Sept 4, 2006

Forgive me, I’m about to rant endlessly about two scenes from the beginning of the week that lasted merely seconds each.  But I need to get it off my chest, and frankly I think it is symptomatic of the overall writing of AMC.  I hope the writers didn’t break their arms patting themselves on the back for their nod to continuity by bringing up the fact that Danielle and Josh have slept together.  It wasn’t a nod, folks.  It was a middle finger.  I still remember the storyline of Danielle losing her virginity – it was only last year.  It was heartbreaking partly because Reggie wasn’t the one who deflowered her – instead it was brand-spankin-new character Josh.  Also heartbreaking was how poignantly Tanisha Lynn played Danielle’s confusion over how to handle the repercussions.  Viewers weren’t sure how to handle Josh, who was portrayed as a somewhat sweet, if smarmy, aw-shukster.  He got points for his gentle treatment of Danielle, even championing her a few times during the Dragon storyline.  When the Dragon storyline ended, Danielle was put back on the backburner and Josh fell victim to the siren song of Babe.  It was later, when he was recast, that he became more hard-edged, angry, etc.  I swallowed the recast because I knew where they were taking the character.  By that time his connection with Danielle was an almost-forgotten memory.  Never the twain shall meet again…until he was hired at Fusion.  Today’s Josh is not even remotely like the Josh that first stepped on the show – physically (duh!) or in personality.  The thought of Josh-as-he-is-now being Danielle’s first lover has me taking deep breaths hoping the nausea will pass.  Probably a lot of people feel that way (I’m arrogant like that).  That’s what happens when writers take a lot of twists and turns with a character before settling them into a particular groove.  In situations like this, continuity has to be ignored or faced.  In this case, they decided to face it, but the result was awful.   

My first beef with this was the Robert Altman style of directing.  I’m speaking of the way different conversations in the room bleed over onto each other.  Erin, Simone and Danielle were having a discussion at the same time that Josh and Kendall were talking.  I don’t mind that sometimes, but in this case it was irritating because it was distracting.  Next, I was ticked off with the way it was handled.  Erin’s reaction I can understand.  Not knowing the story behind it, she treats it casually – she just wants the scoop.  But Simone, I’m pretty sure, knew the story.  Her insensitivity was bewildering.  “Okay, that’s old news.”  Whaa?  Oblivious, Erin presses on and…we don’t get the answer because it switched back to Josh and Kendall.  As if that wasn’t dismissive enough, we get round two later on.  Erin wants her to spill the details, Simone wants her to shut up about it, and the only thing Danielle has to say is, “It happened, it's done, it's over.”  I get the message guys, ya didn’t have to hammer me over the head with it.  The writers wanted to make a token reference for continuity’s sake, but turn it into a joke.  Would it have been too much to ask to have Danielle quietly tell Erin that it was her first time and not something she wants to dish about?  End of story.  It would have certainly shut Erin up.  Or, better yet, have a small convo take place between Josh and Danielle.  Geez, anything would have been better than the slap in the face to Dani fans, and it wouldn’t have taken any more screen time. 

That rant served another purpose.  It allowed me to vent some anger and frustration on an entirely new topic, so that I might not feel tempted to rage about Ryan’s behavior on Friday.  Y’all know I’m a huge Zach and Kendall fan.  I don’t bring them up a lot these days because words are not adequate to describe how awful that whole storyline makes me feel.  It’s truly been a roller coaster, and right now things are at their lowest point yet.  I can deal with Ryan when he isn’t stirring the pot.  Unfortunately he was stirring vigorously this week and I was imagining lots of violent things which I shall not mention here.  I have no further comment.   

 The Josh and Kendall scenes were pretty funny.  I loved her annoyance and begrudging admiration for his brass cajones in asking her to make nice with someone she despises.  He’s such a little pissant, it’s kinda funny.  He wants everyone to do him the favor of giving him what he wants, while at the same time making it clear that he’s not gonna give them a damn thing in return.  Oh, he’s sooo Kane. 

I’m convinced that the shirt Jackson was wearing was the same shirt that Zach (and Kendall!) wore during the week of their wedding and first love scenes.  Hahaha.  Does this mean that Zach borrowed from Jack’s closet on the yacht when he went down to the island?  Seriously, that was the first time I’d ever seen anything like that.  Did the wardrobe people do that on purpose?  Or were they just being budget-minded? 

I liked the scenes this week where Tad and Dixie separately were trying to protect the other.  As toxic as things have been between them lately, the love is still there and it was a small indication that they might find their way back to each other someday…maybe even sooner rather than later.  Di and Del were very sweet as they took steps to try and help Dixie.  Di even contemplated going to prison again on her sister’s behalf. 

WTF line of the week goes to Babe as she was gushing at Josh:  “You are the golden child, Josh. Hey. You just don't see it yet.”  WTF does that mean???  Josh is Eddie Murphy?  I’m thinking he doesn’t see it because he’s not taking mind-altering drugs. 

Adam has chosen to deal with his daughter’s excessiveness by being amused.  “What's it going to be, the giant shrimp shooter or the flying zucchini boat? You want to come in on a polka dot elephant escorted by the entire Penn State football team.”  A breath of fresh air wafts into this oppressive, smoggy storyline.  Aaaaah…. 

You remember in episodes of Frasier they always had a scene during the credits - when he’s singing about tossed salad and scrambled eggs - of something amusing that was incidental to the plot?  If Thursday’s AMC had been an episode of Frasier, the credits would have shown the casino employees looking worried and confused as Kendall’s lawyer won round after round of craps, laughing triumphantly as she raked in the chips. 

Were those really halogen lamps decorating the crypt at Wyndemere? 

On to GH, Jax and Carly were seriously hot this week.  There was a lot of chemistry between these two, and I look forward to their storyline.  I like the dynamic of her two kids in the mix, and I might actually grow to like Michael.  His not-so-subtly tossing a bowl of peanuts at Jemma was hilarious. 

As a distinct bonus, I got some sublime Jax and Alexis scenes this week.  She positively glows whenever he’s around - lord have mercy I love it!!  I know I’ll never see these two actually have a romance, but as long as I get to see scenes with them together, I can be appeased. 

Other lovely personal encounters:   

Alexis confiding in Jason her fears about dying, and him actually sharing stuff with her.  Wow!   

Tracy trying to give Lulu advice and actually seeming to genuinely want to help her make the right decision.  Double Wow!  Line of the week goes to Tracy when she tells Lulu, “I have no sympathy for someone who can make a list of the people who care about them.” 

I also enjoyed the Sonny/Lainey scenes.  She is just not intimidated by him at all. 

Dillon’s hair was doing some stranger things than usual, which made his horror at the idea of his child inheriting it all the more amusing. 

Thanks for reading.  Cheers! 

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