DRW50

I never could keep track of who did what - I thought Malone was the one who made Paulina crazy.

From what I've seen over the last few years I feel like William and Kate aren't anywhere near where they were early on (due in part to criticism of being workshy, various rumors about his infidelity, etc.), which is partly why they have suddenly gone on forced PR tours, but I guess compared to the others in the family other than the Queen they would be most popular. It doesn't seem like anyone in the family outside of the Queen gets much praise, compared to where things were 4-5-6 years ago where you could say there was a new generation in place.

I'm not surprised by this. The damage is going to be more in the long-term, especially since the likes of Charles, Camilla, William and Kate are not a very good, or compelling, face for a monarchy. I think it's also a black American woman. If this was another Diana, some would have a different view.

I never really thought Culliton was that bad on AW. There were some mistakes (admittedly if I did not dislike Michael I would see his death as more of a mistake...), but he did a lot to revitalize Cass, and tried to write for the older characters. Much of the worst is down to NBC/P&G interference.

The good news is they have an Archive page with the episodes on there, apparently. Internet Archive Search: creator:"CLASSIC NEW TELEVISION"

Yes. Meghan is viscerally hated by many people, especially in the UK. The sheer bile toward her, for no reason (other than the obvious) is one of the reasons that I can't really "both sides" this. She has little of the public support Diana had. One can say she's a rich actress and married to a rich man, let's care about other matters, and I would say that's a fair point, but this isn't just about her - it's about levels on levels of ugliness and bigotry that are plain as day, and which people are eternally gaslighted into believing don't exist.

They already took it down

I suppose we could also count Central Park West, which had a number of people who never made it in TV - Mariel Hemingway, Raquel Welch, Lauren Hutton. Mariel also had Civil Wars, which ran for a few years but never got any real notice. I know Mariel moved away from the industry not long after CPW because of her sister's suicide and mental health problems, but I don't think she ever really recaptured the fame she had in the late '70s and early '80s.

Here is some of the British tabloid reaction:

I've already seen talking points from some people about how Meghan is "exploiting" racism and that what happened to her is not "real" racism. It brings back many of the old arguments surrounding Meghan from when this started (as there were so many debates about why black women should even care about or see her as someone to aspire to), and is being used to try to drown out the points she made. That polarization, and the whole mindset of "why should we care about this rich Hollywood actress," will probably continue to work in their favor, but in the long term this does, as you say, completely demolish the well-crafted media image of how the family was moving with the times and also took away much of the vibrancy and humor Harry brought. They are now left with various dull, sour people trying to pretend that they don't hate being among the public. The connection to the average British person is now just left with the Queen, who is over 90 years old.

The more time passes the more I realize how phony so much of their narrative has been due to likely cozy relationships with the press from the palace and the Middletons, from that whole story (which I think is now downplayed as it's so cringey) about her wearing a bikini at a fashion show to win him back, or whatever, to the attempts to make Pippa a big name and sex symbol, the cover-up of very damaging affair allegations, etc. The narrative of Kate and William being just like us, which really hasn't rung true, as they both seem so ill at ease and tone deaf they tend to be (I think Kate was going on last year about how hard it is for mothers now and included herself in that in spite of various nannies...). I try not to go with the mindset of good brother/bad brother, but there's just something about William that seems completely shut down - I know Charles is responsible for much of why his sons are the way they are, but it's sad to see that even Charles has more life or humanity to him than William when William is 35 years his junior. (I know they have to do that to survive, but William seemingly being so chummy with the Tories doesn't help my opinion)

I don't think it's going to make any difference, as the people who hate Meghan will continue to hate her. I'm glad she and Harry finally got to tell more of their side of the story instead of hiding away while the palace continually runs smear campaigns against them. There's something very sick and broken about the royal family - I used to think that was a part of the past, but this and everything with Andrew, not to mention the clearly (in my opinion) dead and cold William and Kate marriage, have made too many things for me to deny anymore. Once the Queen is no longer with us, I don't see what future they have.

Apparently she is on that Bob Loves Abishola (?) sitcom now, but yes, she had never really had the success her talent could have given her. Some of my favorite TV work from her is the songs she sang in her season on SNL (before her complaints about the sexism led to her firing) - one, written by Michael O'Donoghue, even became a hit for Dolly Parton.

Thanks for the Ink quotes, @Vee . I did watch Becker for much of its run (I think until Terry Farrell quit). It wasn't a great show, but I thought the format worked, and they managed the workplace and outside of workplace balance better than many sitcoms. Alex Desert and Saverio Guerra were probably the best parts for me, but I liked just about all the cast. The show never quite fit right, so you watched in spite of that. I think my favorite memory of the show was the episode where David Graf (Tackleberry) was a garage mechanic, bickering with another mechanic over an injury he'd gotten. Toward the end of the argument, Becker, and viewers, realize that they are lovers. It wasn't exactly groundbreaking for 1999, but the way it was done felt much better and more natural than most sitcoms of this period.

I had forgotten he was even on SATC. I guess he was another of Carrie's boyfriends?

The Mark Freurstein (or whatever his name was) of his day...

My heart goes out to Meghan, but the whole experience has become so ugly I have mostly just stepped back. I can't imagine what she must be going through.

Mary Steenburgen eventually found a critically praised cult show (Last Man on Earth), but her most high-profile foray into television was Ink, a show that generated buzz due to her pairing with husband Ted Danson as well as being Danson's return to series TV. It was a one-season wonder. Nia Vardalos adapted My Big Fat Greek Wedding to TV, notably without John Corbett (someone I've always found to be dull but who has managed a long career due to wise decisions - like avoiding this show). Initial huge ratings quickly cooled, but they still might have stayed on if not for her reportedly being difficult. Back when TV Guide still tried to be more than a few pieces of glossy paper with nothing between them, they had an expose of the show - the article ended with, I believe, Les Moonves blasting Vardalos and saying he would never work with her again. At the time I did not know what an ass Moonves was, so I was shocked seeing an executive be so blunt and harsh in TV Guide, of all places.

@Vee

I think this is Maureen Garrett's voice. Soap Opera Weekly Ad - February 8, 1994 - YouTube

NBC promo block, 1993 - YouTube

Thanks. Interesting to hear it used as a club standard.