DramatistDreamer

Yeah, James, Doug Cummings and Tad Channing were meant to stay dead and gone. I think, in his way, Marland might have been pushing against the romanticization of the charismatic villain that had taken hold of soaps in the 80s. You can call it a somewhat Puritanical view, but this is probably why when characters schemed and engaged in wrongdoing on ATWT, they usually paid such a hefty price. This wasn't just an occurrence in Marland's ATWT, Craig's going to prison and becoming a parolee preceded Marland's tenure, so obviously, there was something in the show's DNA that saw the long-term villain that always got away with wreaking havoc on the rest of the town without ever really paying the price, as anathema to the storytelling. In addition to those villains who were killed off and meant to stay that way, Marsha Talbot and Denise Darcy were meant to be incarcerated. Denise was the only possible redemption story I could see happening out of that entire bunch--her, they should have brought back, after she served her murder sentence by the late 90s, especially seeing that the show really needed a boost at that time.

In any case of spasms, the kind being attributed to Sen. Leahy, are usually connected to stress. JMO. These Capitol police suicides are yet another reason why just moving on as if none of this ever happened is not a sensible option. Regardless of the outcome, it would have been irresponsible not to had a trial, it would be an invitation for this to happen again. These Capitol police suicides are yet another reason why just moving on as if none of this ever happened is not a sensible option. Regardless of the outcome, it would have been irresponsible not to have had a trial, it would be an invitation for this to happen again.

Chuckling at Billy and Josh referring to Alan-Michael and Harley as "The Teenage Crowd". And Josh, saying "I didn't even know that she knew these people". Josh will be getting to know Harley a lot better in future. Blake blissed out with Phillip, we know how long that lasts. That's an interesting dynamic going on with Vanessa and Frank, Vanessa and Billy, and Vanessa and Ross.

If anyone here is in touch with Morgan Englund, please convey my deep condolences to him and his family.

Poor Morgan 😞

He tried to kill a plane full of people, that's pretty hard to come back from, in terms of redemption. The problem is that what made James such an intriguing figure was the fact that he was so singular, he thought he was smarter and better than anyone and that his way was the only way. Behind the power grabs, deep down, Roger wanted others' approval. James wanted power and he was convinced that those closest to him, Paul and Emily, would see that he was right, if only they would listen and see things his way. As brutish as Roger could be (rape etc.), I don't see him pinning a fake murder on Holly and letting her be imprisoned, the way James did with Barbara, or Roger torturing Holly the same way James did to Barbara. James claimed that he loved Paul but his love manifested itself as control and dominance. Also, I just cannot see James genuinely confiding in anyone-- the moment he starts pouring his heart out to someone, that intrigue is gone. One thing that I appreciated about ATWT, until the wheels fell, that is-- they let villains go when it was their time to go. For the most part, when someone had done something truly heinous, like, kill maliciously someone--they had to go. James was somewhat of an exception, and I still think the mistake was bringing back the character after he was shot by Paul in 1989.

These pharmaceutical companies will likely have to modify their booster shots in order to better neutralize these recent variants. Supposedly, the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines cover the British and South African variants but not at the percentages that they had hoped. It may be enough though, but I imagine they'd want to improve that.

Anyone who thought that misogyny and racism ended at CBS with the ouster of Leslie Moonves, well I've got news for you.

The absolute rot at CBS and its affiliates continues.

As great and thoroughly entertaining as Anthony Herrera was, James should have been ghost after Paul shot him in '89.

From one of the scientists who worked on the Moderna vaccine:

Ironically, 2 women who had made sexual assault allegations against tRump, are currently suing him for libel. Tad Channing definitely evolved, or should I say "devolved" into a more blatantly wicked character, where as previously, he had been more devious and manipulative. The previous actor was seen as having more of a layer of oily charm. That Tad I could have seen Iva, with low-esteem falling for. Larry Pine's version of the character seemed very Trumpian in demeanor. I guess that's was a signal marker that the character would not be around for much longer. James actually had some moments of humorous dialogue, like when Lucinda told him that John Dixon was twice the man that he'd ever be, implying that John satisfied her and was a better lover. Not missing a beat, James snaps back with something like, that John had to be some type of superhuman to satisfy the likes of Lucinda, who was insatiable.

What I loved about the P&G universe back in those days- Doug Cummings gets killed off the show but John Wesley Shipp is on Secret deodorant commercials that air during ATWT and probably during GL too. I'm going to say this again, Donald Trump had to be the prototype for Tad Channing, I don't care what anyone says. Venal, charlatan in real estate related building, super-aggressive with women, to the point of criminality, not to mention, broke.

The Italian government continues in its dysfunctional ways.

Interesting article. A type of disciplined, under-the-radar organization that is likely to happen again, short of an existential threat the size of Trump and his ilk. For me, the very first season will always be the O.G. cast. The premiere season had a cinema verite feel to it that felt a bit less contrived than subsequent series, but I loved Kameelah, who said she was going to be a doctor and she became a doctor! She doled out straight facts, lol. It makes me wonder how some of her former housemates feel about how they treated her now that BLM has a prominent place in the U.S. and the worldwide socio-political landscape. Some of the things that were said to her, I would feel embarrassed if I were those people.

The only Hersheys I have heard of are Barbara Hershey and Hershey's chocolate. That other person, I have never heard of. (Shrugs) Speaking of vapid Rachel and her googley-eyed husband Sean, my favorite Real World scenes involved Sean being left looking foolish by Kameelah in the Boston firehouse. Boy, I bet even the mention of Kamala's name gives him ptsd of him getting his ass handed to him by way of a public dressing down delivered by Kameelah.

I seriously doubt tgat anyone would associate Duke with Beau-- they are two different types completely. Beau was meant to be mysterious for much of the character's run as he had a painful family dynamic while Duke was pretty much an open book. Duke was prone to making corny but endearing jokes, while Beau seemed far more intense, sometimes even showing moments of impatience with Pam. Vastly different types, imo.

Considering the fact Marland was co-creator of the series, it's not that difficult to see how Tyler might have ended up on Loving.

"When you lie in bed at night with Tonio, you're thinking of me". Whew! It was true too, as there had been a scene showing Sierra on her wedding night with Tonio, imagining that it was Craig that she was making love to. Sierra ran out, Craig had obviously pushed a button.

Hopefully your cousin will get back the sense of taste and smell soon, as well as a return to full good health, @Soapsuds

Oops.

Wooh boy, that's hot! Some actors are so convincing that you have to wonder if there wasn't "something" there. Billy Ocean turned 71 yesterday and when I read that I thought of "Caribbean Queen" first, immediately followed by "Suddenly". It's crazy how indelible an impression some of these characters, music and storylines can make on someone.

Two things that I will never understand why Soapclassics didn't do: Release a boxed set of wedding ceremonies of some of the other characters-- At least one of Lisa's weddings should have made the cut and Shannon and Brian's zany botched ceremony should've been in there. Tom and Margo's most poignant moments. The faux affair between Tom and Barbara as well as those excruciating moments of near reconciliation , including the ONS when they were on the verge of divorce as well as an ultimate reconciliation. Okay a third, is Kim's Labor Day delivery of baby Chris. Any self-respecting fan of ATWT would want to see those episode, either for the first or second time. Why these episodes never became part of a collection, I'll never know.

Part of it could be a function of age, changing times, tastes, etc. Being too deeply ensconced in the world of television, rather than out in the world observing and experiencing people from other cultures. Another part of it could come down to the writer's room and those writers not being as strong in their abilities to have a discernible impact. Writers who are confident in their craft tend to speak up. The culture surrounding P&G soaps vs. other soaps. I made the reference to the Korean aviation industry because there was a known pathology that was causing the industry to have an obscene amount of crashes in the 80s until they did the unthinkable, broke longstanding tradition in order to fix it. Marland wrote many wonderful stories at ATWT, even the ones that didn't go all the way through to reach their full conclusions. The story he began about the wounds in the Franklin family-- the rift between Roy and his father due to Roy's choice of profession being linked to the police, who his brother died at the hands of, is the type of story soaps today are not even brave enough to tell now. For his faults, I will always applaud his efforts, in pulling off even half of it. And soap production moves so fast that perhaps Marland needed a team he could speak short-hand with, and they'd "get it" and take the ball and run with it, with not much oversight.