DRW50

I don't like Lucy (although it's nice that the girl who plays her decided to act), but I can see why she decided to have an abortion. I just think it's cruel that she suggested the idea to Jane about Jane adopting the baby. I hate baby rabies stories. Seeing sensible Jane become this glossy-eyed lunatic has not been fun. I hope that she can move on from this story and it won't destroy her as it does many soap women who then become all about a baby.

I'd almost rather they didn't make Ben gay, just because it's been such a joke up to this point, and after the poor attempts at gay stories over the past ten years.. It would be more interesting for me if they recast Ben with someone who can act, still kept him as artistic, and said he was straight. Then have someone unexpected, someone who doesn't fit Phil's stereotypes, turn out to be gay.

I think Santer is good at moments, but stories, I don't think he is. Stories need proper pacing. Look at Chryed. They've barely been onscreen in months and when they have been onscreen they just repeat the same dialogue and often seem petulant. I'm not sure how many will really care when this story is resolved. I wonder the same about Lucas. Even Who Killed Archie was resolved in a way that makes Stacey, one of the show's most popular characters, look awful.

She's becoming a harder character but I think it makes sense. I just hope they don't go too far, as they have with Molly. Some casting news -- Keith Duffy (Ciaran) is leaving, by his own choice, to focus more on his band, Boyzone. The little girl who plays Amy has been replaced. I really liked the exit for Kelly, I thought it was a good fit for her character, and a throwback to the name Danny Baldwin had for her ("Legs").

Daz was about 18 or 19. He was a few years younger than Debbie. Around 2004-2005 he had a crush on Debbie but she was never interested. That went away when he found out she was sleeping with Andy. It's weird because I still see his twin on Shameless and that just reminds me of how I miss Daz.

She was very good. I think they may have had more story planned for her that was stalled because the actor who played Daz was fired over his legal problems. I still miss Daz. I'd love to see a Daz/Aaron story.

The Andy story does seem like a long time ago. They took Andy very far over the edge. Sometimes I'm still surprised they managed to keep him around, although I guess it's a good thing they did, as he's one of the only Sugdens left. I wish they'd bring his father Billy back.

I've been dropping in and out. I keep up with some stories and others I'm not as interested in and can wait to see. I did this with Corrie too although I'm finally all caught up on that (it helps when you can skip about 50% of the stories because you can't stand them). I do read far ahead, which I probably shouldn't, but I can't help it. Did you get to see any of the older clips from before you started watching, any of Debbie/Jasmine, or when Laurel and Ashley lost their son?

Danny is 19. Nathan is attractive to me in that posh, stuck up way, smug and he knows it and you want to see him taken down a few pegs. He also has a nice smile and is a little bit debauched, like he'd probably know how to have fun. At least that's one side of him. The whiny bratty entitled act is annoying. Sometimes he's nice and he genuinely cares about his family, although that isn't very often. The soap actors I tend to notice the most are the ones with great butts, and Emmerdale has quite a few of those. Caulfield is awful but he's a perfect fit for the character.

I think she was attracted to Nathan's wealth and influence. That and sometimes she doesn't seem sure of herself with David. Nathan would probably be more appealing to gay men, especially with that fantastic arse. Too bad all the gay men have left the village. I'd love to have seen Paul Lambert flirting with a flustered Nathan. Caulfield looks better without the wig.

Doug is a great actor. He used to come from Victoria Wood comedy but he's also decent at the dramatic work. They used him in somewhat odd stories before -- supposedly he almost quit over a story in 2008 where he got an STD -- but he's a good presence. I really like Layla too, I'm glad they kept her around. David is so gorgeous, I wish they did more with him.

I just hope he actually knows how to tell a story, which Eastenders doesn't do now.

Zoe Lucker is joining the show. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/showbiz/760754/Eastenders-signs-up-Zoe-Lucker-to-play-glamorous-businesswoman.html

Whatever happened to Adele Silva? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1259322/Former-Emmerdale-pin-Adele-Silva-heads-Hollywood--finds-work-shop-assistant.html

I wonder if they ever regretted aging Nancy. She was only on the show as an adult for two or three years, then she was written off and aside from funerals and the 25th anniversary, never returned. I've heard so many bad things about Brittany Peterson, over and over. What do you think made her so awful? Was it the story? I also never understood why they recast Sally with a woman who was nothing like Mary Page Keller. I guess they just wanted a name from AMC. At the time you were watching AW in the 70s do you remember having any feelings one way or another on the Frames being brought in and the Matthews family being phased out? I know some viewers from then told me later on that the show was not the same for them after this. I wish more of that era was available but sometimes I feel like I can see it thanks to that Harding Lemay book, although I know that I shouldn't let his opinion hold all the sway.

That's awful that they fired her over a weight issue. I have never known any soap viewers who tuned out because someone was a little overweight. I wonder if the Ewings might have stayed around if she hadn't been fired. Probably not, but you wonder.

Oh that's right; for some reason I thought Buzz was the one in the ragdoll outfit. I wonder if AW being seen as a "hip" soap in the 70s meant a lot of people refused to tune back in when the hipness wore off. It's a shame because that soap had so many good actors and some standout moments. Remember how Cecile clung to Mac and tried to start up a relationship with him? That was Susan Keith, wasn't it? What did you think of her Cecile? I kick myself for not watching the AOL Video stuff from the early 80s; it jumped and froze and I was run off. I assumed it would be around forever and then it was gone. What did you think of Larry and Cecile? Whenever I see Larry I always end up remembering that quote in a soap book from the early 80s where he talked about being an exotic dancer. He's not a bad actor though.

I wish I could see some of the Alma stuff. I've heard people talk about how terrifying that story was, Blaine being tormented by the man in the doll outfit, and such. From what I've seen of the first woman who played Blaine she was very charismatic and able to be both strong and weak. With that and Cecile and with Chris Rich, I'm surprised their ratings didn't go up more. Did you ever see the last Jamie, Russell Todd? He was a more serious Jamie, but he always pursed his lips and seemed kind of out of place.

Alma drove poor Louise off, never to be mentioned again, didn't she? I've wondered why they regressed some of the changes in Jamie after Bekins left; later on he was suddenly a doctor and of course back to Jamie. I wish they'd had him come back for the finale. Judith Barcroft interview from last month. In the first part she talks about her work at AW. I didn't know she went back as a dayplayer. I can see why that must have felt degrading. http://www.welovesoaps.net/2010/02/catching-up-with-judith-barcroft-part-1.html

I know there are the preservation societies for films, but I was wondering if there was any type of website (beyond Wikipedia) which lists a lot of the lost movies or TV shows, and those that have been recovered, what some of the recovered films or TV shows have been. I guess I'm most interested to know whether or not they are still finding lost stuff. I know there is only so much to find but I hate to think that they aren't finding anymore. There are still so many old silent and early sound films, the Our Gang shorts, and so many old episodes of lost TV shows, like Doctor Who, Z Cars, the live anthology shows, et al.

What is with the pacing and writing on this show? These endless weeks since the live episode, you will hear some fans say that it's OK, what can you expect, they had to be in a slow period. Why? Wasn't the whole point of the Lucas story and Syed/Christian to have other plots which wouldn't depend on the Mitchells or Stacey? Instead, it's been three months since anything memorable happened in the Syed/Christian story and Lucas's story is the most boring, pointless serial killer saga ever. They have also trashed Ronnie's character so badly.

Platts on Jeremy Kyle:

Have any of you seen these clips? Sometime last year someone put up about 12 clips of a 1982 story about a Russian artist who interacted with Rachel. They seem to have been put up for the actor who played the government official who accompanied the artist (played by Paul Hecht, or as I remember him, Alexander Cabot). The story itself seems a bit strange for AW, but then, AW was in a big state of transition, yet again, around this time. You can also see Richard Bekins, the best Jamie, and some references to his scandalous book View of the Bay. There's also David Canary as Steve Frame (it's still hard for me to picture that). And Elizabeth Franz as Hecht's wife Bella. She went on to play notorious Alma Rudder, didn't she? I also like some of the background music -- one of the clips end in a disco type background music, and another begins with a remixed version of the AW theme. http://www.youtube.com/user/nocurtaintheater

Happy Ryan's Hope Day, everyone.

David, Tina, and Nick, with Graeme in the audience, are going to be on an episode of Jeremy Kyle. The characters, not the actors. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1258486/Coronation-Streets-Platt-family-1000th-episode-Jeremy-Kyle.html