Oct 24, 2006

I got a kick out of Adam this last week as he continued to try and impart his values to JR.  There is nothing more poignant than a father desperately trying to steer his son on the straight and narrow path.  Or the twisted and single-minded path, as the case may be.  When he isn’t admonishing JR for going soft on Josh, he’s advising him on other ways to keep his marriage alive.  “Lock it in. Get her pregnant.”  I think I’ve seen that embroidered on a pillow somewhere. 

I’m considering strapping on a neck brace and suing the show for whiplash.  JR’s personality changes are making me dizzy.  It’s one thing to have a character reform and grow, it’s another to have them toggle back and forth between mature and insane depending on the needs of the storyline.  Despite my continuing dislike of JR these days, he still throws out some good snark.  “Well, come on, Dad. Let's go talk about hunting buffalo. Let the women talk about hormones and nursing brassieres.”  And to Derek, “It's not like you to ring the bell. I was sure you had a key made by now.” 

I thought the conversation between Colby and David was interesting.  One thing I love about David is that he never wastes an opportunity.  Here was the chance to pump some info out of a Chandler, so he swept in all charm and chumminess.  I could see his eyes glazing over at her stereotypical teenness, but he got the goods.  Plenty of it.  I will enjoy watching him stir the pot.  Of course, he’s already got his stick in there, and the big question on everybody’s mind is whether he faked the DNA test.  “You're going to stay away from Annie McDermott and Emma. You're going to stay away from Ryan. You're basically going to stay away from anybody I've ever met.”  It’s true – when you’re threatening David, you have to cover all your bases. 

I laughed out loud when Erica was saying goodbye to Jeff and Bianca exclaimed, “Mother!!!”  What was funny about it was that Bianca knows her mother all too well - jumping to the conclusion that she spent the night with Jeff isn’t an Olympic-sized leap.  I loved their honest and open conversation afterwards.  Bianca really laid it out to Erica, and she made some very good points to her about playing with fire. 

Julia didn’t have a towel with her when she went for a swim, because it was a spontaneous decision.  Yet, she was wearing a bathing suit.  But why quibble with details?  I’m really hoping that this wasn’t a closure sort of moment, but rather a “those crazy kids and their misconceptions, they’ll be back together before you know it” sort of thing. 

There are very few solid friendships on this show.  I really, really enjoyed the Tad and Aidan scenes.  Michael E. Knight just keeps knocking it out of the park.   I also always appreciate Aidan’s quiet, yet rock solid perseverance on behalf of his friend. 

An unexpected friendship-like scene was Julia and Josh’s discussion about love.  Every encounter of theirs takes them a step farther away from adversaries and closer to being friends.  I like relationships like this that evolve slowly and unexpectedly. 

Great casting job on Spike!  Not only do his eyes remind me of Kendall’s, but he’s already developing the unruly mane of hair.  I had to go fetch a glass of milk in order to watch the scenes between him and Zach, they were just so sweet.  I love the in joke about him being a Red Wings fan.   

I know there tends to be a lot of repetition in soaps – gotta make sure someone tuning for the first time can get caught up.  It’s more annoying when I was bored with it the first time.  How many scenes do we need to watch of Ryan trying to coax info out of a skittish Annie?  This isn’t The Horse Whisperer - just spill it, already! 

I’ve come up with all kinds of crazy theories regarding Emma’s paternity.  My favorite one is that Ryan was the anonymous sperm donor, and the reason Emma matches Tad’s DNA is because Patrick Lavery nee Curry and Ray Gardner were brothers.  If Tad and Ryan were cousins, it would explain a lot.  They both have a white knight complex and tend to be selfish about the damsels they are rescuing.  Peons like David or Zach aren’t allowed to help out without it being suspicious.  Also, both the Martins and the Laverys have been exalted to sainthood in the town.   Can you imagine if they were merged through Tad and Ryan’s connection?

What else happened this week…let’s see….  Oh yes!  From now on, every time I hear Nickelback’s “Far Away,” there’ll be one image that runs through my mind:  pop pop pop! 

Thanks for reading.  Cheers! 

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