DRW50

I don't think Greg/Paige was on the same level as JR/Cally. Cally was presented as very naive whereas Paige gave as good as she got. Greg also never seemed as abusive in his relationships, at least to me. I didn't really care about Mack because Mack was unwatchable by that time, and Greg never knew her before he thought she was his daughter for about two minutes. I wasn't a fan of Greg/Paige either, but they, and Paige's airtime, were not really an issue for me in those last seasons. So much of the show was cycling around extremely spent characters (Karen, Val, Gary) and a parade of failed new hires. Paige and Linda scheming at Sumner was more entertaining to me. I will say I thought the Paige and DIRTY COP story was dull, but I blame that on him.

I don't think there is anything beyond wanting to make Trump and the GOP squirm on an issue they clearly loathe dealing with. As you said, the cultists will still not change their mind, but it's the only offense the party has. I'm surprised it's even been as effective as it has, to be honest. I imagine that effectiveness is now over. I am just not sure if it is ever going to happen. And one of the reasons is because many on the left who go on TV and social media to say they want "the revolution" are very privileged. They are trust fund babies. They have huge podcasts. They pose in front of their luxury cars, like that wretched Hasan Piker the press keeps insisting is the way of the future. They want posturing about the evils of capitalism, but they are content with what they have now. Look at Susan Sarandon, who wanted Trump in for the revolution. Where is she now? Doing a play in London. She doesn't give a damn about what people are going through. Why should she? She got what she wanted. One of the other reasons it won't happen is because the people on the left who call for this prefer Trump and Republicans. They wrote puff pieces about how funny and tough Trump was for going against the elites. They gushed about how they love all the nicknames Trump has for Mamdani. They promoted him as being sure to save Gaza, unlike Harris, because he wants to be seen as "strong." They berated Democrats for protesting cuts to USAID and the federal government. They can't say enough good things about the likes of Josh Hawley and Tulsi Gabbard, berating Democrats for not voting to confirm her. In the nonexistent chance socialism ever had any power in this country, they would immediately team up with Tucker Carlson, David Duke, and whoever else they can find. That's one of the reasons many of them have such disgust for black Americans, Jewish Americans, lgbt Americans, etc aside from some tokens who are there to remind us how terrible all the others are. They fantasize about the red-brown future we would have if only "libs" were gone and they could teach a white supremacist sect in Idaho about the power of praxis and mutual aid. I'm not even sure who in the Senate would be an improvement on Schumer. Pelosi was nudged out in part because people wanted a fresh voice, but Jeffries has not been overly effective. Schumer is not as strong as Pelosi was, and he's also terrible in media hits, but the only real difference I see in Schumer and most of the people who would replace him is he's more open about congeniality instead of putting on a mask. Spanberger and Sherrill were both from the same wing of the party which many who go on about the evils of Democrats deride, and they spent the whole campaign saying both ladies would lose or barely win (then tried to give credit for their wins to Mamdani). There are many rank and file Democrats who were disgusted by ending the shutdown, but I don't really know what else could have been done. Trump's poll numbers might go back up now, but they are always going to because the media lives for him and I think the majority of this country is cruel, ignorant and bigoted. The public might go back to supporting Republicans in Congress again, but that was also inevitable. The ACA is probably dead, which is horrible, but that was also going to happen no matter what. That's what the public wanted. The "best" scenario we have on deck is Republicans narrowly losing one or both houses of Congress and a Democrat narrowly winning the White House, then getting blamed for everything, so that Republicans can come back in and finish cementing their permanent stranglehold on power This is what the public wants. As they love to say, "I voted for this!" I don't see that ever changing. I just hope anyone who can safely leave the country does so while they still can.

https://people.com/james-van-der-beek-auctions-dawsons-creek-varsity-blues-memorabilia-exclusive-11847179

Yes, that was when the bit of hope I had for the new leadership went out the window, especially since they essentially said they just wanted to hire a friend from ABC. They just assumed ART had no fans, I suppose because she was not one of the big names in the cast. With proper writing and the right actress, viewers may have moved on, but Susan Batten was about as nonsensical a choice as if they had hired Marla Adams. This was also around the time Jeff Trachta's firing got protests outside their studio, so CBS Daytime viewers just seemed to be fed the [!@#$%^&*] up.

@Khan That made me laugh (and great song). @alwaysAMC Cosgrove is just recurring so he doesn't show up very often. I do think this type of role suits him more than the good guy parts. Willow was a long-suffering ingenue, who was in a cult, had cancer, had an evil sister, etc. until about a year or a year and a half ago when she made out with Drew on July 4th (I think - I may be wrong). Since then, she has slowly become unhinged.

I figure they are still setting up the reveal that Nathan isn't really Nathan. Now he's "inside" thanks to Dante, so he will have more opportunity for his plans. I don't see Chase and Dante as being that similar. They are also likely going to be in a love quad of some type soon if this story ever gets going.

Thanks for the interview @Paul Raven I never knew about Gwyda's passing - so horrible. She seems very intelligent and makes me want to watch Executive Suite. I haven't ever seen much of Ilsa either but from how she died she seems more like a mob type in the second run - don't she and Jason gun each other down? Someone at P&G in the '80s really liked Warren Burton as he lingered on their soaps for over half a decade even without much to show for it. I do think what I've seen of his work of Jason is more interesting, but the stories aren't very compelling. When I first started reading AWHP I found the writeup on him and his last words (about loving Tracy) to be moving, but onscreen it mostly seemed to be him mooning over her and listening to her sing and being petty toward her and David Bailey's dreary Russ. I wonder how viewers felt about a year being spent building up that Melissa Needham character only for her to then be dumped. I haven't gotten through most of 1981, but she seemed OK in the Christmas episode. Allen Potter and Dorothy Ann Purser (?) had to clean up so much mess when they arrived at the end of 1982. I'm still impressed with how they managed to do so.

I see what you mean. At least we have that wonderful promo of Eileen making such a dramatic face (not only did Whit die - the rug was ruined!).

Thanks @slick jones I wish Helen's Somerset material was around.

I'm glad Kelly could be there. She got such rough treatment at the time and couldn't even really enjoy her win. I hope she ultimately has happy memories.

Great find @Xanthe can't imagine them together.

Whit is one of those characters I'm good with not seeing a whole lot of. I just end up focusing on the wig and the wooden acting.

Thanks. I didn't know this was up. Glad to see another glimpse of this period of the show. @Vee Another for the list of jarring music on soaps. I do love that we got a lengthy montage, with Marisa Tomei underplaying and Cris Leblanc gritting his teeth, to show Kirk taking a car trip. If anyone needed an example of ATWT trying to ape ABC and NBC soaps... At least we know Kirk is a safe driver, making sure to pull over when in distress.

At least they remembered Britt should do something positive...

Thanks. I didn't know she was dating Logan in real life. As is often the case, they had little onscreen chemistry. I don't know why the show keeps killing off new characters. I also don't know why they are redoing a story that wasn't very good from a few years ago (Harry Warner pushing someone and it was seen as an accident). Also not thrilled with them turning a domestic abuse story into another psycho killer story. I do enjoy some parts of the show now but so often it's just the above or yet more of Esther's love life and pity parties and being rude to people as we're reminded how amazing she is. What did you think of Libby? Brooke Freeman also appeared for a bit this year, bedding Drew. (sadly no mention of her with lovely Boyd, who has not been on this year) Bleh.

Thanks. Given that everyone in Bay City was getting shot at the time, kudos to them for their inclusivity in letting him get shot too.

I don't believe this will affect midterm votes. What affects them is the media supports Republicans, the GOP rigs and suppresses votes, and much of the public are full of bigotry and cruelty, more interested in the people they don't like suffering and dying than anything that benefits them.

Thanks. I saw some of the interview but not everything. I'm not sure he would have either and I doubt AW would have (I don't know if AW ever even a gay character in a support or guest part had, unless you count Liberace). By that point P&G clearly had no interest in bringing Jamie back anyway, even though he should have been hugely important to Rachel's life. We never even got to know how he felt about her with Carl.

They did give Drew an out as he thought Ned was faking. This doesn't really make sense, as Ned would not do that type of thing, but they tried... Drew is incredibly hateful, which is draining to watch, but on the positive side, at least we aren't asked to feel sorry for him, like you know who one, two and three.

I was wondering, those of you who watched EON before the period that is more widely available (mostly 1979 on, with some pit stops starting from 1975), what made the years before that time interesting or special for you? Are there any characters or storylines you feel deserve more attention and you want to document for future generations?

I remember seeing some of Laurie's return on Youtube. They aren't on now, but that EON channel has been steadily uploading 1984 so it shouldn't be too much longer.

That reminds me of when someone wrote to Soap Opera Weekly in 1995 suggesting Richard Bekins return as a gay Jamie. They may have just been going on Bekins himself (although I don't actually know his sexuality), but it meant that I was surprised when I went back and saw just how much skirt Jamie got, especially when Bekins was in the role.