July 17, 2006

We’ve been seeing a lot of new faces on AMC lately.  There is nothing wrong with new faces.  A change of pace, something different, is always nice.  Interestingly, it seems like the only new face that feels like a breath of fresh air is Jeff Martin.  I think maybe it’s because I’m getting older and more appreciate what an experienced actor can bring to the canvas.   

I really do enjoy Jeff.  I was laughing when he and Josh were discussing plans to get together, and completely ignoring Erica.  Woo hoo! 

It wouldn’t really matter who the object of her wrath is - Erica seems to have no grip on reality.  She goes to Ryan and asks him to make Zach “disappear” because she thinks he’s the wild card in her very poorly kept secret.  Let’s ignore for a moment the extremeness of her solution or the fact that her daughter would be devastated. I would tend to think that a father who is champing at the bit, practically frothing at the mouth to tell his son the truth - Jeff Martin - would be the most danger to her peace of mind.  Every time Jeff is in Josh’ presence, you can see stars flying out of his eye sockets.  And Erica thinks Zach is going to be the one to spill his guts? 

I also enjoyed how she protested to Ryan that he has a very short memory – surely he hasn’t forgotten the havoc that Zach has wrought in Kendall’s life!  Remember when Zach peeled away on his motorcycle, with Kendall running after him and begging him to come back?  Or when Zach became disgusted with her shaky trust in him, so he married Greenlee and verbally abused Kendall for months and months?  Or how about the fact that Zach would only pay attention to Kendall when it suited his purposes, and if she did something he disapproved of, he cut her dead?  And who could ever forget when she was at the lowest point of her life, Zach started drinking and ran off to Las Vegas to be a showgirl?  Damn that man for all that he’s done to Kendall! 

I’m not saying that Zach or any other denizens of Pine Valley are squeaky clean in comparison, I’m just saying that I can’t stand hypocrites.  Even worse than Erica this week, if that is possible, was repeat offender Tad Martin.  Tad’s behavior was hysterical - the way he sneered at Dixie, accusing her of promiscuity and using sex to forget about their daughter.  Oh boy, did he walk into that one.   

I’m not sure what to think of Krystal.  Should I be outraged on behalf of Adam, because he is so in love with her and thinks the world of her?  Should I think that he’s got it coming to him because he’s done so many awful things and gotten away with it?  Should I just not care? 

Adam needled Dixie by saying that JR has to elbow his way through her entourage in order to get some time with her.  I have to say that she does seem to have quite a number of hot men at her beck and call.  That was quite a hat trick she pulled, locking lips with three men in less than two weeks.  

Kendall brought up the possibility of a Kane curse – having the babies of men who have violated them.  I would certainly say that it goes beyond the realm of freaky coincidence.  I’ll go a step further.  Mona killed Erica’s rapist.  Erica would have shot Bianca’s rapist, but Bianca got to him first.  Erica has also tried to kill Greg, who violated her and possibly her daughter.  That leaves some interesting possibilities.  Kendall was in a coma when Greg was buried.  Was Erica really passed out?  And where was Bianca?  Meh, I said last week that I wouldn’t speculate and here I am doing it.  I would rule Bianca out because she isn’t that cold-blooded.  I would also rule Erica out because the person clearly had one agenda and that was to find the location of Kate.  Erica could not care less about Kate. 

I got a little ill when Ryan was trying to reassure Kendall that he doesn’t care who Spike’s father is.  The bulk of his argument basically consisted of him stating that sharing the kid meant that he gets to spend more time with her.  Okay, I take that back.  I am getting very ill.  I would have been sooo fine with a speech along the lines of  “I had a vasectomy and now I can’t have children.  This is my one chance to be a father to a child, whether he’s biologically related to me or not.”  Instead it was, “I can’t be married to you, so I will use our child to insinuate myself into your life as much as possible so that in a really twisted way it’s almost like we are married.” 

Tad reluctantly agreed to a truce while he and Dixie are looking for Kate.  So after they find Kate, he plans to go back to being hateful?  When they find their daughter, their problems will only have just begun. 

I loved the Zach/David/Aidan scenes on Friday.  For one thing, I got the pleasure of hearing Zach make the same observation that I did in last week’s column:  The culprit was both clever in his or her plan to put Greg in the box, and stupid to leave him there to die before he could give up his secret.  I also loved that mention was made of both Maria and Anna.   

I was a bit confused by Dixie’s regret-filled speech.  If she could go back in time, she wouldn’t fight to live like she did before.  Maybe I’m over-thinking this, but if I were Dixie and I had the opportunity to go back in time, there are many other things I would change.  Not go to Switzerland in the first place.  Not get into a car crash.  Not sign the papers giving Kate away.  Instead, it is apparently not enough to be a quitter in the present.  She wants to retroactively give up as well.  Sheesh. 

Having 15 year old Colby crawl into a man’s bed is old and tired soap fodder.  Having 15 year old Colby not cry rape when her brother catches them…unexpected!  “Colby makes Amanda look subtle.” 

WTF of the week that had many people going uh….  When JR insisted to Dixie that she was not going back to prison.   

There is very little in this world that is scarier than watching Dorian acting like her daughter and Rex going to an inn to have sex is a-okay with her.  I got shivers up my spine. 

Sometimes it pays not to FF.  I might have otherwise missed the hilarious scene when Jessica went ballistic on Antonio because he was suspicious of her desire to have sex.   

Starr’s punk friend is named Langston??? 

I had to crack up when Robert was forced to try and give The Talk to Lulu.  Her reaction was also priceless.  Of course, one would wonder at the futility of closing the barn door after the horses have already escaped.  Tracy had a very good point when she talked to Dillon.  They are all family, in a very messed-up sort of way.  What happens when it ends inevitably?  Of course, Monica and Ned manage to live in the same house without their past fling getting in the way.  I guess in the Quartermaine household, anything is possible. 

In my notes I have some sort of jumbled reference to a circle jerk where I just list off a bunch of names of people on GH who seem to share an attraction.  Maxie Lucky Liz Patrick Carly Jason Robin Nikolas Emily Sonny Sam Ric Alexis.  I’m sure if I put all the women on one side and men on the other, the number of criss-crossed lines would weave quite a tapestry.  There’s so much mixing and matching going on in this group that it makes me sort of queasy.   

I was in heaven mid-week when I got to experience the distinct pleasure of a Robert/Anna/Skye/Lorenzo scene.  Le sigh.  I do have one nit-pick.  Anna referred to Skye’s eye color as hazel.  They are actually amber. 

I know Lucky acknowledged that Carly is his cousin on the outset of his fantasy, but it was still extremely icky.   

I think what I don’t really like about GH is how dark and edgy it is.  I like dark and edgy sometimes, but not all the time.  Having a few characters that blur the line of good or bad is one thing.  Having the vast majority of characters engaging in questionable or downright appalling behavior is just tiring.  Where’s the relief from all the angst?  I don’t know, maybe it’s just my perception that it is too much.    

Thanks for reading. Cheers!

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