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OPINION
The Virtual Soapbox
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Mala Bhattacharjee, news editor
— Soap Opera Weekly
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September 23, 2009
After unifying Fish, Matthew/David/Bo and Markko and Mr. Rivera with the
theme of fathers and sons in today's episode, ONE LIFE TO LIVE left me with
a distinct urge to call my dad. From the touching to the gut-wrenching, OLTL
covered all the bases.
I know some people think Oliver's scenes with his parents are unreal or
deliberately over-the-top as part of someone's liberal agenda, but the sad
truth is that the conversations Oliver had with George and Barbara happen
every day, every minute, in hundreds of languages. LGBT people the world
over grapple with coming out to their families and reconciling their
religious and cultural beliefs with their identity. Only the characters are
fictional, not the situation. And when Mr. Fish cruelly outed Fish to John
and Marty and then lashed out at Kyle for "corrupting" his son, I cringed.
Oliver is a good man, especially by soap standards. I mean, I don't think
he's ever even jaywalked! And that his father would think he's less of a man
just because of who he loves...you could see the pain that caused Fish, and
by extension Kyle. I was so glad that Oliver was able to connect with his
mom, but heartbroken that his dad remained unyielding. Luckily, the
emotional sequences provided some touches of unintentional humor, too. I
couldn't help but giggle a little at how John's trademark sangfroid
worked so well with Mr. Fish — he barely blinked at the revelation that his
fellow cop is gay! And when Fish called out for a deli-bound Cris and Layla
to put the sandwiches on white bread...? LOL!
Over at the Buenas Dias Café, Bo tried to get through to Matthew about his
decision to have potentially risky spinal surgery by talking about the death
of his son, Drew. And the heartfelt conversation, which left Matthew still
determined to soldier on, ended up creating a surprising moment of
connection between Bo and his eldest son, David. That David is Bo's
biological child has been pretty much been played as a joke. Today was the
first time it felt real. I appreciated David saying he'd wished for a father
like Bo, and then Bo sitting down with him for some steak and eggs. And
watching Bo and his boys provided Markko's father with an eye-opening view
of how time with your child can be so fleeting. Fighting over Markko's
premarital sex habits and his choice of girlfriends just isn't worth losing
him! Bo and David started me sniffling, but I honestly choked up when Mr.
Rivera showed up at Markko's apartment at the end of the episode, telling
him that Markko was his own man now but always welcome at home for dinner.
September 16, 2009
Have you ever known me to be at a loss for words? Weird concept, right? But as GUIDING LIGHT winds down with only two episodes to go after today, I find myself scrambling to articulate how I feel about the phenomenon.
I used to rush home from school to watch GL and GH at the same time. I was a habitual channel flipper, and refused to choose one show over the other. (Yes, youngsters, this was before the advent of the DVR.) I loved Harley, and laughed and grew with that character. I watched her babysit little Marah and Shayne after Reva drove off the bridge; I saw her hook up with Josh, and then eventually go on to join the police academy and fall for her gruff instructor, A.C. Mallet. I loved bad girl Blake, first in Sherry Stringfield's skin and then Liz Keifer's. Blake and Ross' affair was electric. There are just so many characters, so many stories, that have impacted me over the years and will stay with me forever. I can't even list them all right now because it's too vast, it's too much.
Saying goodbye to Springfield is like saying goodbye to someplace I've lived, to my neighbors and friends. Much like Natalia clutching Rafe before he boarded the bus for boot camp today, I want to grab GL and whimper, "I don't want you to go!"
But it's going; the Light is going out on Friday. And even though I can't bid adieu to Harley or Alan-Michael or Lucy or a dozen other characters who couldn't come back for this farewell week, I cherish being able to spend this week seeking closure with the existing residents of Springfield. Bye, everyone. It's been wonderful spending 20 years with you!
September 11, 2009
I'm going to talk a little OLTL and GL today. First, can you believe there's only five episodes of GL left? I'm in denial. DE-NI-AL. Thursday's episode began the rapid wrap-up process, with Phillip and Alan coming out of surgery with flying colors, Jonathan returning Sarah to Lizzie (Oh my God! So much cute!) and Olivia and Emma moving back to the farm with Natalia. Oh, and babies. I remember Josh and a lot of babies.
As much as I love seeing my Springfielders happy, it all feels so
rushed and it goes back to an earlier concern I had about the last few months being bogged down by stories that didn't need the airtime. We watched Olivia angst the entire time Nat was offscreen for Jessica Leccia's maternity leave. Now they've reunited without even kissing, and everything's hunky-dory? At least viewers got a throwaway line about a box of Olivia's stuff being moved into Natalia's bedroom. And I enjoyed Josh, Reva and a room full of munchkins, as well as Jonathan reuniting Lizzie with Sarah, but after all this time, couldn't have viewers have gotten a longer scene than Lizzie taking Sarah off for a walk while Jonathan told Bill he was willing to work something out? This is stuff that people want fleshed out, something that you'd want to savor.
As I said, five episodes left. Less than five full hours. And that's not nearly long enough to say a proper goodbye.
On to OLTL. This week's drug-dealing storyline ended with a much tenser note than it began on, and I loved it: Brody being a SEAL and sneaking around all stealthy and knocking out thugs...John trying to draw out Sergei. I even loved John and Bo rolling under the warehouse door, as cheesetastic as that was. It's a bunch of good guys doing good things! It's great when competent police officers are showcased as the heroes. And I especially appreciated that Fish is a part of the team. His role in Llanview is not simply to be The Gay Guy. He's a cop, too, and obviously very capable of doing his job.
I really feel like OLTL, with this character and Kyle, is realizing the potential set forth by GL and ATWT. GL had two fleshed out, fully realized characters who discovered their lesbian feelings...but couldn't take that story the whole way to the physical realm. ATWT got Noah and Luke kissing, but hasn't really given them stories that work or much characterization beyond their orientation. As for AMC's Bianca, she's had a much longer arc about her sexuality than Olivia or Luke or Fish and there's just a whole lot of other stuff going on there. I'd be here all day, and nobody wants to read a blog entry that's 2000 words long. LOL.
Obviously there's going to be some "after school special" moments when Fish comes out to his parents, but I think with the tethering of him to the Llanview PD and even to the Stacy pregnancy storyline, it bodes well for the future of organic, character-based stories about LGBT folks.
And P.S...am I the only one who hoped that Kyle would find out Fish was involved in this tense stand-off with evildoers and rush to his side? ;-).
September 10, 2009
So, I have this pattern with GH. I like one episode and then the very next
one sends me plummeting back to disappointment-land. The lead up to the
carnival, on Tuesday, was integrated, fun, and aside from a few missteps,
incredibly enjoyable. The fall-out yesterday...? Was baffling. Can someone
explain to me the need to have Jason wander the carnage like a sad, lost
puppy? A man who has seen — no, CAUSED — so much violence in Port Charles is suddenly devastated enough to require his own montage? There is not enough eye-roll in the world for that. And why in the world would Rebecca
give consent for Edward to be treated at GH? SHE'S NOT A QUARTERMAINE. THEY
AREN'T RELATED. If you can't pay Leslie Charleson (Monica) or Jane Elliot (Tracy) for that day, couldn't somebody have at least gone and found Jason and had him sign a consent form? Or would that have cut into his quality angst time?
Why was Sonny hanging out at GH waiting for news on Dominic while Kristina
was buried in the wreckage? I mean, it's been patently obvious for years
that his daughter is his last priority ("I know you plowed into my wife and
caused her miscarriage, but have some money and go buy something pretty!"),
but now she has to fall behind the son he doesn't even know he has?
Ridic'!
Must be a pattern with those mob boys, considering Jason remembered to mope
over Jake only because something fell on the kid. Not that I'm complaining
about seeing Jake, who is adorable. And tied with OLTL's baby Hope for the
unintentionally hilarious reaction of the week. He was so unconcerned about
having been injured and only cried when he was lifted onto the gurney to be
taken away from the carnival! Much like Hope, who apparently adored her
Russian kidnappers and only started bawling when they gave her back to Starr
to hold.
But back to GH and its utterly confounding decisions. How do two guys with
little to no cover survive a HAIL OF BULLETS? I mean, it was silly enough
when Spinelli was directly in the line of fire and somehow escaped
wounding, but for both him and Johnny to survive the warehouse hit was
laughable. And the fact that mob scion Johnny is the one who ended up shot
is a total head-scratcher. I know the show loves Spinelli, but that doesn't
make the Jackal literally bulletproof, ya know?
Here's the thing: You can't really fool a soap viewer. It doesn't matter if
you bring in a troupe of clowns and jugglers and a real Ferris wheel or pull
off the coolest shoot-out montage if you don't have your basic story points
straight. Fans are still going to notice that Rebecca isn't eligible to give
medical consent just because she's Emily's sister!
The scope of the carnival was great, a job honestly well done. But soaps
need to remember that at the end of the day, it's not about the magnitude of
the event, it's about the details.
August 31, 2009
Everybody who has read my stuff in the magazine or here in my blog knows that I've loved me some GL this year. The show bounced back from its slump in a beautiful, organic way and, sadly, that spike in awesomeness came too late to save it from cancellation. I can talk till I'm blue in the face about how much I love this show and what a travesty I think it going off air is.
However... (yes, I have to say "however"), as we enter the home stretch, I can't help but feel like the show wasted some time. Did we really need all the Mallet and Marina angst over whether or not she whacked some guy with Henry's stroller? And Mallet nobly leaving so Shayne could be Henry's father?
Then there's Jeffrey's "death" and subsequent canonization. Did I miss the part where looking like Prince Richard somehow makes him Prince Richard? I love how people forget that he had an illicit fling with Marah and date-raped Olivia when they were teenagers. Aside from the fact that he married Reva and that gained him magical access to the Springfield inner circle, I just don't see the need to be All About Jeffrey as the show comes to an end. Heck, I couldn't even enjoy part of the Jonathan return arc because it was about him finding Jeffrey.
And Cyrus...was there really a need to annex him to the Cooper family when so many real Coopers we've loved over the years can't come home? We never met a SORAS-ed Rocky, so I'm supposed to believe Buzz feels a magical connection to Jenna's oldest and heretofore unknown son? Coop already HAS two brothers, Buzz. I call shenanigans. Personally, I'd rather see Harley or Lucy or Eleni come back than have a jewel thief who slept with Harley and Marina become the prodigal son.
There are existing, veteran characters who could've had this airtime. Holly popped on for a blink last week. I would much rather have watched her all week than Cyrus discovering his identity, and Mallet sacrificing himself on the altar of Bosnian Baby Wangst. I'm not saying that they don't have fans and don't deserve to be in the last month of GL's story arc. Of course they do! But not at the expense of people who've been there longer, people we've welcomed into our homes for 20-30 years now and will never see again in this context after Sept. 18.
What about finding love interests for Rick and Matt or spending more than five minutes on Frank and Blake's Internet romance? Or taking some time to mention the Bauers and the Reardons and shout-out to storylines of the past? Jenna's great and all, but I wish Buzz would mention Nadine. Anything and everything is probably going to wind up crammed into the last week, when it could have been stretched out over two months instead of Strollergate and Reva talking to Jeffrey's pictures like he's the portrait of a Hogwarts headmaster.
With the Light about to go out forever, why hide the good stuff under a bushel?
August 28, 2009
It's that time again. The Second Annual Mala's Made-Up Awards. I did it last year in lieu of Emmy predictions (look for my June 20, 2008 entry) and figured it would be fun to do again! Obviously this informal set of kudos and disses spans part of last year and part of this year. There are no rules, only my whims!
Most Entertaining Show: B&B.
Best Surprise Couple: (a three-way tie) GH's Johnny and Olivia, B&B's Jackie
and Owen and AMC's Jake and Amanda.
Best New Character: GH's Dante (I was thisclose to saying OLTL's Kyle but
didn't want to be accused of being too biased. Hee!).
Best New Character Played By A Soap Vet: B&B's Bill.
Best Love Scene: When GL's Olivia declared she loves Natalia!
Most Trauma-inducing Love Scene: OLTL's Todd and Marty.
Most Memorable Line of the Year: This is an easy one. Y&R's Jack for "Is
that cat DEAD?"
Biggest Jerkface: Y&R's Adam.
Best Inanimate Object: Y&R's Mr. Kitty.
The Miranda Montgomery Cutest Baby Award: GL's Henry (both the original and
the recast!).
Most Wasted Potential: ATWT's Dusty and Lucy.
Best Realization of Potential: OLTL's Kyle, Fish, Cristian and Layla.
Most Froth-inducing Storyline: OLTL's Todd and Marty (I sense a theme).
I Would Watch It On a Loop: GL's Grady falling off the cliff.
The Ric Lansing "What Panic Room?" Insta-Redemption Award: GL's Cyrus
(though he hasn't done anything as bad as Ric, his recent Cooperization is
nutso).
The Flowers in the Attic Award: GH’s Michael and Kristina.
The Chester-the-Molester Skeevy Pairing Award: Y&R's Adam and Rafe.
Best Gay Characters/LGBT Storyline: GH: NS' Kyle and Eric.
Most Missed Veteran: DAYS' Philip's prosthetic leg.
The Dorian Gray Portrait-in-the-Attic Award: GH's Rebecca Herbst
(Elizabeth), because she's my age and she still looks 15. (I'm going gray,
people. This is unfair. LOL.)
Best Use of History: GH: NS' Robert battles cancer and has a dream sequence
about his old friends.
Worst Rewrite of History: GH's Ethan Lovett is Luke and Holly's son.
Most Confusing Rewrite of History: Y&R's Cane isn't Phillip III and knew it
all along.
Best Death: Y&R's Brad is trapped under the ice.
Worst Death: GUIDING LIGHT. Duh.
Biggest Unsolved Mystery: Why Sri Rao isn't writing for a daytime soap/why NIGHT SHIFT didn't get picked up for a third season.
August 26, 2009
Since I've had massive love for OLTL lately, I should've figured that something would ruin it — own personal romantic roadblock, determined to break up me and my cute, new steady. Yep, I'm talking Todd and Marty.
I mean, pardon my caps-lock abuse here, but WHAT COURT IN THE LAND WOULD ORDER A RAPIST TO SEE HIS VICTIM AS A THERAPIST? OMG! I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. DO NOT WANT. NO. NO. NO. It's just dumb. It smacks of the same sensationalistic misogyny that drove the whole amnesiac Marty rapemance last year, and it just doesn't make sense. I hate when a smart show makes blatantly stupid choices. And any viewer with half a lick of sense and a few episodes of LAW & ORDER under their belt knows that Marty being Todd's therapist stretches the limits of even soaps' elastic credibility.
And then to have her dole out advice about his love life when she still hasn't gotten over her own sexual trauma? Hi, insult, here's injury to slam you over the head repeatedly with a cement block.
Todd is a sociopathic creepazoid and I frankly don't care about his personal life, so his oh-so beautiful romance with Téa just doesn't do it for me. Instead, I sit around thinking that Téa and Blair could both do much better. If they really have to compete for someone, can't it be Elijah? He's smart, well-dressed and as far as I know, he hasn't raped anyone. (It's really sad that this is my baseline for measuring a decent guy on daytime.)
As for Todd, hey, I have the perfect solution for him: Forget therapy with the woman he terrorized or a reunion with one of his ex-wives. Just hook him up with Stacy and be done with it, since she has no qualms about rape and insane behavior herself. What she did to Schuyler, drugging him and trying to get him in the sack, was completely deplorable. But it's funny how Stacy is considered a crazy villainess while Todd is the object of obsession for three Llanview women. She's a slutty psycho, and he's a stud. How is that fair?
I'm disappointed that a show that does so much right with diversity and intergenerational storytelling can still get so much horribly wrong with gender issues and sexual violence.
August 25, 2009
Can you believe I actually went four whole days without watching a soap? I don't know how! Actually, wait, I do. First, I made sure to check in on the one storyline that left me on the edge of my seat before I left for vacation: Owen's odd behavior on BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. Right around 1:45 on Friday, I contact my colleague Joe and asked him whether or not Owen has an evil twin. (He does!) With that burning question answered, I was relatively at peace with my time away from soaps.
And for the rest of my withdrawal symptoms...? There was Twitter! Yes, Twitter. I change my username every once in a while, but I do have an account. I follow several people, including some daytime actors. And watching the likes of Brandon Barash (Johnny, GH), Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH), and Chrishell Stause (Amanda, AMC) tweet about whatever they were up to over the weekend helped me feel as though I was still connected to the world of soaps. (Not to mention that Brandon made me start craving Frito Pie.)
Then there's the guys from Y&R...arguably THE funniest tweeters, at least to me, in the soap Twitterverse. Between all the photos from the makeup chairs, the movement to change #followfridays to #nakedfridays, and the adorable family chatter they engage in, it's never a dull moment. At this point, I'd call Daniel Goddard (Cane) and Michael Muhney's (Adam) online bromance "epic." They certainly have more going on than Adam and Rafe ever did! LOL! Then, if you fold in their pals Brandon Beemer (Owen, B&B), Christian LeBlanc (Michael, Y&R), and Greg Vaughan (Lucky, GH), it's like soap opera meets reality TV...except in 140 characters or less. I really get a kick out of how warm and funny and wonderful their friendships obviously are and how willing they are to share that with the public.
Here's a few choice items that kept me looped into the land o' suds during my four-day weekend:
@greg_vaughan Lucky?? Is trying to continue putting the past behind them & rebuilding the foundation that he & Liz once shared!
@lisalocicerogh Almost had it...Both Dominic AND Brandon were here running lines last night..Heated up the hot tub...camera was ready... No dice, no photo.
@michaelmuhney Y'all should C me now: icepacks on my feet laying on the couch. Had my weekly soccer league today. Got an assist from corner kick & a goal!
@Chrishell7 Just got done running in the TX heat-now room service! To all the fans that came out today-you are amazing!! Sorry the lines are so rushed!
@BrandonBarash What's that u say, Mr. Concession Stand Worker? You have Frito Pie??? ONE PLEASE!
Don't forget to follow Digest/Weekly on twitter @SoapDigest!
August 18, 2009 — Part 2
The wonderful guys at We Love Soaps, Roger Newcomb and Damon L. Jacobs, had me as a guest on the eighth edition of their weekly podcast, and it was posted this morning! Check it out at here.
We dish diversity (like ANY of you are surprised about that?), my love for B&B, the most touching scene on Y&R in weeks...and I also cop to skipping a lot of school. (Sorry, Mom!)
August 18, 2009 — Part 1
Good soap isn't just about one thing or the other. Truly good soap is a collaborative effort between talented writers, actors, directors and crew. If even one of those elements is off, it does make a difference. You can have the best script in the world, but a weak actor may not be able to sell it. A stellar actor can sell dreck, but you still know it's dreck. And sometimes, the right camera angle is all you need to make a scene resonate...and the wrong one is all you need to make a viewer seasick!
And all of that pontificating on my part boils down to yesterday's OLTL being incredibly watchable. I loved Blair and Cris talking at Capricorn, Bo, Nora and Matthew at the courthouse, and Roxy reaching out to Rex. Heck, I hate having to admit this, but Stacy and Kim cracked me up as they compiled the list of Stacy's baby daddies. And, of course, there was Kyle and Fish. Of course.
The Serenity Springs locker room, with its tight, cramped quarters proved to be the perfect reflection of Oliver's discomfort with his own skin, and the camera emphasized how much bigger he is than Kyle ... if only so the script and the actors could showcase that physical strength had no bearing on how emotionally weak he felt. Fish's verbal denials of his pull to Kyle was accompanied by the fear and heartbreak in Scott Evans' expressive eyes. And Kyle's hoarse, fierce whisper and the way he physically reached out to Oliver, acknowledging how difficult this struggle is for him, was wrenching.
It would be so easy to write these scenes flat, with both characters being selfish and only concerned with their own needs. But Kyle was willing to put his feelings aside for Fish, whose own compassion took the form of how desperately he held into Kyle's hand and leaned in to his touch. That's the kind of thing that only enriches a story that's already being told well.
And while I'm flailing over story and grounded characters and great scripts, I have to talk about B&B's Bill Spencer, Jr. When did Don Diamont become my Kryptonite? Never having been a Brad Carlton gal — not even when he was in badass Navy SEAL "I will snap your neck with my thighs" mode — I am flummoxed by how Bill has gotten under my skin. Just like he's gotten under Katie's.
Diamont's Bill has this wonderful combination of confidence, arrogance and tentative vulnerability.
Bill: When I say that I want something, I mean that I want it in my name: money, property, Forrester. But I don't want you in that way. I want you under my eyes. I want you in my arms. Maybe you look like a doorway to someplace I've never been, to feelings that I've never experienced. I know you're going to hurt me. That's right, it can be done. You see, I'm going to go about this all wrong, and then I'm going to drive you away. I'm going to lose you. And don't tell me I won't. And then I'll close up like a fist. And knowing all that, I still find myself thinking...I need you, Katie Logan. And I've never needed anybody.
I mean, good gravy, it's no wonder Katie's a goner!
That confession left me an inarticulate mushpile, struggling to remember what I was working on. Again, proof that when you have the right actor, the right dialogue, and a crew who knows how to showcase that combination to its best advantage, you get some brilliant results!
August 12, 2009
Yesterday I had the completely appalling realization that Y&R's Adam and
Ashley have chemistry. And given how I feel about victimizers of women
becoming romantic heroes, I immediately wanted to go shower with bleach.
Michael Muhney and Eileen Davidson work really, really well together and are
knocking their scenes out of the park. And those times when Ash is leaning
on Adam and he's pretending to be completely sincere ... if you take them out
of context, it's like, "Hey, there's something there." Unfortunately, I'm a
context kinda gal, and context says, "OH, HELL, NO."
Can we just help me remember that pithy mantra? "Mala, stop that." "Mala,
don't go there." "Mala, he had downlow sex with a dude who looks 12." "Mala,
he's making her think she's still pregnant after he DISPOSED OF HER DEAD
BABY IN THE FIREPLACE."
Maybe if I say those things over and over, this sense of "what a waste!"
will go away.
And this goes back to the core problem with this story: Adam's victimization
of Ashley has NEVER made sense. As the one person who believed in him, who
was kind to him when everyone was treating him like crap, she is the least
deserving of this horrendous campaign of revenge against Victor. And even
back when Chris Engen was playing the role, the show could've gone the
simplest possible route: Have Adam woo a vulnerable Ashley for himself. Back
when his biggest ick factor was shooting Botox in his eyes. I think it would
have been totally plausible for "poor" blind Adam to seek comfort in his
father's girlfriend and cozy up to her as a suitor...but then realize that
maybe he was starting to fall for her for real. And it wouldn't have
sacrificed Victor and Hope's son in the process. He could've come back from
that and still had a place as a future romantic character.
But now? Oh, God, I really hope no one at the show IS plotting an
Adam/Ashley pair-up. If that happens, I will do my best impression of the
pea soup scene from The Exorcist.
As it stands, Adam has joined the likes of GH's Ric and Luke, OLTL's Todd,
and Days' EJ on my personal 'No Fly' list. If he goes full-on villain, I'll
rescind the designation, but as long as the possibility for him becoming a
redeemed leading man remains I will have the bleach and the airsick bag at
the ready!
August 10, 2009
I think I spent the entire weekend in a Kish-induced haze — leading me to conclude something that's probably not all that shocking: OLTL's Kyle Lewis represents daytime's new generation of gay characters. He's just your
average joe — with a taste for blackmail and a guy named Fish — soap character.
The closest we've come before this is probably GH: NIGHT SHIFT's Kyle (Adam Grimes), who was a doctor with the same problems as anybody else in the
hospital. There was no issue of him coming out of or going into any closets.
He was a friend, a brother, a dedicated physician, and a guy who fell in
love with one of his patients. AMC's Lena Kundera (Olga Sosnovska), Bianca's
first serious girlfriend after Sarah, was another character whose sexuality
was just a part of her and not a platform for anything. These were just
people doing what people do on a soap. I had initially hoped that Y&R's Adam
would hold this distinction as well ... turning out to be a bisexual villain,
but the show back-peddled from that story so fast that I'm surprised they
didn't trip over something. Adam manipulated another guy — NAKED — but, hey, he's not into boys that way. Riiiight.
Heck, the only bisexual characters on daytime right now are GL's Natalia and
Olivia, neither of whom negate their past relationships with men and their
perhaps ongoing attraction to men (hi, Josh!) just because they love
each other. Olivia's very much still Olivia: the broken, dysfunctional woman
who will turn to anyone for just a smidge of validation. But the character's
been on a ten year path, and it's a little bit of a different story than
bringing on a brand-new LGBT character.
OLTL's Kyle is gay from the get-go...in the most shrug-worthy, blasé of
ways. His sexuality is as much a footnote to him as it is to hetero
characters like Rex or Blair. He never really announced it to anyone, and
that's where the writers were brilliant. Kyle turned down Gigi's advances
when she tried to get info out of him by just saying she didn't have
anything he wants. And Roxy figured out he was gay mostly by context and
things unspoken (catching a guy mooning over a photo will do that). And
Kyle's not sanitized, sainted and beloved. He's no one's poster child. AMC's
Bianca, by virtue of being the legendary Erica Kane's daughter and the
trailblazer, became all of the above. They couldn't really let her be
a bitch or, as Roxy might say, "let her freak flag fly." Lest she undo the
whole process of introducing daytime to a core gay character. And Binks
learned the hard way during Eden Riegel's 2008-09 return that going from
saint to sinner wouldn't fly with viewers. The show tried, too late, to turn
PV's most benevolent lesbian into someone who might have a secret baby with
her brother-in-law. Fans weren't havin' it. Kyle, by virtue of starting
out a blackmailer and crazy Rebecca's baby brother, has no pedestal
to plummet from.
And he's found a perfectly imperfect match in terminally nice Oliver, who's
currently doing something not-so nice by dating Layla and breaking poor
Kyle's heart. Yes, Fish is grappling with his orientation and there
will be a coming out element to this story, but I really think (okay,
hope) it's not going to be an after-school special. Because these are
just guys trying to live their lives. And all my Kyle praise is not meant to
diminish Fish in the least. It's just that Oliver's journey is different; he
still has to get to the place where Kyle already is...and, believe me, I
can't wait till he gets there!
August 4, 2009
Are Y&R's Mary Jane and Adam in a competition to see who can be the most irredeemable psycho? Actually, wait, Adam, to me, isn't a psycho. He's too
cold, too calculating about his crimes, to qualify as someone acting purely
from unhinged emotion. MJ, however, done lost her damn mind. Between talking
to her stuffed cat, poisoning Summer with a peanut butter-laced kiss, and
now slipping Jack roofies and pretending to be Sharon, I am utterly floored
by what we're supposed to make of her. Note to daytime: A woman having sex
with a man without his informed (and LUCID!) consent is no different than a
male-on-female sex crime. Jack was stoned out of his head and thought he was
with Sharon. That's rape. And whether it's ATWT's Julia raping Jack or GH's
Irina raping Jax, this is not something we need to keep seeing. It
turns my stomach and any enjoyment I was getting out of Mary Jane and her
crazy antics is now as dead as Mr. Kitty.
Moving from dead pets to dead horses, isn't it about time Billy quit whining
that Jill never loved him best? His scenes with Jill, Chloe and Kay today
just made me want to smack him up side the head. I love Billy Miller, but
watching his character bemoan Cane getting all the love and then trying to
recapture his glory days with Mac from six years ago isn't holding my
attention. However I will admit that it's entirely possible that I'm just
bitter that Billy and Chloe are kaput and Chloe's now hanging out with
Chance...who I still want to see with Rafe!
It was nice to see Lauren today, though. I'd forgotten she was even
on this show. And Tracey Bregman looked so pretty! Stop locking this woman away and only rolling her out to make inane conversation about Amber's designs. Why isn't she all up in Paul's business since he's about to marry Nikki? And why not use her built-in psycho detector (after all those years of dealing with Sheila) to catch Patty Jane?
August 3, 2009
What in the Sam Hill (not to be confused with the Sam McCall) was going on
with GH's Ethan and Lucky beating the snot out of Dante Friday and today?
Lucky is a cop, and getting into bar brawls is just plain stupid. And
Ethan...? He's a sticky-fingered con artist! He has no room to judge
somebody that's working for Sonny. Did the show think we would view the
attack as a lovely bonding experience between Luke's two sons? Sorry,
ganging up on a guy interested in their sister just made them look like
ginormous jerks. I mean, yeah, Dante was coming on strong and is probably
the kind of guy that I'd walk away from in a bar...which is something
Lulu's perfectly capable of doing herself! She handled him just fine,
shepherding his obnoxious tush to the hospital and passing him to Epiphany
for the "TLC" he was so desperately angling for. Ethan and Lucky's intrusion
was uncalled for and, again, a completely manufactured way for them to bond
and for Ethan to look like a part of the gang. Lucky's resentment of Ethan
has been justifiable; suddenly forgetting that so they could "defend their
sister's honor" was hard to swallow. And landing a few punches on the even
newer guy in town doesn't make Ethan suddenly look like a veteran. The only
ones in that entire sequence that actually came out looking okay were
Nikolas and Coleman, because the supercilious Cassadine act is
believable (plus he used the word "ilk!") and Coleman is awesome no matter
what he does.
Then there's my fury over Sonny being a big ol' buttinsky and trying to
force Olivia to admit she's still into him. Luckily, it was soothed by how
lovely the Johnny and Olivia scene afterwards was. It was in direct contrast
to how Sonny refused to listen to a word Olivia was saying, how he kept
hammering at her to give into him. Johnny allowed Olivia to have her
feelings — even if they were about another man — and didn't let them negate
what the two of them have with each other. "You get me Liv, in a way that
most people don't," Johnny sighed. I loved them talking about her
blue-collar life in Bensonhurst versus his life of wealth and privilege.
Then, Olivia put her cards on the table, worrying that Johnny would think
he's a substitute for Sonny, and I got a little mushy when Johnny assured
Olivia he doesn't feel used, just "needed," and admitted that he needs her,
too. As for Sonny? Oh, you've got to just love him feigning sympathy for
Claudia and their lost child after being shot down by Olivia. It was pretty
reprehensible. I mean, I don't even like Claudia all that much and I felt
bad for her. Pursuing someone else when your wife just had a miscarriage,
and then coming back to her because you might as well make a go of it is not
something that makes me swoon with the romantic vapors!
I promise that tomorrow I will not post about GH. I think I've got some Y&R
in me. We'll find out!
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It's not just you, Mala. I also have been disappointed in ATWT's misuse of Ameera as a generic complication for Nuke. She is a unique character who presents an opportunity to show daytime audiences something truly different. ATWT should use her background as a jumping-off point to tell uncommon stories and showcase Tala's appeal.
Since school hasn't been a concern for...um, a couple of years, and I also work here, how about a few things I would change the channel from some other soap to watch? Let's start with: 1. AMC's Jesse/Angie 2. ATWT's Henry/Vienna 3. Marcy, Marcy, Marcy -- as in Rylan's Lizzie. Don't worry, soap fans, this is far from an exhaustive list.
My favorite soap moment this year was when Luke and Noah finally shared another kiss at Old Town.
Mala I can't agree more with your comments on Jerry, Sebastian Roche and Jerry and Alexis and whoever your unnamed colleague is that thought the kiss in the Haunted Star was one of the hottest they've ever seen I completely agree! What can we do to get a joint interview with Nancy Lee Grahn and Sebastian Roche in your magazine! I'd totally buy that and I'll bet they'd be hilarious together. I've heard good things are coming up for "J-Lex" and I am all too happy about it. They are a sexy, mysterious treat and one of the best things GH has going for them right now!
Mich, J-Lex has definitely turned into one of my only reasons for tuning into GH these days. They are really fun to watch and Grahn and Roche just look like they're having a blast.
I completely agree with you on Grahn & Roche.They are actually the only reason I'm still hanging onto GH right now. They have electric chemistry and I think the possibilities are endless for Jerry & Alexis. I too, would love to see her "Cassadine" side come out to play here. I'd also love a joint interview with them in the magazine. I would definitely buy that one!
I share your love for Sebastian Roche and am a full-fledged, card carrying member of the Jerry and Alexis fan club (or cult). They make such tremendous music together. They both radiate passion and angst... perfect soap couple! I'd love to see a joint interview with both. Can you inagine the fun with THAT interview!
I have been waiting for the Jerry/Alexis story for well over a year now. The first day he grabbed her arm at Wyndemere to keep her from leaving the room I knew that they had IT. It's about time that GH started using them. I'd love a joint interview.
Mala, girl you are a GENIUS! I love it! Jason Morgan returns to Jason Quartermaine! OMG!!!! It's brilliant....so, can u move to LA and get a writers job on GH to make it happen? lol
DAYS so they break lucas out of jail to pair him with chloe and they break sami and ej up to get our hopes up of reuniting sami and lucas just to disappoint
Mala, J-Lex is one of the best things about GH these days. Nadine and Nikolas are getting hotter, but the mob stories are getting old fast. The mob needs to be run out of Port Charles and the hospital needs to be front and center. Night Shift is well-written and entertaining. I can't help but wish that the Night Shift writer would take over for the day shift.
Why hasn't anyone blogged today? I am missing the current blogs by the editors of Digest. Pleasea write something! I want to hear someone's opinion today!
If it helps at all, I'll have a new entry up tomorrow! :)
Loved reading your JUST ASKING! blog entry and learning more about you. I always wondered how actors had such witty answers to these questions and now I know it takes time.
I agree with your post on 12-11-08, except, I'd rather have Chloe/Clark than Clark/Lois. My GH Christmas List: 1. Richard Dean Anderson returns as Jeff Webber, giving Liz some family other than Audrey. 2. The Baldwin family is brought back to the canvas. Bring back Gail & Lee! Lord knows Monica and Scotty could use someone in their corner. 3. AJ Quartermaine returns with his fiancée Keesha Ward, and with no knowledge of what's been going on since he left with the Quartermaine fortune in 2003. The AJ that came back was an imposter! Just imagine the drama that would unfold. Plus, Jason could apologize to AJ's face instead of his grave! 4. Sam joins the police force and marries Lucky. The police force stops being an embarrassment. 5. Everyone stops dumping on Kate and starts dumping on Carly. My GL Christmas List: 1. Instead of rehashing Marina/Shayne or going with Dinah/Shayne (ew!). Pair up Shayne Lewis & Ashlee Wolfe! I imagine plenty of snark and heat. 2. Lizzie & Bill raise Sarah.
You're SO right about B&B's Bridget! I fell for Bridget and C.J's relationship back when Jennifer Finnigan was Bridget. Bringing back C.J. for Bridget has been a wish of mine for years. And I liked the one scene that Bridget and Owen shared. Why did the show have to tease us with that and not further that relationship?
Why hasn't anyone blogged today? I am missing the current blogs by the editors of Digest. Pleasea write something! I want to hear someone's opinion today! thanks
Oh Mala, sorry to disagree with you, but I didn't see what you saw AT ALL! First, Reese was plastered to Zach. Didn't you notice her constant need to keep touching Zach as he listened to Kendall's heart? What? She couldn't give him som privacy? But that's nothing new with Reese who prefers Zach's company to Bianca's. And I'm sorry, Zach's dialogue did NOT indicate he was petrified about Kendall's condition. What he said was he's afraid the heart he arranged to be placed into her is no longer the heart he fell in love with. In other words this isn't the same Kendall for Zach. Zach wasn't concerned about Kendall's condition, he was concerned about HIMSELF. This was so much at odds with the frantic Zach we saw on Monday who would do anything to save Kendall. As for Bianca, once again, she was wandering around randomly and not being around her fiancee who feels the need to be attached to Zach's hip. Nice to see Bianca is so broken up over Josh'
Mala, I couldn't agree more with what you had to say about Johnny and Maxie in your 2/4/09 entry. I never saw that kiss coming, but it was definitely a fantastic surprise. I've always enjoyed watching Brandon and Kirsten together, and these latest scenes were just proof of how great Johnny and Maxie could be together. I just cannot stomach the thought of Maxie and Spinelli in a romantic relationship. She loses her wonderful sass and snark around him and becomes annoyingly dependent. They sacrfice her for the sake of "Spixie" and making Spinelli look like her white knight. Maxie needs a guy who doesn't put her up on a pedestal, but rather one who will stand right next to her and be her equal. She's a tough cookie and for the longest time I have thought that she and Johnny would be incredibly well-matched. Now, if only I wasn't so set on Matt and Maxie...
Mala - I couldn't agree more with your March 18 blog about Johnny and Maxie. I have loved the potential between these two characters since...well, he blazed his way into Port Charles. I was giddy when they gave each other the eye at the apartment but since the garage scenes during the crisis, I have to admit, Johnny and Maxie have helped me fall in love with General Hospital again and I wasn't sure that was even possible. That dialogue you quoted made me melt into a puddle and I can't help but root for these two complicated, reckless but vulnerable souls to find love in each other! I'm so glad you are seeing the same thing!
Hey Mala! I could not agree more with your 3/18 blog on Johnny and Maxie. They have so much spark and chemistry I can't help myself for falling for them. They both light up with each other and they are exactly what I want for a soap couple. They challenge each other and give as good as they get. I just pray they give them a fighting chance and get them out of their "existing ties" so when they are together it is about them and only them. I have been loving the lines that they are getting from the scene you quoted which gave me goosebumps to Johnny telling her he thinks she spends way too much time with Spinelli (I agree), then him questioning just what is an essential person...did I sense a little jealousy from Johnny? I am actually excited to watch again and it is because of them.
Thank you so much for writing this Mala! I too am very excited about the possibilities with JoMax and really hope they are given a chance. I believe their chemistry is off the charts but what makes them even more exciting is the moments of depth we get flashes of. With the few gems such as-the because your you(thanks for highlighting that exchange) and the time she was crying over Georgie's acceptance letter all that time ago- I really believe GH has something special here if the writers take advantage of it. Thanks again!
i completely agree. these two are unbelieveable, their chemistry, there everything! i am praying that these two get together, the writers better not screw it up, these two are amazing!
I am disappointed you are advocating a self-destructive pairing such as JoMax based on nothing but sleaze, lying, & cheating. Spixie is a beautiful story that could bring young love & romance back to GH at a time when fans are leaving the show in droves. Last week's JoMax limo kiss garnered a whopping 1.9 rating, & according to one Spixie fansite literally hundreds of Spixie fans called the comment line vowing to turn off their TVs on Wed. 3/18 which they did. Wed. 3/18 ratings were 1.8, the lowest rated day on any ABC soap last week...costing GH to trail behind AMC & OLTL in week's total viewers. When the soaps are gone, magazines covering them will be gone too. I am cancelling my 15-year subscription to SOD for their supportive JoMax letters & editorials, & I can stop buying SOW as well. Spixie's magic is their deep, honest, mutually respectful, unconditional love. Once you've tasted a flute of the finest crystal of the Dom Perignon that is Spixie, anything less is a Dixie cup of rot gut.
Spinelli & Maxie's love story is the only story I want to see. Spinelli and Maxie are perfect for one another. There is so much passion, chemistry there that TPTB would be silly to not actually go there after a full year of investment for it. Bradford & Kirsten work beautifully together. The story between low self esteem bestfriends becoming lovers is extremly believable. They are my root for couple...always!
I love Spinelli and Maxie together. I've loved their story for the past year and I want to see them grow as a couple. I think Maxie freaked out after she said ILY and she's acting out now. They have a sparkle and caring that I want to see more of. They are in love with each other and now there are all these obstacles in their way - JoLuWin. I want them to have a serious adult conversation about how where they're going. Together. Long live Spixie!
Personally I have no interest in seeing Maxie paired with Johnny and getting mixed up with his "dark" yet amazingly bland self. I will always want Maxie with Spinelli. Theirs is a beautiful story of two lost souls who find acceptance, happiness and love with each other. It is a true romance. Bradford Anderson and Kirsten Storms are a match made in heaven, and I would love to see what they can do with a full-fledged romantic relationship for Spixie.
Seeing Johnny and Maxie together makes me physically ill. It has made me dislike both characters. Sure they are being self-destructive, but I don't like that it's going to hurt two good people (Lu Lu and Spinelli) in the process. I wouldn't mind the Spixie angst so much if we had gotten some actual romance beforehand. It's been torture having all these Spixie kisses lead nowhere! Then Maxie says she loves Spinelli, but the next day jumps Johnny??? WTF??? I had really hoped that these four characters could have been close friends. I had always enjoyed their scenes together. Now I just feel uncomfortable watching them.
Bold and Beautiful storyline with Rick and Steffy is makibg me sick to my stomach. Enough with the kissing already. Rick is just using Steffy, and he is being an arogant, selfish brat. Maybe he should go back to Paris and let Steffy and Marcus find theit way back to each other. Someone needs to knock him down a peg or two, or tell Steffy that he threatened her father,if she knew the whole truth she would give him up. Rhonda in Ohiovbfdg3
You are spot on. GL is great and I hope they find a home after they leave CBS. I love Otalia, Bizzie, and the Spaulding family dynamic is about to really take off again. I want to see GL continue these great stories.
"Guiding Light" **has** to find a new home -- it's too good to be taken off the air! I came to GL a couple months ago for Otalia but have been sucked into the other stories, too, especially Bill & Lizzie, who are just as adorable as you described (though I haven't seen today's episode yet; yesterday they were wonderful!) and I'm a big fan of Remy and Christina. Add my love of Doris, Phillip/Beth, Josh, Dinah and Shayne and this show really has me hooked; is there any "light" on the horizon about it finding a new home? Two million viewers is nothing to sneeze at!
I agree that GL is the hottest it has been in a LONG time! Sexy new couples like Otalia, Bizzie and Dinah and Shayne, along with old favorites like Reva and Josh, Beth and Phillip, Vanessa and Billy! And I can't wait to see what happens at Frank and Natalia's wedding next week!!!
This was a HUGE day for Otalia fans and we loved every minute of today's show. CC and JL rocked those scenes today and I can't wait for tomorrow. It's great to see Otalia getting so much positive press. I hope that GL will find a new home so we can continue to watch Otalia and GL.
Guiding Light is on fire and Crystal Chappell is the best there is. I hope and pray GL can stay on the air somewhere, because I would go through serious withdrawals if I couldn't see her on my screen again.
So far this week, Guiding Light has delivered in some many ways. The angsty Otalia build up continues, but today we finally had some outpouring of truthful emotion. GL's other stories are keeping the audience entertained, but we're on the edge of our seats to see what happens between Olivia and Natalia.
OMG!!! Crystal was unbelievable today. The whole show is SO good these days. It is the highlight of my day. When did that happen? If Crystal doesn't get an Emmy for the current storyline, I will be devastated. Thank you for your comments.
Mala, If Crystal does not get performer of the week or something then something is seriously wrong. She was on fire today! Guiding Light is seriously must see soap. This is so old school soap opera and I'm glad their are still editors like yourself who appreciates good old fashioned storytelling. Thanks for always caring and writing and blogging about Guiding Light
Guiding Light..OMG..off the charts awesome!! Crystal Chappell..the best..the very best there is!! Find this show a home P&G..you have a gold mine on your hands and whoever picks up GL will not be sorry for an instant.
When do we start the Emmy campaign for Crystal Chappell? And how can I help? Because she has consistently given the best performance in soaps today - what amazing range she has! - and it's about time she gets recognized for that. C'mon, Soap Opera Digest, I've only just started buying your mag for Otalia but I'll do whatever you want if you can make this happen...:)
I am still scraping my heart off the floor after Otalia today. What an amazing story - CBS must be full of complete morons to decide to cancel this show. It is the only show on television that can render me a complete emotional mess by 10am. Simply amazing, I can't wait for tomorrow. Thanks for all your great GL/Otalia posts!
Crystal Chappell was absolutely amazing today!!! Guiding Light and the Otalia story line are rocking the house everyday...THIS is must see TV people! Crystal and Jessica are wonderful together!!!
Thanks, everyone! I'm really, truly engaged by GL and Otalia right now and you're all absolutely right: Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia have been phenomenal. Can't wait to see tomorrow's scenes!
man, if crystal chappell doesn't kill me with all the crying and angst and emmy-worthy acting, the thought of september 18th getting closer and closer surely will. for the love of all that is good and right with the world, this show needs a new- and better- home. it's quite obvious the show is hitting on all cylinders right now (otalia especially), so what's the problem? could it be the lack of promotion by CBS, the weird airing schedule by local markets, the antiquated ratings system? uh, yeah, i think so. regardless, whatever network is smart enough to pick this show up will be getting a steal. a gold mine. a cash cow. all they have to do is tell us what they want us to do to keep GL & otalia on the air and we'll do it. but P&G products? done. order SOAPNet? done. watch on-line, live, on demand, order through iTunes? done, done, done and done.
Cristal is too good to be true. Otalia is soap at its best. Guiding Light must keep shining
Thanks for highlighting what outstanding work Crystal Chappell has been doing. She's always delivered no matter what the story line or how strong or weak the writing. But, right now, with Ellen Wheeler and Jill Lorie Hurst at the helm creatively and with a scene partner like Jessica Leccia, Crystal is doing the finest work of her career. I won't allow it into my consciousness that September marks the end of the road for Guiding Light and the Otalia story line. The show on all levels is too good and there has to be some wise network executives at other outlets out there who are seeing this phenomenon and are smart enough to pick up the show.
OMG! Crystal just shattered my heart into a thousand pieces. That was seriously the best last five minutes of a soap that I've seen since Tony put his head to BJ's chest on GH in 94. Crystal is truly in a class by her self. Nice blog btw. I so agree about how GL has you on a high and GH leaves you wondering why do you even bother watching it.
Thanks for the great comments on Guiding Light and Otalia! Wasn't Crystal awesome!! No one can touch her in the game today!!! I just got my heart beating again and its been 30 minutes since I saw that scene!! CBS has made the mistake of the lifetime letting this show, this story line and these terrific actresses go!! Everyone on GL rocks!! Someone find the cast and crew a new home, soon!
Today was the day we've been waiting to happen for over a year. And even knowing it was coming, no words could ever do justice to the last five minutes of today's show. I think every Otalia fan needs a reboot! Kudos to JLH, EW, CC, and JL. And thank you for continuing to support the Light!
Commenting in Haiku: Chappell perfection The eyes bring it home, no doubt Master method class
Just back up the brinks truck and hand CC all the emmys that will be handed out during this years show. I have never been such a shaky, blubbering mess over a show. GL just has to find a new home. I want to see Otalia live on forever.
The last 5 minutes of Guiding Light today was W.O.W!! Crystal Chappell knocked it out of the park and she delivered an Emmy performance!! I have never been so invested in a television storyline ever. Otalia is the best romantic love story on TV period. Thanks for covering them, Mala.
Todays Guiding Light was amazing. Crystal Chappell is brilliant. Those last five minutes brought physical tears from me. Guiding Light has to find a new home- its to great of a show not to!!
GL is now the only show I refuse to miss. I'm a big Otalia fan but I'm enjoying the other storylines too. I hope GL finds another home soon as they are delivering some great entertainment.
"Oh, my heart" exactly! It literally hurt after that episode. That ending!
Otalia is the best storyline on daytime; the writing is supreme, the acting is unbelievably good, and the chemistry between CC and JL is heart-stopping. Keep it up GL and I truly hope you find a place to land. Thank you for the support of my favorite duo on daytime of all time. buggy
I had that exact same theatrical moment at the end of GL 4/14!! Otalia continues to be one of the best love storylines written today. Crystal Chappell was absolutely wonderful today and I look forward to Jessica Leccia's continued brilliance with Natalia. I hope our show finds a new place to rest its head at night. Keep the Light Shining!
CC was truly amazing yesterday. I just do not tire of singing her praises! Give the woman an Emmy, for crying out loud! Oh, and save GL, since it's... i don't know... the best show on TV right now!
Mala, thank you for the article about the shameful way that today's current soaps have put most of their minority characters into their own "soap bubble world" within the fictionalized world on most soaps. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but over a decade ago, there was twice as many minority characters on screen, then there is now. It's just shameful, but I don't think or feel that a campaign will change anything, because it's up to the writers of these shows to create storylines that will somehow intertwine all of these characters into the fabric of the show. I'm not against Bonnie being involved with Dusty at all, but will Derek somehow leave town in order for Bonnie to be single and available for her new upcoming romance with Dusty "The Savior of All Oakdale Female Folk" Donovan?! Also, I just love how a certain group feels like they're being "blamed" for the lack of storylines for fictional characters of color. Those folks need
With the majority of the soap auidence being African American women. Why is Y&R still so lily white? Shouldn't this show represent the it's viewership? i mean we have an African Amercian president. African Americans sell covers of mainstream magazines. Vogue had two covers back to back with Michelle Obama and then Beyonce. What's the deal with Y&R and soaps in general. Daytime is racist and they know it and they refuse to change even though the facts and numbers point to AA's as the main audience. I'm trying to wrap my head around this. So love to hear your thoughts. Y&R has been on a decline ever since Victoria Rowell left the show. The Winters have been ghettoized over the last 1 and a half. The show has bumped Bryton to Recurring. We have a barely seen Roxy and Olivia comes in for a brief moment to give advice. Then they fire The Actress and keep the model who can't act. Now that doesn't bold well for future storylines. We have started an ongoing series on my soap we
We are also doing on an ongoing series on diversity in daytime. @ the site here: http://timeaftertimeonlinedrama.webs.com
GH: Sonny, front burner. Dr. Lee, Nurse Epiphany, Robin's therapist; all recurring and seldom seen There is also the beautiful Dr. Elaine Winters who does not get any story, was put on recurring status...Detective Cruz who just disappeared, the clerk of Asian heritage at Metro Court who they cut. The African American orderly who disappeared... IMO, Soaps have lost the African American audience which contributes to their decline...we don't trust them and aren't coming back for the "most part" they have permanently lost this audience... They will not put African Americans in lead story for the most part...just wallpaper to give the look of diversity to support the other actors. They are basically bit day players on GH.
Again, I agree with your new blog about what GH's doing with the history of Luke (and his epic former storyline with the love of his life, Laura). It's very clear to me that TPTB really don't give a crap at all, about the history of characters and storylines that made viewers interested in their shows in the first place. The viewing audience isn't at fault for why this genre is slowly dying out. It's the people in charge of it, that are guilty.
The Luke/Ethan mess has revolted this 25 year viewer more than I am capable of verbalizing. This is just another, more shocking example of GH's thumbing it's nose at the longtime audience they obviously no longer court. Once you finish destroying the stories that have kept fans connected to a show, it ceases to exist for them. What the hell happened to the character of Luke? When did we see him lose his soul,because it's most certainly gone. Was it when he drunkenly rutted with Holly while his wife Laura was waiting at home with their son Lucky? The son who most assuredly inherited her heart. Whoever's brainchild this story was should be ashamed.
I love Guiding Light and most especially Otalia. Crystal and Jessica are bringing their very best to this storyline and their best is genius. Jill Hurst and Ellen Wheeler are brilliant for all they do. Guiding Light must be saved.
After this last week-end, then coming and reading this I realize, I could'nt really care less about your opinion anymore. It is just like oh, ok, whatever!
While the whole Ethan is Luke's son storyline is stupid it would of been even dumber to try and tell us that Lulu was still born in 1994.
I agree Drew is commanding and really can't wait to see more of him. Olivia and Johnny are different; not sure yet about them. But I think if anyone deserves some loving it's Matt. He's been on the show almost a year! I think it's time to give Matt a real romance!
Drew Garret is great as Michael!! already love him, did you see the way he had those tears flowing with Robin!!! NuKristina um yea, shes going to take some time to get used to. Maybe it was nerves, but she needs to put more effort, so that I can really feel her emotions. Right now she just seems like a brat with no heart.
Does it make me a bad person to say that I would love a Michael/Kristina hook-up. First of all, the Carly and Alexis drama is all there. Secondly, it would bother Sonny to no end. I mean, all along I was rooting for cousins, Morgan and Molly, to drive the drama - but hey! I'll take the chemistry where I can find it.
mala, you are a better person than I! i just cant get into any of the s/ls on atwt-the adam/riley is way too rushed for me granted i dont know who adam was, but nor do i want to its funny i can tune into y&r or days on soapnet and not know anything about the show, but i am intrigued and actually watch cant say the same about atwt unless its a paul day
THANK YOU MALA! I totally agree with you. It's like they are afraid of offending viewers. They are offending me by not showing the kiss! If people don't like what they show, they can tune out, it shouldn't be up to the writers to censor the content of the storyline based on what they think viewers won't like. Heterosexual couples are half naked all of the time. Show some gay action! Thanks again Mala for writing what I was thinking!
Mala, I think I will be forever confused why you would root for Carjack (after they've been destroyed by stunts like Carly pretending to die and luring Jack to Montana) and not root for Spixie. Spinelli & Msxie is the ULTIMATE drawn out love story that has kept me tuned into GH. I would say root for Liason also, but I wouldn't want you to go through that pain that GH has put us through.
MALA,you Roooccck!! I love reading your blog, it's the first thing I check when I check out the website.
I agree with you about the chaste lesbian and gay characters on daytime. Those against gay and lesbian characters won't even acknowledge that true love can exist in same sex relationships. They will tune out. Why try to pander to them by not showing kissing and love making? There are a lot of other straight fans like you and me who simply respond to good writing and storylines for both straight and same sex couples. Are Olivia and Natalia ever going to kiss?
Mala, you certainly hit the nail on the head about GH's Sonny and his women. I agree with everything you said, except the part about getting back together with Kate--that re-write didn't work for me. Why does every woman that comes to town HAVE to be with Sonny? They become sniveling idiots. They protest his advances and then become his biggest cheerleader. If I have to hear one more woman say what a good man and father Sonny is I'm going to scream. It's time to change the story and the dialoge.
Mala, you are my favorite blogger on this site. As much as I adore Maurice Benard as an actor, you are RIGHT ON about Sonny. He needs to be written differently so Maurice doesn't have to keep playing the same ol' song over and over. When Sonny went through the bipolar storyline, I thought it was a chance for change for the character. The whole Emily story was icky but as Mala said, it was different. Claudia-Sonny could have worked if they hadn't made her completely psycho from the start. They could have bonded over their similar horrific childhoods, etc. Sarah Brown makes me watch Claudia and it's a shame she and Mo won't get to make that marriage a romance, which it could have been. GH is a mess, still. LOVE the new Michael but he's headed down a bad path due to the writers. ARGH! Love in the afternoon? Hell no. Not anymore. Which is why the audience continues to disappear....
Thanks for the recent comments, everyone! I'm glad you're enjoying my posts. Margaret - I'm suggesting Kate as an option because I figure it saves future women from being trapped in the cycle. LOL. Might as well go back to one that he's already been through it with!
I love Jolivia. I do not want to see another woman that is feisty, strong and independent sacrificed at the alter of Sonny Corinthos. Johnny and Olivia are fun to watch and the best new couple on GH in a long time.
On GH, I don't even want Sonny with Kate. Kate always treated Carly like trash and let's face it she did take Michael without Carly's permission to the warehouse. In the end though, I am sick of the whole drama surrounding Sonny and his women. I am tired of watching new woman X come to town and assume Sonny's marriage broke up because Carly failed yada yada yada. For an intelligent person Kate was dumb not to realize who shot Carly in the head so now she is forgotten, Karma. Sonny has no empathy for carly and the kids it is all about him, I don't care anymore.
I agree with some of your post. Sonny's love life has become a bit repetitive but I don't think there's anything wrong with Sonny and Olivia. I like them. I think they have chemistry. And of course Johnny's being nice he's sleeping with her. I bet Sonny will be nice too when they start having sex. Johnny and Olivia have no future. There's way more story potential with Solivia.
I agree with you 100% about Sonny. Claudia is such a looney character,I feel the writers are making Sonny so totally abusive and ugly (Sonny understood Michael when he shot kate, today he screamed at Michael who may not have even run Claudia off the road). One reason ratings are tanking is that Claudia and Sonny do not work as a couple and no one wants to watch them. To have Olivia and Sonny together the writers are already rewriting Skate which is als turning away viewers. Skate's ratings were anywhere from 40 to 60% better than current ratings. I say that Kate is the only character that can make Sonny watchable again and they should keep Johnny with Olivia.
I understand about Sonny and his women but I think Olivia is different. Solivia have chemistry and Liv can hold her own with Sonny. Jolivia is just sex and that is all it should be. What future would they have none? They should do Solivia but keep Olivia strong. I want Johnny with Maxie I love those two together. I wouldn't mind seeing Claudia with Dante either.
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Yes Johnny and Olivia are so swoon worthy, I love how she has given him a free pass for Michael's shooting, I love how she's reliving her life with Sonny through Johnny, and Sonny is the great big bad mobster but Johnny is just misunderstood. To bad she wasn't around for Johnny's part in Michael's shooting And as for Sonny feigning sympathy. You mean sympathy for the wife that poked holes in condoms to get pregnant in the first place that put Sonny in the position to lose another child, the woman that has Jerry out now trying to kill Michael, you mean that woman and wife Mala, what show do you watch or are you so skewed in your opinion over the perfeciton of Johnny & Olivia that the story itself loses you. Try at least some honesty
Was it ever actually established that Ashley delivered the baby and Adam burned it in the fireplace? I just remember that he burned the bloody bathrobe and towels. I don't think even Adam is capable of burning a fetus ... that would be too sick, even for him. I just assumed that Ashley has been carrying around a dead fetus all this time ... which is still dark, but not quite as twisted. Wouldn't it be nice if Dr. Taylor was lying to Adam about her miscarriage ... and that she is actually still pregnant? He could have done so to keep Adam from trying to hurt the baby again ... guess I'm an optimist!
That's a good point, Elise, I guess we don't *really* know what specifically Adam burned in the fireplace, but I pretty much assumed that he'd gotten rid of whatever it was that she bled out. If she'd still been carrying a fetus inside of her, I think she probably would have had more medical issues, given the blood loss, etc. And before Dr. Taylor fiddled with the sonogram, there was absolutely no motion and no indication of a mass on the screen. It'd be a great twist if he was lying altogether just to stick it to Adam and she really is still pregnant, but the horrorshow of the fall down the stairs and Adam's clean-up...man, I will never get that out of my head!
Yes, either way, it is TOTALLY a horror show, as you so perfectly described it. I am personally hoping that Adam can be redeemed. I, like you, saw a spark with him and Ashley. If he burned the baby, I just don't know how he can be brought back from that! Anyway, here's hoping that there's an end in sight to this particular storyline!
I totally agree with you, why is Adam gaslighting Ashley? She has been nothing but good to him, and this is the way he's treating her? Adam's story, and Mary Jane's story, have to be the strangest stories I have ever seen on Y&R.
Mala, don't story lines have to be edited? How did the pairing of Marty and Todd in a therapy session go unnoticed, didn't anyone consider this to be bizarre? That, to me was for sure a "what were they thinking" moment. Do the actors not get to voice their opinion about the characters they have played for years and say this is a stupid story line, or are they happy to have a job and don't care about insulting the intelligence of dedicated viewers?
Mala, I have to FF this Todd (if he really is Todd). Tea and Blair should join forces to kick his butt. He either acts like he's 14 or he's a snoozefest. Why would either of these great women want him?
Thank you for the Adam link. I was not watching the show then, and I cannot think why they would want to save this character?! The cast is bloated with him, Allie, Casey, Hunter, Meg etc. They need to do a housecleaning and write for the interesting characters they have like Pem, Ro, Craig, Babs, Henry, etc.
Thank you, Thank you, thank you Mala! Seriously Thank God for your comments about this Sick redemption story for that disgusting Rapist Pig Adam! In my 20+ years of watching soaps, no story has offended me as much as this one has! I was screaming as loud as you were at the horrible absolution of Adam for physically and sexually abusing women! How dare ATWT do this! How dare they insult the fans intelligence about what we all saw happen on the screen just two friggin years! This complete re-write and whitewashing of what Adam did is so appalling and wrong! What exactly is the message ATWT wants to send to women who are attacked? It's your own fault what he did to you because you somehow caused your own attack. So you should go apologize to him b/c you asked for it? ATWT is officially more misogynistic than GH is now! The writers are insulting are intelligence if they think we didn't see with our own eyes what Adam did. Adam was a psycho before Maddie hit him over the head! He framed Will & attacked Gwe
Please include Luke Spencer in the "men who have hurt women" history. The powers that be turned Luke's rape of Laura into a great love story which still goes on to this day.
Please include Luke Spencer in the "men who have hurt women" history. The powers that be turned Luke's rape of Laura into a great love story which still goes on to this day.
Regarding the Adam situation: I was more pissed off when they brought Adam back the first time, and turned him into a creep. I hate that they screwed with his character simply to create drama for the teen set, Maddie/Casey & Will/Gwen, who I wasn't interested watching in the first place.
Mala, the Bank Of Mom & Dad seemed like it was going to be worth watching, NOT! Until you pointed it out I did not pay attention that all the previews I have seen were with daughters. I did think that the show was going to be for college daughters, one daughter was 33. This show won't last and I don't like Holidate. I wish they would bring back Soap Talk, One Day With Wally and I Want To Be A Soap Star.
And now, a Christian/TRUTH point of view on all of this. a) Homosexuality is an abomination, NOT a love story. Guiding Light was cancelled when its lesbian "love story" was its most popular, and most low-rated storyline ever. b) People CAN be redeemed through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Although no entertainment media today would ever bring forth the glory of God as a healer, it can be done. If written correctly, Adam on ATWT finding God and redemption could be an AWESOME story. c) General Hospital should split off into two shows. The first would be the mother show, called GENERAL HOSPITAL...the one we knew and loved until 1996. The second show, could be called Night Shift 14, or General Mafia, or The Sopranos 2, or The Jason and Sonny Killing Show, or anything else that glorifies murder and crime. It makes me physically ill that this show has chosen to feature two blood-thirsty murderers as the show's main heroes since 1996. Oh, I forgot, they're hot and misunde
I just knew that the PR idiots from ABC Daytime would go down the same route of touting "The Real" crap for Jonathan Jackson's return. It's a blatant slap in the talented face of Greg Vaughn, who kept the character of Lucky Spencer alive on GH for 7 years. Yes, you can be glad that JJ agreed to return to GH, but there's something called TACT that can and should be used, when promoting his return. It's just tactless and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but it's business and that's certainly what Frons and ABC Daytime are all about at this point.
Thank you Mala for raking ABC over the coals for this lowball tactic. I know JJ was very popular, but so is GV. Changing the role of Lucky is NOT going to fix the problem of ratings. If ABC were so concerned about ratings, why not bring back Laura since Luke has a new son and maybe throw Scotty in there as well? Also, the Q's would be a welcome change from the Sonny and Jason hour. I don't see the appeal of the mob although I do LIKE Sonny, he doesn't deserve the whole show. The viewers would come back in droves if ABC would show more of what the fans really want to see.
There are no words how GH has alienated many viewers I post with. Its like GH is purposely driving viewers away. They didn't take notes re: their real Greenlee? Wasn't that a monumental flop? So now what? its the original Lucky? The horrid scribing of Elizabeth dragging out vets I haven't seen in the longest time (even taking pics for Laura) to herald a man who slept w/another woman in their bed, she's not being deserving...on the very same parapet saying the very same thing to a different man from one year ago. 'THE SAME STORYLINE.' I've never liked how Elizabeth Webber is written with any of the Lucky's. She reverts to a Spen-Stepford wife...no matter which actor plays him. The misogynistic writing morphs into various forms, when will she be written w/a positive focus & get some of that sunshine w/rainbows Jason's romance is getting w/their "special scribing to make" them look so good. The Q/A w/L.Wright bragged they do romances well..I'm not seeing
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