Vee

A major tragedy. Eric Boehlert of Media Matters has died in an accident. Meanwhile:

Awful. RIP.

Ironically, one of Ron's worst stories before everything got really rough at OLTL for the first time was when the show hired a young girl to play a deranged teen, Lola Montez. The actress: Camila Banus.

It honestly feels like someone has it out for Linsey Godfrey. I remember how they did Sean Kanan. But who knows, she may just be loving having fun with this nonsense, as I imagine many of the actors on the show do.

Speaking of JL's family keeping archives, as we've noted before Ellen Holly has claimed to have a number of her key/early episodes via local affiliates - maybe as kinescopes, I'm not sure. I'm willing to bet if they have some, a lot of other actors do, across many shows.

It was always intended to be three seasons, owing to Stewart's age - they said so from the very beginning. I do enjoy it a lot, and Trek content is pretty much nonstop on CBS All Access/Paramount Plus atm.

On Ron's shows the character that objects to the 'fun' story is always the bad guy, a moralistic scold who will be shown to be a hypocrite. On GH this extended to Cameron Webber opposite Nicolas Bechtel's scheming Spencer, back when the wooden little boy playing him still had baby teeth.

A bold move, Cotton.

The shock twist of a barely-committed actor who is commuting for his real job not being onscreen is not one Ron wrote.

King shít, A+

IIRC most of what they did with the time jump was undone within a couple months.

DAYS could've made the time jump really innovative. They chose not to because they were lazy.

Lukewarm take: I think EE has been flirting for any number of years on being close to the kind of cruising altitude, 'too big to fail' mindset that currently preoccupies Y&R stateside. Obviously Y&R has a much, much lower budget and culturally relevant footprint in America atm than EE still does in the UK. EE's budget and the overall investment from its parent company is also elephantine compared to any American soap, and I believe there is some creative energy. They are not simply going through the motions in the way Y&R now - Y&R, on top for decades, has no real competition and is comfortable simply marking time for CBS with minimal effort in its own stories. EE is not marking time, but it is also never really fully energized. Like Y&R they have been an institution for so long, with a guaranteed audience and more security than the American soaps, that they're simply not innovating much or challenging themselves. You can predict most of their story patterns, including and up to stunts like who will die in the next murder mystery or disaster. They have a comfort level in knowing they're not going anywhere, so they don't have to consider really shaking up what they do. It's not the same kind of apathy as Y&R, but it is laziness IMO.

The legendary Kate Mulgrew (RH) and Robert Duncan McNeill (AMC) are featured in this extended look at an upcoming Star Trek: Voyager documentary.

They had people changing in the backs of cars and sharing a single bathroom in the one (IIRC) full IRL house they had to use for the shoot. Half the exteriors of people's homes looked like condemned territory in the Balkans. They had no adequate sound mixing, both a convenience store and a church 'created' back at the EP's office, and Spaulding 'press conferences' with some folding chairs in an open field. Most things were beyond their budget.

It's a riff on the old DAYS magazine covers. I have zero faith in them saving anything.

If they legit give Liz DID I am going to be so far beyond tired. Liz is running close behind Sharon on Y&R for hot mess and mental illness story. And this show has already played that story out very poorly before. You can see it in Nik's eyes about Esme, IMO. If this show was well-written they'd play up the age difference with MC and MW and have Ava's insecurities and their differences over the kids push him into Esme's arms. They will end up in bed, but I have no faith in this show having the balls to let Nikolas just fúck this girl - he'll be drugged and framed or something.

Technically, soaps have done a 'dream season' if we're counting Dallas. Of course it's not daytime.

It has taken entirely too long to see her again after taking OLTL 2.0 by storm, but Kelley Missal was a pregnant mob wife in the fifth episode of HBO Max's Minx. I know she was on one of their teen shows recently too (obviously not a teen anymore). @DRW50

Lulu was married to Dante a long time. You can't go much younger. And I know Todd renamed it the Sun. I'm trying to recall what happened to it since, or if that's the Invader.

"The Plan to Save Y&R!"

The reason I (mostly) don't support recasting Lucky again is essentially because of how seamless, IMO, JJ's contract return was after so long and it being relatively unthinkable. The stories became a mess but he fit like a glove, including as a heroic but roguish cop and with Dominic Zamprogna (a duo which, as I've said so often, should've become the Luke and Scorpio or ugh, Sonny and Jason of the 2010s-onward), and he legitimized the character again. He elevated everything he did, even as a fully grown adult. I feel like nothing is ever going to touch that and he makes anything that came after him forgettable. Plus, JJ is supposedly open to another return in some form. Nashville's been gone a while now. If that's true and if he could be lured back even on a recurring basis (and by 'recurring' I mean 'Frank Valentini recurring' - or like Cady McClain was 'recurring' at ATWT in her early years there), I would leap at it. That being said... if it isn't possible, now is probably when I'd reluctantly move to recast Lucky again. But I would go after a name, as Y&R once did with Justin Hartley pre-This is Us. I would find another talented, grown-up teen idol from JJ's generation - there are a lot of them out there, doing TV and indie film - and get someone from the same era and generational memory, with some of the same presence, talent and stature, so that the audience could relate it back to JJ and realize we didn't just go out and get another 2000s-era Jacob Young (or Jeff Branson, another mooted choice who I feel is past his sell-by for the role). If Will Estes wasn't happily ensconced on primetime these days and was still a jobbing actor I'd pick him. If Devon Sawa wasn't having a major career resurgence in genre work and TV (seriously, he's very good) I'd pick him! But there's always options. Still, JJ is the first choice for me, period.

Lord, some things never change. Diane is still a camp event who looks like a gay hand puppet. It just occurred to me that yes, bringing back Lulu with the right strong recast (God knows who) or a somehow-adrenalized Julie Berman as Lulu Spencer, Adventure Reporter would be a good fit at the Invader (what happened to the PC Press or whatever Todd called it?) with Alexis as her boss.

An immortal legend.