BetterForgotten

It's ironic that Labine creatively saved GH, given that ABC destroyed her soap (RH) when they tried to make it into a GH clone. I say 'creatively' because ratings did falter after a while during Labine's stint, which many blamed on the show becoming too topical and depressing. Guza did boost ratings in '96. When the Labine's left in early 1996, ABC almost lured Nancy Curlee to replace them, but she backed out at the last minute and we got Guza instead. I wonder what could have been with a Riche/Curlee team...

Amazing news, Tony Jordan is writing Kat's return episode. I'm not expecting much, but given how much Jordan and Yorke loved the character, it's a nice touch to have her creators reintroduce her: http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a852659/eastenders-spoilers-tony-jordan-kat-moon-return/

It's still amazing she was able to get as much power as she did. I have no doubt she was very difficult to deal with, but she probably had to put up with a ton of sexism to really push through her vision. It's amazing the show was as popular and highly rated as it was with so much backstage drama. There was a point in the early 90's where Roseanne was the most popular woman in America. It was either her or Madonna on the cover of every magazine/tabloid.

You know, I didn't actually mind Roseanne becoming more bitter/mean-spirited in seasons 5 and 6 - I think Roseanne and Darlene's best one-liners and zingers occurred in those seasons. But I know for some people, that's when they started to hate Roseanne as a character.

I thought season 5 was the best season, a good combination of the home-spun feeling of the earlier seasons, with the more adult tone of the latter seasons. The show had to naturally change after season 4 - the kids, for the most part, were grown (and Becky had run off with Mark), so more focus could be paid to Roseanne's life outside of being a mom. They focused on The Lunch Box, but moved away from Roseanne's old friends, and instead focused more on Roseanne's relationships with her mother, Nancy, and Leon. Also, Darlene was a very different character than Becky, so her being left as the main child of focus lent to a different tonal quality on the show.

I think that's what Whitney Cummings said in the 20/20 special, but I don't know if they actually have someone cast in the role of DJ's wife. Also, not to sound insensitive, but the little girl playing his daughter doesn't look biracial, so I'm wondering if she's his biological daughter (not that it matters, family is family).

Yeah, Bonnie (and Crystal to a lesser degree) was phased out after season 4. Roseanne and Bonnie had a rift when Rodbell's was closing down and Roseanne asked Leon for a recommendation to be in management at the mall (Bonnie thought she was more qualified). They made up though when Crystal gave birth at the end of season 4, and I don't think Bonnie was mentioned again after that. Leon was also phased out after season 4, but they brought him back in season 6. I guess because they wanted Roseanne to have a familiar adversary. I still think it's kind of strange Leon isn't in this revival. However, if they do get another season, I do think they'll try to get Martin Mull to make a few appearances.

The dialogue and breakdown staff was largely great in McTavish's first stint. Even when the plots were absurd as hell, much of the day to day writing was excellent in the early/mid 90's.

I don't think they had any idea what to do with her, and what they did give her was offensive and terrible. It might as well have been a completely new character as it didn't bare any resemblance to what the character once was. I also didn't think Jenna was anything special in the role. The dynamics with the characters that meant the most to Michelle (Sharon, Ian, Martin, Kathy, etc) felt very off to me.

And that's another example of a story that Monty would have never done. She was good at big plots and creating larger than life characters, but the depth just wasn't there otherwise. While I see the "fun" element in a lot of her GH work, it's just lacking soul and integrity to me overall.

John Yorke always said he'd never bring Michelle back unless it was Sue Tully in the role, so I guess this makes sense...

Has Nia Long ever really talked about her time on the show in any interviews after she left? I just stumbled upon her Uncensored episode on TV One, and she basically said GL was her first acting gig, and then jumped right into talking about her role in Boys n the Hood. It was so disappointing that she didn't even really talk about it.

Even though she's technically a 1 hit wonder (in the US at least) and this is also a cover, it's a great signature pop song to have if you can only have just one.

Riche also did a good job of checking Tony Geary's ego, and he hated her for that.

To be fair, Riche's last couple of years set a dangerous precedent for the show that it's never really been able to shake ever since (the mob emphasis and the Sonny/Jason/Carly trio as God mentality). All of that started under her leadership. Her last year or two were not very good, IMO.

I think Wendy Riche said that the only real story going on when she joined was a medical malpractice suit against Monica - everything else she said wasn't even a real story.

'Fuller House' Taps New Showrunners to Replace Jeff Franklin

Sorry haters, but the Roseanne revival is a real treat: EW review

I know Wendy Riche's early interviews were not very kind to Monty - I remember Riche going on and on about how there weren't actually any stories going on when she joined the show, at least nothing with any substance..

Did Monty ever give an interview after that disastrous second stint ended? Curious to know what her take was on why it didn't work. It must have been humiliating for Monty to not even make it a full year after her success only a decade prior.

I feel like it was inevitable once the luster of the revival diminished. I'm willing to bet the same thing happens to ABC's revival of Roseanne. Even the original run of W&G was not the sustainable ratings hit it's now somehow now perceived to be (and the show didn't fare that well in local syndication, and floated around for years on cable). Tt has a passionate/loyal audience, and that's enough to keep shows on the air in this present broadcast climate.

It was weird seeing Darlene and Becky hug in that trailer - that would've never happened with they were teens, lol. I think they're going to have to soften Darlene's character a bit in this reboot, as she's now an established mother of two. Darlene arguably had the most charter development/progression in the original series, so it would make sense to me.

The original show was a big hit from the first episode too. Someone on Twitter posted this article - the show premiered the same week as the World Series, and the only scripted show to beat it that week was The Cosby Show (the #1 show on TV at that point, which Roseanne would displace).

This trailer has more scenes from the new season: