DRW50

I miss GL and ATWT so much at Christmas. My heart just doesn't feel complete...

I'm sure Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats (who don't have the power to undercut her the way they did in the past) will try their hardest. I just wish we had a responsible Senate. McConnell is beholden to the money men, so maybe if they finally tire of Trump he will step in...who knows. It's just so hard to believe we're at the point where the President tells a 7 year old there is no Santa Claus, and I don't even react.

So Trump and his cartoon villain flunky Mnuchin made the markets crash even more and Trump is going to try to fire the fed chief (remember when some insisted everything would be great once Janet Yellin was pushed out...?), all over Christmas. It's like something from one of those '80s movies, only there is no one coming to save Christmas, and America. I don't even believe McConnell will really step in if he does fire Powell. I think 2019 is going to be the real test for America's future, and that's long before anything with Mueller comes home to roost. We are in a period where there is no longer any norm, and there is nothing to replace the norm. There is just ever-spiraling nothingness and helplessness.

Spacey has played deeply disturbing roles for so many years, and they are what made him a star. I know actors aren't always what they play best, but... I'm so glad I never really watched House of Cards.

Indeed. I've heard so many of the negative stories about Stuart that it was impossible for me to be objective - I found him to be the epitome of trying too hard. Courtney and Robin were luminous, and Michael Storm is as stalwart and handsome as ever.

OK now...

I think they just like seeing women in fur coats. There are a number of fetish channels on Youtube - men tied up, women tied up, women being hypnotized, women cutting their hair or having their hair cut, etc.

Thanks for sharing that. Jean Carol in the second ad.

I'd say if you don't want a white male Democrat in office then the next election is probably the best for him to win, as it will be the epitome of a poisoned chalice - the media and the Republicans and their money men will make sure the Democrat is blamed for every problem in the country. He will only serve one term and either lose, badly, or choose not to run for a second. I'm already seeing liberals attack O'Rourke as being just like Obama. I'd forgotten, almost, how much the left despised Obama. I guess there is one thing they will like about Beto that helped fuel their hostility toward Obama...

That trailer had such a mix of stuff that felt very much scripted for TV (Rinna and Camille arguing about Justice I Like Beer) stuff that was all too real (Camille losing her house) and stuff that was likely real but which LVP added some TV-friendly entertaining relish to (the stuff with Kyle and Dorit). I had to laugh at Kim returning just to get into a messy fight with someone and then say, yet again, that she was done.

I wish we didn't have to post that piece of [!@#$%^&*]'s tweets here.

That would have been an interesting choice. Imagining her with Mary Stuart - a real contrast there. Yet they both had that reserved acting style.

Thank you. It's good to know there were more AL ladies in ads than the one who played Connie on ATWT.

Another way you remember the bigger budgets of that era is the music - "That's What Friends Are For" and the theme from St. Elmo's Fire. The latter made me smile - a theme for those who were hyped as the young and hot of that era, used for Jo and Stu, two characters who were eternally vibrant.

Cory Booker is one of those politicians who likely is genuine but comes across as phony to me when I see them on TV. I get John Edwards flashbacks.

She's such a fighter. I have to respect her.

Was David (the David mentioned here) ever seen on the show? Does Stu get back with Wilma or was she not seen? I can't say the singing clip did much for me... Larry Haines and Mary Stuart did a lot with the script they were given (and it was very classy of the show to give them an episode all to themselves), but I was most happy to see some of those flashbacks. It makes me wonder just how much is out there we haven't seen. Was that Lynn Loring's last episode they were showing footage from? The contrast between those old clips and the McCleary-fest in the final montage was a bit jarring. Is the baby Marge had later in life the child who showed up again in the '80s? Is the woman at 5:23 a soap actress? She looks so familiar. Watching this reminds me of just how important friendships used to be to soaps, and how meaningless they now are. The NBC soaps in particular in that era seemed to emphasize friendship. I miss it.

This is a pretty good 60 Minutes (for the most part) that will remind you just how far the media, and CBS News, have fallen, but the most interesting part is the absolutely scorching anti-gun remarks at 52 minutes in the "Jane, you ignorant slut" segment. That would never, ever be on TV today.

An intervention from who? I saw Chuck Todd weaseling that Trump is having a "temper tantrum." That's too generous. It's been interesting to see some on the right and left both happy about the Afghanistan stuff, but I have more respect for those who say they are happy but can't really be happy because this has clearly been done without any plan or transition. Some think this is all Putin cashing in orders while he can, as Trump is also dropping sanctions and did something for Putin in Venezuela. Something else bad must be happening soon if that is what's going on.

I'm still back in 1969, sad to say.

Sent.

The show was beautifully paced in those years. You'd think with 6-7 episodes a week they would use that to take the time to slowly develop stories and characters. They have done just the opposite, with bang boom crash and lots of padding in between. There are some stories lately that feel a bit like the old type (like the Jacob and Maya story). I just hope that can continue. Oh I was going to send you a few more episodes - sorry for not sending any recently.

You're definitely not alone there. I feel like the pacing has become very stretched out this year, a bit more like the show used to be pre-Blyth. The Daz endless goodbye has that tone - it's not quite repetitive, because the story does progress, yet it does stretch out. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like the idea - I just wish the stories could get stronger. Maybe next year, if they don't have a big ratings drop and can keep the pacing the way it is now, we will get some good payoff.

I guess the idea is she lost Joe and was in prison, so that was enough.