DRW50

@Vee So great to see your recaps back. With Greg's arrival and Lotus Point on the horizon we're heading into the show's most consistent and strongest years. I appreciate all the nuance you give the characters, even more than I gave them credit for while watching. A few months ago I saw a video talking about the slap scene and comparing it to Will Smith, saying it would not be aired today, etc. All I could think was how much more misogynist a great deal of the TV landscape (and all of soaps) now is compared to Knots at this time. The scene was high, delirious camp, but also served the purpose of showing how even the most innocent of the family (along with Michael) could no longer accept what Diana had become. It means much more when watching the entire show than it does just that one scene.

David Cowgill went on to give a very touching performance in a recurring role on Y&R for a year or two - he was probably more successful on daytime than she was. Weird how things go. Rhonda does seem a bit more in focus here than she was on AW. I wonder if the huge mess the show was at that point and having no one she could really lean on (as she just had Michael and yet another Jamie recast) hurt her.

A chunk of an AMC episode (and commercials) starts at around 52 minutes. I believe it's May 24, 1988.

It came out not long after that one of the men in that group was an obsessive Neera Tanden hater. The media is so desperate to torpedo the party 1980 style that they will platform the worst.

@DramatistDreamer That was sobering to watch. Logically I've known from the start that most do not care just how many are sick and dying, and likely see it as a good thing in the long run if those people are not in perfect physical shape to begin with, but it still leaves me crestfallen to remember just what a norm this callousness is. This podcast covers some of the same ground.

More media lies. Biden then said to let him talk. The media will never miss an opportunity to paint the worst portrait for anyone who isn't on the right. They hate us and they never stop wanting to see us extinguished.

I do think there are some soaps that will always have more public recognition than others. AMC is one of them because of Erica Kane, and because for generations it was named as a premier soap (similar to DAYS, GH, Y&R). As the World Turns also had a lot of name value, but that was about it. The question is whether name value means anything in terms of a revival. I could see the name being used to eventually churn out some cheapie product down the line, but this project is clearly not going forward...and frankly I'm not too sorry, as I don't ever need to see Kelly Ripa or Mark Consuelos on my TV again.

Was the show that built around Rachel?

Take as much time as you need. Any time something done in fun starts to feel like an obligation you just lose the motivation.

Lynne McGranger (Irene, Home & Away) even all but said that the producers of the Logies would not let them mention Neighbours in their speech.

@I Am A Swede Yes, reading synopses is never enough compared to getting to see episodes. I'm always hoping something new from those crucial '70s years will pop up, or even the '80s. That is more of an anniversary gift than anything the current show is likely to offer.

It's not just them, no, but I do think they tend to take over the narrative and take away any of the necessary criticism. I saw more focus yesterday on a Simpsons writer playing victim because people didn't think her latest screed against Kamala was funny than on sensible solutions from a progressive perspective.

Sadly once again any focus on public opinion or activism has been drowned out by dead end leftists making everything about some Biden spox saying they aren't his main priority.

Thanks @NothinButAttitude Considering the Logies did not bother to give them a proper tribute, this feels like the show doing so themselves. I'm up to Hendrix's death, which was genuinely moving material, especially when they didn't drown out with music. I appreciate how much we got of the characters preparing for him to die and supporting each other as best they could. The moments with Chloe in Toadie's arms and Toadie trying to keep Mackenzie together were as powerful as Hendrix's final breaths. I also have to praise the scene with Karl, Susan and Hendrix. Amazing work. Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodbourne are among the best in the business. The final moments with Mackenzie thanking Hendrix and saying he can go also got to me, just them sitting there, watching him. Devastating. And this coming right after the joyous wedding and reception they had was a heartbreaking element, rather than feeling manipulative. I have been up and down with the material of the show as you are with any show, but it's only the Paul and Terese saga that has consistently dragged the episodes down for me in this final year. They are clearly going to get back together, which leaves all of this stalling moot. Paul has behaved horribly toward Terese through the whole year, which just makes it even more tiresome. And frankly I just find Terese to be an extremely draining character, even though the actress is very talented. Having her mother, who presumably is a better actress elsewhere, come in to vamp did not help. More than anything I'm sorry we didn't get more of Glen and Kiri dealing with the fallout of their parental reveal rather than him having to be in a triangle he's always going to be a distant third in.

Yes. IIRC he said he'd suggested even more moments for them that weren't used.

I didn't know that. Very sad. I agree the story would have been stronger with Lori there at the end.

Great find.

Another rare '80s Loving episode, uploaded last November. Going by the promo for the royal variety special at the end this is likely May 24, 1988. I'm always fascinated by strike episodes, and this one is especially fascinating, as we get suburban dreamboat Jim having not one, but two sets of time-filling flashbacks, and one is something I rarely saw on soaps by this point (Ryan's Hope did this a lot in the '70s) - a set of photos with Shana set around Christmastime. He has very different hair in them so I guess they must have been done a few years earlier and dredged back up. These are set to a Carpenters tune, so you see again how much soaps had money to burn at this point, even the lowest-rated. You also get some Gwyn (still Christine Tudor) and Jeff Hartman #1 (complete with hairy chest), latter day Roya Megnot Ava, Randolph's Alex, early Egypt, and a delightful scene of Kate and Minnie bumping booties (get your mind out of the gutter!) to Mahalia Jackson. @SFK @dc11786 @slick jones @victoria foxton @Paul Raven @Forever8 @Vee