July 1, 2008 All My Children All right, I don’t know what’s happening with All My Children right now, but I like it. For instance, B.J.’s diner, restaurant. I don’t recall seeing very much of that place. Is it connected to the shows history or just some set I haven’t paid attention to before? While I’m asking questions, WTH is up with Colby’s hair? Is that the style? What’s it called the “I stuck my head in a blender” look? Besides those two things, I was floored to tune in to the last three episodes of All My Children today and be immediately pulled in. The dialog is tight: Tad, Katie and Jake, so natural and yet meaningful. I mean, it wasn’t reaching or over done at all! Adam and Colby and J.R. at Chandler Enterprises were also very natural. I liked Colby calling her new car “sick.” It’s a term the teens use here that I’m not sure I “get” but then again that is why teens use those terms that they have redefined so that us old folks don’t get it, right? Made me wonder what kind of car it was, too! She didn’t let daddy off the hook, but she sure took them keys and high tailed it for her meeting Cassandra & Dre and the “My Family Sucks” club she was late for! Complicated! That’s a great catch word for the relationships on this show. It used to be BORING, so I think "complicated" is a real step up. You know, at first Erica’s spending time in prison for insider trading (wasn’t it?) made very little sense with Tad running around free after committing murder and Babe and Kwak running around free after kidnapping a baby and all the other heinous acts these people have perpetrated, but now days it sure looks like sheer genius to me. I’ve hated Erica ever since she trashed out Tom Cudahy, but this time she has spent in incarceration has leveled that playing field for me. It has (somehow) given me a new way to look at Erica that allows me to let go of that decades old grudge. It has humanized her for me and I really never expected that to happen. I’ve liked Carmen from the beginning, as I’ve said here even though many soundly trashed the racial stereotyping, for me I could see it as a work in progress. That work seems to be paying off. Not only do I cautiously love Erica’s relationships with her ex husband Jack and her daughter now that she has been humanized, but seeing the high and mighty Ms. Cane in those circumstances and surrounded by those women, stereotypical or not, has given me a second chance to see the character as deeper than she ever has been before, as a more dimensional character. Add to that her brilliant idea to get Carmen OUT of the slammer by putting her to work with Adam and I am over the moon. Perhaps Carmen can have that effect on some of the other cartoon-ized characters on the show as well? I hope so. I’m also cautiously optimistic about J.R. going up against his father for control of the company. He’s always been such a screw up and loser that I really want to root for him. Something else weird has transpired here as well. Greenlee has not turned my stomach with her idiocy. Her trying to convince hot as a fire cracker on the Fourth of July Aidan to just be friends (“Give me the fist... that’s right, now blow it up, just blow it up…”) was spot on perfect! The Hubbards continue to deliver and although I can understand where Angie is coming from about Jesse’s not being a cop, I think she is asking a leopard to change his spots. As evidenced by his involvement in the prostitute versus pimp mess. Surely these people understand that the pimp will pay a fine and be out beating the crap out of his whores in 24 hours? Unless that pimp tries to get Colby into his fold, there are not a lot of places that they can go with this one that don’t have “predictable” stamped on one side and “done to death” stamped on the other. All together, I enjoyed catching up with All My Children this week. There was some great dialog (for a change) and what appears to be some real progress, movement and dare I say it? Possibly even some growth going on in Pine Valley, ding dang dong, y’all, I hope so! One Life to Live Be still my stuttering heart. While a year ago I lamented that soaps might be dead and gone and all that we were watching was the death throes, here comes One Life to Live to make a liar out of me. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I have to tell you that I cried through almost all of the Starr, Cole, Marcie, John, Nora discussions. I mean big, fat tears rolling down my face: blubbered. Having those scenes interspersed with Todd keeping the not-so-dead Marty hidden away was about the only thing that kept me from gut wrenching sobs. I hate Todd, I so sincerely do! The man is barely human, I am convinced of it. Anyway I feel so deeply for Cole who wants to be a father to his baby so very badly. I feel for Marcie who could NOT be more right that taking Starr and Cole’s baby would forever keep her connected with insane-in-the-membrane baby granddad, the raving lunatic, Todd. I do think that Starr is trying very hard to make a very grown up decision concerning their baby, but she just doesn’t have the tools to cope. My heart is breaking for her, but she still doesn’t see Todd for what he really is. Until Todd went ape shit deranged on her and her boy friend, the girl was enabling him the same way her crazy loving mother always has; making excuses and pretending that he had some form of redeeming quality. She still doesn’t see that the man who SOLD HIS OWN SON to baby brokers in a third world country (when he thought it wasn’t his son) and who could not STAND to be in the same room with her baby brother Sam-- his own son-- before it was revealed that Sam was “his” possession.. er, I mean "family" is just as bad and just as crazy and just as out of control now as he was the night in college he led a gang rape of his future grandchild’s other grandmother. He has no limits, no compunctions, no conscious and that is clear for us all to see with what he is doing to Marty right now. He may have raped her body back in college, but he is most definitely raping her mind now. Starr’s baby will never be free of the stigma of Manning as long as anyone around him knows from whence the child came. None of them are ever safe when Todd loves them. His enemies are far better off! They stand a better chance of surviving him. No quicker way to kill that first love than with a big heaping helping of growing up is there? It is so heartbreaking! Wow. So Tess never disappoints does she? Whew, my hats off to Bree Williamson for sure. I didn’t want to see Nash go, but this is shocking, hair raising good soap. When Tess opened the lid of the coffin and said “Baby, I’m here” It gave me the chills. I have to admit to being an iota worried that we will have to spend the next decade listening to her talk about how Jared pushed Nash through the skylight. I mean, Jared did push Nash, but he had no intention to kill him. Oh well, I’m not Jared’s biggest fan anyway. Seriously, I’m beginning to feel for the first time in a long time that this show will be around that long. Last year at this time I wouldn’t have given the soaps 3 years! I’d love to get excited for Lindsay and Bo’s reunion except this is way too close to what happened to them the last time. I mean, if she doesn’t tell him about the whole faking the breakdown thing and Nora does, he will dump Lindsay and it is so inevitable I don’t even want to invest. I have to give kudos’ to One Life to Live for the touching scenes between the older adults today (Friday); Lindsay and Bo, Clint and Nora. One Life is really walking the walk and talking the talk! Tina, Tina, Tina; she has not changed too much has she? I’m going to save most of my comments and see how this one plays out. I thought the bonding stuff between mother and daughter was terrific and I’ve absolutely missed something about how all of this is coming down. Such as what did the bad man threaten Talia with, Jamie? I mean she’s not doing these things willingly but there wasn’t much set up for this, was there? I want to quickly mention how much I like Gigi and Shayne and Rex and having admittedly missed some of Brody’s earlier stuff with Shayne I have to wonder if he is really taking this fatherhood role to heart. I thought it was a nice touch for Gigi to figure out that she is one more link in the chain of people who are hurting Rex right now with her lies. I find myself wanting her to sit Shayne and Brody down and give them a talking to that starts, “Everybody makes mistakes and what matters is how they react to them so I’m going to have to admit to something I wish I had never done” and ends, “So Brody, you and Shayne can be father and son but I’m not living this lie anymore. I’m going to tell Rex.” PS: I love the teens on the trip! I am such a big fan of Langston & Marrco. These two have some big things ahead with or without their B.F.F’s! General Hospital What the hell was that a drive by quarantine? The shortest and most contrived plotline since Courtney’s two day drug addiction and her miscarrying the Morgan clumpy cells? I was in pain FOR THE ACTORS. Did they want to rub salt in their eyes because I sure did. I’m still shaking my head in disbelief. Whose idea was this? Then they execute the 24 hour lock down and it is the MOST boring and unproductive 24 hours of my life. OF. MY. LIFE. The dialog was dumb. It was all pointless, disappointing or inappropriate. So that flu is so bad that the Glad-bag Man had to knock on their door and isolate them, but there was no hazmat team? No instructions on how to clean the home? No CDC doctors in their with their medicine bags? What a damn rip off! Rather reminds me of the short sheet they gave Monica’s alcoholism, remember that? Me neither. It was there and gone so fast it left no impression. It left a bad taste in my mouth, though, especially after they had the nerve to get the fans all fired up hoping for a freaking miracle and then they FAKED IT, just like they did this quarantine thing. I wish I was shocked that this once great show BLOWING these opportunities that could have been such fan pleasing events was unexpected... BUT THEY AREN’T. It is business as usual over at General Hospital. They manage to accidentally strike gold with Maxie and Spinelli after several highly pimped romances for her failed and what do they do? They throw a hairy faced doctor into the mix. Bite me, G.H. Open up wide and get a big old chomp of my lily white back side! Do you care how abjectly disappointed the long term fans are as you bait and switch and promise us the moon and then we don’t even get kissed? You dropped the ball. Again. All is not doom and gloom though and at least this year I can say that! I love the magic clinic that was done in four days. I don’t get why Mayor FLUB is so set on holding it back but I think it was time the free clinic made its return even if they do refuse the nod at the history of the show and don’t mention that this isn’t the first one. I’ve already told you that this should be where we can now see Lesley and Monica and Bobbie and Noah, so I won’t bore you with that all over again. I simply can’t BELIEVE they are going to do a free clinic storyline and leave them out of it! I was talking about what I like, wasn’t I? I like that Leyla seems interested in Spinelli. Good for him. It wouldn’t do him any harm to have a girlfriend he didn’t have to GEEK to KEEP. Max and Diane are a hoot. I love them and want to see more of them. I loved Diane at Jake’s talking to Coleman like they were no strangers too. I love that Tracy is back but damn, after the touching “Run away with me” stuff with Luke, I am very sorry they couldn’t be off somewhere having a blast together. I love seeing Anna, however briefly. I like Scrubs although if I have to watch Robin on that sofa for five months, I will want to scream my face off. Anyone else feeling sorry for Jax? It’s so tiring watching Sonny ca-ca on him year after year after year and he and Carly have been my most favorite Carly moments to date. Alexis was right, you know. They are toxic together or apart and they will destroy anyone in their orbit. The difference is this time there are at least a few other things I’m enjoying so I’m not being held prisoner to the umpteenth CarSon reunion. Thank goodness! What else? I like Nik with Nadine and with Claudia. Claudia is so different around Nik she isn’t all hormones and heat. I like her better this way. I hate Alexis and James Craig. No press is bad press? Is that what they say? Well, read my silence. Okay, well I’ve thought of ways to tell you J-Yawn-y Za-crazy and Spewlu make me want to hurl. How I’m sick of the mob even Bruce Weitz and his fabulous over the top portrayal of daddy ZaCrazy isn’t doing it for me. About how much I wish I didn’t know what they say is in store for Logan because he is Scott’s son… I’m not coming up with much positive to say so I’m going to stop talking now. Look for me coming up right here and as always, I hope you will look me up over at Daytime Confidential and listen for me to co-host the ABC Edition of the Daytime Confidential Podcast and I’ll talk to again soon. Peace!
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