Paul Raven

As mentioned in the 90's rating thread the first MSW TV Movie 'South by Southwest' did well in the ratings. Airing in Nov sweeps 97 and rating #13 as Sunday night movie up against ABC's strong Cinderella/Oprah Evening. The next aired May 2000-quite a gap. 'Something to Die For' aired as a special Thurs 8-10 and ranked #24. Interesting that they slotted it up against Friends again. Wonder what Angela thought about that? On NBC Ihr Friends was #3 and 1hr Frasier was #2 Then in May 2001 'The Last Free Man' aired on Wed 8-10 and ranked #21 winning the first hour but losing the 2nd to West Wing #7 The final TV movie 'The Celtic Riddle' aired May 2003 as a Friday movie 9-11. It ranked #32,winning the first hour but running 2nd to Law and Order SVU #19. So overall a good showing from those 4. Did they maintain the standard? Over to our MSW afficionados...

Port Charles, The City, Sunset Beach, Santa Barbara, Capitol,Texas To a lot of us they seem like newer soaps but time marches on. I'd bet the 90 min preem of How to Survive... is out there somewhere.

Adding my thanks. The Soap Hoppers and Cast List threads can function again. @Errol appreciate all that you do.

One comment online re the Abbott set. 'Viewings of the casket will be between 6 and 7' #funeral parlor vibes

Thumbs down in the Abbott re-do. They've just switched out one dated fit out for another. Lots of clutter, dark wood and those hideous drapes in the dining room. I get that it's an older house and should be decorated to suit but there is a happy medium that can bring in a more contemporary feel.

Had to chuckle at Dana's line- 'I'll just hole up here all day and watch my stories'. Ashley and Derek are like from a whole other show. Everything else is interconnected and they're just there taking up space. Chelsea's two partners were up for some sexay times and the girl made it uber obvious by overplaying every 'seductive' line. Not sure where that story is heading.

Nicole looked elegant as always in her suit and Ted in the Hugo Boss jacket with the label prominently displayed. That is unusual to have logos on show. We would expect the actors to improve as timer goes on. If you're starting out, never worked on a soap before with the workload involved some might struggle. Now if in a few more months those same actors are still struggling, some hard decisions will have to be made.

Agree, he fitted in so well. Pity he lost the beard though.

It would have been a nice gesture for DJ to make an appearance but Fishman was no loss. Amongst those acting heavyweights his lack of comic timing and delivery was painful. They had too many characters as it is, so eliminating DJs family was a no brainer.

First impression is not good. Wonder if there will be a backlash, similar to when the Chancellor estate was remodelled years ago?

In Days case they tape ahead so that they can have weeks/months off and don't have to pay for the studio during that time. I don't know how that works in terms of he crew-does their salary cover the times they are not working? I'm sure there are union rules to cover this. Y&R films 5 shows in 4 days, so I guess they save on paying for studio costs on the day off? Yes, it all is a bit of a mystery.

Thanks for the unsolicited advice.

i know those vets aren't going anywhere (although there a few I would cut) but repeating their stories-Sharon in peril, Jack v Victor etc is not the answer. Giving them something new to do, some new characters to interact with. Bringing Allie into the Abbotts was a start but they gave her a bland character and no real story. Interesting that Claire , functioning in the same capacity for the Newmans is front and center. Allie's story could have been similar-raised by a woman she thought was her mother, only to find that her real mom had given her up after she was left a widow by Keemo. Allie could have had mixed feelings for the Abbotts with a lot of angst along the way and the 'mother' given the Jordan role, but less extreme. A slow journey to becoming an Abbott. Bring back a recast Tara, wanting rightfully to reconnect with Harrison. Have her get involved with Nick providing some Newman/Abbott drama.Have Harrison turn out not to be Kyle's. Cole was married to Ashley-have them reconnect, causing jealousy from Victoria.

Just rewatching the climax of Monday's show-Anita finishing the song-and then a quick fade. NO! This is a big moment for Anita-the beginning of her embarking on a return to singing and they should signal that to the audience with a lingering closeup and then fade.

In terms of recasts how about Dawn Benz and Taylor Miller as Sally? Leon Russom as Willis? Rhonda Lwein as Vicky?

Yes there is an OPW thread. In addition to other factors that contributed to the show's failure, there was also BTS management changes at CBS, so those in favor of OPW may have been ousted.

Wouldn't they have airdates scheduled for what they're taping? And have all relevant holidays in the mix? Ladies, there's way more you should be focusing on !

Broadcasting Feb 89. New contract, she wrote 'Murder, She Wrote' star Angela Lansbury signs new contract to appear on CBS in some capacity; fate of series unsettled. Angela Lansbury will appear in a series on CBS next season. Whether it's the hit series Murder, She Wrote, however, remains to be seen. Last week Lansbury and her production company, Corymore Productions, signed a pact with CBS guaranteeing the network exclusive use of Lansbury's talent in network television for the 1989 -90 season. The agreement calls for Corymore to produce a new half -hour series starring Lansbury (a minimum of 13 episodes) the year after the final season of Murder, She Wrote, one of two series CBS has in the top 20 (the other is 60 Minutes). Lansbury has said publicly she felt unappreciated by CBS, because the network ignored complaints of stress she'd been experiencing after five years on the Murder set. The network also questioned her purchase of the $6,000 designer gown she wore to host last year's Tony Awards which aired on CBS. (The network finally OK'd the bill). At one point, ABC approached Universal about possibly moving Murder to ABC as part of a second Mystery Movie night. But CBS executives went to great lengths in recent weeks to keep Lansbury in the fold, including visits from CBS chief executive officer Laurence Tisch and Broadcast Group President Howard Stringer. The effort was capped with a lavish Hollywood party Sunday, Feb. 12, celebrating the filming of the 100th episode of Murder. Universal and CBS were still negotiating the terms of renewing the series at deadline. But Lansbury's new deal with CBS assures that network that if Murder continues next season, it will be on CBS.

Great idea. They wouldn't even have to go that far but just some sort of conflict with the kid and or parent to provide some action along the way instead of talk. It could be one of those parents in denial types eg My child would never do anything like that' or one that is a bully themselves. And maybe tie it into another character . Maybe the bully is the child of a client of Nicole's and she has an insight as to the family dynamics or Naomi is working with the family at Legal aid. Something that would intertwine personal and professional.

Thanks for the more detailed lists. Why they keep saddling the younger generations with so many kids is puzzling.

Yes he was rewarded with a nice new set while others are homeless.

One of the reasons the Damien/Amy story holds some interest is because it's something fresh, not involving characters who've been on-screen for years and subjected to horrendous plots for almost as long. Watching Billy start up another business when he's had one failure after another is not worthy of my time. And involved with Sally who's already worked her way through Jack, Adam and Nick while he was with Phyllis, Chelsea and Lily. Or Kyle being madly in love with Claire when he's already been through this with Lola (who?) And Summer in the past 5 years. Musical beds is not good storytelling.

I don't really want to read about false info generated by AI...

I'm sure when some long running shows end the cast never see each other again. With Knots does that comradeship extend to all the cast? Or are there some out of the loop, and others only in touch with particular castmates?

Re The Hortons living children and grandchildren of Tom and Alice Julie, Steve,Marie, Sandy, Jennifer, Lucas,Hope, Shawn Douglas,Jessica, Mike, Jeremy, Melissa,Nathan,Scotty, Eli, Spencer Then the next generation is JJ, Claire and Allie right? Sure I've missed a few. In terms of story possibilities, Spencer,Nathan ,Jeremy and Scotty seem viable to bring back. Sandy could have some kids also.