Aaron

Hi all! Hoping you guys can help me out with a couple questions... First, I know that the weekday airings are from 1977, so what year are the current Saturday and Sunday eps from? Also, does anyone know where the YouTube folks were getting their airdate info from?

So I suppose this new chick for Billy is going to return and play out the whole "we had a lovechild at 16" story AGAIN? That's one of the most overused cliches on soaps. It was pretty clear that was where they were going with Manda, too, when she showed up as Phil's childhood sweetheart. But since she didn't have chemistry with ANYONE, they apparently nixed that. I guess they are giving it another go with Billy this time. If they DO go that way, I hope they remember that Billy just turned 50, so any kid he'd have had as a teen would be at least 35 now. And that seems to be a bit out of Bryan Kirkwood's target age.

I have to say, my biggest gripe with EastEnders right now is the constant disappearance of characters for weeks on end. Seriously. The day after Peggy/Archie's wedding, she's off to vacation with Aunt Sal? Pat's constantly swanning off hither and yon on weeks-long vacations. Stacey disappears right smack in the middle of a storyline to "visit Lynne." It's annoying. For characters who seem to have no money, these folks sure do like to take long trips, don't they? And even if they don't "go on vacation" there's still looooooooooooong lulls between appearances. It's been weeks since we've laid eyes on Bianca. Where the heck has Janine gone? I understand that not everyone can be front burner all the time, but with 4 episodes a week, there's ample time to touch on the lives of everyone.

A good way to watch the show without going broke is to rent the DVDs through Netflix.

You are right, Shawn, it was probably a blessing in disguise that the show was cancelled when it was and that it went out on such a high note. If only the same were true of Guiding Light...

Yes, the transition was poorly done. It truly felt like we were joining the show mid-way through the first season. There were so many important events that happened PRIOR to the first episode (Mike Marshall's suicide, the whole Sheik Zhedi thing, Alex seeing Iris at the opera, etc...) I actually found myself quite drawn to the structure of the show. I loved how the families were crafted and intertwined. The Dekkers and their friendship with the Marshalls, the assorted Bellman/Walkers, Nita and Billy Joe... The show was a lot more cerebral and character driven initially, I felt. Almost TOO much. Some of those long Shakespearean speeches between Alex and Iris got to be a bit much, but I always enjoyed the psychological drama between Justin and Reena or Justin and Paige or Max and Reena. There were a few storyline stinkers right from the start. Courtney and Kevin were a snoozefest, bordering on creepy. Courtney was a Marshall in name only, since it took nearly 2 months for her to interact or even mention any of the other Marshalls. I liked Sam Walker, but she was far too modern and smart for Justin, so she sort of fizzled out. Alex stumbled through most of his lines, so I was glad when he was taken off canvas (temporarily at first, and later permanently.) I really like Ryan and Ginny, although I find Ryan to be a bit of a bully most of the time. He tends to shout her down whenever she tries to speak her mind, but you can also tell he truly loves her. I thought Barbara Rucker played a great "earth mother" character. Josephine Nichols' Kate Marshall was a true steel magnolia. She reminded me so much of my own southern granny... that sense of everlasting love, mixed with a healthy dose of condemnation and judgement, lol. Nita Wright was one of my favorite characters, but I hate that she's taking Billy Joe back. I get that they wanted to keep the character around, but I never felt like he truly changed, just that he got away with a lot more than he should have. All in all, Texas was a true daytime gem.