DRW50

Thanks @Maxim . Another great review for the various stories on display. I'm glad that posting some old clips of Robin as Dorian helped ease her in. I like that Elaine and Robin both had strong enough work that you and your husband each have them as a favorite. Someday maybe you could both watch Nancy Pinkerton and Claire Malis for even more of a difficult choice. You're right about Robin's version tending to seem younger, and more blatantly connected to the lost child in Dorian. They really are ramping up Sloan's hatred of Dorian. I'm glad they had Viki ask him to leave so she and Dorian could face off. Erika and Robin always had a strong chemistry.

Sorry, this has probably been discussed before and I just forgot or missed the conversation, but I saw a clip of Jerry ver Dorn on Locher Room saying on his first GL episode he made a pass at his brother's wife and on his second episode he got thrown out of the Bauer home. Did he flirt with Jackie, or did he flirt with Elizabeth? I know Jackie and Justin weren't together at that time so maybe it was Elizabeth.

That would be a good idea. I guess Tracy and Cody must have started during that strike period. I wish all those video essay people cared about soaps enough to make one for that period as it would be an interesting watch. Watching the Tracy and Cody scene from a few days ago I see that she mentioned Boxing Day. I wonder if that's the first mention on a US soap. I assume not, I just don't remember hearing it mentioned very often.

I'm glad the show has not totally phased out the Tracy/Cody relationship. That and her friendship with Stella, wherever that is, were two of Mulcahey's gems. I do still wonder at times what might be if they tried Gio and Trina now, but he does seem to have a following with Emma so they may as well keep writing for them (and I know a lot of Trina's fans hated him, although I doubt most of them are still watching the show).

That's too kind of you. (I'll still take the check if they do want to hire me)

That may be a little too much Lucy for them (and I'm not actually sure if Avery still exists).

That would have made a lot of sense. A shame no one thought of it. I really had a tough time getting through the Jenna/Roger stuff back in the day. I've never rewatched.

A few other GH predictions: Marco tries to kill Brad, but Lucas nearly dies instead. Marco hides away, now having only his father for support. Brad stays by Lucas' bedside and when he wakes up he begs forgiveness to Brad, Carly and Sonny. Doubting Ava's loyalty, Sidwell captures Avery. He also kidnaps Charlotte and Rocco after finding them snooping in his property. Dante is locked up with Sonny and Britt (who tried to turn against Sidwell and was exposed in the process). Britt manages to free them via something her mother taught her and they race to the scene. Valentin sneaks in via a passage and takes Charlotte to safety. Charlotte says they need to help Rocco too but Valentin claims there isn't time. Charlotte believes him, but Lulu, when she learns of this, hates him even more. Nathan and Jason save Rocco, but in the process, Nathan is shot, drawing Lulu even closer to him and making Dante feel helpless. Sonny fires repeatedly at Marco and Sidwell as they flee. We hear an explosion, but only one body is recovered - Marco's. Ric, meanwhile, decides to try to win Liz back, but as he arrives at the hospital with flowers and candy, he overhears her telling Terri or whoever else that it's taken her this long to see Ric as a good friend, and she can't let herself ever see him as more. A crestfallen Ric runs into Lucy, who is sad about her latest disastrous relationship. They have a mostly offcamera love, and he becomes a legal counsel for Deception. Cody and Molly become engaged, and he becomes a guardian to a rebellious young man. Molly also becomes close to him and sees him as the child she will never have. Alexis is supportive but wary, and by the end of the year we learn she is right - he is the long lost son of the latest supervillain to replace Sidwell, Cyrus, etc.

I could see Drew doing that with Jacinda's body...2026 will be an interesting turning point as I wonder if they will try to soften Drew or just write him out. What I'd probably do is have him get in way over his head with some bigger villain and come out of the process a wreck (or if they are writing him out - dead). I'm sure Morgan is just glad for the work but what a waste. They could at least reveal she is Madeleine West with plastic surgery and using home shopping to launder money or cause mass psychosis. You are probably right about Joss - I don't know if he will want to get her "dirty" (she cheated on Cameron but he was Liz's son so who cares, right?), it's just a roll of the dice for me because they set up stuff with Gio and Joss, a Joss/Emma rivalry, and I could see it being used as a stopgap story for her until she meets her next edgy bedmate. I did think of your murder mystery suggestion. I'd rather they just have Brennan transition into modeling (they have Vaughn there too, and Home & Hearth - the ideas write themselves!), but it does not seem likely. That sums it up. I'd add she gives some of the same energy of Sydney Sweeney, just with much more sensible press decorum.

True. And we will find out the killer also shot Drew. We will find out in 2028. Home & Hearth will start selling potato sacks.

I never knew that. How fascinating. I should have finished her memoir.

Thanks. I'd never heard that story. Rosie did adore AMC.

Another guess for GH: Brennan will be killed in a murder mystery, with Valentin and Carly marrying to give each other alibis. Gio and Emma have a misunderstanding and Gio sleeps with Joss, leading to a triangle from hell slightly tilted in Joss' favor, although Gio will ultimately end up alone, paving the way for his 2027 exit. Nathan's true colors begin to unfold as he focuses on Lulu, leading him to plant doubts in her mind about Dante and Brook Lynn. Chase has the same doubts, leading to a bitter argument with Brook Lynn and Dante knocking him on his ass. Dante and Brook Lynn share a kiss but decide to go no further. Chase sees the kiss and falls into bed with Willow. He is, miraculously, able to father children, and Willow passes the baby off as Drew's. Jacinda is killed and dumped in Michael's bed when she learns too much about doppel-Nathan, leading Michael to a nervous breakdown, substance abuse, and easy pickings for Drew. Willow is torn on whether to hurt him or help him.

Another prediction: Around fall, Trina will leave town, either with Kai or on her own. A week or two later, a recast Spencer arrives, and Trina is never mentioned.

DL Brock was such a horrible man. David Groh played it well but it's very ugly to watch.

Thanks. I remember you mentioning the weird Frisco/Felicia elements, but I wasn't sure about the rest.

@Jonathan An October 2001 Susan Lucci interview on Rosie, and a musical performance from her. (I checked to see if this was already around but couldn't find it - if it is my apologies) It starts around 20 minutes. This person's channel has a lot of Rosie so I'm sure there are plenty of other soap interviews.

I wish I could see some of this with Alan and Rita and the fence. On Neighbours this year, a man began an affair with his daughter's best friend, and they lived next door to each other, so we'd see them talking to each other through the fence, or staring at the fence, and so on. One of the only interesting parts of the story. I never remember it being mentioned either. I didn't even know it was mentioned in 90-91. You'd think the show could have gotten some use out of it when Alan and Ed were later involved in a murder coverup or whatever the hell that story was.

I think Sharon or someone said this was why Brittany got her hearing back. That would have made much more sense. I'm not sure why they never brought Pammy back (it doesn't seem they ever did much with the character on Somerset anyway). Sharon got a very raw deal with her soaps post-Raven. I saw a bit of her from early 1989 OLTL and they had made her up and styled her to look like someone's hip grandmother.

Is Jack another who had issues with his last guest stint or was that just Stamos?

That's a good question. I have not watched EE on a regular basis compared to some other soaps. I started around 1997, through PBS, then lost access, then watched some of 2000-2001 through BBC America (I also got to see some of 1987 or so through their repeats), then lost access, then started again around 2007 when I got high-speed Internet. I've since watched off and on but with a lot of big gaps just based on my interest. I've never enjoyed the modern years of the show near as much as the '80s or '90s. I probably have higher standards for EE than other shows due to seeing that one first (well that and how can you have any standard for what Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Corrie have put out in recent years).

GENERAL HOSPITAL New Years Eve December 31 1981 w/original ABC commercials Tony Geary

Shock value and plot over character are two of the reasons I zoned out most of the time with Clenshaw. I'd agree that's still the case, just with more incoherent plotting. Anthony was never a very nice man, he was just the idea of a nice man, so I could go along with the story to a point, but the whole execution was sloppy and his death was even worse (and part of another "mystery" we didn't need). I don't care a great deal about fan complaints because many of the most vocal complaints are people just care about what their pet characters are doing, not the show (like the fans who immediately went from praising to panning the show once Callum cheated on Ben), or they just want viral tweets, or they just want Elaine in the Vic retching up camp one-liners, but I wish improvements were made as Wadey does not know how to tell a story. This isn't getting any better. There are nice relationships and scenes, but the storytelling is the pits. At this point I just have to accept he is never going to learn, and some of those above him aren't either. Kate Oates is too busy canceling shows and probably trying to figure out another way to get hunky men to beat each other up and kidnap each other. And whoever else is in charge, like Susan Batten, have been out to sea for years. If the show does get a new producer and it is just back to the Clenshaw mentality, I'll pass. He did a lot of good for EE but by early 2024 tuning in became a chore for me. I still cringe at the Panesar stories or Cindy/Junior or twitchy Reiss (killing Martin was also a very stupid, ego-driven producer decision - I don't care if James Bye wanted to be killed off). One of those cases where I could respect a producer's efforts, as he was clearly better than any who had been there before him since somewhere around 2013 or 2014, but I did not enjoy the product. People also end up having so much focus on the producer above the rest of the show, which creates a constant heaven/hell pattern. I don't want to hear people talking about their sexual fantasies for a producer any more than I want to see people sending death threats to a producer (not that that's on the same level of severity), yet here we are. Fans know too much about these shows, yet they also don't know as much as they think. I include myself there. The last six months or so are the most I've watched EE in a few years, but as we enter into 2026, I am tempted to go back to my old pledge to avoid the British soaps until they stop trying to be everything they never were. I doubt I will, but I should. I enjoyed the Max and Cindy scenes. It's very cliched but somehow they made it work. The Max Christmas scenes were the most I enjoyed his return so far. Martin isn't mentioned now, after many months of mentions, but other than Ian and Kathy (Ian is selfish and Kathy barely has anything of value to say - I was flabbergasted when she was suddenly written like it was in 1995 again in Nigel's special episode), most of the people who are left are not going to bring him up. To be honest I found the mentions completely hollow - Clenshaw never cared about him while he was alive. Annie's paternity reveal was rushed and poorly mishandled, and Linda's behavior makes no real sense. Then again I never thought she'd sleep with Max in the first place.

Thanks @Maxim I never noticed that "dark Viki" music cue before. It will not be the last time we hear it. This is on Renee for making the fire alarm so accessible. I like that we got to see Renee's reaction to Sloan and Viki. It was a clever idea to have Marty cause such chaos with various characters at the Palace. I wish they'd done even more. A shame Billy is there just to be the "good gay" to deal with Marty. They should have let him have some fun. In the climate of the time I can see why they didn't but it's a waste.

It's always good to know GL is continuing. I hope you keep going. AI voices can be tough for me sometimes but I respect what you're doing.