DramatistDreamer

As a rejoinder to the article I previously posted about Republican retirements--it is now being said that Darrell Issa of CA is retiring.

This article cites gerrymandering as the one advantage that the GOP has to hold onto but clearly this was written before the ruling in NC, which I don't think will be the last of its kind, IMO. Republican Retirements Raise Talk of Democratic Wave in November

A Judge rules against Trump's plan to terminate DACA.

Which is especially odd since Rose got the boot way before Lauer. They could've kept going along with no announcements and it would've been fine but I have to remember that this is CBS...and Les Moonves Here's the inevitable anti-Me Too backlash but probably not from where most people would expect.

I read that the Republicans (Charles Grassley, chief among them) at first agreed then stalled on releasing this transcript, so Sen. Feinstein got fed up and decided to release it now.

To be fair though, Gayle and Oprah have been friends since the 70s, I think. Before Oprah was ever on The Oprah Winfrey show. I mean, Oprah's middle name is Gail, for Pete's sake . I've just learned to accept that they are inextricably linked at this point, especially after Gayle is divorced from her cheating hubby.

We almost made it through a day without more news. I'm not much of a comic book fan but this strikes me as dispiriting, if unsurprising at this point.

Speaking of creatures who are just yuck...Joe Arpaio is running for Senate??!

I wasn't old enough to watch in the 70s (Phillip Chancellor began before I was born) but I definitely know who the character was. And thankfully in the mid-late 90s especially, Y&R actually showed classic episodes and clips. The Canadian fans seem the most effusive in their praise. DR was a staple on Canadian television. It's nice to see that he is being appreciated, even if little of it is coming from the soap world.

Bill Bell Sr. sure wrote his characters to be highly memorable! Today's soap writers seem to struggle with this, which is why we often get legacy characters and popular characters from the past being revived and the stories often still flop! One thing I noticed about the DR tweets on social media-- most of the plaudits and condolences are from fans of BSG, Soap, even the Golden Girls and Empty Nest, with a lot from fans of various Canadian shows over the decades like Da Vinci's Inquest but very few regarding his Y&R work. Yes, he was only on two years but his character's influence lasted decades, as @yrfan1983 said. I suspect many, from today's showrunners to the majority of today's soap bloggers really don't know all that much about his work.

Why do they need a third talking head at this point? Gayle and Norah seem to be doing just fine.

Y&R has had chances to show true classic episodes over the years. That episode where Katherine pleads with him to stay would've been a powerful one. Instead we get "classics" from a year ago.

Oh no, Donnelly Rhodes has passed away. May he R.I.P.

If taxpayers are footing the bill for Kellyanne and Sarah's MUAs, I don't want to hear another Trump supporter claim that I have no right to critique their poorly-done makeup jobs.

This is an interesting take, and one not enough people are discussing.

This statement posted about Roseanne Barr, LOL.

Has Trump ever been the one fully making decisions? For almost a year, I've gotten the feeling that nobody is in charge. Just a staff tiptoeing around an explosive 'personality' hoping he won't blow and trying to cover his tracks when he has the inevitable tantrum or outburst.

Yeah, congratulations to Nick for winning in Brisbane. TBH, he looked pretty darn happy to win a title in his home country. As for Novak, there's this.

Really pleased for Gael and how he's starting his season. I hope builds on this success.

Also, talk about awful to hear--Ben Vereen is facing allegations of sexual assault during a 2015 production of Hair in Florida. Apparently he has apologized for "inappropriate" behavior. Ben Vereen Accused of Sexual Assault During 2015 Florida Production of Hair It's become painstakingly clear that we really can no longer be surprised by the breadth of this sexual misconduct epidemic anymore.

Aren't they supposed to be in Echo Park? It may be a case of trying to tackle too many issues at once but I believe Echo Park has been undergoing some pretty radical changes with gentrification and some of that was mentioned in the previous season. (Also, Schneider who manages the building is somewhat symbolic of the very hipster that is gentrifying the neighborhood, although they obviously love him and he's a part of their lives- he likely represents the positive side of gentrification ) Also, I think that showrunner lived in Echo Park and perhaps feels like setting the show there, she can draw on her personal knowledge of the area so that her characters feel more realistically grounded in a specific place, rather than writing generalities about somewhere abstract or somewhere she doesn't know that much about. When I write, I like to be as specific as I can, the writing feels more genuine to me. One complaint I had about a show like Friends was despite the fact that they were supposed to be set in NYC, it didn't truly feel like NYC. I still enjoyed the show but that aspect grated a little.

Calhoun gets credit from me. I consider them to be a team. Yes, Marland was out in front but perhaps Calhoun also preferred it that way. In most forms of media entertainment the EP wasn't really out in front, that's a relatively contemporary phenomenon (and it hasn't been for the better IMHO). Perhaps Calhoun was old-school in that particular way.