DRW50

I wish I could get past the abusive way Grant treated Sharon. It's a shame that story couldn't be aired today, as the viewers would probably complain about the length of the material and they wouldn't have the talented writers to plot it. That video, was it done by the person who used to put up all the videos with the Watts family? I loved those so much. I hated it when all those were taken down, they were so wonderfully edited and a lot of stuff I'd never seen before. I still try to watch the full episodes when I can of that era but I have a certain preference for edited clips because I think this can enhance the power of a story.

Oh that's right, I forgot - I had assumed Leslie was involved with Bob on ATWT. I can't see most of those guys being interested in playing Mel. Catherine Hicks said in an interview over in the RH thread that she had auditioned for the role of GL's Holly before she was cast as Faith.

What they should do is say that Alexis gave birth to twelve children and they were all kidnapped at birth Poor Claudia. The fur isn't supposed to wear YOU. Notice in the last scene the camera stays on Jack Coleman's behind as much as possible.

This is fascinating stuff. I'd love to have seen Sharon, Catherine, and Jordan Clarke all acting together. I never knew that Catherine was in the running to play Holly on GL. I can't see that.

I really like the scene with Frannie and Jay. It's silly, sweet, romantic - the type of little moment that they don't let soap couples have now.

Great scene with Lyla and Maggie. This is Donald May as Whit's lawyer, isn't it? Wonderful scene with Lyla and Craig. This is why I hated that the show wrote Craig as a sociopath for most of his return and when they wanted him to find "redemption" it was from Lily! Why not Lyla or Betsy or...come on. I am still getting over the last episodes barely remembering that John and Margo were father and daughter.

I think Mitzeee is a classic case of a show liking a character and not caring about any storyline. Her intro story was a mess and very abruptly dropped.

Really you could get rid of about 6-7-8 more and the show wouldn't notice. Marquess' new characters were by and large a failure. I still have no idea what went on with Rob, or why this family was created in the first place.

Very well said. I've heard some say that this was "character-driven," and people are unhappy because it wasn't more of a stunt, but where was the characterization? A whodunit so lame they didn't even bother to hide it, full of actors who looked bored. It seemed like a stunt just for the sake of it. I think one of the reasons I'm so disappointed in what Emmerdale has become, this constant misery fix, because the show used to be so much more than this. It was full of very complex, human characters, and plenty of laughs as well as tears. Now it's all so generic and the show seems afraid of any type of complexity or warmth or humor. A lot more than Viv and Terry died in that fire. I also, as you mentioned, just want to ask "Why?" for many of these stories. I still have no idea what the point of anything with Jackson's paralysis is.

People who can make facial expressions I don't know. Adam or John Barton, or the Sharma brothers being more involved. The fire really just pointed out again how shallow most of the younger characters are and how they can't carry storylines.

Is it true that Kim Valentine is in the hospital again? Is she OK? She seems to have been very ill in recent years. I heard that the ratings for the new channel aren't that bad. Is that true?

I wonder if it might have been different if they had used other characters for reactions. Carl, Andy, Ryan, and Katie wouldn't react if everyone in the world was turned into a cockroach, so why were they put in the middle of a fire? The woman who plays Brenda seemed to go wildly over the top just to compensate. Apparently Deena Payne said that the show told her they weren't able to get the actors who played Donna and Scott back for her funeral (I'm not sure if they mentioned Adele Silva or not since they must have known they were bringing her back). Deena contacted the actors and they told her the show never even asked. From what I've read, even Kathy, who was let go after criticizing the show to the press, got a better exit, didn't she? I don't think they have any real story ideas beyond showing people depressed and struggling. The problem is this just sort of numbs everything. Something like Jackson being upset he couldn't help -- this would have worked if we hadn't already seen Jackson, Hazel, and Aaron wallowing in angst so many times. The only bright side of all of this is that is proves deaths don't equal great soap drama. I can understand why people disliked the Vic fire but I never understood the idea there, or with Lucas' reveal, that everything would have been more exciting if someone had been killed. Viv/Terry, along with the empty deaths of Steph/Malachy on Hollyoaks and Ashley and Molly on Corrie, show just how little impact soap deaths can have IMO. It's all forgotten in a week or less, on one show after another.

The same person who kindly put up some of Steve and Betsy's wedding has shared more of that timeline. Starting in late December they began putting up 3 or 4 clips. Here's their wedding reception, or part of it. I'm not a big fan of Steve and Betsy but it's nice to see more of Tucker, with the dancing, and Heather, and various people having fun. What a hideous dress on Maggie! It's also cute to see Andy here as a child being annoyed by strangers, when he would be aged only a year or two later. I still can't get used to that other woman as Lisa though. This is part 1 of an episode that has 4 or 5 clips, after Betsy was "killed" in a car crash to facilitate the recast. So the show never tried to make viewers think Betsy was dead? That was a smart move. There's also another part of a 1984 episode.

Thanks for continuing to share these with us. The 70s soap magazines provide so many unique types of discussions which would never be asked today - talking about therapy, EST, astrology, and so on. Malcolm seems like a fascinating person. I loved Louise's response too. She seems like a hoot.

He's good at putting on a slick facade but he will desperately pander to the far right to get support. He did that when he was governor, flip-flopping all over the place on matters like global warming, and he also flip-flopped on gay rights throughout his career. When he thought it would make him a star he blatantly hitched his wagon to the odious Bachmann and her big rallies against gay marriage in 2004. Bachmann and her followers used to go in and pray over the desks of the legislators while they were out, just to try to help them see that the big priority should be banning any (based on what the legislation actually said) legal contracts between same-sex couples.

Tim Pawlenty, who helped preside over a very divisive Minnesota GOP for years and is often hyped as some sort of thoughtful or intelligent alternative to hard right conservatives, panders once again by pledging to repeal DADT. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/pawlenty-to-bryan-fischer-id-support-reinstating-dadt.php?ref=fpblg

Before being cast on ATWT as the ballerina, Leslie Denniston auditioned to be Tara on AMC and Liza on SFT.

There seems to be a strong contempt in Emmerdale now for its past characters. I guess they feel they have to "move on" or be "modern." I can't argue with the ratings success so far, but I wonder how that will last. This last stunt seemed so slapped together, from the badly Photoshopped promo on. I guess that might have been down to Gavin Blyth falling in, but the one with Jackson wasn't worth it either.

Poor Deena http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/01/14/emmerdale-s-deena-payne-talks-about-her-hurt-and-disappointment-at-her-character-viv-being-killed-off-115875-22847567/

Yeah I'd forgotten about that. And then when he was so hurt when Louise dumped him for Matthew. Why are they getting rid of a dependable, talented actor for so many talentless new cast members?

Short interview with Billy Hartman. Poor guy...Terry was so underrated and underused. When they bothered to give him a story, like Terry's stroke, or Dawn's death, he did a great job. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s12/emmerdale/news/a297844/hartman-emmerdale-has-been-wonderful.html

So from what I've heard, the two characters who died didn't even get an exit scene, and Viv won't even get an onscreen funeral. I guess respect for history doesn't mean much if you need that airtime for such thrilling stories as the wooden, vapid Katie/Andy/EvilCop, Declan's annoying family, the increasingly pointless Bartons, and life-draining Aaron and Jackson having the same scene for months on end! If Emmerdale is going to trash its own history, I wish their present wasn't so damn hollow.

That's my favorite Ricky Nelson song - very haunting, and so ahead of its time. Ricky is so underrated as a musician. Anyway...