DRW50

Really? That's wonderful news. Apparently she was unhappy they killed Billie off. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gjENfw99TLO80SvNzQPbJj5076xg?docId=N0229981286885539626A

More from Deena. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1319607/Deena-Payne-says-goodbye-Dales-18-years-playing-Viv-Hope.html

I always wanted to see some kind of balance between the sanctimonious a$$ Phillip was for years and the psycho he became in his last months before the 2004 departure. The 2009 version was probably the closest we could get, although I also thought that the stuff in 1987 when he destroyed Alan was also pretty good.

I associate Robbie with the Jacksons mostly because of the story where he was accused of raping Sarah Hills. I loved that scene where Bianca went after the Hills father, whatever his name was, Travis off Blake's 7, in the market after he beat Robbie up. Sonia didn't really have anything to do when Bianca and Carol were around so I forget about her sometimes. That and Natalie couldn't have returned during filming. I don't think they desperately needed Robbie but I would have liked to have seen him.

I like that idea -- when a soap seems to improve it's "crying wolf." I'd never thought of it that way before. They make a lot of good points. GL's ratings did go up some on 2005 and 2006 didn't they? Or is it just that others went down? I never really thought Phillip's breakdown made a ton of sense though.

Y&RWT already said so much I agree with, but I finally got to watch the episode. I really appreciated how this episode was done. I've heard some fans say this was different than the usual Eastenders but I think it's actually Eastenders at its best -- the cold realism. I think Julia Smith and Tony Holland would have been proud of this episode. I think Eastenders is at its finest when you feel like you are watching real people and not when it sees itself as being Dynasty with a pub. That scene of Carol walking back home was rough to watch, especially when she saw the little girl and the mother. Probably the parts that got me most were when Carol kept asking the doctor, "What do I do now?" And the gasp she made when she pulled back the blanket And Patsy Palmer, she was just about perfect throughout the episode. I don't envy Patsy playing scenes like this when she's pregnant. One of the many good things about Carol's return is that Bianca is allowed to go back to being the scared girl, not the shouty mother. That scene where they were waiting and waiting for the undertakers to finish up, and then when Bianca burst into tears...it was just so unbearable. I know that this was the same year as Bradley's death but I'm glad they did this now because we don't know how much longer Lindsey will be on the show and we know that Patsy is leaving soon for maternity break. And this really was about the two of them. This story seems like a goodbye to the old Jacksons and the dreams of what they could have been. I wish Robbie could be there too, but I'm glad to have most of the group still present. That last scene was just...Carol is so broken that she was trying her best to cry, struggling even for that.

National Television Awards.

I'd never seen that one before. That's nice he wants people to vote for Lindsey Coulson.

It's actually more difficult to find black couples on the show than white/black couples. The only ones I can remember long-term are Denise/Lucas, and then some of the Tavernier siblings had relationships with other black characters. They've also had several mixed-race children on the show, like Billie, and Libby. Sue and Ali also had mixed-race children. I see your point and in some ways I think Billie could have stayed, especially since I hoped Alan might get to come back for a longer stay if Billie were alive, but they screwed up as soon as they brought Devon Anderson back.

It seems like Pauline Quirke does a lot of things and I can't imagine her being cheap so I will be surprised if she extends her stay. I think she and Jackson will both be gone in six months or less. They don't seem to have any interest in writing for Brenda and Terry and the writing they do give Brenda is unpleasant -- Anita Turner tried to make her more human. It's a shame because when Terry and Brenda first started they were very good. I think they just gave the B&B to Eric and Valerie so they'd have something to do. The same might be true for Nicola and Jimmy. I imagine it's difficult to write stories for them. I think this was also a way to test the waters. If fans liked them at the Woolpack there might have been a chance they would stay in. Needless to say I don't think that will be happening.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/scoop/a281337/gossip-and-teasers-from-hollyoaks-press-day.html

I read at DS that she was saying not long ago she saw the show as a long term job. I guess the digital might have changed that though. Was that digital move unexpected? Some also think that

Yeah, Hazel is just stunt casting, and also another excuse to write a lot of melodrama for Aaron which will probably be forgotten in a few months. When Quirke leaves in a few months and Viv is gone I guess that would just leave Brenda to fill that role, although even she is probably not going to be around for that long. It confuses me as to why they insist on doing pretty much nothing with characters like Nikhil. He's a good actor, gorgeous, plays a likeable character. Blyth seems to want to build the show on people who won't be there for long. What good does it do for your show long term if you give Suzanne Shaw a lot of story or Pauline Quirke a lot of story. Emmerdale has the best older cast of any soap. They just do not care about using them. It's such a waste. And to continue to phase out or outright fire older actors is even more harmful, because Emmerdale has much less of a history left on the canvas than Eastenders or Corrie. I guess that's what I am most interested in. What is Emmerdale's foundation? What is Emmerdale supposed to be? They have pretty much ruined the Carl/Chas relationship, which until Blyth was a very complicated and interesting relationship, one where Carl really did love Chas, even if he didn't show it well. Now he just treats her like a piece of ass. Carl, like Andy, is soulless, and Aaron has become the same way.

So she wanted to leave? I guess I can understand that. It's better than them firing her. I just hate to see such a great character go.

I'm often a bit surprised that Gus lasted as long as he did. I wonder why that was.

He was around for that long? Did he ever get any better?

I'm glad that I didn't see most of that. I can't see Stacey ever wanting Mickey Miller, of all people. I don't know why they would have given Kareena a cocaine addiction. Was that Berridge? Juley Smith -- awful character. And bad miscasting. Wasn't he supposed to be charismatic?

I love that song, Y&RWT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOzfYfRYLxU

Helen was the older woman? She wasn't around long past 94 was she? It doesn't make any sense to me to get rid of Rebecca. I think she still could have found a place even without Declan. She worked well with Paul and with Susan. You also have to wonder how much more they can really get out of characters like Toadie or Libby.

Roxy hasn't had any real story in quite a few months. She mostly gives people loans. Ronnie is pregnant, five or six months. She tried to get Sam Mitchell to lie about her baby's paternity and pass the child off as Ricky's. When that fell through, she paid Sam to leave town. So Jack is still getting over losing his son (Richard). Billy is upset because he got a letter about abuse in the children's home he was in. He was also abused. Supposedly the big reason he's upset is that Billy had a one night stand with Jean Slater to get over his anxieties, but was overheard by Jean and Stacey when he was doing the macho thing and trashing Jean. Jay called him a coward, and Billy hit him. I was shocked that they had Whitney on top of Peter. I liked her better with Todd, but Whitney and Peter could be an interesting couple. I'm a bit surprised to see Eastenders moving in this area mostly because under Santer they were much more stringent about teens and sexuality -- the only one who had sex was Lucy, and she was punished with pregnancy. I love Kim too. She's brilliant comic relief. They know how to use her just right. I'm enjoying the show at the moment, I find something good to great in every episode. The show at the moment feels more like old style US soaps than any other UK soap. A year ago I never would have said that! There aren't any other big stories going on at the moment, aside from the story with Stacey, where Janine is on a vendetta against Stacey since she found out about Ryan being baby Lily's father. Did you see any of their confrontations? Good stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttsYAZ05JlY

I liked Kareena once she stopped the crying over her half brother but then I haven't seen a lot of 2004 yet. What was the history between them, do you know? Stacey and Kareena, I mean. There are several "Stacey annoys/is annoyed by" clips up. A very interesting way to classify scenes. Can you imagine if someone put up all the times where Ian annoyed someone. Youtube would break. Have you seen the new Children in Need advertisement yet? I haven't. I hope it gets posted at some point for non-UK residents. I think Whitney, Fatboy, Tanya, Patrick, and someone else are in it.

Wow how nasty was Stacey back then http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMKkcWOrGd8

I've heard fans complain about this before, the lack of vets. I didn't mind as much as long as they stayed around in some capacity, but clearly that's not going to happen. It's just a waste because you will lose older viewers and viewers who like what the soap is and then when the people who just watch the show as a fad leave, then you don't get any of the old viewers back. It's short-sighted. I think the real problem is that a lot of the new characters do not have staying power. Do you think most of the people added in the last year will be around in three or four years? I don't. Perhaps one or two at most. He also doesn't do a lot with some of the better new characters he created, like the Sharmas, or Adam Barton. If those actors leave, I can't blame them.

It looks like the new Declan, Zeke, and Rebecca are all being written out. I think that's a waste for Rebecca, she's a great character.