DRW50

Thanks again.

An interview with Esta from just a few weeks ago. https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/catching-up-with-esta-terblanche

AMC was in such a dark period when Gillian arrived. The character was a bit of a mess early on, but Esta was just so charismatic and fun and likeable, it was hard not to warm to her. And I loved her relationship with her grandmother, played by the wonderful Meg Mundy. The last few years of Gillian's run seemed to not understand what made her work, but Esta was always worth watching. I still remember how upset fans were over her death and how the show tried a very blatant ass-covering way as they knew people were going to be upset. I hope she knew how many fans loved her work.

I can't imagine being a viewer in 1961 and going from Lynn Loring to Nancy Pinkerton.

All we're missing is Streisand.

That's awful. I remember some here talking about how she didn't seem right when she was on Locher Room last year or the year before. She was so charming and compelling as Gillian, especially that first year or so before McTavish took away Gillian's spark.

I think Biden has been treated disrespectfully, but, as someone who thought many of the criticisms of his age were hyperbolic, I also think he and his campaign got overconfident at the wrong time with the debate and walked into a trap that the GOP and the media set. Any wrong word or wobble is going to follow Biden from now until November, constantly harped on by not just the press, but many in the party who have given up and are just trying to cut their losses. The frailty and hesitancy from him is now the full face, whether that is fair or not. And his frustration over what that debate unleashed means more and more of a bunker mentality. I don't know if there will be a big unity or rallying moment, but even if there is, I am not sure it will mean a great deal to all the people who aren't already loyal and are hearing constantly from the press and those in their lives about the wonders of Trump and the GOP or being pushed to just stay home because both sides bad, nothing matters. But if there is going to be a rallying moment it has to come very soon, not dragged out for weeks and weeks. The case that Biden and his team could have made for himself has been reduced to court drama, breathless reports of who he's mad at or how Hunter is urging him to stay in. It gives me very bad flashbacks to all the drama surrounding Hillary's 2008 campaign, where she stayed in much longer than she needed to because she felt hurt and betrayed, and anyone who wasn't on her side was painted as an elite and was warned that her supporters would not show up in November. We don't have time for any of that, as Trump makes McCain seem like Mr. Rogers. We need a lot of urgency but more than anything his people need to come out and acknowledge that the criticisms are fair, instead of going on about elites when many of the members of Congress who are making these calls are clearly panicked about what is going on and are getting little indication as to why they shouldn't be panicked. The current tone just makes Biden a martyr to an ever-diminishing circle and leads to his supporters going around with a growing list of which senator or member of Congress they aren't voting for while Trump continues to grow more and more powerful.

Most are scattered on various channels - beyond the ones I had that I linked above, I know Jim Muneco and a number of channels that haven't been used in years have some episodes. Still, there's a big chunk missing. Thanks! At the time I was definitely alienated as they didn't bring over characters like Ava and Gwyn, but by the end of 1996 I tried again and was fine (it wasn't a great show but was entertaining enough on a daily basis). If the writing had been better from the start, that would have helped - from what some said at the time, there were barely even any stories for months. I think they made the right choices with most of the characters they brought over, but many of the new characters for The City itself seemed to lack as much value. Even Roscoe Born I think most found a groove once they imported Lorraine over from Loving. I love Morgan Fairchild, but then and now I also question whether it was really worth bringing her on as I think most of what they were trying to do with her was more of the past than what was popular by 1996 (another reason why The Monroes failed around this time). I wonder if The City ever would have existed if they'd had "GH2" ready by that point. Considering that Port Charles, which had all the help and ingredients that The City never did, also didn't ever really get traction, I wonder if it was just impossible. By this time there were no successful new soaps, really (unless you count Passions, I guess, even though it didn't run that much longer than soaps that were not considered successful and in some cases like Loving ran for less time), and the genre was sliding into a long death. To be honest I enjoyed The City period with Jane Elliot as Tracy more than I ever enjoyed PC.

About a year and a half. It didn't help that they completely rewrote his backstory midway through his time on the show, which just showed they never had any real motivation or interest.

Here's one other clip of her that I uploaded years ago (someone else had had it on Youtube but their account was taken down). I suppose there must be a few others around. I agree Taggart looked beautiful in this episode - more like a member of a royal family than they often look themselves.

Thanks. There were so many people I missed her.

@FrenchFan Thank you for the recap. I did not see Jennifer in this episode. I wonder if there was any explanation in story for her absence (maybe she was at the reception). Those crime elements seemed to be a frequent element of Search in the '70s but the Scott material sounds so grim. I wonder how it played out onscreen. Having the guest character who was befriended by various characters only to be murdered after she leaves town is also very grim (and more like something from a later soap). @Sapounopera I thought I read about Anthony being on the show but didn't know he had a wife and kids. I wonder how much story Mike ever had. The material with Wade and Karen almost overshadowed the wedding itself. Good acting from the woman who played Karen - melodrama without overdoing it. Seeing above that she played Estelle on AMC clicks as I remember being impressed by her work on there (the little I've seen of it). I loved those '70s wedding vows for Steve and Liza. They both looked so lovely, but Meg Bennett in particular was ethereal. Surreal seeing Suzie here and then knowing she'd be so aged up in only about 5 years. And seeing Eunice too - I had forgotten she was still alive at this point. IMDB lists Pamela des Barres (best known for some very detailed books on her groupie years and various music tragedies) as being in this episode. I didn't really notice her but here's what she says about her time on the show: (I didn't even remember John Heard was on the show - so much talent passed through the show around this point without making much of a mark, like Kevin Kline) PAMELA DES BARRES: SEARCHING FOR TOMORROW (pleasekillme.com) When Michael finally extricated himself from his former life in the UK, we were about to create a love nest in Hollywood when I got a large role in the long-running New York soap, Search for Tomorrow. I was delighted and distressed all at once. Five hundred bucks a week sounded like a lot of dough, and I’d finally be on the boob tube, treading the boards, lighting up the screen — but what would Michael do? His music career was in LA, and he wound up sleeping on his manager’s couch, who also happened to be a huge drug dealer. Ohhh nooooooo. I found a perfect Villagey apartment at Bleecker and 7th above a fragrant French bakery and started learning the subway system along with pages and pages of lines. The character I played, Amy Kaslo, started out as a carefree hippie chick, but as the weeks went by, the writers turned her into a straight pre-med student in love with her best friend’s fiancé. My first day on the set I had to strain spaghetti through a tennis racket. Cute, eh? Impossible too. Of course I became chummy with my costars, the goddess Morgan Fairchild, handsome Michael Nouri, and charming John Heard, who played my nerdy boyfriend, Grover. We had a blast hanging out — camaraderie a go go — but I started looking forward to my days off, staying in my loftbed, cooing and wooing with my betrothed on the phone. I wish I could say that I was damn good as Amy Kaslo and brought the studio down every day, but I was so concerned about my man 3,000 miles away on a drug dealer’s divan, and my character had become such a pathetic snotty, boring [!@#$%^&*], that the job became a daily drudge. I couldn’t seem to learn my ever-changing lines, and my eyes veered to the TelePrompter way too often. Still it was a horrid surprise when I was called into the producer’s office and canned, six months after I’d arrived to take my bite out of the Big Apple. He said my “heart wasn’t in it,” and he was correctamundo. As I emerged from the office, downcast and stunned, my three costar pals were standing by the door and embraced me teary-eyed. Then they took me to the Russian Tea Room to get drunk, and confessed they’d been auditioning actresses to take my place for the last few weeks. I was embarrassed and mortified, and down deep relieved.

I think Rikaart works better in supporting or short-term roles. The same happened at Y&R. Nothing about him really worked when he was in a lead role. Probably the most positive I can say was I thought his pairing with Jana worked, until the show trashed it, anyway.

Thanks! That's very kind. I saw that the uploader mentioned this already being on Youtube, but I'd never seen it. @vetsoapfan @FrenchFan @Paul Raven @slick jones @te. @Khan @Vee @robbwolff @kalbir @soapfan770 @jam6242 @dc11786 @anthonymolchan @Matt @Sapounopera @VelekaCarruthers @Mona Kane Croft @SoapDope @NothinButAttitude @danfling in case it was new to any of you as well.

Thanks, @Jonathan . That's very kind of you.

Not sure if this should go here or politics but I'm posting it here. RIP to Sheila Jackson Lee, a trailblazer and a Congresswoman you always heard people talking about.

They had a couple-themed set for ATWT (Bob and Kim) but nothing for GL. I suppose Vanessa's scheming around Quint was another factor in their hostility.

Madame is the Dimera the show needed but never deserved.

No, I meant in the scripts. I didn't see that many from fans.

@Contessa Donatella There were many jokes about AJ's weight during Sean's return to the role.

Nice to see that Robert Scott Wilson still can't act.

I don't mention Van Jones as a claim he is influential with the public, more that he is a strong example of the media's agenda regarding Trump. Trump won in 2016 and almost won in 2020. He has likely lost some support since that time, due to many of his voters dying, but then there are so many factors that benefit him (media adoration, tech bro adoration, so many of his worst impulses being blocked during his first term, the idea many have that the economy was better under him, the nihilism and accelerationist attitudes that lead many to go to him). And a big part of this appeal has always been people making him what they want him to be, not caring about what he actually is. I don't know how accurate polling is, I try not to put any faith in polling for that reason, but I do feel like those conditions are a big help to him again. One of the reasons I did think for a time and still want to think Biden is a stronger candidate than most Democrats would be is that he also has a unique appeal and isn't just an empty suit. And I think many like Yglesias underestimate this factor because they believe "youth" or being "telegenic" matters much more to the public than it actually does. I'm already seeing a lot of anger over Brown's decision, but it mostly makes me worry just how bad things are on the ground because I don't believe he would say this otherwise.

I do think Carville and others who were so aggressively pushing this likely want Harris out. And that will be extremely ugly optics, but they either don't care or think that it won't be a big deal. If the idea is who will beat Trump, I do think there are many valid concerns that neither of Biden or Harris can beat him, but then I'm not sure who in the party actually could at this moment. So if they truly want Biden to go then they need to say they will support Harris. I don't know what a winning strategy would be. I truly wish Biden or his people had never pushed for a June debate. They weren't prepared and they have not been prepared for the fallout. And it's just gone on and on. Every time Biden has a slight misspeak or pause or struggles to get in a car or on a plane, the images go around and around, and another donor gets on the phone. The response from some in the campaign about bedwetters has less impact when you have senators like the very vulnerable Jon Tester going along, or today, Martin Heinrich (who, being in a race with a mega-rich self-funding Republican, will now generate headlines about New Mexico possibly being in play), joining in. And then you have supporters tweeting out this type of divisive stuff that is catnip for Republicans: I am not sure we are at a place where even if Biden gives a knockout performance at the DNC it will shift. Even with Trump and the GOP not capitalizing on any of what's happened over the last month, it still feels like Biden is a negative feedback loop he can't break out of, with decreasing donations and more and more members of the party either not supporting him or only supporting him with gritted teeth. It didn't have to be this way, but here we are. I don't know what will change it. I used to just think hopefully the polls are wrong (again) and a slow and steady approach from Biden would scrape a narrow win through. The debate really hurt that possibility. I certainly hope I'm wrong. I think the fear over the lost 2020 coalition is a big factor in why they are panicking. States like Nevada (not just Arizona or Georgia) will flip by a noticeably large margin if any of the polling is accurate. Hopefully it's not, but I'm not surprised some in the party are confused and scared.

Thanks. I guess NLG has never talked about it.

Already mentally preparing for Robin Givens as a murderous Dru recast.