolyn Jones and...Candy. I'll have to look for those episodes. I was never very fond of Love Boat, but liked some of Fantasy Island, when it wasn't too silly.

Was Joan ever on any of his other shows before Dynasty? I have often wondered why they even had the first reunion. The show had kind of fizzled in its last years, in terms of public interest (I enjoyed the last year), and it hadn't been very long. I do wish they could have scenes from today in this new movie, with some of the characters. I also think it would be fun if someone paid a little money to just film a few quick scenes with Alexis, Sammy Jo, Dominique, Fallon, Adam, etc. sparring and so on. They could run on foreign TV briefly as promotion or just put together on a quick DVD release. Why do you think Dynasty translates more to foreign places than the US?

Chris Pine seems so generic to me, but then Blake was kind of generic himself, although Forsythe had a lot of charm. That was nice of Aaron to help Joan when she needed it. While one could say she basically made Dynasty a success, that doesn't mean he had to pay her back in kind, so that was gracious of him. It's too bad the show didn't do better. I'm glad to hear Joan has been taking good care of herself moneywise, although I'm sure someone would say don't worry about this wealthy woman with world contacts, she will do just fine, save your worries for others. But still, you look at how many people who were once millionaires ending up in some gutter, and you know she has done a good job steering herself on course. Did they also sign over their royalties for the reunions (the mini-series and then the one they did for John Forsythe a few years ago)?

It would be nice to see Sharon have some fun again. I think the idea would be great, as long as he wasn't playing her. The show could use that type of character again, what Simon used to be. He'd probably get along with Alfie, so that might bring some more stuff with Sharon and Kat.

I think Tiffany was very weak, which is the main reason Grant stayed with her. I liked Lorraine with Grant but eventually I wanted her to find someone better. I hated hated hated hated hated hated hated Lisa/Phil. I never really saw the best of Kathy/Phil, but I often wondered why she stuck with him. He was such a downer and her marriage to Pete had humor for many years. I think Phil sort of drained Kathy's spirit. (Was she with Phil when Pete died) My favorite Phil relationship would be Phil/Kate, as I thought they had a lot of chemistry and she managed to make me tolerate him. I can't stand Shirley/Phil. I often hear people say "the writing is ruining them." I swear I've been hearing that for 3 years! It isn't the writing, it's them. Shirley is a pathetic woman who enables Phil's worst demons.

Poor Nolan. His clothes for Dominique and Alexis really hold up well. I saw that short interview with Diahann, it's probably already been posted here, where she gives her reasons for wanting to do Dynasty - she thought the shows were ridiculous and wanted to be a part of that unreality. I love that she says "Falcon's Crest" I just wish the show had kept to her idea for the character (someone who is the same as any white male character in being ruthless and driven and not burdened by someone's idea of race or gender). I'll also post a lovely little video for Dominique, probably already seen, but it's one of those examples of fanvids putting together the best of a character. I think they had a whole Dominique: The Series. Is the last guy the one she left the show with?

What I hate most is that soaps write things that should go on for years and yet don't follow through, which makes them seem hollow. They might as well write short term story arcs. Eastenders used to have those at one time. Yeah that person used to have tons of clips of the Watts, very carefully edited, into different stories, like Den's prison stint, the buildup to Shannis making love, Den's return to Walford and his reunions with all his old friends and foes. And then of course Endersfan, who had some gems I still miss, like the one selling Eastenders abroad which had the whole cast in the Vic, speaking different languages, as Grant steps forward to talk to the camera; and then the full episodes of Kathy's rape and Lou's death, both superb pieces of TV. I still have that image of Wilmott-Brown slithering back into Walford and seeing the charred remains of the Dagmar. That story is the only time I think a rape story has ever produced any powerful drama, for me. I think I got tired of what I saw as the show glorifying the Mitchells and their worst traits, and usually letting them win. The Sharon story stands out because that's the one time someone in their life got to really stand on her own, and unlike Kathy, wasn't killed offcamera like some sort of cheap punishment. So if you had to rank the Mitchell girlfriends/wives from those you liked most to least, how would it go? I mean mostly Grant and Phil, so if you don't want to include Billy, or Jamie (but then you wouldn't be able to rank Sonia #1), that's OK.

That's a shame - I wonder if he did that on all his shows (aside from the gift to Jaclyn)? I guess she would have been better off selling him her residuals from Pacific Pallisades.