DRW50

Can anyone make out the name of the woman who temporarily took over for Helen Wagner as Nancy around ATWT's 1988 Christmas episodes? I can't quite hear it. I guess they didn't want to have Nancy absent for the holiday but it's so strange to see someone else as Nancy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOPk-gMUpWM

Senator Robert Byrd died this morning. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/39087.html

Speaking of Josh Taylor, he filled in for Michael Tylo on GL briefly in late 1996, I think for a week or so. They had just about nothing in common -- I don't even think they had him wear Quint's type of wardrobe. I remember there were rumors that GL was thinking about permanently recasting him as Quint, which would have been bizarre and probably a fiasco, although at least it might have given Lisa Brown something to do.

Sam has been a plot device for some time now and the bizarre, frankly schizophrenic way they wrote for her on her last return was not great. I'm just trying to figure out how pregnant she will be. Wouldn't she have been impregnated in November?

Thanks Jason. That's fascinating stuff. Poor Susan Keller. Have you ever seen any of her work in the role? I wonder why Stranger and Josh Taylor hated each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoYp1fIzvhs

I can't see any of them as Phyllis. Then again I don't know Linda Dona. Wasn't Kimberly Simms mentioned for several roles in the mid/late 90s but never actually made it past auditions? I think she auditioned as Jennifer Horton when Melissa Reeves left.

That Toyah storyline offended a number of viewers. I have heard that story and Alma's cancer storyline (which even the actress criticized -- the message was just awful, saying that a woman got wrong smear results and then through some missed tests, had a cancer which was now untreatable) were both big ratings losers and helped cause the regime change in 2002. The Toyah story was not just her being raped, they also had some kind of "whodunit" where she would accuse one man after another. I don't think any viewer wants to see a "gritty and realistic" Graeme. I also don't know how many viewers want to see Tina, after losing her father and having an extended mental breakdown, get raped. They have already seriously damaged her character as it is. And that's not even getting into what would happen with David. And if this is some sort of cute dodge, like "he doesn't actually go through with raping her" or, "She's raped but it's not by David, she just thinks it's him," that's even worse. And to "temper" the way this is filmed is a copout. I do not mean to sound like some type of Corrie expert, because I'm definitely not, but these type of backbreaking stories do not seem in any way appropriate for this show. And again I would suggest people look at where the show was in 2000-2002, when violence, drug-fueled murders, brutal beatings, rape, and death took over more and more of Corrie, and Eastenders became the dominant show.

You can almost taste the coke that went into the episode... No, I'm kidding. It's definitely very glam, back when networks still had hope for soaps. Judith Anderson brings such a kick to her scenes. And Lane Davies is effortless. I just have to ignore the people around him. They cast her because she looked like Robin? Wow. OK...apparently she was so much like her they had to ask Robin to come back. To be fair to her I've never actually seen a photo of her as Rachel. There is a mousy photo on AWHP and I was stunned, but then I read that it was from a Highway to Heaven episode.

When I first started going to Youtube there was more of all the soaps. Then Corrie and Emmerdale were wiped out and then Eastenders. Now Corrie and Emmerdale have a stronger presence, in new episodes and in old ones. Either ITV/Granada realized the potential or they just have other things to deal with right now. Either way I think the BBC should have left them up. It makes me sad seeing these dedicated fans so crestfallen, and frankly they were doing more to help interest in the show at some points, like 2006, then those actually running Eastenders were. Endersfan in particular had one of the best channels I have ever seen.

Please tell me Santana wasn't on there long. That acting makes her more like Satana. And that CC, yikes. I cannot see that Margie Impert as Rachel, she seems to have little sensuality and could barely say her lines. She's very mousy, she kind of reminds me of the one from the Go-Gos who was on the Surreal Life and was shot in Clue. I'd also love to see Charlotte, especially the story with Kit Vested. Was the episode you saw with Melinda Fee the Love of Life episode where her character leaves Rosehill?

SOE lists a number of women as playing ATWT's Susan Burke Stewart before Marie Masters. How many of these were attempts at permanent recasts and how many were stopgaps? Connie Scott was 66-67, Diana Walker (there she is again!) 1967, Jada Rowland (had she left Secret Storm?) 67-68, Leslie Perkins 1968. As Annie Stewart, was Randall Edwards just a temporary recast?

EEClipz had to take down their videos, such wonderful stuff Once again, material that is likely never going to be seen on major television again or sold by the BBC, yet could be used through fan channels to help drive new viewers to Eastenders, is deemed unacceptable.

Oops I missed that SFK, sorry. Melinda Fee has always seemed like a somewhat odd actress to me...distinctive yet not all that memorable, if that makes any sense. I feel like I have probably never seen her best work -- she was very good in that Love of Life episode saynotoursoap put up. Points to her for playing out Mary's death scenes in a maid's uniform she was too old for. On SFT, were Stephen Joyce and Terry Logan unsuccessful attempts to replace Ken Kercheval? On SS, was Margaret Barker a temp when Marjorie Gateson fell ill?

I'll have to look for the Iris stuff. I wihs I had watched more of that AOL Video channel, it never worked on my computer... I remember Carole as flapping her arms and being very animated, although I guess that was also the material for Iris at that time (she was being taken hostage at one point). It was a bit more like Liz Taylor meets Mrs. Roper. There would be no Cecile if not for Iris. I was hoping they would interact more when Cecile returned in 1989 but I think they just tossed a few verbal grenades at each other. Joel Fabiani (who has always kind of bored me) was a temp recast for Roger Thorpe wasn't he?

I've always wanted to see the stuff where she forces Pat out of Brava. I wonder if it was any good.

http://www.igs.net/~awhp/mar1979.html http://www.igs.net/~awhp/jul1980.htm (that second set of photos also has a shot of one of those crazy looking Alice recasts) http://www.igs.net/~awhp/1cecile.html

Susan was the first Cecile. She was there when Cecile was the innocent who had her heart broken by some guy Iris paid to keep Cecile away from Dennis, then when Cecile got dark and snagged Jamie Frame and got him hooked on pills and made a play for Mac. I think Nancy was brought in by the time of the Sandy/Cecile stuff. I can't remember if Susan wanted to leave or if they fired her.

Were these temp recasts for DAYS' oft-recast Mary Anderson? Nancy Stephens 1975 Carla Borelli 1975 Susan Keller 1980 The first two were between Karin Wolfe and Barbara Stranger and Susan was when Stranger was still in the role.

Thanks, Paul. I don't thank you enough for all your soap knowledge. soapfan what was Dru's 2000 story? I don't remember? I always like Kent on Knots Landing but she hasn't found a good role since.

I'm not sure if this counts but for Dark Shadows, Peter Turgeon, the last Dr. Dave Woodard, replaced Robert Gerringer, who refused to cross a picket line. Grayson Hall had convinced most of the others to do so. The last weeks of Dave Woodard had some of my favorite DS lines. Dave: I saw your sister Sarah today. <Barnabas makes a WTF face> (after Julia kills Dave) Barnabas: Julia, you have no friends...

Was Susan fired as Cecile or did she want to leave? Here's another in the SOE - Peyton Place, Lola Albright as Constance Mackenzie, 1965. That was a temp, right?

Yeah, Brad's sister, she was married to Rafe and pregnant and was electrocuted in the hot tub and Delilah carried her baby.

Schemering has Susan Keith as Samantha Vernon in 1979. Was she a temp or a failed recast? I think I remember Julie Montgomery (listed as 76-81) saying she left and then came back because the recast didn't work out? Was that this situation? Julie or Barbara? Apparently Julie was later in Saturday Night Fever. I wonder if she traded war stories with Karen Gorney and Lisa Peluso.

Soap Opera Encyclopedia has June Carter as Secret Storm's Amy Ames in 1960. If only that was THE June Carter. This woman wasn't an actress, but From These Roots associate director Barbara Searles had to immediately replace Julie Bovaso when Julie walked 15 minutes before an episode was about to air (she disagreed with director Paul Lammers about the meaning of a scene and some line interpretations).