DRW50

Joking aside or taking another long-lost kid out of the story, Brenda returning and being on trial for somehow injuring Kristina would have been some juicy drama, maybe the only Sonny drama that could interest me right now.

Happy New Year to everyone. May you all receive your Bay City charity ball invitations to start the year right.

Maybe they'll bring her back with another Dante child and she, Brooklyn and Lulu will form a club. Or Kristina will rage at them as she lost her child and then falls out another window.

If they were going to go there with Gary a part of me wishes it had been with Olivia, to show how far gone he was without Val and to make viewers question whether or not Olivia was genuine or scheming. And when Val returned, she would have been repulsed. There was so much they could have done and should have done with Pat. Maybe I should be surprised lily-white Knots even brought Frank and Pat in. I don't mind Frank just being friends with Val. They had a nice bond and anything that meant less Karen/Val was good for me.

@dc11786 I thought Lark was an interesting good/bad girl. I wonder if, beyond Livvie and whoever else, the reason they didn't bring her back is because she was mostly a reminder of when Frank was a terrible person instead of a reformed character. Chris/Eve would have been such a great pairing. The show's choice to make Eve a heroine, rather than an anti-heroine, took away most of her potential. Julie Pinson has never been that great at playing heroines. The schemes with Lucy and Scott might have been interesting if they had wanted to write them that way but instead it just became a lot of misery over VD, Christina, and so on.

That's wonderful.

I was going through some of the old pages and had forgotten about how many articles I scanned for a few years. The stuff I wrote down from Mary Noble to Mary Hartman (the story projections and then the November 29, 1962, breakdown) - they're on pages 7 and 8. The December 1954, January 1955 and October 1955 Radio TV Mirror summary is on page 12, as well as a Daytime TV Stars review of the show from April 1975. On page 13 a July 1956 TV Radio Mirror photo story. A July 1956 Jean McBride Radio TV Mirror interview on page 14 and an SOD fashion page with Tudi Wiggins also on page 14. Pages 15/16 have a RTVM interview with Steven Gethers (Hal Craig). 16 also has a Daytime TV feature on Sammy Davis Jr having a cameo. On page 17, a Bill and Tess wedding spread in Afternoon TV June 1971; also on that page, a July 1979 SOD about a play the cast and former producer were doing, a November 1965 TVRM goodbye interview with Lee Lawson and a September 1959 interview with Audrey Peters. On page 18, an October 1976 TVM anniversary feature and interview with Ron Tomme and a June 1975 goodbye with Sally Stark. Page 19 an October 1978 welcome to Christain Marlowe. Page 20 has September 1976 SOD fashion with Deborah Courtney, July 1973 TVRM with Stark, an October 1976 TVM with Richard K Weber, an August 1952 story feature written from Vanessa's POV. Page 21 has a 1973-1974 Daily TV Serials cast list and 1973 recap. Page 22 a May 1973 TV Radio Talk interview with Zina Bethune. September 1979 Daytimres cover with Chandler Hill Harben, Veleka Gray and Margo McKenna. December 1977 interview with Peters. A number of pages from the special LoL magazine on page 23, including a cast photo. Page 24 has a Daily TV Serials look at the prison rape storyline. Page 25 has a TVRM McBride interview from September 1954 and December 1969 Afternoon TV Show in Progress. Page 28 TVRM March 1974 Tomme/Peters, March 1975 Jerry Lacy, July 1961 Peters hair tutorial. Page 29 has a November 1961 TVRM Lawson eye tutorial. Page 30, February 1975 DTS, backstage. Page 31, April 1969 Afternoon TV interview with decorator Robert Galli. TV Star Parade May 1973 welcome to Brian Brownlee. Page 32 TV Dawn to Dusk February 1971 - Serial of the Month (cast bios and photos). Page 34 Ann McCarthy interview. Page 35 October 1978 SOD Marlowe/K.T. Stevens interview. Page 37 TVRM January 1954 Peggy McCay interview. Page 38 a 1969 TV Yearbook with cast list/photos. Page 39 a February 1971 interview with the Buas and winter 1970 interview with Gene in Daytime TV. I was going through because I wanted to see if this episode had ever been shared. @Mattmentioned it in a post from over a decade ago as existing, so it's clearly not a new find, but I'd never seen it before. Apologies if I'm tagging anyone who has, but I am going to just in case you also haven't. I think I've seen more of 1953 Love of Life than any other period of the show... I've said this several times now but I appreciate how much personality Peggy McCay gives Vanessa to hide how bland the character may have been on paper. This is the first time I've ever seen Paul Raven and Matt Slocum interact. It's nice to see them in some lighthearted triangle material. Reading through earlier pages I see that there was another episode with Evans online at one point that I must have watched, but I don't remember it. He's a very fun figure here, shutting Meg down and reminding us she was not the campest person on the show. Very Gale Gordon-esque. I laughed when she said "Evans" and he sarcastically asked if she meant, "Heavens." This also seems to end with whatever caused Meg's paralysis (it's not shown what happened to her but Vanessa gets a phone call). @dc11786 @Paul Raven @te. @Vee @slick jones @FrenchFan @Contessa Donatella @soapfan770 @Soaplovers @jam6242 @j swift @will81 @TEdgeofNight @Joseph @robbwolff @vetsoapfan @antmunoz @All My Shadows @Khan @Bright Eyes @Mona Kane Croft @TVFAN1144

Thanks for the details. A shame they weren't so worried about age when they paired Gary with Kate.

Thanks. Never saw those photos. I appreciate it. I meant mature compared to Kevin/Lucy, sorry for the mixup.

Thanks again @dc11786 . I think your idea of a Lucy/Eve rivalry makes sense. I don't believe the show executed it well as the result seemed to me as if it was written in Eve's favor, having Lucy behave in ways that were extremely difficult to come back from. I know some fans did support Kevin/Eve and felt they were mature compared to Lucy/Scott. I just never cared about them, and I thought Eve lost any edge they had.

The comparisons between James and Valentin would suggest the show sees Valentin as villainous in the way ATWT did with James, I don't think they do. To be honest, beyond Anthony Herrera's intensity and good looks, I also don't think James was much as a character. But he did serve for some good story here and there in the '80s, which I can't say about Valentin.

One of the twins was dying. Carl had a big speech, although I can't remember the exact wording, where he said he would sell his soul. The baby then recovered. I think afterward Carl had a reaction at the christening when the priest asked them to renounce Satan. After that it was dropped.

I've seen some people point out that Julia was likely the first, although I don't know how much the poverty aspect was emphasized. Either way, Alice was definitely different from a number of other sitcoms at the time, especially those earlier, grittier episodes. Two I remember well are when Mel took Tommy hunting and Tommy was left traumatized, and when Alice was torn about whether or not she should allow a gay friend to take Tommy camping.

Thank you for letting us know. I don't think I've seen her. I'm glad you are showing more care in remembering the past than anyone at Emmerdale is.

Very sad news. Alice went on and on, but Linda was such a quirky, charismatic lead, and she had a presence I rarely saw elsewhere. Even by the end when she was just showing up at random times as a whole other character. I especially enjoyed her different takes on the Alice theme (the first few are the best). So many losses as we wind down 2024.

@dc11786 Love reading your thoughts. I don't remember having any real use for LML's work, although they do make some interesting choices with Julie that pay off when better writers come along in a few years.

To me all you have to be for Jax is relatively charming, and he was.

I've said this before but I'd cast Craig Hall as the new Jax.

I still don't even know why they brought poor Signy Coleman back. The worst part, as SPW or SOD panned at the time, was the romantic dinner where he had to perform a tracheotomy on her (was he out with Ashley and saw her choking - I can't remember). I did like that we saw the wife reading the letter, IIRC, which was not the usual flashback style of the show. I agree she would have been a better Ashley. Shattuck was an all time failed casting choice, even if she became tolerable later on.

I have to admit I just had no interest in anything the show did with Carly in ATWT's last decade, but I will have to try to find those scenes. Everything with Ava these days comes off to me as rewriting plans to kill her off, but if they are keeping her around, building her relationship with Lucas isn't a bad idea. I wish they'd done more with Ava and Sam, although that probably would never have worked.

I don't really know anything about Chad or his relationship with Frank, I just thought the shifts onscreen felt abrupt. If Frank cares that much about ATWT (more than most at ATWT did by the end), that would be something...I just figured it was because they have nothing else to do with the characters.

I imagine the show would have been torn because someone there clearly likes Drew (which is why we are now having this big couple push for Drew/Willow), but I think there's a lot of clear story in place which has been changed. I wonder if his exit was abrupt. You also have characters who don't even really need to be involved, like Lucas, saying to Drew and Willow what Michael should be saying.

I wonder this but in another way - if they might have played up the vengeful side more if he was staying.