BetterForgotten

Back to basics since she's basically irrelevant these days? It's almost tragic how quickly she peaked in her career, and how much of her downfall has been her own doing.

^^^^^Ms. Garrett is marvelous in that episode. It pisses me off that she never gets the credit she deserves and never won an Emmy.

Anne Kirkbride Has Passed Away

It would definitely have to be a character she was passionate about, I assume. Out of the characters on the show now, she wrote a lot for Stacey (she practically was the one responsible for making the character successful after a rocky start), Sharon, and Kat & Alfie during her original stint. None of these characters seem important to the show anymore though. But a Dot centered story is a safe bet, as she seems to be the character writers return for (well, Tony Jordan at least).

Interesting, Sarah Phelps is coming back to write one episode in March. I wonder what the episode is about. She always turned in great work even when the show was sh!t. https://twitter.com/dominictc/status/553596554473656320

BBC Three is going to be doing an updated cliffhanger countdown for the 30th Anniversary. I can't imagine it will change much from the one they did 5 years ago... http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dfdq5c/eastenders-30-years-of-cliffhangers--series-1---episode-1

EastEnders is always at its worst when it tries to recycle old iconic cliffhangers. Stuff like Sharongate and the Kat/Zoe reveal are once in a lifetime moments. The fact that they keep trying to recycle these same set-ups over and over again throughout the years makes the reveals and storylines so contrived and lackluster.

Is that supposed to be Babyface and LA Reid in the studio in that clip? LOL

I'll be annoyed if they ignored Robyn Crawford's part in Whitney's life in this biopic.

Two rough demo leaks apparently from Madonna's upcoming album: http://www.projectu.tv/madonnas-new-single-rebel-heart-is-here-in-full-and-amazing/

Patsy had to have known she wasn't exactly going to be getting anything if she moved to the States. She's over 40, has a thick cockney accent that I doubt she could hide well, and is not a classic beauty. The timing is just totally wrong for her. That said, I do not miss her on EE when I do watch. Bianca had become such insignificant and extremely grating character by the end that I was happy to see her go. Janine/Charlie Brooks is a different story though, as she basically carried the show during a really terrible era (which IMO has yet to end). Though, I can't see this new show working out well for her either and doubt she'll get any US roles as well.

32ab41432f31f6d1b76984e222ecb6eb " data-width="466"> Post by BBC One.

Yeah, and Adele only really blew up with her 21 album. Despite Taylor's strong front-loaded sales, she's never manged to come close to getting a diamond album (and likely Adele will the last person to ever achieve that feat). Adele is also a bigger global star/seller. I think an album that sells consistently well over time is much more impressive than front-loaded first week sales. An album that sells well over time is just an extremely rare case these days.

They're recasting Martin Fowler: http://www.soapsquawk.co.uk/news/eastenders-confirm-recast-of-martin-fowler.php#results At this point, just have him return briefly so he and Sonia can leave again, please...

I always get a kick out of seeing Liz Hubbard as such a dynamic younger woman after loving her for years as Lucinda.

Madonna This Used to be My Playground [Long Version] from Modestas Polikauskas on Vimeo.

I don't think I appreciated this song when it was a hit in 2000 (late 1999 for Europe), but having just rediscovered it after hearing it on a local radio station, I think it was a great pop ballad for that time.

She got caught up with the sex kitten image after Herb Ritts (most famous for his photos with Madonna and 80's/90's super models) made her explore her sexuality for the first time with the Love Will Never Do video. It was cute when she explored it more on the janet. album, but then she never grew out of that phase and kept doing the same routine over and over again. It got very tiring. Janet wanted to wear a dress for that video, but Herb insisted she wear a tank top and a pair of jeans, and suddenly a new Janet emerged.

I do think she's underrated to a degree, and I don't know if we can necessarily blame the Super Bowl fiasco for ending her pop career, but something seemed to go wrong with her career after her divorce from Rene Elizondo. I know a lot of people over the years have alleged he was a big part of her music when they were together and there's been a noticeable change ever since they separated. She had a great string of music videos and pop hits, but she never really got the same type of attention, global fame, and media domination that Michael and Madonna got for much of that same era.

I also think Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's production just wore very thin after a while. Her collaboration with them stopped working after her 1993 janet. album, IMO. It hit an all time low by the All For You album in 2001. She probably should have branched out from them sooner than she did, but probably couldn't since much of her success at the time was due to them and their sound.

It didn't go to the top 10 like the other Control singles, but I think Pleasure Principle is her best video: