DRW50

I think that nuance could have made the funeral more interesting, especially as this was around the time Vanessa's illness story would have been starting.

I do wonder if they might consider writing Jason out next year if something doesn't improve. He did nothing for the ratings and Steve has no real connections now, unless they try Jason/Liz again. OLTL took the lighter route for Alex. I don't know if GH ever has for Ava (I don't think it's possible), but if they did want to try some sort of discount Keith and Gina from Santa Barbara route with Ava and Ric, it might work. (I know Mulcahey wrote a lot of that era...maybe they should watch some of the episodes before they are taken from Youtube again)

Those types of characters taking up oxygen are usually clear signs of budget crunching.

I wish we knew which characters Mulcahey would have gotten rid of compared to who is going now. I know you've speculated on Sasha. I still think Ava too, especially as the show seems to have no real plans for her and are for now riding the wave of Ric's return and the Kristina mess. I'm not sure if that was planned under Mulcahey or not. I suppose Ric Hearst and Alexa Havins cost a bit, at least compared to a Dex. Ric probably won't last much longer, but Lulu is probably staying, so hopefully that means a few more exits, like Drew.

Well, they just did. You have to laugh that after they degraded Cameron for yet another ab machine, he's gone the next year. I wonder if this was another decision pushed onto Frank.

Feels like Dex is one of those characters who was lost in the shuffle this year. They seemed to have Gio mooning over the knockoff Carly and then went to Trina so I have no idea what their plans are, but any attempt to make Joss a central heroine will fail. She's just not compelling or sympathetic.

Rick Hearst is on Locher Room right now. He mentioned that he and Maura West changed the romantic scenes with Ric and Ava yesterday as on the page they were too heavy-handed for where they were in their lives.

Not sure if this was ever around before or not but the UCLA put this up for Dick Van Dyke's birthday.

That's true, although I suppose giving her psychic powers was a cheat anyway, as she only got them for that storyline, unlike, say, Frankie on AW.

Mimi Torchin chided her in SPW around the mid '90s for saying she wasn't known for other work, or for her stage plays like Hedda, etc. pointing out that Mulgrew hadn't done enough memorable work post-Mary to be recognized for those roles. But I always assumed Kate reacting that way was her knowing those roles just hadn't registered.

Interesting to hear Kate talk about why she came back to RH.

The show seemed to be going down that path in the mid '90s but they had already poisoned the well with Malcolm raping Dru. I also didn't think Olivia and Neil had much chemistry. I always thought Neil looked down on Dru. One of many examples of self-righteous men on Y&R who just put me off. Ryan was another in that age group.

I think his name was Carroll. IIRC he left town before McTavish arrived, but I'm not sure. Thanks. There was something, but not good enough. I did like Nadine predicting her own murder, and the pitiful, "It was me," as the candlestick or whatever it was came crashing down. They did a good job getting the thriller stakes right with the deaths of Nadine and Cutter. They were genuinely disturbing. One of the few stories on soaps along these lines that I found to be chilling.

I was too glib...I enjoyed some of their work, and I actually would be one of the few who liked a fair amount of Eva's return stint as Maria. It's just that this type of casting relying on the name without the character doesn't work for me unless the person brings amazing riches to a soap. I'd rather see some AMC, OLTL, Loving, Ryan's Hope, Young Marrieds, whatever, characters if I had to choose.

That would have made more sense than what they did with Claudia's son. I think if they had made the right changes a few years earlier, the show could have run up to the mid '90s or so, but we're mostly just speculating for fun. I find it more entertaining than anything in the last seasons, frankly.

She's always been like this. She claimed that Antifa defaced her home. As always, many transphobes are rushing in to deify her, so she will just get worse and worse.

Bravo's 'Vanderpump Rules' Star DJ James Kennedy Arrested For Domestic Violence After Attending Kathy Hilton's Christmas Party

Paige/Greg didn't bother me as much as it probably should have, maybe because I didn't feel like the relationship ever consumed them. With that said, I don't think they handled the story right after Claudia and Kate arrived. Kate never should have existed, and Claudia should have been a guest character. I would have had Greg bond with Meg and maybe have to start raising her - maybe Mack is comatose and Karen is severely injured after a car accident. And as Greg spends more time with Meg, Paige becomes resentful and also realizes she doesn't want to have children. Paige was leaving if the show had gotten another season, so this could have been a natural exit for her.

This is great news. Very important to interview some of these actors while we can. Has Happer ever talked about his brief Dark Shadows run?

I would have to go try to track down 1996 episodes and I don't think I have the strength right now... You're right - Nadine deserved better. Her death moment was strong but the whole thing was definitely very crash.

She did get a funeral, I believe, because I remember being genuinely mad at a scene where Frank lays a rose on her coffin and says, "This is from Harley." I assume the show got a lot of fan complaints over this because when Beth Ehlers returned for the anniversary and had those good scenes where she locked herself and Reva in the bathroom at the country club, she admitted she did not attend the funeral because she just couldn't face it. I think the partner's name was Nell (McTavish must have loved that Jodie Foster movie). She was a decent actress, but they never gave her much of a chance. I did like that we didn't actually hear the news (I think we just saw them through the window of the diner), although then didn't Buzz start throwing objects around...

Viki would also have been a pop in if it had ever happened. I don't think anyone would have expected a regular stint for her (I hope they wouldn't). I don't think there's a need for appearances, but there was no need for MEK or Eva la Rue (who to me weren't even that great on their own soaps) as new characters, and we got them anyway. So the stunt casting is still there. As it is I wouldn't mind a way to honor the legacy of past ABC soaps and use some of that talent. Or even bring in some new characters with ties to those shows, instead of saying they are a long lost son or daughter of Dominique or what have you. I would say it takes away from GH, but the GH it takes away from is something that is already rotted away by Sonny, Carly, etc.

Erika already spent the last decade of OLTL doing DID stories with a godawful actress. I think the ideal way to bring Viki on would be if they ever did some kind of story about the publishing industry.

That second one would have gotten him some results if he'd been willing to take some of the back alley tours of Llanview.

Some work (the shot of Laura Bonnarigo is lovely, and Joey Thrower is striking, although he looks nothing like his other self), but I would agree. I think the reason you confused Lucky and Max is because Lucky's shot actually is similar to the second NW shot of Max. Until now I did not even realize they changed his shot. I wonder why they bothered. Oh wait - they changed his shot TWICE. I have no idea if someone was just bored or if his agent was down the line complaining...maybe it can be taken as some statement on those dying days of Rauch. I'll include the similar shot of Lucky (which is actually nicer than Walker's last shot). This is some 1991 producer's version of what Dee did to Dennis on Always Sunny: