DRW50

Cheryl's braying is just unbearable isn't it? I had to skip about 1/3 of the episode thanks to her. And what a selfish friend she is to drag Steph around when Steph just finished serious cancer treatment. I also don't care for Jem, she seems entitled and sour-faced and she has a weird voice. The only thing I liked was that they had she and India bond at the end of their little fight over who should get a job. I like that so far Marquess seems to be saying women don't need to have silly feuds. He did this with Cindy and Suzanne too. Of those you listed I like Charlotte (that scene where she checked out Jem's ass was hilarious and surprising), but the others I barely tolerate. Well I could like Gaz but that is only with a lot of serious changes and time and will they make the effort, is he worth the effort? I don't know. I just wish we knew who was being fired and who left on their own because would they have fired Zak (and then this caused Michaela to quit) if they knew so many others were going? Or is this all part of their plan? These new characters are going to have to be phenomenal, and yet even if they are, will viewers be invested if they are just new faces interacting with other new faces? I know there will be some overlap but I just wish more people were staying around. If Clare Cooper leaves you will hear my scream over the Interwebs... Nancy might eat him for lunch though. I thought Gilly might go when Steph does but if not then he could still have interesting stories. I'm glad he and Rhys are having more scenes, I have always liked that friendship.

No, not Malachy :( I wish Mercedes could go with him. The character is exhausted and after this I can't see her with anyone else. I will kind of miss Amy and Dom, although I guess I'm not shocked. It figures that right after an episode where Amy was more fun than she has EVER been (loved her attempts to show her wild side by bragging about getting knocked up behind the bushes, then realizing how stupid this was) she's leaving. They really seem to be losing or firing every existing cast member. I wonder if they might regret firing so many actors now, it's going to be all new character aside from one or two faces. If those faces, like Ashley Taylor Dawson, leave, what then??

Thanks for the interviews Y&RWT. She looks a bit like the one who played Mandy, although she shouldn't make that fish face. Garnon Davies is leaving the show. I guess Elliot has been just sort of there for a long time but Garnon's a good actor (cute too) and I still liked Elliot. I was kind of hoping he and Nancy would get together, since that would make him the only man to be with Sarah, Hannah, and Nancy, and that's good for trivia. Poor Jessica Fox must be sweating bullets, if she wants to stay on the show -- that makes everyone she has had a story or scene with either gone or going.

Apparently Paula had a hip operation which didn't go well, and she had to have further work done. A few weeks ago people saw her back filming on the webcam.

If you spent that much time around Rick James you'd probably end up the same way... That's a good Alanis song. Love Crystal Gayle. She had some fantastic country-pop songs that she didn't get enough credit for. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnTwnSrGq5Q&feature=related

I didn't watch the interview yet but I'm glad if they're bringing on more family for Declan. I hope Declan will stay around. He just fascinates me, he's so calm and controlled and strong, yet he's not a bully, he has some sort of principles. He's also very hot. I hope they will build a friendship between David and Declan.

One of the tabloids claimed that Collinson was on This Morning a few days ago but I haven't seen that clip anywhere. I'm glad someone posts those little Corrie website things on Youtube, it annoys me that we can't see anything on the main site if we're not in the UK.

Thanks. Apparently Gavin Blyth also did a webchat, although the transcript I saw didn't say anything that surprising. Someone at DS who is incensed about Cain getting away with too much asked Blyth about that and apparently Blyth said Apparently

In what was one of the most unintentionally hilarious stories on Eastenders in some time, the worthless Billie Jackson, Jack's nephew by Carol Jackson, had a gang who followed him from Balham when he moved back to Walford. They kept telling Billie that he was no longer "repping his crew." The girl, Kylie, was Billie's ex, and was very angry that he had moved on. After involving Billie in some petty crimes around Walford, he turned his back on them. Kylie got a gun Billie had been hiding at his place and she opened fire at a birthday party the Jacksons were attending at the club R&R. Jack was shot in the head and had to have major surgery. Fortunately for Jack, he started recovering almost immediately. He was then shipped off to a clinic once his ex Roxy realized he needed the money for special care. The Heather/Darren storyline was disgusting and bizarre and has basically been dropped. Darren got drunk at his 18th birthday party and had sex with Heather. This was not shown oncamera. They did not let viewers know who the father was until right after Heather had given birth. They made people think Phil, Minty, or Darren could have been the father. Heather sounded like a very delusional and disturbed woman because she went on about this dream man who made her feel so wonderful and who gave her "special cuddles." And it was Darren! I really don't think Heather actually has feelings for him.

Love Christine McVie!

That's all fascinating stuff, I never knew any of that. Did fans accept Jada as Carolee? The woman before her who had created the role from a tiny recurring part was popular wasn't she? Did you ever see Virginia Vestoff as Althea?

Lucas special on the way (spoilers): http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/scoop/a240225/eastenders-the-murders-of-lucas-johnson.html

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/technology/itv-reveals-details-of-5m-leeds-studios-overhaul/5015827.article

New doctor: http://coronationstreetupdates.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-hunky-doctor-for-coronation-street.html http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Matt_Crane

So is a new way for the show to get viewers having Frankie with...um...full on headlights throughout her last scenes on the latest episode?

What an odd headline over the guy who plays Karl saying the show has moved on from Kylie and Jason. They say he "berates" the show nostalgia. With that headline you'd think he took a piss on a copy of Especially For You. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a239869/neighbours-star-berates-show-nostalgia.html

That's interesting. He does seem like more of a fit on AMC.

No clues about Nikhil, just the vibe I get from him -- he's confident and driven but underneath very scared, and haunted. But that's just me assuming. Some others are saying they've pretty much heard You're right that Faye would probably fit in well running Home Farm. She has that air about her. Sometimes I wonder if they should just have a real old school aristocrat take over Home Farm. They haven't had any of those in over 30 years. Everyone who has lived in there has been self-made haven't they? I guess the exception was Lady Tara Oakwell but she wasn't around long was she?

Those are good ideas for Carol. I see what you mean about the lack of support system, I guess I would hope an MS story might strengthen her ties to other characters. It's ridiculous how little she has scenes with anyone in her family, and she has no friends, she has nothing. Her strongest tie is to the truly worthless Billie.

Here's Kincaid's Tom with Margo. The writing is probably to blame too but it just seems odd, especially the last scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdrLZ1QNc3M&feature=related

Apparently Collinson's teases about not believing what you read were not clear enough (they weren't to me anyway) because he said in an ITV chat earlier today that they are leaking false information to the press. While I am happy if that means some of the shockingly grim, unpleasant, character-decimating "spoilers" such as turn out to not be true, is this a way to get people to want to watch? What, will they tune in just to see if it isn't as miserable as they expect? Or tune in to be surprised? It's hard to know what to say because for all I know the false information is on other stuff (I think he said one was Natasha) and the worst spoilers might be the ones that happen.

I've only seen Declan 2.0. I can't say I'm impressed. He's sullen, his hair sucks (he looks like a homeless vampire), his personality is unpleasant, he can't act.

Amanda Donohoe tends to not stay in one place long and apparently she's dropped a hint she won't stay. I hope she does, as I think Natasha is a fab character, but I won't be surprised if she goes. It's hard to figure out what would be best for Home Farm. Honestly I sometimes wonder if it might be time to make drastic changes there, because increasingly it has seemed like a place where someone just happens to live. The last time I remember any slight hint of opulence was with Zoe Tate, and even that was strained, but we at least sometimes saw her having fancy dinner parties, we saw her wandering the grounds. I wonder if they should cut it up into a block of flats and have various characters of different backgrounds living there. No one on the show knows exactly what Charlie is doing. Rodney barely seems to be bothered and Diane thinks he's an angel while Doug thinks he's a demon. The story has gone back and forth but I think he's a conman. I know some have said they are sick of Diane's happy sappy routine but it doesn't really bother me, as Charlie honestly does seem to genuinely care about her and Victoria and she probably never thought she'd find love again. Scarlett dates the adorable and sweet Adam Barton. She also works in the King office. That's about it. I think the Kings who are still there are there because they were actually better off without the family around their necks. Carl never really fit into the family (no wonder he kept killing them...) and although it's a bit repetitive, he works well as the spoiled brat who is never completely happy and always has to have a new woman. Yet he also works well as Jimmy's brother. Jimmy meanwhile is a very fun and light character with occasional moments of seriousness. His devotion to "Nico" and to his little baby girl are very touching...sometimes sappy, but I think a soap needs that. I guess it must be odd for you because he was a lot different when you were watching wasn't he? I know he was looser with Kelly but before that he was a real ass. Layla is fine. She was very shapeless as a character for most of her first five or six months in but the way she is now, kind of funny, trying to climb up the rungs but not taking herself too seriously, in a happy relationship with David, has worked for her. Faye is just kind of there. She started off very interesting, as a quasi-stalker for Mark Wylde who turned out to be the wife who had mourned him for 25 years, and when she moved to the village, she had a very interesting potential relationship with Cain. All that was abruptly ended, perhaps due to Charity returning, and since then she's floundered somewhat. Her part in the Mark story became more and more superfluous even when he was still alive. Since he's gone missing (AKA killed) she has just been in a barely seen courtship with Jai Sharma. Apparently Kim Thompson has been taking classes so that's why Faye has barely been seen but I think they just don't know what to do with her. Ryan started off with a lot of fanfare but for whatever reason that fizzled out and he has since spent six months or more as a very supporting character. I don't know why it happened, I get the feeling something backstage damaged a lot of the plans for the Wylde/Lamb storyline. I think the anti-chemistry between Ryan and Katie also took a toll, because it seemed like they were really building a triangle between Nathan, Ryan, and Katie, but now neither of them ever give her a second look. James Sutton is a good actor with the right material and he has a lot of charisma but they just seem lost. I think Andy and Katie are probably still there because they have been there for so long, if that makes any sense? Katie is sort of the town bike, they have men give her a ride to help bring them into the show. She's also a friend to a lot of characters, they can just sit her down in the Woolpack and have her listen to someone. Andy I think is probably still there because he is one of the only Sugdens left and because he was at one time a popular character. He also has a lot of ties to Debbie and to the Dingles. They might see him as still being a potential draw and as a future character, and they are hoping fans will accept his very slow rehabilitation. Emmerdale can be a frustrating/fascinating show because some stories are built very slowly and others go by in the blink of an eye. Some characters are painstakingly built up and others are just kind of thrown at the screen and then abandoned. My guess is he was either abused as a child or abused in a past relationship. So have you seen Eve yet? What do you think of her compared to the Eve who was on there when they ran over their headmistress?

The problem is what WOULD make sense for Calvin's killer? From what I saw of the story, which wasn't a lot but was enough to annoy me, Calvin was just his usual sanctimonious, entitled self. The important characters who were mad at him did not have a history of murder and he had not really done enough to push them over the edge. Sasha obsessing over Warren, Lauren being angry about Calvin causing problems for Gaz, Mercedes/Malachy and the affair...it was all frivolous. Not even getting into Lucy Allan's attempts to try to make Jake or Rhys a suspect. A more likely killer in the show's mind would have probably been a character tied to the underworld (like the twink Kyle) or some out of the blue racist like Des. Neither of those brings any real drama. I think Teresa as the killer had some dramatic power and helped bring the McQueens together as much as it tore them apart. They've all had a lot of juicy story over this, especially Jacqui. The only one who seems to have been left out is Michaela. I do agree that the show is still very uneven and I don't think one can say there have been big improvements. But I hope it will keep moving up. The ratings for Tuesday's episode were 1.37 million, which must be their highest since sometime last year, does anyone know? Aside from that braying donkey Cheryl doing her bad dramatics over not being appreciated by the Valentines (how is she even close to them?), I thought Tuesday's episode was good. Sasha and Lauren throwing Leo off the couch. Carmel trying to bond with Lauren only to have this backfire. The stuff with the Ashworths is hard to watch and depressing but I did love that Suzanne and Cindy got along fine and poor Darren was left feeling put out. And that scene of Darren riding Holly's bike was fun too. Darren is such a brilliant character, he is probably the spine of the show at this point. Ste was a bit OTT but I got a good laugh out of Dave and his attempts to con his way into a huge expensive meal. The small stuff, like his trying to pocket a beer on his way out (which Ste took as he was at the door), and then his big Stanley Kowalski routine as he thought he'd been banned from all the eateries in Chester. Why has he been fired????