SFK

I can picture young Tracey Bregman strutting through the Carrington mansion with muzak Thriller blaring from her boombox. She and Heather have a somewhat similar voice, especially back then when Heather's voice was all denasal before she had her adenoids out or whatever.

Yeah, totally. To me, Shelley Taylor Morgan is what people who only know Linda Dano from Attitudes must be like. I don't even think of her as an actress (no insult).

And wasn't Charlotte Greer also a dynamite role?

Yeah Carl, Anjelica sandwiched in there too. I'm not a DOOL fan but that role always caught my eye from pics in SOD etc. given its casting. Shelley Taylor Morgan who I remember from E! and Jane Elliot just seem so completely different. Judith seems like a sensible bridge between the two however.

Yeah, she was down in Palm Springs running her restaurant.

When Nancy Lee Grahn was in contract negotiations with SB and things weren't looking good,Judith Chapman was approached to take over the role of Julia.

That's interesting... they're in such different age/character brackets.

That's what I read Eric, I don't know if that was damage control on PM's part if what SoN's saying is true, but...

Good for them! Damn, why can't our soaps bottle some of that magic?? And chasing kids isn't the easy answer... this series manages to rise above its own cheesiness and examples of bad acting and be not only well-written but endearing too. I don't know so much about the new kids, but I always gush about this show because it made me care in a way I haven't cared for characters in daytime in a long time. Whatever it takes...

SFK!! I've watched the first three episodes so far. Joey! He was such an adorable little runt! Too cute, with that big ass hat. I can't stand that annoying Stephanie at all. Voula reminds me so much of Clare, and that's not a good thing. I like the show, though. I like that so much of it is focused on the school and the inner-workings there. I think it's kinda funny that everybody seems to be in walking distance from the school and everyone else's houses lol

:wub: And the best part?? IT ONLY GETS BETTER!! Joey was a little scamp, I'm not sure I would have predicted the success of the character at that point. Apparently, he was named one of the most memorable characters of Canadian TV history and he won the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy. Stay tuned! Ohhh, that Stephanie Kaye! Spoiler: that toof never comes in, nor will Voula ever breathe through her nose. The show is still very "young" at this point, it really is a progression. (I don't know if you know that there was a series even before this one called The Kids of Degrassi Street with elementary school aged kids. About four or five of the same actors were in it but as different characters. That show came on only once a month, a few months a year, they were more like after school specials.) But things get heavier and more "grown up" with every season culminating in the TV movie finale "School's Out" which is the last selection on the dvds. I hope you keep watching and enjoy it, I don't wanna be all "extra" and talk it up too much so you're let down.

Yeah, from what I've seen/read of her in interviews, Linda Schuyler is a wonderful, beyond progressive woman who would have been excellent at the helm of an American soap. She has basic character concepts and lets character continue to grow out of performer, which is something Linda Gottlieb tried at One Life (Blair, Jason, Luna). I mean, I don't know exactly how TNG has worked, but this was certainly true for the original series and I'm sure she's been very protective of the franchise. In the original Degrassi, they had weekly "round tables" where the cast and crew sat Indian style on the floor, read the script, and threw out their ideas, what was working, what they thought wasn;t realistic, et cetera.

It was probably time to drop "TNG" though I'm a little uneasy with this show getting the "mantle" if you will, I guess it's only fair as it's the longest running series in the franchise. I'm still hungry for more late thirties/early forties drama with my Caitlin, Lucy, et al, though I think Pat Mastroiannininni (sp?? Joey Jeremiah) said he was done.

That's great to hear! I'm glad that the show's off to a good start. Okay, I just went to TeenNick and I feel like such a little girl, quizzes like, "Who's Your Ultimate Summer Boyfriend?", "Which Degrassi Guy Should You Date?" There's also a little blurb that say's that Holly J. auditioned for the roles of Emma and Liberty ( I guess she wasn't racially specific in the casting call).

They currently have 19 full episodes online and stupid me should have been on this weeks ago because they're inevitably going to get bumped with the new season rolling.

I am in tears watching these DS bloopers on YouTube.

I think DaytimeFan's point is that she takes herself too seriously, I think we are all in agreement about the acting, it's just a matter of semantics (forced=OTT=mannered=studied=tries too hard=bad acting , sorry Raq, you look like a million though )

♫Everybody wants somethin', they'll take yer mon-ayyy....♫ Yes, they were the Zit Remedy in Jr. and just the Zits in Sr.

AMS, I am such a dork, I got such a grin on my face when I read that. It's cheesy but please stick with it! My two loves, Lucy and Caitlin. You'll see a couple of familiar faces. You have to watch all five seasons, Jr. and Sr. high, they go by like *that*! TNG got me hooked, but I honestly think it was watching the original series that cemented my love of the franchise.

I have zilch cable at the moment, I guess I'm going to have to log on a week behind like I do with the A&E shows, Intervention, Hoarders... I wanna watch, and I think that circus/carnival promo was well done, artsy while remaining pretty literal and not going over the kiddies' heads.

WHAAAA?? Imagine the squinty puffy eyes on THAT baby. So when does the movie air and when does the season start? If I jump in and just start watching for this new format I'm going to have to to it all online as I don't have that channel anymore.

Happy belated Chris! Did you finish CPW?

I wonder what Dianna would have been like if she was played by Ron Leibman's real-life wife, Jessica Walter.

Shohreh Aghdashloo would make a great primetime soap bitch. That voice.

Help me out, but I remember Kelli Maroney of Ryans Hope and Marsha Clark of Guiding Light temping for AE or KW as Tina on OLTL

They were for AE, but it's always been my understanding that they were actual recasts. I think MC was in the role for the shortest period of time.

My mind went reeling back to childhood memories of hearing Larry Haines' voice in commercials. I can't remember any specific ad, but I certainly do remeber that voice, never made the connection until now. I'm pretty sure he did a department or toy store ad around Christmas.

Yeah, a couple of years before. IIRC Doyen, she had such a distaste for the guy she doesn't even refer to him by name in her book.

To me, Arthur Burghardt will always be:

There was an episode on WoST where Carla was grieving her husband's death, and I believe it was Jenny who she gave one of his nicknacks ("...it's from Keenya"). Was that Dr. Jack Scott?

Madchen, another one. I always thought Darren Starr had a thing for the name Carrie until duh I realized he didn't write the SATC books, but the off-beat looking leads with their cigarettes and quirkiness...

Raquel rocks some VERY Alexis-like threads, the hats in particular. My mom thought she looked like a witch, especially in this one outfit where she's looking like Grace Jones in Boomerang. I can't believe it was only 8 eps, and Raquel isn't even introduced until like 2 or 3 in. They could have squeezed 8 more out. Oh well... And Gerald Major Dad McCraney and Noelle Beck, it seems so bizarre and random the more I think of it.

I have a feeling you aren't going to like the revamp. Well, not as much as the original at least. The other characters kind of suffer, take some weird turns and as I was saying about Kylie, some backseats to the new blood.

Beyond the coloring and their at times similar hairstyles, it's something about the roundness of the eyes and their heads, hard for me to put a finger on. Whatever it is, I sensed it the moment I saw Bree for the first time yet not at all with Erin's temp Maggie Andersson. I dunno.

I think I read that when Bree auditioned for Jen, Erin Torpey was playing Jessica and the producers thought Bree and Erin looked too much alike. But I wonder if ET wasn't on the show, if Bree would have gotten it. I just never saw the appeal in Jessica Morris. She was pretty but she lacked charisma.

I agree, I was never taken by Jen. I thought she was kind of blah and annoying. Her death brought about JPL's perhaps finest acting moment on the show though.

I had to read that one twice

Me too, like the first three times I saw it.