DRW50

https://apnews.com/article/alice-brock-dead-9bdd0a7591ca58d491c7e914410dccef

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chuck-woolery-dead-wheel-fortune-love-connection-1236070165/ I've been seeing a lot of people celebrating this news. I understand why, but right now I'm just remembering his smooth style on Love Connection, which was always a good background watch.

I agree she's dull - she has a little more of the soap inner life compared to Willow or Brooklyn, I think, but I agree. Cynthia was doing such good work in the brief time she was allowed. A shame that's never going to happen again.

Maybe they should track down Rick Telles. Justice for Rocky/Rio.

Blake/Ross/Holly would have made sense, even if Willow and Nina just don't have that level of depth and Cameron is no Jerry Ver Dorn. (I know you weren't comparing them, sorry) I do think Sasha is a likeable character, which is more than I can say for a number of others in her age range, but it does feel like she, Willow and Brooklyn all serve the same narcoleptic role.

Thanks. I can see how hard it would be to play Princess.

Thank you. I'd forgotten about Garland. I can imagine that was devastating as they needed that type of support in so much upheaval. We've gotten so used to the last four soaps hanging on by their fingernails that it can be easy to forget just how close to going they still are, especially GH and DAYS. I do see the similarity between where the show is now and was 11-12-13 years ago...the main difference is now no one is going to ride to the rescue. Hopefully something can turn around. And hopefully they won't have a departure that is going to really hurt the show.

There could be story for Nina and Willow with Drew. I would recreate the story with Kimberly/Michael/Rae on Ryan's Hope. And if it ends with Willow gunning Drew down, no big loss. I do wonder what they plan with Sasha, although I still assume she will be back with Cody at some point.

Did Erika once say that she had a hard time playing Tori or am I just making that up? Tori was the alter who interested me the most, but she never does return, even when she would have made sense (as mentioned in another thread, Niki in 2002 was basically Tori, just with much worse writing).

That's a good idea. Brenda would probably just say have at it, given the end of their relationship.

Speaking of Tina - I was watching some of the Viki DID story ('95 version) yesterday and was reminded of this scene where Jean...well, the video title says it all. I got the sense a number of times that Malone had no great use for Tina. She was a big fixture when Karen Witter played her but, in some ways, she felt like a new character - even from Rauch to Malone Witter's portrayal changes (I have no criticism of Witter - she was terrific). Tesreau's Tina is just pathetic. Then she was completely trashed offcamera when Malone returned. Kirsta was good on GL, and I can see where a casting director thought she would fit Tina, but Mindy was not Tina. And Malone decided to write Tina as if she were in 1986, but only Andrea Evans could have pulled that off.

I haven't watched all of that period so I can't say but I just thought the show was dull as hell when I was going through that time in 1980. I love Judith McConnell but having her scheme about Mac/Rachel was a dead end because viewers were never going to accept them being apart and she came in after two more compelling schemers (Iris, Janice) had already left their orbit. They would have been better off having Miranda involved in another part of the canvas, although it would have been a struggle because so many men on the canvas at that time just weren't compelling. If they had a stronger figure as Russ, I might have sent her his way.

Considering how many Australian actors keep trying to crack the US market I'd think they could find an Aussie actor, but I agree Jax isn't needed. I'd be fine sending Joss six feet under, frankly. Maybe they can have Sebastian Roche play Jax for her funeral and have him wink at the camera.

I'd imagine it is low. Even if they didn't seem like vets to us, Easton and Howarth had also been at the show for a decade, and they were fired. Kelly was fired. The backstage transition with Mulcahey in and out was a mess. And they've seen a number of co-stars pass away in the last few years. Add in that there's a good chance the show is in its end stages and some may feel they want to leave on their own terms while they can.

I do think she was more inclined to play MJ as weaker, but the writing also made MJ incredibly weak. The show seemed determined to degrade most of the women on the canvas under DePriest, with just a few escaping. Considering DePriest did an entire story revolving around attacking and murdering women who were seen as acting the way a woman shouldn't, if MJ had been strong, she likely would have just been killed off. I think Sally captured a great deal of vulnerability and sympathy in MJ, even though the material was trash.

I think she just is good at getting over Frank, which is nice for her after how she was treated in some past eras. I was going to joke that you can probably tell based on who has a podcast...but there aren't that many, I guess.

I think the only longtimers they really prioritize are probably Maurice and Laura Wright. And of course we don't know if they have also taken cuts.

Neither have I. I know many adored Garrett, but all I remember is a lot of tics and we already got that elsewhere on the show. I am glad they have moved Michael more into the Q sphere but he was brought up in what essentially gutted all the best of GH and that's hard to get past. I assume Michael will be recast, rather than killed off, but I do wonder if they will let the character rest for a while. I don't think they'd fire Duell; he's been more central to the canvas than Kelly has in recent years. I can believe this. For him and for many in the current cast. It's telling that likely the only reason the story with Drew, Willow and Sasha even kicked into gear is because of Duell leaving. No wonder, as you have mentioned, there was little to no genuine feeling to the plot.

Thanks as always @Huntress

I guess they really are going with Lulu/Cody for a while.

I think for a while Viki didn't want to go as heavily against Dorian for killing Victor and then something pushed her to go with what Sloan wanted - maybe Dorian paying Emily Haynes to say Sloan harassed her (?). Dorian was written as such a gorgon for the whole story up to the trial. I can see where Robin wasn't thrilled.

@Planet Soap I don't think I could deny the whole buildup to the "break" was extremely effective, and difficult to watch. The music cues alone were terrifying. Unfortunately, for me the most terrifying part of those segments remains Kirsta Tesreau as Tina.

His condition didn't really come back up again until his last months, when he was trying to hide from Viki that he was about to die.

No idea where to put this Circus of the Stars as it has performers from GL, Dallas, Dynasty, Knots, and future soap stars like Steve Burton, but I may as well put it here for Don Diamont. Only a partial taping but Don's part is intact.

One of the aspects of the Sloan character that annoys me is giving him a dead gay son (I wonder if Malone was a Heathers fan) and pouring on the sympathy for him over the way he treated said dead gay son. All this at a time when other than a recurring character who mostly disappeared after the plot ended, there were no gay men on the canvas (something Malone would try to rectify a decade later, but that didn't really end well [not that the end result of the story was in any way Malone's fault as he was gone by then]).