j swift

Two Aussie shows on Dailymotion. The Block, a big brother/hgtv hybrid where couples live in a block of houses, renovate the houses, and then auction them off. The homes are lovely and the casting is charming. Also, Playing for Keeps, a Footballer's Wives type soap about WAGs of Aussie Footballers, less camp but still funny with a Rebel Wilson type as the new wife providing us entry into the drama.

touche @jam6242

I wish Lucy Coe's librarian skills had continued to be a part of her character in the same way that Spinelli is always used to search things on the internet. She lost a lot of IQ points during her slapstick period and it would have been cool if she could recall or research facts on command.

Paul Rauch must have amassed a fortune in holding deals over the years. It's the greatest con in Hollywood: get paid to write a treatment, get paid not to sell it elsewhere, and never actually have to produce anything. Also, Fred Mustard Stewart sounds suspiciously fictional; although I'm sure someone will reply that he wrote for daytime for a decade.

Are there any trends or achievements that you've noticed in creating the list? For example, did Melinda O. Fee play the most recast characters (or characters that have been recast)?

This was news to me from 1984

I recall watching the show, and I've read this whole thread, but the family trees still mystify me. Everyone seems to be the same age but Rebecca is Monique's grandmother? I totally don't get Jessica's backstory, was she Jason's mother or his step-mother? Because they seem like they're the same age and Jason and Rob seemed like contemporaries. Was Jessica's only connection to the Whitmore's her friendship with Laura? Did I also miss who was Jason's father? There's so much exposition early on but the fact that every actor had a mullet makes it difficult to remember the differences between Anthony Adabbo and Robert Torti. Also, why did they keep calling him Jason after he learned his real name? Why do fans drag Kelly Rutherford's acting and not the actress who played Monique? She's so wooden the writers seem to have confused her for set dressing. Sam's triangle with Kyle and Jordan reminds me of Siobhan's triangle on Ryan's Hope, but without the finesse or charisma of both guys. This and many more question will never be answered...

I wonder if it means that Friday show will be live because typically they have one tape show per week.

I got chills when they sang Don't Rain on My Parade. However, I was distracted by the combo of Barbra driving so that she was shot from her good side, and the amount of production that went into their vocals; I don't think James Corden could sing that high even before puberty.

@vetsoapfan What was Lacey's story and why didn't she respond to Johnny in the clips shown?

today's tumblr ANOTHER WORLD: Week of June 7 - June 11, 1982 (2:00pm - 60 minutes - NBC) Rachel consoled Steve after he and Alice argued over his rift with Diana. Sally refused to borrow money from Steve when Denny lied to her that he had big gambling debts. Denny began to crack under Joe’s demands for more money. Quinn chickened out about admitting she took bribe money when Bob announced he is separating from Henrietta. Mac refused to print Sandy and Blaine’s information on Stein in Brava. Rachel approved of Jamie and Chris’ romance. Liz panted for Mylo. Julia quarreled with Deke over his wild boozing ways. I'm sure Mac had other reasons, but I applaud the decision not to publish a story about a local mayoral candidate in an International fashion magazine. I hope he was trying to support Pat's legacy, (but I know he wasn't). Also, Steve's back from Finland, which makes me question the inclusion of that detail at all. However, my first sign of a bad writer is when they repeat first names, and my second sign is when the businesses in town suddenly change for plot convenience.

I still don't understand the detail of how Tina failed to recognize her stepfather Ted? Was there a "real" Ted? I would like to see the period after Ted escaped from prison.

There's an amusing note on today's We Love Soaps Day in Soap History. Today in 1984 was Sami/Eric birthday and in 1992 Abigail was born on this date, and it wasn't even sweeps.

For me, this was always Reilly's weakness as a writer. I appreciate making an audience beg for something to happen, but in a Reilly soap universe if the couples would have spoken to each other as often as they spoke to themselves in empty rooms most of those plots would have been over in twenty minutes. Every couple was driven apart by a false sense of loyalty that never sustained logic. And every couple was doomed to have trust issues because they lied to each other about everything from cancer to babies. I'll never forget DAYS after Rielly, Nicole was involved in some cockamamy plot with her ex the mayor, and she was explaining to EJ that she had to go to New York to pick up some plot device for the mayor. EJ consulted with her and explained that she should get the plot device, but now that she had something of value, she could negotiate her way out of her debt to the mayor. It was a dumb plot but it felt like, (in contrast to the prior writing), characters were conscious of their actions rather than just reacting without reason.

How is it explained that Tina can't recognize her own step-father? Also, I'm unclear on his plot. Was he trying to con Tina out of her inheritance from Irene? Was pushing drugs part of his original scheme? Also, is it just that it is nighttime because where is the greenhouse full of ferns by Viki's entry in the carriage house in this scene?

That was great!, thank you - it was so jarring because my initial thought when I saw the thumbnail is that it seemed impossible that Pamela was in Llandview in 1981 Larry was such a good friend to Viki. His speech was a tour de force. I appreciate when writers use character's histories as insight rather than just exposition. Although, it was odd that Larry gave such a personal analysis while Ted, Tina, and Ed were in the other room? Then, Ted ominously listens in, when I'm sure he is aware of Larry disdain given that he there for a drug bust. It is also odd that even though Viki is obviously drugged, she has no response to the idea that Tina might have drugs with her sons in the house? And why did Ed bring Larry along on a police bust? And, is it mandatory that every nurse with a poor prognosis won't let people in the room? Also, I know that there was a real Ted Clayton and a fake-Ted - Is this fake-Ted? And do they live at Ted's house because I don't recognize the set?

I like what Kendall did for Erica, in terms of expanding her story, but I wish her origin story was less contrived. It seems like many soaps realized along the way that they forgot to lay the groundwork for the next generation once their stars began to age. Erica needed a female rival, and if they were related it could create layers and an eventual alliance. When Skye and Hayley were introduced there was a bit of exposition, then they were instantly Chandlers. When Cassie told us she was Dorian's not-previously-mentioned daughter, it seemed plausible. I get that it is more difficult to explain a long lost child for a female character, but there are an infinite number of examples, (from Eterna to stolen-at-birth babies), of how soap writers have worked around the issue. My wish was that Kendall had been Silver's daughter or Mona's niece in order to tie her to Erica but maintain the integrity of her history. Then, creating a third child for Erica out of the "unabortion plot" was the last straw. Because, for me, once you start [!@#$%^&*] around with years of established on-screen history you are underestimating the intelligence of the audience, and I think it is impossible to earn back that respect.

I'm following Classic SOD on Tumblr and 1990 is nuts, (in retrospect), when covering sexuality. I tried to copy/paste but it wouldn't work. Page 56 has a coded story about Terry Lester and his "assistant" who was also his "cheerleader" and catered parties for Merv Griffin. Then, Page 58 has a story about the seminal gay movie "Longtime Companion" and laments how AIDS was really tough for soap writers to deal with. There's also an odd line about how the actor who played Bunny on Santa Barbara couldn't be a cross-dresser in real life because he is getting married. I think any actor has the right to maintain privacy from their fans, but the mixed messages of acceptance, fear, and mocking are remarkable. Considering that SOD rarely named AIDS as a cause of death for actors, it does make one wonder about their editorial choices. Previous daytime magazines had used coded gay language in order to promote the actors as sex symbols, but SOD created a niche as a news source, so their editorial choices are more suspect. 28 years later, I hope Terry Lester's assistant had a nice National Coming Out Day on Thursday.

How many of Marco's siblings were introduced to Llandview? I know he had a twin Mario, but I get confused about Marcello (Stephen Schnetzer) and Gary (Jeff Fehey)? Which one was with Edwina and which one dated Cassie? Were they both killed off?

From today's classic soap recap Tumblr posting ANOTHER WORLD: Week of May 10 - May 14, 1982 Rachel told Steve she thinks Maggie is Jamie’s child. Jason and punk rocker Deek vied for Julia’s favors. Vick is attracted to Cecile. Steve left to open an office in Finland. Cecile vowed to get even with Blaine, who tricked her into signing Sandy’s separation papers. Nicolai is discontented with his country’s government. Thomasina advised Quinn to tell Bob she had taken bribes from Denny. Is this when Steve was killed off in the plane crash? If so, who inherited his company and was it ever mentioned again? Is Frame Construction a subsidy of Blackwater, (was that the rather prescient name of Steve's company?)? Does Quinn get a part of the company? Also, isn't funny how brief these summaries are written given the space limitations of newspapers at the time? It is as if Rachel confesses to Steve, then he turns around and leaves for Finland

I don't want to spoil anything but the UK tabs say she is only in it for this week. That Masquerade ball is going to be fatal.

I read and respect @I Am A Swede's concerns about Kim's return. While I agree that not having Chris, Zoe, or Seth around limits her impact, I am interested in seeing if they sew up some of Kim's loose ends. Where's her son? Is her son really a Tate? What is her impact on Joe? How is she going to insult Charity? I dip in and out of the show, but I will watch all week with some excitement.

There's a scene of Clay asking Gwen about Curtis's mental health, "as a psychologist", on the actor who played Curtis's YT reel. Was Gweneth a psychologist or is Clay just trying to be snarky? I know she worked in a diner, but I had no idea she completed graduate studies.

I went watched and read up on the Rick Alden stuff today. I hadn't realized he was recast from Ron Nummi to Bryan Fitzpatrick right before he was murdered. Loving had a tremendous amount of recasts, and usually not for the better. Given the number of characters, one would think that they could simply replace rather than recast, but that seemed to be the ethos of that period. In my book, both Ricks were too old to be Clay's son. Part of the issue is that he was constantly costumed in suits, but he seemed to also be a maturational peer to his father. I know Clay and Gweneth were teens when they had Rick but he still appeared much older than Curtis or Trisha . It also doesn't help that both Gweneth and Clay take multiple lovers who seem to be even younger than Rick. I think it was easier to kill him off because of these discrepancies. Also, at the end, Gweneth is so upset that Trisha might be dead, or just won't talk to her, but I don't recall her even mentioning that Rick was murdered.

As I recall, both Leanna and Victoria were established early on as being literally "frigid". It was an interesting choice for the time, given the rise in HIV awareness in the 90's. It seemed like they tried it with Leanna, then she was dropped, so they carried on the theme with Victoria, but then that issue fell by the side as she grew older. Female libido was a theme in soaps twenty years ago, I wonder why it is no longer explored?