DRW50

Joan Van Ark interview. https://archive.org/details/live-with-regis-and-kathie-lee-february-4-1993

I won't lie, when it's gone a part of me will be relieved, but I will miss getting to see what people have to say about a topic without having to go to 5-6 different boards, and I will miss some of the more casual acquaintances I have on there that I don't really want to talk to much outside of Twitter. The political media is loathsome though.

I grew up hearing various Burt songs on oldies radio stations, those songs that were a part of the background of our lives (Walk On By, I Say a Little Prayer, Alfie - he and Dionne Warwick and Hal David were fated to be together), but it wasn't until I watched this Sessions at 54th episode back in the late '90s, with Elvis Costello and Burt, that I was truly swept away by the complexity and exquisite agony of his work. Sometimes when I go back and listen to those old songs again, all the way from Dionne, to Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head, to What the World Needs Now, to many others, I'm reminded of just how good they were and how easy it is to take that level of brilliance and nuance for granted. I also treasure this performance with the one and only Dusty Springfield.

That first ad airing the day Douglass Watson passed on sends a chill up your spine. (the second I imagine older viewers probably said - wait, Gwen's supposed to be a bitch now?)

DAYS did run in other countries, like the UK. Not sure if it has in recent years.

After GL was over he made it pretty clear he'd only stayed that long because that way the family would have steady income and Margaret Colin could do more of the projects she wanted...and he also said he'd delayed back surgery for years because of his GL schedule. After all that he definitely did look better than I had expected in the interview, considering almost 15 years have passed (that makes me feel so old...).

The media who are going on about how much fun and 'like Parliament' the braying at the SOTU was, while blaming 'both sides,' are disgusting people. It's all fun fun fun to them, as our country grinds to a complete halt.

Lucy should have just retired, aside from game show or talk show appearances. Her efforts in the '70s and '80s were beneath her (Stone Pillow may have been more of a success but it further wrecked her health). She probably should have tried being a game show host, or producing a game show, as she loved them. It's just that she was, supposedly, incredibly lonely at home, so kept trying and trying.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/justin-roiland-animation-empire-implosion-rick-and-morty-1235319366/

I should also say I liked Jamie, but I credit Richard Bekins (who was so compelling and also so incredibly attractive in such a specific way), as I didn't care much about Jamie with anyone else in the part.

I like Joey; Kit, considering her backstory, seems so dull to me. Of the family I thought her sister was the most interesting (much moreso than the dull role she'd played on ATWT before this), but beyond sleeping with Jerry she didn't seem to do anything.

I do think that's an issue for why the show was so lifeless, but story choices like Kit/Joey, Tracy singing every few episodes and all the angsting over Mitch and Mitch's "death" and so on just didn't do much for me either. It was mostly Cecile, Pat and Blaine who kept me interested. One of the problems for me here is by this point I don't think a new woman on the canvas was going to be a believable rival to Rachel for Mac's heart. Neither was the Alice recast. I still think a Pat/Mac relationship could have been compelling. I remember reading about the Jason story, and the twists and turns, and his last words, etc. on AWHP, and thinking it sounded riveting. Then I finally got to start watching it... Nothing against Warren Burton (RIP), but I never believed him in any straight role. If he had been some kind of fixated figure based on Tracy's camp appeal, similar to The Fan around this point (the Lauren Bacall film), it might have worked more for me.

My main memory of those episodes is just finding the show incredibly dull. I do think that Miranda could have worked with better writing, rather than trying to make her a new Iris.

This is one of those shows where the division between fans and culture warriors was striking. There was a big push in the press last year in particular to shame people who watched Succession and didn't watch Yellowstone, or awards bodies for the same. Succession is a flawed show, and fans do criticize certain writing choices, but it also has a very happy and loud fanbase (as shown with the many, many fancams). Yellowstone, in comparison, I saw fans who spent most of their time tearing into the writing, acting, and pointing out how much the show has fallen apart over the last few years.

Corrie was seen as being in a slump in the early to mid '70s, with a number of actors leaving and new arrivals not as popular. That was probably the peak of Crossroads' popularity, with Meg's wedding a national event.

I would say more famous than Mary Stuart, because Gordon did a lot and was as known for herself, not just Meg. Pat Phoenix is closer to the UK's Susan Lucci.

A recent interview with the wonderful Ketty Lester (ex-DAYS, among many other things). The interviewer claims Ketty was the first woman of color on a soap, which I don't think is true (?). If not, it shows again how much misinformation tends to be fact with this genre. Still, it's a nice interview.

Considering the fate of most men in his age range on the show, probably not that differently. I can't imagine what story he would have had, unless they wanted a toyboy for Cathy.

The story makes me wonder how much input any woman had on the writers room, as I can't imagine most women believing in a story of Sue Ellen with a twink. That's more a certain type of gay man's fantasy.