DRW50

I wonder about that too, especially as I don't get the feeling Adam Thomas is thrilled with not having much to do on Emmerdale. I wish the show had tried more with Jason, instead of taking him for granted.

Ryan Thomas is quitting Corrie for Hollywood. I thought he'd be there for life so I'm surprised. It's too bad - he's a good actor and one of the most gorgeous men I can remember on a soap. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a672340/coronation-streets-ryan-thomas-is-quitting-the-soap-its-been-a-great-privilege-to-be-in-corrie.html

Awful promo. No wonder it was a flop.

Julie was a different type of character so I never compared them. I don't think Sabrina was ever really a heroine, per se, when Julianne was in teh role. Frannie, yes, but Frannie, whenever I watch Julianne's last few years on the show, feels fairly detached from the canvas, I guess because Julianne also had to play Sabrina. I liked Pam. She was normal to me, not boring. She was much more tolerable than most Marland junior heroines (Lily, Courtney, Rosanna). But she was mostly a supporting character.

Jennifer Ashe is superb in that part of the story (her last few months on the show, minus some later guest stints). As SOD said in 1989, it took a lot of work for any young heroine to emerge from Lily's shadow in the late '80s. Meg was the only one who did - and sadly, just as she did, she was leaving the show...

I'd wanted to post this a few days ago but at least I can now. The person who uploaded part of a 1983 episode months ago uploaded the first part a few weeks back. Highlights include Ariel, Diana (two ladies always up to entertain), Kim's not all that flattering hair, Maggie and Margo at odds, Justin Deas having a nice bottom, James reading a newspaper, and, if you're into them, Betsy/Craig/Steve angst. I keep forgetting when it was Eileen Fulton left in 1983. She was still there in April...

I'm pretty sure Bill Shanks is in this antacid ad, and I know Conrad Fowkes is. Is there anyone else?

Oh I agree about Ian - I just mean I've always seen him as a weak man. Sharon I thought was better than this. This shows just how much DTC doesn't get it, basically pulling out the canard that Ian and Jane would be "boring" without this story. This is the type of attitude that flies in the face of what created Eastenders, and is a great example of why soaps are falling. (there are spoilers) http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a671722/eastenders-boss-dominic-treadwell-collins-well-explore-whether-bobby-is-evil.html#~ppYMblSOy9fdEq

It's just so dull. And I don't think the story will ever have a satisfying conclusion because DTC stories never do. I don't even think the story has ruined anyone, bar Sharon, but I just don't need or want to see more of smug Phil or that unbearably sanctimonious child-stealer Jane. I hope they write her out when this is over. I watched some of last night and laughed at how terrible and rushed the ending was, especially the dumbass "wha??" faces on everyone when Max was shouting. I just want Stacey to find out the truth and avenge Max. I've always liked their relationship and it's the only thing I even care about with Stacey or Max at this point.

Kate Oates said Chas is one of her favorite characters, but she has a very different view of Chas than I do. She really doesn't get the core of this character, especially her deep self-loathing and self-destructiveness. Lucy's plastic surgery has done the character few favors in recent years, but if they tried to stop writing her as a moral beacon, it would go a long way.

Agreed, although sadly, it still seems to have no place on daytime.

I think having her back for visits and possibly bringing in her daughter Jill (who could have been like a young Margo - hell on wheels) would have been more interesting material for Tom and Margo than psycho Adam or the constant worries about who was on the end of Casey's penis.

Wow. I need to start using "it wasn't in my mind what I was saying out there" in my daily life. I can become Speaker too.

I don't think it will be Lachlan - it's too obvious. I have a feeling it will be Ashley and he talked Aaron out of shooting Robert and then had a seizure and forgot it. It's not captivating to me because other than Edge of Night, I don't care about mysteries on soaps, and also because they have gone the cliched route (OTT rude cops, endless revolving door of arrests) that annoys me on Eastenders. They need to work more on characterization and less on stunts. Chas, who was an old favorite of mine, has been made to look awful for most of this year, and especially in this storyline, between having zero faith in her son and selling out her BFF Chrissie in a heartbeat.

Yes, they were. I like Maggie most when she's bantering with her family. I wish they hadn't just totally forgotten her existence.

It has for most of this year. I don't know what happened, as it looked fine up to last year. Did you see the Lawrence scenes today? I was shocked at how frank they were pre-watershed. I still have a lot of issues with this character, but John Bowe gave a good performance.

That was it, sadly.

That was Marland. Jay was last seen while Frannie was recovering from what Doug had done to her. They went to his diner (?). He and that Spree or Speed woman were supposed to be together and happy.

While some isn't that good (the Maggie/Jay story), a lot of what I've seen of their 1984 and 1985 run is good, although Susan Bedsow Horgan tweaked it further. I think some of their material for Tom and Margo was actually better and more suited to their strengths than what Marland gave them in HBS' years (other than the miscarriage story, which HBS and Marx played the hell out of, I think he gave Ellen Dolan better material).

I thought the Dobsons came back again at some point in 1982 or 1983. Wasn't part of that time when the show recast Lisa?

The Beltway in a nutshell. Our probably next speaker admits the Benghazi committee is purely for a witch hunt, and our "liberal" press says, "Eh - he was just being honest." http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/kevin-mccarthy-steps-into-a-faux-outrage/408253/#disqus_thread