Vee

Tika Sumpter, Eden Riegel and Kristen Alderson are also in the comments.

A brief clip from Series 1/14 (allegedly debuting in May?) and I think the first episode, or so I've heard, from the Doctor Who Unleashed BTS show: @DRW50 will be pleased to hear that per reasonably reliable leaks - it's not a huge spoiler but a nice return of past minor characters - Speculation abounds that Mrs. Flood is anyone from River (highly unlikely IMO) to the Rani to Old Ruby Sunday, but I still am betting on Susan. Meanwhile, rumor has it that Indira Varma is playing

Oh man! I do remember the scenes where Marina discovered Harley had gotten with rugged heterosexual Cyrus - another needless insta-pairing on the show that went nowhere (Cyrus got it on with the faux Cassie not long after). I will say I thought that was one time Peapack's microbudget rawness worked for the material and Bruno was actually solid; Harley kept rambling on about how their affair had happened and Marina simply kept repeating 'are you going to stop [seeing him]?' And of course Harley did not, though they broke up very soon after when Ehlers left.

LOL I'd forgotten his other terrible roles. He was supposed to be hot at that time from Port Charles - they tried him everywhere, and it all flopped. Be careful? I have her quote about my buddy @Darn in my sig!

I also find the choice of death boring. If you'd really wanted to shock me, kill Phil. @DRW50 is right that EE has become rote with these holiday stunts. There is a reason Doctor Who was already making jokes about the death surrounding Walford Christmases like @NothinButAttitude mentioned as far back as 15 years ago. They're famous for them and when they hit they do very well (I won't be forgetting the deaths of the Mitchell sisters any time soon), but watching first Dennis then all the veteran matriarchs needlessly die off in fairly speedy succession across holiday seasons has left me pretty numb to it. Plus I find most of the big bombshells now are diminishing returns. The show knows people expect them to do these big setpieces and leans into it, but the stories and executions makes me care less and less. I don't think you have to get rid of something that is a key part of the show's traditions and garners them huge numbers, but you do have to find a way to make me care beyond shock value. I haven't cared much about EE in a long time. Their promo game remains impeccable, but the content is the problem. As for Linda, I admit I only keep half an eye on the show from time to time but I feel like inevitably she will be the one on the Christmas butcher block in a couple years. I just don't think she has a long-term future without Mick.

I liked how the disastrous Brian Gaskill Dylan recast got memory-holed. IIRC Morgan Englund just came back at the end and all was forgotten. Mandy Bruno seemed like a nice enough girl but Marina as a character was supremely bland with her in the role. I remember when Wheeler just began pairing up people who were dating IRL like the Mormon collective family she very clearly envisioned the show as being - Mallet and Marina, disgusting since she was born when he was first on the show (to say nothing of when they put her with Alan-Michael, who IIRC literally thought he was her father) but in Wheeler's mind Bogue and Bruno are together IRL so why not, right? I thought (and still think) Robert Bogue was really talented (I will never forget him turning up in a series of eccentric roles in the Grand Theft Auto games, including the central villain of GTA5, but even wilder was OLTL original cast member Doris Belack in GTA4). He had chemistry with a lot of people, so of course the show chained him to the worst possible option til the very end of the run. Then there was the whole alleged drama with him, Ehlers, etc. BTS. It was not a secret that Grant allegedly quit/was fired under a cloud, and they spent years trying to coax him to return. I knew that and I hardly watched the show in those days. I'm not saying you didn't know this, to be clear - but anyone else acting like it was some amiable exit is misinformed IMO.

Curious: Susan Twist, who cameod in the Isaac Newton prologue of Wild Blue Yonder, is mysteriously coming back. She can also be sighted, just barely, by eagle-eyed fans who zoomed in on RTD's office wall in the Blue Peter video above; there is a mock magazine cover headlining her as "Susan Triad". Triad is the name of the OS Mel and Donna worked on at UNIT in The Giggle; Mel calls it out.

Stay after the initial fade out for a mid-credit surprise in The Church on Ruby Road. I knew there was something off on @DRW50 will be pleased to hear Anita Dobson is now trending on what remains of Twitter. The Season 1/Series 14 teaser: Both Rose Noble and Mel appear in there. Quick thoughts on the Christmas special: Fun but very lightweight vs. other RTD's other Christmas showstoppers, perhaps to ease the new audience in. Very modern and fresh, wonderful performance by Millie Gibson. This is really her showcase whereas I think Gatwa's first appearance in The Giggle was a bigger spotlight for him - he is kept somewhat at a distance for a good portion as they lay out Ruby Sunday. I don't have a full sense of this Doctor yet but that is not unusual, though he did very well. They are clearly going for a younger energy, more overall current Doctor on par with the dramatic shift Christopher Eccleston brought to the role; it reminds me most of that in that this is something we've never seen from a Doctor before. His tears were striking. The Giggle gave him more range and colors to play but that will come in time. What interests me most besides Mrs. Flood is the goblins. These are creatures that appear to be from realms of fantasy totally alien to the Doctor, a new kind of threat like the Toymaker; did what Fourteen did with the folklore ring of salt in Wild Blue Yonder bring out all sorts of new mess to deal with?

I'll just crosspost from the OLTL thread:

Oh my God. Kamar had a complicated history on OLTL, but I was absolutely spellbound by him in his first stint on the show. As a somewhat sheltered little white boy he first intimidated me, then broke my heart for Carlotta in their early scenes, then swept me away with the unlikely relationship with Andy that I loved, however mawkish it got; I quickly found him the sexiest man alive. His second run was a mess for so many different reasons, but I always felt they should've given him a better sendoff than how he was shuffled off-canvas near the end amidst I think a contract dispute. What a tragedy. My sympathies also to Sherri Saum (Keri), who he has been with for decades.

The episode goes up in about 30 mins - I'll probably watch it shortly after, though I may try live. I am running on a lot of coffee after last night lol.

@Faulkner @DRW50 Disney is going all out: Gatwa and Gibson did a pre-tape for today's Disney holiday parade on ABC. I'll find footage when I can.

Money.

Gatwa talks advice from Matt Smith.

Oh, this is idiotic. Come on, why is he in there?

Holly also made it clear in her memoir she had local affiliate packages of early episodes. It's just tragic some of this may be sorted in future by loved ones or family estates. I would kill to see the AMC pilot.

It's time, @DRW50

This is why I hold out hope for more of so many shows, especially '60s/'70s OLTL where for years we thought we'd never see more of it and now of course we have. We know some cast and crew took home kinescopes, affiliate packages, etc. from their shows. The material is out there.

Two days:

Oh wow. We've heard of this for decades but I never thought i'd see it.

I don't think you bring a name star like Adrienne Barbeau in not to play a meaty role like the tragic black widow of sorts. But I think the way it was actually done onscreen in the Balkan saga was very silly. I'll stand on my island as the person who thought Hetrick was fine!