Y&RWorldTurner

The episodes this week have had some really great Carol scenes, Carl... I wish I still had the energy to discuss full episodes, but being so busy, I tend to just watch and not comment these days...

Lacey Turner was on BBC Breakfast last week promoting BBC Three's Frankenstein’s Wedding…Live in Leeds. It airs live next Saturday... <object width="480" height="264"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xhh1wv_lacey-turner_people"></param><param'>http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xhh1wv_lacey-turner_people"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xhh1wv_lacey-turner_people" width="480" height="264" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhh1wv_lacey-turner_people" target="_blank">Lacey Turner</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/Endersfan" target="_blank">Endersfan</a></i>

I liked Tony and Simon.... <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VLUmtYNcbWQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7aVdhnlOkcQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/flDhjG4J8qs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zGJiW11ct9k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I thought Johnny being cured by a bright light was Long?

Nancy Curlee said that Long had no idea who Roger and Holly were, and it was her insistence that convinced Long to write them back in. In the 89/90 episodes, Curlee and Trent Jones were both Long's Co-HW's, she was the main HW, but she wasn't HW-ing by herself, as is often mistakenly reported for her second stint.

I should add, it appears her voice has matured a bit and gotten a little deeper. It's not as babyish and soft as it used to be, which is a good thing, IMO. She'll never have a spectacular voice, but what she has is being better utilized than it has in a while.

More like the album is too formulaic and "samey" for my tastes, thus I need to be hammered to fully enjoy it. I hope the 5 tracks on the Deluxe edition are better.

No, I don't "love it" at all. It's not as bad as it could have been, but it's not that great either. It's sort of middle of the road. Basically, the only way to enjoy this album IMO, is amongst friends when it's playing in the background at a party, or when you're drunk. It's not really an album I can see myself listening to alone and without the help of a little inebriation.

I can't say anything on the album stands out to me after the first listen. It just sounds a little too "samey" but again, this is Britney, so you can pretty much always expect that. The album was clearly designed for today's top 40 radio climate, but in some way, the production again doesn't sound as contemporary as it should. I suppose it's a fun album to just hang out and dance with friends with over drinks. So, I totally agree with Eric on his similar point. I hope the 5 tracks on the Deluxe edition are better... And yeah, I do think a lot of her fanbase has shifted more to the gay community and those who followed her from the beginning as opposed to more casual listeners.

I don't know, the show has a record of not mentioning people after they've left. Shirley herself mentioned last summer that she wasn't like Sharon, Kathy, or Lisa. So, I guess from that, Phil must have told her something about his love life at one point. But they did acknowledge Sharon having some thought for Phil since she's left. In the Christmas 2008 episode, when Ian was on the phone with Sharon, she told Ian to wish Phil a Merry Christmas from her.

Lauren Klee. Really? Do you mean in recent years? I think both Phil and Grant will always carry a torch for Sharon, and in many ways, she was probably both their soulmates, but Phil wasn't her soulmate (Grant probably is though, but we'll never know), though she did love him and he'll always be a big part of her life. The scene with Shirley about Sharon mirrored a similar one Grant had with Tiffany, where Tiffany basically told Grant that if Sharon walked in wanting him back, he'd leave her and never look back, and like Phil, Grant didn't deny it either. Even though he treated them both like crap after a while, I do think out of all his love interests, Phil really did love both Sharon and Kathy, but probably his love for Sharon ran more deep.

I will never like Shirley and Phil's relationship, but tonight's episode was very well-written, in regards to both Phil and Shirley and Ian and Jane. In fact, they should have probably considered doing a four-hander, if not for Phil and Shirley's non-wedding. I love how Phil wouldn't deny that if Sharon walked back in and said she wanted him that he wouldn't go back to her, becuase he so would go back to her. He just basically said Shirley was the one he wanted right now. I'm glad that both Sharon and Kathy got mentioned today, it shows the show still cares and still recognizes that those two (original) characters had an impact on the show, even if it's just through Phil right now. And we already know both Phil and Grant will never get over Sharon's milkshake. It was important they got brought up too, becuase Phil will never love Shirley in that way, and part of her realizes this, that's why she wouldn't marry him, but still degrades herself to be in a relationship with him. Why are Ben and Jay now some kind of low-rent Grant and Phil knock-off? Will Abi be their Sharon? I have a feeling Shenice is going to come back and Kat and Alfie are going to adopt her, given that they've established that her mother doesn't even like her. Ian and Jane's breakup was really unexpected to me, but I thought it was acted very realistically by Laurie and Adam. I don't know where Ian and Jane can go from here though. I'm surprised the Beale twins have not been recast yet, so I wonder what's up with that family. I don't know if I would have given Phil and Shirley a Julia's Theme ending, but it was still nice to hear...

Just laughably bad: <object id="flashObj" width="550" height="356" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=821998430001&playerID=30407478001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAACkAQxo~,JbFjHxgqCuaKY9yGVUcO1E8B-Lb3CqVn&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=821998430001&playerID=30407478001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAACkAQxo~,JbFjHxgqCuaKY9yGVUcO1E8B-Lb3CqVn&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="550" height="356" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>

I've not had time to watch anything recently, and when I watch in bulk, it's just too much to comment on sometimes. Then again, I barely post anymore as it is, so maybe it's part of not wanting to post much anymore.

I've not seen tonight's episode yet, but I heard Sharon and Kathy both got mentioned, which makes me happy. Even if it's Phil/Shirley related, it needs to at least be mentioned that Phil doesn't love her in the same way he loved Sharon and Kathy.

Carl... Watch tonight's episode, Ian shuts Tanya up real good...

Britney singled out S&M as one of her favourite songs at the moment in the latest Out Magazine:

I only just heard about this. My PBS affiliate here in NYC almost yanked the 2003 repeats off the air because they didn't have enough money to continue airing it. However, the head of the station contacted the EastEnders fanclub and they were eventually able to raise enough funds to continue airing the show for another year. No word yet when the show will return to the schedule though. <object width = "512" height = "328" > <param name = "movie" value = "http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" > </param><param name="flashvars" value="video=1787152160&player=viral&end=0" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param > <param name = "allowscriptaccess" value = "always" > </param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param ><embed src="http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="video=1787152160&player=viral&end=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="512" height="328" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 512px;">Watch the <a style="text-decoration:none !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#4eb2fe !important;" href="http://watch.wliw.org/video/1787152160" target="_blank">full episode</a>. See more <a style="text-decoration:none !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#4eb2fe !important;" href="http://www.wliw.org" target="_blank">WLIW21 Previews.</a></p> I also didn't know my PBS affiliate aired Dot's Story as a stand-alone piece in 2009: http://www.wliw.org/blog/uncategorized/eastenders-dots-story/333/

June Brown signed a new deal with the show: http://www.list.co.uk/article/33102-june-brown-signs-eastenders-deal/

I am not Rihanna's biggest fan, but yes, those songs are great radio/dance-pop hits. They are nothing groundbreaking, but Rihanna's management and record label know how to market her singles, and they don't always sound the same or are a total carbon copy of each other. Rihanna has had the most top 10 hits and #1 hits of any female artist since 2000. I think that's partly a testament to Stargate for keeping her singles relevant and radio friendly. Sandy Vee has definitely added to the Euro-pop feel of their recent stuff though, and I think it has been for the better. I wonder why the Stargate/Sandy Vee song didn't make Britney's main album, but only the Deluxe edition. Maybe it was a last minute thing and just a filler song? I doubt it though. If she wanted to do fun dance/pop that's radio friendly and not so generic, she should have done more stuff with them, IMO. Hold It Against Me was originally written for Katy Perry, and Till The World Ends was definitely something Ke$ha never got to record for herself...

I wonder why the Stargate/Sandy Vee song didn't make the main album, but made the Deluxe version. They've had a string of hit songs recently (and are responsible for keeping Rihanna's career going). As I mentioned in the producers thread, they do the type of commercial dance/pop music that doesn't always annoy me and isn't always interchangeable. Rihanna's Only Girl and S&M, both Stargate/Sandy Vee songs, were both songs Britney could have done very well. That's the type of commercial fun dance/pop I wish she was doing again. I think it's more Sandy Vee's influence though, because Stargate weren't doing that kind of dance/pop before they started working with him.

The track listing, plus the four additional tracks on the Deluxe edition have been released. “Femme Fatale” Track Listing: 1. Till The World Ends (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Billboard) 2. Hold It Against Me (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Co-produced by Billboard) 3. Inside Out (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Billboard) 4. I Wanna Go (Produced by Max Martin and Shellback) 5. How I Roll (Produced by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback and Magnus) 6. (Drop Dead) Beautiful featuring Sabi (Produced by Benny Blanco, Ammo, JMIKE and Billboard) 7. Seal It With A Kiss (Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Dream Machine) 8. Big Fat Bass featuring will.i.am (Produced by will.i.am) 9. Trouble For Me (Produced by Fraser T Smith) 10. Trip To Your Heart (Produced by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback and Magnus) 11. Gasoline (Produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco) 12. Criminal (Produced by Max Martin and Shellback) The Deluxe version of “Femme Fatale” will include four additional tracks: 13. Up N’ Down (Produced by Max Martin, Shellback and Oligee) 14. He About To Lose Me (Produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins) 15. Selfish (Produced by Stargate, and Sandy Vee) 16. Don't Keep Me Waiting (Produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins)

I don't think she's really that interested in her career anymore. She looks absolutely bored with being a pop star, and she really doesn't promote her work much at all anymore. She looked so lifeless and dead in the Hold It Against Me video.

+1 I can't seem to understand why her new stuff is sounding like some late 90's forgotten pop reject hit. The fact that Ke$ha is involved is grounds enough for me to hate it as it is. It might have been her trainwreck era, but Blackout is quite possibly the most varied work she's done. She's never been a consistent albums or singles artist, but I think her best singles tended to be the ones people initially didn't expect from her, like Toxic and I'm A Slave 4 U, not this recycled trash Dr. Luke is throwing her way. Not even his stuff with Ke$ha or Kate Perry sounds this dated. I'd go as far as to say she probably found her groove best with Bloodshy & Avant in terms of producers. They apparently have one song on her new album.

There seems to hardly be any point or plot to any of her videos. They always appear to be an excess of randomness for her to prove just how hardcore and daring she thinks she is, while she's not. Gaga, you're not Bjork honey, stop trying... And frankly, I never got the fuss about the Bad Romance video or song.