DRW50

More deficit fearmongering...that always works out so well.

Weren't there claims that they didn't bring Patty back because the actress had weight issues or something.

Democrats had a mixed (and in some places, very poor) night in Texas elections Saturday. That ended up leading me to an article about why Republicans are gaining ground with Hispanics in South Texas; someone excerpted a part which doesn't surprise me: This goes in hand with propaganda leading to a spike in anti-Semitism among Hispanics in Miami: There's a lot of talk about how more Hispanics are voting for the GOP because of being "tough," or social issues, or "protecting the border," but in many cases it is because of vile propaganda being pumped into their homes, workplaces and churches. That is taboo to discuss and little seems to be done to combat it, similar to all the stories of young men becoming hatemongers because Youtube leads them to Ben Shapiro and Prager U.

Sad. Even though Marland, and later regimes, seemingly decided the character never existed, my mother still remembered her all through those years (mainly because of the Margo/Tom/Maggie triangle). I do think Maggie and Lyla were somewhat redundant on the same canvas, but Linda was an interesting actress and I wish Maggie could have come back for visits. She was such a big part of the show until suddenly she just wasn't. I also think her relationship with Margo had a lot of layers that they could have explored.

Sela Ward said she was originally offered the role of Frankie on Sisters, but turned it down as she had already played too many parts like that. She was more interested in Teddy, but they did not feel she looked old enough for the role. When they couldn't find anyone else, they went back to her.

Sela Ward talking about Sisters. Sela Ward "Sisters" 1992 - Bobbie Wygant Archive - YouTube

Thanks for sharing.

@Vee Thanks. That's interesting. It's also likely a smokescreen, of course (cast members who have a lot of power or make Lorne a lot of money can probably take a powder [like Mike Myers did when Nancy Kerrigan hosted...others, not likely], but I guess it can be seen as a sign of progress compared to the days when the show wished death on Nora Dunn for boycotting the Andrew Dice Clay episode. Lorne undercuts his very talented cast (and mostly talented writing team) with these ratings-chasing, shock value hosts, but if we got a trainwreck episode it might be fascinating to document, if nothing else. Unfortunately we will probably get a very safe, "cute," stilted episode that will be forgotten in a week, at least until the first cast member to leave the show shares weird Elon stories on 500 different podcasts. Hopefully someone more compelling and less heinous will host the last two episodes of the season.

I know that was a whole lot of blather to go through so I appreciate you reading it and your kind words. I know most of that would never get on EE (probably for the best), but I do think some of those ideas could work and the cast would deliver if given the chance. I also wanted to write a fic on Walford Web sometime so at least this has reminded me that I should do so.

That sounds about right. Lucci was so diplomatic, at times almost painfully so - for her to let loose shows you how awful he was.

He's the guy who wouldn't even let Agnes Nixon in meetings, unless I mixed him up with someone else.

Given the headwriter at the time, I'm not too sure.

I'm not even sure where I'd begin, but: Denise and Jack marry in an intimate ceremony with Libby returning. Jordan also returns...befuddled when he learns Lucas had told everyone he was dead. Jack struggles to feel especially close to his own children, but becomes a father figure to Jordan. Jordan raises insecurities in Isaac, leading Sheree to scheme against him, leading to conflict between Patrick and Sheree. As part of a creative writing class, Denise details her dramatic life story. After getting rave reviews, she decides to become a writer. Her first book is a critical darling, which causes a man claiming to be her father to come out of the woodwork. All the dramas, along with a heavy caseload, lead Jack to pay less and less attention to Amy and Richard. Phil, wanting more access to Raymond, gets in touch with Sam, convincing her to fight for custody of Richard, and to dig up dirt on Jack's very dirty past. Jay and Honey part ways after she terminates their unplanned pregnancy. Jay relapses into drugs, with Pam Coker, Phil, Rainie, and a guilt-ridden Billy helping him get clean. Shirley becomes obsessive with finding Tina. This climaxes on the night of Whitney and Gray's engagement party when a very much-alive Tina storms into the packed Vic with her sister, revealing that she pretended to be dead until Gray dumped her body. Gray takes Stuart hostage. Ben is near and has the chance to intervene, but is frozen in fear. Callum, who has a gun hidden, has to take a kill shot from a distance, knowing he could easily kill his own brother. Luckily, he gets Gray, but no matter how much he tells Ben he understands, he clearly does not. As various Walford residents attempt to celebrate at a back-to-normal garden party, a strange young man who bears an eerie resemblance to Jamie Mitchell collapses. Sonia nurses him back to health and is encouraged to find new love and life experiences. Phil, for the first time in many years, is overcome with shame, and nearly falls off the wagon until Kat stops him. Ben is crushed when he overhears Phil tell Kat that he thinks he was cursed with Ben for the way he treated Jamie. Martin, even more guilt-ridden and with zero support, descends into alcoholism. Ruby is disgusted by his weakness and confesses all her crimes to him when she knows he will be too drunk to properly understand. She decides to leave Walford, selling E20 to Kheerat, Dotty, Tiffany, Keegan and Vinny. A lonely Kim takes pity on Martin and they slowly fall in love. Bernadette backs out of being a surrogate, but Karen, pregnant after a one-night stand with Mitch, and knowing she is too old and poor to raise another baby, lets them adopt hers. Phil and Kat marry. Ben pretends to be happy for them all the way up to the reception, where he lights into them in an unhinged speech that leads Phil to disown him - for good. A distanced Callum is further put off by Ben's tantrums about Phil and Kat, his lack of interest in helping Jay, his crime sprees, and his lack of patience with Lexi. He and Vinny slowly begin an affair. When Ben catches them, he doesn't let on, playing the doting husband as he cuts Vinny's brakes. Unfortunately for him (if not for viewers...), Ash jumps into his car when she walks in on Peter and Suki post-coitus. She dies of her injuries. Peter returns to New Zealand with his tail between his legs. Suki pretends not to care, but is secretly devastated, and goes through a lengthy breakdown that Jean, in spite of Suki's awful treatment of her, helps her through. Suki becomes the crime lord of Walford, since apparently we must always have one, but a human one. Callum files for divorce and shacks up with Vinny. Ben and Phil have a vicious argument when Phil catches him about to torch Vinny's new club. Phil has a massive stroke. Ben and Kat go to war over Phil's 'empire,' with a returning Louise torn between them. Kat also struggles to raise her kids, but is relieved when Zoe returns to help her. She does not realize Zoe has several secrets... Lee returns to Walford to help Mick after Linda chooses to spend the remainder of her pregnancy with her mother, to avoid stress. Old tensions flare, and Whitney stirs the pot between Lee and Mick for reasons even she doesn't fully understand. Rainie and Stuart grow apart due to the stress of raising two small children. Stuart steps in to keep Whitney away from Mick, leading them to begin a sexual relationship neither are fully comfortable with but both need. Rainie, meanwhile, begins to fixate on Jay, and, as he gets close to her children and appreciates her humor and vulnerability, they also begin a relationship. To make matters even messier, both feeling like outsiders, Jay and Whitney begin to develop feelings for each other. Chelsea's various debts lead her to take more and more risks. Lee saves her from some thugs. She tries to keep a distance, not wanting to define herself by another man, especially after learning of his baggage, but the intense sexual and emotional attraction is too much to resist. Their various issues and painful pasts push them away from each other more than once, but they never stay apart for long. Chelsea gets her old job at the Vic back and slowly forms a friendship with granny-from-hell Shirley. Long nights at the club and many opportunities for fun and adventures make Tiffany and Keegan realize they married too young. They end up having a threesome with Dotty, leading to many murky complications. Kathy is contacted by a young man who claims to be Donna Ludlow's son, abandoned at birth. Kathy is doubtful, and when his story turns out to be true, struggles to balance her getting to know him with the memories of her rape and painful relationship with Donna haunting her yet again. An isolated Sharon leans more and more on new brother Zach. Shaken to the core when a blood test tells her that Albie is Phil's son, not Keanu's, Sharon begins calling Zach, "Dennis," here and there, always apologizing when she does. Zach tries to ignore this, but is horrified when Sharon tries to kiss him. A mortified Sharon has a breakdown and wanders off in the night, leaving Zach to take care of Albie. Various residents begin the hunt for her, which also leads her sister Vicky to return to Walford.

@JaneAusten thanks for giving more details. I think it was already mentioned, but there has been a recount of the 2020 results going on in Arizona, by some shady "Cyber Ninja" organization from Florida that no one seems to know anything about, and which is backed up by lunatics of the highest order, obsessed with fantasies of Antifa bombing their building, convinced that a nearby carnival is a ruse to get them, on and on. A former state legislator who lost his 2020 race is even involved. Oh, and he was also at the Capitol on January 6th. The likes of Joe Manchin will put these people in charge of our entire country.

The last scene in that 1992 episode is exquisite. @Forever8 Hell, even the 2005 episode is happy and light compared to what we get now. The show, or the BBC, just can't break the addiction. I'll be honest, I didn't even watch 2019. I did watch 2020, and I regret doing so - Ian smashing up the pub was one of the most embarrassing, pathetically self-aware moments in EE history. "Queen Kate" and Jon Sen are hacks through and through.

Thanks for going through the links. I know some people don't like clicking on links but Archive is trustworthy.

https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-5-22-1987-part-1-4 https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-partial-11-4-1988-part-1-3 https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-april-26-1991-most https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-april-29-1991 https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-march-27-1992-partial https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-march-30-1992 https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-april-3-1992 https://archive.org/details/general-hospital-partial-5-26-1995-part-1-2

I blame most of this on the Stax Christmas from 2007. Before then Christmas episodes were more balanced - yes, some were OTT misery-fests, like the wretched 2006 episodes, but most were not.

The saddest part is, IIRC, if not for Thorsten Kaye they probably wouldn't have even had much for Myrtle when Eileen passed. That video is no longer on Youtube, but when Kate filled in for Joan Lunden on GMA, she got to interview her father.

Between barely winning in 2020 and having her higher ambitions in tatters due to the poor campaign she ran for the DCCC in 2020, I'm not too shocked. This is good news for Lauren Underwood.

Thanks for finding that.

Wow. It's hard to even recognize her. I think I have the original uploads of those two episodes somewhere on a disc. I know saynotoursoap didn't really like his material being uploaded by others, which I understand, but what is available of those two episodes is so terrible...

I stopped after about season 6 or 7 - it gets miserable and difficult to care about.

It feels like Gaetz, Rudy, Trump, etc. just keep chugging along, unfazed by anything. Demoralizing.