DRW50

The scenes with Margo, Craig, Lyla and Casey were all funny, sweet, touching, something that these characters (and the show) lost by the mid '90s. This is one of the reasons I just never could accept the changes to Craig and his relationships - Craig could be a selfish [!@#$%^&*], but he often loved his family. Scott Bryce had an ease and vulnerability no one else in the part could find. When I watch these again I can understand why I was fond of Shannon at the time, as Margaret Reed is such an emotive, charismatic performer in these years (as shown in her last scene with Richard Burgi), but her stories just go nowhere by this point. The whole idea of morally upright Grant Coleman being evil or a killer is a nonstarter, even if James Douglas does a good job with the doubt. I was impressed with the relatively honest portrayal of homophobia and how it affects not just the gay character, but also the young straight men who battle with their homophobia and insecurity, and are targeted for being close to him. I've seen other episodes of the story which detail these things, but not sure any have ever done the contrast with Hank, Andy, and Paul as succinctly as this one. The f slur being thrown around makes this feel more real than I had expected. You would not get anything along these lines on a soap in the last few decades. Nor would you get the reality that only a handful of people would actually be close to Hank (especially poor Iva, who in real life probably would have spent half her time venting to gay men), with the most you get otherwise being apathy or hostility. I've wondered at times whether it was especially true to life for Hal to be son in Hank's corner, but I still appreciate it. I'm never sure why Marland didn't do more with Iva's biological father and his family. They just never feel very natural, and don't have enough impact on her life. It's a shame the woman who plays the nasty sister, Elizabeth, is so weak, as she is the only one in the group who is allowed to be flawed (as she has to move the plot along while her "good" family react to her). Elizabeth is the type of character you'd get more of on prestige dramas in the '00s and '10s. I wonder if Marland knew someone like her, and couldtn't stand her. Seeing Lisa Brown and Liz Hubbard was a heartbreaker, but a reminder of what underrated, nuanced acting partners they always were together.

He dominated discourse for so many years. Family of mine watched his show. Sometimes I did too. So many like him dominate our country now, or people who are even worse, it's difficult to feel any sense of relief.

Longer version of Yasujiro Ozu’s ‘Straightforward Boy’ film found | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/185773

I can't remember when exactly, but it gets to a point where Earl just does not appear for long periods of time. I'm not sure what Farley Granger's status with the show was by 1988. I like Farley's work on the show, he's very charming, but based on the way he was used, they should have just contained him to one story and then wrote him out at the end of the story.

I have a vague memory of this being up before but I can't find it now and that may be on how samey the Earl Mitchell death story from around this point was. Posting in case it's new to you. @DramatistDreamer @slick jones @soapfan770 @Mitch64 @Vee @victoria foxton @vetsoapfan @Soapsuds @P.J. @Paul Raven @Khan @DeliaIrisFan @kalbir @Soaplovers @TVFAN1144 @Sapounopera

There's a little, but for the most part I rarely see positive comment about Joss on social media. It seems like every attempt the show has made since Laura to activate the blonde ingenue has been unsuccessful. The last one who seemed to have some fans was the last Dawn 30 years ago, and she was beaten to death.

So happy for Bonnie, and glad we will see Mel again.

That's heartbreaking to hear. Julie had a tough life, but battled to become a national icon. She always had the utmost respect for Corrie and for its fans. I can't ever imagine Corrie without thinking of her. I hope she will be well taken care of.

Seeing Harris Faulkner trend the last few nights for shameless propaganda on Faux News, I watched a clip or two, and she is better at selling it than Tucker, Hannity, Watters, and so on. Yet she's never going to be accepted by that fanbase, for two reasons.

Thanks, @Vee . I'd heard about this and wondered what Ryan would have to say, as SNL is very difficult to write about, which you can tell from the piece (and she says at one point). It's simultaneously open and about as walled off as you can get. I'd read most of her various quotes before, but I do wonder how someone who isn't as trapped in the show's tendrils must feel. The Horatio Sanz story was heinous, and was one of the times where I finally saw just how much power Lorne (and NBC and their owners) have to be able to suppress it as much as they did. I don't really believe there is an aw shucks persona of Lorne Michaels - he went on TV for years in his expensive suits, sipping champagne and being imperious. If anything I think he projects an image of power that was not always there (due to the terrible culture he'd gotten SNL into by the mid-90s, and various finger-in-every-pie men who took over at NBC, he was weakened for most of the mid/late '90s and through a good chunk of the '00s). There's a whole mythology of how challenging he is which amounts to saying he can't stop playing mind games. I'll also say Seth Simons, who is right about much of comedy culture and SNL, is a very erratic figure, as I used to read his Twitter before he put it on private. I never could take him as seriously afterward. I believe the Danitra Vance characters she refers to were characters Danitra brought with her to the show, although I'm not 100%. I assume the rest of the SNL material in there talks about Trump, as Ryan was one of the critics (rightfully so) most disgusted with him being booked. I like her comparison to Doctor Who. In both cases I often think the narratives of the show, all the generations of history, compel me more than the material itself, with some glorious exceptions (glorious more in the case of Doctor Who - SNL never really hit those heights). It's also one of those shows you have to start when you're young to care about, which is one of the reasons why, although I would like to see how a fully Lorne-free SNL would be, I am expecting it to go off within the next year or two once Lorne is gone from NBC (Doctor Who has shown more of an ability to regenerate [no pun intended] so I am hoping that can keep chugging along).

The People's Party also has or had ties to Jimmy Dore, the alleged comedian who left the allegedly progressive Young Turks (full of some of the worst voices and most vapid voices out there, past and present) and now rants and raves 24/7 about vaccines, Ukraine, trans people, and other topics beloved by the far left and far right. The man he's yukking with here is a pig who used to write for Amy Schumer until his various ugly comments led even her to move on.

West wrote a glowing op-ed about DeSantis earlier this year, and praised "Brother Trump" in the past. Yet many still seem to think he's on their side.

As long as Valentini still won't give up on Howarth and Easton, bigger male names are probably still unlikely. I was never a big Jack fan, but I'm glad AMC's memory is still being kept alive.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/george-riddle-dead-onion-news-network-fantasticks-1235506861/ This one is, sadly, all too prescient.

I thought the whole ugly episode with JR exposing that his girlfriend died during a botched abortion was reason enough, although probably not for so many years (unfortunately I thought most of the writing lost any dimension after a few seasons anyway).

Oh that liberal media. Amazing how many people are lining up to do anything for such a repulsive and deeply uncharismatic man.

Didn't he also have a terrible relationship with Potter? Really terrible? I know Potter was long gone by then but it probably wasn't a happy memory for him.

Freddie is an utterly pointless character, especially with his mother not returning anytime soon. Bobby Brazier is very likeable, but similar to the rest of EE these days, I just feel no connection.

I noticed that Todd was more confrontational with Republicans in recent months. I wonder if that is why he is going, or if he knew he was on the way out and stopped caring.

That was lovely @Khan

I was surprised when I saw just how many of my favorite songs she had co-written. Her songs have a special ability to put you right in the place of the story, no matter how simple it may be. The emotions live right through you. "Make Your Own Kind of Music," "Here You Come Again," "He's So Shy," and "Uptown" may seem different on first listen, but all of them share that same heartbeat. Even "Somewhere Out There," I remember as one of those songs that moved me so much when I was a kid.

@Vee That makes me laugh. The part where Licht bitches about Don Lemon's clothing is very Succession (the Tom character), and I can picture that dinner party from hell too. Zucker, odious as he was, did seem to know how to grease palms. Licht just seems to be there to turn the network into right wing gruel, and still can't even do that as successfully as intended. I read that some other Zaslav flunky has been assigned to CNN now alongside Licht.