DRW50

I'm sorry, I know I should know this, but who wrote this episode? Some of the dialogue was so clunky - I think the worst was when Johnny said, "I didn't know you existed" to Steven. Ted Reilly plays Johnny in an awkward way, but I don't think Johnny is supposed to be THAT socially awkward, is he? Another episode where the C-plot (Jay and Roxy) was probably the best, and the most true to the characters. A part of me wonders if some of this is better because they aren't making the effort with it. "Effort" gets you the brilliant twist of two sisters being beards for the resident self-hating gay psychos. I also liked the scene with Buster and Kathy. A lot of the acting from the main stories was noticeably off. Lorna Fitzgerald in particular seemed to be resorting to her usual pout and flounce. She's becoming very difficult to watch. Aaron Sidwell was never much of an actor. I guess he's a little better now, but I could still mostly just see him acting. It's early days though, I know. Jacq Jossa is...oddly detached. Why does this character feel so spent after only one episode back? Ted Reilly and Aaron Sidwell did have a spark (one he's never had with Harry Reid), but I just don't care when it's all wrapped up in such a vile cliche. I'm still baffled that we were actually supposed to be shocked about Steven and Lauren. It's yet another mediocre, clumsy "twist" that fans guessed before it ever aired. And it sums up exactly why these types of stunts damage characters and make viewers cynical and distinterested. Was there any purpose whatsoever for Gavin the abortion and his aborted kidnapping? Was this supposed to just remind us he's a constant danger? If so, then they should have actually given the material some sense of urgency. Denny mostly just came off like a child actor angrily reading his lines, Sharon seemed mildly annoyed. Gavin was as lifeless as ever. Kathy, who was supposed to have been terrorized and abused for years by Gavin, came closest to actually being disturbed, but even that was oddly muted considering he was going to run away with a child, never to return. Normally I think camp characters are best used in small doses (Belinda, Babe, et al), but Linda is an exception. She is pretty much the only interesting or entertaining thing about this story. The bit where Bobby was dragged out of Jane's room was one of Eliot Carrington's better moments. I think I was supposed to be touched by Ian's declaration to Jane. All I could feel was disbelief at the continual unearned sympathy shoveled in this soulless creature's direction.

He's Catelyn's uncle.

Frankly I was surprised they even included that many classic characters. I have started uploading some 1978 episodes on my Youtube channel. Most have been up before (not all) but the channels were taken down. They all have Dolly, although the bigger episodes with her I haven't put up yet. Just thought you might want to know. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKQdSayyEHicOpj41XquaBQ

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emmerdale/news/a795846/emmerdales-michael-parr-my-contract-is-up-in-october/

From another Weekly article on Louise Sorel's arrival as Vivian - beyond already mentioned Marj Dusay, other actresses included Kathryn Leigh Scott and Sharon Acker.

It really is. Few interviews/spoilers: http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/28/exclusive-emmerdale-video-cast-members-reveal-big-spoilers-to-metro-co-uk-at-the-british-soap-awards-5911157/ http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/28/emmerdale-exclusive-video-producer-iain-macleod-reveals-huge-spoilers-ahead-to-metro-co-uk-5911122/

Thanks for letting me know

Short little feature with Darnell Williams and Debbi "Coleman" a little after 3 minutes into this.

I would like to see him with Stacey too. I'd mostly like to know they aren't going to use him to dredge up unearned sympathy for Jane and Ian and to try to mine the "self-hating gay" story that was so poorly done with Ben and with Steven himself at one point. I really wish it wasn't DTC doing this. He got it so wrong the last time with Steven. He's gorgeous. He's also a very good actor, which the show sometimes remembers. Bonnie's been great on the show. She won a lot of doubters over. I'm happy for her.

There's some speculation that Lauren and Steven are now a couple, so I wonder if they're going to remember he was at point bisexual or if they're recycling the tired "psycho gay in denial" stuff they had at the end with him, and later with Ben.

First I should say I thought the opening scene with Phil refusing Sharon's help was the best of the episode - good work from Steve and Letitia, with lighting and direction that knew less is more. I can't lie and claim I care about Sharon having to hold Phil's hand, or about the millionth "My Phil Feelings" conversation (with Shirley now in the talk-to role - Letitia and Linda Henry always work well together don't they?), but overall this is a Sharon I can at least recognize, unlike that silly person yesterday. Next I should say I HATE the simpering and general weakness has around Ian. I hate it. That was never Kathy. She was always blunt with Ian, even as she tried to support him. I find this Kathy unwatchable. I didn't feel like the episode was any worse than yesterday's, other than the Roxy material, which is, as per Roxy stories, very poor and pointless. It's just that the material reinforced what's been reinforced over and over in the last few years - that even as there is story progression on the surface with Bobby's story, it's mostly the same scenes over and over and over. There's little point in caring about Stacey's quest for justice, because we know Max won't be back until near the end of the year, and we know that no one in Walford, other than useless Lauren, gives a damn anyway. I'd much rather see Stacey on the surface moving on but secretly and quietly working over a period months than see a repeat scene of sneering princess Abi shutting her down. While Lynda Baron and John Partridge gave nice performances today, there's little point in the merry-go-round about Bobby because anyone who finds out end up keeping quiet, while Bobby mostly exists to blankly deliver a variation of Bobby-looks-sad-and-confused or Bobby-is-evil. We now seem to be moving back into the "it's not Bobby's fault" phase of the story, after DTC and friends gleefully publicized and hyped the idea that he was a remorseless psycho killer on the loose. If they don't care, why should I? There's no real reason to care about Gavin's latest stunt, because obviously Denny won't be going anywhere for long, or at all, and even if he did, would anyone notice? Even Sharon might not, as she now has a new son - Phil. Watching all the haggling over Amy's welfare today, I was reminded again of what a blank child she is, and of how vague and meaningless many of the children on this show are. While I don't need to see tedious little Tiffany clones, I think that if Amy actually had any real character, it would make this story feel less hollow. Is anyone surprised that Roxy took the easy way out (again) because Jack was a prick (again)? And Ronnie will likely run to the rescue (again), probably after some psycho drug lord played by someone who was on a popular television show in 1983 beats the stuffing out of Jay and threatens to hurt Roxy. It's typical Roxy. And it's sadly typical that we get absolutely no POV from Jay on this, even as his life is now so desolate that he has to work drug deals with one of the biggest idiots to ever stagger through the streets of Walford. A part of me wonders if the only reason they had Linda and Linda interact was due to the first name joke. Nothing wrong with the scene, but Jane/Linda is yet another Linda relationship I don't really buy. It's nice that we keep getting these pointless Claudette cameos to remind us she still exists. Yay...I guess? She's the reason that Youtube edits exist. I'll wait and see about Steven and Lauren.

Media darling Marco yet again proves how utterly craven he is: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/05/27/marco-rubio-tried-to-defend-his-about-face-on-donald-trump-twitter-didnt-buy-it/?tid=pm_politics_pop_b The rise and fall of Salon (a site that is not only almost impossible to navigate, and ugly as hell to read, but full of absolute nonsense that makes Daily Beast look like Edward R Murrow reincarnated): http://www.politico.com/media/story/2016/05/the-fall-of-saloncom-004551

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/news/a795638/hollyoaks-is-bringing-back-amy-barnes-for-good-with-blues-duncan-james-as-her-boyfriend/ It will be nice to see Amy more often (if she isn't ruined), but how long before Duncan James is getting dicked by Ste?

Red Nose Day. A few bits I enjoyed, especially Sonequa Martin Green as the variety show dancer and Ross Marquand doing a Columbo impression...and Cristian Serratos as some sort of Paula Poundstone type. And Andrew Lincoln looking hot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciAoTZwqWQ0

I heard a lot of "worst exit ever" "disgrace to Corrie," and so on, but the real disgrace was what's been done to Carla ever since the Peter relationship began in 2010. This was just - an exit. Not a particularly inspiring one, but what can you do. I would have had her talk about Liam, but he doesn't really exist on the show anymore. I might have had a goodbye with Maria, and way less of her drama queen insta-sister, and a final scene in an empty factory, but the rest was...alright, I suppose. The goodbye with Michelle and with Johnny (I continue to think Johnny could be a great character if given proper treatment), and with Roy (although I couldn't understand most of what she was saying). I would have taken out the goodbye with Tracy, as it was just tired, and even they both seemed over it. Her hospital scene with Roy also had this theme - she knew it was rinse and repeat, she just wanted it all done. So anyway, I'd say it was not that memorable, but not really awful either. Just an exit, in the end.

Babe is one of those characters where for me she did too much and got too many free passes from other characters.

I was actually embarrassed watching Sharon tonight. This is "Ma Mitchell." This is what living life for the Mitchells (well, one Mitchell anyway) does to a character. Ineffective, pointless simpering in every scene. And then it turns to simper in stereo with Linda, a relationship that I still find forced any time it appears onscreen. To top it off, we get her abortion of a "father." If there was ever one episode that summed up the damage done to Sharon during DTC's run, this is it. So much of the rest of the episode was more unlikeable characters moaning their usual lines about Bobby, more blank-faced mutterings from Bobby, more self-righteous indignation from Ian, and scene after scene of unearned sympathy for Jane, a horrid person whose sick fixation on having a child meant that she added endless layers of toxicity to an already disturbed family. I just don't care about Jane. I haven't since her shameful behavior during Lucy's pregnancy. I doubt I ever will again. John Partridge managing to wildly overact his two lines was quite a feat. At least Lynda Baron's overacting is entertaining, in some 1973 kids show way. Rita Symons and Jamie Borthwick work very well together, which carried their scenes, even if the rest was, fittingly enough, crap. I was especially confused by Billy needing to remind Jay that his father was a "chancer," when he has absolutely no moral high ground to ever talk about Jase. Perry Fenwick had some good moments that showed his comedy skills (the best was "Jay: Do I look like a thermometer? Billy: Yeah actually you do, a bit."), but he wasn't even needed in the scenes, other than to point out how oddly self-aware the dialogue was. Ronnie remains a tired mug, and Jack continues to get upset over what should be the least important things in his life at the moment. Rinse and repeat. Somehow even with the general stupidity and overegged dialogue of it all, Pam, Babe and Les ended up being the best material in the episode.

Points of View segment on Vicki Fowler's wandering accent.

You've lost me. Passive survival is pretty much the traditional view of a strong woman not a challenge to it. Book Sansa is a passive little girl who doesn't come across as especially clever. I don't blame her, I'm not sure I was especially proactive and clever at 11 either. If you find that version of the character complex, I think we have different ideas of what that word means, but hey, I can agree to disagree as we usually do. The traditional view of a strong woman, especially in this genre, is Arya, or Buffy Summers. They kick ass and they take names. The "not like other girls" trope. Sansa is supposed to be one of those "other girls." Yet she never really is that simple to categorize. I do think book Sansa is complex. I'd say she is one of the most complex characters in the books. We see her struggling with a child's jealousies and resentments even as she has to deal with the cold, hard realities surrounding her. Some of her own making, some not. Some of her chapters are brilliantly written, and harrowing - the chapter where she is kept in her room with Jeyne Poole day after day, and finally just on her own, catspaw of Cersei, trying to keep her father safe. Or seeing her thinking about all the beatings she's suffered and the sickening reality that this is day after day of her life. There's no moment where she gets to kill a guard or some sort of "win" - the main win is that she doesn't let this life tear her down psychologically and she uses what is around her to slowly mature. To me that is complex.