DRW50

Fascinating. I have to admit I was surprised when I went on Wikipedia and saw that characters like CeCe or even Marty or Tess or Dawn had just been around since 2019 as it feels like they have had very long, pained histories. I suppose it's a credit that CeCe and Louis both feel like compelling characters even though they went through so much story, but it does make CeCe feel somewhat isolated. I guess at least some of the more longstanding characters like Drew, Boyd or Harper still manage to seem fresh. Has the pacing always been like this?

The pacing on this show fascinates me. On the one hand, at least bad stories are wrapped up quickly, but it's dizzying when I go back through 2021 and see that in mid-February, Marty meets a dream woman in a delightful romcom setting (so much so that he even trips and crashes into things - repeatedly - at the mere sight of her) and by early May, they are both complete emotional wrecks, as he has to stop her from going to the police over mercy killing her father and she leaves Ferndale to get away from the agony of her memories, asking him to never contact her again. I mean...wow.

Glenn and Grim have found yet another new progressive hero to hide behind in their crusade against sexual harassment allegations (unless they are by mentally ill grafters that can benefit St. Bernard, of course).

That isn't shallow at all - we all have our own tastes. I have barely seen most of his mob period but if I didn't like Joe a lot as an actor from his ATWT run I'd probably be less interested, as most of the time they don't do a great job showing the love between Paul and Ava. That's a very true point about Carly. Maybe that is what they intended. Either that or they just put the character through such a wringer, the material had an unintended consequence for viewers. By the end of her run it's just 100% angst and crying and binge drinking. I don't really buy that Paul was still in love with her, either. I guess they just had to get him off the show in a hurry.

Yes, I remember this episode too - just without commercials, and in better quality. It was good to see the episode again...as you said, Giff had so much potential as a character and such natural chemistry with those a round him. I never understand how characters like this are so easily sacrificed. What I like most about the Giff and Dinah Lee scene is when she tells him she's the only person in Corinth not related to the Aldens, and he reminds her he is in the same position. The concept of Corinth having a higher class and people tied to them, then "others" like Dinah Lee, is so much more compelling than Dinah Lee going through various Alden men or the husbands of Alden women. Carly is such a draining character. Any time she's onscreen I just feel a weight hang over the room. I think Colleen Quinn was a fine actress and she worked as Ava's sister and Kate's daughter, but that whole story with Paul and Ava is just very good actors coping with middling material.

There are somewhat unique circumstances in Colorado and Virginia (at the time Republicans controlled one or both chambers). Oregon is an outright failure.

Christine left the public eye after Loving, although at least she did that reunion last year. Lisa is someone who may have had the misfortunate of being a big part of shows that were in their last years or not well-regarded. Still, I think she has her share of fans.

Emily/Paul is an odd one for me, because I felt like it made sense mostly as an example of psychological hangups - Paul wanted to feel like he was a man, and protecting and loving Emily was part of that. Emily needed to be protected (as they mentioned in the recent interview, nearly all of MS Emily's love interests gave her a gun!), and she also bonded with Paul because they were both scarred by James. Yet I don't think they ever would have worked as a pairing once they both got older. It's one of the reasons the later Emily/Paul relationships are white noise for me. Thanks - I forgot she gave it to Lily rather than battle. ATWT got some flak in the early/mid-90s for having too many companies and too many rich characters. On paper I can see where cutting the material down made sense, but in the long run it left a void. The corporate battles in the '00s also did nothing for me because they felt hollow, and also because I was completely repulsed by Craig. We also got no hint of reality or work in the corporate dynamics compared to Marland or the first few teams post-Marland. Yes, I know that wasn't realistic either - gorgeous people in perfectly tailored suits and tight blouses and skirts - but at least it was an attempt, one which made the people involved seem close to human.

To be honest a story where Lucinda got too attached to a barely closeted gay man (with the implication being that she knew, but she had come of age in an era where she was willing to play dumb as long as he was a handsome escort to parties or kept her company) and then he ended up betraying her with a family member is something which might have been interesting with better handling but it was so rushed and seemed to be something someone got cold feet about (I'm surprised it got through at all). I was talking more about her storylines in 2010 as enjoyable to me, although I agree part is down to low expectations. It's the same reason I enjoyed Barbara's material in her last year more than anyone here, probably. Liz did offer ideas for stories that would have been about Lucinda, like Lucinda going back to school. I wish they'd been accepted, even if in Lucinda's case, her being a spoiler/meddler was ingrained in the character and seemingly difficult to shake.

On the one hand, I agree, but, even if it wasn't anything especially original for the character, it's still probably the most i enjoyed anything they did with Lucinda in ATWT's last 10-15 years.

Generally the show would focus on Lucinda reacting to another relative, usually one who was long-lost, if the story wasn't about Lily. Marland returned to the pattern previously established with Sierra by bringing in Neal and Royce. Then after Marland's death, Sam filled that void. Then as Lily moved into a more settled life, they brought in he's-her-son-oh-wait-he-isn't David, and granddaughter Georgia, along with the bizarre James romance. I don't think any of this ever would have lasted, to put it kindly, but Liz Hubbard's hostile relationship with Felicia Minei Behr ensured it wouldn't. Then, when Liz returned to the show, she was mostly kept in an even stricter supporting role, there to react to Lily or to Craig. I do think Lucinda's use in the last year, so heavily manipulating various story strands and finally leaving for a life of her own after Lily took Worldwide away from her, was satisfyingly done - more than I would have expected by that point, anyway.

Bruenig made sure to get the expected anti-Semitic digs of the far left in, and his phony hatemonger of a wife made sure to do her tee hee routine while directing attacks toward those who have no stomach for it: Speaking of the hatemonger, she recently wrote a "defense" of Ilhan Omar which is just using Omar as an incoherent screed against a party she despises. Just another reason not to give your money to the Atlantic.

There are differences from 2009, no doubt, like the racism Obama faced, which can't be understated; there's just enough similarity, both in media agenda, Manchin and Sinema, gerrymandering, etc. to make me uneasy. What may bother me most is how, just as in 2009, so many are working to normalize extremist and activist actions against democracy. Here is Dave Wasserman's response to more voter purges in Georgia:

If that is the story where all of the men in the Martin family hounded Dixie nonstop about getting an abortion (she did not want to because she feared she would never be able to have a child due to giving a kidney to Del), the story was so incredibly offputting it helped drive me away from being a regular viewer of the show.

This left me feeling numb for a long time after I saw the news on Twitter, especially when I remembered the law right wing media hero DeSantis signed. It feels like this is just the beginning.

It's hard for me to imagine the Holden of these years having fun with anyone - he was cold and miserable much of the time. I don't think that changed until after Jon Hensley left again for a few more years. I would have rather seen Heather's Lily get a bit more time on her own. Lucinda did become too defined by the Lily relationship, although I suppose that was almost always her central relationship. At this time we did get some other sides of her, but I always wanted more. I agree about people who should have been banned from the wedding. Sadly I was glad that they even had Lily upset at all on her mother's behalf. Later on they wouldn't have bothered. I was going to post this too: GSN Tattletales promo, 1997 - YouTube Probably the last time Frank Runyeon was mentioned on national TV.

Thanks.

She wrote for Dawson's Creek and Wasteland. https://people.com/tv/dawsons-creek-writer-dies-by-suicide-after-year-long-covid-battle/

He's a pundit who is mostly known for his takes on Virginia elections. He used to have a blog, Not Larry Sabato, based on the election analysis guy of that name.

The Monmouth poll from a few days ago has mostly gotten notice for Biden's approval rating, or the clickbait of Republicans approving of Putin more than Biden. This is the number that worries me more (I know Ben Tribbett is an overly pessimistic source): This is what McConnell, and the media that hates us all, is banking on - Democrats becoming increasingly demoralized and apathetic. I hope Congressional Democrats will realize how short time is (instead of doing like Dick Durbin and responding to other senators with these concerns by saying "get a life") and if there is any slim chance Manchin and Sinema and those hiding behind them can be moved on anything, there is no time left.

I read that de Blasio supposedly is for Adams, on the sly, but then that may just be gossip spread by a rival campaign. Did anyone have any idea de Blasio would be what he turned out to be...or were people just so fired up over Christine Quinn they ignored his flaws?

Heartbreaking. The New York mayor's primary seems to be becoming even more of a dumpster fire in its last days. Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia, likely knowing the polls showing a strong likelihood of Eric Adams winning are accurate, teamed up today asking their supporters (in Garcia's case it was more of a wink-wink) to rank both of them one and two. This has gotten some vocal backlash, including:

Ernie Lively, character actor and father of Blake Lively and Robyn Lively. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ernie-lively-dead-sisterhood-of-traveling-pants-blake-lively-1234965653/