DRW50

Is Charlotte gone? I heard that she was seriously injured in a fall and now she's had to go home to be with her parents? Why not just write her out with Dave? What a bizarre way to write out a character, and one of the few likeable characters...

Why do you hate those characters? Just curious.

Thanks! So do you watch Hollyoaks? I'm still not sure how to feel about this story. Kieron is a wonderful actor and I'm glad the show is going to try to bring up some of his past to explain the character's new feelings, but Brendan is just such a silly character, and whereas when Ste beat Amy, I was very scared for her, I'm not sure if I can believe anything Brendan does to Ste. I keep expecting him to blow a house down. That mustache is also silly. I think it's style over substance and you can't have that in this type of story, IMO. They do seem to have chemistry though. The reaction to an actor coming out is usually oh who cares/ oh how could you not tell/everyone knew/publicity stunt how pathetic, but even now I think making that leap is tough to do and I appreciate Kieron doing this, especially on a very popular morning show. I'm surprised they aired the kiss. ITV certainly does not show men kissing on their soaps most of the time. I don't know if you watch Emmerdale but what they've done with Aaron and Jackson is just laughable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbcbK62i0U0

Kieron Richardson was interviewed this morning. He said he's gay, and he talked about his upcoming story.

I'm still wondering if we will find out that the child isn't Jack's. The whole thing seems odd. I'm glad Carol and Bianca can have normal, supportive conversations now. Sam is so much fun this time around. I just love her unapologetic selfishness, yet she isn't entirely nasty. The scene where she sent Heather into a tizzy was fascinating.

Bianca's clothing wasn't as bad the first time around. They do it this time to show how low class she is I guess. I don't understand why some say that Santer wouldn't have done this story or that Kirkwood doing this is proof he's made Eatenders into Hollyoaks. I don't really remember Kirkwood doing this type of story on Hollyoaks.

Thanks. Well I'm glad they gave her some work, that was nice of them. I wonder why they didn't have her in a bigger role. I'm glad that she was able to have a comeback a few years after this, as she was too beautiful and talented not to.

Someone in the Ronnie/Jack thread at DS said that, in regards to Carol's upcoming story, I don't know if it's true or not, just wanted to see if anyone else had heard about it.

How long was Michelle Phillips on the show? I never knew she appeared on the show at all. I thought her only daytime role was on Search for Tomorrow.

Yeah I liked the aftermath of Peggy's departure. Just the mild surprise of several people and then the hurt that Pat felt. That scene with Dot was sad to watch, as she clearly had little interest in sitting around with Dot and Jim. The last scene with the bell was nice. It's nice to see these little moments which could easily be forgotten. The Mitchells haven't been much of a family in years and years, but they did seem more believable in today's episode. Generally I'd say split them into their own directions. Shirley's codependency with Phil can be tough to watch sometimes, in spite of the strong acting. I guess they could now try to finally make them a proper couple, but that's not going to be easy after the last few years. Odd how Jay went from saying they shouldn't lock Phil up to openly taunting Phil. That scene where Phil had him by the throat was very intense. Bianca's comments about Sam and her "baps" were funny. It makes sense that Bianca is the one to get everyone in the story moving. Daniella is doing a good job of playing a woman who does not know how and might not even want to be a mother to her child. She keeps Sam from being too unsympathetic. Sam is just so weak.

Thanks for your opinion! I think Kirkwood's time on the show was very uneven (2008 was just many missed opportunities and some questionable decisions, IMO), but I do see that he seemed to get the show more than a lot of producers. I agree with you that Marquess can't be held to the same standard. I think my main annoyance is in the casting of certain roles and perhaps how panto some things seem. I haven't watched as much of the last few weeks though so I don't know how that's been. So how do you feel about him re-doing the Diane Murray IVF story on Brookside?

Who were those people at the end of the clip? I like this one, although it makes me a bit dizzy. I think they kept this up to 2005 didn't they? I remember some fans used to go on about how insane it was that Chloe stayed in the opening credits over a year after she'd left the show. It's funny as I am not sure about a lot of the changes to the show but DS seems to like it but then I don't mind the opening and some at DS do. What do you think of the show lately?

Oh she is? Thanks. It went so fast I didn't recognize a few.

Yes. Frankie as a schoolgirl, Cheryl as a fairy godmother, Ste as some sort of servant or monkey. Apparently a lot of that was scrapped. I'm not sorry that Nick Pickard does not have to wear that awful outfit... I noticed Rae was in those and isn't in the new one. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a235332/behind-the-scenes-at-the-new-oaks-titles.html

This is better than what I had expected. I'm not sure about the music or the pink backgrounds but I think some of the backgrounds for the characters are interesting. I'm not completely sure of some of the backgrounds (are they saying Nancy is becoming a journalist? Is Rhys's flag supposed to represent his favorite football team?). I'm glad that Darren and Tony got to lead off the credits. It takes a bit to get used to but I think with some time and editing it will work. The previous credits sometimes made me worry some viewers would have a seizure. The only real complaint I have is that I thought they had put Louie in the opening credits and then I realized it was Jasmine in her boy clothes. I really like Louie, I'm going to miss him. I wonder if those who are excluded are leaving. I don't see Anita, India, or Charlotte, but I haven't heard that they're leaving. Cindy wasn't in them because they were done while Steph Waring was on maternity leave. It's interesting that none of the older characters were in there -- including Gabby Sharpe, or the Costello or O'Connor parents. I guess even though they have a lot of story they are still put in the same bracket as Myra and Frankie and Jack.

It just shows again how poorly put together the Archie murder story was, if they casually decided to have Stacey as a cold-blooded murderer who let her fiance take the blame for her crime.

Jennifer Biddall and Ben Freeman got married. Jennifer played Jess. I still miss her. Texas being such a knockoff of her doesn't help. I'm glad she and Zoe Lister are still close. Zoe was her bridesmaid. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/s13/hollyoaks/news/a276042/ben-freeman-jennifer-biddall-marry.html

Yes

Power to the People - John Lennon

Thanks for posting that. I will watch it all in a bit. I'm glad Eastenders have kept doing those. I know that they used to do many more (because there was that whole channel, Choice or Switch), on a lot of topics, like introducing new characters or on a day in the life. I'd like to see that again. But at least they still keep doing them. Corrie used to do these back around 2003-2005 but then stopped, which is a shame. I think Emmerdale used to have a few too. I think they're interesting to watch because you want to hear more about what those behind the scenes have to say, even if sometimes you shake your head at their arrogance. And then in some cases hearing what they have to say is the only way that a story makes sense... Belinda looks like Rachel Griffiths in that quick shot of her. It's interesting that Tony Jordan says creating the Slaters was easy because they're fun. You can kind of see that confidence onscreen, from the start, and I think that's one of the reasons they worked from the beginning. They just seemed to click without any big forced effort.

Thanks, I'd never seen that. Chrissie should have known that when it was time for Letitia Dean to take a break nothing was going to get in the way. I didn't know Sharon ever dressed that way at this point. I thought after her 2001 return she usually wore the more mature clothes, the black pantsuits or such. This outfit and hair is old school Sharon -- old school like 1986! I like it though. Chrissie was a great character. As a few people have said, she brought electricity to the Vic, which is something that has been lacking in more recent years. On another topic,

They must have had something on the drawing board though -- I don't mean a story for them together, but the characters at least meeting. Den's return had been in the works for months and wasn't Barbara's absence sudden? The 2003 episodes I've seen have their ups and downs. Some I enjoyed and some I cringed at. I actually liked Kate and Phil quite a bit, but Joanne is absolutely terrible. The most bizarre part is the stuff where she slept with Dennis but doesn't really want him but does want Phil. Come on. The way they set up Dennis as a lady killer was a bit strange...aside from Kat, his taste in women was Joanne and Tracy.

Did anyone ever say what story Peggy might have had with Den if Peggy had been around? I keep imagining something where Den romances her to get the Vic back.