DRW50

Thanks @jam6242 That Bil Keane comic is actually pretty clever.

Thanks for letting me know @slick jones Half Michael and half his torso... I briefly thought that was Howard Hesseman (RIP) but then remembered by 1981 he was not putting himself to sleep talking about the thrilling career exploits of Jason's cabaret divas.

I think Cindy Pickett gave so much inner life to Jackie that no one else could entirely reach. I can see why GL cut their losses with Carrie Mowery, but there was no reason why Jackie couldn't have returned in later years (we know why she, along with Hope and Elizabeth, did not, of course). Tom O'Rourke was a good actor and a very good looking and charismatic man. I think he could have easily stayed on through the mid-late '80s at least. I have a feeling this exit, similar to Don Stewart's, was down to backstage problems, and similar to Lemay and Rauch's folly in dealing with people they found tiresome, those at P&G, Kobe, etc. figured who needs 'em. I also wonder if these exits were just to drive home that Philip was a Spaulding, which may have made sense for a time, but robbed him of much of his inner conflict (with just Ross left to remind him of his other side).

@Liberty City Thanks for reminding us of this. I still wasn't 100% sure they'd be available in the US, but they are - under Iconic Episodes.

This is where a big splashy move like bringing back Victoria Rowell and centering story around her (maybe a new family along with Lily and Devon) could be a shot in the arm, but you know that won't happen.

Another reminder of why so many people are afraid to come out to their family, no matter how many anecdotes you hear about how once someone has a gay relative they are magically accepting. (and no, we don't know the details here, nor will I pretend we do...but all I can think of is how many out there are probably cheering this guy on and wishing he'd killed them both - homophobia is as rampant as ever on social media)

I do wonder how many will manage to survive. It feels like they have been in a zombie state of survival for ages now - frankly, for at least 5 more years than I had expected even in my more generous moments of prediction - but with the whole industry in such a shaky place, this feels like the moment they will finally be put down, replaced by Sinclair brainwash hour or Irna Phillips knows what else.

You could fire wide swathes of the cast and it wouldn't matter. I genuinely wonder if Amelia has one fan out there as Victoria. The only time she ever did was in the Bacteria days, and they all left with Billy Miller. I hadn't thought of her in years. I remember she was one of the precious ponies of that Daytime Confidential/Branco set, along with Mr. Cut the Crap. I wonder if Jamey will help her get hired at DAYS.

Unless viewers are gagging for a storyline where Philip tries to rape Noah, I am not sure what the appeal is in ever having him write for Y&R.

When you think about how much Bill Bell put trust into the writers below him, which helped keep the show stable for as long as it was, this is even more saddening. I haven't watched Y&R in years but I always see comments here about how the show no longer even has plots and people just exist. They're at the point where they may as well just have shots of the rotting furniture.

A copy of a UK Dark Shadows fanzine from 1999 has shown up on Archive if you want to read it - contains interviews, think pieces, fic, et al. https://archive.org/details/issue-7-spring-1999-dark-shadows-journal

The Roger/Rita rape, which is lost to time, is something that haunted the show for years - I didn't know it was still mentioned in soap magazines by this point (if not for that scene and the Dobsons being disappointed with how it was shot, the show never would have done the Roger/Holly story in the first place). The show had an impossible needle to thread with Roger and Michael Zaslow, a very popular returning character with a heinous past. They made mistakes, but I think in the end they did a better job than GH ever did with Luke in his returns (not even getting into Guza somehow writing a story about how hard it is to be a rapist).

Thanks for that great find @dc11786

I've seen your channel. Great to hear you have more content to upload. I agree this is one of the more unique periods for Reva, helped by not being able to tie her so heavily to Josh. I wonder if they ever considered bringing Kyle back.

Someone else will know better than me but I think they may have been burnt out + they were moved over to ATWT to try to salvage it (which did not work out...). I believe Morgan and Jennifer were all Marland. I've wondered if they just brought Peggy back as a kindness to Fran Meyers, as she was transitioning out of acting into writing and was a new mother. It's a shame they didn't do more with her. There are a number of characters who suit the Dobsons tone and style so specifically that they just seem to fade into nothingness under Marland's weird combo of heavy plot and I'm-OK-you're-OK jargoning, or become much more exhausting (Amanda among them). The odd thing with the Dobsons is I don't think they ever really match this quality or ability to focus elsewhere. Maybe they were just a very strong team with Allen Potter, I don't know.

The ranch?

Not a time jump, just a flash forward.

Here's more of the full performance. I did not realize just how long the very awkward name part went on. That probably helped contribute to how out of breath she was. Interview with the producer. https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/ariana-debose-rap-baftas-carey-mulligan-1235529343/

I wouldn't say any of those stories are attempts to reach broader viewers. I think they are just Carlivati's fetish material. I would imagine his writing just makes people even more anti-gay than they already are. None of the soaps care about bringing in new viewers, but I do think Trina and her relationship with Spencer have been more successful at getting attention without alienating the conservative viewer base than others in recent years...whether that is intentional or not, I have no idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Browne#False_predictions

Bosson did a lot with a part which could have come across as the ex-wife from hell.

Frankie was new age, but she did have psychic abilities as well. This came into play again in her final episodes, IIRC.