DRW50

Well Kyle doesn't have one... I know Sophie said she would like an Emmerdale role...as did Mandip Gill. The show could probably use another woman or two in that age range.

I will be surprised if Steven is there for any reason beyond more cliche psycho stories to try to make us pity Ian and Jane. I'm not that surprised with Ben and Jay. Ben obviously has feelings for him, and a few of their scenes have been full of ambiguous chemistry. I don't think the show will ever go there. The main problem is the show consistently fails at Ben's relationships, so he really just has Jay and not much else. Jay is both his "brother," his unrequited love, his conscience, and his parental figure. The whole idea of Ben and Johnny is so prefab. I can't see that working either.

Maybe it was a year. I forgot it was that long. I think Harry Reid is good as Ben when they give him the right material. He obviously loves the show and his character. I feel like they've missed many opportunities with Ben, between mishandled Kathy's return and the poorly written gay repression story that somehow became about him wanting to have his cake and eat it too. I hope the new producer has better plans for him.

I think Janine only went to prison for a few months, although it was still punishment.

Thanks. That was terrific. It's kind of eerie it mentioned William Schallert though.

Which version?

I love the Dule Hill one. I wonder where the other guy (Rodray?) was.

Thanks. What did you think of him?

I thought he'd passed away a few years ago. I'm sorry to hear this. He was a real TV pioneer.

Other than Home Farm and Jai and Megan, I enjoyed the episode. One thing I noticed which feels fairly infrequent now is that almost everything was connected - Carly and Marlon talked early on, then Carly got into it with Jai, then went to see Tracy, while Marlon was involved in Ashley's story. It actually seemed like a community. I feel like Diane/Doug/Eric all at the B&B is a bit full-on, but I'm glad they're addressing the Tracy issue (I hope she doesn't move in with David - maybe she could live with Vanessa and [do Leyla and Carly still live there too?]). I will say Diane adds some presence to the B&B. Everything with Ashley is so hard to watch, but I appreciate the family drama aspect of it. You can see how hard this is for everyone, this fading away. Is it me or did that social worker look a lot like Tess? Was that intentional?

https://twitter.com/krisgreen65/status/733738108945113090 “So pleased we kept the Ben and Jay scene @rwjdavidson - love them together.” Amazing to think this might have been cut and horse sh!t like the Bobby stuff gets trailers.

Other than the usual Bobby tedium, which continues to make a mockery of Lucy's death, of the Beale family, and of any pretense Eastenders has of being socially relevant, I liked this episode. I'd say it was actually the best episode of the week, and the one where I felt the most emotions. Loved the scene with Ben and Jay. It was just about perfect. I wasn't sure where Jay was (I guess he was in a park, but would that be allowed?), but that's a minor quibble. I really needed the moment where he heard about Peggy and talked about being on his own. And Ben insisting they hug, because he knew Jay needed it. Lovely. The scene where Martin told Stacey they didn't need to forget the past was a real surprise for me. It was probably my favorite scene of theirs up to this point and it showed the chemistry that James and Lacey have built up over time. It was a wonderful scene. I really want more of this - a couple talking about and acknowledging their past without wallowing in it...and even better, a history being acknowledged without sounding like a writer skimmed Wikipedia 10 minutes before they turned the episode in. I also love how Lily is treated by Martin, how they don't do the soap cliche of the pouting brat who makes wise remarks a 60 year old would be saying. She's a shy little girl who hasn't had an easy life, and I like to think some part of Martin remembers what his own childhood was like and it's why he connects with her. Unfortunately, Wikipedia speak was exactly what Dot's scene with Phil sounded like. I guess they assume no viewers have any idea who Ethel was, and have never seen the story, and to be fair, I'm sure many viewers haven't, but it can still be written in a believable way. I've seen fan fiction that involves Ronnie's long-lost daughter Renee and her blossoming romance with Liam Butcher that has more believable dialogue. Still, it was an OK scene, and the scenes with Phil dealing with what his mother did and addressing it with Shirley and Sharon, in different ways true to his relationships with them, were also good. I doubt you'll be getting "Give Steve McFadden an Oscar!" articles on scenes like tonight, but for me, they were Steve at his best. Few actors can play silence and contemplation like he can. I could have done without Kush shoehorning himself into the wedding, especially since I don't believe Martin was comfortable with him being there (then again when did he ever really have much interest in Martin's feelings), but that's Kush for you. At least it didn't cause a scene. Stacey's other admirer, Andy, moving in must be another of DTC's "bombs." I hope Sean O'Connor avoids the cheap temptation.

I think a lot of people underestimate how many people hate and fear Hillary (although truth be told they would hate and fear any Democrat running - money men and the media would ensure it - but with Hillary it kicks up a few more notches, because many in the middle and on the left have never liked her either), and a lot of people, driven by a media blinded by their delusion that the Republicans are Strong Fathers who will make America feel special and important and would therefore cast Trump out because they are supposed to be the party of integrity and tough choices and so on, underestimated just how willing the GOP base and the establishment would line up behind Trump once they realized they had no choice. They want to win. That's all they care about. They don't care about losing to send a message. Only Democrats like to do that. The only ones in the bigot brigade who care about that are a fringe group of the social conservatives, and even they won't do that due to SCOTUS. It's going to be a very close race, and I don't believe there will be any coattails for Democrats either.

This episode had some decent moments but unfortunately fell prey to the same sloppy production that plagued much of Peggy's return. What I liked: - Sharon talking with Phil after finding out about Peggy. A good scene, one of the few in the episode that flowed believably and had some emotion. - Most of the reactions to Peggy's death. - Ian and Phil after Peggy's death, and the scene of Jane asking how Phil was, with Ian replying, "He's lost his mum," looking straight at an uneasy Kathy - a cutting reminder that Ian had grieved his mother for a decade. What I should have liked: - Phil reading Peggy's letter. Sadly, between Barbara's voiceover and Julia's Theme, Steve McFadden was fighting a losing battle. Too much going on. - Phil finding Peggy. A good producer would have had a beat, a moment, between Phil seeing Peggy and breaking down. That didn't happen, which meant that you basically saw Steve McFadden acting. What I didn't like: - A seemingly interminable scene of Jane and Sharon going on about Sharon's feelings for Phil, in the time that viewers were waiting to see Phil realize Peggy was dead. A very bizarre choice. I don't give a damn: - I'm genuinely stumped that at one point I was almost hoping for Martin and Stacey to be happy. I now have no idea why, when the show is so uninterested in them as a couple that the days before their wedding are nothing but scene after scene of carrying toilets, and Stacey grasping for reasons not to marry him. - Bobby rage. The only interesting part of this is just how little they actually show of Bobby in what was supposed to be a story about him. I feel like someone along the way realized how limited the boy who plays Bobby is, and that led to some changes in the plot.

I get GLOW flashbacks from the acting in those.

The problem is most of it is from people who were already wary of him anyway. His followers won't drop this.

I felt like it was more about Barbara Windsor than Peggy anyway. Overall I enjoyed it, but those twee, up-his-own-ass comments from DTC were an embarrassment. I've cringed at him from the first time he opened his mouth talking about how Tanya burying Max alive was "Greek tragedy."

It looks like an SNL parody. And what's with that surfer dude hair? Did they want to make sure no one felt RDA's own hair in that era wasn't so bad after all?

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/2016-bathroom-bills-politics-north-carolina-lgbt-transgender-history-restrooms-era-civil-rights-213902

I saw a bit of a thing on Rachel Maddow when she interviewed one of his delegates at the Nevada convention and she claimed they were all hungry and had too much to drink...and something about the rules. Very inspiring.

I was genuinely surprised at how clumsily this episode was written. This was supposed to be what DTC had worked on and devoted himself to exclusively. I feel like the soaps in general have in recent years assumed their viewers are stupid, and I was saddened that a script that did try to paint a balanced portrait of suicide and letting go still had that trait. Of all episodes, this one should have had finesse and style even with the cracks underneath, but...it didn't. I'll start with what worked for me: - Ross Kemp. For all the talk of his limited acting range (and yes, he isn't the best actor around), I actually thought he was better than his material here. Grant still felt like Grant, just like Grant at his peak 20 years ago. - Grant and Sharon. Ross and Letitia still have electric chemistry. In one moment they reminded me of what I have never seen with Sharon and Phil. - Barbara Windsor. There were a few poor moments, but for the most part she carried off the script with grace, grit, and dignity. The final scenes were what they were because of her. - Pat. I'm glad the show made it clear that this was not Pat, as otherwise I would have had a problem with her presence. Even then, I still had a problem with the self-parody "greatest hits" DTC back-patting of moments that were already played out long ago ("you bitch"/"you cow"), but most of this was minor compared to the reality of a dying, frightened woman clinging to an ideal. Pam St. Clement did herself proud, and it was nice to see her, even if it wasn't Pat. - The honesty of Peggy's choice. Yes, it's going to hurt those left behind. Yes, it's selfish. Yet, in the end she felt this was her only choice. And it was her choice. It was an honest depiction of the question of suicide, and was one of those moments that reminded me of what Eastenders was created to be. - Sharon and Peggy. Letitia and Barbara were at their best here. I could do without the looking after Phil part, because he's a middle-aged man, and she's done absolutely nothing to help him as it is so why is she still pretending she can, but otherwise the scene was nice. - Martin in those jeans and top. A+ entertainment value. Now, what did not work for me: - Padding. I went into this episode thinking 35 minutes couldn't be enough. Instead, due to how isolated Peggy was, it actually began to drag. The end of the karoake scenes and the start of the scene where she was wandering around an empty house and street like one of those religious movies about the Rapture were the point where I had to pause for a moment so that I could maintain interest and not just frown through the end credits. - Sh!t show. It wasn't awful, but it felt pointless and strange. And my fears of Belinda appearing more often continue to manifest - I thought she was annoying, stupid, and completely pointless tonight. I'm actually beginning to cringe when I see her. Carli Norris is a good actress, but Belinda is a caricature, and not an especially interesting one. - Repetitive clumsiness. One, even two scenes of Peggy smelling smoke would have sufficed. Instead, at one point Barbara Windsor was doing an impression of that Roxanne scene where Steve Martin sniffed his way down the street when he smelled a fire. The scenes of her clutching herself in pain were also two or three too many, when viewers already knew she was ill and dying. This all felt cheap and disappointed me more than anything else in the episode. - Vic histrionics. I guess we were supposed to see it from Peggy's POV - noisy and full of life just the way she liked - but by the end, I wondered if she was going to kill herself just to get away from all the shouty karaoke. - Grant and Phil. There's no reason why this material couldn't have been spliced into another episode. Not only did it detract from Peggy's final episode, it was also terribly written. I actually laughed out loud when Grant said they were "going to war." Given that everyone knows Ross Kemp can't be back for long, this is the Mitchell equivalent of EE promoting Wellard II only for him to appear in one scene for about 10 seconds. One thing DTC has always been good at is hype. He and Santer were expert at it. But somewhere along the way, he, unlike Santer, became so used to hyping himself and those he loved that he lost complete sight of what worked for the show. And I really felt that tonight, because a strong, caring producer could have made this so much more than it was.