DRW50

Emmerdale must be the hardest show to produce, thanks to the endless double bills and one-hour episodes, the latter seemingly coming at any random time. They also seem to break producers - I think some of those endless hour episodes are one of the reasons Anita Turner got the push - because unless you're very disciplined like Blyth and Kate Oates were (or pedestian like Blackburn), they spiral out of control. This one had that same wildly out of control feeling I've started coming to expect from Emmerdale again, especially those truly bizarre scenes of Rakesh choking Chrissie out and Chrissie keening afterward. I thought they'd have her reveal this as another part of her mwahaha plan (and I imagine in the end she did give him the money to further screw him over down the line), but instead she seemed to still be hysterical at the end. The Dan/Nicola/Kerry/Jimmy saga also felt...weird, although if this weren't being rushed I think it would be a very good story. I will credit the show for putting a finger on exactly why I've grown cold on the Kerry/Dan relationship by blatantly pointing out that Dan (who owns that house) can't even feel anything because the needs of Zak (a user who doesn't do much beyond sup and use the bed for various purposes) are more important. I hate that setup with freeloading Joanie and Zak living with them - I hate it a lot, but it's so dull sometimes I forget. They reminded me today. Obviously the show isn't going to split Nicola and Jimmy, but various spoilers and the tone of the writing today make me wonder about Kerry and Dan. I don't know how I'd feel about that at this point. I do hope they keep giving Dan a bit more to do because I thought Liam Fox was surprisingly good today. Speaking of blatant, I laughed at Zak missing a call from Belle because he was in bed with Joanie. They keep finding new ways to show us this relationship is a horrible idea. I can't wait for the next one.

I don't think I'll bother with anything that says OJ OJ OJ for why soaps declined. As you said, ATWT and GL were just not good in 1994 (and not that good in 1993 either).

It might work on white suburbanites but it also is an excellent turnout motivator for black people. Trump is a one man "souls to the polls" turnout machine. Hopefully those voter suppression laws will backfire as much as they did in 2012. The North Carolina edicts put out recently disgusted me. http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article96525012.html

It's embarrassing - oh I just want to help those poor poor black and Latino people not get shot and get good jobs. Sad thing is it may work if people are wary enough of Clinton.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3n8vxv_the-bold-and-the-beautiful-december-10-1996_tv

I thought Tuesday’s episodes were some of the best writing for Charity since her return - a strong but vulnerable person who did what she wanted to do to try to help Belle, no regrets or apologies, who in the end can take care of herself (as shown with the sleaze from Hollyoaks), but still struggles. Her relationship with Cain is built on a lifetime of pain and hurt, and I thought their scene in the garage got that across. He always tends to respond to her most when she’s at a low point. This makes a lot more sense to me than cliches about her “stealing” Cain from Moira, and shows the depth of chemistry Emma and Jeff have. This is the Charity I want to see. Bickering with her family, doing what she thinks is right, being strong, being afraid.

Very early, cheesy promo with Hayley and Brian #1 (can never remember his name). I never even knew he was in a promo.

Of all the people to talk about bias, it's hard to believe it's media darling McCain, one of the biggest recipients ever of gushy, fawning press coverage. You can even see the swooning in this piece: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/john-mccain-straight-talk-arizona-227348

Good interview with Harry Reid. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/interviews/a805506/eastenders-star-harry-reid-on-ben-mitchells-dark-revenge-plan-hes-angry-with-the-world/

Thomas Atkinson is a very good actor and he's proven it lately, and I actually do feel some pity for Lachlan over his current predicament (mostly because his family is wretched), but I still think this might be best served as his exit story. Robert was foolish to go down this path, but at least it's in character for Robert. I don't really get anything out of Robert vs the Whites, but it could be interesting. I just hope Victoria won't be hurt.

A story that is, unfortunately, all too believable, about catfishing of anti-Trump forces in the GOP, complete with Real Housewives-esque posturing.

I used to like Paddy, until last year, but...yeah. I agree Marlon works best when he's not with the Dingles. I didn't realize for a long time how independent he was of them in the late '90s and early '00s. Sometimes I think I'm nitpicky about how they write Chas but yesterday was just so grating. Cain was worse, but that's just Cain. This isn't Chas. I have no idea what they're going to do with the character.

I don't know. I'd assume no. I hate that anyone is going to die for that pig. It gives me awful Victor Newman flashbacks. If it's Jay I'm done.

As it looks like the Denise pregnancy story (ugh) is starting soon, I will just repeat what I said at Walford Web: The thing I dislike most about baby stories of this type (if that's what this is), especially for a character with Phil's age and history, is they are often an admission of defeat about a character and his children. It's one of the things that helped kill American soaps, where men in their 60's or 70's would have a slew of grown children and babies, all oddly ineffective due to poor writing and the refusal to ever allow kids to grow out of their father's shadow, or for the show to allow their father to grow up. With Phil, you have Ben (a poorly written character who has never really been what he should have been in the narrative and whose relationship with Phil feels extremely played out), Louise (an overaged cipher Phil barely even notices), then you have his replacement children Jay (very possibly on the way out, and worthless in Phil's eyes, as well as the show's, even though they have the only interesting parent/child relationship of Phil's group), and Denny (a cardboard cutout completely forgotten not only by Phil but also by his mother). And of course replacement child Lexi, who, thanks to DTC apparently resenting that he didn't get to tell Ben's coming out story, no longer exists.Phil is infantilized to the point where it's a minor miracle he can feed and bathe himself. Tantrums, lashing out with his fists - his three mothers, especially #1 mother Sharon, are always there to explain and clean up his messes. And this seems to show no signs of changing. Apparently we're supposed to be touched by this, because it's what Peggy would have wanted. There is no need for another child in Phil's life when he is the biggest child of them all.

Another day and another installment of the Dingles needing to find reasons to be morally outraged at a nearby target. One of their favorites, of course, being Charity. I'm going to talk about Chas here as they seemed to put the most focus on her moral outrage, and she said very bizarre things. "Everything you do bounces back on that till. We run a pub together. Marlon works here. Me and you live together." Is she talking about criminal schemes? She sort of knew that...given that she wanted Charity to buy part of the pub immediately after Charity got out of prison for fraud! Is she talking about dangerous behavior? Is that like when her son smashed a bottle over a man's head in a pub full of punters and gloated about it to police? Wouldn't that "bounce back on the till" more than Charity helping Belle with her pregnancy problems or Charity being involved in stupid criminal plots away from pub premises? "The fool. The massive walking disaster." Who is she talking about again? The woman who had an affair with her niece's boyfriend while her niece's child was battling cancer? The woman who went on trial for murder because her ex was blackmailing her and her niece's boyfriend let her take the blame for his crime? A man who went on to cheat on her and murder her sister? Or is she talking about the woman who helped cover up the circumstances of her best mate's death, complete with convincing the family of her best mate's suicidal husband that he was deluded when he realized what had happened to her? No point in even saying a thing about Aaron's reaction, given that Charity only needed to say one word to shut him down ("Robert"). I have no time for hypocrisy on such a scale. And frankly, Chas and Aaron didn't even seem THAT bothered by Belle's disappearance - it just seemed like an excuse for a tongue-lashing. It's a bunch of bullshit.

No. Ben left Walford when he was a baby. By the time he returned Steven was gone.

It's still disgusting to me that we are in this type of place, and that the "liberal" media actively entertains it, and those craven liars like Fooliani. We're back in the world where FDR was forced to hide his illness.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4pm8cn_the-bold-and-the-beautiful-june-12-1996-partial_tv?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=direct&utm_campaign=subscriptiondigestusers

The longer this goes on the more I wonder if Trump will bring up another Scarborough rumor... So is Colin Powell implying Hillary "blamed" him for her e-mail decisions because he's black? I couldn't understand what he was suggesting.

I prefer on the run stories to death or prison, if it's done right. I think all the on the run stories have been OK so far, but I get your point. I'm not that bothered by the lack of Megan in Charity's story, because what can be said at this point, it would just be bitching on both sides, but I do wish she had more interaction with Jai. It seems like Megan just appears to fulfill episode guarantees. I know Gaynor Faye enjoys the show and uses her light schedule to help her mother, but I really wonder if this is the last year for Megan. I think Charity has changed a fair amount (she's a lot more desperate and self-loathing than she was before she went inside), but I'm not sure if it's intentional. I enjoy her in the Woolpack - far more than Chas these days, sadly. But from some spoilers I've heard I'm not sure how much longer she'll be there anyway. I loved Jasmine. I always will. If not for Jasmine I don't think I could have put up with Clara in Matt Smith's last season. I can see why she feels she stayed too long, but I'm glad she stayed as long as she did. Her last months on the show were superb. Jenna wasn't on the show for 5 years, but that sloppiness signifies what The Guardian is becoming. 1991 bts feature with interviews from Norman Bowler, Jean Rogers, Sally Knyvette, Frazer Hines.