DramatistDreamer

Not sure where else to place this but see if you can spot the “blink and you’ll miss it” moment with Jerry verDorn in this ABC News piece with Stephanie Mills, where she talks about how the buzz around The Wiz escalated once the promotion began in earnest as a result of the church groups attending performances in large numbers.

Maurice Dubois nearly flubbed the name but at least there was some genuine sentiment in this all too brief segment.

At this time, I have been mourning the loss of a loved one, in addition to juggling a number of other matters (not ready to come back regularly) but after just hearing this news, I had to visit this site at least once to pay my regards Ms. Hubbard. This post says nothing but the truth.

A very timely read, delivered by Professor Henry Louis Gates.

Depends on the era. The tone of these shows could shift and change depending on who is at the helm. I don’t think the tone was ever consistently the same for any of my favorite shows

You have to look closely because she’s in the background. I really don’t know how my eyes caught her when she’s nearly out of frame.

From the moment I saw that those backup dancers were working extra hard and Rihanna’s feet were planted, I knew what was up, lol. Congratulations to her!

Sometimes dreams really do come true.

3 ft and Rising was a seminal work.Years ago, in a fit of pique De La Soul made their entire discography available for download for free. A gift. R.I.P Plug 2.

Some time ago, I noticed that Heather Rattray appeared on a Season 5 episode of Frasier, called “Life Of The Party”. It was an uncredited role from what I could gather. I saw the episode awhile ago and kept forgetting to post about it. I don’t know if anyone else noticed it.

Served absolutely no purpose, afaic. Lily, despite spending precious formative years away from Neil, is more like Neil in personality and temperament than she is to either Dru or Malcolm (especially as portrayed by CK).

This article caught my eye. I haven’t read it yet so I am kind of bookmarking it.

Didn’t TV Guide used to do a brief weekly synoptic of the soaps too or am I mistaken? I remember there used to be these intriguing ads for some soaps with photos of different characters from their respective shows. I can’t really imagine any of today’s daytime soaps getting that type of ad space in mainstream media (then again, TV Guide itself is no longer the ubiquitous periodical it used to be) on a regular basis, without the story being a cancellation or an anniversary or an appraisal of a specific actor. Do people remember Clarence and his radio commentary on soaps like Y&R? I think I first saw him doing promos for CBS Daytime, then I went away to college and realized he had an entire radio show (before the big conglomerates swooped in, carved up and ultimately wrecked terrestrial radio)

Hester Sue from Little House on the Prairie! I need to check this interview out sometime soon.

Was it Syria that also had a catastrophic earthquake years ago? Turkey has notoriously awful construction of buildings, very low standards for how and where construction is allowed to take place. From what I’ve read, the government allowed construction on actual fault lines. This disregard for safety has comes as a tragic cost for the people.

Speaking only for myself but as a kid in the 80s, I got into it seeing my mom watch sometimes. She worked outside the home and when her shift changed, I wanted to record her soaps for her and taught myself how to program a VCR and soon found myself wanting to get home early at least to catch the end of what soon became my favorite soap. It’s the feeling of anticipation, really wanting to get home to see what happens next. And if there was a lineup of soaps that you watched, it felt like there was always a storyline to grab your attention and hook you. It’s the agony and ecstasy of wanting a story to unfold (will the villain’s dubious deeds finally be revealed? Will the long suffering characters finally feel relief and resolution? Will torn apart lovers finally be reunited?), even as you enjoy the story and performances all the way. It’s the absolute certainty that, even as one story ends, another story is unfolding and will be just as compelling. It’s the feeling of everything be laid out in front of your eyes and not seeing the limits even when there was executive and/or network interference, etc. Just artists being innovative and creative. Not being obsessed with behind the scenes, just enjoying what’s in front of you onscreen.

Speaking of Frenchies, by birth anyway. Franco-American.

The Frenchies have a bunch of up and comer cute guys in their ranks.

Yes, I read that same article this morning, that’s why Moonves was on my mind when I posted the comment. That article that @wonderwoman1951posted contains a tidbit about how some of the directors and others he had worked with intended to back him regardless of the accusations or his admissions of misconduct. It was actually Shari Redstone’s lawyer who convinced them to hold off until the internal investigations were completed. So Moonves definitely held considerable sway, even among those who had considered themselves to have clout in their own right.

All networks seem to have shallow, idiotic executives but it seemed like CBS had more than their fair share of idiots, or is it the Les Moonves factor that makes it seem that way?

I mean Molly married Jake, who was far from the stereotypical soap stallion. Molly and Andy, for whatever reason, we’re never going to be serious. Then there’s Denise. Again, they were never going to be a genuine couple. I guess Ben could be looked at as a hunk but not in the typical way soap hunks are made. Very few of the actors who played Paul Ryan could be considered soap hunks (cute, yes, attractive, sure) but Paul also had far more romantic pairings than Andy.

JMO but I think the actress got quite a bit of unnecessary vitriol for playing a character. Yes, Courtney was neurotic and insecure but by the way people tended to talk about her, you would have thought she was an axe murderer. Sad thing is, after she departed, Andy’s prospects for a genuine and lasting romantic relationship eventually dried up. I mean, his parents had more active love lives than he did!

What a discography! Bacharach’s biography is worth reading too, especially the audiobook version.

It would have been one or the other, not both. And frankly, given the Stewart family having had a much more extensive history, I would have opted for Ullrich as a Betsy recast. In the late 90s, there would have been enough distance between Diana’s last appearance on the canvas that viewers could have accepted it. I mean, even Betsy would have been off the canvas for several years by then. I am not talking about the Marland years, I am talking about when the show would have been in desperate need of a revived Stewart clan- in the last dozen years of the show’s existence. I wasn’t watching either when that disgusting hookup happened on the show and I am forever grateful that I wasn’t watching at that time. I picked up the show again a bit later but man, am I glad I had taken a break from watching during that time!! Yes!! We are sympatico! Aren’t I lucky to have missed both of these hookups?!

I left them for dead when Musty took over. It used to be a relatively efficient way to find specific articles, especially gifted links that allowed free access. That is the only reason I stuck with it for so long. The rest of the app was/is a hell scape.