DRW50

That might have worked. Ron Hale was always so reliable (even if I don't think I ever believed him as Sonny's father).

I liked Simon a lot. He felt like a real person, but also had some warmth to him, even when he was often just there to be a foil to Nicola or his annoying mother. Sorry to hear of the actor's passing, especially at just 47.

For me MBE was better in the more unpleasant moments rather than the generic heroine moments. Katherine only should have stuck around for the one storyline, similar to what would have happened with later stunt castings. I do think MBE had a unique presence for that era of GH which made her stand out a bit, but I don't think she ever had an interesting pairing. I actually think a lesbian story with her would have worked, in the proper form. JER probably would have had Kayla sitting on the backburner with Mike.

More propaganda from CBS after their MTG puff piece. I think the media and their money men are unnerved that all the talking points about sainted moms and dads fighting for their kids has gotten any pushback (it wouldn't have in the '90s, the decade much of the media is still in), so we're doubling down now. Shameful. Please boycott network and cable news.

The soap press at the time also questioned why Tom and Felicia were so sexual, and panned the story. It was obvious the show had no idea what to do with Tom, and seemingly just wanted to bring in Matt Ashford. I know John Beradino's health and death didn't help, but that was far from the only problem. I still wonder why Simone was so abruptly ushered from the canvas. If it was Guza's idea, then Riche not doing more to step in was a forerunner of mistakes made later in the decade - very bad ones.

A good obit (the NYT and Guardian obits were well done too).

I know Humphries had his unfortunate moments in later years in some of his comments (not to downplay), but I really did enjoy watching Dame Edna, and I appreciated Humphries' quick wit in interviews - whether as Edna, Les Patterson, or himself - all the way to the end. Watching him toy with people he was interviewing, or who were interviewing him, kept you on your toes, made you laugh, and there were even occasions where, along with the joke, there was some tenderness, as shown in this interview (and kudos to Humphries for not treating these smaller local interviews as something to jeer at) where he talks with the interviewer about being a widow. Humphries always made clear that he wasn't a drag queen, so I'm not going to reach too much in comparing his art to today's violent attacks against drag and against transpeople, but I do think the dual life aspect he talked about in interviews is still a part of the identity and freedom which has become consumed by so much ugly propaganda on the right (and among some of the left who are always happy to help the right). I never really got the sense that Humphries tried to change his act, or his personality, to pander to Americans, so it still impresses me that after an initial rough response in the late '70s, Edna was able to find a niche in the US starting in the early '90s. That she was a semi-regular on the last season of Ally McBeal still makes me scratch my head.

I agree (although none of this can be worse than his Daytime Confidential writing), but if someone can get a writing job in today's deathbed industry, I guess they know what they're doing.

Are there even any around now? I guess the Tyler Perry shows? It's smart of him to leave a sinking ship. If he could take the talentless hack who helped hire him, DAYS might be able to wrap up on a passable note (as long as Higley, Griffith, etc. aren't brought back).

Soon, doctors in Florida will be able to kill you and just say their faith left them with no choice. Unless you want to pay with your life, avoid that hellhole at all costs.

My best to Eric Braeden and his loved ones.

I am not going to go on about how this will ruin careers, because it won't - this is the industry, basically. I think my mistake was in confusing Steven Yeun with some of the characters he has played and forgetting that this industry is so often just bile and abuse, and the worst being rewarded or enabled (like Choe seems to have been by a number of people, including Anthony Bourdain [who, as we know, had toxic ties all the way to his last day]). And of course both Yeun and Ali Wong are friendly with Bobby Lee (who has his own history of "joking" comments about assault) and Tiffany Haddish as well. Patterns in patterns. I'm disappointed, really disappointed, but that's on me for being naive. I was also reminded when I saw Bill Hader, who is often billed in interviews as being a recluse, out for a paparazzi stroll with Ali Wong, that Hader is best friends with Fred Armisen, who has his own steamer trunk level of baggage. This is the reminder I needed that even if I admired the talent of certain artists, I shouldn't see them as anything ever worth more than the minimum level - flickers on a screen. I definitely won't be watching anything else by any of the people involved in this (Hader, Wong, Yeun), not that they are going to need my very limited money anyway. They're all doing great - they know how to play the game, and we're just left to watch.

This is what everyone knew would happen, and it's likely going to expand even further (supposedly moving to private schools next). Much of the power broker media will still turn a blind eye, as they have a vested interest in their hero, and they have nothing but contempt for lgbt people anyway. I don't want to imagine what Florida, or most other states, will be like in a few years. I have noticed some of Trump's flacks, like Grennell and Trump Jr, speaking out against some of the obvious gay-baiting and trans-bashing (even as Trump himself says something else entirely, as shown in his latest pandering to transphobia in his NRA speech), as the sassy sloth's flacks burrow further down. This isn't to praise the Trump people - they don't mean anything they're saying, and they're not even saying much - but more to show that the pig has committed himself so feverishly to spreading hate and torment that he has managed to make Trump, who has a 4-year record of far right victories, look like a centrist in comparison.

Oh. Thanks. For some reason I thought Abigail came back briefly then left again (not counting her brief return in 2009).

I guess that now deleted tweet from someone who claimed to have heard stories about him is now bearing fruit.

Sadly, the sites now just farm tweets by way of content, although given my disdain for Mark Consuelos for twenty or more years, if he's getting a negative response, I'm happy to believe it.

Didn't they try to pair Bruce back with Abigail? I think I also remember him being shirtless and passing out as part of some coma story that Kim was also in...

They do, but it's always hard for me to find that show easily available for viewers outside of the UK.

Shortland Street, as another part of its 2023 revamp, has decided to include a "patient of the week" format (complete with looks at the home lives of said patients), somewhat similar to what GH and The Doctors used to do with more patient focus. I can't say whether it's working out that well or not, but it's certainly a shift away from what you often get on soaps in recent years. This format started with the March 20, 2023 episode. You can find all the episodes from recent months on Youtube.

Shortland Street, as another part of its 2023 revamp, has decided to include a "patient of the week" format (complete with looks at the home lives of said patients), somewhat similar to what GH and The Doctors used to do with more patient focus. I can't say whether it's working out that well or not, but it's certainly a shift away from what you often get on soaps in recent years. This format started with the March 20, 2023 episode. You can find all the episodes from recent months on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx11uCEhfbI Sharon Wyatt could really break your heart.