BetterForgotten

No surprise, but Tamzin Outhwaite is leaving. Mel's return has been one big bomb - John Yoke only brought her back because she was his friend but had no idea what to do with her, and it's clear that Oakes/Sen had little interest in her as well https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/2019071175224/eastenders-tamzin-outhwaite-leaving-soap-details/

Devon having sex with "Aunt Tyra" after he found out she wasn't his aunt anymore was disgusting a really bizarre writing choice.

Tammin Suresucks was awful as Colleen, but killing off the character in general was very shortsighted and cruel. They should have written her out and recast a few years later. MAB and her cronies were terrible for doing that, especially since Traci never had other kids.

I do think it was very strange the show never had or tackled any LGBTQ issues or characters. For a show set in a college, that was a big miss. Especially the African American LGBTQ existence. I know it was the late 80's/early 90's, but still...

Maybe @vetsoapfan or someone actively following the soaps at this time can comment on the competition between them and how difficult in the pre-internet and even pre-VCR days it was to keep up with all of them, especially when major developments and stories were unfolding. In a week where AW expanded to 90 minutes, Roger's rape of Holly on GL, the Wade Meecham murder on EON, and Karen Wolek's testimony on OLTL - how the heck could you keep up if you followed all these shows, lol? Were some of these stories looked upon fondly only years later but weren't at the time (obviously AW's 90 minute expansion seemed to be a bomb from the start)?

Apparently due to her erratic behavior and showing up late to tapings. Her relationship with Cosby had deteriorate by that point, but looking back and knowing what we know about Cosby now, I do wonder what the dynamics of their relationship was like. Bonet has refused to particulate in just about every reunion of TCS.

I mean, I also don't think Bill Cosby would have wanted his TV daughter's pregnancy written into that show anyway. Hell, when Denise returned to TCS, he made her a damn step-mom in a rushed marriage.

Interestingly, the week AW went to 90 minutes seems to be a very iconic week for P&G soaps - Roger's rape of Holly on GL and the Wade Meecham murder on EON both aired that same week. Likely to stifle AW's 90 minute expansion.

Scott Borchetta is basically calling Taylor a liar Justin Bieber and Demi Lavato both support Braun

Most artists don't own their masters. This is not unique to you, Taylor. Just another case to play the victim yet again? I do think Scooter Braun is a pig, but the music industry is a business. No record company is going to sign a new or young artist and give them 100% ownership of their catalog.

Linda said they placed her on the backburner for a year or so after she won the Emmy. At the time, she credited JFP for "bringing Felicia back to life." Though the story was HATED by fans, Linda, John, and Anna loved the Felicia/John/Sharlene story (which obviously won Anna the Supporting actress Emmy).

To put it into perspective, we only had about a year of the solo Latham run, we had YEARS of MAB and her cronies writing some of the most offensive trash, and the horrible PR and interviews they gave defending it. Not to mention, Tom Casiello on his Twitter being one of their mouthpieces.

I loved MS up until around 2005, when it seemed like she gave up and stopped trying to add nuance to her work. She had a great run in the 90’s and early 00’s. Once the tics, her alleged storyline demands, and poor writing started to take over, I was ready for her to go. Gina seemed like a breath of fresh air because she was very committed to playing the material no matter how terrible it could be. She never tried to phone it in like MS did later in her last stint.

I was never that enthused about the Donna Swajeski era and found it to be pretty generic and run of the mill soap (for the most part) when most of it reran on SoapNet. I personally would hardly call it the best show on daytime at that point when so many shows were probably on their last truly great era and much higher rated. It’s too bad we never really got that second stint from Lemay - but then, over the longterm, who knows if lightning would have struck twice (it rarely does).

Well, apparently it wasn’t unusual for JER to tell his breakdown writers to “make things up as long as you stretch one day worth of material out for weeks.” That would often be the only direction he gave those breakdown writers from what I’ve heard. Still that writing team was very loyal to him, so I guess he treated them well overall.

His notorious contracts with NBC and DAYS must have helped soften the blow. His estate must still be getting paid rather handsomely, lol

Most likely Jim Reilly was making this sh!t up as he went along and just gave up somewhere along the way when he realized it was never going to taken as more than a joke, and all NBC cared about was that 12-17 demo (which ultimately wasn't enough by the time they cancelled the show).

Madonna Achieves Ninth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Madame X' Madonna continues to have the second-most No. 1 albums among female artists, trailing only Barbra Streisand, who has 11. Among all acts, The Beatles have the most No. 1s, with 19. They are followed by Jay-Z (14), Streisand and Bruce Springsteen (both with 11), Elvis Presley (10), Eminem, Garth Brooks, Madonna and The Rolling Stones (all with nine). Madonna is a frequent visitor to the top 10 of the Billboard 200, having notched at least four top 10 albums in each of the last four decades (‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s and ‘10s). Madame X marks her 22nd top 10, and fourth of the ‘10s. Earlier in the decade, she reached the region with her last studio effort, Rebel Heart (No. 2 in 2015), MDNA (No. 1, 2012) and the live album Sticky & Sweet Tour (No. 10, 2010). Madonna’s first top 10 came nearly 35 years ago, when her self-titled debut album climbed 12-10 on the Oct. 6, 1984-dated chart. It eventually peaked at No. 8 two weeks later (Oct. 20). The diva would place five top 10s in the ‘80s, seven in the ‘90s, six in the ‘00s and now four in the ‘10s.

This is a great article from Vice: The Guide to Getting Into Madonna, Holy Mother of Modern Pop

He seems to be a big fan of ‘This Is Us’ based on his Twitter. That’s probably the type of series he’d love to write (Nancy Curlee, too, for that matter).

How sad that Jamey fuckin’ Giddens has a series with OWN and some of our actual greats have never been offered anything outside of the current daytime factory?

On B&B, you can always tell what episodes are written by him and Michele Val Jean because everyone else is not up to par...