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LOL, oh, come now, Ben. You know Archie moved into the Vic cos he luvs his precious Peg! Don't all British men over the age of 50 have a boner for Barbara Windsor circa her glorious Carry On days? Wow, that Ronnie/Archie story sounds good. I like Samantha Janus as Ronnie some I'm hoping she dishes out some ass-kicking at some point. Not until Archie's lied/shagged/murdered/cheated/schemed his way around the Square, of course.

Really. EastEnders gets a lot of criticism when it goes off the rails because it used to be (don't know if it still is) the #1 rated SHOW (nevermind soap). Hardcore calls for its cancellation abounded less than two years ago when I was over there. I'm talking TV hosts, radio shows, newspapers (which play a big part in hyping the soaps). When Corrie struggles, though, it strikes me as being seen to go through "a bad patch" but there is always more faith that the show will pull through. I think this may also be because EE tends to fall in love with certain characters and feature them heavily -- rather like GH. This engenders huge devotion if the fans love those characters (and hence why EE wins a lot of soap award categories) and massive backlash if they hate them. Like GH, EE also does these big dramatic "sweeps" stories to bring in ratings -- especially around Christmas and New Year. Whereas Coronation Street seems to be much better at utilizing its canvas. If somebody is not in a SL, the likelihood is that they may well be a few months down the road. At least from what I've seen.

Can I ask? What is Ronnie's beef with Archie? Is Roxy really Ronnie's daughter a la Kat Slater? I kid. OK, seriously, why does she hate Sean? Apart from the fact that he's a total slime? And why is there all this sexual tension everytime Ronnie and Phil "Bulldog" Mitchell have a scene? Coronation Street seems to get mucho love in the British press.

I only caught this episode for the randommest of reasons (I have a friend who is a fan) and don't know Craig and Jean-Paul's history AT ALL. But I was taken in by the naturalness of the whole relationship and the obvious chemistry between the two leads. Their very last scene, on the train, Craig's arm slung over JP's shoulder, as he joked to him that his family in Dublin didn't know he was gay. And then their teasing kiss. I've never seen anything feel so natural and... right between a same-sex couple on ANY soap before. It really contrasts with, say, ATWT or AMC, where Nuke/Lianca would be rooted to the spot, spouting rather unrealistic and melodramatic dialogue, hugging awkwardly or sharing the odd kiss which sometimes (though not always) felt like they had been rationned out. I especially liked how neither character is perfect. Craig struck me as very confident, while the episode seemed to reference JP as sometimes flighty, superficial or selfish. They both felt human and acted like people you see IRL. BTW, whoever is playing Niall is a pretty compelling actor. Understated yet completely menacing. Nice bait-and-switch with the poisoned beers, JP!

Kinda OT, but going through my photobucket account, I have some random pics of SB -- including this hot-ass picture of Lane Davies as Mason. Raowl! "Cruz. Cruz killed me, daddy."

IA. It seemed as if AMC just didn't know how to style or light Marcy Walker. On Santa Barbara, with her ultra-long hair and soft-spoken intensity (ignoring those 80s clothes), she glowed with fairy-tale beauty. It's clear that Santa Barbara was by no means the perfect soap. When it was first launched, it underwent a couple of different CCs and many shifts in focus as the Perkins and many of the Lockridges were later phased out. I think SB was NBC Daytime's equivalent of a Dynasty or a Dallas. They threw a huge amount of publicity and money into the project and promoted it a great deal, even when the ratings were, relatively speaking, not great. And yes, that 3pm slot against GH was probably killer (but a 12 or 1pm slot might have been even worse). Because so much money was riding on the show -- and because they kept acquiring big names from other soaps in order to draw in viewers -- the Dobsons were probably buffeted by network and producer interference from the get-go. This likely contributed to the variation in quality and sudden switches in SL and new characters (although I have fond memories of Charles Pratt's stint as HW). And I do remember Wednesday episodes being rather weak while Mondays and Fridays were amazing. Santa Barbara was a big believer in Cliffhanger Friday! Despite whatever problems it had, I strongly feel that golden-era SB, while not 100% perfect, was perfect for me. I'm not just relying on my memories of the show. Some of the YouTube clips are even more powerful on second viewing. Great dialogue writers and unapologetically romantic HWs... a forward-thinking production crew... hugely talented actors who embody their roles completely... all this produced magic. At least it did for me. I got goosebumps watching the show when I was little. Now older and much more cynical, I still get them looking at some of the clips. When it was on-form, few shows could touch it. In particular, SB has spoiled me completely as far as depicting romance on a soap is concerned (though GH came super-close in the mid-90s). The Cruz/Eden/Robert/Kelly SL being a case in point. I still find some of the clips incredibly moving to watch in a way that soaps today just aren't, which is probably why I only watch the odd clip every once in a while! An intense viewing experience which I can't really describe adequately... perhaps that's why it only lasted 8 years. It burned too brightly, too quickly. I'm glad I was around during the great years, though.

Bumping this thread because I got nostalgic for some SB and happened upon some Robert and Eden edits yesterday on YouTube (hence my avatar). Wow. WOW. I am ashamed to admit I nearly cried, the quality was so good. The dialogue, the acting (Marcy Walker, Roscoe Born and A Martinez must have been the most intelligent, intuitive soap actors of the day). I don't know how to explain but there was one scene where Eden told Robert that she loved him. Anyhoo, she hugged Robert and it's probably just me, but there was more chemistry in that one hug than about 90% of pairings right now on soaps. Robert and Eden have it out: Eden says goodbye to Robert:

Not to jump on the bandwagon, but I am a HUGE fan of film scores (any time anybody wants to post about that, I'm game) and am always attuned to what Daytime is doing with its BG music. I post about it from time to time, but I thought I was the only one who loved that stuff! Douglas Sirk style -- that is a great way of describing it. I used to call it Y&R's film noir score. I wish they hadn't tossed it. So tense, so sinister. B&B has some great pieces, Toups! I know B&B sucks right now so I won't force you to watch it, LOL. I guess the music has kind of been devalued by the cavalier, flippant crap they throw at the screen. GH used to have some seriously great BG music back in the 70s and 80s. I guess they had to replace it because it was perceived as dated (it sounded like the BG music to 70s movies like All the President's Men or Klute). Santa Barbara had some beautiful stuff, especially Mason & Julia's theme. But it was VERY 80s, very synth-based. You know which show had great BG music (and still does sometimes)? Days.

Carla = best new character of the last 12 months. She's like a black panther!

LOL, I remember Father Fit. Nick Kriziakis = gorgeous. I loved the Antonio/Gabi/Ricardo triangle -- especially when Ricardo had his stroke and went evil. Personally I always thought Gobby and Father Fit should have ended up together. Their love scene was smoking! "Bad to da bone. You is Bad to da bone, Virginia!" I don't remember the SuBe tour when I was in England, although I do remember Sarah Buxton showing up to promote B&B's zoom-forward three years. Then again, I wasn't at university back in 97-98, I was working so maybe I just missed all that.

I like those two as well. The actress who plays Addison has amazing star quality. A red-haired Catherine Deneuve, they said in one episode, and they were right! Agenda-pushing story: The teen TV show Roswell started life as a Romeo & Juliet, star-crossed love story with a sci-fi twist. This is what drew many fans to the show initially. Heigl played the sister of the main male lead (who quickly became her boyfriend IRL). She was a supporting character with some good bitchy lines, if I recall correctly (I gave up the show when it started to change). And change it did, according to my source. KH got her new "fiancé" and herself to start pushing for more SL for her character. Of course, she couched it with phrases like "making it an ensemble show" and this brought other supporting actors on her side. So, the focus moved away from the love story and the "Juliet" female lead (who was relegated to more backburner stuff) and towards Heigl's character. Ratings dropped. I believe the show only lasted halfway into a third season and change of networks before being cancelled. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but she treated the young female lead (who was only 18 at the time) not very nicely, edging her out in grand High School clique-style. Oh, and when the show got cancelled, Heigl's boyfriend and her supporting-actor pals from the show were all dropped. I don't think she's ever referred to them or the show. Because, you know, she's a movie actress now. And if this pattern sounds familiar, try replacing "boyfriend" with "TR Knight" and "young female lead" with "Isaiah Washington" in the story above. Obviously, Washington got into major trouble all on his own as a result of his homophobic remarks during a fight with Patrick Dempsey. But there are rumors that she was already gunning for a fall guy in order to pimp her own importance to the show. Which, funnily enough, she is now dissing because of her newly fledgling film career.

The thing that bothered me about Grey's Anatomy when I used to watch was the invasive, self-consciously "quirky" music that was meant to prompt us how to feel and signpost the emotions. And the fact that I don't buy that waif actress as some uber-talented doctor. Or that her chinless, whiney-voiced boyfriend is the hottest man on earth. I loved Dr. Bailey because she was a breath of fresh air, but the whiney puppy-dog intern, I could have done without. And had it from a very reliable source that Katherine Heigl was the biggest agenda-pushing beeyotch in Hollywood, back when she was on some small show called Roswell. So, yeah. Don't really rate the writers on GA, other than the fact that they added a little diversity to my usually white-washed TV screen. His voice is so campy. But I love him anyway. I was in London around the time of SuBe and used to tape the show! There was a GREAT lady continuity announcer, if I recall, who really added to my enjoyment. One time, the show ended with Caitlin and Cole running away from the police on horseback. Cue wideshot of two stuntmen on horseback. Then an extreme closeup of VD and EC obviously jumping up and down on the spot in a terrible attempt at pretending they were on a horse! The poor continuity announcer was laughing so hard, she couldn't get the words of derision out. And I loved her names for characters -- like "Thickardo" -- California's most inept policeman. And Smeg for SuBe's favorite heroine. Spawn of Spelling for Randy!

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.

I miss the show, too. It would be 11 years old this year, can you believe it? I especially wish Sarah Buxton, Priscilla Garita, Clive Robertson and Sam Behrens were back on Daytime. SB and PG, in particular, would make great female leads.

LOL, I don't know what it was about the actress (or the character) but she just glowed with sweetness! I imagine Arlene was one of those heart-of-gold, hard-working heroines with a possibly dodgy past who would fall in love with the town doctor whose family did not approve of her? In other words, a core heroine for a soap like Love of Life. If that's the case then I love vintage. Quick question: what was Meg's daughter, Cal, like? From reading the SOD synopses, she seemed like an emotionally fragile woman who was constantly battling her over-controlling mother and dealing with traumas of one kind or another.

I'm a fan of balance. I like the romance mixed with the family and intergenerational stuff. Watching the odd clip or two of some of these veteran soaps -- Love of Life, Love is a Many Splendored Thing and 1970s Another World spring to mind -- I am struck by how much purpose there was even in the most mundane scenes. The stories were going somewhere, the scenes showcasing two or three people's relationship meant something. Like in the LoL episode posted on YouTube. Ron Tomme and Birgitta Tolksdorf are in the B story. And yet the scene represents somewhat of a turning point in RT's story. BT, meanwhile, glows. She doesn't really have a story but she delivers like a star! Also, the shows back then seemed to be focused on people's psyches (especially fragile and emotional psyches). Why they were acting the way they were. On tragedy mixed with fleeting happiness (witness Steve and Alice on Another World). That really interests me. I don't find that many soap characters have much psychological depth these days. Which perhaps explains why I go through moments trawling YouTube and other archives looking for clips from cancelled soaps like these.

Gloria Monty introduced some great things to GH -- including suspense and mystery -- and many of her pairings were so chemistry-filled and swoony that I can forgive her a lot. But I agree that her constant frontburnering of popular couples is directly contributing to the demise of the genre we see today.

LOL. I once met some a girl called Eden -- named after the Santa Barbara heroine.

Bill Prentissssssssssssssssssssss. Oooo. I love that last name. And why does that remind me of early Y&R for some reason?

LOL, not to move off-topic from AMC... but does anybody know if they have episodes posted of Where the Heart Is? If not, does anybody have use of a time machine that could transport me to the early 1970s where I could switch over from the Watergate hearings to catch Love of Life, WTHI, Love is a Many Splendored Thing (Donna Mills as a crazy ex-nun? Sign me up!), Search and early Y&R?

LOL, really? I never knew that. And Tudi Wiggins was to LoL in the 1970s what Susan Flannery was/is to B&B. A force of nature. That YouTube episode where she snaps in frustration about Cal "This time she called me a murderess." I don't know how to describe it but she said it so right. I suspect Cal may have been onto something, but Tudi Wiggins's delivery made me believe Meg was the wronged party.

I've read up on the history of Roy Winsor's "Love of Life" (1951-1980) via Wikipedia and ols WoST. The premise of the two sisters -- Vanessa and Meg -- and the people around them really appealed. Especially since one was "the good one" and the other, the scheming manipulator! I am most interested in 1970s LoL, in particular when Paul Avila Mayer and Claire Labine reinvigorated the show. They brought back manipulative Meg (played by the stunningly intense and queen-like Tudi Wiggins) along with her emotionally fragile daughter Cal and son Ben (played by a young Christopher Reeve). I've only ever seen one episode of the show (on YouTube) from this period, but I have fallen in love with its stunning opening credits (featuring roses -- referring to the fictional town of Rosehill, NY, where it was set) and theme tune. And the show seemed imbued with sweetness and tension and suspense and longing. It was only a half-hour program! I also read up some SOD recaps which recreated the atmosphere of the show alongside recounting "what happened." Anyhoo... thoughts, commentary, information. I'd be grateful to hear any of your stories with regards to Love of Life.

^ ITA. Sable Colby was my favorite character. She carried "The Colbys," too. Stephanie Beacham and that pipsqueak Maxwell Caulfield are SO made for soaps. They should be on Primetime. Or B&B!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Randy Spelling. He was soooooooooo bad. TGAS (The Great Aaron Spelling -- and that's not me being snarky, he really was the Master) tried to shoehorn poor Randy on a bunch of his teen soaps. I remember him on Malibu Shores having far too much screentime. I think they even tried to suggest that the lovely Charisma Carpenter's character had an unspoken attraction to Pipsqueak's character. Ridic! And then was the Summer o' 90210. While Brenda was in Paris and Kelly & Dylan were having an affair (Team Brenda!), Randy Spelling showed up interacting with Brandon who was a lifeguard at the Country Club. And then he landed SuBe. As Gregory and Olivia's son. Only without the cunning or the looks of either. And don't get me wrong, I actually liked Tori Spelling as Donna on 90210, especially when she got to play comedy. Plus "Donna Martin Graduates" will live in my memory forever. Aaaron Spelling = GENIUS. 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 loved both Santa Barbara and Sunset Beach and, while there were some similarities in terms of Guza having worked on both shows, the SB thing and the fact that they shot on the same NBC studio space, that was where the similarities ended, IMO. I always found both shows different and judged them as such. SuBe had the Spelling imprint all over it!