Vee

Frank may or may not like Liz but he understands her cachet with the audience. That's why he pairs her up with his favorite OLTL stars. Not because he hates her, but because he knows a lot of the audience loves Herbst and will follow her into any terrible storyline or pairing. He uses Liz/Becky to put Howarth and Easton over to the audience.

The discussion on the main television subreddit about this is full of horror stories about Berlanti/CW productions (and many other high profile ones which will likely come as no surprise). I knew conditions were very bad on these and other shows, but I haven't worked crew since college so I didn't know it was quite that draconian.

Woof! I don't get these shows or the creeps they employ.

This old rumor from 2016 is making the rounds again, in light of recent new rumors claiming an international female star has been approached to play the Doctor. This obviously didn't occur but I do think Swinton is a one of a kind talent who could've nailed a single series, like Eccleston. @DRW50

Tripp, like most RC males, is there to be hot, take his shirt off and be completely snowed by vixens and villains. That is his only function.

I'll have to take a few to be able to give a more substantive response on that, @DramatistDreamer. I do think the pandemic has shown a lot of the public the urgency of a need for some sort of universal basic assistance, even if we're likely years from even considering properly adopting it in this country. Meanwhile:

You were warned!

Based on limited material available I think both Pfenning and Tribbey were very arch and different than Alice. As you said, Tribbey in particular reminded me more of Iris.

Admittedly at a glance, all of the recasts seemed way off to me except for Harney who was a serviceable replacement at best. Tribbey seemed like she was playing a completely different person - a fine actress, but nothing like Courtney's Alice. Very remote and/or arch. It was bizarre seeing what various shapes they seemed to keep trying to mold the character into, from Pfenning to Tribbey to the amazingly bad Borgeson.

They're right about The Wire. I don't count Twin Peaks since it began in 1990, but those two are the top for me TV-wise with a bullet. The Americans is an exceptional slow, slow burn and everyone should watch it too.

I watched some of the 80s Steve/Alice story recently. Linda Borgeson is easily one of the worst soap actresses I've ever seen - period. Shockingly bad, especially in the reveal scenes with Canary. It was never going to work, nor do I think they should've tried to recast a singular presence like Reinholt's Steve with IMO a very different actor in Canary.

Is this for all PBS stations across the country? Tragic.

I think Finn is actually great, but until recently I'd never seen her in anything other than Tremors which I've loved for decades so I'm a bit biased. Obviously that casting would never fly today, but I do think she's great with everyone involved.

If they controlled it as much as they wanted to they wouldn't always get ratioed. Politico's narratives in particular rarely take hold in the public these days but they try hard to push them anyway. Few resonate outside the Beltway, which is why you often see stuff trial ballooned on TV and then grudgingly walked back. (Remember how California was going to be a major referendum on the Democratic Party?)

Sam Stein of, wait for it, Politico gets ratioed over snarking about Buttigieg being "MIA" on paternity leave, then digs in against basically half of political Twitter including Politico nemesis Neera Tanden before throwing a fit and logging off/ragequitting. This is just a small taste of the rest I won't post.

I think showbiz stories can work but rarely do, bc few shows know how to execute. It too often comes back to 'making a film in town with the civilian characters as stars!' I like the idea of using entertainment industry characters like Dillon Q on GH, but his dreams never executed well onscreen. Megan on OLTL at least had her soap opera filming in town and was a proper actress. You can do it, but most soaps get so focused on finding a way to enmesh the characters and town into it without it feeling organic or sensible. I'd like to see it attempted with more intelligence - I think we need more artist characters like that. But DOOL's take is silly camp, again.

McConnell blinked on the debt ceiling bc he was afraid the pressure was on those two too much to pierce the filibuster. That drama will repeat in December, and it probably won't be the last time. When you have Jim Clyburn talking about a filibuster extension, that is what is in the wind.

I don't think so. She's clearly feeling the pressure which is why she's begun to release increasingly irate, irrational public statements.

Not in the last hour since I posted it, no, which of course means nothing will.

Sorry, Sinema.

I don't believe for one second Sonny's organization doesn't work with drugs and guns. My personal take has always been that he takes a cut of them through subsidiaries and other partners, turns his head and pretends. I was under the impression Sonny has always been named as being involved in racketeering and gambling. They've gone after him on RICO charges more than once. I remember intimations that he used to be involved in the sex work trade in PC too and 'keeping the girls safe', but they may have dialed back on that in recent years.

I knew she was just gonna show up to play the damn piano!

Yeah, I meant the magazine.