I Am A Swede

Thank you! It's the first time (that I remember) seeing Debbi Blythe as Marian. I have to say that I prefer Gail Harrison. These 1988 episodes must also be after Dolly's affair with Stephen Fuller. Even though I do love Matt, I can see how she would be tempted, and they did lay the groundwork for a story like that for a long time. He was content staying at Emmerdale for ever, and she wanted a place of her own. Even though she had been gone for a long time by 1988 I can see how maybe the shadow of Peggy also played a part. It can't have been easy for Dolly living with the family of Matt's former wife.

Mine too. I think in many ways Matt was more of a son to Annie than either Jack or Joe.

^^ Two milestone episodes, with two milestone characters. One (Matt), the embodiement of the Emmerdale Farm era, and the other (Kim), the symbol of the 1990s. Two complex, multi-faceted characters of the kind that today's show is sorely lacking.

I do love that era (late 1970s) most, but I really love all things Emmerdale pre-plane crash. Katharine Barker's Dolly is my all-time favourite Emmerdale character, but all the characters were written so well back then. I have developed a special fondness for Sam Pearson as well. Such a marvelous performance by Toke Townley. Jackie Merrick is also a character that has grown on me. It's such a realistic portrayal of a young man trying to find his place in the world. Watching his wedding to Kathy was both wonderful and bittersweet because you knew that he would be dead a year and a half later. I loved him and Kathy together and can't help but wonder how things would have turned out if he hadn't died. He and Kathy were so much more suited for each other than Kathy and Chris. Not everything was perfect back then of course. I do find the comedy scenes with Seth winding up Alan and/or Amos a bit annoying sometimes. But Seth worked great as a mentor of sorts for Jackie. Love Deena! Still miss Viv! And she's so damn right! Viv (and Deena) deserved so much more than she got! Not even a funeral. It was a total disgrace!

They managed to get Pete away from the clutches of Debbie, so maybe there's hope for Ross too.

I've had a fabulous day so far watching old episodes of Emmerdale Farm that our very own DRW50 has posted on YouTube. It's such a treat to be able to visit Beckindale in the 1970s and see old friends again; Annie, Sam, Matt, Joe, Amos, Henry, Dolly, and Mr. Hinton. If you haven't seen these episodes before I highly recommend that you do. But be warned, they have very little in common with today's version of Emmerdale. For one thing, they're actually very good!

Too bad it's wasted on the black hole otherwise known as Debbie Dingle....

Of course Priya thinks she's pregnant now that Pete and Leyla have reconciled and become engaged.... How very inventive! Why can't the writers be a little more creative? Let's have some happy stories for a while instead of all this doom and gloom. It's becoming quite tedious. I just got to watch the wedding of Kathy and Jackie back in 1988. (Thank you DRW50!) There were no surprise pregnancies or infidelity revelations back then, and the only disaster was that Kathy's wedding dress was ruined when a pipe burst in the Bates' home. No crashing helicopters back then....

To call these people scumbags is unfair to scumbags. They deserve better than to be associated with this kind of behaviour. I really can't find any words strong enough to describe how utterly sick and vile these creatures are.

I can think of one family from hell that pre-dates them.....

That's ridiculous. By that kind of reasoning the Democrats could have called the Republicans racists for going after Obama.

So Paddy is now working his way back into Rhona's life, to the surprise of absolutely no-one. Even Stevie Wonder saw that plot twist coming..... This kind of unimaginative writing makes me nervous everytime Laurel shares a scene with Marlon now. I don't feel that I can trust the writers not to try and put them back together, and that would be horrible.

Sorry, but I think you both are being too hard on Cilic. Blisters can be really painful so I'm sure that played a part, but whether it did or it didn't, or if it was just the pressure of the moment that got to him, I don't see why he should be ridiculed for it. He's a human being, not a machine, and sometimes people's emotions just get the better of them. There's no shame in that. As for the Federer children, from what I can see the girls had blonde hair when they were younger, and it's not uncommon that kids who have fair hair when they're young grow darker as they age. I did so myself. I had very fair hair when I was very young, and both my parents have dark hair, and now my hair is darker too.

I can't say that it surprises me. Has he done anything worthwhile during these six months?

Oh dear.... I do like some of the responses to the whining. They really put these cry-babies in their place.

So, Roger Federer wins the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and Rafael Nadal wins the French Open.... Is this 2017 or 2007?