DRW50

This is from March 1977, so I guess this might cover late 1976? I don't know how it works. Ben is more than ever resolved to make sure that Suzanne never lacks her father. He has goals now: to get a job and to win Betsy back. His first goal, considering his prison record, is easily achieved. A sporting goods store has hired him. His next goal receives an unexpected setback when he calls to tell Betsy about his job and Jamie answers the phone. Ben is crushed, he feels a fool. He has no idea that Jamie just dropped by to give Betsy her copy of the annulment papers, that, in fact Jamie is leaving for New York. Ben does not know that Betsy's heart still belongs to him, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot forget him. Felicia wishes she had Di's faith, her easy communication with God. Taking Di's advice, Felicia visits the hospital chapel, where she vows to do anything to help Charles recover. When Eddie finds her there, and tries to talk to her, to offer his help and - yes - to remind her of their love, she wounds his heart deeply when she says she feels sure God is punishing her for loving him. THis new burden of guilt is too, too much for her to bear. LYNN KNOWS SHE IS LOVED Lynn's mother calls Bruce in answer to his letter. The first call is taken by Lynn, who puts the phone down in tears because her mother has expressed a strong desire to have nothing more to do with her. Bruce takes the second call himself. After a peremptory discussion with the woman, Bruce says he sees now, why Lynn has the problems she has. Overhearing, Lynn is overjoyed to hear Bruce express deep concern for her welfare, and a true respect for her innate goodness and sweetness. She hugs him in gratitude after he says he wants to apply for papers that will make him her legal guardian. Lynn is truly loved, now. Arlene is afraid to declare herself completely to Tom. She is falling in love with him and his obvious affection for her seems too good to be true. She lacks the confidence to realize she has all the important qualities he is looking for. She is just happy being with him. As for Tom, he walks on air at the sight of her. The sale of Beaver Ridge is set in motion. Meg hopes to entice Rick by being a social butterfly. He is too concerned with matters of business to think anything about her, except a vague mistrust of the sale...it is going too smoothly. There must be a catch. HAS BEN GOT A CHANCE? After Betsy admits there is no other man in her life, Ben presses her to admit that she still loves him. The most she will commit herself is to allow him a chance to prove he will not hurt her again, to prove that he is really a "new" Ben. He is elated, sure he can win back the love of his sweet Betsy. Ian Russell has signed the deal, but Rick must come up with $100,000. Where can he raise that kind of money? At the final signing, Meg must suppress her tears. Rick is embarrassed and reminds he he is married to Cal, now. She makes a private vow that he WILL forget about her daughter someday. Ian offers Arlene the job as hostess at Beaver Ridge, if she wants it, without telling her he has bought out Meg. Banking on her basic feelings of inferiority, he reminds her that this would be her chance to "show all of them" - especially Meg. It gives Arlene pause...THAT would be just nifty. Ian also decides to get a line on Arlene's "friend" by finding out that he is Dr. Tom Crawford and asking for a cardiac examination. It is obvious to Tom that he is being investigated and he finds it disturbing and insulting. It is small help when Betsy suggests that Ian is jealous of him. Ray Slater's celebration of the big deal is short-lived when Ian tells him to arrange accommodations for two in Puerta Vallerta for New Year's Eve. Ray still wants Arleen for himself, and he tries to convince himself that she would never go away with Ian. Her mother would not like it. VAYA CON DIOS Di says her touching farewells. She has decided to join the mission society as a trainee, hopefully in Peru. All her past heartaches have, she feels, worked to shape her, destining her for this work, for this deep, deep happiness she has found at last. Johnny is especially hurt by Di's leaving. He feels abandoned and frightened by the change. Di does her best to tell him that life IS change, but love can be changeless, if it is strong enough. Eddie tries again and again to change Felicia's mind about that vow, but she is adamant, though heartbroken. At Van's for dinner, she is startled by a call from the hospital. There has been a change in Charles's condition. LYNN IS HOME AT LAST For the first time in her young life Lynn is safe and happy. Bruce tells her he is now her legal guardian, and she cries with happiness. She is truly home. Ben is becoming impatient with Betsy. He wants to stop this cat and mouse game she seems to be playing. She gives him a present and asks him to stay for a bite to eat. She is hurt by his refusal, but unable to give him an answer to his invitation to Meg's party. She is afraid to commit herself. Carrie is elated when Arlene admits that she is falling in love with Tom. He is just the kind of man she has always wanted for Arlene. Arlene is overjoyed when Tom suggests they got to Meg's party, but then the bugaboo of what to wear beings to work and she goes to Rosehill's most exclusive store to find something smashing and affordable. It seems hopeless until Ian comes sauntering in, feigning surprise to see her. He secretly arranges for her to have a designer original. He knows Arlene much better than perhaps even her mother. And he is a man who is relentless in his pursuit of what he wants. Will he succeed? Ian is also determined to get controlling interest in Beaver Ridge - for his gambling operation. He plans to let Rick sweat out the money angle, then do a deal - a trade of shares for cash. Meg is happy to hear that Rick plans to buy Cal the Mill House that she wants, even though he needs so much money for Beaver Ridge. She sets a chance to drive a wedge between them and she presses her advantage by pointing out to Rick that Cal is spoiled, with a childish, romantic idea of "poor." He will not admit it - least of all to Meg - but he is worried. HOMECOMING Charles is released from the hospital in time for Christmas. He is very happy, thinking Felicia is now truly home. Felicia does her best to pretend happiness, but her heart is heavy and broken. Eddie is saddened, remembering the idyllic happiness he shared, so very briefly, with Felicia. Charles continues to press Felicia for more information about her stay in Danvers. He is like a dog worrying a bone, he cannot let it go. Felicia continues to equivocate, letting him think she was with her Aunt Mavis, but very soon she may have to divulge her guilty secret. Johnny has decided to remain with the Sterlings, and Charles wonders, now if Felicia kept in touch with the boy in her absence. More damning evidence may soon come to light...Felicia has been unwell lately. Van suspects what is wrong, and Felicia is faced with yet another problem. If she is pregnant, how can she explain that to Charles? Meg's party plants seeds of both great joy and great heartache. For Ben and Betsy, it is a new beginning. They dance, they laugh, they kiss. She will even go away with him for a skiing weekend. It is a different story for Arlene, thanks to Ian, who has put his plan to "acquire" Arleen into full gear. Tom has a devastating conversation, alone, with Ian. Ian says Arlene is merely playing with Tom. There are ladies and ladies, says this smooth manipulator, and Arlene is one of the latter, whose acquaintance he made, for a price, at a Key Club run by Ray Slater, a "Front man" for many activities. SICK AT HEART Tom is sickened by these disclosures, and he cannot make himself confront Arlene, so he coldly drives her home and never calls. Knowing that something is wrong, but not what, Arlene decides to call him and remind him that he was the one who wanted them to level with each other always. The complications mount when he decides to go see her, for Ray Slater has just dropped by to see Arlene, too. Tom's face turns to stone and he leaves, accepting Ray's presence as proof positive of Ian's assessment of the girl he loves. Rick is suspicious of Ian's offer of a trade, money for controlling interest of Beaver Ridge. He declines, but what will he do? Cal's unhappiness grows. She feels she doesn't know Rick nearly as well as she thought she did, and the idea that Meg might understand him better makes her very uneasy. She has been thoroughly confused by Meg's counsel of how to deal with Rick, how to tread lightly about money because of his pride. Cal is even afraid to tell him she wants to have a baby.

Oh and which characters were written out in November 1978?

Thanks. I have one from 1977 too, would anyone be interested in seeing that or is 1977's stuff already known? Do you think Upton was any good? I have to admit that when I was reading it it didn't sound like Hollaway, as none of the stories seemed hysterical or, as Schemering called it, "Somerset Maugham gone wild."

Sorry if this was already posted, but it's a (paraphrased) synopsis of LOL from December 30 1978's SOD. This was Holloway right? Andrew is worried that his son Andy is reverting to his "lying" self about a friend in Europe, as Andy used to have an imaginary friend when he was a child. Meanwhile, Mary tells Lynn that she is seeing Andy Marriott. Lynn is happy for her and says she is attracted to Cherie's "amore" Kentor, The Fox -- who is secretly Andy Marriott. Andy, as part of a scheme, gives Mary a huge sapphire and diamond ring worth 3K and asks her to pawn it. When Mary goes to a jeweler he tells her its worth 5K. She mentions Andy to him, and when she tells Andy she mentioned his name, he accuses of her trying to ruin him and takes the ring and dumps her. Cherie runs into Andrew at the hospital and mentions knowing his son Kentor. Andrew again thinks Andy is still a liar. He confronts his son and asks if Andy has found a job yet to pay back the money he owes. Andy says no, but in a week he will have the money he needs. Meanwhile Vanessa decides she has no chance with Bruce and agrees to go with Andrew for a vacation to St. Thomas, no strings attached. Everything seems to be going OK, but Meg has been eavesdropping and doesn't like any of it. She warns Bruce of the trip. Bruce wonders if he wants to lose Van for good. He goes to her place to stop her and she's asleep, as she had already decided not to go to St. Thomas. Bruce and Van reunite in a "tearful embrace." Meg feels sorry for Andrew and calls him up, saying she respects him for letting Van go and relates her experience with loving her daughter's husband. Bruce has leukemia and the doctor tells him all he and Van can do is pray for a miracle. Bambi begins dating Al Barton and Ray is jealous. Bambi still has feelings for Ray and tells his wife Arlene that if Arlene ever leaves Ray she will be there waiting. Meanwhile Arlene has feelings for Tom, a past love, and although she isn't totally sure, she agrees to be with him and ask Ray for a divorce, but Carrie asks her if that's wise. She overhears Ray telling Carrie he only wants to make Arlene as happy as he can, and this makes Arlene doubt her decision again. Elliott knows Betsy was upset by something in Ben's book and tells her he won't let Ben take advantage of her, he will take care of Ben in his own way. Elliott reads the book and realizes it's based on real life, not fiction and that Betsy must have told Ben about her marital issues with Elliott. He's angry with her as well as Ben. He doesn't want to go to the book party but Betsy feels she must go, and she does, behind his back. He warns her never to do anything like that again. Ben and Mia are thrilled with the success of the book party and plan to go on vacation for a few days. He calls Betsy and Elliott about changing his visitation plans for Suzanne and Elliott says no way, not after what Ben has done to their family. Betsy is horrified. To get back at Elliott, Ben picks Suzanne up on the day of visitation and plans to keep her for the whole weekend. Betsy agrees but Elliott is in the dark. When Suzanne returns, Betsy is upset, because Ben says that Suzanne calls Mia "mommy." Elliott takes advantage of Betsy's bother and says they should test Ben by saying he will offer Ben complete custody of Suzanne six months a year, Ben will have to prove his dedication to Suzanne, not to being around Betsy. Zak meets with Lynn at Scirroco's and plans to take her to lunch. This issue also had a photo of John Travolta's parents, who were apparently big LOL fans, on set with Lloyd Battista (Ray) and Birgitta Tolksdorf (Arlene).

Harriet Winslow - Family Matters

One of my very favorite Stevie/FM songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx9XrpoM9Qo

Attack of the 80s "style", but this song never, ever leaves my head.

Radio broadcast from June 1941.

Bambi was the character that supposedly did bad damage to the show wasn't she? With Holloway's writing? Did Marcus keep her around for very long? Do you think the show might have become more successful if Marcus had had more time? Interesting that Van was getting stories about her husband not wanting her to work. For some reason I thought she already had worked.

Thanks so much. I guess the Gerald clips I'd seen online (there haven't been any uploads in six or seven months) were NZ paced? That story about the man who hates lesbians sounds bizarre. Is any of that online? It sounds like a car crash. What did he think he was going to turn her or something? They certainly don't seem to hesitate at killing popular characters. So are the ratings pretty good?

I've heard of this but mostly in regards to their gay and lesbian characters, like a lesbian couple who caused some controversy over getting married. Are they still on the show? They also have an asexual character, Gerald. Does he have a story? There seem to be a fair amount of episodes online -- do you think it's worth getting into right now?

That would make a fantastic story, I wish the show had done that. Stacey is really just sitting around until her exit storyline.

I love Deja Vu. LOVE it. It's just perfect, it's the type of song which suited Dionne to a tee. Another of my favorite disco songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5EpFPqnC4s Damn good. The big hits from Sister Sledge are a bit too "cute" for me but this one is flawless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-701j53YUCI

Eric you always tell us stuff we don't know. That's interesting. I actually think the vocalist on that song (Argentina) makes the whole thing work. I love If I Can't Have You. I think that is really the epitome of disco and the Bee Gees production style, and Yvonne Elliman. Another Bee Gees production genius. Like a lot of Dionne's most popular songs, she initially turned this down (more than once apparently):

I wish the version of Touch and Go that I love was on Youtube... Anyway, another of my favorite disco songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01hKTxMnjYk

Very odd decision to center so much of the past few episodes on Jem, a perpetually sullen, nasty, rude bore. I don't care about her two minute fling with Ravi which is now being threatened by Tricia Dingle, and I REALLY don't care about her endless bitching about her father. So she went to the pub with Ravi to meet her father and then proceeds to spend the whole time hurling abuse. Why did she even go? Pathetic hypocrite. And why after a decent start have the Costellos become about Carl wanting to be near Jem? A new family who now revolve around a character who has only been on the show a few months? And then, shock horror, Jem, probably after not scowling at her father for half a scene, is then outraged when she finds out he hired a PI? When a character is angry all the time, that makes it almost impossible to ever see any genuine reaction from them. Other than seeing that Carl has a nice butt, pretty much nothing of value can be found in the episode.

Yeah, the sitcom was the same name. It didn't go anywhere but the song did. It's one of my favorite disco songs, just pure cheese and fun before that became something to be ashamed of in music... And of course he did the Dr. Pepper ads. (Did he ever do any with Larry Bryggman?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hkGJ2OjsSg

I think this has been Rita Simons's best work in the role of Roxy. She's become a very good crier (she couldn't cry a few years ago), and she is better than ever with Sam Womack. I know that some Ronnie fans have complained about this not feeling like enough of an "event", like what Santer would have done -- some even think this means Kirkwood doesn't like Ronnie. I guess I can see why they might have wanted more but I think that even with some bumps over the past few episodes they did a good job with the reveal. I do hope we see more of Peggy's reaction because I want more exploration of why she is in denial, not just her being rude about Ronnie. I'm glad they took the time to make it clear that Danielle wasn't Archie's child. I'm also glad that Glenda is trying to help Ronnie and that when they cut to her watching Roxy and Ronnie hugging she didn't have a smirk on her face. I still don't know where this character is going but I'm pleased they didn't try to have her as being scheming in the face of this big ugly secret. The Chryed couply stuff rang a bit false for me (it doesn't help that this new nickname "Clarkey" reminds me of National Lampoon's Vacation), but I did like the scenes with Tamwar and Syed, that Tamwar is trying to support Syed while still not being totally comfortable, and it was nice that they had him ask whether Syed loved Christian more than Amira. Whether that was supposed to mean Syed had loved Amira I don't know. I kind of wonder whether Christian would be training someone in the middle of the Square...

They also can't seem to stop putting Kim in tops where almost all of both her breasts spill out. She must know Melissa Archer. I almost wonder if they did that to try to distract from the extremely tight trousers Lucas is always about to bust out of. If Kim and Lucas were walking down the street you wouldn't know where to look. They're doing a wonderful job with the pacing of this story. They're hitting all the beats. I'm glad they took two episodes to let us see Patrick's POV. It's been a long time. I had almost forgotten that Charlie was still on the show, but I'm glad they dragged him in with Billy for a few minutes, as it kind of shows how isolated Patrick really is. Rudolph Walker is a very strong actor and putting him front and center goes a long way to stop viewers from feeling like this is dragging out. I know the more you look forward to the climax of a story the more likely you'll be disappointed but I'm looking forward to the blowout here more than anything on a soap in the last few years.

I'm never all that interested in Rodney but with so much else he has lost in the past few years (his money, he can't even keep a job, he hasn't had a relationship), I wonder if this might push him into a tailspin. I liked the Viv scenes. I hope we get to see more of this. I am tired of Viv being written as a harridan. There's a very complicated woman underneath all the rest and Deena Payne is an underrated actress. There's so much we don't know about Viv. I hope that this story will start to get more airtime. Do you keep forgetting Sandy is still on the show? I do. Those scenes with Moira and the karaoke were bizarre. I think she was trying for comedy but I was a little scared of her. I loved the reaction to Nicola and Jimmy taking over the pub, especially Chas's reaction. Jimmy is so wonderful though.

All of this stuff with Shirley Sherrod has just made me sick, sick of so many people. Yet again I end up wondering what is going on in our "liberal" media and in our government.

I can't believe they got that on air. Tight, white transparent boxers, in close up. I mean damn. You don't get that very often. I guess it's a good thing he didn't turn around. I can't help feeling sorry for Diane, especially because she has lost everything and been cruelly betrayed. I really hope that we don't have to see her groveling to Doug after this. I wonder if Nicola and Jimmy might give her the Woolpack back. Otherwise what is she going to do? Besides have a nervous breakdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRa_bnxxN0&feature=related

A lot of fans would tell you Den's story pretty much carried the show throughout 2005. Considering what amounted to 2006, they're probably right.