DRW50

By that time P&G was determined to wind down their soaps. I doubt AW would have much run longer than PC did by that point, but given how irrelevant PC ended up seeming, I wouldn't mind seeing what the alternative would have been.

Thanks for all the nice Thanksgiving messages. On most Thanksgivings in recent years, I have found myself thinking of Mac's toasts. I hope you all had a good day.

A hilarious story that has emerged with the recent Drake legal action drama. Drake Threatened to Quit Degrassi Over Character's Wheelchair

About a decade ago the studio that made various South African soaps (all gone now, sadly) like Isidingo and Generations, suffered heavy fire damage. I think some of the episode post-fire are up if anyone wants to see how they dealt with the changes.

I was just joking because it's what soap fans often do with recasts, although in the case of GL I actually did stick to my guns about not accepting many of the recasts. What we've seen of LOL circa 1952/1953 does seem very smooth, polished, and sure of itself and its core themes. I don't remember how much of the later '50s is available but I do wonder what changes (especially once Peggy McCay leaves). (I think one episode with Bonnie Bartlett is around)

I do wonder even if they made changes with Brooklyn, would it make a big difference? They recast Kristina with a popular actress who seems willing to take risks and the story was a huge failure and she seems hated by a lot of viewers through no real fault of her own. The other women in her age range like Sasha and Willow have more active sex lives but those also aren't presented with passion. Gio being Dante's son seems like it could be overshadowed now unless the writing is much more layered than one would think - if Rocco feels insecure and draws closer to Lulu (or Cody), if Danny lashes out over Dante spending more time with a total stranger than him, etc. As Chase is at least pretty and willing to take off his shirt I would say they could pair him back up with Willow or Sasha (or was he never with her) or even Maxie, but who knows.

There was the brief time when Lillian and Vanessa were on Annie's side after Reva returned, making some catty remarks about her as she was on the outs, although that was badly written and just made people call Lillian a hypocrite.

Joey must be the most popular Bachelor ever? (admittedly that isn't saying a great deal)

My favorite part of that episode was that Marty guy's way of saying, "Va-nessa." That would have probably been the talk of soap boards back in 1953...along with GL fans saying they'll never accept the Meta recast.

That age range is a weak spot for Neighbours and Home & Away (unless they try to break the bank for Guy Pearce or maybe hope for Peter O'Brien), but Craig Hall, who has been wasted in a few of the eternal guest spots that make up the Neighbours revival, could work.

Thanks. The announcements were made so long ago I forgot we'd be getting Stephen Schnetzer and Gloria Loring. Even with this tragedy it still makes me happy to see Stephen again. I'm glad they remembered the feud between Marie and Liz, even if Marie was the wonderful Lanna Saunders at the time.

I thought so too. It was nice to see some different characters. I am trying to remember if I've seen either of the guys (Warren or Marty) elsewhere. Earl Montgomery as Marty (if IMDB is accurate) was living a rough life for 32 years old. At first, I wasn't sure if that was Grant Richards as Warren as when I looked up Richards he seemed to be doing a William Powell homage in the late '30s, but his "daddy" vibes here do match how he looked in a Rifleman episode I found on Youtube. I'm always glad for glimpses of Peggy McCay and Jean McBride too - in episodes like this they are styled similarly enough to where the good sister/bad sister vibes come through even more. I loved the shot of the tea service too. There's something so effortlessly cool and camp with Jean. For anyone like me who could not remember what was going on with the 10K Vanessa needed, a few years ago the channel put up an episode which gives the reason why. One thing that does confuse me is this episode (on another channel) is dated May 22 but seems to have very different storylines. Is one of the episodes misdated?

And then there's the Liason fans...poor Sasha would be a pile of ashes.

I remember your analysis of the early scenes. I think you were right. It is unfortunate they never got the balance right...and the whole thing was so isolated. If that was the plan for Sasha, then the irony is they've put her in an even weaker position due to Chad Duell leaving. I have no idea what they are going to do with her character now.

I don't think they'd have to trash Laura, but I think it could have made for some character-based drama - Laura clinging to some quasi-family tie, trying to "save" Heather the way no one save her when she was repeatedly vulnerable (and put away for years), the way she couldn't save Lucky or Lulu, etc. And there could have been natural conflict with other characters. But I know it probably wouldn't have been written that way.

I don't think she'd ever go against her the way she did Jenny Eckert, I just wonder if they may use her to scheme against a Cody/Lulu relationship. They could come up with reasons if they wanted to make some effort (maybe Lulu no longer feels close to her after her years in a coma, maybe Tracy feels very lonely and resents her bond with Cody being taken away, etc.) but if they want to just keep the close bond Tracy and Lulu used to have that would be nice too. I've always assumed they will reveal Sasha isn't actually a Scorpio, but I never do know if they have any idea what their long term story plans are.

The posturing against Sonny was a road to nowhere. I remember when they made a show of Laura "turning against" Sonny after Lucky's death, and beyond her wandering around the hospital for a year looking sad I can't remember anything of note happening. There was a more natural story in place if they had actually had opposition against Laura over her enabling Heather, involved the people Heather hurt, and gone forward with the story they hinted at with Jordan running against her as mayor. None of that happened, partly because Frank and the "historian" didn't give a [!@#$%^&*], partly because they seem afraid to remind viewers of just how many terrible things Heather has done.

There would also be story for Tracy if she is torn over trying to help the woman she loves as a daughter, although it would be tough to watch if she ends up becoming bitter or jealous (which wouldn't be out of character but I don't know if I trust the GH of recent years). I agree that it would be a shame to see a friendship ruined for the same of a forced love triangle.

I don't think it would be right to recast Monica. Yes, Jason is around, and she could be in story, but it wouldn't be the same without Leslie. If Leslie can't continue in the role I would kill the character off. If they don't want to do that until Leslie is ready then I would say have her leave town - maybe they get a shock when they learn she has sold the mansion to someone (maybe Lucy or Scotty or a brand new mystery character...? I don't know. Anyone but Carly.) I think Dante and Cody might be the two best male leads in their age range on the canvas at present - for whatever that's worth.

Sorry for the mixup - we were talking about the show under Jean Holloway in 78/79. I agree those shows were still funny.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jim-abrahams-dead-airplane-naked-gun-hot-shots-1236071689/ Airplane is such a fun movie, and Police Squad holds up well on the occasions I rewatch. Naked Gun too, although I haven't seen that one in a while. Kentucky Fried Movie is a real guilty pleasure.

The pill story ends up getting greater stature than likely intended at the time as it was edited into the 50th anniversary special's package on "social issues," as we hear Vanessa talking about how she relies on pills while we see some scene of her looking catatonic. I haven't dived heavily into that period but for a long time I thought it must have been a bigger story than it was. At least they found good clips to showcase Maeve.

Oh I know it must be bad (I know the idea is it was written like a radio soap but many radio soaps were good)...just morbidly curious.