DRW50

Good catchup on all the stories. Very snappy dialogue between Christy and Grant. And good intro for Maggie. Interesting character to bring back.

So what did you think of Steve Frost's time at ED? All I ever remember is he fired Malandra Burrows. I do wonder how many HO people will be coming over. I know an ED storyliner is an actor on HO now. I read a rumor at DS that some Emmerdale writers are thinking of leaving because of how OTT the show has become. I hope that isn't true, because Emmerdale's writers are what keep it going. Paul Roundell, Jane Pearson, Karin Young, etc.

Good. All they do on that show is spew garbage and nonsense to get attention. Well, they got attention. And again I question how many of these advertisers were looking for a reason to bail.

3 years is the time that the current ITV soap heads have said is the limit for producers. Sadly I think there is a caste system at Corrie, and certain people (namely Fiz, Sean, and Michelle) will never leave. They have tried to tone down these three after some truly horrific writing periods, but sh!t stinks no matter how much perfume you put on it. In terms of what she actually might have the power to do, it's time to stop writing Gail as a bad joke and it's time to either make Liz bearable again or ship her off. Just have Kim Tate buy the pub - she has no purpose on the show, but she'd be more believable as a landlady. And either make Sarah believable or ship her off too.

Carly Fiorina lies, but the "liberal" media, desperate to keep pushing the narrative that she is a bad-ass who won the debate, stays quiet. What a shocker. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/keeping-carlys-secret

I'm so sorry about that. It's absolutely pathetic.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/coronation-street-and-emmerdale-appoint-new-producers Kate Oates is moving to Corrie, as many expected. I think she's been sloppy this year (whether down to her or ITV pressures), but she's a good, solid producer. I tend to agree with those who feel the problems with Corrie are up high, and nothing Blackburn could have fixed, but I hope she has better luck.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/coronation-street-and-emmerdale-appoint-new-producers Kate Oates is moving to Corrie, as many expected. Iain MacLeod, who has been a producer at HO the last few years and was a story editor at Corrie from 2009-2013 (and in research from 2006 on), is taking over. HO has been a living hell for years so I have no idea who to blame, but some of the worst aspects of Emmerdale this year (too much plot and not enough friendship and family, too much crime, too much shock value) are very Hollyoaks-esque, so this makes me wary. More than that it's that much of that era of Corrie was unpleasant and unwatchable, although I will put a lot of that on that hack Phil Collinson. If any of you know anything about him please tell us.

Looks like all those 1993 videos were taken down. That sucks. Thanks for the article. Interesting that he cuts such slack for the David/Valerie story but none for the story with Sharon and Julie. Sad thing is things really aren't any better on soaps today.

For Johnson and Johnson, probably so. The other one, whose entire statement was a self-plug? I'm guessing they'd wanted to leave for a while and this was their justification. Either way, I'm glad they're facing consequences for this, "I can say whatever the !@#$%^&*] I want because you need to PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!" mindset.

Kind of expected it - I'll be sad to see her go as I really enjoyed her with Capaldi, but she had a decent run, especially once they got out of Matt Smith's last season.

Joy's always said stupid things, but when you pass them off as "humor," and when people like your show, you get away with it. No one likes this show now, so she doesn't get away with it. WIth that said, even as someone who has never cared for her, I do think she just made a quick dumb comment without really paying attention. Michelle Collins seems deeply unpleasant, and a sign of an irrelevant, nasty program.

Watched today's show... The only thing that bothered me was that it was so much of the OTT camp parody of Sharon - she would have at least considered that Kathy was telling the truth and not just pulling some long con to get Phil or his money. Kathy was written very true to her character, and Gillian played the scenes well. Her reaction to seeing Ben and her having the clumps of Sharon's hair in her hand and throwing them out the window were my favorite parts. I love Jay telling Phil how full of [!@#$%^&*] he is and the Mitchells are. Long may it last...

I feel for Eric, but then they've also overshown it and he's also been pretty unpleasant. Pete has been keeping to himself and not shouting all the time like he used to do. This story has made Debbie and Ross look awful but it's made Pete look more human and I care about him more. Tired of the Debbie/Emma conflict. Anyway, I did like the scene between Marlon and Eric. The scenes Marlon referenced are here:

Another very fine chapter. The scenes about Carl were very typical of your writing - moving without being maudlin. And I like how you are using Russ in this story. I'm so proud of Rachel here - strong yet vulnerable. The conversation between Jake and Michelle was a highlight. Jake is trying, but he doesn't see that assuming the worst of Michele, right or wrong he may be, only guarantees that is how she will act.

Tim or BetterForgotten, you may like this - sadly I don't have the followup episode (the channel AuntieCorrie probably will at some point - they're uploading early 1994 at the moment), but it's when Charlie returns to try to get Bet to give him another chance. There's a wonderful scene (blocked in Germany - thanks UMG) of Bet slowly walking toward his table in some bar (because back then the show knew not everything should happen in the Rovers) as "Many Rivers to Cross" plays on the soundtrack. It's such a powerful moment that reminds you that Bet was still a vibrant, important character, even in her last year on the show. This is my 1994 playlist. I can't delete it because of whatever the hell the site is these days...

I can't say I disagree, although I enjoyed Anthony Abbaddo a lot more here than I did on GL or B&B. As for SSM, I think people use her because she's barely been in soaps for years and years. If her material actually aired, it would be a different story.

Yes, they nearly ended it in 1992. I think they may have have in 1995 as well. I can't remember. It's a shame, but AW really was incredibly lucky in many ways to last as long as it did with so many things going against it. I just wish things had gone differently, and that the best of the show had not been lost on other soaps (history, friendships, community, wit, complex characters).

Oh I think they listened to fans in the last year, far more than ATWT did, but then like I said, my GL died a long time ago and the "Ben is a killer because being molested as a child makes you unstable and dangerous" finished it for good. But I certainly can see why years of Tom Pelphrey screaming at people would make it even worse for fans.

DAYS was higher-rated than AW for decades so I think that would have continued. Creatively I think AW likely would have been a better show, but it was in a big hole, made worse by P&G not giving a damn. As for GL - to me the show really failed in 1993 and the next 16 years, minus some strong moments here and there, were more of the same, so it's hard for me to have the perspective many do. I think Wheeler made mistakes, but I also think she was a convenient whipping girl to many. I still remember certain soap columnists making snide digs about her being LDS. It was very personal to them, not about the quality of the show.

GL was pretty much dead already when Wheeler took over, IMO, thanks to Conboy's budget-busting and general poor decisions. I think Goutman was a wise choice for ATWT early on, as he had worked OK at AW - the problem was they kept him around too long, mostly because they no longer cared about the shows. I think AW could have survived, should have survived, was a very unique show that holds up well today, but it was a miracle it lasted as long as it did (it was nearly canceled several times in the '90s), and the highest-rated period of its last years was one I cannot and will not watch (JFP's run), so it's hard for me to say.

If you have time I'd say try the early years, as a lot of 1972-1974 is on Youtube. If you don't, then I'd say you may enjoy 2004-2007, a lot of which is on Youtube and which features a lot of the current cast. Many also enjoyed 2009-2010 (I generally did not), a lot of which is also on Youtube. There is also some '90s material (I've been slowly uploading some of what I have of the late '90s and others have some up as well) - you can't really go wrong with Kim Tate. This channel has a lot of classic ED from the '80s to the '90s. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO8e_33wSWkte9U0t_Yfh8A This is my channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUw5WJ8jG6WQTqmnd28Sy2g/videos This has a lot. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKxXRm0Acop72Lik4FkogQw/videos I'd also recommend watching the plane crash episodes, as they made ED what it now is.