DRW50

I've heard some say a new family should take it over. I think that would be a mistake.

Yeah she does. I like the vibe of that picture. It's something which GL ignored when they turned Maureen into a frump. You're a Maureen Garrett fan, right? I had wanted to remind you that her RH episodes are on again. Also I was going to post an interview with her from 90 or so, although you might have already read it. She has some very harrowing details about why she decided to become an actress -- basically when she hitchhiked, she was hit on the head by the guy who picked her up, and she had a cracked skull and he was going to hit her again until he became guilt-ridden. She agreed not to tell the hospital what had really happened (and she didn't tell the cops until she knew she was safe). After that she decided to do what she wanted, because life was short.

Oh no, I guess I gave you the wrong impression. I'm not in any way bothered by your comments. I look forward to them. You're not spoiling me. I haven't seen the episodes but I already know most of the important details for the stories and characters. I read AWHP slavishly for years. And bitching too much, not at all, you're very fair. Tom is very attractive but I think the only time I lusted after him was when he had the fling with Donna. That was scorching heat. Such lost potential. I have an interview with Tom from 91 or 92 I will try to find if you ever want to see it. So, watched another episode or two. I'm glad they had Kathleen and Frankie actually talk, not snipe, after Grant was shot. Alice Barrett was very good in the scene where Frankie finally realized Kathleen knew she'd had a miscarriage. Is it me or is David Hedison not all that good?

Pratt. Both popular in Europe.

Cat you do the best publicity for AW... I am still in early August 91 around the time Grant was shot. Iris seems so concerned and so fond of him. I wonder if they would have gone with Iris/Grant if Dack had stayed in the role. That episode also has a good scene where Paulina is weeping (of course -- I swear Judi, as much as I like her work, cried more in her first weeks alone than Cali did for her whole run) in the chapel and Jake squeezes her shoulder, and when they cut to his face, he actually looks concerned for her, not gleeful. I haven't heard that much about Robin as Lorna. I never got the feeling that the character was all that developed while Robin played the role. She was basically Grant's piece on the side and they sort of tried her with Morgan, but she wasn't a big character. JFP's fondness for Robin seemed to give her more to do but even that seemed limited. From the little I've seen of Matt and Lorna I think they have great chemistry, although they probably should never have been a real couple, just a fling. Matt has a real charisma (and such a nice ass) which adds an edge to his youthful looks.

Thanks for finding that. I thought it was early November.

I've seen some of Kathleen/Cass. What I saw I loved, like the scene where they were arrested in a foreign country and had to translate through a French man who spoke the native language (Kathleen spoke French), and then some of the Majorca stuff. And a very beautiful remote at Coney Island or somewhere when Kathleen was paralyzed and they went around the abandoned park as "Your Love is Lifting Me Higher" played. And then when she appeared to Cass for a few days after he had a breakdown over Nicole. They had such a natural chemistry. I don't see that with Cass/Frankie. I see it more with Frankie/Ryan. It just makes me feel sad seeing Kathleen so isolated and so lost, clinging to a man who is constantly running off. If it had been me I would have split up Kathleen/Cass again by saying she had to go into hiding, and then have them deal with that and have him go back to Frankie in time, after they both deal with everything that happened.

They're adding a scene where Patrick and Charlie talk about the drastic new spending cuts in the UK. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a283418/eastenders-to-reference-spending-review.html

HD starts November 3rd. http://www.digitalspy.com/broadcasting/news/a283202/bbc-one-hd-sets-launch-date.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB-WIamLS-s

I guess they felt Frankie was more established and Kathleen could easily go (if it wasn't Osburn's choice) but I think it was a big mistake (especially since AW had lost so many actresses), and that type of isolation is one of the reasons Cass was almost written out after Frankie was murdered. I was reading an SOD from 1990 and they criticized AW for not killing off Jamie, because they felt that when a character was recast that many times, death made more sense than another new actor. Do you think they were right? I think Jamie was still a viable character, with a proper recast, but it never seemed to happen, so perhaps they were right... While the episodes are still up, here's the start of an episode where Rachel was hit in the head. It kind of makes me laugh, mostly because it has that dated music video look. I wonder if Vicky Wyndham was involved in the direction of the scene, as she had said before this that she thought soaps should become more like MTV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QpPziZuTJk&feature=channel

Weren't Born and Bideaux married in real life for a while?

I kind of wonder if she was right about Hagman not wanting a mother who would stand up to him. I remember that Schemering, and perhaps some others, said that Miss Ellie eventually became very docile and even when JR did absolutely horrific things to the family, she would just say "Oh, JR," and look disappointed. This was after Hagman and the other guy had taken over the reins.

The Aaron/Jackson story pushes my buttons in that it's the type of story where it's always about the pain one person is suffering. Everything is about poor Aaron and his struggles. Clyde is dead, Jackson is possibly going to be severely handicapped for the rest of his life, but Aaron is the one who is suffering. I don't know if you watched China Beach, but this is the type of thing they used to do with Dana Delaney's character, McMurphy, and it got on my very last nerve. You're right about the new characters. It's kind of odd because the more established characters aren't used that much but it's not like a lot of new characters are taking their place as the greats. I think Blyth brings in a lot of new people but then isn't sure what to do with them. Or things get in the way. Surely there must be some reason why the Sharma brothers have barely had a storyline in over a year.

The Billy/Billie confusion doesn't die even after Billie did. At first I was surprised they were casting a son for Alan, since he probably won't be around long, but now I see why -- the little boy looks so much like Billie did at that age. Carol is going to be devastated.

Why did NBC/New World want Hayley dead? So of all the dumb decisions at SB, the only one the Dobsons were responsible for was Mary's death? And then I guess some would say the Kelly recast?

I'd love to see that. I think Donna Reed claimed she was not a temporary replacement, or she thought she wasn't anyway. I believe that for a while they really did believe Barbara Bel Geddes wasn't coming back. Then when she agreed to return, they fired Donna, which is why she sued.

I'm not going to get anywhere near the end by tonight, although I have managed to get out of July 1991, so that's something. Near the end of this there's some flirting with Grant and Kathleen. Too bad that didn't go anywhere. Did Julie Osburn only return for a limited run or did they let her go? If it's the latter, what a huge waste. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZwL9UWcAI&feature=channel

Bev Callard is quitting Corrie. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a283132/bev-callard-to-leave-coronation-street.html I think they ran out of ideas for Liz a few years back anyway. I wonder if they might keep Jim around, because Steve's relationship with his mother is a big part of his life, and they have run his marriage to Becky into the ground. I hope this might mean the Rovers is taken over by someone else...they could give it to Leanne and Peter.

I really like both of these. The first is from the December 15 87 Digest and the second is from the July 10 90. Network Publishing Co and News America Publishing. I still remember some of those old "Gimme the Buzz" ads (Mindy's one fast chick, better catch her if he can).

That should be interesting, if they know where to go with it.

He does look a bit like Billy, although I wonder if this is too easy and he won't be cast as Billy's son. I haven't seen his later story with Paul on Emmerdale, just his earlier stuff when people thought he was straight, but I thought he was pretty good on that show.

Thanks for finding that. I wonder if anything else is going to happen (pregnancy, or STD, or they form some type of relationship which hurts them) because I don't know if the quickie alone would be a big mistake.

So Lenore Kasdorf brought down the Dobsons. Wow... I had forgotten that they wrote and wrote for her at GL. I guess they must have loved her work. It sucks that Bailey decided to kill her off. Why? Did she have some great plan for Lionel or something?

From the June 16, 87 Digest. Network Publishing Co SANTA BARBARA's Art Director, George Becket, Creates Some of the Splashiest Sets on Daytime Forty-four years old, George Becket is originally from France...arrived in this country in 1972...now resides in Los Angeles. He trained and worked in Europe, "which is completely different, technically, from the U.S. There is more time to do things in Europe - they would never put together a one-hour show like SANTA BARBARA in one day, five days a week. That would mean giving up their two-hour lunches!" laughs George. "I basically had to start over when I arrived here. I had to start at the bottom and work my way to the top." In 1978, Becket became the assistant art director for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, and then CAPITOL. Next, he worked on the TV movie-of-the-week, NADIA. In 1984, he joined SANTA BARBARA at its inception. Becket's duties include designing all the sets ("the actual design takes less time than updating what we have"), setting up floor plans, dressing the sets, staging layouts, and establishing the budget. ("It's miniscule. In fact, my budget is lower than any other soap. We end up mixing and matching and reusing everything. We have a huge inventory.") Becket has five assistants (Linda Burger, Bob Franklin, Laurie Davies, Dick Harvey and Jim Yarmer) to whom he delegates work. The days are very long. Reports the art director: "On any given day, I design, say, ten sets and put them up. That means striking existing sets and lights, cleaning up, and putting everything in reverse. We try to keep sets on stage if they're going to be used the next day, or that same week. It saves money to move sets in and out as needed - it also takes a tremendous amount of time. My crew starts striking sets at 10:30 at night and the new sets must be ready by 8:00 the next morning." Becket also oversees location shoots. "I work with the lightning, props and how a particular background will look in a scene. I have to second-guess the director a lot and imagine the camera movement. I try to add something to the scene to serve as a dramatic point," says George. "We shot some fabulous helicopter scenes, real primetime stuff," Becket exclaims, recalling the time he went on location to Utah for Eden and Cruz's adventure story line. For George, the most fun, and the most challenging, part of his job is putting everything together so it works. "Not the design, per se, for beauty or aesthetics...but to make it work, it can be intricate, especially on a show like SANTA BARBARA." "I have a reputation around town as being very detailed. I try to achieve a truthful environment within the set. Sometimes we're accused of over-dressing the set. I don't agree. All other shows on prime time are lavish, and we have to contend with that - that's what people are used to seeing. They've been brainwashed by the nighttime look," believes Becket. "The producers have given me a lot of freedom. I'm lucky. I enjoy their privileged trust," admits George. - SUSAN MORSE