DRW50

McQueen boutique. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-life/2010/03/03/hollyoaks-actresses-opening-a-new-boutique-called-the-closet-100252-25949223/

The biker friend played Avon on Blake's 7. If there's any on Youtube or anywhere you should try to watch some of the Jamie/Louise relationship. It's...well, it was different, I guess.

Zsa Zsa is so awful. All her scenes are so cliched and pathetic. Is this whole thing supposed to be a joke? I think I'll call her Zzzzzzzzzzzz. Does Santer actually know any teens?? Louise Berridge interview. http://www.walfordweb.co.uk/item.php?id=2284

Well, so far it's not the same as what has been the usual gay relationship/coming out story on soaps over the past 4-5 years. So that's new. I think the pacing could be a bit better, the story has gone slowly and sometimes vanishes for long periods of time, but I think the idea is interesting and I think Danny Miller is doing a wonderful job. I'm very glad that the people who took over Emmerdale last year realized his potential. When Aaron showed up in late 2008 he was just another rough around the edges punk who resented his parents and lashed out. A lot of viewers probably have minded seeing the back of him. Danny Miller added a lot of shading and vulnerability to the part and I'm happy the show recognized his abilities. I hope he continues to be an important character, as he has a lot of complicated relationships which can go anywhere. Often a soap just dumps some random teen on the canvas and says, "They're the future!" but Aaron can be more than that.

Katie and Lee aren't gone per se, their relationship is. They built up a lot of conflict between Cain and the Wyldes. I won't give a lot away but

I guess we won't be seeing Eli again for a while. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s12/emmerdale/news/a205958/new-gay-character-for-emmerdale.html

I don't know how much of it is online; a lot used to be on Youtube but was taken down. He played a businessman named Luke Strong. He was a charmer type, but a bit quirky. He had a mystery past which they never delved into because the actor only stayed around for 9 months. He was involved with several women. His exit story was conning an annoying girl out of her money to help solve his cash problems. He was on Strictly Come Dancing last year. That is on Dailymotion I think. He annoyed some fans as he couldn't dance and kept saying "I want to at least get to Blackpool (they were going there for a special show -- he was from Blackpool)." He was sort of endearing though, although somewhat deluded about his talent. The judges were often very harsh towards him -- the judges ruin that show. You can see a LOT more of him in a movie called O Marabella. His brother is Dean Lenox Kelly, who was in early episodes of Shameless and played Shakespeare on Doctor Who a few years ago.

Yes, Craig was on there for a lot of 2009. There was a jokey scene where Antony Cotton says, "I could have sworn he was gay."

A lot of Emmerdale is filmed outdoors, but they have some standing sets. Over ten years ago the show paid to build the village and in the long run this has saved them a lot of time and money. You should have seen what Cain looked like the last time he was on the show! Long, unkempt hair, baggy clothes. He was a slightly more dapper Eli. I think when the actor returned he or someone must have asked for a change. I think he has a medical condition in real life which caused the marks on his face. Cain is a fascinating character with the proper writing, which he hasn't had as much of with his return. He's often very bitter and easily hurt and lashes out. You should look up some of his stories with the Reynolds family -- his insecurities led him to run an emotional bulldozer through them. Lee was dull, but he was good looking. I think Katie just wanted a rich guy... I love to hate Nathan. Sometimes I can't even get around to hating him, he's his own worst enemy. It helps that I think the actor is attractive. That's what I like about it too. I think it helps that we get so many small everyday moments, and so much comedy.

Kirkwood is getting what he gave Lucy Allan. Eastenders tends to be very flat when it's not in stunt mode and that's leveling off again, now with endless teens. The teen stuff will be blamed on Kirkwood ("He wants to make this Hollyoaks!"), even though Santer has been trying to big up these wooden teens for years.

Daran Little is #1 on that list of Kirkwood pets. Little wrote Hollyoaks in the City, which was not great (although they got gorgeous Phillip Olivier naked over and over and over), but he was good on Corrie and on Hollyoaks. He wrote a lot of the Todd/Karl story on Corrie and he wrote a lot of "McDean" on Hollyoaks. He also wrote some of the only episodes that did justice to poor Father Kieron and his struggles. The rest of the time the writing was just one-dimensional Scandal! Gay priest and teenager! Eastenders is a show which desperately needs some better perspective and a stronger voice for its gay characters. Christian has been every single gay stereotype and this "Chryed" story has been all shock value and no soul.

I watched The Powers That Be every week when it first aired. I also have some vague memories of Grand. Back then I watched a lot of sitcoms that didn't last. Today they wouldn't even last a month, much less a season I loved Valerie Mohaffey's performance. She was what really kept me hooked on Powers That Be.

Have any of you ever seen the short-lived Richard Benjamin sci-fi spoof/sitcom, Quark? Joan Van Ark was in two-episodes as "Princess Libido", who falls in love with a plant (it's a plant in a humanoid body -- he can't love or show any emotion, but this just drives her even more to love him). She's very funny, especially when they "pollinate" -- they each lay on the ground, legs and arms in the air, making stupid sounds. I think one of her episodes is on Youtube.

I can't remember if Jane and May were there. I know Sean was. There was a "Witches of Walford" story with Chrissie, Zoe, and Sam Mitchell (the other Sam), when they wanted to pay Den back for what he'd done to them, only to end in Chrissie killing him. I like Ian/Jane, just because she brings out his better nature. I do wish they didn't have the baby stories, I am sick of baby rabies stories. I never saw Grant/Jane, they might have been a good couple. I noticed Santer didn't mention "Who Ran Over Max?" He and the EE highlight shows always seem to try to pretend that never happened.

I thought he was good in the first story; everything after he made up with Ian and came back to Walford was a mess. It sucks because I really liked the scenes where he and Ian made up, then they had to turn him into a psycho. One of the many bad and pointless stories in 2008.

I agree with some of that. Bianca's return, bringing Jim back after his stroke. The Dot one-hander. The Masoods. I think it's telling that he focuses on moments, not on the show as a whole. The show as a whole has often been questionably paced, halfhearted buildup, no real followthrough. Steven - Why is there anything to be proud of in this story? Steven became a confused bisexual (and as always on TV or movies, bisexual seems to somehow equal being crazy or evil) who kidnapped his sister and tried to suffocate his grandmother, only to vanish and never be mentioned again. It was a lousy, lousy exit. Heather/Darren - how does this work for the future? Darren has no ties to Walford and if he vanished tomorrow no one would notice. Heather is a tired character, the only thing that even kept her going as long as it did was the innocent act, complete with endless, unpleasant jokes about her weight and appearance, and you can't exactly do that now that she's bedded an 18 year old who was in a serious relationship. Tanya and the coffin - horrible stunt. That and sleeping with Jack ruined Tanya, I can't even watch most of her scenes. Whitney sex abuse story - what does it say about the message of this story when the healthy, slow-building relationship Whitney had afterwards which taught her it was OK to take things carefully was junked so that she could make out with a man she barely knows, her adoptive uncle, and who lies to her and isn't trustworthy?? At least he isn't talking anymore about how he built up the younger characters because they meant a lot to him when he was younger. The characterization and the performances from Lucy, Lauren, Zsa Zsa, Leon, Billie, Fatboy, are terrible. I'd go as far as to say this may be the worst group of young people I can ever remember on EE. Anyway, I probably liked his run best for the Masoods, making Jean sane, bringing Bianca and Ricky back, and giving Ian something to do besides be the town joke. And Stacey's bipolar story, before the rape and making her a killer.

There's some speculation that she was a Lucy Allan hire. So far he hasn't made a lot of changes to the show oncamera, just a few firings, most of his focus has been behind the scenes. One article said Sheree is probably moving to Australia next year. If that's true then she may only be in for a short stint. I always feel like Elliot is an interesting character who has almost never had a good story. I still have no idea why they did that crap where he dumped Sarah and then was with Hannah briefly. The show got so musical chairs with pairings over the past few years it made watching the individual episodes seem pointless. I don't even know what Elliot is doing now. I guess they might have kept on with that pairing if the girl who played Laila hadn't quit.

Yes, she was very good on the show, she was around for 3-4 months. They built a special set for her. Unfortunately she didn't get to have a scene in their pub, as she had wanted. I hope she might return at some point but she said she hopes to do Eastenders.

They couldn't have been less subtle if they tried. Her first scene was roaring up in her car and dictating her lusty novel via tape recorder. The movie really is a lot of fun though, and, unlike most comedies, especially today, was actually amusing, instead of bigoted and mean-spirited. I think my favorite part was always Shelley Long's dance class (do the Freddie!) and her attempts at merit badges.

There was a real drought on younger women in Hollywood for a lot of the mid/late 60s and early/mid 70s (I think Ellen Burstyn even went on TV and told the Academy to boycott the Best Actress voting one year), and women like Ali and Katherine are examples of that. Just dull. Faye Dunaway was also a bit dull early on but had presence and became a much more interesting screen personality as she aged. So did Candice Bergen, albeit on TV, not film. But Katharine Ross, just....zzzz. And playing a dim ingenue when she was over 40! I seem to remember an incredibly dull story where her presumed dead husband returned so she would have to split up with Charlton. Wasn't her cliffhanger in the last episode rolling down a hill or something? I'd love to see this Connie show as well. I'm surprised more US programs didn't hire Stephanie. She even stole the show in one of my favorite comedies, Troop Beverly Hills.

The main person I enjoyed when I watched any of The Colbys was Stephanie Beacham. The show made too many casting decisions based on what they saw as "names." Charlton Heston, Ricardo Mantalban, Katharine Ross. Katharine Ross was so dull.

Anita went off the rails after she was bullied and targeted in racial attacks. Over the space of last year she pretended that a boy tried to rape her (she had wanted him to have sex with her and when he said no, she said he'd tried to force her), and to get attention, she pretended she was bulimic. Hannah sympathized with her and began falling back into the old feelings she had when she was binging and purging. Anita realized how far this had gone and told Hannah the truth, but Hannah was then even more upset and started up again, so bad that she ended up in hospital, wishing for death. When they were dumping the Roy family last fall, Ash spitefully told Anita that she had been adopted at birth by their parents.

The only part I liked about the "Cricket" episode was JVA's performance, and we got to see a different type of appearance for Olivia.

Anita sucks! Tricia was a big character on Emmerdale, she had major story for years and years. The odd part is that Samantha Giles, who played Tricia's rival/friend Bernice, was on Hollyoaks a few years ago. She was mother to Lauren and Danny Valentine, and briefly flirted with Calvin. She just kind of vanished when Giles went on maternity leave.

I liked the slower pace and the general sense of exploration and moving on in season three. I do think they had no idea what to do with Ginger, but when they had written for her earlier, like the episode where she was stalked by the mother of the guy whose child she had aborted, she was fine. It's just that Ginger and Laura were not as easy to write for as Valene, Karen, or Abby, because they did not fit into the easy stereotyes. Karen was the "everywoman," Abby was the vixen with an occasional heart, Val was the sweet country girl adjusting to the tumults of a new suburban California life.