I noticed in SOAP OPERA WEEKLY's current issue, under "Crazy Rumors Of The Week", it says that Marcus and Owen will be THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's first gay characters. This is something I wrote about in my post on June 5, VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED. Maybe my other theories will hit the press as well and we'll get some behind-the-scenes shots of Ellen Wheeler holding a Cameraphone (TM) as she terrorizes the cast of GUIDING LIGHT!
I'm still enjoying the PORT CHARLES reruns on Soapnet, but damn -- 2 episodes a week of what was a daily soap are a slow trickle, indeed. ( A similar situation affects those watching EASTENDERS on American PBS, which shows 2 episodes a week of a 4 times a week show. Naturally, PBS can never catch up to current episodes, resulting in 5 year old EASTENDERS storylines slooooowly being played out.) Come on, Soapnet, run at least 5 episodes of PORT CHARLES a week and publicize it a little with commercials focusing on stars Thorsten Kaye and Michael Easton, who are the current leading men of ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. It would be a shame to let this unique supernatural soap opera just fade away.
Trying to stay on top of AS THE WORLD TURNS, but only managed to choke down Thursday's DVRed episode tonight. The scenes at summer camp were TORTURE. Why is Sage singing "Good Morning Baltimore" from HAIRSPRAY when the zaftig Faith would be a more suitable choice? What was that song Faith and Natalie sang to each other and am I the only one who finds pubescent sisters singing a love song to each other gross? Why is the Jack and Carly pairing dead in the water? AAAAAARGHHHH
The episode was partly redeemed by an excellent scene where Janet and Jack talked to each other honestly like grown adults, but when I saw the coming attractions for Friday AGAIN highlighting only Holden/Carly and Brad/Janet/Jack/Liberty/Parker, I felt like deleting that show from my DVR. Where is Lucinda to sort everyone out? Why isn't Luke having heart-to-hearts with his parents or aunt at this awful time in his life? I stand by my suspicion that nobody in the ATWT writers' room is talking to anyone else.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
EMPLOYED!
I start training for my new job as a florist on Monday! I guess all that WEEDS watching paid off...well, what does this mean for this blog? I won't change the title because there is still The Unemployed Boyfriend and I did get majorly into soaps while unemployed. My work schedule will be fluctuating, so I will catch soaps when I can and will always DVR AS THE WORLD TURNS!
Before I got called for an interview, I was watching ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Now I can't remember a single thing that happenned! As I was eating a late breakfast, I flipped between GENERAL HOSPITAL and GUIDING LIGHT. I am befuddled as to why GH introduced the Carly pregnancy story, only to drop it next week when Carly learns she isn't pregnant after all. What's the point of that?
Still, nothing on soaps is as pointless as GL. I don't care about G, even if they call him Grady. I hate Daisy -- what an insensitive little cow! This man killed her cousin and she's gaga for him to the point of running away? The only way to redeem this story is to kill G and make it a murder mystery. The only enjoyment I get out of GL is watching barely rehearsed actors squinting and trying to say their lines in blazing East Coast sunshine! Doesn't Ellen Wheeler know how miserable a New Jersey summer is? Hot, humid and hazy! Get ready for a summer of sweaty, miserable Spauldings, Lewises and Coopers!
Before I got called for an interview, I was watching ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Now I can't remember a single thing that happenned! As I was eating a late breakfast, I flipped between GENERAL HOSPITAL and GUIDING LIGHT. I am befuddled as to why GH introduced the Carly pregnancy story, only to drop it next week when Carly learns she isn't pregnant after all. What's the point of that?
Still, nothing on soaps is as pointless as GL. I don't care about G, even if they call him Grady. I hate Daisy -- what an insensitive little cow! This man killed her cousin and she's gaga for him to the point of running away? The only way to redeem this story is to kill G and make it a murder mystery. The only enjoyment I get out of GL is watching barely rehearsed actors squinting and trying to say their lines in blazing East Coast sunshine! Doesn't Ellen Wheeler know how miserable a New Jersey summer is? Hot, humid and hazy! Get ready for a summer of sweaty, miserable Spauldings, Lewises and Coopers!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
DON'T FIRE NOAH!
Due to insomnia, zonkiness from the Los Angeles heatwave and watching too much WEEDS, I am a bit behind in my ATWT viewing. Late last night The Unemployed Boyfriend and I watched Tuesday's and Wednesday's episodes, and were startled by how bad the show can be one day (Tuesday's Holden/Carly/Lily snorefest mixed with crazy chick Sofie overload) and so damn good the other day (Wednesday's Nuke and Alison/Chris courtroom drama.) My gut instinct? ATWT has a writer's room that is not talking to each other. Time to go on a company retreat and learn some team-building skills, people!
One dead-on detail in Wednesday's episode earned my kudos. Noah is leaving work at Java to go to the police station and gets SNARKED AT BY HIS SUPERVISOR. Sadly, this is an all too true reflection of retail life. Shit will be going down, people can die, and your supervisor will STILL say you're leaving them in a bind. I wonder who wrote this one and where did they work during college?
I was intrigued by DAYS OF OUR LIVES today since John now has that memory disk in his possession. I really hope that while his memories get restored, his personality does not, because Drake Hogestyn is much more exciting as this incarnation of John than as the monotonous, goody-goody prior personality. I am also curious about what went down, exactly, between Nicole and Trent. Nice to see Arianne Zuker do more than comedy,too.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE scored with Nash's funeral today; I liked how Jess dragged Natalie and Jared over to the coffin to get a look at Nash's broken, torn body that they couldn't have an open casket funeral for. The ending Nash montage was well done, too. There was also some prime comic relief as Tina's dog bit Kevin Spirtas' hand and scampered away after being threatened at gunpoint! Run DavidVickers run!
GENERAL HOSPITAL has got to do something with the Zaccharas, because every time they appear the fun gets sucked out of the screen. Really, is there any reason why Anthony or Claudia Zacchara is still alive, let alone their lawyer Trevor? Especially after Anthony threatened Alexis' daughter today -- there is no way a potential child-killer can be a "fun" villain that we want to watch. GH should cut their losses with this family and have them blown up by Jerry Jax. Think of how grateful Alexis would be to Jerry for getting rid of the threat to her family -- then she would have a readymade defense for sleeping with a known terrorist!
One dead-on detail in Wednesday's episode earned my kudos. Noah is leaving work at Java to go to the police station and gets SNARKED AT BY HIS SUPERVISOR. Sadly, this is an all too true reflection of retail life. Shit will be going down, people can die, and your supervisor will STILL say you're leaving them in a bind. I wonder who wrote this one and where did they work during college?
I was intrigued by DAYS OF OUR LIVES today since John now has that memory disk in his possession. I really hope that while his memories get restored, his personality does not, because Drake Hogestyn is much more exciting as this incarnation of John than as the monotonous, goody-goody prior personality. I am also curious about what went down, exactly, between Nicole and Trent. Nice to see Arianne Zuker do more than comedy,too.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE scored with Nash's funeral today; I liked how Jess dragged Natalie and Jared over to the coffin to get a look at Nash's broken, torn body that they couldn't have an open casket funeral for. The ending Nash montage was well done, too. There was also some prime comic relief as Tina's dog bit Kevin Spirtas' hand and scampered away after being threatened at gunpoint! Run DavidVickers run!
GENERAL HOSPITAL has got to do something with the Zaccharas, because every time they appear the fun gets sucked out of the screen. Really, is there any reason why Anthony or Claudia Zacchara is still alive, let alone their lawyer Trevor? Especially after Anthony threatened Alexis' daughter today -- there is no way a potential child-killer can be a "fun" villain that we want to watch. GH should cut their losses with this family and have them blown up by Jerry Jax. Think of how grateful Alexis would be to Jerry for getting rid of the threat to her family -- then she would have a readymade defense for sleeping with a known terrorist!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I'M GOING TO HELL
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS managed to engage me at the midpoint -- and lost me by the commercial break, causing me to switch to ALL MY CHILDREN. Y&R had a short but promising scene between Kay, Amber and Jill that could have kept me watching if the scene hadn't switched to Lily's birthday party, wherein an angelic child sang a birthday song of her own composition to Lily so Y&R wouldn't have to pay the rights to the Happy Birthday To You song. ( I know about this from an episode of the late, lamented SPORTS NIGHT!) Guys, unless there's some drama going on, a birthday party for someone you don't know or care about is boring.
Not to say AMC was all that today, but at least Angie and Jesse were in it. I liked seeing Jesse bust that pimp; more of Jesse cleaning up Pine Valley, please. I am sick of Opal going on about her Tarot cards, though. The Death card actually does not mean physical death. It refers to a way of life changing or an old way of doing things ending. Therefore, Opal snarling that death is at Richie's door is just nonsense.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE and DAYS OF OUR LIVES continue to fight each other for my attention, and I had to stay with OLTL for Nash's funeral. From looking at the show only, it appears that Jessica will forgive Nash and Natalie (and we will all cry) but then you see the previews and commercials and BOOM! HERE COMES TESS WITH A VENGEANCE! This is good for longterm viewers who remember that it was Tess and Nash who were the best couple on OLTL before Tess was integrated into Jess, but troubling for new viewers (like the Unemployed Boyfriend) who see it as a melodramatic twist to a realistically painful storyline. I say jury's out for now, but part of me likes seeing Natalie get punished a bit...I still remember how awful she was to Jess when she was played by Erin Torpey and Brandon Routh was her boyfriend!
I'm going to hell for saying this, but the autistic kid story on DOOL is just not very good. It has the air of a PSA about it. I know this story is personal for the head writer, but it's a dead end for Abe, Lexie and their son Theo. Look at how AMC's autistic character, Lily, could not be paired with anyone, so they created a twin character, Ava, that was not autistic so they could hook her up with everyone and it was such a mess that both characters were written out (with Ava just vanishing since she was so unpopular.) This is autistic Theo's future: no story, no romance, nothing except preaching about autism. And DOOL's viewers don't like being preached at; SOAP OPERA WEEKLY pointed out that the week the Brady pub went green, the ratings fell. Of course autism is an important topic but I don't think an escapist soap like DOOL is the right place to explore the subject.
In fact, wouldn't a medically based show like GENERAL HOSPITAL or spinoff NIGHT SHIFT be able to tell a better story about autism? What if Carly's baby turned out to be autistic? How would this sometimes unlikable woman react? Would she be furious that one son is in a coma while another has a disability? Who would Carly want to be a father to this child -- mobster Sonny or businessman Jax? See, an autistic story on GH could actually open up a whole bunch of different stories while the autistic story on DOOL is a non-starter, formulated only because ..."we had been looking for something substantial for Abe and Lexie, anyway." (Head Writer Dena Higley, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 7/1/08, p.10)
Not to say AMC was all that today, but at least Angie and Jesse were in it. I liked seeing Jesse bust that pimp; more of Jesse cleaning up Pine Valley, please. I am sick of Opal going on about her Tarot cards, though. The Death card actually does not mean physical death. It refers to a way of life changing or an old way of doing things ending. Therefore, Opal snarling that death is at Richie's door is just nonsense.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE and DAYS OF OUR LIVES continue to fight each other for my attention, and I had to stay with OLTL for Nash's funeral. From looking at the show only, it appears that Jessica will forgive Nash and Natalie (and we will all cry) but then you see the previews and commercials and BOOM! HERE COMES TESS WITH A VENGEANCE! This is good for longterm viewers who remember that it was Tess and Nash who were the best couple on OLTL before Tess was integrated into Jess, but troubling for new viewers (like the Unemployed Boyfriend) who see it as a melodramatic twist to a realistically painful storyline. I say jury's out for now, but part of me likes seeing Natalie get punished a bit...I still remember how awful she was to Jess when she was played by Erin Torpey and Brandon Routh was her boyfriend!
I'm going to hell for saying this, but the autistic kid story on DOOL is just not very good. It has the air of a PSA about it. I know this story is personal for the head writer, but it's a dead end for Abe, Lexie and their son Theo. Look at how AMC's autistic character, Lily, could not be paired with anyone, so they created a twin character, Ava, that was not autistic so they could hook her up with everyone and it was such a mess that both characters were written out (with Ava just vanishing since she was so unpopular.) This is autistic Theo's future: no story, no romance, nothing except preaching about autism. And DOOL's viewers don't like being preached at; SOAP OPERA WEEKLY pointed out that the week the Brady pub went green, the ratings fell. Of course autism is an important topic but I don't think an escapist soap like DOOL is the right place to explore the subject.
In fact, wouldn't a medically based show like GENERAL HOSPITAL or spinoff NIGHT SHIFT be able to tell a better story about autism? What if Carly's baby turned out to be autistic? How would this sometimes unlikable woman react? Would she be furious that one son is in a coma while another has a disability? Who would Carly want to be a father to this child -- mobster Sonny or businessman Jax? See, an autistic story on GH could actually open up a whole bunch of different stories while the autistic story on DOOL is a non-starter, formulated only because ..."we had been looking for something substantial for Abe and Lexie, anyway." (Head Writer Dena Higley, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 7/1/08, p.10)
I AM VICTOR NEWMAN'S WIFE
...because I interrupted my soap viewing today to go to the museum that Victor and Sabrina were canoodling around a couple of months ago. You know, the one with the street lamp installation? I find it ironic that I turned off THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS to visit a place seen in Y&R. From the bit of show I saw today, I was surprised to see Tammin Sursok as Colleen, since it felt like she was written out six weeks ago. Did the producers rehire her after her Emmy nom? Great, now we'll have NuColleen speaking with a quasi-Australian accent forevah. And she has an annoyingly large forehead, too.
I watched a rerun of GOSSIP GIRL tonight and was startled by the omniscient narrator, Gossip Girl, getting involved in the action by sending Blair an email of Nate with Jenny. This opens up a can of worms -- instead of being a chronicler of the Upper East Side, Gossip Girl is now a Blair-hater. If that's the case, then who is Gossip Girl? No one in the diegesis of the show can be this all powerful! I like to think it's the marginalized gay, Eric, wreaking vengeance on all those heteros who monopolize the air time.
XOXO
You know you love me.
I watched a rerun of GOSSIP GIRL tonight and was startled by the omniscient narrator, Gossip Girl, getting involved in the action by sending Blair an email of Nate with Jenny. This opens up a can of worms -- instead of being a chronicler of the Upper East Side, Gossip Girl is now a Blair-hater. If that's the case, then who is Gossip Girl? No one in the diegesis of the show can be this all powerful! I like to think it's the marginalized gay, Eric, wreaking vengeance on all those heteros who monopolize the air time.
XOXO
You know you love me.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
THE GH SPINOFF THAT WASN'T NIGHT SHIFT
I watched two episodes of PORT CHARLES tonight that I DVRed off of SoapNet. I revisit this show from time to time, out of nostalgia for the astonishing TAINTED LOVE arc. It might have been the best daytime drama I'd EVER seen -- vampire Caleb (brilliantly played by the sexy Michael Easton) ran amok in Port Charles, causing more havoc than Barnabas Collins did in four years of DARK SHADOWS. Unfortunately, PC's telenovela style arcs meant that Caleb was gone in 13 weeks, and I stopped watching. The supernatural (and Caleb!) later returned to the show with a vengeance, but I could never get back into it for some reason. I love watching the SoapNet reruns for a hint of how nuts the show became -- werewolves, vampires, angels and a load of familiar faces who would go onto other soaps but never anything as adventurous as this. Unlike PASSIONS, PC played the supernatural seriously, like Anne Rice characters in a Stephen King setting, but that wasn't enough to save the show from ultimately being cancelled (ending on a wild cliffhanger!) Despite being a GENERAL HOSPITAL spinoff, no characters from PC ever made their way back to their origin show except Scotty Baldwin, who I think never interacted with any of the horror elements anyway. I think NIGHT SHIFT could take a page or two from its' wilder predecessor -- after all, what better place for a vampire than a night shift at a blood -filled hospital? ( And fans of the surprisingly defunct MOONLIGHT need a new place for romantic vampire shenanigans! Come on SoapNet! Grow a brain and grab that demographic!)
Monday, June 23, 2008
"I DON'T DO MEANINGLESS SEX."
You and me both, Alexis.
Anyway, back to the soap world. Yesterday I was talking to The Retired Mom and I was surprised that she watched the Emmys and straight-up loved the hell out of them. She loved the hosts, the gowns and seing Susan Lucci. Yet, she will not watch any soap, let alone ALL MY CHILDREN, which used to be her fave. How can AMC lure my mom (and millions like her) back?
Well, they could take a hint from DAYS OF OUR LIVES and do a major revamp on a popular character, with a peformance that is so well done you have to watch. John Black is such a scream, whether talking about sticky buns or being rude to Sami. AMC should make Erica evil in a John Black kinda way -- wouldn't it be great to see Susan Lucci try something new? And then maybe my Mom will watch soaps again!
While watching GENERAL HOSPITAL, The Unemployed Boyfriend inquired if Spinelli is popular or if it's just us who love him. I think Spinelli is popular because he doesn't feel prepackaged. Soaps are all about pushing characters on the viewers -- how many times are we supposed to accept recasts or newbies we don't like? Spinelli feels organic, like he grew out of some strange herb mixture smoked by the writing staff. (Yes, I have been continuing my WEEDS marathon!) Soaps want us to love looking at glamourous, gorgeous characters but I think some soap viewers feel more like Spinelli -- social outsiders looking at unattainable beauty, whether it be Maxienista or your own favorite soap crush. His tenuous status in the soap world -- no girlfriend, no family ties -- makes him a little less like a soap character and a little more like us. That is the secret of Spinelli's fan following. Plus, he calls people funny names.
Anyway, back to the soap world. Yesterday I was talking to The Retired Mom and I was surprised that she watched the Emmys and straight-up loved the hell out of them. She loved the hosts, the gowns and seing Susan Lucci. Yet, she will not watch any soap, let alone ALL MY CHILDREN, which used to be her fave. How can AMC lure my mom (and millions like her) back?
Well, they could take a hint from DAYS OF OUR LIVES and do a major revamp on a popular character, with a peformance that is so well done you have to watch. John Black is such a scream, whether talking about sticky buns or being rude to Sami. AMC should make Erica evil in a John Black kinda way -- wouldn't it be great to see Susan Lucci try something new? And then maybe my Mom will watch soaps again!
While watching GENERAL HOSPITAL, The Unemployed Boyfriend inquired if Spinelli is popular or if it's just us who love him. I think Spinelli is popular because he doesn't feel prepackaged. Soaps are all about pushing characters on the viewers -- how many times are we supposed to accept recasts or newbies we don't like? Spinelli feels organic, like he grew out of some strange herb mixture smoked by the writing staff. (Yes, I have been continuing my WEEDS marathon!) Soaps want us to love looking at glamourous, gorgeous characters but I think some soap viewers feel more like Spinelli -- social outsiders looking at unattainable beauty, whether it be Maxienista or your own favorite soap crush. His tenuous status in the soap world -- no girlfriend, no family ties -- makes him a little less like a soap character and a little more like us. That is the secret of Spinelli's fan following. Plus, he calls people funny names.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
BOOB SWEAT AND TEARS
Apart from the sight of Melissa Clare Egan from ALL MY CHILDREN wiping the perspiration out of her cleavage, the Soapnet Preshow was a disaster. Mikes went out, MVP got more airtime than any other interview segment and Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann were asked the same boring ass questions they are always asked, about kissing and the supposed awkwardness thereof. Hey, how about asking the only two actors in daytime playing gay characters how they feel about being in California, which has now legalized gay marriage? Or getting a real life lesbian couple -- Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi-- to interview soap's only gay couple?
There were brief glimmers of fun, though. Roger Howarth and his little girl were ultra cute, Trent Dawson was refreshingly frank about how miserable he was on the red carpet and Sonya Eddy rocked this ex-retail worker's world by proudly stating she bought her dress from Nordstrom's and she thanked the salesgirl, Vanessa! Hooray for retail sales clerks!
The Emmys themseves were slightly better, but still disappointing. While Tom Pelphrey is a fantastic actor, I think Van really deserved the Emmy instead because he actually drove story for the second half of last year, while Tom's last appearance was in January. Jennifer Landon deservedly won, and I love she beat those twits from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. (How on earth did those three newbies score noms?!?) Gina Tognoni is OK as Dinah, but is not as Emmy-worthy as Kelley Menighan Hensley, who stunned ATWT last year with a bold and shocking story. Like Gina, Kristoff St. John is also a sturdy, but unspectacular performer. His Emmy really belongs with Trent Dawson, who truly supports ATWT with liveliness and charm even when he doesn't have a story of his own. Jeanne Cooper's win was deserved and so was Tony Geary's. GENERAL HOSPITAL did have a good 2007, but the Emmy for Drama Series really should have gone to ONE LIFE TO LIVE, which actually scored Directing and Writing Emmys. If your show is the best writen and directed, shouldn't it be the Best Drama?
Van and Jake presenting an Emmy to Ellen DeGeneres could have been the Gayest Thing Ever but no connection was attempted or made. C'mon, Ellen, you couldn't crack a Nuke joke?!? Plus, Van looked exhausted, from heat and not winning. And he didn't even get a clip shown during the nominee list for his category! Oh well, at least Bryton didn't win.
As for who should have won but wasn't even nominated? Kirsten Storms. Kristen Alderson and Kathy Brier (who should submit their scenes together from today's OLTL for Emmys next year!) I cheer myself up with the sight of Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin at the AMC table happily enjoying being filmed with proper lighting and cameras as Ellen Wheeler looks on with the evil eye. I am really glad GUIDING LIGHT did not win Best Drama, because Elllen Wheeler was pretty damn insufferable last year, babbling on about her stupid contest to have the Emmy visit your home. (!!!) And why were scenes from GL this year included in the clip reel shown tonight, which is supposed to be footage from last year? So we all don't realize how good GL used to look before being shot through Ellen Wheeler's Cameraphone (TM)?
(The Unemployed Boyfriend is worried that Ellen Wheeler will be stealing all those digital cameras from the Emmy tables to shoot GL with. I am afraid I have no words of false comfort to soothe his troubled brow.)
There were brief glimmers of fun, though. Roger Howarth and his little girl were ultra cute, Trent Dawson was refreshingly frank about how miserable he was on the red carpet and Sonya Eddy rocked this ex-retail worker's world by proudly stating she bought her dress from Nordstrom's and she thanked the salesgirl, Vanessa! Hooray for retail sales clerks!
The Emmys themseves were slightly better, but still disappointing. While Tom Pelphrey is a fantastic actor, I think Van really deserved the Emmy instead because he actually drove story for the second half of last year, while Tom's last appearance was in January. Jennifer Landon deservedly won, and I love she beat those twits from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. (How on earth did those three newbies score noms?!?) Gina Tognoni is OK as Dinah, but is not as Emmy-worthy as Kelley Menighan Hensley, who stunned ATWT last year with a bold and shocking story. Like Gina, Kristoff St. John is also a sturdy, but unspectacular performer. His Emmy really belongs with Trent Dawson, who truly supports ATWT with liveliness and charm even when he doesn't have a story of his own. Jeanne Cooper's win was deserved and so was Tony Geary's. GENERAL HOSPITAL did have a good 2007, but the Emmy for Drama Series really should have gone to ONE LIFE TO LIVE, which actually scored Directing and Writing Emmys. If your show is the best writen and directed, shouldn't it be the Best Drama?
Van and Jake presenting an Emmy to Ellen DeGeneres could have been the Gayest Thing Ever but no connection was attempted or made. C'mon, Ellen, you couldn't crack a Nuke joke?!? Plus, Van looked exhausted, from heat and not winning. And he didn't even get a clip shown during the nominee list for his category! Oh well, at least Bryton didn't win.
As for who should have won but wasn't even nominated? Kirsten Storms. Kristen Alderson and Kathy Brier (who should submit their scenes together from today's OLTL for Emmys next year!) I cheer myself up with the sight of Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin at the AMC table happily enjoying being filmed with proper lighting and cameras as Ellen Wheeler looks on with the evil eye. I am really glad GUIDING LIGHT did not win Best Drama, because Elllen Wheeler was pretty damn insufferable last year, babbling on about her stupid contest to have the Emmy visit your home. (!!!) And why were scenes from GL this year included in the clip reel shown tonight, which is supposed to be footage from last year? So we all don't realize how good GL used to look before being shot through Ellen Wheeler's Cameraphone (TM)?
(The Unemployed Boyfriend is worried that Ellen Wheeler will be stealing all those digital cameras from the Emmy tables to shoot GL with. I am afraid I have no words of false comfort to soothe his troubled brow.)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
SWEET SIXTEEN
Starr is totally right to give her baby up to Marcie. How on earth can Cole be ready for fatherhood after he pulled that "Are you saying that us making love was stupid?" nonsense. Actually, Cole, fucking without a condom was pretty damn stupid, you dipshit. Good thing we had Tina's way adorable dog, DavidVickers, giving paw to Sarah to distract me from wanting to beat up Cole, Todd Manning-style.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES continued to intrigue, if not completely compel. (ONE LIFE TO LIVE is tough competition for my attention, DOOL.) Are they really going to make Nicole Max's biological mother?? Talk about MILF! I also liked a shirtless EJ. One thing I saw months ago that I forgot to mention -- LOVED that episode where EJ is eating fish'n'chips and explained he was having it the authentic British way, with salt and vinegar! Little touches like that show me that someone is paying attention. (Actually, having real fish'n'chips in London with EJ right now is pretty much my definition of Personal Heaven.)
GENERAL HOSPITAL set up a contrived situation to quarantine Spinelli, Vixenella and Stone Cold with a case of Asian flu, but I accepted the implausibility to see these people interact. Spinelli and Vixenella's bonding over hacking was very cute. As for the rest of the show, Kate needs to grab Carly's face, give it a good hard push, and say "If you get up in my business again, I will kill you." (OK, I have been watching too much WEEDS. Not that you can ever watch too much WEEDS, but the characters' behavior tends to rub off on you. Wait a minute -- where does Spinelli buy his pot from? Ooooh -- WEEDS/GH Crossover!! Bradford Anderson was born to be on WEEDS!) And Johnny Zacchara can continue to keep his shirt off; it is 90 degrees in Los Angeles! All the Emmy nominees are going to MELT on the red carpet tomorrow!!
Speaking of melted...I will now forever hate GUIDING LIGHT for putting the following image in my head. Dinah was blathering on about baby shower games. One such game is handing baby shower attendees diapers filled with melted candy bars (!) and they have to guess what the candy bar was. How incredibly vile. I guess Ellen Wheeler is so wrapped up in her Cameraphone (TM) she neglects to actually read the scripts. What was the point of that scene? To force GL's ratings to drop below 1.5 as people turn off in disgust?
DAYS OF OUR LIVES continued to intrigue, if not completely compel. (ONE LIFE TO LIVE is tough competition for my attention, DOOL.) Are they really going to make Nicole Max's biological mother?? Talk about MILF! I also liked a shirtless EJ. One thing I saw months ago that I forgot to mention -- LOVED that episode where EJ is eating fish'n'chips and explained he was having it the authentic British way, with salt and vinegar! Little touches like that show me that someone is paying attention. (Actually, having real fish'n'chips in London with EJ right now is pretty much my definition of Personal Heaven.)
GENERAL HOSPITAL set up a contrived situation to quarantine Spinelli, Vixenella and Stone Cold with a case of Asian flu, but I accepted the implausibility to see these people interact. Spinelli and Vixenella's bonding over hacking was very cute. As for the rest of the show, Kate needs to grab Carly's face, give it a good hard push, and say "If you get up in my business again, I will kill you." (OK, I have been watching too much WEEDS. Not that you can ever watch too much WEEDS, but the characters' behavior tends to rub off on you. Wait a minute -- where does Spinelli buy his pot from? Ooooh -- WEEDS/GH Crossover!! Bradford Anderson was born to be on WEEDS!) And Johnny Zacchara can continue to keep his shirt off; it is 90 degrees in Los Angeles! All the Emmy nominees are going to MELT on the red carpet tomorrow!!
Speaking of melted...I will now forever hate GUIDING LIGHT for putting the following image in my head. Dinah was blathering on about baby shower games. One such game is handing baby shower attendees diapers filled with melted candy bars (!) and they have to guess what the candy bar was. How incredibly vile. I guess Ellen Wheeler is so wrapped up in her Cameraphone (TM) she neglects to actually read the scripts. What was the point of that scene? To force GL's ratings to drop below 1.5 as people turn off in disgust?
2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT AMEERA
1) She's from Iraq.
2) She is going to live with a family in Los Angeles that was close to her mother
3) She was played by the talented Tala Ashe
And that's it, folks! What did the Colonel want to tell Noah about Ameera? What was she up to in Iraq? Who were the people after her? WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
Good thing the rest of Wednesday's AS THE WORLD TURNS wasn't this sloppy. As soon as Ameera exits, bang -- we've got more of those painfully real scenes with Luke and Noah. Fantastic that Luke finally said everything to Noah that we want to say. In other stories, I'm glad that Meg was shown to have a brain, sad that Vienna is being written as a shrew and fed up with Holden/Carly flashbacks.
So, to answer my previous post's question, now that I've watched ATWT and sampled all the daytime dramas today, where does ATWT stand? It is still my favorite soap, despite plotting frustrations, because when the writing stays true to the characters and is character-driven, we get amazing stuff like the Luke/Noah scenes today. And, as I've mentioned before, ATWT has the best cast on daytime, bar none, with an engaging mix of old pros and young hotties. The show is not perfect, but it is the most emotionally involving soap for me.
2) She is going to live with a family in Los Angeles that was close to her mother
3) She was played by the talented Tala Ashe
And that's it, folks! What did the Colonel want to tell Noah about Ameera? What was she up to in Iraq? Who were the people after her? WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
Good thing the rest of Wednesday's AS THE WORLD TURNS wasn't this sloppy. As soon as Ameera exits, bang -- we've got more of those painfully real scenes with Luke and Noah. Fantastic that Luke finally said everything to Noah that we want to say. In other stories, I'm glad that Meg was shown to have a brain, sad that Vienna is being written as a shrew and fed up with Holden/Carly flashbacks.
So, to answer my previous post's question, now that I've watched ATWT and sampled all the daytime dramas today, where does ATWT stand? It is still my favorite soap, despite plotting frustrations, because when the writing stays true to the characters and is character-driven, we get amazing stuff like the Luke/Noah scenes today. And, as I've mentioned before, ATWT has the best cast on daytime, bar none, with an engaging mix of old pros and young hotties. The show is not perfect, but it is the most emotionally involving soap for me.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
"You can call me Daddy, Blair."
The heat today in Los Angeles is pretty friggin' unbearable and when you combine that with a night of insomnia you've got one zonked Unemployed Soap Viewer who is not able to focus on ANYTHING. So is it any wonder I flipped between soaps today, unable to commit to anything except a DVRed AS THE WORLD TURNS that I will watch later when the sun goes down?
All I can say about THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is that if I were Victoria, and my Dad was marrying my best friend, I wouldn't come to the wedding either! I know Vicki will eventually show up, but I wish she wouldn't.
ALL MY CHILDREN continues to bore when Jesse and Angie ain't around. I'm glad Billy is leaving and that Aiden hit him. I like Thorsten Kaye. I find it hard to care about Kendall or Greenlee lately. I am not warming up to Colby's recast, nor to Babe's recast, who will always be The Killer Night Shift Nurse to me. (Am I the only one who remembers Spinelli lost his virginity to Jolene on NS? You think he'd feel a bit more confident with the laydeez.)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL continues to confuse. Hooray to Robin Riker as Beth; I've liked her since her role in ALLIGATOR! However, what's up with the invented backstory that Beth helped Donna through her teenage pregnancy? I remember Donna when she was played by Carrie Mitchum and all she did was go back and forth between Mark and Rocco. Donna was NOT pregnant, ever! And Jack Wagner doesn't seem right with anyone but Brooke. These attempts to forge a Nick/Bridget/Katie love triangle just aren't working. I previusly wrote that B&B needs some gay characters, because it takes place in LA's fashion industry. I take it back. What this show needs is more straight male characters so everyone stops mooning over Nick, Ridge or Eric!
One show that is really working it is ONE LIFE TO LIVE. David's marriage to Addie was a genuine surprise. And it affects EVERYONE on the show: Dorian, Blair and the entire Buchanan clan who will shit themselves if the Buchanan heir is married to Dorian's sister! Plus, Addie is going into this with open eyes. I love comic relief characters who gain depth.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES seemed to have good bits, but the meaning of today's action was obscure to me. Why is Max so mad? Who is Nicole afraid of? Who's going to kill Morgan's dad? Why am I watching this when ONE LIFE TO LIVE is so much livelier? Still, Roscoe Born is great casting as Max's abusive father and I continue to dig John Black.
GUIDING LIGHT is not as good a show as GENERAL HOSPITAL, but GL hypnotized me with the theme song, which I unironically sang along to. And Spinelli wasn't featured on today's GH, so I thougth I'd check out Springfield. Wow -- how many scenes can we have of people eating cake? And why is Natalia still on the show? She has no son, huisband, love interest, (well, Frank, sorta) and only one frenemy. Does Ellen Wheeler realize that her show last peaked in January of 2007 and that since then everything has referred back to the Jonathan/Tammy story without ever moving forward? At least we have Reva, Buzz and Jeffrey. I wish they would all move to Oakdale so the LIGHT could be put out. (And they can bring Alan, Ashlee and Vanessa with them.)
Didn't watch much of GH. I like Maxie at work. I love Diane and Alexis together, talking about bad boys. I hate Carly and how she makes everything about her. She should be grateful for the publicity of Kate staging a fashion shoot in her hotel, not accusing Kate of trying to steal Jax! Priorities, woman!
So what have I learned from watching all soaps other than ATWT today? OLTL rocks, GH can irritate occasionally but mostly engages, all other soaps are intermittently entertaining except for GL which needs to go away. Where will today's ATWT rank in my personal pantheon?
All I can say about THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is that if I were Victoria, and my Dad was marrying my best friend, I wouldn't come to the wedding either! I know Vicki will eventually show up, but I wish she wouldn't.
ALL MY CHILDREN continues to bore when Jesse and Angie ain't around. I'm glad Billy is leaving and that Aiden hit him. I like Thorsten Kaye. I find it hard to care about Kendall or Greenlee lately. I am not warming up to Colby's recast, nor to Babe's recast, who will always be The Killer Night Shift Nurse to me. (Am I the only one who remembers Spinelli lost his virginity to Jolene on NS? You think he'd feel a bit more confident with the laydeez.)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL continues to confuse. Hooray to Robin Riker as Beth; I've liked her since her role in ALLIGATOR! However, what's up with the invented backstory that Beth helped Donna through her teenage pregnancy? I remember Donna when she was played by Carrie Mitchum and all she did was go back and forth between Mark and Rocco. Donna was NOT pregnant, ever! And Jack Wagner doesn't seem right with anyone but Brooke. These attempts to forge a Nick/Bridget/Katie love triangle just aren't working. I previusly wrote that B&B needs some gay characters, because it takes place in LA's fashion industry. I take it back. What this show needs is more straight male characters so everyone stops mooning over Nick, Ridge or Eric!
One show that is really working it is ONE LIFE TO LIVE. David's marriage to Addie was a genuine surprise. And it affects EVERYONE on the show: Dorian, Blair and the entire Buchanan clan who will shit themselves if the Buchanan heir is married to Dorian's sister! Plus, Addie is going into this with open eyes. I love comic relief characters who gain depth.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES seemed to have good bits, but the meaning of today's action was obscure to me. Why is Max so mad? Who is Nicole afraid of? Who's going to kill Morgan's dad? Why am I watching this when ONE LIFE TO LIVE is so much livelier? Still, Roscoe Born is great casting as Max's abusive father and I continue to dig John Black.
GUIDING LIGHT is not as good a show as GENERAL HOSPITAL, but GL hypnotized me with the theme song, which I unironically sang along to. And Spinelli wasn't featured on today's GH, so I thougth I'd check out Springfield. Wow -- how many scenes can we have of people eating cake? And why is Natalia still on the show? She has no son, huisband, love interest, (well, Frank, sorta) and only one frenemy. Does Ellen Wheeler realize that her show last peaked in January of 2007 and that since then everything has referred back to the Jonathan/Tammy story without ever moving forward? At least we have Reva, Buzz and Jeffrey. I wish they would all move to Oakdale so the LIGHT could be put out. (And they can bring Alan, Ashlee and Vanessa with them.)
Didn't watch much of GH. I like Maxie at work. I love Diane and Alexis together, talking about bad boys. I hate Carly and how she makes everything about her. She should be grateful for the publicity of Kate staging a fashion shoot in her hotel, not accusing Kate of trying to steal Jax! Priorities, woman!
So what have I learned from watching all soaps other than ATWT today? OLTL rocks, GH can irritate occasionally but mostly engages, all other soaps are intermittently entertaining except for GL which needs to go away. Where will today's ATWT rank in my personal pantheon?
HOT BOY SLAP PARTY
The fight between Chris and Aaron on AS THE WORLD TURNS was well-staged, but more importantly, it was also hot. Even hotter was the scene where Susan let Kim and Bob have it at the diner. How fab that Bob's one-night stand with Susan, DECADES ago, still resonates today? Kudos to the writers and to Marie Masters really tearing into her lines.
I have high hopes for Wednesday's episode, based on the preview which shows Ameera Westernized and glamourous. Was her character an act all along? Stay tuned...
I have high hopes for Wednesday's episode, based on the preview which shows Ameera Westernized and glamourous. Was her character an act all along? Stay tuned...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
THREE REASONS WHY ATWT IS MY FAVORITE SOAP
1) The scenes with Noah and Luke were agonizing to watch, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Emotionally, Noah is a lot like my boyfriend while I am closer to Luke, so you can imagine the sofa-squirming during this episode.
2) Lucinda and Barbara. What a treat to see these two vets act the hell out of those scenes. Also hooray for the first proper Noah and Lucinda scene, which brought a silent tear to my eye.
3) Reg. An ordinary, realistic gay man. And how great was it for someone to finally ask what's up with Noah's marriage to Ameera?
This is not the best soap on the air -- right now, that's probably ONE LIFE TO LIVE. But today's show demonstrated the superlative acting and fine characterization that makes AS THE WORLD TURNS my favorite soap.
2) Lucinda and Barbara. What a treat to see these two vets act the hell out of those scenes. Also hooray for the first proper Noah and Lucinda scene, which brought a silent tear to my eye.
3) Reg. An ordinary, realistic gay man. And how great was it for someone to finally ask what's up with Noah's marriage to Ameera?
This is not the best soap on the air -- right now, that's probably ONE LIFE TO LIVE. But today's show demonstrated the superlative acting and fine characterization that makes AS THE WORLD TURNS my favorite soap.
Monday, June 16, 2008
HARSH REALITY INTRUDES
As entertaining as ONE LIFE TO LIVE is nowadays, the scenes of Dorian firing people, complete with "You're fired" boxes and last paychecks, can't help but bother the Unemployed Household a bit. In a different way, I am saddened by the blind item in the last SOAP OPERA DIGEST which stated an actress who "hasn't caught on with fans" will be fired. I like everyone on OLTL, and today's cliffhanger made me fear that Talia or Sarah is getting a bullet in the head. I think Talia's days are numbered and Beth Ann Bonner will unfortunately become another I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR alumni who never becomes a soap star. Good thing Brody was wearing a tank top or else this blog could degenerate into unemployed misery.
GENERAL HOSPITAL was less depressing to me, because no one was getting laid off and Spinelli called Claudia "Daughter Of Darkness"! I wrote a few blogs back about how GH could just endlessly pair Spinelli with every character possible and I would be amused, and my theory was proven by the scenes with Spinelli and Claudia. I say have Claudia strike up an odd friendship with Spinelli; it would actually give her character one redeeming quality!
GENERAL HOSPITAL was less depressing to me, because no one was getting laid off and Spinelli called Claudia "Daughter Of Darkness"! I wrote a few blogs back about how GH could just endlessly pair Spinelli with every character possible and I would be amused, and my theory was proven by the scenes with Spinelli and Claudia. I say have Claudia strike up an odd friendship with Spinelli; it would actually give her character one redeeming quality!
JOLENE!
I think I'm the only person who is haunted by the opening of THE HAPPENING, not because of any creepy shit onscreen but because the first person you see, the woman reading on the bench, was so familiar. A few minutes later all hell is breaking loose on screen and I'm thinking "Of course! (or "Claro!" if you think in Spanish) it's Jolene from GUIDING LIGHT!" I like to imagine Jolene working with M Night Shyamalan on her day off from filming Reva's life Dogme'95-style in Springfield. Maybe she can work with him to film the story of Reva's clone?? It would be creepier than LADY IN THE WATER, that's for sure. But if M Night films a sequel to THE VILLAGE, he can tell the story of Reva in Amish country. Or if he does a sequel to UNBREAKABLE, he can film Harley's brief stint as The Guiding Light. Or he can just film a sequel to THE SIXTH SENSE, since Cassie is always seeing Tammy's ghost. Or he can remake SIGNS with Josh as the pastor. Or....
Thursday, June 12, 2008
WHO'S KATY PERRY?
I felt like Chris Rock at the Oscars talking about Jude Law when I switched on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS today. Who is Katy Perry and why has she taken over the show? I have never heard of her but from the way Amber and Jana were acting it made it seem like every youth in America was texting each other about Katy Perry while simultaneously looking up her Twitter page and downloading her song from iTunes to their Crackberrys.
Whatev. I've got some Angie and Jesse to watch, which is vastly more compelling. Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams really sold the scenes of Angie pleading with Jesse not to go back to work on the police force even though we know Jesse has to become a police chief or else there's NO STORY. Still, ALL MY CHILDREN is to be commended for showing Angie's distress.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is not to be commended, because that shot of Jack Wagner in extreme close-up backed by a heavenly light was WAY too much! I understand that Katie was dying and thought this was the afterlife(!) but REALLY! As with the fake flashback to Katie's Dogfight Acne Prom, I get the feeling the B&B team are pissing themselves off-camera. Stop this, guys -- this is how PASSIONS ended up being nothing but a collection of piss-takes and got CANCELLED. I will say I did like the business meeting scene because it is fun to see the Forrester family all together, working hard to bring down Donna. I was flipping back and forth between this and AMC, so I might have missed something, but shouldn't Pam have been in that scene, snarking away as she served coffee?
Just when I thought ONE LIFE TO LIVE couldn't get any better, it DID! Tina's return is fab -- Andrea Evans is sinking her teeth into this in a way her last role as Rebecca in PASSIONS didn't allow her to. Plus, I loved her way adorable dog, amusingly named DavidVickers! Susan Haskell's return as Marty was also welcome; Susan would have been my pick to replace Martha Byrne as Lily in ATWT but I'd rather see her return as Marty. And if all this wasn't exciting enough, thugs burst into Ramsey's apartment and killed him! (And his doorman! Poor Francisco!) Well, if Susan Haskell isn't replacing Martha Byrne on ATWT, what do you want to bet Hunt Block will reprise his recast role as Craig Montgomery on ATWT? I love the hell out of Scott Bryce, but if they're going to bring back Craig as someone else, Hunt Block is the only choice.
Speaking of good actors, let's have a moment to praise Bradford Anderson. I am a huge Spinelli fan but the character would not work as well if played by a lesser actor. Notice the end of today's GENERAL HOSPITAL, when Spinelli is dressed to impress and going by his first name of Damian (along with hilariously dodgy Jax-esque accent.) Giselle just swooned, and so did I! Or cast your mind back to the end of NIGHT SHIFT's first season, when Spinelli expressed a genuine sense of shock that Jolene threw herself in front of a bullet meant for him. Bradford Anderson should really have the Emmy nomination that Y&R's Bryton McClure inexplicably acquired. Let's hope for a fairer Emmy ballot in 2009.
Whatev. I've got some Angie and Jesse to watch, which is vastly more compelling. Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams really sold the scenes of Angie pleading with Jesse not to go back to work on the police force even though we know Jesse has to become a police chief or else there's NO STORY. Still, ALL MY CHILDREN is to be commended for showing Angie's distress.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is not to be commended, because that shot of Jack Wagner in extreme close-up backed by a heavenly light was WAY too much! I understand that Katie was dying and thought this was the afterlife(!) but REALLY! As with the fake flashback to Katie's Dogfight Acne Prom, I get the feeling the B&B team are pissing themselves off-camera. Stop this, guys -- this is how PASSIONS ended up being nothing but a collection of piss-takes and got CANCELLED. I will say I did like the business meeting scene because it is fun to see the Forrester family all together, working hard to bring down Donna. I was flipping back and forth between this and AMC, so I might have missed something, but shouldn't Pam have been in that scene, snarking away as she served coffee?
Just when I thought ONE LIFE TO LIVE couldn't get any better, it DID! Tina's return is fab -- Andrea Evans is sinking her teeth into this in a way her last role as Rebecca in PASSIONS didn't allow her to. Plus, I loved her way adorable dog, amusingly named DavidVickers! Susan Haskell's return as Marty was also welcome; Susan would have been my pick to replace Martha Byrne as Lily in ATWT but I'd rather see her return as Marty. And if all this wasn't exciting enough, thugs burst into Ramsey's apartment and killed him! (And his doorman! Poor Francisco!) Well, if Susan Haskell isn't replacing Martha Byrne on ATWT, what do you want to bet Hunt Block will reprise his recast role as Craig Montgomery on ATWT? I love the hell out of Scott Bryce, but if they're going to bring back Craig as someone else, Hunt Block is the only choice.
Speaking of good actors, let's have a moment to praise Bradford Anderson. I am a huge Spinelli fan but the character would not work as well if played by a lesser actor. Notice the end of today's GENERAL HOSPITAL, when Spinelli is dressed to impress and going by his first name of Damian (along with hilariously dodgy Jax-esque accent.) Giselle just swooned, and so did I! Or cast your mind back to the end of NIGHT SHIFT's first season, when Spinelli expressed a genuine sense of shock that Jolene threw herself in front of a bullet meant for him. Bradford Anderson should really have the Emmy nomination that Y&R's Bryton McClure inexplicably acquired. Let's hope for a fairer Emmy ballot in 2009.
HOT WRINKLIES
The fact that the oldies of AS THE WORLD TURNS, Bob, Kim and Susan, have such a sexy history together makes them Wrinkly Hot. Billy Magnusson will be Wrinkly Hot, too, in about 50 years. Now he is just HOT.
On a more serious note, the scenes today between Noah, Luke and the Snyder family were so awkwardly real to watch I find it hard to write about them. My boyfriend and I didn't discuss it much; it felt like we had broken up too. This made me realize that while I look at soaps for escapism, I also watch them because the long-term soap opera medium allows you to invest in characters deeply, perhaps more deeply than in any other dramatic form. While the events of today's episode were painful, it was amazing that ATWT made me feel this way.
On a lighter note, the mildly entertaining Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle THE SIXTH DAY was enlivened for me by a cameo from Jennifer Gareis! I like Jennifer on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL a lot; she's game for anything and has successfully made the transition from supporting character to leading lady. Of all the Logan family, Donna is the least aggravating and that's high praise these days!
On a more serious note, the scenes today between Noah, Luke and the Snyder family were so awkwardly real to watch I find it hard to write about them. My boyfriend and I didn't discuss it much; it felt like we had broken up too. This made me realize that while I look at soaps for escapism, I also watch them because the long-term soap opera medium allows you to invest in characters deeply, perhaps more deeply than in any other dramatic form. While the events of today's episode were painful, it was amazing that ATWT made me feel this way.
On a lighter note, the mildly entertaining Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle THE SIXTH DAY was enlivened for me by a cameo from Jennifer Gareis! I like Jennifer on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL a lot; she's game for anything and has successfully made the transition from supporting character to leading lady. Of all the Logan family, Donna is the least aggravating and that's high praise these days!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
LISTEN TO ME, SOAPNET!
On THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Brooke and Nick hovered over the dying Katie like concerned parents..which once again underscored the fact that Nick is old enough to be Katie's dad, and then some. Is this B&B's idea of celebrating Father's Day?
ONE LIFE TO LIVE packed A LOT into today's episode. Adriana left! Marty AND Tina came back! Kevin Spirtas joined the cast! And Brody wore nothing but black track pants. Yet, all these events did not overpower a show in which every single scene and character were of interest to me today. I wish every show was as balanced.
GENERAL HOSPITAL is another show that commanded my complete attention. How punch-the-air great was that scene where Spinelli was defended by Stone Cold, Max and Milo, guns drawn, accompanied by Diane, the one woman I know who gives lawyers a good name? And Spinelli got an apology from his racist attacker, for him and Leyla, and took money from the jerk to donate to the Red Cross! This would never happen in real life, which is why I enjoyed it so much. Screw NIGHT SHIFT; I want a GH spinoff focusing entirely on this crew. Seriously, who wouldn't want to see more of these characters? You've got comedy, action and sex appeal. Add Maxie so you have a hot chick and this spin-off would be unbeatable!
ONE LIFE TO LIVE packed A LOT into today's episode. Adriana left! Marty AND Tina came back! Kevin Spirtas joined the cast! And Brody wore nothing but black track pants. Yet, all these events did not overpower a show in which every single scene and character were of interest to me today. I wish every show was as balanced.
GENERAL HOSPITAL is another show that commanded my complete attention. How punch-the-air great was that scene where Spinelli was defended by Stone Cold, Max and Milo, guns drawn, accompanied by Diane, the one woman I know who gives lawyers a good name? And Spinelli got an apology from his racist attacker, for him and Leyla, and took money from the jerk to donate to the Red Cross! This would never happen in real life, which is why I enjoyed it so much. Screw NIGHT SHIFT; I want a GH spinoff focusing entirely on this crew. Seriously, who wouldn't want to see more of these characters? You've got comedy, action and sex appeal. Add Maxie so you have a hot chick and this spin-off would be unbeatable!
YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME
...is what Luke should have said to Noah, in person, before pulling him into a swoony kiss. But Noah was such a a-hole today, I don't think that anything could have prevented Nuke meltdown. There were fine performances by Van and Jake, and AS THE WORLD TURNS was very well written today. I liked how the Nuke breakup was a parallel to the Lily/Holden, Brad/Janet and Carjack seperations. I LOVED the scenes where Holden and Lily yelled at Lucinda and Holden called Jack to talk about Ameera and wound up talking to Carly; having everyone involved in the Nuke story makes for a more dramatically interesting show. My personal jury is still out on Noelle Beck, though. She's a good actress, but she's not the insecure, vulnerable Lily we know and love. While today's episode was very good, the set-up for it was inept. It never, ever looked like Winson killed himself. It looked like he just escaped by swimming away. A quick bit of dialogue, such as Lucinda saying "I'm sorry Noah, but it looks like your father is dead." could have made Noah's rage today more believeable.
I watched GOSSIP GIRL as well tonight, and for the first time I was able to enjoy it unironically! As an ex-New Yorker, I was struck by the on-target references to the Angelika, BAM, Limelight and the Tunnel. Chace Crawford looked hot dressed as the Phantom Of The Opera. The introduction of Vanessa finally gives us a character to make snarky comments about the other characters' upper class crap, so the show manages to incorporate a self-critique. (How pomo!) GOSSIP GIRL will probably never move me like my daytime soaps do, but it's diverting nighttime eye candy. Try to catch it on TV in High Def; it's too pretty to watch on ITunes or regular DVD.
Also saw a campy, but interesting film from 1958 called SCREAMING MIMI that starred a young Phil Carey! The future Asa Buchanan plays a hard-boiled reporter who finds himself embroiled in a mystery involving strippers (Gypsy Rose Lee, nonetheless), statues and psychiatry. It's not on DVD or video, so try to catch it on TCM like I did. SCREAMING MIMI was remade as the classic Dario Argento giallo BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, which is on DVD and comes recommended. BIRD...stars Tony Musante, who was Joe D'Angelo (Rose's adopted Dad who had a friendship with Emma) on ATWT! Hooray! My blog comes full circle!
xoxo
I watched GOSSIP GIRL as well tonight, and for the first time I was able to enjoy it unironically! As an ex-New Yorker, I was struck by the on-target references to the Angelika, BAM, Limelight and the Tunnel. Chace Crawford looked hot dressed as the Phantom Of The Opera. The introduction of Vanessa finally gives us a character to make snarky comments about the other characters' upper class crap, so the show manages to incorporate a self-critique. (How pomo!) GOSSIP GIRL will probably never move me like my daytime soaps do, but it's diverting nighttime eye candy. Try to catch it on TV in High Def; it's too pretty to watch on ITunes or regular DVD.
Also saw a campy, but interesting film from 1958 called SCREAMING MIMI that starred a young Phil Carey! The future Asa Buchanan plays a hard-boiled reporter who finds himself embroiled in a mystery involving strippers (Gypsy Rose Lee, nonetheless), statues and psychiatry. It's not on DVD or video, so try to catch it on TCM like I did. SCREAMING MIMI was remade as the classic Dario Argento giallo BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, which is on DVD and comes recommended. BIRD...stars Tony Musante, who was Joe D'Angelo (Rose's adopted Dad who had a friendship with Emma) on ATWT! Hooray! My blog comes full circle!
xoxo
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
80s FLASHBACK!
Are the makers of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL taking the piss or what? I was laughing my head off at Heather Tom in acne makeup and then my jaw dropped open at the scene of her CARRIE-esque prom humiliation (no pig's blood, alas.) My own personal '80s flashback occurred: the ribbing B&B got during the show's inception for having a character whose entire storyline was having pimples! Seeing Nick as her "prom" date in the present day only served to further underline the disparity in age between these two. While unintentionally funny, I switched off B&B after the first segment.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE continued to impress. They sure know how to use a musical montage to lend dramatic weight. (Ellen Wheeler, are you taking note?) I like the way Adriana and Rex have ended their relationship in a mature, mostly non-histrionic way. We have a lot invested in these characters and it shows respect to the viewers not to get rid of Adriana in a hasty, contrived manner. (Chris Goutman and Jean Passanante, are you taking notes??) I also appreciated the scene between Sarah and Cristian as they talked about Nash and wine. It added some depth to their characters and relationship. And made me want to drink wine. And am I the only one who wants to see a Roxy/Charlie/Viki triangle?
DAYS OF OUR LIVES struggled to hold my attention. As the Unemployed Boyfriend said, "Wow, they're really taking the slow boat to China with this GOOD WILL HUNTING storyline, huh?" Hell yeah. There were some good John Black moments (like when he referred to Sami by the wrong nickname) but I think I'm sticking to Llanview for the moment.
GENERAL HOSPITAL knows how to keep me interested: Maxie and Spinelli! They don't even have to be together to be fabulous! Maxie agreeing to have sex with Johnny for money and to stick it to Lulu is nasty and wonderful. Spinelli dancing with Leyla and calling her "The Austenian One" because he thinks she's like a Jane Austen heroine just melted my heart. As did the scene where Leyla's mean friend dissed him and he didn't even defend himself -- so sad! GH could just keep on pairing up Maxie and Spinelli with every available person in Port Charles forever and I would happily watch.
I can not say the same for GUIDING LIGHT, which is now going off my radar for a bit because it is laugh-out-loud crap. "So...the guy who killed Tammy is now living in someone's garage while Daisy steals money for him? Why doesn't G'day (our cruel nickname for Cyrus) put him up?" queried the Unemployed Boyfriend, and I have no good answers. I giggled at the senes of Daisy stealing fake looking money from various places -- this is how Ellen Wheeler is paying her actors now! I also guffawed at the scene where Mallet shows up at the door because it was so ineptly directed it looked like he was hiding in Daisy's closet, BLUE VELVET-style. And don't get me started on G as a potential love interest for Ashlee. Last week I was worried GL was pushing Daisy and G as the new Tammy and Jonathan. What would be worse is forcing the talented Caitlin Van Zandt to be paired up with G instead. Caitlin -- get in touch with your agent and start auditioning for other shows NOW. You were great in THE SOPRANOS as Allegra so get back in touch with HBO! You are too good to be imprisoned within the confines of Ellen Wheeler's Camera-Phone (TM).
ONE LIFE TO LIVE continued to impress. They sure know how to use a musical montage to lend dramatic weight. (Ellen Wheeler, are you taking note?) I like the way Adriana and Rex have ended their relationship in a mature, mostly non-histrionic way. We have a lot invested in these characters and it shows respect to the viewers not to get rid of Adriana in a hasty, contrived manner. (Chris Goutman and Jean Passanante, are you taking notes??) I also appreciated the scene between Sarah and Cristian as they talked about Nash and wine. It added some depth to their characters and relationship. And made me want to drink wine. And am I the only one who wants to see a Roxy/Charlie/Viki triangle?
DAYS OF OUR LIVES struggled to hold my attention. As the Unemployed Boyfriend said, "Wow, they're really taking the slow boat to China with this GOOD WILL HUNTING storyline, huh?" Hell yeah. There were some good John Black moments (like when he referred to Sami by the wrong nickname) but I think I'm sticking to Llanview for the moment.
GENERAL HOSPITAL knows how to keep me interested: Maxie and Spinelli! They don't even have to be together to be fabulous! Maxie agreeing to have sex with Johnny for money and to stick it to Lulu is nasty and wonderful. Spinelli dancing with Leyla and calling her "The Austenian One" because he thinks she's like a Jane Austen heroine just melted my heart. As did the scene where Leyla's mean friend dissed him and he didn't even defend himself -- so sad! GH could just keep on pairing up Maxie and Spinelli with every available person in Port Charles forever and I would happily watch.
I can not say the same for GUIDING LIGHT, which is now going off my radar for a bit because it is laugh-out-loud crap. "So...the guy who killed Tammy is now living in someone's garage while Daisy steals money for him? Why doesn't G'day (our cruel nickname for Cyrus) put him up?" queried the Unemployed Boyfriend, and I have no good answers. I giggled at the senes of Daisy stealing fake looking money from various places -- this is how Ellen Wheeler is paying her actors now! I also guffawed at the scene where Mallet shows up at the door because it was so ineptly directed it looked like he was hiding in Daisy's closet, BLUE VELVET-style. And don't get me started on G as a potential love interest for Ashlee. Last week I was worried GL was pushing Daisy and G as the new Tammy and Jonathan. What would be worse is forcing the talented Caitlin Van Zandt to be paired up with G instead. Caitlin -- get in touch with your agent and start auditioning for other shows NOW. You were great in THE SOPRANOS as Allegra so get back in touch with HBO! You are too good to be imprisoned within the confines of Ellen Wheeler's Camera-Phone (TM).
'I think I need time away from us"
AAAAAARGHHHH! AS THE WORLD TURNS is going to be gut-wrenching today!
As for Monday's episode, I am surprised how much I enjoyed Cole's return. I think this is because we are now being encouraged to be against Sofie, where before we were supposed to sympathize with her. Now anyone who can cause trouble for Sofie is automatically fun to watch, because Sofie is hateful and deserves punishment from all sides. Loved Barbara laying into her and realizing how wacked Sofie is. Also found Jon Prescott to be settling nicely into the role of Mike.
As for Monday's episode, I am surprised how much I enjoyed Cole's return. I think this is because we are now being encouraged to be against Sofie, where before we were supposed to sympathize with her. Now anyone who can cause trouble for Sofie is automatically fun to watch, because Sofie is hateful and deserves punishment from all sides. Loved Barbara laying into her and realizing how wacked Sofie is. Also found Jon Prescott to be settling nicely into the role of Mike.
Monday, June 9, 2008
CORRIE STAR TRUMPS U.S. SOAPS
I watched the first half of ONE LIFE TO LIVE today, flipping to DAYS OF OUR LIVES during the commercials, which has become my habit of late. Loved the scene of Jessica and Viki talking about Natalie and letting some long-buried resentments come through, about how Natalie thinks she's better than them because of her street smarts. This is something not often mentioned that I was glad to see brought up -- Natalie is a scrapper and wasn't handed the Buchanan lifestyle on a platter. Is Natalie headed for a fall? (Symbolically, of course. We can't have everybody falling through that skylight!)
DAYS OF OUR LIVES continued to amuse with the Nick/Max nerd sandwich and the sparky friendship of Nicole and Ava. Chelsea continues to look fabulous with that fierce haircut, but please, no more fantasy sequences with Dr. Daniel. One of those things I hate in soaps is the fantasy sequence which is presented as real until someone yells the character's name and the scene is revealed as fake. PASSIONS is the worst offender in this case, with entire episodes being devoted to imaginary scenarios that you don't think are imaginary until there's a cut and someone says "That's what WOULD happen if we told Ethan the truth, Mother!" James E Reilly has been long gone from DOOL; let's try and keep his bag of tricks away from Salem! PASSIONS hasn't been cancelled for nothing, ya know.
I skipped out on the rest of today's soaps (DVRing AS THE WORLD TURNS, of course) to catch a bargain matinee ($7!) of WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR FATHER? It has an amazing cast of British actors, and captures the love and hatred that everybody feels towards their Dad at different points in their lives. Plus, you get to see Colin Firth masturbate in a bathtub.
Ex-CORONATION STREET star Sarah Lancashire has a strong supporting role in the film. My personal experience of CORRIE is fragmented, to say the least. I have caught the random episode staying in England or Toronto, but I really got into the show at the beginning of the millenium when now-defunct US cable station Trio ran a batch of episodes. Oddly, it seems they only had the rights to a six month stretch of CORRIE from the mid or early '90s that focused heavily on Raquel, Des and Curly. So to me, Sarah Lancashire represents CORRIE more than any other actress! I've been able to see other CORRIE episodes on video and DVD, but never got to see Raquel's exit from CORRIE. Seeing Sarah pop up in SKINS or DOCTOR WHO has been fun, but there is something cool about seeing her on the big screen. Hooray for the best barmaid from the Rovers!
DAYS OF OUR LIVES continued to amuse with the Nick/Max nerd sandwich and the sparky friendship of Nicole and Ava. Chelsea continues to look fabulous with that fierce haircut, but please, no more fantasy sequences with Dr. Daniel. One of those things I hate in soaps is the fantasy sequence which is presented as real until someone yells the character's name and the scene is revealed as fake. PASSIONS is the worst offender in this case, with entire episodes being devoted to imaginary scenarios that you don't think are imaginary until there's a cut and someone says "That's what WOULD happen if we told Ethan the truth, Mother!" James E Reilly has been long gone from DOOL; let's try and keep his bag of tricks away from Salem! PASSIONS hasn't been cancelled for nothing, ya know.
I skipped out on the rest of today's soaps (DVRing AS THE WORLD TURNS, of course) to catch a bargain matinee ($7!) of WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR FATHER? It has an amazing cast of British actors, and captures the love and hatred that everybody feels towards their Dad at different points in their lives. Plus, you get to see Colin Firth masturbate in a bathtub.
Ex-CORONATION STREET star Sarah Lancashire has a strong supporting role in the film. My personal experience of CORRIE is fragmented, to say the least. I have caught the random episode staying in England or Toronto, but I really got into the show at the beginning of the millenium when now-defunct US cable station Trio ran a batch of episodes. Oddly, it seems they only had the rights to a six month stretch of CORRIE from the mid or early '90s that focused heavily on Raquel, Des and Curly. So to me, Sarah Lancashire represents CORRIE more than any other actress! I've been able to see other CORRIE episodes on video and DVD, but never got to see Raquel's exit from CORRIE. Seeing Sarah pop up in SKINS or DOCTOR WHO has been fun, but there is something cool about seeing her on the big screen. Hooray for the best barmaid from the Rovers!
Friday, June 6, 2008
OUT OF CRUELTY COMES TRUTH
So I'm watching THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and The Unemployed Boyfriend comes in, takes a look and says "Who's the old fucker?" I start screeching "You are sooooo MEAN! That's Jack Wagner!" His response? "It looks like they took his head and put it on someone else's body."
Meanness aside, The Unemployed Boyfriend has a point. Nick is soooooo....mature (ahem) that pairing him with the younger Katie is icky at best and just plain wrong at worst. How old is Katie supposed to be anyway? I remember her in the '80s with the acne and her crush on Rocco so shouldn't she be considerably older than the "kid sister" Katie has become?
Good thing ONE LIFE TO LIVE kept us both riveted (though I flipped during the commercials to DAYS OF OUR LIVES because I didn't get to check that out yesterday.) Jessica's grief is powerful in it's realistic intensity. Her smackdown of Natalie was well deserved and had my jaw hanging open. To his credit, The Unemployed Boyfriend yelled "OH FUCK OFF!" when he saw hateful Todd with baby Bree; I was too busy laughing at this wicked subversion of those cloying Oreo commercials.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES had interest for both of us as well. The Unemployed Boyfriend expressed his desire to be in the middle of a nerd sandwich as he gazed dreamily at Max and Nick. I expressed my desire to make a speech and say that my late Dad always dreamed of running an eco-unfriendly pub. I just find it highly unlikely that an old dude like Shawn Brady would EVER have expressed eco awareness. He was too busy pulling pints, cursing the DiMeras and crying "Oh Colleen!" Yeah, green issues are an important topic but they just don't fit into the world of soaps. Has anyone ever broken up with anyone else because they weren't making a seperate trash bag for the plastics?
Just when I thought GUIDING LIGHT couldn't get any worse -- it did! G is back and he's Cyrus' brother!!!??? This is the kind of thing Joss Whedon made fun of in BUFFY when he introduced Dawn as Buffy's previously unmentioned sister, only to reveal it was all an elaborate mind-fuck later in the season. Unfortunately, I don't think GL is joking. I have a horrible feeling that G and dull Daisy are being set up as the new Jonathan and Tammy -- forbidden love with a bad boy who is surprisingly related to a main character-- which is ironic because G killed Tammy! I really hope Cassie kills G; the writers can not explain away G's murder of Tammy as an accident because he was HIRED to kill Jonathan and she threw herself in front of G's speeding car! Nor will making him feel guilty redeem the character. This is a non-starter, folks.
On a more positive side, GENERAL HOSPITAL continued to pull our heartstrings with Spinelli and Maxie. My sympathy for him kept on swelling -- first Maxie mocks his moves, then she stands up for him to Kate, then Sonny is mean to him (He called him FREAK BOY! I'm rooting for the Zaccharahs now!) and then Stone Cold defends Spinelli...I can't get enough Spinelli/Maxie right now. Even The Unemployed Boyfriend is starting to sniffle and say "SOMEONE must fall in love with Spinelli EVENTUALLY!"
Happy Gay Pride Weekend to those in Los Angeles; The Boyfriend and I will be too busy practicing Unemployed Shame.
Meanness aside, The Unemployed Boyfriend has a point. Nick is soooooo....mature (ahem) that pairing him with the younger Katie is icky at best and just plain wrong at worst. How old is Katie supposed to be anyway? I remember her in the '80s with the acne and her crush on Rocco so shouldn't she be considerably older than the "kid sister" Katie has become?
Good thing ONE LIFE TO LIVE kept us both riveted (though I flipped during the commercials to DAYS OF OUR LIVES because I didn't get to check that out yesterday.) Jessica's grief is powerful in it's realistic intensity. Her smackdown of Natalie was well deserved and had my jaw hanging open. To his credit, The Unemployed Boyfriend yelled "OH FUCK OFF!" when he saw hateful Todd with baby Bree; I was too busy laughing at this wicked subversion of those cloying Oreo commercials.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES had interest for both of us as well. The Unemployed Boyfriend expressed his desire to be in the middle of a nerd sandwich as he gazed dreamily at Max and Nick. I expressed my desire to make a speech and say that my late Dad always dreamed of running an eco-unfriendly pub. I just find it highly unlikely that an old dude like Shawn Brady would EVER have expressed eco awareness. He was too busy pulling pints, cursing the DiMeras and crying "Oh Colleen!" Yeah, green issues are an important topic but they just don't fit into the world of soaps. Has anyone ever broken up with anyone else because they weren't making a seperate trash bag for the plastics?
Just when I thought GUIDING LIGHT couldn't get any worse -- it did! G is back and he's Cyrus' brother!!!??? This is the kind of thing Joss Whedon made fun of in BUFFY when he introduced Dawn as Buffy's previously unmentioned sister, only to reveal it was all an elaborate mind-fuck later in the season. Unfortunately, I don't think GL is joking. I have a horrible feeling that G and dull Daisy are being set up as the new Jonathan and Tammy -- forbidden love with a bad boy who is surprisingly related to a main character-- which is ironic because G killed Tammy! I really hope Cassie kills G; the writers can not explain away G's murder of Tammy as an accident because he was HIRED to kill Jonathan and she threw herself in front of G's speeding car! Nor will making him feel guilty redeem the character. This is a non-starter, folks.
On a more positive side, GENERAL HOSPITAL continued to pull our heartstrings with Spinelli and Maxie. My sympathy for him kept on swelling -- first Maxie mocks his moves, then she stands up for him to Kate, then Sonny is mean to him (He called him FREAK BOY! I'm rooting for the Zaccharahs now!) and then Stone Cold defends Spinelli...I can't get enough Spinelli/Maxie right now. Even The Unemployed Boyfriend is starting to sniffle and say "SOMEONE must fall in love with Spinelli EVENTUALLY!"
Happy Gay Pride Weekend to those in Los Angeles; The Boyfriend and I will be too busy practicing Unemployed Shame.
ALL MY BORING CHILDREN
I caught the rerun of today's episode of AMC on SoapNet tonight and was surprised at how dull it was. An episode without Jesse and Angie is lifeless! I like seeing Ricky Paull Goldin but they better bring Beth Ehlers on fast to liven things up a bit with him. AMC was so yawn inducing The Unemployed Boyfriend got up from the couch and CLEANED THE KITCHEN!
I wanted to watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES on SoapNet as well but they were showing RELATIVE MADNESS instead. So, SoapNet, are you saying viewers of DOOL are worthless to you? And while you're at it, stop with promoting MVP as an original production when it's a Canadian import! My cold comfort lies in the death of SoapNet's other "original" programming over the years, particularly the truly abysmal FASHIONISTA DIARIES. SoapNet should fill the niche market of people who want to see soaps and classic soap reruns. I get the feeling that SoapNet thinks they are reaching out to a broader market with other, tenously soapy programming when all they're really doing is driving their core audience away.
I wanted to watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES on SoapNet as well but they were showing RELATIVE MADNESS instead. So, SoapNet, are you saying viewers of DOOL are worthless to you? And while you're at it, stop with promoting MVP as an original production when it's a Canadian import! My cold comfort lies in the death of SoapNet's other "original" programming over the years, particularly the truly abysmal FASHIONISTA DIARIES. SoapNet should fill the niche market of people who want to see soaps and classic soap reruns. I get the feeling that SoapNet thinks they are reaching out to a broader market with other, tenously soapy programming when all they're really doing is driving their core audience away.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
...is the fate of all AS THE WORLD TURNS viewers today! Despite the fun of seeing Elizabeth Hubbard and Van Hansis together, the ship-heavy Nuke story is frustrating and out of character. Why would Noah be mad that Luke came to help him??? Why doesn't anything in this story cohere with anything else??? Because the story was started by writer's strike scabs and finished by the show's permanent writers post-strike, who probably don't care about making all the pieces fit.
We had a full day of soaps today. I got up at 11:30 to watch THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, but I wish I hadn't bothered. I am gagging to get a job nowadays, as is the Unemployed Boyfriend, so it was utterly galling to see fucking Professor Adrian Korbel walk into the offices of RESTLESS STYLE (!) and walk away with a job writing an article on the "intersection of fashion and art'"!!! Only Phyllis expressed any reservations, which were quickly shut up by Jack and Sharon. Look, I've had an academic article on Alfred Hitchcock published and you don't see me walking into LUCKY magazine looking to write an article on the intersection of shopping and cinema. Carolyn Hinsey wrote in her opinion column in SOAP OPERA DIGEST how crap and unrealistic the running of RESTLESS STYLE is. She's gonna looooooove this...
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL was much better. Marcus' interview at Forrester had him suitably nervous, yet enthusiastic enough to get a job there. Credibly, he is starting in shipping and receiving instead of immediately being a fashion designer or perfume creator. I also liked his interaction with Steffy, whose new portrayer is immediately at ease and has already earned my respect. Now, I keep on reading in the soap press that Brandon Beemer is joining the cast as someone "connected" to Marcus. Perhaps...his boyfriend??? I can only dream and hope that B&B would actually bring on some gay characters for a show revolving around the FASHION industry!
ONE LIFE TO LIVE was astonishing. Nash's death had The Unemployed Boyfriend in tears and he doesn't even know who Nash is! Rex's one push of Adriana said volumes. And I appreciated that shot of Brody with his shirt open, offering Gigi some whiskey...I would drink that whisky, too!
I didn't see all of GENERAL HOSPITAL but I did manage to catch the opening Maxie/Spinelli stuff and their final clench. The Unemployed Boyfriend remarked that it would have been funny if the show had ended today on a scene of an obviously sexually sated Maxie and Spinelli, post-coital, still on that desk. The Unemployed One has also started referring to me as Marshmallowista. OMG!!! WE ARE MAXIE AND SPINELLI!!!
We had a full day of soaps today. I got up at 11:30 to watch THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, but I wish I hadn't bothered. I am gagging to get a job nowadays, as is the Unemployed Boyfriend, so it was utterly galling to see fucking Professor Adrian Korbel walk into the offices of RESTLESS STYLE (!) and walk away with a job writing an article on the "intersection of fashion and art'"!!! Only Phyllis expressed any reservations, which were quickly shut up by Jack and Sharon. Look, I've had an academic article on Alfred Hitchcock published and you don't see me walking into LUCKY magazine looking to write an article on the intersection of shopping and cinema. Carolyn Hinsey wrote in her opinion column in SOAP OPERA DIGEST how crap and unrealistic the running of RESTLESS STYLE is. She's gonna looooooove this...
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL was much better. Marcus' interview at Forrester had him suitably nervous, yet enthusiastic enough to get a job there. Credibly, he is starting in shipping and receiving instead of immediately being a fashion designer or perfume creator. I also liked his interaction with Steffy, whose new portrayer is immediately at ease and has already earned my respect. Now, I keep on reading in the soap press that Brandon Beemer is joining the cast as someone "connected" to Marcus. Perhaps...his boyfriend??? I can only dream and hope that B&B would actually bring on some gay characters for a show revolving around the FASHION industry!
ONE LIFE TO LIVE was astonishing. Nash's death had The Unemployed Boyfriend in tears and he doesn't even know who Nash is! Rex's one push of Adriana said volumes. And I appreciated that shot of Brody with his shirt open, offering Gigi some whiskey...I would drink that whisky, too!
I didn't see all of GENERAL HOSPITAL but I did manage to catch the opening Maxie/Spinelli stuff and their final clench. The Unemployed Boyfriend remarked that it would have been funny if the show had ended today on a scene of an obviously sexually sated Maxie and Spinelli, post-coital, still on that desk. The Unemployed One has also started referring to me as Marshmallowista. OMG!!! WE ARE MAXIE AND SPINELLI!!!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
EVERYONE IS UNEMPLOYED
Don't worry, Van Hansis still has a job. My unemployed ass just needed a random photo of Van to cheer myself up!First The Adorable Cat (well, he never had a job in the first place), then me, and now The Employed Boyfriend is The Unemployed Boyfriend. So our house is now a hot mess of Unemployed Soap Viewers! The only soap he really watches with me is AS THE WORLD TURNS, but he'll pop in and comment on whatever I'm watching. The Unemployed Boyfriend seemed impressed with the Catalina Island set of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and queried why does ATWT look so cheap? I guess he's forgotten that ATWT looks like a Cecil B DeMille production compared to the The Ellen Wheeler Cameraphone (TM) show that is GUIDING LIGHT.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE was -- well, if it was a book I'd say it was unputdownable. When The Unemployed Boyfriend saw Dorian being strangled by Clint he knew I was in for the whole show. Nash's fall throught he skylight was shocking and probably heart attack inducing in those who didn't see it coming. And full marks to titling the episode THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY. Funny and rather wonderful to come across a random Ingmar Bergman reference. I also loved David trying to talk ghetto with Sean.
Sean: Dorian, you're a doctor, right, like a MD?
David : She's not Dr.Dre, yo.
GENERAL HOSPITAL was not as gripping, but still inspired enough to keep me from Ellen Wheeler's Cameraphone on the other channel. The scenes with Spinelli and Maxie were faaaaaaabulous. I liked seeing some lesbians in Port Charles, too, which bodes well for the rumoured gay doctor in the second season of NIGHT SHIFT. The Unemployed Boyfriend is a bit out of touch when it comes to GH; he saw Kate and was all like "Oh she's back?" since he hasn't seen the show since she went to Manhattan. In fact, the last time he did any attentive viewing of GH was during the Text Message Killer story, which had him yelling "TEXT MESSAGE!" at the screen.
I loved the cliffhanger because I had to evaluate what I thought of these three loathsome women -- Lulu, Carly and Claudia all facing off. My gut reaction? Time for Carly to give you a smackdown, Claudia. And how dare you threaten Lulu!
ATWT was DVRed so I could watch other shows. I'm not in a hurry to watch it because I know yesterday's cliffhanger will not be resolved today. I really hope this story gets a proper resolution, and doesn't get forgoten about like the Ji Min murder story of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.
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