MichaelGL

From the synopsis's I've read, her tenure does seem quite good too. Didn't Grover write some interesting stories for Nola and Jason?

Personal finances are not the same as the mammoth financial structure the government has. Some don't want to admit it, but it's apples and oranges. Wealth was developed extremely under Ronald Reagan, yet the government was deficit spending under him, unable to save as much as they put out. Honestly, I don't think enough has been done to fix, improve, and develop our infrastructure, and that is due to the cut backs Republicans put into place. While such projects do cost money, they both benefit those looking for a job and the taxpayers themselves. And I wonder, just how much of the shrinking size of government, firings of government employees, abolishing certain departments, has contributed to the unemployment rate. I would think, very much.

I'm really in awe at the production values of Edge back then, very few soaps at the time seemingly had such controlled lighting, very cinematic.

Kathy Beale's daughter. She was the product of rape from when Kathy was 14. Donna was a druggie with quite a manipulative streak. I believe at one point Dot took her in.

George W. Bush's biggest mistake, and yeah there were quite a few of them, yet the biggest one was not raising taxes to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Taxes are always raised to fund wars, most notably when George H. W. Bush raised taxes, it was to fund the war in Iraq in the 90s. It did cost him the presidency, but it was also a hard reality he had to accept; to increase revenue to pay for the war in the middle east.

I will never understand this mentality that there should be cuts, and no increased revenue. I just...don't...understand. Dems give and give until they won't have any of their base voting for them. The Republican hold outs in the House and Senate just take, take, and take, standing by their campaign slogans no matter what happens to this country.

You make a lot of good points, especially about McFadden, who should have brought it at some point between September and now (Sept. when I started watching again) but didn't. I agree, I have some major reservations about the actor that plays Ben, I was hoping Kirkwood would recast the role before he brought him back again, unfortunately that isn't happening.

I see it as a chance for a soap (other than Hollyoaks, which really bungled the attempt) to finally have a gay villain, Plus, I want to see what all the fuss is about the actor that plays Phil. I was never really impressed with him when I started watching, but I caught the end of the crack story, so this will be a make it or break for me where Steve McFadden is concerned.

Finally..... Spoilerish: EE's next coming out story.

I'm a Janine fan, but I don't really blame Pat and Ricky for how they've been treating Janine, especially after she played them for fools in regards to Ryan and Stacey. And Janine could have been more...humble....in offering Ricky the money, and she could have offered it earlier too, but she didn't, and she's partly to blame for Ricky going to Dubai. Not entirely to blame, but that was Pat acting out on the hurt she was feeling. I'm always amused by your dislike for Tiffany, as the posters on DS seem to adore her. You should have seen some of the posts on there after Janine revealed to Tiffany she had gotten her nothing, while getting Morgan and Liam gifts. There were a few posters up in arms about that. I really don't have a overall opinion of Tiffany, but the cutesy childish stuff they have her do, do get on my nerves. I was however liking it when they had Tiffany spend time with Lydia, and some of Lydia(and Janine) was rubbing off on Tiffany. However that side of Tiffany seems to have been forgotten. As for Pat, there's a possible spoiler that states... I do hope for a two-hander between Pat and Janine before Pam St. Clements leaves. This is where I hope Kirkwood's admiration for character of Janine comes into play and sees that there needs to be such a episode.

Being a preteen when San Cristobel made its debut on GL, I loved all of it, but didn't like how it resulted in Josh and Reva eventually breaking up. Then as time went on, I got a bit older, I grew tired of that damn island.

Thanks dc for the clarification.

I think Danny was one of the characters offed during the plague, unfortunately. And you're right Carl, John Pankow does resemble the actor that plays Luke, from that scan you posted.

My curiosity is piqued about this Danny character. I've read in past recaps from The Doctors, that he was well intentioned character, willing to go the lengths to protect his friends such as Natalie. What was his connection to Natalie? I know he was involved in the story where Billy blackmailed her, and Danny tried to get Billy to back down, as Natalie tried keep her relationship with Luke intact.

I might have an ounce of respect for Coburn than I do for most of the Republicans in Congress because of this....he actually suggests tax increases. Coburn Proposes Budget

Who says Christmas isn't in July? Thank you saynotoursoap!

That's quite the find Carl, I don't think I've ever seen a cast photo for The Doctors.

I hope Zainab develops an addiction to pills, as I see it as the only way to rid her of "clinginess" to her religion and eventually wake her up and see reality. So I hope it isn't a storyline that isn't dropped, like some others under Kirkwood (Vanessa's apparent OCD for example).

Thanks so much for these Carl. The SOW article really sheds light on TD's early years. I never knew Maggie's sister Nora stayed on the show long enough to have a romance. I am surprised they never brought her back later on in the show's run. I never knew Rita Lakin was so successful on TD, she's one of those barely known writers to me. While the Katy story seems quite bizarre, I like the idea of the writers throwing something different at Mike, rather than the usual heroine or damsel in distress. Mike had been widowed twice by two loving and sympathetic characters(Toni and Sarah). I would have ended the Katy/Mike story on a different note, turning their obvious hostile relationship, one which Katy was the only one with feelings of affection, into one where Mike would eventually fall for her, but only to lose her in the end to her obvious mental problems. It wouldn't have been your typical tragic love story for Mike. Maybe down the road Mike actually meets someone else, this time someone similar to Toni and Sarah, sympathetic and a heroine, and he finds himself torn between this new love and Katy who would be institutionalized at the time. Well that would have been my story idea, I find plenty of potential in the show in 1981 and 1982, however it's apparent that the execution and follow through with the storylines was horrible.

My mistake, I'm so use to you posting those scans of TD in here. Thanks to you PaulRaven! Yes, Stuart was at OLTL well into the late 70s, he departed in 1983 actually. While OLTL got one of TD's earliest EP's, TD hired one of OLTL's earliest EP's, Doris Quinlan to take over in 1980.

Thanks for these scans Carl. Joe Stuart does resemble James Pritchett in this picture. He would later go on to producer OLTL during its glory years.

Re: Best Exits special Looking at the episode, there seemed to be an excess of mobsters in Walford at some point in the 2000s, what was all that about? Was this Berridge's tenure as EP? What did everyone think of the storyline of Ben's abuse at the hands of Phil's fiance? It seems like a rather interesting storyline from the bits and pieces I've seen, how was this period for the show? I'm guessing it was before Santer became showrunner? I'm interested in looking at some episodes pre-Santer, just out of sheer boredom.

Lauren's crushing/pursuing Ryan, something I don't really have an explanation for. Kirkwood seems to really emphasize character and raw emotion, which got me back into watching the show on a regular basis. He's made me grow to like people such as Ronnie, Syed, and even tolerate and sympathize for Jack. I think the good outweighs the bad for him, but there are a few weak spots. I don't like the constant revolving door of characters. Normally when a viewer says this, it's because the canvas is being filled with new characters, but that's not exactly EE's problem. The show introduces much needed new blood, and then quickly gets rid of said new character just as viewers are beginning to like them. I think new blood is what the show needs right now considering all the exits it's had to sustain within the last few months, and I believe there are a few characters in Walford that have left or on their way out that could help fill that void somewhat. However the revolving doors continues.... Kirkwood got me interested in the Jack/Ronnie and Syed/Christian drama, yet I'm not holding my breath in me growing to like Roxy now that Ronnie is gone, even though it seems like the only option they have right now is to flesh her character out. I honestly don't see myself ever liking the actress.

Believe it or not, today was the first episode where I liked Rainie as a character, and not just the actress. I liked that she seemed to be on the top of things at the cafe, how she wanted to keep Phil from getting one last hit, and how she ended her friendship with Phil(I think?). This is the kind of character development I want with Rainie, not the pathetic one that bedded Jack. Speaking of Jack, if there's one thing I do like about his character, is how he's sticking by Ronnie these days. It really endears me to the couple.

Whattttt? No comments on yesterday's brilliant episode, that ended with the Yusef reveal?