DRW50

Thanks. Wasn't this when she had some love interest that Mary Stuart didn't care for (I think the guy was from Our Miss Brooks or some other old sitcom)?

Didn't she think Marcus was trying to drive her off through things like firing Ann Williams (or was that after Marcus)?

Who was it (this was after the Pollacks right)? What bothered you most with their work?

I've probably asked this before and gotten an answer before, so my apologies, but does anyone remember what kind of changes AW went through during the 1981 writers' strike? Some shows like Search and RH were supposed to have been thrown up, down and around during the strike (although I didn't really think the RH strike material was much worse than the rest of the show by that point), but even though I know the AW episodes are around I haven't watched a lot of that period. I was wondering if any of you had.

It seems like a number of those in charge did (as I think Ann Marcus did as well), although P&G must not have had a problem with her as I'm sure they would have been happy to force her out if they did, given their treatment of other longstanding vets.

Watching the Nixon material from around Lenore's wedding, Courtney's Alice is very brash and sarcastic and direct, as Strasser's Rachel was guarded and excessively sweet (on the surface; bitter under the surface). It's what makes the tension work. The plucky heroine seemed to be around a fair amount in these years (Leslie on GL was another in the Nixon-era material available of that show), but Courtney stood out because she was so earthy and a bit masculine, which made a contrast to the character. I think Lemay may not have appreciated her because he seemed to like actresses who were a bit more breezy - like Susan Sullivan and Beverly Penberthy. Vicky Wyndham wasn't that breezy, but she was very raw (in those years anyway), which he must have respected. Courtney was more difficult to type. I don't really get the feeling from the AW material of his I've seen (not much) that he knew what to do with heroines.

I hadn't watched this in a while but found it again when there was a talk on another board about how many drunk scenes are badly acted. This is one of those scenes that was horrifying to me as it goes along because this is essentially the picture of an alcoholic who was a part of my life for years.

Great to see your posts again. Have you listened to any of the stuff on Danny Hill's channel?

I probably did take it a bit too much as fact, as it was the only insight I had into that era. I was somewhat skeptical just because he also said Robin Strasser was a bad actress, - to me, while Strasser can be very hammy and one-note, she's also capable of superb performances. When I actually saw the brief clips of Courtney available (for a long time the one I most remembered was the "smile" one when Steve went to prison, which was a bit cheesy), it did change my opinion - I think what most changed it was when I got to see the material around the time she was having a breakdown and attacked Rachel after Rachel visited to taunt her. Lemay had gone on about how bad she was and he had to cut the story short because she was incapable. Her work there to me was very strong, and she also seemed much tougher as an actress to me than I'd expected, as Lemay depicted her as a crying ingenue.

Given Takei's platform I wish he wouldn't just use it for jokes or for running commentary that's weeks out of date.

Between this and dragging out the story of Caroline poisoning Pat (wasn't one of the reasons because Caroline was popular with some viewers?), I wonder if the writers/producers at the time were starting the amorality-doesn't-have-to-be-so-bad kick that soaps would really dive into about 20 years later.

No problem. I like finding these because I know you appreciate them - most soap fans don't really seem to enjoy the long history of soap actors and commercials (sadly gone now...). If I ever find a better version of that ad I'll post it.

Those are always fun. I wish more were around. Speaking of Dallas and Dynasty, I was reading production notes on the Doctor Who story Silver Nemesis (made in 1988). They wanted Larry Hagman to cameo as a rich American. Kate O'Mara, who had worked on the show several times, gave him the show's contact info. Needless to say, he didn't appear. Dolores Gray was booked instead. Linda Gray is on Hollyoaks at the moment, although I haven't really watched any of it.

Ah. Well neither of those would surprise me... Are you enjoying the show these last few months or do you think it's overrated?

I'm glad Obama is giving them some breathing room. They have earned it, and much more, given that their homes will likely be destroyed. A Muslim comedian talks about a plane trip with Eric Trump. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/03/eric-trump-muslim-comedian-mo-amer-flight-interview

Is this Geoffrey Pierson?

I was watching some 1988 episodes, mostly looking at the closing credits to see when I could guess that the strike material began. The few episodes before this have no credits so this is either the first or close, as far as I can tell. Not much of interest going on, although I love the bitchery surrounding Lucinda and Barbara. I love when she mocks Barbara hanging onto Dusty. Meg is so irritating here - I didn't realize she was still written as this childish for this long. She really did change in her last months. I wonder if it was the strike or a natural progression. Sometimes I forget how much I loathed Holden in these years. Just constantly nasty and entitled. I wish they hadn't gotten rid of the study at the Snyder farm. It's so much more natural for them to have scenes in there instead of constant kitchen hovering. This was still when Laura was supposed to be into Tom. She was off the show about a month later so that must shift soon. The Duncan and Shannon stuff is so isolated...

What did they say? I saw the jokes Donna and Roxy were making on Thursday (well Donna mostly). These types of moments always seem so forced in recent years because characters who have horrible histories are thrown together to fill up numbers. It worked best in the early years with Kathy and Angie.

All that cute comedy stuff tends to make me want to skip. I mostly just watched the raid part.

At the end of this you can hear a bit of the Hughes going to the hospital as Jennifer is in labor with Frannie.

Yes. I don't know how fans reacted, although I guess he must have been a popular character. I remember Lemay belittling Dufour for ruining Susan Sullivan's chance to shine in his final scenes...although given that they were his final scenes, not hers, maybe they should have been about him...

Yes. He kept quiet about his killing the guy and let her stand trial. He then cried in a scarf a lot. I do wonder how it played out onscreen, as Lemay's book is very skewed and I regret letting it influence as much of my view as it did, especially about Jacquie Courtney.