Ben

Toups, I'm gonna see if I can find you a new image for the thread - That one is so 1998.

Here's the recent awesome Bushfire episodes. New producer, Susan Bower's micro-managing is really paying off.

Bushfire 1

Bushfire 2

Bushfire 3

Bushfire 4

Ignore.

Forgot to change the HTML thing-y.

Well, I'm gonna post some clips, and a synopsis will follow... if it's needed.

I'll say this, the transition from the awesome Bevan Lee and into the new writer, whose name escapes me atm, has been pretty good. There is one predictable and boring story - Who's the Daddy - involving Jack/Martha/Roman, but a part from that it's been OK. It's not Bevan, but it's still good.

This is a comical scene involving my all-time-favourite should've-be-permanent guest character, Jazz Curtis.

A pregnant Cassie, learns she's HIV Positive.

Behind-the-scenes of Jack & Sam's Wedding.

Johnny attacks Ric and Jazz!

Sam Kills Johnny!

Sam's secret revealed + Jazz & Tony - Part 1

^^ Part 2

^^ Part 3

More will follow if you want.

The only one I cannot stand is Krista Vernoff, who runs Grey's Anatomy.

Why?

I have to say, I struggle to get into Grey's. I don't no what it is, their's just something about it that doesn't make me want to tune in.

Nick Kiriazis... raowlllllll. What a sinful waste not seeing his dog collar on my TV screen.

Gordon Thomson aka Adam Carrington aka the best recast Mason Capwell can do no wrong. But AJ was horribly underwritten. Except for those moments when he seemed to be crushing on his son, Cole.

Dominique Jennings could have easily played Drucilla's evil half-sister, should Y&R have been that way inclined.

Dreamy Nick... Maybe he's a little picky about the roles that he chooses? He made the hottest priest ever.

Gordon Thomson used to get bad press over here. The continuity announcer, John Darvell nicknamed him the horse whisperer. He would constantly get dissed about his bad acting (all in jest of course); it was open season during the earthquake, when debris were out acting poor ol' AJ.

TGAS (The Great Aaron Spelling -- and that's not me being snarky, he really was the Master)

And whoever mentioned Gabi's trial -- you are so right on. Priscilla Garita was robbed a nomination for her work during that storyline. I got chills when she broke down on the stand. Thereafter, Gabi became my favorite character. Wonder what PG is doing now?

I tolerated Randy Spelling. The first year, he was dire. The sets were better actors that he was. Then he got a hair cut and things didn't seem so bad. Does anyone remember that awful rapping phase Sean went through?

You know, I really hadn't realized how much of a Spelling fan I actually am. I used to watch, Melrose Place, Charmed, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty... my mind's gone blank. Every show had his unique signature, which cried out 'I'm produced by Aaron Spelling!' No other show could emulate that magic.

Gabi's rape trial was awesome. It really brought PG and the character in to their own. That sinister twist, was one that I didn't see coming. That was one of the best things about the show; it had these break out moments, yet it would constantly be over looked. How the hell they didn't get an Emmy nom for Shockwave is anyone's guess. The amount that went into producing such a high class stunt - all the debris for the earthquake, capsizing the ship etc. - everything that went in to make it as real as possible should have garnered them a nomination. No other daytime quake has ever measured up, IMO.

I'm still sad that so many talented actors from SUBE didn't show up on other shows... or at least that they aren't currently active on any soap. Garita had a short temp. on PSSN and nothing else, Buxton also had quite a short role on B&B and was scrapped from it in 2005 when Tylo returned, and even Sherri Saum, Clive Robertson, Sam Behrens, Tracy Melchior, Gordon Thomson and others aren't doing anything notable.

Well Sarah Buxton did a stint on Days, before heading into Prime time. She had a baby in a year or so ago, and hasn't been seen since. Sherri Saum did Beggars & Choosers, then OLTL, followed by Rescue Me, and is currently doing a couple of movies which are in production.

I always thought Sam Behrens would go on to do other things, but he's been MIA for ages. Nick Kiriazis was another who I thought would do well. He did star on that show alongside Hank Cheyne - I forget what it's called. I'd love to see them in a major role, as well as Dominique Jennings and Lisa Coles. I'd say Eddie Cibrian has been the most successful actor to leave BEACH and go on to doing a whole host of other shows - He's a regular working actor.

The mystery to me will always be why SuBe didn't catch on in the US. And why (sorry, Passions fans) they got rid of SuBe *and* AW and kept Passions. I'm thinking timeslots and behind-the-scenes politics played a part. But it is amazing to think that, 10 years later, people are still talking about it, watching it on YouTube and DVDs of its early episodes are being released in Europe. That show had amazing reach.

I always thought it had something to do with ownership. I'm pretty sure I remember reading something about NBC wanting a soap they owned (hence Passions); Something which they didn't have with AW, and only partly with BEACH (they co-owned it). Their creative control was limited.

Toups: By '98 they had fixed those issues though. Ricardo got a family, and Meg's parents became main-stayers; even Bette was granted a daughter. The pace was definitely slowed down, and the film effect was shelved after 6 months. I'd say the low ratings during the latter half of '99, was down to NBC moving its timeslot to make way for Passions. Grrr. A lot of the affiliates were airing it in the early hours of the morning.

I was surprised at this 400-page bible thing... It seems like a lot.

Thanks for the interesting article, Sylph. I read in an interview that Aaron Spelling did for SOD, and he said the bible was around 300 pages. That still seems a lot, but it must have been very detailed.

There'll never be another show like BEACH. Not one that garnered the cult status that it did here. I don't think I've ever come across a show that's been so popular that the network releases a helpline number after the final episode, to console grieving fans. What a money making plan, huh?

Sunset Beach was my all-time favourite show. It was an instant hit, which grew in popularity in the UK, especially during it's last year. UKBoi, the show used to get over 1 million viewers, normally around the 1.5-1.8 mark, and was constantly in Five's top 30. It was also ITV2's number 1 show at one point, during it's rerun stage in 2000.

BEACH wasn't perfect, but it had a certain charm about it; It was able to poke fun at it's self, and be totally daring, without a care in the world. No other show can say that they've had an affect on other programmes, like BEACH - Virginia and her turkey baster pregnancy spawned a lot of other turkey baster related plots, in Bad Girls, and Coronation Street (2007) when Violet got pregnant via the aid of a turkey baster, to name two.

I loved Shockwave, especially the earthquake. They spent a lot of money to make it as realistic as possible, and I think they pulled it off. Rosario Jewels could have been better, if it didn't have those capping plot holes - thank you JERk! I also loved how they utilized their African-American, and Hispanic cast in front burner stories. Antonio & Gabi were one couple that I wished had gotten together at the end, even though I do believe this was where they were heading, had the show continued.