THE ANONYMOUS COMMENT

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "CHAMPAGNE TASTE":

I think the Zach and Reese kiss is worse than Maddie and Noah. It's
pretty obvious Noah is not interested in Maddie and Luke was just
overreacting. The same can't be said for Reese and her feelings for
Zach. I think having people in gay couples worry about their partners
sexual identity is a poor and overused source of conflict. Particularly
when it is not obvious that they don't have a reason to be worried.

End of comment

Thank you Anonymous! I wanted to publish your comment but somehow the formatting of the email caused it to be rejected. Just to let you know I think your comment is very insightful and I agree!

CHAMPAGNE TASTE

Watched some of DAYS OF OUR LIVES with breakfast and I am loving Chelsea.  My adoration of Chelsea stands in direct proportion to my hatred of Melanie, a character who possesses no redeeming values whatsoever -- and I don't mean that in a GOSSIP GIRL so-bad-they're-good way, I mean that in a Good-Lord-They're-Keeping-Her-And-Firing-John-And-Marlena??!! way.

Saw the end of ALL MY CHILDREN and found the kiss between Zach and Reese to be puzzlingly staged.  It is meant to be friendly and platonic, but the way Zach kisses Reese is definitely romantic.  Between this and Luke's jealousy of Noah and Maddie on AS THE WORLD TURNS, I am weary of gay love thwarted by semi-heterosexual overtones between friends.

I almost got sucked into today's episode of ONE LIFE TO LIVE, because Marty's plan of revenge against Todd is an irresistible story.  However, the notion of actually having to watch a band named Puddle Of Mudd that da kidz are down wiv filled me with fear and dread, so I switched off.  Am I the only one who remembers Information Society appearing on OLTL in the eighties ?  Erika Slezak was the consummate pro, smiling and applauding this long forgotten band even though I could tell she knew their fame wasn't even gonna last until the next commercial break.

The household's main viewing tonight was the sparkling Blu-Ray disc of the campy yet strangely entertaining 1966 BATMAN movie.  I didn't think this title had any soap connections but I was proven wrong as Lee Meriwether plays Catwoman...decades before she joined the cast of ALL MY CHILDREN as Ruth Martin!  It is going to be surreal when Ruth next makes an appearance in Pine Valley!  (P.S. RIP Eartha Kitt, who  essayed the role of Catwoman in the BATMAN TV series.  I'm trying to work a THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR joke in here but it's late and I feel a cold coming on.)

IN DREAMS I WALK WITH YOU

My night's viewing was capped off with a re-watching of BLUE VELVET, which I haven't seen in at least 12 years.  My head is still spinning.  This film has lost none of its fascination and power to disturb, no matter how many times you've seen it.

After BLUE VELVET, director David Lynch collaborated with Mark Frost on the unique soap TWIN PEAKS.  What is striking is that TWIN PEAKS is very much about a place and a mood, in a way American soaps are not.  What can we say about Pine Valley or Salem except that they're a backdrop for plots and characters?  I would like to see one soap take on the challenge of creating a world that you want to visit, regardless of which characters inhabit it.  To some extent British soaps like CORONATION STREET and EASTENDERS have created their own hyper-realities, which are the main draw of the shows with their sense of community and vibrant working class life.  If American soaps were to have a stronger sense of setting, it could result in higher ratings as viewers will tune into a show not because of the characters and plot but because they just like to visit Oakdale or Genoa City.

Oh good grief. I hope this wasn't what Ellen Wheeler was trying to get at when she had those awful ads for GUIDING LIGHT extolling the virtues of Springfield via CameraPhone. (TM)  you know, the ones at the beginning of the year that were all like "High School graduation!  Your first car!  Mom's apple pie!  SPRINGFIELD!!!!!"  Maybe if Ellen Wheeler's Springfield had a dark, twisted side to it like Lynch's Lumberton, I'd actually watch the show.

NOT NOW, CASSIE

I was surprised to see GUIDING LIGHT'S last Cassie, Nicole Forester, on this morning's BEVERLY HILLS 90210 rerun.  I didn't think she had ever done a soap before GL.  Unfortunately, my first impulse at the sight of Ms. Forester is to scream "Not now, Cassie!" at the TV -- my Pavlovian response to the ever annoying Cassie, a character so irritating you just wished Reva would smack her one.  Not Ms. Forester's fault, though; her portrayal was good, particularly in the aftermath of Tammy's death.

Speaking of recasts gone wrong  -- caught up with last Tuesday's episode of AS THE WORLD TURNS, which was a real showcase for the new Maddie, Kelly Barrett.  Sadly, unlike the fantastic Billy Magnusson, Ms. Barrett is unable to connect with material that was enacted by her predecessor.  Just think how moving her reunions with Noah and Casey would be if Maddie was still played by Alexandra Chando.  Kelly Barrett just does not possess the sparky vulnerabilty that Alexandra Chando had, that made Maddie a real heroine.  I'm all for giving Noah a friend (that boy has nobody to talk to!) but so far NuMadddie is just not convincing.  Besides the recast, NuMaddie is also written as sexually aggressive -- something the sexually abused old Maddie would never be.  I think it's time for the ATWT writers to either cut this character loose, or make Alex Chando a deal.

STATING THE OBVIOUS

It is utterly absurd that 90210 once thought Tori Spelling was the ideal choice for a continuing story about drug addiction.  I defy anyone to watch Donna descend into prescription painkiller dependence without giggling.

Speaking of inappropriate laughter, we found ourselves chuckling at Katherine slipping on the ice in YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.  Jeanne Cooper is a real trooper -- she's a gazillion years old and is still as game for anything as when she starred in Roger Corman cheapies in the '50s and '60s.  I am loving whoever it was that decided to show the 1989 episode of Y&R on Christmas Day.  It was nostalgic and campy, yet also narratively compelling.  Plus, there was a funny meta-joke that had Marge sitting down to watch THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL!  Please, SoapNet, how about a few vintage Y&R episodes to replace the Sunday Night Movie?  (I do not dare to suggest SoapNet air something in place of 90210 reruns.  The very thought of that causes heads to explode around the SoapNet offices.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I felt a little like saying "Bah humbug!" hearing Jana blather on about V8 on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and I still just can't find myself caring about Devon, Ana, or Ana's mom.  Yet the good gradually pushed out the bad on Y&R, with the Victor flashbacks and Kay regaining her memory being particularly jolting.

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL was also very good, with Bradley Bell's holiday wishes at the end of the show seeming rightfully earned.  This is a producer who knows when his show is working and when it isn't.  Right now it is working very well.  The sentimentality of the holidays must be getting to me because I didn't even mind Granpa Jack Wagner proposing to his child bride!  Oh wait...

I saw a bit of today's ALL MY CHILDREN rerun.  Not really feeling the tornado drama, unfortunately, since another tornado episode is being rerun Christmas Day.  Still, nice that they brought back Bianca, and I really don't mind that they retconned the story so Zach is the father of her baby.

I saw some of DOOL, OLTL's rerun and the last half of GH's Christmas episode, but you know what?  It's Christmas and I've got some words of cheer.  Last year I was completely unemployed and at a real low.  This year my life has turned around.  I have a great job, a great boyfriend (who has a great new job) and an adorable cat.  I have fabulous friends all over the world!  I have a Ghetto Fabulous Mom who I have to thank for introducing me to soaps at a young age.  The nation as a whole is in state of optimism, and I like riding that wave for once.  I am so happy right now with my life, and I am glad that I've always had soaps for fun and escapism, through good times and bad.

So please,  have a Happy Holiday or at least go out and see a good movie.  And if you can't do that, check out the vintage Y&R episode on CBS and the GH Christmas episode mini-marathon on SoapNet!  I hope everyone's day is joyous and soapy.

FRUSTRATIONS

I was watching last Friday's DAYS OF OUR LIVES on SoapNet this morning and wondering just how long can Nicole possibly bar EJ from her bedroom to hide her fake pregnancy bump?  And doesn't that defeat her purpose since she is only pretending to be pregnant so she won't lose EJ?

I saw a little bit of GENERAL HOSPITAL.  I like Claudia with Ric, mainly because I dig Sarah Brown and Rick Hearst.  Yet there is really no good reason why Claudia isn't sleeping with the fishes as yet.  I know the show is playing on the tension between Claudia and Sonny, with the constant threat that Sonny will find her out and kill her, but since we know Sarah Brown is on contract we also know Claudia will not be shot full of lead.  Pity.

After a run of great episodes (remember, I am a week behind in my DVR catchup) AS THE WORLD TURNS stumbled with last Wednesday's episode.  The jury is out on the new actress playing Jade, but her introduction was horrendously clunky.  We are asked to suspend our disbelief twice in one scene, with the consequence that the whole story feels forced and artificial.  First, Derek recognizes Rose when he sees Lily, but Noelle Beck has never played Rose and is frankly unimaginable as a working class showgirl from New Jersey.  Second, when Lily pulls out the picture of Jade any viewer with a memory of the last 2 years will have to make the mental leap to accept the recast.  So Derek is recognizing a character who we can't visualize and then being shown a photo of another character we can't recognize.  It's like something out of SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK!!  I could forgive all this if it meant Martha Byrne was going to return as Lily and expose Noelle Beck's Lily as really being Rose but that is only going to happen in my fevered imagination.  And I will miss the original Jade, Elena Goode, who had an easy rapport with Van Hansis.

SYMPATHY FOR THE BRIAN

Very, very impressed with last Tuesday's episode of AS THE WORLD TURNS.  Brian could have been demonized, but instead good writing and Laurence Lau's performance have resulted in an unusually sympathetic character.  His scenes with Van Hansis were superb and it was refreshing that they spoke openly about sex and attraction.  (I also appreciated the little touch of explaining why Lucinda, Brian and Luke were not at Jack and Janet's wedding.)  Compare the thoughtfulness of this story with the similar plot of Nora's husband on ONE LIFE TO LIVE a few years back, who went totally psycho to hide his homosexuality.  ATWT's portrayal of a sadly closeted man is much more nuanced and thus makes for a much more rewarding story.

The rest of the episode was great, too.  Maura West and Jon Lindstrom were clearly enjoying sparking off one another, Dani's exit was well handled (and her scenes with "Daddy" Craig amusingly blaaargh) and I loved Margo going all Jane Tennison on everyone's ass.  On the opposite end of the quality spectrum was the episode of 90210 I saw half of with breakfast before scuttling off to work.  Valerie's been raped, Donna's popping pills and important issues are being turned into problems-of-the-week that will be forgotten by the next episode.  At this stage of its run, 90210 is like a never ending Lifetime TV movie.

DEMONS, MOBSTERS AND HOT CRIMINALS SLEEPING WITH THEIR STEPDAUGHTERS

Watching 90210 this morning I found myself distracted by Emma Caulfield, later to join the cast of BUFFY as the demon Anya.  Her presence makes me think that at any moment the cast will be swallowed by a Hellmouth.  Now wouldn't that enliven the current 90210 reboot to no end?

I saw the end of GENERAL HOSPITAL and was pleased to see Robert Scorpio alive and well and reunited with his family.  The last 2 episodes of NIGHT SHIFT are residing in the bowels of my DVR so the last I saw Robert things were looking pretty bleak.  Another pleasing aspect of GH today was the killing of Sasha because that means we are hopefully seeing the end of the tiresome Russian Mob storyline.

We are still waaaaaay behind in our AS THE WORLD TURNS viewing.  We watched 2 episodes tonight and have got 4 more to watch this weekend!  Finally saw Jack and Janet's wedding and there was much blubbing in the house.  I was particularly impressed with the way Julie Pinson handled the scene where Janet calmly and directly tells Carly to step off, bitch.  In other areas of viewing pleasure, Julie Pinson's former PORT CHARLES squeeze, Jon Lindstrom (pictured) is a wonderfully snarky, sexy Craig.  No one can replace Scott Bryce but Jon is a more than adequate substitute.  Dare I hope the same for the upcoming triple threat of recasts of Maddie, Jade and Lucy?

SOME NICE THINGS SAID ABOUT THIS MORNING'S RANDOM 90210 RERUN

Wow, Hilary Swank can really act the hell out of any material, can't she?  I also enjoyed Brian Austin Green befriending and protecting the Gay Guy at work in his new car wash job. Which reads like bad fan fic when I read that sentence back to me.