DRW50

https://deadline.com/2023/01/ben-masters-dies-passions-julian-crane-1235218638/ This must be the fourth or fifth AW actor from 80-82 to pass away in the past year. I can't say I have seen most of the Jamie movie story.

Good news from Virginia last night, where Democrats managed to pick up a state senate seat for their narrow majority, preventing control from resting in the hands of a loathsome Conservadem (Joe Morrisey - look him up, it's not a pretty story). A narrow victory, leading to some spin, but it's still a victory, especially given the endless media fawning over the faux-moderate governor, Glenn Younkin.

I'm going to count this. https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/44820776.html#cutid1 Farah Fath has her middle finger up to the posters on TWOP & SON most everyday. i give it my all in every show. please stop talking sh*t about me for one g*ddamn minute. http://www.myspace.com/officialfarahfathfanpage

Always good to have a talent the caliber of Jane Elliot around. I hope they do right by Tracy. There's still something so poignant about her being one of the only Quartermaines left standing.

Yet another actor who appeared on AW in the early '80s passing away over the last year. I know that is logical considering this was 40 years ago...still, it's unsettling. I wasn't into Passions, but I always thought Ben Masters was a classically handsome, deeply charismatic actor, with a sly sense of humor that served him well on such an absurd show. He did a lot of roles, but Passions seemed to be the one that brought him the most note. And for a while, personal happiness (how long were he and Tracey Ross together?) Just yesterday I was looking through a Soap Opera Weekly from 2000 that had a Julian Crane advice column. Weird timing.

I've had my criticisms of Hounshell and the Beltway ecosystem, but this is still shocking, very sad news.

Others can say it better than I can, but she tends to live and breathe on far left campaigns and podcasts that mostly exist to help Republicans. She led protests against Hillary at the 2016 DNC. She was heavily involved in Jill Stein's campaign, doing an event with her in 2016. She loves purity contests, yet in 2020, before her first failed race for Congress (a race she could have won if she wasn't such a lousy candidate), she had a podcast that was, IIRC, sponsored by some big oil or pharma company. She has lost basically every election she's ever run in, yet still is treated as a serious candidate even though she's mainly just known for gems like these:

Thanks @victoria foxton . Sad to hear about Valerie's struggles. (it's a shame she had such a lousy role on ATWT - I don't even remember her exit...was it something involving a car incident?)

Big mixed feelings on this. I don't really trust anyone from the Lincoln Project, nor do I think that Democrats necessarily need to keep waiting and waiting for Feinstein to make a decision, but I have never trusted Katie Porter since she endorsed the corrupt grifter, and I do think it's a lousy ad (I also thought the book stunt last week was embarrassing).

I best know him as Rex, and always will. In reality Rex wasn't much of a character, but Quinn was so likeable, handsome, and charming, he made you care. He was one of my favorite parts of Y&R in those years, especially his relationships with Jill and Leanna. I think he was almost too good for the role as I have a feeling Bill Bell may not have intended him to stay as long as he did (which is why he got such a poor exit). I will miss him.

John Leonard, TV critic, talks about the television season of 88-89 (up to late December, anyway), spitting venom as a whole, but praising Designing Women, Murphy Brown, and especially Heartbeat. He praises Roseanne Barr but dismisses the show itself as looking down on poor people. It's about 30 minutes in.

These people truly are the scum of the earth.

I think the shortest Maura got was around 97-98. I was surprised at first because I did associate Carly with her original cut, but after a bit of time it didn't bother me. I was more bothered by the writing, for many reasons that probably aren't worth rehashing, from how they trashed her relationship with Lisa (and made Lisa look bad in the process, even though I doubt that was the intent), to the baby contract stuff, to Julia...on and on and on. I just got the feeling a lot of the people working on the show in that last decade didn't even like Carly, let alone try to understand her.

Between this and Trump's hardline supporters now controlling the House, it's a reminder of just how much influence he still wields. As others said, storming after Lula was already inaugurated is an odd choice.

I think what made Laura stand out is she felt real without viewers being told how "real" she was (as we so often heard about Karen, especially as the years passed). When I started watching the Knots reruns, around season 3 and 4, Laura was the main person I identified with - her fears, isolation, and her knowing she was in a world that didn't understand her. Yet what keeps Laura such a compelling character is even though we are with her through so many crises, we don't ever fully know her - no one in her life does. That distance, all the way to her final moments, means she never becomes tedious the way the other longrunning characters do.

His 1988 run is from mid-September to mid-November 1988. Only scraps of that seem to be on Youtube at the moment.

I don't think she did as much as she could have, but she was certainly a very dominant presence.

Yes. For some reason I thought Iris and Russ interacted around this point, but I don't remember if Robert did.

That's a difficult question, because I think the show rebuilt itself several times. For me the best seasons were 3-7, and nothing is ever the same after Laura is killed off and Mack , Val, Gary, and Karen also become significantly more one-dimensional as characters. The show as a whole becomes more one-dimensional. They also start running into dangerous territory with Abby, but fortunately Donna Mills took care of that and left. There are still good moments in that period, but it's a different show...still a show that I found watchable, and fortunately I was able to accept Paige (if I couldn't have I just would not have been able to make it as a viewer anymore). Some of the new characters, even if they are more typical '80s gloss and lack the depth of someone in the early years, keep me involved (Frank, Pat, Linda, Anne, Paige, even go-nowhere characters like Paula). Aside from some pet peeves of mine (anything involving baby Meg, anything involving Olivia whining, anything involving DIRTY COP DIRTY COP DIRTY COP), I'm able to be involved in stories, even if I don't really like the stories very much for themselves. There are some fun interactions, sharp dialogue, etc. I think the show plugs along in that vein until around season 12, which is a much stronger year for me, maybe the best since season 7. The season 12 finale and the whole feel of season 13 is just too much, too much for the show to ever recover from. I know a lot of people enjoy the back of 13. I might try it again someday, but I'm in no rush. 14 I sort of half-watched, and I'm not in much rush there either.