DRW50

She certainly has her work cut out for her. I think she'd run into a rut at Emmerdale this year, but I do think she did a lot of good for the show, likely in spite of ITV's interference. I just hope the new guy doesn't ruin it.

Kate Oates said she'd return to help the new producer with the goodbye if they want her to. I guess we'll see. I'm not really going to expect much and then I'll be pleasantly surprised. Alan's was decent (mostly because they brought back my old favorite Steph, which many producers would have never done). I hope they will do it right...and ideally, not make it a sh1t show like poor Betty's goodbye on Corrie. Shameful.

This is the full version. The last bit makes me smile. I'm sure going to miss her.

Lots of lovely tweets from co-stars. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emmerdale/news/a776600/emmerdale-stars-pay-tribute-to-dear-friend-shirley-stelfox-following-the-actresss-death/

So sad and upset to hear about Shirley Stelfox. I’d wondered why we hadn’t seen much of Edna in recent months. Shirley was an incredible actress - anyone who saw her in Keeping Up Appearances as Hyacinth’s trashy sister and then on Emmerdale as pious Edna can tell you that. She was also on Brookside, Eastenders, Corrie - you name it. I was just watching an episode yesterday from 2001, where Edna got drunk without realizing it, and she was just so believable - her head motions, her reactions, the slight slur of her words. No broadness or playing it up too much for attention. She was perfect. She was always perfect. And that’s why Edna went from being a one-note harridan, a perma-scold, to being the core of the community, a truly kind and loving woman. Just a few months ago I remember Val’s funeral where she was shocked at the male strippers, and disappointed at Pearl for clearly enjoying the display. And it just made me laugh so much, because it was so rightly pitched. There was so much I loved about watching Edna - her harsh judgment mixed with her sense of fairness. Her complicated relationships with characters like Aaron and her sister Lily (the wonderful Anne Charleston). Her grudging fondness for Sandy, a man she absolutely loathed upon first meeting him. Her tenderness with Pearl even after Pearl harshly rejected her following the death of Pearl’s partner Len (who’d always loved Edna). Older actors and actresses on soaps rarely get their due. They are belittled as just being there because of past glories, or not contributing because they aren’t the lead in the shooting or fire or brawl of the month. But these actors are the backbone of their shows. They represent continuity, history, and most of all, heart. She gave so much to Emmerdale, and to us. I hope that Edna, and Shirley, will receive the proper goodbye they deserve.

There's been some tut-tutting recently from The Fix and other "mainstream" journalists over the dogged insistence from Nate Silver types that Trump won't get the nomination, and polls are meaningless. I think they know their gravy train is slowing down and they're upset. The Iowa poll today, with Cruz out in front (Cruz is the perfect Iowa GOP candidate - a pseudo-intellectual idiot and a smarmy bigot), was the first strong reminder that it's almost over for "The Donald." And this, this disgusting, naked, shockingly dangerous pandering that will do real damage to us around the world, is a sure sign of a campaign that knows it's losing. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/donald-trump-shutdown-of-muslims-216504 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/07/donald-trumps-call-to-ban-muslims-from-coming-to-the-u-s-has-a-very-bad-poll-at-its-center/

but you could still notice the drastic change when the new regime or writers took over. I was just wondering what if they had trained a core of talent to replicate his style the way the master painters and master builders had done with their work? Character consistency and storyline continuity could have lasted at least a decade after Marland's passing. There were a number of things by the end of 1993 I don't think he would have done (like firing Lisa Brown and Anne Sward), but to me the real changes to ATWT didn't happen until early/mid-94, when they obviously had no idea where to go or what to do (bringing Shannon back for a sour triangle and that silly "adventure" to find Scott, for instance). I think he was a very unique writer and those under him were good at working under him but not able to continue his type of canvas. And even then it still sort of felt like his ATWT in its best moments (the John/Lisa lawsuit), but Caso wasn't a strong enough producer to have kept it good when it should have been good (1994, the period when so many viewers were leaving daytime). I think it was Valente who truly gutted the show.

Someone put up some scans of a Hello magazine on Kelvin Fletcher's recent wedding. The last page or two has a lot of the Emmerdale cast. http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/655zjvqifx3n2ej918gifyydxa8c8ree

I didn't post it in here because frankly it's difficult to post anywhere even once here now, but the Vincent Irizzary interview I put in the GL thread has extensive talk about his run on SB. Basically he says he only joined the show for money, he was the last character created by the Dobsons, and he only stayed as long as he did because of the triangle he was in, and then when he did sign a new contract, they barely gave him anything to do. He also basically said the only reason he didn't regret being on the show was that he found a wife and daughter (although the wife part didn't last much longer...).

Gina from Melbourne is going to be on Neighbours again. (the trailer she was in has been deleted...)

I agree.

I thought Cindy was a real shot in the arm to AW's last few years, and a wide variety of poorly written plots. But then I really enjoyed Kim Rhodes. It was partly the change, but also that Robin was so low-energy and I just don't think she was a good mix with most of the men they paired her with. She and Bolger had chemistry but I thought the story was weak.

I don't think it was for Cindy, it was likely more a budget issue, but honestly I never cared for Robin as Lorna anyway.

Bolger and Christopher were fired. A second part has also been uploaded.

Carrie Genzel, still my favorite Skye, popped up again on Supernatural this past week. I guess the show has been on so long they're just reusing everyone.

It's not so much the recent material with Liz and Tony (which I think was a good conclusion of the storyline) as the general regression of the character over the years, especially how she reacts to things and her relationship with Steve. I feel like she and Steve both lost about 50 IQ points in the last 5-10 years, and I'm not sure why.

I think they dropped coverage of the other parades. Yeah, I think they used to have one in Hawaii but they dropped it a few years ago.

I think Marland did leave outlines for a fair amount of time - at least through the last months of 1993. The Kasnoffs were his idea and Mike came around in early 1994.

Definitely. Or I could see her running The Bistro or Joinery or whatever the hell its called. I think Liz is the strongest example of what they can no longer do with middle-aged women - they can't allow them to mature or have dignity and still be formidable or desirable. Liz is just written as a dumb, shouty, spiteful whore. I'd never watched a lot of this period of Corrie, but I was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying 2002. It's a strong year, for the most part, and well-balanced. 2001 I have more of a problem with, because I think the "issue" stories were a mistake and were nothing but earnest awkwardness, but you can still see the seeds for better stuff to come.